Chapter Focus Week

As many of you may know, while in college I was/am involved with a ministry called Asian Christian InterVarsity (ACIV). As tradition I went up to the U.P. for a weeklong retreat called Chatper Focus Week. During that time students take weeklong "classes" or "tracks" on different topics. This year I took the track called "Skeptic Tank," a class on Christian apologetics. Here is a picture of the view of the lake, amazing!!



I had a very good week there, but there are a few things that happened that I would like to share with you.

First is the AWESOME dream that I had one day when I was taking a nap during free time. I'm sure most of you have read or at least heard about the story where Jesus feeds thousands.....well, I "watched" it in my dream! In the dream Jesus was standing with his disciples on a rocky area near a lake/body of water, sort of like the above picture at Cedar Campus.....but gravely rocks instead of grass. I had always imagined the thousands taking loaves of bread out of the basket but in my dream people were tearing bread from the loaves, but the loaves weren't getting any smaller. I had pictured the same with the fish, but in the dream they were tearing it apart and serving it off a big wicker serving dish where people were taking it but it wasn't disappearing. I'm not exactly sure why I had this dream, but it was pretty awesome!!

Another thing I would like to share is something NEW that I feel that He might be calling me to while I am in the Czech Republic. At dinner and lunch, Cedar Campus has "table talks" about different topics. One evening I attended one about "Serving IFES Abroad". IFES = International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, an organization that plants chapters on campus all around the globe, InterVarsity is the name for the movement in the United States.

Anyway, at the table talk I was talking to the IFES coordinator and I found out that IFES actually has a chapter on one of the campuses in Prague, which is in DESPERATE need of staff! I have never really considered going on staff with IFES....well, actually that's a lie, I thought about it a LITTLE my sophomore year of college, but not seriously. I know that while I am in the Czech Republic I will be in GREAT need of spiritual support and encouragement, so I definitely want to connect with the staff-workers there but I am unsure if I will have time to commit to part-time staff-work second semester (I want to make sure I am able to adjust to living and working in Prague before I commit to anything more). Do I have what it takes/would I even make a good staff-worker?? I'm not sure.....

Please pray that I will hear clearly whether or not He is calling me to volunteer with the student ministries in my free time.

Czech This Out!!

Ahoj All!!

Thanks for visiting my blog!!

As many of you know this blog is the blog that I will be keeping while I prepare for and spend the next year of my life on an adventure with Christ in Prague. I have posted my support letter below, which was the letter I initially sent out to being my prayer team and support raising. I have posted it so that you all may see my passion for the Lord and His word as well as the passion has given me for the people of the Czech Republic, my teammates and my students.

As of right now, I have decided to title my blog "Athena: Warrior for Christ" for three reasons: 1) Athena is my middle name....and I really like it, 2) Because Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom and war....hence the "warrior" part, and 3) I like the way it sounds.

As I update my blog I will share stories of what I am doing, my struggles, my adventures and my random thoughts. With that having been said there are some things you should know about me:

1) My first and deepest love that I will ever have in my life is my love for Christ. I know that no matter how many thoughts I have and how many times I mess up Christ will always be with me.

2) I have ALOT of thoughts......and they don't always make sense.

3) When I get upset, frustrated, or sometimes bored I go on little "rants" that may or may not be offensive to people. If you are offended by anything in my blog, being offensive isn't my intention.....this blog is my "happy" place to reflect, share my thoughts and keep you all updated. If I offend you, I apologize in advance.
Hello World, this is me.....uncut.

4) The weather dramatically influences my mood. As a friend of mine would say (you know who you are) I'm a "plant." When it's sunny and beautiful outside I am in a good mood but when it's cold and dark out I can be really grumpy.....which will most likely end up in my entries.

5) This upcoming year will be BUSY! I will do my best to keep this blog updated.....but I can't promise how often it will be updated. I'll try......

6) In the words of another friend of mine (you know who you are too) I'm "indefinitely four years old." When I say this, unlike most adults I like to think of life as an adventure, not something that "just happens." Life should be fun!!! Sometimes I get really excited about pretty ridiculous things...what's the point of living life if you aren't going to enjoy it? I'm known to blog about pretty flowers, cold snow, weird people watching experiences and even shoes.

As of right now, that's about it! If I think of anything else I'll update!

Support Letter

Our God is truly amazing!! Throughout the past five years of college, God has provided many opportunities to serve him both on campus and abroad through InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. As I have just recently graduated with my bachelor’s degree this May, I am writing to share the opportunities in which God has provided for me to serve him and how you can be involved.

As part of InterVaristy my relationship with the Lord has grown a hundred fold since my first year at Michigan State. Over the past few years, He has sent me to serve him in Jamaica, and China and now in response to His love, grace and truth, I have found that service to the Lord is an essential part of the rest of my life, starting with a yearlong commitment in the Czech Republic.

In response to my prayers, the Lord has provided me with an opportunity to combine my two deepest passions of people and the Gospel: Education. While at a missions conference called Urbana, I walked into the Global Connections room and talked to the missionaries at the booths. I have always been interested in missions, and during my time in the missions room God spoke to me, “Do you love me? How much do you love me? Will you give me a year?” When I returned to the hotel, I realized that I have no reason not to give Him the next year of my life. After interviewing and receiving invitations from different ministries I feel that His place for me is with a ministry called Teach Overseas (www.teachoverseas.org). As a member of Teach Overseas I will travel to the Czech Republic to live there for the next Czech school a year. The Czech Republic is a beautiful, culturally rich country that likes to think of itself as “the bridge between East and West.” Due to many years of institutionalized atheism, over 40% of Czechs consider themselves to be Atheist while many others refuse to affiliate with any form of church, earning it the nickname as one of the most secular nations on earth.

While I am in the Czech Republic, I will serve two Prague high schools as a conversational English teacher, as well as a missionary. As a teacher my greatest goal is to invest both in the educational and spiritual lives of my students in the same way I have ministered to my peers on campus: through friendship.

Through this yearlong, perhaps longer, missionary position I will faithfully invest in the lives of my students through love that I pray will make Christ visible. I have faith that the year I will spend in the Czech Republic will be life changing, with the costs of a month long training camp, accommodations and transportation amounting to approximately $12,000. Therefore, Teach Overseas requires each of us to put together a team of supporters. I would like to invite you to become a partner with me in this ministry through prayer for me, the other teachers involved in this ministry and for the preparation of the hearts of my students. I would also like to invite you to further partner with me in this ministry financially. If you would like to partner with me in this ministry. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me by email.