One Step at a Time

Be Intentional.

2011-07-23T20:37:00.000-07:00

Monday morning I leave for Kids Camp where I will be a counselor for five 6th grade girls. I am more than excited to meet all my girls and be with them all week. This will be my 5th summer at Kids Camp and I think this is the first time that one of the things I am most excited for is the lessons. This year I have made it my goal to prepare for the lessons as best as I can and to be really intentional with my girls all week. In the past, I've focused on the lessons durring lesson time, but not again throughout the day. I've realized how important it is to have intentional conversations. I want to know exactly where my girls are spiritually by the end of the week, not just guessing where they are. I want to make sure that each one of my girls knows what the Gospel is. I want to know if it has impacted their life. And I want each one of them to know how it has impacted mine!
As I have prepared for camp, I have dug deep into the lessons. I have elaborated on important parts. Most importantly, I have found places in each lesson to explain the Gospel again. Ahh I am just so excited.
Join me in praying for Grace, Anna, Gretchen, Makenna, Marie and my co-counselor Maddie.
Can't wait to share how the week went and how God moved in all of our lives.

Blessed.

2011-05-16T19:36:00.000-07:00

Thursdays.

I love this day a lot.

If you're wanting to stalk my life, you can find me with two of my best friends sitting in a booth at Panera drinking mango smoothies and eating bagels or cookies, laughing, chatting and reading The Bible...Philippians, specifically.

We talk about life...and just about everything. Oh to be a fly on the wall during our conversations :) These girls keep me accountable, help me walk through life and challenge me in my faith. I am so thankful for them and how they have impacted my life. They will never know how much I appreciate their friendship. I am better because of these girls.

I love you, Alexa&Andrea! :)

Failure: not an option.

2011-04-27T13:50:00.000-07:00

I (finally) finished my Summer Team application today. The very last question got my mind turning!

"If you could do anything for God with out failing what it be?"

Wow. Where do I even begin? About a month ago my answer would be totally different. In fact, I probably would have had a hard time answering. But since I got back from Haiti I know exactly what I would do!

If I could do anything, knowing I would not fail I would open my own orphanage/school somewhere like Haiti or Africa. I would teach the children the things they need to know in life educationally as well as every day skills. I would make sure each child was "adoptable" and would work hard to ensure each child got adopted into caring, loving, Godly homes. I am smiling just thinking about it!

Not only would I want to see to it that each child was adopted, I want several (well, at least 1!) children to become part of my family! That is something God placed on my heart after Haiti. In the future, I will be adopting! Ahhh. I can't wait.

So there you have it. Oh how exciting it would be if an opportunity like that opened up for me!

Once again, I am saying "YES, Lord!"

By us. For us.

2011-04-25T19:15:00.000-07:00

He is risen!
Praise the Lord. Over the past few years Easter has become a holiday that I have appreciated so very much. It used to be a happy day to celebrate Jesus' resurection. I always looked forward to buying a new Easter dress, getting my Easter basket, dying eggs, egg hunts and usually a day off school. However, the past few years I've gotten to watch The Passion of the Christ on Easter. This has compleatly turrned my view of Easter around. It has helped me keep my focus where it needs to be: the cross. If you have neve watched The Passion I encourage you to.

I read a quote this Easter that really struck me:
"Untill you see the cross as that which is done by you, you will never appreciate that it is done for you." -John Stott.

We were the reason that He gave his life. We were the reason He suffered and died. He gave all He could give to show us the reason to live.

So I leave you with this, remember that the cross what not only by you but for you. He is for you!

"Here am I, Send Me!"

2011-04-17T14:49:00.001-07:00

Well this blog post is way too late. I can't tell you how many times I have started to write, then get about 2 sentances into it and stop because I just don't feel like I have the words to explain my experience in Haiti. I've finally decided to tackle it. One of the easiest and most meaningful ways to show you my trip is to explain some of my pictures. So here goes, enjoy! Team Haiti. We flew out of the ICT at 5:30 a.m. We checked 22 bags into the airport and boarded the plane ready to embark on a once in a lifetime adventure. Our travels went really smoothly. We arrived in Port-au-Prince and made it through customs just fine. 21 out of our 22 back made it to Haiti with us. That one missing bag happened to be Andrea, Sarah and I's bag. We did just fine untill our bag arrived from Miami on Tuesday night! Our first drive through Port-au-Prince was actually a really easy and quick drive because the people were not suppose to be on the streets due to the elections. Once we arrived at The Haitian Queen (the house we staied at) we were greeted by Touch Global staff and got settled into our bunk houses.

On Monday we started our day just like everyother day in Haiti, with a granola bar breakfast and team devotions. After devos we went on a 3 hour walk around Gressier. It was neat to hear the stories of all the places we passed. The blue shelters you see in this picture are Samaritan Purse Shelters. They have tin roofs with tarp around the frame for the walls. These are much better than the tents alot of Haitians live in because they don't let rain in them and also, we were told that if another earthquake hits, tin roofs are the saftest because they won't come falling down. On our walk we was lots of really hard things. We saw one house that used to be a 2 story home, but now all you see is the roof on the ground because it came falling straight down. A lady was outside that house and told us that one of her family members is still stuck in all the rubble of the house, they weren't about to get them out.

