Phi Alpha Induction

A couple of weekends ago I was inducted into the Phi Alpha Honor society. It's hard to believe that I've been studying here at Southern for three years. The program was really nice and it was even more special to have my Mom and best friends there. I was able to reflect on what my school, classmates, profressors, school, friends, and family have meant to me through this journey. I remember my freshmen year choosing Social work as major and being excited about it. I remember walking into Mrs. Baker's office many timest the first semester of the Social work program my Junior year and feeling supported and helped through the whole process. I remember Mrs. Heck's Valentine card to each of us Juniors that said "You are loved", with Bible promises written with our own names in them. I am so thankful to have had the privilege to receive my education at Southern and the relationships I have built there I will always treasure. One more year till I receive my degree!

Debbie and I walking to Daniells Hall afterwards for refreshments

Kirsten and I

Surprise visit

At the end of this week, I felt exhaustion from the semester. 14 hours of classes, work, practicum during Spring break. I love it all but I need rest. It just so happened that I had to go to an town near Nashville for a tag renewal on Friday which is only 20 minutes from home. How could I pass going home for the weekend? Thursday during my hour break between work and choir/ classes I filled out a weekend leave request and made a final decision, but one thing I wasn't going to was tell my Mom. I would surprise her. So yesterday after I finished my car errands I headed up the ridge to my sweet hometown, and drove into my driveway. Ranger my dog, wagged her tail at my arrival. My Mom, was so surprised, happy, and smiling. She had no idea that I would come It was nice to surprise her and find refreshment at home after an intense week.

Spring Break

The end of Spring break has already come upon me. This week I have been doing a 40 hour practicum at Memorial Hospital. I'm getting to close to the end of my education. Exciting and yet a little nervous at the same time. Pray for me as I look for the right internship for my Senior year. Last weekend I went home to spend time with my whole immediate family. It was refreshing to be together as a family and share many laughs and talks. Doing observation at Memorial this week has helped me a lot to see what I really enjoy and what I do not.

After my first day at practicum I spent time with my girls. What a fun evening and delicious food!

At the end of our tangerine party

Updates will be coming more often!

Reflections on the 2nd week at Southern

The second week of school came upon us soon! I heard that Collegedale was going to get six inches of snow but had a hard time believing that much snow would come. Sunday night I looked out my window next to my bed and there was not a drop of snow on the ground. Then at 6:30 in the morning I woke up and our backyard was transformed into a winter wonderland. 8 inches of snow! My roommates and I were so excited! Debbie ran out to show everyone that there really was a lot of snow. Kristi made pumpkin cookies and and then in the afternoon we went sledding with Suzanne. The first time I went down with Becca we fell off. It was so funny! More friends joined us and we made games and ate cookies at our apartment after it was over. It was a blast to go sledding! I hadn't gone since elementary school. It was wonderful to have Monday and Tuesday off from school.


It was still an adjustment second week to get used to my classes, and know what I was doing. I'm really enjoying all of my classes and am taking my core Social work classes. On Thursday, our department had a convocation. The Seniors talked about their internships and practicums they are doing. It was inspiring, motivating, and left me excited about my career! It's a good thing to learn and be educated about social welfare policies, social theories, interviewing skills, and assessments in our classes. It's another thing to put it into practice and see how it is impacting others. The seniors in their agencies and hospitals are making a huge difference in the lives of people they are caring for. Connecting people to resources, empowering them, and helping them to have better lives.
It's hard to believe that I'm aleady in my second semester of my Junior year of college. It really doesn't seem that long ago I was a Senior anxious and excited to graduate from academy and next year it I'll be a Senior again!

Here a couple of pictures from our snow days:

Suzanne and Becca getting ready to sled down the hill.

A sled train of friends

Christmas Break: Part 1

Christmas break has been a refreshing time for me. Taking time to contemplate on what I am thankful for this year, and spend a lot of time with my family. My brother Aaron has a girl friend, Cassandra and she has come to spend Christmas with us. Her sweet and fun spirit has added to our home. Today we both had to do errands in Gallatin, a town 20 minutes from home. We decided to venture out and walk in the older parts of it. It was fun looking at shops, finding rare items in a antique shop, admiring historical spots, and taking pictures.

Retreat

It's Thanksgiving Eve and I have so much to be thankful for. I returned home last night. I rode back with Amy, Chelsea, and Caley. When we drove by downtown Nashville we agreed on how we felt back home. There's no place like home, and that's where I love to be at the holidays.

