And June Begins

A couple more weeks have gone by... no... have FLOWN by! Lectures have been great as speakers continue to be more and more amazing! And last weekend we made a trip down to Miami with two other schools (School of Evangelism and Basic Leadership School). We spent both Friday and Saturday nights volunteering to help the police department during the big Memorial Day events. It was our job to help with crowd control where all the clubs are located... basically keeping people out of the streets so as not to get hit by cars and asking them to abide by the laws of the city so as not to get arrested. We started this at 7:30pm Friday and stayed out until about 4am. Then a few hours were spent sleeping on the floor of a church, eating some food, and back out at 7:30pm to do it all over again. This was a pretty cool opportunity - to be involved with the church in Miami Beach and their interaction with the community and police department. All in all, it was definitely an intense experience!

This morning was one of my most favorite things yet! We normally have worship and intercession with the entire base on Mondays... but today was unique! The School of Worship set up the entire room with multiple stations allowing for different types of worship. One station had a big bag of soil, little pots, and all kinds of flower seeds. This represented life and creation with the Father. Another station had a Christmas tree with a plate of cookies, little presents under the tree, and a box to put a note in. The presents were a list of the gifts of the Spirit... and we could write a note to the Father. Next to that was a big table with paints and brushes and newspaper and blank pages for us to create something for Him. Then there was a table with pens and paper for you to write a poem or song or draw something. There was a separate area behind that, a secret place, with a mirror to see how wonderfully you were made. And the last station had fire (a candle), wind (a fan), dirt, dust, and water... all with verses corresponding to them. The whole room was covered with candles and filled with worship songs from around the world. Of course, I'm leaving out SO many details! If you know my heart for worship... you know how incredibly impacting this was!

Outreach is only 3 weeks away... CRAZY! Plans have changed a bit... we're going 3 different places instead of just 1. And finances are coming in... exciting!... please keep those in your prayers.

More Fun

Wow, thank you for all the comments and encouragement!

So, it's been a couple weeks and of course... MUCH has happened! The speaker we had this week shared about the character and nature of God and just... wow! He went deep into topics and really got everyone thinking... showing us many different perspectives and pulling up programs with Strong's and Young's and different translations of the Bible. I, of course, couldn't get enough of it and even spent our lunches and dinners at the tables he chose to sit at. I know some of you are now chuckling as you envision me following this gentleman around... it makes me smile as well. But seeing who each speaker really is, not just as they are sharing in front of a class, but how they are at lunch and just spending time with people... that's what I seek!

I've received some special things in the mail. For those of you who were apart of that (and you know who you are), thank you so much. There could not have been more perfect timing... even the package that started months ago... so special!

My health has stayed intact, yet some here have been battling colds and bronchitis. If you have a moment, please lift them up in prayer. We need them for the days we have community recreation! The most recent activity was soccer and was such a blast... my team won of COURSE!

Preparations for outreach are getting better and better. We're starting to learn much about the cultures where we will be visiting. Oh, and I forgot to mention it in the first blog but... we have challenges each week that involve things like “wear same pair of shoes all week,” “eat everything with chopsticks,” “only take cold military showers,” and others. This week is the coolest so far, but you have to email me to find out what it is... top secret!

Anyway, it's fun to share a bit about what's happening here. Until next time...

It is time!

Though it has taken me quite some time, I finally created this blog. As a perfectionist, I really wanted to make this... well... perfect. Ha! But I change my mind. Instead it will just be simple and sincere. So... first, let me say... hi! I'm currently sitting on my back porch (one of my favorite places), typing away at whatever comes to mind. It's crazy to think I've been here for over four weeks already. And what an amazing time it has been! Let's see... the first week was just some orientation stuff. But starting the second week – oh man – it is impossible to put into words all that has happened. The classes focus on a specific topic each week, with a different speaker from different parts of the world for each topic. Right now our focus is on “The Holy Spirit.” Everyday, God has been molding my heart and mind in such tremendous ways. There is always something new and wonderful and... deep. It is overwhelming at times. He's also been strengthening me physically, by providing so much good food... seriously there is so much food to eat here all the time! And as a result, I'm happy to say I've gained a few pounds... But classes are only a small part of what we do each week. What is done the most I think is prayer... lots of prayer... for lots of places, people, things, corporately, individually... everyday. It's awesome! There is also lots of work and chores to be done around the base, which we are assigned to do every afternoon. Mondays are my favorite because I was chosen out of everyone to assist with vehicle maintenance. So I'm learning all about the basics for maintaining multiple vans and cars, each week advancing to more technical stuff. It's pretty sweet! But each day is different, filled with many different activities, responsibilities, and opportunities. Everyone in the DTS (Discipleship Training School) has been developing such special friendships with each other, the staff, and people in other schools. It's beautiful to see how unique each person is... to see into their hearts... We each have our own story to tell, and all are completely different. And many times I just step back in awe of how creative God is. What a privilege it is to be here...