Long post, short post

I realized that long posts are fun, but not the easiest to read or sit down and write.  I think I am going to try to write short posts from now on.

So here's to the first of short posts! :)

first day of fall

Yesterday was the first official day of fall here at Mount Hermon. The air was brisk, the wind was blowing hard, and all the leaves were falling from the trees. Redwood trees smell incredible already, but something about the wind blowing them around made their fragrance even more distinct and glorious. This sweet smell will be quite enjoyable this fall season.

Fun happenings: We don't have a kitchen table or chairs yet, so we all ate on the floor last night. Kate cooked a cornbread/chili/cheese dish that she copied from trader joes and it was so delicious. We drank raspberry iced tea and had some salad on the side.

+Sunday night we had a bonfire at the beach. It was Dayna's first bonfire at the beach ever! That was exciting. We brought djembes, a guitar, and a harmonica to play. Roasted some mallows, drank sparkling lemonade, and used piles of wood as seats.

+Two little birds landed on my porch while I was reading my bible during lunch. They were singing a delightful melody together. Then they started flirtin' a bit and flew off :)

+My job today: Preparing camp for the weekend. Part of that is organizing and going through all the games to see what we have and what is missing. I think I am good at this, for I acquired skills from my dad of all the times we had to clean out our game closet, organize them by shelf, and keep inventory :) Thanks dad!

Word: John 15 sticks out to me today...some of Jesus' words: "“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

+We can do nothing apart from Him. May we abide in Him as we work and serve Him today. Jesus was a carpenter for many many years and served the Lord diligently in His work before His ministry with His disciples began that we read about in the Scriptures. I'm sure pounding in a nail to make a bench didn't always seem significant, but it was what the Lord called Him to do to serve Him and be a light to others. --May it be more than a job Father. May it be another way to glorify You in all I do, as an act of serving You alone.

+Keeping His commandments is abiding in His love. An act of obedience to Him. Following His Word that He has given to us. We must strive towards simple obedience to the Father in all that He is so that we might abide in His love....our wants are then fruits of His wants for us.

Road to Redwood--First fall day

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!