Embedded Files
This has been the biggest transition of my life thus far, and I am loving the adventure! The Lord has been so faithful in providing in all that I need. Check out the ways I have been seeing God along this journey!
This has been the biggest transition of my life thus far, and I am loving the adventure! The Lord has been so faithful in providing in all that I need. Check out the ways I have been seeing God along this journey!
We have been playing lots of board games as a community, and it has been so fun. I finally learned to play Catan, and it has been my favorite lately. We have also been big into Just Dance and 5 Crowns!
Elisha and I were invited to a Bible Study group called "Pickleball and Jesus" or "PB & J," and we have loved it! It has been so good to finally meet some more people our age and spend time in the Word with them!
We play pick-up every Sunday afternoon with a big group, and that has also been really sweet! I really enjoy playing soccer with no pressure. It is a great reminder of the gift of the game!
Running has been super sweet here! I love getting to talk to God while I run and getting to see creation, especially through sunrises and sunsets! Elisha has been a great running buddy on long runs. She is such a blessing!
Host Family
Host Family
Things are still going well with my host family! It has been neat to begin to feel aclimated and like a part of the family. Daniel has been asking some really good questions about my new normal, which has led to some sweet conversations!
Community
Community
I am super grateful for the families and friends I have around me here! I have loved being welcomed into families to do life alongside them.
Finding a church has been a fun process and is still a bit ongoing, but I am loving getting to worship alongside new people! Elisha and I had several girls get baptized recently!!! Praise the Lord for holding them so closely!
September- My birthday!
This month, I celebrated my 23rd birthday! My friends did an amazing job of making the day special and celebrating me well. They planned a dinner, and we went out to eat together. Then, we went back to their apartment to play board games. They got me some of my favorite snacks, flowers, and wrote me sweet notes. I am so grateful for their presence in my life!
My host family also did a really sweet job of making my day special. Timothy worked hard all day long making dirt pie and ice cream cake. They invited my friends over as well, and we played more games! It is always special to see them being intentional to make me feel like a part of the family.
My team had a game on my birthday, and my girls were super sweet about it. Coach Kieley brought my favorite cookies, and the girls sang to me after the game. At work the following day, Leo brought muffins and we celebrated a bit. All in all, I feel very loved and celebrated. I am so thankful for each of the people who played a role in that here and those who sent brithday wishes from a far!
A BIG part of my decision to move to Chicago in the first place was the love for and desire to be a part of this community. It is such a blessing to call each of my co-workers my friends. I have loved getting to spend time with the families around me, and I am almost always connected to Elisha at the hip! We have already gotten several opportunities to visit old Academy friends, watch lots of good soccer, and have many many movie nights!
My main community right now is these sweet friends here. It has been super fun to hang out with all of them and be introduced to the area, already having friends. The boys host pasta dinners on Monday nights, we watch lots of movies, we play footgolf and pickleball, and Elisha and I do lots of running together.
If you know me very well, you may know I tend to be a bit of a homebody. I have been shocked to find that I am loving the frequency that we all hang out and do things! I rarely spend a day off alone, and we are soaking up every minute of summer/fall before it gets cold!
Praise the Lord for the blessing of this community!
One HUGE way I have seen the Lord's hand in provision lately is through my living situation. I moved up here not really having a solid plan of where I would live, solely trusting (or at least trying to) that the Lord would provide for my needs. In no surprise, He did just that, and more!
One of our sweet club families, the Barclays, has so generously opened their home and family to me this semester! I now have FOUR "little brothers" who keep me on my toes! It has been such an unexpected blessing to be a part of this family community. God has blown me away once again through providing me with this family I simply do not deserve.
The boys have turned out to be the funniest little friends. We have been playing lots of ping-pong and pool, running and biking a ton, and even doing some math together!
The younger three have been joining my running journey, which has made for incredible company and accountability.
Not surprisingly at all, my host parents have been amazing. I have loved being able to have tender, meaningful conversations with Megan in the little moments. She has so much wisdom to share, and it is such a rare opportunity to be able to witness families pursuing Christ together in the way I am able to see through her.
Aaron, my host dad, has been so much fun. We have also been running together a bit, and he is the perfect balance of pushing me within a realistic measure. He is a pilot, and he took me flying! I guess I should be exploring a new career path!
Daniel can be a wild child, but it has brought so much child-like joy in seeing life through his eyes. He loves telling me about the things he is interested in. Ethan is always printing me something from the 3D-printer. He and Daniel both love it. Ethan has surprised me the most with his intentional 1-on-1 conversations, and those have been some of my favorite moments. Timothy is a big baker, and he has been so kind to invite me into this hobby with him. He is patient with me far beyond imagination! Justin plays the tuba, and he has peer pressured me into playing a bit. We will see if that's a repeated thing this semester! Watching him starting to figure out what it means to be a man and not just a boy has been so special. He has the kindest heart.
Elisha and Jake are also Residents this semester. They have been the GREATEST! Elisha and I are opposites in so many ways, and it is so clear to me that God has us here together intentionally because of the ways we complement each other so well. She has kept me afloat in just about every way.
Jake is a semester ahead of us in the Residency program, and he has also been such a blessing throughout this move. He is so patient with my silly questions and so quick to recognize where I need input or reassurance. He is such a wise friend!
Thiago is our Supervisor, and just like the others, he has been a vital part of this transition for me. Thi is someone I have looked up to for years and from whom I have learned so much about faith. It is an unbelievable joy to be mentored by him throughout this season.
Here is Elisha and I on our first day of work! We are finally real-life, grown-up adults!
We find ourselves asking "Do I really get paid to do this?" regularly. What an absolute blessing to work in an environment and ministry such as that!
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse