What a start to the Fellows 2017 class. Our first day, the nine of us met each other, all the staff and pastors, all the mentors and host families, and the fabled Ashley Crutchfield and then immediately left to spend the weekend together at the beach. After so much stimulation, it was good to get away and start to get to know each other. Personally, I came into the program desperate for peer community, so being thrown into a group of 8 others, each with intriguing lives and each with a desire to seek the Lord, was exactly what I wanted and needed. Though some of my expectations for the Fellows program have been shattered already, the one for community seems to be on track.
This will be an incredible learning experience. Already we’ve invested incredible time and effort into building and maintaining relationships. I’m confident we will hurt each other, we will have to seek forgiveness, we will forgive, and we will grow in ways we never have before. And that makes me really happy. Conflict when dealt with leads to stronger relationships.
There’s something really sweet when a group of nine that met a month ago misses each other when we’ve been apart for a few days. A group that has committed to love each other intentionally, though imperfectly. A group that has covenanted to seek Jesus more than anything else.
I love that this program is giving us the space to listen to stories and tell our own. Story is so important. Ours is just beginning.
J. Nordstrom