I’ve heard it said that writing is a great way to bring out what you’re really feeling. If you don’t know what to say, keep writing and it’ll come out eventually. That’s what I’m hoping for right now. My mind has been buzzing the last few days, I can’t focus, I don’t feel all that great, my jaw feels really tight and my throat has a constant feeling that you have right before you start crying really hard, that uncomfortable tightness. I’m sitting here in Barista’s trying to figure out what to talk about tonight at CSF for our Haiti trip, but right now that trip seems like it was years ago. Right now all I can think about, pray about, feel, etc is Joplin. Ever since I turned on the weather channel sunday night around 7 and discovered what happened, my heart has been heavy and my emotions all over the place. I was instantly concerned and moved to tears not knowing if people I know down there were safe. (They are, some of their homes are not). I can’t stop watching/reading the coverage, the images, the live reports- many of them over and over again. My mind will literally not turn off, nor has my weather channel. I want to be there helping. I want to go cry with them. Rejoice with them in the safety of all those who made it. Just be there through this.

I’ve been trying to figure out why it’s hitting me so hard. Obviously it’s been affecting people across the world regardless of their ties to the city or the people. As a human being, we’re all drawn closer in experiences like this because we know the value of human life and regardless of where you live or who you are, the loss of human life and the images of the devastation are universal. We can all relate to that. But this one hits closer to home for me.

I was blessed to spend my summer last year in Joplin with an organization called Christ In Youth, or CIY as it’s known by most. Up until that internship started (almost a year ago to the day) I didn’t know much about Joplin at all, maybe had heard of it, but literally had directions in hand as I drove down there last May hoping I wouldn’t get lost. (I did by the way, that building could NOT be more up in the woods and in my defense, there was an INCREDIBLY wordy billboard on the other side of the street that I was reading when I should’ve been spotting the CIY sign off the road on the opposite side)…but long story short, I spent a summer with Joplin as my main base as I traveled to camps around the country getting to share the light of Jesus by using the production skills that God has blessed me with. It was an experience of a life time and an experience that I miss all the time. I was blessed to work with some of the kindest and most talented people from bands and speakers to production crews and camp directors. Many of whom make permanent residence in Joplin or surrounding cities. Many of whom that I don’t speak to more than an occasional facebook message or phonecall/text, but when you have an experience like coming together for something so much greater than ourselves, you don’t need a text/message to remember the times you had and know there is love there.

Perhaps that is why it’s hitting so hard right now. Because to me that city and those people who are hurting are representative of an incredible experience I was able to be a part of. An experience that, had it not been for a previously scheduled family vacation this summer, I very possibly could’ve been a part of this summer again and therefore would’ve been either in Joplin during the storm or very close to being there. An experience that I hope to be a part of again some day in some capacity or another. A town that means so much that is home to people who mean so much more.

It blows my mind to see these images of the Wal-Mart that our intern team frequented 2-3 times a week turned to rubble. The I-HOP, the Burger King, the Chic-Fil-A that you couldn’t go to during lunch and NOT see someone from CIY, even if we went 4 days in a row. All these places, it just amazes me. We serve an incredibly powerful God. And when we decide to live our lives for Him we don’t do so conditionally. This life is painful sometimes. We don’t understand it all the time. We’re not supposed to. I don’t fully understand situations like this. But I fully trust that at the end of the day the God I serve is good and loving. My prayer for everyone in Joplin right now is that they can still know that God is good. That they can feel His love, His peace, His comfort, His guidance that so many of us from around the world are crying out for for you all.

And as I sit in a coffee shop 7 hours away wishing I could be there helping and planning the ways in which I’ll be able to do so hopefully very soon, that about-to-cry feeling in my throat hasn’t gone away nor has the heaviness in my heart, and it won’t.

I just want you all to know that we’re praying for you. We’re hurting for you. We’re crying for you. We’re here for you.

As I started writing this, a song came on from Jordan Howerton Band, a band that I worked with in Joplin last summer, and I thought the lyrics were incredibly fitting.