This sweet girl is Eveline. She is from Jasmine's Orphanage. Jasmine has been in Haiti for 3 years now, so even before the earthquake. Jasmine and her husband have about 40 children at their orphanage. When we went we got to play with all the toddlers outside. It was so exciting to be able to give them all the love and attention they crave, but don't get on a regular basis. We were able to give Jasmine 6 new pack-n-plays to replace the ones with huge holes in the sides. We also provided lots of school supplies, games and pre-natal vitamens. She was so greatful for all of those things.

New Horizons was my favorite place we got to visit on our trip. The first time we went our team played and loved on the kids before doing VBS day 1 with them. Those kids were so stinkin adorable. I wanted to take so many of them home with me. KState wouldn't mind if there were some Haitian kids in my dorm room next year, right? Good, I didn't think so! :) One particular girl always clung to me each time I went. Her name was Samata. Every time I walked in the gate, she would see me and start running and jump into my arms with the biggest smile. I absolutly melted. Like I said, we got to practice day 1 of VBS with these kids. It was so fun to see them sing and do actions, make their craft and listen to the Gospel. We sang lots of songs that they knew and were able to sing like If Youre Happy&You Know it, Head&Sholders and songs like that. We taught them This Little Light of Mine which was fun. They made "Gospel Catchers" for their craft. These were just like the little "cooty catchers" the kids in America make, but instead of funny things on the inside, they said "Jesus loves you" or "Live for Christ!"....in Creole of course! The kids were all shouting these phrases in Creole which was so fun to hear. "Jezi te renmen ou!" "Viv pou Kris la!"

One of the work projects we did in Haiti was to put screens on our bunk house windows. When we arrived each bunk house had maybe 2 out of 10-12 windows covered. We were told that it would be really nice and helpful if all the windows had screens on them to have shelter from bugs, rain, things like that. We heard of an opportunity to serve, so we jumped on it! We meauserd all the windows, cut wood with the table saw we brought, cut screens, drilled the screens&wood and there you have it, screens on the windows. This week had many firsts...some of which happened with the work projects. I had never used a hand saw before...or a drill, but not I can say that I can do both things fairly well! (Okay....I just made my self sound like some expert at all this. Don't start calling me to put screens on your house or anything....cause I am far from being an expert! lol)

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we put on a Vacation Bible School in Port-au-Prince at Pastor Moise's church. It was about an hour and a half drive from our house in Gressier. Let me tell you, the driving in Haiti is absolutly crazy...but exciting!! There are no speed limits and the lane markings are just suggestions! Driving to VBS each day was an adventure in and of itself! Once we got there, we were greeted by 200-300 children. The first day we were still getting all the kinks worked out, but by the second day we had alot more under controll. It was interesting having 200-300 Creole speaking children, 15 English speaking Americans and the 2 translators we brought. Thankfully, there were some people at the church who knew enough English to help us out. Charlie and I got to lead music with the kids. By the middle of the first day we had our "set list" down: Lord I Lift Your Name on High, Holy is the Lord (in Creole!), Mighty to Save, River of Life and then on day 3, Father Abraham. The kids loved the songs with the actions. By the end of VBS they had Mighty to Save actions down pretty well, and would randomly shout "Mighty to Save!!" whenever they felt like it durring the song. :)

On Thursday we stayed after VBS to go to Moise's church service. There was a wedding going on between VBS and the service so we got to see the wedding party come out of the church which was fun. While we waited for the wedding our team was in a room of the church where they brought us chilled Coke's. Wow. They were so good! American Coke doesn't even compare. At the church service Lucas got to lead the opening prayer, Caleb shared his testimony, Charlie and I sang Mighty to Save and Jeremy gave the message. Some of the pastors at Moise's church also talked and prayed. We were given headsets and Moise translated for us. It was so cool to hear them so passionatly praying in Creole, and understanding what they were saying! The church service was one of the best parts of our trip. It was such an amazing feeling to worship the Lord with my Haitian brothers and sisters...we didn't speak the same language, yet all our praise was going to the same God. I remember sitting in the pew feeling so overwhelmed with how huge our God is. Gives me chills to talk about it. The same God that I pray to as I lay in my nice comfortable bed is the same God that hears the people of Haiti as they lay in their shelters or tents. I knew this of course going into Haiti, but when you really think about how big that is it blows me away!

Some of the First Free Women made uniforms for New Horizons Orphanage. We got to go back to pass them out. What an exciting visit! They kids once again ran into our arms as we walked through the gate....melting my heart yet again. We split the girls and boys up and when and dressed them in their brand new uniforms. Galine (the lady who runs New Horizons) was so, so thrilled to have these for the children. We learned later that having uniforms brings legitimacy to a school. They are looked upon more highly when the children have uniforms. Gailine told us that she had been saving her money to buy uniforms for the school, but now that we provided those she can put her money to use elsewhere. This was really exciting to hear. They children we so increadibly thankful for their new uniforms. I couldn't help remembering my CCA years where we had to wear uniforms...and how I complained about them nearly every day. This kids were thrilled to have uniforms! Oh the things we take for granted in America.

This picture can explain my best and worst moments of the trip. This is Samata, a girl from New Horizons I talked about earlier. I told you about my favorite moment when she ran and jumped in my arms every time she saw me. So precious. My hardest moment involved her as well. Everytime we were at New Horizons she would cling to me like no other. If I would even flinch like I might be putting her down, she would just grab on even tighter. So as you can tell, saying goodbye was a challenge. First of all, I didn't want to leave! But as we learned in training, we have to say with the group...so I decided it would probibly be a good idea to leave with the rest of my team. :) Everyone would start saying their goodbyes to the children. I would look at Samata, say "Orevwa!" (goodbye!) and try to pry her off me. As soon as I said Orevwa to her it was as if she just shut down. She knew exactly what was going on. I was leaving her. Once she knew that she wouldnt even look me in the eye. She just stood there. This absolutly broke my heart. She had been so happy and full of love before, but once I left it was like she just couldn't handle it. This was extreamly hard for me to process.

