Luckiest Girl in the World!

I suppose it's normal for a newly-engaged girl to feel like the luckiest girl in the world, but I have been blessed beyond my imagination over the past week! Besides, the thought of marrying a guy I am completely in love with, the best part of getting engaged has definitely been sharing this with all the special people in my life. The fact that everyone else is so genuinely excited for me and Nolan, makes me even more excited myself! It's only been a week, and already I can tell this is going to be a crazy and special time!

My youth group girls were some of my favorite people to tell that I was engaged, they were so thrilled that it made me giddy! I look forward to including them in this process. On Sunday when I came into my office, one of my youth group girls and one of my leaders had snuck into my office and decorated it...this was so much appreciated and such a sweet gesture!! Here's what my office now looks like, I'm afraid it will feel boring when I take the decorations down!

Engaged!

This past Tuesday night, Nolan proposed at our favorite coffee shop...and as you can guess I said YES! It was a romantic and amazing night. After the proposal, he arranged for our friends to meet up with us and celebrate. One of our friends, Taylor, is a wonderful photographer and took some beautiful shots from the night. Bethany even made my favorite chocolate mint cheesecake!! This was such an exciting night and I feel so blessed to have shared it with some of our closest friends! Here are some of my favorite shots from the night:

Gotta show off that ring!!

Talking with our good friend Ryan

Down on one knee!

I'm pretty much glowing in this picture

Celebrating with friends

Transitions...

Over the past few days, it has begun to hit me that I'm done with college, and kind of a grown up now (scary, I realize!) Although I started to work full time in June, the summer just felt like any old summer. Then the excitement of preparing for Kenya, and actually going to Kenya consumed my life for a few weeks. I'm finally getting back into the groove, but it just feels weird not going to class and not seeing my youth group students as much.

For a few days I have been in what I like to call "a funk" with the whole growing up thing. I was almost beating myself up about it, but after talking to a few people I trust, I realized it's normal to feel this way. Not being a student anymore, and working full time, and being entrusted with the lives of students IS a big deal. I should be worried if I wasn't feeling all of these changes!

Yesterday, I took my weekly day off and Nolan and I went to the Grove City Outlets. The place was practically empty, and the weather was kind of chilly. This made for the perfect day to just walk around and take our time shopping and talking. It may sound silly, but it was one of the best days I have had in a long time! What a lucky girl I am :-)

That's all for today...

A Few of my Favorite Photos

I feel like I am finally beginning to process all that God did in my heart during my trip to Kenya, although I know this will be a process. I've been thinking a lot lately about all the people and places I have seen in the past few years. I have had the opportunity to travel a lot: 2 months in Siberian Russia, a school mission trip to Mexico, a leader for a trip to the Dominican Republic, and now a trip to Kenya with a mission team.

While I often dream of touring Europe or visiting exotic locales, I would not trade my "Third World Experiences" for any glamourous vacation! I've met people who walk miles each day to get water, I've met people who are unsure if they will make it through the winter because of the extreme conditions, I've met barefoot children who dream of being doctors and lawyers, I've met mothers who have given up their dreams for their children. It's so easy for me to wonder why me sometimes. Why did I get born in a country where we waste more food than is needed to feed the rest of the world? Why do I get to have a college degree and a bed to sleep in? These questions often lead to feelings of guilt or shame at all the things I take for granted, but God has taught me many lessons in this area.

For the short time I was in Kenya, I encountered more joy than I have in most of my life combined. The very people who have no shoes or no house, taught me that our God is simple, and calls us to live a simple life. The people of Kenya are blessed in a different way than me because when you have nothing, it's a lot easier to give it all up. I have so much stuff, and still I can think of more that I want. This desire for worldly "stuff" will probably never go away for me, but even if I strive a little more to live a simple life of faith, then I've taken a step in the right direction. Maybe all this is just me babbling, but maybe you can relate. Maybe you've seen God work in the little things: a smile and wave from a street kid or a breathtaking view or a man praying for the first time. These things may sound small, but each of these things changed my life over the past two weeks.

Only an incredible God could write the stories I have to tell!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from Kenya. The country and the people were so beautiful!

Jambo!

I'm home Kenya! The past 12 days have been truly and incredible and I have been so blessed to have had this amazing experience!! It's hard to even know how to describe such an experience in words. God is so alive in Kenya and I was so honored to find him there! I had the opportunity to work in a village school, visit a church, help build a well, and go on a safari!

If you know me at all, you can probably guess that working in the school was my favorite part. The children were so full of joy and energy, it was unlike anything I have ever experienced before! There wasn't a moment when I didn't have about 20 children petting my arms, holding my hand, or playing with my hair (my long blonde curls were especially popular!!)

Here are a few videos of the children of Joska (the village we visited). Enjoy!

One More Day!

In 24 hours from right now, my journey to Kenya will have officially begun! I think it is finally hitting me that I am going to AFRICA! I could not be more excited! As I sit in my church office trying to finish up mailings and lesson plans for while I am gone, it is difficult to focus!

Please keep my trip in your prayers this week. The support I have recieved from so many people until now is such a blessing and a comfort, and I know that will continue while I am away! The leader of the trip is going to have his computer and will be updating his blog daily with pictures and stories of our experiences. If you're interested in checking out the blog click here: kenyablog

"Second Chance"

After much delay, I finally figured out how to post this video. Jordan is one of my youth group girls and an amazing musician! This song is entitled "Second Chance" and she wrote the music and lyrics herself. Jordan has been such a blessing to the youth group and her music seemed to become the soundtrack of our summer. I feel so lucky to watch her use the gifts which God has given her.

