Hello!

Well, travel week 1 is already done and we are now on the road to Ohio! Today we had to be at the church at 5:15am in order to get to Ohio at a reasonable time. This past week was totally different from what I've been used to during training camp. Here's a peek at a normal day on the road:

8:00-8:15am - arrive at the church

8:15-9:00am - personal quiet time

9:00-10:30am - class

10:30-12:00pm - study time

12:00 - lunch

1:00-2:00pm - rehearsal

2:00-3:00pm - drama practice

3:00-5:30pm - personal/study time

5:30pm - dinner

7:00pm - evening service

9:00-? - head home with host families and fellowship with them 

Along with the things in a normal day on the road we also have school chapels and nursing home ministries that fill our days. On Sunday afternoon, we went to sing at a nursing home here in Honesdale and our speaker system wound up not working so we ended up singing some older, more traditional hymns which the residents loved! It was such a blessing to see the joy on their faces even when we tried singing our own songs acapelle and....completely failed. After the nursing home ministry on Sunday, one of the church members paid for the entire team to go get ice cream from a wonderful little shop downtown...I definitely felt bad for the poor workers that had to deal with us all ordering something different! Monday was our first normal week day on the road and I must say that I was surprised by how very different the schedule is!

The view here at the church is incredible! The church is set up on the mountain and there is a clear view from up on the mountain to down on the little town below. Surrounding the parking lot are tons of giant rocks and below it are trees that are already the colors of fall. It's so beautiful here...hopefully I am able to figure out how to get a picture onto my blog to show you just how lovely! Once a week the girls and guys have divided sessions where the girls go and fellowship and talk with Jean and the guys (I'm guessing) get lessons on how to be men. Haha :) 

On Wednesday the whole team went to Canaan Christian school where we sang, did a few monologues and got to know the kids. That was really stretching for me because as you all probably know...I was homeschooled. So, basically I don't know how to interact too well with teens. :) But like all of the other things that aren't exactly in my "comfort zone", I'm getting over it and I can't wait for the day when it doesn't make me nervous at all! 

Thursday was a busy day for me, personally. I made it my goal to get all of my homework done and my speech (for Monday) written. Thankfully I got it all done and I'm all ready for a somewhat relaxing weekend! Friday morning about half of the team did their speeches which Ardy said were so good that he is going to have us record them and share them with our friends and family on facebook! So, in the next few weeks I will probably be sharing a speech with you all if you're interested in watching it! If you don't have facebook and would like to see it, shoot me an email and I'll send it to you! Friday night we did our first black light "performance". For those of you who don't know what that is, I will tell you! Black light is when all of the team members put white gloves on and perform our sign language songs with only a black light on. So, basically the entire room is dark and the only thing visible are our hands as we sign and sing. I personally loved the black light performances when the team came to our church those two years so I'm so excited to be a part of it this year! This past week I was involved in Kids Klub, and every week the groups rotate so that every team member gets to be involved in every aspect of the ministry on the road! I loved it, but it was definitely interesting trying to get other people's children to listen and behave.  Along with being involved in the teens and kids programs I am also one of the five girls that is in charge of the book table. So, every weeknight the five of us switch on and off so that we all get a chance to be in charge of it during the week. Basically, we stand near the tables 15 minutes before the service (when people start to arrive) and we answer any questions as well as giving information about all of the things that we sell. The first night that I was in charge of the table I sold three books and one CD, which is good! On Saturday's we are also in charge of taking the book table down and then putting it back up at the next church...in this case we are taking it down Friday night since we are leaving so early on Saturday. The ladies at this church have been so wonderful! They've made fantastic food for us and have done a wonderful job taking care of us...they have definitely been a real blessing. Last week our prayer cards finally came in and the people of Tabernacle snatched them up like nobody's business! I will send some of them home to you so that you can all become better acquainted with the team! Friday afternoon we got to go to WalMart (it's a big deal to us)! Even just an hour out in the real world is nice sometimes. :) 

Well, I've been typing this throughout the week as things happened and so now it's Friday evening and since there obviously won't be any wifi on the road tomorrow, I'm going ahead and publishing this post earlier than normal. :) 

Thank you all for your prayers and support! This week was a great first wee! Also, if you can continue to pray with me for finances to come in for Africa...I would appreciate it so much. 

Before I even know it it'll be Christmas break and I will be home and saying "hi" to all of you.

So...see you soon!

Love,
Anna :)