Chilean follow up

It's been just over three months since I touched down in America after my mission. Although the honeymoon phase is over, the everlasting presence of Jesus is still with me. We were told that what happened on that little island, would disappear and the world would seep into our bodies as soon as we got back to America. I remember standing on the stage of my church, telling a congregation that Chile changed me, in a permanent and forever way, only to hear that our change would be temporary.

Well, it's been three months and my hope and peace still rest in Jesus. I’m not going to lie, Corona freaked me out a little. I have family members, grandparents, soon to be grandparents, that I want to be there for my wedding, plans I didn’t want wrecked, and then, even potentially not being able to see my betrothed this year. I was worried for my family all over the world. Daniel, my friend (who's closest to my age) that was on the Chilean team, kept me informed on the situation down there, and thanks to facebook and text messaging, I got to keep up with the rest of my friends and family.

The news was dark. It seemed that no matter where you looked, there was hoards of fear, and anger, and somehow, being sick became a political game and we were all trapped inside, apart from the ones we loved, apart from schools (I really. REALLY miss my kiddos), away from work, and beaches, and even just fresh air. We were afraid to go grocery shopping, safeway became a cattle shoot, with signs directing everyone where to go, and max capacity was at 50% (if even). Dirty looks were given in grocery store isles, rude comments were made about lack of masks, and chaotic stories kept coming from the news.

We will end the quarantine in two weeks. Well, maybe six. Actually, lets keep this going for two years. Wear your mask! You're killing people! Don’t wear a mask, you're killing yourself. Constitutional rights were in question, extremes were taken, and the only thing that seemed to be absolute, was fear.

Yet, somehow through all of it, I wasn't afraid. Even when I felt like that is how I needed to react. Even when I felt pressure to be afraid, or to stay locked in my house. All I could do was sing worship music and laugh with my mom, as we both had time off. We started awesome projects at our house and got a lot done. I wasn't working. I had no income. There was no stimulus to help me out, and benefits never kicked in. Financially, this sucked for me. This honestly sucked for me in general.

However, I still found my hope in Jesus, and as our state and country opens back up to the  bright, disinfecting UV rays of summer, I still have no fear. God is not shocked by this pandemic.  People are coming to Him in THRONGS. Churches are all over the internet. Suddenly… it's not scary to go to church. No judgement passes. No matter how you look, because you open up your laptop, with a facemask on and messy hair and a coffee in hand and BAM. You are in God’s house.

The bible says (even in red letters, so you know it's important) DO NOT FEAR, more times than it says anything else. Why? Because God is in control.

NIV Matthew 6:26  “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”

God made us in His image. He didn't send His son to die for the birds. He sent His son to die for US, so who are we to assume that our choices, like opening churches backup so we can meet again, will really end lives? In the book of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the hottest furnace the king could make. Men died putting them in the fire, it was so hot! Yet, later, the king saw not three, but four men, walking around in the fire like it was nothing. Could you imagine??? Not even three whole chapters later, Danile is thrown into a lion's den. You’ve all heard the story. HE LIVED.

Not to mention, Lazarus was dead four days (side note: here is some context for you. In that culture, the spirit left the body after three days, so his spirit had 100% left his body), and Jesus yelled “come out” and bam. There he was, full of spirit and everything. Clearly, God has the final authority on death.

My people, don’t be afraid. God knows the time and the place. We can not make choices for him (SIDE NOTE. The bible also tells us to not tempt the father, so throwing yourself off a bridge to prove that God is dead, is a really bad idea. Besides, if you have zero faith that He will actually save you…. How is He supposed to save you????).

The Lord has a plan. Faith happens in the waiting. God does not want us to be afraid to meet up, and gather, and be His church.

Jacob Hunter

Jacob, AKA, MY little brother

My LITTLE brother. That towers over me at a whopping 6'2. Plays varsity procrastination, Cross Country, participated in high jump, discus, javelin, 15/3, distance medley, and hurtles in Track. Rocked the world of FFA, grew leaps and bounds in 4-H, and is the CEO of annoying me and making me laugh all in the same hour.

