The Halfway Point

October 13-20, 2012

Week six has flown by, it is hard to believe that this first part of Joshua is almost over and Thanksgiving break is approaching so quickly. Not much happened this week, it was filled with a lot of homework and free time, which I definitely cannot complain about that.

The weather has been beautiful, sunny but a little bit chilly, the lake is seriously gorgeous, all the trees are starting to turn beautiful fall colors. Everyday I am up here I love living in the mountains more and more.

On Monday, I spent all day working on my Elements of Bible Study paper, which I thought would stress me out but I ended up having a lot of fun with it and learned so much. I am starting to see the Bible in a new way, I am really starting to understand what Sam Meier meant when he told us “know what you see, not see what you know.” It is so amazing how much the Bible has to hold if you are willingly to open your eyes and just see what is there.

I made a trip down to main camp on Tuesday with Shannon, Kelsey and Kelly; we had a lot of fun going to the walking around and taking pictures. I have really enjoyed getting to know the girls here and forming friendships that I know will last for a lifetime.

Thursday was probably my favorite day this week; we had our first theme night. it was 80’s skate night, we all looked ridiculous in our 80’s outfits, we spent the night doing all kinds of crazy things then ended it by going to the Ark to roller skate. It was so much fun and I can’t wait for our next theme night.

I worked the in the Ponderosa dish room this weekend, which was so much fun, extremely hard and chaotic, but still very fun, I like the fast pace of the kitchen and how I was constantly working. I'm really hoping I get some more kitchen jobs this year.

Me and my roommate, Lexi

 Pause siblings

 Pause Brother, Jonah

 Shannon, Me and Kelsey

FALLing into routine

October 7-12, 2012

Fall has arrived, no doubt about it, it is finally getting really cold and it feels more like winter than anything else, we 've had stormy weather this week, its been cloudy, cold and rainy, but its been absolutely beautiful. It has been extremely foggy and during the day the fog covers everything but the trees outside on the back lawn and it is just a reminder that snow will be on its way soon. 

This week was the start of a five-week long stretch of actually living in the building, I finally feel like I am going to be able to settle into a routine of some kind.  It was a great week, very calm and nothing exciting happened, which may sound a bit boring but sometimes boring is necessary.

Everything started off a little bit stressful, everyone was trying to finish a paper for Elements of Bible study, but as stressful as it was, there is something really special about everyone being in the library trying to help each other out and it brings an element of fun to studying, which actually makes me enjoy it and I kind of look forward to writing papers with everyone.

Our speaker, Trent Lewis, really challenged us this week. He talked on humility, which was really awesome. He challenged us to be the Joshua class that is marked by humility. He really encouraged me to constantly be looking to serve the people around me, not because it would be beneficial to me but because it is what God has called us to do. So that his been on my mind all week, which has been so great because it has made me more aware of the ways to serve others around me.

We started our student work experience education program this week, otherwise known as S.W.E.E.P.’s.  This program is designed to help us build our resumes and gain work experience that will benefit us after we leave Joshua, S.W.E.E.P.’s happen on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Half of us work Tuesday and the other half on Thursday, we spend one day a week working about three hours in a different department each month. I worked Thursday in program with Jay Johnson and Laura Shields; we cleaned out all of the costume rooms in Ponderosa and made a lot of progress in organizing all of the props and costumes.

The highlight of my week was absolutely Pause Night! I love my pause families, the Fosters and the Johnsons; they are by far the greatest.  We went over to the Johnson’s house Thursday night for dinner which was so delicious, Jen made us enchiladas, rice and salad, it was nice to have a healthy home cooked meal. After dinner we made caramel apples, then we carved pumpkins and ended the night by playing with the kids and talking about life and sharing little bits of our stories.

I’m looking forward to more pause nights, and getting to know my families more. I can honestly say God blessed me with them.

Overall I would say this week was really great and relaxing, I am exciting to be staying in the building for a while and get a little bit of rest this weekend since it is my weekend off. 

