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Tuesday, May 24, 2011

First Impressions

Well, now that I've been in Colorado for just over 24 hours (that's it?), I thought it'd be good to update everyone on how things are going. (Check out my Facebook for some pictures!)

After some complications on our second day of travel (sickness and a damaged front bumper at a gas station in Kansas), we arrived in almost one piece in beautiful Estes Park, Colorado at around 4:30 MT.

The scenery in Colorado is certainly awe-inspiring, as advertised. We are surrounded by snow capped mountains and as we were driving in, we saw three fully grown elk just kinda chillin by the side of the main road at the YMCA. I'm gonna have to get used to that, I guess! Even though it has been a bit rainy and cold here for the first couple of days, it's still just awesome to look around and see how great God's creation really is.

I have been really excited to come to Colorado for the last couple of months, but the first 24 hours have kind of been an up and down emotional experience for me.

Mostly, I'm confused because I have no clue why God sent me here. I feel in my heart that I am supposed to be here this summer, but He hasn't really shown me the specific reason why I am here yet. Maybe I'm here to make awesome friends, improve my evangelizing skills, push myself out of my comfort zone or grow really close to God. Heck, maybe it can be all of those.

I'm praying that God can show me how to best spend my time this summer. There are so many opportunities here which can make it kind of overwhelming, but I'm sure that there is a reason I am here and I trust that God will make this a very productive summer in preparation for my senior year.

Bt dubs, I just got back from the first meeting with my project group, which was fun. We ate dinner, heard a crazy story about some A&M people's car accident on the way to LT (everyone is safe!) and played some Catch Phrase. Our group is cool so far and I can't wait to see how God brings us together this summer!

Oh, I also found out that my official job for the summer will be working at the Rustic Cafe. It's kind of a Starbucks-type place on the YMCA grounds which seems like a nice place to work and was my most preferred job. PTL!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Ready for a new challenge

Tomorrow, I'll be headed out to Estes Park, Colorado to spend the summer with college students from all around the country, work at the YMCA of the Rockies and participate in LT, a program that helps create young leaders in the church.

I made my decision to go to LT early in the spring semester, so my anticipation for going to Colorado has been building for a while. I am excited to get out to Colorado for a number of reasons:

1. I will be challenged and encouraged daily to grow in my faith.

This year has been an awesome year of spiritual growth in my life. I’ve used this year to re-dedicate every minute of my life to the Lord and I’m doing all I can to be a great example of God’s love. The community that God provided for me through the Mark Twain Canvas Group and my core group was just what I needed to be motivated to live my life for Him.

With that said, there is still a lot of room for me to improve my relationship with the Lord and become more dedicated to serving Him daily. Being surrounded by about 150 Christian college students who have the same desire to grow in their faith will create an awesome atmosphere that will challenge me more than I have ever been challenged.

2. I will become more comfortable with outreach in preparation for next year.

As I look toward my senior year at Mizzou, I can’t help but be excited about all of the opportunities for outreach that we will have with the new Dobbs canvas group. That area of campus has been kind of neglected over the past couple of years, so a strong leadership group in that area will be necessary for it to be a prosperous canvas group.

With all of these opportunities to evangelize next year, I must use this summer to prepare myself to be bold and more intentional with incoming freshman. Even though I’m not officially a leader for the canvas group next year, being a senior means that freshman guys will naturally look up to me, so I have to be prepared to at least be a good role model.

The LT program is known for helping develop leaders (Leaders are developed at a leadership training camp? Who woulda guessed it?), so I am excited to see how I can finally become a true leader in the church.

3. I will grow closer to great people who love the Lord.

If I’m being honest, this past semester was the first time I really developed any relationships with people my age that were based on our shared love for the Lord. It was really the first time I realized what a true “brother” or “sister in Christ” was. Having people my age that can help me depend more on God with every passing day is something I have never really had in my life.

Whether it’s through encouraging words or just seeing what God is doing in other people’s lives, the power of friendships that are built on shared faith is undeniable. I’m really looking forward to finding more brothers and sisters in Christ in Colorado!

I’ve also thought of some specific goals for the summer: set out a specific time for God every day, read my Bible every day, learn to play the guitar a little better, be extremely committed to my project group, etc. This should be the best summer of my life, and God willing, it will be!

I’ll use this blog to keep everyone back home updated on all that I am learning and how I am growing in my faith! As you can tell, I'm extremely excited for what God has in store for me this summer and I hope some of you share that same excitement for me!