The song is about how we always mess up, but God is always ready to give us a second chance and keep loving us. It's based on the verse 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. The old is gone and the new has come." What an amazing message!

It is truly comforting to serve a God who loves us despite of who we are! Instead, he sees us as his children and is constantly blessing us!

Keep Jordan in your prayers because she found out today that she has tendonitis in her hand which means she can't play the guitar as much. Music is one of her biggest passions, so this is not easy news to swallow. (not to mention she leads worship for youth group!)

Summer's Over?!

Somehow, without my realizing it, summer decided to end. All of a sudden Nolan is back, I am moved into my new house, all my youth group students are going back to school, and I am preparing to go to Africa!! How did this happen?

With each of these beginnings, however, exciting things are happening. Of course it's great to have Nolan home after being gone for three months and I'm very excited about living with my new roommates!! I'm not ready for the kids to go back to school though! I am already missing being able to see them during the day and go out for lunch, hang out at the church, etc. It's amazing to reflect on the past few months though! The growth I have seen in my youth group is only by the work of God! I am so proud of my students' desire to follow Christ and I am so excited to see how God uses them in new ways in their schools!

This is also a weird time because for the first time since I was 5 years old, I am not going back to school in the fall! Although there are many things I will not miss like deadlines and early classes, I am truly going to miss being a student! I really feel like I am growing up, and that is certainly bittersweet in many ways.

In one week from this moment, I will be boarding a plane to Kenya. It's rather surreal to think about! I am so very excited that it's hard to focus on all that needs to be done before I leave. I feel so immensely blessed to have this opportunity and all the other travelling opportunities I have had in the past. There are not many 22 years olds who can say they have been to 7 foreign countries and 5 continents! Visiting East Africa, however, has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. Thank you for all the prayers and support up to this point! And I ask for continued prayer! :o)

The Olympics

So I've been really into watching the Olympics this time around. I've always enjoyed the olympics but, this year I actually look forward to seeing what events will be on that evening. My favorite has always been Gymnastics but this time I've come to appreciate all the diving, swimming, and beach volleyball.

It seems like people have been talking about the Olympics a lot this year, and it got me thinking, what other event attracts so much attention from the whole world?! I know this is not an original thought but, it's truly amazing the unity which emerges during these two weeks. It's pretty incredible that people from so many different countries, perspectives, religions, political parties, and dare I say "worldviews" are alongside one another for these few weeks. It truly is a good feeling to be a small part of it all, even if I am just watching from my couch thousands of miles away from the action.

I especially felt the rush of Olympic excitement last night when I watched Michael Phelps win his 10th Gold medal, giving him more than any other Olympic athlete in all of history! I have been immensely humbled by what Phelps, and other athletes have accomplished at such a young age. It's crazy to think that Phelps is just one year older than me, and the majority of the divers and gymnasts are much younger than me!

However strange it is, one of my favorite parts of watching the Olympics has been the Visa commercials narrated by Morgan Freeman. First of all, I love the man's voice, and would probably be touched by him talking about something as mundane as the ingredients of his breakfast cereal. Then, throw in the emotional photos in sepia tones, and it pushes me over the edge. But seriously, I think the commercials have a really neat message. I particularly enjoy the one about being human. I may not be getting these words exactly right, but after searching the internet, I could not find this commercial. Morgan Freeman says: "It's not the country they are from that make us cheer for them, but the fact that they are human, and we are human. When they succeed, we succeed." I think this is so true. Don't get me wrong, I love cheering for the athletes wearing red, white, and blue, but there's just something wonderful about seeing the white water rafting team from Togo win the country's first medal in olympic history! Maybe this is the reason that reality shows have come to dominate television, because however "real" we think it is, it portrays people who are just like us. We are people with flaws, who, every once in a while succeed in amazing ways, just like Michael Phelps did last night.

So if you haven't been keeping up with the Olympics, I would say jump on the bandwagon!! You won't regret it!

Youth Ministry and Such

There have been weeks in the past months where I have said: "God, I'm not sure I'm the person for this job." Sometimes I don't feel equipped or worthy or mature enough or just plain exhausted. I'm learning that it's normal to feel this way and also that I am certainly not alone! Then there are weeks though, that the reason I am in youth ministry is so clear and it just feels so right. I'm having one of those kind of weeks. I am continually blessed by the students I get to work with, and I am often humbled by them in so many ways!

God has blessed me so abundantly that when I forget what if feels like to be completely sold out for Him, I can look at some of the students in my ministry! I am finally feeling comfortable enough in youth ministry that I can relax and let small group and one on one conversations just happen, and that's exactly what has happened a few times this week. I am so grateful when a student feels comfortable sharing their heart or their faith, or provides me the opportunity to do the same. I love my job! Although being the youth leader is becoming so much more than a job, it's a lifestyle.

On a totally different track, Nolan comes home in 3 days! wahoo! Then the craziness really begins though because he goes to RA training for a week and shortly after that starts school and his family moves to Florida! I get to keep him here in Pittsburgh though :o) Thanks to all who have been there for me while I have been missing him this summer!!

Lastly, I leave for Kenya in exactly 3 weeks from today!!!