The (not so) Dirty South

The South of France looks just like you would imagine it, except for even better. Driving from Dijon to Arles, Provence was only about a 5 hour drive, longer than expected but so worth it because of how gorgeous the French countryside is. Besides the excessive amounts of graffiti, it is even prettier than all of the photos of it you have ever seen. Truly pictures can’t even capture the beauty of the south of France, leaving my friend Caitlin to comment that after seeing it, how could you not believe there is a God. This made me think of Psalm 8:3-4, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?". So humbling to get to experience it all. I feel so blessed. Still in a mist that I get to live here for 4 months. Not just visit, but LIVE. Weird.

Thursday, 29^th- We drove down and stopped along the way in Orange, a city in Provence. For those who don’t know Provence is a region of France, kind of like states in the good ‘ole US of A.  We visited the Arc Romain in the city for a hot second to take pics and then we went to meet up with our tour guide at the Théatre Antiquité (the ancient theater), and it was beautiful. Absolutely huge, and we climbed every single last step. We learned all about the history and were blown away to learn that they still hold shows there. They are currently putting on Phantom of the Opera and we all were wishing we could stay just to experience it, even though the seats are still just huge giant stones.

Then we hopped back on the bus and stopped at the Pont du Guard, an old aqueduct that used to bring fresh water to all the nearby cities. Beautiful. I just was so amazed that 1- it was still standing (and in such good shape), and 2- people were able to think of and invent something so innovative so long ago. We then finished our journey to Arles and went out to dinner to a cute restaurant within walking distance of our hotel. We were right by the Rhone River, so of course it was beautiful. We had some cat callers outside our hotel that night, some younger German students who had seen our group of 11 girls and 1 guy walk in with our bags earlier that day, but eventually they gave up. I guess they realized that yelling “Rapunzel” at our open 3^rd story windows just wasn’t going to cut it. 

Friday, 30^th- We walked to class that morning- the museum of Arles. We had another guided tour by another cute older French woman. Thankfully tours are getting easier to understand, but yes, they are still all in French. In a week it is amazing to see how far my French has come and I would be so curious to see if in December, we would be able to understand our cute tour guide Jacqueline from last week 100% instead of just 30%. Anyways, at the museum we got to see the original bust of Caesar’s head that you see in the history books, and the “Thinker” statue. Then we drove to Nîmes, another town in Provence and got a city tour. The place we ate lunch was also hosting a professional futbal team from outside of Paris that had a game there that night, so some of the girls were picking out their future French boyfriends. Too bad they never got to talk to them, but maybe in Paris in a few weeks! It isn’t called the city of love for nothin’ right? Our tour was amazing and we walked everywhere. We saw the amphitheater first, where they still have bull fights and host events like pro tennis matches now. Then we saw an old Roman temple, the hot spot for young frenchies to hang out and listen to American music, and then we walked to the Jardins de la Fontaine, one of the first public gardens in all of Europe. That night for dinner I ate “taureau” (bull), and “escargots de la mer” (conchs). Clearly feelin’ adventurous, but both paid off and were delicious. When in France!

L'amphitheatre (outside)

L'amphitheatre (inside)

Les Jardins de la Fontaine

Saturday, 31^st- We woke up early and headed straight to the “Samedi Marché”, (the Saturday Market), which is a MUST DO when you are anywhere near it in France. Such a fun atmosphere with fresh food, beautiful paintings, great smelling soaps and lavenders, clothes and bags to buy, and so much more. I was able to practice my French a ton because most of the vendors didn’t speak English so while it was still a little scary, I was happy for the practice.

I was with 2 other friends and we went to the old Roman theater in Arles and then to the old amphitheater. So much exploring! Unfortunately we couldn’t see any bull fights because they won’t happen until next weekend and we will already be off and away on our next adventure. We got to spend the afternoon at the beach Saint Marie de la Mer in the Mediterranean ocean. My friend Caitlin said it was in her top 10 best days ever, and it was a day for the books, let me tell ya. The beach was gorgeous, the water was freezing, but eventually after enough treading water my body was numb and it felt great since the weather was pushin’ lower 90’s and sunny, very different from our gloomy Dijon weather. We laid out on some of the flatter rocks enjoying the sun and the beach, and then we went and got some ice cream and headed back to Arles for dinner and packing up the bags. Back to Dijon in the morning to move in with our families!

