rollercoasters, new brakes, and stacks of papers

These are the nine most interesting things I've done in the past three weeks :) Take a gander!

1. On June 26 I was approached by one of the youth leaders about helping chaperone the youth group on a trip to Kings Dominion. Although I did not know a single person going and I have an extreme fear of roller coaster, I was happy to help out! The youth leaders got a kick out of riding coasters with me though because I couldn't keep my fear inside. There was quite a bit of screaming!! You should check out this video that Kyle (the youth pastor) took on the Dominator. I'm the one that sounds like there's a killer on the ride! http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1171740013&ref=name#/video/video.php?v=1163574562160&subj=1171740013

2. FCC (Fairfax Community Church) has been 'hosting' the Lamb Center (a local homeless shelter) for the month of June. I have been in charge of bringing the donations into the center and have thus far taken 3 car loads /around 500 bags filled with daily necessities. More bags keep coming in, even though it's now July. When I visited the Lamb Center, I got to know some of the staff/volunteers and am encouraged by all of what they're doing for those in need within Fairfax. The men and women staying there are pretty great too. I hope I get the chance to spend more time with them in the future.

3. Last week, four youth groups from out of state came to FCC. They were tied to a program passionate about raising up disciples, Lead222 (2 Timothy 2:2). One of the groups worked at the Lamb Center and was a part of an amazing testimony of someone who was arrested four times and has now given himself over to the Lord. He was baptized last Friday night at FCC :)! Praise the LORD for His pursuit. Another sheep has now been found :).

4. For the last week of June and the first week of July there were 20 people living in my home. The family that I am staying with out here (the Zenks) were hosting a family gathering :). Four of these people were 1-2 years of age, so that was fun! There were kids running around everywhere and adults laughing on the back patio in the moonlight. It was fun, but completely exhausting as well! (darn that introversion of mine).

5. On the 4th of July I of course went downtown to see the fireworks (with the crew of 20)! It was pretty great getting to witness them at our nation's capitol! The weather was beautiful and the crowd was not nearly as big as I had expected it to be. Come if you ever get the chance!

6. It's been evident for the past two months that my brakes have needed fixing. I'm the one at the four-way stops that everyone can hear comin'. It was getting to the point of dangerous with all of the stop and go traffic that I do on the beltway. So, $550 dollars later, they have been fixed :). I'm not as quiet as a hybrid or anything, but the noise level sure has gone down!

7. If you're not aware already, there have been some transitions going on with the Outreach team at FCC. The old intern, Lainey, became the interim because the director of global engagement is now working as the pastor's assistant. I have now taken the intern position, and Lainey has moved to Hungary for a year. So, Sara Pearce is the new director, and she is incredible! I've gotten to know her these past couple of weeks since she's been on board and I think working alongside her will be great. She had been working for the FBI the past five years and is now here with FCC. Her long term vision is to do missions work full time in Africa. Alan, my mentor and the pastor of global engagement, is off in Zambia so Sara and I (the newbies) are here alone fending for ourselves and trying to figure everything out as Lainey and Alan are gone!

8. This past Monday I started work at the Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center. I will be there every week helping organize the place to bring about some structure :). Once I'm finished with that I will start counselor training and getting a feel for the work that's not so behind-the-scenes. My first task is Janet's office. She is the woman who runs the non-profit organization. She is amazing! and I'm really glad to be working with her. God has been placing some wonderful people along my path :) Here is a glimpse of her office so that you can get a better feel for what I'm doing!


9. Another highlight since my last post has been how involved I've gotten with the college ministry at FCC. I just want to thank everyone who prayed that I would make friends out here, because I have! :). It is so wonderful having people my age to spend time with. This past week we saw the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I had a blast with the people, but I was disappointed in the movie! NOT "the best Potter yet" like all the reviews are now saying.

Okay, so I know that I've just written quite a bit, but again it feels as though I haven't scratched the surface with all that is going on out here. Please keep me in your prayers. God is definitely taking me out of my comfort zone every single day, but He continually proves Himself faithful. I learned that I'm really not someone who runs from my fears and my weaknesses. God has been putting difficult opportunities in front of me all throughout my stay here and I have taken Him up on each one! Which reminds me, I'll be speaking to the Children's Ministry at a church in Alexandria this Sunday about missions. This will be a challenge for me because I'm not too fond of talking in front of people, and I'm not sure where the church is located, but I know that God has blessed me with knowledge and many experiences that I can share with these kids :).

