Dino Dave, Desirable, and Adventure Pack, Oh My!

Hey Guys, 

Well i am not sure yet if I have told you about my awesome staff or not but I am gonna give you all a little info. 

My site directors name is Wendy. She is from Minnesota and has the coolest accent! She is super chill and so fun to talk to! Then our kids club coordinator is Zach. He is from Pennsylvania, and loves country music like me. Then we have Tyler. He is from Ohio, and is our Program Staff coordinator! He is so talented at the guitar. Finally is Dave! Dave is from California and is a utility staff. He helps with everything and can draw an awesome dinosaur named Dino Dave. So anyway that's just a little about the staff!

We have coined phrases like "remember that time when..." "Oh, yea!" "Yea, totally." Also we have a game now that is very dear to our hearts, it's called Munchkin! And we are bringing back the fanny pack, except we call it the adventure pack!

Haha anyways...Seeing things come together is exciting. Today we worked on and almost finished our club room! It's so

Awesome to see God working already. 

Below are some pictures of some things in our club room. Thanks again for all the prayers and support! You guys are the best!

I love you all.

Kristen-

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." -Romans 5:1

Storm Chasing

Hey guys,

Well we have officially moved everything into the TNT center at Wanblee and things are getting organized. 

Today we moved the last loads from storage to our site and then Dave and I ventured to Pine Ridge One for my paint! 

PR1 is about and hour and a half away but Dave and I got lost so it took us a while longer. Oh...and we were driving into a massive storm---tornado storm. 

Anyway, we made it to PR1, had tacos for dinner while we waited out the storm. I got to visit with my sweet friends Colleen and Megan and then Dave and I headed back. 

All in all it was a successful day! Below are some pictures of the Badlands, storm, and me saying hi.

As always thank you for loving and supporting my team and I in prayer and thought!

I love you all.

Kristen-

RAMP Ends, Summer begins.

Hey Guys,

I'm sorry it's been a few days since I have posted but things have been pretty crazy. RAMP Week ended with Foot washing (a YouthWorks tradition) which literally makes me cry every time. This was my fourth foot washing experience with YouthWorks and yes I did tear up a bit. Foot washing hits me big time and is so reflective. Friday night concluded with a final area time. Our areas name is Jordan---I think I mentioned that in an earlier blog---so our whole area received the name the Jordarians. It was great. We all circled up in our site teams with Jordan and prayed and then headed to bed for our final night at RAMP.

The next morning came way too early. We all got up, packed our things, helped clean the building, and anxiously awaited our departure times! Our vehicles are a Ford F-150 and a Blue Chevy Cruz. I offered to drive our first leg and then we were off. I drove the first 4 hours until we hit Alliance Nebraska where we ate at subway for lunch. It's almost like Chris Thompson and YouthWorks got together and planned this subway lunch spot! haha. On almost every mission trip I went on we ate subway a lot, it was just kind of fitting for my first road trip with my YouthWorks staff. After we ate we drove another hour to Chadron where we had to buy some groceries for the week. Chadron was 2 hours from our destination. After an interesting wal-mart trip we ventured off for the last leg of our journey to Kadoka.

Just to clarify, our site is NOT in Kadoka. However, a very nice Pastor of a church there has a shed that holds all of our storage and since today is Memorial Day we couldn't get to our actual site until tomorrow so we have been staying at the church since Saturday. We went to church Sunday morning and then started in on our tasks. Work has been kinda slow since we aren't at our site but we are still managing to get a lot accomplished.

Anyway things are going pretty well. 1 week down, 10 to go! (Not that I'm counting) This time I do have a couple new prayer requests for yall!

Pray...

• We are well rested and prepared for our youth when they arrive two weeks from today. 

• For my confidence in work projects! I am sad I won't be working with kids this summer but am excited for what God has in store, so please pray I am well prepared and know what I am doing.

• For our area directors who are living out of their cars this summer traveling between sites

As always thanks for the support guys! I am so thankful for your love and encouraging words. I miss you all.

I love you all.

Kristen-

John 3:30 He must become greater, I must become less.

The picture below is of my site directors "baked cheese"
She likes to make her grilled cheese in the oven. Haha

An Elephant in a Miniature Skirt

Hey Friends and Family!

Today was an absolutely beautiful day in Denver. I am excited to share a few new things with you all tonight!

First of all, today is Friday, which means I have one day left in the beautiful city of Denver, and RAMP is coming to an end.

This week has taught me so much about the incredible believers and brothers and sisters I have in Christ out there. So, i'm gonna share about some of these incredible people. (:

On monday when I arrived at RAMP I met Colleen. Colleen is a site director at our sister site Pine Ridge 1. She is such an encouragement and has this spirit that could only be given by God. It's incredible. She has such a kind and gentle heart and our friendship, though just starting, is growing. It pits me at ease knowing my friend is just down the street from me and I know she is praying/supporting me, as am I for her. I feel so blessed by Colleens heart this week.

Also, one of our area directors names is Peter. Peter is actually the one who hired me and has helped me start this journey. Just when I was feeling down about my placement and my position Peter wrote me a note of encouragement that instantly lifted my spirit and gave me some confidence. 

One thing I have loved about RAMP so far is that Monday was a lot like arriving at a mission trip site on a sunday...you are thrown into a new place with totally new people! However, you could totally see God right at work as people were bonding instantly. I have met Colleen, Wendy, Zach, Tyler, Brad, Heather, Leah, Victoria and so many other sweet God glorifying people. Meeting these sweet friends is seriously the best encouragement because having believers

With a common goal/heart to build you up is really indescribable. I am so thankful for the impact they have had in my RAMP experience.

