Well, I've been pretty stinkin rubbish at keepin this updated! Sorry about that...

Let's see, man, so much has happened since the last update... where to start?! This is gonna miss a LOT, so feel free to send an email/comment and ask questions... Life has calmed down in regards to the roller coaster ride PTL! Winter term finished and I was really ready to welcome spring. A few friends of mine from Dmouth came to visit! That was just AMAZING! Thanks friends for coming :)

Spring term has basically come and gone! Brookes students were here for about a month and then their semester finished. But as soon as they were beginning their exams Oxford Uni returned for their last term. So saying hello and goodbye at the same time was a bit odd.

Now Oxford Students are busy with exams, so I've been keeping busy playin in the rain, writing to friends & supporters, and tryin to see students when they can fit me in. I also had an opportunity to go to London and visit the Agape (CCC) team last week; that was really cool. And now I'm looking forward to the last week or so, it sounds like more students will be stress free!

Oh! For those who don't know. I've decided to work one more year with Agape (CCC) in Oxford! I'm really excited about the opportunity to continue with the work that God has been doing here! So go ahead and start planning your trip to come visit next year!! But first I'm coming home for the summer and would love to see ppl! I'm leaving in 23 days!! CRAZY!

Hmm, since I've started writing embarrassing stories about me...

The other day, one of the two really nice sunny days when everyone and their dog was outside, I was walking along (as one does) the same route that I always do... and then suddenly and without warning I was lying face down on the pavement (sidewalk)! I have no idea what happened but I found myself lying prostrate on the ground while everyone was walking or cycling past and staring at me! And of course I was by myself, so I didn't have anyone to either laugh or cry with... except these two high school boys expressed their concern, "SHOOT! Are you okay?!" And with my face on the ground I moan "I'm fine thanks" and they walk on... And I had to get up and keep walking, acting like nothing happened! haha!!

A Roller Coaster Ride

Well, as the title implies, these past few weeks have had a lot of ups and downs!

Oxford Amazing Grace week was great! I loved getting to know students better and to even hear of a couple of students decide to give their lives to Jesus! I had dinner with one student who just recently became a Christian, and it was amazing to see and hear how God has transformed his life! He told us of even how his dreams have changed. He use to have a re-occurring dream of searching for the star that only had 5points, but everywhere he looked (and they were literally everywhere around him) he could only find stars with 6points. And there were millions to look through. It sounded like that was an exhausting dream...however, since he accepted Jesus into his life, he has never had that dream and has had peaceful nights! That was really exciting to chat with him and see God working in his life. Also, he brilliantly gave his story (testimony) at one of the big Amazing Grace talks! God is good :o)

My team here in Oxford has also been going through some team dynamic transition. Due to some issues one of my teammates is no longer able to be on my team. The news came to me as bit of a shock, so it was kinda hard to swallow for a bit...but God is good and is in control. I may not fully understand all of the circumstances, but I do know that His hand is in it, even if it's not easy to see. Prayers for all of us would be appreciated.

Last week we had an event for one of the colleges within Oxford University. It was a time for the gals to hangout and hear the gospel. It was really awesome! The room was packed with gals! We did face masks, decorated ginger bread people, and ate loads of yummy sweets! There was so much food, afterwards we called in the boys to finish the food... And since then it sounds like a lot of the students have had great follow-ups with their friends! It is a blessing to see students being purposeful with their friends in telling them about God's love! (And then last weekend we had another similar/great event--a gals brunch with Oxford Brookes!)

And this week has been really hard for me specifically. I found out on Tuesday morning/Monday night a friend of mine from High School, Daniel, died. I still can't believe it's true. I've gone through feeling shocked, confused, sad, numb, crushed. However, like I said earlier, I know that God is in control and he is Sovereign. I've found it a big challenge for me to go through the grieving process alone and not with a community. But praise the Lord for skype! I have been able to call friends back home and chat with them about things. I feel like this week I've been such an emotional basket-case! I pray that God will glorify His name through this time.

And yet this week has been Hope week for Oxford Brookes (like the Amazing Grace week). It has been awesome seeing students who love the Lord and love their friends. I pray that they will continue to follow-up after this week with their friends who attended events and ppl they met through surveys.

