Back to Jenkins!

Our wonderful Hall Manager, Demetrio, resigned a few weeks ago which left his position open. I applied and was hired on Friday, moved in on Saturday, and started my position as the Draper/Jenkins Hall Manager today. 

 He set such a great example and he is definitely missed!

I've been an RA for two and half years and it's a little bittersweet to leave that position. The hardest part was telling my residents that I would no longer be living on the wing with them. Here are some pictures of my favorite RA memories:

Halloween 2010. Tara and I were RAs in Sierra, learning the ropes.

Kelly, Shakshi, and me having a girls night in Fall 2011. We were RAs in Jenkins last year. Remember when I found out they were hiring me back for the first time?

Kaela, Tara, and I were the "Sierra Girls". We took a trip to Disneyland last Winter Break. Such a blast.

This fall, we had "Have Dinner With Your RA" during opening weekend. This is about half of the girls I had living on my wing this year. I miss them already...and it's only been three days.

When the residents are away, the RAs play. Once the residents moved out for Winter Break, we turned off all the lights, and played hide-and-go-seek. Crazy intense. Loved every second of it.

This is such a new experience and I am thrilled for this opportunity to grow professionally and personally. The Lord has definitely provided me with such a rich experience living in the halls and I couldn't imagine what life would be like without these experiences. I can't wait to serve my staff and Sacramento State Housing and Residential life in this position.

I couldn't post this blog without showing you this. I am not the most efficient packer. Oops. Thanks to everyone who helped me move buildings!

Go with the flow: Day trip to SLO

Hello blogging world! I am excited to tell you about an adventurous day I had with James. This was spontaneous and definitely a crazy day. We are partnering with Cru at SLO to take their students to East Asia. So fun, right?!

Monday at 3pm, I got a call from James and another staff dude, Jacob. They thought it'd be a good idea if we went to SLO the next day to go to their weekly meeting and talk to students. Here's the thing, I hate skipping class. But I figured, what the heck? I love adventure...and who wouldn't want to go to SLO? It's only 5 hours each way....no big deal to conquer in a day.

James picked me up at school and we started our journey at 10am. We wanted to get an earlier start but I had to get a TB test. Lovely. 

The drive was a whole bunch of fun. It was raining, and James seriously could not stop talking about how excited he was about his new windshield wipers. Thank you, Jacob, for buying them for James, so I could hear all about them on our drive.

We discussed business like things and probably everything under the sun. Our trip was filled with lots of bathroom stops. Sorry. I don't know what was wrong with me that day. I'm typically a good passenger, but James never complained about stopping. We would discuss the cleanliness and overall score of a bathroom...our favorite: the 7/11 in Stockton...off of I-5 (Ben Holt Drive). Exceptional!

We stopped at lunch at McDonalds and we made poor choices when ordering our food. Of course, our lunch stop was paired with a potty break. 

Someone please explain to me why there was a roll of toilet paper on the hook where ladies hang their purses? The normal dispenser was totally full. I was confused and laughed a little.

We also stopped at a fruit stand. James was not impressed with his peach. Sorry bro.

In addition to our conversation, we oftentimes broke out into songs about the drive, and yes, the bathrooms. Here is a really little taste.

We arrived in SLO around 4pm. It was pouring rain and we were bummed that the beach and walking around downtown were not the best way to spend the day in the rain. Luckily, James was able to get ahold of his cousin, Chris. We picked him up and went to coffee at this really hipster place. We loved it.

Seriously love it when my foam is artsy.

So delicious!

Next, we were off to have dinner with the ZagRodny's. They are on staff with Cru at SLO. They will be coming with us to East Asia! Their focus is on bringing faculty with us but they will participate in the project and we are excited to have them join us with their two kids. Molly made us a delicious dinner of macaroni chili, my first time having it and it was great! She also made brownies and served it with ice-cream. Mmm mmm good! 

One of my dear friends from Ocean City Summer Project, Sharon, joined us for dinner and we made sure to take a picture at the end of the weekly meeting. 

Sharon went to East Asia last summer so it was so good catching up with her and asking her lots of questions. She just kept telling me how much I'm going to love it...and I totally believe her. 

At their weekly meeting, James and I were able to tell the students why we were there and invited them to come with us. We met students after the meeting and got to answer their questions. The coolest part for me was getting to meet the girls that have already been accepted on our project. I've been talking to them on the phone to get to know them and discuss their applications, but it was so nice meeting them face to face! Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture with them...sad.

