you might think i am crazy but...

I have realized since being at camp this summer that I am in love with letters. Like old fashioned, snail mail, pen and paper letters. Over the past several weeks I have received letters, cards, post cards, and notes from all sorts of people. Friends and family mostly, but some I have gotten from bible study groups or people in the church who I don't know really well but they still can find time to love on me and send me their best wishes. I love mail time. Just the suspense of whether or not there will be an envelope with your name on it or not. Call me crazy but I think the idea of sending somebody a letter is so cool and I am going to try to make it a point to start sending out more letters to the people I love and care for. So watch out people, once I get home and can pick out some cool stationary, you might just be getting a little something from yours truly :)

On another note camp is going GREAT!!!!! Spending time with the staff and the different campers each week is so rewarding and so much fun. The sad part is there are only two weeks of camp left before it is time to pack up and go back to reality and real life. It will be fun to see everybody again and get back into the swing of things at school, but boy i sure am going to miss camp life. I see why people keep coming back to work at Passport every summer, its just so amazing that you never want to leave.

Ill leave you this time with a picture. All of the staff spent their free time yesterday in Savannah, Ga. We went to Tybee Island for a while then walked around river street and ate dinner at a great place called Tubby's. Before we went to eat though, we took so photos down by the river. This one is of most all of the girls on the team. It was actually cool enough outside that we were all not sweaty and in tee shirts for once. I love this photo. It shows the love and coolness of our team and I love that. Enjoy your week everybody and I sure do hope and pray that your journey is blessed :)

you know your a Passport Staffer when...

So these past few weeks of camp have been a blast. I am been so busy keeping up with everthing that is going on, but having the time of my life and wishing the summer would last just a little bit longer. I have settled into a pretty good weekly routine of being a Passport Staffer, and this past weekend I noticed there are certain things we do as a staff that sets us apart from other people. I thouhgt I would share with you the top 10 ways to tell if you are a Passport Staffer.

10- Dancing means jumping up and down and acting silly and crazy...not that other stuff people call dancing.

9- 4th meal is always a must since you eat at 5 everyday for dinner

8- you carry a first aid kit in your backpack everywhere you go.

7- free time equals nap time

6- you have a massive pile of friend requests from campers that you can't accept untilt he end of the summer just chilling in your notification window.

5- you try to take really cool pictures so they will be chosen as photo of the day.

4- you eat sandwiches EVERY day for lunch.

3- your tee shirt matches all the other staffer's tee shirts.

2- you become a master at "side-hugging"

1- it feels weird on the weekends when you are not wearing your camp nametag.

Hope you enjoyed my little countdown. Camp is going well and I am loving it. I only have 3 weeks left and it is all going by so quickly. The staff is so wonderful and awesome. I love spending time with them and learning the tricks of the trade from them as well. As much as I am focusing on camp I am also thinking about the fall as well. School starts in about a month and I am actually looking forward to it. I am feeling good about my schedule this semester and I am moving into my new apartment as well. Many good tasting goodies shall be made once I get all settled in :) Hope everybody is doing well and that summer is going great. I am keeping everybody in my prayers. I hope that everybody's journeys are truly blessed :)

18 days....

Has it really only been 18 days since I last posted? It seems like 2 months have gone by since I have had a free moment to sit down and write. In these past 18 days so much has happened!!! First off I had some training down in Wingate, NC. Four Passport teams were there and it was such a blessing to get to meet everybody and learn the ins and outs of Passport life. That is also where I got to finally meet my team face to face for the first time. They are such an incredible group of people and I cannot wait to spend the next 6 weeks with them. We traveled down to Mercer University for more training and final set up for camp on Tuesday. I love this campus and the chapel we are conducting camp in. It is so breathtaking, bot HOT. Training week was very hectic. Lots of info being thrown at you from a billion different directions and so much stuff to get right before campers arrived. Our team is very small, only 10 of us...but we survived and bonded really well together.

