What's Up Next?

Since December, I have been asked the question "What are you going to do after the end of the internship?" This is a question that I have actually been asking myself for a while now, since before the internship actually began. Before I moved to Tallahassee, I was offered two different options after the internship to pray over. My campus pastors at Longwood knew that God was calling them to re-locate and begin a new Chi Alpha on the campus of the University of Connecticut. They suggested two options for me to pray over: I could either take over as the campus director for XA at Longwood or I could go with them to Connecticut and help them pioneer.

I decided prior to moving to Tallahassee that I was going to focus only on the internship for the first few months and not worry about what to do after. It was a difficult decision because I wanted to know what the next step was going to be. At first, I thought going back to Longwood was the direction I was supposed to work towards. I began talking with my internship director and staff, asking for their advice and prayers, but the more I prayed and talked with them about going back to Longwood, I felt that, for many different reasons, it wasn't the direction I was supposed to move in. I felt that I wasn't prepared to take over and be the director of Longwood XA right out of my internship by myself.

I talked with Gil, Lindsay, Mario, and Rhia a lot during the weeks when I was unsure of what to do next. All of them were very supportive of whatever I decided, prayed with me, and left the decision up to me. I knew that God had given me two different options, neither of which were harmful to me, but one would be more beneficial than the other. After a lot of prayer, I decided to go with Gil and Lindsay to UConn. I called Gil to talk with him about my decision. He told me they were happy to have me on board, but wouldn't be ready for me in August. There wouldn't be enough work for me to do because they would be raising support, getting their family established, and getting connected with people on UConn's campus. I talked with Mario next and asked if it was possible for me to stay at FSU for another year. He said yes, they would be happy to have me here for another year.

So, to answer the question, I will be here at Florida State University for another year! I'm very happy and excited for the opportunity to learn more from the staff here and to continue working with the students here. As of right now, the plan is to move to Connecticut next fall (2012) and work with Gil and Lindsay to pioneer and build a Chi Alpha there. As always, I'm leaving the door open for God to change my plans :)

Nicaragua Bound!!

This time tomorrow, the FSU Nicaragua Mission Team will be about an hour away from landing in Managua, Nicaragua!! So exciting!!!

I can't believe it's time for the trip already; it has been in the works for several months now. Each of the team members have spent a lot of time raising the financial support to pay for the trip and each of the staff members have spent a lot of time contacting local businesses regarding fund raising opportunities. We had a car wash throughout the month of April at Super Suds, held a yard sale, and a fundraiser at Rita's Italian Ice.

This week, we spent 30 minutes Tues-Thurs mornings bathing our trip in prayer. We prayed for the students that are traveling with us, for the students we will meet there, for the ministry we will be doing, as well as for traveling mercies, health, and much more.

Today was spent doing laundry, packing, cleaning, and other preparation tasks. The team members that are leaving from Tallahassee met at the church to load our suitcases into the rental van and go over a few last minute details. Tomorrow morning, we will leave Tallahassee and drive to Orlando. Once there, we will return the rental van, get our tickets, check our bags, and go through security. We will fly from Orlando to Miami, then from Miami to Managua, Nicaragua. After we get off the plane, grab our bags, go through security, and all that jazz, we will meet the missionary that we will be working with and travel to the house where we will be staying.

Throughout the week, we will start each morning at 6am with team devotions. We will be visiting a local church, ministering to the university students in Managua, painting, cleaning, visiting an orphanage, and sharing what Chi Alpha means to us and how God has used XA to help us grow in our relationship with Him.

I am excited and humbled at the opportunity I have to minister to these people, but I also know they will minister to me as well. There's something powerful about watching people of a different culture worship God. There's also something powerful about seeing the passion of people who, by our standards, have little to nothing, but have such a strong faith in God and a deep love for Him. I'm praying that God ministers to each person on our trip and that all of us are open to Him while we are there, but will also remain open once we return to the U.S.

Please say a prayer for our team :) A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has made this trip possible!!

End of the Year Wrap-Up

Wow, I can't believe it's already the end of the year. It seems like I just moved to Tallahassee and got started with my internship. We were pretty busy the last few weeks leading up to finals week for our students.

Our Nicaragua mission team had a yard sale, so Friday (4/15), we spent the afternoon at the location setting up and pricing items. We also spend some time collecting items people wanted to donate. We were blessed that a family volunteered their house as well as items they had been collecting for a sale. They were so gracious and helped us not only set up for the yard sale, but also helped us during the sale, rearranging tables as items were sold. Saturday started off very early; we arrived at the house at 6am to finish setting up and hoped to start at 7am, but because of a thunderstorm that was moving through, we had to wait a little while. When the rain finally stopped, we were able to uncover our tables and make our first sale of the day. We had a successful yard sale, raising just over $600 for our trip! We also had a local Starbucks donate a small French Press and a pound of coffee that we were able to raffle off. I had the privilege of delivering it to the winner; she was so excited to have won.

