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!!!!
