Northland Camp!!!

This year I had the opportunity to go to Northland Camp. I had always heard wonderful things about Northland Camp, but had never been there before. I was really scared coming up to camp because I only knew Kayle Humphries and Jenessa. But I am so glad I was able to go.

So I rode up with Scott Graham and Ashley Haulsted. It was a little weird because I had never met these people before, but they were pretty nice and as the time passed by it wasn't as awkward. We ended up getting there an hour and a half before registration. So we just sat there in the heat talking. Then we turned in our drugs to the nurse, and we went downstairs where we were assigned our counselor and cabin. So we went outside waiting for them to call our counselors name. While we were waiting someone else was called who also had our counselor. Then finally we were introduced to our counselor. She helped us carry our things to our cabin and then the adventure began.

Like I said I had never been to Northland Camp before so I did not know what to do. So for a while I just waited to see if we would get any more kids in our cabin. Well after a half an hour, I decided to wander around. So I went and played football with a bunch of guys that I did not know. Then I went back to my cabin to see if any more kids were there. Shortly after my counselor walked in the door with some more people. Then we went and played football. Then I played 9 square, which is an extremely fun game. Then we went back to our cabin. So by the end of registration we had 9 kids in our cabin: Jenessa, Erin, Allyson, Holly, Kailey, Sonie, Dominique, Bernette, and I. After the free time was done, we went to a building and met as the red team. It was really weird at first. The counselors were going crazy. Then we were introduced to the team leaders and they taught us a bunch of cheers. After that, we went to the gym for orientation. Then we played 4 court volleyball. That was so much fun and Dominique was beast at it. Then we went back to our cabins and got ready for chapel. We had the privilege of having Aaron Coffey speak for our night services. Chapel is amazing during camp. The music is wonderful and the preaching is amazing. I was challenged greatly each day by God's word. That night Aaron Coffey talked about Matthew 7. It doesn't matter what people think of you, what matters is what God knows about you. And it's not what did your faith cost you, but what it does cost you.
Tuesday was our first full day of camp. By then we had all gotten to know the people in our cabin pretty well. You start off the day by waking up and cleaning your cabin, then there is flag raising, then breakfast. Well after that, we have our morning chapel. For the mornings Will Galkin would talk about

Hebrews 12. The theme for this week was, Hebrews 12, "Because of the faithfulness of God and the finished work of Christ, you can endure to the end." He also talked about how God is here, God has spoken, and Christ is superior. He talked about how we are in a race of faith, and how we can run this race because of Christ's faithfulness. Then after the morning session of chapel we have something called power groups. It is a time in which we come together as a cabin and talk about a passage from Hebrews 12. I absolutely loved power groups. We were all open to each other and it really helped hearing that other people have the same struggles as you. Then after power groups we had a time set apart for cabin unity and also cabin pictures. We were supposed to go do cabin pictures first, but the line was long so we did cage ball as a cabin. Cage ball was super fun. You are in holes in this little room and it is basically like hand ball. We also play 9 fast holes of mini golf. I am pretty sure that even though Dominigue and I were probably the worst at it, we probably had the most fun. So after that, we went and got our picture. I am pretty sure our cabin had the coolest picture. We had a pyramid with people doing the red team pose on the sides. It was awesome!!! Then we had our afternoon session. Mr. Frazier spoke about our relationship with the Lord. He talked about how we need to have a special time and place to spend time with the Lord. He also talked about how we need to have a special someone who can keep us accountable. He also talked about an acronym called DEPAC. Doctrine-a truth to believe, Example-an example to follow/avoid, Promise: a promise to claim, Attribute: a character quality to dwell on, Command: a command to obey. Then our steps for DEPAC are 1. to pray and ask God to help you understand what you are reading when you read His word 2.to read the planned passage for the day 3. to underline the verse that you think has DEPAC 4. put the letter beside the verse you underlined 5. finish reading and answer what things did I learn and how should I apply it to my life 6. and then spend time in prayer using Praise, Repent,Ask, and Yield. Then after this service we had free time. For free time I decided to do the swim test so I would not have to wear a life jacket every time I wanted to go swimming. Then I went off the eclipse swing and the liquidator. I epically failed at the eclipse swim, but the liquidator was so awesome I had to go down twice!!! I loved it!!! Then I had one on ones with my counselor. It was really nice being able to talk to her. Then we had supper. After that, they expected us to be able to run on a full stomach! Jk it wasn't that bad. We played a game called tag-a-lot. It was so much fun!! So there are a bunch of buckets and one person sits on either side of the bucket. Then you have to try tagging someone, yet you cannot cross the line of buckets and you can only run when you get the piton. It might sound confusing, but it is really easy. After that we had a little bit more free time, which I used to get to know some of the girls in my cabin a little bit more. Then we went to the last session of chapel for the day. Aaron Coffee talked about Isaiah 2. He talked about how we should not have idols in our life, or anything that we spend more time with than God. He talked about how Jesus is Better!! When you think about it, can your idols really save you, no, Jesus is the only one that saves. So shouldn't we actively pursue Him instead of other things. Then we went back to our rooms for devotions. That night we met our assistant counselor Cassia. Isn't it wonderful to see people who truly love the Lord and want to serve Him. I am so glad that God allowed Juli and Cassia to be my counselors.

