Hello everyone! I have so much to catch you up on. We left for the mountains on Monday morning. The drive there was incredible. It was the most beautiful drive I have ever been on. Colorado is a beautiful place. We started hiking up, and we got into some snow, so we had to use snowshoes. I was challenged by the altitude; I had some trouble breathing, but nothing bad. We hiked up to this beautiful cabin on the mountain. The staff tricked the interns into thinking that we were camping, but they surprised us with this incredible cabin. We did a lot of orientation stuff, very interesting stuff. We also did get to know you stuff- that was so much fun. We had awesome food at the cabin. The other interns are seriously awesome. Everyone comes from such different backgrounds and has such different beliefs; it is so cool. We laughed so much while we were at the cabin. The staff is awesome too. Nikki and Matt are funny and very giving, Robbie is so loving, Zach is super outgoing and fun (reminds me of Colton Mulligan), and Reb is just awesome. I don't think I have laughed so hard in so long. These people are so wonderful in so many ways. We hiked out on Wednesday morning. The hike was awesome. It had been snowing the whole week, but it cleared up Wednesday and it was so beautiful. When we got back, JoAnna and I went out to eat with Sherry, the woman we live with. After that we got coffee at a great place called Stella's with the other interns. We ended up staying for over three hours just talking. Today we learned how to pack meals for Elevations trips, then we went on a turf tour. The turf tour was really cool. I had never been to downtown Denver, and it was just really interesting to see the contrast from rich to poor. After the turf tour, we went bowling with some of the street kids. It was really fun; they made a lot of fun of my nonexistent bowling skills. We hung out with some street kids while they were eating after bowling, then some of the staff and interns went out to eat. I can not explain how incredible this place is. There are so many serving Christians that I have met and so many cool street kids. It is hard for me to write how awesome it is here, you just have to believe me!

I'm here!

I am in Colorado! The plans we made worked out perfectly and I am safely here. I arrived just in time for church at Lakewood, where they introduced all of the DryBones interns. There are 8 of us. JoAnna- from SanDiego, goes to ACU, very very sweet, and my roomate. Liz- from Texas, goes to ACU, hates foods with flavor, and kind hearted. Kenli- from Texas, goes to ACU, looks like Summer Grizzell, and fun. Tyler- from Texas, goes to Baylor, lives with Chuck, and easy to talk to. Mark- also known as Smes, from North Dakota, goes to York, allergic to everything, and wants to be a youth minister. Stephen- from Texas, goes to ACU, literally looks like he just walked off of a mountain, and sounds just like Tristan Wheeler when he speaks. Trevor- from Texas, goes to ACU, funny, but too cool for the DryBones Interns facebook group. After church, we all ate with some of the Dry Bones staff. I then moved all of my stuff in, with the help of JoAnna and my dad. I live with a woman named Sherry in Lakewood, Co. She is very giving and easy to get along with. After I moved in, I took dad back to the airport, and then JoAnna and I drove to Matt and Nikki's house. They grilled out and we hung out and talked about different stuff. We are leaving for a hike tomorrow morning at 10. We should be back on Wednesday afternoon. The area that I am in is so beautiful. The drive to Matt and Nikki's was breath-taking. I really like all of the people here. I can not wait to get to know everyone better. It is very refreshing and encouraging to meet Christians that live in different areas that are working for the Lord. Please pray prayers of thanks for Dry Bones and all of those who spend their lives serving. I am so blessed to be here. Thank you for all of your support!

The time is near!

I am leaving in about two hours. Last night was a very good night. My mom made my favorite meal and all of the family hung out. We laughed for hours. I always miss my family's sense of humor when I am gone. My mom helped me pack everything, and my dad and brothers put it all into the car. I am leaving Lauren Goodman's wedding rehearsal and wedding on Friday and Saturday respectively. As soon as Lauren's wedding is over, I am driving to Nashville and flying out to Denver. So, I will be in Denver on Sunday! I am so excited! I will post on Sunday night about who I am staying with and our plans for the week. Thanks for reading this!

Dry Bones Denver

Hello everyone! I am so excited to share with you the opportunity God has given me for this summer. I am moving to Denver, Colorado to work with Dry Bones. Dry Bones is essentially a group of people who love God who have devoted to spending their time with homeless people (mainly youth) that live on the streets of Denver. I don't even remember how I heard of Dry Bones, I think Payton McCollum told me about it, but I applied for an internship there. I interviewed with some of the staff on Skype since I couldn't go out to Denver for the interview; I was so nervous and I had no idea what to expect. After I interviewed, I knew that I really wanted to become an intern there. I had been praying that God would lead me to a place where I could truly serve, and I felt sure that He had put this in front of me for a reason. After a few days packed with hopeful prayer, I got a call telling me that I got the internship! I have been so excited ever since and I can not wait to go; I think about it every day. :)

I leave for Denver early morning on May 31. I ask for all of your prayers. I know that this experience is going to be wonderful, but I also know that it is going to be very hard. I am going to need your support through prayer everyday. I already received monetary support from many of my closest friends and family members; for this I can never thank you guys enough. You really have no idea what it means to me. I love all of you.

The purpose of this blog is to keep you updated so that you will know what I am doing, where I am , etc. I also want to share the experiences and growth that take place this summer. I am not sure how often I will update this blog and I do not know what my entires will be like; I can not really know at this point. I hope that you continue reading and that you are encouraged.