This week was a lot of fun. On Tuesday I went in to the church and continued to work on the set for retreat. It is turning out so well, I will put the pictures up when it’s finally finished! Later in the evening, I went to Jeanne’s house to see the cadre. I actually met a youth pastor that flew in from Moncton; I was pretty excited to see another Canadian! It was so cool to witness God change their lives in Jeanne’s living room. These pastors are leaving refreshed and ready to go back to their youth groups equipped, and I couldn’t be more excited!  


     Wednesday was another day at the church, we had Morning Prayer, leadership, an RA meeting, and I taught creative art and design. We worked on the set yet again! It was a good, productive day.

     On Thursday I got up at 4 am to go to an optional study hall from 6-10 am. We had a scripture study test as well as our first Southeastern test, and I have been so busy this week I knew I needed the time. Both tests went well, so it was worth it! Also, that night I got to celebrate with going to see The Almost play at a local venue. It was so much fun! The Almost is one of my favorite bands, and one of my friends here knows the lead singer. We got to meet him, and I got in free because of it! Their lead singer, Aaron Gillespie, is an incredible man of God. After the concert, he went around praying healing over people! All in all, it was a great night. I’m so glad I got the chance to go!

     On Friday my amazing RA from last year came to visit- Lyn! She stayed right up until last night, and it was so nice to see her and get the chance to talk. It made me realize once again how God has blessed me with an incredible support system. I don’t know how I will be able to live without all my friends I have made here!

     On Friday we had chapel, but instead of having it at the Tabernacle, we went to Stone Mountain! Our job as mentor-family parents was to blindfold our children and lead them up the mountain. It was a lot of fun, and I think they really learned to trust us through the process. Pastor Jay had a great message for us when we reached our destination up the mountain, and then we had lunch together as families.

     Saturday was a day off, and I got to catch up on some much needed sleep. Previously, I had been so busy that I was getting very limited hours of sleep. The awesome thing about it was that I learned to make Jesus my strength. The Bible really is true; when I am weak, He is strong! I am learning that God has a purpose for whatever season he is taking me through, even if it just be a few weeks with a lack of sleep.  Later that day, I did a lot of studying and got caught up on a few projects I have been working on. That night, Lyn, Crissy, Allie, Heather and I went and had a sleepover together. It was just like our apartment together last year!  God has blessed me with some incredible friends in my life, and I am so thankful.

     On Sunday, we had morning service in which Pastor Sam shared a powerful message on reprioritizing your life. We had an afternoon prayer service for our fall retreat and talked as a leadership team about how to encourage our students to come. For evening service, Jeanne talked to us on how to make Biblical decisions. It was a long day no doubt, but I kept the mindset that if I’m going to be there, I might as well learn something! More and more everyday, God is showing me that it is all about my attitude, and whether I choose to be positive or negative.

     Today is another day off, as the rest of the week will be busy with retreat prep. Days off around here usually involve laundry, homework, and getting groceries. Nevertheless, I enjoy the fact I can spend the day in sweatpants! Right now I’m about to go running with Crissy. Here is a picture of the girls in our mentor family at the base of Stone Mountain!

Danielle and I reunited

Danielle and I when she visited

     This week went by so quickly, I don't know where to start!

     On Tuesday I had a great day with my best friend Danielle. We went to Starbucks for a few hours to work on homework, walked Boston, Christina's dog, and watched a lot of movies. It was so nice to catch up with my best friend! She left last Saturday and I already miss her so much.

     Wednesday and Thursday were busy days to say the least! Cadre is in town this weekend, so we had a lot of errands to run, Jeanne's house to prep, and youth pastors to pick up. It is so worth it. To know we get to encourage youth pastors across America and Canada is a huge thing. It really is making a difference in their lives, and in turn they get to come home and effect the kids in their youth group. I know I wouldn't be in Atlanta if it wasn't for Pastor Mike being in the cadre, so you can say I'm especially grateful for it!

     On Friday we had an incredible chapel where Jeanne talked about "polishing your bronze", and taught us how to really accept what God throws our way. After chapel, I taught my class Creative Art and Design and shared my heart about why creating a set for retreat is so important. I love my class!

     Later that evening I found out where I am going for my missions trip in early February. I am going to NEW YORK!!! A few weeks ago, they sat us down and told us our options, and I knew God was specifically calling me here above anywhere else. I'm very excited to get the chance to go and reach out to the big city of NY! As I mentioned, we are going for 9 days sometime in the first few weeks of February. We don't have all the details yet, but I will post them here as soon as I find out. I do know that we are doing mainly street ministry, i.e. preparing short dramas, stomps, and sharing one on one with people, which is something I love to do. The cost is $500 American for the trip; we will be doing some fundraising here, but I am excited to see the Lord provide my needs in this area. Obviously, being in Atlanta I can't work... but He knows that! Please keep me in your prayers as I prepare for this trip. It still is months away, but I want to get the most out of this trip I can!

     Also on Friday night, all of the Masters Commissions in Atlanta got together for a night of fellowship and worship. There is five different Masters Commissions here, and so it was cool to meet everyone and hear their stories. We even met a Canadian girl!

     Finally, we ended off Friday night and the early hours of Saturday morning by going to IHOP with the second year class, just to hang out and have fun. It's very much needed after being so busy and running in a million directions!

