Wow. It's hard to believe that I'm nearly halfway through my time here at Kaleo. The end of this week marks four and a half weeks here in Gulf Shores and four full weeks working at OTP. It's amazing how it seems like such a long time and so short all at once!
I apologize for the lack of updates. I feel like they are getting fewer and farther in between!
Last Thursday our StuMo night was focused on the topic of prayer. I am beginning to realize just how important prayer is, and I'm only starting to realized it because it was lacking in my life and now that I'm focusing on it more and putting it into practice more diligently the difference is incredible. Prayer is the other half of our communication cycle with God. He's given us his Word, the Bible, and praying is our way of talking back and really understanding what He says in his word. It was a great message and I loved just soaking it all in!
Friday we had a surprise social planned that turned out to be a picture scavenger hunt! It was a blast hanging out with the guys group we were paired with and getting some really goofy pictures to remember the adventure by! A few of my favorites included spelling out "Kaleo" with our bodies in front of McDonald's, singing to a stranger, and duck duck goose in the parking lot.
Saturday was beach evangelism. Our training in the morning focused on our testimonies, something that we hadn't really been focusing on yet. It was interesting to write out my testimony and realize that this is my way of making the gospel personal to someone. When they can see it transform someone's life it becomes more real and therefore more effective. Great learning experience.
Sunday we went to the college-aged Sunday school class at First Baptist... we basically WERE the Sunday school class. It will be interesting to see how that progresses, more details after more time there. Nicole, Kelsey and I were asked to work in the nursery during the service so I missed the speaker but the rest of the group filled us in as much as they could afterward.
Monday, instead of Inductive Training (since there are only three parts and we've already covered all of them) we had a workshop about holiness in the media. We looked at the reasons we should be careful what we let our minds take in and excuses that we use that keep us from living it out. The area that really hit me was music. When I put my iTunes on shuffle and just let it play am I hearing songs that are helping to keep my mind pure. There are the obvious offenders, like hip-hop and rap, but also the overlooked ones, like country. Stephen compared our minds to the airport security after 9/11, how it was so tight and everything was triple-checked to ensure safety. But what if there had been a side door that anyone could enter. This was so convicting. I think that music is the one that is hardest also to put into practice. I've been going through my iTunes library and I'm seeing all the money spent on these songs that are not helping to keep my mind and thoughts pure. Definitely challenging.
Tuesday we had our team leader, Kara, over for dinner and D-Group time. She is so wise and also extremely willing to share that wisdom with others. Then for World Prayer we learned about Buddhism. I never realized how many people believe in some form of buddhism without even consciously trying to. The example of karma? Yeah, we hear it all the time. It's a lot closer that I realized which makes it a lot more of a reality that there are people all around me who need the gospel.
Thanks for tuning in! Until next time...
Sarah
XOXO
Prayer requests:
*The buddhists of the world- for God to be working in their hearts and for them to be open to hearing the gospel and also for laborers who are willing to take the gospel to them.
*Kandra- one of my coworkers, that I would have the opportunity and the courage to have an intentional conversation with her and begin to get to know her spiritual background
*time- there's not a whole lot left, that none of us would waste the time we do have here and we would be bold with our time and opportunities!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Thursdays are the best...
Hello! I'm getting ready to head out to go to TNT but I thought a quick update would be fun!
Monday's Inductive was over the Application part of the study. I really like how what we learn can be used so specifically and how the same verse can apply to 150 different people in 150 different ways!
Tuesday was our D-Group time. LOVE this time! We went over our 2 Timothy study and also the Pursuit of God chapter. Then we went to World Prayer. Our topic this week was Animism, and specifically the tribal people. It was cool to learn about their culture and beliefs and it wasn't at all what I expected. Typically, they do believe in one God but they believe in spirits and that the spirits are the ones that are in charge of everything. These people live in constant fear that they might anger the spirits and what they will have to do to restore the balance.