Wednesday was a great day. We started off by a great challenge from Will Galkin and then a water game. The water game was insane! There was this huge water slide in which we had to throw a tennis ball into a mini swimming pool or a garbage can. Then there were some medium sized pools that we had to jump through and then touch the other persons hand. Then we had to carry a bucket with holes in the bottom across a line of people. Then the last thing we had to do was put a sponge in between 2 people foreheads and run across to a cone and run back.  It was so much fun!! And we were soaked!! Then we had funny time! Oh my word they were hilarious!!! Then we had another amazing service by Aaron Coffey! After that, we had a night game. So our counselor told us that they would ask us if we randomly had certain items so we brought like everything. We ended up getting like 7 of the things, it was awesome!! Our cabin totally dominated this game! Dominique won at basketball and Erin won for football. Then I won the pillow fight!! It was so scary!! Ok so there are 5 people from each team lined up on a low balance beam with pillows. I thought I was possibly the strongest person so I was going to be last. My counselor told me to shove the pillow into their faces, but they told us we could not do that and we had to whack them instead. I looked at my counselor, worried. Then in just a short time all 4 of the people in front of me were out and only 2 of the other team was out. I got the first person out quite fast, then I got the second person. There was only one person left. I looked up, and I am pretty sure my jaw dropped. It was Ashley Haulsted. She is the tallest, strongest girl in the camp. I felt like David against Goliath. It was so scary!! She whacked at the back of my legs and kept on hitting me. I thought that was a good idea so I did the same. Finally I hit her so hard she got a little off balance so I kept on hitting her and then she fell. I was so happy!!! Everyone said she had the look on her face that said she was going to kill me! When I got back to my cabin, one of the people said that they were surrounded by guys and all of them agreed that they never wanted to get in a pillow fight with me. That is so awesome!!!

Thursday, we are getting to the end. Thursday started off great with another wonderful challenge from God's word. Then we had a game called Phase 10. We had to collect different numbers like in the game phase 10. It was a lot of fun! Our team did quite well, also. Then we had some free time. I was so scared to go on the zip line, but I kinda wanted to do it. I told my counselor, Juli, that the only way I would do it is if she would shove me off. Well she was working on the swingshot right next to the zip line. I went over there and she quickly switched so that she could work the zip line and shove me off. Juli tried pushing me, but I realized she was going to and held on. There was this guy on the other zip line who was really afraid to do it, so after me like freaking out forever I made a deal with him that we would go at the same time. Well, Juli shoved me off and he went 5 seconds after me. I screamed going down, but it really wasn't that bad. Then we played a game called Endurance. For this game we had to run a course that was only .6 miles, but had 10 different challenge courses. The very last course was the mud pit. It was so much fun!! A girl in our cabin was the only girl to completely finish twice. Then we finished off the night with another service with Aaron Coffey.

