God is good...All the time!

I know it is the middle of the summer and my last blog was during the school year, but I have been so busy I haven't found the time to update. Here goes. The whole summer, as I can remember!

A few days after graduation we had Hillmont training. We spent the weekend in Linden to connect with God and each other. Training was the first of many new activities I would attempt. We did a ropes course, and mind you, I am terrified of heights. I did it though. I was able to trust fall from eight feet off the ground and trust the other staffers would catch me, and I also was hoisted over a huge wall. Training was fun, I participated in my first ever phatdipping and learned a lot about myself and God.

After training I went to Windy Gap in North Carolina for YoungLife camp. Once again I was tested in things I never imagined doing. I did a high rope course. It was intense, but I conquered my fear of heights and completed it. We also went horse back riding, which I have never done before. I fell in love with my horse named Madonna. YoungLife wasn't all fun and games, I was really able to search my heart and learn more about our awesome God. I loved every minute of camp.

The biggest part of summer so far has been my mission trip to New York, which I just got back from a few hours ago. The trip was amazing and truly tested me. I had to step out of my comfort zone. The first two days in NY we were total tourists and saw everything imaginable and wandered around all of NY. On Sunday we had our own worship on a rock in Central Park. Talk about awesome. Whats greater than worshiping God in a park on a beautiful day. Sunday night was the kick off to City Uprising. Aaron Coe is a great preacher and Paul Ramey rocked it out. Throughout the week my group, the Green Manhattans, did different projects. Our leader was Maria, and she was hands down the best leader ever! On Monday we worked at Housing Works and helped ship books and do inventory for them. Housing Works is a very cool program that helps in HIV awareness. That afternoon we participated in the art carts. That was interesting! We asked random people in a park their age and had them draw a picture in however many seconds their age was. It was a whole lot of fun interacting with them. Tuesday we handed out HIV awareness cards in the Upper East Side and the South Bronx. Working in the UES was hard and really put me in a down mood. No one wanted to hear what we had to say nor did they care about HIV awareness. However our spirits were lifted in the South Bronx, where the people were very friendly and willing to listen to us and what we had to say. Wednesday we worked at the Salt art gallery. Drew and I walked to Home Depot to get materials they needed to help with the gallery. That was a trip in itself.

New York as a whole was a very eye opening experience. Being in a city for the first time is never easy, especially when the city as over 8 million people living in it! Every night we had worship, where I got to hear Freddy T again! It felt like old times in Doxa.
This summer so far has been the best ever. I have stepped out of my comfort zone more than I ever thought I would. I've learned God is always in control and when you truly let him take over, you are willing to step out more. Hillmont is in two days and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for us. I know it is going to be amazing. God is good! All the Time!

Elizabeth
3:14