Last Monday kicked off the week with a dinner with my Small Group Bible Study girls. We went to Riverside Cafe in St. Marks, about 30 minutes outside of Tallahassee. The restaurant was right on the water and had open sides. It made for an interesting dinner because of some of the bugs that decided to join us, but we had a great time talking and laughing.

Tuesday, I had a meeting with the Nicaragua mission team. We leave in a few weeks and have started meeting so that we are all on the same page. After the meeting, I went home and grabbed some dinner before going to watch the Chi Alpha intramural softball game. Our team was playing in the semi-finals, but unfortunately lost. The teams were pretty evenly matched, but our team was short one girl and had to take an out every time that position came up to bat. The other team had one power hitter and as a result, he scored the winning runs. After the game was over, the XA team invited the other team to pray with them. I heard several people from other teams commenting on how great that was.

Wednesday night, we had a prayer and commissioning night for our student leaders. We spent time praying for our seniors who are graduating, leaders who are returning in the fall, students who are coming on the leadership team in the fall, for the interns as they take the next step, and for our staff members. It was a great time of prayer with our students, encouraging and building them up.

Thursday was our last Chi Alpha Live of the semester. At FSU, the last XA Live has traditionally been a talent show. This year, we had a total of 17 acts! The staff worked Thursday morning to prepare our "talent" and presented it that night. For a video of us, click here (for those who have not heard of Rebecca Black and her infamous "Friday" video, click here. This is where the inspiration came for our video, "Thursday"). The graduating seniors also did a parody of the staff, which was pretty funny. After the talent show was over, we headed to Rita's Italian Ice for a fundraiser for the Nicaragua Team. We had a great time hanging out and eating cold Italian ice.

Friday night, we had a Good Friday Worship Night. The Mosaic Church band prepared nearly two hours of worship songs and the interns were available for prayer. It was an amazing experience to watch about 20+ college students worship and seek after God. The presence of God was definitely in the room. After we finished, a group went to Applebees for 1/2 off appetizers and to spend some time together.

Saturday was our end of the year picnic at the FSU Reservation (aka the Rez). We played volleyball, some students went out on canoes and sailboats, swam, and had a Full-Contact Easter Egg Hunt. The idea behind the egg hunt was not only to find the eggs, but to steal them away from others, using any means necessary. I saw several students tackled by one person while another came and took their bag of eggs. The students had a blast and those observing had a lot of laughs. We also enjoyed cupcakes with homemade icing (courtesy of Carmen :)), ice cream, and watermelon. It was a chance to relax and hang out before the craziness of finals began for the students.

Sunday was Easter and a great, but very busy day. We had two services at Mosaic, 9am and 11am, with breakfast between and lunch afterward. A group of 5 of us were asked to prepare breakfast, so we got to the parsonage at 9 and began cooking sausage, gravy, scrambled eggs, and biscuits. We hit a few minor snags (like the eggs wouldn't cook fast enough in the oven), but overall, it went great. After helping to clean up, I went downstairs to the sanctuary for the 11am service. We had a great service; two of our Chi Alpha students were baptized! After the service was over, we enjoyed lunch together and one of the staff members took group and family pictures.

This week is finals week for our students. Our sanctuary has been converted in to "Mosaic Finals Cafe" where students can come study, enjoy free coffee and wireless internet, and spend some time together before spreading out for the summer. I had never heard a student say they enjoyed finals week until I came here. I looked at them funny and asked why; they explained to me that it was the Mosaic Cafe that made the week fun, not the final exams. It also amazed me how much work they are able to get done while socializing.

The rest of the internship is looking pretty busy as well. In about 2 weeks, I will be leaving with a team from FSU XA on a mission trip to Nicaragua. We will be ministering to a Chi Alpha group there, helping out on their campus. After I get back, all of the interns have to present a 20 minute sermon as part of our internship preparation. I also have an on-line class to finish and some support raising preparation to do for the summer. I'm glad that it's going to be busy though, I don't really enjoy being bored. :)

Spring Break Mission Trip- University of Alabama

During Florida State's Spring Break (March 7-11), a group of interns and students traveled to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to serve at the University of Alabama with their Chi Alpha students. We left Monday morning and drove about 7 hours from Tallahassee to Tuscaloosa. We arrived in town that afternoon and had the opportunity to meet some of the students we would be staying and working with for the week, as well as some of the staff members. Our team also met the XA team from Louisiana that was visiting around the same time. We spit up and went to some of the houses where we would be staying and dropped off our stuff and relaxed for a few minutes. We met at a student's house and the guys made tacos and cheese dip for us for dinner. After we ate, we went to campus to hang out and play video games with the students.

