Natalie and I served most of this last week at work. I didn’t really like it, but I prayed alot about having a good attitude every day before work, and it ended up not being that bad. It’s still not my favorite, but I made some money, and it gave me experience. Plus, on the two slower days we had, I got to talk to alot more people. This week we passed out Hope bracelets at work. Originally we ordered about 300 and were going to pass them out on the Boardwalk as part of our outreach, but we didn’t get them in time. So instead, we took them to work and gave them to our co-workers. They’re these really cool bracelets with five colors on them: gold, black, red, white, and green. They’re made by Filipino women who used to be prostitutes, but became Christians and now they support themselves by making these bracelets. And they illustrate the Gospel:

Gold: God is absolutely perfect and controls everything.

Black: We are sinful, and because we are not perfect, we cannot know God personally.

Red: Jesus died on the cross and took the punishment for our sins upon Himself, so that we can have a personal relationship with God.

White: Christ takes away our sin and makes us pure in God’s eyes.

Green: We grow in our knowledge of Christ and our relationship with Him.

So it was really awesome to give them out at work because not only is it a way for our co-workers to remember us, but they are an easy and effective way of sharing the Gospel! I was surprised by how much my co-workers liked them. We had ten, but those got passed out really quickly, so I got five more and passed those out on Friday. I even had some people ask me if they could have one, but I had already run out of them The really cool thing was, I got to give them to two of my managers. I was nervous to give one to my boss, Kevin, because he’s DEFINITELY not interested in Christianity…or if he is, he makes it seem like he’s not. But he came up to me and asked what they were, and why he didn’t have one when everyone else did. So I explained it to him, and he was like Oh, that’s pretty cool, and wanted me to tie it on his wrist, so I did! One of the coolest things is that some of our co-workers came back later and wanted us to explain it them again. They wanted to know exactly what it meant so they could tell people when they asked! How amazing is that? I don’t think any of them are believers, but they will still be able to be part of spreading the Gospel, even if they don’t really believe it themselves. I think it’s cool that God uses unexpected ways of spreading His love like that. Needless to say, Natalie and I were really excited!

On Friday, we made cupcakes for everyone and brought them in. SO many of our co-workers were legitimately sad that we were leaving. And even though he had not really said anything all summer, Kevin told us that we were great workers  and he loves us working there and would welcome us back there anytime. He told us if we came back next summer, he might even go to church with us! Hahaha. We aren’t going back obviously, but I’m so glad that everyone there was able to recognize a difference in us. I think alot of times as Christians we don’t really see ourselves as THAT different from the world.  But at the Dough Roller, we were SO different from everyone else there, and at first they kind of made fun of us for it, but as they got to know us and work with us, they really appreciated us. It was a completely different environment on Friday than it was at the beginning of the summer. I remember our first week, when one of our managers made fun of us, and other people just seemed to want to ignore us. I’m so grateful that God provided us with jobs there, and I really, REALLY hope that my co-workers will be curious about that difference in us, and that God will start to pull on their hearts and show them how much He loves them!

Yesterday we had a free day all day until our Farewell Banquet that night. I went to the beach for a few hours, and deposited money at the bank FINALLY, and then we all got ready and headed to the banquet. The Harrisons are a family who go to Stevenson, the church where I went this summer, and they own multiple hotels and restaurants in Ocean City. They’ve been so great to us. Not only did they provide jobs for about 9 people on project, but they also sponsored the food for the dinner that Stevenson held for us project women, and they’ve done other things too to just really make our experience here great. So for the banquet, they let us use one of the conference rooms at the Holiday Inn, and they even set up the tables and decorations and screen and everything! All we had to do was bring the food. It was SO NICE! I walked in and was shocked. We got food catered from Carrabba’s and got two Smith Island cakes for dessert. It was absolutely delicious. It was so much fun to just fellowship with each other and celebrate our project. At the end, we watched a movie that Tyler made of project. It was so wonderful. It had videos from project, as well as pictures and some of us talking about what we’ve learned here. And they burned a copy for everyone, so I get to have it forever! Of course we took TONS of pictures as well. I think I took about 70, no lie!

Today was our last day at our churches. Although Stevenson isn’t a church that I would choose to go to, today I just realized how great they have been to us. Not only with the dinner they had for all of us women, but they were so welcoming to us and really made us feel like a part of the congregation right from the beginning. We led two songs in worship today, and we were nervous about it because we had practiced and did NOT sound good, but once we got up there everything just clicked. It was totally a God thing, because this morning when we practiced before church we were awful! But it worked. And I think the people really loved it. Pastor Carol came up and hugged each one of us after church and just let us know how much they enjoyed having us and how they were praying for us. And even though I will never see them here again, I will see them in heaven one day. How awesome is that?!

This afternoon it is POURING! Michael and Chrissi came back to close out the project, and it’s hilarious because now that they’re here it’s raining like it did the entire time the staff was here! I think they must bring the rain or something. Haha. It’s supposed to be sunny tomorrow, but it’s our house cleaning day—hopefully everyone will work hard and we will get it clean so we can play outside on the beach one more time!

I can’t believe project is basically done. Part of me is really excited to go back to school and see everyone, but I’m also really not looking forward to it because that means we are DONE. And I won’t see alot of these people again, especially if I don’t go to Radiate in December. So Natalie and I are DEFINITELY going!

This is the last time I will post on here…weird. I hope everyone’s enjoyed reading it, and I will see you soon!

<3 <3 <3

*Alison*

Earlier this week, Ashley (who is in charge of Women’s Time) told us that Friday night all of us girls were going out to eat and just hang out together, and it was all paid for, and to be ready at 6:15. So we all got ready, you know wearing our sundresses and everything, and gathered on the porch, expecting to just hang out just us, and then Jon (who is in charge of Men’s Time) walks up in a shirt and tie and tells us that the guys have cooked dinner for us! They did a Creative Date without us ever finding out about it! We were wondering why the guys were having so many secret meetings this week, but didn’t really think anything of it. So as we are standing outside, the guys with cars pull them around the corner and open the door for us, and drive us to Atlantic. Then some of the other guys came out and escorted each of us inside! They had put out tables with tablecloths and even made centerpieces out of napkins. And there were typed out menus and a poem that one of the guys had written about how much the guys appreciate us! We were soooo surprised. It was awesome. All of the guys were wearing shirts and ties and they waited on us the entire night. They had made salad and pasta and broccoli and bread, and had three different choices of dessert. It was SO much fun! We felt so special. Later that night we watched Tristan & Isolde, which I thought was mostly a girl movie, but the guys liked it too.