Hallelujah- Joradan Howerton Band

“God creator of all on Earth and sky, we Your fallen children hear our cry. As we lift our voices and sing You our praise. The generations before us sang: Hallelujah to our Savior. To the God of our comfort, the God of our strength. Hallelujah we sing. To the King eternal, God of light. Death is all around us but You give life. Tragedy draws closer, let us not falter but hear us sing: Hallelujah to our Savior. To the God of our comfort, the God of our strength. Hallelujah. And in an instant death can take us so let the moments of our days be spent to bring glory to the Creator of all things. Hallelujah. To our Savior. To the God of our comfort, the God of our strength. Hallelujah we sing.”

The crew at Cheddars in Joplin.

Ouch. I know the day’s not over, but for the most part I’m done being out and about too much… I went throughout the day without shoes as part of TOMSshoes One Day Without Shoes campaign (Click Here For More Info). You should go check out the site and learn more about why thousands and thousands of people are going without shoes today.

This is the first year that I’ve done it and it was an experience to say the least. Of course I forgot this morning and put on tennis shoes when I went to pick up my friend to play frisbee golf. But she reminded me right away, and together, we played frisbee golf for an hour out at Cotton Mill park without shoes. And it sucked. Not the frisbee golf, that was fun. But the pain part, and the cold part. In the shade the ground was significantly colder and added an extra sting to what was mostly rough natural terrain already (sticks, pinecones, rocks, leaves, gravel etc…) Not to mention Cotton Wood is made for Frisbee Golf experts and unless you have a perfect throw every time (which I DON’T) then you’re gonna be chasing the disc in the woods/brush/empty lake…  I wanted to put my shoes back on after about 20 minutes because my feet were in a lot of pain, but my friend encouraged me not to, and I’m glad I did.

Because for the rest of the day I had motivation to keep going barefoot. And I did. I walked to the coffee shop a few blocks away and had to pay extra attention to wear broken glass was on the ground and be constantly aware of where I was walking. I got kindof used to it, until I sat down at the coffee shop for awhile and then went back outside, and then it sucked again. And I went to Hobby Lobby and braved walking in without shoes, specifically picking aisles where people weren’t so people didn’t stare. Until I checked out and couldn’t really hide it. And the lady in front of me who turned around to let me go ahead of her saw my feet and goes “ARE YOU NOT WEARING SHOES?!” Kinda hard to avoid that one. But as soon as I mentioned TOMS to her she lit up, she said “OH WE KNOW TOMS!” I told her a little about what today meant and said it again to the cashier as she started to pay attention to our conversation at this point… the lady decided she was gonna text her daughter and ask if she was participating and thanked me for doing it. It was kindof weird. That I got thanked for going one day without shoes by choice when there are so many people who do it daily not by choice. But I know she meant well and I’m glad we got to talk about it.

After Hobby Lobby the next time I got out of the car was to get groceries, which I was a little more worried about because of the whole no shirt no shoes no service thing. BUT, either they didn’t see me or they didn’t care, but there were no problems at the grocery store… SO I’ll leave it at that…

And now, I’m back home. I’m still shoeless, but what I lack in shoes right now I’m making up for in appreciation. I take it for granted everyday that I have shoes on my feet, and shoes waiting to be on my feet, and shoes for every occasion, and then some. But honestly one of my favorite pair of shoes is my TOMS. And the best part about them, another pair of shoes got shipped to a person in need when I purchased mine. I’d encourage you to check out ordering a pair or two… and if you don’t want more shoes, try going for just an hour or two without shoes, it’ll make you think twice before putting on shoes the next time. I know it has to me.

Welp, it’s 1:15 on a Thursday night/Friday morning right now. I could be sleeping, but there’s just something about Thursday nights. By the time I finally get back to my room there’s too much going on for me to just stop my mind right away. I’ve just learned that Thursday’s are gonna be super late nights for me. Thursday’s are the nights that CSF meets here in Kearney, which means that I get to see some of my favorite people for hours, and on nights like tonight, even longer because we went to Applebee’s. I’m going to try and make this all make sense, but it’s late, so if I ramble and you get bored and peace out half way through I understand, thanks in advance for reading however much you do…