We left SLO at 10:30pm and arrived back in Sac around 3:30am. We're probably crazy for doing this in a day. But, I was a good co-pilot and stayed awake the whole time to talk to James. This is quite an accomplishment cause I'm typically the first one to fall asleep in the car. We had lots of sunflower seeds and James drank a ridiculously large Mountain Dew. We made it home safely and kept saying over and over how worth the trip was.

Well, that was our trip to SLO! We are excited and hopeful to see how God pulls our team together. Here's another thought: my blog's title is 100% sent...and that means 100%. Why do I only post when something with a project comes up? I want to start blogging more of my everyday life things because serving the Lord is not just about going around the world...it's about being sent into your workplace, classroom, housing, and having fun...just all parts of life. Hope you join me on this journey. Subscribe!

Embrace the blessing of adventure.

Pictures and Final Thoughts on Denver

Hey everyone! As I sit at the Sacramento Courthouse (serving jury duty) I figured now would be a great time to share some pictures with you and my finals thoughts on my time in Denver.

First, let me introduce you to our leadership team. Sol is on the left. He is our OPD (Operations Director). I'm the shorty in the middle (Project Director). And James is the other PD (Project Director).

This picture is hilarious to me. I really think it captures our personalities. I have no clue what I was thinking but apparently the boys were more intent on listening than I was in the moment.

This is our view when at breakfast. Over a mile high! We ate on the 38th floor. This is a sweet view of Denver with the Rocky Mountains in the back.

Kim Johson and Emily Shand

I know these beautiful ladies from when I went on project to Ocean City, NJ. Kim was the PD and Emily was staff. So fun to see them again! Read more about my thoughts on that project here.

Jenna is on staff at Cal Poly Pomono. We had a lunch date at Taco Bell.

Lobsters Protesting?

Do sheep have fluffy faces? No one knows.

Lydia is one of my dear friends, past resident, and current disciple. She applied originally to Ocean City but God has really put it on her heart to trust Him and to apply to come with us to East Asia. After prayer and careful consideration, she changed East Asia to her first choice on her application. She's 100% in! This girl is so encouraging. 

Just a little taste of the weather. 

Natalie, Me, and Casey all bundled up walking downtown.

Colorado State Capitol

A "Before I die..." wall in downtown. We took a few moments and wrote on it.

The PSW teams going to East Asia

Remember when we went to Buenos Aires? We saw Robbie in Denver! He was on STINT in Argentina when we were there last spring. So good to see him and catch up! Read about that trip here.

My final thoughts:

I am so thankful for my time in Denver. Every PD from Cru in the US was there...stateside projects and global missions. I met so many cool people and was encouraged by all of them and their willingness to lead. 

James, Sol, and I got a grip on what needs to be done, and how we can do it. Please be praying for us and we set out to plan this trip.

Most importantly, we learned more about why we go on missions, more of who God is, and how we can walk in His Spirit. We were told that we are going to make mistakes, and that we have the freedom to fail. God is ultimately in control and as we continually look to Him for guidance, we will be successful PDs. 

Adventure is one of my favorite blessings. What adventurous blessing has God placed in your life where He is asking you to simply trust Him?

Please feel free to leave a comment below or subscribe. I'd love to read your feedback! Your encouragement is so valuable. 

Inadequate

Greetings from Denver, CO! We arrived yesterday and have already learned so much. I'm happy to be here and happy that the Lord has been showing me new things.

One word has been swimming through my mind the entire day: inadequate.

Yup, that sums it up.

This morning, I was just thinking "Wow. Look at all these things I'm in charge of. I've never been to this part of the world. I've never been on an International Summer Project. All these staff people are here and I'm a student. How am I supposed to do this? I can't do it. I'm inadequate."

I've been wrestling with this word/concept all day. And here's the thing: I really am inadequate. But the beauty of it is that God uses people like me to bring the story of redemption and hope to others. Crazy. Humbling. 

We've been told over and over in the past two days that we are going to make mistakes. We are going to make bad decisions. However, that is when God is most glorified. The speaker this morning reminded us of the story in Judges 7: Gideon's Army.

Here's a super brief summary (Audrey's Version). Gideon is leading Israel's army against the Midianites. Gideon has an army of 32,000 men. God tells Gideon that he has too many men...and that if they won the battle, Gideon's army would think it would be because of their own strength. So, Gideon sends 22,000 home and is left with 10,000. Guess what? God still says that's too many....make it 300 men. So, Gideon now has an army of 300 men. The battle rages and God defeats the Midianites with just the 300 men. God uses the inadequate to show his glory. And I'm thankful for it.