On Saturday I went to Salisbury with Meg, John Mark, and Mark to look at the thrift store for our 80′s prom apparel. We ended up getting lost, and then couldn’t find Goodwill, so it took a little longer than expected. But we finally found the Salvation Army and got some incredibly tacky 80′s bridesmaid/prom dresses. Mine was this obnoxious fuchsia color with puffed sleeves and a big bow on the back. It was fantastic. We headed back to Ocean City then because we had outreach at 1, but the traffic was horrible so we ended up not getting back til 1:30. So we met everyone on the beach, and they had already been playing tug of war, so after a few more minutes of that we all went out in pairs with Soularium, KGP’s, and the Satisfied booklets. I went out with Anna, and we walked up and down the Boardwalk for a long time, but no one wanted to talk to us. It was pretty discouraging because it was the last day of outreach and we didn’t get to talk to anyone, but instead we just prayed for the other people who were evangelizing. It’s really hard to enjoy outreach when I haven’t had very good experiences with it, but we were just trying to remind ourselves that prayer is just as important as talking, and that just because we weren’t talking to people directly didn’t mean we were failures. It’s hard to remember that, because alot of the time I feel like our “success” at being a Christian is measured by how much we DO. But it’s not.

Saturday night we had our 80′s dance party! It was SO much fun. Everyone was so incredibly tacky and we danced ALOT. Laura and I tried to do Thriller, but we realized we have never done it with the music before, so we didn’t know which steps happened when! We remembered a few pieces, but not all of it. So we’re going to keep practicing and hopefully have it down by the Farewell Banquet which is in…only 6 days! AHHH!

I can’t believe today starts the last full week of project. We are going to the beach this afternoon after we eat lunch.  One of the guys in my life group is cooking today, but he’s been cooking for almost 2 hours, and I think all he is making is rice. Hmmm. I think I might go see if he needs help.

Our employee cookout went GREAT! None of my co-workers came, and alot of other people’s co-workers didn’t come either, but it was actually a good thing because about 50 people from the Jolly Roger Waterpark came! 6 people from our group work there as lifeguards and water attendants, and they posted a flier in the break room. At first we couldn’t get the charcoal started, and no one was coming, and we were really worried that the whole thing was going to flop. But then things started working, and food started cooking, and people just kept coming and coming! We were worried that we would run out of food by then, but I felt like it was a fish-and-loaves type thing. We prayed that God would provide, and we ended up having EXACTLY enough of the side dishes for all of the co-workers to eat, and had hamburgers and hotdogs left over! Seriously, throughout the whole thing it was SO apparent that everything that happened was all God, and not us. It was so close to failing, but God provided for us, and it was so cool to see that.

The two Swedish girls came too! I thought they were supposed to be in New York that weekend, but it was the next weekend, so they came. It was so fun to see them again! I didn’t get to talk to them during the cookout because I was cooking hamburgers inside (I am a GRILLMASTER!) but several girls got to talk to them while they were eating, and I joined later. After everyone got food and sat down, the guy who leads the outreach team (Dylan) got up and prayed over the food, and basically just presented the gospel very concisely, and told them all why we are here. So that sparked spiritual conversations for alot of people. Sarah asked Jennie and Jessie (Swedish girls) what they thought about God, and heaven, and all of that stuff. She said Jessie didn’t really talk, but Jennie was very strong in saying that she doesn’t believe in a God, she only believes in herself. It’s a mindset that is typical in internationals from Europe and the surrounding area..not to say that there aren’t people here who believe like that, but it’s just alot stronger in those areas. Sarah presented the gospel to her again, and just talked to them about it, but they didn’t really ask alot of questions or want to know more. So be praying for Jennie and Jessie. Pray that God would capture their hearts and just make it very apparent to them how He exists, how much they need a Savior, and how much He loves them and wants to know them!

This week at work has been pretty eventful. Christina, who Natalie and I had gotten the closest to, quit on Sunday. She dropped the strawberry daiquiri mix on the floor, and got angry, and just walked out. So I’m really sad she’s not working there anymore. It’s kinda strange being at work without her, because we always worked with her. But on the way back from work today I ran into her on the boardwalk and got to talk to her a little bit, but not about anything really important because her boyfriend was with her. It was good to see her still, and I let her know that we miss her there and we wish she was working! Because Christina’s gone now, Natalie and I have been changed around alot as far as our jobs. On Monday I expedited, and she was a waitress! And yesterday and today we were both servers. Yesterday was NOT good for me. I was in charge of 6 tables, but the hostesses don’t know how to seat people, and they sat me 4 times in about 10 minutes, and I had no idea what I was doing, and I felt so incompetent and stressed out! At the end of the day I made…..$27. Yes, that’s right. For 6 hours of work. People just don’t tip well. One table ordered $34 worth of food, and gave me $1. So needless to say, yesterday was not fun, and I hated it. I was really worried about serving again today, so worried that I had nightmares about it last night, and I kept waking up and couldn’t fall back asleep! But I prayed alot about it, and today was just a GOOD DAY. I was assigned to 4 tables, and pretty much all of my customers today were really nice and tipped normally. I had seriously the world’s best table today too! They were a really old couple, and they were sooo cute and nice! They asked my name, and where I was from, where I went to school, what I was studying, and why I was here. It ends up that they have a daughter named Alison, the lady used to live in Columbia and she is from South Carolina and went to nursing school there in the 40′s, until she joined the military and met her husband and moved to Maryland. And they have family who live in Augusta and Martinez! SMALL WORLD! I only had 3 tables at the time, so I talked to them for a while. I think the lady had Alzheimer’s because she kept repeating herself, but the man was so loving to her and I just love seeing elderly people who have been married forever. It’s adorable. And they tipped me $7.50 on a $25 check! I was stoked. Today was such an encouragement after my disastrous experience yesterday. God is awesome.

