Trying to figure out what God is thinking..

This summer has really been more of a ride than I ever expected. When I left for training back on May 23rd I was thinking, alright about 6 different states this summer doing maybe 4 camps and ready for anything. But I really got more than I could even dream of. By August 6th, the day I fly home to Michigan I will have traveled through 18 different states going from Charleston, SC all the way to Spokane, WA. not kidding. I have driven over 6,000 miles this summer and from coast to coast. And I would not trade it for the world. I have had some very rough few weeks but I guess that comes with the job? This summer for me was about figuring out who I am and what I'm supposed to do with my life. And I think I'm maybe.... .00002% of the way there. But it's progress! First off, I never had realized how much I had lost my passion for singing until I went to training for two weeks. I was able to play and sing music with such talented people and I really got to experience my love for music again! It was amazing. And I do not want to let my passion go away again. I can't lose this drive that I have. God has started to show me that I am not supposed to be living my life at CMU or Michigan for that matter. I really believe that I am supposed to be somewhere else experiencing more of the world and really seeing what I'm supposed to do with my life. I hae been struggling with what to do for the fall semester for a few weeks and have decided that it would be a good decision for me to go to CMU so that I am in school but, if things keep going they way they are looking I will be auditioning and different schools in different states to try and see if I could go anywhere for the spring semester. But, again, I really have no idea what the big man's plan is for me. We'll just have to wait and see!

Back to the summer.....

I have had the greatest time getting to know my crew! There is Mindy, who is the crew manager of my team. She is in charge of assigning all the crews and vehicle assignments for the week. It's a crazy hard job and I honestly don't know how she does it! She is from Arizona and totally loves it there!

She has become such a good friend of mine and I really don't know what I would do without her! We talk about a ton of stuff and she has been so great for me this summer :).

Next is CJ, my Materials Manager. He's so cool. He lives in Indiana and has decided to become Cowboy James this summer. He is in charge of delivering materials to sites when they need it and he is in charge of the Site Coaches who work directly with certain sites to help get projects done!

he is also a really cool guy. We listen to all different kinds of music together and we talk about choir because he used to be in choir. He's a legit good singer!!

Unfortunately, one of my crew members was asked to leave after our first camp because our boss was not confident in his abilities. But, my crew got a new Program Manager named Ed! He goes to Valpo, where Kati just graduated from!

Ed's job is to be the tech guy during the programs. He runs the sound and lights and also takes pictures at all of the sites of all the crews!

Those are the three people I have been spending my whole summer, and driving across the country with! We make a pretty good team! We definitely have our rough days but, we get through it. :).

At training I had the opportunity to meet the greatest person ever. This person quickly became my best friend and now knows more about me than I think anyone does. She is absolutely incredible and I have never known anyone quite like her. Her name is Lhoren and she lives in Texas [and she will never let you forget it].

This girl is my best friend and we have promised each other that will never change. We have a bond that I don't think I can explain to anyone and we click more than I have ever clicked with anyone! We're already planning our trips to visit each other in December/January so we can meet each others families. I seriously love her. She's wonderful and such a blessing to my life.

then, finally there is this really cool guy I met at training. Now, you are all probably saying wow Stephani, another guy. But, this time I did not go in to this experience expecting to find someone, it just happened! He is from New York and is awesome! His name is Kyle, and he is one of the nicest guys I've met in awhile. He is not on my crew so I haven't seen him since June 6th, and I will probably not see him until December. But, he is just a good guy to have around to vent to because he understands the stresses of summer and its just nice to have someone who gets what's going on in life.

I honestly don't think my summer would have gone as well without him to confide in and vent to.

But, there is also another Kyle that all should be aware of! He and I decided that we are moving to Nashville together when he gets back from China. He leaves for China in August and he is going for 15 months doing mission work of some sort. He is one of the talented musicians I had the opportunity to play with and turns out we are pretty awesome together. I can't wait for Nashville with him!

I have been blessed with so many christians in my life this summer that I can't thank God enough! This summer has put me through many trials that I never thought I would deal with but I am stronger because of it!

Tomorrow starts my second camp even though I only have 2.5 weeks left of working. My crew has had a very unusual summer setting up two other crews camps for them and volunteering an entire week at Week of Hope. So, this is only our second camp when some of the summer staff is already done with camps! But, this week and next week will be packed full because we are doing back to back camps! Meaning, we finish this camp on Saturday, pack up, drive 2 hours to a new school, set up, and register groups the next day! All of which would normally happen in 3 days is going to happen in less the 24 hours. That is, if we don't decide to sleep at all! Please pray that we get enough sleep this week and that we are strong and can handle anything that comes up! Thank you and God bless!

Oh, and we get to see some pretty incredible sites while we're traveling as well. Like the Grand Tetons...