Adventure Landing

I’ve been working as a lifeguard at Adventure Landing for a week now. I love my job! I worked out great since I don’t actually have to be certified, because I’m only here for two months. I’m usually at the tops of slides telling people when to go, watching the lazy river, or catching little kids at the bottoms of slides. I’m already very tan, which is always nice. :)

Here’s a picture of the park from my first post at the lazy river:

Shipwreck Island:

On duty!

Probably the most intense ride, the Hydro Half Pipe. I have to wear a harness when working up there, so I don’t fall. It’s kinda scary!

 

A view of the lazy river.

   

People have asked me why I raised support when I have a job here at JAX. Having this job allows me to help offset the cost of the program, and also have some money for this coming school year. I usually only work during the summer, and use that money I make then throughout the rest of the year. This year it will be less, since I am working less and have to pay for the rest of the program. It’s okay, though! This experience is totally worth it. This job also provides me a place to apply what I’m learning in the program throughout the week. Our first E-challenge (evangelism challenge) was to find a creative way to show Christ’s love to a co-worker. As I was working one day last week, I found out a co-worker of mine doesn’t speak English (only Spanish). That would be why he never talked to me…ha! But I tried to say some simple things to him in Spanish, even though I’ve forgotten a lot since high school. Although simple, I think he appreciated this- I haven’t seen any other employees talk to him, so hopefully it was a nice change.

I encounter many interesting people while working here…I actually talk to the guests while they’re in line, which isn’t always encouraged at a lot of places. Here, though, the lifeguards are definitely encouraged to make conversation with the guests, and even to squirt them with the “Big Squirts” (the water toys sold at AL). It is really fun working here, for sure. You’ll hear more about Adventure Landing soon!

On the hunt…

I'm keepin' my eye out for alligators. I want to see one in the wild soooo bad. Before I came on this trip, I recently read Steve Irwin's biograpy, just for fun. I think the spirit of croc or gator hunting has rubbed off on me! Oh my.

But for real. I would like to see lots of the wildlife native to Florida/the South. I've seen some turtles and lizards and frogs, but that's about it so far. We went gator searching last night, but with no luck. There are signs like this:

…but no alligators yet.
I'm hoping it will be soon!

Later gatorz.

P.S.- My playlist doesn’t play automatically anymore! So go ahead and press play and give it a listen. It gets you in the Florida mood for sure. :)

So. Exhausted.

It’s only the 4th official day of the JAX STP and already I am SO exhausted! I think this Florida heat really takes the energy out of a person. Did I mention I’ll be in the sun at least 5 hours a day? :) Life is good as a lifeguard at Adventure Landing!

Adventure Landing is the place to go. I find it kinda crazy how they have a water park so close to the ocean…obviously me, being from the Midwest, would not choose to go to a water park over the ocean! But I guess they would get tired of it here, huh? Weird.

But anyway. Back to Adventure Landing. Their motto includes something along the lines of “clean and wholesome fun” and they sure do mean business. The guys working there can’t have facial hair, girls must have no more than one piercing in each ear, tattoos must be covered up, and female lifeguards wear one-piece suits. Our supervisor compared it to living in the 1950s, and I had to laugh. It’s a cool place, and there are even baby alligators in the pond near the entrance. :)

So today I got trained and shadowed the lifeguards at all the stations, and then this evening all the JAX people went to the beach for swimming and a sand castle building competition! My group started out digging a hole, and didn’t really have a set plan, so it just turned into this random fish thingy. Good details, though!

Tomorrow is our first day of beach evangelism. I’m pretty excited, a little bit nervous. I just want to see God do some pretty amazing stuff, and I know He definitely will. We just got done having a spontaneous worship jam session, concluding with “Our God” by Chris Tomlin. I think it definitely creates a good mindset for tomorrow as we go out to share our faith. Having college students sing praises to our Creator on Friday night? Not your typical thing. But so very cool. I have a feeling that it will be happening again soon!

Sunny with a chance of…sun

I am in Jacksonville! For real!

