Transitions

Once again, it has been a very long time since I have even looked at this blog. In fact, I had to go back and read my last post because I couldn't remember exactly what I'd written. Day to day, it seems that very little has changed. However, I look back at the last post (written over a year ago) and realize just how much has changed in my life. I'll give you a very brief summary of what's happened over the last 18 months or so.

I successfully completed a field placement at a maternity care coordination service and graduated from UNA. I really learned a lot about the challenges and rewards social work has to offer. If I ever doubted my major, God put those doubts to rest. So with lots of lessons learned and a confidence boost, I walked across the stage in Flowers Hall and graduated with my BSW. Then, the same day as graduation, my parents and I packed up my apartment and started the moving process. I had to go ahead and start moving because I was scheduled to start my MSW program at the University of Alabama in two short weeks. I moved in with my sister and her husband, restarted school, and have been walking along the path of life.

All is going well and I should graduate with my MSW in May. Living with Elissa and Myles has been great, and it's been nice to be a bit closer to my parents. However, it has been quite the transition. In fact, the entire 12 month span from May 2012-May 2013 is going to be one huge time of transition. Elissa and Myles will be moving to the great state of New York next summer, and I will begin my job search. Of course, you can't forget all about life's everyday surprises. This has been, and will continue to be, an interesting period of time.

Times of transition can be a bit odd. They are times of growth and anticipation. I'm ready to strike out into the next part of my life, but I have one more semester of preparation left. Once again, I'm learning to "walk by faith and not by sight." I'm interested to see exactly where God will lead me in the next year. I admit that I can be a bit impatient at times, and I have always liked having a plan to follow. I guess this is just another way for God to show me that He has a plan, and He'll let me know the next step in His time.

I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving, and here is wishing you an early Merry Christmas as well!   

For Everything There is a Season

Here I sit at home almost one year since my trip to Alaska. It doesn't seem possible that it's been that long. Time is just flying by, and I wish that it would slow down just a little. However, I know that time will just pick up the pace. The older you get, the faster it goes.

Some of you may be wondering why I haven't posted before now. Honestly, it's because I don't feel like my life is that interesting. Sure there are funny little things that happen, and little blessings are sprinkled in everyday. Some not so great things happen too, and there are times that I complain. I share these things with close friends and family, but most other people wouldn't understand the significance of these events because they aren't up-to-date on all the events in my life. Besides, there are some things that should just be kept between family and friends. I will do a very quick summary for those that are curious. I just finished my Junior year at UNA, and I'm expecting to graduate next May. I've spent the year focused completely on school. (Believe it or not, Social Work is a very demanding major! I think I wrote more papers and did more projects this past semester than I did in four years of high school.) God taught me a lot about not stretching myself too thin during the school year. I still helped with the kids at FBC Florence, but I did limit the amount of events I participated in. You can't say "yes" to everything. However, when I limited my "going", God gave me opportunities to share my faith. I got to spend a lot of time talking to my roommate and answering her questions. Talk about an opportunity! God also taught (and still is teaching me) that I've got to let go of my future and give it to Him. With graduation within sight, it's driving me crazy to not have my next move planned out yet. He's given some guidance, but there are still lots of unanswered questions. I have to remind myself constantly that it's HIS plan and HIS timing that matters, not mine.

People have been asking me, "Where are you going this summer? What are you doing?" The answer: I'm going back to UNA to take summer classes. The classes will only last about a month so I will have time for other things as well. Hopefully I can fill that extra time with some volunteer work, job shadowing, and disaster relief. Don't get me wrong, I would have loved to have gone back to Alaska. I looked back at my pictures the other day, and I felt a physical ache of longing. I pray that last summer is not the only time I will ever spend in that beautiful place. But I have to remind myself once again: GOD'S PLAN, not mine! (Yes, the reminder is brought up often.)

