I will call upon your name and keep my eyes above the waves.

it just got laid on my heart to write on our blog today. :) but i honestly have no idea what i'm going to write about...

okay! so, last week i was driving down cantrell and messing with the radio. and this song was on k-love:

The days will come when you don't have the strength
When all you hear is you're not worth anything
Wondering if you ever could be loved
And if they truly saw your heart they'd see too much

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are made for so much more than all of this
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are treasured, you are sacred, you are His
You're beautiful

And praying that you have the heart to find
Cause you are more than what is hurting you tonight
For all the lies you've held inside so long
And they are nothing in the shadow of the cross

Before you ever took a breath
Long before the world began
Of all the wonders He possessed
There was one more precious
Of all the earth and skies above
You're the one He madly loves
Enough to die...

and oh my goodness, with everything going on in my heart right now, i just started crying! i realized that the things i've been wanting and chasing after will only lead to hurt, and i was made for so much more than all of this. 

i wouldn't call it a lightbulb moment or anything like that... it was more like, the first rung of a ladder that leads out of a deep hole. 

i find it slightly annoying yet extremely beautiful that God uses our mistakes & problems & struggles to make his truth & promise & love even more glorious. sometimes he has to bring us really low to remind us that he is there and has it under control. 

i don't have much else to say. i still don't really know what the point of this blog post is... but i guess i just want to say that everything happens for a reason. God is going to use your heartache and your struggle to weave a beautiful story whether or not it feels beautiful right now. and sometimes, it gets worse before it gets better, like when i'm doing a deep-clean of my room it always gets even messier before it can be totally clean.

i am struggling. you are struggling. but God is working through that, and i am still beautiful and you are still beautiful.

-r a c h e l

Three Weeks and 1,866 Miles Later

My journey started June the 18th and 4:00 a.m.  Less than two hours later me and eighty other Geyer Springs youth were headed to Orange Beach, AL for Student Life's The Kingdom beach camp.  I learned while I was there that I absolutely love the beach.  Besides that I got to hear Matt Chandler speak on the Kingdom of God all week.  He really challenged us to know who the King is, about His kingdom, and how the Kingdom's people should exist together.  I got to meet a lot of amazing girls that are younger than me that week (I was the only tenth grade girl) but nothing monumental seemed to happened.  I did get to see my secret prayer partner accept Christ and get some big sins off her chest, though I don't know what they were.  It was refreshing to see someone freed from their past.  Like Chandler told us, "The old Matt Chandler is dead!".

From there I was dropped off near grandparents house in Mississippi.  The next day I jumped straight into a three year old VBS class for the next four nights.  Those three year olds taught us as much as I hope we taught them.  Although it was exhausting my time in Mississippi was refreshing as always.   While I was there my aunt returned from Nicaragua a little beaten physically (got two black eyes and bruised nose from playing basketball and had her backpack with her money, phone, passport and Bible stolen), spiritually, and emotionally but with amazing reports!  They saw over 200 salvations in just a week!  Suddenly God I was able to begin seeing how God was moving around me again.  The numbness I had felt and struggled with was leaving.  What a shame it took seeing the big things God does all the time to get my attention!  But that week prepared me for the following.

The 28th we drove back to Arkansas where I had a little more than a twelve hour turn around before getting on a bus headed to St. Louis, MO.

When we arrived on Saturday we dropped our things off in the school/church (Tower Grove) we were staying in for the week.  April, the leader from the church we worked with all week, showed up with two interns and took us to downtown South City St. Louis (the area we did all our work in).  We prayer walked several blocks.  In that hour I learned some of the city's background, its racial makeup, saw a huge gay block party, and later learned about someone who was saved after talking with Caddy, my youth pastor.  Gays have become rampant in St. Louis in the past ten years.  We saw lots of rainbow signs in store fronts and huge flags hung on homes.  St. Louis is also a city that gets lots of refugees.  We worked with people from Napal, Burma, Conga, and then a few other countries in Africa.  Because of this the church, New City Fellowship, was very diverse.  On Sunday morning during service we sung in Swahili, French, Burmese, and I think Spanish.  I can't remember for sure.  But seeing people sing in their native languages and the languages of other people was a reminder of how awesome our God is.  He understood every word even though I didn't know half of what I was singing!  Everyone worshipped in their own way.  Some singing, clapping, dancing, playing the drums, raising their hands or just listening to all the languages.  That evening we divided into our four teams and went to different parks to do "Bible clubs" (basically shorter VBS).

Monday morning started our normal routine.  Most of us stayed at New City Fellowship after breakfast to help with the tutoring program.  (We did have a team gone all day to do a sports camp somewhere)  I was assigned two Burmese boys who just finished fourth grade.  Their names are Mung Pi and Ozar Kay.  Both are super smart and very talented artists.  I mainly helped with their grammar when they wrote since English is a second language.  That afternoon   more of us split up into groups while some stayed behind until the end of the tutoring program.  We had girls go to homes and help with ESL.  We also had people go to a nursing home and others, like me, help with work projects.  Monday's work project was helping at a community garden where refugees can rent a plot of land to grow fresh produce.  Right before we got to the garden we went under a bridge.  It was as if we entered a different world.  We passed from the ghetto to a rich neighborhood within seconds.  The economic divide is that visible all the way through St. Louis down that particular road.

The next day was cool like the day before but rainy.  Sports camp was cancelled along with outside work projects and Bible clubs.  So after tutoring we stayed at the church and took apart room dividers and tables in the basement then stored them on the second floor.  This involved the old complicated elevator that Ben and I ended up being stuck on for almost five minutes before someone realized the button needed to be pushed up on the second floor.

Wednesday was our last day of tutoring because the Fourth was the next day.  We said goodbye to our kids and got to take pictures with them.  When we found out that our work project was pulling weeds along a fence for an invalid, I thought, "Oh, this will be fast and easy".  Once we got there and saw some of the weeds were taller than all of us and as thick around as a small tree, plus the fact that the only tools we had were an old pair of metal scissors, two rakes, and my two pockets knives I thought otherwise.  I ended up cutting down the 'trees' with my knife.  Ben and I also took out a rotted, termite infested tree stump.  As a reward for our hard, hot work Mrs. Cindy stopped at Starbucks for us.

