A year goes by so quickly!

Time sure flies! I haven't posted in nearly a year. God has done some amazing things in my life over the past year. In May, I went with my friends Blake, Kaylee, and Jacelyn to the NEXT conference in Baltimore, MD. We were with thousands of other college students from around the U.S. and got to experience some great worship, and speakers like Joshua Harris, C.J. Mahaney, and Kevin Deyoung. It was a huge growing experience, and it was so much fun to be able to share it with friends. The rest of that summer I spent helping out with the youth group at Calvary Church in St. Cloud, a weekly college night called the Quad, and VBS. I also worked at Walgreens and Hollister. The entire summer was also devoted to preparation for our mission trip Nicaragua. We were gone for nearly two weeks in August, and it was one of the most eye-opening experiences of my life. Seeing God work in and through our team, and the people of Nicaragua was so amazing. I really learned that I needed to treasure Christ above anything else in this world. After getting back from Nicaragua, I had a few days to relax before getting back to the grind. The beginning of the semester was insanely busy. Campus Crusade has had such a huge part of my spiritual growth, and I was blessed to be able to serve on the leadership team this school year. It was a lot of work, but seeing God work in and through our bible study in the dorm has been awesome. My co leader, Josi and I have seen about 12 students actively coming to our bible study, and through the "life group" new friendships were formed, and Christian walks were deepened. Our fall getaway conference was a huge success with over 120 students that attended. This year, I have also helped out with the youth ministry at Calvary. Over fall semester, I was able to help out with the junior high ministry and go to the fall retreat. I was also able to attend Campus Crusade's winter conference, TCX, with 50 other students from St. Cloud State. Being there for my 2nd year in a row was such a blast! After TCX, we had our annual Blizzard retreat with the youth group. Over 100 students came on the retreat, and it was so great to see how they opened up and shared what God was teaching them. I think God has given me a greater passion for ministry this semester, and I have reached out and many a lot of new friends. Spring break was an amazing time. I went on a 12 day vacation that included seeing L.A. and a 7 day cruise to the Mexican Riviera. It was fun being able to spend it with close friends, and to get away from the business of life. I found out that I was accepted to go on a summer project at Walt Disney World during spring break and made the decision to go right after getting back. I am currently raising support to go, and so far it's going well. I am so excited to being deepened in my walk this summer and invest in lives of students from around the world! I only have 3 and half weeks left of school, and I'll be leaving St. Cloud for the summer! I'm excited and nervous at the same time.