Week #8

Sarah Wennersten

November 1-7, 2010

Week in Review 8

This week was another good week. So far I am really enjoying my time here. I am growing a lot and getting to experience so many new things.

Monday started a good week of teaching from Matt Lance of the Forge in Texas. The Forge is kinda like Joshua but with less people most of whom have done college already. He spoke on faith and obedience. Then during the Grill he did a great talk about relationships and the right way to date. He spoke mostly to the guys and how they should approach a girl: be up- front, stick your neck out and just ask. He talked about coming to the front door, not to the back door, just like you would any person’s home. He said that most guys now days just come in through the back door, grab a drink, and plop down on the couch, as it were. He said “Girls, you are all worth the pursuit”. A lot of what he spoke about had to do with showing the other person value. One thing that was kinda cool was that he said it was totally ok for a girl to date more than one guy because they don’t own you. A girl is her father’s before marriage, not anyone else's. Relationships now days are very possessive and they shouldn’t be. He said any time you let a guy in through the back door you are letting someone in who won’t treasure you. He also advised to invite as many godly couples who’s marriages you admire into your relationship. Give them the keys. If they say break up then do it. One last thing that I thought was really neat was one more phrase to add at a marriage. At his marriage, when the preacher would usually say “who gives this woman to this man” at the beginning, the preacher said the woman’s father “ Do you see this man as fitting to accept your role as protector of and provider for your daughter?” Overall he just said a lot of things that gave the guys tons of tips and helped the girls value themselves more when it comes to relationships.

Tuesday I did my SWEEP in program. One eventful thing that happened was that I was almost stabbed in the back by a rake. I was riding in the back of a truck with two kyaks on either side of me and some rakes on the bed of the truck. We were cruising along and all of sudden we braked really hard and I proceeded to fall backwards almost landing on the rake, but I was able to catch myself. Turns out this big semi-truck sized truck thing didn’t obey the stop sign like it was supposed to. I have fallen backwards enough this year already, two times is too many. Though at least it wasn’t down a hill this time.

Wednesday the Joshua Bell Choir started. Oh man, it was sooooo funny! I thought it was funny from the beginning, the whole idea of a bell choir. But then to top off the funniness of it Jordan S is the director, which I was not expecting. He came wearing a suit and hiking boots which was super funny. The choir actually sounds pretty good, they were well on their way to a good rendition of “Carol of Bells” just from one practice.

Thursday we went to Fresno! First we toured Fresno State University which was ok. Then we had a couple hours of free time to do some shopping. I was able to get some snacks, a new jacket, and some more yarn. Then we all changed into our 80’s attire and met at the vans. Everyone looked so good! We drove for quite a while to a mystery location which turned out to be bowling! We were split up into groups and had a blast. I got a couple strikes which was cool but mostly just chilled. It was a really good day off the mountain

Friday began another weekend of work of which I spent being a Pondy server. It was the father- daughter conference this weekend. It was such a blessing to see all the dad’s walk in to the dining room with their girls. Really did my heart good. Made me miss my dad a lot though. One of my favorite things to see was when a dad would cut his daughter’s food for her, so cute. Work went really well concidering the normal hostess was gone. But Lacy was in charge and did a great job. I have a lot of respect for her being able to do it because I know it’s tough to be “in charge” of peirs. She did great. And the servers did great in following.

Saturday was a long day of split shifts. It was nice to have time off between shifts but at the same time I would rather just get all the work done at once and have a big chunk of time rather than a bunch of little nuggets. But that is impossible when you are a server. Between lunch and dinner we had a few hours which we spent in the Pondy lodge reading, using the internet, and hanging out. The lodge used to be a brothel back in the day and is super creepy up stairs. Skinny hallway with a dim window at the end. Coming up the stairs and turning and looking down the hall is super sketch. One time Calen was doing a creepy crouch thing in the hallway so all you saw was his siloette and Lacy I were a little freaked out. Then he jumped forward and we both screamed. It was great.

I finished my second beanie!! It’s purple and I really like it.  Though my muli-colored pink one is pretty cool too. I started a new black one but the yarn is different. I bought this new yarn which was a little more spendy but really soft. It is a little difficult to crochet but I really like how it feels.

Today was pretty good, another good day of work. Toward the end of our shift I was helping in the dish room scrubbing tons of sheet pans, grates, and muffin pans. The water looked like coffee it was so black with junk from the pans. It got so hot. After work at 3 I sat in Pondy lodge again till dinner then went to church. Brad Bell spoke on Galations 5. I really enjoy his teaching. He can really speak the truth. Reminds me a little of my youth pastor in his ability to speak the truth clearly with no fear of “losing numbers”.

This week I want to be praying for Mexico since we are going there next week. There are a lot of obvious issues that need prayer but I want to focus on the ranch where we are going and for all the kids we get to be with. Pray for all those families of the deaf children and that people will be touched by our presence. I pray that God will use us to reach someone for Him.