Finally on Sunday the campers began to arrive. It was so much fun to interact with the middle schoolers and high schoolers and learn all about them. I was behind the camera most of the time during the week, but that did not stop me from still having some cool conversations with some really cool kids. Did I mention camp was fun? Because it was. I had one major stress out moment during the week, but I was not surprised about it. My computer is having trouble burning the DVDs for daily videos and it stopped uploading clips. I was so worried I would not be able to finish my closing video. However after an hour on the phone with our video coordinator Mark (who is the best ever!), mostly everything had a solution and I was able to continue on with my stuff.

Over all the week was AMAZING. The next six weeks are going to be tiring but oh so much fun. Next time I will catch everybody up on the different mission sites we are working on. Being able to go to all of them everyday to video is great and it allows me to see the progress happening.

I am still trying to keep up with my Bible reading. Currently I am a few days behind, but that is OK. I am still finding quiet time each day to read a little bit. It will all work itself out in the end. I sure hope everybody is having an amazing summer and enjoying their "downtime" from normal activities. Whether that is camp, no school, or a vacation form work, take the time to relax and be still and listen for God. He is always there and ready to tell you something cool. Please continue to pray for all of us Passport staffers as we try to shine God's light to all of these campers. I hope your journey is blessed!!!!

this is it...so follow me!

Deep breaths. That is what I keep telling myself every time I think of the fact that Friday is the day. Passport is finally here and my excitement is building my the second. Deep breaths are the only thing keeping me sane right now. 3 more days and I will be on my way to the best summer ever. FRIDAY!!!!!! Oh my sorry, I am just overcome with joy right now and can't keep it in. I still have a lot of packing to do and some last minute video and bible study preparation, but I am feeling good and ready. Hopefully this excitement will stay and nervousness will not kick in too strong in the next few days. I know this is what I am supposed to be doing and that God is by my side. Knowing that I am ready for this summer adventure to begin!!!!!!

I was thinking about the best way to keep everybody informed about my summer adventures. Sure I am going to take lots of pictures but I will probably be super late in getting those posted to Facebook just because that takes time to sit down and sort through the ones you want to post and putting captions on them so they make sense to everybody else. So I believe the best way to keep everyone updated would be through this blog. That way I can post one or two pictures every few days and share a couple stories before I forget them with the craziness of camp. So since this is my decision I have a request of all my readers (I know I don't have many but I then again i know I have a few so thank you). If you read my blog (regularly, on occasion, or even have just heard about it) could you please become one of my followers? I ask this for two reasons. One I would love to know who is reading, and two I want to pray specifically for my followers. It is super simple. Just scroll down the page a little bit and on the left hand side you will see a section with a bunch of squares with people on them. Just click follow and fill in your name (or nickname or codename, it does not matter). I would really be so thankful if you would do this for me. Thank you in advance for those of you who do. I will be praying for you.

Just one little update before I go. I am still keeping up with my Bible reading. Since last Tuesday I have finished 1 Samuel, Philippians, and Proverbs. I am now onto 2 Samuel. Please continue to pray for me in my Bible reading journey. I am learning so much from it every day. You should also think about doing it if you have never tried. Its hard work but ever so rewarding.

I hope and pray that everybody is doing well and that you summer is starting off with a bang! Be safe and enjoy this warm weather. And as always I pray that your journey is blessed!

some intense preparation...

So I apologize for not blogging recently. I have been in intense preparation for camp this past week with little down time for rest, let alone blogging. Looking back on this past week I have begun to add "blogging time" to my prayers. I so badly want to keep everybody updated on my upcoming journey this summer and I promise to try my absolute best.

Like I said I have been getting ready for next Friday all week long and I wanted to share with you what that included. I am the videographer this summer in Macon, Ga., however we [videographers] need to know the weekly bible studies just in case something happens and we need to jump in and help. After going through them a few times I have a whole new respect for the bible study leaders this summer and I have been praying for them more and more. This past weekend I also traveled down to the Passport national office in Birmingham, Al. to go through video training. I was blessed to meet and get to know the other videographers working this summer and we became fast friends. I am glad to have them as people I can turn to in times of stress and craziness this summer. We all spent a jammed packed weekend learning the video software and practicing using our cameras. It was so much fun and it made the anxiety I had about using the camera this summer shrink down so much.