Friday was the last full day of camp. Will Galkin had to go to a wedding so Aaron spoke in the morning. Then we had another game. For this game there was kind of like 2 parts. It was a Bible quiz and then whoever got the question right would draw a card out of a bag. It would either have points on it, or it would say twister. When it said twister we had to go put either our hand or our foot on a dot that was on the grass. We would run our hardest to try to get a dot. Once a girl bumped me in the head and my nose hurt for a couple of days. =( So our awesome counselor, Juli, gave us a little pep talk before this game and told us like all of the questions and answers. They had not even finished asking the first question and I stood up. It was, "Through the faithfulness of God and the finished work of Christ, we can endure to the end." I was so happy that I got it right! Then Dominique and Sonie were beast at it too and got 5 questions right put together. So basically our cabin dominated in this game, too. Then we had free time. Jenessa, Juli, and I all went swimming. Oh my, that is all I can say. Juli and I went off the eclipse swing and I totally did better than her. =) Then we went down the liquidator! It was awesome! Little Will Galkin gave me a 8 both times!!! The first time Juli went down it she almost got stuck. It was so funny! Then the second time she went down she went super fast. I thought she was going to die. After we got changed and went to the craft shop to make flowers. That was a lot of fun! Then we found out who won, the red team or the blue team. The blue team beat us, but it was still a lot of fun and I am so proud of our team. Then there was chapel. Let's just say there was a lot of smiling going on! uhem Juli and Jenessa! ;) It was really sad because it was the last night. My sister came right before we did our devotions. It was awesome! Then Juli told us some more stories, like her engagement story. It was a really good night!

Then came Saturday morning. I don't think any of us wanted it to come. We were all so lazy when we woke up. We packed all of our stuff in the car and then we went to breakfast. Jessica told us that we had to leave like right away. Well, Jenessa and I did not want to leave. Goodbyes are always the worst. Well after an hour and a half after Jessica told us we needed to leave, we said our goodbyes. We got some awesome pictures with Juli...and Michael Jiro! Then we left and headed home.

Camp was so much fun and I am so very thankful that I was able to go. I needed each and everyone of those sermons. I am also really glad that God put me in the cabin that I was in. My counselor was super amazing and really helped me. My cabin mates were also super amazing and I am so thankful for them. It was a wonderful week in which I will never forget, nor will I ever forget those people.

Camp Shiloh

This year I had the wonderful opportunity to be a junior counselor at Camp Shiloh. I have always loved going to Camp Shiloh ever since I was a little kid. Over the past few years I have learned so much, and I am so very thankful for all of the people I have met while at camp.

This year I was able to, once again, have Kassie Schultz as my senior counselor. Well at first we only had 4 kids in our cabin; Arian, Roberta (aka Robert), Madyson, and Jade. But then everyone realized that we had the smallest cabin by quite a bit, so we got Autumn, Haily, and Kianna.

Tuesday was the real first day of camp. There is nothing better to start of your day with then a nice fresh cup of coffee. Then during verse time, so that the kids felt important, I said both verses to each of them and had them sign my book. We have a certain time set apart every day for us to go swimming. Well, I got about 20 leaches stuck on my foot that day. I was so scared! That day, Kassie and I also had one on ones with our kids. It was really great. And for the kids who were not getting one on ones that day, we sent to Jenessa and Laurel's cabin and had them teach them a song.Then, since Camp Shiloh was during the 4th of July, we had the parents come to hang out with all of us on Tuesday. We watched fireworks and played a game of  volleyball. That night I also had the opportunity to say my testimony for devotions. And as I found out later in the week 2 kids in my cabin got saved after that. I am so happy for them! =]

Then Wednesday we played sink the canoe and got this ginormous bruise on my leg. Cher, Kassie, Jenessa, and I also had the privilege of singing I Have Been Blessed for chapel.We also played capture the counselor and only like 4 counselors got found. We had the best hiding spot in the whole wide world! ;) That night I was also able to do the devotions.