In other news, my friend Laura and I are learning the Thriller dance! We found instructional videos on Youtube and we’ve learned like the first minute of it so far, but we ARE going to learn the whole thing before the end of project! Ideally, we would like to have it done by this weekend, because we are having an 80′s dance party this Saturday, but I’m not sure if that’s possible. We will try.

Ok so here’s another prayer request for ya’ll. Laura’s cousin, who she is really close to, got in a terrible motorcycle accident last week, and his girlfriend was with him. The girlfriend is injured, but she will get better. But Laura’s cousin had extremely serious injuries, and it’s a miracle that he is still alive. Last night she found out that there has definitely been damage to his brain, and he will be in a coma for another month or two, so they won’t be able to see the full extent of his injuries until then. And most of his internal organs are swollen and damaged, and he’s only 19 years old. Please be praying for her and her family. They are all really close, and it’s been really hard on them.

Tonight is our next to the last Family Night I can’t believe project is almost over! But I am getting excited to head back to USC. I MISS YOU ALL!

I was under the impression that I recently wrote a new entry, but I guess it’s been 9 days; sorry! I seriously forget to write, and when I do write I feel like I’ve just done it recently, so I apologize for the long breaks in between entries. Seriously, we have been SO busy here! Project time is so unreal. Actually, this whole environment is unreal. Where else do you live, hang out with, evangelize with, and have fun with all Christians? It’s so amazing. The other night I hung out in one of the guys apartments and we just talked about a whole bunch of stuff, like our high schools, how parents affect their children for better or worse, etc. etc. It was a super deep conversation that came out of nowhere, and it was awesome!

Ohhh and I played piano for our worship time for the first time last Wednesday, and again this Wednesday! I was just thinking you know, God has given me this talent, and I need to use it. So I played two songs last week, and one this week. I was really nervous because I’ve never played while people have sung along before, but it ended up being ok. It was actually pretty cool–once I started, God completely took my nerves away, and I was actually able to sing along as well as play! I don’t think I’m playing next week, but I probably will for our last Family Night, which is the week after next. Sad

So my birthday was on Friday, and it was such a happy day! I took off work, and three other girls didn’t work either, so we went to this place called the Bayside Skillet for breakfast. They are famous for their crepes, and I got dutch apple crepes. They were DELICIOUS! And the restaurant is so cute–everything is pink pretty much, and we got to sit outside and look at the bay. Then we drove to Salisbury, which is 30 minutes away, and went to Target! I don’t know why we haven’t gone there before. I’ve been dying from lack of actual civilization, and we got to go to Target, Old Navy, Ross, and went to the Dollar Tree to get presents for our Christmas in July party, which was Friday night. It was a white elephant exchange, so I bought some random stuff. Did you know they sell bubble wands that blow bubbles in the shape of Spiderman’s head? I didn’t either.

We didn’t have outreach on Saturday until that night, so I went to Assateague with 5 other girls and it was glorious. The weather was PERFECT–about 80 degrees, sunny, and slightly windy. So it was warm enough to feel great, but cool enough to not be miserable! I don’t know how I’m going to adjust to South Carolina weather again. I may possibly die of heat stroke when I get home! But our day at Assateague was sooo wonderful. It was great to just rest and be together without having to worry about anything. Saturday night was our outreach. There’s a guy who travels around showing a surf video about Bethany Hamilton, the girl whose arm got bitten off by a shark about 5 years ago. She’s a Christian, and she and her family made a documentary of her experience and how it has created so many opportunities for her to share her faith with people. We went around on the Boardwalk and handed out fliers to it before it started, then we went and watched the movie. They set it up in the parking lot of Atlantic Methodist, and it played on a 30 x 30 screen. The turnout wasn’t huge, but it was alot bigger than I expected. And we got to meet these two awesome Swedish girls who are au pairs! They just came over here 4 weeks ago and are here until next July. We didn’t get to share the Gospel with them, but Lauren and I found them on the beach on Sunday and got to talk to them some more. They were leaving to go out of town, but I hope we can get to see them again before we leave.

This week at work has been pretty good. I feel like I’m finally getting to know the people I work with, which is great, but stinks because I leave in 3 weeks. I food ran on Monday and Tuesday, and expedited yesterday, and food ran again today. It was SO busy today! When we got to work at 11 it was already busy, and it just kept getting worse as the day went on. But hopefully I made some good money! We’ve invited about 8 of our co-workers to the cookout we are having this Saturday, but most of them have to work or are out of town, so I don’t really know if anyone will come, but I hope they do. We are having a cookout for the co-workers of everyone on project. We got hotdogs and hamburgers, and we’re making desserts and side dishes too, and having the cookout in the parking lot of First Presbyterian. It’s our outreach event for Saturday, but I’m not really sure how it’s going to be outreach, but I guess we will see. So please be praying that some of my co-workers come, and if not mine, that other people will! We want to have as many as we can.

In other news…..on Tuesday night  about 10 of us saw Harry Potter at midnight! We got to Salisbury about 10:30, so we just hung out in the theater until it started. The movie wasn’t the best Harry Potter that I’ve seen, but it wasn’t bad. It was fun just to hang out together. And I’m so glad there were other Harry Potter dorks like me who wanted to see it at midnight!

Tonight is Women’s Time from 6:30 to 8, and then reflection time from 8-10. I love Thursday nights. They are always so relaxing, and while I didn’t really like reflection time at the beginning of the summer, I’m really enjoying it now. Last week I got to listen to a sermon online, and journal like 4 pages front and back. It was so nice to spend some uninterrupted and peaceful time with Jesus.

I will really, really try to update more often this week, or the next few weeks! I hope it won’t be another week or two before I blog again, but if it is…I apologize in advance.

