Ten Days Miami Part 1

A little over a month ago, I was presented with the opportunity to go on a missions trip with Ten Days Missions in Miami, Florida. I was hesitant to go at first, but am so glad that I did. I am sitting here in Miami writing this blog and have plenty of fun stories and pictures to share. I actually have so many that I will have to make this into a two or three part blog, but I will try my best to keep it at two.

My roommate, Brittany, also raised support to go on the trip. We were both so excited about our first plane ride ever! The first phase was packing, and packing we did. I've always been a bad over-packer and the fact that I was getting on an airplane didn't stop this horrible habit. I got two free checked backs, a carry on and a personal bag and you better believe I got my money's worth haha! Here is a picture of mine and Brittany's bags (believe it or not, we were only packing for 6 days).

Also notice the lovely bows we made just for our suit cases :)

Evangelism is not necessarily my strength. I am more of a relational, being Jesus to people every day type person. Walking up to some random person and starting a conversation about God is extremely difficult for me. I know that sounds funny, because I have an outgoing personality, but it is true. I struggle with this area.

The team was here to help with a church plant that is going on in Miami near Florida International University. Miami is one of the most unchurched places in America. The pastors here are heavily burdened for the people of Miami. While we were on campus, we handed out fliers and got student's information to plug them into a church.

This week a team of 27 students and leaders from UNC, ECU and Texas State is doing outreach on the campuses of Florida International University and The University of Miami. We were using "The God Test" as our evangelism tool. This test is designed as a conversation piece about God, asking challenging questions and making the person think about what exactly it is that they believe. The first question simply asks, "Do you believe in God?" Their answer dictates what the questions will be after that. I have done The God Test before, and had never encountered an unbeliever until yesterday. I went up to this guy and asked him if he had a few minutes to talk (mind you, I was with another guy... so it wasn't weird haha) he put his notebook down and said yes. I explained to him about the God Test and then asked the first question, "Do you believe in God?" He looked at me and replied, "No." My heart sunk and then a little bit of panic came in because I was scared I would mess up. I continued on asking the questions and he gave good answers, but they still didn't make much sense, to me at least. We had a good conversation and he was very open about what he thought. He was not interested in becoming a christian, but thanked me for the way I presented the gospel because I was the first person that he had ever talked to that did not preach at him. It was good to know that he saw me as a person that was genuinely interested in what he believed instead of preaching at him. I want people to see my differently, I'm not here to condemn you or make you feel like the scum of the earth. I know that because of our conversation, he is processing all that he thinks he believes and I hope and pray that he will come to know Christ one day.

I had the chance to talk to other believers and listen to their views on God. I heard some great answers that lined up with the Bible and I heard some questionable answers that didn't necessarily line up with the Bible 100%. It was neat to be able to discuss the Gospel with them and really encourage each other to stand strong in faith and believe God to impact the campus.

In the afternoons, we brought out cornhole boards and a football and hung out in popular areas of campus. We invited students to come and hang out with us. It was a great time hanging out, getting to know people and to relax from our busy day.

Hanging out at Florida International University

Having fun relaxing with the team!

There was a lot of art work that made for fun pictures!

Both campuses were beautiful! If I didn't have to consider out of state tuition and I didn't love ECU so much, I would definitely have considered going to The University of Miami! 

This is outside on the patio beside the food court at the University of Miami

The campus was breath taking and the weather was amazing!

This was a nice, peaceful patio directly outside of the law school

There was a pretty fountain right beside tables and covered swings so that students could study outside

I saw these plants outside of the Theatre Arts building and thought that they were really cool! I'm wanting some in my yard one day!

We had a great time hanging out with students and playing cornhole at Florida International University of Monday and Wednesday

FIU also had a beautiful campus with lots of places to talk with students

As you can see, Miami is a beautiful place! What would make it better is to have the campus sold out to Christ. My desire is that the people of Miami would encounter God like never before and that it would grow to be one of the fastest growing Christian cities in the world! I believe that God wants and will do awesome things in the city of Miami, especially on the college campus.

I will update more soon on other people that I had the chance to talk to and share more pictures of the team! 

Continue to pray as we wrap up our trip here. Tomorrow is our last full day and then we all fly back to our homes on Friday morning. I will miss Miami, but am certainly looking forward to getting back to Greenville for the completion of my senior year. I can't believe that there are only a few weeks left until all of this is over! God has taught me so much over these last 3 years and I am looking forward to Him putting His finishing touches on me for this season of my life! 

Let's see... last semester, cap and gown, missions trip, lots of pictures and Crossfit. I think that covers everything...

This is seriously the first time I have had to sit down, breathe and write a blog! I don't even know where to start.

I am in the final process of getting my internship secured. I want so badly to tell you where it's going to be, but I just can't yet. Bummer. I am not saying a word until my contract is officially signed (which will hopefully happen in the next week or two). I can tell you, though, that this internship will allow me to move back home! This year I have been fighting a lot of homesickness, which is funny because I didn't really have much of that my freshman year. Here I am a senior about to go crazy because I want to go home so bad! I guess that says a lot about your family if you're dying to move back home with them, right? I'm one blessed lady, that's for sure!