Thursday the DeMartes came. After chapel we normally go back to our cabin and discuss what we have learned and pray about it. Well we had Mrs. DeMarte join us during that time. The DeMartes started a game of water kickball for the kids during dean time. So on first base there was a sprinkler that you had to run in, second base you had to pop a water balloon above your head, third base you had to jump into a tiny baby pool while getting sprayed with a hose, and then to run home you had to go on a slip in slide. So while, the other counselors were canoeing out to the island David Levy and I played kickball with the kids for a little while, which was a lot of fun. Then we joined the other counselors out by the island. I love canoeing out to the island!! But this time I got blisters on my hand from kayaking. :( That night we also went to Grace Baptist Church of Makato so that we could have chapel in air conditioning. Then we talked about our favorite verses for devotions.

Friday was the last full day of camp. :[ I was able to have 3 one on ones with my kids that day. This day was when I found out that 2 of them got saved. For dean time we played sand volleyball. Most of the counselors from Owatonna sand The Power of the Cross for chapel. We also had a campfire where testimonies were shared.

All together it was a wonderful week at Camp Shiloh. I was challenged greatly through the preaching of the word of God by Pastor Schofield and Pastor Linscott. Pastor Schofield talked about being a brighter light to the world around you, and Pastor Linscott talked about prayer and how we should pray and why we should pray.

Need a Car Wash?!

Saturday, June 9 our youth group held a fundraiser for our mission's trip to New York. We had a car wash. It was so much fun!!

The fun began just a couple days before that, though. Thursday, June 7 I decided I wanted to go to the school and paint signs for the car wash. Unfortunately, the only person I told was Alicia Smith, because I did not think anyone else would be up at 9. You see, I decided to go at 9 so then I could go straight to my doctor's appointment after that. Well Alica and I had a lot of fun, even though we did not even finish 1 sign in that hour. We kept on fighting over who was going to paint the letters on the sign. Neither one of us thought we could paint well, but we both did some of it. Then at the very end before we left, we each added a bubble and I drew the outline of what was going to be a sponge. When I got home from my doctor's appointment I asked my sister if she wanted to come to the school with me and paint some more signs. She thought it would be a good idea if we waited a little bit and invited some people. Well out of a bunch of people that we invited only 4 showed up. So Jenessa, Cher, Jared DeNeui, Clay Carns, Ceagan Carns, David Levy, and I were the only ones making the posters. Well let's just say, that was a lot of fun! My sponge ended up looking like a peanut and everyone made fun of it. Jared and Clay both drew pictures on their posters. The pictures were hilarious!! Then Ceagan finally decided to help paint David's arrow, even though he said he wasn't really helping. Then I had to leave and pick up some things for my sister before my soccer game. So I went home, picked up some freezees, brought them to the people making posters, and went to get what my sister needed. It was a great day!

Then on Friday I went to go put some of the posters ,that Jenessa had made, around town. I started asking the Boldts and Mrs. Thompson where I should put them up around town, then I decided I needed to make more small posters. I went back to painting for an hour and a half. Then I was finally done, and went to put them around town. First, I put one up in the library. Little did I know that it was like the start of the summer reading program so I got free ice cream. That was pretty awesome. Then I went to HyVee and saw Bryce and Mrs. McGuire working there. At first, the lady said that I was not able to put up the poster, but then she saw that it was for a church so I was able to. When I got up to the board, there was no pins. I didn't want to take away anyone's pins, so I overlapped one poster's corner with mine. Then I needed one more pin. I finally had the guts to ask one of the ladies working. She went to her own bulletin board and took 2 pins off just for me. How sweet of her! Then I went to Cash Wise and had them put one up, too. I think it was a pretty good day.

