Breakthrough!!!

The end of 1st year school of ministry was fast and furious! There was so much anticipation and expectation of what I desired to see happen through out the school year. I came to have a personal encounter with the Holy Spirit where I’m branded by the fire of God’s love. I wanted everything that had been deposited in me to come forth, for a holy boldness to overtake my heart and mind. I’ve heard Spiritual Fathers of the faith talk about their God encounters and I wanted one of my own.  As the end of the school year approached I began to reflect on what I had received thus far. I talked with the Lord about my frustration of not receiving what I came for.

My biggest breakthrough came at the end of the school year. I didn’t receive what I wanted but what I got was even better! I got what I needed for the season that I was in and more because God knows what we need in order to sustain us where He is taking us! I went after the season that I was in relentlessly and whole-heartedly even though it wasn’t the season that I wanted to be in. It was season to endure pain, knowing there is joy on the other side, a time for pressing on to get through the pain to enter into that joy and having the courage to move ahead and press through pain.

God is so merciful and gracious! Papa Kris was talking about the importance of fathers. In my whining and complaining to the Lord about what I wanted to receive, the Holy Spirit dropped in my spirit what He had been doing in me all school year long. In a moment, my eyes were unveiled. God is always doing something even when it doesn’t look like it. I realized that for the first time in my life, somewhere in the middle of the school year, I began to pray to Father God. I always prayed to Jesus. Something shifted of how I perceived Father God. I’d ask Him if I could crawl into His lap or if He would just hold me and love on me. It was through relationship with Papa Carl, my Revival Group Pastor, that I was able to connect with Father God like I never have before. I needed to have an experience of the knowledge that I had about my heavenly Father and Papa Carl provided me with that encounter.

Carl had been amazing at meeting with me though out the year whenever I needed. He held my heart and hand through out the process of my heart healing. I knew he was busy but I never got the impression from him that he was every busy or too busy to meet with me. He always had time for me and he was always there. I meet with him 6-8 times during the school year. Another aspect that was redemptive and healing was that Carl is a pastor. My father is a pastor as well. Growing up I didn’t feel like I had access to my father. He would frequently be at other people’s houses praying or ministering. I didn’t feel like a priority to him.

Knowing the love of the Father is foundational and a cornerstone. If I hadn’t received anything else but this truth established in my life, my first year experience would be worth it all. In second year I came to realize that in addition to knowing and experiencing the Father’s love there were many other things that were established in first year. The Lord also expounded on the revelation of the Father’s love from another angle in second year school of ministry. Through releasing my earthly father of expectations of what love looks like I was able to see and recognize his love for me. I absolutely know my father’s love for me! He always has loved me! I just somehow forgot because it didn’t look like the way that I wanted it to or they the way that I thought it should. I know my father adores me. I can see it in his eyes whenever he looks at me. He always has and he always will! Coincidentally, the ip address that I selected for my blog spot is daddysweetheart. :) God knew all along! It was a divine setup! haha! 

Piano lessons

It’s been forever since I’ve written. At some point I would like to write about what has transpired this school year but for now I’ll start with where I’m currently at.

It’s been a childhood dream of mine to play the piano. Coming from larger family piano lessons wasn’t something that my parents could afford growing up. I’ve had a couple of prophetic words about playing the piano and it’s still been in my heart to learn how to play. I came across someone that I knew that was willing to teach me piano lesson and it only cost $10. Even on my fixed income I could afford that but I felt like the Holy Spirit wanted me to ask my parent if they’d pay for my lessons.  My parents were both on board and when I asked my dad, he shared that he had felt guilty that they weren't able to get me piano lessons growing up. There’s something significant about me asking them and them paying for it that I don’t fully understand but my spirit does. There’s an element of asking that has provided emotional healing to both me and my parents.

I’ve been taking piano lessons for the past month. I have been blessed with one of the most amazing teachers. Her name is Amy Benoit. She’s such an encourager  She reminds me of a momma that just pours out praise on a baby as they’re taking their stepping out and taking their first steps. This element has been extremely helpful as I've stepped out in trying something new!

