"It's not about the destination, but rather about the journey..."

Last week flew by!

I will try to just hit the highlights!
In my Italian Media class last Thursday we went to two buildings associated with the Vatican. We went to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications where we met with Msgr Paul Tighe. He is a priest originally from Ireland but has been in Rome for many years as the Head of the Pontifical Council. We sat in the actual board room where all the important Bishops and even Cardinals sit to discuss issues in which are then published into books. He was so personal with us. It was so cool to experience. Our teacher told us that he has interviewed him many times and has seen him speak to the public but he has never heard him speak at the same level as his audience. Msgr Paul Tighe even gave examples using his 82 year old mother! After that Sean (our teacher) could tell we were starting to get a bit tired due to the heat and he bought all 17 of us (plus himself) a cappuccino! I believe I am addicted now... After our cappuccinos we were then brought to the Holy See Press Office. We were able to sit in the actual press room (picture) where the Vatican holds conferences that are shown to the rest of the world. We met a few journalists and to be honest I am starting to become very interested in journalism/media/communications! So fascinating!

Later in the day on Thursday my roommate Allison and I went to Villa Borghese (a park) to watch the Italian world cup game (picture). There were thousands of people. It was just insane! Italia did not play well for about 80 minutes of the game but the last few minutes were so exciting. Sadly they lost, but it was awesome to be immersed in the Italian culture. They were waving flags everywhere, chanting, singing, blowing horns and event throwing objects! So fun!
Also last week our landlord made us dinner again. We ate at his bed and breakfast across the hall. He made us pesto and we had peaches for dessert. It was so delicious! We ate on his terrace and apparently we were being loud because this crazy lady started yelling Italian at us. Tedo (our landlord) had a few words in return for her. It was not even 10:30! Plus the street we live on is crazy loud. Tedo said she is old and cranky and always acts this way. We still felt bad though!

On Friday we left for Cinque Terre. We took a 4 hour train ride to La Spezia. Most of our group somehow was sitting next to each other, but my ticket was for a whole separate car and cabin. My point of this travel abroad experience was to get out of my comfort zone and this train ride definitely accomplished that. I was sitting in the middle of five Italians that did not speak any english. I kept falling a sleep, you know doing that awkward head bob...and one time when I woke up I saw the guy sitting across from me pointing at me, speaking rapid Italian and everyone else was laughing. It may just be the American in me assuming that I am being judged or talked about, but I am pretty sure they were laughing at me...! I then thought I missed our stop because I did not understand the Italian conductor saying what stop was coming up. There was definitely a good 10 minutes where I thought I was going to end up in a random Italian city without a phone or any idea where I needed to go. Obviously it worked out though. When we arrived to La Spezia this lady told us we had to catch this local train that was leaving in two minutes to go to Daive Marina and that we had to run. We sprinted through that train station. We got on the train and they closed the doors behind us. We made it, but we did not have a ticket for this train. We prayed that no one would ask us to show it and luckily no one did. It was a long 40 minutes. When we arrived to Daive Marina we got a shuttle that brought us to our campgroud/hostile. It was a very popular place! Our tents were awesome and the beds were even more comfortable than what I am sleeping on in Rome! We decided to go find some dinner and we ended up at this hotel that was very fancy. We spent a lot on dinner that night. The wine was delicious and the food was...interesting. I tried so many new things! Normally I cannot stand seafood, but since we were along the Mediterranean I knew I had to try it. I tried crab, octopus, calamari, and shrimp! Yikes! After dinner we got some gelato and walked along the beach as the sun set. Most beautiful view I have ever seen.

