Life...it happens so fast!

I've heard it said before, "life happens when you aren't looking." I hope that NEVER happens to me. Fortunately I've been awake for all that has happened in the past 5 months but it has still FLOWN by!!!

I think the easiest way to catch up on the last few months is to do it chronologically. So here we go... :-D

March: Joy & Andy get engaged!!!



Shortly after my last post, my best friend Joy, whom I moved to Colorado with, became engaged and I became what we lovingly refer to as the MOH (Maid of Honor.) It's been an exciting whirlwind of dress shopping, bridal shower and bachelorette party planning, flower and music talk etc. I am more than thrilled to stand beside my best friend as she marries Andy Getz, the first friend we made when we came to Colorado.


I get to wear a VERY pretty dress and I just love being the "MOH!"

April/May: Candidate Orientation
I finally got the hang of Candidate Orientation this time around and felt so at ease with this crew! The Orientation class once again bonded and I can honestly say this class kept me on my feet more than any other has in the past. The very first day this group was kicked out of 3 stores as they waited for their counseling appointments. LOL. Not for bad reasons though...just for very funny reasons! They made me laugh & we created some awesome memories!


June: It was off to Summer Institute, 10 days to learn more about the YFC Ministries as well as to get to know the Missionaries serving with World Outreach. It was incredible!


The girls at Summer Institute!


The whole World Outreach crew.

June 11th was a hard day for me. My mom called while I was at Summer Institute with news that my golden retriever, (whom I got for my 15th birthday,) Shea was dying and it was time to put her to sleep. We'd never imagined that this day would come and I'd be right in the middle of all my travel. I had to say goodbye to her on the phone and cried myself to sleep that night. It was hard to keep a smile on my face for the rest of Summer Institute but I had some amazing friends by my side while I was away from home.

June 16th: I got on the plane sick. That's right, SICK, and flew to Monterrey, Mexico for my very first Project Serve Mission experience. I had one day to get over the fact that I couldn't hear anything (thanks to the descent in the airplane and to my clogged sinus') and that I felt horrible, because this team depended greatly on myself and the other leader who was also sick! It was one of the most challenging trips I've ever been on but man was it amazing! I learned heaps on the first trip I've ever co-led. Every morning we worked on service projects around the area; mixing cement, digging trenches, painting, using a machete on 5 foot weeds and did I mention mixing cement? It was NOT an easy job! In the afternoon we spent time with the local children doing vbs' or just playing with them. God taught me a lot about what it means to be a good leader and communicator with everyone around you. It was hard communicating with the local pastors and the ladies that were serving us and I quickly learned that the common connection in regards to language is love. The people in Monterrey, Mexico loved us and I made some amazing bonds as we served alongside our brothers & sisters.

Diana and her cousins- they followed me around a lot and even though we couldn't talk much, we really enjoyed each other's company.


The kids praying at a VBS- God is good!


Tons of kids running around everywhere. Can you imagine the response I got when I said "Lights out!"?


Mixing cement is HARD work. Thank goodness for the shade...


My team were slightly 'different.' :) This was the team pose.

July: First it was off the family reunion in Montana. I drove with my aunt Peggy and her friend Bennie and we stopped in Jackson Hole, WY (check out the amazing picture of the Grand Tetons!) We had an awesome time on the drive and seeing my parents and my brother in Montana was perfect. I got some really great quality time with my lil bro and got to see a lot of family I hadn't in awhile. It was a very special weekend.


Chris O visited me on his way to the West Coast. Chris serves with the Military Youth Ministry and became a good friend of mine at Summer Institute. Getting to have dinner with him and talk about life in YFC was awesome!


I turned 26 and it was easier than turning 25 believe it or not! A few of my closest friends took me to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. It was a blast...except for a few disappointments...


This face cannot begin to describe how I felt when I learned they no longer served my favorite Cheese Cake at the restaurant. No more heath!!! :(

Rebecca arrived in July to assist me in World Outreach! Rebecca and I have been friends for several years and went to college together so it was a nice reunion when she arrived. She adds so much to the office as well as to my life and I don't know what I would do without her?! She's a huge blessing.

