Trust in the Lord

I just want to encourage anyone reading this blog to trust in the Lord, because He knows the plans that He has for you. He holds your future, and knows what He wants you to do. And where you will find the most satisfaction may be something completely different from where you think you want to go in life. I have recently had to make a decision to trust the people in my life about a very serious issue. I had to make a decision that was kind of hard for me to make, even though I sort of thought it was going to have to be made, I didn't want to have to do it. Now there are some doubts in my mind, but it's good to know that I have surrendered the issue to God to do what He wants to do. It's good to know that God can take care of everything. He's been in control all along anyway, but it's good to remind myself, I guess. Anyways, my life is going in a direction now, and now I just have to prepare for the ride. Praise the Lord, that I don't have to wonder anymore! I am excited to see God work everything out in His timing. Have a wonderful Christmas time, remembering the real reason for CHRISTmas. Blessings!

CHRISTmas Eve Events

Christmas Eve is here, and yet again things are very interesting.... It's 8:39 PM and I am sitting in the Emergency Room at the local hospital. All plans are forgotten. Thoughts of Christmas music, party foods, games, time with family, etc are all just thoughts. I guess this is a blessing (in disguise), that we often take for granted. Just think, 2,000 some years ago Mary had Jesus in a cave. There wasn't anything sanitary about the birth of the Savior. Yet, here I am in a very sterile hospital, with someone being treated for something that in the old days, people would just ignore or cast out of the towns. Thankfully I'm not the one going into the hospital and double thanks that I just got a laptop.... So I am updating all my profiles while I am sitting here. My aunt who has had problems in the past with random things is here being put in the psychiatric ward, I think (hope). In the past she has had seizures and because she is partly mentally retarded she is not quite normal. Recently she was tested and the doctor decided to take her off some of the medicine because she hadn't had any seizures. That was in the summer. Well, all of the sudden something very strange has started happening and she is thinking about everything that has ever happened in her life and random distorted things/people/and strange thoughts are all coming out in rambling sentences that go on and on. It is very strange. I've never heard anything like it in real life. I've studied Psychology this past semester and did research about Schizophrenia and so I think it is very interesting, but sad. My mom is really taking it hard. I don't know what's going on right now, but the last thing I heard was that the nurse that they were talking to listed a bunch of disorders that she's having.... My aunt was at one hospital, but they didn't have the facilities for the kind of problems she's having, so they told her to go home... Needless to say, that didn't work. Hopefully, we will be able to get her into the mental hospital here and get her back to normal. My Dad, who used to work here, said that usually it takes weeks to get someone in her condition back to normal, not one week (which is how long she was in the other hospital). Anyway, I am having a very interesting Christmas Eve to say the least!

Finals, finally...

Well, it's down to the wire. Everything is about to be over concerning the first semester. In my two days of classes I have 6 tests/finals/quiz things/collateral due. Right now I am taking a break, and getting a craft ready for down at the mission. We have started a Sunday school type thing and then service together. It's going ok, but there are still some problems that we are working out. Now we going to start to do some sort of activity right after we eat, or even before some of us eat, so the kids don't run all over the place while we are trying to eat. It is a huge day, and usually everyone is exhausted by the end of the afternoon. Lately I have been going to Brother Frausto's church for Sunday night and Thursdays. A couple weeks ago I played the piano for the services. Next semester I am taking 17.5 credit hours. I am taking a winter session, which should make it easier during the actual time of regular classes (less work). I have had something on my mind for about a month and I was finally able to talk to someone about it. I feel relieved, but not certain of the results of the whole situation. I know that God already knows my future and has a plan for it. I just need to be patient and be willing to wait for Him to direct me to that place. Things are sometimes hard to understand, but God is faithful and He is helping me.

God is at work...