We returned to our campsite and attempted a fire (more like a flame that lasted 3 minutes at most) and we all sat up talking. It is amazing how open and close we all have become in just a few weeks! We went to sleep and woke up early and headed to the same hotel/restaurant that we had dinner at to have breakfast. We had our cappuccinos and the buffet and headed to the train. We had a long day of hiking ahead of us. The plan was to hike through all 5 towns and at the end we would swim in the Mediterranean Sea. We started at Riomaggiore and walked along a nice path for about 40 minutes until we hit the second town called Manarola. From Manarola to the third town, Corniglia took about another 45 minutes or so and was again not so hard. We started to split into two groups. The first group had 4 people and they were moving pretty quickly while our group had 5 of us and we took our sweet time! At every city we would stop and walk around. Along the trails we would stop and explore and take pictures as well. After Corniglia the hike started to get more challenging. From the third town to the fourth, Vernazza, it started to drizzle a bit. We did not mind this at all. It was hot out and we completely enjoyed the refreshing rain. This trail took almost 2 hours to complete but the views and the people we met on the way were amazing.

When we finally hit the fourth town we stopped and bought some bandannas, ice cream, and a few got some beer. We knew the next trail would be the hardest and boy were we right. It took us about an hour and a half and the entire time we could see our destination. The beach. We passed this older man from England who simply said, "It's not about the destination, but rather about the journey" and he continued to walk by. He was so right! We were enjoying everything about that hike and we refocused on what we were experiencing at the time. We finally made it (roughly 6 hours/7.5 miles later) to the fifth town Monterosso al Mare (picture) in which we changed into our swimsuits and ran into the Mediterranean. So refreshing!

After hanging out for a bit we got

some food and gelato before heading to the train station to head back to Rome.

On the train back to Rome we were all able to sit together because it was a night train. It was definitely more comfortable than on the way there!

On Sunday I saw the POPE! (picture) We went to St. Peter's square and waited for him to come to his window. He spoke in at least 6 different languages and he blessed us. Afterward we went to the Sistine Chapel. Gorgeous. I do not know how else to explain it.

Words fail.

During this past week I have been dealing with a sinus infection that just doesn't seem to want to go away. Because of that I have not been doing as much. Also one of our roommates just found out she has mono so we are taking extra precautions about not sharing anything!

Last night we had Mexican at "La Cucuracha". It was delicious. Oddly I felt at home...? I got a fajita!

Tomorrow we are planning on seeing "what few men and women ever see" in the Vatican. It is a whole day event for my Italian Media class and our teacher said we were going behind the Swiss Guards and deep within. We also are meeting the spokesman for the Pope. He is second in command! I am sure I will have a ton to write about after that!

That is all for now.
ciao
<3

Only In Rome...

Since last Wednesday...hmm

On Thursday I had class again, both Italian Media and Italian language. During my Italian Media class we found out some more amazing facts about our teacher. We started to talk about the history of all the Popes and how they all communicated. He just tells the class "oh yea when I met Pope John Paul II the day after he was made Pope..." as if it was no big deal. Then he proceeded to say, "...then we traveled 60 different countries together, but I'll tell you those stories another time." What?! We then started to talk about who we wish we could communicate like and someone in our class said Mother Teresa. Of course our teacher had a response..."funny you should mention Mother Teresa, I wrote a book with her in the 1980's." So of course after class I googled him (Sean Patrick Lovett) and a bunch of stuff came up about him and I then found his book, which was a best seller by the way. Unbelievable! I have learned even more in that class since last week. I love it.
Oh yea, how did I almost forget this! On my run Thursday morning I was out at 6:30am so pretty early and I saw a bunch of people gathering around this building. It was right on the street leading up to the vatican (so down the street from us) and as I got closer I saw Eclipse (Twilight) posters. Huge posters. We learned that there was going to be a 10 minute or so premiere of the movie, but what we didn't know until after classes was that the actors were coming at 6pm. So of course we knew we had to come back at 6. It was so hot that day too, but we got there around 5:20 and found ourselves sandwiched between strangers that were speaking italian quite aggressively towards us...oh well. Anyway the paparazzi was everywhere, we were right next to the fence, it was hot and humid, people were sweaty, but we were determined to stay and see them. They arrived fashionably late but the screams of the girls then the flashing of the cameras indicated one of the male actors was there. Taylor Lautner (Jacob Black in the movie) came. My favorite!!!! He was so close. We kept yelling "We are American! We speak english!" We are dorks, I know. Then Kristen Stewart came and we got tons of pictures of her too. I took a lot of video so this whole fiasco was well documented, but apparently my video camera does not work with mac computers. I'll figure something out.
That night we went to the guys apartment on the other side of the Vatican. They have a balcony! We watched the game there because their TV actually works and they have a living/sitting area. After, we came back to our apartment by the metro and wow, was it creepy. No one was on the metro at our stop...but we survived!
Then Friday I had to get up and run at 5:55am because we were going to Orvieto for the day. It was gorgeous. It was an old Etruscan city (from BC) on top of a hill, roughly 1,000 ft above sea level. The view from the top looked fake. We also got an underground tour of the city in the caves, which we learned about their wine development as well as their pigeon breeding...strange.