Wednesday we were asked to dinner by the team leader and staff guys. It was an early celebration for Kelsey's birthday! They cooked us dinner and we just got to spend time getting to know them. They all had so much insight and wisdom to share because they have all been to several summer projects before. It was great to have time to fellowship and just hear what advice they had. They were also pretty goofy so we had some good laughs! Then after dinner Liz, Shelby and I went to Vanesa's house. She's one of my coworkers at Old Time Pottery. We watched the Book of Eli (it was a GREAT movie, if you haven't seen it!) and got to hear a little more about her testimony and where she's at spiritually. She and her nephew are coming to TNT tonight and I'm so excited for them to experience a StuMo night!!!
It's time to go but I'll hopefully have more updates soon! Until next time...
Sarah
XOXO
Prayer Requests:
*The tribal people who are still captive to the beliefs of Animism that people would have the courage to take the gospel to such remote and often dangerous places
*Old Time Pottery coworkers that we would be bold in sharing our faith there. I feel like the relationships with these people are at a point where I can do that and now it's just stepping up and being bold.
Monday's Inductive was over the Application part of the study. I really like how what we learn can be used so specifically and how the same verse can apply to 150 different people in 150 different ways!
Tuesday was our D-Group time. LOVE this time! We went over our 2 Timothy study and also the Pursuit of God chapter. Then we went to World Prayer. Our topic this week was Animism, and specifically the tribal people. It was cool to learn about their culture and beliefs and it wasn't at all what I expected. Typically, they do believe in one God but they believe in spirits and that the spirits are the ones that are in charge of everything. These people live in constant fear that they might anger the spirits and what they will have to do to restore the balance.
Wednesday we were asked to dinner by the team leader and staff guys. It was an early celebration for Kelsey's birthday! They cooked us dinner and we just got to spend time getting to know them. They all had so much insight and wisdom to share because they have all been to several summer projects before. It was great to have time to fellowship and just hear what advice they had. They were also pretty goofy so we had some good laughs! Then after dinner Liz, Shelby and I went to Vanesa's house. She's one of my coworkers at Old Time Pottery. We watched the Book of Eli (it was a GREAT movie, if you haven't seen it!) and got to hear a little more about her testimony and where she's at spiritually. She and her nephew are coming to TNT tonight and I'm so excited for them to experience a StuMo night!!!
It's time to go but I'll hopefully have more updates soon! Until next time...
Sarah
XOXO
Prayer Requests:
*The tribal people who are still captive to the beliefs of Animism that people would have the courage to take the gospel to such remote and often dangerous places
*Old Time Pottery coworkers that we would be bold in sharing our faith there. I feel like the relationships with these people are at a point where I can do that and now it's just stepping up and being bold.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
What a week
Hey guys! I know it's been quite awhile since there have been any new updates. Sorry about that. It was a jam-packed week last week.
D group weekend turned out so great. We ended up going to Destin. We hit up the outlet mall there on Saturday then went to a local seafood restaurant called The Back Porch. It was delicious! We tried a little bit of everything: shrimp, crab, mahi mahi, scallops, even oysters. The place was right on the beach so after dinner we walked up and down the beach and soaked it all in. There were some major storms that night so we headed back to the hotel to keep out of them. The next day we decided was going to be a beach day! We drove to the beach and met up with Nicole's aunt and uncle for lunch then walked out of the restaurant and right onto the beach. We decided that since we were on the beach that it was a great opportunity to share the gospel with a few people. We shared with a pair of girls who were about our age. They were really fun to talk to and I liked that even though we were on our "fun weekend" we didn't lose sight of the purpose for our summer. We hung out on the beach all day. The waves were enormous but that definitely didn't stop us from goofing off in the water for a little while! After a great day spent there we packed up and headed back to Gulf Shores. We got to hear a little bit about other groups' weekends which was really cool, too.
Monday we had inductive Bible study training. This week we focused on the interpretation part of it. This is for sure the part that I struggle with the most. It's just hard to know how to interpret things correctly and based on Scripture rather than coming to my own conclusions. I feel like after practicing and having a little more experience with it that it will come easier, though.
