Mothers Day Work Day

 

This is probably my favorite day of spring. Every year for a mother’s day present to Grandma, the Meister family all gets together and cleans up and does landscaping around her house. We usually do some weeding in the sand volleyball court, mulch around all the many beautiful trees in her yard, pick up sticks and branches, mow and weedwack, clean windows and the basement porch, and the men work on all the “mens work” that needs to be done.

This year we gathered together around 9:00 in the morning worrying about the forecast of rain, but as it turns out, the weather was fantastic! It was sunny and breezy and just plain out ideal in every way. A lot of the Sceggel’s came, even Phil and Anna with their new baby, some of Spark and Rhonda’s family came, the Sauders, My family, the Schicks, and Amy and Jared were there. So it was definitely a fun and hard working group. Actually we sort of ran out of work towards the end so some of the  girls went in to do some inside cleaning.

Grandma provided the lunch for the large work crew. We had lots of good pizza. And, yes, we did play volleyball which is to be expected. I dropped out pretty quickly though to let others play and to video tape and because I’m just not really good enough to play with them. I don’t mind not playing though, especially when there are so many sweet new baby’s to hold. Anna had Braelyn there and Tara had little Jane there as well.

Everyone pretty much cleared out after lunch, but Jessica, Anni, and I just had to take advantage of the great sun bathing weather. Its actually starting to become a tradition to sunbathe and swim and hang out around the lake on Mother’s day because it has always been the first warm day of the year and we are all together. Maybe that’s why I love it so much. So we started out on Grandma’s porch but got hot and moved down to the lake to stick our feet in. I was so tempted to jump in but I didn’t have a swimming suit. As we sat there we watched Ryan jump in the lake at the Sauders while Logan and Steven stood on the dock.

I would have been fine with just lying in the sun there all day, but Jess and Anni got bored so we took a walk to see the new baby horses. Of course all the while this was going on we had some great conversations. I really enjoy having some awesome girls to be so close to that I can tell them everything no matter what.

We stopped at Grandma’s house to get drinks of water. She was just starting to settle down for the afternoon so we sat down on her couch and had a little heart to heart with her about marriage. Her wisdom and good advice was so great to hear. I cannot possibly express how much I appreciate having her and many other older women who have such awesome hearts for God around who are willing and loving enough to talk to me about some of the bigger issues in life. And Grandma, if you’re reading this: Thanks so much! I love you! Happy Mother’s day!

College Weekend

If you didn’t know, College Weekend is a weekend of speakers, fellowship, and fun that our church puts on for college age kids. This year it was being hosted at Leo, Indiana and the theme was Prayer. I had never been to College Weekend or Leo, so right away I decided to go when it was announced a month or so ago. I planned on going up until last week when I started asking around in order to figure out when and from where we would be leaving for the six hour drive. No one I asked was going. Discouraged, I had decided on Friday to give up and not go. Well, that night I got a text saying where to meet and when the next morning. Ok then! I thought, I guess I’ll go. I was lucky enough to have time to pack and still go to the Peoria Young group singing.

The singing was excellent. Led by David Sauder and Brett Hoerr (who was also the host) the mutual praise of all of the precious hearts of the Peoria YG was such a blessing, and it boosted my spirits high. I’m sure God was smiling when He heard the worship. Afterwards we had a snack and chatted. During the snack I couldn’t stop thinking about a certain girl who used to come to Young group things and has stopped. I asked her a few Sundays ago why and how she was doing as a new convert she pretty much said that she didn’t want to have anything to do with God or Christianity. When I heard that my heart just broke. I felt like I had just heard that my sister was dead. The worst part is, I’ve known that she hasn’t been doing so well for a long time and I felt a little niggling prodding to go talk to her and have a heart to heart, but I never heeded it. A couple of Sundays I did talk with her about Salvation and I just hope that God will work in her heart and that I said the right things. Anyway, She has really been on my heart and so I asked if the girls at the singing would have a prayer meeting for her. When they found out, everyone was feeling just as grieved as I was and the prayers were purely a pleading to God for her. I know those prayers were heard, I just hope that she will come back.

So, Saturday morning it was arranged to meet at the Schwind’s house in Roanoke at 8:00 a.m. That meant I would leave a 7:00 just in case I got lost somewhere along the fifty minute drive there. I did and had to turn around twice. Finally making it I found out that it would just be Sheryl Huber (from Alto Michigan but currently living in Morton for school), Brian Schwind (who so graciously offered to drive his car), and myself. The ride up was very quiet. We talked for the first thirty minutes but then Sheryl and I both started reading. I felt bad because that left Brian with nothing to do but drive and listen to music. At one point I asked him how he was doing and he said he was bored out of his mind! I can imagine!

