FootSteps 77

By Jake Tobolewski

Hi all,
Footsteps 77 was a simply amazing experience for me personally, and if you were there, I hope that you had a meaningful experience as well.  I hope that this finds you well on the 4th day.  Footsteps is a 4th day community in the sense that we have an experience together as community of believers, but then we have to acclimate ourselves, our new selves, into the world on the 4th day and every day that follows.
The challenges of this acclimation process are profound.  Our friends, families, and classmates did not have the same experience over the weekend, so explaining the change in ourselves may be difficult. However, if Footsteps was meaningful for you, I encourage you to explain what has happened.  Much like the Music Box, our joy was not meant to be kept within, it was meant to be shared.  So talk about your experience where you may be at in your journey with those close to you.
I encourage you to also spend to time reflecting and in prayer this week.  I find writing helps me process my emotions better.  There are a lot of things that were talked about over the weekend that do not have right or wrong answers.  It is not about being right anyway, it is about living your life and making choices that bring you closer to God.  Some of those choices are not the choices that our friends or family would make, so that makes doing the right thing difficult.
I encourage you to stay connected, to support one another.  Going to Footsteps every four months is not enough, you must continue to grow between weekends.  Find yourself a Small Church, that encourages you and causes you to grow.  If you need one, ask your fellow footsteppers or reach out to me.  And remember the importance of reaching out to “the other”.  Being a friend to those who are different, those who are lonely, and those who are in need.
More than anything else please remember that you are so very Loved and Cherished.  I love you all and can’t wait to see you again.
In love,
Jake (The real one)
P.S. GET YOU APPLICATIONS IN FOR SUMMER AS SOON AS YOU CAN!!!  This program is growing and we need team members.  Also, it is never too early for candidate applications!