Tuesday was D-Group night. Our guest for dinner and our D-Group time was Tracy. I loved learning a little bit more about what it looks like being on staff and what goes on behind the scenes. It was also cool to have her share what she is learning and a little bit of her wisdom with us. I was the cook for the evening... so it was something very simple! English muffin pizzas. They turned out better than expected and we're planning on repeating those because they were so good! Then later we had our World Prayer meeting. This week we learned more about International Students. I had never really thought of the possibility of sharing the gospel with the world through the students that are right there at K-State. The students that come over here are some of the best and brightest of their respective countries and will potentially have leadership roles in their home countries someday. What a great way to reach the nations by sharing with them. Also, I learned the importance of building those relationships. We were told that only a very slim percentage actually have the experience that they were looking forward to here in America. Most of the students never even set foot in an American home. It definitely made me think about possible participating in one of the International Buddy programs next year at K-State. I know that if I was in a foreign country I would be very grateful for a buddy.
Wednesday night was a free night. There was a group of people down at the beach so a few of us decided to join them. It was dark by the time we got there and people were just starting to leave. We still wanted to hang around so some of the guys stayed with us so we wouldn't just be by ourselves. I saw my first bit of oil on the beach. It wasn't anything too exciting, about the size of quarter, but it was still oil. Yuck. We met a local guy who we ended up talking to for about 20 minutes. He did most of the talking though, and he seemed a little tipsy. It made me really glad that Boone and Daniel had stayed with us! Also, we got asked on our first group date that night! The group of guys made a HUGE card (complete with posterboard envelope even addressed to us) and wrote us a poem. It was pretty creative and really funny because we had seen that group buying the posterboard in WalMart on Monday night. Oops! They also had to wait for one of us to come to our room because they didn't know which room we were in. Hence, the card was slid under our door at 10:57pm, 3 minutes before curfew. So we just decided we would have to answer the next day.
Thursday was our StuMo night!!! These are for sure my favorite nights of the week. Kyle was the speaker for this week. He talked about the importance of God's word and making it part of our everyday lives. He used the analogy of a flashlight. His flashlight (or MagLite to be more specific) could be used with a focused beam or as a lamp that gave off a glow. This paralleled how the Word should be both used for focus and as a glow in our lives. He also made the comparison of the flashlight being on or off. Many people have flashlights but they aren't always turned on. He also talked a lot about expectations: the expectations that God has for us and the expectations that we have of God. It was a great message and really got us all thinking. After TNT we had a party in the 'Burbs for Jen's birthday and also a going away party for the athletes. They had to head back to Manhattan for training camps and such. It was sad to say goodbye but I'm glad that they got to stay as long as they did.
Friday I earned my first paycheck! It was nice to see the proof in front of me that my hard work is paying off. That night we went our our group date with Rogie, Kyle, Chase, David and Drew. It was a blast! They took us to the beach and we had a dessert of watermelon and strawberry shortcake. Then we played some water-balloon games and a little bit of sand volleyball. We played with three little kids that just walked up and jumped right into our game! It was pretty funny. After it got dark we went star-tripping. If you've never done it, you should try sometime! You make a circle and the person who is going stands in the middle. They find a star in the sky to focus on and then starts spinning in circles. After spinning for awhile the other people flash a light in the person's eyes. Not sure why (I'm sure there is some scientific reason behind this) but when the light is flashed in your eyes it makes you fall down, not a big deal when you're on sand though. Then the person is supposed to get up as fast as they can and run in a straight line... nearly impossible to do. Sounds cruel? Well, it's pretty fun to try and even funnier to watch. We headed over the picnic tables and sat around and talked. We talked about things we've been learning, surprises we've faced, and reasons we decided to come to Kaleo. It was great to get to know the guys and even learn some new things about the girls in my group. We played a get-to-know-you game just for fun and then headed back home. There was and intense game of kill ball going on in the parking lot that we jumped right in to. Curfew rolled around and we had to head to the rooms. All in all, super fun night!