I did get a phone call on the way there that held some news. I was voted for to be in next years ICC BU Young group Committee. I would be the secretary. Actually a couple of people had talked to me about being on the committee quite awhile ago, so I had started praying about it since then. I will say, yes, I did want to be on it and at the same time I didn’t. So I gave it up to God and basically said that if I don’t get voted for then I’ll be fine with that and if I do I’ll consider it a chance to serve.

Well, we arrived late by one speaker and part of another. That was fine seeing as the weekend events usually consists of back to back speakers for hours on end, and while I love to learn about God, I already spend 90% of my life hearing other people speak.

The speaker we walked in on was a REALLY close study on Lord’s Prayer.

The next thing we did was prayer groups. We split up from the guys and then into groups of four. My group consisted of Danielle Eisenmann (from Bluffton. I had actually stayed at her house during the Bluffton Invite a while back), Bethany, and Timneh. The way that the prayer session went was: a speaker would come up and talk about things such as Japan, Orphans, and the Church Body and then we would pray for those things. It was amazing to get to know those girls through prayer!

The next was another speaker: Jeff Waibel. He spoke on what Jesus said about prayer and, wow, that was a good message on a lot of levels. One thing that stuck out to me is a story he told about his four year old daughter. They had gotten her ready for bed when she announced that she needed milk. Well, Jeff, thinking that giving her milk right after she had brushed her teeth and right before bed was a bad idea and gave her water instead. The daughter was happy as a peach with the water. The reason: because when she asked for milk, she was really just saying she was thirsty. Instead of just saying she was thirsty, she went a step farther and asked her dad for something that would fill that need.

Now look at this story as if we were the daughter and this was our prayer life. Often we understand we have a need and pray to God to fulfill that need with a request. But when God gives us water instead of milk we think He isn’t listening or doesn’t care. That isn’t true, though! See, God reserves the right to fill our needs not our specific requests. This story was given in the light of Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you:” and in explanation of why God doesn’t seem to give us what we ask for.

Dinner was next on the itenerary and boy was it great! The chilli tasted like no chili I’ve ever had before. I sat next to a girl I didn’t know: Sarah who is attending U of I to become a Speech therapist. It was nice to get to know her.

The evening program went like this: singing, speaker, prayer, speaker, prayer, speaker, prayer, singing. The speakers would stand up for five minutes and talk about topics such as the persecuted church, abortion, and Gateway Woods and then lead us in prayer. The singing was all the different college groups would stand up and sing two songs. Since ICC group was so small we joined in with U of I.

Of course, this being an AC event and all we had to have a snack next. The rest of the evening was spent meeting new people and catching up with old friends. Funny story, so Drew Martin is a guy in the ICC young group now. His brother, Lance was in it last year and has since moved. Excited to see how he’s been doing at ISU and all, I said a warm hello and how’s it going and he just looked at me blankly. For a few akward moments we just stood there and then I recognized his look of puzzlement. “You don’t know who I am do you?” I asked. Nope, turns out he couldn’t remember me at all. I know I’ve talked with him before. I remember because he looked so much like Drew that I had to marvel at the resemblance last year. Oh well, I know I’ve done the same thing to other people.

So, Sheryl and I got put in the same house to sleep in: Marlise’s house. We had a nice quiet evening once there. We talked for a while then went to bed.

Sunday morning the first service was awesome! We read out of Hebrews 10 and just the message in it all was so good! Second service was nice too, but by then I was starting to feel tired from the late night and exciting events.

Brian had to get home by six so we left pretty quickly at 2:00. I got shotgun on the way home. I wanted to read, but car sickness got the better of me, so the only thing left to do was talk, which I had no problem with since I love talking and I didn’t know Brian very well, so it was a good time to share stories and such. We talked about movies, each gave our testimonies, talked about high school, church, vacations, etc. I must say, that car ride was probably my favorite part of the whole weekend.

We did arrive on time: 6:00. It was a very nice weekend and I’m glad I went, only now this week has been super hard trying to do all the homework I should have done then. Oh well, totally worth it.

You thought I forgot about the blog, didn’t you

No, I have not given up on the blog nor forgotten of it. I’ve just been very busy.

On the mission trip I got into a discussion with some of the ICC young group committee members about attendance to the young group functions. They were all quite upset and deeply offended that they put so much work into the events and to have no one show up. When I told them why I didn’t come (kind of busy) they said, yeah, you and everyone else. I thought about it and realized that I’m not really that busy, just making excuses. They went on to say that there won’t be a young group next year….Hold on a second! I know I’m not the most supportive, I thought, but I love having the option of going. So, I decided to make more of an effort to go. That and the fact that on the mission trip some great friendships developed that I am not willing to let put by the way side.