So where does all of this leave me? It leaves me in a season of waiting. An "in the mean time" type of thing. Dr. Timothy George once preached a sermon about what to do "in the mean time." The bottom line of his message: Prepare. Use times of waiting for Bible Study and prayer. Serve God however you can RIGHT NOW. You don't have to travel to the other side of the world to do that. Sometimes all you have to do is pick up the phone, write a letter, or cross the street. It may be a small thing to you, but it may make a world of difference to somebody else. God will use whatever He wants, big or small.

It's hard to wait, but it's essential. Waiting gives us time to prepare for what's coming next. It gives us a chance to recover from whatever we've just completed. God knows that we need our rest. There's nothing wrong with taking a backseat for awhile. Besides, when we're waiting, other people are taking center stage. The work isn't all up to you, and you shouldn't take the lead role all the time.

So for now, I'll wait. I'll take the time to let God work on me. It's time to dive into Scripture and to let Him lead, Step By Step, to whatever He has planned for me next.

JAM Camp

Last week was the big week of the summer, JAM Camp (Jesus, Arts, and Music Camp). This is the big event of the summer for the Hatcher Pass Baptist Association. While most other camps draw kids from The Valley (Palmer and Wasilla) and Anchorage, JAM Camp brings in kids from all over the state. JAM Camp also has twice as many campers attend than most other camps. It's also special because it focuses on the arts: music, drama, puppets, creative movement, etc. To make the camp even cooler, Christ is the main focus. This camp is really one-of-a-kind.

This week was amazing for me in so many different ways. The blessings that God poured out are just too many to count. One of the biggest blessings was that six kids came to know the Lord! Two girls also accepted a call to the mission field (more details about that later!)! Several kids also took the time to pray with their leaders about issues they were struggling with. The camp was a huge success! God was really moving during that week.

So what part did I get to play in JAM Camp? I got to play 3 roles. 1. Cabin Leader 2. Drama Teacher 3. Summer Missionary. It was a very busy week for me, but I loved every minute of it. I want to tell you a little about each of these roles.

First, I'll tell you a little about my Summer Missionary role at camp. A lot of planning came under this role. As two of the Summer Missionaries, Emily and I were in charge of putting the Talent Show together for Tuesday night. We held auditions (just to see how serious the performance was, nobody was turned down), put together a schedule for the show, and MC it. Those kids were so talented! It was amazing to watch them get on stage and have a blast showing off what they could do. Emily, Ericka, Rachel, and I didn't get to watch the show though. We were busy behind the stage getting ready for our next MC part or a "commercial." We wore a different hat to introduce every act, had funny "commercials" between every few acts, and I introduced the commercials as Zorro. We had a BLAST! Tuesday night's Talent Show is one of the hi-lights of the summer. We, along with other summer missionaries, also did a short skit during worship every night to introduce the night's theme. This was also a ton of fun. Some skits were serious, some were funny and covered everything from prayer to salvation. The kids never knew exactly what was coming during our skits. The night I was in charge of the skit was the salvation night. We did the Sin Box Skit. We had a tub labeled as SIN. One person got stuck in it and 3 others got pulled in and stuck in SIN with her. No matter what we did, we couldn't get out. Then Jesus comes along and explains that He is the only way out of sin; we can't do it on our own. It's a pretty neat skit.

The next role I played was the Drama Teacher. Those of you that have watched me grow up know this: I love drama! There are very few things in life that give me as much pleasure as being on stage does. However, I've never taught drama before. When Gary asked me to teach the Drama breakout sessions at camp, I was ecstatic and extremely nervous. It was an incredible experience! I had the privilege to teach 2 groups (one younger group and one older group) twice a day, a grand total of 4 sessions a day. Trust falls, vocal exercises, relaxation techniques, a projection activity, silly songs, and the Question Game were used to teach some of the basic principles of drama. After all of that came the hard part, casting. It was extremely difficult to decide who should play what part. I'm pretty sure that I walked away from the casting process with more gray hair than I started with! Things turned out really well though. Due to the size of the groups, each group performed 2 skits on Family Night. Each camper played their part exceptionally well and the crowd loved them! I AM SO PROUD OF THOSE GUYS!! However, above all else, THEY HAD FUN AND LEARNED ABOUT GOD!!! That was the goal of the week, and it was well met. I was extremely blessed to be a part of the camp as the Drama Teacher. I am very thankful for that amazing privilege, and I won't forget the smiling faces and fun times of the Drama Sessions.

