One month down. Are you kidding me?

OHHH MAN. everytime i get to the end of another week,

its so hard to believe.

Saturday marked a month since I've been here, and it does not even feel close to that. 

It feels alot longer, but it has absolutely flown by.

A week ago, Saturday, at the update of my last blog..

We had a really long staff meeting for the next two weeks.

It wasn't the most pleasant thing I've ever sat through, but we had alot to get ready for.

We took it easy that night after getting 2 weeks of lesson plans ready, as we're coming to appreciate our weekends and every free moment more and more the longer we stay here. 

Sunday was Fathers Day, and we helped with the luncheon after church, 

and enjoyed fellowshipping with the people of the church that I am coming to love more and more the longer we are here. 

After a bike ride that afternoon, we went to one of our kids houses for the night.

THIS WAS SUCH GREAT RELAXATION.

The family was gone for the week, and since we were dogsitting, we were invited to come and spend the night away from our crowded dorm rooms, and enjoy their hottub :)

This was just a little bit of heaven, Im pretty sure. haha.

After a wonderful, wonderful night there with a few of the girls..

we got up Monday early to get ready to go out on the lake with one of the men who comes to bible study at the church. He is a recovering alcoholic with a lot to learn, but a lot of fun also.

He took us out on the boat on our day off that day, and we had a BLAST. to say the least.

I attempted wakeboarding, but in water that felt like negative ten degrees, didn't have too much luck, even though i did get up once!

We ate lunch lakeside at a nice restaurant, and got a chance to drive BRAND SPANKIN NEW sea-doos out on Lake Tahoe after that. The boat owner knew some locals that had sea doos that were going to rented out that needed hours on them. Needless to say, we were more than happy to help. This was probably one of the funnest moments since I've been here. 

We finished up that day, completely relaxed, by laying out on the beach by Lake Tahoe, about a mile from our church. The weather has been PERFECT the past week or so. About 75 degrees during the day with the prettiest, clearest skies I've ever seen. DEFINITELY YET ANOTHER BLESSING ABOUT THIS PLACE.

Tuesday began another day at Big A. 

Although it was kinda chaotic getting back in the swing of things, it ended up going pretty good.

A HUGE blessing I witnessed this day was when a little boy who wasn't too excited to be at Big A the week before showed up with a smile on his face this day, and his mom told me he had been singing the songs from our musical that we were learning, at home. PRAISE GOD. 

Sometimes I think that I have less of an opportunity to share Christ because my children have such young minds. BOY, IS THAT WRONG OR WHAT?!

Wednesday. our first field trip with my class!

We went to the fire department down the street for a tour, and lunch on the beach.

Even though my three year olds were worn out from the walk over, and pretty fussy, it ended up being a pretty good day.

Thursday. CARNIVAL DAY!

The biggest expected day of Big A for the summer was a hit!

I ran the penny toss station, and enjoyed playing along with each and every kid there, and being able to encourage them along the way.

We had 171 kids that day which is 5 short of the most that they've ever had. 

YET ANOTHER REASON TO PRAISE GOD, LOOKING ON THE PAST WEEK.

Friday. Hello another 14 hour day!

My three year olds were angels this day. I was talking with the other teacher and we were overcome with thanksgiving. Our kids behaved so well, and it really hit both of us really how happy we are to be teaching the children that we are this summer. I really really really don't know what I'm going to do when I have to tell them bye, so I'm trying to enjoy every moment. 

A specific prayer request for my class.

Most of the children's families that come to our program are not Christians. 

However, one boy in particular has won my heart for sure already in the little time that I've been there. Seth Rosen. He wasn't at Big A all last week, and Friday when he showed up, Im pretty positive that my face lit up the room. He is absolutely precious, and I've already bonded with him so much. I was informed last week that his family is Jewish. It has been such a blessing to get to know my kids parents, and build relationships with them. I met his dad Friday and after getting to tell him how much I adored his son just sat and talked for a minute. Pray that I am able to show Christ to this family who has come to mean SO much to me. 