God is really helping here at UBC. This week many things have been going on, but God has been meeting with us in special ways. Chapel services and prayer times have been just what I needed, and many others were helped. Yesterday we didn't get to have Psychology class because we were in prevailing prayer for about the whole class period. God is really helping us here. We are praying for deeper workings and a school revival. God is working in people's families and helping people. It's been very encouraging. God is helping me to trust Him and is helping me not to be as stressed out. Praise the Lord!

You Raise Me Up

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;

When troubles come and my heart burdened be;

Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,

Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up: To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up: To more than I can be.

There is no life - no life without its hunger;

Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;

But when you come and I am filled with wonder,

Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up: To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up: To more than I can be.

Thanksgiving

Here it is already Thanksgiving. Time has really flown by this school year. It's snowing outside, and almost all the leaves are off the trees. It seems like school just started, but the semester is just about over. I am looking forward to getting new classes. My brother and Dad went to Winimac to shoot at the shooting range and I'm just hanging out at my Grandparents. Nate is going deer hunting tomorrow with a guy from our church. He's really excited about it. I don't know what I am going to do tomorrow. It seems like everytime I come home there is so much going on. Tomorrow night there is youth meeting- we are going to rake leaves somewhere for someone. Hopefully I can sleep in. I am not a die-hard shopper, like some people who are going to be getting up at 3 in the morning.

Life update

Life is very interesting at times and sometimes very difficult. It is a good thing that we have a God that knows all about it and knows what our future is going to hold. Things are getting pretty interesting lately. Stress is coming as the semester is closing in. Finals, term papers, and collateral are all due really soon. This weekend I am going to the ICHA rally in Anderson where the choir is going to start their Fall tour. This year they aren't going very far away (just to Michigan and Ohio). I am going to be reading practically the whole weekend and writing my term paper. I am supposed to have my picture taken with my family this weekend too. I am not sure how I am going to get everything done... Here at the college we have mentors. My mentor is Sister Nicholas. I have met with her a few times. She is very nice and we are getting to know each other. She is my General Psychology professor, so it is a bit intimidating at first, but then it gets better the longer I stay. Anyways, that's pretty much the surface of what's going on here. There's a lot more, but it would take too long to write about.

God is Still Moving Today

This past week has been amazing. On Tuesday night- Thursday we have had the Missions Convention. It was really neat to hear the stories and challenges from the missionaries. The main speaker was Marc Sankey and he really gave stirring challenges about really serving God for the right reasons. Thursday night especially helped me. He spoke about how we need to do everything for the glory of God, and that hard times may come, but we've got to be willing to face it, because it will cause God to get more glory. It is still working in my heart, and I am not sure what all God is doing, but it's great. I was able to interview one of the missionaries for my Christian Service class. He works in Haiti and is an energetic fireball! He was so encouraging. He told me about how he felt God had called him into missions and how God had helped him throughout his life. I sat with him for about 20 minutes probably. It was really neat. I asked him what he thought was the greatest danger of being a missionary was, and he said spiritual bankruptcy. He was telling me how the reason we don't have revival in our churches is because the pastors aren't in their prayer closets, and they aren't feasting on the Word of God. It was so great to be able to talk with someone who was so on fire for God. During services he'd be saying, "Yes, yes,yes,yes" and give out shouts every once in awhile. I hope to maybe go down to Haiti sometime in one of their conferences. He gave me a few quotes, one that I can remember without my paper: stay close to God in the closet and He will be with you in the fire. It was very encouraging to be with him. Then after the Missions Convention, (last night and this morning) I went to my home church, where they were having Shadrach Youth Discipleship Ministry weekend retreat. It was another very wonderful time, and God really answered prayer. I wasn't able to stay for all of it, but what I was there for was really great. Tomorrow (Sunday), Eric Himelick is going to be sharing at my church, which is strange, because I won't even be there. But it's amazing how God is working out all these strange connections all of the sudden. Anyways, that's about it for now. I can use prayer for teaching my "nursery" class down at Victory Chapel.

Pictures....

Here's finally some pictures of my roommate, Bao, and one of my other friends that I hang out with, Kim.

