Hello everybody,
I am so happy to say that this week, we officially made it past the 2 month mark of being here!! This week has been filled with so much joy and excitement but also times of worshiping and studying. This week, we got our first big batch of snow, and when we had free time, you already know we threw the snow pants on, zipped up our jackets, jumped in our snow boots, and headed straight for the cold snowy outdoors! We found a couple of sleds in one of our storage closets and headed straight for the hills. It was such a blast to just be able to go out with a community of people and just be able to have fun in God’s beautiful creation. This week, we did not have a speaker (which was a bummer), but in place of that, the staff decided that it was probably good to give us extra memorization time for Philippians which was much needed, let me tell you!! So after we took time to praise and seek God in worship, I went and grabbed a blanket and made some hot cocoa, sat next to the warm fire, and got to take some alone time in memorizing Philippians.
Also in place of not having a speaker, we got to have our second catalyst couple!! WooHoo!! Monday night, I got to join Kurt and Ellen up in the Joshua apartment and eat warm delicious brownies and get to learn how to play new card games with some of my other Joshua brothers and sisters! Tuesday morning, we got to have a Q and A with them and it was such a good time to really learn and seek knowledge from people who are more mature in their walk with God and have been through life longer than me !! This week with Kurt and Ellen has been such a blessing, and I really hope to see them again for another week maybe sometime in the future!
This week, we also got to have another theme dinner, and this theme was DISNEY NIGHT!! It was such a fun night, definitely one to remember here at JWI! First, we got to enjoy a very “healthy” dinner which was filled with corn dogs, soft pretzels with nacho cheese, barbeque chicken and popcorn!! After that amazing dinner, we all got to go into the great room (our living room) and have a karaoke night which was really really fun as we got to sing a bunch of Disney songs!!
In conclusion, I feel like this week was definitely a 10/10 and I have to give it all to God for this week. God has shown me here how sometimes it can be hard living in a building with 40 other young adults, but knowing that God is with each and every one of us is definitely something that I can’t express enough!! God has surely blessed me with this amazing community, and I am so glad that I can call them my brothers and sisters in Christ!!
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post, and always remember, God loves you and I love you too!!
1 John 4:16
JWI Current Student,
Ben Lawler
So much has happened over the past couple of weeks, but the only thing I can think about is the snow! Being from the Bay Area, I have no experience with living in the snow. It is completely foreign to me. Over the past few days, we have had at least a foot of snow. In fact, it was snowing the entire day on Tuesday. As soon as missions class ended, a bunch of us rushed outside to relish the inclemency. Initially, everyone was just recklessly firing snowballs at each other. It was fun unless someone hit you in the face. After the snowball shenanigans, we all realized that there is a hill with a comfortable slope right next to us. Most people slid down the hill on their butts, but I preferred to go down on my belly. Someone smart took some broken-down cardboard boxes for us to use as makeshift sleds. It was a total blast. The best part of being outside that day was how beautiful it was. The entire sky was gray and the mountains surrounding us were shielded by fog. The ground was submerged and the only thing visible was the snow falling from above.
The next day was just as great. It had stopped snowing, but the remains were immense. Someone had found actual sleds that day which made going down the hill smoother yet more dangerous. My favorite part about the second day was my idea to get flavored syrup from the kitchen and make natural snow cones. I got the watermelon flavor and oh my goodness it was so delish. The snow tasted good without the syrup too.
There has been so much going on lately and these days in the snow have been the perfect debrief. It is essential, especially in Joshua, to take breaks and enjoy all the small things.
– Seth Ondo