Our main work project while in Haiti was building a latrine for Haiti Health Ministries. There is a Hospital that is going to be built across the way, so the latrine will be helpful! We learned how to make mortar and concreate, how use mortar to but the blocks in place, and all sorts of things. It was a fun project to do. Through this we got to see how Haitians are extreamly hard workers. They sure showed us up! They would be out working on the Hospital from 6am-4pm and they would earn $10 doing so.

On Sunday morning we woke up extra early to climb the mountain and watch the sunrise. It was so beautiful and such a great chance to marvel at Gods creation and reflect on the week. After our walk we got ready for church. Christianville was not far from our house. It was a fairly small building, with wood benches and it was extreamly hot! We sang some hymns, some were familer but the majority of them we didn't know. It was so neat to hear the people praising God in another language. We also got to partake in communion, following a 45min "communion sermon". All I can say was, that was not grape juice! The majority of our team all had our first taste of wine durring church. That was an interesting surprise! After the message, we headed back to the house for some really good debrief time. We got to unpack what the trip was like for us. I think that was really good for our team.

Later on Sunday, our team got to go to the "Cool Lions Beach". What an interesting experience, to say the least! It was the typical Spring Break atmosphere...so we made our way to a part of the Beach were there were no people....which probibly explains why the water was so gross! Our point in going there was really neat. We were to find 2 rocks and write a few names of some people we met in Haiti that we wanted to commit to praying for. One of these rocks we would throw back into the ocean, giving those people to God. The other rock we took with us to remind us to pray for them. It was a really great way to end our time in Haiti.

The rest of our Sunday consisted of cleaning up HQ and eating a yummy dinner of pancakes and eggs with our translator Josue and his son. Josue was such a blessing to us all week and he helped us out so so much! It was fun to be able to hang out with him one last time. We all miss him so much.

Reverse culture shock was much more difficult than I ever thought it would be. I knew that it would be tough to go from one of the poorest countries in the world to Andover, KS where every kid has everything they want and more. Well, it was just as difficult as I imagined...and then some. As soon as I got back into our car from the airport I lost it. I didn't stop crying that night untill I feel asleep. I hated being in America. All I wanted was to be back in Haiti. Now I have adjusted to this life, but with a much different perspective. Im finally feeling normal here and not so much like Im in a giant bubble and I got dropped down in America.

The Lord really used my experience in Haiti to grow my heart for missions. I really heard Him speaking to me on the trip. I know God wants me in the mission field. I don't know where that may be or what I would be doing, but I know I need to be there! I am just praying and waiting for the Lord's guidence in how to go about doing so. For now, I am putting my YES on the map and am willing to go where He sends me.

Thank you for all of your prayers durring this trip. It was so encouraging to know we had a prayer army back home showering us in prayer.

I can't wait to someday tell you about my next mission trip! Viva la Gospel!

"Here am I, send me!"

My List for His.

2011-02-03T19:22:00.000-08:00

For the past couple of months Thursday has quite possibly been my favorite day of the week :)
Here's why: Starbucks+best friends+"The List"+God= well you have it, the best day of the week!
We have been reading through "The List" by Marian Jordan. The book is all about us girls and our "life lists". You know, it kinda goes like this:
-I will go to college and graduate on time.
-I will find Mr. Right durring college and get married before age 25
-I will be a mom before age 30
-I will raise the "model" children and send them off to college eventually
-Later on my children will find their "special someones" and get married
-I will then become the coolest grandma on the block.

Sound familer? I'm guessing so.
Well heres the question, is that list...the one that describes your "perfect life"... God's list for your life?
Thats the main question.
Sure, you can have goals and dream about your future, but are you willing to surrender your list compleatly for God's list?
Thats what I have been contemplating the past few weeks. Am I really willing to give up my list for what God has for my life? I really want to give you a confident YES, of course! I love God, therefore I want what He wants for my life. Oh my, that is so easy to say. But actually believing it, and living that out? Not so easy anymore. Thats not to say thatI still have a firm grip on my list....I just can't honestly tell you that I have compleatly let go of my list and that I'm totally, 100% open to God's list. ................... :/

Heres the thing. As Rick Warren said, "There is a moment of surrender, and there is the practice of surrending, which is moment-by moment and lifelong." Amen and Amen! I can say, yes...I surrender my list to God. But if I'm saying I surrending it to God, I need to be pracicing it...moment-by moment and life long.