Bao Kim

Me and Bao

Random Musings

Early Monday morning I went to God's Bible School for a training in open air evangelism. It was amazing. Next year I am hoping to be able to stay for the whole week. We learned a lot of new things and were able to go to one of the meetings. We went to Fountain Square in Cincinnati. I passed out million dollar bills which had a message that was worth more than a million. It was really great. It was with the organization Open Air Campaigners. On the way home we had a blow out on the van that we were in. It was only by God's grace that we weren't going 70 miles down the highway when it happened. There are lots of things going on right now. Next week we are having a Missions Convention. Then next weekend there is a Shadrach retreat and Youth Challenge. I am not sure which I am going to go to yet. Two of my friends are coming this weekend and so I am hoping to be better by then. I have a sore throat and poison ivy. I am not sure what we are going to do though, because almost everyone is going home. It's going to be very boring. Hopefully, they won't care too much.

~Old-Fashioned Day~

Things are moving along really fast.... midterms are in two weeks. This week has been really busy with lots of tests and projects. Tomorrow we are having Old-Fashioned Day here at the school. All the grades and the departments are making floats for the parade. The Missions Dept. is having everyone dress up like a someone from a different country and then we'll walk around carrying the country flag. I am going to be wearing my sari. Hopefully I will be able to get some pictures on here of it. I am really looking forward to it. We are selling things from different countries in our booth, and we're having a pie judging and then selling pies and we're also having a pie throw. All the other departments are setting up food booths and other things. Anyways, life is just about to get back to normal-hopefully. I am looking forward to sleeping. God has really helped me the last week. One of the girls here, Amanda, has started a morning prayer time, and it's been really good. It's just a time of individual prayer about whatever comes to you, whether it's about the school or personal things. It's really encouraged me. It's really neat to be able to talk about the things of God all the time, and not be so bored when people are talking about people of the world and what so and so did, that we don't even agree with. Anyways, it's sort of like being at a camp all the time (plus assignments).... Anyways, that's about it for now.... P.S. This Sunday I am going to be teaching the big group of kids at the mission, because Sam and Becca (the two people that usaully do it) are going to be gone. I could use prayer...

Victory Chapel

Well, yesterday was my second week of teaching 5 year olds and under.... It went really well. My friend, Bao, helped me by trying to get all the kids to stay in their seats. The kids that were in my group mostly come from homes where they don't get much attention, so they try to get it by getting in trouble. It's really neat when after class when they are about to go home they come up to you and give you a hug and don't want to leave. It makes you want to take them home with you. I can use all the prayers that you can send this way for creativity and wisdom on how to occupy their time for 1 1/2 -2 hours. Victory Inner-City Ministries is making a DVD and they took some shots of us, and we were supposed to sing for them. Well, these children can barely talk, so it was me and Bao and one or two of the children singing... oh well...

Butler

Saturday (9/8) I went on a second outreach. We went to Butler University. This outreach was more for a different class, but the Christian Service class could go along. This time we went up to people and asked if we could ask them a few questions, and then we asked them what they thought about God, Jesus, the Bible and some other questions. Then we asked them what they thought the basic message of the Bible was. Then we asked them if they wanted to see what we believed the basic message of the bible was. Then we would show them a diagram as we told them the basic message. It was a lot harder than in downtown Indy. I didn't get to share with anyone, but my partner got into a long conversation with a guy that was sort of New Age/ Christian/Catholic/??? It was very interesting.