Then came Saturday, the day of the car wash. I was so excited I woke up at 7 just so then I could hang up some more posters and still be at the church at 8:30. Well, my plans were demolished because I forgot my dad took the suburbun, the car I normally drive. So I waited and finally we got to the church, but we were 1 minute late. I looked around and the only other person there was Mr. McGuire. Then, my sisters locked me out of the car because I was the only one that knew we had to be here at 8:30 and they did not think I was right, but I was. Finally, some other helpers showed up just a couple minutes after. We started hanging up posters on the side of the road. Then, our first 2 cars came. Anne Levy and I got the special privilege of drying the windows of the cars. Then, Pastor said we should get some signs and someone should hold them up on the side of the road. As soon as he said that I saw Alexis Duruji. In my head I said "light bulb". I brought Lexi inside and told her she had to do it. Unfortunately, Ceagan did not finish David's sign, so I had to glue on all of the letters on the back. It took me so long, but finally it was done. Then Alexis, Anne, and I all held up signs on the side walk. We were saying, "Come to our car wash and help support our mission's trip to New York." Anne thought the people were staring at us weirdly, but they were just looking at the sign. It was a lot of fun! After 2 hours though, we kind of wanted to switch with someone, but no one wanted our job. Then this one dude came by and talked to Lexi and I. Then he walked to where Anne was and talked with her. Then, he picked up Lexi's flip flops and started taking them away. When he got to us Lexi was like, "Thank you for finding my flip flops." He was going to carry them to the clothes and shoes drop off box. It was so hilarious! Then finally after another hour Sarah switched places with me. So then I started washing the windows. It was a lot of fun! Then after like an hour of that, I switched places with Anne so she could do that. Then I held up the sign with Marta. The whole day was a lot of fun! We washed many cars including Mr. Sorheim's huge truck. When it was all said and done, we earned $1000! That is so awesome!!


 I am so excited to see how God works in our lives during the mission's trip. It will be a blast! There is not a better group to go with then these people. I love them all!

I Have Truly Been Blessed!

My sister Cher and I have grown a lot closer in these last couple of years. I love spending time with her. On Christmas day, Cher and I went outside on top of our suburban and just sat there singing songs while star gazing. Don't worry we had blankets on, yet it really wasn't that cold. I saw my first shooting star that night, in fact I actually saw 3. We enjoy doing many numerous things together. She is a really great person. Her love for others and her passion to serve is amazing, but her relationship with the Lord is even more amazing. God is definitely number one in her life. I have truly been blessed to have her in my life.I love you!! 






Even though I only knew the Burggraffs for 3 short years, they sure made a huge impact on my life. Pastor Burggraff came, about 4 years ago, to become our new Pastor. I have learned so much from him. He was an amazing preacher and an amazing Bible teacher. I don't think I could ever get tired of hearing him preach. Mrs. Burggraff was my volleyball coach for 2 amazing years. The first year I was really scared of her because she was a tough volleyball coach, but then I grew to love her.  But she wasn't just worried about teaching us the different skills in volleyball, but more importantly she was worried about our relationship with the Lord. She wanted our relationship with the Lord to be the most important thing in our life. She wanted us to focus on glorifying him. Whether we won or whether we lost we would praise Him. I will never forget those 2 years of volleyball. She also helped me with my first solo. I was so nervous, but I knew I could do it, besides the reason we sing should be to bring glory to God. I have learned so much from her. I look up to her greatly. Her passion to serve God is just amazing. She has helped me grow so much in my relationship with the Lord. I can talk to her about anything. She is just one phone call away. Even though this family has moved over 1,000 miles away, they are still very near and dear to my heart. I look forward to and love getting texts from Anna, she is such a sweetheart. And I absolutely love getting phone calls from them. I love that family so much!!!






I am so very thankful for the Dows. There are so many wonderful memories that I have with the Dows. Like Wheel of Fortune during Health Class! That was so much fun! When I first met Mr. Dow I thought he was the coolest person just because he hit Kari in the face with a dodge ball.  The next year he became our teacher. The Dows had it very rough the first year of teaching and I am so thankful that they stayed. The next year was a year that changed my life. That year our whole high school and junior high went on a camping trip. This camping trip was a time for us to get away from school and grow both in our relationship with each other and in our relationship with God. That was a life changing year for our whole secondary. After that, you could see a difference in our attitudes. It was amazing. Mrs. Dow was also my Sunday School teacher. We did a couple Bible studies and everything. I learned so much from her. It is really amazing how God can bring so many amazing people into your life to help you and then in God's timing He will take them away because there work is done in that place. The Dows are definitely another family that I will never forget.