So that brings me to what I’ve been doing the past 5 weeks since the mission trip.

Mondays- Clinical at OSF. I leave home a 7:00 in the morning and finish there at 4:30. Bible Study with the ICC young group is at 7:00 p.m. at ICC so to save gas I usually drive straight there and spend two hours studying, or if I don’t have much to work on, go out to eat with whoever from the young group is there. Then Bible study lasts till 8:00 or so and we have a singing after that which lasts anywhere from 9:30 to 10:00. If I didn’t go out to eat before Bible study, there is another group that goes after. When I go with them I don’t get home until 12:00.

Tuesdays- PTA school from 8:00 to 12:00 then I head over to the East Peoria campus to eat lunch with young group kids and have my Communications class at 1:00-2:15. I’ve just recently started going to South Side mission after that (ICC YG plans an activity for the kids and brings a snack) that means I have to hang around ICC for about an hour or so before it starts….which is no problem to me because it is great studying time! Volleyball starts at 7:00 either at Herman’s barn or Strietmatter’s, but I’ve only gone twice. If I go to v-ball I’ll get home around 11:00 pm, if not: 6:30

Wednesdays- PTA school from 8:00 to 12:00 again, then its home for me! This is a good relaxing time to do homework before going to church. ICC YG does what is called church rotation. What we do is go to a different central Illinois (AC) church every Wednesday and then to someone’s house afterwards. This is probably my favorite ICC YG function because you can meet so many new people! For example: last week we went to Tremont and I met a lady (Jullianne something) who is Emily Rickett’s (a friend of Judy Sceggel’s) aunt and who was good friends with Joan Rienhard and Karin and Rachel Sauder! She was a great lady to talk to and I’m so glad to have met her! Anyway, I don’t usually get home until 12:00 on Wednesdays.

Thursdays- PTA school: 8-12 again and then, just like on Tuesdays, I head over to East Campus for lunch and Communications. By Thursday I usually am about ready to collapse standing up so I don’t do anything on these evenings besides homework.

Fridays- This is my easy day. I don’t have to go to school until 9:00 and, feeling refreshed from an early night’s sleep, I usually try to go on the Walk with my aunts before school. After school lets out at 12 I’m free to go home for the afternoon. In the evening I go to Peoria Young Group functions like Bible Studies and such. If Peoria isn’t doing anything, I’ll go to Roanoke Young Group things. It’s a long drive, but I meet Emily Kieser half way and we go together. I’m lucky if I get home by 12:00.

Saturday- Cleaning day!!!! and Peoria Young Group in the evenings. Recently on Saturdays we have done a Brother’s Appreciation dinner (which was great!!!!!!!) and last weekend we went to Medieval Times for the day. That was to finish up our Knights and Princesses of the Kingdom Bible Study series and was a blast!

Sunday- Church. and I hate to confess, but I get my best homework done on Sunday afternoons. The Meister side of the family has started playing volley ball at the lake in the evening. I’ve gone once.

So there you have it! If I’m not at school or a YG function I’m studying. If I’m not studying I’m catching up on sleep. Blog time….doesn’t really fit in there. Things will slow down soon though when school lets out and ICC YG takes a break for the summer (which I disapprove of)

Cat Scan Results

Praise the Lord of all Hosts! Praise our loving merciful Abba Father! Who is the God who heals!!!!

The report came back yesterday that Dad’s lungs are normal! Halelujah!

Now, I’ve learned some great lessons in trusting God and being thankful for what I already have enjoyed and I don’t have to go through any further heartache to learn those lessons. God is truly amazing!

Nashville Tennessee 2011 Mission Trip

I can’t believe I’m here writing about the past week already: it all went by so so fast! I literally feel as though I just got on the bus and then the next day got off again.

If you didn’t know already this past week was my Spring Break and I had signed up for a mission trip with the ICC BU Young Group to go work on some houses down in Tennessee. The people we were helping out were flood victims from last year. We were coming on the tail end of the construction so mainly our work was things like dry walling, plastering, sanding, painting etc.

I tried to keep a journal, though it’s not complete of all the memories that took place. Here’s some of it:

3-12-2011

Last night I spent the night at Jessica Waibel’s house so I wouldn’t have to leave a car at Morton church all week. It worked out really well.

WE left pretty late this morning: the drive is only 8 hours. Of course we took the bus and I could not stay seated! It was so hard to stay in one spot too long as there were so many people to talk to and so many different games going on and I wanted to be a part of them all! The trip was fun and uneventful. I must say I do hope this group will be able to put up with me all week, I get so hyper sometimes.

