The Special

PRetty much all that happened the past two days is the Special: 20 hours of intense physical activity. It sounds like not much has happened, but it's amazing all that happened inthose 20 hours. As an intern, it was my job to referee and help run all of the activities. Refing was no doubt the hardest part for me. It sucks having to make tough calls or make a call when you didn't really see what happened. It was cool though to apply the truth that I have confidence while refing. My favorite part though was getting to watch the students. I got a little teary eyed at times just watching them go from absolutely dead and on the verge of breaking down to just being toally renewed and a fire relit in their eyes. I just spent the whole time soaking it all in and seeing all the work that God was doing in all the people around me. I felt His presence so strongly. I was energized, peaceful, joyous, amazed. It felt like nothing much happened to me during the special, but I realized that God allowed me to just sit in His presence and soak it all in for 20 hours. What a gift! If every day could be like that I cannot begin to describe the happiness and peace I would feel. I have learned that I enjoy serving in little ways. I am not the one who wants to run the show and be a leader in that sense but I love being there for people when they need me, like streching Claire's leg when she was hurting or giving little words of encouragement when someone is struggling or simply helping get the sandwiches for dinner. I am slowly seeing maybe the big thing God wanted to show me was to rest in Him in the little things. Maybe something big can be small. Most of all, He continues to show me that He wants ALL of my heart ALL the time. Seeing the girls in my small group share last night at our celebration made me so proud of all of them. They listened to the Lord and made huge strides in two short days. I am so excited for all of them and I cannot wait to see how the Lord uses them while we are here for the next week. I cannot believe that my trip is already halfway over, but I have never been blessed so much with people, time, and love that surrounds me. I don't think that I have ever experienced a joy like I have now and I can't wait to bring that home with me to share with others. 

Prayer Requests: There has been a lot that people have been learning and experiencing the past couple of days and I would pray that people would have the time to digest all that has been put on their hearts and not brush it off. I also pray for the Puerto Rican students that we will be sharing with for the next week. I pray that God would prepare their hearts to hear the good news that we have for them.

Principles in Action

Today's the day. We have the opportunity to put all that we have been learning into practice. It is unreal how much we have been learning the past couple of days. Honestly, it's all blurring together. But overall, we've seen that we compete for the Lord and the Lord alone. We have seen truths about ourselves; for me I chose I have boldness and confidence. It spoke to me in a sense that I have this while I am leading, on the field, in practice, sharing my faith, everywhere and in every situation. The Holy Spirit enables me to be confident by drawing near to the Lord with a sincere heart and the assurance that our faith brings (Hebrews 10:22). I'm not going to lie, I'm nervous about the Special that begins in a little over two hours, but I am excited for the opportunity to serve the students and push them past their abilities to lean on the Lord to make it through. I know that I will certainly be leaning on Jesus just as much as they will be with 20 hours of physical activity and only 3 hours of sleep in there. 

Yesterday we learned two principles and one more today, followed by putting them into practice with sport. The coolest thing for me is seeing how God has changed my heart over the past year since learning these principles and getting to see others experience them for the first time. There are things I definitely still struggle with, such as my motivation level always being 100%, no matter the circumstance. This is something that I pray for help with tonight and tomorrow during the special. It's my job as an intern to not be tired and to be their motivation when they are falling. I have so much to learn, yet at the same time I am trying to take in so much. I know it probably won't all settle in until I get home, but I just want to be present and see all that is going on while I am here. I met with both girls I am discipling for the first time last night and I cannot wait to get to know them better and just be a resource for them while they're here, whether that's an answer to a question or simply a listening ear. God is so present in our group here and I know that tonight will be something special. 

Prayer Requests: Prayers for the students competing and that God would truly move in their hearts and that they would fully trust and rely on Him to make it through. I also would love prayer that there are no injuries or dehydration and that everyone would stay in good health. 