Friday night was awesome. Our landlord Tedo, came over and cooked us a real Italian spaghetti dinner. He came over at 9pm. We were starving. We did not eat until 10:45 or so. As we all cooked together I wrote down all he was doing. Oh yea, I don't know if I mentioned this before but he speaks as much english as I speak Italian. So we had our translation dictionaries (picture) out and were flipping through them all night. He was so patient with us! We made the sauce from scratch. We used about 60 little tomatoes and cut them up and about half a bottle of extra virgin olive oil and seasoning. I never have liked tomatoes but this pasta and sauce was amazing! Then he brought over some gelato and cherry's. So good! He left around 11:45 and then we decided to go down to Campo di fiori to hang out with other people. It was a lot of fun. We met a group of locals that spoke english. It was fun interacting with some italians our age!

Saturday Michelle and I met up with Amy along the river! It was great to see another gopher here :) We ran together for a bit

and we showed her our apartment and area. Hopefully we will be able to meet up with her a lot while she is here doing her internship. Then the rest of Saturday we wondered Rome. A few of us went to Piazza del Popolo. There are a bunch of stores there, but I didn't buy anything. I actually have not bought anything since I have been here. We'll see how long that lasts! We stopped and had some food and gelato then found ourselves at the Trevi fountain again. We were on the hunt for this one store that apparently has a bunch of Italia soccer gear/jerseys but we never found it and we got lost. We ended up in front of the colosseum and Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II (picture). Shocking! We wandered around for hours. Only in Rome do you get lost and find yourself in front of these amazing monuments!

We honestly walked a good

6 miles that day on top of a 7 mile run. Saturday night we went out again and met some people from Florida, New Jersey, and North Carolina as well as other Italians.

When I got home I started to get a little homesick. I am definitely missing the comfort I had at home. Also the experience I had in Colorado is making this trip very challenging. I know God has a plan for me and there is a reason why I am here! Hopefully I'll figure that out sooner rather than later.

Sunday we bummed around all day. I was exhausted. At 4 we went and watched the Italia game. We didn't want to order dinner yet, so we ordered a dessert. Strawberry's and cream. AMAZING. it was so yummy. We were still hungry...so we gave in. We ordered french fries. It hit the spot. Oh my goodness. A little taste of America, I loved it. After the game we made dinner back at home, I made gnocchi. It was nice to change it up a bit! Then we were all sitting at the table doing our homework and trying to decide what to do this coming weekend.

Today we had classes again and long story short I got horribly lost in Rome. We had a surprise site visit for my Made in Italy class. By the time we got there I could only stay for 20 minutes because I had to be back for my next class at noon. (They honestly are so relaxed about time schedules here!). Anyway I had to get back to the school by myself. My teacher told me the wrong bus. What should have only taken me 30 minutes took me an hour and 45 minutes. I definitely saw a lot of Rome! I was 45 minutes late to my Italian class but it was all good. At night we went to this restaurant called Fluid. We did this thing called "Aperitivo". You pay for a drink ( a little more pricey than normal) and then you have an endless buffet. It was so delicious, I finally felt full, but not full enough to pass up some gelato!