Well, let’s see. It’s been QUITE a while since I have written. This past week was our first week without the staff. I was a little nervous, but everyone has really stepped up. It has been incredible to see people taking on responsibility, and I feel like the project has really become ours now. Not that it wasn’t before, it’s just before we were kind of relying on staff to get everything done instead of doing stuff ourselves, and now we are the ones who are actively keeping our project going, and it’s been awesome to see that. I led my first ministry team meeting on Tuesday night, and it went well! And I took checks and reimbursements for the first time on Wednesday and everything went smoothly. So…I think I will be ok. Just as long as no one gets injured We also had our first combined bible study on Tuesday night, and it was great to fellowship with all those girls. We were able to really get into the Word and talk about it with each other, as well as share how we’ve been struggling and succeeding.

At the world of the Dough Roller, this past week actually went really well. The whole week was pretty much getting ready for Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday…4th of July weekend! Which is the busiest weekend in Ocean City. I got to expedite for the first time, which basically means you stand between the kitchen and the trays and put the food on trays. And you also answer the phone and make the alcoholic drinks. Apparently I’m very good at pouring beer, a hidden talent that I had not previously discovered! It’s fun though because you have to make sure it doesn’t overflow or foam too much. But I am an absolute failure at making other drinks. I had to make my first Pina Colada, and first of all, I had to get help because I have no idea what it is one of those. Then, as I poured the mix into the blender,  the lid of the container completely fell off and spilled the mix aaaalllll over the floor and the counter, and splashed on my shirt, and my shorts, and I smelled like alcohol the rest of the day. Luckily it was towards the end of the day, otherwise I might have thrown up. That stuff STINKS.

Thursday was the beginning of the holiday weekend, and everyone got to wear 4th of July stuff. YAY NO NASTY BLUE UNIFORMS! Some people went all out, but I just wore whatever red, white, and blue I had. Natalie and I had to work the pizza counter that day, but it was pretty busy so it went by quickly. And on Friday I got to be a food runner, which was awesome because it was super busy! Everyone was just in a great mood in general because we got to wear holiday stuff, and so work was actually kind of fun!

The day that I was the expediter, one of the cooks started talking to me. He’s going to be a senior in college and asked how Natalie and I met, and I told him through a bible study freshman year, and he kind of started to make fun of us at first. But he started talking about his life and how his mom raised him in the church, but he fell away from it in high school and got started in the partying scene. He asked if Natalie and I drank, and we told him that we didn’t, and he was really surprised and said he admired that because so many people do. I had short conversations with him throughout the day but never shared the Gospel, but it obviously had an impact on him because the next day I was food running, and he called me over and said that he thnks he’s going to cut back on the partying for a little bit. He said he’d been thinking about what we said, and he’s realized that he was alot happier when he wasn’t into all of that stuff, so he’s going to try to not party as much! How cool is that? He completely recognizes the difference between a life dedicated to Christ and a life centered around yourself, and although I’m not sure I will get the chance to talk to him more (it’s really hard to talk to cooks because they are usually busy and not around where you are), at least he’s starting to question the way he’s living. So be praying for Rodney!

On Friday night, I went with about 6 other people and we were determined to find somewhere good to eat in Ocean City. We wanted to go to Shenanigan’s, but the line was soooo long so we went to a place called Boardwalk Joe’s instead. There were alot of tables open, and we were like YES! And then….we sat down, and realized why it was empty. WORST RESTAURANT EVER! It was actually funny how terrible it was. Sarah got a “crab”cake sandwich that tasted like a dead animal, and my hot turkey sandwich turned out to be turkey on wonderbread with mayonnaise. At first we were kind of mad, because it took an hour to get our food, but then it just became a joke, and we laughed sooo hard! Everything about it was so awful that it was hilarious. Great bonding moment for us! The rest of the night we spent working on our armor for Cardboard Wars, which was our outreach event on Saturday. Ok, so Cardboard Wars is really hard to explain, but I will try. We are divided into two groups, the Red & White and the Black & Blue. Then, we make our weapons and armor out of cardboard, and decorate it and paint it our colors. There is a general for each time, and basically, we all march out to the beach, and the generals talk to each other. Then, we all fight, until everyone is dead except the two generals. The Red & White fights the Black & Blue general, then kills him. Then, the Red general pretty much speaks the Gospel: how our physical war represents a spiritual war, how God loves us and wants to have a relationship with us, how He sent Jesus to die for us, and how we can know God through giving Christ control of our lives. The point of the war is to draw a crowd (and it’s just fun) and then at the end, hundreds of people end up hearing the gospel! We didn’t really have many really great conversations afterwards, but the ultimate purpose is to spread the Gospel, and we reached around 400 people in an hour!

One person you can be praying for is a co-worker of mine. Her name is Bojana (pronounced Buena) and she’s 35 years old and a student from Serbia. Natalie has been able to talk to her alot at work, but mostly Bojana works nights so we don’t see her very often, but she also goes to the Son Spot free breakfast for internationals on Friday and Saturday mornings, so several people from our team have met her. She saw our war, and Natalie and I got to talk to her, but she’s Greek Orthodox so it’s hard to explain things to her because she believes she is saved. But she’s talked alot about tradition and rituals, and doesn’t seem to believe that we can have a personal relationship with Christ ourselves. So please be praying for her, that 1). she would begin to desire a personal relationship with God, 2). that Natalie and I would have more opportunities to talk to her, and 3). that God would open her eyes and show her how she can know Him personally.

After Cardboard Wars on Saturday, we had room inspections as usual and then we had our 4th of July extravaganza! We had sign up sheets for everyone to make/buy something, and then hot dogs were provided, so we had a wonderful cook-out with our group in front of our house. It was so fun! The food was great, and it was so nice to just fellowship with each other and celebrate the holiday. Later we went to the beach to watch the fireworks, and those were so much fun. We laid on the beach for a while afterwards too, which felt amazing because I realized this was the first 4th of July EVER that I wasn’t pouring sweat and slapping mosquitoes! The weather was a perfect 75ish degrees, with no humidity. Wonderful! It rained later that night, but we were inside so it didn’t really matter.