In our last lesson Amy was instructing me to keep playing when I make a mistake instead of correcting myself before continuing. I replied, that’s a life lesson for me! Yesterday after school I was practicing playing Dove’s Eyes by Misty Edwards. It'a a beautiful song, if you want to listen to it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spg78FF5rzg I was singing while playing and felt a shift as I was playing. There was such a strong presence of the Lord that I didn’t care that I made a mistake. I continued playing and it sounded so beautiful. There was such a grace present to make mistakes and not worry about what it sounded like but to enjoy the sound that came from my heart as I sang to the Lord. I began weeping as I was singing and thought to myself, this does not sound pretty (singing and crying) and then I heard another voice that said this sounds so beautiful, a heart cry that is pure and innocent. I felt the Lord’s pleasure and delight over me as I played and messed up, sang and cried. I was able to see beauty in the process.

I sense that there’s a grace that was released to make mistakes and continue and not worry about it, that’s going to pour out on to other areas of my life. I’m really excited about this as I was someone who would want to get all my ducks in a row before stepping into something. It gives me the freedom to release myself to be in process and not concern myself with making mistakes. My heart is pure and God is bigger that any mistake that I can make.

Let Hope Arise in the Dumps!

It’s been quite a long time since I’ve written. The last quarter of the school year went by quickly. I went the mission trip to Nicaragua and Honduras at the end of March and when I returned it was hard for me to process what happened on the trip. I felt shell shocked and I didn’t want to talk or write about it till I was fully able to process through it. The Lord was using the books that we read in school and a journal writing assignment in class to speak to me about the experience and to help me process through it.

I was able to talk to some friends recently and meditating on Graham Cooke’s teaching. Here are some of the things that I meditated on that brought closure: The Father is very focused and deliberate in all that He does. Trust in Him to know the side of you that is faithful in His own personal trait first before He gave it to you. Trust to know He will not leave man’s brokenness where it is but has plans for restoration. He only longs for the connectedness of His people to rise up and take ownership of what is His finished work is and looks like. 

I know it’s been 6 months but I still want to update you on it. Sorry for the delay! It’s definitely not because I didn’t want to share my experience. I got to go with some amazing classmates to the garbage dumps of Honduras and Nicaragua with Georgian and Winnie Banov. It was intense seeing extreme poverty and at times it didn’t feel like enough to feed the crowds a meal and love on them. My heart struggled with what can be done about their living situation. It didn’t seem fair that they would work hard all day in extreme heat and barely have anything to survive. We also got to visit a leper colony and a little shanty town. Each place that we went to we loved on the people that were in front of us and provided a meal for them.

What I loved the most is that the love of God was so brilliantly displayed to everyone we encountered. It was totally a love fest. There were times that I pulled back and just watched my classmates love others. Our ministry time consisted of all kinds of creative things. We sang love songs over people, painted their nails, created balloon figures and did prophetic art; prophetic art is where you use art as a medium to bless someone by asking God for a picture that would illustrate His heart for that person.

It was so beautiful to see people getting wrecked by extravagant love. Georgian was playing the fiddle over a teenager while someone was singing her name followed by Jesus te amo. (Jesus loves you) They sang the phrase over and over and tears welled up in her eyes. After they finished serenading her one of my classmates asked if she could paint her finger nails and I asked her if I could give her a massage. As my friend and I were ministering to her with out words tears began to flow down her cheeks. Her mother and sister asked her what’s wrong. She replied nothing. She was deeply touched by love. 

At one of the dumps I met a 16 year old girl name Karla Lissette. Her father passed away when she was 2 years old and her mother abandoned her. She had no family. She lived and worked in the dumps. During the week she sifted through trash trying to find something of value and on the weekend she attended school. A group of us asked her what her dreams were. She didn’t want to tell us her dreams because it was painful and she felt it was silly. We began speaking life into her and telling her that the Lord care about her and her dreams and that he sent us to let her know how much He loves her. I asked her again and she said she was afraid to say it. We continued to speak life into her and then she shared that she wanted to be a teacher. One of my teammates drew a picture of a seed, a plant and Karla Lissette as a teacher with a blackboard. We told her that her dreams are a seed and when she gives it to the Lord He will grow it into a tree and bring her dreams to pass. We hugged and loved on her and as we left she was smiling and filled with hope.

We visited a shanty town where the houses were made out of a tarp like substance with four branches that became the corners to walls. This temporary situation was their permanent living situation. The people we met were such hard works. Many of them were construction workers. It blows my mind the difference in economy and how someone in the U.S. that’s a construction worker has a totally different lifestyle that someone in Nicaragua. The man in the picture below, Antonio, lived with his wife and three kids in a small room that consisted of their house. He invited us into his house. It was such an honor to be invited into his house. He was such a hard worker. He and his neighbor dug a well for almost two consecutive days so that they could have water. He was so grateful to God for what he had. He was such a rich man even though materially he had very little. I had much to learn from him and how his heart was postured. We prayed over him and asked him to pray over us as well.

