...and looking ahead!

Hopefully this girl can get used to me living with her because I am moving in with her in January! Why? Because my family is on the move again. They are going back to Oregon. Dad is going to be working with CEF back in Douglas County. It is crazy to think of. 

Our house is for sale.

However, I am not going with them. 

I am going to continue attending Moody. I am hoping to finish out my time at Moody Spokane with a degree in Intercultural Ministry. 

But this means that I have to be out by January 10th. So, packing again. I am working two jobs right now and moving. It is gonna be a great Christmas break. I am really excited about living with my friends and attending Moody without my family here. Don't get me wrong, I will miss them, but I am looking forward to being more of an individual. 

Well, now you are all up to date! Keep us in your prayers, lots of work ahead of us. 

Looking behind...

It has been a long time since I last posted. I guess I should update you on a few things.

The first half of October was really hard. With the shooting in my hometown and losing a cousin, the month was off to a bad start. 

But by the end, I was able to pick up and keep going. 

I finally got a job. I am working at Kohl's as a cashier. This is a creepy picture I took of my friend working. She did not know this was taken. 
I have enjoyed working there even though it is boring. I had a really hard time learning everything at first, but now that I've got the hang of it I feel a lot better. 

I also got to help with a harvest festival. We did Gospel facepainting. Not very many kids came through, but it was still great to get out. 

This was one of the first years that I actually did something on Halloween. My friends and I carved pumpkins and cooked the seeds.

Then some of us dressed up and went to a Moody party where we ate candy and drank cider.

Then I became a Washington resident. I am sad to no longer be an Oregonian, but Oregon will always be home for me!

Then I turned 21. I had a few friends come over to eat food. We are really weird people. 

 I have been so thankful for friends this year. Last year I was really having a hard time with not finding close friends, but this year I have really got to know some people. I love them a lot.

The meaning of life...when tragedy strikes!

As most of you probably heard, there was a shooting at Umpqua Community College yesterday. This is the school that I went to a few years ago. 

In the face of this horrible event there is something to remember. God loves us. God loves you. God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to die for our sins. That is the most important thing. Not gun control, not infamy, not politics, not even community. Jesus is the most important thing. In this time of tragedy we need to turn to Him for comfort and healing. 

One day when Heaven is filled with His praises

One day when sin was as black as could be

Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin

Dwelt among men, my example is He

Word became flesh and the light shined among us

His glory revealed

Living, He loved me

Dying, He saved me

Buried, He carried my sins far away

Rising, He justified freely forever

One day He's coming

Oh glorious day, oh glorious day

One day they led Him up Calvary's mountain

One day they nailed Him to die on a tree

Suffering anguish, despised and rejected

Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He

Hands that healed nations, stretched out on a tree

And took the nails for me

One day the grave could conceal Him no longer

One day the stone rolled away from the door

Then He arose, over death He had conquered

Now He's ascended, my Lord evermore

Death could not hold Him, the grave could not keep Him

From rising again

One day the trumpet will sound for His coming 

One day the skies with His glories will shine

Wonderful day, my Beloved One, bringing

My Savior, Jesus, is mine

Living, He loved me

Dying, He saved me

Buried, He carried my sins far away

Rising, He justified freely forever

One day He's coming

Oh glorious day, oh glorious day

 

O soul, are you weary and troubled?

No light in the darkness you see?

There’s light for a look at the Savior,

And life more abundant and free!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace.

Home

 Well, the family was all together again! I missed them a lot. My amazing family drove all the way across the United States to get me. They picked me up in Little Rock and then started heading towards Missouri.

On the way we stopped in Memphis. We just visited Bass Pro and the visitors' center.

 In Tennessee we found these beautiful butterflies. The picture does not do them justice. We also got chowed my mosquitoes. My feet look like I have leprosy or something. We did not like Tennessee very much.

The last night camping as a family. We found Kentucky much more agreeable. 

My baby brother. He is interning at CEF International Headquarters for a year then attending CMI. I miss this weirdo. 

After dropping Daniel off we continued our journey West. We encountered bad storms in Iowa and part of South Dakota. After our first night in South Dakota the weather cleared. We saw bison; mom and I hid from them in the camper when he got too close.

Mount Rushmore was pretty cool! 

My silly sis. Man, I missed this girl. 

This year I attend Moody again. I am still unsure of what degree I want to go for, if any. I have debated on getting a communications degree via transfer to Chicago, but I don't think I want to go that way. I am also considering a degree in Intercultural Studies in Spokane. I might also want to get a degree in Sound Engineering; I think that would be fun. 

But first to get through this year. I will not be writing on here very often. I will try to keep my Facebook page fairly updated though.

Please pray for:

Concentration on schoolwork

To get a job

To enjoy the time with my family

Week 9: TCE 1

This last week I taught my first TCE 1 course. The course was held in Oklahoma City. It was the first time I had ever been in Oklahoma. One of the first days we were there we watched a documentary on tornadoes. As we were watching the lady we were staying with kept pausing it to tell us how far away they were. "Oh, this video was taken about half a mile to the West of us."  Thanks for that comforting thought. I was so thankful that it is not tornado season.

 The classes went very well. I passed all my practicums. I had to evaluate a few students. That was my least favorite part. I enjoyed teaching, but having to grade someone scared me.

 When we got done with classes around 5pm we ate dinner and studied late into the night. I thought this meme would be appropriate to share.

