Hey All,
So, just a quick update. Last week went by really fast, as we worked short 8 hour days and got off Thursday at noon. Our final two crew members started work on Tuesday, which was good. Mikey is the one who helped me apply to the internship and all, and Katie was an SCA last year. I like them both a lot. Anyway, most of the week we worked around the Cache and did a little bit of saw work up at the campground we had been at previously. Thursday, like I said, we got off at noon and I headed down to Chehalis to visit one of my friends from school. We had a really good time- watched movies, drove around, played with fire arms ;-) I headed back Saturday and went to a BBQ the crew was doing for Lakota’s birthday. That was really fun, too. There were massive amounts of ribs, wings, and steak there, which was fantastic in and of itself :-P We also played croquet and had a fire and just hung out. It felt good to be back with the crew, since the training has been so hectic that I hadn’t seen much of Paul, Wilson, Taryn, or Tim.
One quick story involves the drive back from Chehalis to the BBQ. Really, it was a God thing, once again. I was exhausted and struggling to stay awake. I had my windows down and music on, but I still felt pretty sleepy. I should have pulled over. But I didn’t. About 10 minutes outside of PA, I suddenly jolted awake going 55 mph with one tire on the road and one in the grass. I vaguely remember some sort of barrier, like a wall, but I very distinctly remember cranking my wheel hard to the right and swerving back on to the road. What followed was an intense struggle with my car to regain control as I zig-zagged back and forth across the 2 lane, one way road. Eventually, (probably less than 30 seconds) I was able to stay in one lane, and then calmly pull off the road and check my rig over. The good news, other than my truck being fine, is that I was thoroughly awake after that. In all seriousness, though, it was one those moments where all you can do is thank God you are alive and undamaged. There were cars ahead of and behind me, though by God’s grace the lane next to me was clear, and there was quite a bit of buffer space around my truck. So, all in all, I thank God that He protected me, and I learned my lesson pretty thoroughly.
Oh, one more story. I was riving home from the BBQ and Dustie called. We were chatting and I pulled into a parking lot a couple of minutes from my house because I knew if I kept driving I would lose reception. Anyway, I had just hung up with her when a ranger (the law enforcement of the park) pulled into the lot. I was like, “oh, come on. I don’t want to deal with cops right now.” See, it was getting dark, I was the only one there, and I really wasn’t doing anything since I had just hung up the phone. I wasn’t worried, but I didn’t really want to deal with the hassle right then. Anyway, I couldn’t decide if I should just sit there or get out or what, so I settled for rolling down the window. He rolled down his and I simply said that I lived in the park and had been on the phone and had stopped so I wouldn’t lose reception. To my relief, his reply was “Oh okay. I thought I recognized the pickup. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.” I know that is a really random story, but it felt really good to know that even though I didn’t know the guy, he was looking out for me because he knew I lived there. Anyway…
Other than that, please be praying for me as I wrestle with what to do next year. I plan on eventually finishing my degree, but other than that, I really have no ideas. There are a lot of options and very little direction at this point. I take comfort in knowing that God will provide for where He wants me to go, and that He will guide me if I listen. So, be praying that I will listen and that I will follow willingly.
Love you guys, and hope to hear from you soon.
Amanda
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Graduations, and stuff...
Hey All,
So, hopefully this will be brief, though I always say that, so no guarantees... Anyway, after the San Juan tour I got to go home. I left Wednesday morning and got in early afternoon. Man, was it a crazy few days. I hung ut with friends/family Wed. night, Thurs morning, thurs. night, friday afternoon, graduation friday night, two times Sat. morning, graduation party Sat. night, and family breakfast Sun. morning. Yeah, it was busy! But it was good to see people.
Anyway, I left Sunday after breakfast and was about half way back (20 miles outside of Issaqua) when I blew a tire coming through the pass. That was a bummer. Luckily, my dad had taught me how to change a tire, and a fireman pulled up to help out. Between the two of us, we got my temporary tire on, and then he made a bunch of calls to figure out what tire store would be open on a Sunday. Then he followed me to my exit, at which point he passed me and I followed him to Costco. I was so glad to have him there. And I was stuck at Costco for a couple of hours, but it got taken care of, so that was cool. At first I was all frustrated about the whole situation, but then I sat down at the outside food court thing at Costco and pulled out my Chronological NIV Bible in a Year and started catching up on my reading. As I read, and eventually as I started writing in my prayer journal, it dawned on me that I was exactly where God wanted me. For the first time in a long time, I had no friends, family, or coworkers close. I had no car, no internet, no cell phone (my battery was to low to call someone just to talk). All I had was my Bible and God. And, quite frankly, I had not been near as strong in my walk as I wanted to be. So, those couple of hours were phenomenal. It was so good to focus and to clear my head a little bit. BE praying my relationship continues to strengthen.