I'm going to be compleatly honest, totally surrendering my life list scares me a little bit. I really do want to get married, its something I've dreamed about since I was a little girl. And I really want to have kids...3 sounds nice :) But seriously, the thought that God might not have those things in store for my life really does scare me a little bit. Im working really hard, and asking God to help me compleatly surrender my list. I really really do want what God wants for my life...it would just be nice if that included a husband&kiddos :)

Here is something from todays chapter that I loved! Do you thing Mary had a list? Of course she did. What woman, engaged to be married doesn't have a list? Im sure Marys list didn't include getting pregnant before marriage and raising the son of God. At that time, getting pregnant before marriage was a much bigger deal that it is today. It was not only a public scandal for the woman, but for the man as well. I don't think any of us will be able to grasp the gravity of Mary's decision to exchange her list for God's list. Rather than focusing on the size of the problems before her, Mary chose to trust in the size of her God. Her humble reply was this: 'I am the Lord's servant....May it be to me as you have said" (Luke 1:28. Wooow. What an amazing answer. I can only ask myself, would I be brave enough to answer like that? Not only would Mary be dealing with the public's comments/actions, she had Joseph to deal with. At this point he didn't know how she could be pregnant...but he did know one thing, he was not the father! I can't imagine the feeling that you have finally found the person you love and want to spend forever with, then having an event like this happen that could very possibly whipe that all away. Thank goodness Joseph soon heard everything from an angel and stayed faithfull to Mary. Phew. That was a big rampage. If youre still reading, thank you :) I know this is long! lol

Mary laid down her list for a far higher calling, but she did so because she believed God. She know that he was faithful, loving and good and that he was true to his word. Because of her faith, she trusted him even when the plan didn't make since. She believed him when her logic told her to do otherwise. (You go, Mary!) So often, we (I) refuse to surrender because of our lack of trust. Do we really believe God can handle the details and circumstances of our lives? --Here's a quote from the book in responce to that question that really hit home: "So often we think we need to take back control becuse we don't really trust that God is able to lead our lives the way we think they should go". Bingo. If we compleatly, 100% trusted that what God has planned for us what right, we wouldn't want controll of our lives. So heres to working on trust!

I could go on...and on....and on about more things I learned from this book. But I won't...this post is already super long :)

So if you're looking for a new book, check out "The List" by Marian Jordan.

I'm in a Tornado.

2011-02-02T11:59:00.001-08:00

Whew. Latley I keep feeling like Im being swept up in a torado....and its not going to put me down for a while.
Life is crazy. Its going so fast!
Next weekend is Retreat with the youth group. It is going to be such a fun and memorable weekend. D.A. Horton is speaking! He was my favorite speaker from Challenge last summer....I can not wait to hear him speak again.
About one month after retreat, I leave for Haiti. On March 20th myself and 14 others from my youth group are going to Haiti for 8 days. There we will be doing a VBS...and we are expecting a couple hundred kids (about 200 probibly) ages 3-20. This will be very interesting as there will be 15 English speaking Americans and possibly 200 Creol speaking Haitians. It will be an adventure, thats for sure! We will also get to go to 2 orphanages while we are there....and that is what I am most looking forward to! It is going to be an exciting, life changing 8 days.
After Haiti, we have lots of Senior meetings about graduation&such durring the end of May-April.
Then we have prom! I am so excited for my Senior Prom! Ahh how exciting! And its very possible I will go to two Proms...Andover and Heights! :) YAY!
After Prom, ohhhh boy! Time is going to fly by!
After Prom comes the main event: GRADUATION. May 22, 2011, 4:00 p.m. at Centry II to be exact. Oh how I have been wating for this day! And after graduation....its summer time. Ahhhh :)
Except...summer means 3 months left. 3 months of being at home...with my family. 3 months of being familer with everything around me. 3 months of being with the people who will move away at the end of the summer. 3 months of security. 3 months of saving saving saving (money). Ahh. So as I look forward to summer....I also get really nervous. And really excited. Goodness. So many emotions!!
So here's to the next 4 months of being in a "time tornado"!

Pet Peeve.

2011-01-06T11:27:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been really struggling with an issue that is a huge pet-peeve of mine.
This would be when Christians (or those who say they are...) cuss.

The reason I've been struggling with this is because personally, I think it is wrong. But I just keep asking myself...why is it wrong? Does the Bible ever say, 'You may not cuss'? Kind of. It talks about not letting corrupting talk come out of your mouth, but not specifically cussing. This is where people get off thinking its okay, I think. Something else I have been debating is, are those words really wrong? And if they are, why are they wrong?

Well after watching the Passion 2011 session from Monday morning, I have come to a conclusion. Yes, it is wrong.
Louie Giglio spoke that morning and one of his main points was, 'Where ever you go, whatever you do, carry the name of Jesus with you'. After hearing Him speak and then later reflection on it, I was thinking about this whole Christians cussing thing and thought to myself, 'If a person who is supposedly a Christ follower cusses, are they carrying the name of Jesus with them? No, the answer is most definitely no. If you are cussing, what is setting you apart from this world? What is making people see a difference in you that comes because of Christ?

Granite, just because you cuss may not necessarilly make someone turn away from Christ...but I can garuntee it is not leading people to Him...and isn't that what we are supposed to be doing? Yes...yes it is.

So there you have it. My views on cussing. :)

I am Thankful

2010-11-24T20:26:00.001-08:00

It's that time of year again...Happy Thanksgiving!
I love this time...the leaves are colorfull and on the ground, apple cider is always on hand, yummy fall candles are constantly burning, and pumpkin pie's are in the making. :)

Besides the food aspect of Thanksgiving, I love this holiday because it always makes me realize that I have so much to be thankful for...and alot of those things I take for grantide.
I thought I would make a list of only some of the things I am thankful for. I always do this at Thanksgiving. :)
(PS: sorry I've been MIA from the blog world lately :/ I gonna try to get better at this!)

