Half way through!

It’s crazy that the first semester of my time with Camfel is basically over. On Thursday Dorina and I had our last show and we definitely know how to end things right--- we woke up at 6:35am when we were supposed to leave for our school at 6:30am. Keeping in mind the fact that we also needed to clean up the hotel/pack after being there for a few days! By the grace of God we were able to spring into action and make it to our school by 7:05a.m., and had our show setup with almost 30 minutes to spare. After our show we started our 18 ½  hour drive back to California! 

I am currently living at the company apartment outside of Los Angeles; this is where I will be next semester as well. It’s weird being here, it kind of feels like I never left, but 4 months have gone by. I have a few days off, then I will be doing some work at the office and then heading to Ohio for Christmas break tomorrow!

This semester has had its ups and downs but overall I have really enjoyed it. I was able to see lots of places, meet several new people, I made a 50 page scrapbook, reconnected with friends (last week I had dinner with a friend in Houston who I hadn’t seen in 7 years!), and connect with God in a way that I never had before! I feel like God has opened by eyes and my heart to see him more and I am so grateful!

As I said earlier, tomorrow I head out to Ohio. It will be so nice to be home, I haven't been back there since last Christmas. On top of going home, I will also be headed to Kentucky to see my dad's side of the family on Thursday-Saturday. I haven't seen these family members in almost 5 years, which is WAY too long! I will be home until Jan. 7 then I head back to L.A. to start my second semester.  I would really appreciate prayers for safe travels and a good time of seeing people while home but also getting enough rest/personal time. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! As time allows I may blog during break, but if not I will for sure pick it back up once I get back to Los Angeles!

Hope all is well with you and yours! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Our busiest week yet!

I've said this before but thank you for taking time to read my blog. They are long but sometimes it is hard to explain the details of situations in a few words! Once I type I just get on a roll! :)

I mentioned a few blogs back that this week in Louisiana was going to be one of our busiest weeks yet and it was! Now I have to say though that our schedule really does not compare to what other teams have been doing all semester, but we had a little taste of it this week. I was actually really grateful for a full week of work, but I'm sure other teams would be grateful for more days off!

The week was busy but it was by no means bad. We were in one school district all week outside of Baton Rouge, LA. The school district was wonderful! All of the staff we met were extremely friendly and hospitable. We were in 10 different schools this last week, 2 a day. By the time we got back to our hotels in the afternoon all I wanted to do was go to sleep, but I had to fight it until at least 9 or 10pm so I could actually sleep through the night! We had to be up between 4:30-5:30 every morning but then we would normally get back to our hotel by 3:30pm.

All the shows went great! Well except for one which I will explain soon. Our setups were easy, we had good help, and everything went really smooth. One day in particular that stands out to me is Wednesday. God really showed himself to me that day! Wednesdays can be difficult as I sure all of you know because it is the middle of the week, you are starting to feel drained and you just want it to be Friday. I wasn't overwhelmed with this feeling but it was definitely starting to creep in the back of my mind. Our first school on Wednesday wanted to start the day with our presentation so it started at 7:20a.m., which meant we had to get to our school at 5:35 to start setting up. It really wasn't THAT much earlier that the rest of the week, but it seemed that way saying we had to be at our school in the 5o'clock hour! ( I know many people have to wake up early, and when I have a consistent schedule, I'm more used to it, but that hasn't been the case)  Anyway, we got to our school and I felt like we were a little short on time but I wasn't afraid we wouldn't get things setup.   As we were working some guys walked into the room. I thought they were students and possibly here to help us. They were friendly and asked if we needed help. This was a normal occurrence for us so we took some of them up on the offer. Not to much later a few more guys came in and I noticed how all of them were dressed nice and they really didn't look like middle school students,  but I didn't ask questions.

Finally one of them asked me what all this was for. He said that he wasn't from that town and so he had no idea what was going on. Come to find out these guys, and the girls that came a little later, were taking part in an internship at a local church in Baton Rouge. Basically what they did was go around to school, meet with students, talk with them about Christ, form relationships, disciple them, and if they get permission from parents they take them to church. Now realize that the school we were in was a public school. I asked if they go to a lot of schools and they said yes! What an amazing ministry where God has opened the doors and given them so much favor. Not many schools would allow such an open invitation. Talking with them brighten my morning and just really reminded me about ministry and what that can look like in my life even though I am a little bit more restricted (because the school pays for us to come) unless a student talks with me first. I was so blessed by them being there and is kind of awakened my soul!

After the morning presentation we had over 3 hours where we could head back to our hotel before our next school. Perfect time for a nap. Unfortunately I didn't feel the greatest (thankfully this wasn't anything that progressed after a few hours)  when we got back and it was one of those things that it kept be awake instead of allowing me to take the much needed nap. That being said, I had no motivation to go to our afternoon school, but thankfully God hears prayers! I was praying that God would just get me through the show.  When we got to the school we were greeted and then sent to the gym where the custodian was going to help us. He was a super cute old man and his southern accent, language, and hospitality made me so happy! Anyway we came to help us and automatically I saw he was wearing Ohio State gloves. It was just a little piece of home!  As we continued setting up our equipment we also had some great students help us. Now after working with several groups of students you notice different things- sometimes they mean well but just make things take longer, some are just glad to get out of class, some are quiet but still do a good job helping, some just want to joke with their friends, and some can joke and have a good time while still listening and doing a good job helping. Thankfully that last description described the students we had. With them and the custodian it made the setup enjoyable and also I was feeling better by that time too! 

One other thing that stood out from that day was from my introduction at that second school. I always do the intros and explain the show and Dorina does the conclusion. After I walked away from the mic a lady came up to me and said that she works for the company who sponsors this show at the school She told me that hat a the best introduction she has heard since they have been bringing Camfel to the school and she really appreciated it. I needed to hear that! I don't include that to build myself up, but sometimes after saying the same things over and over again it can be tiring so it was such a blessing for her to verbalize some specific encouragement, I even heard about it again later that week from someone else who had heard about through the company. So God really provided Wednesday and gave me a lot of things to not only help me through the day but make it great as well!

~ Like I said earlier, all the shows went well this week except for one. Our last show of the week, Friday afternoon, we were in a pretty small gym that had high windows on two of the sides. Because of the time of day the sun was shining directly through the windows onto our screen so you couldn't see much. We were almost completely setup and decided to shift all of our equipment to a different side of the gym to try to make it better, it was still bright, but possible to see.  Once the show started the sun decided to shine even more and it basically washed out our screens. You couldn't see a thing. I felt miserable, not because it was my fault, but because of the students and them not getting to see it.  I had been sitting next to the principal and not even 10 minutes into the presentation we decided to stop it and reschedule, and possibly do it during a morning where the sun shouldn't be an issue.  

So now it was time to tear down, but it was just me. Dorina and I are allowed to alternate taking breaks during shows because both of us are not needed to sit and watch the show each time. She had decided to run to a store/gas station during the show. No big deal, but unfortunately by phone was left in the van as well so I couldn't call her. So I ended up have some help and started to tear down. It wasn't a huge deal I just really had to be on top of things. There was one student who was making me frustrated because he would just start doing things without being told anything... and the thing he was doing would actually mess up some of our stuff in potentially bigger ways! Other than that all went well. In that  moment I was extremely grateful that things like that don't stress me out. Dorina ended up getting back just as we were finishing up, having no clue that the presentation was even stopped! 

After calling our office and telling them what happened,  they contacted the school and rescheduled the show for Monday morning. We are headed to Texas next but luckily we don't have that show until Thursday so it worked out to stay in the area for a few days longer. We had a good time laughing with some of the administration while we were waiting for new plans to be made which kind brighten the whole situation!  Hopefully all goes well on Monday and this school actually gets to see our presentation.

So there was some of my week! It was good overall but I was definitely grateful for the ability to sleep past 5:30 this morning! Next week we have 2 shows, one the make-up show and one in San Antonio, Texas then we will drive back to California. Lots of driving next week, but not quite as busy!  Please pray that the shows and all the travels go well!

Next Semester

With Christmas drawing near that also means that the first semester of my job is as well. Dec. 16 is our last show and then Dorina and I will be driving back to California. I will fly home to Ohio on Dec. 21 and get to spend time with family and friends until Jan. 7. If you have read previous posts you may remember me asking for prayer about next semester and who I will be with and what location we will be at. Well we found out recently the plans for next semester. It is great to finally know!

