Looking ahead to February...

Hey everyone! Most of the snow that was around for winter training has melted, but of course there are rumors of another system moving in early next week. Who would have thought that even in Georgia I'm getting sick of the snow?

Well it's a pretty good bet in three weeks the last thing I'll be thinking about is snow. Our intern class will be heading to Nicaragua to help work at an international Young Life camp. Most likely we'll be placed on work teams to improve conditions around the camp including buildings, landscape, etc. I'm not sure really what to expect, but I'm excited to go on my first ever international mission trip.

Also, ahead is our next rotation of our internship. I'll be heading to the kitchen for three months. I'm definitely excited after really enjoying my week-long return during winter training. It looks look I'll at least be starting with the AM shift for February and then it is possible I'll get a taste of PM in March or April.

Before I go, here's an intern photo from Christmas. From left to right are: Luke (Illinois), Dani (Connecticut), me, Octavia (Florida), Patrick (Colorado), Lee Ann (South Carolina), Joseph (Virginia), Erin (Michigan), and Mike (New York). Thanks for your prayers for the nine of us as we prepare for our new rotations and trip to Nicaragua.

Blessings!

Winter Training and Storming...

Hey everyone! Well Winter Training is wrapping up here at SharpTop. Well I should say we're in the process of wrapping it up. The winter weather of snow, ice, sleet, and rain over the past couple of days has hindered the departure process for field staff. We're hoping everyone will be able to head back home safely soon.

Over the past week or so I have been working in the kitchen as an AM Cook. It was really fun being able to work with 6 of the other interns in the kitchen as well and we had a great group of cooks and pits crew (dishwashers) from Murfreesboro, TN. I also really enjoyed being able to translate my kitchen knowledge from last summer to SharpTop's kitchen. Although there are some differences in how things are prepared in this kitchen, as opposed to Timber Wolf, I found that I felt extremely comfortable jumping right in with the cooking, serving, and supervising throughout the week.

Alongside enjoying being back in the kitchen, I really loved the connections made with so many good people here. I was able to reconnect with many staff who were on assigned team at Timber Wolf last summer, talk to people who I led with in Eastern Ottawa and student staff, and met many other amazing staff from around the country. Relationships are a big part of this ministry, so it was no surprise that this was one of the biggest highlights for me.

Now we (the interns) are taking care of the remaining field staff who are still at camp and gearing up for the post-winter training clean up process. Then, it's back to our departments (maintenance for me) for a couple of weeks before beginning new rotations at the beginning of February. Finally, before we know it, our mission trip to Nicaragua will be here in just over a month. Many things to look forward to, but for now trying to take advantage of living each day in the here and now to the fullest. Thanks for your continued prayers for this internship. Blessings!