Buenos Dias!

Mid-terms are FINALLY over with, and I'm leaving for Guadalajara, Mexico tomorrow! So excited!!

Quick update!

So I've had the flu for a week and a half. I'm finally getting over it but now my poor roomie has it! Although she's moving through it a lot quicker than i did.

Also, I got a call back for the second round of interviews for RA. I'm so glad...I was sick during my first interview so I didn't really function as I would've liked. But hey, I get a second chance! :)

Mexico is in two weeks! I'm almost there, just about $180 more dollars to raise!

Aaand that's about it. :)

Ice Day!

Classes are canceled!!! Praise God!!!!

Florida

The Leadership Conference in Tallahassee, Florida was quite an experience. It was such an honor and privilege to be chosen to go on this trip. There were 15 students at the conference total, most of which were graduates. The rest of the attendees were doctors, directors, etc. In a setting with those statistics it would be very easy to feel out of place, but honestly, I felt like we really had a voice there. Some of them were actually amazed that there were students attending the conference simply for the experience!

The theme was learning how to address Hot Topics on College campuses. It was so interesting looking at it from a Christian perspective. I gained so much appreciation for Evangel, the fact that we have so much freedom in a shared belief that sets a unity between those on our campus. I explained this to some directors at other, secular colleges and they actually considered it a healthy environment.

But something they really emphasized in some of the sessions I attended was the importance of listening. Something I've really began feeling passionate about this year is making sure that everyone's voice is heard and considered. I've been in several group settings where ideas are shoved off, or even people are left out all together and I know that it isn't necessary for that to take place. I was glad that this was brought to attention at this conference.

Overall it was an enjoyable trip. The last day we just enjoyed ourselves (and each other!) until we had to go to the airport. I honestly think I'm going to take these things I've gathered and apply them to the leadership roles I find myself in. Whether it's a title I have, or if it's simply asking myself, "What can I do to help this situation?"

Victory

Let me just express the internal events that took place today. I just switched my major to Biblical Studies and I'm in Sophomore Seminar for Theology. I'm the only Bible major in that class so I feel the expectations for me are somewhat higher than the others in this class. We're writing a 10-15 page Exegesis paper on a scripture assigned to each individual by our professor, and we've had these insane papers to fill out at the Library. I just switched from a Music major so I didn't have to write a whole lot of papers or make many trips to the Library so honestly, earlier today I had no idea what I was doing. And I've felt that way a lot lately.

Earlier today I was feeling really discouraged. Basically I felt like I wasn't intelligent enough to go into ministry, but I've reached my musical limits and so I was just feeling like I'm not good enough to go into anything and my entire college career and life was just going to end up in failure.

Then I realized, Hey, I switched to go into full time ministry because that is what God is calling me to do. And not only that, God isn't going to call me into failure. Those are lies that Satan is trying to use against me to bring me down and shatter every last bit of my confidence so that I can't fulfill God's work for me.

So I prayed for academic and spiritual discipline, and decided that I was going to trust God to work through me and give me the tools and confidence and abilities I need to fulfill His plan, because I know I can't do it on my own. I'm not meant to do it on my own anyway. Only God can do it through me.

And I finished that worksheet with hardly any trouble whatsoever, and I got so much accomplished today. Now that I've decided to win the victory over Satan trying to work against me, I feel so much better.

With every day God is breaking down so many of my barriers. I'm actually overcoming fears that I never expected myself to win over. But thank God, this outcome is going to be good.