The road has come to an end...

and this journey is complete!

To say that this summer was absolutely amazing would be such an understatement. I cannot even describe how much I LOVED every moment of this summer. Through the difficulties and the extremely hard work, God showed up in a mighty way.

This summer our team of 23 encountered over 4300 kids and adults, drove over 3000 miles and of the kids that we know, 216 kid made decisions that changed their lives for eternity. On top of that, 40 + kids rededicated their lives to Christ and 1 kid decided that he wanted to spend his life preaching the word by becoming a minister. So amazing doesn't even begin to describe how this summer was.

Our team spent hours on end preparing and prepping in the beginning of the summer and throughout that summer to do excellent camp. Our director expected nothing less than excellence in everything that we did and with that mentality camp was spectacular. Although there were nights when breakers were blown, kids unplugged extension cords, our power went out for 5 hours, our Budget truck got torn apart by a bridge and we lost supplies, God showed all of us that his work is not dependent on those things.

Through the 3rd and 4th grade kids this summer, I truly saw child-like faith. I saw a genuine love for the Lord and an excitement about the Bible. It was a refreshing thing to be surrounded by kids whose brains started turning as soon as we got into Bible study. Through their questions I was able to grow my faith and figure out things about God that I never would have otherwise. My Bible study kids blessed me more than I could have ever blessed them this summer.

Two final stories to show you how BIG my God is!

- Week 7, a little boy with special needs came to our camp named Caleb. He wore leg braces and could barely talk. His favorite thing to say was No! I met Caleb on Wednesday afternoon after track times and every time I would see him after that we would do a high five and pound it. This week I worked the decision room and I stood at the end of the hall on Thursday night waiting for kids to walk around the corner to usher them into a quiet room for them to talk to their adult leaders. I turned around to see Caleb walking down the hallway towards me. The emotions that flooded my body were indescribable. This little boy, that most people had a hard time communicating with, had no trouble hearing God call him into a relationship with Him. That night I was reminded that the love of Jesus Christ is not for some people...it is for EVERYONE! His sacrifice covers all of our sins no matter who you are or what your physical capabilities are. Thank you Caleb for being a reminder to me that God loves us all.

- Week 9, I stood down at the bottom of the stairs on Thursday night at the decision room in Lynchburg, Virginia. I had ushered all of the kids inside of the room and when I went inside of the room to put a chair back, an adult sponsor called me over. She asked if I could get someone to talk to one of her kids because she had two and she wanted them to talk one on one with a leader. I said absolutely and ran up the stairs (boot and all) to go get a staffer to go and talk with one of her kids. Lyndsey told me to take Sammy, our pastor, down there. So Sammy took my job at the decision room and I went inside to talk with one of the kids. I sat down with this little girl named Madison. I asked her why she came down that night and she told me that she needed a relationship with God. I asked her to describe what it meant to be a Christian and she had a hard time so we went through the Roman Road. (Romans 3:23, 6:23, 5:8, 10:9) As I was talking with her she would finish all of my sentences and really gave me the impression that she knew what she was doing in asking Jesus to be her savior. I told her that if she thought tonight was the night that she wanted to ask Jesus to be her savior to give me a thumbs up. So with the biggest grin on her face I looked down and saw a big thumbs up. So I prayed for Madison and then she prayed to receive Christ as her savior. When she was done I told her that I had 2 really awesome things to tell her. 1. God has this really big Book of Life up in heaven. Every time someone starts a relationship with God, he writes their name in the Book of Life and the coolest thing is is that my God writes with permanent marker. Nothing we can ever do will cause God to erase our name. 2. When we start a relationship with Christ, there is a HUGE party for us up in heaven and so that night, the angels were partying it up for Madison. When i told her these two things she started bawling because she was so overwhelmed and in turn I also started to cry A LOT! This little girl loves the Lord and I was blessed with the opportunity to guide her in making the best decision of her entire life.

The summer was full of hundreds of stories just like the two of these. I want to thank every single person who prayed for me and for my team. God did a mighty work this summer and I am truly blessed that he chose me to be apart of it.

Until next summer...

this road has almost come to an end...