So here's a funny story for you all. Tonight we had area time. This is where the 4 sites in our area meet with our area director Jordan (who's hilarious) and talk and do ice breakers. Tonight we played a game called "fishbowl." Basically, you write any random word or phrase down, put it in a bucket and you draw one out. There are three rounds. 1. You can say anything to describe the word to your partner. 2. You have to act it out 3. You can use one word to help them guess it. Here's the catch, after round one you throw all the written down words or phrases back into the bucket for the acting portion. So if you pay attention in round one it can help you on 2 and three. Anyway one of the words was "elephant in a miniature skirt." My partner of course drew this word and i knew what it was because it had been guessed earlier, but i thought they had said "elephant miniascure" which clearly isn't a word, but i had no idea! Haha! So, in front of the group i yelled that and they all died laughing. Needless to say it was not miniascure but miniature. I never have laughed so hard.

Today was just a great day of learning and fellowship! I can't wait to share more stories as my summer progresses but as for now i am heading to bed.

Good night everyone.

I love you all.

Kristen-

"For the son of man came to seek and save the lost." Luke 19:10

  

Training Day and Placement?!?!

Hey Guys!

So excited to be posting another blog! This one, however, will be short and sweet as sleep is valued here. (:

I arrived in Denver on Monday afternoon. We are fortunate enough to have a wonderful church who volunteered their whole youth center for us for training! It is a beautiful church, nestled in the suburbs of a beautiful state.

Training has been very long today. I feel like a sponge, just trying to absorb as much as I can and glorify God. I have some exciting news...

I GOT PLACED. (: I will be spending my summer in Pine Ridge South Dakota. This area is not far from Martin where my first YouthWorks mission trip was. South Dakota is beautiful and I cannot wait to see what's in store!

I will post more things as they come.

As always, thanks for your unconditional love, support and prayers. I appreciate them more than you know!

I love you all.

Kristen-

Next Stop...YouthWorks

Denver, Here I come!

Well Guys, It's been a fun and crazy week getting ready for this journey. I have spent a lot of time with family, caught up with some friends, slept a ton, and prayed even more. I can't believe I will be boarding my flight in just a short while. It's crazy.

I wanted to thank you guys so much for all your support already. From the hugs, the texts, the emails, and the blog replies, your kind words, support, and prayers mean the world to me. This trip is very outside of my "comfort zone." I may go to school out of state, but my drive is only 2.5 hours so basically I am a hop, skip, and a jump away from being home whenever I want. Going to Denver, and somewhere else in the West for 11 weeks is going to push me in a whole lot of new ways, but I am excited. I know God is going to use me in incredible ways to glorify his kingdom this summer, and that just makes my heart smile!

This week is training week. I have been told it is a BLAST but is super busy! My intent is to update this on Thursday to let everyone know officially where my journey will begin this summer. From then on out it is my goal to update my blog with pictures, stories, and anything else about how God is working this summer on Saturdays. Saturdays will be my day off, so I can't wait to fill you all in on those days. Also, to make it easier on all of you whenever I post a new Blog I will post it as my facebook status so you can directly click and go from there.

I hope you all have a wonderful week, and thanks for taking the time to read my blog, follow my journey and pray for/about it in any way God puts on your heart. (:

I love you all.

Kristen-

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. "Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
Matthew 5:14-16

Preparing My Heart

Hey Guys!

First of all, Welcome to my blog. I am so excited that you are reading and following along with me while I take the journey of a lifetime to be on staff with YouthWorks this summer and serve the Lord.
YouthWorks has such a special place in my heart as it has played a large role in my spiritual growth.

This first post may seem all over the place as I have a lot of ground to cover with you guys.

For those of you who have asked, here are the specifics of my trip:
   Monday, May 20, 2013, I will be leaving Texas and heading to Denver for training. My flight leaves at 11 am and I am flying on United Airlines. Denver is training week, so things will be very crazy and my ability to communicate with everyone will be quite limited.

  After training week I will be heading to the West. I am unsure of what site currently as my position is Utility Staff. This means that depending on the need I could be permanently at one site or could be moving around. There are 6 sites that could be possible summer homes for me: San Diego, San Francisco, Washington, Lander Wyoming, Denver, and Navajo Arizona. When I find out my starting destination I will let you all know ASAP.

I am so excited for what God has in store for the summer. I am anxious to meet my team, serve the Lord, and glorify God's Kingdom. It s my intent to post on here weekly to keep everyone updated with progress, prayer requests, stories, and other information. However, this being my first summer on staff I am not sure what time I will have.

For now I have one major thing to ask of you. I need your prayer.

Pray For...

• My flight on Monday- That I may make it to training safely
• RAMP- RAMP is our training week. Please pray that everything runs smoothy and training week prepares us all for an incredible summer
• My team- Although I don't know them yet please be praying that their hearts and minds are preparing and that they get adequate rest and have energy to kick off the summer.
• My site- please pray for the site(s) I will be at and the community(s) we will be ministering to. Pray that their hearts are open and we can show them a Christ Like Love that captivates their attention.
• My heart/emotions- Please say a prayer that God comforts me as I take a step so far outside of my comfort zone and my frisco/norman bubble.

I appreciate yours thoughts and prayers more than you know and cannot wait to share everything with you when I return August 6.

Thanks for following me! (:

I love you all.

Kristen-

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day   by day." ~2nd Corinthians 4:16