On the Fourth of July we had a community/church wide block party.  We had between 300-400 people there.  I was supposed to be a 'trash girl', but somehow ended up painting complicated designs on people's bodies.  I drew everything.  St. Louis Cardinals, a bald eagle, 'Don't tread on me' cartoon, and on and on.  Later that day we ate Vietnamese food and went to the Arch to see Trace Adkins and the fireworks show.

Anyway, all the fun stuff wasn't the point.  I feel like everyone got to use one of their talents for the Kingdom last week.  We also got tested in our faith.  Some of the teaching of the church were not clearly represented.  Caddy confronted the leaders about this.  I learned that Satan is very sneaky.  We all assumed we were in a place of sound teaching.  But Satan was able to plant a 1% lie in some articles we read the last day as a devotional and confuse some of us.  The three articles, written by the same man, showed different views on salvation than ours.  He also made it seem as if the rich (us) couldn't get into Heaven.  Many of us had to explain how we were offended by some assumptions that April made about our church and how we were using our resources.  She assumed that because of our church's location that we were only serving the 'white flight' in Bryant and not ministering to the lower income minorities.  In the end we all came out stronger in our faith.  We had to refer to the Bible for teaching, not just what our leaders say.

I have been thinking of all of you!  I hope your travels and summers are safe and fun!  I can't wait to see all of you again.  (Ill see some of you at CSU!  Sooo excited about this year.  But we will miss Katie.  ;) )

Love,
Rachel Barber

P.S. Sorry this is SOOOO long but 1,866 is a long journey.  ;)

Crazy Good God

Hey ladies! I miss you all so much and it's barely July! God has done marvelous things in my life through Worldview Academy and United, so here I am to tell ya. :) Starting from the beginning...

Not going to lie, the entire 4-hour-or-so drive up to Springfield, Missouri, I was pretty nervous. I realized that I actually didn't know anyone at the camp and I had no clue what the week had in store. Looking back, I can agree without a doubt that it was one of the best weeks of my life! It was so encouraging to be at a camp with fellow Christ followers, talking about our Savior and worldview as Christians! We talked about leadership, defending our faith, and even some other religions (when we covered Mormonism, I thought of you, Carley!). There was even a little bit of evangelism training I didn't know about beforehand, so that was a pleasant surprise!

Worldview Academy was truly a blessing, but what I learned there didn't end when the camp did. The timing was pretty much perfect- it was two weeks before United. All of the apologetics classes? I felt so much more confident when we went to Panama City Beach! Evangelism? It was so good to go out and evangelize and get back in the swing of things before United. God was so good to me. The week in between the two trips, I was so pumped and ready to set foot on the sand and just go!

And (as the pattern seems to be) God was nowhere near done working.

For United, I had been placed in the largest girls cabin, along with Emily McIndoe, 23 other girls, and Jenn Hartman and Ashley Briggs. I knew less than half of the girls, but sleeping in the big bunk room changed that soon. There was one girl, Kelsey, who's a year older than me (and was another huge blessing that week!). Even before I had finished unpacking and losing things all over the cabin in Florida, He had already shown Em a chance to witness to someone in our group!

I could go into detail and tell stories about our first day on the beaches- exactly a year since the last time I'd been beach witnessing. Or the next day. Even the worship (which was stellar!). But honestly, the best part about the entire trip to Florida was that even though we got rained out the last two days and didn't exactly accomplish what we thought we set out to do, God shattered our expectations and moved in ways we'd never fathomed! I'd thought my purpose on the trip was to meet people on the beaches and lead them closer to Christ. But if that had been my sole reason to go, I would have been disappointed. Jesus wanted to reach those on the beach... and those that weren't.

The last two days got rained out to the point where nobody was on the beaches. I was praying and fasting on July 3rd, the day the rains came. Our huge prayer that day was that God would take the rain away, or do something that could only happen with the rain. The rain continued to pound the roof, hour after hour, and it seemed like nothing was happening. Late into the evening, it was still pouring. Everyone was in the cabin, and nobody wanted to leave, so basically we were stuck inside. I tried to clean up some of my things and get ready for bed and instead got 'sidetracked' helping a girl in our room, Lila, convince another girl, Grace, to sing. The three of us were the only ones in the room, and nothing was out of the ordinary.

That's when Lila's best friend, Claire, walked in. She told us that she had something to tell us all. We grouped up in the floor and Claire shared her story. She would pause when others came in to get something because it was a long, personal story. At one point, Elle Maddox walked in, but Claire just continued, including Elle in our little group. Claire's story spurred Grace to tell hers. When the rest of the girls came to get ready for bed, they walked in to see five girls sitting in a big group hug on the floor.

We moved outside so we could keep talking, and we all ended up talking for an hour or so with Jenn. Claire told us later that she had been waiting for the right time to share her story with Grace and I. Lila already knew her story, Claire knew Grace had been in a similar place, and said she trusted me from the moment we first spoke. She had been in the living room with all the others when she felt the Holy Spirit telling her to go to the bunk room. Lo and behold, who else should be in the bunk room but Grace, Lila and I! That night, because of the rain, God literally moved Claire to share with us. It was something I couldn't explain.

God didn't even stop THERE. The other girls knew something incredible was going on, and when our group walked back inside, we found almost everyone gathered on the top bunks, listening to other girls share their stories. They had no idea what we had been doing, and yet here they were, sharing just like we had.

Now I'm home, and trying to make some sense of it all. It was so wonderfully unexplainable. Best yet, I talked to Jenn, and I may join their small group as an assistant leader on Sunday mornings! Lila and Claire are joining, and Grace is already a part of Jenn's small group. I have a chance to continue to disciple these precious girls, and I'm loving it. :)

All I can say is that God is so, SO good! There are no other words I've found.

I love you guys and I can't wait to see you all again!!
Much love, Katie

Volunteering!

Hey everyone!
It looks like we'll be volunteering at The Sparrow's Nest on February 18th! We can all meet up at 9:00 that morning and help paint furniture until 2 or 3 that afternoon. Please bring a sack lunch and water along if you want to have something to eat :) Also wear paint clothes! Afterwards we're going to Purple Cow for shakes (my treat) to celebrate my birthday! If you guys could give me a head count of who can come by Thursday, that would be great so that I can let Jojo (one of the volunteers) know. Thanks girls!
Love, Bethany

Basketball 2.0

Ok, Rachel told me that the game is at Bryant High School in building number 1 and starts at 5pm. Would it work for everyone to meet at the Starbucks down in Bryant (by the Target and Kohls) around 4pm? Let me know whatever works for y'all :)

Basketball Game

Hey ladies! Is anyone interested in meeting at a Starbucks before we go to Rachel B's basketball game and getting some coffee? Just an idea; let me know what you think!