After a long night that ended at 10 pm after Parents Night Out, 

we packed our bags, and crashed, only to wake up at 430 AM to head to San Francisco!

We had all been excited about this weekend, and it was a ton of fun to be able to see so many places in just two days. I cant wait to go back with my parents in about a week and a half!

We got to visit the Full House houses, Alcatraz prison, Golden Gate Bridge, the Pacific Ocean, and just the whole San Francisco bay. It was wonderful to get away and bond more and more with the girls.

One of the coolest experiences of this trip was the fact that Sarah and I rode in the Captains deck on the ferry on the way back from Alcatraz, and actually drove the ferry into the bay. Its a long story, but we wound up getting connections. This summer has provided so many firsts for me, and I absolutely love it!

One of the not so cool experiences of this trip. Sarah. the girl who has become my bestfriend out here pretty much, who I spend ALOT of my time with wound up in the emergency room Sunday night. She was having extremely sharp pains in her stomach, so we stopped on the way home and took her in. The diagnosis was never really clear, but I enjoyed being able to be there for her, and take care of her when she needed it SO much. She has been resting all day today getting ready for the week, trying to get better. Continue to pray for her as we all need 100 percent health to survive the weeks out here. Our God is the ultimate healer.

Because of that, we got home at 330 this morning, and we all enjoyed sleeping in today on our day off. We spent the afternoon laying on the beach, and came home with a pretty good sunburn. Im determined to get sun while Im out here! haha. 

God moments this week:

Little David's mom telling me he came home singing our songs. 

In other words. God knows what he's up to here. I do not.

Reading through the story of Abraham and Genesis still..

I was reading about Lot's wife and how when she looked back she became a pillar of salt.

I NEED TO FOCUS ON THE HERE AND NOW.

I seriously dread telling the people of Tahoe bye, and there are probably some things I could've wanted to change since I've been here. BUT none of that matters. What matters is right here, right now. and being all that I can be for my purpose here.

Im going to end this with Debbies infamous quote.

"LIFE IS NOT ABOUT ME. LIFE IS ABOUT GOD. LIFE IS ABOUT GIVING MYSELF AWAY DAILY TO THE HIGH GLORY OF GOD."

Will I ever be able to completely grasp that?

MANNN. Im doing my best.

HERES TO ANOTHER WEEK OF BIG A.

LOVE, and more than I can imagine.

Welp. Another week has flown by in Tahoe City.

As I said in my last post,

Sunday night I went to a church in Reno for their worship service.

It was AMAZING. and I really felt God teaching me about trust that night, and all this week, really.

Monday was a tough one this week.

I had preschool in the morning from 845- 1.

My children were WOUND UP this day to say the least.

Driving me to almost tears, 

In the midst of it all, one of my favorite little guys,

ran up to me and said, "I wuv you."

What an eye opener. Even though that didn't fix what was going on at the moment,

when I look back, I see that as a reminder of when things aren't really going our way,

Jesus loves us so incredibly much, and oh, how much I am learning that this week.

I finished off Monday with work projects and our first staff meeting that ended at 9PM. 

LONG DAY, FOR THE THE BEGINNING OF A LONG WEEK.

Tuesday was a COMPLETE turn around.

Our Devotion that morning was on our own, and it was really really great for our team just to spend time encouraging one another and sharing what God is doing in our lives.

aaandd From that, we decided to start studying the Book "Crazy Love" together as a team.

I am PUMPED for this. :)

That morning, Leslie and I moved mulch on the playground.

The way I described this to Debbie is such a good experience.

You probably think I'm crazy, right?

No. Im learning to see opportunities like this as a chance to advance the kingdom.

Im working for HIS building when Im raking endless loads of bark, and scrubbing walls.

ITS NOT ABOUT ME. IF ONLY I COULD CONTINUE TO GRASP THAT MORE AND MORE.

Tuesday afternoon, I had preschool. Much better than the day before.

I got relieved from that for my personal conference with Debbie.

DUN DUN DUN DUN.

I had been kinda nervous, but excited about this at the same time.

We each have one on one meetings with her to talk about just life in general, and how our experience here in Tahoe is going.

