God at Work

Hello friends,

I have completed 1 1/2 weeks of class. Should I be celebrating or locking myself in my room and doing homework? My concept of time is a little off right now. In one way the time here has gone by so fast. One day passes, quickly followed by the next. However, it also feels as if I have been living in South Carolina for years! I know that my time here will pass very quickly and I am trying to remember to treasure my moments here.

I love my classes. It is amazing to be sitting in class focusing on my spiritual development as well as learning concepts that will be so useful in my future, as well as now. I am learning about prayer and discipleship, folk religion and animism which is so prevalent both overseas and here in America, Muslim women and creative access methods. I am learning disciplines that will be crucial for the rest of my life. I am learning how to be and how to have everything that I do flow out of who I am in Christ. It is an amazing time in my life and I am so grateful to God for bringing me here.

I just spent an hour at lunch with a girl talking about how God has worked in our lives, how He is constantly molding us and changing us, about His heart for the world and how He allows us to glimpse different aspects of it and begin to understand how much He loves all people. It is these little gifts that I treasure, new friends and deep conversations. God has blessed me with new friends, even though I don't have much time to spend with them, I know that they are there for me when I need them and that I have a support system here as well as all of you back home.

I am taking 15 credits this semester (and next) which is bordering on insanity, however I am ahead in all of my classes and am amazed at how God has blessed me with the ability to do the work that is required and learn so much from it. Thank you for praying, as I know without a doubt that this is a direct answer to prayer.

I miss you all so much. Know that I am well and that when I see you again, I will not be the same person as when I last saw you. I pray that you are different too, as you continue to grow in Christ and be molded into the man or woman He has created you to be.

The picture above is of one of my many new green little friends. This poor little fellow got trapped inside of our screened in porch long enough for me to take his picture. They are such funny little creatures! I thank God for the little things that He gives to make me smile each day, like cute little critters (and keeping the spiders out) :-)

Home Sweet Home

I made it! My parents and I arrived in Columbia on Wednesday. It was a long, but very beautiful drive. The Smokey Mountains are beautiful! We arrived on campus early afternoon and after checking in and meeting one of my housemates we made it to the house where I will be living and moved in.

The house was not anything like what I had expected. I am sharing a room with another girl named Robyn, who is from Tennessee. We have a bathroom attached to our room that we share and out another door in our room is an enclosed patio. Sarah is my RA and housemate. She has a room that also opens onto the patio. Down the hall from us is Jennie from California and across from her will be Linda, a Chinese girl now living in Boston I think. Linda is not here yet as her and Sarah were both her last year. It was nice having new friends to get lost with on campus! I really like my housemates and I think we are going to have a lot of fun together this year!

The other side of our house contains the living room with new furniture that is very cozy. A fireplace (real fireplace, not gas or electric!), a kitchen and a dining room and another enclosed patio that leads to a laundry shed in our backyard. We have a large backyard with lots of trees. If you walk down the road to the left you get to campus, if you go to the right, you come to the point. That is a great place that overlooks some beautiful scenery. There is a gazebo, swing, benches, picnic table and bonfire pit there. I have already been there a couple of time with my housemates.

A fun thing to see here is the geckos! They crawl on the outside of our house and are so cute! The huge spiders aren't so cute, but we haven't found any inside our house yet! I have been having a lot of firsts here. I got to eat my first funnel cake at an IHOP, go to my first Sonic, all sorts of fun things!

I have been on overload with all of the new people and places, but it really has been quite good. I have already been to a meeting about mission trips for this summer. I don't know if I will get to be on one. The school has adopted 4 people groups and this year they will add another. They send teams to these people groups each year to build a consistent relationship, study their culture and share the gospel. It is really an amazing program.

I was very happy to sleep in today and catch up on some much needed rest. Tuesday is our first day of classes, but there is still much to be done before then! Thank you all for your prayers during this time of transition in my life. It has gone quite smoothly so far and I trust God will sustain me and help me through my very difficult (academically) year here. I miss you all and think of you often.

The Countdown Has Begun

It is hard to believe - only five more days until I leave for South Carolina. These past few days have been filled with activity. We had a family day the last Saturday in July. Mom, dad, Isaac, his fiance' and I had quite the time. We ended up spending most of the day at a place called Action City or something like that. We played mini golf, climbed a climbing wall (we all made it to the top!), played air hockey, laser tag, and three incredibly fun games of bumper cars! Then we went to Tokyo House to eat some super yummy food. It was a great day and fun to connect like that with my family before I leave for school.

Last week however, wasn't nearly as much fun. I had to go to the dentist yet again. Have I mentioned that I can't stand the dentist? I hate going there. It wasn't so bad, but the after-effects made me quite sick. So I missed going to visit my dear friend in Iowa. But God knew what I needed. I got to spend some time just relaxing and finish getting ready for school. I am now quite refreshed and ready to head to school on Monday.

These last days here will be filled with 'firsts' and many 'lasts'. Last night the church staff had a wonderful goodbye party for Erik and Christina and I. Tonight night I preach my first sermon in a church setting at our Thursday night service (pray for me!). Tomorrow a friend is helping me pack my office up and then we are going to reward all of our hard work by going to the fair. Saturday will include last minute packing and a trip to a bridal shop to try on bridesmaids dresses. Sunday is my last official day at church and will be a busy one. I am sharing about the International Student Ministry here at church. It is appropriate that it is the last thing I will do here in an "official" capacity. Then on Monday morning my mom and I take off for the long drive south. We will take our time and get there in time for me to move in sometime on Wednesday.

Yes, it will be a busy last couple of days. They are filled with lots of sadness and nerves, but lots of excitement as well. I will miss work, church, friends, and especially family and our bulldog Quigley. Poor thing, he has been so sad lately because he knows I'm leaving again. Ahh, the things you have to give up sometimes in order to walk the path God has laid out before you.... Thank you all for praying for me during my time of home service. I feel that I can move on knowing that God has helped me to accomplish the things that He has set before me. I want to thank all of you so much for your support over the years. I have learned so much from each of you. As home service comes to an, end I covet your prayers for the next stage of my life. May God bless you all as much as you have blessed me!