Happy Friday, Friends! Today in our Thankfulness post, we welcome Ariel Sax. She attended UFC and served on the worship team for a little over four years. After graduating from the University of Oregon, Ariel made the decision to move away at the end of 2019 to work with a missions organization based in Colorado Springs called ACTS (Antioch Center for Training and Sending). She helps with the organization’s filmmaking and media. Due to COVID-19, she’s currently working remotely from her parents’ home in Hawaii.
I’m thankful for long-distance friendships! These are some of the people I went with on the ACTS missions trip to Turkey in 2019. We were reunited at the semi-annual ACTS Student Leadership Summit this past January in Colorado Springs. I witnessed the amazing ways God used these girls to speak to others who don’t know about Jesus.
I’m thankful for the community I’ve found in ACTS! These are some of the girls I work with on a daily basis. I have felt so welcomed and instantly loved by them (and more that are not pictured). I’ve honestly already found myself having some of the deepest, most intimate moments with God sitting in prayer meetings with these people.
I’m thankful for new places and adventures! This is a hike I went on in beautiful Colorado with some new friends from a great church I started attending in Colorado Springs. God has been faithful to lead me to some awesome and encouraging communities.
I’m thankful that not only did I get to attend my sister’s wedding, but the wedding ACTUALLY happened! I flew back home to Hawaii from Colorado mid-March to celebrate and attend the wedding. Six days leading up to the big day were some of the most stressful and craziest days I’ve experienced in awhile. Venues were being shut down, flights were cancelled, the limit on gatherings had dropped to only 10 people, etc. etc. etc. You can probably imagine the rest. But God was so faithful, and we managed to sneak in a small wedding four days before the national stay-at-home mandate. My sister and her awesome husband exemplified complete trust and surrender to Jesus through it all.
I’m thankful for my sweet parents! I’ve gotten loads of needed quality time with them. I haven’t been home for this long for five years. Long story short, I decided to stay with my family in Hawaii during quarantine and transitioned in to working remotely for a short time. I’m learning that the journey matters more than the destination. God’s leadership is good. I’m taking in every moment I can with them. We went to the beach recently, setup our chairs, and all read together.
How nice to see you, Ariel! Thanks for catching us up.
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