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!!!!