In honor of my Dad

Today is Father's day. I thought about my dad throughout the day. It isn't the same without having him around here. There are many a time when I would like to ask a question, or seek guidance from him. I miss having the friendship that a Dad and daughter share. He was intelligent, hard working, and most importantly a godly leader in the family.

One of the happy memories I have of him was when we took a family vacation up to Niagara Falls, Canada. He was evangelistic minded and had all of my brothers distributing Spirit of prophecy paper books in the telephone booths. I was a young one, still being pushed in a stroller, yet these were some of my first memories of my dad. When I was around five or six I conducted my own musical Fourth of July program and made my dad listen to all my rehearsals and songs. He had some patience to do that. We both worked on a duet and sang a song about a Kangaroo (it was hilarious). The last years when he was working as a doctor, he was faithful to his job and his patients and co-workers loved him. I remember all his prescriptions,and papers lying on the back seat of his car. I won't forget his sense of humor and how he could make me laugh. Dad was an amazing person and things have changed since he passed away. I can't wait to spend more father-daughter moments in Heaven.

Maybe later in the summer I'll post some more pictures. I'm sharing this picture to honor my Dad.

Witnessing to others

So a lot has been going on since the last time I blogged a post. The classes have been so useful and practical for my experience. We have been learning how to give Bible studies, Biblical Spirituality, and about our key Adventist doctrines.

One of the most rewarding parts of the program has been helping out with the evangelistic series at the churches, and talking to people out in the community. I love working with the visitors who come to the meetings. It has been neat to see their excitement for truth and what the Bible has to say. We've had about 10 visitors coming out regularly.

Kelly and I have been outreach partners. It hasn't always been easy knocking on doors and getting a lot of negative responses. I want to share an experience. One evening, we talked with a man who seemed to find an excuse to everything we tried to share with him. Finally, he shared that he had some bitter experiences with the churches he had been to and wanted his children to be able to know God and grow up in a Christian environment. He took one of our Bible study interest cards and was grateful for our visit when we left. It makes me think about how there are people out there in their homes who are thirsting for the truth. If more laborers would go out seeking for them than they would be won for the kingdom,

This past Sunday the Sabbath message was presented to the visitors. We prayed for them. I could see the expressions on their faces about hearing it for the first time. For some it was harder than others.

I have a week and a half left here. If there is one thing I want to take away from this program would be souls won for the kingdom. I'm excited to see the change that others can experience. I've also appreciated all the tools I've received for digging into my Bible better, giving Bible studies, and witnessing to others.

Evangelism in Georgia

I've been down here in Georgia for a week and a half.


Evangelistic meetings are going on at 15 sites. I'm excited about the visitors who have been coming to the meetings at the site I am Bible working at. We had 22 visitors the first night! The sermons are on prophecy and Revelation. It's a message we need to hear for the times we live in.

Here is a picture of the team I'm with. They have been great to work with!

Blessings,

April

Summer!

I want to share some pictures from the end of the semester.

Ashley, Emily, and I had breakfast together while working on a school project.

And maybe we had a little too much fun...

A group of friends put on a surprise birthday party for Bethany and Lindsey

Lindsey and Debbie water painting

Some of my classmates from this semester




Suzanne, Debbie, Ashley, and I had a girls smoothie night

I love these girls and will miss them this summer

Taking a walk on the Greenway

Last Sabbath at Southern

It has been great spending time at home this week. The first day back I was at the kitchen table eating breakfast. My Mom said, "Would you like any more strawberries or cantaloupe?" I told her no thanks, but just to hear her soothing warm voice at breakfast left me satisfied. I wasn't my usual self the first couple of days. I had hayfever and felt irritated with some allergies. Finally, I took some Claritin and it helped me feel so much better! It was nice to have some long mother- daughter talks. I miss being with her while I am school. On Friday, I drove down to see my brother Aaron at work in the conference office. We went out to eat and then went to Best Buy to check out some computers. It was simply beautiful to be with my immediate family for a week.

It was a long process to unpack everything from college. Now I am packing again to spend five weeks of my summer in the program, SEYC Summer of Evangelism. I am so excited! We will be getting some intensive Bible work training, memorizing Scriptures, and studying Bible doctrines. Pray for us as we reach out to the people of Atlanta who need to hear God's message.

I will be updating my blog while I am there.

Time with my family

At the end of February I went home for the weekend to spend time with my family. Norman and Joelle were at our house for a week before they left for mission service in Trinidad. On Sabbath we drove up to Somerset, Ky. Aaron preached at the church.

On Sabbath afternoon we drove to see the Cumberland Falls. It was beautiful!

