We must go....

And so it begins...

annaskates — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 04:04:00 GMT

We have begun our final project in Buffalo, NY. It has been anything but restful and everything that is worshipful - for me at least. Our team leader, Danielle Morrow, lost her grandmother Wednesday afternoon and has been at home with her family since Thursday afternoon. Therefore, because I am the only returner on the team, I have been serving as Team Leader and part-Missions Communication Specialist while she's been gone. It's definitely been a challenge. A huge challenge. This is THE most difficult part of a project and we were down a person. However, we've gotten things done, the kids are great, the adults have been flexible - even through the bumps we've already hit! (and yes, they've been here for less than 24 hours!) But, like I said, it's been fantastic. I've loved it.

I don't have much to update on just yet but, just be praying for transportation issues to come together, get resolved and all parties involved to be flexible and willing to help and serve others. Yay God.

Gallery: Chicago!

annaskates — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 01:25:00 GMT

Gallery: WC: Salt Lake

annaskates — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:19:00 GMT

I used a jackhammer

Gallery: Temple Square

annaskates — Mon, 7 Jul 2008 09:53:00 GMT

Gallery: Cody Rodeo/Museum

annaskates — Mon, 7 Jul 2008 09:35:00 GMT

Adventures in Yellowstone

annaskates — Sun, 6 Jul 2008 09:54:00 GMT

We experienced a love so giving and pure in Cody, WY. Before we left Casper, I called the first church that came up on a search for baptist churches in the Yellowstone area online and they immediately offered to take us in and feed us for our stay as we visited Yellowstone. Upon arrival, they had food already layed out for us, were welcoming with hugs and appreciation for our work as a summer staff team and were pleading for our help as they put on a block party for the neighborhood across the street. Though we were tired and in need of sleep - it was the right thing for them to ask us and it was right of us to accept the challenge and help our brothers and sisters in Christ. Yellowstone Baptist church existed in the way I believe a church should exist. It was not a business deal that we struck with them - it was a sincere and unselfish giving of space, time, food and money to house fellow Christians. It was a place that expected Christians to help Christians. It was beautiful. it was Acts. Paul would be proud.

Two days in Yellowstone was anything but relaxing - but nonetheless, I was able to see the glory of God revealed through nature in a way similar to my Grand Canyon experience. Our first day in, we took the upper loop of the park, visiting sights such as Tower Falls, Mammoth Hot Springs and the petrified tree. That same day, we encountered some animal friends - the first was a herd of buffalo lining the street on either side - one brave bison soul final crossing directly infront of our vehicle! (see the pictures...that was no zoom!) As we drove deeper into the park, we noticed several cars parked and on the lookout on the sides of the road and we saw a few people traipesing through the tall grass in the field to our left. So, we quickly fell in line with the cars parked in the turnoff and walked across to see two sets of giant antlers towering above the grass. Two elk were grazing and wading in a hidden stream. We were able to get very close and it was fascinating to watch them eat and exist in a setting that I have never known. Foreign soil with foreign inhabitants. As we walked away, one of the elk was staring us down. I was preparing to be bucked....

Our second day in the park was less full but still incredible. This is the day that we visited Old Faithful, saw the other hot springs in the park and drove through Grand Teton National Park as we headed to Jackson Hole, WY. Old Faithful was somthing else - hundreds and hundreds of people gathered around to watch this timeless shoot of water burst from the ground. It was incredible - as silly as that sounds - a bunch of people waiting around to see water shoot up - it was magnificent. She was scheduled to blow at 6:57. 6:57....everyone is poised, cameras in hand - aiming a the thing...just steam rising like any other hot spring. 7:00....small burst of water and a gasp from the crowd as they anticipate the blow that was not coming. 7:03....a slightly bigger burst of water...still small and another breath-taking sigh. 7:05...she blows. Ooohs and aaaahs not prompted by a cue card on a television set erupted throughout the group and we sat in awe of the thing. It was incredible.

We left Yellowstone and drove into Grand Teton National Park just before sunset. Those mountains - oh wow. We pulled into a marina nearby and watched with the boats as the sun began to sink behind the majestic rock, still partially covered in slowly-melting snow as its yellow path was drawn onto the surface of the ripples. It was glorious. Exactly where I needed to be...on the water - a place so familiar and real to me, all the while feeling small and fragile against these giants. It was remarkable.

The next day, we took a guided whitewater rafting trip down the Snake river at the base of the mountains. I have rafted on the Ocoe before and, though those rapids may be more thrilling, the scenery could never compare. Bald eagles and massive mountais watched as we hit rapids like: Lunch Counter, Cottonwood and Champagne. We had a great time, working as a team (with our two "paddle leaders" being the only two who had never whitewater rafted before...great) and we got through - everyone stayed on the boat and we succeeded in tiring our muscles, participating in the what will probably be the only workout we will be able to have all summer! It was wonderful.

