1) My parents have moved since my last post. It has been a huge blessing for all of us because of the scene change. I went from not being able to stay at my parent's house to being able to spend a weekend there. I have many allergies and when they lived on a farm it made staying there difficult. It is a smaller space but super close to everything that you need, including the store and track!!! I am working on cardio work when school starts and it is an added bonus that they live three blocks from the high school and the track. Makes for ample opportunities to run when I visit them.
2) My sister moved home. She was living in Waverly and something happened and she decided to move back home. It is awesome that she is back because we can work on our relationship. The Lord also provided her a job when she moved back.
3) I am in my last year of school at Grand View. I am super excited but nervous at the same time. I am excited to be done with my college career but nervous to enter the "real" world. Over the last couple months, I have had to make decisions involving ministry and other things. One being that if I am not finished in December, I plan on getting a second concentration in Spanish.
4) Mission 2011 and Mission to the City have happened. I participated in both and learned so much from the Lord. During Mission 2011, I went to the Dominican Republic to share the Gospel with the people down there. I have kept in touch with many of the students that I met while I was there. It was a life changing experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat!!! During Mission to the City, I was gone for the first few days for my internship. I was bummed to miss most of the Mission trip to Des Moines, but was super excited to hear many of the stories.
5) My cousins are in the military. One is in the ARMY and one is in the NAVY. My cousin in the ARMY just left for basic on Monday. We tried to talk and catch up as much as possible before he left for 14 months. I am super scared for him, but I know the Lord will protect him. My cousin in the NAVY went out to sea a few months ago. I keep praying for the Lord to protect them because we are so close in age. It is scary to think about, but I know the Lord is watching over them.
6) I visited the east coast and the Atlantic ocean. This was my second trip to the coast and I enjoyed myself. I spent 10 days in December over Christmas break with my brother and his family. My brother was the one who picked me up from the airport and it was one of the best days I have ever had. My brother is in the NAVY and this was the first time he was there when I visited. Every other trip I have taken, he has been out to sea and it was hard not seeing him. It was so hard to leave them because we do not see each other very often. It was a difficult trip because my brother is not a Christian, but I had a body of believers back home praying for me and my time there. I worked on my walk with the Lord during this trip because it was hard being gone for so long.
7) After my trip to the coast, I made my way back to Iowa in time to leave for the annual Faithwalkers conference. I was sure that I was not going to make it back because of weather, but the Lord was watching out for me. This was my fourth year at the conference and the Lord really challenged me this year. One of the speakers talked about commitments and sticking to them. I was very challenged and during a break, I went and spent time with the Lord in prayer over a commitment that I was having a hard time making. Let's just say that the Lord won out and I have stuck to that commitment since I made it.
8) One last thing, I have been super blessed this year by the way the Lord provides. Almost every time I get to a point where I don't think He is going to provide, he shows me a way and provides. One of these things is working on getting a license and I am very blessed to have friends who are willing to teach me and help me out. The Lord is a great God and he has shown up in so many ways.
That is all for now! Enjoy the great weather.