Aaron, Norman, and I

We met up with our friends Daniel and Kristina McFeeters.

The following week, Norman and Joelle came to see me and friends down in the Collegedale area. It was great to spend some last moments with them before they left. We went out to eat at PF Chang's and celebrated Joelle's grandmother's birthday.

I miss Norman and Joelle a lot. I'm glad that they are only a phone call away. They have been encouraging and supportive to me. Over Christmas break Norman and I were studying Daniel and it was fascinating to learn more about the different kingdoms. I want to study and understand more for myself and I look forward to studying more with Norman. Joelle is such a sweet sister-in-law. I love her fun and positive spirit.
May God bless them in their service.

We're almost there

I'm almost done! I'll be studying and taking tests until Wednesday afternoon.



Here's a picture of my family when we were all together in February. More pictures to come soon.

Pentecost2

This week at Southern Adventist University,

South East Youth Conference is hosting Pentecost 2 with speaker, Jeffrey Rosario. I have already been to the first two meetings that he spoke at. They have been excellent! I'm looking forward to hearing more about how we as Seventh-day Adventist young people need to have a revolution in our lives to stand up for God and to finish His work. I'm praying that our campus will be changed by the messages being presented and that the young people will continue to come.

Pictures from Winter Semester 2010

I want to share some pictures of the semester so far.


One of the first weeks of the semester we had Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service day.
It's a great way for the school to go out in the community and help others. I went with a group to a nursing home in Ooltewah. It was a blessing to spend the day visiting and encouraging the residents. I love working with the elderly.

One of my friends, Lauren had her 20th birthday in January. It was fun to surprise her with a party.

Another evening I spent some time getting to know my Dominican Republic friends. They are amazing cooks! I learned so much from them and about their culture.

My dorm room door decorated for Valentine's Day

In February we had a Mother -Daughter banquet. I was delighted that my Mother came down to spend the day with me. The banquet was beautiful, elegant, and the food was tasty.
It was fun to meet my friends mothers too.

Christmas and GYC

This year being home for Christmas was wonderful. It was great to spend time with my immediate family.

Norman and Joelle drove all the way out from California and arrived at our place on the Monday before Christmas. We spent one day at the mall and the next day the guys went golfing while the ladies stayed home cooking. On Christmas Eve we ate a delicious dinner and exchanged gifts.

Christmas Eve dinner

We played a lot of games including The Adventist Game

GYC was awesome this year! It was nice to drive up the interstate in a couple of hours to get to Louisville, Kentucky. This GYC called me to be Unashamed of the gospel. I want to stand up for what is right and not lower my standards for any reason. It's easy to go a long with what the crowd does and not take a stand. I pray that I may be unashamed of my love for Jesus.Mark Finley's seminars on the Holy Spirit were excellent. This week on Spring break I am going to take the time to catch up on the sermons I missed hearing.

Rebecca Wong, one of my close girl friends from Southern came to GYC too. It was fun to spend time together at one of the meals and hang out.

The GYC leadership team was announced on Sunday.

Aaron is the treasurer of GYC.

Snow at Southern

It's hard to believe that we are half way to spring break. There has been so much going on. I would be updating my blog more except that I don't have a computer in my room and therefore I can not upload pictures. Next year that will be different.


When I go home in a couple weeks I will blog about:

President's Day

Weekend at Tara's in Georgia

East Ridge evangelistic series

and maybe more

Last weekend we got some snow at Southern.

It was beautiful!

This week in class

This week in my Social Welfare class we were talking about poverty in America. The statistics are growing. It's a much needed area of help that not many people know about. There are about 37 million people in America who live in poverty. How sad. I think to myself how many times have I taken for granted what I have. I have a warm place to sleep in, nutritious food to eat, and a church where I can fellowship. These people are struggling to make it from one month to the next. I know that in my life work I want to be more a part of helping in projects to benefit the poor.

Last semester, a new project West Side for Jesus started at Southern. I went the first time they went out and didn't do much about it after that. This semester I have thought about it more and am excited about being a part of the project. West Side for Jesus is a ministry that helps people who are living in poverty in downtown Chattanooga. They have a children' s and prayer ministry, GED tutoring, and Bible studies. Tomorrow, I am planning on going down and giving Bible studies to people there. These people do not have much at all. I'm looking forward to using my Social work skills to reach these people for the kingdom.

A lot has been happening since I returned to college this semester. I want to blog about Christmas break and GYC. I'm trying to find a way to upload a few pictures.

I will definately be blogging more often, probably every other week. Stay tuned!

My Sophomore year at college

This semester has flown by quickly. I've posted some pictures of what has been going on.
I hope you enjoy!