ATL

What a crazy past few days. Monday afternoon I flew out from Asheville to Tampa, then was supposed to connect to Atlanta. But the Lord had a diferent plan in mind. He decided to make it thunderstorm for hours in Atlanta. And I was delayed for an hour. No biggie, just one hour. But soon enough we were delayed another hour, and another, it kept raining. In the meantime of the delays I made friends with a Puerto Rican woman who was also flying out, but at seperate times. Would would watch each others bags when we needed to use the bathroom, or get food. She bought a sandwich and gave me half. this woman was so sweet and comforting to me when I was freaking out. I knew I needed to get there that night, and hoped I would get to the shuttle in time. Not till 8:00 was Atlanta allowing planes to start and fly in. Thankfully a friend was able to pick me up from the airport. Once getting to the hotel I found my 3 roommates (not knowing who they are) still awake. They spent their summer in Greece! How cool is that??! maybe next year I'll do another trip, hopefully somewhere overseas...Don't panic Mom! haha

The next day (first day of debreifing) waking up and getting breakfast down in the lobby. We had to walk to the MTW offices from the hotel. The day was filled with many meetings, and the steps to dealing with culture shock. I didn't feel as if I have much of a culture shock compared to others, but in a way I did. My debrief was with 2 woman in the office and went well. It was nice to just talk about it and being asked questions about my experience. I hope that by the time I get home I will be able to share the highlights of my trip. And to figure out what those experiences were.

Tomorrow is the last day for debriefing, and MTW is giving us a brunch in the afternoon where our parents or whom ever are getting us (those not flying out)for brunch. My mom and Kaylee hope to be here about mid afternoon and get back on the road. I'm excited for the drive to Orlando and our time there to relax and sleep! Getting ready for another meeting/ talk at debriefing. Bye!

Greetings Earthlinks

Oh my how my time here has gone by! I have been too busy to sit down at the computer and blog about my days. I do keep a written journal though and may post blogs from previous days to catch you up. Things here are well. Packing is a tedioius thing to do when tired and drained. Emily said goodbye today. Her Dad came in town to drive home with her. It wasn't sad since we live only a few hours away from another. I hope to see her again. I changed cabins and am all settled in for now. Since I leave on Monday I'll be living out of the suitcase for the next day. There's no use of unpacking then repacking. Friday was the last day of the program and we traveled to the mall. It was interesting...they were frantically speed walking to "Justice" (which is similar to Limited Too) and purchased their Justin Bieber t-shirts. Then hurried down to Journeys to buy eye blasting colored, swagger shoes. The term swagger shoes is my own way of describing them to you, there is not relivence to them being or having "swagger," just to clarify...They had the Taminator and I running all over the place. Thankfully it was a refreshing workout after our lunch at the Olive Garden. :) Soup and salad with endless everything! Light but always filling!

This summer I felt like I was going through the motions and not fully grasping what I was doing here. About halfway I needed to do a heart check and really figure out the reasons for my being in Cherokee. I tried to control the program on my own, without God's guidance or comfort. It became so difficult and more of a job then an actual ministry. I didn't feel surrounded and encouraged by God's people, my sisters and brothers. I lost it.

I needed Him back and could desprately see that. It's still a process of seeing how I can't do things without Him. Having a peace of things that aren't of my own and knowing that it is out of my hands. For I can change nothing, only the Lord can. He holds us in His right hand, and calls us His child! I get warm fuzzys when I hear of His deep enduring love! Excited to get home soon. Debriefing in ATL for a few days then off to Orlando with Mummzy and Kaylee bird for HP World :) One thing I'm looking forward to about home: my oven!!

Day of Prayer

Yay! Its Saturday, my day off! Waking up week after week to a silent campsite is peaceful. No screaming children, or teams shouting in Korean :), just the beauty of the Smokies. I have the day to myself, while my roommate gives her parents a tour of the town. I was able to Skype with my life group girls and my dear cousin Kristen. And at the moment I'm finishing up some laundry.

I only have two weeks left here on the edge of the mountains. My days have been filled with entertaining middle schoolers and preparing for lessons to come. Lately I've been thinking of whats to come. Where I'll be in a few years. I could honestly see myself living on a mountain out West somewhere, hiking and biking and just enjoying the creation God made. I'm enjoying my independence for the mot part. Surprisingly I haven't been to homesick. Although I do miss home and my family it feels okay. I know that things will work out weather I like them or not. But for now I will just sit back and enjoy this day of prayer.

Bear Claw

Since my last blog I saw a film that completed my childhood, jumped in another river, and some more laundry. My days have been filled to the brim with planning and going places, and many meetings and introductions. I've been lacking sleep again and do not plan on getting sick anytime soon.This week the younger girls are doing morning VBS with a Korean team here, then afternoon with me. The lesson planning is more than I expected but its rewarding. I just have to keep leaning on Him for strength and endurance. Monday we went swimming after the lesson and today I did some tutoring. Surprisingly I enjoyed it. My Fourth of July wasn't anything exciting. We went to church, had lunch, then had an introduction meeting with the new teams. In the afternoon Emily and I went to the Pow Wow :) Got a ton of pictures for art this year. We were to tired to watch the fireworks, so we did laundry instead. The Taminator leaves tomorrow morning for the West. when she gets back I'll have one more week. I can't believe how fast this summer has gone by.

