Faves

It’s been crazy busy up here in J-ville. Or down here, since it’s rather south.

Anywho.

It’s hard for me to write anything, since I don’t have much time and usually my brain is just drained from processing so much! (I also think the sun drains my thinking power, as well as my energy). :)

I am going to leave you with some of my favorite pictures from the last couple of weeks. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and since I don’t have those thousand words for you, these pictures will have to suffice!

***********************************************************************************************************

Here’s my team leader Andrea and me at our Thrift Store Prom:

Fellow Razzle-Dazzlers Amy and Ashley with me. This was at the beach on the 4th of July- waiting for it to get dark so fireworks will start!

Our team on the beach. :)

Last week’s Bible study included making a fort…we actually had Bible study inside of it…so cool!

Outside the entrance of Universal Studios: Islands of Adventure. It was such a fun day with all the JAX people!

Please feel free to comment! I love comments.

Also, don’t hesitate to check out the previous posts from this summer. Even though I haven’t been updating as much as I had hoped, you can still get a picture of what I’ve been up to! As always, enjoy.

St. Augustine

Last Saturday a bunch of us went to St. Augustine! Only about 30 minutes away, St. Augustine is a very old city with some pretty impressive architecture. We got to see Flagler College- I cannot even imagine attending school there! It was so fancy. Definitely different from UNK. :)

 

Such pretty streets.

Lovely Gone with the Wind-inspired places.

 

The downtown scene is very quaint. We were told to go to this rockin’ popsicle place, and it certainly lived up to my expectations. First of all…gourmet popsicles. Second of all…all natural. Right up my alley! I got a Honey Honeydew popsicle and it was soooo good. I am inspired, people. Let the homemade popsicle-making commence!

 

I am currently trying to update this blog with pictures of all the fun activities we’ve been doing lately. There are lots!

Stay tuned!

Miles to go.

Let me tell you.

This summer training program is INTENSE.

I’ve often heard it compared to running a marathon, and I would definitely echo that comparison. It’s certainly not a sprint; no, it takes quite a bit of endurance to get through these 8 weeks! So far we are a little more than half way through, and I am so completely filled up and overflowing with information. I am thankful for the times I do have to sit and process all that I am learning, because without those times of reflection, I would go crazy with information overload! Work is keeping me really busy, as well, and social time in addition to that. Last summer I definitely learned time management, and it’s a good thing because I am really needing it now!

It’s interesting that this summer I’ve been running a lot. I’m not really a runner. I would much rather exercise by doing random things (like dance parties, see here), but there’s always a group going running every night so I usually join. It’s easier to run down here in Florida because we are at sea level, but also more difficult because of the humidity. Some nights it feels like a swim-run. But it’s been good. I am able to talk and run at the same time, and so can many others, so there are some good conversations. (We also usually see some cool animals, like armadillos!)

Running helps keep me in shape, but it also provides me with personal experience to this analogy.

1 Corinthians 9:25- Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

I’ve never really experienced “strict training” before, in regards to physical exercise, but this running business sure has given me a taste of it. I’m exhausted, yet it’s refreshing!

Wheels…

The wheels in my mind are a-turnin’.

I am learning SO much here at JAX! Every week, 4+ memory verses. How to share The Bridge illustration (ask me if you want it explained). How to treat guys as brothers in Christ (difficult, since I don’t have any brothers of my own). One thing that’s been really helpful for me is learning the definitions of big words in simple terms. For example, last week Jerry Bridges shared with us the definition of justification. Honestly, before I would avoid verses with this word in them, simply because I didn’t really grasp what it meant. It didn’t really mean anything to me. BUT, here’s what I learned, and it completely blew my mind.

Justification: “Just as if I’d never sinned.” And furthermore, “Just as if I’d always obeyed.”

Wow.

That is how God views us, because of Jesus! Now I want to read all the verses with justification in them. :)

***********************************************************************************************************

Another type of wheel is the Navigator Wheel. Ever heard of it? It looks like this ---->

A Christ-centered life has four distinct aspects.