I survived my 4th Candidate Orientation and I was on a role! We accepted 4 new missionaries to serve with us and by this time I felt like a pro. Get ready...we're going to change things up again though! Never get too comfortable :-P

Praying over the Candidates:


August:
1. First up was planning days for the World Outreach staff. It was a lot of fun as everyone came together from all over the US to begin to plan for the next year. We started off our time at the Willow Creek Leadership Conference at a satellite center- then we went to a Rockies game and had a 'favorite decades' themed picnic party. I think it got a bit out of hand but no one can say it wasn't a blast! Who know we had such good karaoke singers?!?

Rockies game:

Take me to a ball game and give me a brat, I'm a happy girl!

The World Outreach Picnic at Royals house:
Can you tell that I planned the picnic? It wouldn't have been complete without costumes and karaoke!
Hot team!!!

Men singing!

Woah there tiger...


2. LeeAnn arrives! LeeAnn is one of our missionaries who is planning to serve in New Zealand starting July 08 but she's also become an awesome friend of mine! She visited me for 6 days in August and we hiked in the Garden of the god's, laughed until our sides hurt, watched countless episodes of "Lost" while we ate mozzarella sticks, talked about everything imaginable and just had an amazing time bonding!

Garden of the Gods

LeeAnn and me at my favorite restaurant, Rock Yard


August 18: Joy's Bridal Shower
We had such a good time!!! I think Joy enjoyed all her presents...well at least A will :) And we had a great time celebrating the approaching day with her!

The Bride's Maids (well, two of them!)


Our flowers! I wish I had my eyes open!!!!!!!!

Kara really liked the game where you got to model the gift...
In this case it was a rolling pin!!!! :-D
Joy's about to open my gift...can you tell I'm excited and she's a bit scared??? It was AWESOME!!!!

August/September: Last minute I decided to fly out to Arizona to visit my parents! I got there on a night when there was an amazing sunset and got some good pictures :) We had a blast playing cards, talking, going to movies, and just relaxing together. I read a book for pleasure for the first time in about a year!!!!

Me and mom in front of the "perfect two armed cactus" my dad found for me!


Amazing...absolutely gorgeous! Who can look at this and not agree that God is amazing?


Right before a big storm moved in, I caught this shot. I think it's awesome!


Well, that's it! That's a snap shot at the past 5 months of my life. Feel caught up? I know I feel tired just looking at it!

Fun facts for the summer:
1. Traveled to Indiana, Mexico, Wyoming, Montana & Arizona.
2. 4 missionaries visited me (one from Germany, one on her way to Benin, West Africa, one going to New Zealand and one who's served in 4 countries with MCYM)
3. 3 guests not with YFC have visited this summer
4. I became a MOH for both Joy and my younger sister Helena (she's getting married next May!)
5. I've planned 6 parties this summer
6. I moved into my apartment 3 months ago and have never spent more than two weeks a month in the apartment.
7. I have yet to use the pool...
8. Riley, my cat, has had 4 people other than me take care of him this summer!
9. I've seen my parents 4 times in 3 months- a record for us!
10. I celebrated living in Colorado for 3 years in August and 1 year at YFC on August 28th.
11. I watched 2 seasons of Lost in two weeks (hey...I wasn't sure if I would actually get it done if I didn't!)
12. In the last year, I've flown 10 separate times (the only month I did not fly was July...but I did drive to Montana in July!)

It's been a busy and VERY fun summer! God continually blesses me abundantly. I'm a lucky girl!

Spring's just around the corner!

I'm not going to start this post off with my normal statement, "I stink at keeping my blog updated!" Instead, I'm just going to move forward and start off by saying, "I CAN FINALLY SEE THE GROUND!!!!" That's right...the snow has finally melted and spring is in the air. With that said...it'll probably snow next week! :-P

Phew- the last few weeks have been awesome, exciting and exhausting all at the same time! It's been hard to catch my breath at times...I went to MidWinter in Dallas back in February and had an amazing time of worship and learning alongside over 500 other fellow YFC'ers from around the country. When I wasn't in the general sessions of worship and teachings or in the break out sessions, I was manning the recruitment table telling people about ministry opportunities in World Outreach.

