Class Trip to Budapest, Hungary

Here are a few pictures from our class trip to Budapest. Let me tell you what an adventure it was... Really, what could be more fun that leading a trip of over 100 loud American students through an eastern European city? We didn't exactly "blend in" if you know what I mean. Just keeping tract of everyone was a job in itself. We only lost one girl all day and one out of a hundred isn't so bad huh? And the best part was when 20 people who were previously in Romania got food poisoning all at once. Those who made it in time were flooding the bathrooms, some in the streets, some being carted off in an ambulance. And then there was the couple of us who had the job of babysitting the students. We herded in the 100 tired, whinny students and had to keep them on the corner of a sidewalk, out of the way, and out of trouble for over an hour. Like I said, what could be more fun than mass travel? All in all it was a good day though. We went to all the historical sites, visited a holocaust museum, ate great food, and drank cappucinos every chance we got. It was a fun adventure. Before I sign out, some advice from my good friend Joey that came in handy for me that day, "blessed are the flexible for they will not be broken." :)

Please Pray for Kosovo

From the 20th of October to the 29th a boy named Shaun and I will be leading an outreach team of18 to Malisheve, Kosovo. We will be traveling by train and by bus and doing all different sorts of ministry including: Practical ministry, English classes, Sports Outreach, and encouragement of the believers. There are a few things that I ask you to cover in prayer…

- Kosovo is a Muslim country that is not open to Christianity. Pray for safety for the team as we travel through Serbia and into Kosovo and that the Lord would protect us throughout our time there. Pray that we would have no trouble passing through the border.

- the week that we will be there is the last week of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Muslims fast from sun-up to sun-down for 30 days, then they have a 3-day feast. There will be a lot of spiritual warfare. Pray that the Lord would breakdown the spiritual stongholds and that the people of Kosovo would be open to the love and truth of Christ.

- Please pray for Shaun and I as we lead the team. For God’s grace and wisdom. I have never ministered to a Muslim community or led such a big outreach team for that matter.

- Pray that the Christians there would be encouraged. They have suffered through a lot of persecution as well as rejection and abuse from family.

Intern Initiation ...PAINTBALL!

Most missions updates are filled with people holding starving children or distributing clothing to the poor...mine, on the other hand, is me geared up in camoflauge holding a massive paintball gun. Some ministry groups go on prayer retreats...we ran out in the woods and shot eachother. I suppose there is no team bonding like a good old game of paintball:) Looking back it seems that it was oddly appropriate preparation for us interns. Little did we know we would be thrown out into mass chaos and responsibility. There would be many things thrown our direction and we would be running around trying not to be taken out with simply being overwhelmed! The learning curve has been incredibly steep these first couple weeks as all of us were put in a position to lead things and people that are simply not our expertise. And yet there is no better way to learn than to be thrown into the midst of it. Just like paintball! I had never done it before but it didn't take long for me to figure out that it hurt to be shot and that the next time around I would duck, cover, run...whatever to keep from being taken down! In a similar way I have been learning within the internship program through my mistakes and failures. I have often said "I won't do that again." Thankfully, I am starting to get the swing of things by God's grace and yet everyday is loaded with new surprises and hurdles just to keep things interesting. God has been so good to bless my health as I haven't been sick at all. It has truly been a sweet time to learn and grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ with those that truly love Him. We are all being shaped and molded by Him and it is such an incredible blessing to see Him work in the lives of others. At the end of the day I can always see God's faithfulness and grace in my life and that is truly what makes it a joy to be here in this place that God has called me!

Summer with the Youth at Metro Calvary

This summer I was so blessed to be apart of a Jr. High and High School ministry at Metro Calvary. Myself and a couple of others came alongside Travis and Megan Clark who run the youth ministry. It was such a blessing to be able to see and be apart of what God is doing in the lives of the young people at our church. Every Thursday morning we would get together to serve the community in some practical way and then we would spend the afternoon swimming. One week we we able to spend the day out at the lake where the kids were pulled behind a boat in tubes, jumping off the floating trampoline, and of course wakeboarding. We were so blessed to have a missionary family from Brazil join us. Tim and Tolisa and their two children Abraham and Bethany shared the day out at the lake with us and Tim shared with us from the word. It was an encouragement for all of us to hear a testimony of how God has worked in and through their lives to touch the lives of people in Brazil. This High School ministry was so refreshing to be apart of as these young people truly have hearts for Jesus and they are growing in Him. I was so thankful to be able to spend some of my summer with them.

What is an intern anyway?

In just a few short days I will be flying over the Atlantic to a far away land to the familiar castle, down the path from the sheep farm, in a little village known as Vajta. In Vajta I will be serving as an intern for the next year apart of the Calvary Chapel ministry "Reaching Europe." The last four months that I spent in Hungary I was a bible college student where I was able to receive, study, and soak in God's word. In this next year I will be serving practically by leading outreaches throughout Europe, meetings, prayer groups, as well as bible studies. I will live amongst the bible college students as a leader in the dorms, and will participate in the classes as a Teachers Assistant. A large portion of my time will be spent running a practical area of ministry such as house keeping or the coffee shop. Basically an intern is someone who is a student in the ministry. The eight other interns and I are given opportunities to minister to the students as well as serve in running the practical side of the ministry. I am so thankful for the opportunity to learn, serve, and grow in this next year and I look forward to being apart of what God is doing in Hungary.