simple truth: summer on a boat .... well, sort of.

One of the most clever pictures ever. We had to get a picture on a boat and the guy that was putting up the letters for that week let us mess with it and put our own - very encouraging - message. But the catch was... we had to then put, "Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever. I don't think that is as eye catching as our message! SHAWTY!

I am not sure where to begin when talking about the past two weeks. it would just be ridiculous to cover absolutely everything... but I will try!

It started on a Sunday afternoon when I was visiting a mr. ellis before the summer started officially. I went to church and the scripture that was discussed was Isaiah 6. Which I just so happen to associate with this summer and my past mission trips (that always happens). I was driving to the Barnes and Noble at the Summit and tears started falling. I guess it was the unknown that I was nervous about. I quickly got over that.

I sat down at a table in Barnes and Noble with my Mocha Frappuchino, a new journal & my first Louie Giglio book - yes.. incase you were wondering... I am turning into Josh Coleman -. But I enjoyed just seeing people around me that were made to worship. What a beautiful sight and what a call to share the beautiful news.

I met up with one of the girls doing 1:8 and we drove over to the seminary to put our stuff in our dorms - that are smaller than wku's -, sign more forms, and head over to keith inman's house for dinner. It was great to be able to see the girls and guys that I will be spending the rest of my summer with.

We got the basic rundown for the summer and were able to do some bonding on that first night. The segregation started between the girls and guys. The ladies gathered in the living room and around the kitchen table while the boys went down stairs to be secluded. - it has only gotten worse since then... haha. but it's okay -.

The week started off kind of shaky. We all tried to get used to the schedule. Some of the girls were ambitious and mentioned working out in the mornings - I was one of those girls for two days.. - but that has slowly stopped with mornings that start at 7 this week. The first week we listened to TJ come and talk about discipleship. It was pretty great and I was reminded once again how important it is (this excited me about the dgroup I have the opportunity to lead in the fall).

One of the coolest things (in my opinion) that we are doing is this thing called Ministry Points. That means that on certain nights we go to these places in which we can engage with other people and work on hearing the peoples stories that we come into contact with and then share our story - ultimately sharing God's story. We are also using these times to build relationships with people (we try to go to the same place every week) and invite them to Refresh - our Thursday night worship service at Hunsinger Lane Baptist Church.

well that is a good transition into the service... Refresh. Can I just tell you that it is legit. The people who are playing in the band are not only talented but are passionate about praising God. Which is absolutely beautiful. Everyone who is involved in the service works together to glorify God - even if it takes extra hours and a little frustration with things not working out the way we thought they would. For those of you who know - my passion is worship - just the idea of praise - through a service - but not only that - through our daily lives. It is just a beautiful way to think of glorifying God - giving Him all you have to praise Him. I am learning so much about worship this summer and how it can be done through service, prayer, community, time alone, and the times when you have to stick it out.

Well... if you didn't know - my favorite thing is to plan our services and get everything to work together and flow well. I just find it so much fun and a great way to be involved in something so great. Well.. I got a little experience at WKU with BCM's service - 180 - and now I am able to help out with Refresh. When I found out that we were going to be doing a service like this in February, I got really excited and just wanted to be a part of it - like I was at WKU - but that wasn't the plan for the first week. I was planning on making an order and working with the band - but I volunteered to do so - and I am so glad I did.

Now I am able to work with the band and make an order and watch how the Lord is moving through the service. - this is something that I was so joyful about - which might be silly - but it's a passion.

And now.. on to Jeff Street and the experience there. Just incase you were wondering or at all curious - All homeless people are not homeless for the same reason. They are not all on drugs. They do not all have mental problems. They do not all ask for what they were dealt. Some things happen and it's hard to get up when you fall hard and fast.

I met a woman in Jeff Streets Day Shelter who was very quiet at first. She didn't really want to talk to me at first - but then she started to open up. I was able to find a book for her to read. She really enjoys reading and was almost finished with a book that had a very disgusting story line - so I found a book that was by a favorite author of Beth Moore (I thought you couldn't go wrong with something Beth Moore likes!). I was able to give the book to her and she looked at the back and after summing up the idea of it - she said. "well this looks good!" It was just good to know that she would be reading something with a good theme. I wanted to go back and talk to her more on our last day - but she was gone when I went to say goodbye. That was sad - but I hope she was just finding a good spot to read and enjoy the book.

I am sure there is a lot more that I need to write about - like the trip to Comedy Caravan, the sessions with Chuck Lawless, the nights exploring Louisville, how I want to move here, the beautiful people who I get to spend the summer with, how my car is about 6,000 miles over the limit to get the oil changed, the humbling experiences, how a few of us were ... intoxicated from the paint fumes, my trips to coffee shops, talking to people who own their own shops and getting ideas from them, the group from waterfront, and the Edge training today - I am sure there is a lot more to come soon. But I hope you enjoy the pictures and the update.