So yeah, the life of Nemo has really reflected that of a roller coaster for the month of February. But the one thing I do know is that though I may feel like such a basket-case, God is and always will be the one and only constant in my life. Thank you God for being my firm foundation!

OH! And just another story to go along with last time...
I was trying to be a good Bible Study leader and make a really yummy baked potato soup that my Bible Study leader made when I was at uni. Everything seemed to be going well, you know, following the recipe right in front of me, until I began to stir the soup more and noticed that instead of being soupy...it was becoming more like dough!!! Yes, that's right I made some weird bread rather than soup!! I had mixed up the lines on the recipe and instead of 2/3 cups of flour, I put 6 cups of flour!! It needed 6 cups of milk,not flour!! Yep, felt like an idiot when I had to ring one of the students and ask her to bring more flour b/c I had used all of the flour!! But in the end we had yummy soup and some strange bread! haha... oh dear...

Amazing Grace

This week's theme for Oxford Uni is Amazing Grace and it's been really awesome thus far! There have been lunch time talks (with lunch provided), a jazz banquet on Saturday night, and evening talks so far. I haven't made it to everything, but I've heard amazing things about all of the events so far. After the jazz banquet, I heard of one student who decided to give his life to Jesus! It has been amazing seeing students tell their friends about God's gift of grace, and seeing students realize that it is by grace that we are saved!

Yesterday I went to one of the lunchtime talks. It was really nice, if only I wasn't such a klutz! One would think it wouldn't be that hard to balance a paper plate and a drink when I was sitting down right?! Well, after knocking my orange to the ground and it rolling away, making somewhat of a distraction... I decide to get my drink, squash or Kool-Aid, and quench my thirst. But instead of actually making it to my mouth, somehow I decided to dump 1/2 of my drink on my lap! And of course this was at the beginning of the talk... so instead of making a commotion/distraction, I decided not to move until after the talk was through. Afterwards I was still soaked and it looked like I'd seriously peed my pants!! It was uncomfortable until a student/friend let me come to her room and use her hair dryer to dry my jeans! Anywho, just thought I'd share my random story...

Tonight I'm off to London to check out an open house at Birkbeck University. I'm gonna look at grad school programs to see if that is something that I would like to do in the nearish future... Please pray for me and my future decisions. I'm really clueless as to what I should be doing this next year and beyond. But I'm also really excited to see what God is gonna take me!

God's Heart for the Nations

Hiya!

Fanks for the comment Erin!! :) To answer your question... I was terrified on Saturday when I was talking! For those who didn't know, on Saturday Agape (CCC) hosted an event that would encourage students to think about going into missions and just even becoming more aware of God's heart for the world. We also provided little seminars on opportunities to serve with Agape. It was nice. Unfortunately there were lots of other events being held at the same times for students in the Christian groups... But considering this we did have a decent turn out! There were about 20 or so students and the crazy thing was that 4\5 of those were guys! there were only 3 girl students!!

So, what Erin was referring to was that I was one of the spkers for that event. I spoke on God's Heart for the Nations. Thanks to the Traveling Team and their amazing website (thetravelingteam.org). I got all of my info from there! And I just wanna give a special shout out to them! Thanks for doing what you guys are doing! Keep it up, you are really making a difference in lives! Basically, I had an opportunity to challenge students in the same way I was challenged as a student. I'm really excited to see what God will do in the lives of those who came. It was a great room, full of potential! but yeah, it was really terrifying spking, but fun at the same time... i think it is when I am spking then its okay but beforehand is the hard part....

Other than that... life is good (except for the continuous problems with my computer/internet). On friday, while preping for saturday, my computer crashed.. it won't get beyond my sign-in page... then it'll reboot... argh! So if i'm a bit slow to respond or anything... i blame my computer problems...

Oh, what are some suggestions and recipes for Thanksgiving?! I'm tryin to decide whether or not to make a big deal or not here... and my computer crashed with all of my recipes :(

Thanks!

Have YOU heard the GOOD news?!

Hello Friends, Family, and Strangers reading this blog!

I hope this finds you well! After a bit of a struggle the last few weeks, I can now say that I'm feeling fantastic! First of all I want to say thank you so much for your prayers and support! (If you want to show more support, other than sending me care packages/post cards/peanut butter, etc, then leave some comments from time to time!!!)