Inner-City Outreach

For Christian service class we are supposed to go on an outreach trip. Friday night was the first one for the year, and I was ready and excited. God has given me an inner excitement about reaching out to these people down in Indy. It's hard to describe, but it's great. So we set out and Brother Gibson(the pastor of Victory Chapel) started talking about some of the issues of working in the inner-city. Poverty, drugs, homelessness, etc. are all everyday life for some of these people (probably most of them). Ministry takes a different form for these people. For the first outreach we just passed out flyers, inviting them to come to Victory Chapel and if they were interested we could share the Basic Message of the Bible with them. I went with Heather, Ethan, and Win for the first street. We didn't have a lot of contact with people because a lot of the houses were empty, for rent or for sale, but we did get to talk with a few people. Then we went to a new location. I went with two other guys, Tommy and Nolan. This time we were just talking to the people who were out. We got to talk to a lot of groups. Some of them were interested and some weren't. I was able to talk to a couple of young girls that were out and some older men, who sounded interested in coming. I am really excited about being a part of something like this. On the way back we reviewed some of our experiences, which were all different and sang some choruses. One song sums it all up: "Heartaches, broken pieces, ruined lives is why He died on Calvary..." May God give us a greater burden for the lost.

The Interesting Life I Lead in College

College life is very interesting. It's a lot better than I thought it would ever be. I am taking 18 credit hours this semester. It's a pretty good load, plus I am working 12 hours on campus, to assist in taking care of any spare time that I might have. My classes are Pentateuch, Old Testament Literature, Christian Service, General Psychology, Intro to Computers, Manual Skills for Ministry, and Orientation/Practice of Prayer. I am really enjoying the Christian Service class. It's about evangelism and ministering in the local church that you are in. I am going to Victory Chapel on Sundays, and God's Holiness Church on Thursdays. Victory Chapel is in downtown Indy, and is sort of a mission church. We go out in buses and vans and pick people up and take them to the church, and then after service we have a meal together. It's been really good. I am excited about helping out there. I will be helping with the children there. God's Holiness Church is just getting started, so most of the members are from the school. We are going to go out calling and try to get some kids together and minister to them- sort of like a little Bible club. Tonight I am going to downtown Indy to do some street outreach. I am really excited about it. We have learned the basic message of the Bible, and so I am looking forward to sharing that method with someone. That's the update on school and church news!

Exciting New Happenings

Well, I am officially at Union Bible College now. This past week I have just been working around the campus, and getting to know people and learning who people are and where stuff is. It's a really nice college. There is a little town area a little ways down the road, trees in front with lots of cicadas, and very nice and friendly people who want you to do God's will. It's great. I am excited for classes to start and for everything to get going. Here it is very "schedulized" compared to other colleges. Once school starts everyone (whether you have a class or not) must be up, with their bed made by 7:00 AM. Then at night you have study hours from 7-9:30 PM that are mandatory. Lights out is at 11:00, unless you get special permission- then you can extend to 12:00. I still am not sure what classes I am taking but some of them include the following: Orientation/Practice of Prayer, Pentateuch, Old Testament Literature, and that's all I know of so far. I took an English placement test and a Bible Knowledge test, but haven't heard how I did yet. I am looking forward to getting started (which I already said once, but wanted to reiterate). Anyways, everything is going much better than I thought was possible. I am rooming with a girl named Bao. She's from Thailand, and she is really nice and extremely funny. She is also majoring in missions, so she has been a big help in knowing what to expect in my classes. I attended Pilgrim Nazarene Church on Wednesday and it was very nice. The people there have a sincere love for God and during the prayer time you could tell that they really meant business. That is one thing that I like about the college. During prayer times, everyone joins in and prays together in praise and petitions. It is a rare thing, even in churches, let alone college students. I am planning on going to a mission in downtown Indianpolis this Sunday. I am going to help with a special event they are doing at a park. I am excited about all the different things that are available for me to get involved with more outreach. I am looking forward to the year ahead. Thank you all for your prayers for me.