When I leave Ohio after Christmas I will fly back to Los Angeles. This next semester I will be living at the company apartment with 5 other girls. Tours are slower in the Spring so  we will be doing some office work and things as well but between the six of us we will be covering 3 different tour regions- local shows in southern California, north Cal, and the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington, Idaho).  I am excited about having some consistency by staying in the condo, having a community of people to live with, and be able to be at a church a little more consistently. I just hope that I get my fill of travel this semester-- that is one of the reasons why I signed up for the job! On top of that I really hope I get to spend some time in the Pacific Northwest... aka home :)

As for partners, we may work with a few people more than others, but depending on the tour we will switch partners as we do shows. It all depends on who is going where when and how long people work somewhere, etc.   I am excited to see how next semester plays out with all these changes! A new part of the adventure awaits!  Just pray that I get my fill of snow when I am back in Ohio because I don't think I will be seeing it once I get back to LA :) 

I'm still here!

Sorry it has taken me so long to update again (you can expect several posts in a short time!) After not having my computer working for two weeks, then having a break for Thanksgiving, and this last week and half of work, I finally made it back to blogging! These last few weeks have been pretty basic. We had shows in New Mexico and Texas. We were in New Mexico for four days and honestly those were some of my hardest days of boredom and trying to figure out what to do with myself but I survived! 

On a very positive note, the day before Thanksgiving I was able to fly from Dallas to Portland so that I could spend the holiday with some friends out a camp. It was simply wonderful! I had several days where I was blessed with the opportunity to be with some of my favorite people! We played games, went shopping at 5am, laughed a lot, and just had a great time. I also had the chance to drive to Newberg (ab 2 hrs away) to see 8 of my "kids" from this summer as well as have lunch with some friends who I haven't seen in a year and a half. My time in Oregon was full but so relaxing! It was such a time of rejuvenation!  I was so blessed by the opportunity to go there for 5 days. 

I left on Monday, Nov. 30 and arrived back in Dallas at midnight. Only 6 short hours later it was back to the normal routine. We had a show that morning, then we drove to Arkansas. The place we were at in Arkansas was beautiful. We stayed in a motel on Lake Hamilton, which meant that every morning I was able to open the blinds and stare at a beautiful lake with the sun glimmering off of it!  It was beautiful and so peaceful!

We are now currently in Louisiana. This is our second to last week of the semester and its our busiest week we have had yet. We have two schools everyday. This morning the show started at 7:20a.m. which meant we were at our school by 5:30! So early! All is going well though. I know I am tired, but God has truly provided strength and good interactions.

That's just a quick recap of these past few weeks (4 states, Thanksgiving and several shows later!). As of now my goal is to write again more regularly, weekly at the least! Thank you for taking the time to read this and support me on my journey!

Blessings!
~Tiffany

Texas Tales

Monday after we left Barclay we left for Texas. We will be here basically through the end of the month except for one day of shows in New Mexico and the 5 days I get to be in Oregon for Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!! (I'm only a LITTLE excited about that part!)  Dorina was super excited to come to Texas because its warmer and the first day we got here I was already missing my hoodies, even though the evenings have been quite chilly!  We had four shows this week. Each school we go to we normally have nice contacts, but some just by nature end up being more hospitable and into conversations. I feel like that was the case with each of our schools this week. There was even one school that made us Mocha (for D of course!) and Chai. Glorious? Absolutely! 

Currently we are staying in Midland, TX. By the time we leave we would have been here for 6 nights, which is actually nice considering that we didn't have to pack up our stuff everyday, instead there was just a small explosion in our room!  The week has been pretty uneventful. I did have one guy ask me if I actually had a room at the hotel because every time he walked by I was either in the lobby on the couches or at the guest computer, which is where I am  now (I won't have a new computer cord for my laptop till I get to Oregon!). It was pretty hilarious but it sparked a conversation.

I think two of my favorites night were Wednesday night and Saturday night. Wednesday night I decided that I didn't want to just sit in my hotel room and just be on the computer (my cord didn't die till the next day!), so I went to Starbucks. All I brought with me was my Bible, journal, and a book called Life Together that talks about Christian community. Basically I sat in Starbucks for several hours with my peppermint hot chocolate of course just reading my Bible and writing out my thoughts. It was so much more than simply doing my devotions. It was digging in and pulling apart the stories in order to understand more. It was so amazing and it captures my heart! The Bible is full of so much. I overlook so many things when I simply read just to said I read my Bible. Again I honestly believe this is part of a new depth and chapter of my life that God is taking me on and I love it! I crave more and luckily its available!

Last night, thanks to the wonderful Bri Poster for letting me know about it, I went to a Barlow Girl and Reilly concert. If you are like me you have never heard of Reilly. Look them up!! They were amazing and have battling violins and all that! It was so cool! The night was called "An acoustic winter's night." So with that it wasn't a normal concert and it had a mixture of regular songs they perform and Christmas songs. All in all though it was such a time of worship. It wasn't just a concert where I went to go listen to some people perform, it was being blessed by the talents that God has given these brothers and sisters in Christ as we worshiped our Lord and love together! After the concert I had some conversations with some complete strangers, but we serve the same God so we already had a connection that fueled our talk!  It was amazing that the concert was only 20 minutes from our hotel. I left that evening so joyful and thankful for the God that we serve! I want more of him!

As it comes to mind I would ask prayer for a few things: 1) obviously safe travels- between now and Christmas we will be in TX, NM, AR, LA, and back to TX, and this doesn't include our Thanksgiving travels.  2) I personally have been praying for more opportunities to share Christ. I know they are all around, and I am continually meeting people, but I want the eyes and heart to see people like Christ does and share with them what he has in store for them instead of just my life on the road! Open doors and open hearts!  3) Next semester: our boss has a very tough job. He is in the process of placing people with their partners, in their regions, as well as figuring our places for the vans and how people are getting home for Christmas. That's a lot when their at 14 different teams! I know the person I would really like to tour with, as well as my regions. My prayer is that I will be diligent to pray for my boss, have patience to wait, and trust that whatever happens is what needs to happen! I'm just excited and ready to know! Thank you! Blessings!

Ramblings about my journey

So I am just going to send out a warning in the beginning-- this could be a long post (not that my others haven't been!) Plus this may be my only post until Thanksgiving- my computer cord is fried so my laptop is dead. Luckily the hotel we are at now has a computer for guest use, but its super slow and the keyboard is really sticky (so another warning- there could be more mistakes than normal!)

Now that that is out of the way, I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to read my blog! I am so blessed by the people in my life! I know that I have people all across the country that love me and care for me! And I care for and love all of you too! I am so blessed!

So the last time I wrote I shared about my technology fiasco. Well since that day we have been pretty busy.  Last Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we had double school days. Most of the days we had to drive 30 min. to an hour in between our shows as well. Other than that first morning, all the shows went well, but man we were tired afterwards.  At the end of each day we had to drive 2-3 hours as well in order to get to our next location. Now, there are several teams that have had much crazier schedules than we have but this was our first time of having this much. I am grateful to have busier days, but we did not feel like doing anything once we got to our hotels!

All of the shows were in different places in Northeastern Kansas. Thursday morning was one of the earliest shows we have had. The show started at 7:40a.m. which meant that we arrived at our school a little before 6a.m. Now really that is only 20 minutes earlier than several shows that we have had before, but its felt SOOO much earlier! I got a good laugh that morning though. As we were setting up a police officer walked into the gym and said to me "So I'm guessing that white van next to the curb is yours? I got a call about it and was looking in it and stuff." I guess one of the bus drivers called the cops because there was a mysterious van parked outside of the middle school at 6a.m. As I was walking to park it in an actual parking spot I asked the cop if he was normally at the school in the morning or if he was specifically called because of our van.... he was specifically called for our van! We drive a white creeper van as we call them. During training we had heard stories about things like this happening so it was bound to happen sometime right? At least people are watching out for the students. As I was walking to the van I just kept laughing! It made my morning!