I love nights like tonight. I can’t tell you how many Thursday’s this semester I’ve been at CSF and have been overwhelmed with this feeling of just awesomeness. I know that’s a vague description, but it’s truth. I look around on Thursday nights at all the faces, the stories, the hearts in that room and I’m so encouraged. I look at the team that I’m blessed to be working with week in and week out and I’m so encouraged. Tonight was no different, only I got an even cooler view because I was helping with worship tonight so I got to creep on the room from stage. (I promise it’s not as creepy as it sounds). To see people worshiping, genuinely worshiping is just one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced, let alone being a part of that experience! I loved tonight. (Despite my guitar strap slipping and my guitar crashing to the ground like a minute before worship started, I still loved tonight.) The worship was just awesome to be a part of. To step back from the mic and hear a room of 100 college kids singing “My heart will sing no other name, Jesus, Jesus” over and over again was just an amazing moment. And if that wasn’t enough about 5 minutes later to hear that same crowd that just declared their love for Jesus singing “And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop of us?! And if our God is with us, then what could stand against?!” Think about that for one second. If God is for us, what could EVER STOP US? I heard that declared in that room tonight and I was so encouraged. For a second I saw myself dreaming about the future, about campus ministry and how cool that truth is and what it could mean for future. I don’t know where I’ll be in a year or two for sure, but I know that wherever I am, that truth still remains. That in itself is encouraging enough to know that I don’t have to know where I’ll be, I just have to trust.

We haven’t even been back a full week yet from Kentucky, which is a whole other post that I’m realizing now would’ve made more sense to write on BEFORE I wrote this all out. So more on Kentucky at some point?! But just know that I felt incredibly blessed to get to know these people better on that Kentucky trip and have continued to feel that blessing as I continue to get to know them upon our return.

I just re-read everything that I’ve written so far, I think I kinda got my point across? I wish I could fully express my emotions on Thursday night’s, but it’s hard to put feelings into words sometimes. But if I had to sum it all up in one sentence: I am blessed. To be with this staff. With these students. With my co-workers at my part-time job. To get to be in the same town as my grandma on her 83rd birthday and to get to take her to lunch. To have the family I have. The friends I have. The experiences I’ve had. That my guitar didn’t break when it fell tonight. And to sleep soon. That was a lot more than one sentence… sorrrrry….

Our happy crew right before we left Kentucky.

I wish I had a good way to end this right now, but to be honest it’s like ten til two and I don’t want to have to think of a clever way, I just want to sleep. Good night.

So, apparently it’s 2011. Somehow it’s already January, 19th?! Weird. I’ve been back in Kearney a few days now since break/snowboarding and I’m excited to be here for a while and really use this time to learn and grow. Last semester was a blur, good, but a blur. I’m learning a lot about myself during this time and I’m really excited to see how this semester goes! I’m currently reading the book Radical by David Platt. I’m about half-way through so I can’t really comment too much as I don’t know what the second half will bring, but if it’s anything like the first half then I know it will be super challenging, in a good way. It’s kicking my comfortable American butt right now, and I uncomfortably love it, if that makes sense?! I’ll definitely post something once I finish the book in a day or two, we have a retreat over it this weekend in Omaha and I’m super excited to go and hear what others thought of it and to learn and grow and be challenged together and to dream about what’s next! And I get to see some awesome people in the process so I’m pretty pumped! So the thoughts about the book/retreat will come later… hopefully next week…