I am thankful for....
-My Heavenly Father
who loves me unconditionally.
-The Holy Bible
God's words to me.
-The Gospel
no, not the 1st four books of the Bible. The Gospel.
-That the Inn in Jeruselem was full the night Jesus was to be born
otherwise the symbolism that Jesus was born for the rich and the poor would not exist.
-A roof over my head
with out it, I would be outside on the cold, 27 degree night.
-Food filling my pantry
there are so many people who don't know when their next meal will be.
-True friends

those people who never leave you...you know who you are. :)

-FrontLine
a youthgroup that encourages me in my walk with Christ.
-FL Senior girls
the girls who keep me accountable and help me grow in my relationship with Jesus.
-Team Haiti
the 15 people preparing to go to Haiti in March. All of them make me smile. Heller Heller!
-The FL band
the group of people who love to worship God through music...and love to lead.
-First Evangelical Free Church Wichita
the church I have been able to call home for nearly 18 years.
-My family
the people I love, feel comfortable with and who have my back. This would be my friends too. :)

I could go on...and on...and on with so many things that I am thankful for...but it's late...I'm tired...and the Macy's Day Parade is on early tomorrow! :)

So Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I'm thankful for you.

I'm not running.

2010-08-14T22:15:00.000-07:00

Oh my. In 5 days I start yet another year of school. However, it really isn't just another year of school. It is a crazy big year. My senior year. Good grief. Seems like just yesterday I walked in to the AHS gym as a little freshman. I can picture myself sitting there listening to Baier talk about how high school is going to fly by. "Yeah right!!" I remember myself saying as I rolled my eyes. Well...he was exactly right.

This high school gig has been such a rollarcoaster. I'm not even going to get into all of that right now.

So last April/May I started having a few serious talks with my parents about changing schools. I had it all planned out and was certain it would work. I would use my grandparents address...since they live in the Heights district. I was even willing to drive about 20min to school each day. (I would like all of you to know how big of a deal that is. I am NOT a morning person. Seriously.) So anywho...after a few chats with the parentals they said they would talk and get back with me.

A day or so later, my mom and I were talking and she told me that everytime she thought about me switching schools she thought of Jonah. Dang. I couldn't believe it...but yet it kinda made since. A little. All I could think was, WHAT? Me? Jonah? No. Absolutly not. Jonah was a terrible person! God wanted him to tell His people...His broken, desprite people about Him and Jonah was too scared so he ran. The little sissy. Um hello, Jonah! Do you not realise how huge that is?!? God spoke to you and told you to go...and you ran. Lame.
Mmmkay. So back to how I'm like Jonah.
God didn't just drop me at the doors of Andover High for the heck of it. No. He had a reason. To this day I really don't know what that is...but there's a reason. Im sure of it. Do you see the similarities? I was trying to run from the difficulties in my life...just like Jonah did.

Ug. So here I am...5 days away from going back to AHS for my last year. I am not running from my problems. I'm facing them. So bring it, AHS. I'm ready.

Am I really teaching myself a lesson?

2010-07-18T13:49:00.000-07:00

As I spend more and more time preparing the lessons I will be teaching my campers, I just keep feeling like these lessons are speaking to me far more than they will to the girls!

Accepted. Important. Safe. In Jesus
Those are kinda the 3 concepts for the week. This will be my 4th year as a councelor, and every year we teach those same 3 things but I think this is the first year that I've really stopped and thought about them. Wow. Thats about all I have to say.

Jesus accepts us just as we are! While we were sinners, Christ died for us! Amazing.
We are important to Jesus! This one kinda blows my mind. How could I be important to the one who created this earth, King of Kings, Alpha and Omega. Craziness. But is so comforting!
We are safe in Jesus!! We are safe from everything this world throws at us. He is always there to protect us. Something I need to always remember!

The first time I opened the lesson book, I just wanted to shut it. The first lesson is titled, "Best Friends Forever." Oh great, I thought. "BFF" is sort of a sore subjuct. (But not to worry, it is so much better!!) The memory verse for that lesson is John 15:15b. "I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." In the lesson book it has places that gives you personal stories you can share with your campers. One of the prompts in this lesson is: "Share here with your campers about a time when Jesus proved to you that He is your Best Friend." Wow. Where do I begin?! My whole life! Oh goodness. I can't wait for the campers to come Tuesday morning!

Well, considering I leave at 7:30am tomorrow and my suitcase is still in the storage room I should probibly stop blogging and start packing!

Love you all! Can't wait to share about Kids Camp!
Would LOVE all your prayers for me, my co-councelor Emma and my campers: Grace, Lauren, Rachel, Hope, Claire, Julianne, Denver and Jullianne. :)

YoungLives Camp 2010

2010-06-24T14:19:00.000-07:00

Wow. What a week!

I think I am finally caught up on sleep...i slept 12 hours last night :) It was much needed! I came home physically, mentally and emotionally exausted! Pretty much every day at camp I journaled alittle bit about the day. I thought I would share some of that with y'all! (I swear, I have never heard 'y'all' used so much in one sentance!!

-What an eventful day! We left for YoungLives Camp at 7:30 am. About 3 1/2 hours later the tire blew out in the suburban behind us. We stopped for at 30/45 min to put the spare on. Started driving...about 45 min later that same suburban's other back tire compleatly blelw out! It was scary to watch! We stopped at some schetch canoe place for 45 min while they changed the tire. It was miserable...it was 101 degrees out. Quite obvioiusly Saten wants to make it hard for us to get to camp! That means that big things will be happening this week!

-For starters, lets just say that I want to scratch my eyeballs out. Last night was the 1st night of babysitting. I am with the 3-6month olds. Our nersery is about half the size of my own room...full of 17 babies and 13 childcare workers. Not to mention the cribs, toys, chairs, rockers and changing station we had to cram in there! For the full 4 hours we had them they all screamed bloody murder. It was compleate insainity. Finally, the moms picked their babies up at 11:15 (wayy to late to have babies out if you ask me!). I skipped breakfast this morning just to get an extra hour of sleep in! Here's hoping today goes 100 times better...or I might just run back to Kansas!

