The internship was great. I learnt alot from both the leaders and the interns and recognised alot of things that I have been letting slip by. It was so good to be with great leaders that are so good at what they do and love it.
A small part of KCC where I have been the last 3 months.
The interns and Pastor Jeff. Last day at KCC.
It was hard to say bye to them all. I will miss my new found American family alot but am so glad that God has given me this opportunity and has blessed me with new connections and friends. I do miss everyone back home but I also don't feel ready to come back. Please pray that God will help me prepare over the next few weeks to come back to the land of OZ.
One of the highlights of this trip was a SLD road trip that I went on. I was kinda asked last minute to be a leader/driver on a Student leadership Development road/missionary trip. My first missionary trip ever. I t was amazing. I acnnot even explain what God opened my eyes to there. The people that were on the trip were leaders and youth from different parts of the USA, and let me tell you, they were seriously quality people.
Habitat for Humanity.
Surviver camp site. (Below)
Toronto
The road trip went from Indianapolis to Northern Michigan, to Toronto Canada, then to Niagara falls to Buffalo, NY, to Cleveland back to Indianapolis.
Niagara Falls
We started with a surviver camp in Michigan. It was amazing fun. That is where the bond begun. It is amazing how close you get to people when you have to smell their stinky armpits and see them try and just make it through a night without the basic comforts of life to get by. Not only that but we spent the next week in RV's together and doing ministry together. These people have impacted my life forever.
Next we went to Toronto. We went to a homeless shelter there and this was probably the highlight for me. To see these people day in and day out feeding, clothing, and loving the needed without all the glamour, without all the hype, without all the fame was seeing Jesus to me. I couldn't help but think, this is where Jesus would be if He were here today. I could say so much on this one place but have so much other stuff to catch you up on. I was also proposed too and we had to evacuate our builing that we were on the 14 floor of, in the middle of the night because of a fire. It stunk. I thought I would die off the smell.
We also went to a Yankees vs Blue Jays baseball game. That was so much fun. My first baseball game, oh and the Yankees won...GO THE YANKEES! Then we went to Niagara falls. This blew me away. I could not believe I was there under the falls. God was all over the place and I felt a small part of the splender and power of the God I serve.
Next we headed to Buffalo where we worked at a food bank. This was a lot of fun. The rest of the trip we had broken up into teams but this time we were all together and man did we have fun...well, I did. We also help to redo a whole house for habitat for Humanity. An organisation that buys houses ready to be demolished and does them up for a family that has no other way to live.
We then headed to a hip hop church in Cleveland. Oh my goodness. To hear the pastor there (who was very young) speak about his church and the passion he had for the poeple he works with impacted me alot. It was such a blessing to be around paople that are chasing that dream and passion God has placed in their hearts. His church is right in the middle of the a really tough area...I mean really tough. When we went to hand out pamphlets he had to give us the run down of what to do and what not to do if we get held up...and this is in the day time. I loved that church and loved being apart of a team of people out there getting their hands dirty.
Then we headed back to Indi. Wow, seriously, trip of a lifetime. If that is all I came over for, I'm done.
Other things that have happened...
I came close to death...and when I say that, I dont say it lightly. Like I mean millimeters away from being decapitated. I have the scars to prove it. Yet another tubing accident. Stupid tubing. The rope came straight for my neck but luckily (I dont know how) I got my hands up to my neck first, it wrapped around my body and sent me spinning across the water like a skipping stone. I thought I lostmy head. Everyone was screaming and seriously expected for my body to rise to the surface without my head on. When I realized my head was still attached I checked the rest of my body because I thought for sure something had come off. Oh the pain. My back felt like it folded in half, I thought I had broken both my thums and I was bleeding and bruised instantly. Good times. The funniest bit was when the pastor asked if I wanted to hop back on.
Me and my friend Steph (love you girl) got scammed from a fake bus company and lost my bus ticket, my NY City tour, my hotel but managed to make it for my flight. After about 8 hours of calling banks and mastercard and all sorts of people in OZ I managed to get them on an investigation and closed my account and got a new card sent. Lost a bit of money there which really sux, but I'm working through it...hahaha. It's fine, I'm used to it now. Oh thats right. I borrowed my host families car to visit Brent Dongell and in the span of 4 hrs the window was smashed and my camera and ipod was stolen. Yes more stuff of Tash's was stolen. That was my 3rd Ipod. Oh man.
I went to a drive in movie in Buffalo, NY. That was awesome fun. I then went to Niagara falls again with two of my most special friends i have made over here. FFL (friends for life).
Me, Lauren, and Steph at Niagara falls.
I made it to NYC for a few hours before I had to catch a plane. Oh, and I did it by myself. Woot woot. I saw the Empire State Building, Madison Square garden and the Statue of Liberty. I ran it, but I did it.
Me infront of the Statue of Liberty
On the phone to my B.E.A.utiful sis Hailz, infront of the Empire State Building.
I am now in Marion, Indiana with the Mazellan family again for a week and a half and then I go to Grants for like 5 days, woooohoooooo. I then head to Nashville for a week with Dan Eggenschwiler, then fly to Las Vegas with a friend Brooke for 3 days, and we then head down to California for a week before I fly home on the 26th.
I got spend afew days at the Mazellans with a good fiend Heidi that I met in NZ and so Evy, Nathan, Heidi and I went to Chicago for 2 days. I loved that city. I would love to live there.
I am so pumped for these next few weeks but also recognise it as a time of saying goodbye to a bunch of people I dont wont to say goodbye too...like really dont want to. God willing though, I will be back for longer.
God is really challenging me to press into Him and seek His will for my life. Like really looking in deep to my passions, gifts, talents, strenths, and past experiences to find out where to go next. He is being so patient with me.
I should really write more often so that each blog is not so long.
If you are not on facebook, join. Even if it is only to see my photos...kidding, but really. I have all my photos up there.
Peace.
