I can't help but be excited...

This week we welcomed two new couples to Atlanta for a year of Mission Year married.  We also celebrated 6 years of being in Atlanta with Steve, Becca, Drew and Diane this week.  Last night at the opening dinner I shared what I was excited about for this year.  I said something off the top of my head but I started thinking about it more once I left the opening dinner.  What AM I excited about for this team?  I am excited for a year to watch them become a community.  As I set with my Mission Year team this week sharing stories and laughing about our year, I can't help but think about how much work it took for us to become a community!  But now...6 years later, we sit with our 5 (almost 6) kids sleeping soundly and we are as comfortable with each other as we could be.  I am excited for them to get to know their neighborhood and neighbors.  I drove through my Mission Year neighborhood this week and had to stop three times to get out of my car and hug people that I have known since I lived in Atlanta (I LOVE Atlanta).  I am excited for them to use public transit!  I learned a lot while sitting on a bus.  I am excited for them to stay up late playing games and laughing together.  I am excited for them to read books that will challenge them and cause them to ask questions about the world around them.  I am excited for them learn how to live with less (which includes grocery shopping on a very small budget).  I know that I am an easily excited person, but seriously, this is good stuff!  More than anything though, I am excited to see Jesus come alive in them as they live out this call to love and be loved...to serve and be served...to listen and learn.  I am excited to see them cling to a Saviour who cares more about their neighborhood and injustice than they ever could.  We leave tomorrow morning for Orientation in Chicago.  This is the beginning of what will be a really exciting year!  I feel blessed to be part of it all!