So, what has been going on this week... WELL a lot actually! God is just so amazing! 2 of my teammates and I are organizing an event for this Saturday called Living Life On Puropse, or LLOP. It is a day where we are challenging students to have eternal and kingdom perspectives, sharing God's heart for the nations, and knowing God's will. I'm really excited about it, and nervous b/c i'm the one who is talking about God's heart for the nations (looking at the Biblical perspective and 5 habits of a world christian--1. Go 2. Pray 3.Send 4.Welcome 5. Mobilize)!! Please be prayin for us as we pull it together with God's leading! Also, pray that God would bring the students. Pray that God would send these students as workers among the nations!

AND.... so today, this week really... has been really exciting :oD

Two students have just recently prayed to receive Christ into their lives!! How exciting is that?! One gal was attending an Alpha course (exploring the bible for non believers) only to support her friend who was wanting to learn who God is... but she found God first! Now she can really lead her friend to God huh?! (She has already started to go through the Knowing God Personally or 4 Spiritual Laws with her friend!)
The other gal is from Kazan (I think you spell it..). My teammate was telling her about a picture she had. She saw this student looking through the key hole of a door, wanting to know more about God. Once my teammate shared this with her, the student said "I don't know how to open the door... How do I do that?!" And as since asked Christ into her life!!

How exciting is that? We really do have GOOD News to share!
A few questions for all of us to ponder: Have I been sharing the Gospel with those around me? How can I be sharing the gospel with my friends, family, and co-workers? Is my confidence in God or in myself? Do I really believe that it is worth the cost it will cost me to share my faith?

Psalm 67: 1-3
"May God be merciful and bless us. May his face shine with favor upon us. May your ways be known throughout the earth, your saving power among people everywhere. May the nations praise you, O God. Yes, may all nations praise you."

Finally, sorry!

Hi friends! Well, it looks like it’s time for another weekly (or bimonthly) update! :)

Sorry it took two weeks to actually write an update last week… So, on the weekend of the 12^th-14^th, Sarah, Rich and I spent the weekend at an Oxford Brookes retreat- Brits call it a house-party. It was loads of fun getting away for the weekend and form friendships with the students who attended. I’m not too great with numbers, but I think there were about 30-40 students who attended. And about half of them at least were freshmen (freshers). Sarah and I were asked to lead the seminars on quiet times and evangelism. It was a lot of fun to lead them, though it was also pretty nerve-wrecking too! The whole weekend I had flashbacks to Dartmouth retreats. It was just last year that I was attending the retreat, and this year I lead a seminar with over 20 ppl?! It’s just really crazy how fast the turn around!

I’ve just started getting into a routine here at Oxford, but last week was a bit different. Whenever we work during the weekends, we get the next Monday off… so on Monday Sarah and I decided to go to Birmingham. It was great fun hopin on a train (just missing our first train by 30seconds!), and visiting old friends-the Keates! I hadn’t seen the Phil and Ceri Keates in over a year, and now there is a new edition to the fam- Joshua Samuel Keates! He is so adorable (refer to the pic of me and the fam!). The next day, Tuesday, was a regional day of prayer in Birmingham with other Agape (CCC) workers. It was really neat to meet those who are working in Birmingham and Bristow. This last week I’ve also been charged to head up a student event that would challenge students to think about ministry. I’m excited about it (I’ve discovered that I do actually like doing Administration stuff)! So, please be prayin for November 10, 2007. For those who have attended the Ivy Conference and/or hear the Traveling Team, it will be fairly similar. The talks are gonna be about Eternal Perspectives, Knowing God’s Will, and God’s Heart for the Nations. And we are in the process of tryin to figure out how to do an Oxford Past and Present…

Oh! And last week I was able to have dinner with a new/old friend who is studying in Balliol College. It was really nice being able to connect and having a friend who knows where I come from and hearing how our friends are doing around the world! I think that was really the first time in 2 months that I spent time with an American! And it was the longest convo I’ve had with an American too! On my walk home (my 25min walk) I realized how much I’ve adapted and changed in the way I communicate/spk etc… So weird!!