Fun fact: I am traveling with a bunch of northerners and have been called out several times for my accent and frequent use of “y’all”. If only they could have come to camp with me this past summer, they might consider me one of their own. I am learning a lot about how wonderful the restaurant “Friendly’s” is and that apparently the water up there is never warm at the beach, hence why they were so fearless at Saint Marie de la Mer jumping right on in. How you would enjoy being constantly covered in goose bumps while at the beach, I have no idea, but they insist it is fun!

Things I miss from America already: 1-COLLEGE FOOTBALL. 2- Water fountains. 3- Restaurant hours posted outside the restaurant. No place has them here and the amount of times we have walked up to places and been told we needed to wait for the cook to arrive or to prepare the kitchen is hilarious. 4- The 12 hour clock, however I am getting better at knowing time with the 24 hour one. 5- Hearing the English language when I walk outside. I’m getting more used to using French all the time though, and I really am starting to think in French first… on my way to being fluent?? One can only hope and dream, (and then move to France to attempt to make it happen right?!) **I am not missing the music yet because they play American music all the time. On the bus rides I heard Earth, Wind, and Fire, “Respect” by Aretha Franklin, “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke, “Wake Me Up” by Avicii, and almost everything in between.

Lots of love all the way from France!

Discovering Dijon

Week 1 in France has almost come and gone. Can you even believe it? Dijon is absolutely breathtaking. One of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life, it is unreal. As we have been walking around the city, our group continues to talk about how we feel like we are on the set of a movie and that all it would take was just a gust of wind to blow over all the building sets. I was able to travel over here with a friend who is from outside Atlanta and we landed in Paris around 6:00 am last Friday morning (23^rd), 12:00 am Atlanta time, and I maybe got 2 hours of sleep. Maybe. But we pushed through and were able to find a train from the airport to Gare de Lyon, the main train station in Paris. Then from there we hopped on a train from Paris to Dijon, got in a taxi, and drove to our hotel, the Hotel Jacquemart. 

My most proud moment of the day was when I walked up to the information desk in the airport and asked the man in French if he spoke English and his response in French was “yes, a little bit, why do you ask? Do you speak English?”. I started laughing and then said in French that I was American and needed help with train tickets and we proceeded to speak a mixture of French and English. But he thought my first language was French! Success! We can only speak French here in Dijon as part of the program I’m with, so since it was so early and I was enjoying my last few moments of English, I used that to my advantage.  Something I didn’t have to my advantage was the size of my suitcases. I’m pretty sure I under packed, but at the end of the day I ended up with bruises on the back of my legs from my suitcases banging against me. But hey, I’m here for 2 months so I think it’s fair to have 2 suitcases!

Saturday the 24^th: We were waiting for the rest of our group to arrive, so those of us who were already here explored the “centre ville”, (down town), bought some French go phones, found wi-fi where we could, and did a lot of window shopping. The rest of our group finally arrived that afternoon and we went out to dinner with our Professor that night. The great thing about this program is that anytime we eat with our professor, Wake Forest pays. Wake also paid for all of our expenses getting here, and we get a pretty great weekly allowance, so I may end up getting to save a lot of the money I earned over the summer that was going to be used as my travel money! The little things J Our professor has also already set up private museum tours and visits around the country for us, things I would want to do if I were traveling on my own anyway, so I’m thankful we get to use her resources to our advantage. That night a group of us went to a little café to use their wifi and drink tea. I was able to order the tea I fell in love with when I was living in Cape Town last year, so that was a huge success. I was able to make a few phone calls via Viber and I was so impressed with how clear it came through and how great the connection was. Praise the Lord for technology that works and for loved ones that pick up the phone when I call!

Centre Ville- Rue de la Liberté

Sunday the 25^th: Breakfast is complimentary at our hotel every morning, so I started the day off with that and then walked around the city some more. We had a tour of Dijon with the cutest French woman named Jacqueline. 

I wish I had understood more than I did because she spoke in French the entire time, but I picked up some of what she said and apparently this city has a lot of history surrounding it. One very interesting thing we learned about was the “Trail of the Owls” around the city, known as “La Chouette”. The owl is the symbol for Dijon and is admired for its great wisdom. So, if you follow the trails of owls around the city, it will take you to different famous places, one of which is La Place des Ducs, where the dukes of Dijon used to live. Their palace now serves as the home of what is known as the second best art collection in France, behind the Louvre. Safe to say we will be making a visit there soon! We finished off the night with a 2 ½ hour dinner at our professor’s apartment. We had orientation for this coming semester and we all left feeling a little overwhelmed about everything- the amount of French we have already consumed, the length of the meal, and the apparent coming difficulty of this course. 