Love, Bethany (or Beth, or B-swizzle, or whatever else you want to call me)

Undescribed Prayers.

So, where do I begin? Really, with New Year gone and so much going on, my life is full! And thus, these requests...

I guess a good place to start would be tonight... which just happens to tie into India and such. First off, I felt really bad about my reaction when I heard somebody was going. I didn't mean that in a bad way at all, it just shocked me because that was a side I hadn't seen coming. So in that way, it's a really good thing she's going, because I really ought to get to know her better.

But on to the significant, leave-me-speechless stuff.

I think God has a sense of humor. With everyone. Me? I think He just loves to take me by surprise. Cause it happens a lot. OGN? Last summer, that was definitely not on the top of my list. And look what He did!

You'd think I would learn from that. But I didn't. On the two hour place ride back, I was already making plans. I desperately wanted to return to OGN. Since FSM has gone every year that I can remember, that wasn't an issue. Until months later, when I was talking to Lane and Mr. Denny. Come to find out that night, FSM wasn't taking a group to San Diego this year. No, instead, God twisted it a little. Right when I thought my dreams were 'crushed', Mr. Denny mentions that if you'd ever gone on OGN, you can help with United this year. I was told I had the chance to be a student leader in the beach witnessing track. Well, obviously, I made plans. That's on my list.

Then came Guatemala. I knew I would be doubling up on Spanish anyway, and I knew a lot of people who went last year. It sounded like a good deal, especially since my dad wants me to go on a mission trip to a Spanish speaking country at some point. I made plans.

Honestly, when India finally came up in conversation, my first thought was "Oh, that's cool. But I don't need to worry about that. I mean, there's no way. There's so much I could do. Not happening."

Can't you just hear God smothering a heaven-splitting laugh? It's almost like I'm on one of those shows where the audience knows something the characters don't. No joke.

That's when things started to get strange. At first, it wasn't anything huge. I knew one person planning on going... then two... then three. All three were from the OGN team. Not so weird. No big deal. Oh, the timing already works cause Mom and Dad will be home anyway? Cool.

So God decided to get my attention. I had been talking to someone about all three trips that morning, then India showed up in a class conversation. Huh. Okay. It brought back memories of the tsunami that hit India really hard when I was in first or second grade. With it came memories of all my grade school friends- all but one were Indian. The next day, someone was talking about it. At home, I was "youtubing" something with Mom, and it led to videos about that same tsunami that I remembered. I spent a couple hours that night watching it and thinking. The next Sunday, I happened to have free time and got talking with Joy, who felt called to India for life. She felt called in tenth grade, and she noticed because it started popping up everywhere. Even in her World History book.

Now it's even more extreme. One of my Indian friends just got a number where I can text her instead of calling. I started World History yesterday and today? We talked about India.

I had to think about this. It begged attention. I noticed that all the things that made me feel 'called' to Guatemala were either people planning on going, past trip stories, or something I had done to make it easier to go. All the Indian 'coincidences' were out of my hands. I had nothing to do with them.

Tonight, when you, Mrs. Jeanne, told us to pick a verse, my mind immediately went to 2 Corinthians 12:9-10~
 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Shannon Pere and Joy Williams had recently told me that if it's going to be my first third world, overseas trip, I might not be prepared. Most 'newbies' aren't prepared.

My whole life has been built around whether or not I think I can do something. I'm a perfectionist, so if I don't think I'm going to be good at it, I don't do it. I excel in what I do,  but only because I don't try much else. Christ's power is made perfect in weakness. In Guatemala, I would still be in my comfort zone. I'd know Spanish, and I feel like I would be relying more on what I know instead of trusting God to come through. I live like that. In India, where I have a few connections but I'm scared I'll fail, I am weak. I'm not comfortable. Whatever happens, it's not my doing- it's obviously His. Everyone will know that "I can't do this, I've never known how." So if anything happens, there's no doubt God is involved, and I can't take the credit. I can boast in my weaknesses, so His power can work, so when I tell the stories, everyone can see that when I am weak, He makes me strong.

Prayer is always accepted. By the way. :)

"Tolkien" About the Movies...

Hey girls!

I'm super excited about the Christmas cookies we'll be making next visit (Rachel Barber, we'll miss you! Hope everyone else can make it!).

Last Tuesday, right after group ended, Rachel Gaffney and I were talking about a new movie coming out on the 14th of December... The Hobbit. For a while, I've been trying to get a large group of people to go see it together (because group prices should cost less), but Rachel had another idea. Why don't we as a small group go to the midnight premiere?

What a novel idea! (Pun intended...) Rachel said she hadn't been to a midnight premiere, I never have, and Carley, I think you said you went to one for the Hunger Games?  I've heard it's kinda exciting to see it at midnight, when it's showing in theaters for the first time and going with a group makes it even better. We would probably want to meet up at the theater Thursday evening (December 13th) (since it's premiering at midnight, right between Thursday and Friday) so we could enter as a group (six or more I think qualifies as a group). What do you all think?

Chapter 20! Lord, Help Me To Move Into the Future You Have For Me

Howdy girls! :) I'm missing everybody crowded on the couch right about now. Thank goodness small group starts back in a few weeks!

Here we go, the final chapter. I loved how the chapter last week was about learning God's will for our lives and this last one is about moving into the life He made us to live. Kinda goes hand in hand.

As I'm sitting here rereading and figuring out how to start this... it's funny, but this is what we just talked about in church. The first thing I highlighted was the sentence on the first page that says "That means you have no idea how great your future is." We are so totally clueless when it comes to God's plans! But we humans have a tendency to forget that. We forget that we're clueless. We forget that God's got a bigger picture. When we talked about Ruth in church, the pastor used this illustration: "You know when you take your kids to a crowded place? They're just so short, they see nothing but knees and wonder why you took them there in the first place. And you see this every time... the father will lift the kid on his shoulders. Why? To show his child that there's more to it than what he can see." Every once in a while, God 'lifts us on His shoulders' to show us while we have no idea what's in store for us, there's more to it than meets the eye, and He's got everything handled.