So, I ended up getting home much later than I wanted to, but I was in one piece so that was good. Monday we started park orientation. Oh my goodness that is a terrible experience. As interesting as the info is (well, some of it), 3 solid days of it just kind of makes me want to run away screaming. However, some of the stuff, especially the few hands on classes, has been good.
Anyway, before I sign off, I have one more story that is another God-thing. Kayla is my 4th roomate and the 3rd intern. I don't think I said much about her the last post because I had just met her. Anyway, she is awesome! As different as we are, it seems like we have a lot in common. So, Monday night we were driving the government rig back to the house from work and we were discussing different things we wanted to do this summer and in general. Well, it came up that we both wanted to hit the hotsprings that are a few miles up the road from us. She was like, "Dude, let's go right now!" So we did. We stopped by the house and changed into swimming suits and grabbed towels and headed up. By the time we parked, it was like 8:30 at night, and it was a 2.5ish mile hike to the hotsprings. Well, we took off and eventually we found a pool that wasn't occupied and we just chilled for awhile. Finally, it started getting dark and we were like, "oh, shoot, we should probably go." She thought she had a head lamp in her pack, but when she went to grab it, it wasn't there. So, we were stuck hiking back without a light as night was falling. To make things worse, as we crossed one of the bridges, I noticed wet boot prints, which meant someone was near by. A couple minutes later, she saw some too, so at least we knew the person was a head of us. A little further, we saw a light on the trail. We got pretty close before they saw us, and it ended up being a couple of guys. I was already nervous, and two girls running into a couple of guys on the trail a couple of miles from the parking lot just wasn't helping. Well, they ended up being fairly young Navy guys, and we all walked back together. It was honestly great because it was pitch black by the time we reached our car, and I felt a whole lot safer with them, and it was fun just to talk. The coolest part, though, was that I had prayed for God to protect us, and it wasn't until I was crawling into bed that night that I realized they had been an answer to prayer. Albeit, not the answer I was expecting, but an answer none the less.
Anyway, that is about it from my end. Pray that I would be strong in my walk and my witness. Love you guys, and talk to you soon.
Later,
Amanda
So, hopefully this will be brief, though I always say that, so no guarantees... Anyway, after the San Juan tour I got to go home. I left Wednesday morning and got in early afternoon. Man, was it a crazy few days. I hung ut with friends/family Wed. night, Thurs morning, thurs. night, friday afternoon, graduation friday night, two times Sat. morning, graduation party Sat. night, and family breakfast Sun. morning. Yeah, it was busy! But it was good to see people.
Anyway, I left Sunday after breakfast and was about half way back (20 miles outside of Issaqua) when I blew a tire coming through the pass. That was a bummer. Luckily, my dad had taught me how to change a tire, and a fireman pulled up to help out. Between the two of us, we got my temporary tire on, and then he made a bunch of calls to figure out what tire store would be open on a Sunday. Then he followed me to my exit, at which point he passed me and I followed him to Costco. I was so glad to have him there. And I was stuck at Costco for a couple of hours, but it got taken care of, so that was cool. At first I was all frustrated about the whole situation, but then I sat down at the outside food court thing at Costco and pulled out my Chronological NIV Bible in a Year and started catching up on my reading. As I read, and eventually as I started writing in my prayer journal, it dawned on me that I was exactly where God wanted me. For the first time in a long time, I had no friends, family, or coworkers close. I had no car, no internet, no cell phone (my battery was to low to call someone just to talk). All I had was my Bible and God. And, quite frankly, I had not been near as strong in my walk as I wanted to be. So, those couple of hours were phenomenal. It was so good to focus and to clear my head a little bit. BE praying my relationship continues to strengthen.
So, I ended up getting home much later than I wanted to, but I was in one piece so that was good. Monday we started park orientation. Oh my goodness that is a terrible experience. As interesting as the info is (well, some of it), 3 solid days of it just kind of makes me want to run away screaming. However, some of the stuff, especially the few hands on classes, has been good.
