Every felt so filled up with Joy you think you'll burst?  That's how I've felt this entire past week since I flew home from Phoenix with 3 Navajo teens and 1 Apache teen.  A dream that I've had for months came true this past Sunday when we landed in Fort Wayne.  A dream that was way bigger than me...... a dream that I could never have made come true...... a dream that God shared with me and brought to pass.  This "dream come true" fills me with joy and makes my cup runneth over!

Our week started out with a trip to Glenbrook Mall (where else would you begin with teenagers?).  Every graduating gal from NAOMI gets a shopping trip designed just for them.  Everyone that comes along picks out an outfit for the graduate and she tries them all on.  After she has tried them all on she gets to pick out the one she likes and then she gets to keep it.  It is always so much fun for everyone, especially the graduate.  It makes her feel so special.

After the mall, they said their next priority was a golf lesson from Rick.  They all had known for a long time that Rick was the Pro/Manager of Golf Operations managing 4 golf courses, so when they sealed their plans to come to Fort Wayne they were so excited about learning to play golf.  One of the gals was the most excited and bought golf shoes (well, not really golf shoes, she said, they just looked like golf shoes and they were cute so she bought them).  They stepped up to their pile of golf balls confidently but then stepped back not so confidently as they found out that hitting a golf ball was not as easy as it looked.  At that point, Rick stepped in to demonstrate exactly how it should be done.  They were awed at how far he hit the ball and inspired to try again.  After several more tries and much more success, they began to talk about joining the LPGA tour.  LOL!

Next on the agenda was time to discover all that the zoo held.  They had so much fun posing together at different places in the zoo and discovering all the animals that they hadn't had a chance to see up close and personal before.  It was a wonderful time for me to just watch them, filled with joy, enjoying everything that they discovered. 

Our last night together was spent playing our traditional card game of Hand and Foot.  I always play Hand and Foot with them when I am at NAOMI House so it was especially sweet to be able to play with them in my own home.  We had so much fun, playing by "Arizona rules" and laughing and laughing.  Two of them are real comics and kept us in "stiches" the entire evening. 

Before we knew it, the weekend was over and two of the gals had to fly back to Phoenix and return to their jobs.  It was a bitter-sweet time.......so sweet to spend 5 days with the four of them.......so bitter to seem them go........I really don't know if all 5 of us will have an opportunity to be together again.  One is moving to another state later this month to attend school and the other is looking for a Cosmotology position wherever she can find one.  We all knew what we had this weekend was a special gift from God........that our "cups had runneth over". 

 

Everything I had wanted to accomplish during this weekend was accomplished and much, much more.  God truly had his hand upon this journey for these 4 teens and I know He will walk through life with them.  They are most delightful young ladies and I know that God will use them in a mighty way for His glory. 

 

Two teens remain at my home and will be here until June 10th when the three of us fly back to Phoenix together.  I will take them home and then head down to the San Carlos Indian Reservation to lead my first project of the summer.  We are making the most of the time God has given us, burning the midnight oil to enjoy every moment we have together.  And once again, I have seen God's hand and His faithfulness in bringing the girls to Indiana and my home for a visit.  As I sit here writing this Blog tonight, my heart is full and I know how blessed the girls have been to be here in my home as one of the girls' words from this afternoon rings in my ears........."The next time we come to Indiana............"  To God Be The Glory!