-Wow. Thank you Lord! Today was so much better than last night!! There were still some screamers...but i suppose that's to be expected! I'm pretty sure I am going to be responsible for 2 babies now....Malea and Alexiz. I was originally only supposed to be with Alexiz...but I was with Malea for the majority of they night and the grannies in there kept saying that I was so good with her. I hope that goes well!

-I just don't even know what to say. Today sucked. I want to stay in bed and never leave untill Tuesday at 11. (when we leave.) The suckiness has nothing to to with the babies for a change. :( Oh, and I really hate being refered to as "The Kansas Girls".

-I am starting to realize that I am going to miss sweet Alexiz and Malea when camp is over! They are both such sweet girls! Even though Malea is kinda high-mantenice she is still such a joy to be with. I am glad that I had her as well as Alexiz.

-Wow. Tonights club was really cool! 3 different trip leaders shared some stories about some of the girls in their group. Wow. Thats really all I have to say. Those girls come from such hard and difficult backgrounds. I can't even imgine it! So many of them were so shocked to hear that the childcare workers actually had to pay to come take care of their babies...and we arn't getting a penny for it! I think hearing those stories gave me a sudden energy burst. I want to take care of these babies well. Their moms so despritly need to hear about Jesus and that will happen because we are watching their kids!

-This is the last day of camp! It's sort of bittersweet. I am so ready to get home...sleep in...in my own bed and hang out with my friends! At the same time, I am really going to miss these babies. Also, I feel like I am just now starting to form a connection with Malea&Alexiz's moms!

-Well, Im on the bus traveling home. 9 hours in a charter bus...with 11 babies. This could get interesting! This morning was really cool. They had a New Beleivers Walk. All the new Chiristians gathered and walked to a few places and someone talked about their new faith and what it ment. It was very cool to see. As tired and stressed as I am, I think I want to go back next year!

Malea and I out for a stroller ride :)

Alexiz and I on the bus going home!

The "Kansas Girls" :) Our Childcare workers on Western Night

Prayer Request!

2010-06-14T21:22:00.000-07:00

Hello fellow bloggers :)
At 7am Wednesday (the 16th) I depart for my adventure to YoungLives Camp.
I am going to serve as a childcare worker for the teen moms attending camp.
It is going to be a fun, exausting, hot, meaningful, spiritual and stressful week!

I am writing to ask for your prayer.
It is going to be a whole new experience for me! I will be around a new group of people...people I usually am never around.
It is also going to be a tremedously hot week in Texas! It isn't supposed to get below 91! I can handle some heat...all those babys, though? Not so much.
Also, be praying for the girls coming to camp. Pray that they come with hearts ready to hear what the Lord has for them. Pray that they will listen to Him and respond. Also, pray that it will be a time of bonding for them and their child. Also, pray that they have an incredibly fun and memorible week. Their lives are tough, so pray that this will be a very nice chage of pace.

I will be specifically taking care of a 6 month old named, Alexiz. Her mom is Breanna. I would love it if you would pray for Breanna this coming week. Also, pray that Breanna and I would be able to connect. I truly hope I can serve her well.

Well, thats all for now.
I'll be giving you all an update in the next week&a half or so!
♥ Hannah

It's about that time

2010-06-06T20:26:00.000-07:00

Well, it's about that time!

I'm a SENIOR!

I know, I know...it blows my mind too!!

Wasn't it just yesterday that I walked in to the gym of Andover High school as a little Freshman?

I remember rolling my eyes everytime someone said "High school is going to fly by, so enjoy it!". Now, I realise that it is so cliche but oh so true!

Today was senior open mic Sunday at youth group. Some of the things they said really stuck with me.

God needs to be your number one priority.

Don't become "obsessed" with the next step in life. If you do, you will miss out on lots of mission opportunitys here.

High school isn't all about finding out what you are good at and what you should do in the future. It's about finding out what God has for your life.

You are what you eat. Spiritually. Eat Jesus, his word and prayer.

I pray that as I become a senior, I also become a better leader and someone that people look up to.

TEN. MORE. DAYS.

2010-05-12T14:13:00.000-07:00

So I had this really long blog all typed out and ready to publish...but then I realised that I was just venting to all you bloggers and you guys don't want to hear me complain.

So here is the most important part of it all:
I know that I can do all things through him who gives me strength (Phil 4:13) and that apart from him I can do nothing (John 15:5) but sometimes it is just so hard to keep that mindset all the time!

In precisly 10 school days, my life will rock. No more school, no more being forced to be with rude people, no more me hearing people talk bad about me, no more gossip, lots of hanging out with my best friends, lots of fun camps, lots of sleeping, lots of fun fun fun times with the people I love to hang out with :)

PLANS!