Owl Trail

La Place des Ducs

Monday the 26^th: We went to the Musée d’Archéologique and got a tour from a student at the university we will be attending in October. (We are currently taking a 6 week history class of France, and then when class starts up in October for France, we will take courses at the actual university). Anyways, he was a little easier to understand than our tour guide, but it is amazing how tiring it is to pay attention to someone speaking another language just for an hour. It was a great tour and I learned a lot, but I still didn’t understand everything he said. After our tour we all got on the tram to practice going to school and all I can say about the school is I now understand why we never saw pictures of it when got any of the brochures about our program. It is a huge campus, but not nearly as beautiful as Wake. The international “wing”, where all international students study, is made up entirely of “immeubles”, or mods. We are extremely hopeful it will have heating as the weather here is already in the 50’s, but we honestly aren’t sure. Still, we are in France and so happy to get to study here for 4 months. After our visit there we rode back into town on the bus and did a little bit of shopping before dinner. I am on the search for a good pair of warm, comfortable walking shoes that are water resistant and aren’t athletic shoes. Specific? Yes. But it’s amazing how quickly you realize what you actually need. And of the 5 pairs of shoes I brought over here, (2 were sandals so don’t judge), none fit that description. This is France though so I’m sure I will be able to find some J

Tuesday the 27^th: Woke up and went out to eat at a little café for breakfast with a friend of mine. We both had “pain au chocolate”, (bread and chocolate- so nutritious), and then went and found another tea café with wifi. We worked on homework there and were able to connect with people from home, despite the fact it was only 4:00 am east coast time. The owner of the café told us he wanted to practice his English with us so we spoke French to him and he spoke English to us. He also let us try some of the chocolate they were making for their cookies fresh off the stove and he gave us some extras for free. I think he had a little crush on my friend J Afterwards I met with our professor for lunch since I have to do a presentation for the class on Wednesday about Provence, the city we are traveling to on Thursday. Then we met up with the group and went to our temporary classroom and had class for 2 hours. It is very interesting material, but it is still class...

I’m thankful I don’t have the superhero power of reading minds because there is no telling what everyone thinks of us. We aren’t the only non-Frenchies here since all of Europe is on vacation for the month of August, but I’m sure we stick out. I am extremely grateful for this incredible opportunity and truly wish each of you were here with me! Lots of love, all the way from France!

**Weird things I have learned this week: 1-Public restrooms cost money. 2- French people don’t go jogging but they are still all teeny. 3- Always order the “Café Plaisir” for dessert because you get a little taste of everything *(fun fact: I have yet to do this yet because I am still enjoying having real crêpes again, but my friends get it and love it). 4- They play American music everywhere we go- I heard a homeless man the other day playing the guitar and singing “Hotel California” in English. 5- You can't say "Bonjour" to everyone you walk by. This isn't the South anymore :(

On to the next Adventure...!

To anyone who was hopeful that I would post earlier about my summer, I am so sorry. I ended up getting to DeSoto and realizing not only would my StinkPad not connect to any wifi in Mentone, Alabama, but I also had no cell service, something that was hard at first but caused me to be so much more present with my girls. I hands down had the best summer job. EVER. I got to love on 600 girls all summer, teaching them Ropes officially as head of Ropes staff, but answering wonderful and hilarious life questions, having hard conversations, spontaneous cabin dance parties, going on trips, and talking about Jesus. I was so blessed by my girls and the staff I got the chance to work with. There are some beautiful Jesus lovin’ women out there, and if any of my guy friends want a hook up, I am telling you these girls are GEMS! We got to have a circus at camp, celebrate 4^th of July (twice for counselors), put on Christmas in July, have concerts in our cabin, and do so much more. The verse "Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do EVERYTHING with LOVE" in 2 Corinthians 13-14 was a constant encouragement and reminder to me of how to act each and every day. We were loved on as a staff and that made it even easier to do our jobs better and love our girls.