Saturday was evangelism training. We looked at the parts of sharing the gospel and how if there isn't an opportunity for a response then all we're doing is sharing facts. The three parts are reality (that we all sin and need a Savior), the remedy (Jesus coming to earth and paying the price for our sins), and the response (Is receiving Christ a decision you would like to make?). Then we read a story about a dream that a wise theologian had about orange groves and how it illustrated the verse that says that "the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few". It was a great picture and I really liked reading and discussing it. Then we all jumped in the cars and went to the beaches. The group I was in didn't really know where we were going, so when we hit the Florida state line we were pretty sure we'd gone too far. We decided that people on beaches in Florida should have the chance to hear the gospel too so we just winged it and made the best of our situation. I was paired with Kelsey and we got to share with quite a few people. My favorite part is definitely coming back together as a big group and hearing all of the cool stories that people have. We went swimming back at the hotel (mostly just to get all the sand off) and then we went with a big group to the Hangout to, well, hangout. They had a live band and we just danced and goofed off for awhile then headed back to the hotel.
Today we went to church at First Baptist again. We're still trying to figure out a way that we can serve the church. The message today was about forgiveness and it was really good. This afternoon I got caught up on some stuff that I hadn't gotten to earlier in the week and chilled all day. I'm so grateful for the time to recharge on Sundays.
Hopefully it won't be this long between updates again. Because that is a lot to read (not to mention type out!). So I'll try to be better about keeping things current! Until next time...
Sarah
XOXO
Prayer Requests:
*The International Buddies program at K-State that more students would want to get involved.
*Boldness to share with coworkers this week and invite them to TNT
*Discipline to get all the things I need to get done before I go do social stuff
D group weekend turned out so great. We ended up going to Destin. We hit up the outlet mall there on Saturday then went to a local seafood restaurant called The Back Porch. It was delicious! We tried a little bit of everything: shrimp, crab, mahi mahi, scallops, even oysters. The place was right on the beach so after dinner we walked up and down the beach and soaked it all in. There were some major storms that night so we headed back to the hotel to keep out of them. The next day we decided was going to be a beach day! We drove to the beach and met up with Nicole's aunt and uncle for lunch then walked out of the restaurant and right onto the beach. We decided that since we were on the beach that it was a great opportunity to share the gospel with a few people. We shared with a pair of girls who were about our age. They were really fun to talk to and I liked that even though we were on our "fun weekend" we didn't lose sight of the purpose for our summer. We hung out on the beach all day. The waves were enormous but that definitely didn't stop us from goofing off in the water for a little while! After a great day spent there we packed up and headed back to Gulf Shores. We got to hear a little bit about other groups' weekends which was really cool, too.
Monday we had inductive Bible study training. This week we focused on the interpretation part of it. This is for sure the part that I struggle with the most. It's just hard to know how to interpret things correctly and based on Scripture rather than coming to my own conclusions. I feel like after practicing and having a little more experience with it that it will come easier, though.
Tuesday was D-Group night. Our guest for dinner and our D-Group time was Tracy. I loved learning a little bit more about what it looks like being on staff and what goes on behind the scenes. It was also cool to have her share what she is learning and a little bit of her wisdom with us. I was the cook for the evening... so it was something very simple! English muffin pizzas. They turned out better than expected and we're planning on repeating those because they were so good! Then later we had our World Prayer meeting. This week we learned more about International Students. I had never really thought of the possibility of sharing the gospel with the world through the students that are right there at K-State. The students that come over here are some of the best and brightest of their respective countries and will potentially have leadership roles in their home countries someday. What a great way to reach the nations by sharing with them. Also, I learned the importance of building those relationships. We were told that only a very slim percentage actually have the experience that they were looking forward to here in America. Most of the students never even set foot in an American home. It definitely made me think about possible participating in one of the International Buddy programs next year at K-State. I know that if I was in a foreign country I would be very grateful for a buddy.
Wednesday night was a free night. There was a group of people down at the beach so a few of us decided to join them. It was dark by the time we got there and people were just starting to leave. We still wanted to hang around so some of the guys stayed with us so we wouldn't just be by ourselves. I saw my first bit of oil on the beach. It wasn't anything too exciting, about the size of quarter, but it was still oil. Yuck. We met a local guy who we ended up talking to for about 20 minutes. He did most of the talking though, and he seemed a little tipsy. It made me really glad that Boone and Daniel had stayed with us! Also, we got asked on our first group date that night! The group of guys made a HUGE card (complete with posterboard envelope even addressed to us) and wrote us a poem. It was pretty creative and really funny because we had seen that group buying the posterboard in WalMart on Monday night. Oops! They also had to wait for one of us to come to our room because they didn't know which room we were in. Hence, the card was slid under our door at 10:57pm, 3 minutes before curfew. So we just decided we would have to answer the next day.
