The Final Post...

Well, it’s about that time. I know we were all expecting it to be so far away, but it’s finally here. The final blog post. In a week, Link Year will over. It’s a very sad fact, but looking back it’s been a great year. Last night at the Q&A with Donyes, he said something about how much I’ve grown this year. Its been an incredible amount, and I doubt he even knows the extent of it. I was even browsing through my Facebook history (and obviously deleted stuff) and was astonished at some of the things I’ve said and done. I’ve been told various times over the year that I seemed different, and I can finally see it. Different in a good way, though, because I am so much closer to the Lord as a result. Although Link Year is coming to an end, I have a ton to be excited about! I am going to get the opportunity to come back next year as a protégé! I’ll have the opportunity to mentor the students of next year while also being mentored myself. I’ll be so ready to take on whatever the world has for me. Anyway, our speaker this week has been Jonathan Pokluda, the leader of the Porch, a youth ministry under Watermark in Dallas. He’s a really great speaker, and a worthy speaker of our last week of class. He spoke at the final Fort of the Year as well. Quite an ending. He spoke on ways to ruin your life in your 20’s, and several pitfalls people fall into in their lives. I am trying to write a blog entry worthy of being the final one, but I have no idea how to do that. This year I’ve learned how to have legitimate friendships and relate to people, how to start a conversation with anyone, and how to live a life that’s honorable to Christ, yet I can’t end a blog correctly. Oh well, maybe I’ll learn how to do it if I continue blogging next year. We’ll see. For the last time, until next time…

Today was a very good day.

Really excited right now! But more on right now later. Last TGIF we got to take kayaks across the lake to get ice cream, and we were accompanied by Joe White himself! I decided to walk down the the street with Link Laurel and talk to some friends of hers. They were some kids selling t-shirts for their rehab program. We talked to them for a while and even lost track of the time. When we decided to get back to the others, we discovered they had left! Once we got back to the dock we saw a few people left, who were looking for us. It was all around a pretty fun experience. This weekend, a bunch of people went on a trip to California, so classes were kind of small this week. Our speaker was Austin Ochs this week. Some of the main things he spoke on were being courageous leaders, being good stewards of what we are given, and that we never truly own anything, it is always given to us. At the end, he gave us all money to go out and do with it as we please, but we were encouraged to use it to serve someone and email him, telling him what we did. I got an entire hundred dollars, while the lowest amount given was twenty. I feel a ton of pressure, because someone last year found a guy who practiced golf every day on a course that he couldn’t afford to actually play on. The student paid for the guy to play a whole round  and played with him. Definitely inspiring, but also raises the bar. If you have any suggestions, I’d be happy to hear them! Until next time, folks! 

Excitement Is Rushing Through My Veins Right Now!

This week has been an absolute blast! Last Friday for TGIF we went to Ride the Ducks, a ride around Branson in an amphibious truck! It was pretty cool riding around and suddenly splashing into the water of the lake. Can’t remember the name right now. I’ve also worked this weekend at Hollister and actually enjoyed it. I’ve become closer to my co-workers, which has definitely made it much more bearable. The weather has probably been a huge factor in making this week so wonderful as well. It’s been bright and sunny, until it rained on us for 20 minutes today. This week’s speaker was Rich Ferrera .He runs a gap year program similar to Link Year, but up in the mountains of California. The thing I enjoyed most about his talks was definitely how much he knew about first century Jewish culture. Knowing things like that is hugely beneficial to understanding the Bible better and even brings some of Jesus’ parables to life. This has been a weird week, because the speaker came on Monday and Tuesday. We had small groups and accountability Wednesday, and today we have been working. I’ve been shoveling mulch for seven hours total today, so that’s fun. But really it was great, I got the chance to get to know one of my classmates who I’ve hardly talked to at all this year. Moments like that are definitive of the Link Year experience. We were shoveling for a few hours this morning, then a storm passed over us and it rained hard. Only for a bit though (see above). This week, I’ve been realizing how much I took the Hope Center and the things they did for me for granted. I plan on letting them know how grateful I am soon… I also had my protégé interview today. Within two weeks, I’ll know whether or not I’m going to get to live in wonderful Branson for another year! That’s all I have for you guys this week, enjoy it, share it with friends, and praise Jesus for literally everything!!!!!