So in my last post, I mentioned Christina who we work with. She went on a trip with her church last week and came back today. She seemed really bothered this morning, and so we were talking to her about her week, and she told us how she felt like she had to quit the Dough Roller. She’s realized how much she needs to follow God, and recognizes that she isn’t strong enough to resist the constant party scene that is absolutely everywhere at work. So she really feels like she needs to stop working there because she doesn’t want to get caught up into all of that stuff again, but she isn’t able to say no yet. How awesome is that??? She completely doesn’t want to quit at all because she loves it there, but she feels like it is what God wants her to do. The only thing is, even after she told our manager that she needed to leave, she started wanting to stay. All day she was talking about how she didn’t know what to do, and that maybe she needed to stay there to be a witness to them. Natalie and I both told her that she CAN be a witness, but that when you first start following Christ, you need to remove yourself from those situations that are tempting until you grow in your faith enough to say no to those temptations that have been a problem for you in the past. Still, by the end of the day, Christina was saying that she was going to stay. So please be praying that she would continue to seek Christ’s guidance in this, and not let her love of her job keep her in a situation that is detrimental to her spiritual life. Ultimately, pray that she would make the decision that God wants her to make, and not the decision she wants to make.

One last prayer request and then I’m done. On Saturday, one of the girls in my group, Erica, got a call from her mom that her grandmother was killed in a car accident. Erica went home on Sunday, and she’s not sure how long she will be gone because all of the funeral plans have to be made and stuff, and then the funeral itself happen, so we are hoping she will be back by the end of the week but aren’t sure. Please pray for her family. It was her dad’s mom, and her mom’s dad is also in the hospital and really sick, so their family is just going through alot right now. And for it to be a car accident is just such a terrible thing to happen. It is cool to see how God has placed certain people together this summer though, because he knew that things like this would happen, and we are able to support each other. Meg’s grandfather died in April, then Grandmama dying two weeks ago, and now Erica’s grandma. So just lift them up in your prayers please. Also, pray for me and Meg as well. When someone loses a family member, it makes you remember the people you’ve lost. And it’s really hard because hearing about Erica’s grandma brought up a whole bunch of emotions that I’ve been trying to avoid dealing with here because I don’t have the time to think about it or the privacy to deal with it, and now it’s alot more difficult to push back those feelings, so yeah.

Alright, this post was so incredibly long that most of you have probably stopped reading, so I think I will stop here. Hopefully, if the internet stays strong, I will be able to update more often! Happy 6th of July!

I have been a food runner at work for the past week. Which I don’t mind at all, because you make a good amount of money, and you don’t have taxes taken out because it’s basically all from tips. YAY! On Tuesday Natalie and I had a really good conversation with one of the girls at work who we often work with. From first impressions, I thought there was no way she would be interested in spiritual stuff. Which was a judgment on my part. But she mentioned that she is going to a church camp next week, and we were like you go to church? She definitely believes in God, and she goes to church every week, but I’m not sure if she’s a Christian. I think she’s dealing with alot of guilt from the past, and she mentioned how just a few weeks ago she had gotten back into some stuff that she hasn’t done in a while and feels guilty about it, so Natalie and I were able to encourage her and let her know that our sins don’t affect God’s grace upon us. We told her that once you accept Christ into your life, all your past, present and future sins are forgiven, and you don’t have to worry about losing your salvation because you’ve messed up. She says she knows that, but she doesn’t like how she takes advantage of God’s grace by doing what she wants because she knows her actions don’t affect salvation. So we just got to talk to her about all of that, and let her know that you don’t have to be perfect to be a Christian. I’m not sure where she stands with her personal walk with Christ, but please pray for her: 1. that she would acknowledge Christ as Lord in her life if she doesn’t already; 2. that she would begin to follow Him, not just in believing but in living out how He desires for us to live; 3. that she would be able to resist the temptations that have been a HUGE issue for her in the past; 4. that Natalie and I will have opportunities to encourage her and let her know more about Christ.

In other news, my bible study has been combined with another bible study for the rest of the summer. At first we were nervous that things would be weird because we’ve been in separate ones until now, but since another of our girl team members left project two days ago (which was really sad), the other bible study only had 3 members, and we only had 4, they were combined. I’m really excited though, because two of the girls live in my apartment and I LOVE them, and the third girl is sooo sweet and I haven’t really gotten to know her very well yet, but I really want to. So we’re all going to eat dinner tonight and share our life stories again. We feel like we need to let all of the bible study know the nasty junk in our lives so we can really bond together as one for the rest of the summer. I’m pumped for our new bible study!

Tomorrow night is the farewell banquet for the staff. It’s going to be alot of fun (we’re having amazing food and speeches and stuff) but also sad because we’re saying goodbye to the staff. And I probably won’t ever see my discipler Kristin again…:-( . There will be crying, but we’re also going to have fun fellowship together one last time.

Alrighty, I better go change out of nasty work clothes. Love love love!

Today it is raining. Yesterday was only the 4th day in the past 3 1/2 weeks that it has been sunny. Who knew it could/would ever rain so much? On the bright side, today is Saturday so we had outreach scheduled on the beach from 1-3:30. Well, because of the rain, instead they encouraged us to write letters/wall posts/messages/pray for people in our lives. A bunch of us got together to pray for our co-workers specifically, and it was so good to just spend time in prayer with one another. Sometimes we forget that prayer is just as important as sharing a KGP with someone, because it’s not directly witnessing to someone. But really, it’s SO important! One girl on my team, Sarah, mentioned the Shane & Shane song “You Said” and how it really goes along with what we are doing here.

You said/ Ask and I’ll give the nations to you/ Oh Lord, that’s the cry of my heart/ Distant shores and the islands will see Your light/ As it rises on us

You know, people talk about reaching the nations and going to different countries to share Christ, but here in Ocean City, the nations have come to us! Almost all of us work with at least 2 or 3 internationals, and they’re from ALL over the place. If  we could impact just a few, they would take that back to their countries, and then there could be an amazing ripple effect. How cool would THAT be?