This past weekend I was able to spend more time getting to know some of the girls within my department at Southern. I am in the Phi Alpha Social work club this year, and we took a retreat together in Cleveland, Tennessee. It was refreshing to get away from school and to enjoy being

out in the country.


The house we stayed at

We went on a gorgeous two hour hike!

The girls on the retreat

Joelle and I!

Kirsten, me, and Jessica

Have a Happy Thankgiving!

Trip to Arkansas!

This past weekend I drove 10 hours away to Arkansas for the wedding of Deborah Arakawa and Alistair Huong. It was a lovely and beautiful wedding! It was nice to see two dedicated people commit their lives together. It was also great to be together with my immediate family for the weekend.




Edwin, Norman (my brother), Alistair, and Tim have been best friends for years. They're all married now!

My family

The wedding

Tim and Sunny

My brothers and I

Our apartment

This year I am living off campus in an apartment with Kristi, Debbie, and Rebecca. We are having a great year. It's been so much to hang out together in the apartment and spend time getting to know each other, and laugh.

The living room

Dining table/ kitchen

Backporch


My housemates! We shot some different poses. This is one of my favorites.

My roommate- Becca and I

Suzanne is our adopted housemate and we love having her over too. One Sunday she and Debbie made us pancakes, peach sauce, and scrambled tofu. It was yummy!

These pictures make me happy and thankful for beautiful friendships

My brother Aaron

I've been having a great experience here at Southern these first three weeks. Love hanging out with my girl friends, getting into my classes, and seeing how God is working here at Southern. I will be blogging about it soon!

Last night, my brother Aaron called me and said he was coming down this way for the day. It was bright spot in my day to hang out with him and spend quality time catching up on life. We walked around the campus and he told me some of his stories while he was here. I love you Aaron, thanks for taking the time to spend time with me today. I meant a lot.

My favorite stories from Summer of Evangelism

I can't forget to finish writing my experiences from Summer of Evangelism down in Atlanta. I shared a little bit when I was down there. God was working this summer! Our role as SEYC students was to do the lay work, pass out flyers, greeting, and follow ups at the evangelistic meetings. I worked at the Duluth SDA Church. It was exciting to see a lot of visitors coming out to the meetings at the beginning. One of the visitors, Delight was coming to the first three meetings with her friend. We noticed that she stopped coming. My partner and I went to visit her place and made sure that everything was all right. She said that she wanted to come back to the meetings but didn't have a way. It would be no problem for us to start giving her rides. She came back with us and I remember sitting with her when they preached about the Sabbath. I could hear her getting emotional yet at the same time I could sense a conviction being made in her heart. The night they made an appeal for baptism she walked down the aisle for baptism. There is no greater joy than seeing a person making a full comittment for Christ!

There are a couple of other stories I want to share.

Rick had been attending a church for a while but it unexpectedly closed down. It didn't move to another location. He was looking for a church family. A flyer came in the mail for the evangelistic meetings. What was there to lose? He came to almost every meeting and was the first person to make a decision for baptism at the end!



Gene had been studying the Bible with his brother and came under the conviction that Seventh-day Adventists were the only church who believed in the Sabbath and proclaimed the three angel's message. It just so happened that he came to visit the Duluth church while the meetings were going on. He talked to a couple of our Bible workers in the lobby and they asked if he was member. They soon realized it was his first time to come to an SDA church and made sure he felt welcomed. He came to the rest of the meetings. Praise God, he was baptized too! It was amazing to see God's spirit being poured out on Atlanta.

Remembering these stories is why I love evangelism. I love how it can bring a transformation to someone's life and helps them to find a new life in Christ. It also brings about revival to the church and it's members. I may go back to Atlanta next summer to be a Bible worker. I love to see people find Jesus for themselves and His message given to us in the Bible.

Kelly and I with Delight

The Duluth team

A trip to New York

The last week of summer I spent some time with my Mom visiting Rochester, NY. We went to
a special dedication service of Hiram Edson's farm. It was a blessing to hear the stories of our Adventist pioneers all during the weekend.

It was also fun to spend my 21st birthday there

The Visitor's Center

People from the community have been asking what is this building about. It has given us a great opportunity to witness for our church and what we believe.

Inside the center it was exciting to look at keepsakes of Hiram Edson. The focal point of the room was a cherry table that he had built. There were also letters he had written framed on the wall.

The barn on the farm

It was good for me to be able to spend more time to learn about Adventist History. It was at this location that the key doctrines of our faith were decided upon. I knew that I was at a special and important place.

We were reminded that the lives the pioneers lived in hastening the second coming of Christ should be our model to follow today. I am glad that my mother and I were able to take this trip together. I always want to remember what our pioneers did for our church.