Hey friends and family! I apologize for how late this first blog is, life has been crazy, God has been good, and I cant wait to update y’all on how I have been doing! I just completed 3 weeks of training camp and to say it has been both amazingly beautiful and extremely challenging would be an understatement. There are so many funny stories I could tell about my squad mates, playing games, and learning how to do my laundry in a home-depo bucket, and then taking a bucket shower using that same bright orange bucket. However, I am going to keep it real with you guys, these weeks have also had their fair share of struggles. Right now almost half of my team is sick. Strep has been making its rounds and it has been BRUTAL so if y’all will please keep my team in your prayers that would be much appreciated. Thankfully I am still healthy and feeling fine (knock on wood) so please pray for a quick recovery for the people that are battling sickness, as well as protection for those who are healthy.

Over these last few weeks I have learned so much about myself and my current relationship with God and I feel like I have already grown so much! Living outside has been an eye opening experience and even though I don’t mind bugs, I have had a few encounters with some rather large spiders that were not pretty. I have grown to love my tent and spending all the time in nature whether it’s going on walks, playing smash face, or laying in my hammock. Spending time outside in Gods beautiful creation has only grown my heart to adore and love him and this world he has created even more. We got a chance to hike Mountain Yonah this last week and it was one of the harder hikes I have done. We had to pack our big hiking backpacks with our tents and clothes and cary those up the mountain with us as well, which only added to the challenge, but just made it even more rewarding when we saw the view at the top and got to camp out at the peak that night.

I love my team mates and am so thankful for this opportunity. If this is only training camp, I cant wait to see what life will look like when we get to travel! Thank you so much to everyone who has continued to support me financially and through prayer, I wouldn’t be here without you! Now that I was FINALLY able to get my blog account set up, my goal is to update y’all at least every other week if not more often. Please feel free to text me throughout the week while I am still in the states! I would love to talk and personally update you! We do not have access to our phones for the whole day but any time after about 8 pm I should be available. I love and miss y’all so much and can’t wait to see what else God has in store for me!