 Kari is also one of those great friends of mine. I have known Kari since I was 4 years old when my mom first started doing Day Care for her. At first her and I were friends yet enemies at the same time. She would always break my things or be mean to me. For instance imagine me, Kari, and a toilet, not the best thing ever. Then again, even though she was mean to me, I was also mean to her. I always tattle tailed on her. As I got older I started feeling worse about that because I would see her get her mouth washed out with soap by her mom. In fact, once she knew she was going to get in trouble so she just washed her own mouth out with soap. I felt terrible, but at least her mom felt bad because she did it on her own. Well even though we were not the nicest to each other when we were young, Kari is definitely one of my closest friends now. I love her so much!!

 I love my family so much! They are the ones who have been there for me all of my life. My Dad is someone I look up to very much. I absolutely loved going on bike rides with my dad when I was a little girl. And I still love going fishing with him out on his boat. Once we were fishing at the Griffins cabin and I dropped his favorite fishing pole into the water. I don't know how, but I caught part of the line. Well my dad got his fishing pole back after like 10 minutes of pulling the line out of the water. That is something I will never forget.

Then there is mom. When I was little my mom would try to give us spankings, but I don't even know if you could consider it a love pat because it was so light. She was always afraid she was going to hurt us. My mom had it ruff because she got stuck with Jenessa and I. Supposedly when I was like 2 Jenessa and I ran out onto the road. One of us went one way the other went the other way. I don't know how she survived, but I am glad she did. The other day one of my teammates in soccer said, "I wish my parents came to my soccer games." Well my mom has always been at like every sport event whether it was soccer, volleyball, or basketball so I felt really terrible for them. Well they actually said this when my mom was in the hospital so she was not able to be there. My mom was so sad that she had to skip my first soccer game and my second one. In fact, she cried every time. It shows how much she cares.

Then there is Jenessa. Oh my! Jenessa is my twin and will always be one of my closest friends. When i was 4 years old I fell off the side of the bridge and cracked my head open in the dam. When I got up I still had my bag of cookies in my hand, but I had lost one of Jenessa's shoes. She did not care that I almost died (well actually she did), but she was really upset for me loosing her shoe. She claims that she has never forgiven me for that, but I think she really has. I will never forget that. When we were little we were always partners in crime. It was either that or we would be fighting each other. Even though we used to fight all the time, we really do love each other. She is such a great sister and I love her so much.

I would write about how i have been blessed to have Jessica and James in my life, but I already have in my posts about them.






What is the reason for you to go to church? We go to church so we can fellowship with other believers and grow together as one in Christ. Christ should be our main focus while we are at church. Church is a place where we can learn more about God and share how God has worked in our lives. We pray for each other and we have a relationship with each other. We build each other up when we are sad. We help out each other. For instance, when my mom was in the hospital people brought us meals. That was such a wonderful blessing.  The Bible says in Mark 16:15 "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." We have a chance to witness to people and to disciple others through our Awana program and through our opportunities to work at camp and go on missions trip. I love my church. Ever time I go to church I am encouraged by the wonderful people there. I don't know where I would be at if I would not have trusted Christ as my personal Savior and if I wouldn't have such a wonderful Church to help me grow in my relationship with Christ. I have truly been blessed to have such a wonderful Church.

The Beginning of an Adventure

Well my "adventure" started May 24 when I got my license. Getting my license was the step to a new beginning. I did it, I finally did it. I was so afraid coming up to it, but I just prayed that God would help me and if it be his will that I would pass. Well, I did.