However, now that I am actually here writing I’m reminded that I told myself that I would write about a wedding I was at recently, but that wedding was 3 weeks ago and I still haven’t written… SO, here goes. I had the pleasure of attending the wedding of a great friend New Years Eve. I’ve looked up to her spiritually for years and she’s a big part of why I am where I am in my faith today. The more I explore what ministry looks like the more I realize just how much she was ministering just by being my friend and walking through life with me, which is what it’s all about in the first place! Sorry, tangent. Anyways, as I sat in the pew of the church listening to the groom’s dad perform the ceremony, I heard God speaking right to me through the pastor. There was a part where the pastor talked about the couple going on several trips to sponsor church camps together for years and years before they started dating, and about how all this time of going on trips he would try and get them to date and give them a hard time about it. He said something that stuck out to me and I’ve thought about a lot since then. Basically, all the time they were going on these trips and sponsoring kids and being on mission, they were falling in love with Jesus first. And somewhere along the way of falling in love with Jesus more and more, God blessed them with falling in love with each other. Boom. God hit me pretty hard in that moment. Slapped me across the face with the most gentle peace if that makes sense. I can’t really explain it, but it was like this moment of “you idiot” (that was me to myself, not God saying that to me, though He would be totally justified in saying that to me on a daily basis). Anyways, I sat in that pew that day and watched this beautiful ceremony. And I’ve been to lots of weddings that are beautiful and great and fun and I don’t want to take away from any of those because they were truly all wonderful and I believe God brought all those people together in His perfect timing. But, for where I was at in life at the time, this one was different and God used this wedding to speak to me as I sat there and saw these two people who were doing wonderful things for ministry individually and now, they were being united to do INCREDIBLE things together in ministry. I was reminded that day just how much I desire my marriage to be like that one day. It’s so easy in this society to start thinking something’s wrong with your status if you’re not married by a certain age or dating someone all the time etc… I had started to buy into society again, until that moment when I realized I don’t want to sell myself short because God can do such incredible things through marriages if we follow Him, and not just try and figure it out on our own. And I know it doesn’t say anywhere in the Bible that we’re all going to be married. But if that’s in my future one day, I don’t want it to be anything less than exactly what God has designed and will bring Him the most glory. So with that said, Congrats again to Steph and Alex and I sincerely can’t wait to see what God has in store for your ministry together!

 

Dear Friends,

First of all, we’d like to say thank you one more time for your financial generosity in supporting our mission trip to Haiti. However, we are incredibly saddened to say that due to recent political unrest in the country, our trip will not be going as originally scheduled. For those un-aware of the current situation, many citizens of Haiti are unhappy with the results of a recent November government election and are handling their unhappiness with violent protests. The government is currently re- counting the votes from the election in hopes of settling the unrest.

However, in the meantime our friends at House of Hope Haiti Orphanage have advised against our travel to the country anytime before they announce the results of the recount in mid-January. As much as we want to go help and be with them in this difficult time, we know it’s not what’s wise or safe right now. We hope you understand the change.

As of now, we are praying about the possibility of going to Haiti in the future as the group that we were going to travel with is planning on finding another time or two for the trip hopefully later on this year. There are also several other mission trip opportunities coming up with CSF this spring break and this summer. As financial investors in this trip, we wanted to inform you of what’s happening and also give you the chance to have your money returned if you so chose. However, if you chose to let your donation stand please know that all money raised through donations will be used for mission trips in the future and we hope that you can trust our discretion in the matter. We will keep you informed on where your money will be used and we appreciate your understanding in the matter and most importantly your prayers.

Thank You and God Bless.

Haiti Official Support

“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” Galatians 6:10

I’ve had some pretty cool opportunities since moving to Kearney to get to know new people, get to know a new town, get to experience a new job, a new internship, a new ministry and the list goes on and on. I’ve had my share of challenges too, (ask me about health insurance sometime I’m learning loads lately trying to find good coverage). Anywho, as with any new adventures, there are ups and downs, but I’m learning even more that there is beauty in all of it, not just the “good” times.  And one of the coolest opportunities that I have coming up is an international mission trip that I get to be a part of.

On January 1^st, 2011 about 30 people from Nebraska, including 6 UNK students and myself, will be traveling to Haiti for a week. Ever since freshman year of college mission trips have had a special place in my heart and I’m super excited to be a part of this trip. As we all know Haiti has had an extremely difficult year, and what some people probably don’t know is that Haiti was in dire need of help long before the natural disasters that have crippled the country. Actually, several of the students who will be going on the trip this year were actually a part of the group that was in Haiti last January just a week before the earthquake struck Port Au Prince.  They were there because Haiti was in need of help, of God’s love, and it still is more than ever.