I'm looking forward to a fun time with Mum and Kaylee Bird drving home from ATL. This year will be crazy busy, and stressful. But hopefully with some added fun...Pray for strenght, when I grow weary. That I can find comfort in Him and not be discouraged by the people and things of this world.

Too Much Ke$ha and Gaga?!

Its been too long since I've logged into Blogger.com and wrote about my Indian adventures. The days have been filled with lots of driving, spending time with the girls with the windows rolled down listening to loud Ke$ha and GaGa music playing. I have NOT been able to stop humming these stupid #1 singles. Oh and I forgot to mention, Mr.Justin Bieber! (the girl in my group is in love with Bieber, almost equivalent to my liking of the Jonas Brothers a long time ago!) If you do not know who these artists are feel free to use Google.com. Yesterday was the first day of the mentornship program, and it went great for the most part! The girls answered the group questions and played well during the ice breakers. I was not really prepared for a lesson though, and we sat next to the river where people were swimming. Thankfully Ak was there to help. I know am planning a lesson the night before-which is a task and stressful most times. But I like the time I get to spend in the word. :) Today was better. I felt that the girls in my group were more themselves, and opened up. On girl in my group lost her dad too, she shared that with me. Praise the Lord she opened up! It was awesome!! We were on the camp today and did the lesson first thing, which was nice. Around noon we got together and had lunch. HOT DOGS!!! (my favorite for those who do not know.) An apple, chips and bananas. Yumm! During lunch we played the "What If" game, asking what if questions ( What if you had a million dollars...how would you spend it?) After lunch we decided to do a craft. Using the floss I brought(colored strings) I taught the how to make bracelets. The high school girls enjoyed it, but the younger girls got tired of it quickly, and frustrated when it didn't turn out how they wanted. Oh quick story about this morning....slept in, missed breakfast but ate a protein bar that Tammy sent me. :) Before my eating though, Tammy called Emily. She talked to each of us, when the phone reached me she said something like this..."Rebecca I want you to focus on telling the girls WHO GOD IS and go into the ten commandments. They need to have a better understanding of who He is. If they have the wrong perception of who God is than everything you teach them can be taken wrong. They need to know how to apply this to their everyday life." Wow, this was an awakening to me, maybe because I had just gone to sleep at 2am planning a lesson on Lies Young Women Believe (<<< the Book) I was going to talk about how as young girls there age they don't need to worry about a boyfriend. That God can satisfy their every need! But God used Tammy to let me know that wasn't what he wanted them to hear about today. So from that call about 8 o'clock in the morning till 9:30 I wrote up a new lesson. But the benefits were good. I trust that the Lord will was done. After the craft we took the girls out for ice cream, and to just hang out. I had two scoops, Chocolate moose tracks, and Red Velvet Cake!!! Sooo good! In the creamery there is a giant chalk board that you can write all over. Hopefully I can get the pictures up of our fun day soon. No lesson tomorrow, off to the beach (aka the river) for a morning swim, then leaving for Asheville with Emily, Ak, and Tammy for Ak's last lunch. She leaves this Saturday. Had a fun night too, we saw Toy Story 3! Oh my word, I cried at the end, so sad, but I'm glad it went that way. I'll miss Andy. This movie was the completion to my childhood.

Pray Requests: For me to have quiet time, and value my relationship with Him first. I need to be able to learn and grow to teach others, and to not be easily overwhelmed about the study and lesson plans. Oh and rest. For Emily, to be lead by the Holy Spirit, to be obedient. For Ak, for when she's back home to carry out her faith and show her growth to the people around her. And for Tammy, that she would be rested, and strengthen. The teams this week are all youth pretty much, and its frustrating to her at times. Oh kids....that's it for now. Write again soon.

Our Day Off

Well its Saturday...and our day off! :) We woke up around 7 to eat some breakfast and say good-bye to the Peachtree City team from Georgia, then went back to sleep until 11:30. We all had a busy week, so we needed the rest. Leaving the camp around 12:15 we started our journey to Franklin, NC. A small town 40 minutes from Cherokee. We stopped on the side of the highway and took pictures with the "Smokeys" behind us. There were a few funny ones when you zoomed in because there was a freak bee on us. Then arriving in Franklin we ate an outside sub shop by a creek. Very nice; then went to the book store in search for a needed book, requested from the Taminator. aka, Tammy :) On the way to Franklin wasn't sure where we were going. All I heard was, "Franklin" and "bookstore" so I assumed we were driving to Franklin, TN (not sure of my U.S. geography) Hahah, anyway it was nice to get out of the cabin and see the new side of the mountains. Doing laundry and watching Twilight at the moment, oh Twilight....

Happy Birthday Rebecca

Wow, I'm officially 18 years old. Waking up in the mountains, and celebrating on the Cherokee Indian Reservation, how many people can say that? I feel so special and loved by all the comments and Happy Birthdays that were said today. Thank you! Funny story, when I woke up I thought of looking in the mirror like Molly Ringwald does in 16 Candles. Looking at myself I saw nothing different or out of the ordinary, just me Rebecca. Today was interesting with the middle school girls group. They were extra excited and crazy. Wanting to go on the playground, then jumping rope, we did just about everything except climb a mountain. At dinner I was presented with a mini cake (turned out to be rice krispy cake) with vanilla icing! So yummy!! Tonight was family night, where the parents of the children from the week come for dinner and get to see what we've been learning this week. Now I'm just relaxing in the cabin, getting ready to hang out. Thank for all the sweet birthday wishes, I miss you all dearly!