2010-04-02T15:07:00.000-07:00

I have SO much to look forward to!! This last few weeks of school are going to FLY by...and then its offical: I will be a SENIOR! :)

KSU Junior Day:

Me, Jenna, Andrea and our parents are heading to Manhatten for Junior Day at KState! So excited to yet again visit campus and see my future home with my future roomies! (most likely lol) :)

YoungLives Camp:

I am (most likely) going to Camp Buckner in Texas to be a childcare worker for the teen moms going to camp. I am excited to be able to serve God in such a fun way...and with my friends :)

Challenge 2010:

I CAN NOT WAIT! Challenge is in Columbus, Ohio this summer. I am wayy beyond ready/excited for this trip! Kristin Stanfill will be the worship leader...he is great! Check him out! Multiple speakers will be there....and they will all be fantastic! I have been waiting for this trip since July 4, 2008! (When we got home last time)

Kids Camp at Camp Quaker Haven:

SO excited for this trip too! I look forward to it every year! Last year was probibly the funnest year yet! I was blessed to have my (now) good friend Jessica as my co-councelor and an awesome group of girls to hang out with!! This coming summer is going to be so so fun...I am most defintly counting the days!!! (I should probibly turn my application in soon... lol)

Needless to say: Summer, P L E A S E hurry up!! :)

Seven Signs

2010-03-10T13:54:00.000-08:00

If you have never read the book, The Power of a Praying Teen by Stormie Omartian, you are missing out!

Chapter 9 is the greatest...it is titled: Having Good Relationships.

Through out High School and recently, several of my friendships have struggled so this chapter ment alot to me!

Here are some parts that really spoke to me:

-We should look carefully at our friends and ask ourselves, "Is that the kind of person I want to be like?" If not, we should ask God to help us get free of that relationship and bring someone better into our life.

-Our closest relationship, the ones that influence us the most, need to be with people wo love and fear God.

-The main quality to look for in a close friend isn't how attractive, talented wealthy, smart, influential, clever, or popular they are. It's how much they love and fear God. The person who will do what it takes to live in the perfect will of God is the kind of friend who will impart something of the goodness of the Lord to you every time you are with them.

Seven Signs of a Desirable Friend:

1) Tells you the truth in love

2) Gives you sound advice

3) Helps you become a better person

4) Helps you become a wiser person

5) Remains close to you, even in tough times.

6) Loves you and stands by you, even when you do stupid things

7) Helps you when you are having trouble in your life so you won't have to go through it alone.

Seven Signs of an Undesirable Friend:

1) Is ungodly and doesn't care if he hurts other people

2) Is changeable and unstable, and you never know how that person is going to act from one day to the next.

3) Is often angry about something

4) gives you bad and ungodly advice

5) Is an unbeliever who doesn't obay the law

6) Does foolish things; a fool does things without thinking through what the consequences will be.

7) Is not reverent toward God and His laws.

I thank the Lord everyday for my friends who fit all 7 signs of a desirable friend :)

A Much Better Valentines Day

2010-02-18T18:41:00.000-08:00

Instead of sitting at home alone on Valentines Day, my friends and I cooked dinner together :)

Here is what we did :

First we went grocery shopping!

We got all the grocerys to make: spagetti, salad, bread, chocolate covered strawberrys and of corse we got sparkeling grape juice with some super cute Valentines Day wine glasses!

Here are some pictures from our lovely night :)

Browning the meat for Spagetti sause!

Here is Maisy washing our new glasses for the sparkeling grape juice!

Mmmm :) While the noodles cooked, we made the chocolate covered strawberries

Here is our table :)

Michelle, Me, Maisy, Sarah and Andrea (we missed Jenna!)

I loved spending Val Day with my best friends!

John 15:13 Greater love has no one that this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Jesus is the reason for Valentines in my opinion...after all, he is the greatest love!

Dear Sirvilla,

2010-02-11T18:24:00.000-08:00

**(Here is a side note...this past summer i went on a mission trip to inner-city St. Louis. I met an 8 year old girl named Sirvilla. I was able to share with her the truth about Jesus Christ. She was so excited and accepted Christ with me! It was an amazing experience...one that i will never forget! Later that night, another girl from the youth group told me that when Sirvilla left, she shared with her mom that she had accepted Christ and her mom wasn't excited (not mad though)...also Sirvilla had told me that she was not allowed to read her Bible. These things crushed me. I just couldn't imagine living like that! Sirvilla has been on my mind latley, and sadley i don't have an address to send her a letter, so I am going to write it here!)

Dear Sirvilla,

I miss you so much! I wish that I could travel to St. Louis and give you a big hug!

I have been thinking and praying for you alot latley! I feel like God has put you on my heart for a reason...but I am not sure what that is. He knows though! How cool!

I hope that you have been able to grow in your relationship with Jesus. I absolutly loved the time I got to spend with you durring VBS at Jubilee! It was so exciting that you made Jesus the Boss of your life! What an exciting night! As I told you before, we are sisters now!! Even if I never get to see you again on this earth, we will get to party in Heaven together! YAY!

1 John 4:15 saies, "If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God." You have acknowledged that Jesus is the Son of God, so this verse tells you that God lives in you! I think that is so exciting!

I want you to know that you are loved! By God and by myself. I am praying for you and will continue to pray. I encourage you to grow more and more in your relationship with Jesus. It is unbeleiveable how he can change your life around!

I love you Sirvilla!
-Hannah

Tounge and Attitude

2010-01-28T16:06:00.000-08:00

This semester, my small group is starting something different. We are picking a new topic each week and reading 10 verses on it. What I have done is read one or two verses each night and then i pick them apart. Its been cool

Jan. 20 TOUNGE

James 1:26
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his toungue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.

if our tounge goes "crazy" our religion is worthless. Wow. That should scare us. It most defintly scares me!