I will use bad humor in this blog, because I am very sad and yet happy to be writing it and I don't know how else to handle my emotions.

It all started on a day I don't remember. Mom brought baby Jacob home from the hospital, and I guess from that day on, we were best friends. Jake and I did everything together. I was, of course, the bad influence (hehe)

I was there to convince him to eat an entire tub of ice cream with me on the back porch. I was there to convince him to coat himself in mud, and get in all sorts of trouble with me.

Ugh. I'm really going to miss him. When we were little, we  always played together. We threw objects at the highway (accidentally hitting a cop car with a rock, we were less than 3), climbed in trees to look at eagle eggs, and having dance parties in our shared room, because I was destroying all the pretty things in my older sisters room.

Somehow, Jacob always ended up getting hurt. One time, we were playing in the tire swing my dad made us (while we lived in Colfax) and my sister and I had wound him up so high, that when we let go, the speed of the swing and the weight of my tiny little brother snapped the rope. It was kinda amusing to watch his feet flying around and around so fast until the rope broke and he ended up on the ground.

When we moved to Oregon, we played in the lawn barefoot and ran around our neighborhood together, meeting friends on the streets and riding our bikes around the school grounds after hours. As we got older, our fun became listening to music in our cars while we drove literally anywhere, jumping in the lake fully clothed, eating Ben and Jerri's outside in the summer, and sitting on one of the freezers in our garage, eating our parents ice cream.

Jake has always been my best friend. No matter what age, or stage of life, or even the activity we were doing. Even when I had my little friends in grade school. Jacob was my best friend. He is loyal, and smart and brave. He makes me laugh so hard I can't breathe and I cry, he pushes me harder when we run together and I want to jog but that's not really *working out* (apparently)

He has always had my back. We used to camp outside all summer, close enough to the house that we still had WiFi, and we would stay up giggling over memes all night. When Billy and I started dating, we would even look at memes and laugh with him too, even if he could just hear us wheezing at ourselves over the phone.

He gets me milkshakes and slides chocolate bars under my door when I am too upset to be normal. He makes jokes until I crack a smile, and then he just starts being a goof. He costs me tons of money in gas, because he sticks his feet out the window of my car and creates massive wind drag. We face mask together, when we were younger, he let me do his makeup and dress him up (he was really little)

He was my date to every high school dance, my date to go get fries and a shake on a hot summer day, the weirdo that ate popcorn with chopsticks at youth group, the insane one that jumped in the lake, fully clothed with me after I graduated high school, and the shocker that delivered a sentimental, yet odd speech at my Alt. Ed. graduation. He was even my buddy to talk to on long late night walks to clear our heads and get fresh air.

The thing is. I am really going to miss Jacob. Leaving for college was hard for me, because I knew that my best friend on the planet was going to be in a completely different state than me. We even had a plan, that he was going to college somewhere close so we could hang out. We have even made plans of being friends with each others spouses and hanging out and living in some southern state and noodling (I guess that's a form of fishing?).

This year, my little brother will be graduating from EHS, and going the the University of Idaho in the fall. He has worked so insanely hard to get a ton of scholarships, and graduating with stellar grades. He has been a best friend to many 4-H campers, a leader in every situation that needed one, an ambitious achiever in FFA, and a loyal, loyal brother to me.

I am so proud of him.

God knew that life for us was going to be interesting and challenging, so he blessed me with a little brother. There is so much to say. So much love to express. I'm so proud of him and blown away by his amazing accomplishments and the man he is becoming. I could write an entire book and the adventures of Jake and I. I do not know how things will play out after he leaves for college, and I get married and move to Lord knows where. I just really really freaking hope that we stay a part of each others lives.

         conGRADulations, Jacob Hunter, I will be cheering you on, no matter where I am.