Then the next day, Friday, our morning shows got started early which meant that we were packed up and on the road early. We were literally in the middle of nowhere so there weren't any restaurants that we could go to in order to waste some time. We decided to simply drive to the school. We ended up getting there about 2 1/2 hours early. Several times we already get to our schools early, making sure we have enough time in case a problem arises or whatever, but this time it was just too early for us to want to go in. We didn't want to burden the school by going in, but there wasn't anywhere else to go. So we parked and just read and hung out in the van. Five minutes before we were planning on going in to setup, an older gentleman came to my window and asked if he could help us with anything. I smiled and said that we were just wasting time but we were there to set up their assembly. Someone within the school had seen us pull in and mentioned that we were just sitting there. I mean it totally makes sense if you see a creepy van with people just sitting inside of it in a school parking lot to question what was going on. Its just funny that it happened two days in a row! Dorina and I are really intimidating I know! :) 

That afternoon school was really nice though. We had some students help us setup. They were a hoot! It was a group of all upperclassman guys who were just glad to be out of class, but at least they were helpful at the same time! By the time we were done setting up, Dorina and I had a little over an hour to wait until the first show. Honestly it was hard for me to be patient because after our presentation we were headed to spend the weekend with some of my friends near and at Barclay! I just wanted to get there! I just kept reminding myself that we were there for the students and all went went.

As we were waiting we met the principal of the school. He was a sweet man but definitely seemed a little scattered. About 30 minutes before the first show he asked us if we had eaten lunch. We said no and he was like "Why didn't you say anything?!?!?!" We said we were used to it and he was like "You don't get used to that! I'll go see what we have left!" It was very kind of him and of the school. Right after we ate he sat down with us and told us about his family and stuff. I love the personal interactions! After our two show he, along with some students, helped us tear down. It was one of our faster tear downs; I was grateful because we were headed to Barclay! The time had finally arrived for us to drive there!

My weekend was amazing and so refreshing. God knew exactly what and who I needed. I felt kinda bad for Dorina because there were so many people that I wanted to see and talk with and I didn't want her to be bored. We both have experienced this with each others friends! Friday night we stayed in Pratt, KS which is about 20 minutes away from Barclay. God's timing is amazing and I know it wasn't a coincidence because this weekend, the only weekend that would work to drive through this way,  was also the weekend of Judgement House. Judgement House is a walk through reality drama (not a haunted house!) that touches on hard, real life situations that people face and it ends with talking about the realities of Heaven and Hell. Since the first year they did it, 3 years ago, I have helped in one way or another. The first two years I acted and then last year they flew me out there from Oregon to lead worship. I was bummed that I wouldn't be back this year, but I was!  When I got there Friday I ended up seeing a good friend, also one of the leaders of the production. I ended up having the ability to be an extra in one of the scenes a few times, I went through the actual drama, and then I just walked around and saw lots of people. It was wonderful! 

Friday evening and Saturday morning were spent in amazing fellowship with my friend Pam! Saturday morning we stayed in our pj's until 1:30p.m. We just talked, laughed, and relaxed. It was so nice and rejuvenating! After getting ready for the day, Dorina and I then drove out to Barclay! I saw so many people that I love! When we first got there I went and spent time with my former roommate Elisa and her husband. We talked, walked to the coffee shop, and walked around Haviland. Simply talking with people is so energizing for me, especially people like Elisa and Cyle!

Afterwards I went over to Becca's house, my roommate before Elisa. I am so blessed by her friendship and how God has molded that! That evening one of our friends was playing at the local coffee shop so we went to go listen to him. I hadn't seen him in either a year or two. He was also the leader of a missions trip that Becca and I went on in 2007 to New Orleans. It was great because there were 5 of us there that night from that trip. We just sat and reminisced and laughed! Its amazing to see how God is still working in us through that trip.

Sunday was incredible but it felt very scattered because I was able to see so many people. I was able to go to church, eat lunch at the college, and I had a wonderful friend drive in from Wichita (about 2 hrs) to come spend some time with me as well! It was busy but at the same time very refreshing! After spending some more time with Cyle and Elisa I went back to Becca's house for dinner. We had such a good/lazy but meaningful evening! Becca, her husband Darin, and I ended up playing the game Sorry. Halfway through I was laughing so hard that I had tears rolling down my face and my stomach hurt! I have missed days like that. Who would have thought that a simple game like Sorry would bring such a reaction.

Monday, unfortunately the day we had to leave, I woke up early to make breakfast for Becca and say goodbye before she left for work. Despite the waking up early part, it was awesome being able to actually make food again (you don't get to do that in hotels often!). Granted it was simple, but it was still fun!  The rest of the morning I spent talking with more people. I went and saw the former president of the school as well as one of my pastors from Ohio who had since moved out to Barclay. I also attended Spiritual Formation, one of my favorite classes. Its funny that I graduated but I still sit in class when I visit!  I was still taught through it so therefore it was a good thing for me to do! Before heading back to the van and leaving, I talked with a professor about the Masters Program that Barclay is starting this coming fall. Who knows?!?!

I know I basically just went through my schedule for the last week or so, but it was such a good week. It was really hard to leave Barclay, but at the same time I was so refreshed. Not only was I refreshed because of getting to be around people that know me, but I also felt spiritually awakened! I left renewed and I am so grateful. God knew what I needed last weekend and he  definitely provided!

Technology Fail!

Those of you that know me well know that I am not one to worry often, or for long periods of time. This is still true of me but sometimes during our shows I catch myself worrying a little bit more than normal. See we run 3 DVD players synced up together and three projectors. We learned how to handle disc skips, and the like, but the idea of having an issue at a school was obviously not appealing. Well today my fear of a show messing up came true! It wasn't just one skip, but several, creating issues for the last 15 or so minutes of our first show. 

As I was watching the presentation I all of a sudden realized that the image on our left screen was frozen. My stomach turned to knots (again not super likely for me). In order to fix this problem we have to wait for each DVD player to get past the closest minute.... meaning that if they are at 3:34, you need to wait until all the players go past 4:00. (hope you are tracking!) Well it should be a simple fix. So I did that and everything seemed fine. Not more than a minute after I fixed it the same DVD player skipped the disc 2 minutes ahead. It was terrible and the DVD player wasn't responding so it took even longer to fix (trying having 200+ high school students, and their teachers and principal waiting and watching YOU!).  So finally I got it started again.  Literally 5 minutes later the same thing happened again! I was so frustrated and felt really bad for the school. So now we had like 8 minutes left in the show. I'm sitting on the floor in front of our equipment staring hard core at our DVD players hoping it doesn't happen again, and praying feverishly as well! The last minute of the presentation the same thing happened. At the end of our show we have phrases going across the screen saying "FACE YOUR FEAR" or "GROW THROUGH ADVERSITY," well because of the problem all they saw was "YOUR FEAR" or "W  OUGH  VERSITY."  I even tried to go back so they could re watch the last minute but it just wouldn't work properly so I stopped it and they left.

I felt so bad for the school although it was not anything that I could have seen coming or fixed differently; our DVD player just decided it didn't want to do its job.We had another show that was supposed to start in 15 minutes. I went to call my boss, who hadn't even made it to the office yet because of time differences (yay for cell phones!)!  Trying to call him was hard too because there was barely any cell phone coverage where we were, so we go disconnected and I had to find the "right spot" to stand in order to make the call, which obviously all of this took more time!

We were unsure if the problem was the DVD player or if that DVD was just super scratched, so for the sake of time we changed out both and it worked wonderfully. So the middle schoolers got a great show but unfortunately that wasn't the same deal for high school.

After our morning presentation we had to drive about an hour to another school for an afternoon presentation. It was so refreshing because the students we had helping us were great. They kept making jokes and making me laugh to the point where when I was trying to give directions I couldn't because I was laughing so much!  Also the principal was great! We ended up having a good chunk of time before the show started so we were just hanging out in the gym. He ended up coming and just talking with us for a while. It was great to hear him talk about the students and how they relate with the shows we present!

This presentation though was going to be our tester presentation to really see what the problem was. We used the new DVD player but the old DVDs, so one of two things would happen.... the show would run as normal telling us that we had a faulty DVD player earlier, or the second thing would be that the show would mess up like it had during our first presentation showing that the actual discs were bad. I was on the edge during the presentation, especially once we got near to the part that had messed up before. Thank God the entire show went fine!

All this to say, it was a crazy morning and a long day! I just hope the first school will have grace on us because our DVD player decided to die on us in the middle of their show! Well at least I have the experience with these issues for next time (hopefully though there won't be a next time...).

This week....

This week has been crazy! Both emotionally and physically draining, but it has ended well! Last weekend we were in the St. Louis area, headed to Kansas on Monday, Arkansas Friday, and now we are in a hotel in southern Missouri!

