Antartica

Why Antartica you say? My new favorite song...the one I'm listening to on repeat as I write this blog...Antartica by The Weepies...AMMMMAZING. (if by chance you purchase the song and listen to it, just know I don't support any questionable lyrics...ha)

Its been a while since my last post. This semester has been going by at such a fast rate I can't even believe it. In a week and a half I'll be in Texas with Nate visiting my sister Kelsey and her husband Matt (yay!), then Thanksgiving break for a week, then I return back to campus for one week, and then I fly home to Colorado for a training at Nav headquarters and winter break! I can't believe its almost over...Where did the semester go?! Has anyone noticed the older you get the quicker times goes by? I remember being younger and feeling like 30 minutes was a LIFETIME...and now it feels like if I were asked to wait 6 months for something it wouldn't be that hard...Crazy.

I think I'll write this blog by categories. Lets see. First, let me begin by the weather. I usually talk about the weather a lot - I think it really affects me, both good and bad. So I would like to make one last shout out to God for his creativity with trees in the fall - I loooove autumn. Its my favorite time of the year. Alas, it is now over here in State College - but I will recapture the fall with a couple photos. All these photos were either taken outside my house or just a block or two away. I'm lucky to live here where there are large trees that change into brilliant colors!















Its now freeeeezing outside and I saw snowflakes this morning. I'm sitting at my computer with the space heater on, my Columbia shell on, and a blanket wrapped around my body - AND knee socks, which are a must-have.

The next subject I'll talk about is the girls I get to meet with. I have loved meeting with them! We talk about anything and everything it seems. Anywhere from how to leave the party scene (and still somehow have friends), how to seek God about future plans, what it looks like to talk to God, how to tell your friends about Jesus, what nailpolish color is the best (ha), and the latest music or movies that are currently out. These girls keep me young with the latest college lingo: phenom, delish, obvi, prec, etc...I find myself saying words that don't make sense and yet the girls nod in understanding them, far better than I even understand how to use them. Its fun to feel like I have returned to being 19. Maybe I'll stay at this age forever - why grow up?? We text constantly and send each other photos throughout the week...last year the challenge was to get to know these girls, and this year, there are 8 or so girls I meet with regularly - the challenge this year is having intentionality with them. Because I enjoy them so much I have to bring myself back to why I'm here and continue being strategic with them in training them in the ways of the Lord - WHILE having fun...what a tough job I have...ha...a pretty great struggle to have if you ask me!

Here's a photo of some of us at the fall retreat in a massage-line.



Here is a photo of some of our senior girls. I have gotten to know a lot of them, and I really like them a lot. It will be sad to see them graduate this year because it will have a great impact on the ministry here. We will miss them!



This is me and Lauren. She is a junior and I occasionally meet with her - we hang out a lot just for fun and talk about so many different things. She is really insightful for her age! She's also incredibly passionate about knowing God deeper - it challenges me.



On the topic of Bible study, we have Bible study every Tuesday night in the dorms. I love this group of girls. I'll put some photos up so you can see them. They are the apples of my eye = ) We have been discussing Mark and it has opened my eyes more and more to see the love Jesus has for people...it gets my mind thinking about the ways he loved them against all the social taboos.

Say hello to a few of the girls:

Dana!



Taylor!



Kendall!



Jess!



Sara!



The incredibly wise, mature, educated and talented Bible study leaders, Maryn and Paige! (ha)



If you'd like to join with me in praying for two girls specifically (who I'll keep nameless) - but this year God has brought two NEW girls to me and I am praying that they would enter into a relationship with Christ! One has been asking some very difficult questions and I am fully confident she will give her life to Christ - pray that she would loosen the grip she has on her life and willingly trust Christ with it. The other girl I believe might know Christ, I just pray that she would have that solidified in her heart more deeply.

Now. On to my homelife.

Here is a photo of my roommate Janeen and I. My other roommate is Lauren, but I don't have a recent photo of us. We have been having a lot of fun this year. Tonight we're having a movie night and inviting some of our friends that are on staff with other ministries here...we're starting to make friends in this town that are our age! Yay!



And here are our new guy housemates. As the guys from last year moved out, these guys moved in. One is a sophomore and the other two are juniors - they are involved in Navs so its nice to get to know them better. They rarely stop next door (I think cause we're the "older staff women"...whatever that means...ha) but its been good to have them next door. One has helped me put on new wiper blades on my car, and some of them weekly take our trash out for us. We have been blessed by them to say the least.

Janeen, Joe, Scott, Billy and myself. (notice the shirt Joe is wearing - its the shirt I designed for Navs this year!)



And I am still babysitting this beauty occasionally. Here is Katie, she turns 3 tomorrow!



Today during our staff meeting at our director's house, Justin, she came downstairs during our meeting and started telling Justin that her movie was over. Justin told her to go back upstairs and ask Jonna (her mom, Justin's wife) to put on another movie until Jonna was done vacuuming. Katie then replied, "But that isn't good for my brain. I'd like to play instead." We all started laughing. It was so cute. Justin and Jonna tell them that too much tv is bad for their brains. Hahaha.

Ok. Now on to Halloween. Here is a photo of us 4 staff women dressing up as the "4 blind mice"...we couldn't think of any good ideas dealing with 4, so that's what we ended up with! We carried around canes and cans with coins in them...it was fun.



And here is a photo of me and some of the girls in my Bible study...Our weekly Friday Nav Night fell on Halloween night, so everyone dressed up in costumes - they really got into it!



As for the job hunt next year...no further progress. I still am not sure what God will lead me to - I am still open to doing another year with the Navs if I feel led to do that. I am so up in the air on everything right now that I kind of stopped pursuing anything really. I'm just going to keep focusing on all that is on my plate right now, and just hope that God opens doors or clearly shows me where He'd have me.

And lastly, here are some photos from the past couple weekends I have gotten to see Nate. It was his birthday so his mom threw a little get together dinner at her place in Lancaster. I'll put up some photos of us, his newphew Levi, and some of our friends that were able to make it.

Here we are a few weekends ago at this nice park that has a little pond.





Here's a couple photos from his birthday weekend.



Behind us is the Susquehanna River.



My dear friend Sharon was at the party with her husband Griff and their baby which is about to enter the world in just a few weeks!



I don't know if you remember, but Levi was born last semester, and here he is getting so big - able to sit up on his own. They grow sooo fast.



Look at those big brown eyes!



Some good friends Sam and Kyle were able to make it up from Baltimore - so that was a lot of fun to catch up with them.



Ok ok ok. I think that's all I have for now. PHEW!