We got to visit a leper colony. Many of the people in the dermatology hospital were living there because their condition is considered a disgrace to their family. As the team entered the complex a women in a wheelchair, named Thomasita, strategically placed herself at the front entrance so that she could be greeted by everyone that came by. Her legs were amputated from the knee down and you could see the swinging her legs back and forth in excitement as she was greeted by everyone that walking into the room. She was so happy to receive hugs and kisses from everyone.

While we were in Nicaragua we stayed at an orphanage with the most precious little kids. Each evening after we had got back from the garbage dumps we would eat dinner at the orphanage and had the opportunity to connect with the kids. We’d paint their nails, play soccer, jump on the trampoline with them, and chase them around. As they days progressed they’d wait for us to arrive and call our names to come play with them as we got off the bus.  One of the little girls from the orphage that was less than 5 or 6 years old was rescued at the U.S. border. She was being trafficked for her organs. She has such a precious heart.



Art at Casa Bethedsa Orphanage



It’s one thing to know about injustice that happens around the world and it’s another thing to see it first hand. Seeing, touching and being with people that experience injustice does something to your heart where it becomes reality. It’s no longer something that I can be passive about. I don’t know what that is going to look like in the future but I’m sensing that it has to do with part of my life calling. I’d appreciate your prayers in that regard.

I was chatting with Ben, one of the group leaders and he said something so simple yet profound. Everyone (who’s not in relationship with God) is looking through garbage trying to find something of value; it just looks different based on where you’re at.

There were physical healings that occurred as well but the stories that I shared are what captivated my heart the most. Thanks for you patience as it’s taken me a while to write an update on the trip.

More of what I’m learning at BSSM...

Joy

Christina Wagner spoke about joy being a choice just like love is a choice. Your circumstances don’t have to dictate how you life. Joy doesn’t have to be based on your emotions. In the mist of pain you can have joy. Joy is not a language that the enemy understands. Laughter confuses the enemy. Joy opens up your blood vessels. She challenged us to start cultivating joy by starting our morning laughing for 5 minutes.

She also shared a Marry Poppins video with us, I love to laugh. Marry Poppins symbolically represents the religious spirit. I hope you enjoy laughing with Uncle Albert: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx7lz5X2vKk

Promotion

Paul Manwaring shared about promotion. When we hear the word promotion we think it means going up. It means for motion, forward motion. What we expect from promotion isn’t what we think as going up. Going up is not synonymous with forward motion. Sometimes we find ourselves disappointed because we are anticipating a promotion and instead of getting move up we are moving forward.

Head and Heart connection-

Jason Vallotton, Kris Vallotton’s son, give the most practical helpful advice. Jason talked about a head and heart connection. Our head focuses on this is how to get life done. Our heart focuses on this would be a fulfilling life. In order for there to be a head to heart connection listen to your heart. Ask your heart, “Heart, what do you need? Are you ok with me doing this?” When you don’t listen to your heart, you are telling yourself, I don’t love me. When you understand what you need, you know how to feel loved. Until you know what is going on inside of you, you won’t be able to have deep intimacy because you don’t know what you have to give to someone. In relationships you can only give as much as you have. If you want better relationships you have to ask yourself, what do I have? Know yourself and what you have to offer to other. It’s important to take care of yourself and then minister. Work on your connection with God before doing anything. Jesus took time to connect with God and He will tell you what you need. David didn’t understand what was in his heart so he manipulated his environment.

Community Outreach

My weekly community outreach is Sidewalk Sunday School. Our team of 5 continues to go to a trailer park community to love on the kids and teach them a bible lesson. We did a lesson on: I am Important! To illustrate the point we did an object lesson. One of the team members, Fuda, brought a poster board they spent days and days creating about the nation of Singapore. It was very special to Fuda because he spent so much time working on it and thinking about it. Every little detail he made had been thought of before he put it together. I came along and told Fuda that his poster was no good. We talked about how that made Fuda feel. I ripped up the poster board and the children yelled, “No, what are you doing?”

We used the poster board to illustrate that this is the same with God. God thought of them even before they were born, and to God they are really really important, so it’s not good to call something or someone names who God has spent a long time thinking and creating. It hurts His heart and of course it’s just not true. So if anyone ever calls them a name, they can think about how much God thinks they are important to how that name is not even true!