Just doin' our thang welcoming girls to camp opening night

Throughout the summer, I learned so much about myself and have so much more respect for mothers, more than I already had. Officially I only taught 4 class periods worth of activities each day, but I was still “on” from 7:00 am until 10:30 pm minimum. Don’t hear that as a complaint though- I truly enjoyed every minute of it!! It is my personal opinion that everyone should do something like that at least once in your life- the amount of times I was called out for funny things by my girls or told in different ways how loved I was by them, was amazing. Towards the end of the two months I started feeling exhaustion kick in though. I am not kidding, I have never been more exhausted in my entire life, but it was the most rewarding thing. I had been relying on Jesus throughout the summer and already feeling the blessings from that, but to see Him show up when I truly needed Him, was breathtaking and humbling. I remember one morning not even being able to understand what anyone was saying to me until after staff meeting, (circa 9:00 am… we had been up for 2 hours), and not feeling certain I could even walk to the ropes course. I have never felt Philippians 4:13 more vividly in my life because He showed up. Every time. Without fail. And He loved me and enabled me to love others despite my so evident weakness. I was blessed by encouragement from friends and family by way of letters, packages, phone calls, and sweet and thoughtful texts, so to all who took the time do that, thank you so, so much! You truly don’t know how much it meant to me!

Post camp I got to spend some time with the loved ones! We finally had our family donut eating contest we had been talking about all summer. I was predicated to get 5^th or 6^th (out of 6) and for all you doubters, I got 2^nd by eating 8 ½ hot now Krispy Kreme donuts. We made a few trips to the lake, hung out with cousins, and just spent time together, something that is becoming increasingly harder to do as everyone gets more independent and on their own schedule. My second sister left for college already and that’s a little crazy, but she is going to the college of her dreams and we are all so excited and proud! I also got to make a quick trip up to Boston in what would turn out to be a calamity of errors in the best way possible. I was so, so sick but had THE BEST time. I have been so blessed to get to experience firsthand what it feels like to be pursued by a Godly man, a man who loves Jesus and pursues Him daily. So time with him and his family was wonderful, encouraging, reaffirming, and they loved me well despite my pitiful condition.

So despite some failing health throughout the summer, I am on to my next adventure in life- studying abroad in France! When I say I have been dreaming about this since I was in 5^th grade, I wouldn’t even be lying a little bit. As internet permits, I will try to keep this more updated on life across the pond. We are currently staying in a hotel without wifi so the McDonald's cafe is our new favorite place, not to eat though of course! Hoping to make this more like a Cape Town thing where y’all get the once a week updates but we will see! My biggest prayer for myself is that my relationship with the Lord would grow over here, not remain the same, so if y’all wouldn’t mind helping me pray for that, that would be awesome! I hope this finds each of you well and that you are encouraged by something in this. Lots of love all the way from France!

Going (back) to Camp DeSoto, Won't You Come With Me?!

The title of this post is from a very loved song sung at Camp DeSoto, the summer camp I grew up going to and now have the pleasure of returning to as a counselor. It is an all girls, Christian camp in Mentone, Alabama and the best way I can describe how it looks is by referring you back to one of the the Parent Trap movies. Cabins with screened in windows and doors, you walk everywhere, it's pretty hot, and you are lucky if you are in a cabin with 2 fans. It is no country club, but it is the most incredible place on Earth. We wear white on Sundays and nike shorts and t-shirts every other day of the week. No makeup, except when we see Alpine, the brother camp to DeSoto, and snail mail is the only form of communication with the outside world. No electronics at all, especially no cell phones. Growing up my friends thought I was crazy, but I absolutely loved it. The Lord did some amazing things in my life at that place, and He made it very clear this past December that He wanted me to return.