Thursday was our StuMo night!!! These are for sure my favorite nights of the week. Kyle was the speaker for this week. He talked about the importance of God's word and making it part of our everyday lives. He used the analogy of a flashlight. His flashlight (or MagLite to be more specific) could be used with a focused beam or as a lamp that gave off a glow. This paralleled how the Word should be both used for focus and as a glow in our lives. He also made the comparison of the flashlight being on or off. Many people have flashlights but they aren't always turned on. He also talked a lot about expectations: the expectations that God has for us and the expectations that we have of God. It was a great message and really got us all thinking. After TNT we had a party in the 'Burbs for Jen's birthday and also a going away party for the athletes. They had to head back to Manhattan for training camps and such. It was sad to say goodbye but I'm glad that they got to stay as long as they did.
Friday I earned my first paycheck! It was nice to see the proof in front of me that my hard work is paying off. That night we went our our group date with Rogie, Kyle, Chase, David and Drew. It was a blast! They took us to the beach and we had a dessert of watermelon and strawberry shortcake. Then we played some water-balloon games and a little bit of sand volleyball. We played with three little kids that just walked up and jumped right into our game! It was pretty funny. After it got dark we went star-tripping. If you've never done it, you should try sometime! You make a circle and the person who is going stands in the middle. They find a star in the sky to focus on and then starts spinning in circles. After spinning for awhile the other people flash a light in the person's eyes. Not sure why (I'm sure there is some scientific reason behind this) but when the light is flashed in your eyes it makes you fall down, not a big deal when you're on sand though. Then the person is supposed to get up as fast as they can and run in a straight line... nearly impossible to do. Sounds cruel? Well, it's pretty fun to try and even funnier to watch. We headed over the picnic tables and sat around and talked. We talked about things we've been learning, surprises we've faced, and reasons we decided to come to Kaleo. It was great to get to know the guys and even learn some new things about the girls in my group. We played a get-to-know-you game just for fun and then headed back home. There was and intense game of kill ball going on in the parking lot that we jumped right in to. Curfew rolled around and we had to head to the rooms. All in all, super fun night!
Saturday was evangelism training. We looked at the parts of sharing the gospel and how if there isn't an opportunity for a response then all we're doing is sharing facts. The three parts are reality (that we all sin and need a Savior), the remedy (Jesus coming to earth and paying the price for our sins), and the response (Is receiving Christ a decision you would like to make?). Then we read a story about a dream that a wise theologian had about orange groves and how it illustrated the verse that says that "the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few". It was a great picture and I really liked reading and discussing it. Then we all jumped in the cars and went to the beaches. The group I was in didn't really know where we were going, so when we hit the Florida state line we were pretty sure we'd gone too far. We decided that people on beaches in Florida should have the chance to hear the gospel too so we just winged it and made the best of our situation. I was paired with Kelsey and we got to share with quite a few people. My favorite part is definitely coming back together as a big group and hearing all of the cool stories that people have. We went swimming back at the hotel (mostly just to get all the sand off) and then we went with a big group to the Hangout to, well, hangout. They had a live band and we just danced and goofed off for awhile then headed back to the hotel.
Today we went to church at First Baptist again. We're still trying to figure out a way that we can serve the church. The message today was about forgiveness and it was really good. This afternoon I got caught up on some stuff that I hadn't gotten to earlier in the week and chilled all day. I'm so grateful for the time to recharge on Sundays.
Hopefully it won't be this long between updates again. Because that is a lot to read (not to mention type out!). So I'll try to be better about keeping things current! Until next time...
Sarah
XOXO
Prayer Requests:
*The International Buddies program at K-State that more students would want to get involved.