Last Saturday Dorina and I went into St. Louis to see the arch and walk around the city. It was a beautiful day! I ended up going up in the arch, which I have wanted to do for years but for one reason or another it never worked out! I was excited but not looking forward to having to wait in the long time for at least an hour! When I bought my ticket I was able to get into an earlier ride since I was the only one in my party! I still thought I would have to wait a little bit, but when I went the attendant I was able to get right in! It was amazing!  After that I just walked around a bit and enjoyed the afternoon. Dorina and I met back up not too long after than and headed to Illinois for dinner. She LOVES Smokey Bones and that was the closet one to us or that would ever be near us on our tour! It was a fun and enjoyable day!   Here are some pictures:

If you look really close you can see the small windows at the top of the arch!

                                                                                      

Me in front of the arch on a beautiful fall day!



This is the little car that we had to ride in. It fit
only 5 people... I hit my head both times I got in!

 

Sunday we went to a church that was literally right next to our hotel. They were one of the most welcoming congregations that I have ever met. We seriously shook hands and were greeted by 70% of the congregation; it wasn't a huge place, but still a lot! It was so refreshing. People made their way to come meet us and welcome us.

Monday was a rough day for me. It marked a year since my best friend took her own life. It was hard for the fact of the matter, but also because I was stuck in a car and not surrounded by a community that loved and knew me and had supported me through this! All that I wanted to curl up in a ball next to a good friend! Unfortunately that wasn't possible for me. It was me and God and luckily he says he will never leave nor forsake me! It was hard to balance life that day, and it was really different experiencing this while I am out on the road. It really can change your perspective on things.

Basically the rest of the week was busy. Tuesday and Wednesday we had afternoon shows, so we would sleep in, do the shows, then have to drive a few hours to our next destination. We would end up not getting to our hotels till around 7 so it would feel like we worked all day long!  Thursday morning we had a show in Kansas and then we had a 7 1/2 hour drive down to Arkansas. It was a long day, but not as bad as expected. Friday was a double school day, even though we had to set up twice we were lucky that the schools were basically on the same property. We met some great administration at these schools. They were just very genuine, hospitable, and friendly. It always makes morning set ups better when you are able to talk and laugh with the people you are working for!

After our shows on Friday, and repairing some of our equipment, Dorina and I had about an hour drive to where were are staying this weekend. We are staying in Nixa, Missouri again. We were here for about 5 nights a month ago. Since we knew the area and knew what was around we figured we would stay again. It is nice because it adds a little consistency to our trip. The funny thing is that we are actually in the same room again. When we got to our hotel Friday night, I was beat. I took a short nap, walked to Walmart, and then basically just lounged in our room the rest of then night in sweatpants and with iced chai! It was glorious! I am so grateful for the ability to sleep in and reconnect with people. Yesterday alone I talked on the phone for over 7 hours! I am so glad its the weekend!  We will be staying here in Missouri until Tues. before be head back to Kansas. We have double school days on Wed., Thurs., and Fri.  More busyness but it will be good!

Soon I will try to update on what God has been teaching me! I need to gather my thoughts but he is so present and active and I love it!  Thank you for taking the time to read this, for your prayers, and for following me on my journey!





My heart

Its 2a.m. here as I sit and start writing this (keep that in mind as you read, hope it all makes senese!). God has been and continues to move my heart! I just finished watching the movie Letters to God. I knew what I was about to watch, I knew I had seen movies like this before, but for some reason I watched it anyway. This movie was about a young boy with cancer who wrote letters to God, basically prayers to God.  There were several times when I would cry as I watched, or wanted to ball my eyes out, but I didn't want to wake up Dorina. I know part of it was from the movie, (I cry in movies ok?) but this time was different for me than any other time I remember crying at these "types" of movies. I wasn't just crying because of thinking about just the movie. This time my mind wandered to all the people that have to deal with things like this on a regular basis. What parents have to sit and watch their children go through this and tell them that "Its okay, they can let go now." What family has to go through the pain and hardship of having a mom deal with breast cancer? (this topic has come up a lot in stores, schools, friends with it being October and Breast Cancer Awareness)  But other than cancer... how many people worry every month because they aren't sure how they are going to pay the bills? What mom or dad or grandma is struggling because he or she can't give their children adequate food? Who doesn't feel good enough, loved, accepted....? And the list goes on.
There are so many questions like this. It leads me to one more area. What about about the people who don't have Christ as their firm foundation? Where do they find their strength or hope?

Now I don't want this to be depressing, but facing reality is important. Here I have to push myself to look harder to love and see like Christ. I think all of these deeper thoughts have come because of my journey these last few months. I desire to see people. See them and love them. As I meet new people everywhere I go, I want to offer love. I know that in every conversation I can offer joy and hope, no matter the content. I say this because its happened.  Our lives are shaped by our stories and the stories of the people around us, just like I'm telling you a story about my journey.  Everyone we come in contact with, a stranger on the street or a coworker we have worked with for years or a family member, everyone is hurting to some degree and everyone deals with it differently. How many times do we, do I,  stop and pray for the people we come in contact with even if words are not exchanged? God still hears those prayers, knows the needs when we don't, and listens to us.  God moves when his people pray!!! Sometimes its our last resort, but the best thing we can do!

Honestly as I have gone back and reread this, I don't know my point! Other than the fact that we all need love and support. We all need Christ, and not everyone has let him in yet! I want to live my life, every moment, for Christ. I want to be bold and I believe God is forming me that way more and more everyday. With my sensitive heart that is being made known to me I am able to see people in a different light. This doesn't mean I was doing everything wrong, but maybe I just see them in a brighter light, not through my dull eyes, but through the radiance of Christ! This is then when the earlier questions, although they may never have answers or complete solutions, can be infused with hope and strength. My heart aches for our world and all the turmoil. My heart hurts for those who hurt and I can't even begin to fathom what people are going through, sometimes I have a hard enough time dealing with my own pain!  But again, like I said in an earlier post I need to trust. God is bigger. God is greater. God is stronger. Even when I don't understand or like how things worked out.  Even when things seem unbearable, there is hope. Sometimes I don't know how to find that hope or I feel like I don't have enough strength to find it. But again God is faithful.  I want my life to matter. I don't know what that means or what it will look like. If all of this is so that I will pray more for people then let it be. Through my relationship with Christ I am continuing to be refined and find my role/place within the body of Christ. I hope and pray that you do the same. Is God really our everything?

Everyday Living

I feel like God has been teaching me so much these last few months! He's been captivating my heart to a depth that I haven't been to before. I am grateful, but some of it is really hard! There have been several blessings (as my life and my earlier posts can testify) that have come my way, but there have also been several challenges that I have had to deal with. Now I know we all have challenges, that's a part of life, but the things in my life right now are all new. They are things that I have never had to confront before. They are hard. Some things are actual situations I have to deal with and some are personal changes or ways that God is showing himself to me and showing me more of who I am! These last few weeks, there have been times when I have just felt a heaviness about me and I don't like it!

I know ultimately that God is in control but in the midst of life that can be hard to trust. Trust. That is what God has called me to. When we finished training for Camfel I was having a hard time that we weren't going to be leaving for our tour from 2 1/2 weeks. Trust. God kept saying to me "Tiffany you have to trust me!" It was so gentle, but firm! In the midst of all of that I was able to see 5 friends that I wouldn't have been able to see if we left right after training. Trust. I am continually reminded of how God worked through this. He wants me to remember Him and his work in my life!

I hope that above doesn't sound like complaining because that it not something I tend to do nor was that my intention. I just wanted to be honest. I am so blessed that I have the opportunity to see God working in my life and that I can have confidence in the things that are happening in my life. But I didn't want to down play the fact that things have been hard, sometimes hard to the point where I didn't feel like myself. I truly enjoy this job, but I miss being with a strong community. At the same time, I wouldn't be learning what I am now if I hadn't been taken out of that. I have become so much for grateful for the privilege to talk with people on the phone and meet new people along the way.

When you live in a community, or with one other person, you learn a lot about yourself. You learn what you how you fit in that picture: what you agree with, what you don't, who you connect easier with, what brings you joy within that community etc. I have definitely been learning about myself. God has been teaching me that no matter what I need to be true to him, and true to the person he is creating me to be. If that doesn't go along with other people, that's ok. I need to be faithful to the one I have given my life instead of being influenced by so many other factors. I am in the process of claiming/reclaiming God's promises in my life. He has shown me how sensitive I am to the Holy Spirit and my convictions. I don't include that to sound self-righteous at all. It is just such a sweet experience and understanding!