Pure Joy

I am going to be honest, I wasn't really sure I was going to apply, but it only took one day for me to realize the Lord's plans are so much bigger than my own and He has a plan, to give me a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). He had been slowly encouraging me throughout my first semester through some close friends to go back, and He really laid it on my heart to apply when I was spending New Years with my family up in north Georgia. So I sat down in front of the TV, in the midst of all the college bowl games going on, and I filled out the application to be a counselor. I waited a night to send it in because I wanted to make sure it was the Lord wanting me to apply, not just me. I prayed that night that the Lord would make it very clear to me that He wanted me to go back and that night I dreamed about DeSoto the whole time. I woke up the next morning excited about the possibility of getting to go back and I knew it was the Lord drawing me there. So I submitted my application, had my interview, and found out in March that I had been accepted and assigned to be head of Ropes for the summer, a job I am in no way qualified for but beyond thrilled to be asked to do, (and don't worry, I'm getting trained soon!). I am humbled and thrilled to see how the Lord is going to use me there. I know I am going to grow exponentially in my walk with God and I am so pumped to let Him use me. The Holy Spirit is alive and moving at DeSoto and I am excited to be a part of it. I know I am going to be exhausted and broken and overwhelmed at times, but I am going to be in a community where there is time and there are people to encourage and love on me and help me along the way. What I love about DeSoto is that it provides a community for girls to be themselves and it gives them a place to learn what a personal relationship with Jesus Christ looks like, something that I think gets lost in the busyness of our home communities today. So that will be my summer, getting to be up in the trees encouraging girls on the ropes course, and then in the cabin at night with a group of girls that I will get to love on, mentor, and do life with. I.am.PUMPED.

The words of this song perfectly describe how I feel about this opportunity. Special thanks to my friend Sonia for singing her heart out with Minor Variation!
(You have to click on this link to get to the video- sorry!)

Looking back for a second, 2nd semester ended up being pretty good. I didn't really enjoy any of my classes, so its safe to say I was happy to see those end. I had a bad registration time in the fall and needed to finish up some divisionals, so crummy 2nd semester schedule was how it went down for me. My constant prayer became "Lord, please help me remember that I am working for you and not for men" (Colossians 3:23), and He answered that prayer in some pretty incredible ways. I was first able to let go of my desire for perfection in the classroom, something He has been breaking me of since high school. I found out right at the end of the semester that I have "severe test anxiety", something we have suspected for a while now but it was finally confirmed. This basically means that I know all the information, but once I get to the test I blank out completely and it is as if I never even went to class, a pretty helpless feeling. I was able to work with some very wise and encouraging people to get things figured out for exams, so thankfully I ended on a high note. Safe to say being an English major should have its perks since we don't really take tests in English classes anymore! I was also able to be there for my friends alot more this semester. Especially after working on the End It Movement team, I realized how good it feels to have your friends support you in things, so I made it my mission to be there for as many friends as I could. I ended up attending so many shows, presentations, and games, I can't even count them. But I had an absolute blast supporting my friends and let me brag for a second and tell you that I have some extremely talented friends. From indoor intramural soccer to soloists in acapella shows to even friends playing on actual athletic teams for Wake, I feel very blessed to know all of these incredible people.

My sweet friend after her incredible solo and performance in her acapella group

Another fun life event that happened this semester was the chance to be pursued by an incredible and Godly man. Please don't misunderstand, I'm not sharing this with you to tell you how great my life is, but instead to encourage anyone out there who may need the little pick me up of hearing how incredible and worth it it is to date another Christian. I was laughing with my mom about how we always say growing up we want to date other Christians, but I didn't realize how attractive that quality really is until a truly Godly man started to pursue me. My friends could tell immediately that this guy was different and as I have learned from my campus minister at Wake and the sermons I have heard in the past on dating and relationships (including Ben Stuart's on Song of Songs- check it out: http://breakawayministries.org/Resources), you should have a healthy mix of friend's advice and this was the first time in a longgg time I was getting green lights from everyone. I'm not going to get too detailed but if you know me, feel free to ask me about him. He is pretty great. The most important thing to him and about him is that he loves Jesus first and he lives his life in such a way that everyone else knows it too. No matter what happens and what the Lord has in store for us, I am thankful for the healthy way things have developed and the hilarious way the Lord brings people together. God is so good. I am reminded of the quote from C.S. Lewis: "What draws people to be friends is that they see the same truth. They share it."

It is my desire to keep this updated while I am at camp but I just do not know what my internet accessibility is going to look like yet. I am so incredibly thankful for each one of you for taking the time to read this and I look forward to keeping y'all posted on the many adventures to come.

My Life is not My Own

"I have but one passion... it is He, it is He alone. The world is the field and the field is the world; and henceforth that country shall be my home where I can be most used in winning souls for Christ."

-Count Zinzendorf

This quote was shared with me a few weeks ago via Skype by the one and only Jonathan Griffith and his incredible wife Amy. They have been the most incredible and encouraging examples of what it looks like to live their lives in this world but not conforming to the patterns of it (Romans 12:2) and I look up to them in more ways than one. I would not be who I am without Amy's kind love and encouragement throughout the years as she has acted as a mentor and an older sister to me for about 12 years now. Her partner in crime is just as wonderful in his thoughts, prayers, and encouragement, and the Lord has used them in powerful ways all over the world.

