Everything Under the Sun

Hey yall. Im ending a very hard but good week. I am refreshed at the hard work that I put in and the rest that it is yet to come. Ive had lots of great conversations this week that I wanted to share with you.

The first was at a small community campus. My group of about 10 goes every Monday. We do surveys, pass out water, enter people in to Starbucks drawings, and just strike up conversation with students on campus. I had the opportunity to share the gospel with a girl named Christina. Her heart was really open to her some refreshing words that hadn't been explained to her in this way before. Surprisingly she has grown up in church and had never had it explained to her in that way. It reminded me of the necessity to preach the gospel to each other, not just to people who have not yet believed. We cant go to church and not hear the gospel, we'll miss the point and grow up never knowing. She hasn't chosen to give her life to the Lord just yet, but she is really open and has more questions for me. We exchanged numbers and are already in touch. Ill keep you updated on her.

Second, another girl named Christina that I met on the beach two nights ago (something about that name huh?). She was really upfront with me in that she is a believer but struggles with homosexuality. We spent some time talking about freedom in Christ, how is grace delivers us, and the potential that He has for her life. It was a great conversation, I really appreciated her authenticity with me.

Yesterday I spent some time at a local bicycle shop with my friend Andy. He is a hardcore vegan and so we both stand on our soap boxes (mine being Christ) and exchange words. Its alot of fun! My hope is that he will convert to Christianity and maybe Ill convert to being a vegetarian. Let me tell you, its gonna be just as hard to convince me to not eat meat as for him to accept the Lord (hope that makes sense). Im excited to chat with him. He makes me laugh and we enjoy our conversations. So yesterday I went in there and there was this other kid from Ireland named Killian, and another guy named Rob who is mostly likely the most stereotypical California man Ive ever met. Middle aged surfer, ridiculous blonde hair, alcoholic, tan leather skin, basically a beach bum. Nothing against him, we chum along just fine. He blows me away with the stuff he says though. Hes like something from a movie. So picture this. Me, Rob the surfer bum, Andy the Vegan, and Killian the hardcore agnostic = an hour and a half of incredible converstaion. We covered it all, surfing, drinking, Ireland's history, Catholicism, and the gospel. I will admit it was a reallllly hard conversation. Killian kept me on my toes. He is a philosophy and English major and he knows his stuff! His heart was so hardened it made me really sad. He was blown away by my beliefs in Creation, anti-abortion, Christ, you name it he was against my beliefs. But... I got a fresh look into the life of a kid raised in southern Ireland, as a catholic, who is a far cry from believing God, and his completely into the drinking scence. Hear me out, I dont judge him at all. I learned alot from him. I walked away from that two hours hair blown way back, heart broken for these lost "live for the moment" fellas, and a greater understanding of present day Ireland.

Praise God for these incredible encounters. All in one week! Thank you for being part in God's efforts to share the gospel. My heart is pleased to know that I am hear because God blessed me with you to have opportunities like these. Gods heart is for every people group: student, homosexual, vegan, drunkard, surfer, agnostic, and people like me- who struggle to rub shoulders with all of these. I LOVE IT!

Hi friends. This is what Im learning right now.
- God is my Father and fills all voids.
- I need Him in everything I do, including my rigourous job at Sea World (its HARD!)
- That He loves me reguardless of my accomplishments and inabilities.
- I cannot rely on my own strength for ANYTHING!
- That when I am not enough in one area, He is more than enough in every area of my life. When I feel like I can't, I am not a failure to Him as long as I work for His glory (mainly with Amanda my Deaf friend and at Sea World).

Please pray for my work week this week. Im struggling to get the job done and they gave me a ton of hours. I really want to connect with people on the job and I feel like my job is too fast pace to do that. Also pray for patience as I work with Amanda and try to strike a balance in living in a hearing and Deaf world. Im looking to connect the two and I am the mediator in my condo. What a place for God to put me. WOW!

Love you all.

Hey everybody! This is gonna be quick cause Im using the public library computer and I only have 6 minutes left. Some amazing things have been going on so far. Here are the things that I am most thankful for. My job at Sea World, my condo full of 12 other great s, lots of opportunities to share my faith, and the authenticity of the people here on project. My two biggest prayer requests for now is patience with my Deaf friend, its been a whole lot harder than I expected. She gets really frustrated sometimes and being the only person in the condo that can sign is very challenging. But Im learning alot dying to myself daily. Ok and last thing is that my bike got stolen and Im tring to figure out what to do. So pray that God would show me how to make a wise decision and spend money wisely. Loev you all!

Quite an Adventure.

Hey yall. Things are still going alright here. Highlights so far would be getting a job at Sea World, renting a vintage white bike, sharing my faith on the beach, and worship on the beach after dark. Get excited! Catc this, Ireland is one of my favorite countries, very dear to my heart. I still have family there and I spent three weeks there two summers ago. Well over my few days here I have met quite a few students from Ireland here for the summer. And most of them were at Sea World! YAAAA. Isn't it funny how God mixes all of our passions together and blesses us with experiences to share them.

I had the chance to share my faith with a couple from Spain last night on the board walk. It was a great conversation. The woman I spoke to was named Maria. She was listened intentfully but explained that she has already made the decision to believe there is no God. I really enjoyed my talk with her. I left some information with her in case she chooses differently in the future.

Here is my address for anyone who wants to send me some loving in the future. Thanks for your prayers!

839 Santa Clara Place
San Diego, CA 92109

I Have Arrived!

Hey friends. So I pretty much died and went to Heaven. This place is awesome! I am having the time of my life. I feel so blessed to be here and I am thanking the Lord for all of my friends and family who make it possible for me to be here. I live in a teeny tiny condo with lots of girls, tight squeeze but lots of fun. I got a job at Sea World at Cafe Lounge, which is where the staff comes to eat. I am really looking forward to serving the people who work at Sea World and having lots of "face time" with my fellow project kids and the people they meet. I bought the cutest bike there ever was, its creamy white with a white basket. I LOVE IT!

I got to share my faith with people on the bay the second day I was here. I got to share my testimony in sign language with my growth group (3 other girls). It is beautiful here, the weather is fair. I am really enjoying getting to know all the people here on project. They are really authentic and I appreciate that. Thanks for your prayers!

One thing to pray for is my Deaf friend Amanda, her grandmother passed away and she had to fly home for a few days. Its been really rough on her and myself and the other interpreters as we worked to get her a flight home. She's going through ALOT! Thanks. Love to all from the West Coast!