We will be working with several orphanages including House of Hope Haiti and Valley House of Hope and will get to spend a lot of time with local kids, leading them in VBS and just getting to be a part of their daily lives. I’ve never been a part of a mission trip where I couldn’t verbally communicate with locals (they speak Haitian Creole and that is pretty far from Spanish and English), but I’m excited to see what it’ll be like. I heard a quote a few years ago at a college church service that I really liked and it seems pretty fitting: “Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary, use words”- St. Francis of Assisi.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to write any letters for support at all, but I had several people ask for me to send them one because they wanted to help out. So I decided that I’d do it a little differently. Sometimes sending letters can seem so demanding which isn’t the intent, but unfortunately it’s a connotation.  So I decided I’d throw it out here. I’m not gonna lie the trip is expensive (roughly $1,500) as is any trip where you fly internationally, but I believe it’s worth it because I believe in why we’re going. God is bigger. He is stronger. He is worth more than I could ever spend to get there. I’ve been blessed to have steady jobs since I was 14 and I’ll continue working these jobs if it means I can continue to be a part of ministry; on campus, internationally and everything in between. If you want to be a part of this trip financially first off thanks so much, but please don’t give because you feel like you have to, but if you want to, the information you need is right here:

Please make checks out to Christian Student Fellowship.

Please put Kelli Sajevic Haiti Trip in the Memo line.

Please mail them to:

Christian Student Fellowship

Attn. Kelli Sajevic

2310 14^th Ave

Kearney, NE 68845

You will receive a receipt for tax purposes when the check is made out to CSF as CSF is a non-profit recognized organization. And more importantly please keep the trip as well as the people of Haiti in your prayers. Thanks so much for taking the time to read this. You are all a blessing in my life.

Here’s a quick 2-minute video I made for a Haiti dance fundraiser that was held last weekend. Check it out for more information about the trip:

I’m sitting in my room at CSF Kearney right now. I’ve lived here for about a month and a half now. It’s definitely been an adjustment, which would be true of anywhere I went just because not being in school anymore is something new. I haven’t NOT been in school since I was what, 5? That’s a long time ago. So I’m learning how to not be in school and how to live life post-college. Only, I’m still pretty much on a college campus and surrounded by college students 24/7… so it’s even a WEIRDER transition just because I’m still at college, I’m just not in it if that makes sense.

Well, anyways, I just have been stressing today and I spent a few hours searching jobs and camps and insurance and all sorts of stuff on-line and I decided to just put it all out on here, type it out, maybe find some relief in there. I’m frustrated right now. I’m trying to figure out what I’m supposed to do with my life. I’m enjoying my time getting to know people at CSF Kearney, sometimes I forget that I’ve only been here for a month and a half. They have really great community here and students ministering students and it’s awesome to be a part of. But right now I just need to figure out what it looks like to be on the other side of it, because right now I still kinda feel like just a super involved student leader. Kinda like I was in Lincoln, only now I have an office and I’m called an intern. Maybe it’s because I was super involved in Lincoln as a student that I feel like I’m not doing much more than that now… or maybe it’s because it’s only been a month or so of school so I haven’t had much time to really go beyond what a student leader would do…IDK, but my goal right now is to go beyond this student leader feeling and feel like I’m doing more than just being a super involved student without the student status.

I’ve just been thinking about campus ministry lately and honestly it scares me. What if this is the right job for me? What if this is what I feel like I’m supposed to do with my life? What if this is my dream job? How am I supposed to afford life. Campus ministry isn’t exactly a government funded organization. You raise your own support. And I’m just not really sure how I feel about that. I don’t like asking people for money. It’s a crappy economy and people work hard for it. I get that. I’ve worked since I was 14 I understand the value of working towards a paycheck. But I also understand that as followers of Jesus it’s not really our money anyway. It’s His, everything is. So why wouldn’t we, as Christians, be willing to help out and share what’s already His, with people who are vocational ministers? I’m stuck somewhere in between that right now. I don’t know if it’s a pride thing, not wanting to ask for money. I dream of being able to make a salary. Pay rent on an apartment, save up for a house, pay my bills and be independent. That’s what I went to school for. Get a job. Make money. Pay for life. But what if the job doesn’t include the make money part? Then what? How do I achieve the dream of being independent and being able to afford life myself, if my dream job is one that you have to raise your support? Contrary to what I can imagine are some peoples thoughts, I really do want to have a steady job and work and afford life. I don’t like floating temporarily. I’m ready to grow up and do those things, I just don’t know what exactly I want yet, or better yet, what exactly I’m supposed to do. So I’m frustrated. And I’m stressed. And I don’t understand insurance, which is another thing I’m stressed about right now.