My teammate, Nicole, had on a backpack and we pretended we were on our way to school. As we went to school, another child calls Nicole a name, so I add a rock to the backpack. When Nicole is at school, someone tells her, in a mean voice, that she is not good at reading; another rock is added to the backpack. On the way home she gets called another name, and another rock is added to the backpack.

Each time a rock is added to the backpack Nicole feels heavier and weighted down and becomes sad because she believes that she is not important. But we can do something about this! God thinks we are important and so every time we hear someone call us a name, we can say to ourselves: I am Important. We had the kids repeat the phrase with us.

We had a child volunteer do the same thing again, except this time every time someone calls the child a name, we had the child to speak out (to them self) No I’m not, I am Important. The rock was over the backpack as if I was about to put it in, and when the child said, “No I’m not, I am important”, I let the rock drop to the ground.

At the end of our lesson during our encounter time we had the children look in the mirror and say, “I am important!” I hope to share some pictures with you guys of the kids that we minister to.

Personal Note

The Hile family, who I had the pleasure of meeting on a mission trip to Nicaragua in 2009, are in Redding visiting for a few weeks. I'm looking forward to spending the evening with them tonight! :) My heart gets so happy when I see someone in Redding that I knew prior to BSSM. I can't even explain it. In January my sister, Ruby, came for a visit and we attend the Randy Clark School of Healing and Impartation. It was good to see her especially since she was not in Texas during Christmas break when I visited.

I'm planning on applying to second year and praying about what all that would entail. I will be back in Texas during the summer. My parents will be back in the country in mid-March for a few months. Needless to say I'm looking forward to seeing them when I return to Texas in the summer!

Honduras and Nicaragua

In 2009, I was privileged to lavish the gift of God's love on the poor, needy, orphaned and forgotten of Nicaragua. We ministered to communities of people who live inside the municipal garbage dumps and surrounding communities of Managua and Bluefields. Reaching out in compassion, beckoning the lost to experience the power of The Cross and enter into the Joy of the Lord. We shared the Kingdom Celebration as we ministered salvation in the streets of Nicaragua with Praise Parades, Worship, Dancing, and Supernatural Feeding Crusades. It was so much fun releasing the goodness of God!!

A mother feeding her son in La Chureca after a feeding crusade.

One of the places that we ministered was La Chureca. La Chureca is a slang term for the city trash dump in Managua, Nicaragua, referring to a community of people who live and work there, "sifting" or "filtering" through the garbage daily. La Chureca is the municipal domestic and industrial waste disposal site in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. It is the largest open air dumpster in Central America. Out of the approximately 1,000 persons who reside at the dump, 50% are children under age 18. These children and families work at La Chureca sorting through the waste. Approximately 115 to 180 families live in La Chureca. There is always a thick cloud of smoke that covers the area, increasing with the heat of the day with vultures soaring above the infinite layers of garbage.


Sorting through trash to find salvageable items.

As a part of our training at Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry we get to take a mission trip! I’m excited to be partnering with the same ministry and returning to the same region! I will be part of a team of 45 students that are taking the love of Jesus to the trash dumps of Honduras and Nicaragua, where the riches of our loving Father, are poured out like honey on the heads of those in the greatest of need. It’s going to be an Isaiah 61 time. We will be feeding the hungry, loving the unloved, and healing the broken. Most of the ministry on this trip will take place in the Trash Dumps, where we will feed those who live and make their money from sorting through mountains of garbage. As well as staying at an orphanage where we get to party with the niño’s (kids) every night. We will be building on the foundation of relationship developed over years of connection to help bring transformation to these beautiful nations. Please be in pray for this trip. The trip date is March 24^th thru April 7^th.  

The total cost of the trip is $2,400. Thank you to those of have already contributed! I’ve raised $700 so far, the remaining 1,700 is due by February 21, 2012. If the Lord places it in your heart to contribute financially you can make a financial gift online or by check. To make a payment online, go to https://www.ibssm.org/?action=donate&target=missions&student_id=213416



This boy came alive as Jimmy danced with him in his arms at the paise parade.

To make a check payment, make the check payable to Bethel Church and leave the memo area of the check blank. Mail the check to the following address: 

Bethel International - Attn: Stephen Hatley,  

915 Twin View Blvd

Redding, CA 96003 

Please include a note with the donation that says, “Beena Benny-Nicaragua/Banovs.”

This will ensure that the gift is applied to my mission account.

