Now to Live the LIfe

Happy 4th of July!

It's been another crazy week. So monday I went to the doctor to find out that I had a sinus infection that was turnin into a respiratory infection so I got hooked up with some meds and i'm doing a lot better now! YAYYYY!

Tuesday, Nick, "Sammy Socha", Sean, Angie, April and I went to the Union Gospel Mission for Women's and Children (basically a women and children's shelter) to find out our jobs for the next two weeks. Turns out we were camp counselors! crazy huh? And here I was thinkin I was gettin away from camp. Good thing I love kids, I guess. Well this camp was a lot bigger than anything that I was use to. 80+ kids and only 5 counselors. UNSAFE much??? I personally thought so. that day we took the kids to a local park and played on the playscape and in the wading pool and a few of the boys went to shoot hoops. The staff was very thankful to have another 6 sets of hands to help them. I really enjoyed the day. it was beautiful outside with a high of 76 or so and clear skys....infact it hasn't rained yet!!! Tuesday was exhausting but a ton of fun too! Wednesday, we all spent the day at the shelter and had Kids Church and they learned the theme song for the summer (Ask me to sing it for you!!) and we sang The Stand and In My Father's House and got a chance to share the gospel with some of the kids. Sean and I work in the Kindergarden room so for me that has been a bit of a challenge because I am use to working with slightly older kids. Thursday was actually the work day for us because they were closed on Friday for the 4th. On Thursday we took them to a Roller skating rink. Very very funny! Sam, April and I didn't rollerskate for various reasons but the guys and Angie did. Most of the kids did really well but there were these two boys oh jeez... poor souls. hahah they coudn't stand for the life of them! The day ended on a kind of upsetting but powerful note. On the bus ride home one of the girls got a bad nose bleed. Well turns out none of the counselors are CPR or First-Aid certified...Praise the Lord I just renewed mine. So i'm helping this poor girl in the very last row of the school bus and it's bumpy and the kids are pointing and laughing, she's scared, and there is blood everywhere. So i finally get enough pressure on here nose and the blood stops and she needs to spit and so i have her wipe the blood from her lips and she ends up spitting out lots of blood too. and so i keep all of that up with gauze and Quick Cleans and Alcohol pads and i'm furious at this point because none of the actual paid counselors are paying attention they're talking about drinking and whatnot and carrying on not even noticing the girl i was helping. When we got back no questions where asked about how she was doing or anything.

That really upset me. So I started to pray that instead of the Lord removing these people from this camp, instead that he would fill them with love, wisdom and compassion to guide these children. It's been a different experience that's for sure. These kids are very blunt with their questions, especially about money and relationships, which makes since due to their backgrounds. Lots of the kids at camp come from broken homes with a low economical statuses. Anyway, it's been a great experience and I can't wait to go back next week.

On Friday, our first day to really enjoy the city, a few of us went to the famous fish market, Pikes Place Market and ate lunch and shopped around for most of the day. After that we hopped on the bus and headed to a town about 45 min or so SW of seattle for a party thrown by a CCO and her husband. That was so much fun!! Homecooked meal, catchphrase and then a few of us watched 12 Rounds ( a personal favorite)! GreAt NiGht!!

Saturday was Woman/Men's Time. The girls hung out here at the dorms and talked and had a nice fellowship while the guys went out to do "guy things" Lots of fun! then we went out for Greek Pizza!!

Here's the real scoop though. THe Lord is working here in Seattle. Through every single person on this trip. It's amazing. Absoulutly astounding. All of us have this unique bond that only the Lord can provide and by His grace He has crossed all of our paths for a very short time to do wondrous things. Hearing the testimonies that I have and talking with all of these genuine hearts has been such a blessing and such an answer to all of my prayers. My testimony is really powerful pretty intense and to be able to share it (snot, tears and all) with girls that have gone through a similar circumstance is just WOW. It's a feeling unlike any other. To be surrounded by girls that AREN'T caddy and enthralled by the world and it's offerings is something that I miss dearly from CRU. And the guys, WOHA. These are men that genuinely have a heart after the Lord. They know when to show and share they're vulnerabilities and weaknesses and they also know how to protect and fight like the Warriors of Christ that they truly are. The Sisters in Christ that end up marrying these gentlemen will be very, very lucky no doubt.

I do have a few prayer requests as I leave you tonight,
1. My grandma was hopsitalized last Wed and for irregular heartbeat and temp. SHe's also tiny and can't keep on weight. Just Pray for her health and that the Lord would give my grandpa the strength and energy to keep helping my grandma. Ella Mae and Harold HIbbs are their names.

2. One of the girls, Amy is sick. Like really sick. LIke can't stand for longer than a few minutes without feeling like she's going to pass out or puke or both. So pray for her health. I know she is done being sick and we really miss her presence.

3. Pray that the Lord would continue to bless us and give us opportunities and touch the lives of everyone around us.