Finally an update

So I havent been keeping this thing updated like I wanted and but i dont even get online but like 5 mins a day because i have learned the new meaning of busy.

Okay, so what is going on with me. Well i am the front desk clerk at Quality Inn Plaza... and I get into so much trouble for being so scatter brained and clumsy but since i have the hospitality thing going for me and guests like me then they might just keep me for the last month :) It is a mentally challenging job bc you have to remember so much and you have to do it all quickly. Language barriers is hard to get past but people laugh at my attempts... I really need to learn spanish and when you dont even understand a lot of the english spoken is kind of sad... I have been making friends with some of my coworkers, esp the college students. The 3 i am the closest to is Sheena, Eunie, and Terryann and it is just so much fun talking to them.. My managers are cool for the most part. Some are christians and talk about it openly and some are not but they know i am the missionary so a little pressure there. They have been opening up a lot more and letting me in and i love it... I am making friends and building relationships at work... such a God thing

My team is AMAZING! As much as you heard me talk about how great Houston was and how God did amazing works in my life and how much he used me... I never was able to build strong bonds with the other missionaries. I believe a lot of it was where i was at in my life at the time but that is the one thing i wished i did better with. However this summer I have gotten so close to so many people, the opposite effect if you must......Nathan, Holly, SJ, Kara, BA, David and the rest have been amazing and I can sit down and have convos with most of them... and the directors and houseparents, Suzette and Brian, are the greatest encouragers and they have been here for everything this team has had to face and supported us in so many ways.

Okay, my ministries..... work is my big one bc i am there 35 hrs a week... the next big one is KIDS CLUB.... Nathan is my partner (probably one of my closest friends here too bc we understand each other) and our focus on the Lord for Kids Club has brought good numbers and has given us great opportunities to play with them and show them Christ's love. We had one boy who went from one kids club to ours and he asked detail questions to both teams and I got to share a lot with him one day. We say by the pool and God just used me to answer questions like "what is the criteria for heaven and hell?" and "if you kill yourself will you go to hell?" many tough questions but it was such a God experience

Another big ministry is GO church... on Sundays, i am in charge of the whole children's departtment so amanda can have a break. i love it!!!! I do miss church and it makes me think of C2 at times but the ministry is fun. I love youth ministry a little more but my managing skills come into play at this ministry. Youth group meets on wednesdays at a park bc that is the closest place to an area that if it wasnt for go church these kids wouldnt have anything bc of their personal lives with their families. They are beginning to open up and talk to me so i hope i have a little more time with them but mostly i can just pray for them. Pastor Barry is AMAZING though and he just speaks to me and God uses him tgo transform me ( i hear him on thursdays at team worship since i am with kids on sundays)

The other ministry is just face painting which i am okay at but nothing great.

OKAY PRAYER REQUESTS:

1 I need a car and I cant provide it right now so i am depending on God to show me a way. I sent most ppl the email with the story but long story short, i let a friend borrow my car and she accidentally totaled it and now it is difficult bc i was one of the drivers but i have been at peace that god will provide and show his glory. i didnt get mad or cry over the car bc i felt god the whole time. i thought the girl and money issue was the big hard issue but God keeps putting obstacles into my life... someone wise said it was to help sharpen me to be a great tool as a missionary... to go through trials to see what I can withstand... isnt that an awesome way to see God's glory!!!

2 strength, i am growing weary bc i am always busy and i never have me down time to rejuvinate

3 quiet times... i find random times when i get a minute and i do have it on a regular basis but no consistant times and they are getting shorter and shorter bc i am tired

4 group unity bc we are 1/2 done so the tension builds up and i have seen it. i am blessed not to be a part of a lot of things but i am someone they will come to to talk so it is hard a times
bc i get both sides.......... but i just want us to unified and focused.

I will try to put more prayer requests up....... sorry it is so long, i fit a month into this note.

Much love, keep praying and let me know how i can pray!

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2nd Timothy 1:7

So I know I haven't had much access to the outside world but the internet hasnt worked and I had training for my ministry and then training for work. Tomorrow actually begins my first full week with the full schedule (even though I started work last week). So be praying that I have the energy because the last couple of days (today was even my day off) I have been worn out. I need God's strength to give me energy to be the best I can at work. Working at the front desk, I am the first thing guests see so I need to have a smile on my face and a cheerful sincere nature... I just need enough rest to get there... which gives me to the most important part of the note!!!!

A couple of things have happened since we have been here. Today 3 or 4 girls got calls from their banks about suspicious spending. Then when we got back to camp after an outing our dorm has evidence of someone coming in and plundering... so the police have been called and are here and it is 2:30 in the morning and no one is asleep (yes and I have to be at work at 7am)... so please pray for my team because we are all shaken up. Someone was in my room and my purse was in the room and I had a wallet in there that was on my dresser opened...... luckily I have a keychain wallet and my credit cards and personal info was with me. I was blessed but girls have lost a lot of money tonight and it has hit them hard. We felt so safe on campus but now we just have to trust in God... but still we didnt expect this.

The first week has been good. The past couple of days I have been a little homesick and I really miss a few people a lot but it has not affected my work or ministry because I am in the zone and focused on the people there. God got me here and blessed me in little ways. I got to share my testimony with my aunt in FL and I got my own room and my neighbor, Kara, and I have become good friends instantly.

Trials have happened but God got me through each of them. The first day i sliced my finger REALLY bad (within 2 hrs of me being here) and I should have gotten stitches but we didnt know it was that bad until the day later bc it wouldnt stop bleeding long enough. so now i have a permanent scar to remember the summer. then they wanted to give me a special assignment in human resources which would have been fun but I would not get a single day off on all summer because I would work mon thru fri and do ministry tues thru sunday... and then I wouldnt have kids clubs (which broke my heart) and i wouldnt have time with my team. But I trusted in God and said I would be flexible and God blessed me by putting me at the front desk and I am on the same schedule as everyone else. I also caught on to the computer stuff the first day and they usually train ppl for two weeks before leaving them alone and i was on my own computer the 2nd day so that was kind of cool. I started making friends with my co worker s and I think they like me (my manager even bought me lunch Sat as a surprise)... so even though staying on your feet for 8 hrs is tough, I really like my job. I meet fun people every day.

Ministry is great... I am okay with facepainting and I love going to Fun Spot to paint kids faces... after a long day at work, it makes it all worth it. Tomorrow is our first kids club so be in prayer. I have to get up in two hours for work so I will finish my ministry report tomorrow or the next day!

Peace out :)