Tuesday was Mardi Gras and the Louisiana team decided to buy traditional King Cake and serve it in the Student Union. We hid a plastic baby in two pieces of the cake and the students who found them were told if they showed up at the event that night, they could win a gift card to a local restaurant. We also had a bottle with Mardi Gras beads and students were able to guess the number of beads in the bottle. Students wrote their name, phone number, and guess on a slip of paper and whoever guessed closest to the correct number was called and told if they came to the event that night, they could win a iTunes gift card. That night, one of the students from Louisiana made gumbo and served it to the Chi Alpha students and guests. One of the students that found the baby in the King Cake was there to claim their gift card (the other student had a prior obligation and wasn't able to make it). The student that guessed the correct number of beads was also there to claim his gift card and also brought a friend. We had a great time hanging out with the students.

Wednesday, we went back to the Union and tried some of the conversation-starters we use at FSU to talk with the UA students. We set up a whiteboard with a question and asked students as they walked by if they would like to answer for a free cookie. We were able to start a lot of conversations with the students and invite them to the Chi Alpha service the next night. After we were done at the Union, we went back to the Chi Alpha building for lunch. That night, we ate dinner with the campus pastors at U of A, their children, and our host students. We had a great time hanging out with them before heading to campus for a game night with the students.

Thursday, our team went to the U of A football stadium. One of the students that went with us is a huge fan of their football team and really wanted to see the stadium. It was a great tour and was cool to see the sky boxes, press room, etc. that you usually don't see. After our tour, we headed back to the Union to connect with more students. The weather was chilly, since it had rained the day before, and overcast, but since it wasn't raining anymore, another intern, a student, and myself went out on campus to hand out flyers about the Chi Alpha service that night. After we were done, we went back to the Chi Alpha building and ate lunch. One of the staff members offered to take us to Gigi's cupcakes to thank us. The cupcakes were amazing, with icing as high as I've ever seen it. I got one with caramel icing (I think it was called a Caramel Sugar Momma or something like that); it was the best (and biggest) cupcake I've ever had :) We went back to our host homes to rest for a little while before the Chi Alpha service that night. Our team met at the Chi Alpha building for pizza before the service, then headed to campus. The building where we were holding the service was flooded by the rain the day/night before. Although the maintenance crew worked hard to dry out the room, it still smelled damp and dank when we got there. Luckily after we were in the room for a while, it wasn't as noticeable. The U of A Chi Alpha had invited a band and drama group to do the service that week. It was a great service and there were some new students that we had talked to earlier in the week.

Friday, we loaded up our stuff and met at the Chi Alpha building for breakfast and to say goodbye to the staff members. One group of people left to head back to Tallahassee, while another group went to play disc golf. We were able to find a course close to the campus. It was fun, but one of the most difficult courses I've ever played. Nearly the entire course was in the woods and the layout had us climbing up and down hills, crossing streams, and crawling through brush. One of the girls ended up loosing her driver disc and a few others had theirs go in the stream. We were able to retrieve the ones in the stream, but we never found the lost disc. Afterward, we went to Dreamland BBQ for some yummy BBQ and banana pudding before heading back to Tallahassee. The drive back seemed to take longer than the drive there, partially because of the traffic of U of A students going home for Spring Break. My car got back to Tallahassee around 9. We passed the time with Suzi aloud reading from UnChristian, the book we were reading for our internship. Her reading aloud definitely helped pass the time and made the book enjoyable.

Our team had a great time in Tuscaloosa and were very grateful for the opportunity to serve there. We met a lot of great students who are very on fire for God and have an awesome desire to reach their campus for Christ.

February in Review

Since today is the last day of February, I thought it would be good to write a review of what's happened this month.

Last month, we moved our weekly meetings, Chi Alpha Live, to a classroom on campus. We continued to meet there this month, with the exception of last Thurs. Our student leaders decided to meet at our building on the last Thurs of every month, so last week we were back at our building. Our meetings on campus have seen a lot of new people coming to see what Chi Alpha is all about. The move has been very beneficial to our ministry and our students.