Today we have been trying to figure out the details of our trip this weekend. So far we know we are going to Cinque Terre (in Italy) and we are going to camp and go hiking. Supposedly it is gorgeous! It is going to be an adventure! Oh jeez...

That is it for now. i will write again soon!
Ciao
<3

Ho Ventuno Anni!!!!

I have 21 years!
So I have not written for a while because we have literally walked all around Rome. I have already had to buy a new pair of sandals. Sad day. Anyway, since I last wrote I turned 21!!! (Ventuno) My birthday was on the 11th, so last Friday. It was possibly the longest day, but I could not imagine spending it in a more wonderful place.

Quick recap. We met at our school in the morning and had an orientation. (Picture: 2nd floor left side is our school, far left window is my classroom) Right by our school we have a snack bar where we get breakfast. A few of us go there daily and now have become friends with the owner. Anyway that first day we got a fruit cup, freshly squeezed orange juice, and a croissant with nutella in the middle. Amazing! After our orientation we were supposed to have a short tour after and be done by noon. Nope. We did not end till 4pm. I quickly found out that the concept of time in Italy is way more relaxed than in the states. During orientation we met our italian teachers and we got a crash course of italian. Then we went to the market and had to identify food. I was pretty unsuccessful, but I am learning! During our tour we stopped to have lunch at around 2. Many of us were exhausted because of the heat and the fact that we were super jet-lagged. At lunch someone told one of our teachers that it was my 21st and they surprised me with a giant plate of pastries with a candle! They sang to me in italiano and I was able to make a wish. It was so nice of them. Then we left there and got gelato. YUmmm!
Later that night we went back to the area by our school to get dinner, watch the world cup, and celebrate my birthday! After we got gelato again :) Well actually Michelle bought me some for my birthday. (Picture of my "cake")

The next day, Saturday, we had another massive tour of Rome. We saw the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain (picture!), Villa Borghese, and a bunch of other places. I could go on forever telling you all about everything that I saw, but I feel I need to show the corresponding pictures and videos to accurately describe it all. GORGEOUS! UNBELIEVABLE! Many of us just kept saying how crazy it was that we were in Rome looking at monuments that are ridiculously old. We have always heard of them and seen then in our history books, but to actually be in the building, throwing a coin into the fountain, or to be standing on the steps is an entire new experience!

Sunday we went to Ostio Antica. They consider it the Pompeii of Rome. It was a city that held around 20,000 people back in 5 AD. It was abandoned and due to the way it was constructed with cement from volcanic ash the city was preserved. I took so many pictures and videos! It was unbelievable to see how these people lived and how similar their life style was in comparison to ours today. We think we come up with some amazing concepts and ideas, but the truth is these people developed it all before us! (Picture of me in a Tomb at Ostio Antica) After we walked around their city for a few hours we went to the beach. What an experience that was... Very little swim suits or nothing at all. Since we went on a Sunday, all of Rome was there. Once we found a spot we ran into the ocean. BEAUTIFUL. The temperature was perfect, the salt was salty, and the italian boys were flirty. We met some Americans at the beach too so that was nice to speak english with some others besides ourselves!

Generally at night we go to Campo di fiori. It is a large area where a lot of people around our age go to hang out. There are TV's at every restaurant there and everyone is super crazy with World Cup. It has been so fun! We were able to cheer for USA when they played and then on Monday night we got to see Italy play. Italy won the world cup last time around so the Italians are insane here. My roommates and I went to an early dinner (7:30) and then stayed to watch the game. We had the most ideal seats for the game! We found ourselves going crazy even though we are not Italian!

Hmm, I have already written a lot but I need to tell you about my classes. We started classes on Monday and all I had was my Italiano 101 class. My teacher Francesca speaks about 99.8% Italian. So difficult but I am excited! We have that class Monday-Thursday from 12-2. On Tuesday I decided to check out a class I was not originally signed up for and I loved it. It is called Italian Media. The teacher is remarkable. He was born in South Africa, his parents are very Irish, he started working for the radio at age 5, he worked for BBC, was a war correspondent for CNN for 3 years, and now he has raised a family in Italy, teaches at Gregorian Pontifical University where most Pope's have attended as well as numerous Bishops and Saints, and lastly he is the Director of Italian and English Communication and Media for the Vatican! His office is in the Vatican! He is so amazing. I never got bored once in his class. During this course we get behind the scenes of the Vatican where no one else can ever go. I am so excited! So needless to say I added the class. Now I am in three. I just want to learn a lot while I am here and with the teachers that I have been given I know I will experience unbelievable things. I had my other class this morning, Made in Italy. It is a marketing class and we get to go to a vineyard in Tuscany, go to famous designer shops and meet some very important people!

Today I had class straight from 9am-2pm. It was long, but we had some entertainment right outside our classroom window. There was a movie being filmed right in front of our school! There were fake gun shots, chase scenes, and camera crews everywhere! So cool! Our building is on a very famous street in Rome. It is the road that the Pope would take after he was elected years ago. Now he takes a helicopter... So I am assuming because of the history that is why they filmed there. Who knows!

So obviously I am excited for what the summer has in store for me. I just hope my legs hold up! I am running every morning along the main river that runs through Rome and then we walk about 4-9 miles a day. No worries though, I think the amount of Gelato we are consuming will make up for the amount of calories we are burning a day!

I will write more frequently so my blogs aren't as long. Sorry!
Love you all,
CIAO!

<3

Does Not Seem Real...

Wow. I made it here. I am beyond exhausted and just took a 3 hour nap.

The flight to Rome was smooth. Michelle and I were in the middle of the airplane and had an empty seat next to us, which was nice. We watched a few movies and slept as much as we could. We also had a little map on the TV in front of us where we could see exactly where we were on our trip. We met a bunch of other people in our program during our flights. All of us has the same feeling...we were extremely anxious. After we landed in Rome, 3am Minnesota time, had a 7 hour time change, and found our school leader, we all got into taxis. Let me remind you. I know about one word in Italian. Seriously. There were three of us in the taxi and we had our apartment address in hand and Euros in the other. The driver did not speak english. Hmm, yea. So we got out our little dictionary to figure out how to say a few words and miraculously we arrived at our apartment after a few near death encounters. Let's just say they don't drive in lanes here. They drive how the please. We just learned to just not look. (Sorry Mom, I'm sure that's just what you wanted to hear)

Anyway, I am here safe and sound! I am currently sitting at the kitchen table at my apartment. I live with 6 other girls. Yes 6. There are two rooms of three and then a single. We are right across the hall from a bed and breakfast which our landlord also owns. The apartment has 2 bathrooms a cute little kitchen and ridiculous views. We live on a shopping street, where there are clothing stores as well as food and cafes. On every corner there are about 2 pizzerias. We already ate at one. I have no idea what I ordered, but it was delicious! In our apartment there are Italian families and we are the only American's I am pretty sure.

Random moment...I just looked out the window and a woman was shaking her table cloth out the window. I've seen that in movies but I never thought I would see in real life! I know, I'm a dork.

Let me tell you about the weather. It is HOT. Not just hot, but super humid. Good thing I am going to be wearing dresses and skirts all summer! After we had unpacked our luggage we all decided to walk around. You walk out the front door and you are instantly bombarded. Culture shock. Not a bad thing, but it will take some getting used to.

As we were walking I started to see more and more priests. Before I knew it we turned a corner and were approaching Vatican city. We are seriously a block from it. Unbelievable. We went in and I was blown away. I could not believe I was here. We did not stay long because we were really hot and pretty dehydrated. Good thing we have 2 months to explore...
I am still having a difficult time with the time change and the times that they eat. I could not tell you what time I feel like it is, but I am tired. Also they eat dinner at 8 or 9 at night. That will be a change.

Tomorrow morning we will all meet at the Accent Center, which is where we take our classes, and have an orientation. After the orientation I guess they give us a little tour of the city and then the rest of the day is ours. This is nice since it is my 21st birthday.

