I feel like I've been running a marathon.

Yesterday:

I woke up about an hour and a half before I had to leave for work and hit the snooze button about 10 times. I fell asleep during my break, and got woken up by a customer. It was an extremely exausting day overall.

I got to share Christ with one of the managers. Her name is Joanna and she came over from France with her husband and two daughters. She believes some in Islam because her husband grew up muslim. It turned out to be a good talk. Then after work I got to take home some guy who needed a ride. His name was Elizer. We got to talk for about an hour after I had drove him to the place he was going. He was brought up catholic but had been taught lots of other religions. He has an emotional disorder that causes him to have extremes of emotions (can cry or get angry easily). I followed him through most of the gospel, but it seemed like he just needed to talk about his hurts. He really opened up which was really good.

Mostly the thing holding him back was that his mother would disown him if he became a believer, and so I was able to get his number and he seemed really interested in going to church with me this upcoming Sunday, so we'll see. It was an exausting conversation, and was tough considering I was already about to fall over from exertion. At the end he said if I told Carmen (one of my managers) about any of what he told me about his life (he has a crush on her), then he would kill me. He wasn't joking either. It was sad for me that he felt that way, and didn't trust me. It was confusing and I didn't really know how to react.

It reminded me that my protection lies in the Lord so I don't need to be fearful. He's really close to coming to the Lord. He's just a little confused. That's all.

The rest of the day was good. I was able to take a shower after work and felt some energy returning as I listened to Switchfoot while I was in the shower.

Tonight was accountability with the guys and we had a good time chilling and talking as we smoked cheap cigars. We have been talking about the importance of accountablity. We talked a little while with some 17 yr. old girls who were just interested in talking about sex and making us feel like pieces of meat. They used extremely crude language and seeing that they were at no place to hear the gospel, and were just content in mocking us, the conversation was abandoned shortly after I told them I felt very disrespected by how they were talking to us and felt sad that they had such little respect for themselves. Maybe their might have been a way to share with them, but their language made me want to lose anything I had eaten that day, right their on the sidewalk.

As we went back to having accountablity, I was so sad that I had experienced that. I didn't know that young women could become like this. What caused it? Was it a broken family? Demonic presence? Insecurity? Hurt?

Oh, Satan is very pleased.

So that's my day. It was a refreshing run, but I can't help but feel tired. I keep on thinking about the end of this project, and how I see it as the finish line. The truth is it isn't a finish at line at all but probably the starting line. I'm not sure whether to be excited about this or to start running in the opposite direction. Their are times in the race when people hand out those little green gatorade cups full of water while your running. I'm tired and I need that.

I want to take a little sip and dump the rest of it on my head.