Anyway, before I sign off, I have one more story that is another God-thing. Kayla is my 4th roomate and the 3rd intern. I don't think I said much about her the last post because I had just met her. Anyway, she is awesome! As different as we are, it seems like we have a lot in common. So, Monday night we were driving the government rig back to the house from work and we were discussing different things we wanted to do this summer and in general. Well, it came up that we both wanted to hit the hotsprings that are a few miles up the road from us. She was like, "Dude, let's go right now!" So we did. We stopped by the house and changed into swimming suits and grabbed towels and headed up. By the time we parked, it was like 8:30 at night, and it was a 2.5ish mile hike to the hotsprings. Well, we took off and eventually we found a pool that wasn't occupied and we just chilled for awhile. Finally, it started getting dark and we were like, "oh, shoot, we should probably go." She thought she had a head lamp in her pack, but when she went to grab it, it wasn't there. So, we were stuck hiking back without a light as night was falling. To make things worse, as we crossed one of the bridges, I noticed wet boot prints, which meant someone was near by. A couple minutes later, she saw some too, so at least we knew the person was a head of us. A little further, we saw a light on the trail. We got pretty close before they saw us, and it ended up being a couple of guys. I was already nervous, and two girls running into a couple of guys on the trail a couple of miles from the parking lot just wasn't helping. Well, they ended up being fairly young Navy guys, and we all walked back together. It was honestly great because it was pitch black by the time we reached our car, and I felt a whole lot safer with them, and it was fun just to talk. The coolest part, though, was that I had prayed for God to protect us, and it wasn't until I was crawling into bed that night that I realized they had been an answer to prayer. Albeit, not the answer I was expecting, but an answer none the less.
Anyway, that is about it from my end. Pray that I would be strong in my walk and my witness. Love you guys, and talk to you soon.
Later,
Amanda
Monday, June 1, 2009
Back From the San Juans
Hey All,
So as the title indicates, our crew just spent the last week or so in the San Juans. Vaughn, John, and I flew up on Tuesday, which was cool, and we spent Tuesday and Wednesday laying out 20x30 meter plots for a reserch project. On Thursday, the crew (who had come up the night before) burned some of the plots. Since John and I, the interns, aren't red carded, we couldn't be near the fire. So I spent all afternoon down below it talking to any visitors who came by (since we were in a park) about the project and its benefits and stuff. That was cool. It is neat because once people understand why we are burning or cutting down trees and how it actually helps the native plants and trees, they are usually very receptive.
Anyway, we were camping at American Camp on the island and it was a little nuts because we flew over in this little 5 person plane and didn't have room for food. That was fine becaus the lady who was running the project was providing dinner and utensils, and we bought brekfast and lunch stuff on the island. Well, she left Thurs. and we left Mon. And that left a problem- namely that we needed dinner and utensils. So, I had a fork and spoon, and bought a bowl. Dinner, though, was Hot dogs and Ramen for the week. Lol. I actually like hot dogs roasted over a fire, so that was good. And Sunday we went out for dinner as a crew, which was fun. But, next time I will be better prepared.
On that note, a little about the camping situation: we all were in our own tents and we had a fire and camp stove to cook over. We also had port-a-potties, which was nice. I have a gov. issued sleeping bag, and it is surprisingly warm. So, that's all good. Now, I apologize for the next part because, not being there, it sounds pretty gross, but it's really not that bad. We didn't have showers. And we wear the same uniform everyday. Good times. Lol. Honestly, though, it's not that bad. It is kind of nice not to feel like there are all of these social obligations because the whole crew is in the same boat. If that makes sense. Anyway, I did thoroughly enjoy my shower on Sunday- that was amazing. So, yeah, just FYI ;-)
So, I figured I would take the time to give you a quick run own of the crew. Lakota is our Supervisor (Sup) and it totally chill. He did smoke jumping for several years and is pretty much living the dream right now. Vaughn is the Assistant Sup. and is pretty cool. It was good to spend some time working with him this tour because he was the only one I really didn't feel like I "knew" very well. He did ROTC and destroys us on abs. Jesse is one of the squad leaders and she has been in fire for 6 or 7 years. She is quiet, serious, and patient. I really appreciate her knowledge and willingness to teach (which is true of all of them, but her especially). Paul has been on the crew 5 years, is married, and is a brother in Christ. It's good having him around. It would be a lot harder to resist temptation if he wasn't there doing the same. Tim is crazy. He is a lot of fun to