In one of the poor communities of Nicaragua with  beautiful children.

Gold Nuggets

I thought I’d write a gold nuggets, things that has stood out to me from the teaching at school....Enjoy!!

Whatever you look at/reflect upon in the imagination of your mind is what you reproduce. You become what you behold. Whatever you imagine you become and birth. Reality flows from the spiritual realm to the natural realm, whatever we come into agreement with we empower. If we believe in lies than we give the enemy authority to activate those lies to become a reality in our lives but when we believe in the truth we align our self with the reality of God's kingdom to be manifest in our lives. Whatever you focus on becomes your reality. If we focus on what we don't want to be we will become that which we don't desire. By focusing on the call of God on our lives and meditating on His vision for us we can focus on energy positively and on who we want to become. When we focus on what other people have or have not done we cannot be focused on what we are called to do and what God is doing.

We had an entire week on the Prophetic. Anyone who is saved and receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit can minister in the gifts of the Sprit.  The gift of prophecy is for the purpose of edification, exhortation, and consolation. The ABC’s of prophecy are: revelation- What did God say? interpretation- What does it mean? and application-what do I do about it? We grow in the prophetic by being thankful for what we’ve received and being faithful. Put your gift to work and you’ll get more.

There is an oak tree in an acorn. A delayed answer is gaining interest because when it is finally released it will bear more fruit. We ask the Lord for an oak tree and He gives us an acorn. Often times when He answers our prayers with an acorn; we neglect to realize that there is an oak tree in an acorn.  He wants us to steward the acorn and so that it grows into an oak tree. 

If you are going to thrive, you have to build the wall that is in front of you. Find out what is directly in front of you and build it well. The enemy wants to get you off assignment and get distracted by looking at other parts of the wall. Success is recognizing what is in front of you and doing it with all of your heart. Don’t rush the process. It’s the process that prepares us for what God has and the process that gives us strength to keep what He releases to us. The process is the very thing that prepares you for the thing He shows you. When we rush the process we lose the ability to carry what the Lord has spoken.

Every word has a frequency. Forgiveness and thanksgiving are the two highest frequencies. Gratitude has been proven to renew cells. We change our atmosphere by how we think and with gratitude. A heart of gratitude can be cultivated by simple telling the Lord through out the course of the day, “I am grateful for________.”

Jason Vallotton taught about processing through pain. Stay on one thought and think about it, cry about it, journal about how you feel. Write a commentary on how you feel at that time. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you how He sees that person, ask God to reveal His truth and forgive them. When you have compassion connected to forgiveness you have the most genuine forgiveness. Process and have fun. If you’re tired don’t process. Stop and recharge. Have fun. A part of loving yourself is recharging. Continue to do this through every single memory.

About a month ago Rex and I choose to break off our engagement. We blessed and released each other. We decided to move on and see what God has in store for each of us separately. I'm at peace the decision that we have made. The teachings on building the wall in front of me, processing through pain, and cultivating a heart of gratitude has been especially helpful to me with all that has been going on.

I’m currently in Texas for the holidays, Dec. 15^th thru Jan 8^th. I will be staying primarily in Plano with my cousin and best friend, Josy & Shiney and a week with my brother and sister in love, Finny and Andrea.

Living my dream!

I made it to Bethel! It's hard to believe that it began as a thought and now it's reality...but then again that's how all dreams happens. I first thought about attending a ministry school, Convergence School of Supernatural Ministry, at my home church about three years ago after I met some dynamic students that attended the ministry school. During that time I was working on completing 3,000 hours to become a professional counselor and marriage and family therapist. I knew that I was to build the wall that was in front of me and continue to finish out what I had started so I placed the thought of going to the ministry school in the back in my mind. A year later (2009) as I got closer to finishing my licensure hours, I began to think, it's possible to attend the ministry school and what better time to attend school then while I'm single. I would be able to be single-minded and whole-hearted in my pursuit of pressing into the Lord. As I began to give it more serious thought my heart shifted to wanting to attending Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry in Redding, CA.

So what was it about these student that got me interested in attending a ministry school? It was their hunger, excitement and enthusiasm for life. I knew I wanted what they had and were going after in the Lord...walking in the fullness of who we are in Christ by being who we are in Christ and moving in miracles, signs and wonders. It's not just for a select few or those in the Bible. It's for ever believer in Christ!

