I just copied and pasted this from the other blog...

Since I last posted, I've had 2 "shot days," almost two weeks of information overload, and two days of lecture on the Persecuted Church. Wow.

Shot days were weird, because normally in the afternoons when everyone is free, there are children on the playground and people wandering around. Not on shot day. Everyone is told to stay in their quad until it's time to make the walk of doom. No one knows how many or what shots they'll be getting that day. I've been lucky and had to only get one shot so far. I did get the TB skin test, but that's not really a shot...it's just a bubble on my arm. Most people had to get Typhoid shots, too, but since I had a reaction to the Typhoid shot when I was little, I scored and got the oral Typhoid preventative. This consists of 4 pills taken every other day on an empty stomach with a full glass of water an hour before eating. So basically a pre-breakfast appetizer.

We've had several sessions on Church Planting Movements (CPM) and what they look like in different parts of the world. This information is interesting, but a lot of it is hard to process and put in a mold of how it will fit in Romania, or anywhere in Central and Eastern Europe for that matter. We've also had some sessions on how to attempt to start a CPM, and that too is difficult to implement with the cultural and religious implications of where I'm going. I know though, that God is in control and makes a way for His Word to spread to all corners of the world. We get that promise from Revelation.

So the Persecuted Church. Wow. These sessions were by far my absolute favorite so far. The speaker was very dynamic. I won't say anything about the nature of the speaker's job, but it seems like an amazing job that takes very special people to do. I'm sure it's scary at times, too. I really loved listening to these sessions as they were very informative. It made me thankful for the freedom I have to be a Christian and to share my faith and to relate with whoever I want. It also helped me to understand a little bit of what some of the people I may be working with may have gone through during the time of Communism.

Well, with all that said, I'm thankful for the last couple of weeks, and I can't wait for what else the Lord has to teach me. Thanks for keeping up with me. Love you all!

"Like clay in the hand of the potter...

...so are you in my hand..." Jeremiah 18:6.

Today we had a special time of personal retreat. This was 3 hours dedicated to spending time with the Lord. We followed it up with a time of sharing what the Lord did during that time. To some He gave much needed rest. Some spent the time on their faces in worship to Him. I would like to say my time was as intense as the others, but it wasn't.

Let me explain. I went to my room and did some of my Bible Study. Then, I turned on a podcast of Ravi Zacharias talking about Jeremiah 18 and 19 going down to the house of the Potter. I love listening to Ravi Zacharias... I could listen to him all day long.

This is one of the recurring lessons that God teaches me off and on through the years. He reminded me of the simple fact that I am only clay in His hands...I need to be moldable. I have had the opportunity to work with clay, and I understand this concept so well because the potter gets frustrated when the clay doesn't do what they want it to. The potter often has to fill in cracks, or start all over again, making that piece a ball of clay once again.

I pray that I can be this clay in His hands...the kind that's moldable, usable, to become the vessel He wants me to be, that He can use, and that when He's finished, He can take me Home as the best vessel I can be in Eternity...

Potter's Hand by Darlene Zschech

Beautiful Lord, Wonderful Saviour
I know for sure, all of my days are held in your hands, crafted
into your perfect plan
You gently call me into your presence guiding me by Your Holy Spirit
Teach me dear Lord to live all of my life through Your eyes
I'm captured by Your holy calling
Set me apart, I know you're drawing me to yourself
Lead me Lord I pray

Chorus:
Take me, Mold me, use me, fill me
I give my life to the Potter's hand
Call me, guide me, lead me, walk beside me
I give my life to the Potter's hand

You gently call me into your presence guiding me by your Holy Spirit
Teach me dear Lord to live all of my life through your eyes
I'm captured by your Holy calling
set me apart, I know your drawing me to yourself
lead me Lord I pray

I found a walking buddy!!

Friends, one of my concerns heading to orientation has been the requirements about fitness that they have here. Though I played soccer off and on through the years until the end of my Sophomore year in high-school, I am not the most athletic person in the world. In fact, by playing soccer off and on I mean I was the official bench-warmer.

So, since then I have not really kept a habit of exercising on a regular basis, and this is bad. Very bad. I have worked out in the fitness center at DBU off and on through the college years, but never consistently or habitually.

Here, there is a requirement to have 4 hours minimum of aerobic activity each week. For some people that's not a problem...For me it is. So all week I had been thinking in my mind that one of these evenings I would start walking. They told us the other day that if we walk from some flag poles to the gate and back it is two miles.

This evening at the dinner table, I was talking to a sweet girl that is in my small group and in the same living area as me. She mentioned that she was going to walk and I told her I would join her. Y'all...God could not have been more Faithful. We both confessed to each other that neither of us had exercised habitually in the last few years and just talked about it. It really was a blessing because we were able to walk at the same pace and didn't run out of things to talk about. For two whole miles.

It took us almost an hour to do the whole thing and get back to our quad, and as we walked back we looked at the lightning in the distance hoping that we would get back before the storm hits. We made it back and it's still not raining.

Please join me in thanking God for putting someone that walks at my pace to walk with. We made a goal to walk every day at least the two miles. We might even try running eventually, but we're going to try to work up past the two miles before that and get up our endurance. Please continue to pray that we would be diligent in attaining this goal of walking the two miles consistently every day and that the Lord would give us the discipline to build up the endurance to handle more.

Thanks, friends!

The Week in a Rundown...

I visited my aunt and uncle in Jacksonville, NC last week. They took me to the beach...you heard all about that, I got fried. I'm still peeling and blistered. Big mistake. Note to self...WEAR SUNSCREEN!!

Friday evening and Saturday morning my aunt, cousin and I attended the Beth Moore simulcast that was broadcasting at their church. It really was a Word that I needed leading into the next couple of months...no years...of my life. Amanda, please tell your mom thanks :)

Monday my aunt and cousin drove me up to Virginia where I am now for 2 months of orientation before I head out on my great adventure that will take place in Romania. God is certainly Faithful and I have already started forming friendships with some of the other girls here at orientation.

We didn't have anything scheduled for yesterday or today besides meals. I did have to fill out a form for the board, but that's it. It took like 2 seconds. Maybe a little more. So some of the girls and I went to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things like snacks and kleenex and stuff. Then we went to the super nice awesome mall across the street from WM and ate lunch and browsed. I originally was going to eat at Chick-Fil-A (have you tried their new sauce?? It is delish, my friends...it beats all previous sauces put together. No joke...)...but then I saw Panda Express and decided to go for a Panda Bowl of fried rice and orange chicken. Amazing. I gave up Chick-Fil-A and their new sauce for Panda. It was totally worth it. I even had leftovers and brought them back with me. Score.

Well...I'll go now. Tomorrow's the big day. The one where we have to start going to meetings and stuff. Please pray for that...it's all a little overwhelming.