I’m going to Haiti January 1st, and I need shots/preventive medication before I go but I don’t know how my insurance works, what it’ll pay for, what I’ll have to pay for, what  freakin’ 80/20 coinsurance deductible, copay per visit MEANS! And I have to find my own policy by December, which I don’t understand. And is just another thing to add to the list of what I need to pay for. I don’t think my job serving iced tea at the Holiday Inn is going to quite cover life. It’s supposed to cover my expenses as much as it can while I live in Kearney and figure out my future…  I looked at media jobs tonight, or tried. If I do media/broadcast related I really want it to be Christian based. Working at a camp, church, Christian company? That would be another potential. I had an amazing summer working with CIY and it opened my eyes to an entirely different side of ministry. One that combines my passion for Jesus with my enjoyment of live production or just production in general. I am so thankful I was a part of what God did through CIY this summer and it makes me wonder if something like that wouldn’t also be a dream for the future.

So that’s where I’m at right now. This muddled, stressed out, random, raw post is what my mind is going through right now. It’s a harsh truth of where I’m at right now. I’m a month and a half into a 9 month internship, so a lot can and will change. Maybe I realize campus ministry is where I’m supposed to be and I’ll figure out how to make that dream a reality financially. Maybe an incredible opportunity comes for a Christian camp/media/mission job. Who knows. Well, God does. But He has a funny way of making us wait it out sometimes. That whole perserverence builds character thing*

Funny how some of the last few songs on itunes have been perfect for how I’m feeling.

-I Will Not Take Love Away- Matt Wertz “I will not leave you all alone. I will give you what you need. In plenty or in poverty. Forever, always, look to me. And I will give you what you need.”

-Everything- Lifehouse “You are the strength that keeps me walking. You are the hope that keeps me trusting…You are my purpose. You’re everything… You hold me in Your hands, You won’t let me fall.”

^*”1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. ³Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” Romans 5:1-5

If you’re the praying type, I’m really searching for direction right now. So maybe keep that in mind when you and God chat. If you’re not the praying type, I encourage you to reconsider, He’ll change your life. He did for me. And frustrations and all, I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Thought I’d give an update from Lee University because it’s been awhile! We kicked off Tennessee 4 camp in Cleveland Tennessee on Monday night. And already Wednesday night is over! It’s amazing how fast these weeks go! I will describe each element late in the summer with pictures, but just know that tonight’s element (element=prop or something that happens on the stage or in the auditorium) is hands down one of the coolest moments at MOVE this summer. The kids absolutely loved it and the screams once the night was over just reiterated the fact! It’s so cool to see 1,467 kids come together in one place and have such an incredible opportunity to learn and worship! It’s also so cool that I get to be a part of it everyday, and for weeks and weeks out of my summer! I’m loving every minute of it!

We had our talent show today in the afternoon and I am the backstage manager so I was in charge of being the stage hand and helping kids get microphones and chairs and such. Well, Steve, another intern with me was running the video switcher so he told the camera man on stage to shoot me non-stop whenever I came on or off the stage. Needless to say, I got a lot of screen time. And during security tonight (we go around the campus/dorms and make sure kids are goin to bed or are behaving, great way to score some candy from the kids) I officially became recognized as that girl on stage during the talent show. Funny because most people never see me when they’re in the auditorium because my table where I spend each show in the back faces a brick wall with curtains on two side. I don’t have to sit much though, a lot of the time I get to get up and stand at the curtain and worship and listen to speakers and basically creep out of the curtain at all the kids and see what they’re doing and how they’re responding. Which is actually really cool to do during times of worship. Makes staring at a wall so incredibly worth it to know that some kid out there is truly hearing about Jesus for the first time and changing because of it. Anyways, just wanted to update on how it’s goin!

Staying in an apartment style dorm with 2 rooms, 2 bathrooms, full kitchen, living room and 6 beds. It’s just me and Megan! So we have 4 beds we’re not even using! Nice set up for 3 weeks if you ask me! Going white water rafting this Saturday which I’m super excited about! Our conference ends Friday night, then we don’t have kids coming in again until Monday so it’ll be nice to sleep in on Saturday and then go rafting that afternoon! Let’s see, what else… Tomorrow is extended rec day which means- extended nap day!! Super excited because Wed is such a long day!! We came out at one point and it was like we hadn’t seen the sun in ages!! (Remember, brick wall.) But for real, excited about the nap! And really, the brick wall isn’t that bad because I have about 1,500 people on the other side of a curtain and it’s actually a really sweet view!