We arrived at 6ish and ate supper: brats, beans, and carrots. We ate around a campfire in the dark and as much as I know they tried to feed us well there were rumors of finding fish parts in the beans…they did taste awfully strange. But no big deal

After that we found our cabins which happen to be really nice. They are all in the “Lodge” building which boasts of a grand porch and meeting room. I can tell I’ll be spending a lot of time on that porch as it overlooks a stream and serene woods. As far as the cabins go, they sleep 6 in bunks. There are 2 big closets and plant of space for luggage. 2 sinks, a HUGE mirror (great for the girls), and a bathroom for each room. It seems we’ve landed in the lap of luxury!

The girls in my room are great. Right now only Brooke Streitmatter from Princeville is here. The rest will come tomorrow. I have a feeling this trip will be great just based off of today! I’ve already had some great “convos” played some fun games and fell so much more comfortable with this group than I thought I would.

I’m reading through 1 Peter this week and have already been blessed.

I can just tell God is on everyone’s minds. This will be a spiritual experience if anything. A great one.

Monday Morning

Yesterday, God was present indeed. Emily and I are in the Lodge drinking coffee and reminiscing on the day and we both had to just praise the Lord together.

On the way to church Sam taught me some sign language, and I was just soaking it in for Jamaica this summer. Both services were excellent and powerful. The church was tiny with a total of 11 regular attendees, 8 of which were members. I later found out that 8 were all in one family. So it’s not a very lively church but sweet anyway and lunch was great!

The rest of the day was ours to spend as we chose at the Camp. There a lovely…..oh my, Brooke is playing “You are my Sunshine” on a kazoo……field to play some Frisbee and volleyball. As fun as it was I fear I’m coming down with a cold in the worst of sorts and felt too sick to play much. I video taped instead.

Next we went for a hike with the intention of seeing a civil war tunnel that goes under the train tracks. The group was a funny one: Aubrey, Emily, myself, and a bunch of guys who were apparently directionally challenged as we lost our way a few times. We did find this tunnel eventually and were unimpressed. However, we did get to see a nice train go by.

Upon returning we prepared for supper: haystacks. (Where you pile a ton of food on your plate and eat it). Then it was “Orientation”.

After all that we met in the lodge for a Bible study led by Michel Elsasser. All I can say on it is wow! He really hit home with the topic of the Holiness of God and the wretchedness of us sinners and the beauty of His sacrifice. A singing followed.

Next we played a rather intense and HILARIOUS game of “I never”

After a lot of people left Sheryl, Emily, myself, and some of the guys stuck around in the lodge and ended up doing cartwheel contests, played limbo, and all sorts of funny things.

Twas a good day, however, last night’s sleep was NOT. I just hope this cold doesn’t get worse.

Tuesday

Monday I woke up bright and early and ready for coffee. It was too my despair that none had yet been made as I was among the first up. After assessing the situation I decided to make my own so as to enjoy it over my morning devotions.

I was assigned to a house called “Tuberville” (The owners last name.) and I, along with a small crew piled in a van and headed off to do some work! We were willing and ready. Our bosses were two old men: Larry Kaiser (brother to Leon Kaiser who goes to Peoria) and Richard Steffen from Forrest. Now, these two just made my day. They are polar opposites but obviously great friends. Larry was the head hauncho of the operation as he had the most experience. He liked to do things his way and he liked them done right…the first time. He did not like to train up a bunch of kids but would rather do the work himself. Larry has a bit of a gruff personality. Richard on the other hand is the sweetest man you’ll ever meet. Larry told him to do something and he did it without hesitation. He hugged everyone and was constantly complimenting us with: “Larry, these girls are alright! They really know how to work hard. I like these girls” and so forth. They were a blast to work with as we learned how to plaster and tape the drywall at this house.

The people living in the house were Jerry (the wife) and Jimmy, their daughters Destiny, Rachel, and one other I can’t remember, and their son Jimmy Jr who was 6 years old. Jimmy Jr. spent a lot of time with us.

The work day was long but we had fun and got a lot done.

We returned to take some freezing cold showers and have supper. After dinner was another awesome Bible Study led by Drew Martin from Princeville. The singing afterwards was enjoyable and we played games after that

This (Tuesday) was a bit of a gloomy day as far as the weather and work went. We continued our plastering at “Tuberville” for the morning but then went to another house (Jimmy B’s) to do mudding. After all was said and done, I think my lack sleep resulted in a lack of work ethic which brought my mood down a bit.

