4 MORE DAYS!

I am so ready for Saturday to be here already! I've been waiting for move in day all summer, and it's finally almost time to move in!

I've been packing and going crazy over all that I have to pack haha 

I'm still nervous about my room and everything, but hopefully it's big enough! :)

eeeek....t minus 3 weeks?

hi!
happy labor day!

friday i found out my housing assignment, and i'm going to be living at Mesa Court with LeeAnn! Weeeeee, we are gonna be roomies! So exciteddddd!
anyway, i'm super excited for move in to Irvine, but i'm also going to miss home. i'll be close, but there's nothing like the comfort of being home in my own room and bed, with homecooked meals, and my family.

okays so yeah, 19 days til move in!

COLLEGE IS REALLY HAPPENINGGGG!!!

SUMMER, I love you!

Wow, it has been such a wonderful summer because I've had the time to do so much, sleep, and NOT do any AP summer work! So blessed with a long three and a half month summer vacation, and I still have one more left! Such a great feeling!

So, here are just some pictures to share the last couple of months!

Nina's 18th Birthday :')

Aaronifer's wedding! :')
Photobooth pictures were the best!

The bride! She was STUNNING! ♥

July 4th with alhambra kids :')

         

Senior Honor Luncheon!
Some of the best counselors ever :)

more to come in another post! hahaha

  

Arizona 2012 with HSMT!

Lauren and Thomas's birthday surprise :)

Hiking with some good frands :)

SUPER LATE post-camp reflection: oops!

OOPS! Sorry friends, forgot to post this like 3 weeks ago!


This post is a tad late, but it’s a collection of my thoughts.

As a camper for the very last time, once again, God used camp ministry to bless my life. I went into camp very excited because the theme sparked an interest and intrigue in me. Our theme “Humble Pie” was based off of humility, found in Philippians 2:3-5. It says, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.”

So much has consumed my life and the lives of my brothers and sisters, but I know that one thing we really do struggle with is pride. Pride stems from just our sinful nature because we are humans. Pride is a condition of the heart where we find who we are in our accomplishments. We can’t put our worth into things that have no value because that takes away the value of the cross. Our identity is found in Jesus Christ, and our relationship with Him is the only thing that defines us.

Last week, I was given the best reminder possible: God is our Abba Father, our daddy, and he calls us HIS children. I am his beloved, and he is mine. My relationship with Christ is where my worth is found. I am not defined by this world, or my education, or my background or anything— my identity is in Christ.

This week I came to realize how much I have struggled with things that place identity in beauty, height, weight, and being good enough for everyone but myself.  This world we live in is filled with sins, lies, deceit, and darkness, and it has made humanity so broken. We are broken people, and it is only when we find Jesus, that we are healed from our brokenness.

I am learning to become fully dependent on God, to let him control all aspects of my life. My life belongs to him, and it is only right for me to give everything to Christ, and set all things at his feet. I need to live only by God’s standards, and forget the standards of the world.

On top of these things that I’ve learned at camp, I saw the Holy Spirit work throughout the week. The Holy Spirit’s presence and power was alive and well, especially during our prayer session on the last night. That night was full of intercession, healing, encouragement, and the spirit of God.

As for my cabin, I praise God for a wonderful cabin full of girls who were able to be transparent and open. Being vulnerable is not being weak, for the two are completely different things. I’m glad we were able to go deep the first night at camp, and spend the week praying for one another and encouraging one another. I’ll never forget the fun we had in our cabin, getting yelled at by camp directors at 11:30 PM, and our crazy counselors that loved us to death. It was a GOOD week ♥ a GOOD, GOOD week! :’)

Arizona 2012: God is Able

Another year came by and I had the opportunity to return to the Navajo Reservation with HSMT to hold a Vacation Bible School (VBS) for the Navajo people. 

I’m blessed because God was so good this week, and He also allowed me to lead a junior high girl to Christ. This year, I went from working with infants, to working with junior high kids. I had the opportunity to be bold and share the gospel, and show love to kids who needed God’s grace and love. Despite the living conditions, the bloody noses, the heat rash that I had to endure, God brought me through and truly opened my heart for the Navajo nation. 

Prayer was one of the things that truly broke me. God continuously listened, and he constantly revealed himself. He answered our cries for patience, for energy, for love, for boldness, for courage, for healing, for protection, for rain and much more. For myself, he provided the patience needed to handle my small group kids, the energy to play and interact with my kids, the love for the kids who drove me crazy, the boldness to converse and be open with the teens, the courage to let go and let God handle everything, the healing within our team disunity, the protection of our team, and the out pour of physical and spiritual rain on the Rez. I remember actively praying this week, without having to be told, and feeling overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit’s presence. Through Darren’s lesson for the teens, God reminded me that if we actively pray to him, and persistently pray for the right reasons, he listens and answers prayers. In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, it says “Pray without ceasing.” The power of prayer is so powerful, stronger than any of fears and doubt, and constantly praying is the best way to seek God and ask him to do BIG things. This week, God really sent his angels to protect us, brought rain to the thirsty Navajo nation, and placed his healing hand upon our prayer warrior, Katie. This week only reaffirmed how powerful prayer is, especially when our team joins together to pray.