*Boldness to share with coworkers this week and invite them to TNT
*Discipline to get all the things I need to get done before I go do social stuff
Friday, June 4, 2010
D Group Weekend!!!
Hey guys!!!
This has been the first week where we've had all of our normal activities. On Monday night we had Inductive Bible Study training. We're studying the book of 2 Timothy this summer and I'm super stoked to go deeper in the Word and learn what God has to teach me from this book. On Tuesday we had our first D-Group night! Betsy Brownlee joined us for a delicious dinner of macaroni and hotdogs! Then we went over the book that we're reading this summer, "The Pursuit of God" by A.W. Tozer, and also over our 2 Timothy study. Later that night we had our World Prayer meeting. We learned about several different religions and people groups and also learned ways that we can specifically pray for them. We also learned a little bit about missions and sent out some special prayers for the team from KSU that's going to India in a few days! I know that God has amazing things planned for them over there and that if they are willing, he will use them to accomplish a lot! Wednesdays are our free nights during the week so I took the opportunity to catch up on some reading and also had a long talk with my dad, who I hadn't talked to since I left KC. It was great to talk to him and hear about what's going on at home.
I know it's been a few days since the last update... oops! Things have gotten pretty busy. It was my first full week of work and by today I was definitely feeling it. I'm getting more and more used to the full days and the busy night schedule that is Kaleo.
This has been the first week where we've had all of our normal activities. On Monday night we had Inductive Bible Study training. We're studying the book of 2 Timothy this summer and I'm super stoked to go deeper in the Word and learn what God has to teach me from this book. On Tuesday we had our first D-Group night! Betsy Brownlee joined us for a delicious dinner of macaroni and hotdogs! Then we went over the book that we're reading this summer, "The Pursuit of God" by A.W. Tozer, and also over our 2 Timothy study. Later that night we had our World Prayer meeting. We learned about several different religions and people groups and also learned ways that we can specifically pray for them. We also learned a little bit about missions and sent out some special prayers for the team from KSU that's going to India in a few days! I know that God has amazing things planned for them over there and that if they are willing, he will use them to accomplish a lot! Wednesdays are our free nights during the week so I took the opportunity to catch up on some reading and also had a long talk with my dad, who I hadn't talked to since I left KC. It was great to talk to him and hear about what's going on at home.
Sean Vollendorf was our TNT speaker yesterday. His message was INCREDIBLE. The phrase that he kept repeating was: Meeting God is amazing, but knowing Him is indescribable; and getting to know Him is costly. It was a really convicting message. I was so excited to see that a lot of people had asked coworkers to come and check it out. There are a few from OTP that I think are wanting to come next week and see what we're all about!
After work today, we just planned on packing up and rolling out to head to Pensacola, FL for our D-Group Weekend. Sadly, Kels isn't with us. She had a wedding that she is in this weekend so she flew out early this morning to go to that. We're planning on making a "Kelsey Cutout" and taking our D-Group pics with that so that she's still part of all the fun! Haha. Anyway, we were packing up and getting ready to go when we got a call from a group of guys who gave us the news that the owner of the laser tag arena down on the Wharf was wanting to shoot a commercial and he was looking for people to be in it playing laser tag. How could we pass us this incredible opportunity!? So we headed to the Wharf and played complimentary games of laser tag and bazooka ball. It was a blast!!!
After laser tag, we loaded up the car and headed out to Pensacola. We got here at about 9 and promptly headed to Whataburger for a late night snack! Mmmmm. The woman at the reception desk here told us there really wasn't much to do here, especially since the oil slick had hit the beaches this past week. Sooooooo, we've recently (I'm talking in the last half hour, here) decided that tomorrow morning we'll continue on to Destin, FL and see what adventures we can find there! I'm so stoked to hang out with the girls and just use this time to really bond as a group. I can't wait to see what tomorrow holds! Until next time...
Sarah
XOXO
Prayer requests:
*Strength- Things are really going to pick up here soon and I'm going to need to stay strong.
*Relationships- That the relationships that I would form here would be honoring to God and would be ones that last
*Discipline- That I would be diligent and even enthusiastic about my daily assignment and the way that they are going to help me grow and develop my faith this summer.
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