* 2 Peter 1:3-11 *

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

Last Minute Rush

Well, it is officially official that I am going to Union Bible College. I had been praying that I would get a work scholarship. I sent in my application (and was accepted) but they still needed a couple other things, so I decided to just go down there and talk to them and give them the paperwork. I gave them the paperwork, went looking around for the handbook several places and at the inside of a room, and then came back and the head of the financial stuff was going to the President to talk to him about the scholarship. Well, then eventually he came back and told me I got it!!!!! I could have cried, I was so excited.... sort of in disbelief, because I thought it would be too late, or I wouldn't qualify. Yay!!! God still answers prayer today. Anyways, they want me to come as soon as I can, so I am moving in on Monday. It's all happening so fast.... I was expecting to move down in 2-3 weeks, but no.... in 3 days!!!! I am really excited about it (if you can't tell already)!!!

Please visit : http://www.ubca.org/

Prayer Chapel

Girls' Dorm Auditorium/classrooms

"Old" main building-offices/academy/chapel

City Sidewalks, Wild Ponies, and Surprise Banquets!

Well, I just got back from a 10 day vacation... It was really fun. Our first stop was Washington, D.C. We rode the Metro all over the place to get closer to the area, so we wouldn't have to walk so far. That was fun. We went to lots of museums, and monuments. We went to the south lawn of the White House, and with binoculars could see some people getting ready to have lunch on the balcony (in front), at least that's what it looked like. We also went to the National Zoo, which has 3 pandas....really cute. We went to the Lincoln Monument, Thomas Jefferson Monument, Ford's Theatre (where President Lincoln was shot) and the house across the street where he died, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, National Postal (Museum?), and food courts.... (Union Station is the best). We walked all over the place.... let's just say, my feet hurt. We probably went some other places, but right now, I can't think of any other place. Our next stop was Williamsburg. This stop was really neat. For those of you that don't really know about Williamsburg, it's sort of like a giant Conner Prairie, but different. It was historical homes and shops (like a carpenter, silversmith, blacksmith, bakery, millery, wigmaker, apothecary, etc.). There are people there that are dressed in 18th century attire, and talk about the issues of the day. One nice thing about Williamsburg, was you could talk about the issues of today too and how they would have been viewed back then. We heard Patrick Henry give a loooonnnngg speech, which was interesting. Our next stop was Norfolk, on our way to our 2nd to last stop. Norfolk is a huge Navy base, where they have gigantic aircraft carriers and other ships. We went on a tour thing and then continued on our journey to Exmore, VA. We stayed in this little heard of town, because it was as close as we could get to Chincoteague Island. We went to Chincoteague and Assateague during the day and went on a few hikes (one to a lighthouse) and then went swimming in the Atlantic. Chincoteague is famous from the book "Misty of Chincoteague." We happened to come the week of the pony swim. (That's why we had to stay an hour away, because "everyone" was there.) We saw the pony swim, which was kind of a let down, because there were way too many people, but the up side of it was that people started leaving, and we thought they were done, but when we looked in the binoculars, the ponies were still out swimming, so we got a better view. To let you know how much people get into this.... I overheard someone say that they had been there since 5:30 AM, and the swim was around 12. Our last stop was Fayetteville, West Virginia. We went there to visit our dear friends, the Moreys (Pastor Robert, Esther, and Heidi). We got there real late on Friday night, then went to an old, abandoned house on Saturday with them. Meanwhile (while we were supposed to occupy them) the people at their church decorated and set up for a surprise banquet for their 25th anniversary. It was very tricky not to let the cat out of the bag. We were part of the surprise, however, since we had been planning on coming anyway, we got to help with the surprise. Sunday we made a special effort to get with them for breakfast, so that they wouldn't notice anything unusual at the church... like people running around with special papers (given to the wedding party) and food, and wonderful smells, etc. Meanwhile the church had planned that they would recommit to their vows, and have the family and wedding party come in. (My mom was part of the wedding party.) So after the service had been going on for a little while, in comes Esther's family, and Robert's sister.... it was great to see the excitement and all the tears of joy. They were totally shocked... which was a hard task, because they are usually the ones plotting and planning on how to bless someone. After the service the church had prepared a wonderful banquet and wedding cake.... and it was just great. Then we came home.... we met up with our friends from Fort Wayne, who had come to the service (part of the family/wedding party) and so we got to spend some time with them carpooling, which was really nice. We got home after midnight, and so now we are getting everything back to normal again. I still have 2 more weeks of clubs and then I think one week, and then off to college hopefully. I hope you all are having a wonderful summer! (I'll add pictures, once they get developed.)