 The view from outside the building 

                                           

    Room with a view, outside my bedroom window

       On our way to S.W.E.E.P's we all tried to hide from the rain under Kelsey's umbrella

Kelly & I found some weird stuff in the attic above Memorial Chapel during S.W.E.E.P.'s

      Johnson-Foster Pause Family Pumpkins 

    Caramel Apples

Close up of the pumpkins

service in the Hartlands

. As a Joshua class we drove about an hour and a half down the hill to a little christian camp to help them clear up there service roads and create new hiking trails. It was our first service trip of the year and I cant believe its already over

Hartland was a really amazing trip. I learned that working hard is actually something I really enjoy, especially when I am working hard to serve Christ and others, I learned that having a good attitude in the midst of a difficult task can make all the difference in the world, and I definitely learned what it means to rely on God for strength when you have none left.

I never imagined I would be cutting down trees and dragging them through the forest, but that is exactly what I did this week. I worked on the shrub team with some incredible people, we all worked well together and wanted to accomplish our common goal together. Most people would not volunteer to be in the woods cutting down trees and taking them to a burn pile for eight hours a day, but we all did and we found so much joy in it. I gained so much respect and was so encouraged by the people in this Joshua class, I have the privilege to know some of the hardest working, encouraging people I have ever met in my life. My Joshua brothers and sisters are the reason I was able to find so much joy this week and was able focus on the reason why we were at Hartland-for the glory of God.

The most difficult thing I faced this week came on our last day at Hartland, being told we had to work two extra hours, should not have effected us so much, we were able to maintain a good attitude but we were so physically exhausted from working and giving every ounce of strength we had left to get off at three o’clock. We all learned how to rely on God for physical strength because our bodies were giving out on us fast, but God was faithful and we could not have expected anything less.

I loved getting to know my class more this week, we had great bonding time while we worked and I am so blessed to be exactly where God wants me. I am beginning to see how the people in Joshua become a family. We are going through experiences together that we will not have with others; we are starting to form that unique bond of community in a way that only Joshua can bring. This week made me so excited for the rest of the year, and the rest of our trips.

Even though Hartland was physically exhausting, it was my favorite part of Joshua so far, I am so thankful for the opportunity to serve Hartland Christian Camps.

                                                      

                                             Enjoying some orange slices with Lauryn and Brandon

                                             Hartland was gorgeous and had beautiful sunsets.

                                           
                                                Used a chainsaw and cut down a tree

                                                      Lady bug colonies were everywhere.
                                                    If I never see a lady bug again it will be too soon.

is normal really possible?

September 24- 30

Week three has come and gone extremely quickly, as I am looking at my duffle bag all packed up for our trip to Hartland tomorrow I am starting to wonder where this week went.

This was our first normal week in the building; we had class everyday this week, which was really awesome. Classes went really well, I am really starting to love each class in its own way, and my favorites at the moment are Israel Prep and Life Skills. I love Israel Prep because of all the history and geography in it and Life Skills is just flat out awesome.

This week was special to me because my birthday was on Tuesday, and I have to say it was probably the best birthday I have had in a really long time! Everyone was so incredible, the RD’s decorated my door, Bella took my spot at breakfast KP, Shannon bought me a shake and a ton of people came down to sing Happy Birthday to me. It was so special and it’s a birthday I will never forget.

We also met our Pause families this week, which was so much fun, Jen was not joking when she said Pause Night would be our favorite thing here at Joshua. I was super blessed to have two families, the Fosters and the Johnsons. The night was so fun and we all clicked so well. I have the greatest siblings ever too, I am Taryn, Alex, Eric, Jonah and Ricky. I can already tell that this is going to be an awesome year getting to know them all in a different way outside of the building.

My week ended great as well, I was a HAG this weekend which was so much fun, I was extremely apprehensive at first because the job is a little bit scary, but once we got into the swing of things it was so incredible. Jordan put me as team leader for the first two sessions, which was so nerve racking , I have to say leading and closing those sessions was scarier than actually being up in the trees. We worked with the women’s soccer camp and the ladies retreat. The Ladies retreat was a lot more personal than the soccer camp. It was so awesome to lead older women through the entire Meadow ranch course and to be able to talk them through their fears and tears. I was so proud when all of the ladies went through the entire course even though they were scared out of their minds. God totally kept me calm through the whole day and it was great to be able to rely on Him through my nerves and doubts.

So far in this short time at Joshua week three has been my favorite, it was so refreshing to have some time in the building continuing to get to know everyone and to be able to see that God is bigger than my nerves and if I can rely on Him I will be just fine no matter what the outcome.