Last weekend, we had our Men's and Women's Retreats. The men went to Tybee Island, GA while the ladies traveled to Destin, FL. The ladies had a beautiful house about 2 blocks from the beach, complete with a pool that was heated for swimming Fri night and Sat. We had amazing times of worship and teachings from more seasoned women throughout the weekend. Saturday afternoon, a group of us spent time laying on the beach, something that seems odd to me, coming from VA where it is still cold in Feb. The weather was gorgeous; sunny, not too hot, with a nice breeze. God moved in both the men and women and I can' wait to see how He continues to move through these students.

We've also continued our Small Group Bible Studies with our students. I have had the privileged of meeting with a group of 5 women over the course of the year and watching them grow in their love for God and one another.

Long Over-Due Update

Wow, I just realized the other day that I hadn't updated my blog in several months. Sorry 'bout that. I have several that I've started, but haven't finished or published yet.

Things are going very well here in Tallahassee. It's currently 41 degrees, with an expected low of 21 tonight...far too cold for what Florida ever should be. I am very glad I brought my winter clothes with me, as we were outside in the Student Union yesterday, in 30 degree weather.

Our students started classes on Tues., Jan. 4th. By now, most of them have their class schedules worked out and running fairly smoothly. Small group Bible studies started last week as well; we currently have 4 girls groups, 3 guys groups, and one co-ed group that meet on Monday or Tuesday nights. These small groups are very beneficial for our students because it allows them to connect with the other members as well as learn and grow in their walk with Christ.

As for the internship, we started theology classes this semester. So far, we have studied the trinity and the incarnation of Christ. Both topics were very interesting and stimulated a lot of discussion. I'm excited to continue with these theology classes and learn more about the other topics we'll cover. We also are continuing on with our book reports and on-line classes; I'm currently taking a class on the Prison Epistles, which include the books of Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon. I have one more class after this one to take before I'll be able to apply to become a certified minister.

We have moved our weekly meetings back on campus this semester. The move has been very beneficial for our students. The first week we were there, we had nearly 80 students. It's also been beneficial for our students who have late classes that get out around 8pm. They can still come to Chi Alpha Live after class instead of trying to drive to our building. We also have a group of students that decided to hand out flyers and let other students know about our meeting on Thursday nights about an hour before the meeting starts.

One last update, we are currently planning two mission trips: one during Spring Break to University of Alabama and the second to Nicaragua in May. At U of A, we will be working with their Chi Alpha, doing outreach on campus and planning events with them. In Nicaragua, we will be working with a missionary there, doing some work in the capital city of Managua, helping with whatever they need us to do. I'm very excited about both of these trips and can't wait to see what God is going to do!

XA Ladies Camping Trip

I just returned from an amazing camping trip with a group of ladies from Chi Alpha. We left yesterday afternoon and drove just over 2 hours to St. Andrews Recreational Park. After arriving, we set up 7 tents before it got too dark and started chili for dinner. The students began arriving shortly after and we split the group up into 7 teams by colors. I was in the yellow tent with two students. We ate chili in Frito bags and salad for dinner around the campfire. After dinner, the teams participated in different activities, such as coming up with a team name, making a flag, making up a song, and doing a scavenger hunt with candy. We also had worship, lead by one of our students, and a devotional time with Robin; she encouraged us to invest in one another as women of God and the importance of having Godly women around us. We hung around the fire, talking and making s'mores, before going to bed.

Saturday morning, I woke up to the tent cover sliding off about 7am (central time). It made the tent a slightly cooler and a little brighter, but I dozed off for a few more minutes (til the dumpster people came to empty the dumpster close to our camp sight). My tent was in charge of preparing breakfast. We heated pre-cooked bacon over the fire, cooked eggs on a griddle, and tried heating biscuits over the fire before deciding to use the griddle. We also had quite a bit of s'more ingredients left over, so we decided to eat those for breakfast as well. We played a few more tent games before packing all of our stuff up and heading to the beach. We were able to explore the beach for a while, including the rocks that had been brought in and made into a levy. We also had a devotion with Carmen, who encouraged us to fight like a girl (using some ideas from a book with the same name and Isaiah 58:9-12). We went back to the cars for lunch and had an interesting time trying to keep the birds away as well as the bees coming after cups of soda. There were some group bonding games planned, but some students needed to leave early to get back for work/homework and a lot of them were tired. We decided to leave early and head back to Tallahassee. My car had a lot of fun driving down and back, playing games like "Would you rather," singing to one another, and laughing. I put some pictures up on my Facebook page

I am so grateful that God has blessed me with this opportunity to intern here at FSU and be able to go on trips like this. I also am grateful that He has blessed me with so many wise and wonderful women to learn so much from.