Back for a Trio of Days...

I am home from Camp Good News...it was a crazy week and a lot different than last year. I was the senior counselor, but I had two great junior counselors, who kept the girls in line.... when that was possible. I learned a lot about life and problems that are going on all the time, but somehow I have been sheltered in some way, yet not completely disconnected. I hate prejudice. I don't understand why it has to be an issue with people. It's dumb, and can be a never ending cycle on both sides. I'm so glad that God doesn't look at our skin color and judge us. There was a lot of drama this week, but the girls learned a lot by the end of the week. Besides some major problems the camp went well. I am going to put up a schedule later, so you all can see what we did. I'm home for 3 days and then I'm off to Washington, D.C. for 2 weeks (and a weekend visit to West Virginia). We are going to Williamsburg, and other historical places.

Random Summer Update

Well, I've just about completed 2 weeks of 5-Day Clubs. So far it's gone pretty good. About 5 children have accepted Christ as their Savior. I am excited about next week though, because I will be going to Camp Good News. Hopefully it will be as good, or better, than last year. This year, my friends in Fort Wayne are going to be there. I don't know if they know what they are getting into, but hopefully they will enjoy it as much as I did last year. Tonight we celebrated my birthday and then went to Tipton to watch fireworks. They were really good! I got some books and some other interesting stuff.... 2 birds to hang off my bed, bath and body, and a big stack of cds to burn, and a dvd, and pajamas, and some other stuff that I can't think of at this hour. That's about it for now... Praise the Lord for the continued work that He is doing in me.

Shadrach 2007

Wow, where to begin... God really answered my prayers for Shadrach this year. I had been praying for about 9 or 10 months that God would help the youth that are in Shadrach to keep the victory and we were given the tools to do that this past week. Praise the Lord for that! We started out with an extra day, which was very nice. The schedule was not structured in the way that it had been in past years, so there was more free time and talk time. We had very good services. The ones that helped me the most right now were from Pastor Robert. He spoke about the authority of the believer, spirits, and keeping the victory. I really needed to hear these messages, and am ready to hear them again. He shared how we don't have to pray about things that God has already spoken about, but that we just need to believe God.

God helped the leaders to know what to do. For instance, one day, we spent about the whole day on an excursion, which might not seem very "spiritual," however, God was working through that time together to help us to be united in Christ without barriers between anyone. We went in two groups- guys in one, and the girls in another. The girls went on about a 15-20 minute hike, I think, to this little creek that we were hoping to swim in. When we got there, the water level was not very high, so we weren't really able to swim the way some of us had thought. So we ate lunch there, and then started exploring a bit. God helped some of the girls to overcome fears that they had. I went with Karin and someone else to go see this little waterfall that everyone else had already seen. When we got there, I decided to go stick my head under the waterfall. As I was trying to get down without falling, I slid down and had a great ride! I went down 2 more times, and then went to get everyone else.... needless to say we went down the waterfall for about an hour.... it was fabulous!!!

God also really helped in the evenings when the girls had dorm devotions. We sang and then sometimes we had discussions about things, or reviewed about what had helped us that day. There were 15 or 16 girls there. Thursday night, we got back to the dorm late, so we weren't sure if we were going to have dorm devotions, but while we were waiting for the verdict, one of the girls came up and said that God had helped her to forsake all. That brought with it praise, but also burdens. We ended all ended up in my dorm room, and prayed together for different ones that wanted prayer to be able to break through. It was warfare. Different people, including myself, felt tied back in some ways, from getting the joy of the Lord, or from having complete victory, or some other request along those lines. I believe God really helped us to pray that night, and I am believing God to answer those prayers for each person. I want to be thankful that I can be a part of a group where God's will is sought, and where I don't have to be afraid to obey God. God is still helping me and I am thankful.