With this some of my thoughts/patterns have been shaken. A few weeks ago I was prayer journaling and I just cried out to God "God I don't know if I can do this. I don't have any clue how to reach your people, the ones who haven't decided to trust in you. I can love and support people, I can encourage them in the faith, but how do I go from a simple conversation to sharing you?" And so on. I felt so unworthy of being called a Christian. But God is so good! I can't say that enough. (I know I say God is so good or that I am blessed often, but I have to speak the truth and my heart!) He has gently shown me where all my feelings aren't accurate, but he has also taught me where I can take steps to grow in him and this knowledge.  One thing I have learned several times, and I will continue to learn, is that I cannot have my own agenda. I need to follow God. When I create my own agenda it's so easy to feel like everyone I come in contact with I have to have an amazing spiritual experience with! Sometimes people just need love, someone to talk to, someone to listen! That can be a spiritual experience! I don't know what people need, but God does, so therefore I need to be faithful to who and what God places in my life. If I have an idea of making "converts" then I miss relationships and love. It's not my job or within my ability to save!

That being said, God placed a random stranger in my life on Monday night. We were staying in a hotel in Salina, Kansas, basically just a stopover place in between two days of driving. That ended up being my night on the phone; I ended up talking with 2 people for a total of over 3 1/2 hrs! It was fabulous and I love those ladies! Anyway, I decided not to just sit in my room, so I started walking through the hotel and found a table and chair outside of a conference room that didn't seem like it was being used. It was pretty quiet, other than the bathroom traffic. This one guy walked by, looked at me, smiled, and went on his way. Probably about 20-30 minutes later he went by again. I was still in the same spot just talking away! Instead of just walking by he stopped, laughed, and said "You're STILL one the phone!?" I laughed and tried to defend myself by saying that I travel for work so this is my only form of communication with people!  Then we started talking (my friend was still on the phone and could hear parts of the conversations, sorry Sam!) about what I did and what he did, etc. I ended up telling him that I went to Barclay College, a small Bible school about three hours from where we were at. Now keep in mind that there were times when I used to not include the fact that it was a Bible school, unless people asked further questions. This is one of the ways that God has been teaching me over the last several years! Anyway, right after I said that he goes, "So then you are super religious or something?" I simply responded with something like, "Well, I wouldn't say super religious but I follow Christ and live my life for him. He's everything...." It just flowed so naturally, which it should! Not too long after he, Steve, walked away and I kept talking with my friend, who was laughing by the way. It was great to be able to dialogue that experience with her, and talk about sharing Christ with others. Well the funny thing is, probably about 20 minutes later I was headed back to my room to get my cell phone charger and I crossed paths with Steve again. I could tell he wanted to start conversation again and as we started talking he motioned that we should go sit down. After apologizing several times I told Samantha that I would call her back, but I couldn't miss this! So Steve and I talked for probably a good 20 or so more minutes.  We talked about what each other liked to do, shared our common interest in encouraging youth, and talked about life. He ended up sharing with me some aspects of his life and past and why he believed what he believed.  This was definitely a God moment! He told me that he doesn't normally just start talking with people, but that he HAD to make a comment about how long I talked, and I also just seemed friendly. So out of that came a conversation that including me sharing about Christ's role in my life, and my interests, and Steve sharing some personal aspects of his life! Again, God uses interactions like this to remind me to pray for people. Every time they come to mind, I am reminded that God know their story and where they are at!  God is such a big God!

During that same period, another guy walked past me, smiled, and called me giggly (I blame Sam!). It was funny but it was also a quick conversation where I was able to share that the best way to live was to have joy! Why not laugh and enjoy life, no matter the circumstances?

Again I know I wrote a lot and I could still include so much more! But what I wrote above is why I titled this everyday living. God is teaching me how to live everyday. Not having a set schedule with this job has been hard, but God has taught me how to fill my time and in that fill my life! Everyday we are supposed to pick up our cross and follow Christ. For me right now that included some tough situations with family and friends, new experiences, contemplating life and where I stand with things, a new job/environment, and meeting people like Steve.  I am being taught more about what it is to truly live daily for and with Christ.

Like I said earlier I could write so much more expanding on all of this, but for now I have written enough! Thank you for taking time to join me on my journey. I hope and pray that you can be encourage and strengthened through this. If you have any questions or what to know more, please ask! I would truly appreciate prayer to stay strong in my faith and through some of the circumstances that are being thrown at me right now. I never want to lose my joy! Live everyday and enjoy every moment! Blessings!

Fantastic Day!

(So I started writing this blog Sunday, after I got home, then my computer died and I just finished it. Sorry it took me 5 days! Anyway it was from this past Sunday!)

Last night as I was driving to Denver I started thinking about where I wanted to go to church in the morning or if I wanted to go at all. There are two churches, within 20-30 miles from where we are staying this weekend, that I know people at. Earlier this week I had asked my friend Alli what church she went to. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go because of the mileage. (For personal use of our van we have 100 miles each and then we have to pay. It's not a lot, but its still money!) Finally as I decided that it would be great to go to church where people would be familar with my school, and where I could see a friend. I ended up texting Alli last night and asked her if she would be interested or have time to grab some lunch after church if I ended up coming. Luckily everything worked out!

So I went thinking that I would only hang out for lunch and then head back to Dorina's friends house. Well those plans changed but it was wonderful! I had such a fantastic day and it was exactly what I needed! After church Alli and I actually ended up going out to lunch with her mom and stepdad. It was wonderful. They were super nice and made me laugh a whole lot! After we left them, Alli said that I was allowed to join her when she went to a lady's house from church (I had met her earlier that morning).  I decided to tag along and I am so glad I did. We went to their house, but they weren't home yet, so Alli and I headed to a house that she had been housesitting for. She needed to walk the dog so this was the perfect opportunity. This was a great afternoon for a walk! (I was definitely happy to have the chance to play with a chocolate lab!) We probably walked around for close to an hour. The weather was perfect and sunny.

After that we headed over to the friends from church. They were getting ready for a youth retreat the following weekend and they were making journals for all of the girls. Even though I felt funny at first helping make them for girls I didn't know, I ended up making 2 journals. It was so much fun! There were five of us just sitting at the table making journals for a few hours, talking, laughing like crazy, and just being ridiculous. it was wonderful having the opportunity to fellowship with an incredible group of people! To continue the day, i ended up staying with that family for dinner. Their dad had come home-- he was hilarious! I needed a day that was a break from thinking and I sure got that! It was great. I didn't end up getting back to where we were staying until almost 10. I spent some time writing and just sat on a porch swing looking at the Denver lights. It was beautiful and peaceful! I was so grateful for Sunday!

Manitou Springs, Colorado

Today feels like summer. As I write this I am sitting in a cute little park in the heart of Manitou Springs, Colorado.  There are children playing and laughing, dogs all around, and people enjoying themselves. Colorful trees mark fall as their leaves fall into the nearby river and drift away. I see so much beauty. I see God!

Dorina and I came here today because we had a lot of extra time. We finished our shows this morning around 11a.m. We will be staying with one of Dorina’s friends tonight but she is working so we needed something to fill our time (basically 8 hrs!). It has been nice and peaceful. After walking around for a while and getting some Chai Maté (South American tea), we decided to get books and just chill by the river. I am at peace and so content! Thank you God for this glorious day.

One of my favorite moments was when we were walking from store to store we passed a lady who was holding the cutest puppy! I started walking past her but then turned around and said “I’m sorry, but can I pet your puppy?” It was so precious and soft. That was definitely the highlight of my day.  I also found a cute ring that was made on an Indian Reserve. It’s a blue heart with some metal wiring holding it together. It was actually a hilarious time because I kept debating. As I was doing this Dorina was like “You’re going to get it anyway, just do it.” Sure enough she was right!

I’m now sitting in Starbucks finishing this blog (a few hours later), my battery was dying at the park! After we left the park we were going to go hiking at a place called Seven Falls. Now waterfalls are also one of my favorite things. We drove there and once we got there we were met by a closed gate saying the park was closed for renovations until November 26. Renovations?? In a public, natural setting! I wanted to see the falls! It was a bummer, but we ended up going to another part of the park and “hiked” around a little bit. Most of it was really just a walk, but the setting was really serene and it was nice getting to walk around for a while.