The next part of my adventure is soccer. When it came up to the date of registration for soccer, I did not want to play. I loved the team and everything, but I was afraid that I would let the team down because I would miss a whole month of soccer. The night of the deadline for soccer, I started getting this terrible feeling that I made the wrong decision, to not play soccer. Well, I looked in my prayer journal and one of the prayer requests was for my decision to play soccer. Whenever there is an answer to prayer, I write the date it was answered. Well, there was a date next to it. I realized right then and there that I had made the wrong decision. I had promised God that I would try my best to witness to those girls, and playing soccer was part of the God's plan. Somehow God opened the door for me to still be able to play soccer. I hope that I will make a difference in their life, and if it is God's will that some of them would get saved. I have missed so many opportunities to witness to them in years past, but I am done making up excuses I will not lose another chance. After all, I may be the only who plants a seed in their life.

The next part of my adventure is VBS. I am going to teach a Bible lesson for VBS. I am so excited for it. I love the kids there, even if they may get a little rowdy every once in a while. They are good kids.

After that, Camp Shiloh will be the next part of my adventure. Once again, I have the opportunity to be a junior counselor at Camp Shiloh. I am greatly anticipating this because it is a great way in which I can disciple others for Christ, and grow more in my relationship with God. Camp Shiloh is so much fun. I enjoy the various activities like the watermelon race, capture the camper, capture the counselor, swimming, and Zub-Zub.  The food is also great, but if I worked there all summer long I would be fat. They make desserts for every meal! These activities and the food are really wonderful, but the best part of camp is chapel and being able to do devotions with your cabin every night. Each day we have 2 sessions of chapel. This is a great chance for the kids and myself to be able to learn more about God. Then cabin devotions are a time for us to be able to share our testimony and how God has been working in our lives. It is also a time for us to share our wisdom and knowledge about the Lord. I remember last year I talked to them about Philippians 4. The main verse that I shared was Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.” I used the example of volleyball and how Mrs. Burggraff worked us so hard that sometimes I just wanted to quit because I did not think I could go any farther. Well, that year Coach Burggraff also told us that “can’t” was not a word; it is “I am currently struggling with.” That is very true. Sometimes life throws different “adventures” at you, sometimes it is rough and sometimes it is not. All we need to do is ask God to help us and He will. All things through Christ.

Then this summer I am also going to be going to Northland Camp. This will be an adventure for me. It is far away and the only person I know is my twin sister. Still, I know that this is a great opportunity for me. It is a time in which I have to myself and that I can grow in my relationship with Christ. Instead of helping others with their relationship with God, others are helping me. Northland Camp’s main focus is not for us to have fun, which is just a little extra. It is to train us to be disciples for Christ and to help us grow in our relationship with the Lord. I am greatly anticipating be able to go there. I pray that God will help me that week to become a better testimony for Him.

           

This summer I also have the opportunity to go on a mission’s trip. I am so excited for that. I have always wanted to go on a mission’s trip, and now is my time. This is a great opportunity for me to use the skills that I have learned from counseling at Camp Shiloh, VBS, and Awana. I love to help people, and this is a grand opportunity for me. For our mission’s trip we are going to Long Island, NY, and we are going to be helping West Hills Baptist Church with their day camp for a week. Right now, we are preparing for our ministry out there. We did a Sunday school class about it, and now we are learning how to teach a Bible lesson. Teaching a Bible lesson will probably be one of the best opportunities we have to plant a seed in these kids’ lives. I am so excited to see how God works in their lives and in my own.

The last part of my  adventure is going with my grandparents to Colorado. A couple years ago we went with my grandparents  to Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills. We had a blast! I never realized before how funny my grandparents were. I love them so much!! I am greatly looking forward to spending time with them on this trip.

Jess Is Home!!

 I am so blessed to have such a wonderful sister like Jessica. She has been there for me all along, and I know she will always be there for me. She was there for me when I had to go to mayo for a medical issue, she was there for me comforting me when some very special people in my life, left, and she has been there for me when nobody else has. She truly is such a wonderful sister.









 I greatly enjoy and look forward to those days in which we are able to spend together just talking with one another. Learning more about each others life and the friends we have met, the things we have done, and how God has been working in our lives. I love spending time with my sister.








