finally!

FINALLY I get a chance to sit down and update this! :-) I've been wanting to get an update out for the longest time now because there has been so much going on, but with it being the last 2 weeks of school, I've hardly had a whole spare hour to myself to sit down and give all the details. And even now as I'm glancing at the clock, I see that I only have 20 minutes until my next class anyway! Ugh. Ok, well here goes the short version at any rate!

- The biggest and most exciting thing that has happened in my life over the last few weeks is that I've decided to go on a missions trip to China for the month of July!! Cornerstone has organized a trip for this summer and will be taking 11 students to the Sichuan Province in south central China to minister to Chinese high school students by running a summer English program! I had been told that the Sichuan Province had been hit by a massive earthquake last May, but I only just found out that over 70,000 people were killed as a result (compared to the 218 in Italy's earthquake recently that everyone flipped out about), that 28,000 more are still missing, and that over 2,000,000 people were left homeless. ELIC has informed us that almost every single kid we will working with will have lost some relative to the earthquake last year. We will be working at a school compound that has recently been rebuilt, but is currently located in the middle of a refugee camp of sorts for the homeless. The Chinese government has promised to rebuild the area, but tens of thousands are still living out of tents. I haven't even been there yet, but the devastation that I can imagine from the facts leaves me breathless.... And we are going into the heart of it.

- Secondly, I just got back from a men's retreat this weekend with some guys from school and it was awesome! :-) We spent 2 and a half days in sessions, small groups, playing frisbee golf, cornhole, hillbilly horseshoes, eating, watching movies, bonfires, and having a great time all around. About 20 guys showed up, which was pretty encouraging, and the speaker, Chuck Swanson, spoke directly to the hearts of a lot of guys, including myself. It was truly refreshing.

- Thirdly, I just heard back from George Washington Academy in Morocco about 2 weeks ago, and they informed me that they would love to have me as a student teacher next spring! They only mentioned that they do not have their faculty all figured out for the spring yet (especially not in the English department) and wanted to make sure that they had a qualified, experienced teacher for me to work with, so they said that they would get back to me in a few weeks. I'm excited! :-)

- Also, for those of you who were praying, because of a conflicting class schedule this fall, I was afraid that I would not get to keep my soccer scholarship next year and would have to quit the team my senior year, which I was a little upset about. HOWEVER, after talking to my coach last week, his response to my dilemma was, "Well....you have to take the classes, right?" My jaw almost dropped. After a vehement head nod from me, he looked up from my class schedule on his desk, gave me a smile and said, "Well, what's the problem, then? Is there anything else I can do for you?" My jaw DID drop. Needless to say, I thanked him profusely, grabbed my schedule, and booked it out the door before he changed his mind! God is so faithful!

- Last of all, if any of you should find some extra prayer time on your hands (ha..), I could use some prayer for a few things:

• That God would provide some work for me this summer for the months of May and June. I don't have anything lined up at the moment, but I still have bills to pay, so it would be a blessing if I could find some work. There is a possibility that I could get hired at camp again just for those 2 months or I could maybe work with my dad in Kentucky on our house for some pay, but both of those options are still up in the air. I would love to get something solidified soon...

• That God would give me clear direction for my trip this summer and that He would provide for me and equip me with everything I need, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually before I go. I am only a fragile clay jar containing a great treasure...

• That I would be able to discern and continually follow God's leading for me next spring in my student teaching, both overseas and in finding a placement in Michigan.

• And, as always, that He would continue to fill me with an unquenchable hunger and thirst for Him and for His truth, especially over the course of these next 3 weeks when things are crazy.

Thank you all for your love and prayers!! :-)