It really allowed me to open up to her about more than I ever planned on,

and see a Godly, amazing, woman's perspective on it. 

She set me straight, and told me so many things that I needed to hear.

I am seeing her straight-forwardness as more and more of a blessing every day.

Tuesday night, our dinner out at someone's home got canceled. 

I see that as a blessing, seeing how we all definitely definitely needed the rest.

Wednesday...BIG A CLUB BEGAN!

this is our summer program for tuesday through friday from now until august.

I got to officially have my own class of three-year olds, which I already love so much.

The first day went absolutely fabulous, and it was pajama day, which ended up being more fun for us than the kids i think, haha.

Wednesday afternoon, I started teaching my Aplus afternoon class of first and second graders.

I only have them for a week and then I change grades, but I really enjoyed it.

Im falling in love with the people of Tahoe City more and more each week.

Thursday. another tough one.

my three year olds were great this day again. they are PRECIOUS.

and Crazy Hair Day was a ton of fun also!

BUTTTT. Satan always tries to trip us up when everything seems to be going right, Right?

I heard some harsh comments that I probably needed to hear, but didn't like it at all.

This made the afternoon a little rough, but at the same time, God is teaching me to toughen up.

Which is what I have been praying for.

THE DAY WASNT OVER YET.

I was doing usual playground supervision, waiting for the day to finish up,

and saw a little girl who I hadn't met yet. When I got closer, I noticed that she had two hearing aids, and later, I found out that she had a twin brother too! What are the odds of that?

I showed her our similarities, and it seriously made me so happy to be able to show her that she's not alone :) When her Mom came to pick her up, I got to talk to her for a little bit, and start building a relationship with her. IS GOD IN EVERY SITUATION EVEN WHEN I DONT SEE IT, OR WHAT?!

Friday. 12 hour day, here we come!

Today went exceptionally well. My little ones wrapped Leslie and I (the other 3 year old teacher) up as mummies during recreation, and when we asked if they could help us get out, Jake said, "NO!" It made us laugh. Our kids made Joseph coats and we paraded around the building showing them off. I totally think that my kids are the cutest here! :)

My last day with my first and second graders was good, and I love spending time with them.

Parents Night Out had low numbers tonight, but made for a good break for us. 

At 10PM, after cleaning the building for Sunday, we called it a week, and headed to bed.

Today, we have a staff meeting at 11. and Lesson Plan checks for the next two weeks.

Since Im all done, Sarah and I are planning on heading down to beach and relaxing today, 

and possibly dinner out with the team tonight. HOOORAYYY.

So. the past week. im learning to lean on God more than I ever have, and find everything that I need in him, including my identity. and to not take things so personal, no matter what it is. 

PRAISE GOD for another overall fantastic week in Tahoe. 

Mom and Dad come visit in 2 weeks.. Im sure I'll be glad to see them by then :)

update already?

"anything that we are tempted to love more than God has the potential to be your God."

WOWWWW.

i didnt expect to be updating this soon. 

however, i am learning SO incredibly much about abraham and the life that he lived.

abraham was willing to give up his SON. really?

i cant even imagine. 

we drove an hour into Reno, Nevada tonight to go to a contemporary worship service. 

it WAS SO COMPLETELY WORTH IT.

God is teaching me so so much. and im learning to lean on him, and trust in him. 

WITH EVERYTHING I HAVE.

ill be completely okay if it never ever ends.

Until next time...

-Megan

Seventeen Days Already, Really?

Just as I imagined.. once our weeks start here. 

There's pretty much no stopping until our day off.

So much has happened in the past week though,

and I'm falling more and more in love with Tahoe City everyday.

Saturday afternoon we had our first afternoon off since we'd been here.

Some of the

 girls made the hour long drive to Reno to get our groceries,

and some of us stayed in town, and didn't know what to do with ourselves with so much free time on our hands. So. after getting out and getting something to eat, Craig, the youth minister here asked us if we wanted to go

 hike, and we MIGHT see some snow.

After some convincing, 5 of us girls ended up going. 