We are now here in Salt Lake City, UT serving this community in what is our 3rd World Changers Project as a team. This city, which is one of the cleanest and most pristine cities I have seen, is dark, lost and completely unbelieving of the truth of Jesus Christ. SLC is the Mormon capitcal of the world?/nation?. This is a group of people who believe in an ever-changing God who is only reached by a prophet and works which take you to the various levels of heaven. It is a religion that is disgustingly oppressive for females, and this is also the people group that hold the highest rates of domestic violence, teenage pregnancy and use of anti-depresents. Their lives are centered and focused on the rewards they receive for being good people. It is the saddest place I have ever been and my body is physically burdened by the darkness here. Please pray for this city as the students here this week will be challenged beyond their experience or maturity level by the works of satan. We, as Christians, are the minority in this city and it is growing by the hour. We need prayer for this city - the women and children of the Mormon faith need your prayers and your love through those prayers. thank you. I love you all.

Gallery: Yellowstone

annaskates — Fri, 4 Jul 2008 09:01:00 GMT

Quick Story/Update

annaskates — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 08:43:00 GMT

We are finally done with this Casper project and are now relaxing in our hotel about 5 minutes away from the school! ha we head to Yellowstone tomorrow (which i will update about later - the way that we got there is quite miraculous!)

anyway - so at every World Changers project, students are raising money to support other students in the mission field. This summer, the offering is going to three different missions organizations. Well, our original goal for the students was $2,700 (which is $10 a student). Well at the end of the night on Tuesday (when we collected the offering) we only had about $2,580...so we were a little under our actual goal. So - in an attempt to motivate them to give, I offered up 8 inches of my hair to donate to a children's cancer foundation if they could raise $3500! So...in one night (last night) those students raise over $900!!!! In a matter of like 30 minutes! it was incredible. through auctions of t-shirts and duffle bags, i lost my hair on stage in front of 270 World Changers participants. So...check out the pictures under "no-hair."

praise the Lord!

Gallery: Casper, WY

annaskates — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 02:06:00 GMT

Welcome to Casper, ya'll!

annaskates — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 01:49:00 GMT

Well...we're halfway done here. This project has been difficult for us as a team for several reasons. One of those being that we just have not been as energetic or excited as we were in Gallup...which is the nature of the beast, i suppose - to be all hyped up for your debut as a team and then begin to decline after that. Despite all of that - it really has been a great week. We have some incredible groups and sweet, sweet group leaders here. They have definitely been a blessing.

Wyoming is a strange place. The lives of the people here are very dark. Churches are definitely not on every street corner and the Junior High library (in the school where we are staying) is filled with fiction books about witchcraft, demons, and dragons. It's just a sad place. Something else - have you ever met anyone and, upon asking them where they are from , you hear them say, "I'm from Wyoming." ? No. That's because there's only about 1/3 of this state that is actually born and raised here. How weird. People just move here for the jobs during a boom time. It's the weirdest thing.

Last night was the Concert of Prayer and it went really well, from what i hear. I could not see anything because we were stationed behind the bleachers, hidden from everyone and everything. But we offered the Lord's supper and a place for confession and praise - i think the students and adults really worshipped and had some wonderful encounters with the Lord last night. One young man came up to me after the service was over and this is what he said,

"Hey, um....I am the devotion leader for my team and, well, this week, I've been taking some of that devotion time to share my poetry to my crew. It's really hard for me because I'm just really shut off with everybody - i'm just closed off...and so it's really hard for me but I have been doing that and well...I was going to write something tonight and I was wondering if I could read it for everybody. Like on the mic. It's scary for me to think about but something just telling me that I need to be sharing my poems and so, if it's okay, can I do that one night in here?"

How incredible. This kid, really is seemingly emotionless and I was under the impression, just from his body language, that he didn't really want to be here. But I was thrilled beyond belief. He was very understanding about me having to proof it before he got up there, amplified and exposed. But praise the Lord that this kid is worshipping through such an intense art and is listening to what I believe to be the Holy Spirit in taking a huge step outside of himself to share that with 270 people! Praise God!

That's about all I have for now - tonight, on our glorious night off we are going to watch ::drumroll:: THE CASPER GHOSTS 3a baseball team play! hahahaha ridiculous. ANd we're also going to a community-wide BBQ that the city is putting on just for the World Changers. Woop woop.

Sorry I've been HORRIBLE about updating this thing - this week has just been really hectic - twice the size of our last project! yikes! Anyway - check out pictures! Love you all. Thanks for reading.