Alright, I am going to get ready for dinner.

Ciao!

<3

Panic at Target

Packing. blah. I have been known to be an over-packer. I have packed and unpacked at least 3 different times. My plan is to have one suitcase, a backpack and a purse. So far so good. Except for the fact that I feel I am not bringing enough!

I am in full panic mood. I was in Target with my mom the other day and I started to freak out. Why am I doing this?! Do I really need to go to Italy? I like being comfortable. I like being able to call home, text my friends, speak english...you know, the simple stuff. Then I started to think why I wanted to study abroad. I wanted to be put outside of my comfort zone, and living in Italy for two months will definitely do that. Don't get me wrong, I am super excited to go. I just need to get to Rome and I will be fine. It is like the beginning of a race. I am super nervous, but once the gun goes off I am good to go!

Since I just got back from Colorado, where I experienced God in this whole new way, I am nervous about the challenges I will face. I just need to remember that God has a plan and that He will get me through anything. I need to get back to packing.

Wish me luck.
The next time I will write I'll be in Italy. Oh boy.
And I will be 21 years old. Yikes.

Love <3

Breaking Down.

Right now so much is going on through my mind. I want to go back to the top of that mountain and scream on the top of my lungs to everyone. It is so hard for me to articulate the experience that I just went through.

Last week I was in Fort Collins, Colorado for an Athletes In Action, Ultimate Training Camp. This camp is targeted to college athletes who want to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. Here at Minnesota, I partake in a Bible study with my cross country team. We mostly run them ourselves, but we have a woman by the name of Alisha Kaiser come to oversee and give in her two cents, more like hundreds. Here at the U she is the leader of AIA (athletes in action) for women sports while her husband Luke leads all of the men sports. Anyway, Alisha and Luke have been advocating this camp all year to us and 11 gopher athletes (track, hockey, football, and softball) decided to sign up. The camp was filled up at the beginning of March and we got our plane tickets booked early. I remember counting down the days until we left and all of a sudden I have been home from camp for a week. They said it would go fast, and boy were they right.

Hmm, I will give you a little insight on a day at camp. We would wake up at 7 am and go to breakfast at the dinning hall. (We stayed at the Colorado State University campus) After breakfast the entire camp would meet in a common area, sing worship and learn one of the five principles for that day. These principles were; "Audience of One", "Inside Game", "Holy Sweat", "Hurtin' for Certain", and "Victory Beyond Competition". After that we would go outside and apply those principles to games of volleyball. We would have designated volleyball teams and we would play for at least 2 hours. Imagine Division 1 college athletes competing. Obviously we are all very competitive but we all left our ego's at home. Amazing! We would then go to lunch and get free time until dinner. After dinner we would meet and worship and break into our small groups. My small group consisted of 5 other girls and our leader, Alethea. These girls ranged in different sports, from Univ of Iowa cross country/track, ASU tennis, Winona St. cross country/track, Toledo swimming and UConn women's basketball. These women were amazing. We were all at different points in our walk with the Lord, but we helped each other so much. After the evening lesson we would then generally have free time to hang out with everyone and play games.

That was what a normal day was like...until Thursday. Thursday was the start of the SPECIAL. (Scriptural Principles + Exhaustion = Confidence In Almighty Lord). This was a 24 hour challenge that pushed you beyond your physical limits. The sports/games that we played included; volleyball, ultimate frisbee, a 25 minute push up relay, basketball, swimming relays, conditioning, 3.5 mile obstacle course at 4:45 am, kickball, sprint relays and ending with a half