Over all it went really well. The students learned a lot (almost as much as the teachers) and are ready to reach children. 

In 12,229 minutes (give or take) I will see my family! I am so excited to see them! Please pray for safe travels  for them as they journey across the United States next week. 

Week 8: Stuff

This has been a long week. On Sunday Danielle arrived. I was not sure we would get along (to her credit neither did she) but we got along great. The first night we tried so hard to be responsible and sleep; but after trying to just sleep we decided to just get up and watch a movie. We started it at midnight. Three AM we were finally asleep. 6:15am came quickly. I will say that for so little sleep we functioned quite well. We had a student (for the internet's sake I will call her Susan) that we worked with. We met at McDonalds and talked about the day. On Monday she just observed, but Tuesday she started teaching and by the end of the week she had taught Memory Verse, a Song, TCC, and the Missionary Story. She did a great job!

I really enjoyed having Danielle with me. We did all kinds of crazy stuff. We dyed our hair twice. She wanted purple, but it turned out red; so we added blue. She now looks like the USA flag threw up on her. We both thought it turned out great. It also dyed my hands; I love the new look.

We also went shopping. I found this amazing coat that I wanted to get so bad, but I am a cheap person (thankfully) so it had to stay in the store. 

We did get Susan a Bible. At the beginning of the week I ask her to bring her Bible the next day and she told me she did not have one. We got her one and put her name on it. The look on her face was priceless. She loved it. 

This week is TCE 1. I have all my lesson plans DONE and now I just need to prepare and teach them. Please be praying for safe travel to Oklahoma City and back. Also pray for the instructors. Pray for my lessons to go well and to pass my practicums. Pray that I will not get sick (I am not feeling great today) 

THANK YOU! :)

Week 7: The Strenuous Trail

And I mean literally. When it is about 90 degrees and you are sprinting up a "strenuous" trail, it is strenuous. This was taken before. Wednesday we went hiking at Mt. Nebo state park. We got there around 10am when it was not too hot. (It was still really hot).

If you have not caught on, I like to stand on the edges of cliffs. 

Sometimes I like to climb them too

Or sit by them

And sometimes I just have to break dance on them. 

Ok, we all know I couldn't do that. 

Then what am I doing? 

hmmmm...

At the end of August people from all over come and hang glide off this mountain. These are the two places they jump off. 

As you can tell, I really wanted to fly too. Maybe someday...

Obviously this week has been full of lots of fun, but there has been lots of work too. Monday, Tuesday, and Friday we attended and observed clubs being done by a few students we trained in June. They did a GREAT job. We were very impressed. There was two groups of teens that each taught two clubs. Over the course of the week we got to see all four clubs. While there were no salvation decisions that we know of, there were definitely seeds planted and I know that the student teachers learned a lot. 

TCE 1 is coming up! I have 4 of my 5 lesson plans done and am feeling a lot less stressed. Thank you for your prayers. 

This weekend's CYIA was cancelled/postponed due to only having one student signed up. Although this is sad it also freed us up to study this weekend. Also, next week we will be teaching clubs and having this one student learn "on the job" by watching us, getting coached, and then actually teaching.  

Prayer for this week:

-Finishing my last TCE lesson 

-Getting studied up to teach

-Energy teaching two clubs next week and training a student 

WeeK 6: Memphis

"If I take one more step, it'll be the farthest away from home I've ever been." -Samwise Gamgee

"I have no idea what you just said, but I think you just invited me to play the bass in front of all these people."  The next few minutes were panic filled. I didn't know any songs off the top of my head; even if I did it would be on keys and no one would know it. I racked my brain for solutions. I almost got up and left. I didn't know what to do. What if I had misunderstood him? But then the lead singer called me up. I hopped onto the stage. He asked my name and what blues songs I knew. I said I didn't know any. He asked if I knew how to play the 5 string bass. I said no. He motioned at the bass player and said, "give her your bass." he handed me a beautiful purple 5 string bass. He told me the chord and how long to play them, then we jumped in and did a song together. 

Another few items  crossed off my bucket list. Going to Tennessee and  being randomly called to preform with a band. However I did imagine singing. I also did not foresee playing blues with a secular all black men band. Best day ever.  

 This was just part of our day trip to Memphis. We also went to Bass Pro and Central  BBQ. 
Then we went to the National Civil Rights Museum. The museum was an extensive history of the black people from slavery in America to the present. It was very interesting. I did not know most of it. The museum was in the motel that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in. There was so much to read and learn. I want to go back again some time. 

After that we went to Beale Street where I got to play bass with a random band playing in an open air venue. That was great fun. Then we went to BB King's Blues Club. There was a live band playing. They were really good. After hanging out at the club for a few hours we drove home. I slept most of the way home. 

The other days of the week we got to observe a 5-Day Club being conducted by CYIA students who attended training a few weekends ago. They did a great job. We could tell that they had worked really hard on each part. We were very Impressed. 

Well, this week has potential to be a very stressful week. We have another Church CYIA training to teach this weekend on top of what I need to get done for TCE 1. I need to finish 5 lesson plans and a devotional by the 22nd of July. I am getting stressed. 

Prayer this week: 

To be focused on writing lessons

To get my lessons done

To be prepared for CYIA (I will teach about 5 hours this weekend)

To not be too homesick

Thank you all so much!