Looking Back at the 2012 Lamplighter Guild {part one}

  So, I finally have the time- and a bit of the brain- to write about my experience at the 2012 Lamplighter Guild.

Unfortunately, if I were to write it all into one post, I fear that I would lose you all after a while.  That's why I have decided to break it up a bit... ;-)

Wow... ok, where to start, where to start...

Well, first of all I suppose that I must explain a bit of the "before"...

First of all I must say, God truly seemed to have His hand on this trip.  You all saw my posts from before the Guild- how I was trying to scrape to get enough money for tuition?  Well, my graduation party just so happened to be a day or so before the funds were due- my dear friends and family were extremely generous with me and the Lord provided more than enough for my tuition.

But after the tuition was taken care of, next came the traveling...  how to get there?

  I had not flown since I was about 4 or 5 and my only option to get to the Guild was if I was to fly by myself.  At first the thought totally freaked me out.  Me, having not ridden on a plane for the past 14 years go by myself- go through security and all that creepy stuff- fly all the way
to New York by myself???  It may sound silly to some, but if you know me, you know that this was way out of my comfort zone.   
 But as it happened, the Lord was pointing everything in that direction- the flights all lined up perfectly for when I needed them- my uncle donated his "miles" to me as a graduation gift so that I could get the tickets for *free*- everything was laid out for me on a silver platter.  So I squeezed my eyes shut, took God's hand, and decided to just trust Him and go outside my comfort zone- because this seemed to be His will.  (This has seemed to be the theme with everything that had to do with my attendance to the Guild- everything just kept lining up in the nick of time...)

After weeks of anticipation- July 15th finally came.

  When my dad dropped me off at security, I didn't have the scary, alone sensation that I had expected- it was more curious- waiting to see what was next in the adventure- with maybe a hint of melancholy.  I got through security without a hitch- nice and smooth- and took the tram to my gate.  After I had I waited for what seemed like forever
(anticipation is a fabulous feeling, isn't it?)  I was able to finally board and get settled into my seat.

...these are some photos that I took with my phone (in airplane mode!) once we got into the air.

It was here on the flight to New York that I learned the first lesson of the week: I am never alone.

(Yes, cue Barlowgirl and Sanctus Real songs- one after the other, "Never Alone" and "Alone")

  God was with me.  I never felt alone- ever.  I kept expecting this terrible, sinking feeling, and a wild sensation of I'm traveling more than 1,000 miles away from my family- to a place that I have never been- with no one to show me exactly where to go, relying solely on what I have been told- and freaking out!  But God held on to me... never did I feel completely alone.  I actually just had a distinct sense of what I would expect "perfect peace" to feel like.  The Lord was with me, what should I fear?

 When I arrived into Stewart/Newburgh airport I went straight for the baggage claim- then right on out to where the Lamplighter Guild shuttle was scheduled to pick me up.  As I was walking up to the rendezvous I noticed a group of respectable looking young people huddled together and appeared to be waiting for something.  I started to approach, "Y'all don't happen to be waiting for the Lamplighter Guild shuttle- are you?"  A grin of mutual recognition tugged at a few faces- including my own.

Thus began the fellowship that lasted all week- a fast bond between brothers and sisters that was clearly evident.  We were going to be spending eternity together- and our faces revealed it.  It was an amazing first impression!

...to be continued.  ;-)