But the thing is, even if it sounds so amazing, I’m having such a hard time wanting to share with people. I haven’t had very many good experiences so far, and it’s just hard to walk up to a random person and be like hey, let me tell you about Jesus! I’m really praying that God would give me a desire to share with others, and that I would be bold in sharing my faith and take initiative. Because right now, I’m just in a funky mood about all of it. I think Satan is really trying to pull me down. And flying home for 5 of the past 14 days has also really disoriented me…I feel like I’m not fully immersed in either place because I have been going back and forth so much.  I felt involved, and then I went home, and then I was again, and then I went home again, and now I’m just…confused? So I’m praying that God would really pull me back in and give me boldness and the strength to become fully involved in project again.

I don’t really have much to say as far as what we have been doing, because I was gone Monday through Wednesday of this week for Grandmama’s memorial service. Work is going pretty well. I’ve been a food runner these past two days, which I really like because I get to talk to people and I’m kept busy. Thursday was a CRAZY day–it rained, so everyone came inside to eat, and we went nonstop from 11 to 4! I was a food runner/busgirl, so I was cleaning tables, running food, taking stuff to the kitchen, running more food, cleaning again, etc. etc! It was stressful, but I think I made alot of $$$ in tips so that’s exciting. Also, when I’m a food runner you have alot more opportunities to talk to the waitresses and expediters because you stand around with them until you have something to do. So that’s been good.

We were supposed to go putt putting last Saturday, but it rained, so we moved it to this Saturday. And it is still raining. So tonight we are going to an indoor one! I’m excited.

Other than that, not much else to report. Hope you are all doing great

My job has been getting a little better. It’s still pretty boring, but at least I’ve met a good number of the other workers. I still don’t know how to just stand around and wait for people to come, but I’m learning. I usually like to be busy all the time, but I’m getting more used to the boredom. Today I got to be a food runner which I’ve never done before. I spent alot of time standing around, but it was good to meet the waitresses and other food runners and expediters. Since I’ve been up at the counter every day, I haven’t really had the chance to talk to people outside the kitchen, so that was nice.

On Saturday we did our first official “outreach” event–a tug-of-war contest on the beach! We walked around and invited people on the beach to come play, and a whole bunch of people came to play. It was really fun. So we played that for a while, and then took some popsicle breaks. I met alot of people, but it wasn’t an easy way to just ask someone “So hey, what do you think about God?” But afterwards we just went out on the beach and Boardwalk and did the surveys again. I went with Lauren, and we sat down with these three girls on the beach and ended up talking to them for the entire time. They were straight with us and told us they loved to smoke pot and do E and drink. When we asked them the three words to describe their life, they said “Drugs, sex, and alcohol. Seriously.” We were a little shocked by their honesty, because most people try to sugarcoat things, but it was refreshing because we knew where they were coming from right off the bat. One girl was high and completely disinterested, but the other two were interested in at least talking to us.  We just talked about regular nonspiritual stuff for a long time with them, but then we asked what they thought about God, eternity, Jesus, etc. And they really had no idea. One girl said she believed in creation, but she also believed in reincarnation…and they really didn’t know anything about Christianity. That was surprising to me because, coming from the South, I’m used to everyone and their mother knowing all about Jesus, God, the Bible, etc. regardless of if they believe it or not. But these girls didn’t know basics. Lauren and I got to explain all about what sin is, why God sent Jesus, who Jesus is, and what His death means for us. Lauren got to use some of her testimony and I got to use some of mine too.  We just talked for a long time with them, and went through the Know God Personally booklet, and in the end they didn’t make any decisions but at least we were able to answer their questions and introduce them to the Gospel! We were so overwhelmed and excited afterwards. Please pray for those three girls…I don’t remember their names (I don’t even know if we asked them) but pray that what we said to them would stir something in them and that they would realize their need for Jesus!

Saturday night was our community night, which basically means we all go do something together and just hang out. We went to Assateague island, which is an island about 30 minutes away from Ocean City where horses run wild. It’s kind of like a national park. I don’t know if anyone has read the book Misty of Chicoteague, but Chicoteague is right next to it and has wild horses as well. We went out to the beach, which was beautiful and not tacky like Ocean City, and just hung out. When it got darker we made a bonfire and roasted s’mores…Lauren and I ate 3! I think we ate more than anyone. They were so delicious though…I haven’t had s’mores in foreeevveerrrr. After s’mores we sang worship songs around the fire, and it was SO good. I just love doing things like that…it reminds me of what heaven will sort of be like

Sunday we went to church again. This week was their church picnic, so there was one “contemporary” service at 10:30 and then everyone went to the park to eat and talk and fellowship. The food was amazing! I forgot how wonderful church picnics are. I ate waaaaay too much, but we all did. MMMMM. I wish every week was picnic day! Sunday afternoon we went out to the beach. It was foggy and pretty chilly, but as long as you laid still it was ok. I did fall asleep on my stomach though…so the back of my legs were roasted. Luckily nothing has started peeling yet. I’m hoping it won’t! Sunday night we had prayer on the beach. They set up a wooden cross and we all wrote down sins that we have been struggling with, and then nailed them to the cross and painted them with red paint, which symbolized Christ’s blood. It was freezing, but it was such a cool sight to see so many pieces of painted paper nailed to the cross. It makes you realize what Christ’s death really meant for us, and how those sins that we have committed HAVE been covered with Christ’s blood. We don’t have to hold those things anymore….Christ covered and forgave them all!

On Monday I went back to the Dough Roller. I got put at the fried chicken register by myself, so I was the only person taking and getting orders for it. It was a long day because there was no one else up there with me, and so it was pretty lonely, but at least I had stuff to do. Monday night was our night of reflection, and I got to read some, but I was pretty distracted because of everything going on with Grandmama. Tuesday and Wednesday I spent mostly on an airplane, because I went home to see Grandmama because things weren’t going well. Those were a couple of rough days, but Wednesday night was our family night, and it is so encouraging to be surrounded by a strong body of believers. Even though my family isn’t here, I feel like I can be more open with my emotions because it’s like they ARE my family, just not in relation.

