A house of 13

Living in Mount Hermon now....what a joy and blessing to be here.  Though it may seem overwhelming, I live in a house of 13 other interns. We share 1 living room and 1 kitchen.  There are 6 bathrooms and 2 porches. Our house is called Evergreen, which I just recently learned means "something that perpetually renews itself, or otherwise remains steady and constant (it does not suddenly halt or 'die off', as leaves on a deciduous tree)."  It is neat to think about this definition in terms of our community here.  We are all looking forward to the relationships we will be building this year. Each of us have such unique, different personalities, so I anticipate great challenges and being apart of a community that the Lord has put together.

Romans 12 comes to mind. A good chapter to live by:

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God,which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. 4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; 7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. 9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; 11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, 13 contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. 17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. 19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord. 20 “BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

 
Here are some brief, generalized descriptions of my housemates to get to know them just a bit. I could say a lot, but I will give you just a glimpse.

Upstairs:

Room 1:

Dayna- From Minnesota. Works at the ropes course. Short hair, tom-boyish, super sensitive heart. Fun to jam with on the djembe, guitar, harmonica, and her beautiful voice!

Kate- From La Mirada. Works as a Host at Conference Center.  Graduated from Long Beach state, first time away from home, in the adjustment stage.

Kelsey- Returner. Works in the program department for Pondy. Has a fohawk. A little quiet, artistic, and super sweet.

Room 2: 

ME!!

Rachel- Graduated from UC Santa Cruz.  Works at the Bookstore. Loves to read. Blunt and fun.

Nicole- Returner. Oldest of 9 children. Works as the Audio/visual tech. Loves to ask questions and be with people. Likes sarcasm. 

Kelly- Graduated from Westmont.  From San Diego. Works as a host at Pondy. Shares the top bunk bed with me. Sings, thinks, and has fun a lot. Shared many laughs with her, to tears already!

Room 3:

Emily- Returner. From Ohio. Works in program for Redwood. Worked with her on staff a few summers.  Great conversationalist. 

Ali- Long red hair. Graduated from APU. Works as a caterer. Very smiley and real with her feelings.  Fun to be around.

Downstairs:

Dustin and Amber- Young married couple. From Arkansas. Have a little dog name Moosie. Ropes Course and Accounting interns.  Enjoy being involved with all of us.

Around the corner:

Shane- Works in marketing. Has to wear wild colors to feel comfortable. Funny humor. 

Tyler- Works in programing for pondy. Quiet demeanor. Deep thinker.  House president.

That is our house, but there is one more intern! He lives with his wife and baby Sadie down the way. They are just as much apart of our community as the rest of us.  Moved here from Walnut Creek.  We are with them most every day and baby Sadie is just one of the girls :) She is 7 months old, so we get to see her learn to walk and talk this year! She is our little joy :)

Hope that paints a little picture of my community so far.  The Lord has blessed me with an incredible supervisor, Shami, who is committed to being attentive to the Spirit's leading in her daily life.  I know that this is where the Lord wants me. That in and of itself is a blessing to know.   Having Shami as a supervisor already has been incredible to experience, be encouraged by, and be poured into.  

Here is a pic of Kate, Kelly, and I on our first day of work. This pic is taken in our room :)

Quirky things about Evergreen:

-Smoke alarms go off often (like right now)

-I have locks on my dresser drawers, so I can keep things safe....hahaha!

-We have a toilet and shower in our kitchen, but we don't have a stove or a table with chairs

-Our closet door is locked, it can't be unlocked, so we have to keep the door open

-There is a hidden closet underneath the stairs...our harry potter closet

-We have a secret storage place next to the fire place underneath the bookshelf. We hide old picture frames we don't like in there

-Our room used to be a porch, so it is leaning a bit. It's right over the boys room, so you can see the walls leaning down

-We have an icky smell that protrudes through the walls some days

-In our closet, there is a window, but a wall covers it so it is pointless

Just a few quirks and I'm sure more will be found. It makes it an adventure every day. Living in a small town community, I feel like we are living a book or something (you've got mail quote?)