This is part of what makes Wed night so special. Yes, that’s a red button hooked up to something that is triggered when pressed. Yes, I get to press it. Yes, I press it at an epic moment. And no, I didn’t mess it up! Livin the dream! I mean, who doesn’t wanna press a red button at some point in their life?! Welp, consider it accomplished! Anyways… I’m having a blast! I get to meet and talk to some really cool people! I got to talk to our speaker tonight for a few minutes, a guy I saw in Tulsa in November who I remember had a really great sermon and it really made me start thinking about campus ministry! Cool to see that come full circle and now I get to work with him as he speaks for CIY! Also, started sending out messages to incoming freshmen at UNK interested in CSF and I’ve been getting some responses back, it’s making it all so real! I’m getting pretty excited to get to Kearney and see what happens! I’m ready to learn and just keep seeing what God has in store for me!

AAAAANNNNND it’s late and I have to bet at the auditorium for the morning show in 7 hours! Night all! Thanks for caring enough to read this!

So I’m currently sitting in the conference room at CIY in Joplin, MO listening to the Netherlands vs. Uruguay game on-line. This is the start of week 2 of being back in Joplin in between weeks out on the road. My group came back on the 26th of June and had 4 days in the office. Apparently, there’s not a lot to do when we’re not on the road, so it’s been slightly slow-going. The Tennessee crew got back over the Holiday weekend so it’s fun having them back here! The dorm/office was too quiet without everyone here. It’s been fun getting to talk to them all again and exchange stories from our camps.

We were lucky to get a super long holiday weekend because they let us have Friday off and the office was closed Monday. I was able to drive to KC after work on Thursday and see the parents before their trip (they’re currently in Iceland) and got to see Mark and Eric Thursday night, which was a lot of fun to catch up with those guys! It’s been too long! Drove up to Lincoln on Friday and made it in time for lunch with Jessica and the newly wed Amanda Norton! It was fun just sitting around and talking about our summers and lives! It’s crazy how much things have changed since the 3 of us first hung out 4 years ago at CSF Fall Retreat! Back when I barely knew Amanda and she had this crazy red-headed friend named Jessica. Turns out, she is crazy and a red-head and now she is my friend, too. Fun. And now we’re all graduated and Amanda is a wife and we’re all in different states! Anyways, got to see some more friends Friday night and got some coffee with even more friends Saturday, including the newly engaged Steph which was fun to talk about wedding plans!

Spent Saturday night and Sunday with family watching/shooting off fireworks. Back-to-back block parties Sat and Sun in my brothers neighborhood made for a very firework filled holiday, as it should be! Props to Kyle for a ridiculous show! And no one was seriously injured, which was amazing considering the amount of stuff that got lit off in the 2 days I was there!

Anyways, back in Joplin this week for a short 3 days in the office then my team hits the road for Tennessee Friday morning! I’m really excited to get back out on the road! We got a really great taste of what CIY this summer is like at Anderson in Indiana, then had a smaller/slightly different week in Vegas (it was a private church), so I’m ready to get back out there and have several more full weeks of camp! We have 3 back to back to back weeks at Lee University so it’ll be nice to only have one set-up and one tear-down! Hopefully I won’t fall out of the back of the semi at this tear down, but I can’t promise anything… The fact that we’re at Lee University 3 weeks straight means we get two weekends to ourselves! And we’re going white water rafting that first weekend which I can’t wait to do! Never done it, but always wanted to! Well, recap: Vegas was fun, different, but fun. Joplin was quiet for a week. Home was great. Tennessee friends are back. Netherlands are up 1-0 and we officially have a task to do. Woo! Happy 6th of July!