The thing is though, it doesn't happen automatically. God gave us free will, so here's a chance to use it. We do our part, He does His. What we can (and are actually commanded to) do is live God's way, and pray. Our life only works when we're living the way God tells us to in the Bible, so if we're not, then we're missing out. By praying about every aspect of our life, we're "investing in our future" (another phrase I underlined).

... girls, God's so clever. Really He is. Get this... so while His two instructions to us are supposed to  help us move into His future for us, they also protect us. I actually marked the phrase at the beginning of the sentence, "The devil's plan for your life cannot succeed as long as you are walking with God..." Another thing we forget. God's not the only one with a plan. Granted, God's is the best and the master plan of all plans, but Satan has a few ideas too. He wants to utterly destroy us by means of temptation and deceit. By praying and living God's way, there's no way the devil's plan for our lives will work out. Not even the shadow of a doubt.

So, to move into God's future for us, we have to live the way God intended us to live and pray. The last paragraph finishes that thought up by saying "God wants to do something great through you. If you are willing to say, 'Not my will, but yours be done, Lord' then He can use you." That's the key. We've gotta be willing. Remember that free will He blessed us with? Sometimes using that free will means being willing to let Him take the controls and letting Him handle everything. Jesus even did this in the Gardens of Gethsemane. He basically prayed and said if there's any other way to save these people, please, let's do that. But God, that's my will. Not my will, but Yours be done.

There's a song by FFH called Undone. The beginning of the chorus pretty much sums it up... "Come undone, surrender is stronger..." By surrendering to God and His plans, everything turns out.

Trust Him, girls. He's up to something. :)
Soli Deo Gloria! Love, Katie

NEHI!!!!

     Well, the weeks I was so excited about are over.  It is so strange to be back home again!  I love waking up to nine other girls in the same room as me.  I love having breakfast in the dining hall.  I love telling people that I will meet them at the cantillion.  I love the counselors.  I love the campers.  I love the camp.  The list goes on. 
     After two weeks doing what I love most, it takes some adjustment to be back home again.  It means that I have to set aside time on my own to read the Bible - I don't have a specific time set aside for that.  It means I have to wake myself up every morning - there aren't fifty other girls in the building to do that for me.  It means I have one bathroom to share with only three other girls - not four small showers, four stalls, and four sinks to share with sixty other girls.  It means a lot of things.  Most of all it means I don't have what seems like an obvious impact on the campers.  But I do.  My sisters are constantly looking up to me (scary, right?).  And here comes another list: what I learned and how I can put it into action.

1. I learned that people watch what I do.  And they listen.  And they repeat it.  And they remember.  For example, I was serving the campers supper.  The supper consisted of mashed potatoes, chicken fingers, a biscuit, and gravy.  Campers had the option of putting the gravy on the potatoes, or beside them.  Now, serving gravy can get a bit monotonous.  "On top or on the side?"  Next camper: "On top or on the side?"  And again: "On top or on the side?"  At some point, I must have been talking too fast, because to one of the senior campers, most likely 12 or 13 years old, I asked him, "On top or underneath?"  He laughed, as did I, and then he asked for them underneath.  I obliged, and the camper behind him (also the same age) asked for the same.  This was Tuesday night.  I wasn't on kitchen duty again until Thursday, and I didn't serve the meal again until that night - that's six meals later.  That camper came through, and asked for his corn underneath his chicken, as did his friend.  Whoa.  He listened and remembered!  It made me watch my language especially for the rest of that and the next week!
2. I learned that I am a total extrovert.  In English, I love people, and thrive on being around them.  Unfortunately, it also means that I care what others think waaaay too much.  Much shorter entry, but way bigger problem.
3. I learned that I can live without a phone, internet, or any other electronic devices.  And live well, for that matter.  Before camp, I would die without my phone.  At camp, there's no service.  It's very freeing, because it just has to wait.  It feels good.
4. I learned that feeling close to God is a choice.  When I choose to spend time with other people and things, I pull away from God.  "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you."  Take it literally, because it's true.
5. I learned that first impressions stink.  Those in my cabin I thought would be stuck up, they weren't.  Oh, and that quiet girl?  She can talk your ears off!
6. I learned lots of other things.  Like how to chop wood.  Who knew how hard it could be?  And how to take a shower with wasps above you.  Actually easier than it sounds.  And how to be open.  Actually NOT easier than it sounds.  The list keeps going.  

   Pray that what I learned will not just be head knowledge.  That I would DO, rather than just SAY.  Pray that I will be able to stay in touch with the friends I met, and that we would all be able to see each other in the coming summers.  Pray that each of us will have a lasting impact, even later, and that we all learned something that will change our lives.  Finally, pray that I can get back into normal life - it's been a bit of a struggle!

   I am so glad for the opportunity I had to serve God by serving others.  Thanks to God for allowing me to be able to go!

coplea

Lord, Help Me Know Your Will for My Life.

Hey girlies! Sorry that this is a day late... It's been a hectic week down in Dallas!

There were several good points about God's will in this chapter...

1. Following God's will does not mean you won't ever have trouble.
Trouble is a part of life. God does not promise that He will always keep us from harm. Danger and sin are all in this world. When we were in San Diego, Mr. Denny told us to "Be safe, but live dangerously." So in a sense, it can be foolish to live in such a way to not protect yourself. But God calls us to live without holding anything back for His kingdom, and this will most always involve trouble, risk, and danger.

2. Following God's will is not easy.
It's not always fun, pleasant or pain free, but God enables us to do it. He gives us STRENGTH to do His will.

3. Following God's will can make you very uncomfortable.
Feeling stretched is a way of life when walking in the will of God. God will ask us to do things that our flesh doesn't want to do. He will ask us to go beyond that!

4. Following God's will doesn't happen automatically.
It's a choice we have to make each morning when we get up. And it's a process to live in accordance with his will. Learning to go against the norm, to be set apart and stand out from the crowd is something that we will have to continue to learn throughout our lives.

This was a pretty good chapter! I hope y'all enjoyed it...

I hope I get to see all you guys very soon as the summer winds down!