I wanted to do something a little different this semester since it's my final semester here at ECU. I'm not the greatest at taking pictures, so I decided to take a picture every single day until graduation. I think this is a great way to look back and remember all of the fun times once this whole college thing is finished. Here's a few pictures that I've taken since the semester has started:

When I first got back from Christmas break, Beauty in the Beast was re-released into theatres since 1991 (I was one years old) but this time it was in 3D! So of course I had to see it! My friends Megan and Meredith joined me because they were Disney junkies too! 

These two fellas entertain me during personal finance class. I have known Zack and Bryan for a while now, we both attend the same church and campus ministry. They make learning about money fun. 

Polar Bear Plunge 2012! I love Bianca to death! I'm so glad that she decided to jump with me. The water was a little colder than last year, but hey, if you jump you get a free t-shirt! I'll do just about anything for a free t-shirt. Why? I have no idea. Oh well, one more thing checked off the bucket list!

Dr. Jen from TLC's The Little Couple came and spoke at ECU. She was a very inspiring speaker who really proves that if you dream big, you can accomplish anything! 

I was able to go home a few weeks ago to get some things for my internship worked out and was able to have not one, but two handsome dates! This is my daddy and my little brother and I love them so much! Let's just say my Prince Charming has a whole lot to live up too!

This is one of mine and my roommates favorite things to do! Frozen yogurt makes the world go round in our apartment some weeks. Last night we were able to go out and catch up with our friend, Megan, who I hadn't seen in a while! We were also celebrating Brittany's first clinical working in the NICU. She absolutely loved it! I hope that a door opens for her to work in a NICU once she gets out of school! 

In just a few weeks, I am going on my first missions trip since I was 12 years old. I wanted to take a Ten Days missions trip before I graduated college and this is my chance! I will be traveling with a group of about 20 people to Miami, Florida so help with a church plant and to spread the Gospel on a few college campuses. I am looking forward to seeing all that the Lord is going to do there! Not to mention, this will be my first plane ride! I have been wanting to fly for sometime now, so I am excited that I am finally getting the chance! This will also be my roommate, Brittany's, first missions trip and her first time on a plane! I am excited about the experience she will have and am looking forward to seeing God move in her life in a powerful way!

Yesterday was a big day. I walked into the student store on ECU's campus, signed my name on the "Class of 2012" banner and picked up my cap and gown. It's funny all of the emotions that hit you when you finally have it in your hands. It was a bitter sweet moment and honestly, I was tearing up. As badly as I want to graduate and move on with life, there is a little part of me that wants to stay here forever. I go to the greatest school in the world. I will never forget the memories of my time here. My heart will always be purple and gold! :) 

Since I had success with my boot camp in my hometown, I decided to bring it to ECU! I have been running a lady's boot camp on Saturday mornings and we have been having a blast! These ladies come and work extremely hard and I am proud of them!

Speaking of being proud...

This is my beautiful mother standing outside of Crossfit Indian Trail. That's right, my mom started Crossfit. What does this mean? Well, it means my mom is tougher than your mom. Duh! No, but seriously, I'm extremely excited her for and hope that she continues to enjoy it!

Speaking of Crossfit....

I was in my first "Crossfit Gym Challenge" which is basically a local competition for any crossfitters in the area. I thought it would be a neat experience to go out and see what a competition is really like. 2 words: HARD CORE. It was that hardest yet most fun thing I have ever done! 

Oh, you better believe there are pictures...

(photo credit: Crossfit Tier 1)

This is my deadlifting more weight than I have ever deadlifted before. yay! 135 for 6 reps. I'll take it. Am I glad it's over? Yes. Am I ready to do it again? Yes!

Bar Facing Burpees. Such torturous fun!

Wall climbs? Sure, why not?!

(photo credit: Crossfit Tier 1)

This is everyone who was involved in the competition. They are some seriously strong people! Not only that, but they were all so welcoming. That's one thing that I love about Crossfit: I have yet to meet a jerk. Everyone is so nice and supportive. They will go out of their way to help you learn. It was awesome watching them compete and know that I will be able to get there one day! My goal is to do a gym challenge this time next year and be able to do prescribed weight! 

Garrett and I after the competition. He is the head of ECU Crossfit and possibly the toughest guy I know haha! I wish we could have had more people from ECU Crossfit there, but they weren't able to make it! Hopefully next year there will be a big group- I will certainly drive down to see it! 

I posted about my thoughts on Crossfit a few weeks ago. I believe I was talking about how I was checking it out and wasn't too sure about it yet. Well, let's just say I'm absolutely convinced that it is legit. Every training program has it's flaws and Crossfit certainly comes with them, but I'm not going to sit here and tell anyone not to do it. If there is any ounce of you that wants to try it- go do it! 

Although all of this fitness stuff is fun and can truly become addicting, there is one thing that I try to keep my mind focused on... this body is temporary. Yes, it is the temple of the Lord and needs to be honored and taken care of, but it is more important that my spiritual muscles are trained!

"Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come." 1 Timothy 4:8 Here's a challenge (for you and me both), make physical training an act of worship to God. He is the one that gave you your health and ability to train and you know what? He can take it away. I'm not saying that He is manipulative and will take it away if you do not honor Him. What I'm trying to say is we should show God that we are thankful by doing everything for His glory. This life is not about me. I have to remind myself of that every single day. I'm human, therefore I'm extremely selfish. God, this life belongs to you. I want to honor you in every single way that I can. In the classroom, in the gym, at home and everywhere else I go throughout the day, let it be worship to You!