The Last Days

Day 46
- church at Mosaic on campus
- lasagna and Caesar salad and garlic bread for lunch…Jennifer put a lasagna on a burner that was on, so it steamed and bubbled like crazy until she moved it (because I noticed the burner was on)
- MOBILIZATION week
– “the tool”
- biblical basis for missions
- Navajo tacos for dinner…totally DELICIOUS
- dating panel: it was Jennifer and Brian (who ran the whole Project) and Jennifer's twin sister Rebecca and her husband Claude. We wrote down any questions we had about dating, relationships, marriage, and the opposite sex. It was a lot of fun to hear their answers to our questions.

Day 47
- for the first time this trip, it RAINED…it rained all night and morning
- practice “the tool” again, after hearing how Claude shares it
- Amy Breeding talked about getting involved with International Students
- Kevin talked about our “World Christian Testimony” (all of us will share our 3 minute testimony over the next two days)
- Claude talked about “Exit Ramps”
- two hour period to debrief…think about what we’ve learned these past six weeks, what we want to do when we get back to the “real world,” think about what we’re going to say in our world Christian testimony
- one-on-one with Jill during and after dinner
- watched Cars with both Jons, Josh B, Kat, and Curtis

Day 48
- Jennifer shared “the tool”
- review of the THUMB
- half of us shared our “world Christian testimony”
- got out early to beat out another group to lunch

Day 49
- wrap up
- wrote and handed out small thank you cards to everyone
- short term missions
- bonfire on the beach. we got to cook hotdogs over the fire, and dessert was s'mores!

Day 50
- left at 6:30am for the airport

- I was on standby for a 10:35am flight, which I got on. However, when the plane took off, the safety latch to the luggage came off, so after 15 minutes in the air, we had to go back to LAX to get it fixed. We landed in Reno an hour later than expected.
- Clint, a co-worker, picked me up from the airport, and drove me to a friend's house, because the house I'm staying wasn't open and no one was there.
- I got to hang out with Jake and Vanna (whose house I stayed at before I left for the Project) and Robert (who took my room after I left), and after dinner I got to talk with Jacob (one of two bible study leaders I'll be apprenticing under this year) for a couple of hours.
- About 11pm, I moved into the Lake Street house.

Religions and Plans

Day 41
- visited Buddhist temple...there was a lot of space, and a LOT of buddhas. there was even a room with over 1,000 Buddhas - it's where they had their main worship. You walk in, and right before you walk in there are two Bodhisattva you offer any of ten things to. They are, with explanation according the pamphlet I received --

INCENSE: Purifies the atmosphere as well as the mind.

FLOWERS: Cleanse and rid our body of what is unpleasant.

CANDLE (LAMP): Dispels darkness, as widsom dispels ignorance.

PERFUME (SOAP): Soothes and softens our skin, and protects us from diseases.

FRUIT: Fullfills our wishes and hastens our path toward Buddhahood.

TEA: Freshens our breath and distances us from worries.

FOOD: Extends our longevity and enhances our articulation skills.

TREASURE: Distances us from poverty.

BEADS: Make our appearance more dignified.

CLOTHES: Protect our body and provide security.

-- (You have the option of leaving the fruit there, and the monks and nuns will eat it or you can take it back with you and eat it with your family as blessed fruit.) Inside, there are the 5 Buddhas you can worship to individually as well as offer any of the ten to.
- talked with my mom for two and a half hours on the phone, which was a big deal, because I haven't really talked with my mom in a REALLY long time.
- small group Tuesday
- walked to rite aide and Connals
- late night run with kaylen and leigh


Day 42
- dressed up super cute for live taping of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, hosted by Jeff Foxworthy. it was fun because our group got into chanting "CO-DY! CO-DY!" (it was his birthday and didn't get picked the first time around). The production crew loved us so much they wanted us back for more episodes, but we weren't available. We were sitting in the section where we're ALWAYS on camera, so come August....my group will be on TV!!
- ate a really big slice of super delicious black forest cake at a Farmer’s Market
- one-on-one with Jill, that made me confront some of my fears, and call my mom about insecurities with a relationship I have with a few of my friends


Day 43
- got up at 8am so I could go repelling. There were 15 of us total that went, and it was really great. We drove for quite awhile, but it was so worth it, to be repelling and climbing on real rocks instead of on a rock wall in a gym.
- saw Transformers, which was a REALLY good movie
- listened to Dave Riner about how to have "the easy life." Pretty much, it's a fight of the American Dream against the Great Commission


Day 44
- tried to get my suitcase fixed in the morning before everything started, but failed because he didn’t have that kind of wheel. And then he directed us to another company, but we couldn't find it.
- learned about Hinduism from Dave Riner (guy from last night)
- saw Hairspray (AMAZING beyond AMAZING movie) with Ellen, Amber, Jill, and Kaylen
- learned about mimestry while refilling water bottles for the refridgerator. Mimestry is a program that you can get a bachelor's in, that takes three years. And with that, you go to churches, teaching people how to use their mind and body to worship God similar to King David. They also act out different stories from the Bible to make the Word come alive for people.