God will get so much glory from our team because of how BIG of a commission it is to take the gospel to the nations. 

Thank you for your prayers as we continue to figure out what it will look like to take a team of students to East Asia this summer. How has God been challenging you lately? Where do you feel inadequate? 

How can God use you to change the world for his glory?

Go. Do. Say. Give.

This week Cru at Sac State got home from San Diego Winter Conference (Winter Conf)! #sdwc12 We were blessed with the opportunity to hear from a variety of speakers, worship our holy God, pack 100,000 meals, build friendships, and learn more about being UNDONE for God. Undone was the theme and each speaker did a great job relating back to what that means and challenged us to allow God to work in and through us. 

Let me share a few highlights:

The second night, I was in the Summer Project promo skit and had a blast. Jonathan (OCSP11) did a great job as an extra too. ;) It was a great opportunity to get students talking about Summer Project even if it was silly and dramatic. Here we are before the meeting! 

The "Day of Faith" included three parts. One of the parts was packing 100,000 meals for children. Here is a pic of most of Cru at Sac State who attended Winter Conf. Don't we look good in those hairnets? It was so fun working together to accomplish such a task.  

A song that was played throughout Winter Conf was "Where you Go I Go" by Jesus Culture. Listen to it here:

The last meeting,  four big graffiti boards were put around the room titled: go, do, say, give. Students used chalk and wrote where they would go, what they would do, what they would say, and what they would give to God. It was incredible to see how the Holy Spirit was stirring in students.

  

I wrote: East Asia 2013 on the "go" board. I know I had already committed to being a Project Director, but throughout Winter Conf, I was reassured that this was exactly how God wanted to use me this summer. 

Students had the opportunity to sign this and surrender all of these things to God for a lifetime.

Finally, it was time to CELEBRATE!

The New Years Eve party was a whole lot of fun. The theme was #bestof2012 so you know this girl rocked Giants gear to celebrate the World Champions. I was not alone.

Aubrey, Me, Collin, Cody

 Me and Lydia

At midnight the dance party stopped, and worship began. An hour and a half of worship to our Creator and Savior to bring in the New Year.



Overall, Winter Conf was a great time and experience. It was first one and it was totally worth it. One of the speakers, Michael Oh, spoke a lot about missions-and tithing our time to missions. I am thankful for the opportunity to tithe part of my summer to East Asia.

God answered a BIG prayer of ours by providing an Operations Director.

Things you can be praying for:
1. Our trip to Denver-safe travels and that we can leave feeling confident and equipped to lead to East Asia
2. A team-trusting that God will provide students that will join us in East Asia
3. Wisdom-that James and I use wisdom when making decisions for our team

Thanks again for you support-can't wait to see what God has in store for 2013!

Summer 2013...East Asia Edition!

Hello friends and family! It's that time again where I reflect back and am in complete awe of how God chooses to use me: a twenty-one year old Sac State student...to reach the world. Crazy right? Before I dive in, let me update you on my past semester.

Fall 2012
I am so encouraged by Fall 2012 at Sac State. There were so many ministry highlights but I would just like to share a few. I have been overseeing the Weekly Meeting Team for Cru and God answered a big prayer of ours by establishing a team of people who are excited for reaching our campus on Wednesday nights. It's been cool to see younger students take ownership of the meetings and be excited about how God can use them. 

My favorite highlights come through my experience as an RA. Three of my residents attended Fall Retreat and one was led to Christ by another Cru woman. That resident wasn't even sure if she could go to Fall Retreat. Finances were an issue but we figured it out and she joined us. It was incredible to see the joy that she had when she realized that she was able to have a personal relationship with God through Jesus. When was the last time you were STOKED about your salvation? That was great!

My discipler, Caellin, has challenged me to have spiritual conversations with each of my residents and we have been doing Soularium with them. This semester, we had a great conversation with a resident on a Friday morning and I got to learn so much about her life. After hearing about her beliefs, she allowed me to share what I know is true and what the Bible says is true about who God is. She was eager to hear how to have a relationship with God---she had never known anything other than trying to do enough good things to make Him happy. She prayed to receive Christ that morning!