Last night was our women’s time, and we talked about how to deal with conflict and how to create unity among the women in our group. It was really good because I feel like we are all starting to get comfortable with each other, and that means that sometimes people don’t necessarily get along. Not that there have been fights or anything, but you can just sense tension sometimes, which is normal whenever you have large groups of people.  So it was great to talk with everyone and really bond together as girls. Today I was a food runner again, and it was really good. We were busier today than any other day that I have been there, and I met more girls that I hadn’t met yet. They are really open with their lives, and so I’m thinking that once we get closer, I can feel pretty comfortable talking about spiritual things with them because they are just so open about EVERYTHING…so open that I hear alot of stuff that I probably shouldn’t, but at least they aren’t pretending to be someone they aren’t.

Today is Friday, which means tonight is our free night. We are having a pizza party for the rooms that have won room inspections the past 2 weeks (my apartment and one of the guys’ apartments) and then I think we are going to watch a movie and project it on the wall. I really need to do laundry and get groceries (I’ve been out of cereal and milk for a week, and now all my produce is gone too!) so hopefully that will happen soon…if not today, then tomorrow!

Alright. Adios, everyone.

Can I just say that I absolutely LOVE summer project??? Seriously. Everyone here is so amazing. And I already feel like I’ve known everybody forever! It’s so much fun to have 45 new friends And I love the girls in my bible study–Meg, Andi, and Lauren K. (there are like 3 laurens and 2 lauras here..it was pretty confusing at first!)Friday was “Life Story” day, which I was nervous about because we had to talk about ourselves with our bible studies for 45 minutes. But it ended up being great because we were all so open with each other about our lives and the things we have struggled with in the past and currently struggle with. I’ve never really heard people talk so honestly about themselves, and it was so encouraging to know that we can all be open with one another and not have to worry about someone telling my junk to everybody. That’s what makes this whole experience so wonderful, I think. Because we are all Christians and are striving to be more like Christ, there is such a peaceful and fun environment around the entire 3 Jacks Apartments. We all just hang out every night and talk, and it’s so great to hear people’s stories and about their lives and families and everything else. Ah…I just love it!

The one thing that is pretty discouraging though is evangelizing. Yesterday we paired up and were sent out to the Boardwalk to ask people the survey questions that we are using to compile a general idea about the spiritual condition in Ocean City. Questions like, “What is one thing you want to do before you die?” and “If your friend asked you ‘I want to be a Christian, how do I do it?’ what would you say to them?” Mostly the survey questions are just a way for us to get to know somebody and bring up spiritual things with them. But I went out with Meg, and we tried to talk to 6 people, and got flat out rejected by 4.  We went up to three high school girls who were sitting by the Boardwalk, and just started talking to them and then asked if they would be interested in helping us with the survey. So I went through it with one girl, whose name was Kelsey, and she was kind of unresponsive until I got to the question about how you would answer a friend’s question of how to become a Christian. She said she was Catholic, but when I asked her what she would say she didn’t have any answers. So I asked her if she would be interested in finding out exactly what to tell someone who wanted to accept Christ, and she said sure, so I quickly went through the Know God Personally booklet. She didn’t say anything, but she listened to me. But you know what made it so awkward?? Halfway through going through the book, her parents and family came up and were just watching! It was sooooo awkward. I was like oh gosh I have to finish this quick! But even though it was awkward, the bottom line is she heard the Gospel, and I left the booklet with her so hopefully she might read over it sometime and think about what it was saying. Pray for her!

Another good thing that happened was that Meg & I met two super cute Russian girls who want to hang out with us! Their English wasn’t too good, but they have been here 5 days and are looking for jobs and are living only a block away from us. We exchanged numbers and invited them to hang out with us this summer and they seemed interested, so I’m hoping they will be able to come to some of our events and we can be friends!

After evangelism on the Boardwalk we all came back to the 3 Jacks and shared stories. 4 people accepted Christ yesterday! How awesome is that?? Even though Meg & I felt discouraged and didn’t personally have much success with people, 4 other people are going to be in heaven because our entire group went out yesterday, no matter how awkward and seemingly ineffective it was. It shows that God can work through anything, even through just walking up to someone and asking them to fill out a spiritual survey.  So after sharing our experiences, I went running on the Boardwalk with Lauren K., Andi, and Erica. Andi and Erica run alot (Andi runs marathons) so Lauren and I were nervous and not expecting to do well because we aren’t nearly as athletic or fit as they are. But we surprised ourselves by running 1.5 miles, then taking a 5 minute walk break, then running another 1.5! We were so proud of ourselves. But now I am SO sore….because after that, we had a Staff Scavenger Hunt on the Boardwalk last night. We walked around with our Life Groups (our church groups, so I walked around with the other people who are assigned to go to Stevenson Presbyterian). It was so hard to find the staff! They were all wearing disguises that really made them look like other people. Michael and Carol Frey, who are kind of the main directors of the project, were dressed up as bikers, smoking fake cigarettes, and walking around the Boardwalk. It was hilarious. My team only found 6 of the 12 staff, but we probably walked 6 miles. Needless to say, my legs are extremely sore today, but it’s ok. I’ve walked the Boardwalk so many times already, I’m pretty sure I’ll have it memorized by the end of the summer.