be around and has some crazy stories. He spent the winter in Hawaii- bought a one way ticket, brought his bike and just rode around doing work in exchange for room and board. How sweet is that? I have worked with him a lot on the saw projects (since I can't run saws yet, I am a permanent swamper, which means I pic up limbs and stuff the sawer cuts. Fun.....) He is also really good at explaining stuff. One time, out in the pouring rain, he saved my rear because I was so cold and wet I couldn't hardly move, and it wasn't even lunch yet. He had a rain coat, but he offered me this wool shirt he had in his pack. Seriously, I appreciated that more than anything. Anyway, moving on. Taryn is also crazy and a lot of fun. She has a lot of spunk, and has a pretty contagious laugh. And she puts up with me, lol. They all do, but she is the one who can take the teasing especially well. Wilson is our antagonist, though he is still a great guy. He is incredibly sarcastic most of the time, and you have to take most of what he says with a grain of salt. (He was the one who told me we had to take the Pack Test in our boots and I believed him until Taryn was like, "you most certainly do not." Lol, good thing she told me or that would have sucked.) But, he also is the one who constantly asks if I or John know how to do _____ yet and is good about showing us different things, which I appreciate. Finally, John is the other SCA. We came on the same day, and it's been great because we're in it together, as it were. As far as work goes, we're both the newbies and it's great to be like "dude, are you as confused as I am, or is it just me? Yes? Oh, okay, we're good then." Yup, that's how it goes. He just graduated college and is enjoying the freedom, kind of bumming around for a while. Today we met the third intern, Kayla, who seems nice, but I don't know much about her yet. Eventually, we will also be joined by Sandy, Katy, and Mikey. So, more to come in that department.
Anyway, after setting up plots on Tues/Wed, w,e burned thurday, cut Friday, and hauled logs Sat until our truck broke (fun stuff, not. We lost our F-550, which was our main transport for gear, so we had to ferry our stuff in the 150 and have a 15-passenger van brought out, but it worked out in the end, though our 550 is still on the island...). SUnday we split up because of the truck issue. I went with Vaughn and we cut Snowberry bushes for 8 or so hours with weed whackers that had saw blades. That was tough, but it beat using a chainsaw, I have been told.
Monday, today, we got up a 4:30, packed the vehicles and left for PA. We ended up catching the 8:45 ferry instead of the noon one, which was awesome as it gave us plently of time to rehab the tools and debreif for the week. NOw I am looking at another week off. That's nice.
Now that all of that is over, there are a couple of pretty funny stories I wanted to share. The first happened at the BBQ on Memorial day. One of Tim's friends, Alena, was saying that this one slug she handled a lot excreted something cyanide. She was all like, "that can't be good." We were all like, well, maybe you are building up immunity to it, which is good. That sparked the quoting of Princess Bride. "what you do not smell is iocain powder..." However, we couldn't remember "iocain" and Taryn said "novocain". So, we just about died imagining Wesley poisoning the Cecilian with novocain powder. Buttercup "Is he dead?" Wesley "No, just very, very numb." Cecilian "nevahmeshwishaseshiwianwhendeashishondaline." Honestly, it was truly comical.
The second one was the funniest, though. There are a couple of things you need to know. A) Paul had a BBQ Friday at which none of us ate the corn, so he brought it to the island. B) John has this laugh that kind of reminds me of trying to start a car and the engine not turning over. It's hilarious. A lot of time I don't know what is so funny, but his laugh is so amusing that I laugh anyway. C) Tim has a very different laugh with the same effect. His is more of a chuckle that kind of quietly explodes, like he is trying not to laugh and then gives up. D) When John and Tim get going laughing, it is one of the funniest, most pleasant sounds I have ever heard. So, all of that established, here is what happened. We had eaten dinner and we were standing around the campfire when all of the sudden, John starts laughing from in front of the out house. By laughing, I mean doubled over, full out belly-busting laugh. Across the clearing, Tim is also doubled over, which is rare for him as far as laughing goes, trying to brush his teeth. All of us around the fire are going, "what the heck?" We stood there for a good 3 minutes while they laughed, laughing our selves because it was funny watching/listening to them, and trying to figure out what had happened. By this point, John is rolling (I kid you not, rolling) around in front of the out house, still laughing hysterically. Finally Taryn grabs the camera and takes pictures of John while we go over and talk to Tim. Between gasps, he finally explains that John had walked into the out house and came stumbling right back out, laughing and exclaiming, "Man, there is a lot of corn in there." At that point, we all doubled over. It was the highlight/quote of the tour, I kid you not.