Audience of One

I pleasantly surprised myself with a short workout this morning at 6:45 am. It's amazing how hot and humid it is at that early and how high the sun is at that time. 7 am here seems to be 8:30 am back home. Today was so filled with the Lord. After a great devotional and quiet time this morning, Peter, a staff member, taught about the gospel. Though the gospel is certainly good news, it isn't new news for me. However, it amazes me how powerful it is and how I always seem to learn something new each time it is presented to me. If the gospel were to be written as a novel of four chapters, each chapter would  be creation, the fall, redemption, and restoration. Something that really stood out to me was hearing that when you pick up a book to read, you don't just flip to the climax and put it back down. You read the whole thing in order for the climax to make any sense. Sometimes I feel as though the Old testament is a little outdated, but all of that points to Christ and without it there would be no prophesies for Christ to fulfill. It shows us how broken the world was (and is) and just how much we need God. Peter also shared a video of young children running into the arms of their fathers just returning from the military and it paints the perfect picture of how we one day get to run into our Father's arms and say "Daddy, I missed you." There is so much joy, so much love, so much peace in that tender moment. I (and many others) couldn't help but cry and for this beautiful reunion. 

Today was also amazing becuase we got to go to the beach for the afternoon! This beach is beautiful beyond compare. When you hike up the side of the cliff to the top, you simply cannot claim that there is no God. God's hand is so clealy the maker of such a breathtaking place. We played together, swam together, and shared in God's creation. I also got a chance to talk one on one with a couple of my students and it just makes me so excited to return home and pour into my team. The love I have for my teammates and for the Lord is so great that all I want is for them to know Jesus personally and experience the unexplicable joy that comes from that. I am learning so much here that I cannot wait to bring back to Ohio State. 

Finally, we were able to begin the first principle tonight! This principle is the base of what Athletes in Action is and what they want to be sharing with athletes: we compete for an audience of one. For me this speaks easily to me because I can envision dancing on a stage for a crowd packed full of people or for only God. How cool would it be to get to show off my talents to the Lord as an offering, as if I were literally performing on a stage and God sat in the audience watching me. It just makes me want to dance. When I picture it that way, I want to do that for Him and worship Him with this talent and passion He has given me. What I so often forget is that I get the opportunity to do that every single practice and every single game and at nationals. Do I dance like I would at every practice as if it were a private performance for the Lord? I have to humbly admit that I know I do not. However it renews this passion that I experienced last summer hearing the principle for the first time. I do not need ot dance for tammates, coaches, parents, or even myself. My dance is for God and He takes delight in me giving that performance to Him. I also got to lead my small group today on my own which was so great. I have been at peace and the discussion flows so naturally between all of us. I am also excited to begin discipling two girls in my small group this week and for the rest of the trip. It has also been so humbling to serve the Lord in little things that they ask me to do, like set up dinner or clean the serving spoons or carry things around. It's actually been quite and honor to do the little tasks that seem insignificant. I am so full of God's love right now, just as I read in my quiet time this morning: " Your love  is better than life, I will be fully satisfied (Psalm 63:3,5)."

Defending the Faith

Super exciting today to get to show off some moves! (Think more along the lines of middle school dance then OSU dance team) Somehow tonight ended in a full out dance party, which I loved since the rest of the time is running and playing other sports. Always nice to just dance a little (: We also had a photo scavenger hunt tonight around the campus which was awesome for some bonding with other students not in our small groups. It's amazing the crazy things that people come up with. There are tons of pictures from the scavenger hunt on the Puerto Rico Project facebook page, but I also added one of my group below! Today the lessons were about defending the faith and being able to tell people why you believe in God. If you haven't read More Than a Carpenter by Josh and Sean McDowel I highly recommend it. It's actually the same book that I offered to Eric on the airplane. 

Without a doubt the morning devotionals and quiet time right after have been my favorite part of the trip. Today we read Psalm 62:1-8 which really spoke to me. What really struck me is that God wants me to pour out my heart to him and him only. He simply desires that I tell him what is on my heart throught the day, trusting him moment by moment. Our hearts are to be like a fountain, pouring out consistently and continuously to Him. While praying I also thought of Proverbs 3:5-6. I am called to TRUST Him with everything and not to lean on my understanding. Not try to figure out what He's doing or why and certainly not do part of what He has called of me because I feel like my way may be a little but better. I need to TRUST that His plan is perfect and that I will see it worked out in due time. 