Finally, the most important part that I played during JAM Camp was the role of Cabin Leader. While teaching a breakout session is a very important part of camp, above all, I was there to be a Spiritual Role Model and Guide to the campers. If one one of my girls needed me, they were my number one priority. I got to be a Cabin Leader for two 13 year-olds, a 15 year-old, and 16 year-old. Each of these girls had their own testimony and their own struggles. During the time I had with those girls we shared laughs, shed tears, and gave encouragement and support through words and hugs. There is one special story from the week with my girls that I would like to share with you. This story involves me and two of my girls, Cari and Anne. On Monday night, Cari and Anne came to me during the invitation asking to pray. Both of the girls, Cari especially, were struggling with feeling God's presence. They talked about being able to feel Him during the good times when their faith was strong, but other times, it was like He wasn't even there. I talked with them a little about God's faithfulness and His promises. I reminded them of Abraham and Joseph. Surely there were times when these two great men of the Faith felt like God wasn't there, but God always saw them through. I prayed with them and asked God to remind them of His faithfulness and to let them feel His presence. Within 24 hours, we got a powerful answer to that prayer. The next night, this time with tears of joy, Cari and Anne came back to me during the invitation. THEY HAD FELT GOD'S CALL TO THE MISSION FIELD!! (I'm tearing up right now just thinking about it!!) Our missionary for the week, Amanda, had shared her testimony with the campers. It wasn't a fuzzy, feel good testimony. She talked about the struggles she's experience since being on the mission field with the IMB, but she also talked about how the sacrifices were worth it all. God is in control and He is faithful. Cari talked about how that kind of scared her, but she prayed about it. She felt God moving and calling her. Anne also felt God's call on her life. Isn't that amazing?!?!?!?! GOD IS FAITHFUL!!! It's amazing to watch Him work.I just can't believe that He would allow me to not only witness this incredible event, but to actually be involved. I can't explain to you the joy I felt when I prayed with Cari and Anne. I really can't explain just how amazing the entire situation is. This story will be a memory I will cherish and treasure for the rest of my days.

A HUGE THANKS TO EVERYONE THAT PRAYED FOR JAM CAMP LAST WEEK! God heard the prayers of His people, and He answered them. Thank you so much for your prayers.

Catch up!

Sorry about the delay in updates! I haven't had much internet access for the past 3 weeks, and when I did have access, other things took priority. It's hard to believe, but this is my last week in Alaska. The last three weeks have been great. There is so much I want to share, but I don't have the time to tell everything. For now I'll just sum up Valdez and Big Lake Baptist's VBS. I'll do a separate post about JAM Camp.

Our week in Valdez was incredible! By the end of the week, we had 18 kids at the Back Yard Bible Club. This is an amazing number for Alaska and an exceptional number for the first BBC in the area. We didn't have any decisions made that week, but we could see the impact that the stories were having on the kids. They were learning something new every day! It also feels great to know that we helped to lay a firm foundation for future Bible Clubs they want to do in the area. This year's club was more about getting established and developing relationships than anything else, and that goal was met! We also got to see a lot of God's creation while we were in Valdez. We got to take a sea life tour where we saw puffins, sea lions, seals, otters, and whales! It was amazing! The scenery was also breathtaking. Of all the places we've been this summer, Valdez is my favorite. Not sure that I would want to live there (the nearest Walmart is almost 300 miles away), but it's a really cool place.