Above: Worship at MidWinter-AMAZING!

I returned to the office rejuvenated and went full steam ahead! It's been a fruitful season as I'm very busy with potential missionaries coming in the door as well as serving missionaries departing to the field! I've been blessed to meet and serve alongside some amazing followers of Christ and be part of their journey.

Sara in Cape Town, S. Africa

Youth camp in Geneva

My job has kept me very busy and I am falling more in love with it everyday as I learn more and more! I can honestly say that my relationship with Christ grows daily as I am surrounded by His Majesty.

I traveled to Siloam Springs, Arkansas at the beginning of March to recruit at John Brown University and had a kick butt time flying into OK, renting a car by myself, staying in my own hotel room with a KING SIZED BED, and recruiting at the college. It's true that I've technically been an adult for years now but I have to admit, I feel even more grown up now after taking my first official business trip alone! The trip was fun and yet challenging- I spent a lot of time by myself (an adventure is always more fun when it's shared!) and I was disappointed that I didn't get to talk to more people. I probably wouldn't have been entirely satisfied even if I'd talked to the entire student body though- that's JUST HOW MUCH I LOVE TALKING ABOUT SERVING OTHERS!! However, the people I did get a chance to interact with were awesome and I hope that more than a couple of the potential recruits will serve with YFC/World Outreach in the near future!

What else is new in the life of Megan? Well...I will be traveling a lot in the next few months! I start off by vacationing in Arizona with Bethany at the beginning of April and I cannot wait! I am going to do NOTHING- and I mean NOTHING!!! We are staying at B's grandmother's condo, using her car, her golf cart, her pool etc! We are already dreaming up fun ideas of how to indulge- pedicures, massages, eating yummy food, drinking good wine, and getting a tan!!! I am going to leave my PDA, my lap top, my day planner etc at home as I REFUSE to check email or do anything unless I feel like it!!! I'm going to get some good books, listen to my new IPOD and enjoy the warm sun on my face!

May: I'm moving!!!!! That's right! I'm moving into my own place with my little man, Riley. At this point, it looks like we'll literally move right across the parking lot to a really cute one bedroom apartment where Riley will have plenty of sun to bask in as we will face south! I'm really looking forward to decorating and having my own safe haven to escape the traffic of life! This is the building I'll be living in...minus the snow...I HOPE!


Camping Trip: The first 07 camping trip for Grace Chapel young adults will be the weekend after I move...and of course I'm helping plan for the adventure! We reserved my favorite campsite at...WELLINGTON LAKE!!!! I'll post pictures for sure... :-D

June: Oh man...I will have barely moved into my new place before the traveling REALLY begins! I leave for Summer Institute with my fellow YFC'ers the beginning of June for 10 days of training/orientation in Indiana. I'm uber excited because I'll get to spend some quality time with some of the missionaries I've gotten to know in the past year. Lauren and I are going to room together so I'm excited to see what kind of trouble we can get in to :-D She has become a dear friend to me and I'm looking forward to some quality Lauren time!

LAUREN!!!!

I return to the office for a week before it's off to MONTERREY, MEXICO with Bill Springston and the MCYM project serve trip! I am not sure of all the details yet but I do know that I'm going to learn under Bill as a co-leader and we' hope to have around 50 Military youth with us. I cannot wait and I know that I will learn and grow in awesome ways!

July: I return from Mexico and leave the next day for Yellowstone Natl. Park to join my family for our family reunion!!! It'll be an awesome time to see some supporters and family members that I haven't seen in awhile...not to mention I get some time with my mom, dad, Judy and Dick!!!