It ended up being one of the funnest experiences since I'd gotten here for sure.

aaandd I saw and played in the most snow I think I'd ever seen.

Here is a video at our attempt of a 5 person sled :)

Needless to say, God really does have a sense of humor.

Coming to California, I figured that I was about to be burning up everyday,

and getting the best sun tan of my life.

The temperature hasn't been much over fi

fty degrees yet,

and night time is freeezzingg.

Apparently that's only supposed to last a couple more days though, and then WARMTH!

Sunday, I got to help out with Camille at church.

She is a little girl who is almost two years old with Cerebral Palsy.

This was SUCH a blessing. Everytime I seem to need that extra bit of encouragement,

or reminding that I'm here working for the kingdom, this seems to

 do it.

She is an absolute angel, with the most precious smile I think anyone's ever seen.

One of my teammates and I are taking turns working with her during church

 each week.

I am praying to be able to build a stronger relationship with this family over the summer :)

Sunday afternoon, Sarah and I went trail running with Pastor Dan and his daughter Dannie.

This man is 63 years old, and could probably outrun me if he tried.. such a motivation.

We ran about 6 miles up into the mountains, and halfway through stopped at an overlook of Lake Tahoe. God's love through his creation is written all over this beautiful place.

This was such a good experience, and Sarah and I both really enjoyed it.

Monday was more orientation.. yes, still..

Haha. I figure it's important so I'm hanging in there.

Monday night we got to relax a little and Sarah and I made dinner for the team :)

Tuesday was My Morning Out. like Mothers Day Out in the South. A little bit crazy, but good at the same time. I spent time with a little boy named Jody. He is a special needs child with TONS of energy. I chased him arou

nd for 3 hours, and was absolutely 

beat, but even more blessed. 

I had been praying for some families in the area to minister to that had children with special needs. God answered that prayer times about four. haha. Tuesday afternoon, I was absolutely beat, and actually started dozing off in our seminar. OOPS. Tuesday night, we had 

dinner at a couple named Kelly and Aaron's home. It was alot of fun, and we enjoyed spending time with them. Aaron came in from outside at one point and said I think some kids said they saw a bear.. in about 10 seconds all 13 of 

us were out the door running down the street. 

This picture is a little blurry, but its proof!

We DID see a bear in the neighbor's backyard, and now thinking about it.. 13 girls running after it wasn't the brightest idea.. but it was fun :)

Wednesday. I worked with a group of Charter School kids who are already out of school so they have been at our program all day. What I thought was going to be one of the longest days of my life ended up being a ton of fun. These kids have SO much energy, but I've never enjoyed running around playi

ng tag, acting like a kid again, so much. However, from this day, I'm learning to be a little sterner with the kids to make them listen.. that didn't take too long. haha. 

Thursday, we spent the morning working on our lesson plans to get ready for NEXT WEEK.

Our summer program begins next W

ednesday, and apparently that's when everything will be even more extreme than now. PRAYERS FOR REST AND ENERGY WOULD BE GREEAATTTLYYY APPRECIATED :) In the afternoon, we did some work projects around the church and Leslie and I had to go and stomp the dumpster down. What seems disgusting, we found entertaining. haha. (Pictures below) Thursday evening, we went to a couple named Bill and Helen's house for dinner, and they took us on a little hike afterwards. The view was abso

lutely beautiful, and gave us time to stop and think about just how amazing our creator is once again.

Yesterday, I had to open for our morning program. 

Needless to say, 655 comes REALLY early here. It ended up not being too bad though,

and the fact that my first kid didn't show up until about 730

, allowed me to spend some time in the word and start my day off right :)

We had personal growth time with Debbie after our morning devo. I am starting to enjoy these times so much. It forces us to open up about things we never thought these "strangers" would ever know about us, and is really truly a time for us to reflect on ourselves, and just GROW.

I spent the afternoon with my precious preschoolers, and then onto Parents Night Out where I helped with 1st and 2nd graders until 10 PM. 