Today was our first Sunday going to Stevenson Presbyterian. I was pretty wary of it because the pastor of the church is a woman, and I don’t really agree with a woman being the head of the church, but I don’t get to choose where I go so whatever. But it ends up that Pastor Carol had surgery, so she wasn’t there today. Instead, some man talked. I don’t know who he was. **Quick comment: the church is in Berlin, MD, which is basically the world’s cutest town. It looks like something straight out a movie. And it has been in two movies–Tuck Everlasting and Runaway Bride were both filmed there!** OK, so the church. It was the first time I’ve been to a Methodist church, and we accidentally went to the traditional service instead of the contemporary one so it was different than what we will be going to the rest of the summer. First of all, the layout of the church was weird. The pulpit area was in the left corner of the room, and all the pews were slanted towards it, so that was odd. Also, the church is TINY. Seriously, there were 9 of us, and I think there were only about 20 people there TOTAL. Some of the things were similar–we sang hymns and recited the Apostle’s Creed and stuff–but I feel like the entire service was written out and followed according to plan. The guy even read the sermon. And the whole service was only 50 minutes long. But you know what, it’s not my personal preference, but that’s where I’ve been assigned, and the church has been really supported of Campus Crusade the entire 5 years they’ve been here, so obviously I’m there for a reason. We’ll see what happens. I’m hoping things will get better, but if not, at least I don’t have to rely on church to spend time with God

After church, we went to this restaurant that was SO adorable! They had all sorts of old memorabilia on the walls, and there was an old fashioned ice cream counter and everything. I’m in love with it. The food wasn’t that good, but maybe the ice cream would be better. Either way, I’m determined to go back there because it is the cutest place I have ever seen. Really.  And this afternoon was alot of fun too. We finally got to go to the beach because it was warm enough and sunny and beautiful, and NOT FOGGY. Score! We just laid there for like 4 hours, and then I went to the grocery store with some girls. And was once again shocked by the RIDICULOUSLY high prices of food here in Maryland. Why do they feel the need to charge $2.79 for a half gallon of milk? And $3.69 for vanilla almond Special K cereal, but $3.99 for fruit&yogurt Special K, even if the boxes and everything are the same, only different flavors. Laaaame.

Tonight we spent some time just praying together about different things, and then we divided up into our Life Groups and walked the Boardwalk and prayed for the stores and the people inside them and the people on the beach too. Now I’m sitting in one of the girls apartments with about 12 other people, most of us on our computers and facebook chatting with one another instead of in real life. Haaahhaa. I was having conversations with 3 people who are 10 feet away from me, but we decided to join the real world again.

I do miss home, but I’m just so happy here. It’s so awesome how God knew I was supposed to be here all along, and that’s why Yellowstone got cancelled, because I wasn’t accepted to the project that was best for me (even though I thought it was). Aaahhh…..looooove this!

My travel here was relatively stress-free, although it was one of the longest days of my life! I got up at 5 because my flight left at 6:50. The flight was supposed to still be on schedule, but once we got on the plane the captain said we couldn’t take off yet because of the fog. So we waited about 20 minutes on the runway, then finally headed to Atlanta. Atlanta’s weather wasn’t much better, so what was supposed to turn into a 30 minute flight ended up lasting over an hour! We just circled Atlanta until we got the clear to land. Originally I was supposed to have had a little over an hour in the airport until my next flight left, but because of the delays and stuff I only had 20 minutes to get to my flight, so I pretty much ran through the airport, but made it on time!

Got on the plane to Baltimore, and sat next to a guy named Joey. We talked pretty much the whole time. He was probably around 27ish, and he really liked to talk about himself, so basically I learned his entire life in the 2 hour flight (which ended up being longer because of delays and being backed up at the runway and everything, but oh well). I learned all about his family (mom and dad still married and live in Fort Myers, FL, sister is 22 and just graduated, and has a pug dog named RockStar–really, that was his name–and he showed me pictures). He’s been to five colleges, and still hasn’t finished school because he started a contracting business. Now he lives in D.C. and wants to be in politics. And then he talked about how horrible Obama was, and how he was destroying the country, and how we should have the fair tax and Fred Thompson should have won, and blah blah blah. And through all of this stuff I’m just like, hmmm, how can I bring up Christ with this person?  So I told him where I was going and what I was going to be doing, but he didn’t seem very interested in me…he liked to talk about himself more…and so instead of being bold I chickened out and didn’t ask him straight up “what do you believe in?” And now I’m like gosh, I had a completely great opportunity and I didn’t take it! Which makes me disappointed with myself. Grrrrr.

Anyways. We landed in Baltimore, and the guy who was picking me up (Tyler) was already there so we got my bags and stuff and left. I had been really nervous about making awkward conversation on a 3 hour car ride with someone I had never met before, but it ended up being completely fine! We got a little lost….the mapquest directions were wrong, and the GPS lost signal because of the fog….but it was ok. We talked seriously the entire time. About our churches, schools, activities, random stuff, and then had about an hour long conversation about Jon&Kate Plus 8, which he watches, so he told me all about the season premiere episode the night before, and that led into a discussion about how women shouldn’t be dominant and men shouldn’t be passive, etc. etc. So I was really happy because I’m discovering that I’m not awkward anymore, and that makes me excited

Finally got to Ocean City about 2:30, and immediately we moved in our stuff, met everybody, hung out, etc. etc. It was SO overwhelming! I’ve never had to meet 45 people I’ve never seen before in a span of about 30 minutes. But everyone is really friendly and open, and I’m so excited to get to know them better.  About 5:00 they told us we were going to the Boardwalk to ask people to take these surveys about spiritual things,  which opens up opportunities to share Christ with people, and I was really nervous because I don’t like walking up to people randomly and striking up conversation. We split into pairs, and I was with my bible study leader here, whose name is Kristin. She did pretty much all of it, and I observed because I’m not really used to doing that yet and I didn’t know what to do. It was so foggy and cold though that the Boardwalk was pretty deserted, so we didn’t have that many opportunities to approach people. First we talked to two girls who were not interested at all. One girl was laughing at us pretty much the whole time, and the other one said she knew God and that she went to church, but she didn’t seem interested at all. The next girl we met was sitting on a bench by herself, and she seemed more receptive. She belongs to a Catholic church, but she doesn’t like to go because it seems so much about the rituals and not about a relationship, and she has so many questions about God that she doesn’t really feel comfortable going. Kristin shared a short summary of her walk with God and what he’s done for her, and then she gave the girl the KGP booklet to look over and wrote her email on the back in case she had any questions. So be praying that Jamie will read the book and realize that it’s not about rituals but it’s about a personal belief and relationship with Christ!That night we had a meeting and a get-to-know-you game, and then we just hung out. It’s really fun getting to know everybody, because everything is so different up here!

I’ll try to write more later.