Colorado Rockies

annaskates — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 04:01:00 GMT

Well - we finished our project in Gallup and, honestly, I am glad to be out of New Mexico. It was just so dry there and dusty and I am thankful to be in a different climate and environment. (Now in Denver, CO)

We went to the Grand Canyon a few days ago (which seems strange to say) and it had to be one of the most magnificent things I have ever seen (See pics under "Grand Canyon") Depth perception flew out the window and all I could see for miles was red and brown crater, rock and the occassional bird flying UNDERNEATH where I was standing. It was the strangest feeling. To watch birds from overhead. weird weird weird. It was incredible. You should definitely check out the pictures. insane.

Now in Denver, I have never seen clouds this close or mountains this...majestic. Really. I think it's safe to say that I have never really seen MOUNTAINS 'til this. I've been to Gatlinburg but I am now convinced that that just doens't count. ha. To see mountains outside of my restaurant window, covered in snow with the sun setting behind them is a sight that I do not believe I will ever forget. It is INCREDIBLE out here. Man. The air - it is so much cleaner than I have ever breathed - it is so fresh and clear. I love it. And the city is wonderful - there is so much to see and do here...great shopping (of course) and great restaurants and people. We met a sweet sweet lady last night at PappaDeaux's restaurant (our waitress)....and that has been the experience all around with the people here. I just really enjoy this side of the country and regret that I haven't seen it until now.

That's all for now. We're going on some more adventures around Denver today that I will try to write about later.

Anna

Gallery: Colorado

annaskates — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 05:05:00 GMT

Gallery: Grand Canyon

annaskates — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 15:11:00 GMT

Gallery: El Morro/Indian Dancing

annaskates — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 01:49:00 GMT

almost finished here

annaskates — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:39:00 GMT

Well, as we begin to wrap up this first project in Gallup, a lot of things are happening in this city. We have had two on-site salvations: two Native-American children came to know the Lord in the last couple of days and Tuesday night at our concert of prayer, two people were saved and one rededicated their life to Christ. It has been an incredible week of an undeniable moving of the Holy Spirit in this place! Praise the Lord.

Yesterday was the sacred "half day" of World Changers and we had a packed out day of adventure and exploring! In the afternoon, around 3:00, our staff (and one other youth group from the project) went to El Morro, NM. There, we hiked 2 miles up a mountain, learning about New Mexican history, reading carvings on the side of the mountain and getting one of the most glorious views of this place. It was an incredible experience and I only wish we could've spent more time up there. One scary thing about the day was that, here in NM, the wind can get pretty violent and yesterday was no exception. So, there were a few times I felt like I was going to get swept right off the cliffs! But, behold - i'm alive and well. ha

After El Morro, we went to dinner at a sport's bar in downtown Gallup and then over to the traditional Indian Dancing in the town square. It was so fun to watch and participate in. A Native-American single-handedly lead in the music, beating a drum and chanting as 100s of world changers students danced around with the Indians in their traditional dances. I even got in on it with BJ (local Pastor's son) and a sweet Native-American man. He taught me all the tricks and we had tons of fun! (even though we only got to catch the last 10 minutes of the hour long dance session). We then scooted over to FBC Gallup to get some ice cream and duke it out in the inflatable boxing ring with giant gloves. However, we left quickly to beat the kids back to the school to get showers!!! (yes, we did ALL of that after a 2 mile hike in the heat without showers) hahaha gross.

Anyway - enjoy the pictures in the El Morro album.

love you all.

Anna

Gallery: Gallup

annaskates — Mon, 9 Jun 2008 06:45:00 GMT

pictures from the first project

Welcome to Gallup!

annaskates — Mon, 9 Jun 2008 06:18:00 GMT

Well, yesterday began our first project in Gallup, NM as the kids arrived in all sorts of vehicles at all hours of the afternoon. They were, for the most part tired from driving at most 20 hours to get here from Texas or Arizona, etc. They came along way and are wonderful kids and I am very excited for them to be here! (As a matter of fact, one of the group leaders here was at one of my projects last summer in Puerto Rico! small world!) THere is a group here from Arizona. In Arizona, the time change is not recognized and so, when they crossed over into Mountain Time, they did not realize that they were going to be missing the entire welcome celebration and be here 45 minutes AFTER registration ended. So that was fun! But they made it safely and we are glad they're here.

Welcome Celebration, something that happens at every World Changers project to get the kids pumped up about the week, was, in my opinion, a disaster. Our video was not finished; I introduced the World Changers song only to be met by silence and a scrambling AV plugging and unplugging chords to the sound booth in the back; and one of my genius games that i stole from this website I found bombed because of technical difficulties. Also, I played a couple of worship songs to close that time out and my guitar was blaring and shooting out feedback so bad that I had to cover my strings and go at it a cappella. It was....rough. Anyway - welcome celebration was followed by a much smoother and much more successful worship service which was awesome! It was a great start for us in that arena and I think bolstered the confidence of our new and stressed out AV.