So, those were my stories from the last couple of weeks. In closing, I just ask you to continue praying. First off, be praying I would stay close to God and trust Him through everything and depend on Him constantly. More specifically, be praying that I could gaurd my mouth, as it were. Everyone here swears, and while it is not the worst of my worries, I have no desire to follow suit. So be praying I would have control in that area and be a light through that (and other similar situations). Pray also about my future and for guidance. I am falling in love with this job and with this freedom. It begs the question, what next? At this point, I am honestly clueless. I can give you the run down if you want to hear it, but there are so many options all of the sudden, and so many different things I want. Pray I would discern God's best. Finally, continue praying for strength. When I was training for the Pack test, I was like, "it's okay, get through the test, and that'll be the worst of it. People don't do this pace with this wait was this distance in 'real life'". Yeah, I was wrong. The pack test will probably be one of the easier things I do this summer. So, pray for that.
Anyway, that is about it from my end. Thanks for reading and praying. I hope to hear from you all soon. And I hope it was entertaining ;-)
Later,
Amanda
So as the title indicates, our crew just spent the last week or so in the San Juans. Vaughn, John, and I flew up on Tuesday, which was cool, and we spent Tuesday and Wednesday laying out 20x30 meter plots for a reserch project. On Thursday, the crew (who had come up the night before) burned some of the plots. Since John and I, the interns, aren't red carded, we couldn't be near the fire. So I spent all afternoon down below it talking to any visitors who came by (since we were in a park) about the project and its benefits and stuff. That was cool. It is neat because once people understand why we are burning or cutting down trees and how it actually helps the native plants and trees, they are usually very receptive.
Anyway, we were camping at American Camp on the island and it was a little nuts because we flew over in this little 5 person plane and didn't have room for food. That was fine becaus the lady who was running the project was providing dinner and utensils, and we bought brekfast and lunch stuff on the island. Well, she left Thurs. and we left Mon. And that left a problem- namely that we needed dinner and utensils. So, I had a fork and spoon, and bought a bowl. Dinner, though, was Hot dogs and Ramen for the week. Lol. I actually like hot dogs roasted over a fire, so that was good. And Sunday we went out for dinner as a crew, which was fun. But, next time I will be better prepared.
On that note, a little about the camping situation: we all were in our own tents and we had a fire and camp stove to cook over. We also had port-a-potties, which was nice. I have a gov. issued sleeping bag, and it is surprisingly warm. So, that's all good. Now, I apologize for the next part because, not being there, it sounds pretty gross, but it's really not that bad. We didn't have showers. And we wear the same uniform everyday. Good times. Lol. Honestly, though, it's not that bad. It is kind of nice not to feel like there are all of these social obligations because the whole crew is in the same boat. If that makes sense. Anyway, I did thoroughly enjoy my shower on Sunday- that was amazing. So, yeah, just FYI ;-)
So, I figured I would take the time to give you a quick run own of the crew. Lakota is our Supervisor (Sup) and it totally chill. He did smoke jumping for several years and is pretty much living the dream right now. Vaughn is the Assistant Sup. and is pretty cool. It was good to spend some time working with him this tour because he was the only one I really didn't feel like I "knew" very well. He did ROTC and destroys us on abs. Jesse is one of the squad leaders and she has been in fire for 6 or 7 years. She is quiet, serious, and patient. I really appreciate her knowledge and willingness to teach (which is true of all of them, but her especially). Paul has been on the crew 5 years, is married, and is a brother in Christ. It's good having him around. It would be a lot harder to resist temptation if he wasn't there doing the same. Tim is crazy. He is a lot of fun to be around and has some crazy stories. He spent the winter in Hawaii- bought a one way ticket, brought his bike and just rode around doing work in exchange for room and board. How sweet is that? I have worked with him a lot on the saw projects (since I can't run saws yet, I am a permanent swamper, which means I pic up limbs and stuff the sawer cuts. Fun.....) He is also really good at explaining stuff. One time, out in the pouring rain, he saved my rear because I was so cold and wet I couldn't hardly move, and it wasn't even lunch yet. He had a rain coat, but he offered me this wool shirt he had in his pack. Seriously, I appreciated that more than anything. Anyway, moving on. Taryn is also crazy and a lot of fun. She has a lot of spunk, and has a pretty contagious laugh. And she puts up with me, lol. They all do, but she is the one who can take the teasing especially well. Wilson is our antagonist, though he is still a great guy. He is incredibly sarcastic most of the time, and you have to take most of what he says with a grain of salt. (He was the one who told me we had to take the Pack Test in our boots and I believed him until Taryn was like, "you most certainly do not." Lol, good thing she told me or that would have sucked.) But, he also is the one who constantly asks if I or John know how to do _____ yet and is good about showing us different things, which I appreciate. Finally, John is the other SCA. We came on the same day, and it's been great because we're in it together, as it were. As far as work goes, we're both the newbies and it's great to be like "dude, are you as confused as I am, or is it just me? Yes? Oh, okay, we're good then." Yup, that's how it goes. He just graduated college and is enjoying the freedom, kind of bumming around for a while. Today we met the third intern, Kayla, who seems nice, but I don't know much about her yet. Eventually, we will also be joined by Sandy, Katy, and Mikey. So, more to come in that department.