Jeremiah Sundown, a man they built a house for did a country gospel show for us. He did have some talent for singing, guitar, and comedy and for a country music hater, I thought the show was ok. I went to bed directly after that.

Wednesday

It’s been a strange day…….

Woke up and the weather was BEAUTIFUL! finally starting to warm up. I’d had a fine night’s sleep and I was ready to go!

At Tuberville we began the long process of sanding the upstairs to get ready for painting. Our crew was a good size up until lunch time when some of the girls decided they couldn’t sand anymore and had to go somewhere else. That left Cathy Kieser, Adam Funk, Richard, and myself to the rest of the job which took twice as long as it should have. Now, I know the girls had good intentions, but the job they said was done, was definitely not, and it took a lot of time to fix that little oversight. At the end of the day, though we rubbed our hands on the walls and felt them to be nice and smooth and ready for paint. I was white with dust

After work at camp we heard that one of the men here, Steve, that I’d worked with had had a small stroke. Another man, Stan Heimer, announced that his son was put in the hospital with heart problems. Clinton Leman found out that his Grandma, who he was really close to, who had brain cancer had taken a turn for the worse. He left during church and you could tell from his face some thing was wrong.

Through all this, part way through the day I gave mom a long overdue phone call. It was a great report on the animals and life at home up until she said this: “Now, Rebekah, I want you to know they did find something with Dad’s bile that can be fixed. The also found something on his lungs. They’ll do a CT scan sometime. We’re pretty shaken up……How’s the food?”

I put on a brave face and continued through the day. I told a couple of people that I feel close too, but all in all I’ve tried to forget. All I can do is pray anyway. A lot of my wants to wallow in self pity, but I’m refraining. Clinton deserves the attention and love more than I need it.

However, that doesn’t mean I can’t write my fears. The way mom worded it sounded serious. Honestly, I’m terrified that something very bad could be in his lungs.

Thursday

We arrived at Tuberville all ready for painting and saw to our horror that the homeowner had gone through the rooms we sanded and decided he was not happy with our work. He said it all had to be done over and then went on to demonstrate how ridiculously smooth he wanted it. So, instead of painting as we were planning, we got out the sanders and masks and bean the tedious work of sanding.

Cathy and I were the only ones there who had sanded the entire day yesterday and when we heard him say he wanted a better job done we just both melted with frustration. What he was asking us to do was way beyond necessary according to Larry.

However, we took in check our frustration and did it.

So anyway that may have set the mood to be pretty upsetting anyway. Well, sanding is so monotonous I just began to think about dad and about him being sick or in pain and I just broke down on the inside. Feeling subconscious of the other people around me I did my best to hold back the sobs but a few tears escaped anyway. I couldn’t bear to be in that house anymore, I had to get out and let go of my emotions and just cry. Tim and Becky’s house (another house World Relief and we were working on) was just down the road and we were to use their porta-potty. I used that excuse to escape and started walking down the quiet road. Still keeping my composure I did end up using that restroom and checked in on the workers there for a bit. Mark Keiser was there and I really felt like talking to him about it but knew I couldn’t without crying. So with a heavy heart I decided to slowly head back to Tuberville. My mind just kept saying I miss Dad, I want to be with him, but at the same time I’m scared to go home and face the reality of it. Halfway there I couldn’t take it. That is when I fell apart and cried hard. I needed a hug, encouragement, something, so I turned around and went straight to Mark. I had to walk past everyone and they all saw me crying, but I didn’t care. I was glad when Mark immediately took me outside to the porch where we could be alone. In his embrace I cried and he told me stories and gave me counsel. He told me not to be angry with God and through the hiccups I said I was not, just, why dad. We stayed there for what seemed forever. Finally, I felt able to get back to work.

From then on the tears didn’t stop till lunch. A couple of times I just sat in the dust in a corner and felt crushed. The thoughts going through my head were many.

At lunch I told Cathy Kieser and after a long hug from her, she took me on a walk as neither of us had any appetite. Her counsel and testimonies were so helpful and I am eternally grateful that God sent both she and her husband to help me out. I explained to her that I’m only crying because I don’t want Dad hurt anymore. I do still believe God is always good and I love Him and trust Him with all my heart.

After lunch I went into a zombie mode and just let my mind go blank. It needed the rest, and my body begged for a rest due to the violent sobs that racked it all morning, however, work still needed to be done, so we plugged away. We ended the day with everything thoroughly sanded, two coats of primer, and one coat of paint on the ceilings.