Journey continued

Spokane-Omaha-Iowa-Illinois-Spokane-Sequim-Leavenworth-Seattle

Yep, it's true! This was the rest of my journey. Here are some highlights after I left Spokane:

I flew to Omaha and got to spend time with Erica and Ryan! Oh so fun!

Hooked up with these peeps and drove through Iowa to Chicago

Chillin' at Sharky's- last bowl of frosted mini-wheats together :)

My cousin in Chicago!!

Visited Ditto in Seattle

View from the telescope

Mish in Sequim!

Birdie in Leavenworth at Estrella's wedding

Mango & Birdie...what a beautiful maid of honor

Driving back to fly home :)  A reminder of God's promises

from one place to the next

Itinerary so far:  Seattle-Leavenworth-Spokane-Idaho

Here are a few highlights:

Always a time to pray!

I saw Alayna before she left for Africa

Wild Thang at Starbucks in Greenlake

Reminiscing from my childhood with the life vest at this very spot :)

Lunch with my mom at the Space Needle

Whoa, we are in Spokane at the same time! Preview of adventures to come :)

Windy on the boat in Idaho

In the river on the boat on our way to the lake

What fun adventures so far. Although my mom is leaving tomorrow, we have had such a wonderful trip spending time together and catching up together. This trip has been so incredibly worth it and definitely worth the many years of wait.  The Lord has blessed us immensely during our time here...with each other and with things that we have learned. I'm so thankful for her!

Cool story: I was walking along a path that was just up from the river today in Spokane.  If I strained my eyes through the trees I could see the beautiful river below, but only if I turned my head in just the right angle.  I kept trying to take a picture of it, knowing that it was just such a beautiful display of the Lord's creation.  Hence the picture below:

As I was taking the picture, I thought that it was simply amazing and really couldn't imagine it getting any better.  I stopped and admired it for awhile, still trying to get a little bit better of a view, but was thankful for where I was at.  Then I decided I probably should keep walking along the path.  Little did I know that just around the river bend (beyond the shore!) there was a break in the trees. I then began to anticipate a better view of the river! Within moments I then saw a spectacular view of this river, simply breath taking to me.  A better view than I could imagine! There was even an area where I could walk down the hill of rocks and actually go down to feel the water and enjoy it close up!  Here is the picture below!

How I feel at times this can be similar to my walk with the Lord.  He will ask me to follow Him, just a bit further and further because He knows what is even better than the best that I think I see.  Father DOES know best :)  I hesitate because it just seems so good from my perspective, even if there are trees in the way.  I don't know any different.  But as I trust, or have no choice and turn the corner anyway, He leads me to an even more beautiful view with no trees in the way.  Just a glimpse of some of my thoughts....

End of Summer

The end of summer has come! So many lessons I've learned, new experiences I've had, and challenges that the Lord has brought me through.  I still have yet to process through it all, so for now I will just give a quick update...

I got the job at Mount Hermon!! I will be the Redwood Camp Host for the year, which means I will welcome guest groups that come every weekend and be there to support them during their stay.  During the weekend I will probably help with the food, any little needs that they have, and most importantly be there to build relationships and pray over their group as they are there.  I am soooo looking forward to this experience! It has been neat to see the Lord's faithfulness to me in providing this job after He asked me to quit at Biola.  I know He has brought me here and am looking forward to seeing what is in store.  From what I know, a typical week will be as follows: Wednesday-Spiritual formation day. I will get together with the rest of the interns and go through a spiritual formation type class. Thursday- prep for the guest group to come (put together any specific needs that they have and get the grounds ready for them).  Friday-Sunday-- be the host!! Sunday-Tuesday-- enjoy a few days off!

I have yet to move in anywhere, so right now my stuff is loaded in my car in Moraga as I am enjoying a little vacation up here in Washington with my mom.  I have quite the adventure ahead, so I thought it would be fun to update a bit as I am away.  I got to see my friend Linnell today before she is off to spain and tomorrow I get to see Alayna before she goes off to Tanzania.  We had dinner with my mom's sister's family and now are back in the hotel.  I best be off to bed, but here are a few pics from the end of the summer.