The most beautiful Skype picture I have ever taken.
Amy and JG with their 2 beautiful children along with part of my family

I am realizing more and more that my life is not my own. Yes, I know it says so clearly in the Bible, (Romans 14:8), but I am human and get selfish and think it's all about me sometimes. The beautiful day, my health, my family, my friends, the opportunities placed in my life... but every time I think I have it figured out, the Lord breaks me of those things rightly so, and He reminds me that He is the reason I am here and He has  His own plans for me and my life. I just wanted to take a moment of your sweet time to share with y'all about how the Lord is working right this very moment in my life.

I want to start off by saying that Wake Forest is a wonderful school, but as all college students realize at some point, college is not always fun, and I certainly hope these are not "the best 4 years of my life". Last semester I had the misfortune of dealing with some pretty unkind "friends", but the Lord quickly took those people out of my life and as hard as it was to let go of them, He placed new friends into my life the moment I got back to school this semester and it has been such a blessing to see Him work through them and encourage me and build me up. I in no way want to discount the friends who loved on me while I was struggling last semester because they have been incredible, but it is cool to experience first hand how the Lord moves. He has plans for me that are even greater than I could imagine (Ephesians 3:20), and currently one of those seems to be starting an IJM (International Justice Mission) chapter up here at Wake Forest. I have gotten the chance to work with and meet some of the most incredible and God fearing people on this campus, and we are being obedient to the tug He is putting on our hearts to help get behind the End It Movement from Passion 2013 and raise awareness about slavery on this campus (http://enditmovement.com/). If you think about it, please pray for us as we are truly just getting started. So the Lord is breaking me of my comfortable group of friends, some of whom we really don't have that much in common anymore anyway, and He is calling me to step out of my comfort zone, meet other people, and initiate something bigger than ourselves on this campus.

Prayer over the start of the EndItMovement kick off February 1st

Another interesting thing the Lord is breaking me of is "having it all together". Y'all, I'm learning that it is okay to cry. I used to pride myself on not crying and not getting emotional about things, but I am here to tell you that a good cry every once in a while is healthy and needed. The best example I can give of this is this past January, one of my best friends mom's passed away from a long fought and very courageous battle with cancer. I don't think I have ever cried so hard in my life. I cried with my friend that night and then cried some more with friends in prayer, then cried with my mom on the phone, and then I ended up back in my room in the fetal position unable to even climb into my bed. One of my suite mates found me and ended up joining me in tears, we were just so heartbroken. I know this sounds extreme and dramatic, but it just left me asking God "Why?". The gravity of what waking up without a mother feels like as a 20 year old girl hit me so hard, and I just truly couldn't do anything else. It didn't seem fair and even though I still don't understand, we are so thankful that her mom was a Believer and is no longer in pain or suffering here on this Earth. We laughed saying that now she gets to ask God all the questions we all have wanted to ask, and she gets to meet all kinds of incredible people. But it doesn't change the fact that we are still left here on Earth without her. My friend has been an example to us all and while we have been able to love on her, she has loved on us in return. She has been the picture of patience, grace, and love. Her favorite flowers are tulips, and its safe to say that she has had a steady flow of tulips in her room since January. It's as if she has her very own gorgeous tulip garden right there in her room to cheer her up and remind her of how loved she is whenever she sees them.

As y'all can see, I am continuing to experience the love and grace of God. Unfortunately, I do have some frustrating news, but in the grand scheme of things, it isn't that big of a deal. I re-tore my right quad again ever so slightly, (I can actually walk this time though!!), and I have to do some more physical therapy to get to 100%. As I still find myself asking God "why?", a verse that has continued to reappear in my life lately thanks to encouraging friends and family is 2 Corinthians 12:9: "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." Tying it all back together, (because I know I have gotten carried away and wandered), after the Lord has humbled me and broken me down to the point where I must fully rely on Him the most, it is at that point that I believe that He can use me the most. As Count Zinzendorf said in the quote at the top, my true home will be wherever the Lord can best use me, and with that I am reminded again that Earth is just a temporary home and my life is not my own (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Unmerited Grace

I can't believe it has been so long since I have posted something on here. I was hoping to write something once a month, and maybe I will eventually get there, but as a very wise woman told me, you can't write about what hasn't happened in your life yet, and while plenty has happened in my life since September 1st, the Lord has really been growing me lately and I want to share that with y'all now.

