Thanksgiving break in Celebration, Florida

     For Thanksgiving I got to go home with my friend Lyn to her home in Celebration, Florida, with Marissa. We left early Wednesday morning and got there mid-afternoon, and even though we slept most of the road trip away, we got in and slept another three hours. We took the rest of the day pretty easy: all we did was watch a movie, eat ice cream, and sleep some more! I have never slept so much before, but it just goes to show how busy we are in Masters, and how much sleep we had to catch up on!
    

     Lyn's family owns this little electric car without sides called a Nev. We took that for a ride around Celebration on Thursday, and I realized how beautiful her town really is. It literally is the little, safe, perfect town from the movies! I cannot wait to come back, and I most likely will for spring break!
    
     Thursday night we went Black Friday shopping. We left at 11 pm, and the stores opened at 1 am Friday morning. We quickly learned our lesson: never go Black Friday shopping! The traffic was awful, there was no parking for miles around, and there was so many people you could not move around the store. We decided to call it quits and head home to bed! We went shopping later the next day however, and managed to get a few really good deals.
    
     I went to a highschool football game with Chrissy, had a BBQ with Lyns family, and saw the Snoap of downtown Celebration. Since it does not snow in Florida, they have soap suds squirt from little lamp post-like structures at night, and it resembles snow. All of the little kids go out and play in it, and it really made it feel like Christmas time for me! The rest of the break consisted of sleeping, eating, driving around in Lyns Nev, or walking around Celebration. Although we did not do a lot, I am more than content to be caught up on sleep and refreshed for another three weeks of Masters. I will be home in 2 weeks and 6 days! What a crazy thought.
  
     Here are some pictures of our Nev ride:

Leading up to Thanksgiving Break

     I don't even know where to start- so much has happened! Since Operation Blessing, we have been wrapping things up in time for Thanksgiving Break (which officially starts in 3.5 hours... I'm pulling an all nighter to pack, clean the apartment, and blog of course!). It has been very busy, but good too. I have been taking some time to reflect, and I've realized that God has done so much in the past 9 weeks, and I'm truly not the same girl that first walked in. I cannot wait to see what he does in the rest of the year- but for now I really need the break! I am going to Florida with Lyn, Chrissy, and Marissa, and I am so looking forward to sleeping in, and doing whatever I please with my girls!

     One big highlight of the week was roommate night. We went to the cutest little coffee shop, "Caribou Coffee" and we officially named it our new headquarters for a good time. We got there, sat around the fire, and shared our testimonies with each other.. it so good to hear about each others lives and just grow together! Then we came home, where Lyn and Kasey had candles lit, and we sat around our coffee table. We were then told us to go find two things; one that represented our dreams, and one that represented what we wanted to get rid of for the year. So we all went and collected our things.. and once we all met again, we shared with each other what our things were and what they meant to us. Lyn brought out a decorated box and we put our things inside, then we went and dug a big hole in the backyard and buried it! Well, we had to call a guy to help us... we hit rock! But we will still take the credit for it. We will dig it back up graduation night, but the nights like those are truly what makes this place so memorable, and what makes me so glad to have the roommates I do- I love them!

     Today was our last day before break, and so we had family time all afternoon.. my Poppas car was in an accident, so he was driving another guy's car, which ran out of gas on the freeway! I was riding with my Dad, so we had to go back and find them, and park on the shoulder of the freeway to save them. Not very safe, but we had to help them right? We eventually made it to his apartment where we watched the Grinch and made Turkey dinner as a family. Then we got all dressed up, and met at the church for seven. When we got there, the church was decorated as if a wedding was going to happen. We had a beautiful little service, where Jeanne talked about how when you get married, you make a covanent with your spouse, and drew the parallel to making a covanent with God. We all wrote out what exactly we wanted our covanent to be, and then recieved a silver ring to mark our covanent with God. I can't describe how amazing it was, and an even more perfect way to end off before break. I will not forget this night!

     Here are some pictures of our last night:

Extreme Blessing Week

     Last week we had the opportunity to work with Operation Blessing again, but instead of gutting houses from the flood we were building them back up again. They do this project called "Extreme Blessing" where we have four days to install insulation, drywall, spackle, paint, and furnish/decorate the home. The homeowner(s) is not allowed to come home until the end where we surprise them with all the work we've done on their home. Our team was so big that we did four houses in four days! We worked around 12-16 hours a day, and at times we pulled all nighters to catch up. It was a lot of hard work, and I am not a construction kind of girl by any means, but it was so worth it to see the homeowners faces on reveal day. They were all crying, and were so thankful for what we've given them. No one had flood insurance, and the damage done to their homes was so extensive that they were not able to live in their homes. By us helping them, they were able to move in that night. It's funny to say this, but working so hard on their homes did more for me than it did for them. They say that character is how you respond in difficult situations, and it was a very difficult week for me! But praise God, he kept me strong and really worked through me throughout the week. It was a life changing experience I don't think I will ever forget. Here are some pictures of the week:

2.5 Weeks Until Thanksgiving Break!

     This has been the most challenging week of Masters so far. A bunch of little things, and a few big things, have occured and it has taken a lot of strength not to be brought down. One thing I've learned from this is to praise God despite whatever I'm going through, because a lot more things are going right in my life than wrong. No matter what, the Lord is good, and it won't bring me down! On a more positive note, the cadre went so well. Here's a few pictures of Pastor Mike and the cadre:

     My favourite class right now is verbal communications, and I am learning so much. I've been humbled so much in that class, and I'm truly learning what it means to speak effectively. On friday we had to do a one minute sermon on a bridge over the freeway, in order to work on our projection. It was really funny to see what people came up with, and I never knew how loud the freeway was!

     I have been getting so close to the girls in my small group, Audax. Two of the girls slept over last night, and we went shopping together Saturday night. God is teaching me to humble myself as a leader, and not take their successes and failures personal. It is him working through me, and so all the glory belongs to him, and he is giving me more and more confidence as I step out in obedience for him. I am enjoying discipling these girls so much, and I really could do this for years to come.

     This week we are working with Operation Blessing and doing an extreme home makeover, pictures will definitely follow! We are rebuilding four homes that were destroyed in a flood, and it is literally just like the T.V. show... except we aren't on T.V.! I'm so excited to change these families lives..

     For roommate night we went to Graves Park and took a bunch of fall pictures. They turned out so nice, and I'll leave you guys with a few of them!

Retreat & Cadre

     It has been the busiest weekend in masters so far! We have been at the church late all week working on logistics, tokens, and a bunch of different things in preparation for Oxygen's Transformers Retreat and the 2nd year Opus cadre this weekend. On Friday Pastor Mike and all the youth pastors flew in to experience a retreat with Jeanne Mayo's youth group, and have their own cadre time. It was so good to see someone from home, Beth and I got to see him all weekend and we went out to Starbucks with him Sunday night. It was such an opportunity to be a part of something that pours so much into his life and ministry! I loved it. The retreat went SO well, I got to really know my kids and meet a bunch of other great ones, and God really showed up and impacted their lives. Now it's my job to call them, keep them accountable, and be there for them.. and I can't wait!


     Today was cadre, and we were there all day serving food and just loving on the youth pastors. I love how they leave so happy and refreshed, ready to do more years in youth ministry after just a few short days of being poured into by Jeanne. Seeing Pastor Mike there was also a bonus, as I know he will go home to make an impact there. Here's a few pictures of the retreat, enjoy!