It has been so great and so much fun so far. I’m living with a team of girls, the “A-Team”…and me. There’s my leader Andrea, and team members Amy, Ali, and Ashley. Then there’s me- not with an A, but a K. It kinda makes me smile. :)

We’ve had a lot of orientation sessions so far, very informational and good to know. Many “mixers”, too, which help me to get to know the 169 people here…hopefully by the end of the summer I will know most everyone! There is definitely a whirlwind of names floating around in my head.

Another thing. Although it is Florida, where it literally is sunny with a chance of sun pretty much everyday, I’m much colder than I was in Nebraska. Why, you ask? These dorms are FREEZING. I’m so glad I had Nav leaders to tell me to bring lots of warm clothes! Extreme goosebumps can be painful.

Here’s a glimpse of what life is like for me in Jax!

Our door. The paper is glittery, and says “Razzle Dazzle” very much. :)

     

My bed (note the palm trees out the window!)

All our beds…

Closet, with hallway view.

Lastly, my team! What a great group of girls. :)

South by southeast

I'm definitely in the south. It's hot, there are big bugs, sweet tea, Chick*Fil*A, little old ladies with sweet southern drawls, and houses with big white columns on the front.
It's fantastic!

I've already been to 4 states brand new to me, and another will be added tomorrow, when we reach our final destination. Florida.

P.S.
It's so great that I can publish all this right from my phone, on the road. Hooray!
Oh, the marvels of modern technology.

More to come later!

Ready?

The support letters are sent.

The bags are packed. (Hoping I packed light enough…!)

It is official. I leave for Jacksonville in…7 hours. So exciting!

I’ve thought about my expectations for summer 2011 as I head to Florida. Some things I want to see, and will be looking for, are:

1. I want to know God more. I want to clear my heart of all the philosophies about God my mind has come up with, and let God tell me who He really is, without  my own ideas getting in the way.

2. I want to better realize my worth in Christ, not in abilities or circumstances…

3. I want to better control my attitude. This past year, I didn’t go as far as changing my attitude, despite my circumstances or emotions, but it was a learning experience for me. The fact that “things are what you make of them” has really been reinforced to me, and I’m sure this summer I’ll be provided times when I can actually apply this, and choose a good attitude even in a not-so-good situation!

4. I want to form some great friendships with fellow believers. This summer couldn’t be better in regards to fellowship!

5. Lastly, I want to establish and/or improve these  life-long habits: prayer, daily quiet times, and sharing what I believe with others. Pretty straightforward, but very important.

So long, Nebraska! I’ll be back in The Good Life in about 2 months. :)

Focus.

It’s so hard for me to focus in life, sometimes. Part of it is the fast-paced lifestyle that modern technology now allows us, and part of it is my own natural tendency to keep busy. I was looking through some old papers the other day and found one from 3rd grade. It was a before-school-started letter that my mom filled out and returned to my teacher, filling her in about my personality, strengths, weaknesses, and such. My mom wrote down that “Kimberly doesn’t sit still and relax a lot at home. She goes from one activity to another.” Let me tell you, nothing has changed in 13 or so years.

While it’s a blessing, it’s also a curse. I have a naturally creative mind, which allows me to think up all sorts of projects to do around the house. This even includes cleaning- yes, I do volunteer to clean out my mom’s closet! It’s crazy, but I love doing things. I am able to get so much accomplished in a day, a benefit for both me and whoever I may be helping out. But…the downside is that with all this busyness and accomplishment, I neglect some very important things. Like spending time with God, for one.

I’m so excited for this summer. I’m pretty nervous at the same time, too, since I have to go through the whole having-to-meet-people-since-you-know-absolutely-no-one. But that’s okay. I’m outgoing enough to do it well (not the case my freshman year of high school!). Two whole months of fellowship and encouragement in my walk with God. I know I need it and so I’m putting myself out there. It’s gonna be a blast, and I pray that it changes me and establishes life-long habits.

For a better picture of where I’m headed this summer, check out: JAX STP 2011