By the time we came home I began to search for God’s guidance in my mind. Psalm 18:1-2 came up: “I will love thee,  O Lord of my strength…” That was when the peace began to soak into my heart and I suddenly felt a true joy. Of course I was still unhappy and upset, but that was no reason to feel ill toward God: he never promised happiness, but joy. It was with that joy and peace that I praised God with all my heart and learned to be grateful for the time that I have had with Dad, and gave up to Him the time that I have left. It was this attitude that carried through the rest of the week.

Once back at camp I got my Bible out ASAP to find more encouragement and help. Brian Schwind, one of the brothers on the trip with us was in the room and I asked how his day was so he automatically directed the question to me and, poor kid, I told him everything: the news, all my feelings, emotions, etc. He probably won’t talk to girls much anymore .

Well, though I did feel peaceful, I still knew that the Bible Study and singing would be hard. I hate to confess that I barely heard a word of Seth Kieser’s message on time management, but I also held back tears until the end which was an accomplishment.  By the end, however, I was once again consumed with grief and ran outside to cry again. I felt broken as I cried to the sky, “God if you are teaching me a lesson through this trial, why do you have to hurt dad for it!” I realized the error in the statement and quickly remembered to be thankful and that God has a great plan for us and is always good.

That night I went to bed early as no games could lighten my mood at that point.

Friday

My first thought on this day was: “The crying is over, now I need to glorify God and learn.” So, I began the day like all the others: woke up before most and headed straight to the coffee maker. I made myself some coffee with cream and Emily Keiser some coffee with out cream. We then did devotions together. Around 6 we rose to prepare ourselves for the day, knowing we would meet again in the cafeteria soon. Once dressed I headed down a short walk to the cafeteria. Outside the sun was just beginning to turn the black sky to a grey blue color and the birds were starting their songs. Two huge trees displayed their full white blooms of spring flowers. I smiled and knew that God was with me.

In the cafeteria Emily and I sang goofy songs until more people showed up to eat breakfast. After breakfast during our daily “share time” I decided that instead of explaining the situation to everyone individually I would stand up and tell the group of Dad’s sickness and his lungs. This I did with a smile and told them of the peace I felt. I also requested prayers for the coming week would be a difficult one indeed.

I asked to go to another work site this day: I just couldn’t bear to go back to those Tuberville walls, so I was sent to Jimmy B’s house to do some mudding. The day was cut short as plans were made to spend the afternoon either canoeing or at the Grand Old’ opry hotel. By the time we were finished working, there was more mud on each other than on the walls, but we had fun.

Once at camp it seemed that plans were constantly changing as far as when we were leaving, who was going where, what vans to take etc. It became very chaotic and I changed my mind and thus my clothes over four times trying to decide what to do with the afternoon. I ended up choosing to go canoeing as the hotel was an hours drive away.

I’m glad I did what I did, for, though we all ended up getting tipped: we had a blast in the hot sun and the cool water.

That night was our “night out”. Stan had made reservations for us to eat at a restaurant. All fifty of us piled in vans then piled into the place. I felt bad for the poor waitresses as they tried to accommodate us. It ended up taking forever, but we had fun playing with our glasses of on the house drinks, straws, and silverware. The food was ok. I split a steak with Sheryl Huber.

That night Tim Schwind had a short message and the rest of the evening was devoted to sharing our experiences over the week. I just sat and listened to the many stories and testimonies. Of course, you know what I’m going to say next: a singing followed. The last song we sang standing: It is well with my soul. The great and beautiful sound that came out of that room cannot be compared to anything I’ve ever heard and I kept thinking to myself: its so true! It is well with my soul!

Knowing that we would only spend Saturday driving I decided I was going to stay up as late as everyone else. After the singing most of the girls went outside to pray and I was touched as they said a few prayers for me and my family. It was kind of strange however because almost everyone was in tears but I was smiling feeling an overwhelming sense of love and peace. As girls came to give me hugs and tell me they were praying I was so happy to tell them that my soul is at peace and I am just so thankful for what I’ve had thus far and that I know I can trust in God fully. This resulted in many testimonies and awesome conversations. I got to know so many of those girls on a deeper level than I’ve ever experienced before and will cherish the memory of that evening forever.

Saturday

Just as I said, we spent Saturday driving all day. The trip was a long one and I was glad for the one nap that I was able to take. I must confess I was a little annoyed at one point for a group of girls decided to sing through the entire Country Western Gospel hymns book at the exact time that I was trying to sleep, and they did it! Ah well, I survived.

We returned home at 6:00

Lessons

This being the week of midterms, I decided I was not going to have time to blog about the horse fair. All I can say is it went GREAT! everyone understood the story that was being told: Cinderella. I already have an excellent plan for the next routine. Since I haven’t worked out the details yet, I can’t give much away, but I will say that it will be dramatic and a huge witness.