I have been extremely blessed to find a church in Winston-Salem that I love called Salem Chapel. It is a little more modern that my church in Atlanta, but the community of families is bigger than that of college students, and I love that. The pastor is incredibly wise and has an incredible knowledge of the Bible. He had a sermon about unmerited grace and it hit home so hard for me. Do you ever feel so overwhelmed with God's grace and the love He shows for His people? Sometimes life just doesn't seem fair, and the reality is that it isn't. We are all sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God and for that, we deserve death, not even a chance at eternity with Christ (Romans 3:23-24). But because God is merciful and because of unmerited grace, He sent His only Son to die for us, to take on all our sins, and take our place so we could have the chance to live with God in Heaven (Romans 3:25-26). Especially around this time of year, we get the chance to be reminded in so many different ways how incredible that gift truly is. I have over the past few months been reminded in several different ways how amazing God's unmerited grace is for us, something we don't at all deserve, and I would love to share that with y'all now.

The first example I can share with y'all is the incredible opportunity I had this past semester to observe in a 2nd grade class for my Education 201 class. To clarify- I am not planning on majoring in education, but I would like to be a teacher at some point in my life. The dream is to teach English in France right after I graduate from Wake, but I am also so open to wherever the Lord leads me and I recognize that it is just a dream right now, (Proverbs 16:9). I took an education class this past semester to see if it would be something I would interested in doing, and guess what... I LOVED it!! At first, I was very irritated that the school I was assigned to was 20 minutes away, but it grew to be such a joy and I knew the Lord put me right where I was for a reason. There was nothing I was more excited for, (besides my once a week babysitting job), than going to this elementary school and working with these kids. It was such a blessing and every week, the kids were more and more receptive to me. I got the chance to realize through all of their stories about their lives that growing up, I was in no means roughing it. Sure there were struggles here and there, but one little boy in my class has a dad in prison. Another little girl was in her home when her parents were forcibly removed by local authorities because they were such bad parents. I noticed something different because she was wearing a hair bow that day and every other day her hair looked pretty unkempt. She told me it was because she was living with her grandparents now and went on to tell me the story. Just a lot going on behind the scenes that you would never expect with such young children, and it just doesn't seem fair, but I have been extremely blessed by them and my relationship with them, and it is because of them that I really do think I would love to teach.

Most of my 2nd grade class

Another example is the time I get to spend with the family I babysit for once a week. I call the boys "my little nuggs" because they are such nuggets, they are so stinkin' cute. My Tuesday afternoons, and sometimes other days as well, consist of carpool duty, helping with 1st and 5th grade homework, and playing all sorts of games. I have done everything from keeping score of neighborhood soccer and basketball games, to playing with slime, sending slinkys down the stairs, and dressing up in old halloween costumes and "battling" to see which character will win. Why God allows me the opportunity to spend time with these kids, I don't even know, but I love it and feel so incredibly blessed!

My nuggs

Yet another example of His amazing grace is the incredible group of friends I have been blessed with. If I have learned anything about friends this semester, it is that some are life long friends, some are friends because your circles continue to overlap but after that stops, you might not be as close, and some people just don't like you. All of them are okay. Sure, it stings a little when people don't like you, but we were never promised an easy life in this world (John 15:18-20). And even better is that God promises to be close in times of hardship (Psalm 34:18). I have always found that Young Life is an instant close connection between people, and I have been blessed countless times over with that connection. Whether I'm at Wake or in Athens visiting friends, Young Lifers are allll over the place and I love it. I have been blessed by seeing the strength and courage of some of my friends, specifically one of my closest friends who's mom is battling cancer. She remains faithful to Christ, loves other extremely well, and is one of the most selfless people I know, yet her mom is extremely sick. I don't know how she does it and I tell her all the time, but I look up to her so much. I don't understand why she of all people has to deal with the sickness of her mother, but I know that the Lord is holding her family in the palm of His hand, and that's a beautiful thing.

Needless to say, this semester has been tough but in so many ways, but great in so many others. I am learning that everyone has a story and the closer you get to them, the more they will trust you with the details of their life. I've had to learn that you can't trust everyone with it, but that's okay too. Life isn't fair, but God's love reigns over everything. He is sovereign and in total control and we simply have to trust in Him (Jeremiah 29:11-14).