I pray that God is blessing all of you and working to strengthen your relationship with Him each and every day. We serve a mighty and wonderous God!

three weeks in

Although I have ventured into the 3rd week of PRIME, I would say that I am still in a time of transition. Even though I've learned faces and names and my way to and from the church (which now only takes me 25 minutes :), I'm still a new face trying to figure out how I fit in. The church is a mega one (over 2,000 attendees), which I am used to because of my home church, however, it's a bit hard to make friends. Thankfully, I was out here in time to attend the college small groups kick off though! That happened two Sundays ago and my first small group meeting is tonight at 7:00 :). Be prayerful that some good friendships come out of this weekly get-together.

Since my last post, I have

1) Attended a conference put on by the Institute of Global Engagement. It was held at Georgetown University (in DC) and was a dialogue about bringing peace between Evangelicals and Muslims.

2) Met a British American girl who was raised in Napal and knows RuthAnn Price!! (for those of you who don't know, that is one of my missions professors at HU).

3) Gone the wrong way on a one-way street in DC with a big red truck coming my way! Obviously I've lived to tell the story :)

4) Been ticketed for parking in an unlabeled "No Parking" zone in DC (sheesh, this city has been giving me some problems).

5) Had a one-on-one, 3 hour conversation, with an expert on the RightPath personality test. She told me all about why I am the way I am. It was completely insightful and wonderful!! Apparently I have a personality type that only makes up 1% of people! I suppose I'm a rarity :).

6) Met with a missionary who is starting work in Berlin and a missionary couple starting work in Zambia! It's so cool to hear about peoples' passions and the work they're doing for Christ!

7) Had a tour of the Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center because I will be sharing my organizational skills with them once a week starting fairly soon :). I will also get to do counseling training and experience all areas of the non-profit organization. I'm pretty excited!

So, those are most of my highlights. It's been several weeks, so much more has happened, but I'll keep it simple for ya. Again, I would love to hear from you all. Getting e-mails and phone calls from family and friends always makes my day :). You could continue praying for my time of transition. I'm having fun, but everything is still new and different -which is a good thing, but can be challenging at times. Pray for a continuous positive attitude and open heart to all God has in store for me.

I love you all!

actually written june 9th :)

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have made it to Virginia and just completed my second day of interning :). So far, I can tell you all that

1) The church is wonderful! You should check out their website (www.fairfax.cc). I love their outreach program and all that they are about. It's evident to me that God is really working and moving out here...and that's so exciting!

2) I learned today that the pastor of the church is a fellow Hoosier! He's happy to have me on board :)

3) Even though mapquest may say that my daily commute takes 20 minutes, it's very much mistaken! Today it took me almost 2 hours to drive from the church to where I live, but the massive storm and my poor sense of direction may have had something to do with that...perhaps this drive will get better in time.

4) The traffic by DC is rediculous and the Virginians are pretty aggressive drivers! Hopefully I'll remain a friendly midwestern driver, but we'll see...I've got to learn to fend for myself out here ;).

5) People out here are insanely rich...I think I heard that right now I'm living in the richest part of the nation (McLean, VA)! The cost of living is also outrageous though, so I guess that balances things a bit.

6) Virginia is beautiful! I love driving through the trees and looking at the pretty big houses, especially the colonial ones. It makes getting lost not so horrible :)

7) There is tons of history here! That may be obvious, but I thought I would comment and say that I find it all to be really interesting. Hopefully I'll learn lots of random facts and information, so that if you ever come to visit or need a tourguide of DC...I'll be your girl :).

Okay, so generally speaking, my transition here started out pretty rough and it was extremely overwhelming, but I'm definitely seeing God's hand in all of this and I'm getting to the point of excitement. Change and newness is also scary, but it seems as though they always bring about growth and adventure as well :). You all could keep me in your prayers though as I still face this time of transition. Also, don't ever hesitate to e-mail! I would love to hear how all of you are doing! Right now things are kind of crazy and exhausting, but once I get a ruitine going and time to breathe, I'll get back with you :)

Thank you all for your love and support!