I decided on this idea when over the weekend I had a conversation with Karin. She said that all of this is such a huge gift from God. We aren’t rich or extra special, so for us to be showing off before so many people is purely a blessing. In church we always hear about using our talents for God’s glory. Now, I’m not going to brag, it’s only through a lot of practice and the personality God gave me, but vaulting and performing are some of my stronger talents and I’m blessed so much to have the opportunity actually use them! All Glory to the Lord of Hosts!

I try to use this blog to report on events in my life, because those are pretty interesting and things that I want to remember. But, very often I find myself talking about my spiritual journey and I think I’m about to do that again, so bear with me. Its just that I have been learning so much throughout my life. When I look back its amazing to see how much I’ve changed and to know that I still have an unfathomable amount of changing and growing yet to do. I don’t have time now, but I want to post my ENTIRE testimony here and then you’ll see too the work GOD (not Rebekah) has been doing, and will keep doing in me.

Anyway, lately I feel that I’ve been learning a lot of lessons. Things like being patient for the Lord’s plan (and I’ll just say it cuz I know your thinking it: by the Lord’s plan I’m referring to marriage), dealing with pride, seeking God’s will, hiding Gods word in my heart, etc. And, those lessons have stemmed from many trials, which may seem small to some, but are big to me in the long run, like frustrations with school is a main one. Lately I’ve felt like I’m in a limbo of sorts. I want to serve God wholly and I want to DO all this stuff, but I can’t because of how much school weighs me down. And, I know it’s important, but just this time of plugging through it all and always looking at the future LONGINGLY is a real downer. I look at Zach Knobloch and in my heart of hearts I want to make a big life change to serve God in a big way, but I CAN’T BECAUSE OF SCHOOL!!! And then people always say that when you’re young and single is when you can serve God the best, but it just so happens that, at least currently, that is not true. I guess the real frustration comes from when I try to sit down and prioritize with the intention of cutting things out of my life to make room for God, I realize that the biggest thing keeping me from that is impossible to cut out.

Well, from these frustrations have come many lessons which I am glad for. The biggest one is: Be still and know that I am God. It is becoming very clear to me that God doesn’t want me to go out and serve in a huge way, he wants me to quiet down and bask in His light (“For the Lord God is a sun and shield”). He probably knows that it would be too hard for me to do it without being full of pride and He knows that I’m probably not mature enough to handle it. And that makes me think, wow, God understands me better than I understand myself. Just when I felt like I knew what I wanted to do and what was best for me, God reveals that its…not. This all goes without saying that I know I’m to be a light where I’m at, and for now, I guess that’s IT. And I’m happy for that.

You know what else I’ve been learning. To love and trust in my Father in heaven above all things because NOTHING in this world is sacred. NOTHING is invincible. NOTHING will last for eternity save for God alone. Ulcerative colitis is a disease in which the immune system in the gut becomes deranged. It attacks the very body it is within causing said body pain and discontinues the normal functions such as digesting resulting in malnutrition. Though not fatal, it is an incurable disease which can only be “managed” through medications and eventually surgery. For those who have it, life is based around times of remission and times of pain and illness. Dad has this disease and praise be to God that a recent colonoscopy revealed that it is in remission. However, he is still experiencing pain and symptoms. This means there is something else wrong with him. This means testing. It means having hopes raised then crushed and raised again. It means uncertainty and causes worry and hope at the same time. I’ve heard of many people who have gone through this sort of thing, and I’ve been sympathetic toward them, admired their faith and strength, said a prayer, and moved on. In the back of my mind I always thought its easy for them to have great faith when going through trials. I have it good, so having faith is harder for me, therefore, I’m deserving of some praise or something. But that is not the case at all! Having faith and trust is not easier when your going through uncertainty and worry! Its terribly hard to have to say God is in control and knows what he is doing when you know that God could chose to take any life away in an instant. It goes against your whole being to give God glory when you feel so at his disposal. When everything is like thin ice you want to throw your arms up in despair and deny the Sovereign being who holds the world and has a plan for each person and has the power to plan for one individual to live in a constant illness.