I return from Yellowstone and my birthday is the following weekend...so are we going camping??? I'm not sure if I'll be up to it but I'm thinking YES!!!!! Either way, my mom will most likely be coming for a visit sometime in July as well!

So, life is great! The Lord continues to bless me immensely; New relationships, a car I love, my lawsuit is coming to an end hopefully in the next month, a new home, a new IPOD, a job that I love going to everyday, friends that I adore and who love me, and a family who I remain close to despite the physical distance that separates us. Spring is around the corner and a new chapter in my life has begun!!! Oh- and I actually have hit my goal in fundraising two months in a row!!!!!!

I'll update ya'll as things in my life unfold! For now, thank you for your friendship and love.

A busy month...

January has been a VERY busy month...hence the reason why I haven't written on my blog in ages! Starting December 20th, Denver has yet to see less than 2 feet of snow on the ground! Believe me, the piles of white (now black'ish) stuff is no longer a welcomed sight. We haven't had a weekend yet in over a month, that didn't bring with it, HEAPS and HEAPS of snow! At first, I REALLY enjoyed all of the white stuff, but now...I'm hoping it will all melt by my birthday...in JULY!! With all the snow, the mail slowed down and the YFC office faced some challenges. It seemed like every one went into over drive mode in order to get things ready for our Candidates who were coming in January for Candidate Orientation. But, overall, I've been very grateful for the beautiful, serene atmosphere that the blankets of snow provide.

Yes! There really are cars under there!!!


The missionary candidates arrived on January 14th and we were ready for 'em! Well...kinda :-D
We had a smaller group this time which was nice since it was my first time flying solo! I quickly found myself running all over the place trying to keep all of the balls in the air. I was THOROUGHLY exhausted by the end of the week but also feel very encouraged, blessed and excited about the caliber of our candidates! We had a young couple and their baby, the Gamradts who will serve in Ireland, a young guy named Joey who will be working in the World Outreach Office on video production (and will hopefully bring some more youth onto our team!) and a young woman named Elizabeth who will be serving with MCYM (military camp youth ministry) somewhere in Germany. Joey and Elizabeth are close to my age so we had a good time chatting and then came over to my apartment one night for movies!


January 2007 Missionary Candidates

Another awesome blessing this month is that the first three missionaries that I recruited, served and walked through the process, left to serve for 6 months in Bolivia!!! This crew of peops are amazing! It has been such a privilege getting to know these people who have such a heart to serve God! The day before they departed they all came into the office to meet me and each other. A couple of them, I had already met because they live in the Denver area, but I met Julianna for the first time when they arrived. You could feel the excitement in the room!!! I answered their last minute questions, we went to lunch together and then our entire World Outreach staff prayed over them! I actually felt pretty emotional...almost as if my kids were leaving the nest!

Lara, Niko, me and Julianna!

For me personally, the month has been challenging yet rewarding. I am still in the middle of a brutally emotional lawsuit for my car accident and I've gone through lots of tumultuous times related to that. My pain has diminished significantly but not completely- but hey! I'll take that!!!! I'm learning a lot about myself through relationships with others and I'm realizing that I am a very strong person! To GOD be the glory for that one! :) I served on the leadership for our singles retreat at church and helped to pull of the 3rd annual talent show! Our church has gone through a lot of pain as our senior pastor resigned on December 10th via a videotape. He admitted to struggling and falling in homosexual infidelity and it was heart breaking. While our church (both as a whole and as members individually) have struggled to grapple with the repercussions of his admission, we are becoming a stronger body of believers and I know that God will be glorified through even the toughest of circumstances.

One other bit of info! I auditioned for GREASE at a local community theatre company. I wasn't really anticipating getting the part I wanted and I stated I wouldn't accept anything other than the part (too much work and time if you aren't REALLY excited to play the role!) and I didn't get the part I wanted- but I had a BLAST auditioning!!!!! It was so good to be on stage again and I definitely aim to make that a part of my life again soon.

Check out my headshot...



Well, that's all for now! More to come soon as I start traveling for YFC this month. MUCH LOVE!!!!