Traveling Summer Part 2

Here's New England...

LifeTeen’s New England camp is very new. This was only its fourth year, and first year to host an EDGE week…awesome!! The camp we rented for two weeks is actually a nature camp, nothing Christian about it, until we rolled in! We blessed every single piece of camp that we would be on! We blazed another trail, yet again through some major woods…hence the nature aspect of this camp. It was truly beautiful there though. God is truly amazing in everything that He made. While we were getting ready for campers, Steubenville East was going on in Providence, Rhode Island. Randy Raus invited us to come up for the night of Adoration, which was Saturday.  Steubenville is an annual conference that LifeTeen puts on in four different locations across the US every summer. This was an amazing night for all of us. We were able to sit in and soak in being in the presence of Jesus. The priest who processed Jesus around the half of the stadium we were in…it lasted about 2 hours. He made sure that each and every child was able to get as close to Jesus as possible. We were right down by the stage, on the first row. I was still getting situated kneeling down, and when I looked up, Jesus was right in front of me. This amazing sense of peace and contentment came over me. Feelings that are hard to describe unless you have felt them. Life-changing.

EDGE week New England; small and close knit group. This week, we had only 30 campers, yes 30. It was an amazing week. Numbers didn’t hold us back, if anything they brought us closer together. About half of these kids had never experience anything with the EDGE. They do not have the program at their church nor had there ever been a camp close for them to attend. It was awesome to be able to lead kids for the first time through sessions, small groups, praying rosaries, and so much more. Kevin Hickey was our host for this week. He was awesome, as always. While listening to him in session, I had heard many of his stories before, yet they were hitting me a different way. He was also talking about people I knew, without using names. Then one night in the middle of the talk, asked me if her could tell my story. Ha, well sure Kevin. I had no idea what story he was talking about, low and behold it was about me not making Summer Staff the previous summer. He lead into the main point, that what we plan is not always what God has planned for us at that time. We are meant to be here. I was not meant to be on Staff last year; I was this year, on the Traveling Team. I was here for a reason, and so were they. All along you know you are here for a reason, and I had slowly seen it, but it wouldn’t been until LifeTeen week New England that I would truly see it. I had a group of girls this week that would rock my world. They were so broken, and had been very hurt. I was told about 2 stories, but not the other 2.  Our first time together doing the scripture study, they poured out their hearts to each other. It is safe to say, that after every small group, I had to spend about five minutes composing myself before going back into the main group. Their stories made me realize that I was there for them. I had been broken and hurt in the past and would be able to share with them, and help them begin to heal. If nothing big had happened the five weeks before; I was there for the 5 girls.

These were the best six weeks of my life so far. Never before had I encountered God like I did. I have been forever changed. God blessed me with an amazing opportunity to get to know Him better, and to learn how to better serve others. Both of which I did. It changed my life, heart, and soul.  I am blessed to have family and friends like you in my life that are willing to support me in my endeavors. I will continue to keep you and your family in my prayers, and ask that you continue to pray for me as I am back in the real world. I am back at school, Ole Miss, and have chosen to live in the Kappa Alpha Theta house this year, and will be leading a Bible Study for all the girls. It will be an adventure this year and I am excited to see where God will lead me and what He has in store for me!


Life has definatley changed since last summer. It was a year ago today that I got home to Houston after this wonderful, life changing and life giving summer!


Lesson Learned: There are too many to post...don't take life or any opportunity for granted, act like a child...enter into a child-like faith, silence is golden, when He knocks..listen...