Our small group was such a blessing once again. The hearts that open and the struggles that we all have are so real. It's so comforting just to have people that are listening, and sometimes that's all you really need. God truly put us together because we all have such similar struggles in our lives. I also went on a walk with Macy, the staff member who is discipling me while I am here, and we got DRENCHED. As soon as we walked back into the dorm everyone just died laughing, but we were laughing too. 

Kingsighting: I think today I saw God the most through our impromptu dancing. We may not all speak the same language or have similar dance moves even, yet we can all come together and have fun and enjoy being silly together. It was so fun to see all of the Puerto Ricans and even some of the more shy Americans jumping in there and having a blast. God allows us to find joy in one another and I just thought of the joy he must experience in seeing His children be joyful together. 

Prayer Requests: Prayers for students who have already had injuries and illnesses. Pary that he keeps everyoen healthy and heals the broken quickly. I would also love if you could pray for composure and confidence as I begin leading small groups on my own tomorrow, getting to do more as an intern than just set up dinner and take photos (: 

Where I sat today doing my devotional and where I'm sitting writing this (:

One Thing

We started off our day yesterday with a a short devotion over Hebrews 11, which really spoke to me followed by quiet time. Always a great way to start your day in God's Word. Chris also shared Luke 10:38-42 where Jesus explains to Martha that there is only one thing that matters, and that's a realtionship with Him. That's what we are all really here for, to grow closer to Him. Then Gus, one of the staff members, led a group workout. All I'm going to say about that is that he's a track and cross country coach. If you know me, you know that I am not entirely fond of running so it was a challenge, but I definitely needed it. All I coule picture was Coach D and the workouts I am sure to return to at school. After that we had a few short meetings and got to welcome all the Puerto Rican athletes. It was SO exciting to be reunited with some great friends from last year's project. 

Yesterday was pretty relaxing just getting settled in a hanging out with everyone. I have the duty of taking pictures for the Puerto Rico Project facebook page. Ironically, I've been taking tons of pictures, just none of my own. With me not using my phone while I'm here I just forget about it. The heat here is crazy hot during the day; very humid. And I'm really distracted right now by all of the mosquitos circling my body looking for a place to extract my blood. We took a run to Burger King last night to get ice cream and it was fun to just leave and hang out and talk with everyone. I feel so comfortable here and with all the people. 

King Sighting: My small group met yesterday for the first time and we got into some very deep conversations pretty quickly. It's awesome just to see how everyone can share such personal things and to see all the similar stories that we share. It was exciting to see God's work in each of our lives and for specifically assembling our group. I pray that our group would continue to be open and that we can all just be comfortable sharing with one another and that I can facilitate great discussion. 

From our first group meeting last night.

Dia una

Wow. What an incredible start to this trip. Probably the most amazing thing was the plane ride right after I posted my last post. I sat down and the man I sat next to was a resercher and scientist. We chatted and he is actually Italian. He was very open with me and was sharing so much about his life with me. Long story short, we got into a very long, awesome conversation about our beliefs. He was not a beliver and had many, many opinions about faith and God and especially who Jesus is. It was certainly the toughest conversation I've ever had and it was such a test, but the opportunity to defend my faith was such a blessing. Even if he didn't believe in the same things as me, it brings me so much joy to be able to have an open, honest, calm conversation and just to show Jesus to him through my composure if nothing else. Hopefully he actually does download More Than a Carpenter to read. I've done my part sharing the Gospel and now it's simply in God's court to grow that seed and move in him. I also lost my glasses on this flight I think (sorry mom) but at least I shared the Gospel, right? His life is far more important than a pair of glasses. 