Day 45
- Hindu temple...which was strange, because it was pretty much watching them pour different things over this idol of Vishnu, and then they ate/drank the remaining stuff from the process. It all took about an hour.
- debriefing in Subway, after using the male restroom because no one else was using it, and there was a line for the girls’
- beach…evangelizing with Leigh. We met a girl from Nicaragua, and gave her our emails. hopefully she'll email!
- dinner at Baja Fresh…talked with Mark about plans for this coming year...
>I want to partner UNR's InterVarsity with the International Students organization that's on campus.
>I want to talk to Breanna about a lot of the stuff I learned here.
>I want to ask Peggy to disciple me.
>I want to learn as much as possible with Jacob as one of two leaders for my bible study.
>I want to put my IT Bible and the bridge diagram at my desk at my job.
>I want to get Burt and Peggy to help me have discipleship become a bigger deal in InterVarsity.
>I want to find someone to disciple.
>I want to get people mobilized and mobilizing.
>I want to talk with the evangelizing team about how they're sharing the Gospel.
>I want to change the world.

Knowledge and Death

Day 36
- Kevin Higgins spoke about Muslim beliefs
- found out Mr. Aikens, my AP Government teacher in my senior teacher in high school died Tuesday morning from a stroke. Amy Breeding let me cry in her arms. Mr. Aikens was a BIG impact on my life, and I owe so much to him. Senior year was NOT a good year for me, and he was a large part of why there was any happiness in my life at that time. He will be greatly missed by so many people.
- Pastor Dave spoke about Revelation 2:1-7

Day 37
- attended a Muslim Mosque, and the guy who talked to us was Christian, and saw that he "expanded into Muslim instead of converting." Yeah...he was an interesting guy...
- small group date night turned into the group watching Count of Monte Cristo, for it was the first time I'd ever seen it. and Puppy Chow was served!! (rice chex covered with a peanut butter and chocolate mixture, and coated by powdered sugar)

Day 38-39
- 5:30am, left for San Diego
- listened to Busers leading the Iteri tribe to Christ
- fireworks at 9:30pm because we were by Sea World
- chairs into beds, two guys slept outside on tables
- learned how to surf, but didn't do so well
- crazy bad sunburn because I fell asleep on my stomach on my towel

Day 40
- group picture, everyone wearing school shirts
- learned about Buddhism
- Dodger’s game…won 10-3
- hotdog eating contest, all you can eat section…nachos, popcorn, dodger dogs, peanuts, and drinks

I know you've been waiting for this...

Day 27
- perspectives…final class!
- pizza party, surprised with a visit by Burt!!
- nap and hw in the lounge
- laundry, preparing for small group weekend
- perspectives reflection, along with slideshow of best pictures from Hollywood photo scavenger hunt
- prayer under the stars with the girls – Kori’s sister Nicole bit by a VERY poisonous snake, Katie broke down, other Katie very transparent with group about issues she’s dealing with
- watch abc.com for a few tv shows

Day 28
- slept in!!
- bbq and redneck Olympics (which included seed spitting, belching, chugging a can of soda, and karaoke)
- KABOOM!! (Monster Truck Rally)

Day 29
- speaker about China and Christianity in China
- Chinatown
- wore Jon’s sunglasses, and thought he asked me out on the way back to campus (he was asking about small group weekend)

Day 30
- PCW (8:45 – 4:15)
- swing dancing in Old Pasadena under the stars…Trevor, Kori, and Lauren knew had to dance…Amber, Kaylen, Sara, Jon and I all learned how to dance…Amber constantly asked, and Kaylen quite a bit

Day 31
- PCW (8:30 – 3:00)
- road trip to San Diego – Small Group Weekend!!