The only snag I ran into this past week was in the airport trying to get home from video training. My plane was delayed about 45 minutes which was not too bad. However, when we got on the plane to take off, the left engine was not working. That began the downward spiral. After deplaning we were moved to 4 different gates. 3 hours later we finally were back on a working plane and going home. I was supposed to get home around 1230am Monday morning but after that ordeal I ended up getting home at 4am. Thank you sooooo much for my parents for picking me up and driving me home. I don't know what I would do without them sometimes.

Through it all I have been blessed to be able to find little bits of time to keep up with my bible readings. I am still in 1 Samuel and I am enjoying it. It is not a complicated book to understand and it is quite entertaining, which is exactly what I need during this busy time.

Please continue praying for me as the first day of camp training draws closer with each passing day. I am so excited about this summer and I cannot put into words how I am feeling right now. Its going to be so much fun. I pray that everybody has had a wonderful week so far and that the rest of the week goes smoothly for everybody. And of course I pray that your journey is richly blessed with all that God has to offer.

no place like home...

This is the view I see when I walk out onto my front porch at home. Is this not beautiful? This is one of the reasons why my favorite place when it is warm at home is on the front porch. It is where I can relax and take all the world in. I miss this when I am gone, but it makes it that much sweeter when I get back. I have a few weeks here at home before I go off to camp for the summer. I am taking that time to spend with my family, see friends, cook yummy food, and READ!!!! What is my favorite way to kick back and dive into a book? Well that would have to be in my hammock :) This thing is awesome I have to say. I can hang it up on the front porch and just lose myself in another world. I have just recently finished a series entitled the Hunger Games. It is a three book young adult series that is quite gripping and enthralling. I would recommend it. I mentioned way back in an earlier post that I was trying to read all of the Sparks books. I still am but I received these books as a birthday present and they were such an easy and quick read that I had to take a slight break from my goal. No worries though. I am back to reading another Sparks book and enjoying every moment!

I also have still been keeping up with my Bible reading. Since my last post I have finished reading Romans, Ruth, and Ephesians. All of the books were very humbling and eye opening. I fall in love with this daily Bible reading challenge more and more every day that I continue doing it. I would definitely recommend it to anybody who is looking to dive into their faith a little deeper. Tomorrow I start 1 Samuel. It should be fun!

I hope everybody is enjoying their weekend. I know I sure am. Whether it is a stroll down to the Farmer's Market, or a look in the Library, or a nice quiet chunk of time on the front porch, home is where I feel the best. It feels so great to be here for a while and I am so lucky to have my home in a beautiful piece of land that God created. He is so awesome!!!! Thank you to everybody who has been praying for me as well as everybody who has been finishing up school. It was much appreciated!!! I pray that everybody is doing well and that you are enjoying your warm weather before the rain begins. And of course I pray that your journey is blessed!!!!

special shout out...

Since today is Mother's Day I thought I would send a special shout out to my own mother here on the blog. I LOVE my mother with all my heart and I am so blessed to have her in my life. What a gift for a child(especially girls) to have a Godly woman as their mentor. My mom is so special and I would not trade her for anything in the world. I wanted to share some pictures of mom with you guys. Pictures do not do justice to my mom's winning personality and loving demeanor. Mom you are simply the best and I can not come up with enough words to describe how special you are to me.

Me, my sister, and mom at Disney World

The whole family at Disney. I love them all so much!

My mom...my best friend :)

She is also a pretty awesome wife. They are such a great example to me.

I am still reading through Romans right now. The words in Romans are so incredibly deep and thought provoking so it is taking me a while to get through it. I have to go back and re-read almost everything to soak in the meanings. But it is worth it because the message in Romans is so true. We are saved my grace through faith!!!! God is so good. I hope that everybody is having a great mother's day. I also hope that this next week goes well. I will not be posting for a while since I finish up school and move back home this week. It is so exciting but kind of nerve-racking also because that means I am just a couple of weeks away from going off to camp training week. AAAAHHHHH I cannot wait for this summer to start. Please continue to be in prayer for me as I continue on this journey. Praying for everybody else as well. Love you guys and I hope that your journey is blessed!!!