Graden and I (Men & Women's Staff)

My partner and huge blessing of the summer!!

Program Staff Women

My girls! All the girl Counselors and ME

my director Papa K  :)

Soaking it in

Wow, it is already our fourth week of campers here in the beautiful Redwoods of Mount Hermon.  Last week we had a short week because of 4th of July.  Wednesday I was able to hang out with Uncle Paul, Aunt Pam, and Tyler and meet my 2nd cousins for the first time! It was so great to spend time with them. They were so hospitable and I hope to visit them again soon.

Campers left on Thursday, so our staff was able to have a few days off before campers arrived again on Sunday.  It ended up being a great time to hang out as staff away from a normal schedule and also a time to process the summer so far.  The first day we went to Carmel and hung out at the beach and had a bonfire.  It was such a neat time getting to know the staff in a different context.  We spent the night at one of the counselor's houses in Carmel. My roommate for the night was one of my favorite staff members :). We stayed up a bit chatting and laughing a lot as usual.  The next day we drove off to Moraga, where one of our staff members, Jono, lives.  Another dinner of free food and fun fellowship.  The Lord was really at work in the different conversations I was able to have with some of the girl counselors and He continues to direct my path in how to be a support and encourage them.  I spent the night in Moraga at Sprite's house, which was so great to catch up on how she is doing (since she just recently got back from living over in Costa Rica student teaching for a semester).  4th of July was a fun day.  We went to breakfast together where we joined up with Dave.  Sitting around at a coffee shop, drinking tea, and talking about the Lord together was so uplifting.  The rest of the day we spent lounging around, relaxing, and enjoying just being able to "be" and not "do" anything.

Being away from camp for a bit was something I didn't realize I needed so badly. The Lord blessed me with a break from it all in order to process through some of how camp has been going and also to refill me in order to keep giving from His strength.   I felt an uneasiness in going back to camp on Friday/Saturday morning, but any effort I made to try to figure out what He wanted to be teaching me during my time away or how He wanted to fill me wasn't working.  There was a moment though where I was able just to lay out on the grass by myself, immerse myself in the Lord's presence, and let Him do His work. My heart was longing for Him and He met me in so many different ways.  It was such a neat experience that He had pre-planned and was exactly what He knew I needed.  It may seem silly that it was just a random moment, laying out on the grass, listening to the quietness of the breeze and the bird's singing, but how profound is it when we listen to the Lord as He leads us into those unexpected moments?  He is at work and He is revealing Himself to us in more moments then we probably realize!  Our challenge is to live in this reality, dedicate our moments to Him, be attentive to His voice, listen to Him, obey Him, step into what He is calling us to, trust His love without fear, so that we can experience His greatness and His glory in whatever circumstance He lays in front of us. 

Overall, it was a refreshing break, filled with conversations and times with the Lord that keep pointing me back to Him.  We have lots of campers from years past that are stoked to be here at camp. Being surrounded by people would love kids is such a fun thing to experience. The kids brought so much energy this week, which has impacted all of us who just adore kids and has hyped up all of our energy as well. It is an awesome picture just to watch all of the staff loving on the kids with such a joy and passion.  Walking around camp yesterday and having a conversation with one of the members on staff was a neat moment just to soak in everything that was going on around us.  God has brought us here to this place this summer and it is seriously an incredible place to be.  We were reflecting that we are at a place in our lives where we don't feel rushed, taking one day at a time, and truly are enjoying where the Lord has us at, knowing that the future is under control and there is nothing to fear.  What a freeing joy it is to live in the moment, being open to where the Lord is leading, processing through things of the future when HE sees fit, and in the mean time experiencing HIM here in this place.  What a blessing it is to dwell in His presence!

Out of Control!

First of all, this is a phrase that can be used to describe something as so incredibly cool, it is "out of control!" This is how I feel about my job. I can hardly believe that I get to be here and serve the women's staff all summer! I have been enjoying my time with them, investing in their lives, and spending a lot of time this week listening to all of their stories.  God has been supplying them all with continual energy, enthusiasm, and excitement this first week of camp.