Another thing I was able to experience was working with junior high teens. ASide from their craziness, short attention spans, and constant talking, they do have a desire to learn about who God is and find out what kind of God he is. Whether they accepted Christ or not this week, the seed has been planted, and it’s a matter of time before God begins to reveal things to them. I hope that I will continue to take responsibility of them by praying for them and writing to them on normal basis. I want to be their accountability partners, and be there for them, even though I’m 500something miles away from them. I want them to know that I’m their small group leader that will be there for them and pray for them.

On the other hand, I’ll share some of the highlights of the week:

• First day: no car trouble this year! PRAISE GOD! 
• Sunday’s canvasing was delightful. I rode with Darren, Stacie, Katrina, Christian and Matt, and we got suck in a wash…THREE times. And lucky us, we got like legitimately STUCK the third time, to the point that we all had to dig on our hands and knees, and get backup from Benson and Henry. Once again, PRAISE GOD for getting us out of that sandy situation! It was literally like being stuck in sand at the beach!
• First day of VBS, SO MANY KIDS! And then more for the days to come!
• Brought one of my teen girls to Christ this week! PRAISE GOD AGAIN!
• Playing basketball and softball with the Navajo! I am blessed with all the time spent playing softball with my small group kids. I miss them SO much.
• Meeting so many new Navajo kids! 
• Journaling to my small group kids!
• Learning to be gentle and patient.
• Letting go of pride and taking in humility.
• POWERFUL worship and prayer sessions! PRAY UNTIL SOMETHING HAPPENS (PUSH)
• Debriefing with Faith, and praying for her and her missions work.
• Team building with the team! 
• Ultimate Frisbee at El Nathan! I’m so sore, it’s not even funny…
• Last night in Arizona at El Nathan! Crazy talks and ridiculous “would you rather”!
• Eight hour car ride home….priceless, as always!

If I could sum up this whole trip in one phrase, it would be GOD IS FAITHFUL.

God is able, He will never fail, He is Almighty God.

Greater than all we seek, greater than all we ask, He has done great things.

Lifted up, defeated the grave, raised to life, our God is able.

In his name, we overcome, for the Lord our God is able.

Basically, this week revolved around 'God is Able.' And it was a huge blessing.

I’m home, but our missions work doesn’t end here. God’s work continues, and He will continue to reign victorious over the Rez. May we keep the Navajo nation in our prayers.

Arizona, my heart yearns for the Navajo nation to be overwhelmed with God’s love, and for God to do even BIGGER things on the Rez, and in time I know He will.

If God wills it, I’m coming back for you next summer!

Arizona, here I come!

Tonight we sleepover and we head out for Arizona bright and early tomorrow morning!

I’m so excited and pumped up (not for the 10 hours car ride) but for everything God has in store for HSMT this week!

PLEASE pray for me and my team! 

Some things to keep in prayer:

• Health and Safety! Pray that we’ll make it out to the Rez with no complications, and that everyone will be healthy throughout the week! Pray that there will be little accidents and little nosebleeds and dehydration! 
• Weather! Pray that God will bless the Rez with rain! May the Navajo thirst for physical rain and spiritual rain!
• Our mission for going on missions! Pray that the team will solely be there to show God’s love and be the salt and light to everyone at VBS! Pray that our hearts are in the right place, and that we go out to the mission field with a clean heart that has confessed to God. 
• Pray for the Navajo people! That they'll have open hearts to hearing to the gospel, and be receptive to what we share!
• Pray that we’ll constantly seek God for guidance! May we obey him in whatever and wherever he guides us.

Okay, well, I think this is it!

I’ll be back in 9 days! :’) Time to go rough it for a week in tents, hot weather, outhouses, cold “showers”, and more!

Arizona, I’m coming for you! Goodbye to Los Angeles, Hellooooooo Navajo Reservation! 

ahhhh, summer 2012 has been so good to me!

everyday is filled with fun, encouragements and blessings! :')

just a recap of today!

-helped with leading worship today...though i had a yucky throat/voice :(
-good Sunday School time!
-Senior Honor Luncheon

-HSMT...for the last time before Arizona!

 

 

 

The countdown to Arizona 2012: 6 days

Hi friends! ( I don't even know who reads this but whatevs)
I'm leaving for Arizona in 6 days! EEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek, I can't believe it's here already!
I have mixed feelings of being excited and nervous, but I'm so blessed to be given this opportunity to go do missions again. I have ideas of what to expect since I'm working with teens this year, but I pray that God would really use me to share about His love and how he has worked in my life. I just pray that God would use me in His own capacity, that I may bring glory upon His name.
Well, time to really get myself right for this missions trip!
Arizona 2012, I'm coming for you.