Prayer, fellowship, the Word, and Witnessing.

Our summer training program theme this year is Go Deep. Basically we are focusing on going deep with each of these 4 areas.

With this in mind, there are specific ways you can pray regarding growth in each of these.

Prayer: That I will prioritize my time here, and realize the importance of spending time in prayer; that I will become more earnest in praying

Fellowship: Further team unity; that I would be an encouragement to others here at JAX

The Word: Adequate time with my work/social schedule

Witnessing: Interaction with co-workers, beach evangelism opportunities

In all of these, you can pray that God will reveal Himself to me and everyone else here! That would be so great.

***********************************************************************************************************

With that being said, here is a picture of my team while getting ice cream last week! :)

Beach Evangelism

It’s been a while, hasn’t it?

Life is busy, which is so great. Thankfully I haven’t neglected any of my program stuff just to write on this blog! I still have postcards to send, but it will happen eventually. We’ve had 3 Saturdays here so far, meaning 3 beach evangelism days. It’s been really cool so far.

I’ve experienced a variety of scenarios. The first week, my partner and I didn’t get rejected once…it seemed everyone we talked to was very nice and very open to hearing what we had to say. Nobody made any major decisions, but who knows what went on even after we talked with them. We came across a couple pairs of girls where one was a believer and one was not. I’m sure that definitely opened up some conversation once we were gone!

The second week, though, included 8 rejections in a row. This definitely helped get rid of any pride we might have had, thinking “We’ve got this.” Another factor was that we went to another beach, with an entirely different crowd. Not only were our rejections many, but they were rude. It was a little discouraging until near the end of the day, when we came across a van that was sinking in the quickly-rising tide. The people were panicking, and I really didn’t think the van was going anywhere…ever. After much chaos and a handful of fearful moments, a very nice man offered the use of his truck and a rope. Finally the van was able to move! My partner and I helped this family move their coolers, tables, chairs, and tent so they could get out of there before the tide got even higher. Although we didn’t have very many chances to share the Bridge with people, it was really great that we were able to help this family out.

Last week, our third, we were back on our original beach (with the friendlier people). It was a very interesting day. I saw what looked like a big circus tent on the other side of the pier, and I was actually pretty excited about it. I wondered if we could check it out after we were done, in case their was something fun going on. Well, as we were walking around talking to people, the “circus tent” started coming closer. Soon we could hear music and chanting, and it started seeming less like a circus. Actually, it was a big group of Hare Krishna followers who were having a celebration and were handing out information about their religion. I decided that it would be good to talk to these people about the gospel, too, so I went up to a lady handing out papers with her young daughter, and asked her what religion she was. She explained that they worshipped Lord Jagannath, and that they consulted a lot of philosophers with questions about life, even though there was no way they could ever know the answers. Pretty bleak, really. I told her were were Christians, and that we were also here on the beach sharing our faith, and I almost got to talk to her about it. Unfortunately, the moving circus tent thingy-ma-bob was leaving her behind, so she had to run and catch up to it. My partner and I continued on, and by the end of the day we had met several Christian girls, who were very encouraging to talk with. One of them is trying to join us for our Monday rally nights if her work doesn’t go too late! New friends are always good. :)

A couple more beach evangelism Saturdays are left…looking forward to it for sure!

Weekly schedule

In case anyone is wondering, here is what each week looks like for me! Every day I get up, have quiet time and breakfast, and then go to work from 8:30 to 3:00. Then we all eat dinner in the union on campus. After that, we have something different going on each night.

Monday: Rally night (worship, skit, speaker)

Tuesday: Free night

Wednesday: Workshop night (expounding on what Monday’s speaker taught)

Thursday: Bible Study night

Friday: Program social or group dates, alternating each week

Saturday: Beach evangelism

Sunday: Sunday school and church, then team time

I have free time on Sunday nights and Tuesdays, but other than that I’m pretty busy! I’m used to having something going on all the time at school, though, so it’s not really a change of pace- just change of events. A good balance of fun social time and spiritual training. That’s JAX!

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!