Love y'all!
Abi

Of Black Paint and Dirt Roads

I had an AMAZING WEEKEND!!!! ahhhhh!!!  {I sent the following to Ms. Jeanne and she said I should copy it to a blog post... so here it is :) }

i will try to make this brief... i went on a service project trip with my youth group to Glenhaven Youth Ranch (Glenhaven is home to about 15 teens right now that have trouble at home n stuff, but they are NOT special needs kids) and the main purpose of our trip was to do work around the ranch, but i think that being at the ranch was a blessing for both me and for the people living at the ranch. We arrived Friday night and worked on painting fences on Saturday. We are so thankful that no one had any heat-related problems while we were working because we were outside for a long time and it was extremely hot!! We started painting around 8:30 AM, breaked for lunch at noon, and then painted corrals until 2:30. My new friend Alex who lives at the ranch suggested that everyone from Mosaic and from the ranch go swimming at "the Watershed" after we finished painting, so that's what we did!! We spent the afternoon swimming at the lake, and it was absolutely gorgeous <3 we were way out in the middle of nowhere and there was no one else at the lake, and there was this huge platform that we jumped off. It was great to spend time with the kids from Glenhaven and from my church :)

I loved being at the ranch; Glenhaven itself is wayyyy far out in the middle of nowhere, so there's no cell phone signal, no internet, no tv's, no nothin. They have 13 horses, a bunch of dogs, and all the people there (staff and residents) were really nice and welcoming. My youth pastor told me that apparently the groups that go out and volunteer there are always adults, so the teens living at the ranch were really excited that we were there because they don't often get to meet new people since they are living with the same people all the time. I enjoyed getting to know them :) I also loved being surrounded by God's creation with almost NO distractions, not even friend distractions or anything.

We had great times of worship and I was just reminded that God is really all we need. There are so many distractions in life, and all these things that we THINK are important, but in the end none of it matters. So i was just thinking about how we should fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen :)

I also loved working!!!!! I love doing work with my hands and physically working hard, painting fences was right up my alley. Me and my friend Faith and three boys from the ranch were out working pretty much the entire time while everyone else kept taking breaks..... so we are officially known as hard workers. LOL but it was a good feeling :)

OGN- SAN DIEGO!

Hey girls!  
I know you've heard Abi and Katie's experiences on OGN and since I have some time I'll share some of my experiences.  First, thank you ALL for praying for us even at the end of last years small group and throughout the summer.  
It was crazy to see how real God is.  I guess everyday, I dont sit down and think about what God did that day but I did at OGN and it was amazing to reflect on Him.  For me, it was such a great time to get away from my family, Little Rock and my constant phone.  I had nothing to worry about, just focusing on the Lord was our top priority.  It is interesting to reflect now, seeing how much our conversations were Christ-centered and soley focused on God especially for the whole week.  I need to remember to not let this go.  
I do not have a favorite day, all the days were amazing and unique in their own ways.  On the first and second days of the beaches, I was partnered with Andrew Jensen.  It was so cool to get to know him and see His STRONG heart for the Lord!  The first day, nothing too big happened.  Rejections were everywhere of course but we got a few good conversations in.  I was just blown away by how many people think believing in God is crazy and unheard of.  So many of them weren't interested because they "just weren't religious".  It was super eye-opening to see how lost people are; in desperate need of a Savior.  I guess the problem many said that has kept them away is they haven't fully experienced him in their circumstances.  So they think, "Why waste my time believing in this?"  I understand; its hard to just "believe" if you haven't "experienced".  
One conversation I had with Andrew was wonderful and unexpected.  We were walking to end of La Jolla beach because Andrew wanted to see if someone he talked to last year was there, so we walked all the way down, keeping an eye out for the family he talked to.  We didn't see them but instead had good conversations on the way; just learning what others believe.  Our last conversation was with a lady named Tonie.  I saw her in the corner of my eye, trying to avoid her because she looked a little "risky".  She had tattoos all over her arms, red and black hair and was on her phone..Why would she want to talk to us about SPIRITUAL things?!  Andrew asked if we should go talk to her and I guess we were supposed to, so we did.  It lasted quite a while.  We heard a little background on her life, she was raised Mormon (I had to do a project on Mormonism earlier in the year and who would've thought I would ever need to know their background?!..God was faithful there for-sure!).  She grew up knowing all the right things and when she was a little older, made some bad choices.  Thankfully her family forgave her but she seemed to show she still felt guilt.  She is a single mom and wants the best for her daughter; she sends her to church with her parents on Sundays while she cleans the house.  She desires her daughter to be raised up well.  Anyways, she just felt judged ALL THE TIME.  She said one time at work, someone asked her if she regrets getting those tattoos.  I think she was just tired of being judged and felt thats all people do.  It was cool to see how open she was, listening to our stories.  Andrew was able to share what he believed and I shared how I've seen the Lord work in my life.  One of the things she said that I can totally relate with is reading the Bible.  She said she has tried before but when she reads one page, she forgets what she just read and thinks its too overwhelming.  So Andrew had a pocket-sized Gospel of John to give her.  She was super interested and said she will forsure take time to read it.  We prayed over her at the end which was humbling.  It was so sad to see how she has been hurt in the past, yet encouraging to know she was trying little by little to seek something more.  I think it was great for her to be opened to some questions we asked since she mentioned she hadn't thought of spiritual questions in a while.  I was reminded to NEVER JUDGE because from a glance, I have NO IDEA what has happened and is happening to that person.
Also, I got to witness Miss Abi speak fluently to someone in French.  It was so amazing to see how God used her, what she has experienced, to share with others.  The girl did not speak English and of course we needed to know what she spoke, it just happened to be French ;)  They hit it off right then, it was so powerful to just hear them, not knowing a word they said, just knowing that God heard them!  
Another day was with Barrett which was good.  At the beginning, we had a great start, talking to some old women who were believers who gave us a mustard seed with the verse in John about mustard seeds, growing and maturing.  It was so encouraging to know there are people out there who were supporting us!
What a wonderful experience!  I can not wait to do more missions.  Thank you again for your prayers that week :)
<3

Lord, Help Me have Faith for the Impossible

Chapter 18:

Girls, it has been much too long since we have gotten together as a group. I am so thankful for this blog and for your participation in it. I have so enjoyed reading your summaries for each chapter and also getting to hear about your various experiences this summer. Thanks for the entries and sharing your heart.

Today’s chapter pretty much asks the question “how much do you trust the Lord?” Even if you have the tiniest of faith, the Lord can use that. Even if you are like the woman who barely touched the robe of Jesus, just so she could get a part of him, it is enough to start with and then grow. But, the key is that we have to act on that faith. We have to be willing to follow what the Lord asks of us and to trust that He will work on our behalf. And THEN He will actually increase our faith.

