Blessings through an unexpected hospital visit

    By now I'm sure a lot of people have heard about our illness in Poland. But I wanted to share some of the good things that came out of the sickness. Though it was not in our plan to get sick and to spend time in the hospital I believe it was always a part of God's plan for our trip. 7 from our team of 16 (me being one of them) ended up spending a few days in the hospital which at first was very tough for me to understand. I'm not proud to say this, but I kept thinking the first night I was there, why is it that we've been planning and praying for this trip for over 6 months and now half of us from the camp are sitting here in the hospital helpless when were here to serve, how is this your plan God? 
      It was a huge stretch for me because along with being away from home, understanding no polish with nurses that only understood polish, Elizabeth and I ended up in a separate hospital from the rest of the team. Mike came in one night and he said to me, "Alexis how big is your God, ministry happens everywhere. Look for God in this" So as we went on another day not knowing if/ when they were ever going to let us out I quickly realized this was an experience where God was all I had to lean on. Literally we had nothing with us not knowing how long we'd be staying there but also I had no one there that I would normally lean on to comfort me. God had to be my comforter and my peace. The night Mike came in and told us we would be signed out of the hospital the next day felt like the anticipation of Christmas eve and that's when I was really able to start seeing God in this.
     It started with a huge appreciation for my family and my friends. I also realized that God always has a plan and even when I don't see it or understand it, he knows the details. God's plan is so much better then mine, so he's someone worth putting all our trust in. It was nobody's plan to go to Poland and spend three days in the hospital. But because of it we were all stretched and out of our comfort zone. I learned so much just from being sick in a polish hospital.  
      Another blessing that came out of it was the polish students who were at the camp that ended up in the hospital had to be signed out by their parents in order to go back to camp, so Tyna who is continuing to run younglife in Poland throughout the school year, now knows a lot of the parents she otherwise might not have met. 
     It was totally God's timing when we got sick because we got sick in the middle of the week, so the polish kids had enough taste of camp that most of them wanted to come back even after being in the hospital. If we had gotten sick any earlier most of the kids probably would have went home, and if it was any later we wouldn't have gotten the chance to finish camp all together. 
      The last couple days at camp everyone had an overwhelming amount of love for one another. Both in our team and throughout the camp between the polish teens and leaders as well. We all were so happy to be safe and healthy, together. I learned the value of people this week and I also learned that even when I have doubts God is there, he cannot be put in our boxes of how big he is. I think I can speak for the team in saying it was a stretch for us all but nobody would change a thing that happened. 
-Alexis