The west is beautiful. I love it out here. The mountains are like something from a movie or a painting - something completely 2D and unreal until Thursday when we arrived. We went to a church this morning (which i will get to in a bit) which has, as we were told, the best view in the city...and I wouldn't dare argue. From the stairs of the sanctuary, we looked out to nothing but mountains and red dirt, striped and rugged and beautiful! The sun was bright and the sky here....the sky here is bluer than any I've ever seen...It was incredible.

So church....ummm was fine. It was sort of a small church: First Baptist of Gallup and the pastor is an extremely...pontifical (look it up). So he had already begun to rub people on staff the wrong way which led to a semi-disinterest in being there in the first place. However, I didn't have a problem with anything he said today which was comforting. However, I was a bit thrown off when I looked up at the screen to being singing with the music minister only to be met by a blue background featuring a guy standing with his arms crossed, wearing an abercrombie hat photographed at an extreme overhead angle. Why, one might ask, would someone chose to display that alongside the lyrics to "Shout to the Lord"? I asked myself the same question and came up with nothing satisfactory. Ha....later on, as the pastor began his sermon, the screen displayed the first point of his sermon in front of a background picture of hot air balloons. Again....seriously? Why?

I will say this - we had some AWESOME food that was provided by the members of that church and I am definitely grateful for the authentic "NEw Mexican" food..aka - Mexican.

I also had an interesting encounter last night as Danielle and I walked around to the girls' rooms bidding them goodnight and attempting to learn their names. Now, I noticed a lady yesterday afternoon during arrival time who was nearly completely decked out in leopard print. I mean, leopard shirt, leopard bag, leopard blanket, leopard backpack purse. This lady has to be in her 50s. Seriously. So...last night, as we made the rounds, we entered into this particular church's room and saw, directly in the doorway an air mattress with leopar sheets, leopard blanket, leopard pillowcase. On the air mattress sat Carol. That is her name. Carol. I look to the side of her air mattress to find 3 bags adorned in the same precious animal print and a pair of studded leopard print platform shoes. As I comment on how much I like her leopard print items, she points out the picture that she brought along with her and had taped to the blackboard above her head of...yes....a leopard. She proceeds to tell me this:

"You know, leopards are biblical...they are!"

to which I answered, "really?"

"Yes." she said. "because Jesus healed the leopard's spots."

"oh...yep...that's right."

I mean, honestly, what am I supposed to say to an adult who obsessed with an animal who thinks that "lepers" were "leopards"? Geeze.

That's about all i have. Picture should be up under "Gallup"

New Mexico

annaskates — Thu, 5 Jun 2008 13:09:00 GMT

We arrived today in Albuquerque, NM for our last stop before reaching our Gallup project. We are all very anxious and, quite frankly confused as to why we are stopping to stay at a hotel 2 hours away from our project city. But, either way, we are all anxious about starting our first project!

On the way here, we drove through Texas and stopped at The Big Texan restaurant (apparently it's famous) to eat lunch. Please keep in mind that this is the home of the "Free 72 oz. steak" (if you can eat it in an HOUR!) It was....interesting to say the least. We pull up to a GIANT red building with enormous letters spelling out the name of the restaurant and we were greeted outside by a larger than life bull "statue". Inside, we found tacky Texas decór, including stuffed deer heads along the walls in the dining hall, waiters topped off with cowboy hats who actually used the words "howdy folks..." and "open up that menu right there, partner and you'll see all the sides we got" It was ridiculous. However, all that being said, I ate the best chicken fried steak I have ever had. I also visited their gift shop and found $5 turquoise earrings, an armadillo sticker decorated with a texas flag, a texas patch and 2 texas postcards. I'm set for life on Texas gear. After we found our goodies, we played a shooting game (yes, this was IN the restaurant). the rest of Texas was ugly and flat.

Then we came to the New Mexico border and suddenly there was life and green things in the fields sandwiching the roads. It was a breath of fresh air. So, we love NM and the mountains - they are sights I have never in my life been exposed to outside of the movies and I am drinking it all in. Every time I look out the window, I see these towering mountains and they look so rustic and rugged and I see God's glory in them. It is a breathtaking sight! I am glad to be spending a week and a half here.

Also - a note on the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial pictures - we visited this last night and I am not sure that I have words to describe that place. It was one of the most beautiful things I have seen in my life. The reflection pool in the middle of the memorial pulls in the lighted chairs representing those who died, the times amidst the tragedy and the "survivor tree", representing a faith that cannot be moved. It was beautiful. You can see the pictures, I believe they speak for themselves.

that is all for now!

Anna

Gallery: Oklahoma City

annaskates — Thu, 5 Jun 2008 10:34:00 GMT

Gallery: training

annaskates — Tue, 3 Jun 2008 12:05:00 GMT

stuff from Cleveland, GA