Church Update and Reality Check

So since I had Monday off, I was able to go to church twice on Sunday. It seems to me that my church is doing well. My dad told me that almost 35% of the people at church had never had any other pastor other than the pastor at my church. This is very encouraging because it means that about 1/3 of the members of our church are new Christians or have just recently started coming to our church. This is extremely exciting. Also my church is very close to finally finding a permanent Youth Pastor to replace the one that left shortly after the split. This is just another sign that my church is slowly recovering from what happened almost two years ago. Even though there all of these wonderful things going on, there is still a lot of really hard feelings between the people that stayed and the people that left. I continue to hear stories of people still being very unhappy with several of the people that left. Also it continues to be quite weird for me to return to my church just because so much has changed and so many people have left. I have to just keep reminding myself that it is never going to be the same at the church I grew up in, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. I obviously still have some healing to do from what happened, but seeing these different things has been so encouraging.

The next part of this post is the Reality Check part. There is a boy that is my age who has been going to my church for 5 or 6 years and has been struggling with cancer the whole time. I found out this weekend that he was extremely close to death and was in hospice care in his home. This reminds me how short life is. He is only 21 years old and is dying of cancer. It is so sad, but he has been inspiring to me and so many other people because his faith in Jesus Christ. He has definitely showed people around him how to trust in Christ and His plan even when it is so hard to do so.

Labor Day Weekend

I am back to school after an absolutely wonderful three day weekend. I came home on Friday afternoon and then returned to school early this morning. Other than the extremely difficult and stressful drive home, the weekend was amazing. Right after I got home, I went to a birthday party for my sister-in-law at her step mom's house. This was a lot of fun because I got to spend time with family. Then on Saturday I had the wonderful opportunity to go Kayaking with my brother and sister-in-law at a lake right close to their apartment. This was so much fun. My brother and I explored the lake and got to spend a lot of time together. Then on Sunday I got to go to church. This was so refreshing and enjoyable. Lastly on Monday, I spent the day helping my parents around the house, shopping, and spending time with family. On Monday night I went to a BBQ with college and young adults from my church. This was also a lot of fun. Overall this weekend was a lot of fun and very relaxing. I am so glad I got to go home because I will not get another break till Thanksgiving.

One thing that happened this weekend while I was home is that I was able to talk to my other brother and sister-in-law with Skype. This was fun because I also got to see and "talk" to my niece Lilli. While I was talking to them, I found out that they are expecting another girl! I have known for quite a while that she is pregnant, but I didn't know what they were having. Her due date is February 1st. It is so exciting that Lilli is going to have a little sister. I am so excited for them!

Back at School and First Day of Classes

Well, I am back at school and have started classes. I moved my stuff in on Saturday and have been trying to get completely settled in since then. I started classes today and am excited about the ones I'm taking. I think they are going to be very interesting. I am taking Anatomy & Physiology I (including a lab), Sociology, Public Speaking, Essentials of Managing Info (a computer class), and a Supplimental Instruction Lab to go with Anatomy & Physiology. I am only taking 13 hours, but I think I will stay busy working and studying. Anatomy & Physiology is supposedly one of the hardest classes at the university so I will have to work very hard to do well in that class. I'm really excited about taking the Nursing classes because hopefully after this semester I will be able to apply to the School of Nursing. I am trying to get accepted so I can be in by Fall 2009. After that I will only have two years left of college.

I am excited to be back, but wish that I could have spent more time at home. It seems like I never get to see my family and church friends anymore. Also it would have been nice to have a little more time to relax. The week in between when I got home from camp and I came back to school was absolutely crazy. I came home from camp and almost immediately got sick with the stomach flu, which I then passed on to my Mom. In addition to all of this, my brother, sister-in-law, and their little daughter were living at our house for a few days before they moved to Seattle. This was a whole lot of fun, but was also somewhat caotic. I also celebrated my 21st birthday. In the midst of all this, I had to pack and organize my stuff for school, which was not exactly an easy task with all the distractions around. All of this is to say that the last week and a half has been extremely busy.

I can't believe how fast this summer has gone. It seems like I was just taking finals for last semester's classes and that I just arrived at camp for staff training. I definitely agree that the older you get and the more fun you are having the faster time goes. I look forward to see what God is going to do in and through me this year. I will try and keep you updated more often.

Support Staff at Camp

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated this. I have been very busy with camp! This summer has been a lot different than last summer in a lot of different ways, but I think the biggest way is the fact that I have been on support staff for two weeks now. Basically when your on support staff, you don't have a group of kids and you float around helping out with whatever needs to be done. The first week, I spent the majority of the week in the office filing papers, entering paperwork into the computer, sorting through mail, answering phone calls, and just helping out around the office. This past week I have also been in the office a lot, but I have also gotten to do a few other things like help set up for the all camp game on Monday and help set up for the special 4th of July things we are doing today. I have very mixed feelings when it comes to being on support staff. It definitely has it's advantages and disadvantages to it. The advantages are that it is much more laid back and relaxing than having a group of kids and you sometimes get a little more free time. One of the best advantages is being able to get to know the people in the office. I have very much enjoyed that aspect of it. There are also disadvantages though. I have to admit that even though working in the office in not so bad, it is incredibly boring and tiring. Filing papers and sitting at a computer is not the most exciting thing in the world by any means. IIn general, I think being on support staff has been really good for me. Not only has it made me more thankful for the higher ups seeing how much work they do, it has also given me a chance to recover from the horrible session 3 I had. I am now pumped, very excited, and ready to move back into the cabins for next week.