So, having faith is not easy in times of medical trials and uncertainty. These are times when we look at life and realize everything is so fragile.Throughout the entirety of my life, I’ve pictured the future and imagined scenes such as embracing my dad after a walk down the aisle, presenting mom with her first grandchild over tears of joy, meeting dad over my lunch break just because we are in the same area of town, spending Christmas at “my parents house” with my brothers and sisters and their spouses and children, seeking mom and dad’s advice when I go through struggles as an adult, and taking care of them with a joyful heart when they are old because I know what they did for me all my life and to return the favor in everyway possible. But, it dawned on me that this is not to be expected, in fact it is hardly worth hoping for. Someone could die, they could find something terribly wrong in dad’s stomach through one of the tests, or any kind of disaster could strike this family and those daydreams could vanish instantly. NOTHING in this world is sacred. NOTHING is invincible. NOTHING will last for eternity

….except God.

Praise the Lord, and rejoice with joy unspeakable.

Undeserved Blessings

The 26th, yesterday, was my 19th birthday. Going from 18 to 19 won’t be too hard this year, as I’ve been saying I’m 19 for months now on accident. Every year around this time I must look back and remember thinking, “wow, I wonder what I’ll be like when I’m _____” Well, here I am at 19 and I think my past self would be pleased with me now…I hope.

I feel as though my birthday has been a three day affair. It all started on Friday. I knew Melissa and Jennifer (fellow PTA students) were planning something. Honestly, I only expected a card. When I walked into the classroom, my eyes beheld much more: my desk and chair were decorated to a tee with balloons, fliers, bows, and ribbons. There were also a bag of chocolate covered popcorn (yum) and a lovely card. Those two really out did themselves for me and I felt truly touched. All through out class that day I was repeatedly wished a happy birthday.

The next birthday encounter came at the Bible study that night. The girls gathered in an upstairs spare room and the boys remained in the basement at the Rieker’s house. We’ve been going through a series of lessons on being Knights of God’s kingdom and Princesses of Principle. I know it sounds cheesy, but these studies have taught me so much and I’m thankful for them. Anyway, someone mentioned that it was my birthday and the girls wished me a happy day. Phew, I thought, that was painless enough, now it’s over and I can enjoy the evening. Ah ha! not so apparently! After we had had a snack, I sat down to enjoy some conversation with some of the girls when I hear the melody of that dreaded song, Happy birthday. Everyone came in the room and sang to me, both Happy Birthday and God’s Blessings. I could feel heat creeping into my face as I’m sure I turned red as an apple. All that attention was a little too much for me.

As hard as it was to endure the singing, I have to say, I was again touched that they all took the time for it.

Saturday, I was being wished happy birthday on facebook countless times. My “party” was nice, though a little awkward due to the odd mixed group that showed up. Mom seemed to really want to throw me a party, and knowing I had nothing going on that night, I’d agreed to having some family over. Well, the Davidovics side all showed up, but only Mike and Diane and Karin from the Meister side were able to come. The two groups get along ok but it’s not the easiest of crowds. Then, with round the world ping pong in mind, I told Jessica to see if her brothers would come over. I didn’t give any thought to the fact that they had company and when I did think of it, I figured the chances of them arriving on time or at all were slim. You can imagine my shock when David, along with Caleb Jones and Luke Wahl walked in my door before any of the other guests. We played some ping pong which was fun. I just hoped that the rest of the evening would remain in the same easy going way. Ah ha! not so apparently! “Time to sing Happy Birthday Goof” my mom’s call could be heard. My mind reeled. I scrambled for some way to escape the impending doom of being sang to again. But, despite all my efforts, it was inevitable. Feeling completely embarrassed, I took my spot before the princess castle cake that I had built and once again endured the singing. One glance at David’s friends told me they were feeling out of place and quite uncomfortable with it all.

Oh well, there are just some things in life that we have to look back and laugh at, you know. In the end it wasn’t so bad, and I’m sure to any adults reading this, it may all sound like silly teenage worries, but to me it felt colossal.

And, however awkward that party may have been, once again, I was touched that they all took the time to come and celebrate with me.

Today, Sunday, I felt as though God was showering me with birthday gifts. Though, the morning service was poorly attended, which was disheartening, we learned such a great deal from Exodus that it became a blessing to attend. During lunch I enjoyed a lovely conversation with some sisters about the Bible, God, and living for Him, and then preceded to serve lunch for one of the men’s tables. It was a quick shift and I was able to make it to the song service just in time. There was hardly anyone in the sanctuary at first, but it seemed it didn’t matter, for the joyful sound that came from the worshippers in there was amazing. As time went on and people slowly trickled in the volume and praise grew louder and stronger. I was literally trembling from the amount of effort put into worship to the king. It was effort well spent, for our Lord deserves all of our praise. And, then we were again blessed by a wonderful sermon by Ken.

It was such a beautiful Sunday, but I came home totally spent. I have more homework than I care for and a terrible busy week ahead of me. Oh well, I’ll plunge into it and try to have a good attitude.