I sit in our lobby at Eagle Eyrie and cannot believe that I fly back to phoenix in one week. This summer has flown by but it has been full of amazing God moments. Last week, my kids were absolutely amazing! I cannot even describe it. Their desire to learn more about God and not be afraid to ask tough questions blew me away. Their questions got us staff to wrestle with some pretty tough questions ourselves. All in all, it was a wonderful week!

For the past two weeks, I have been helping out in the decision room. Basically I make sure that kids and adult sponsors have a room to talk in that is quiet and away from screaming kids. I make sure they fill out the decision cards correctly and I get the privilege of seeing God work each and every day. This week we had a little over 200 kids and 25 kids made first time commitments to Christ. I will try to paint a picture of how amazing it was.

I sat outside the decision room looking in through the glass windows at 14 kids talking with group leaders on Thursday night. Our auditorium is right above the decision room and as I sat looking at each of these kids, some asking tough questions, some praying to receive Christ as their savior, I hear 200 kids and adults singing "Blessed be your name" above us. The adults and kids were so loud that I couldn't even hear our worship leader. It was one of the most wonderful things I have ever experienced. Lets just say it was impossible to keep the tears from streaming.

I feel like the luckiest person alive. I get to hang out with kids all day everyday and tell them about the greatest news that this world has ever heard! I am blessed.

Questions Galore...Really?

Well Monday night we always have Bible Study for the first time and boy did I get bombarded by really intense questions. Basically that has NEVER happened to me before on the first night so it caught me a little off guard. Here is some of the questions that I have dealt with in the last 24 hours...

1. Who created God?

2. How did God get the responsibility of being God?

3. If we die and go to hell can we accept Jesus after we already die?

4. Why did God create Satan?

5. Does God love Satan?

6. If Jesus is God's Son how can he also be Mary's Son?

7. How old is God?

8. Who came first the cavemen or Adam and Eve?

9. If God created us then how did our parents also create us?

10. What was Adam's punishment?

11. Are we going to get to fight Satan when Jesus comes back?

12. Why does Jesus ride in on a white stallion when he comes back at the end of time?

13. Where did all the old testament people go after they died if the only way to Heaven is through Jesus and Jesus had not come yet?

14. Why is the mark of the beast 666?

and the list goes on and on and on and on...

its been an AMAZING week of Bible Study so far. My kids are asking questions, they are learning more about God and they are loving every minute of it...I love my job!!!!

No Time Is GO Time...

Well it is officially week 8 and we are now in Lynchburg, VA! I have enjoyed these past 9 1/2 weeks more than I can express in words. It has been a summer full of ups and downs but we have gotten through everything as a team. I have developed strong bonds with quite a few people on the team and I feel so blessed to know them. I cannot even imagine leaving this place in less than 2 weeks.

Our new set of kids arrive today. I can hear them screaming outside which gets me so pumped up! My kids last week gave me a run for my money. They were extremely loud during Bible study and extremely quiet during recreation. It took me all week to figure out how to reverse those two things. I was once again blown away by the way that God worked at camp. Kid's lives were changed forever. It's awesome to witness kids dedicating and rededicating their lives to Christ. It keeps me going, even when my kids are tough to deal with.

Our theme this week is Keep It Real (Respect, Encourage, Attitude, and Love). We have committed to doing everything for the glory of God this week. Can't wait to report how this week goes.

On Saturday I get the opportunity to head up to Washington DC with some of my teammates. I am so excited for this since I have never visited our nation's capital. Since I love politics and history so much I think it is going to be an awesome trip!

Once again I am SO thankful for everyone's prayers and encouragement. When I miss home and really want to just pack up and leave it's your prayers that get me through...

YAY for Atlanta Braves Baseball games and matching t-shirts!!

Diverse City Got Mass Appeal!

Week 5 has come and it has gone and it was absolutely AMAZING! My Bible Study kids were so excited the very first night and they carried that excitement throughout the week during recreation. It makes my job so much easier when I don’t have to pump them up to play games every day. We won the golden globe (which is the recreation spirit award) on Wednesday during recreation and it was so great because normally we are paired up with another Bible Study during recreation but this week because we had an odd number of Bible Studies my kids and I were alone during rec. So, when other teams had about 40 kids cheering we out-cheered them with 22 kids. Talk about being loud! Those are my kind of kids.

