Sunday, March 04, 2007

Back from JCI!

Well, where do I begin...???

This week has been yet another whirl-wind of activity!!

Jennifer Mundall and I just made it back from an exhausting yet productive youth conference in Dallas. It was called "Just Claim it" and focused on bringing our youth back to prayer and back to God! We went, not so much to attend the meetings, but to man a booth for "Creator's Call Broadcasting Network." It was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun as we got to meet lots of people, and most importantly, get our DVD youth testimonies into the hands of young people.....young people which were there by the scores! We pray and hope that, although our material is still new and obviously still needs a lot of improvement, people will see and hear the heart spoken message and respond to the Creator's Call. That is our aim and goal!!!

The conference was thought-provoking in a variety of ways! I will refrain from commenting more at this time, because my blog may be rather long...but if you'd like to know more about these thoughts, just ask. ;-)

Highlights of the trip for me included:

- Gaining a new perspective on our generation of youth and the needs in our church today
- Getting to talk with hundreds of young people as they filled out surveys for CCBN to help us with programs that we planning in the near future
- Getting to enjoy a care package of goodies that my mom sent down with the OA group who were hosting the Messiah's mansion during the conference
- Getting to know Greg and Jill (with the 3ABN booth) who I've admired from a distance for a long time
- Getting to talk a little more with Joelle and exchanging tired knowing glances as our long exhibit hours wore on! She's a regular Advent Hope attendee who I've been wanting to get to know for awhile, but there's not much opportunity for that! However, it was cool because she and Charlene (with the Quiet Hour) just happened to be one booth down from us during the conference!
- Getting to see my sister Sandra who came down for the weekend
- Getting to see Laura and Ellen (friends from my first Travel Job in Longview TX)
- Getting to visit and talk about net-working possibilities with various ministries and like-minded individuals and youth

And last...but not least...


- Getting to be better friends with my CCBN teammate, Jennifer, as we navigated the concrete jungle of downtown Dallas late at night, worked the booth during the day, and then talked late into the night after we got back to our room....about the meetings, the messages, the needs in our church, and our own personal lives! We discovered that we are "two peas in a pod" as we think a lot a like and have many other similarities! And she was great at helping bring me back to focus to see the "big picture" when my mental perspective or attitude about different things started to get a bit skewed! We met at Southern University in TN, but it's taken my coming to Loma Linda CA and our working together with Creator's Call Broadcasting Network to get to really become friends! (Funny how that works!) She doesn't have a sister, and if I didn't already have three, I might adopt her! :-) What a blessing she's been!

I could stop right there...or I could write another 2 pages of narrative about our adventure coming home! We almost didn't catch our flight...and unfortunately, our luggage didn't!! Then, since our first agent had failed to give us boarding passes for the 2nd half of our trip, we had to check in again in Phoenix, and almost didn't catch the next flight! But I'll sum things up and just say that we are glad to be back in one piece....and praying our few personal possessions and booth materials also make it back to us in their own sweet time!

And the excitement isn't over! This week we start the Restoration meetings here in Loma Linda (our CCBN team will be filming all the meetings), the Nedley Depression Recovery Program (that I along with a wonderful team of volunteers are helping host) begins, AND......AND.....I begin working full time at my new Travel Nurse assignment in Riverside that I was orienting into last week! Hmmm....I don't think there will be any moss growing under my feet in the next few weeks!!!

One last note before I close!

Tomorrow is my Adopted Dad Holland's Birthday.... After living in Holland's home for 10 years (since they have no kids but all of us adopted girls) they just became my second family! 

Anyway, I've started a new tradition of wishing my loved one's happy Birthday here on my blog on their special day, I didn't want to miss him!

So Happy Birthday Dad Holland!!!! Thanks for all the things you have taught me, the patient love you've given...and for all the fun memories we have had as a Holland gang over the years! What a blessing you have been and continue to be!!!








"Happy is that people whose God is the Lord..." Ps 144:15

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