We spent the next week at Big Lake Baptist Church. I helped Rachel and Ericka in rec and I taught the kids missions at the end of the day. It was loads of fun getting to play with the kids each day and then drive home an important point at the end of the day. I really got the best of both worlds that week: play with kids and teach them valuable lessons about sharing Christ. I also got to pray with a little girl named Sophia on Thursday. She and one other young girl accepted Christ that week! Not only did we have 2 kids accept Christ, but the kids brought in a huge offering for missions! Less than 60 kids brought in over $300 for the Cooperative Program! How neat is that?? Everything about that VBS was awesome!

I know that's a very short summary, but know that those two weeks were among the best of the summer. For my next post, I'll talk a little about JAM Camp. JAM Camp was a very special time for me (the BEST week of the summer) and it needs a post all its own.

Keep praying! I only have 1 week left in Alaska; only 1! Emily leaves tomorrow, Rachel leaves on the 7th, and Ericka and I fly home on the 9th. Please pray that we will finish the summer strong and pray that the kids at the Montana Creek VBS will be open to God this week. THANK YOU!!!

Guest Post #3

There has been another adventure-filled week at a Vacation Bible School. The only Internet access was on Wednesday night and that was very brief. Heather and her friends are now headed straight to camp again for the upcoming week. So, once again Internet has to wait. This camp is called J A M. (Jesus Arts & Music.) This has been an anticipated week from the beginning of the summer. Can't wait to hear details! Thanks to finally having something besides dial-up Internet at home, we have had the chance to actually see Heather a couple of times over the last two weeks. This picture was taken while Skyping with her. It's great! Two weeks from Monday is the big day! She will be home for a short while before heading back to UNA for her Junior year. So hard to believe. It has been a wonderful summer.

1Corinthians 10:26

Just a Few Pictures

These are just some pictures that I've taken in the last few weeks. The first and the last pictures are of Mt. McKinley! The other three are just some of the general beauty of Alaska. Oh, and the picture of the sun and the lake was taken at 10:30 at night!

Valdez-The Journey and Day 1

This week my team is working in the small town of Valdez. It's over 220 miles from the Palmer-Wasilla area. Normally it takes about 5 hours to drive from city to the other, but we made a few stops on they way down. We got to stop and have a picnic in the largest national park in the world! We didn't get to see much of the park, but what very small part we saw was beautiful. We also stopped at a glacier and two waterfalls. The mountains we saw on the drive were amazing! It's hard to believe that we were in the car for almost 8 hours( including stops!). When I have a chance, I'll post some of the pictures. The homes we are staying in this week and the location for the Kids' Club we are working is actually in Keystone Canyon. We are surrounded by waterfalls and beautiful trees. The area we are in is actually considered Rainforest! (It was barely 50 degrees today and we were all bundled in our jackets. Have you ever heard of a cold rainforest???) This area is gorgeous!

As I've mentioned, we're doing a Kids' Club in Valdez. The club is scheduled for Tuesday-Thursday. Preschoolers come in the morning from 10:00-11:30 and then older kids come in the afternoon from 1:00-2:30. This is the first type of Bible Club for the church in this area so they are very excited.

Today we had 9 preschoolers and 6 olders kids. That may not seem like many kids, but for this area that is a big success! (We had a Backyard Bible Club a couple of weeks ago and only had 2 kids on the very last day. We were ecstatic that they came!) Most of the kids seemed to at least have heard about Jesus before, but I think they still learned something now. The younger kids talked about Noah and why it's important to obey God. The older group talked about Jesus's birth, the wise men following the star, and about the special gifts the wise men gave to Jesus. We also played some really fun games with the kids-Elbow Tag, Simon Says, Human Knot, the Trash Can Game (I won :)), and Gorilla, Man, Gun (full body version of Rock, Paper, Scissors). The kids really seemed to enjoy everything we did today! Here's hoping that we get all those kids and their friends tomorrow!

This week seems like it is going to be tons of fun. Please pray for our team as we prepare for two more days of teaching and loving on these kids. Also pray for the kids and their families and that this Kids' Club will open up the door for families in this neighborhood to share the love of Christ with their neighbors.