Our camp pastor brought it during worship! 38 kids were saved this week, which is the biggest number yet. On Thursday night, I was running lights up in the sound booth during worship and during the invitation I witnessed over 20 kids walk down front. It was a new experience for me because normally I am down in the auditorium during the invitation but to see God literally moving during worship was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen! When 38 kids had their names written in the book of life, it makes the late nights and missing meals all worth it. Our team has learned to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of the Kingdom and it has been my greatest joy this summer to see kids get it for the first time. It’s why every single person on my team does what they do. I thank God for this opportunity and for your continued prayers and support!

I got to experience white-water rafting for the first time on Friday. After camp was over on Friday, our team went to the Ocoee River in Tennessee before we headed to Toccoa Falls, Georgia. It was SO much fun! I cannot even describe it! We were bouncing around on the waves and I drank a whole bunch of river water but it was a blast. It was such a good break for our team and an opportunity to do something fun together as a team. Did I mention that I absolutely love my team?

Well, we are back in Toccoa Falls, Georgia for week 6 and 7! Can’t wait to see what God has in store for us in these next two weeks!

So much to write, so little time

Week 4 is over. It has been an amazing week to say the least. We had an awesome group of campers and adults. Honestly, the adults can make or break a week. If they are not as excited as their kids are to be at camp, camp can be really hard for us. This last week, the adults were the bomb.com. They were excited and pumped up and engaged and it made our jobs so much easier. My Bible Study group of kids were really great this week. I connected with a lot of the kids in my group and they really asked some tough questions this week. On Thursday, we talk about how Jesus died on the cross for our sins and my kids started asking some deep theological questions about heaven and hell and the end times. Definitely was not ready for that BUT God was good and spoke to those kids through me. My church group, yay Webb FBC, was so great this week. I got to spend a lot of time with the kids, get to know them, I got my nails done by them which was needed greatly, and I was able to connect with some of them because of my story and where I have been in my life. God showed me how he can use difficulties in life for His glory this week and it was an honor to be apart of it.

All in all, this week was one that I needed. Week 3 was such a tough week, mentally, spiritually and physically, but God provided an awesome group of campers to renew my spirit this week. I am ready for whatever comes our way in these next five weeks.

There are A LOT of personal prayer requests that I have. First, last Monday night I was talking on the phone with Keira and she was in a car accident while I was talking with her. As scary as it was for me, I just ask that you would pray for her healing. She is heading to Peru soon with the high school ministry and has a lot to do to prepare for that, so she needs to be well in order to do all that is necessary to serve the Lord in Peru.

Also, a little girl named Kate McRae, from my home church Cornerstone, was recently diagnosed with an aggressive malignant brain tumor. She had brain surgery on Friday and the neurosurgeons removed about 50% of the tumor. God has already been performing miracles in little Kate’s life. After she got out of surgery she was not talking or moving on her right side.Since Friday, she has said a few words and recently has started moving on her right side. God is SO good!! Please pray for her that God would choose to heal her and use her to draw people to himself. We are simply asking God for a miracle. You can check up on her progress at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcraekate/journal. Kate and her family, Aaron, Holly, Olivia and Will, desperately need your prayers during this time. Even if you do not know them personally, we are asking that you would pray for them as thousands of children of God join in petitioning the Lord for a miracle.

God is good and He is continually showing me that his plan is perfect, no matter what it is!

New people, new places, new ways of doing life

As I sit in PIT or as Harper and I like to call it the Pit of Despair, I am preparing for week 3 of camp. These last two weeks have been absolutely amazing. I have learned so much and I have seen the Lord work in hundreds of kid's lives. We are preparing for a camp with 500 this week which is a huge feat knowing that last week we only had 300 but nonetheless we are ready! I have been learning about new foods, new words, new bugs, new ways of doing church and new lifestyles and I love it! I love everything about the South, I love everything about Centri-Kid and I love everything about my team. We are a family and it is only week 3 and for that I am VERY thankful!

For everyone who has been praying for me and my team, thank you! Keep em' coming!!

oh joy....

The past week has been crazy but amazing! God is so good!! He has been working in amazing ways at camp this week. This week we only had about 300 kids and adults at camp which had it's good and bad aspects. We all had an opportunity to have intentional conversations with kids which was a lot easier this week. But, it also requires us to have a lot more energy because there are way less kids. Nonetheless, this week was AWESOME! I had 5 kids in my Bible Study accept Christ as their Lord and Savior and that is the greatest feeling ever. Seeing the kids walk down the aisle during the invitation gets me every time. I am definitely a wreck three out of the five days of camp. I am so excited about what God is doing in these kids lives. I also had the greatest Church Group (Yay River Springs Baptist Church). They let me sit in with them during their church group time and I got to hear what the kids are learning throughout the week. It definitely has been such an encouragement to me because we put so much hard work into making camp amazing and to see that the kids are really learning something makes it all worth it.

On another note, my ankle has not gotten any better in the past two weeks. I went to the doctor today and the verdict is...fractured foot. Talk about bad news bears! The clinic that I went to was called Toccoa Clinic and it was very interesting to say the least. I walked into the clinic with Meredith and the receptionist yelled "you ain't never been to the clinic before." I was like umm no definitely not, I live in AZ. Talk about awkward. Oh and we saw a lady with a mullet. It was the greatest thing ever! I go on Wednesday to see if I need a real cast put on my foot. For now I am in this ridiculous aircast. We'll see what happens. Pray for healing so that I do not have to get a real cast because the humidity and the heat here would make my foot smell real bad.

The weekend we have off which will be a nice break. Thanks for your continued prayers! Week 3 here we come!!

Last 6 days = very long but VERY good!

The last six days have been a whirl wind!  We had the biggest camp that Centri-Kid has had with around 800 kids and adults.  To say the least it was CRAZY!  Over half our team has never worked camp before so that always makes things adventurous.  This week was amazing though.  I have absolutely fallen in love with Centri-Kid and just working camp in general.  I eat maybe once a day and I sleep around 5 hours a night but it totally doesn't matter.  We do all those things for the kids and when they walk down the aisle on invitation night it made it all worth it.  Around 30 kids made first time decisions for Christ last week and one of them was in my Bible study.  The kid in my Bible study was one of those too cool for school kind of kids and was bored with everything.  He walked up to me on Friday morning and handed me a decision card that said he accepted Christ.  It was one of the best feelings in my entire life.  I love seeing God work in kid's lives and I love being able to be apart of it.  

I got to teach Make It Take It for my track time last week and we got to make Tie Dye shirts which I love.  I had some of the greatest kids in my track time.  They were just so enthusiastic about being at camp and they really made me smile.  They listened and were so good at following directions which were definitely needed because we made some crazy projects during those three days.  I loved them!   

And now for the craziness that was our lives yesterday.  We were leaving Cleveland, TN yesterday afternoon and our caravan of cars was heading to Toccoa Falls, Georgia.  Our team has a Ryder truck, that we call a Budget, that holds all of our camp supplies and our luggage.  Our Budget turned the corner and the front of it clipped a bridge and it ripped off the top of our truck and the sides.  All of our supplies went flying into the street.  So we spent about 6 hours getting all of our stuff out of the street, unloading all the stuff still in the truck and reloading it into another Budget.  It was the most tiring work of my entire life but God used it for his glory.  Our team really stepped up and no one complained; we just got the job done.  It was one of the greatest things that I ever witnessed.  I feel so honored to be apart of CK-4.  Thank you to everyone that prayed for us yesterday.  We got to sleep in today because everyone was so exhausted and we knocked it out of the park today.  Tomorrow is church and finishing registration and getting ready for campers to come on Monday!  Next week we only have 315 people coming to camp...a lot less than 800!  

Here are some pictures from our accident...

Before Picture

The back of our truck and half of it in the street under the bridge

What was left of our truck after the accident

The truck with some supplies still left in there.  

Your continued prayers for our safety, rest and team unity are much appreciated!  

Love ya'll!!

First Full Day

The day has finally come!!! The kids have arrived for our first week of camp and it has been amazing so far!  I teach 3rd/4th grade Bible study and absolutely love my kids...we are the documentaries and they have a lot of spirit even though it is so hard to chant our name because it is so long.  I am so proud of them and feel so blessed to be their bible study leader.  

These past two days have been an absolute whirl wind.  I honestly do not know where the time has gone.  I have been running around since 12 pm yesterday afternoon and have gone non-stop since then and luckily I am not tired (yet!).  There have been some definite stressful moments throughout these past two days but the name of the game has been flexibility and I haven't freaked out yet so that is a good sign.  

We had an invitation in our message tonight and had kids come forward if they wanted to accept Christ.  It was one of the most powerful things I have ever seen.  It definitely solidified the fact that I should be here at camp this summer.  I was in tears as the kids walked to the front and it just reminds me how important child-like faith is.  God is moving in this place and it is an honor to be apart of it.  

Prayer Requests: Intentionality with my kids to have spiritual conversations with them.  Rest because these days are so draining and we never get a break.  Healing: I have a huge lump on the side of my ankle and we don't know what it is from. Pray that it goes away because it is super painful to walk and we do A LOT of that!  

I love ya'll and am continually thankful for your prayers and support!  

Reflective...

Today was a day of reflection for me.  I have been thinking about how I got here...how I got to this place of working a whole summer telling kids about Jesus.  Why was I chosen?  Why this summer? Who poured into me in order for me to pour into these kids?  How can I ever repay those who have believed in me?  

The first church I ever stepped foot in was Church on Mill in Tempe, Arizona.  I remember begging my dad to not make me go because I was terrified because I didn't know anyone.  From the first time I went to that church, I felt at home.  People cared about me, about my life, and about who I was going to become.  For over 8 years, I was constantly poured into by so many people from that church, mainly our pastor Dennis Wood and my children's minister and youth pastor, Bill and Andrea Heaton.  They really cared about me and encouraged me to pursue my passions and even to chase passions I didn't know that I had, mainly working with children.  In the most difficult times in my life, they were there.  Dennis would come over to my house, pray with our family and whether he knew it or not, I was constantly learning spiritual truths from him.  He was the first to speak the name of Jesus to me standing up at the pulpit and Bill and Andrea spent the next 8 years encouraging that relationship.  For them, I truly am eternally grateful.  As the years have gone on, they gave me the opportunity to work with kids, develop my passions with them, and tell them about Jesus.  It was because of them that I am here now...that I am working camp...and that I have the greatest opportunity in the world, to tell kids about Jesus!  

Thank you Dennis for teaching me to continually press on, even when times are tough. 

Thank you Andrea for giving me my first opportunity to work in children's ministry

Thank you Bill for giving me the opportunity to grow and develop the skills that I now need to teach these kids.  

I am grateful for Church on Mill and what they have meant to me over the last 11 years of my life!  Ya'll are amazing!

*Oh and I will be an aunt for the second time in January!  Congrats Ryan and Anna!  

Finally Here!

We officially made it to our first camp location, Lee University in Cleveland, Tennesee!  It is gorgeous here and I cannot wait til the kids arrive on Monday.  Two weeks of preparation finally pays off when those kids step off that bus on Monday afternoon.  Like I have said before, this past week has been the most stretching week of my entire life.  I have been learning SO much and really trying to work on some important character traits while I am here and so far so good!  

Our team is working with CK-3 this week at Lee University and then they are off to Mississippi to work camp for the summer.  They were a HUGE blessing especially unloading the Budget this afternoon.  Today, we drove from KY to TN, unloaded the Budget, did inventory on all our supplies, and then went to Sonic because they were serving free rootbeer floats today.  It's been a busy day but tomorrow will be jam packed once again which is just the way I like it.  

It has been amazing to see how God has brought our team tomorrow.  I look at other teams and it seems like every single person is placed on exactly the right team.  I don't feel like I would fit on any other team than the one I am on and for that I am grateful!  The Lord is good and I am excited to see how He is going to use us this summer.  I love CK-4!  

Please continue to pray for me as I am preparing to teach, lead, and pour into these kids.  I am changing and growing and as hard as it is, it is going to and already is amazing.  I am truly living the dream!  This camp...it has been my greatest dream for the past 6 years and it has finally come true.  I didn't get here like I would have liked to but God always has a plan and he will use everything for his glory!  

Love ya'll!

1 week...7 days...168 hours...10080 minutes...604800 seconds

First I'd like to send a shout out to my Camp Director, Meredith!  She told me that she read my blog so I thought I'd just take the time to acknowledge that.  I appreciate her and her dedication to our team and everything that she is doing to prepare us for an awesome summer.  She is extremely encouraging especially when I mess up on I-9 forms and expense reports.  

To the latest news...I participated it what we like to call OMC (organized mass chaos) today.  Basically you run around like a crazy person and complete different tasks.  It was fun until Matt Weston sprayed shaving cream in my mouth and inside of my ear.  But, I am super excited to do this for the next nine weeks with the kids.  It will be a good opportunity to purposely get dirty.  :)

Next, I am off to sit with other people who are teaching the same track times that I am teaching this summer but that are on different teams.  Hopefully they will have some amazing ideas that I will be able to use because I would HATE to have a horrible track time.  

I'd like to leave ya'll with this...

"Watch your life and doctrine closely.  Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers." - 1 Timothy 4:16

We all have amazing opportunities to be lights to those around us.  If we continually watch our lives and the doctrine we are living by, people will be saved.  I am so grateful for the opportunity that the Lord has given me to be a light to kids who do not know him.  Once again, I am SO thankful for your continued prayers.  I will see kids one week from today and that makes me very excited. 

Love ya'll!  

(oh and I can perform almost a whole song in sign language too!  who would'a known :))

Walmart and Baptist Churches in the South...

I have made it 3 1/2 days of camp training.  It has been overwhelming and stretching but I have learned so much.  We are being trained in Bible Study, recreation, our specific break out sessions, crisis situations, and a little thing we like to call OMC (organized mass chaos).  It is going to be crazy to say the least.  

I know I have said this before but I absolutely love my team.  We have bonded so much these past few days and I feel like I have known them for years.  We are going through John 15 as a team which has already been so eye opening for me.  This is a verse that we use in our Family Group times.  

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you.  No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." - John 15:4.  

This is a constant reminder for me to stay rooted in Christ throughout this summer.  I have been blessed to be apart of a family group which is a group of five of us girls that are on my team.  We are there to encourage one another as the summer goes on, to uplift one another in prayer and to sit and talk about non-camp related things (which will be nice as the summer goes along).  I am excited to see how my relationships with these girls grow and I know already that some of these people I am working with will be life-long friends and for that I am blessed.  

We made our first Walmart trip last night which is a really big deal.  Walmart is our very best friend here because it is the only real connection that we have with the outside world.  But, when you have 23 people running through Walmart and you have to find everything and get out in 20 minutes...it gets stressful!  I will probably develop a new love for Walmart this summer...don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing.  

I experienced a Baptist church this morning bright and early at 8:30 am.  Our whole camp staff (150 people) invaded First Baptist Church of Campbellsville.  They were happy to have us there and encouraged us in our work this summer.  It was absolutely NOTHING like Cornerstone or Second Mile to say the very least.  So, it was a new experience and one that I really did enjoy.  It is amazing to see the different ways that people worship our Lord.  I feel blessed for being able to take part in the service this morning.  

Anyway, I must go back to training but I thought I would take this opportunity during one of my breaks to update my blog.  

I love you all and am totally thankful for your continued support.  

(oh and if ya'll are wondering, the southern accent is coming along nicely and I have a few sayings that I will be bringing to the west so be prepared for that!) 

Incredible Exhaustion

These last two days have been some of the most exhausting of my life but definitely the most rewarding too!  I LOVE my team that I will be serving with this summer.  They are some really incredible people and their love for Jesus blows me away.  It is so crazy for me to be surrounded by 150 people (8 different teams) that love Jesus and love kids.  I have never seen anything like it before but it has been such a blessing these last few days.  The days have been super long thats for sure!  We wake up at 6:30 am which is 3:30 am Arizona time to start the day and go to bed around 11:30 or 12.  Talk about exhausting!  

I know many of you know how much I love YouTube videos and how much I quote them line for line.  Well...I am pleased to say that almost everyone on my team also knows all of the videos that we watch back home.  It's amazing to be able to quote Bon Qui Qui and Can I Have Yo Number!  

We have been discovering the differences in our Arizona culture and the culture in the South.  My roommate Rachel makes fun of the way I say "both" because I pronounce it "Bowl-th" and she pronounces "bow-th."  Apparently I talk weird to them but I don't mind :)  I am starting to pick up a Southern accent which I am OBSESSED with!  Oh and ya'll is coming to the west for sure.  I don't understand why you wouldn't use it.  Saying "you guys" is so much more difficult!  I have learned how to play cornhole which is such a fun game and helps with my competitive nature.  There are a plethora of bugs here and so far it hasn't rained which makes me SO happy!   

Even though this has been our first full day of training I have really felt the presence of the Lord in this place.  He is working amongst us individually, as a group and as a camp.  It is amazing to be apart of this life-changing ministry.  Can't wait to meet our kiddos or cherubs as they would call them here!  This summer our 8 Centri-Kid and Centri-Kid/Crosspoint teams will encounter 27,000 kids...please pray that we would be intentional with our relationships and that the Lord's work would be done through us.  

I love you all and once again am SO thankful for your love and support of me!  Ya'll are amazing!!

Bienvenidos a Nashville!

I have arrived!  Oh and I LOVE the South already!  I've been able to hang out with a girl from my team, Brittany, because her family is letting me stay with them so I didn't have to fly on a red-eye.  I am super thankful for that!  Tomorrow Brittany and I are back to the Nashville airport to jump on a bus to Kentucky.  Can't wait to meet the rest of my team!  

This is the day...

"This is the day that the Lord has made, I will be rejoice and be glad in it"

boy do i love old Jesus songs :)

Well TODAY IS THE DAY!  my whole life is packed in a trunk and a duffle bag and I am off to Nashville, TN!  

Tomorrow I jump on a bus and head to Campbellsville, KY for a week of training and then I'm back in the good old state of Tennessee.  

I'm getting nervous and excited that's for sure!  Saying all these goodbyes is super hard but I'm learning slowly but surely that change is good :)  

I hope you will join me in worshipping our King today for He is great and worthy of our praise! 

Addresses!!

If you decide that snail mail will be your way of communicating with me I have addresses for you! Pay attention to the dates I will be in each place...that way I will be able to get your letters.

May 25-June 3 :: Training :: Campbellsville, KY
June 3-7 :: Training Cont'd :: Lee University
June 8-12 :: Lee University
June 15-19 ::Toccoa Falls College
June 22-26 :: Toccoa Falls
June 29-July 3 ::Austin College
July 6-10 :: Lee University
July 13-17 :: Toccoa Falls
July 20-24 :: Toccoa Falls
July 27-31 :: Eagle Eyrie
August 3-7 :: Eagle Eyrie

Addresses:
Tori Einstein
Attn: CentriKid Staff
Lee University
1120 N. Ocoee St.Cleveland, TN 37320

Tori Einstein
Attn: Centrikid Staff
Toccoa Falls College
PO Box 800847
Toccoa Falls, GA 30598

Tori Einstein
Attn: CentriKid Staff
Austin College
900 N. Grand Ave. Suite 6J
Sherman, TX 75090

Tori Einstein
Attn: CentriKid Staff
Eagle Eyrie
1 Eagle Eyrie Dr.
Lynchburg, VA 24503

oh and I LOVE getting mail so send me some :)

2 days!

Well I realized that yesterday was full of a lot of lasts....the last time I will sit in a comfortable purple chair at Cornerstone, the last time I will see my siblings and their significant others, the last time I will be able to swim with my niece and I have to say that I feel SO blessed.
I am blessed to have two amazing church families that love and support me in whatever crazy things I decide to do and I have a family that I love and adore. I couldn't ask for anything more!

I have 2 days left in Phoenix and SO many people to see before I go. These next two days will be full of packing, planning and praying!

I just want to thank everyone who is praying for me and supporting me as I have an opportunity to do what I love...hang out with kids!

More is to come of course and I promise that this time I will actually be good about updating my blog!