what have i done?

life has been pretty uneventful lately. I have been writing, writing, writing to finish up an independent study by monday so i'm feeling a bit like summer is passing me by, but even if God only blessed me with what has happened this summer it would already be immeasurably more than I could have ever made happen on my own power. i often wonder if this blog is really to update people on what is happening in my heart, mind, and life, or really for me to just log what is happening for my own benefit. it's really a toss up, but if for nothing else i am going to take the time to make a little list of things i have done recently...

- moved out of a most loved living spot, townhouse 405, to learn how to live life without my bff's there every few hours...weird
- walked across a stage in luckey gymnasium to pick up an IWU diploma holder from Dr. Henry Smith
- drove 1400 miles to a city i don't know, to talk to people i don't know anything about, because i knew God wanted me to do ministry there, only to end up being handed a job that that is seemingly perfect for me
- stayed with the wonderful adam and mindy pierce who are a blessing to my heart for the reassurance and peace they seem to bring about to me, I am sure I don't tell them that enough...
- flew a good 8,000 miles from home to a place that has stolen a piece of my heart, New Zealand
- drove on the left side of the road for a month and managed not to hit anything :)
- was pulled over while driving on the left side of the road...for a reason i am still unsure of
- celebrated mother's day in a nursing home with so many beautiful elderly mums
- stayed in ramarama, the beautiful nz countryside with an amazing couple- geoff & liz naylor
- learned what a heart for ministry looks like from people like brett jones, ruth boswell, josh bowlin, cathy sosoli, and neville gosman
- learned more about what it means to be an imperfect leader that God still manages to work through anyway
- saw gorgeous waterfalls
- learned that food poisoning WILL win no matter how strong your will is...and it hits hard!
- know that it is going to take me a while to eat and enjoy asian food again...
- was able to revisit people and sights and projects that I was involved in in '05 in new zealand
- visited the papakura countdown about 40 times...i don't think that is an exaggeration...
- was introduced to african red bush tea and fell in love!
- watched the history making ground breaking on a $4,000,000 building project for Papakura Wesleyan
- taught my team that a "tim tam slam" is in fact something very real
- decided that international calories don't count especially when eating: pineapple lumps, crumpets, scones, tim tams, shortbread cookies, guacamole, burgerfuel, kumara chips, pastries and chicken tikka masala
- said words like jandals, rubbish, garege, boot, bonnet, toilet, percolated coffee, kiwifruit, jumper, ring, and university A LOT
- learned nz's "american" hot dogs are NOT comparable to actual american hot dogs
- learned tomato sauce and ketchup are very different
- tasted the sweet difference in golden kiwifruit ...mmmmm
- taught a session about seeking God to a group of women who were agnostic but seeking
- played a lot of set, speed scrabble, and dutch blitz
- watched my team not just work together, but become a family and support system for each other
- saw plain ol' college students walk into a community of churches and really touch hearts and lives


my nz team with vania, reuben and their children








- overlooked the city of Auckland from One Tree Hill and North Head
- ate fish and chips
- hiked to fairy falls for a breathtaking view of God's creation!
- went to Bethells beach and Bethells lake for an incredible view of the sunset and time for God to speak directly to my heart
- painted a lot of banners for a children's ministry
- met A LOT of kids! some who really latched onto my heart and i just haven't let go of yet!
- did ministry alongside josh and becca bowlin and played with their beautiful daughters!
- went to lake taupo for a wonderful convention experience in the nz wesleyan methodist church
- went to the place where the towers of hercules were shot as well as gollum's pool
- went up mt. doom and walked around mordor
- "drove the bus" with keith connor and the nz wesleyan church
- was able to set up a night of creative worship for the youth at convention and saw God take hold of their lives
- jumped off a platform on a cliff 154 ft. over the tongariro river with a glorified rubber band attatched to my feet
- was blown away by the crowd of 15 or 20 people who came to send us off at the airport
- used a lot of tears hugging each one of them...a few more hugging goodbye to sara knowing she wouldn't be boarding with me this time
- skipped may 7, and had a 44 hr long june 3
- flew a total of 33 hours
- slept a lot of hours to overcome jet lag
- slowly became addicted to playing wii...and learned it gives my family some good quality time
- took the time to just enjoy being with my mom, dad, grandma, and grandpa
- rediscovered yet again that lauren sheehan makes me laugh and understands even the weirdest things about me :)
- reconnected with two great friends: josh and nichole!
- am currently reading through 650 pgs in books and summarizing them in about 80 pgs of writing
- unfortunately turned down being a counselor at both fairmount camps that i love due to my work load
- now am learning what it looks like to say goodbye to so many people i love as i move...

how does God manage to cram it all in? he is so incredible and packs my life full of blessing. my prayer is that He is glorfied through every bit of it and that my steps follow the gait He has set for me.


lastly...DID I MENTION I WENT BUNGY JUMPING??????? :)


i'm the purple dot!








what a piece of bungy cord looks like...




if you really read all of that post, i am seriously proud of you :)