What is Normal?

I can't believe it has been so long since I have updated this blog. I remember thinking I would right after I went out to Frontier Ranch this summer, and then again after our family trip to Belize, but it has instead taken me getting back to school and "back to the norm" to find time to sit down and write.

I'm not going to lie, this summer was hard, really hard. I laugh and think about how my expectations and plans for this summer were just so different than what the Lord had planned for me. As one of my friend's moms explained to me, "sometimes the Lord just needs to prune you, to snip off the bad branches, so that you can grow  into something stronger and more beautiful", and that is exactly what He did. It hurt, a whole lot, but I love the Lord's promise to be always by our side and to never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

I'll start with Frontier Ranch. I think I have decided that I either need to marry someone on Young Life staff or be on staff myself so that I can go back to camp year after year. Seeing the Lord work in high school kids lives, bringing them to the realization that they need Him more than they need parties, popularity, or good grades is an amazing thing to be a part of. I feel blessed every time I leave a Young Life camp, and to be a leader this past summer, taking our Atlanta kids out there, was wonderful. I'll admit that I almost didn't go because I was so discouraged by the slow healing of my leg, but after some encouragement from family and friends, and an incredible peace from the Lord, I knew I was supposed to go.

our Cabin with the Program Team

Hoe-down night

Almost all the NW Atlanta group

Again, I just have to laugh at how the Lord's plans are so different from mine, but His are SO much better. He broke me of several things while I was out there including patience, (my leg was taking a longggg time to heal and I still couldn't walk very well), flexibility, (I couldn't do any activities with our kids because of my leg, but instead was asked to be picture taker for our group and therefore got to meet all of our Atlanta kids), and being still. I have continued to find that I love to go, go, go but the Lord calls us to be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10), and I sure got to do that with the little mobility I had with my leg. I also got the chance to see our kids be impacted by Christ. I'm pretty sure that by the end of the week, over 100 kids at camp (out of 400!!!) accepted Christ, including several of ours! I am not much of a crier, but I was so overwhelmed with the greatness of God, that tears were a flowin'. 

After Frontier, I spent more time at home in physical therapy. I promise you, I was a joy to no one. I was not happy to be in PT 2 days a week and then hobbling around the other 5 days. I did get to see friends while I was home though, and that was such a joy. I even got to have my wonderful freshman roommate to Atlanta, her first trip ever! But before I knew it, I was packing a suitcase yet again to prepare for a 10 day trip to Belize with the family. I'll gladly admit it, family trips are an obsession of mine. My dad always does the most incredible job planning them, and now that everyone is getting a leeeettle more mature, we can all have a really fun time on them. We spent 4 days in the jungle of Belize hiking and relaxing... 

on the top of Caracol, the Mayan "ruin"

Then we spent another 5 days on the beach diving and fishing...

Cha Cha 60 feet under

Truer words have never been spoken...

It is a gorgeous part of the world full of so much to do, but my favorite part by far was being with my family. I realized once we got down there that I hadn't spent time with just my family since last summer, and it was awesome. The personalities that make up my family could not be more wonderful or hilarious. Again, the Lord knew what He was doing when He put us all together and I feel so incredibly blessed by them each and every day. 

The time did come for me to head back up to Wake though. Some things I have learned since coming back to school: 1-It's still hard to say goodbye to your parents. 2-It is too much fun living with some of your closest friends. 3-Time management is a skill that got be forgotten (and re-learned). While I will admit, I wasn't the most excited to come back to Wake, the Lord has been faithful in all of His promises (Psalm 145:13) and He has reaffirmed me in countless ways that I am supposed to be here right now. I have met the most amazing new freshman class, on fire for the Lord and excited to be here. I have reconnected with old friends and stayed in touch with friends and family at home. I am very thankful for technology when it comes to keeping up with people, that is for sure. 

Throughout the summer, I kept catching myself saying, "I can't wait to get back to the normal", yet it didn't matter where I was when I was saying it: South Africa, Colorado, Belize, even Atlanta. What is normal though? Is being at home with your family normal? Is traveling the world experiencing everything you can in a short amount of time normal? Is being back at school normal? I think normal is being exactly where God wants you at that time, and living fully in the moment. (James 4:13-15)