Day 32, 33
- small group weekend!!
- shopping, Russian boys, more shopping

Day 34
- art museum
- small group Tuesday
- heard mark carter’s testimony

Day 35
- Neil Walker spoke on discipleship – love his one-liners

- free movie – Rendition…with Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Meryl Streep (it won't come out in theaters for about a year...it was a showing, to get the public's response to it, so they can make adjustments to make it better)

I just want to say that I know I haven't been on top of things as well as I should be, or could be. My days are so jammed packed, that the only time I get more than ten minutes to do anything is at night. And by then I'm so tired, all I want to do is write a few quick notes before crashing. They really mean INTENSIVE when they call it "intensive training."

I'm keeping track (minus small group weekend) of what we're doing everyday, on a word document. But how often I update might go down. But it may go up, now that Perspectives is over.


Small group weekend was just what I needed, and I'm excited for everything else they have for us. Pictures and whatnot WILL be posted SOON, I promise. I just don't know how soon.

But thanks for reading, and keeping up with my summer.
=)

I love you all!

Taco Salad Lunch and Small Group Monday

Day 25
- slept in until 10:15am
- finished perspectives
- taco salad picnic lunch...Kori's cousins came - Cousin Esther and Cousin Bob. They were so fun! I got to eat lunch with them. All 4 Amy's, Jon, Kori, and her cousins.
- Frisbee with other Jon, even though he stepped on a bee...idk if he got stung or not, but his foot for a bit. And then HORSE with Kaylen. We didn't finish because she had a leaders meeting to go to, but she was winning
- inductive was started and finished so I don't have to worry about it tomorrow.

Day 26
- perspectives (Hogans, the founders of the Christian church in Mongolia)
- coed lounge for homework…joined by BJ and Jon Watson during nap, then Amy Breeding, Tracy, Jessie, Jill, Kaylen, Trevor, Logan
- small group Monday
- Kat went to the hospital for her foot, came back with crutches. Just a few tendons injured

Hare Krishna vs. Megachurch

Day 23
- Hare Krishna temple, woke up at 5:30am...at 5:45am all small groups met in one room, and we prayed until 6am. i don't know if you know anything about Hare Krishna but I didn't, so it was a really interesting experience for me. I've never smelled incense so potent before, and the parallels to Christianity was pretty creepy. After we got back to the campus - around 10am, we had small group discussions about what just happened. then we had free time for the rest of the day.
- after lunch, Kat (my roommate) joined me to get a haircut. She just got a trim, but mine was cut. It was about two and a half inches past my shoulders, and now… it's REALLY short. it's not wat i asked for. and you can't really see the layers, but oh well. more pictures will come eventually
- sat on a spider web, and the sack burst open with a million baby spiders. yeah........while i was waiting for my haircut...
- worked on hw
- during dinner, an ice fight broke out. it was mainly me and Samantha, but Jon Watson joined in. I meant to get the table two tables down, but I missed, and the ice cube bounced off of Mark’s head-which of course was hysterical.
- ultimate Frisbee has been super addicting. i understand why so many people play it now! We got a good game going, and it was a lot of fun. it was about 8 on 8. Jon Watson kept getting in my face anytime I had the frisbee, and it made me so angry, cuz he was always in my way! So I finally got back, ran as fast as possible, and hit the frisbee to the ground before he could catch it. And because there was a lot of frustration in that act, a noise similar to a grunt came out, and Jessie's all "Wow, Amy..you're playing aggressive." But I got my point across to him. lol We switched teams two more times, and the last time it was down to 4 on 4. THAT'S a lot of work, especially for the huge field we're playing. But it was so much fun!

Day 24
- work day…last time we tried to do a work day it didn't work out. But today it worked out, and I helped with windows, kitchen, cleaning up leaves, and the “trash bag game." This was a game invented by Brian to get everyone excited to clean out the garbage cans all over campus How to play? you trade a new garbage bag w/ a full bag
- we had a little over half an hour to get ready for lunch, because work day took longer than planned, but oh well. we did it.
- tour of Crystal Cathedral (humongous with statues and fountains and burial plots)
- evangelized w/ Amy Terry at a mall (half went to a different mall)
- attended Saddleback Church – megachurch, main pastor wrote Purpose-Driven Life...insane guitar player…patriotic music
- ate dinner at same mall, with time to shop…search for McD’s with Tracy, Josh, and Sarah…hit on after exiting a bathroom (yeah, a group of about 4 high school boys hit on me and sara as we were exiting the ladies' room)…bought earrings at claire’s and made quick target run (there was a target in the mall! how weird, huh?)
- listened to a sermon on the car ride back to campus...it was about pre-destination...it was really interesting, but I don't remember much, haha.