Jan. 27 ATTITUDE

Psalm 19:14
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

The word and is very important here. It can become easy for the words of our mouth to be pleasing to the Lord, but the things in our hearts can be more challenging. People might not know what is going on in our hearts, but God sure does. BOTH of those things need to be pleasing to God

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowlege him, and he will make your plaths straight.

Definition of ALL: -the whole of -the greatest possible -nothing but
We need to trust the Lord with NOTHING BUT our hearts.

What do I have if I don't have you Jesus?

2010-01-22T14:06:00.000-08:00

Here is another great song that the one and only Starfield sings. It has ment alot to me this past week.

Cry In My Heart
There's a cry in my heart
For Your glory to fall
For Your presence to fill up my senses
There's a yearning again
A thirst for discipline
A hunger for things that are deeper

Could You take me beyond?
Could You carry me through?
If I open my heart?
Could I go there with You?
(For I've been here before
But I know there's still more
Oh, Lord, I need to know You)

For what do I have
If I don't have You Jesus?
What in this life
Could mean any more?
You are my rock
You are my glory
You are the lifter
Of my head
Lifter of this head

This has been a very encouraging song to me. What do we have if we don't have Jesus? NOTHING. If only I could beleive that 100% every day.

I am Thankful

2009-10-13T17:39:00.000-07:00

I just had a really awesome extra creadit opportunity in English...its gonna bump my grade a whole letter grade! YAY!! :) I love me some A's!!
Anyway, we had to write 5 essays on a blogging sight. He gave us a ton of writing promts, and one of them was list 25 things that you are thanful for. I decided to do this one, and i thought i would share them with you all :)

I am thankful for my loving parents

I am thankful for the Bible

I am thankful for Jesus

I am thankful for TRUE friends

I am thankful for EFCA's Challenge Conference!

I am thankful for the youth at Jubilee Comunity Church in St. Louis

I am thankful for my siblings
I am thankful for a supportive youth group
I am thankful for a wonderful small group
I am thankful for cousins that are more like friends
I am thankful for cool fall days
I am thankful for my car so i can get places
I am thankful for the book, Crazy Love by Frances Chan
I am thankful for my bosses who are so wonderful to work for
I am thankful for AHS because I am getting a good education
I am thankful for the soldiers that protect us
I am thankful for pumpkin spice lates from starbucks!
I am thankful for a warm house on cold days
I am thankful for a comfortable bed
I am thankful for the teachers who care about my education
I am thankful for Christmas time
I am thankful for Summer break
I am thankful for Grandparents who love me
I am thankful for open lunch
I am thankful for pineapples...mmm!

I have so much more to be thankful for :)

My Friends

2009-08-18T19:06:00.000-07:00

So i would just like to say...i most defintly have the BEST friends in the whole world! We have had the funnest summer together...and i am very sad to see it end. We have grown closer over the past 3 months. I love them to death :) Here are some lovely pictures we took recently :)

Be Satisfied

2009-08-09T20:24:00.000-07:00

A friend sent this to me on Facebook...i love it! I wanted to share it with all of you :)

"Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone,To have a deep soul relationship with another,To be loved thoroughly and exclusively.But God, to a Christian, says,"No, not until you are satisfied, fulfilled and content with being loved by Me alone,With giving yourself totally and unreservedly to Me,With having an intensely personal and unique relationship with Me alone,Discovering that only in Me is your satisfaction to be found,You will never be united with another until you are united with Me alone,Exclusive of anyone or anything elseExclusive of any other desires or longings.I want you to stop planning, stop wishing,And allow Me to give you the most thrilling plan existing,One that you cannot imagine.Please allow Me to bring it to you.You just keep watching Me, expecting the greatest things.Keep experiencing the satisfaction that I AM.Keep listening and learning the things I tell you.You just wait. That's all.Don't be anxious. Don't worry. Don't look at the things you think you want;You just keep looking off and away up to Me,Or you'll miss what I want to show you.And then when you are ready, I'll surprise you with a love far more wonderful than any of you could dream of.You see, until you are ready and until the one I have for you is ready(I am working even at this moment to have you both ready at the same time),Until you are both satisfied exclusively with MeAnd the life I prepared for you,You won't be able to experience the love that exemplified your relationship with Me.And this is perfect love.And dear one, I want you to have this most wonderful love, I want you to see in the flesh a picture of your relationship with Me.And to enjoy materially and concretely the everlasting union of beauty, perfection and love that I offer you with Myself.Know that I love you utterly. I AM God. Believe it and be satisfied."

BUMP 2009

2009-08-08T19:12:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, i had the opportunity to go to St. Louis. Our youth group went to help out with VBS at Jubliee Communite Church. I went there thinking it was going to be kinda scary and i defintly didn't expect to connect with the kids there. Ha. That is exactly the opposite of what happened! (there were a few scary moments though) We came to St. Louis to love this kids...we defintly did that but wow! Those kids REALLY loved us! The first night made me think. The kids clung to us all night long and were sad when it was time to leave. I realised, this isn't how it is at our church back in Wichita. Nearly every child at our church comes from a loving, Godly home. This isn't how it is at Jubilee. This really made me think about how these kids come from so pretty hard homes and the 2 hours that we had with them may have been the only time that day that they felt loved. This made me feel very sad, yet so very thankful! After that, i realised the importance of making each and every child that walked through the doors of Jubliee feel so loved and important. I truly hope that that was the case. Some day, I hope that I get the privilege of going back to Jubliee Community Church and to serve God is such a powerful way.

Me and Sirvilla. I got to help lead her to Christ! :)

Me with Shonnday, DeAnna, Gabby and Natlie Grace