Back to the Burgh

After eight whole months, I am back. Back to the Burgh.

To everyone out there, I am SO EXCITED to be back in Pittsburgh. Like, so excited. There are freshman to be poured into and Burghs to be led and relationships to deepen and friends to spend time with and a beautiful, amazing, perfect city to live in. It has been wonderful to be back in the city, to walk the streets, to breathe in the (not so) fresh city air. I’m almost completely settled in to my new apartment in Highland Park, with my amazing housemate Cici, and it has been a joy to experience a slice of adult life with her for the past week. And by adult life, I mean buying our own kitchen curtains and calling our rental company because we find out our laundry machine doesn’t actually function… it’s been quite an adventure so far. I finally have a familiar routine (waking up at 7am every day and driving 24 minutes to campus, what a commute), which has been helpful! It has been a challenging transition, though, without a doubt. It’s difficult to seamlessly transition anywhere after being gone for such a long time, and it has proven to be quite an emotional undertaking. It seems like I’ve been moving from place to place to place too much over the past year. Since the end of last fall semester, I have only stayed in one place for three months or less. What made this bearable, though, is that I never stopped following Christ. The supporting details of my life have been changing often, but my identity in Christ has stayed the same. And I’m excited to really live that out this fall, by serving those around me and those within the h2o community.

Today marks the beginning of the second week of classes, and I’m excited for this semester’s challenge! It is a little sad to be back in a lecture hall after my last classroom was the streets of Rome. But, I’ll survive. I’m taking three speech courses, which is absolutely amazing, considering my last course load was completely unrelated to my major! My classes this semester are Intro to Audiology, Anatomy & Physiology of Speech & Hearing, Phonetics, Global Sociology, Biostatistics II, and Becoming Global Citizens. It should be a fun semester!

So anyway, I miss Silver Bay. I miss the fresh air, the mountaintop views, and the crystal clear lake. Processing this past summer has not come easy to me, for the same reason that’s challenging my transition back to Duquesne. I can remember one instance, towards the end of the summer, where I noticed my mindset changing from wanting to be back, to not wanting to leave. I was sitting in the second to last LT service, listening to my own pastor from my own church. It was what I was longing for, to be back in Pittsburgh! It was what I wanted, to leave this place of stress and trials, to be back in the place where I really felt I would thrive again. But as I sat, and as I glanced around the room, at the the people I have come to love, I realized something.

I am going to miss these people.

I am going to miss this place.

I am going to miss this summer.

I was shocked to find myself suddenly not wanting to leave. No doubt the result of time spent in prayer, I finally felt surrounded by love, friends, and one of the most beautiful communities I’ve ever experienced. What I finally felt was the reason I came back after last summer, the community. My experience became less about me and my struggles I was going through, and became us. I left so many friends and memories behind, and it makes me sad that we had to part ways. It’s difficult to say goodbye to friends who live so far away. It is a blessing, though, to have such great friends that make the goodbyes so much harder! And I was certainly blessed to bring back so many amazing friends from the summer back with me to Pittsburgh. We had such a great Pitt/Duq crew! This crew has also got me doubly excited to see God’s plans for this this fall and our church unravel.

Our church.

We had our first party and kickoff service this past weekend, and I was blown away by how many new faces I saw and how many new freshman I was able to meet. I even met a Pitt freshman I wrote a letter to, inviting him to join h2o! I ask that you join me in prayer, that these new faces would be encourage to come back, week after week. I’m also praying that our church community would receive them well, just as I was received so well back on my first Sunday of college. We had our first Schenley Burgh meeting this past Thursday, and 27 people showed up! We did not have nearly enough chairs, but praise the Lord! And yesterday, Labor Day, we gathered in Moraine State Park for a day of sun, swimming, and fellowship. A huge group of people came, and it was an awesome to spend the first day off with the h2o family.

So, back to this summer.

Even through the thick of my worst days at the Bay, I was still encouraged by the way God was moving in my life. Whether it was through a rainbow, through my friends, or another way He revealed Himself to me, He was always there. Even when I wanted nothing but to go back home, to go back to Pittsburgh, to be in my h2o community again, God reminded me that I was there for a purpose. He provided opportunities to serve and grow, and people to serve and love. I’m still processing what this summer means for my life back here, but I will tell you one thing: I learned so much this summer. About myself, about who God is, about what community is, and so much else. Looking back, I realized that he was working in my life even more that I every could have known! This summer God really started working in my heart and breaking down walls surrounding my independence. One phrase echoed in my mind for the better part of this summer: vulnerability breeds community. And God provided a beautiful, loving community for me in which to be vulnerable. For that, I am thankful.