mile run up a mountain with a 2x4 piece of wood on our backs. When you thought you could go no further you realized you had to turn to God. I came to the realization that your sport is not "yours" by any means. He gives me all the strength I need (Philippians 4:13). I realized this during basketball. Alright, I consider myself a fairly athletic person, but basketball...no no no. Not my forte by any means. Instead I would sit out and condition for 2 straight hours. I came in every game for about a minute, because that was part of the rules, but trust me, I was helping my team by not playing! Anyway, the conditioning on the side was grueling. I have the bruises to prove it. My arms could not hold me up anymore and I would collapse every time they had me do a push-up. I had bruises on my elbows, knees and even chin. This is when I broke. I surrendered it all to Him. I knew I needed Him. A photographer captured it perfectly. There is a picture of me doing a wall sit and I am crying my eyes out and pointing up. I was understanding how selfish I have been with my sport and I knew I needed to change. After all of the games, we were driven to the top of a foothill (more like mountain). I close my eyes and I still picture it clearly. The view was breathtaking. How can there not be a God?! We were told the final steps of Jesus' journey to His crucifixion and then given a piece of wood.

When it was my turn I took that wood and ran down. I was nervous and excited. Running is what I do, right? Let's just say this was not a normal run. We had just competed for hours upon hours straight and our bodies were physically broken. I reached the bottom of the hill and the leader of the camp looked at me and said, "talk with God. Show Him your heart. Tell Him if you are angry or hurting." I turned around looked up and put one foot in front of the other. Instantly He was there. It is so hard to explain this. I know what I experienced, I know what I felt and I know it was real. The entire way up I kept saying "You never gave up on me and I will never give up on You". There were so many times in my life that I wanted to give up, and many of you can attest to my struggles, but in that moment I knew He was not going anywhere. It was the most remarkable feeling. I get the chills again just thinking about it. When I started to crest the hill I saw everyone. All of my new best friends were there cheering me on, screaming "Who is this for? Give the glory to Him!".

I finished, I collapsed, I surrendered, I broke.

Later that night we went to the Rockies for a bonfire and a night of worship. Looking around the bonfire seeing all of these collegiate athletes with their arms raised praising God was the most wonderful sight in the world. We were in the most beautiful of places witnessing the most beautiful God.

I met some of the most amazing people during this week. I am going to be frank, my faith in the male gender was definitely restored. I forgot what a gentleman was like. Talking with these men of God reminded me that I do not need to lower my standards. They showed me that us women deserve to have a man that reflects God's image. So refreshing. I would like to give a shout out to them, so here you go, Tennessee, Michigan St., Georgia, all of the Florida schools, and every other guy that was there. For real, or should I say "ferrel", thanks for showing us that God does want the very best for us.

As for you women. I met some of the most remarkable girls this past week. The stories you told, the struggles you all have been through and how you have handled them through God's guidance helped me realize I am not alone out there. I know these women will be in my life for a long time to come and hopefully I will see a lot of them back at camp next year because I fully intend to return myself.

When I returned home I instantly felt attacked. I knew that since I was so on fire for God and I was spiritually on top of a mountain with God I could easily be pushed down. I am determined to stay strong. I need to stay in the Word and continue to pray a lot. I know all of my new friends will help hold me accountable for all that I do and I realize that God put them in my life for a reason. I am leaving for Italy in 5 days and I will be faced with challenges I was never expecting, but by doing all that I intend I hope to grow even more in my relationship with Jesus.

I was told an analogy last week that made me want to share my faith. Picture this. All of your loved ones (family, friends, and even acquaintances) are in a giant arena. God comes floating down in a hot air balloon and asks you to get in as well as your other friends who have given their life to Jesus. Then you take off towards heaven. As you look down you see many of your loved ones looking up at you yelling and asking why you never told them the good news. If you knew a way to get to heaven why did you not share that with them?!

Thinking about this I got chills, and to be honest, teary-eyed. There is no way I want that to happen. Some of the girls and I have already recruited people for next year's camp. I want everyone to experience God the way I did this past week.

I've been a Christian my entire life, but I officially committed my life to Jesus when I was 15. At that time I understood that God gave His only son for me. FOR ME! Crazy. The last few years have been a struggle and I had started to back away. However, I am excited to say that because of my experience in Colorado last week, I recommitted myself to Him.

I am on fire for Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

<3

A video of me running up! Some videos of worship!