Another thing we did was a witnessing trip. This year instead of going as a huge group, door-to-door or to shops, we went in small groups and had a Prayer Station at Walmart. I went on the last day, with 8 other people. We went up to people and asked them if there was anything that we could pray with them about. It was really easy and most people responded positively. Our group, because it was so big, split up into two, and one group stayed at Walmart and the other group walked around the other shops and the parking lot, praying prayers of blessings on people. It was great.

Praise the Lord for the victories that He gave me and for a renewed vision in walking with God, without the haze of the world, and other "good" things in the way. I'm looking forward to what God is going to do this year!

"Jesus is on the Throne!"

Sliding Down a Waterfall!!!

Here's just a little foretaste of a future report about my week at Shadrach Youth Discipleship Ministry.... One day the girls went on an excursion down to a stream... It was beautiful!! I felt like I was in the jungle in some faroff country. There were flowers and little ferns and one person on the trail (age 9 or 10) said "This must be Paradise!" It was really nice. Anyways, I was with Karin, the administrator/one of my greatest spiritual mentors, and we were going to go see this little waterfall that everyone else had already seen. So we went around this little bend in the stream and there was the waterfall.... it was beside this little cave like thing- a huge rock that you could walk under. Anyways, it was a bit warm and the water in the stream wasn't very deep, so I decided that I wanted to go stick my head under the waterfall. So I climbed up this black rock, that was kinda slippery because of the water that was coming down, but I got up and stuck my head under.... boy, did it feel good! As I tried to ease my way back down the slippery slope I lost control and went sliding down.... it was great!!!! I looked at Karin and was laughing, so she said I could go back up and do it again.... I did it a third time, and then went running back around the bend to go get everyone else to come slide down the waterfall. We went down for about an hour!!! Because the stream was so low, I had been kind of disappointed about not being able to swim, but God knew and had me, of all people, slide down a waterfall, which brought a lot of other girls enjoyment too. I ended up going down feet first, head first, backwards, and double. It was a blast. I went away with a huge black bruise on the back of my leg, from a pointy rock, or something, but it was well worth it. I hope I can go back again someday!

Psalm 42

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, "Where is your God?" These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng. Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan, the heights of Hermon- from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me- a prayer to the God of my life. I say to God my Rock, "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?" My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, "Where is your God?" Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

A Busy Summer...

This summer I am working with Child Evangelism Fellowship teaching 5-Day Clubs and working one week at Camp Good News. I am planning on working 6 or 7 weeks. This week I have 3 clubs and am working with Tida Ihms. It's gone pretty good so far, but the kids have been really quiet, which is good, except when you want them to answer a question, or sing, or say a verse with you or something. At these 5-Day Clubs we teach a Bible lesson, a missionary story, a memory verse, songs, and a review game. I am looking forward to being a cabin counselor at Camp Good News. Morgan and Mikah Litchfield are also going to be counselors which is exciting. Hopefully it will go as well as it went last year. It will be different though, because the main activities director got married, so I'm guessing she won't be there. Please pray for me this summer as you think of me, teaching children the gospel and reaching out to them in different ways. Thank you and may you all have a great summer!!!!

The True Source of Peace is in the Surrender of the Will

Live in continued peace. But understand that peace does not depend upon the fervor of your devotion. The only thing you need to be concerned about is the direction of your will. Give that up to God without reservation. The important question is not how religious you are, or how devoted, but rather is your will in harmony with God's? Humbly confess your faults. Learn to be detached from the world and completely abandoned to God. Love him more than yourself and His glory more than your life. The least you can do is to desire and ask for such a love. God will then pour out upon you that special love which only His children know and He will give you His peace.

from "Let Go" by Fenelon