This weekend we will be staying in Colorado Springs and then Denver before we head back to Missouri on Monday. I have no idea what we will be doing, partially because we are staying with some of Dorina’s friends but also because of weird schedules. It’s interesting to find way to fill out time when we don’t have a set place to go, but we have made due and have had some fun along the way! 

Showered with Blessings

This morning we had a show at a middle school in Grandview, Missouri. We got to our school at about 6:30a.m.  Setup took a little longer than normal because of the help that we had. We had some 6th and 7th grade boys helping us out, as well as their teacher who was the choir director. We were grateful to have the students help us, but this was definitely one of the times that it slowed us down. Luckily it wasn't a huge deal.  There was one boy who I worked with the most, he had no clue what was going on! I had to repeat myself several times, and show him things more than once. It just made me laugh! The choir director was great. He helped us out along with the students, carried on some conversation, and offered Dorina more coffee after she had spilled it when we were bringing in all our stuff!

Other than taking a little longer the setup and shows went like normal. The principal was a very energetic lady who really spoke to the students and talked about achieving greatness! She was on fire! It was great.  The students were very responsive and participated in the presentation. I really enjoy seeing the students get involved. I feel like it helps some of them stay attentive and it makes me laugh!

After the show, Dorina and I both really just wanted to tear down on our own. It's not that we didn't want to interact with students,  but I think after the morning help, we just wanted to get things done. One of the administrators came up to us with probably about 10 students asking if we needed help. We didn't directly say no, we just said that we didn't need that many students; that would have just been overwhelming! So she ended up sending them to class and said that we can come get her when we needed help. It actually all worked out really well with things after that. As we were tearing down, Mike the head custodian came up and started helping. He was near Dorina, but I could still hear the conversation. I don't remember how it got to this point, but he started sharing about how he wanted to go over to Africa and work over there for a while. He started to share stories with us about trusting God with money and his job and all that. This guy was really trying to live a life worthy of the calling God placed on his life. As he was talking and sharing I was rolling cords and continuing to pack up. It was so easily to feel the 'need' to keep working, feeling like we had to be somewhere. Finally I just stopped and listened. We weren't in a rush and God was definitely speaking through this guy and his stories. 

After a little bit, the conversation ended and we went to finish packing things up. Mike said he would come back and help us take everything to the van when we were ready. We went and got him, loaded the van, and continued talking. As we were saying goodbye, he was like "I want to buy you guys your dinner." I was shocked! He pulled out his wallet and handed us a $20. It was such a blessing. He kept talking about how this was the Lord's money and he wanted to do it. Such a simple thing, but such a huge deal to do for a complete stranger! As I walked away, I was just thinking "This is how God is showing his provision and challenging us. We aren't with a group of people, but the body of Christ is still spread out everywhere. Times like these are a reminder of what it means to live as well as a time of refreshment!"  I felt so blessed and so undeserving. I want to serve people, I want to meet more people, and I know that is happening and will continue to as I make myself available. Again, we were blessed and served today.

This week's happenings

So I haven't written in a week, definitely not because of a lack of time, but partially due to the fact that not much is going on. From Wednesday afternoon last week till Monday morning we had off. Like I wrote in my last blog I was able to go visit an old camp and it was wonderful! The rest of the time I really spent scrapbooking, talking to friends, walking around the town, getting in a bad habit of getting a red box movie and iced pumpkin spice chai, ya know the usual ;) But God did do some cool things again through church.

Just like we have done for the past several weeks and we will do for the next several months, we went online to look for a church to attend. So far we have had great experiences but sometimes, especially when we are in bigger cities, it is harder to decide on which church to attend. We ended up going to one that was within walking distance from our hotel.  I love being able to walk in to a church be comfortable knowing that I am worshipping God with the body of Christ even if I don't know any of them. I'm not going to lie though, sometimes this has been hard because I hear about the things a church is doing and I just want to get involved. I want to meet people, build relationships, fuel my social nature, but in a way that is limited this year! 

Recently I feel like God has been bringing a lot of things up from my past to remind me of his sovereignty, love, and work in my life. I have been thinking for a while now about what it means to reclaim the promises God has for us, and for me as an individual. Towards the end of the service on Sunday, the pastor basically gave a call to 'go.' To live into the crazy love that God has for us and to believe that we can truly give all of ourselves for the sake of Christ. As I was standing there responding to this message I just kept praying "God I want more, I want more. I want more of you, of your love, and what you have in store for my life. Show me more." Right after that, the worship team started playing The Stand. If you have been following my blog at all, you may remember that a few posts back  I talked about an experience at Barclay that had to do with this song. The song has powerful words yes, but really the song isn't the point. God has used this time and time again to remind me of him and his work in my life. When we started singing this (this was at least the 3rd time at three different churches in the last few weeks that it was played) I was overjoyed and tears came to my eyes. It was such a sweet reminder of the presence of God in my life! It is just so refreshing!

I have been questioning and praying about all these reminders. Is there something that God has in store for me or reasons why he wants me to vividly remember so many things? Is this a way he is providing for me this year as I am not with a big community but I can remember great times I have had with a larger community? Does God have other purposes for all of this?  I think the answer may be yes to this and to so many other questions. This is the journey I am on and I get to have faith to see what I need to see, hear what I need to hear, and experience what I need to experience. Who knows where the adventure will take me next!

Camp Barnabas!

This week has been a pretty slow week of work. We only had shows on Monday and Wednesday. Because of that, Dorina and I have several days off. It's kinda nice, but again , I like being busy so I was unsure what I was going to do with my time (and still am for the rest of the week). We left Arkansas yesterday after our show and decided to stay in Springfield, MO until Monday morning. As I was sitting in my hotel room last night, I realized that Camp Barnabas was only 45 minutes away from where I was at.

Camp Barnabas is a camp for mentally and physically disabled children. This camp allows the campers to be exactly what they are supposed to be: kids! It doesn't matter if they had no arms or legs, or are paralyzed, they still got to go on the ropes course or go swimming. It may have taken a little more time and more help, but it's worth it! Every week of the summer hosts a different group of people, normally based on disability, and it also has weeks that cater to the siblings. You can find out more about Camp Barnabas at http://www.campbarnabas.org/.

 In 2004 I went to this camp with my church and helped for one of the weeks. I was assigned to one camper and it was my responsibility to take care of her, help her with her everyday needs, and to live with her for the duration of my time there. It was amazing, hard, exhausting, exhilarating, you name it. I still remember my camper and crazy enough, 5 years after counseling I ended up going to school with her sister for a semester and I got to see my camper that following May (remember Barclay was like 100 people, this was a crazy God thing!).

I contemplated for a while whether or not it would be worth it to drive out to the camp today.  I hadn't been there in a long time, there was not going to be anyone I knew, a lot has changed... Well I decided to go because if anything it would give me something to do with my day! I am so glad that I decided to go. When I got there I was able to talk with one of the directors about the camp, what's changed, how I got connected, all that good stuff. She told me that I could feel free to walk around and just make myself at home.   I knew it would be fun to see but I did not expect it to be so good! Even with the things that were new, as I walked around there were a couple places that I went to that reminded me of some very specific times. As I was talking with two of the ladies I told them that my heart just felt so full and tears came to my eyes. Camp Barnabas is such an amazing ministry!   It was actually an emotional experience!

One of the people I came in contact with asked me why it has taken me so long to come back! They started telling me that I should pray about coming back sometime, meaning this summer. I don't know if that will ever happen, but God definitely reminded me of a lot of things and the preciousness of these campers who desire to be loved for who they are. I want to help encourage and love them!

Here is a picture of one of the places at Camp Barnabas. It's called Inspiration Point. This cross has little plaques on it of campers who have passed away. It is such a beautiful spot. The next picture is of the land to the right of the cross. It is so beautiful and peaceful!

Not that I needed a reminder, but simply walking around this camp reminded me of how much my heart is for camp! I love camp! It was such  good time of reflection! God is still working on  my heart even after these last 6 years! Just like so many other things, it's so hard to put into words how amazing Camp Barnabas is as a counselor as well as the opportunity to go back and visit.

