Finding Friends in Strangers
Before coming to Heritage, I was aware that I would be the only female MSA and even the only female living on the property. When I first discovered this, I was a little nervous, as any girl would be. I had the fear in the back of my mind, but I kept reminding myself to trust in God and the staff at Heritage, knowing that these two men would be good and holy. The first few weeks, and maybe even months, of work were awkward. We were learning about each other. The way we act, the way we work, what we enjoy doing, and what we hate doing. I’m not gonna lie and say it was easy. We all worked so differently that it was frustrating at times trying to complete a task when everyone went at a different pace. About 5 or so months in, it's like something clicked. We became closer as friends, which made it easier to work together. I remember JJ sharing a very personal detail about his life with us. This was so special and opened the door to be more vulnerable with each other. We now felt like we could trust each other with just about anything. This led to many chats filled with laughter, tears, stares of confusion, and just so much support for whatever we needed from each other. We were creating a friendship that would last a lifetime.
When I initially learned that I'd be the only girl at Heritage, sure, I was nervous for my safety, but I think I was actually more nervous about making friends with two random guys I'd never met. I didn’t even know how old they were! I was so scared I'd be stuck with two 18-year-olds… I was nervous about what we'd talk about or what we'd have in common. I remember that soon after arriving here, we started doing our regular movie nights. I had suggested one of my favorites, Avatar, and to my surprise, they were down to watch. I was so excited to share something that I loved with these new friends of mine. As our movie nights continued, they were so open to watching more movies that I loved, like Narnia and The Hunger Games. It was so special to share things we loved with each other and see how the other person would react! Music was also something we all loved. On long car rides, or to pass the time doing laundry, we'd all pitch in on the Spotify queue. Here we were, three 24-25-year-olds, jamming out to High School Musical, Camp Rock, One Direction, Benson Boone, Brandon Lake, and everything in between. I was so blessed to be placed with two wonderful men who shared so much in common with me.
So, as some of you may know, I'll be staying here for another year, which means more MSAs will be joining in the fall. When I was deciding to stay here longer, I made a pros and cons list of leaving and staying. One of the cons on the staying side was having to do this work without JJ and Charlie. It took so long for us three to learn how to work together, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go through that again. After some prayer, I decided that wasn’t enough of an issue to alter my decision to stay longer, and I'm actually excited to teach the new MSAs and learn to work with them. It might be difficult to work with new people at first, but we'll learn and adapt. Plus, I'll have a roommate this year! I’m excited to actually live in community with someone and to have another female my age on the property! Please pray for me, KaCie, Joey, and David as we start our next journey at Heritage together. Also, pray for JJ and Charlie as they take on the next step in their life.