He actually allows us to go thru some trials just for the sake of growing us in our faith. Pg. 182 says…”it is in those times, when we are forced to pray in greater faith,  that our faith grows stronger.

Two ways to increase your faith: Read your Bible and Pray. This really is beginning to sound like a broken record. Don’t we hear that all the time? Well, we do. But guess what? That is really what the Lord is asking of us.

Think about this question. It was asked of us on page 183.

What would you like to have happen in your life, or in the life of someone you know, that would require a prayer of great faith?

Think about that now. Really think about it. And once you have an answer, say a prayer right away, asking the Lord to answer that prayer and then keep that in mind and try to keep praying about that this week.

Here is another question. What do you need to be set free from? Think about that for a second. We all have something we need to be relieved of, some burden we carry, some sin we keep falling back into. The enemy wants to keep you in that sin. The Lord wants to relieve us of that burden so give it to Him! Have the faith that it takes to ask the Lord for what you want and the faith to believe it will happen. But, here is the clincher. In His Time. I hate that part but it is really so. He sometimes says yes, he sometimes says no, and he sometimes says “wait a little while” The waiting is the hardest.

I loved it when the author said : “Whenever the enemy tries to tell you that you will never get free of something, drown him out with praise.” Thank Him! I love that.

In summary:

1.     Nothing is impossible with God

2.     When you find yourself in a situation that seems impossible, go to God and Pray about it

3.     Tell Him the problem

4.     Thank Him

5.     Ask Him for a faith that will stay strong even in the midst of challenges

6.     Ask the Lord to increase your faith and not allow you to be in doubt about what he can do.

At the end of the chapter are 3 questions. The first question is asking what we need to have faith for in our life right now and what obstacle would you like to see moved? In my case, it revolves around a financial issue. It is an issue I have been praying about for around 4 years. The obstacle has not moved. God has not changed anything or answered my prayer. In spite of that, I have not stopped praying. I continue to pray, with faith, knowing that the Lord can do anything, in His time. I do trust Him and my faith is increasing! And I do believe that He has us in this situation for a reason and we are already seeing the benefits associated with a burden. Now, that is faith. Faith that God is in it, for our good, for His glory, yet not answering our prayer. It is hard, it is challenging, but He does know best.

Matthew 17:20 If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you”

Musings from Mission in Musanze

The Lord called my husband and me to get involved in Rwanda in the summer of 2010 when we hosted our two students, Theophile and Narcisse, for 5 weeks. Since that time, our hearts have been drawn to the people and country of Rwanda. We are not sure why the Lord laid it on our both of our hearts but He did and for that I am grateful. Due to a series of connections we have with FBC and Rwanda, we both embraced the idea of actually going to that landlocked country in the central/western  part of Africa. Who knew it would take over 32 hours of travel time one way? God did. He ordained all of our steps and he planned that this trip would be a wonderful bonding time for my husband and me and a connecting point for “our boys” and us.

The trip was designed in order for our team to meet the needs of the pastor, sent by FBC, and the campus that he and his wife are setting up in Musanze, a city 2 hours outside the capital city of Kigali. So, our mission was to do whatever was needed to get the campus up and running so that select Rwandan students could go through the 5-7 year program which would ultimately give them an opportunity to start a business in their country and help Rwanda become a more progressive culture.

During the 18 days in-country, we lived on campus and did small jobs throughout the day making the campus ready. Each day we were able to get out into the community for a visit to the local market, visit to a deaf school, visit to a disabled children’s school, visit to a lake, visit to the capital city, visit to a coffee factory and a trek through a typical village. And oh yeah, we saw some gorillas in the jungle, too.

We saw so much poverty and such a completely different way of life than what we experience in America. It was eye opening to see this. We were touched by the joyfilled people of Rwanda who tugged on our heartstrings. 

There were many lessons learned and each team member had a different take-away.  What I heard the Lord speaking to me had nothing to do with Rwanda or Africa. It had nothing to do with their life style. It really had nothing to do with what we did or saw in the villages. It had everything to do with what went on right on the campus. Believe it or not, my “job” was to make about 40 curtains for windows and doors and about 10 tablecloths. Strange thing to do in Africa. Strange to go all the way over there to sew; and not to sew for Rwandans but to sew for the campus, managed by the Americans. Altho a nice side effect was that I was able to teach sewing to one teen on our trip plus a 22 year old Rwandan student. Very satisfying.

What the Lord taught me can be found in these scriptures:

Romans 12:3

³ For by the grace given me^(H) I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. ⁴ For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,^{(I) 5} so in Christ we, though many, form one body,^(J) and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶ We have different gifts,^(K) according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying,^(L) then prophesy in accordance with your^[a] faith;^{(M) 7} if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;^{(N) 8} if it is to encourage, then give encouragement;^(O) if it is giving, then give generously;^(P) if it is to lead,^[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

1 Peter 4:10

English Standard Version (ESV)

^10 (A)As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, ^(B)as good stewards of God's varied grace:

1 Corinthians 12

English Standard Version (ESV)

Spiritual Gifts

12 Now ^(A)concerning^[a] spiritual gifts,^[b] brothers,^[c] I do not want you to be uninformed. ² You know that ^(B)when you were pagans ^(C)you were led astray to ^(D)mute idols, however you were led. ³ Therefore I want you to understand that ^(E)no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is ^(F)accursed!” and ^(G)no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

⁴ Now ^(H)there are varieties of gifts, but ^(I)the same Spirit; ⁵ and ^(J)there are varieties of service, but ^(K)the same Lord; ⁶ and there are varieties of activities, but it is ^(L)the same God who empowers them all in everyone. ^7 (M)To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ⁸ For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of ^(N)wisdom, and to another the utterance of ^(O)knowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹ to another ^(P)faith by the same Spirit, to another ^(Q)gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another ^(R)the working of miracles, to another ^(S)prophecy, to another ^(T)the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another ^(U)various kinds of tongues, to another ^(V)the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, ^(W)who apportions to each one individually ^(X)as he wills.

One Body with Many Members

¹² For just as ^(Y)the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, ^(Z)so it is with Christ. ¹³ For ^(AA)in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—^(AB)Jews or Greeks, slaves^[d] or free—and ^(AC)all were made to drink of one Spirit.