Southern Hospitality

I know you aren't supposed to have favorites, but today's school was definitely a favorite!  Today was one of those days that reminds you why you love your job! Granted I haven't had any days that I hated my job, especially seeing that its really hard for me to hate anything... well except for coffee! :)

We arrived at our school at 6:45am and drove up to a really nice campus. We were in a little town in Arkansas but the facilities they had were amazing. After walking around a little bit we found the assistant principal. He was a very kind man. We showed us where to go, got us some students to help, and was just overall friendly.  The main custodian was also super friendly. He helped us setup, carried on conversations, told us about Camfel being there in the past, just to name a few things. Today we were basically showing to the entire school district, a total of almost 3,000 people.  The first show went just like any other show. The high schoolers filled in, we gave an intro and started the film. During the show the asst. principal pulled me out and started talking with me about the presentation, offering ideas for other topics, and praises about how they will always keep having Camfel come back. So far.... it was a pretty normal day.

After the first presentation, the principal and asst. principal of the high school complemented the show, and said that they were going to treat us for lunch. That in itself was a blessing! Before lunch though we still had a presentation for the middle school.  The principal of the middle school was a sweet older lady. She came and talked with Dorina and I before the show started, asking us where we were from, what we majored in in college,  things like that. She had a super strong southern accent... I loved it! When the show concluded she got up and shared some great words with the students encouraging them to make good decisions and remember the film (when she said the word 'film' I had to try hard to understand what she was saying because of her accent!), then she went on to explain to the students what she learned about me and Dorina! It was funny but so sweet!

We still had some time before lunch so I was able to just sit and read for a little bit. That was a nice break in the middle of the day. When lunch time came, the tech. manager came and got us. He was a younger guy who had been a huge help to us setting up and we were each able to have some conversations with him. Between him and the custodian (and principals) we were taken care of! We headed over for lunch and it was just like being in college again! I ended up trying the "Cowboy Skillet Casserole" I was nervous at first, but figured "Hey I'm in a new place, might as well try something new." It was actually good!  The only bummer about lunch was that Dorina and I ended up eating by ourselves. The guy helping us had said we could sit in the cafeteria or go back to the other building and have a private lunch. I don't know why, but either due to miscommunication or whatever I ended up following them into the other building. We promise we like the people there! It just would have been awkward to walk back in a sit down with a plate of half-eaten food!  

Our next presentation didn't start for another hour so again that gave us the chance to just chill and read. It was such a laid back day! The last group of students to come in was the intermediate group, which for this school district was 3-6 graders. Like I said a few posts back, I really enjoy the younger grades. I just love their excitement We probably had close to 800 students in there for the presentation. Elementary teachers are amazing!

As we were waiting for the rest of the students to come in, one of our DVD players went off of the main screen. In order to fix it I had to press stop, which made the screens all go blank. Once I did that, all the students gasped! It was crazy and so funny how much they responded to that! We hadn't even started the show yet! I was able to joke with some of the kids in the front rows  that everything was okay and I made it work! One little boy in the front row started telling me different jokes. It was so cute!  It was so humorous watching them during the presentation as well.  I was so surprised when the majority of the room cheered when Lady Gaga's name came on the screen; we expect that from middle/high school!  There is also a song clip that says "Just Dance." It was awesome being able to watch them! So many of the students were in their seats singing and dancing with this song. It was so cute and one of the best responses that I have seen yet!

Today's tear down was our quickest tear down. We had some wonderful high school guy helpers. They did what they were asked and they did a good job with it as well. It was cool because one of them initiated a conversation with me before I did with him. After we loaded up the van we started joking around about where we were headed and how there is "so much" to do in this area of Arkansas, let alone the whole state itself. They just sat there and talked, laughed, and joked with us! It was a great way to end the day. As we were leaving the tech. manager told us that if we needed anything else, or things to do, just to call the box office because they would be there all day. So nice!

We came ready to serve and give a presentation, but we were totally taken care of today. These people, this school district, they served us today. I am so grateful and overjoyed because of the interactions we had! We were shown southern hospitality! Words can't truly explain what a good day today was!

Lessons Learned

I realized I write a lot when I blog! It's just making up for not talking a lot! Hopefully you read because you enjoy  and may you find encouragement as well!  So anyway... today's adventure:

This morning after checking out of our hotel, Dorina and I went to a church not to far from our hotel. I love that I am able to worship God with other believers even if I don't know who they are! Today's message was one of those "simple you have heard this before but you know you need to hear it again" messages.  The pastor talked about finding God in everyday life. He talked about how when we lose something we need to look for it or how do we expect to find it. The same thing is true for God. If we want to see God, don't we first have to open our eyes(or in some cases our hearts and minds)?   He also touched on how God cares about the little details of our lives, not just our huge catastrophes or joys. This sermon really made me think. What does this mean for me this year? I have talked about wanting to get closer to God and this was definitely a good reminder of the relationship God desires with me... with ALL of me.

After leaving, I started to journal in the car about some of the things that were mentioned. Here's some of the thoughts that came to mind:

We tend to talk to God more when we have "bigger" things going on. I have heard for years that God even cares about the little details of our lives. I've heard and taken part in praying for things as simple as finding an item that was lost.  I have to admit sometimes it seemed foolish. As I thought about this more, I thought about those little things we deal with. How little are they really? They may not change the course of history, but I think they really show our true colors. For example, if we lose something we often get frustrated. If someone enters the room and tries to find out what is going on so they can help, sometimes we snap at them out of our frustration. Right, or is this only me? :)  It can be so simple and over within a short amount of time, but shouldn't we still bring it to God? God doesn't say bring me all of your bigger, more time consuming worries, He wants them all, including times when we lost our keys, made a mistake, are fearful, etc. Even in those moments we are able to glorify God through his provision. I can think of several situations both from recent times and many years ago, when God has proven faithful even through the littlest ordeal!

During these times I think I have begun to understand the care of God even more. For many of us we had learned since we were little about how God loves us and nothing can ever change that. He cares about the little details of our lives because how we react to this little things are a small glimpse into how we may react with the big things. If we are able to humbly come before our God when we lose something, have a bad attitude, negative thought, etc., how much more does that help us to do that no matter the circumstance, big or small? Trusting God in the little moments helps us deepen our relationship with him. Think about friendships. You have friends who you will share the big moments of life with, then you have friends who you will share the harder moments of life with. What about those friends who you simply share your life with? I have some wonderful friends who I will share my love for swings with! It sounds childish, but I feel alive and filled when I get to go swinging and I hope I never lose that! I don't think I would necessarily share those moments with everyone because they don't know me. During those times of joy, so many amazing in depth conversations have happened, again conversations that I just wouldn't share with anyone. So there are friends you share big moments with, friends, or sometimes called acquaintances you share little moments with, then there are the ones you share you with; life moments big and small. Every time we share with someone, trust someone, it deepens that relationship. I think the same holds true with God, if not more! (Hope all that made sense! It did in my mind!)  Granted He s the God over everything isn't he? The Psalms say that he knows the number of hairs on our head. Talk about little details!  But in those little details we get more of a glimpse into the uniqueness of the person!

I journaled about so many more components of this that maybe I will share later, but today we were placed in a situation where we needed to trust and put this into practice! We don't just learn so we can journal, we learn so we can apply it to our lives. This time, today's message was for a lesson later that day!  After church we had about a 5 hour drive to Alma, Arkansas. When we went to check in to our hotel a sweet lady at the front said she did not see our reservation. As we checked the itinerary we found out that the room had been booked for December 26 instead of September 26. We were three months early!  We figured all we needed to do was to call the online site that we had booked through and switch the dates. As we did this the lady on the phone had told Dorina that the booking was both nonrefundable and nonexchangeable. She said we can have a friend or someone use it and just pay us back. Who do we know that would want to stay in small town in Arkansas the day after Christmas? NO ONE!  Basically we were told that we were out over $100.  Frustrated but knowing that we needed a place to stay for the night and this hotel was close to our school, we went back inside. Luckily we were only a few dollars over budget by booking it right at the hotel! Well the lady at the front desk said that we should try calling the people back and asking to talk with a supervisor. I mean we just booked to room last night, we are at the hotel we had booked, it was obvious that we were not trying to rip off the hotel and a genuine mistake was made.  After debating whether is was worth it Dorina called the company back. As she did this I was reminded of this morning's message. God you care about the details. Even with our hotels. Help us to work this out, stay calm, and trust you.  I just sat there and kept praying, being reminded that God cares about the details! After a series of questions, having the front desk lady here talk with the caller on the phone, we were able to get our hotel booking cancelled, without any charges or fees! It was amazing and such a blessing. The front desk lady was super cute but firm and so helpful! Thank you God for providing for us.

