I made it!

To Texas, that is. I'm not in Grapevine quite yet. We are staying the night tonight at the Sleep Inn (great name, huh?) in Amarillo, TX. We crossed from Wyoming to Colorado to Oklahoma (only 40 miles) to Texas today! Quite a long day of driving, but all is well...we are in the state and only have about 350 miles to go tommorow, which is a drop in the bucket. What do you think of this picture? Don't you love the big Semi truck in the background...typical of our whole trip down. My highlight of today was visiting the Sierra Trading Post Outlet Store in Cheyenne, WY! I love the magazine and the store is awesome. Tommorow I actually get to see the church where I'll be spending the next year and meet the people I'll be living with...exciting! I called Dori, the woman I'm living with, tonight and talked to her a little. We are both just ready to meet one another. The Mix, the youth group at Fellowship, has been growing. Last group there were something like 720 youth! I definately have my work cut out for me. I love you all and look forward to hearing what is happening in your lives.

All About the Alcan

Hey family, friends, youth, etc...just wanted to write from the road and let you know that all is really good. Dad and I drove 520 miles to Kluane Lake and camped out the first night. It was beautiful, but got a little nippy at night (it frosted in the morning!)...plus, I'm a cold tent sleeper and was wearing three layers in my sleeping bag. This morning we vowed to drive further than yesterday, which we definately did. We actually drove over 700 miles today and we are at the Super 8 Motel in Ft. Nelson. We drove until it got dark and kept driving, which was kinda dumb on the stretch of road we were on...let's just say we say we saw a little wildlife. It was a big joke that we didn't see any animals yesterday, except a rabbit, some squirrel and a few dead porcupine. Famous last words! Today we saw 2 herds of buffalo, a few stone sheep, some caribou, a couple of moose, a few elk and a lot of deer...oh, and a random owl that was sitting in the middle of the road! The craziest part about this is that most of the wildlife we saw was in the dark next to or on the road. We had a super close encounter with a deer who jumped in front of the Pathfinder and we just barely missed hitting it in the butt...thanks for your prayers of protection, guys...it's working! Dad paid way too much for this room tonight, but we're both wiped and about ready to pass out, so I'll write the next time I get internet. Love you all and post your comments to let me know what you think! I have some good pics to add, but my camera cord is buried in my car, so I'll find it soon and post them. Later!

Me and Kim at my Texan going-away party with the youth. Kim is the one crazy enough to take over for me while I'm gone for the year...it's good to have friends.

Saying Goodbye...

It's odd that I leave in just 3 days and it hasn't really hit me yet. I had to say goodbye to my best friend last night and we've been friends since we were 4. We've always lived by each other so it will be crazy not having her nearby. I can't say I am going to miss this "beautiful" Alaskan weather (as it has been raining for like 2 weeks straight), but I am going to miss the people. It has been hard to say goodbye to my youth. We are so a part of each other's lives that life will feel like a strange mystery to me without them around. My youth have made me so much of who I am today, as they challenge me to grow and stretch and be the leader they need. My prayer is that I will encounter relationships at Fellowship that mold me into more of who God wants me to be (as long as that doesn't include being a cowgirl :)

My Campus Team at Fellowship

I received an e-mail yesterday from Chris, the Youth Pastor at Fellowship. He told me that I will be assigned to working with the East Campus Team this year. The Campus Team Pastor is Chase. I've been e-mailing him trying to get to know more about him. I'm excited to work with him, as he seems to be passionate about building relationships with youth. I believe there are 4 high schools that are a part of the East Campus Team...so we'll have our work cut out for us! Chris e-mailed me this morning and told me that there were 601 youth at the Mix (their youth group) last night. He just started a new series called "Your Space". I'm getting more and more excited about being a part of this leadership team, as the reality of it all is starting to sink in.

Getting ready for the adventure...

Well, here I am at my computer in my cozy office in Alaska and I'm realizing that I take the familiar for granted. In just over a week I am leaving my favorite state, my birthland, my mountains, to embark on a journey to Texas. I am doing a year-long internship at Fellowship Church in their Youth Ministry Program. I'm excited about learning how to do ministry on a larger scale and being in a new, fresh environment. I'm sad, however, to leave this ministry at Birchwood as they are preparing to open the new school, discussing the possibility of going to two services as the growth continues and in general be loved by familiar faces of this church body. I know the Lord has called me to Texas for a purpose and because of this I have a peace about all of it. I am just feeling overly sentimental as I write in my first blog post, hoping that some of my youth will read this and realize that although I will learn a lot and enjoy my time in Texas, I will miss them terribly this year.