What a week!! Had an amazing time at my first ever MOVE event! Can’t believe how fast that week went, I had so much fun with everything! The crew we were working with was so, so fun I’m going to miss not working with any of them again this summer! Luckily, I have a really fun team of interns so we’re keepin the fun going in Vegas, which is where I am now! We flew out of Indianapolis’s airport this morning at 10:45 and landed in Vegas by 1:30 or so. It was about a decently long flight with a short stop in Phoenix to change some passengers. Also, it was brought to my attention that my Active Water water bottle that we are all using all summer to promote not using bottled water (www.activewater.org) was full of water as I was about to go through security, so I chugged the whole thing (on top of the iced coffee and orange juice I’d already had since I’d woken up that morning). To top it all off, I ended up at a window seat on an almost 4 hour flight next to a couple I’d never met (we switched a guy seats so he could sit with his kids so I wasn’t by any interns) so I had to ask them to get up, luckily only once though!

Anyways, just chilling in the hotel right now, Megan and I have a window view of the strip which is cool! We’re going to go to the strip tomorrow and the Hoover Dam on Wednesday. This week of camp will look way different than any other week of the summer, we have two days where we’ll be done with duties by 3pm, in addition to today and tomorrow where we also have tons of free time! We decided to stick around the hotel tonight though because we were really tired. I’ll explain why in a bit. Anyways, after getting our rental car and hitting up In and Out Burger (good, but worth all the hype? questionable…), we came to the hotel and got checked in and all of us napped, some more than others. I passed out from 4 to 7 or so which was amazing. Steve, Ryan, Megan and I got Panda express down in the lobby a little bit ago and got our tickets to Toy Story 3D which starts in an hour or so, PUMPED!! Weird walking around a Vegas Casino working for CIY with people I’ve only known for a month, but it’s so fun! Reminds me of last time I was here with the Sajevic girls!

Anyways, so this past week in Indiana. WOW. I didn’t really know what to expect going into it so I had no pre-concieved notions about how it would go. But now that I have time to reflect and put it into words, I’m not sure there are words exactly. It was just an amazing experience! Seeing that many people get so pumped about God is such an incredible thing to witness and to be a part of. There were several times where I just got goosebumps backstage listening to worship and the speakers and such and I couldn’t even see 80% of the room from where I was! It was easy to be distracted by the sheer production volume alone , I was so glad that we had a chance to really hear stories of how God was moving in that place, because He was! Story after story came out through different activities and then last night was the decisions night which gave kids a chance to stand up if it they had just come to Christ or just turned back to Him or had decided to Stand for Him, and it was awesome to see so many kids stand up. Makes every single part of it worth it. Even the falling out of the back of a semi trailer which I may or may not have done last night as I tried to jump out (nbd I caught myself on the landing and barely scraped an elbow, dumb foot got caught on the jump). ANYWHO, I’m so stoked to continue to be a part of this movement and can’t wait to hear and see everything that God is doing.

Had a great time getting to know BC reps and can’t wait to work with almost all/if not all of them again this summer! (White water rafting Tennessee get excited guys!) They are such an important part of making these events possible as well, so thanks to them! They were also a huge part of tear down and load out last night which is why we’re all so tired today, we finished loading the semi and trailer at 2 am (about 10 seconds before it started to rain, thank you God) and then had to get up and be on the road to the airport by 7:30ish, needless to say most of us crashed on the plane and or in the hotel…

Backstage was a really great experience. A lot of similarities to producing a live broadcast in high school or college, just a longer show with a bit different feel. Like making sure the band is upstairs and ready to go on, or that the speaker is close by and not outside on a the curb when he’s supposed to go on (scariest moment of my life when I couldn’t find a speaker one morning!! Turns out he was outside, had to stall with the Emcee while a bunch of us frantically searched, bout had a heart attack). 3 out of the 5 nights we had severe thunderstorm watches/warning and tornado watches, including last night which meant the band had to go back out for a 2 song encore that they weren’t expecting, they were troopers though, and all of them were super nice to work with all week! (Mattbaylessband.com). So that was fun running around to tell the band to rally and get back out there as our director and I watch the weather map trying to figure out when the storm would pass etc… 3 out of 5 nights I was watching the maps I felt like a meteorologist! Ok, so Ryan just came in so I need to wrap this so we can get to Toy Story!

Night!

P.S. Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Norton!!! So happy for you!