I also greatly look up to my sister. She is a great influence on me spiritually. Whenever she called home from college she would ask me what she could pray for me about. Praying for people actually helps you love them more. Then through her whole situation of looking for a job, she taught me about trust. She had to trust God to take care of her through all of this, and that He would show her the way He wanted. It proves just even more that she wants to live God's life God's way. Through all of this she wanted God to be glorified. She trusted Him to take care of her and show her which way to go.







Now Jessica is leaving this Wednesday to go work at a Camp. I am so thankful that God opened another door for her. I pray that God will be glorified through everything that she does.

I love my sister so much! She means the world to me. I don't know what I would do without her.

Nothing But The Truth

So this year our school did the play, "Nothing But The Truth" by Phip J. Anderson. It was a lot of fun! The scene was set in 1913 on a boat. The play was about a man named David who was on his way to England and eventually China with his sister. Along the way he met a girl named Kate. David thought that in order for Kate to like him, he would have to lie about his life. He told her that he was an American spy tracking down a German agent. Well as the play went on, he found out that there actually was an American spy and a German agent aboard the ship. Also aboard the ship was a lady named Mrs. Elias. Boy is she a character. From the minute Mrs. Elias got on board she was looking for a boy who Paullete could marry. She tried many different things to get Paullete a husband like talking to every young man, asking for a list of men on the ship, and writing a love letter to her. Unfortunately David ended up with that love letter, so Paullete ended up liking him. In the meantime, David and Kate were trying to find out who the German agent was. At the end he found out that Kate was the German agent. And through everything thing that they had done and talked about, David ended up finding the bomb on the ship. Unfortunately he threw the bomb into the water saving the ship, but killing Kate. After that, he continued to lie to Paullete about being a detective, and they all lived happily ever after. The End.

It was so much fun being able to perform this, even though at the end we started despising the long practices and the hair and make up. However, I don't know if it would have been as fun if it were not for the people who were in it. This was Andrew's first time being in the school play, and unfortunately his last. He brought a lot to this play. Whether it was his whining and complaining about getting makeup on, him refusing to get lipstick on and then trying to take it all off, or him attempting to do a British accent. Sarah was also in the play this year. Oh my, so she had to do the quickest scene change out of all of us and the last performance the rod fell from where she was changing. I ran to where she was, lifted up the curtain, and I am pretty sure she has never changed that fast in her life. Kari was also in it again. I don't know how she did it, but she never dropped Wes, not even once. Cherilyn, Cherilyn, Cherilyn. I loved her character. She was absolutely perfect for it. She was the hysterical character that made the show. Daniel was the actual American spy of the play. For dress rehearsal I don't know how many times he changed Rachael and my phones to spanish. It was terrible, especially when you don't know how to change it back. Rachael was the stewardess. That girl is always fun to have in a play with you. Then the waiters were also awesome!!

James Is Home!!

I am so blessed to have a wonderful brother like James. Even though he has work and friends, he still makes sure that he spends time with us. Even if the time he spends with us is playing video games with him or even watching him play video games, it is still fun. I love being able to spend time with him.

We all look forward to him coming home each time. We always wait for him to come home, looking out our kitchen window 24/7. Once we see his car we run outside and we run out to him before he even stops the car, eagerly waiting for a hug. One day we even layed out on blankets in our driveway. Unfortunately it took him an hour longer to get there because he was showing his friends Pillsbury! That kinda made us mad. =)

I love my brother, he is the best brother in the whole wide world. However, spending time with me and my sisters is not the only part I like about my brother.I love how my brother has a great relationship with the Lord. It is so much fun watching him and someone else debate about the Bible and many other things. It is also nice to have a brother who is not only good at math, but is willing to help me in math. And I think it is just amazing how my brother stays up till 5 in the morning the day he comes home because he is helping his friends finish their monopoly project for accounting. His heart to help others is just amazing. I look up to my brother so much. He is a wonderful person. I love you James!!!!