BeachReach

Hello all! Hope everyone is enjoying the spring-like weather. God blessed us with a beautiful day today!

Well, since the last time I blogged, I had my spring break! I went with ten other people from my campus ministry group, Student Christian Fellowship, to Panama City Beach, Florida. We ministered to the students that were there to party all week. We gave free van rides every night from 9pm-2am, and served free pancakes every morning from 10am-1pm. Throughout the week, we gave over 4,000 people van rides and served pancakes over 4,000 people. Incredible! I feel so honored to have been a part of such an awesome ministry. I'm glad God was able to use me in awesome ways to touch lives! God was definitely moving in Panama City and certainly touching lives. He without a doubt had a special plan for everyone that was in the city during this break. At least 10 people accepted Christ due to interactions with the Beach Reach team. Praise God, He is so good!!!!

Every night we sent out about twenty 15-passenger vans to pick up those on spring break. Each van had six Beach Reach members inside: a driver, a navigator, a doorman, and three people to just talk to people. Whenever I was in the vans, which was basically every night, I was the navigator. I received text messages that told us who were picking up, where we were picking them up from, how many were in their party, where they wanted to go, a description of what they were wearing, and a phone number to reach them. Basically, I told our driver where to go and how to get there. If anyone is ever lost in PCB, I can help you out, haha. The rest of the team was out and about talking to whomever they encountered on the streets. Each night was divided into two shifts. Some nights we were did vans/streets the whole time. While some nights we did streets/vans for one shift and were in the prayer room for the other half. It was so powerful to be in the prayer room. The lady that was leading was a little intimidating, but I thoroughly enjoyed being there and enjoying the presence of God. We were specifically praying for the vans and who they were picking up. Also, there was a prayer hotline, that people could text or call in prayer requests. So we got to specifically pray for them. One night, Kurt, the guy leading prayer, played his guitar while we all sang a different Psalm. It was beautiful worship unto God. Then we sang pieces from a few of the Psalms. I love the sporadic randomness of the whole thing. It made my heart happy, and it's still happy :)

Wednesday night, I was on the street team, walking around with another girl, Karen, and a guy, Josh. Karen had a sense that we would find someone who had been ditched by his/her friends. We were outside one of the clubs talking to a guy, who was by himself, but had to say good-bye when we got to the door. So then, we were just standing in the parking lot trying to decide where to go next. A girl walked up to us and asked if any of us had a specific cell phone carrier. She was clearly distraught, and very intoxicated. She was all alone because her friends had abandoned her, and she had lost her cell phone. She knew the name of her hotel, but didn’t know how to get back. We stayed with her and talked to her, trying to calm her down, while we called for a car to get her. We had one of our female leaders and a college-age female driving around to specifically take girls home or wherever they needed to go. This girl was so ashamed of all she had done, she wouldn’t even tell us her name. She confessed to doing many drugs, drinking all the time. She had absolutely no self-worth. When the car arrived, we put her in and the Beach Reach girls took her home. The next day, I found out that she had opened up even more to them and finally shared her name, Kerrie. They shared the love of Jesus with her. They said she wanted to believe, but thought she had messed up too many times and wasn’t good enough. They continued to bless her and just love on her. She gave them her email address and they are going to try and keep in contact with her. God is so awesome!

His presence was noticeably present in Panama City during this past week. Many significant conversations took place on the streets and even in the van rides. Countless seeds were planted in lives, and will hopefully be cultivated. He had an explicit plan for each and every student that was there. Continue to pray for all the students, whose lives were touched and changed, pray for continued transformation and renewal.

We got back Friday evening around 7pm, and I grabbed my laundry and headed home for the weekend. I got to spend time with Jackie on Saturday while watching Austin & the boys play basketball. Then I went to see "Remember Me" with Erin and Cacy, and then we got Dairy Queen. I've missed home and seeing my friends. We had good conversations and got to catch up on our lives. It had been so long since I had seen any of them. Sunday morning I got up and cooked breakfast at church for the cute bus kids. I got to meet Mr. Elias Paul Horseman for the first time, and he is absolutely adorable. Casey and James did a good job! He fell asleep while I was holding him, pretty much the cutest thing. Casey called me 'Aunt Evan', haha. I'd like to be an legit aunt, but Dane and Jean are waiting. I guess I can wait, lol. I'm still thankful for such awesome people in my life, such as my brother and his wife, and James, who is like my brother, & Casey, and Jackie, and Erin & Cacy, and Joey & Devin, and my parents, and awesome friends here at school. Sunday afternoon was lunch at Grandma Linda's house. It was so good to be with all the family and spend time together. We used to do it all the time, but since we're all growing up, it's hard to get everyone together. We're doing it again in a few weeks for Ame and Dalton's birthdays. I can't wait to see them all again! After lunch, dad and I went to the church and gave blood. I always feel good after giving blood, knowing I'm helping save lives. I didn't feel well physically afterwards though, yet I drove back to Evansville and had dinner with friends for Sara's 20th birthday. Good times!

Other exciting news... I'm going to be living in an on-campus house next year! Me, Sara, Kaitlin, Bernard, and Libby will be residing at 408 Weinbach. It's going to be sooo good. It's right across the street from campus, so it's still super close and it won't take away from my scholarship. Plus, I'll be out of the dorms and I don't have to have a meal plan. All fantastic news!!

On the other hand, school is going well. I dropped Organic Chemistry before break, which has made life sooooo much easier. I still have four other classes to worry about, but none of them are as difficult as OChem was. I'm reading The Shack for my 'Christian Thought' class. It's really good thus far. We have online discussions about it during class times, so we don't have class this week. It's really interesting to see how other people, who aren't necessarily Christian, react to the Christian aspects and how they dissect and interpret the book. This class has really got me thinking about what I really believe and why I believe that way. I'm enjoying it, but it's a lot of work for a gen ed, lol. Intro to Roman Archaeology is going well. I think it's rather interesting, considering I've always enjoyed art history and history in general.

Yesterday I met with the head of the art department, Mr. Brown. We talked about classes and careers and art. I'm pretty decided on Visual Communications as my major, but I have to meet with Mrs. Frasier, who is the advisor for vis com majors. After meeting with her, I will be able to officially declare a major. I really enjoy going to a small school, where the professors and faculty are personal and truly care about my well-being. Everyone I have met with has truly cared and has truly helped me in numerous ways. I've started pre-registering for classes, even though there are only two that I know for sure I have to take. After meeting with Mrs. Frasier I will be able to register for more, but until then, I'm not sure which ones I need to be taking.

Wow, this turned out to be a super long blog. Hope you enjoyed being filled in on all that is going on in my life at this time!