5 Days Left!

Hey all! I have officially 5 more days till I leave for Base camp! I'm really nervous about base camp.... you never know what could happen there... but it's going to be majorly fun and God is going to be doing some awesome stuff in preparing us for what's going to be happenin this next couple of months.

I sign in at base camp in the afternoon on Saturday on the 23th. I will be there for 3 days and our flight is scheduled for 4:45pm on the 26th. It will be around a 12 - 15 hour flight :P it's going to be long but it will be an experience. Again, I will be with two of my team mates: Andrew and Channing. Once, we get at London Heathrow we will meet up with our 'M' (Robert) and he will show us around and bring us to our host homes. The first week or two We all will be in different homes, then me and Channing will stay in one home while Andrew will be staying in a different host home.

I can't wait to be immersed in the culture there in London. It's going to be amazing! :)

So this week is super busy. I have numerous lists of things I have to buy, things I have to pack in my carry-on and my luggage and then even more things that I have to get finished before I leave: namely, cleaning my room ;) This week is also crazy I've been trying to get together with friends before I leave and I don't have enough room to see everyone it's kinda sad :( I'm having lunch with one of my best friends from high school- she will actually be going to Italy wednesday, so we will be talking international 'stuff' haha! :)

Today I got all of my toiletry accessories ready. Atleast all the stuff that I've bought like shampoo bottles and stuff like that. I got my tavel liquids ready and everything so that part's taken care of :)

Oh, also Robert emailed us (the team) and said that the weather there is very very mild. like today was 60 degrees. so I will need to pack pants and sweaters and stuff. Also, he said that we girls will have to bring a long sleeved shirt and a scarf that will cover our heads, so that if we are to go to a Mosque they will accept us. To me, that is an amazingly exciting opportunity! Islam is quickly growing in the UK and I will be able to witness not only the culture of Britain but also Islamic culture.

For the people who use Skype. I have an account that I will be using this summer, and I will also be using facebook. I am able to bring my computer and WiFi will be available. So i won't be totally cut off from the US. I probably will not make any calls to the states over the summer, if I do it will be very few, other than that the easiest way to get ahold of me is facebook/Skype.

Please pray for my team and the other teams that iWitness will be sending around the world. I have four friends that will be going to Tokyo for two months and a sister that will be in Tokyo for a week. so please pray that the flights go well and that God will do what He wants done there as well! :)

Cheers,

Amanda

Freshman Year and God's Leading

hey you lot!

I am officially done with my freshman year. I finished last tuesday and I am very pleased with the grades I recieved. :) now onto the rest of the year...

I have done a little shopping; getting the small, essential things I will be needing while in London. I got a converter and stuff like that. It was kind of wierd because a little less than a year I've been thinking that it's so far away, but in reality it's not. As of today it is 12 days away! can you believe that? 12 days! Time has definitely flown by.

I also want to share with you guys about what God has been doing in me the past couple of weeks. In early April I told you guys about my turning in the application to be a CG (connection Group) Leader in the College ministry at Highland. Well that didn't go quite as palnned, but God has blessed me so much even though it hasn't worked out how I thought it initially should have.

So at the end of April I recieved an email from Geoff (the guy who interviewed me) and he said that he thought I would best serve God and Highland through being an STL (Servant Team Leader). At first, I was really bummed, I admit it. I was like, "God I thought you wanted me to be a CG leader. Why did he give me an STL position?" I was so conflicted that I had even thought about saying that I no longer wanted the position, but then I felt like I should play it out.

God was/is still sovereign.

I ended up going to the retreat the following weekend (it was basically I time where about 45 college students came together with Kyle (the college minister) and the rest of the staff and discussed what went well and didn't go so well throughout the year and how we could make next year even better. I really saw how much time and energy went into planning and events and everything and I began loving the people that were on the teams even more!

By the end of the weekend I felt so blessed and I was so happy that I listened to God and obeyed Him. I am now the STL for the hostesses. I go around (with other volunteers) meeting and greeting people on Sunday mornings. It's a very important servant team because the college ministry is so big. Our sanctuary holds about 700-750 and it's normally full. Through being an STL leader in Highland I have met so many people that I have grown to love and others who bless me when I hear what God has done in their lives.

I also wanted to show you lot a picture of my CG group (there's a few missing because we took this picture during finals week). These are the most amazing people and God has blessed me thoroughly with this group!

These people have not only been my friends, but my accountability partners, and encouragers as well. This past week was the last week of classes, so I won't get to see anybody until the fall semester, but we will still be meeting with each other weekly and stay in touch during the summer months.

I know this was a long post but I really wanted to share with you how God has been working and how He has placed such awesome, Godly people in my life.

Thank you for all your continued prayers and support! I will update soon! :)

Cheers,
Amanda