VERRRY long day, but I never seemed to run out of energy. Maybe that prayer begging for it at the beginning of the day helped out :)

Its so crazy to think that I've already been here 17 days, and SCARY to think how little time is left. As I put it when I was talking to a family this week, 17 days ago these strangers and I became family. Our team is growing closer and closer, and I'm learning to love these girls so much. I'm learning SO much about God's love lately, and my biggest struggle seems to be learning how to love him back. What's hitting home for me is that when i learn to really love God with all that is in me, I will be able to love my teammates, my children, and their families just that much easier. 

So some prayer requests would be. LOVE. and more than I can stand of it. and ENERGY. next Wednesday will be here fast, and I have no doubt that I'll make it. but only with Christ's help on somedays Im sure. Thanks for reading guys, and I'll write again before too long. :)

The Tahoe Family

I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU.

Here we are, at the end of our first full week.

And that it has definitely been.

 

We’ve been doing orientation still in the morning,

And working with the kids in the afternoon.

 

Just as I thought, we’ve been on the go since pretty much Sunday night.

Monday, Wednesday, and last night, we had dinner at some of the church members homes after the kids left in the afternoon.

Tuesday was preschool graduation, and tonight is Parent’s Night Out, which means we have kids until 10 pm.

Today is going to be a long one, but full of blessings I’m sure.

 

Wednesday, I found out I’m teaching 3 year olds for the rest of my time in Tahoe City. J Needless to say, I am thrilled!

Until Big A (our main summer program) officially starts, we’ve been helping in different classes each afternoon. I don’t think it was coincidence at all that I was in preschool that day. Those boys and girls are some of the most precious children I’ve ever seen, and I can’t wait to be able to spend the next 8 weeks investing in their lives!

 

This week has had its ups and downs, but without a doubt, I am still learning SO much. I keep hearing over and over again that everything that is happening is a result of serving. (Being tired, feeling somewhat discouraged, questioning certain things)

 

I ask for your prayers that I continue to seek God in everything. Debbie’s goal for us is to be able to see God in everything that we do, and I WOULD LOVE to be at that point. The past month or so, I’ve felt like something was working against me as I prepared for my time in Tahoe City this summer. For SOME reason, I figured all that would stop as soon as I got here. Boy, was I wrong!

 

The good news is that I’m learning so much to trust in God in everything. To explain this, I’ll use an illustration I heard in devotion one morning this week:

 

Since I’ve been here in California for the past week, a couple of my teammates and I have picked up rock climbing. Not like a rock wall, but finding huge rocks and jumping around, exploring. I’ve always known that I was adventurous, but these two girls just feed that J Anyway, One of our supervisors was rock climbing with Debbie, our director. There was a big step onto a steep, wet rock. Debbie kept insisting that she trust, and take her hand to get to the next step.

That is exactly what I’m learning to do in my walk with Christ. I may not know exactly what is ahead, but one thing I do know is that he will never leave me nor forsake me, and he is going to continue to change my life this summer, one step at a time. I just have to trust.

 

Anytime I feel like I’m being worn down or tired, and I spend time with the kids here, my outlook completely changes. It’s not about me at all. And I am so incredibly blessed to be here. These children make me so happy!

 

We’ve been taking personality tests this week to figure out how we deal with conflict, and to better understand our teammates. This has been such a cool experience. It is helping me to understand myself so much better, and why I do certain things that I do, but also why I do or don’t get along with certain people. It’s made me be able to see people’s reason for doing certain things that they do, that I don’t always understand.

 

A funny story along with that is that Sarah, one of the girls I’ve gotten closest to here, is that, I know exactly why that was happening. Our personality types are IDENTICAL. God has definitely blessed me with some amazing friendships already, and I’m praying for that to continue, and our team to continue to become more of a team.

This is so scattered, but I just found out I will be getting to help watch a little girl here at the church with cerebral palsy. Can I tell you how excited that makes me ?!

This past week I've kinda missed my children from last summer, and have been praying for someone with special needs to minister to here. YAY FOR ANSWERED PRAYERS :)

 Anyway, last long day for the week begins NOW.

Time to get ready.

I’ll write when I get time again. J