Another huge highlight was our intern meeting last night. It was so cool to experience God's presence and see just how our faith in Him can bring us all so close so quickly. We have all already shared deep, personal things about our lives with each other and most of us are complete strangers.  When else do you get to just share constant community with other people? When Jesus is what you have in common, you all automatically have the biggest piece of your life in common. Everyone here is so great and I am so excited to get to know everyone better. There is so much that God is going to do in us and through us and I cannot wait to see how he moves in everyone's lives around me. We've officially made the trek from San Juan to San German and we are now at the university Interamericana San German. The most unfortunate event was finding out that all the mangoes have already fallen for the season :( My mission (besides telling people about Jesus): finding a mango tree with magoes still in it. Update on the mangoes to come shortly. 

Kingsighting: I truly saw God today through the genuine relationships that are being built here. I also read Luke 1 this morning and it's always so encouraging to read about faithful women of the bible and the miracles that God can perform through women like Elizabeth simply for their love and devotion to Him. I truly wish to find favor in His eyes like Elizabeth had. 

Prayer Requests: Prayer for the staff to be filled with wisdom to guide the interns, confidence and servant-leader hearts for the interns, and open hearts for the students to simply be still before the Lord adn to be teachable as we begin to dive into the project tomorrow. 

Also for those who may not know, I have turned off my phone and will not be using it while I am here except every once in a while. So do not be alarmed if I don't reply! 

And we're off!

As some of you may know, I had one quick stop in Birmingham, AL before I got to depart for Puerto Rico. I spent the last two days here training for my summer job working as a dance instructor for UDA. I made some great friends and I am sad to leave but I am excited for the first leg of my trip to be over.  I learned a lot at my camp for my job, but I also saw that the real world isn't necessarily filled with the constant fellowship that I get at school everyday. I always have tons of people that I can go to whenever for encouragement and my week is filled with bible studies and meetings. It will certainly be a change going from almost no fellowship for the past couple of days to constant fellowship for two straight weeks, but I can't wait to meet everyone and to be reunited with friends!

I'm actually sitting here at the airport in Birmingham writing this and already I've gotten some courage to share a bit about my faith with three random strangers. King Sighting: I talked to one man in the line at Starbucks and actually it has been a highlight of my day so far.  He was very kind and it was nice to just have a genuine conversation with someone and to get to ask them about how they're doing. I pray that more conversations like that would come up throughout my day and that I would have the courage to have those conversations. Why do we so often just stand in a line and not talk to anyone? Or sit at an airport and keep to ourselves? There are so many people who crave connection and social contact. Obviously this is true or else people wouldn't sit on their phones 24/7 posting and reading about other people's lives. We crave connection with other people, so why not make those connections with people in those moments where you're in line?  Ask how they're doing.  Sometimes you can show people Jesus in your kind actions without even having to come straight out and tell them. And that very well could be the perfect lead you need to share the gospel with them. You never know, that could be the one personal connection that will change their life forever. 

T-minus 10 Days

As I look back on the past year, I am amazed at all that God has done in my life.  I am sure that if I had not gone on this trip a year ago, I would not be where I am today.  I have learned about love, grace, comittment, trust, and most importantly, that I can be in a real, personal relationship wiht Him every single day.  All I need to do is put my trust in Him and be still, allowing Him to guide me and direct me as I make my way through this life.  And to think I almost didn't go because I was afraid of not being able to pay or the time committment or summer jobs.

Last year, I had no idea what to expect or what would happen and even though I've been there before, I am in the same place this year.  I've learned that God is full of surprises and no matter how hard I try, I cannot even begin to imagine what He has in store for me.  So for now, I sit in my bedroom at home ready to take on whatever He throws at me, preparing for an experience that is anything but ordinary.  I continue to rest in Psalm 46:10, "be still and know that I am God," a verse that has been on my heart for the past year, trusting that He will be with me every step of the way.  I praise God for providing all the support for this trip and then some so that I can help aid the Puerto Rican athletes as well.  The excitement that I have for these two weeks is unimaginable and I am so excited that I have the ability to share it all with you!  I ask for prayers as I prepare for the trip and for all the lives that the othre athletes and I will get to touch in Puerto Rico.  Look out for some King sightings (thanks Dr. G) and stories of how God is working in us and through us! The island awaits (: