Community.

This week we went on our Portland/ Beach Trip!! It was awesome! It was also originally scheduled for the beginning of the summer, but got switched to the end, and I am so glad for that! Since it was week eight we have formed some great friendships so conversations in the car were legit, and not us just getting to know one another. 

So we worked Monday and Tuesday just like regular weeks, and I actually worked Wednesday after my shift at the Kilns. I knocked out 2 Kid Close-Ups and I am pretty dang proud of that! 

Thursday morning we headed out to Portland to explore and hang out/ relax/ eat good food, etc. My group got a lot of exploring done, as well as plenty of eating delish food!

Voodoo donuts!!

Voodoo donut doll, stuffed with raspberry filling!

A whole block of books!

We also shopped at super cute stores, I got a new dress, and we had some amazing ice cream! SO many sweets!!!

On Friday we drove out the coast, hung out at the beach for a few hours, ate some great clam chowder and then drove back to Bend!

Check out the drive to the beach!

The Oregon Coast.

Catching some waves!

Loved the hike to the water!

Haystack rock!

Baylor crew!

Playing with Silas :)

SIC 'EM BEARS!!!!

I loved getting to spend so much time with these awesome people! I love the community I have had the opportunity to be in this summer!! We have all changed since the beginning of the summer and it has been awesome to see that! I love these people and they will be missed greatly, but I am so thankful for each and every one of them!!

So even though we packed so much activity with little sleep....I slept for an hour and a half the night in Portland...we decided to pack some more activity into one of our last weekends. So we started off Saturday morning exploring the lava cave!! And Saturday afternoon exploring the ale trail!! There is still so much to do in Bend and I only have 2 weeks left! :(

Coming out of the cave! (Sorry it's blurry)

Sampling some good beer!

Beer and unicycles!! 

Well lets just say I am exhausted after this weekend, but it was awesome!!! I can't believe there are still places to explore after 8 weeks! Well here is to getting as much exploring done as possible in my last few days in Bend. I can't believe we are in week 9 already!!

At the beach we had solitude and one of the major points I am bringing home is this: This summer was to equip me to be more confident in who I am in Christ so when I go home I can face my giants and stand firm in my savior and my God.

Have a great week ya'll!!!

Summer Swamp.

So I already blogged today, but that said nothing about week 7 in Bend. Week 7? I have lived here for 7 full weeks. I feel like I have been here forever, and at the same time I feel like I just got here. Im ready to go home, yet I don't want to leave. I can say this, I will be coming back to Bend, whether just to visit, or by following the intern trend and moving back. Who knows? Only God does. 

So week 7 was Summer Swamp! Probably my favorite week here!! Summer Swamp is VBS and the story line was Paul's amazing adventure and how on the Road to Damascus he JUMPED into God's calling on his life. I could not begin to explain everything that happened last week so I'll just post some pictures! Prepare yourself for cuteness galore! ha

The awesome Children's Ministry team!

My sweet host sister Lucy.

My host brother Malachi.

So many awesome kids!!

That probably hurt :(

So fun!!

Just singing some songs!

I painted that sign! ha

Bubbles are always a hit!

The kids love Linda!

The maze game!

Learning the memory verse!

In the story it rained, so this is how we make rain.

Captains coming!

Be a shark!

So sweet!

Froggles!!!

Here is the sweet video that another intern made! 

Well that was one awesome week! I loved every minute of it and am so glad I got to play such a big role in it this summer! I am so thankful for all the awesome opportunities I have gotten this summer! It has been great! I have learned so much!!

Well here is to the last 3 weeks of the internship. It will go by fast, but I want to be present for every last bit and not only be focused on getting back to Texas! 

Have a great week ya'll!!!

Collection of Investments.

Yes, I am an individual, but more than that I am a collection of investments.

This is something that was said in meeting today and it is something that I whole heartily agree with and really want to live my life realizing that and thanking those investors. 

Let's go to my beginning of time. My parents. I couldn't have a better family. My family has supported me my entire life and let me sort through interests and hobbies and goals. I love them so much and I don't think I could ever thank them enough. Growing up I tried all kinds of different things from gymnastics to dance to basketball to Girl Scout and Medical Explorers to cheerleader and my family was always there cheering me on or helping me complete a project. To this day my family supports me with college and being in Oregon this summer. They are always encouraging me and asking tough questions when I think I want to change something, just to be sure that is the right step. I am who I am today because of my family.

My teachers. Cheesy I know, but it is truer today with teachers from Baylor, that I have been blessed to have had some of the greatest, kindest and most loving teachers. All the way back to elementary school at W.C. Andrews to high school to Baylor. I have had teachers pour into me, challenge me, and teach me about the world and about myself. Sure GP may not be the best school district, and I may not have been as prepared for college as people from other districts, but I am who I am because of GP. While I may of wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, I am grateful for my time there and the experience I gained in Portland. 

Good ole' Zephyr. Zephyr has really shaped who I am. I was challenged beyond what I could have imagined physically, spiritually and mentally out at the camp I love. From the executive staff to the bands and speakers who were at camp to the kids that came through those gates to the summer staff. I took on some of the biggest leadership roles I had ever been given and I was fully supported by an amazing exec. staff that loved me so well. Zephyr has for sure shaped me into the woman of God I am today and Zephyr will always have a place in my heart as not just a camp site, but as a family who loves and supports me. 

Friends. I have had some of the best life-long friends ever. Granted it helps to grow up in a small town and not leave it till you go to college, but still. Hilary and Ashley are two people that I can say helped me survive childhood. Hilary is someone who loves me no matter what decisions I make or how ever many miles get put between us. We get together and its as if we were never apart. Ashley was a stronghold growing up, especially during high school. Lunch in the cheer room was something I treasured because I wasn't having to live in the fakeness of GP for that hour. I was able to be real with Ash and I am so grateful for her. There are others who I am grateful for, but these 2 standout and they will forever be my best friends. 

Now at Baylor I have been blessed to have found some amazing friends that I know our friendship will last long after graduation. Lauren, who I have been lucky enough to live with for 2 years already, and will get at least one more, has been my best friend since freshman year. It is to the point that we can finish each others sentence and know just what ticks the other person off. Ha We are almost always together and if we aren't we could tell you where the other person is. I am so grateful I get to live with her because we are always having fun! Juelie is my other best friend. We met the day before classes started and have been pretty inseparable since. This year though will be tough because we have been there for each other the last 3 years, but God has called Juelie to Tyler, this will be tough, but I know our friendship is strong enough to stand the distance. I love this girl so much and am so grateful for her wisdom, but books and spiritually, that she has shared with me these last 3 years.

Lastly, Bend. This summer I have been poured into from many different people. The three that stand out are Brandon, Linda and Shelby, everyone has played a significant role in my growth here, but those 3 are major contributors. I have loved this summer and this internship program. I am thankful for this church and how well it loves and teaches the interns while we are here for 10 weeks. I have learned so much, grown so much, been challenged in new ways, and had so many new experiences here, it's just crazy. I don't think I could ever put into words what this summer has been, but just imagine a town nestled in the valley of some snow capped mountains, with a river running through it, no humidity, the sun is almost always shinning, and an awesome community. Now add Antioch, which has amazing leaders that our pouring into us and giving us chances to learn new things by experience and guidance. But apart from teaching us the technicalities of things they are also teaching us about Jesus by allowing us to live life with them. While you are at it throw in amazing host families that allow us to live with them for free for 10 weeks!! Then add 30 other interns who are growing and learning alongside you. While we may be learning the same thing in the office, we are all learning different things in our hearts, so sharing what we each learning this summer has been one of my favorite things! I love seeing different viewpoints from one spot. This summer has been something that I won't forget, and that I will come back to often. 

While I only mentioned a few people in this post there have been countless people who have invested in me these last 21 years, and people who I know will continue to invest in me. Starting with Mrs. Kathleen, who taught me dance, but also so much more. To Allen and Amy Frans, who have poured into me and loved me so well these last 3 years. To the families who started and still support Zephyr. Anyone who has ever invested in Baylor has invested in me, because that is where I am getting my degree from. To Mrs. Lisa who has loved me like a daughter, and expected so much from me, just like my mom. To Dillon, who I have gotten to see chase after God's dream for him and lay his wants aside. Each and every person who has lived life with me in some way has invested in me and shaped me into the 21-year-old woman I am today, and I am forever grateful. I could never say thank you enough to each one of you. But just know I am grateful for you and thank you for investing in me.

Local.

I may not truly be considered a local, but I can give pretty good directions, can tell you some good places to eat, grab coffee, or hike, and I am going on week 7 of living here. WEEK SEVEN?? This summer is FLYING! The remainder of my summer looks like this: Summer Swamp this week, Portland  and the beach next week, summit a mountain the next week and go to Seattle to see family that weekend, and then it is the last week of the internship! How can that be? I have already learned so much, and made so many awesome friends and memories, that even though time is running out, Bend is now a place I have lived and is a place I will at least vacation to.

So this week was the prep week for Summer Swamp, which is Antioch's VBS. Linda actually got pretty sick so she was in and out of the office, leaving Stephanie, Kim and I up to the task of getting things ready. Which I must say we rocked it. Stephanie took over Linda's weekly list of duties, while Kim painted signs, and I gathered and sorted supplies. When Linda came back on Thursday she was shocked at how much we had gotten done, and so grateful. I was so ready for Monday to get here to see all our hard work play out!

But we had the weekend first. 

The first Friday night of the month Bend has an art walk downtown, where local artists can display their work. This is actually the first one I have gone to, and it was really fun! I have never really explored downtown, and I really wanted to, but it was almost impossible to see the art because of the amount of people, so I decided exploring all the cute shops would have to wait until another time. Who knew that time would come during the next day? Cindy and I hung out on Saturday and decided to go walk around downtown. We went to a used bookstore, grabbed some bubbletea, checked out a few antique stores, and some super cute local Bend arts and craft stores. We also just talked about life, which was nice. Then Sunday we went to church, and after church we went CLIFF JUMPING!!! I love to go cliff jumping, except I am afraid of heights. But looking back on it, or even right after the jump, the thrill is awesome and I want to do it again! ha 

So our cliff jumping adventure had a little detour that took us to some cliffs you wouldn't want to jump off of, but I couldn't complain of the view.

While looking out over these cliffs we found the location where we were supposed to be, and headed that way. Now this weekend was actually hot, like 90 degree weather finally, so after going on a little detour, and then the hike to Stealhead falls, lets just say I was more than ready to jump into the freezing Deschutes River.

I jumped off that! 

So we finally made it to the falls!! And were greeted by like 40 other people who had made the treck out to the falls. But either way, we were there and ready to do some jumping! So there were multiple places to jump, where I am standing to take that picture, the falls, a cliff across the river, and multiple other places just down from where we were. I jumped off where I took that picture, the falls, and the higher cliff across the river. It was awesome and terrifying all at the same time! It was also a fun bonding experience for those that were able to go!

Unfortunately I didn't get many pictures, actually I only got 3, and I am in none...but others took pictures and I can't wait to see them! But here are the other 2 I took!

Alisha jumping!

Brad jumping!

So I am loving exploring Bend and getting to soak in God's beauty!! I have learned so much this summer, and I am not done learning! I won't stop learning even when I leave Bend, because I will have to learn how to apply what I have learned this summer to how I live my life back home, and apply that to what my future looks like! Gah, I can't get over everything I have seen God do this summer, I am loving it and not wanting it to end! 

Well this week is Summer Swamp, and today was day one and it was AWESOME!!

Check out these awesome kids!!

Have a great week ya'll!!

Adventure Time.

So this past week as work was a pretty normal week. It's weird to say normal. This is my job and I just finished week 5! Crazy!! We have a flow, we get things down, and we, the interns, are rockin' it!! The one thing I did different this week was do research on apps/programs for an iPad that does a safe, secure check-in, and can run from the iPad only. Linda and Ken, the head pastor, both really want to switch from check-in with paper to check-in with an iPad. So I had a lot of pressure to find the perfect program and hopefully I did well! I found a couple of options that might work, so we shall see what Linda and Ken say...

So after this week I really wanted to get out and do something awesome and fun! So I got a group together who wanted to go hiking out at Tumalo Falls on Saturday. It was definitely an adventure! So we were meeting at the office at 4:15, but at that time it was pouring, POURING down rain!!! Ridiculousness. I wanted to go hiking and see the waterfalls! But I was still in, I had my rain jacket and my Chacos on. I could do it! So we decided to keep on with the plan and head out to Tumalo. By the time we got to the falls it was not raining, and in fact it was SUNNY!!! AWESOME! God wanted us to go hiking!! ha

I'm so glad the weather cooperated and we were able to enjoy the beauty that is central Oregon. I loved getting to spend those hours with 7 awesome people and just talk to them while hiking in God's creation! Enjoy some pictures from our adventure!!

Tumalo Falls!!

Adventure time!!

The girls :)

Under the falls!!

Such a neat view!

Just some driftwood.

GLORY!!

Check out that moon!!

Well that was an awesome adventure!! Mom, Dad, and Drew, don't worry we will be going there while ya'll are in town!! I can't wait for ya'll to come see this place! Just 4 more weeks and we will be reunited!! :)

So this summer I am learning to love. This adventure was an awesome time to love on a select few interns, and I loved getting to hike, talk, explore, and eat with these guys and gals! It was a much needed adventure! I loved getting to hear about high school life and after college plans. I must say I plan on going back to Tumalo Falls again and doing some more exploring!!

Have a great week ya'll!!