You may be wondering, why would you want to move to Redding, California instead of staying where you are at in Texas? Well...I'm glad you asked. I knew that Convergence based their ministry school after Bethel and as I began to think about devoting 9 months of my life to something I decided why wouldn't I want to go to the original model? Bethel. I've lived in Texas for most of my life, the comfort of being around my friends and family and I wanted to step out of my comfort zone.

I finished my licensure hours in February 2010! It took me 3 years to be fully licensed!! After being licensed I took a contract job in August working primarily with military children in a school setting. I loved this job! It allowed me to do more of what was in my heart and make more money. AND I was able to set aside money for school. It was a win, win, win situation. I was working in Killeen, TX 2 1/2 hours from the DFW metroplex. While I was in Killeen. I stumbled upon Austin School of Supernatural Ministry, a part-time ministry school, that was based on a dvd curriculum from Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry. I attended it to get a jump start on my journey to Bethel.

The summer was filled with three moves (Killeen to Ft. Worth, Ft. Worth to Plano, Plano to Redding), continuing education hours to maintain my counseling licensure and teaching certification, and visiting friends and family. I flew out to San Diego, CA in mid-September and spent the night with my cousin, Blessy and Lester and rented a car and drove up the coast of California. It was the longest road trip that I have taken on my own. 10 hours!! I hate road trips but the reward of stepping in my destiny is well worth it!

I was greeted by Sharon Watson, the gracious homeowner and my lovely housemates, Jamie Bennett and Sarah Wind. They had a home cooked meal prepared and waiting for me upon my arrival.  I was very grateful! =) The house was lovely. The sun rises directly in front of the house where there is an open clearing. There are deer and wild turkey that wander through the neighborhood. We live on the top of a hill and the drive down the street is simply beautiful! There are mountains in the backdrop every where you look. The scenery here is amazing!!

The drive down the street I live on. =)

Jamie and I are both first year students. There are 980 students in our class. It's like going to a conference everyday. People go early and wait in line till the doors open. We head out at 11:45am and arrive to school at noon, where we wait in line till the doors open. Class starts at 12:45pm and ends at 5:30pm. The emphasis of the first year of ministry school is our identity in Christ. Sarah is a second year student. Both Jamie and I ask her questions as we learn the ropes.

A typical school week

Monday thru Thursday I attend school from 12:45pm to 5:30pm. On Mondays we have worship, bible, a staff speaker and then we break out into our revival groups. Students are broken down into "revival groups" which consists of a group of 70 or so students that are overseen by a pastor and a handful of third year students. Carl Richardson is my RGP, Revival Group Pastor. He has an fathering heart. On Tuesdays we have worship, a staff speaker and we break out into Advanced Ministry Training (AMT). AMTs are 5 week courses that we select according to our interests. I selected Healing - Kingdom Foundation taught by Kevin Dedmon. There were many healings that occurred during class!! A guys foot grew out right in the palm of my hands! After the first set of AMTs we are allowed to select between a Track or AMTs. Tracks are for the remainder of the school year, whereas you can select a new AMT ever 5 weeks. Tracks are focused on an area of emphasis that you intend to do as a vocation.  I selected the Transformation/Counseling Track. On Wednesdays we have bible, a staff speaker and small group. In small groups we were placed with a hand full of peers to build further connection with that are within our Revival Group . We over a lesson together. On Thursdays we have a staff speaker, worship, Chris Overstreet speaks on Evangelism and then we have Activations. Activations are were we get to put into practice the head knowledge we've been taught while doing community outreachs. We got to select a outreach according to our interest. I selected Sidewalk Sunday School. Every Thursday our group of 5 goes to a trailer park community and does a Sunday School lesson for children. We love on them, play games with them and teach a lesson. Last week they learned that Jesus blood paid for everything and 7 children accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior! In addition to the regular school schedule every student signs up for an hour in the prayer chapel and attends two church services. I go to the prayer chapel on Tuesdays at 7am. While in the chapel I enjoy listening to soaking music and drawing.

 

The Lion of the Tribe of Judah


 Jamie enjoys drawing as well. She has been taking art class and seeing her artwork inspired me to draw. I've never really taken an interest in drawing but I've enjoyed sketching some things that to my surprise turned out to be pretty good. So I've decide to take art classes in January. I'm looking forward to seeing how that blossoms as time goes by.

Reading material thus far!

We have quite a bit of homework that we are responsible for. I will have read over 3,000 pages of required reading by the end of the school year. It has been a bit overwhelming at times. Fortunately, there is less reading as the school year progresses...music to my ears. All of the reading has been amazing.