¹⁴ For the body does not consist of one member but of many. ¹⁵ If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? ¹⁸ But as it is, ^(AD)God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, ^(AE)as he chose. ¹⁹ If all were a single member, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts,^[e] yet one body.

²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²² On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, ²⁴ which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, ²⁵ that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. ²⁶ If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, ^(AF)all rejoice together.

²⁷ Now ^(AG)you are the body of Christ and individually ^(AH)members of it. ²⁸ And ^(AI)God has appointed in the church first ^(AJ)apostles, second ^(AK)prophets, third teachers, then ^(AL)miracles, then ^(AM)gifts of healing, ^(AN)helping, ^(AO)administrating, and ^(AP)various kinds of tongues. ²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰ Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹ But ^(AQ)earnestly desire the higher gifts.

And I will show you a still more excellent way.

All 25 of us were there for one thing: to support the Musanze Opportunity Center. We abandoned all our objectives, expectations and desires of working side by side with Rwandans in order to serve AS the Body of Christ with Americans! We all came willing to help in whatever we were asked. We did not know one another very well and yet our team worked together in unity, just as the Lord would want us to.

Honestly, working together day in and day out with “strangers,” doing the Lord’s work, and using what gifts and talents we had, was a picture to me of the Body of Christ; shining our light and giving glory to God. It was pretty amazing.  We are all designed with different abilities and God made us that way to serve his kingdom. He does not want us all to be the same. If we were, the work would never get done. It was through each of us putting ourselves out there to do His work that His purpose for our trip was accomplished. What a picture of The Church. WE are The Church.

I loved spending this time with my husband. I loved doing a mission with him. I loved being of one mind and one purpose doing the Lord's work.

On the campus, there was no gossip, no need to dress up, no need to wear makeup, no judgment, no animosity, no grumbling and complaining, no stress, no concern for safety issues, no theft of our belongings, or anything that could easily impede our call to serve. It was almost as if we were in a little slice of heaven. So, even tho we got to experience Africa, our purpose for being there was to learn how to live in harmony. And that was a picture of how life ought to be. Yes, Africa itself was amazing. Being in Africa was more amazing. Seeing God among us was most amazing.

Chapter 17

Hey Girls!
          So this chapter was just what I needed to be reminded of..How about y'all?  Speaking words that bring life can be super difficult especially when I rely on myself because I always fail.
          The first story was interesting.  Calling that boy "Fat Mike" was hurtful.  Mike may have not expressed his hurt since after all he is a boy, he could have been embarrassed but we know deep inside when we feel for him, we know that label was scaring and he was probably more sensitive than we "think".  I thought it was wonderful that years later, the Lord put Mike on her heart, to pray and confess that horrible sin that not only hurt her but Mike even worse.  Despite the damage done, I'm so thankful God convicted her of her cruel speech.  She is now more aware of the hurt it caused and is probably more compassionate.  "One of areas that can cause the greatest trouble in our lives is located on our face between the chin and the nose...We cant take our words back once we speak them."  I met with Miss Jeanne a week ago and the tongue idea just keeps coming to me.  I know that I struggle with this, not only my speech but even more, my thoughts!  "The best way to make sure that what comes out of our mouth is good is to put thoughts in our heart that are good."  This statement is so true.  I notice myself when I am in the Word and when I am not, my thoughts change.  When I am not in the Word, I have a tendency to be more edgy, rude or unloving.  I recognize when I am in prayer and communicating with the Lord, He brings uplifting, healthy thoughts to my mind.  Therefore, loving, healthy speech follows.  What we think can easily turn into words.            The Bible says we are to "do all things without complaining and disputing" (Phil. 2:14).  I don't understand why complaining is such an easy trap to fall into but its frustrating!  I complain when life doesn't go my way or on my timing, when the weather isn't the way I want it, when my family isn't doing what I want, when my siblings get things that I don't...on and on it goes.  I must remind myself everyday to trust that the Lord is Perfect and is allowing everything to happen in my life because He is in control, never because He messed up.  We always must remember that of course, as I said earlier, it is extremely hard to talk "perfectly" on our own, but it is possible to become more and more like Christ with our speech with His help.  We must ask and desire to speak love and kindness.
          "All of the good things to think about daily" were wonderful reminders.  Two stuck out to me.  Number 4, "Think about whatever things are pure."  When we think about things with no evil, we will not speak evil or tainted words.  Also number 6, "Think about whatever things are of good report."  We should strive to have a positive attitude daily despite our circumstances.  When doing so, negative or discouraging words will not be near.
          "It's important to discern that, and the only way to know when to speak and what to say is to pray for wisdom about that in advance."  James 3:17, "But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving,considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere."  If we ask the Lord for wisdom with our speech, He will help us and give us the words to encourage at the right time.  It is difficult for me at times to just listen and hear what others have to say, instead of just giving advice or my input.  I must remember to ask God to show me what to say.  I must ask God for wisdom to know WHEN to say it.
          "...We shouldn't spend more time talking about our prayer requests than we do praying about them."  I just wanted to say I think we have done a better job of this especially towards the end!  It is always a great reminder for us!  Us girls can EASILY talk to each other about our problems more than praying to God about them.  But lets keep up the good work during our prayer requests time!  :)
          A few last things to remember to be conscious about this week..."With our words we will either build lives or we will tear them down."  We have a choice, maybe we can all wake up first thing in the mornings and ask God to help us show His love to everyone around us through our speech.  One of my favorite verses that I have above my bed in my room is, Psalm 51:10, "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."  Sometimes I don't even notice this verse but it needs to be my prayer every morning for-sure!  "It has the power to save, deliver, heal, provide, protect, and so much more.  Using it profanely huts off these very things from our lives."   ^{James 3:5-6, 9-10 "}Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.  The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.  With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.  Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be."

          Have a wonderful week girls!  I love and miss ya'll so much!  I cant wait for our photo shoot and sleepover so we can ALL catch up!  I'll try to write about OGN soon ;)May you feel God's presence today and EVERYDAY!

Chapter 17!

Hey girls!
Sorry I have not written my post yet for the next chapter...I am visiting family and am hoping to write up in the next day or two.  Forsure by Thursday maybe tomorrow morning.  I am soo sorry!  Please know that I HAVE NOT forgotten and love yall very much :)  I will get to posting soon!
Hope you ALL are having a BLESSED, JOYFUL week!
In  Him,
~Carley

Mission trip to Nashville and Chapter 16

Hey girls!

