Baltimore, laptop and packing

So I don't know if yall know this or not, but last week I went with my church on a mission trip to Baltimore, Maryland. Let me tell you now that it was one of the most amazing experiences ever. First of all, I was able to step outside of my comfort zone and in doing so, got outside of the Bible Belt. I'm used to dealing with people who didn't have my belief system because of the high school I went to, but I was still surrounded by these big churches on every corner who's congregation is growing. I went up to Baltimore and some of these people had never even been introduced to the Gospel before. The church we were serving had a congregation no more than 30 people. It blew my mind! Although what we were doing was a "sports camp", I was given the opprotunity to talk to this one girl, Peyton. On Thursday she accepted Christ! How amazing is that?! Now, last year in John's Island, obviously we were excited about every salvation, but we expected more than one. In this case, I was leaping for joy that we had a part in someone's salvation! In such a desolate place, and out of a small team from South Carolina putting on a sports camp, a child accepted the word of Christ. Seriously, I think I need to get out of the Bible belt or move to a bigger city when I'm older. Not that I don't love Greenville, because I do, but I feel like a bigger place is where I need to be. I don't know. We'll see what happens.
In other news, I got a laptop recently :) I have skype now so I can communicate with my lovely friends going halfway across the country. It's hard though, because sometimes things pop up while I'm typing because I apparently hit something somehow. It's kind of weird... oh well. I love having my own computer. And you know what having my own computer means..... COLLEGE!!!! It's only a few weeks away. My mom is making me start packing, and in doing so I realize that packing things up is a lot more difficult than I thought. My little sister is moving into my room once I move out, so all of my stuff needs to be boxed up whether it's going with me or not. So complicated I'm telling you! Well, happy trails. It's time for me to play some Plants v. Zombies. :) Catcha later.

In Christ Alone...

My hope is found. This is SO true! Nothing in this world gives me hope or a purpose, but God... he gives us so much joy and peace and yes, hope! I love when I grow closer in my relationship with Him. I feel so much happier about life and everything included in it. I am so excited about this mission trip to Maryland next week! I can't wait to see how God uses me and our entire team! To some of these kids, we could be the first person ever telling them about Jesus and the Salvation he promises! How incredible is that? I've been given the opportunity to go and receive another brother or sister in Christ that I've never met before! It's just amazing. God's going to be doing some awesome things up there. We leave (ridiculously) early Saturday morning (5 am) and come back the following Saturday. If any of you could pray for us not only while we're up there, but before we even go, that God would prepare the hearts and minds of the children we'll be working with and their parents. Also pray that our team would have one focus and mindset and that we would truly represent what the Body of Christ is all about. :)

SO EXCITED!

College

Guess who's excited for college!!!! oh you give up? Fine fine! Stop begging I'll tell you! ME! You know what else I'm excited about? This post not derping and ending up in some crazy foreign language. Seriously I don't know what happened with that mess. But I'm also excited about my youth group's mission trip to Baltimore. I'm excited to see what God's going to do up there. I'm excited to go for a walk this morning with my beloved friend. I'm excited about going to sleep whenever I'm able to do that. I'm excited about babysitting some fantastic kids next week. I'm excited about getting paid. I'm excited for getting college stuff for my dorm room. I'm excited that my roommate and I don't have suitemates. I'm excited about painting my nails tomorrow. I'm excited about the coffee that will be waiting for me when I wake up later this morning. I'm excited about cleaning out my clothes. I'm excited for spending the money I make babysitting next week on cute clothes for college. I'm excited to meet a million (exaggeration) of people when I head to USC. I'm excited for the second part of the 7th Harry Potter movie to come out. I'm excited to see where God leads me in this life.

Next time you're feeling down about something, try doing this. It's helping me a bit. :)