Anyway, after setting up plots on Tues/Wed, w,e burned thurday, cut Friday, and hauled logs Sat until our truck broke (fun stuff, not. We lost our F-550, which was our main transport for gear, so we had to ferry our stuff in the 150 and have a 15-passenger van brought out, but it worked out in the end, though our 550 is still on the island...). SUnday we split up because of the truck issue. I went with Vaughn and we cut Snowberry bushes for 8 or so hours with weed whackers that had saw blades. That was tough, but it beat using a chainsaw, I have been told.
Monday, today, we got up a 4:30, packed the vehicles and left for PA. We ended up catching the 8:45 ferry instead of the noon one, which was awesome as it gave us plently of time to rehab the tools and debreif for the week. NOw I am looking at another week off. That's nice.
Now that all of that is over, there are a couple of pretty funny stories I wanted to share. The first happened at the BBQ on Memorial day. One of Tim's friends, Alena, was saying that this one slug she handled a lot excreted something cyanide. She was all like, "that can't be good." We were all like, well, maybe you are building up immunity to it, which is good. That sparked the quoting of Princess Bride. "what you do not smell is iocain powder..." However, we couldn't remember "iocain" and Taryn said "novocain". So, we just about died imagining Wesley poisoning the Cecilian with novocain powder. Buttercup "Is he dead?" Wesley "No, just very, very numb." Cecilian "nevahmeshwishaseshiwianwhendeashishondaline." Honestly, it was truly comical.
The second one was the funniest, though. There are a couple of things you need to know. A) Paul had a BBQ Friday at which none of us ate the corn, so he brought it to the island. B) John has this laugh that kind of reminds me of trying to start a car and the engine not turning over. It's hilarious. A lot of time I don't know what is so funny, but his laugh is so amusing that I laugh anyway. C) Tim has a very different laugh with the same effect. His is more of a chuckle that kind of quietly explodes, like he is trying not to laugh and then gives up. D) When John and Tim get going laughing, it is one of the funniest, most pleasant sounds I have ever heard. So, all of that established, here is what happened. We had eaten dinner and we were standing around the campfire when all of the sudden, John starts laughing from in front of the out house. By laughing, I mean doubled over, full out belly-busting laugh. Across the clearing, Tim is also doubled over, which is rare for him as far as laughing goes, trying to brush his teeth. All of us around the fire are going, "what the heck?" We stood there for a good 3 minutes while they laughed, laughing our selves because it was funny watching/listening to them, and trying to figure out what had happened. By this point, John is rolling (I kid you not, rolling) around in front of the out house, still laughing hysterically. Finally Taryn grabs the camera and takes pictures of John while we go over and talk to Tim. Between gasps, he finally explains that John had walked into the out house and came stumbling right back out, laughing and exclaiming, "Man, there is a lot of corn in there." At that point, we all doubled over. It was the highlight/quote of the tour, I kid you not.
So, those were my stories from the last couple of weeks. In closing, I just ask you to continue praying. First off, be praying I would stay close to God and trust Him through everything and depend on Him constantly. More specifically, be praying that I could gaurd my mouth, as it were. Everyone here swears, and while it is not the worst of my worries, I have no desire to follow suit. So be praying I would have control in that area and be a light through that (and other similar situations). Pray also about my future and for guidance. I am falling in love with this job and with this freedom. It begs the question, what next? At this point, I am honestly clueless. I can give you the run down if you want to hear it, but there are so many options all of the sudden, and so many different things I want. Pray I would discern God's best. Finally, continue praying for strength. When I was training for the Pack test, I was like, "it's okay, get through the test, and that'll be the worst of it. People don't do this pace with this wait was this distance in 'real life'". Yeah, I was wrong. The pack test will probably be one of the easier things I do this summer. So, pray for that.
Anyway, that is about it from my end. Thanks for reading and praying. I hope to hear from you all soon. And I hope it was entertaining ;-)
Later,
Amanda
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