Loving Home

Right now I am home. It has been so awesome being home and seeing all my family and friends again. I don't think I ever want to leave again. I feel as though I should write a big long triumphant conclusion to my time at CMI in Missouri, but I can't think of anything to really say right now. I'll try to write updates as things happen. Love y'all (y'all is a word I learned in Missouri, it kinda just means the same thing as "you guys" or "you all") 

CMI Week 12: Home

This week may have been the longest week of my life, but I made it through. I am home!

CMI Week 11: Home Stretch

Every step was agonizingly loud. The leaves crunched under her feet at every movement. She looked out; there was still so much land to cross and so little time to do it. The lights all around made it hard to keep concealed. But maybe she could use that to her advantage. She crouched down into the shadow of a tree. She slowly left her hiding spot and began to crunch across the leaves. No one had seen her, yet. Strangely enough, no one seemed to be around, but the shadows where too confusing shifting for her to be sure. She didn't know what was going on. She crept closer to her goal, but where was it? She knew it had to be close. She darted into the empty fire pit and lied down in it. She looked around but it was too shadowy to see much. She heard someone coming.

“We got it. We got their flag. We win.” She listened and watched for a while. They were holding a piece of plastic in their hands. She left her hiding spot and approached them. “Where in the world did you guys hide your flag?”

Another game of capture the flag was lost. But I had a ton of fun.

This week has been a good week of learning. On Monday and Tuesday we learned about personalities. We had a guest speaker come in and we spent two full days hearing from him. It was very interesting. It was good to know. We learned about ourselves and others.

Wednesday was the CEF World Day of Prayer. We didn't do any classes, but we spent the day praying for CEF all over the world. In the auditorium there was a huge map on the floor. If we took our shoes off, we could stand on it and pray for the nations. It was a great idea. It really showed just how big the work was. We also went around to different room and prayed for the different regions. We had a book of prayer requests from the leaders of each area. It was a great day. In the evening we went to the CEF President’s house for dinner. It was a great time, even though we got there half an hour early. We had a great meal and a great time.

The puzzle is done!

Thursday I got to go to Good News Club for the last time while I am here in Missouri. After GNC I worked on homework and then went to the President’s house again for dessert. While we were there we worked on a 1000 piece puzzle. There was about six of us that worked on it. We almost ran out of time, but we finished it just in time. It was so fun, stressful, but fun.

Friday I got to organize a trip to Steak ‘N Shake (a restaurant that we don’t have in Oregon), and to the theater to watch Thor 2. It was a ton of fun to coordinate and to do.

Saturday we had a pizza party and game night. It was so fun.

I feel like I have written so much and that if I go into more detail I would bore you to death. If you really want more details, ask me about it.

Today was my last day of church here; next week I will be home. I am so excited to be home. I only have six more days here. I can hardly believe that I have made it through. Thank you so much for your prayers. There have been so many times that I have wanted to quit and go home, but I think that you praying for me and all your encouragement have kept me going. I am going to be flying home Saturday at 11am Missouri time and getting into Oregon at 3:45 Oregon time. It is a 6 hour 45 minute flight with one stop. I have the feeling that it will be the longest almost 7 hours of my life. I am so ready to see my family and friends at home.

Now to keep running strong this last week, lots of homework to do and lots of packing to get done. 

CMI Week 10: Heart at Home

“Wait, what time is it?! Did I really forget to set my clock back? Am I late for church? or am I early?” I looked at my watch. My watch was telling me I was late, but iPod was saying I was on time. Thankfully my iPod had automatically changed. I was right on time.

What an awesome thing this time-change. I like the fall time-change. This week I get to get up an hour later, or at least it will feel like it.

With home so close I am starting to think about what I am going to do when I get home. I am going to be working with CEF, I do know that, but a lot of stuff is still up in the air.

This week I did my last practicum of CMI. It was a promotional for Christian Youth in Action. I got to pretend that I was in front of a bunch of teens trying to get them to think about coming to CYIA. It was fun. I actually really enjoyed it.

Thursday I got to go to a harvest party at a local church. We got to do Gospel face painting. We would paint a picture on the child’s face or hand while we were telling them the wordless book story. it has got to be one of the most stressful ministries that we do. It is loud, kids are wiggly, and they are anxious to get out of there. Just before we got there we found out that the church didn't have any face painting stuff for us to use. I had brought my kit, but it was small and meant for one person to use; there was three of us. While two of us started trying to paint, the third girl ran to the store and got more. She was unable to find good paint and had to get some junky stuff. Yes, that night was stressful. I got to share the Gospel with a bunch of children, but I can never tell how much they actually caught. One girl I told the story to, when I ask her if she had ever believed on Jesus to save her; she said no. I ask her if she wanted to; she said no. I tried to see why, but I couldn't. I gave her a tract and she left. Another girl I told the story to said that she had never believed in Jesus before. I ask her if she wanted to; she said yes. I went back and reviewed the Gospel with her again, but when I got back and ask her if she wanted to pray and tell God that she believes in Jesus she said no. She shut down and I wasn't able to do anything more with her. Once again, I gave her a tract and she left. These girls make my heart ache. I know I will probably never see them again, they might never hear the Gospel again. I can only hope and pray that God will move them, that they will remember and that they will put their faith in Jesus.Another thing that I noticed was the costumes this year. Most of them were either dark and evil, or Duck Dynasty themed. It was sad watching small kids come in in vampire and zombie costumes. Witches, black cats, and grim reapers were everywhere. These kids are surrounded by this junk all the time. They need Jesus. 

Home in thirteen days. I look forward to seeing everyone.