I do not say these things to brag or to build up my spiritual resume. I say these things to thank God for how he has used me-to show how powerful He is in a weak person like me. God moves in the hearts of people all around us. We are called to go and make disciples of ALL nations (Matthew 28:19). With that being said, Summer 2013 will take me to East Asia!!!!

Being Sent to East Asia
Let me back up a little and tell you how this happened. Back in October I was with James (Cru Intern at Sac State and a friend) planning a leadership meeting. We were chatting and he asked me, "Have you considered going on an International Summer Project this summer." My answer, "No...but I guess I can start thinking about it." That got my gears going. I seriously hadn't given it any though. I was graduating...and that was as far as I had figured out. 

Cru at Sac State has been looking to partner with an international location. We thought we had one figured out but late in November, it fell through. We knew James was going to lead a project...we just didn't know where. Monday of finals week, I get a call from Caellin and our conversation went something like this: "Hey Auds, how's finals? We found out where we're sending students this summer...East Asia. In order for Cru at Sac State to fully lead the project, James needs a female Co Project Director...we think you should do it." My response: "Really? OK!" In two minutes, I went from having no idea where we were going...to leading a project. Crazy. We had no clue in October when James asked me to consider going on a project, that we would end up leading one together. Funny funny.

James and I will be attending a training in Denver this January to be equipped with all we need to know to lead the project. What I know so far is that we will be heading to East Asia in June and will be focusing on two campuses there. I am beyond excited to see what adventures lay ahead and to see God still in the heart of East Asia students. Here are some things you can be praying for:

1. OPD-James and I are looking for someone to be our Operations Director (handle finances) for the trip.
2. A team! We would love to see 20 students from Sac State and Arizona State join us.
3. Wisdom-that James and I can lead with wisdom as we make decisions for our team.



Winter Conference is next week and then a few short days after that, we're heading to Denver!!

Thank you for investing in my life as God uses me to invest in the lives of others. Can't wait to keep you posted!

Buenos Aires Part 1

Hey all! I think oftentimes it's overwhelming coming back to a trip and trying to fully communicate all that happened and how great our Savior truly is. When people asked me how the trip went, I struggle because if I can't tell the whole story, I don't want to tell it at all. My discipler on Tuesday asked if I had thought about mini testimonies to share about my trip....I hadn't yet. So we talked about it and I feel like I have a better grasp of what to share....or at least how to start to share!

So, this is Part One. A few little nugget testimonies that only begin to explain what God is doing in the city of Buenos Aires. Keep an eye out or more details, pictures, and stories. 

1. We serve God of ALL nations

I think this is something we always know but we don't necessarily understand. We  know that God desires a relationship with everyone but hearing someone pray in a different language on a different continent reminds me that He is Creator and God of the entire universe. 

2. College students in Argentina have the same questions and struggles as students at Sac State

We did Soularium with students on campuses which is a spiritual picture survey. The three questions we asked were: What three pictures describe your life right now? What three pictures do  you wished described your life? What is one picture that represents God?

Just like here at Sac State, Argentine students were seeking wealth, peace of mind, community, family, and hope. It was so cool sharing with students that the only way to be truly satisfied is with a relationship with your Creator through Jesus. Kenny and I shared with a lady named Gracelinda  who goes to church every Sunday but was not assured of her salvation. She prayed to ask Christ to be on the throne of her life and to have faith of assured salvation! The team in Buenos Aires (STINTers) will follow up with her and it was just a great opportunity to share and to be a part of her life. 

3. Whether we go internationally or are missionaries in our day to day lives, we are called to go

Sharing your faith can certainly be a scary experience! We need to remember that the Holy Spirit is living and active. He is in control and we are called to be obedient. Take steps of faith to share with family members, classmates, and friends!

Those are just three things that I've brought back with me to the States. I hope it begins to paint a picture of my trip and stay tuned to hear more. I'll give you a hint of a story to come: I had a teeter-totter accident. I'm totally fine but I still have bruises on my legs. The video is priceless and I'll try to figure out how to post it on the blog!

Meet the Sac State Team! Laura, Kenny, James, Me, Jonathan, Jacob, Caellin, Keller, Christina, Brian, and Kymber. 

Kenny and I on the teeter-totter after sharing on the law campus.

The ladies after dinner on our way to a tango show! The roses were from Keller (the cutest six month old on the planet).

Kenny and I sharing with a guy named George on the law campus.

Some of the gang at an Argentine steakhouse!