So i have not actually been on here at all since we made it and i feel quite bad about that, but ive been having a verryyy busy summer! Probably one of the most busiest ive ever had. Nashville was quite amazing! Nothing like New Orleans! It turns out that the VBS we thought we would do was in a government-run recreation center. We were not aware of this until we arrived, so we were not able to share the gospel unless the kids asked. But, we all came up with creative ways to share it. We performed a puppet show using Bible stories and told them they were true. We, actually, only had Elmo, a rabbit, and a sock as puppets, so Elmo was Jesus and even died on the cross and arose. It was pretty funny, but we made it work and hoped God would use it. ;) I, also, had the opportunity to share the salvation story with two little girls, because we were making bracelets. I put the salvation colors on mine and they asked why. I was not able to lead them to Christ, but I thank God that I had the opportunity to share about Christ with them. Other than the VBS every morning, we spent two hours in worship every night, which was an incredible experience and I learned so much. I put together a video of the trip, which is on “YouTube”, if you’d like to see it. It’s called “FSM United 2012” :) 

So for the chapter of the week!

"Lord, Help Me Be Safe"

This chapter was quite short and to the point. Everyone has concerns about safety. She talks about a story where she skidded on black ice on a narrow 2 lane highway! She was praying so hard throughout the whole thing for God to help her be safe. & she was in Gods hands and it was awesome that nothing happened to her or anyone else! Its always an important thing to remember to pray for yours, and other peoples safety. Here was one sentence i liked: "In those precarious moments, when your future is hanging in the balance, you want the confidence of knowing you have been communicating with your heavenly Father all along and he has his eye on you." I have personally experienced answers to prayer about my safety. I'm sure all of us have! I don't necessarily have a specific story but God has kept me safe though all things, cause i mean hey, im still alive right? ;) God looks out for us more than we realize and It is important to remember to thank God for keeping you safe throughout things in life. :) 

An Attempted Summary (OGN 2012- Katie's Input)

Not sure how to write this after reading Abi's post! I'm thrilled!

So Canada weather is a lot like San Diego. It's only been a week and I'm missing it more by the second! I was truly blessed and there's no possible way to put into words the incredible week God gave all twenty of us. :)

May I just say I love traveling with my youth group? They make life interesting. Very interesting. I think Carley might have some input on Billy the Flight Attendant. And who knew they let passengers use the intercom in the back to start a sing-along?

But the odds and ends at the airport and the late night food runs, every moment that brought laughter and a feeling of a family, all that pales in comparison to hearing what God did the entire week.

Personally, my favorite day was my fasting day. I'm sure Carley and Abi have stories to tell (please do, there's no way to do this on my own! :)) about fasting- which might have something to do with almost falling asleep at one point- but honestly, it thrilled me. If I could get paid to fast and pray for a living, I would. It's my dream job. It was more like a worship service than I expected. For those who went to Chris Tuttle's prayer meeting that went til two, it was very similar. My day in particular was the second day of witnessing, so I had been out on the beaches one day. I was struggling with doubt and I think a little fear and confusion. Jesus totally stepped in and calmed everything inside me, and walking away from the room when it was all over, there was this unexplainable joy and a feeling of anticipation for the next day, no matter who I got paired up with or what beach we were going to. And I got to see God at work when we attended the worship service that night and saw God respond to the prayers that were prayed over every object in the room. It was breathtaking.

The other really major story I have to tell was the last day. It was Sunday morning, we had finished our last apologetics class and church meeting of encouragement and we were prepping to go out to the beaches. I was partnered with Andrew Jensen that day and I totally hadn't planned on that. Looking back, that's where I noticed God begin working on the beaches that day, even though we were still on campus. Andrew was one of the three students in our group who had ever been before, so he had experience and different classes than the ones we first-years had been taking. And since he was a guy, we could approach anybody on the beach. He had also fasted the day before, so he had the same joyous energy I had the second and third day. We were literally bouncing in our seats waiting to leave. We had only three prayer requests that day. He wanted the chance to talk to someone who was firm in their beliefs, no matter what they believed in. We both wanted a hard conversation. And I desperately wanted to talk to an athiest after meeting nobody but different denominations of Christians all week.

We hopped into a random van and ended up with no one we knew, save for Whitney, the FSM girls' leader, and John, the man from Fellowship who organized everything. The van was taking us to La Jolla, a beach I had yet to visit. After prayers of people to talk to, I was kind of shocked to find a tiny beach beside a park. It was maybe a tenth the size of all the other beaches I had been to. Maybe less. Andrew stopped us right then and we prayed for God to send the right people to us.
Then came the rejections. This man doesn't speak English, she doesn't want to, watching kids in the ocean, not now or come back later, excuse after excuse not to talk for a half hour straight. A half mile or so down the sidewalk, we discovered more little beaches, which led to our first conversation. God answered another prayer- this man we talked with for maybe ten minutes, was a firm believer in his faith. He had even moved from his home country in Egypt for it. Andrew was thrilled. :) I frankly was thrilled to see God answering and banishing all doubt from my mind that He was on the move.
An hour or so passes. We begin walking back with an hour or so left when Andrew spontaneously begins chatting with a man sitting on a little wall bordering the sidewalk. His name was Kevin, and he didn't know what to think of all this faith stuff. Only by God's grace did he continue to talk with us, asking questions and responding openly. In the end, we all had to leave, but we were able to hand him a copy of the New Testament and an extra copy of John. The second meaningful conversation- a hard one that was totally unplanned and only by God's prompting.
Thirty minutes. Cori and Parker, the fasters of the day, are sharing encouragement and asking how it's going. Parker texts me: "I'm still praying you meet an athiest." We're still analyzing our conversation with Kevin, somewhat overwhelmed, when Andrew suggest talking to a man off by himself. Why not?
Our third meaningful conversation and last one of the week- a man named Tom. He's an Irish athiest.
I'm not sure I understood how speechless I could get. With ten minutes left before the van arrived to pick us up, we stood there silently praying on our own, thanking God for the awesome week. I broke down in tears. I literally had no words (and still really don't) to thank Him. God works wonders, guys. Just ask. :)

So... Those were two of my favorite stories of the week. There are so many more, and nineteen others with totally different experiences. This post is long enough, so I'm going to get some shuteye (or try to) and tell as much as I can in person! Love you all so much!
Soli Deo Gloria! Katie