     On Saturday I went into the church and worked on the set for our fall retreat. The theme is YouTube, and so we are making it something along those lines... I don't want to give too much away yet, but I will be posting pictures of the finished product on here soon!

     On Sunday night my "family" and I went to Pastor Jordan's house to hang out with staff. I learned a new game called "Smoke that Bowl" and I will be bringing it back to Canada for sure! It was a great night; I get the privilege to hang out with some incredible people! All in all, it was a great week. If you've made it this far- I hope I haven't bored you yet!

  

     I don't even know where to start! Last week was another fun one. I went out to Stevie B's, a pizza buffet, with a bunch of girls last Tuesday. It was great to just relax with them and talk about how we are doing spiritually, mentally, physically, and just catch up!


     Wednesday night was a big highlight for me. We had O2 group night, which is when we split up into our small groups and have our own service for them. That night we had decided to make our classroom into "Audax Highschool" complete with lockers, posters of different school extra-curricular's, and whatever you expect to find in a highschool. With just tealights for light in our room, we went around and shared what you would know "if you really knew me". It was a really great bonding moment, and the new leaders really got a chance to know our kids better. Everyone left feeling closer, and I felt like a proud undershepherd of my kids!


     On Wednesday and Friday I also taught my first two classes of Creative Art and Design. I love to tell pull out qualities in our students that they didn't even know they had. It's amazing to see their confidence to come out! I'm looking forward to see how the rest of the trimester pans out; right now we are working on our set design for Fall Retreat!


     On Saturday night the Audax ladies went out to Target and McDonalds to just be together and have fun! I love our group so much; this year we really seem to know each other a lot better. My first year students are great at connecting with our kids!


     I'm starting to realize just how busy I will be this year. All day Saturday, my "day off" consisted of studying and doing homework for my Southeastern University classes. I love what I'm learning, but it is a lot of work!


     This week is turning out to be a great one... last Saturday night, my best friend Danielle Klock flew in from Oklahoma for a week!!! Danielle was my roommate last year, and has continued to do great things this year studying at Oral Roberts University. I love her, I'm so proud of her, and I am so lucky to spend the week with her!


     Pictures of the week:

Allison and I having some fun on my Mac

Roommate night! :)

Roommates :)

Paige and I at the poolhouse

AUDAX!

My small group Audax. I love them!

     The past week was the first one resembling a “normal” week since I’ve been back.

     Tuesday was the day we started our Southeastern University classes! Along with learning all that Masters Commission has to offer, as 2^nd years we take accredited college classes from the Christian University together. By the end of the year, we potentially can be accredited Assemblies of God ministers. I am really looking forward to these classes this year, as I know I can learn so much about ministry and the Bible. After Tuesday we had our first family mentoring time! We had a picnic in Piedmont park, and the girls and guys split up to have a little heart-to-heart time. I love my daughters so much, we all just were real with each other and had the chance to get to know each other on a better level. Later that night, we went to Jeanne’s for a costume party, and our family dressed up as Superhero’s. Check out the pictures below!

     On Wednesday we had our first RA meeting, where we talk about how our apartments are going and if any potential problems arise. Being an RA is my favorite portfolio responsibility this year, and I love the time we get to come together as RA’s and talk about its going. We had our first leadership class with Pastor Jordan and Missy, and my mind seemed to be exploding with knowledge by the end of it. I love that class! Wednesday was also tailgate night, and our group Audax dressed our car up to look like Candy Mountain. Since our fall retreat’s theme is Youtube, all of the different O2 groups picked a popular video from the website to dress their car up as. It was hilarious! Ours ended up getting 2^nd place, therefore earning a $75 scholarship for retreat for one of our students. It was a great night; we had a lot of fun building Candy Mountain!

     On Thursday we had a pretty relaxed day. We had chapel and Pastor Jordan talked about making the most out of this year. I love how PJ gives us a message that is perfect timing in regards to what we need. Pastor Sam came and gave us a lecture for our Southeastern class, we had a graders meeting, and our first accountability lunch. Allie is my accountability partner this year, and I’m so excited about it!

     On Saturday we had an outreach day in which we went to various parks and schools to pick up trash and bless the community. We picked up 75 bags of trash in the course of the day! I loved to see how no one had a bad attitude this year, something I would have been guilty of if I did this not too long ago. Thank goodness God has changed me!

     Yesterday we had Sunday morning service, and an incredible message by Dwain Jones, missionary in Calcutta, India.  In the afternoon we hung out as an O2 group and welcomed our new first years to their small group for the year! We went to Atlantic Station, had an amazing race/scavenger hunt, and talked to our first years about what Audax means to us. It was a lot of fun, and I’m so excited about the students we have in our group! Later that night we got to eat pizza with Mike Rogers and ask him a ton of questions about being a Christian, and affluent business man, essentially anything we wanted. Mike Rogers is a member of Jeanne’s Youth Leaders Coach board, and truly a blessing every time he comes to see us.

     Last night was really fun. All of the second years went to IHOP at midnight to hang out and just have fun with each other. It was great to catch up with each other, since our priorities have been the first year students since they have come. It was a late night, but sometimes it’s worth it; this was definitely one of those nights.

     I took a lot of pictures this week, so make sure to look below!