It's even in these simple things that God deserves the glory. I think that it part of God caring about the details. Too often we live, myself included, with the idea that we can take care of it. But God deserves the credit! We can't even come close to giving him what he deserves. Praise God for his unconditional love and for caring for us so much! Give God the little things and seek to see him every day and in every moment!

Double school day

Today was probably the busiest day we have had so far. It was a double school day which means that we had to setup a show in the morning at one school, and do the same thing in the afternoon. As Dorina and I talked through the times, we realized that we were going to be pushing it to make it happen. Normally we have been getting to our schools 2 hours before the show in order to setup, soon we will just start arriving and hour and half early. For our afternoon school we already had to hussle in order to make it an hour and half prior to their first show.

Before we even left the hotel room I wondered how the day would actually go. Partially because I knew I would be tired. For some weird reason I could not fall asleep last night, which is pretty random occurrence. I probably fell asleep around 1am knowing that my alarm was going off only 4 1/2 short hours later. Luckily I was pretty refreshed for most of the day!

Getting to our first show was interesting. As we were nearing what the GPS said was our school, we noticed that it was actually the high school we were pulling into, and I had just turned a little too early. We got on the road again and drove about a quarter of a mile then we saw another school. Like normal we thought this was the middle school we were looking for. Wrong! It was still part of the high school, just a different building, but this different building was where the GPS was telling us to go. So we continued to drive and ended up in a residential area. I don't think any of them planned to house 900 middle schoolers let alone fit our equipment in their homes!  We drove back toward the high school and decided that we would ask where the school was at. There were two gentlemen in the parking lot directing so we stopped and asked them. They were like "Nope, this isn't the middle school!" I thought that was kind of funny, because it was obvious that it wasn't and we were asking for directions to it.  They ended up giving us directions which was helpful but I was so afraid I was going to get lost.  Thankfully after driving about 5-6 more miles (in a blinding sunrise) we found the middle school.

The setup and shows went great. The students were attentive and responsive which is always a highlight. The principal had some really good things to say to the students to address them personally and relate it to the video. This is always so important in order to helps students really claim responsibility for their actions within their own school. Today though it was hard for Dorina and I to remain patient. The longer he talked the longer it will take us to tear down and the less time we will have at our next school.  This came to my mind a few times and then I was reminded that I needed to stay focused on the present school. These students needed to hear what the principal was saying, and I needed to trust that we would be fine. Obviously we in no way had shown our concern about leaving, it was just something roaming at the front of our minds.  We knew our time frame was tight, but I knew that somehow we would make it happen. These are the days for which we had intense training right?

We left the first school at about 11:25 and it was supposed to take us about 10minutes to arrive at our afternoon location. About a mile after we pulled out of the school there was construction so we were slowed down a little. It was so easy to get frustrated and worried that things weren't going to get done in time. As I was waiting for the flagger to allow us to go, I just had this sense of God saying "Tiffany I got you, I got you, don't worry, things will be fine." That simple moment provided me much peace. We arrived at the next school at 11:40 and started unloading the van around 11:45. We ended up being done with setup, except for a few small details, by 12:35!  It was wonderful! I was definitely worried that we would be running so close to our start time! God did have me! It wasn't nearly as stressful as I thought it was going to be.

The shows at this school went fabulous as well. Again the principal was so good with words, tying together the goals of the school with the presentation. During our presentation at this school, the learning disabled class was sitting in the front row! I had such quick interactions with them but they touched my heart! Almost all of them waved at me. Some were with an overjoyed expression on their faces and some you could tell were a little more shy but they still wanted to be included. I wanted to just go sit and talk and be with them!

Overall I was personally super impressed with this school district and had the opportunity to share that with the superintendent as well. At both schools the principal started the presentation by saying "Show me listening." The kids automatically knew what he was talking about. I was impressed by how good the relationships looked between the students, teachers and administration. There was a lot of encouragement, affirmation, high fives, and simple hellos being offered between them. It was so genuine and so good.  Several schools are like this I'm sure, but as an outsider it was amazing being able to see it so openly!

I am grateful for such a good day! Even with a lack of sleep, not being able to find our school, shortened time constraints, etc., things went exceptionally well! Thank you God for patience and a good attitude (and a nap when I got back to the hotel)!

Community

You don't realize how much you miss something or someone until its gone.  I have heard this statement, or very similar statements quite often, but you don't completely understand it until you experience a big change, loss, etc. This last year has provided me with several separate situations that made me realize my capacity to love people and how important relationships are to me. These have stretched from losing my best friend to suicide, co-directing a high school summer camp program, leaving my internship/camp family, and now being in a different community.

Community is such a blessing that I know that I have taken for granted way to often. I have been so blessed over the last couple years to be in a wonderful community with several people that I can connect with. I am a relational person. I love having conversations with people, talking about life, laughing, etc. It is in my nature, a huge part of who I am. I honestly feel that God has blessed me with the gift of being a "people person." I cherish relationships and I am refreshed through them.

That being said, yesterday was a very hard day for me! I was missing community. Not necessarily a specific community, just people. This week our schedule was a little different so we had two days off in the middle of the week, and I think it's similar next week. There are things around but I don't want to just fill my time. I like to read, but sometimes you want to do other things. I've had a lot of time by myself, I like that, but its just so much some days! I have some projects to work on, but sometimes I just want people interactions, with people that know me, know who I am, what I like, what brings me joy.

It's weird being at a  place where I feel like my true self has not been shown. During the shows, interacting with students it has. Meeting people at gas stations, hotels, etc., has happened and that's always fun, but what about the days when I'm on my own?  I guess overall I am just learning what to do with my time. The shows are "filling" for me but they don't take up all my time. I'm just in the process of learning to adapt to new things, a new environment.

I really enjoy this job, and I am glad that I am doing it! But even before I started  I knew that this aspect was going to be hard. If anything it also reminds me of the wonderful people that I have in my life, the ones who I miss and who have made me understand what community really is!

Please pray that I will find contentment especially on harder days, that I will trust God to be my foundation in everything, and that I will find the sense of community that I need even if it looks different that what I may expect. God is faithful!

He is pleased.

Yesterday morning I was sitting in my hotel room waiting until it was time to leave for church. Going to church in itself is a new adventure because we never know where we may end up or who we may be with other than what we hear by word of mouth or by the Internet. Anyway, I probably had at least a good 20 minutes that I just sat and read my Bible. A question came to my mind, "God are you pleased with me?" As I sat there and thought about this, my thoughts hit a variety of things.  Do my words and action match up? I know that there are a list of things that I need to do better- read my Bible more, pray more, let God humble me. God I know you love me, but are you pleased with where I am at, what I am doing? Am I being faithful, because I feel like I'm lacking?   These and so many more were coming to my mind. It wasn't me sitting there feeling sorry for myself because I don't do enough, it was simply wanting to make sure that I am pleasing our Father and Creator especially when there are times when I fail him so much  more than I please him! This was what filled my mind as I left for the morning service.

Like many services, we worshipped through singing. Some songs I knew some I didn't. One familiar song was "The Stand"  by Hillsong United. I truly enjoy this song, but more than anything it has a deeper meaning for me. I was reminded over a year ago that God's promises stay the same no matter where I am at. I have a vivid memory of a powerful worship service at Barclay College where several people were gathered at the front of the sanctuary, hands lifted, singing with everything within us "I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned, in awe of the One who gave it all..."   I know that what I experienced then, my willingness to go and abandon myself for the sake of Christ, still holds true today. That wasn't an experience for that day at Barclay, but for my life! It is always such a good reminder.

Toward the end of the service we took communion. Instead of being led my someone up front, we were each supposed to take it on our own as we felt ready. I sat there thinking about the reason we do this. As I was looking at the cup of juice, symbolizing Jesus' blood,  my question got answered. "Yes I am pleased with YOU! That's why I did this." Christ died for me, knowing everything that I would ever do.  I know that I always need to strive to me more like Christ, letting him refine me, my thoughts, actions, etc.,  but I also know that it is a lifelong process that will not be finished until heaven!  Praise God for his unconditional love and mercy! I in no way can justify my actions and mistakes, but I know and trust that God will NEVER leave nor forsake me!