Second of all, I think the Lord is teaching me again that I am "out of control" or rather that He is the one in control of my life and wants to be the one in control of my life. How you ask? Well, right when I had my time off for the week last night, I got a pinched nerve in my back. All of a sudden it started hurting and got worse through the night. This morning it was a challenge to get out of bed and now I am on medication hoping for the pain to go away soon.  This happened to me two years ago at camp and it really was a time where He was teaching me that He is the one in control.  I desire so much for Him to be the one moving and working this summer, so it's been cool for Him to remind me that I just need to trust, release, and surrender to what He wants to do through me this summer.  Such a cool lesson of the day.

Here are some fun pictures from training week!

Lisa came to visit on Saturday!

I brought all the girls to the chapel and had a special time being vulnerable and open with each other on fears of the summer. It was such a sweet time.

Here is our Program staff dressed up to hide around Santa Cruz

for the staff to find us on the scavenger hunt.  Most of

us blended in though, which tells you something about Santa Cruz :)

Beaker, Timon, and Me...haha, scary huh? I was a french goth :)

Rascal (lifeguard) , Plummy (Primary Director), 

Magic (Music), Cheddar (Nurse), and Daisy (Me!)

Fun Happenings: Program staff had to do skits all week. I am not a big fan of being in skits, but since we wrote them we had to present them this week. Haha, the "poncho, jump on it" song skit was my favorite :)

Cool Story: We went to the beach on Saturday and as we were leaving, fireworks started going off at the boardwalk. It was so fun to sit on the beach and watch a firework show.

Prayer Request: Next week we have such small numbers! 26 girls and 31 boys. That means we will have 4 counselors that will not be able to counsel.  We will be sending them up to Conference Center to have to work as dining serving staff for the week. Luckily we will house them here at Redwood. Pray that they will still feel apart of the community and that the Lord will be using this time for them to be bonding together. They are going with open willing hearts.

One week down, a whole summer to go!!

Here is a quick video I took with my phone showing my first night in the cabin :) Luckily the guys came and saved the day and killed them all! Since then, there has only been a few more spiders, one or two slugs, and a few snakes (just kidding, no snakes :)

Things have been going great! Counselors arrived yesterday and we are busy doing Counselor Training this week.  We have a surprise night tonight planned for them to get to know Santa Cruz.  All of us Program Staff will get to dress up and hide ourselves around downtown Santa Cruz.  It actually is a nice relaxing few hours as we wait for them to follow the clues and find us.

For those of you that don't know, my partner for the summer, the Men's Staff Counselor, is Graden. His camp name is Space Cowboy, so I will probably be referencing him a lot.  We are a team this summer and I am already so thankful in how the Lord has been working in our dynamics as the Staff Counselors.

This week we will be training the counselors in ALL they need to know and be prepared for for the summer.  We have a staff of 9 guy counselors and 13 girl counselors.  We woke up at 5:30am and went to the tide pools.  I was challenged to touch an anemone (an amenonenome..hehe) so I did!! Ahh! It was all sticky and made my finger feel numb.  We saw starfish and the end of the sunrise. Then we went up to Pondy (the highschool camp) and had a morning of reflection, alone time, worship, and a hike up to the cross at the hill.  It was such a neat time as a staff.  We ended the time all putting a hand on the cross where we went into a time of thanksgiving, praise, prayer, and singing to our Father.  What a neat time bonding as staff.  I gave my testimony at lunch and it was neat to be able to share with the staff some of what the last year has been like and where I am at now.  

The Lord has been good and is so at work in this place.  Thank you for all your prayers! I will post pictures soon!

Cool Story: One morning I woke up to my alarm. I set it to wake up to "sunrise" setting, which is simply the birds chirping.  I went to go shut off my alarm, and it was not my alarm!! The sun was rising outside and the birds had been awakened! It was the coolest thing because it was way before my alarm was actually going to go off.  Definitely made my day and was a way the Lord was showing Himself to me :)

Prayer request: 3 Counselors are arriving late on Thursday, so they will miss most of the Counselor Training week.  This will mean we will have to figure out time to train them quickly when they get here.  I am a little unsure how this is going to go.