CAMP!!!!

I have now been at camp for almost a week. Things are going really well and as usual I am having a blast. This past week we have been doing work projects around camp and have been going to many different training sessions. Earlier this week I spent most of my time doing work projects. Yesterday I spent all day getting trained in First Aid, CPR, and AED use. I enjoyed this a lot even though it seemed like it took forever. Today I found out that I was going to be in the Raptors Unit which is kids ages 9-11 in it. I am really excited about this because this was the unit I was in last year and I love that age group. We also had a day off today.

I am having a lot of fun meeting and getting to know so many knew people. There are a whole lot of international staff this year, which always makes things fun. It is so interesting to watch and listen in order to observe their different cultures. God has been really good to me this summer already. I have met two girls who are strong Christians and we have started building relationships with each other. This is such a big deal because last year, even though I loved it here at camp, I was kind of isolated by myself. I am really excited to continue to get to know these girls and build relationships with them.

I have already begun to see God working in my life this summer. Every night at camp we do a thing called Evening Embers which is basically a recap of the day and a way to get to know everyone in the cabin you are in. Well, several days ago, my cabin was having Evening Embers and we ended up getting in a deep discussion about religion. Three of my cabin mates talked about how they were atheist and didn't believe in the Bible and were asking a lot of questions about Christianity. After hearing what they had to say, my heart broke into pieces. It was so sad to realize that they were completely lost and had no hope. I think I have known this for a long time when it comes to the people I work with, but it really hit me the other night. I believe that God spoke through me that night. He helped me to answer their questions and really care about what they had to say. This definitely reminded me that I am not just here to have fun and get paid, but I am here to be a witness to the many lost people around me that I am working with. It is so exciting to see God working in my life and working through me to reach out to the people around me. I have truly been humbled by this experience. Please pray with and for me that God would continue to use me in mighty ways this summer.

In general, I am doing really well and am really excited about this summer. A lot of the things that I was really worried about have been solved. I think we have a great staff this year and can't wait till the kids get here in just a little over a week. I will try and continue to update you on how things are going.

Finished with Sophomore Year and Home from School

Well, after a very long semester, I am finally home. I will be home for a week and then will leave next Sunday to go to YMCA Camp Lakewood. I am really excited to be done with school and going to camp. I am really looking forward to this summer. This past semester has been somewhat difficult, but in general has gone really well. The last several weeks of the semester were extremely busy and intense. I am really liking my nursing classes and am so glad I changed majors. I think it was a good change. This week I don't have much going on other than doing laundry and getting stuff ready for camp. I am so excited.

I think this summer is going to be a lot different because we lost a lot of staff from last year and have a new Director. It will still be a whole lot of fun though. I am hoping to work with the 9-11 year olds again this summer, but I don't know yet. One exciting thing is that this summer I am in charge of the Outdoor Living Skills Clinic. This means that I will spend a lot of time starting fires and teaching kids how to safely start fires. This will be a whole lot of fun. I will try and give you updates on how things are going as often as possible throughout the summer.

Life's Trials

Sometimes it is so hard to understand God's plan for life. The last several days have been pretty hard for me. On Wednesday night I found out that a three year old boy at my church back home was diagnosed with cancer (probably Wilm's Tumor). Then on Thursday night I found out that one of the little babies that I have taken care of on Tuesday night at a local church died of complications from Spina Bifida. It was so shocking and sad to hear of these two events. It is so hard to think that two weeks ago I saw the little boy running around and playing, just being a normal three year old, and now he is so sick with cancer. It was just four or five weeks ago that I held this little baby girl in my arms, trying to comfort her and now she is gone. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. It is times like these that remind me of what is really important in life and how short it is. I am reminded that really the only thing that matters in this life is whether or not you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I know that I do and so I don't have to worry about where I am going to go after I die. I know for sure that I will go to heaven, but what about all the people in this world that don't have that assurance. It also reminds me that as a Christian I need to do all I can to reach out to the people around me because nobody know when they are going to die. We can't just have fun and make the decision to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ after we have done what we want to do. We need to do it now because we may not be alive much longer. I'm not trying to be negative, but that is the honest truth. It is during difficult times like these that I turn to Christ and his word for comfort. One of the passages that comes to mind is:

Psalm 46 (NIV)
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the
earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart
of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
There is a river who streams make
glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High
dwells.
God is within her; she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Come and see the works of the Lord,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he break the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields with fire.
Be still and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.
The Lord almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

It is so important, yet so hard to just be still and know that God is God and that he does have a plan in circumstances like this. Yet this is exactly what God had called us to do, even when His plan does not make sense. I hope that these two stories remind continue to remind us all as Christians of how important it is to share Christ's abounding love with the people around us every day. Please join me in praying for these two families as they go through this very difficult time. (If you are reading this and are not sure that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and/or you have questions about any of this, please comment and I would be glad to help you with your questions!)