Hellooooooooooo you few who actually read this (Victoooooooriaaaaaaaa, Dan- I'm posting, stop bugging me!) hee hee, anywho, I'm really sorry it's taken me sooooooo looooooooong to get another post in, but I've been keeping pretty busy.I just got back yesterday from Deep Freeze at Camp Berea for our Jr. High winter retreat. It was AWESOME!!! No other word to describe it, really. We had a small group this year; seven girls and only four boys! I was worried about the girls...three are very quiet while the other four are...well...decidedly NOT.
Yeah, that pretty much says it. That's Julia, and those are mutilated swedish fish in her mouth. The whole shenanigan was a repeat of last year, only without one of the fish flying from Julia's mouth to Rachel's hair. Can you say "EWWW!!!"? Yeah.She's gonna kill me for posting that! Tee hee!!Happily, the girls meshed very well and got along famously. Even the quieter ones were being incredibly silly right along with us (yes, I did make a fool out of myself as usual. Anything for the kids!). 
I'm taking the picture, so that's my foot in the rainbow fuzzy slipper (I love those slippers).Anywho, It was really cold, and it snowed all day Saturday, but it was that nice fluffy slow-motion snow that's beautiful, so the weather wasn't all that bad (if you dressed VERY warmly!).
The speaker (Ryan Baker) was engaging and had a lot of great things to say (he was shuffling a deck of cards for a kid who was showing him a card trick...hence the leg up). The Theme for the weekend was "Living on the Edge", which had a lot to do with something God's been teaching me for awhile...getting out of my comfort zone. But living on the edge refers more to pushing the boundaries and expanding your comfort zone. So the whole teaching theme was great for me, and I got a whole lot out of it.
The worship was indescribable. DecembeRadio returned (they were there last year), and totally rocked for God. It was just unbelievable. 
That's them with Rachel, who was too intimidated by their, and I quote, "cuteness", to ask them for a photo. So guess who had to ask? Yup. But that was ok, 'cuz by that time I'd already talked to them on my own. (FYI: from left to right-Josh, Brian, little Rachel, Eric, and Boon).
Saturday night, Nate (the camp director), announced that DecembeRadio would be at SoulFest this year! My jaw hit the floor and my eyeballs popped out of my sockets. You see, after SoulFest last year, I filled out an online survey about the bands that were there (rating them on how I liked them or if I even knew them) and the last question was if there was anyone else you'd like to see at SoulFest who wasn't mentioned. On a whim I wrote....you guessed it: DecembeRadio. So after the meeting I went over to the guys and asked Brian how they came to be going to SoulFest. Turns out people from SoulFest contacted them! They worked with DR's new record label and voila! August 3rd, 7 or 7:30pm (Brian wasn't sure) on the Inside Out stage!! Brian looked curious as to why I asked, so I told him about going to SF '05 and the survey, and he got all excited and Eric overheard (it was a little loud in the gym andI was losing my voice, but somehow, he overheard) and he got all excited too ("No way! Really?!") By this time, Josh was cued in to the conversation and he ran around the other side of the table to where I was and high fived me (followed by Eric and Brian) and told me to give them a shout when I got to SoulFest and we'd all hang out.
So now I'm super psyched for SoulFest now, since I've got a standing invitation to hang with one of the bands! But really, they're very genuine guys, not buying into the whole 'rock star' image (tho they look it), and they have big hearts and rockin' music for God. Someday, they will be as famous in Christian music as Third Day or Newsboys... and they'll still be the same ordinary guys. Cool.
In other news, Fiberoptics is going well, I'm learning new jobs in both assembly and inventory, and learning them well and fast. It fits me, and that's great. Being a Youth leader is fitting better than ever too now, and that's sooo strange for me. Something else too, which if any of you actually know me, I'd like your opinion on. God, in the really strange way that He works, has planted this little idea in the back of my head about me becoming a Youth Pastor...Weird, huh? I don't quite know what to make of it yet, but it's definitely something I'm going to keep praying about. The really strange thing is my reaction to the idea. I'm not dismissing it, and I'm not afraid to let it happen, should it be God's will. Shocking, I know! I'm stunned that I'm even considering it. I just wonder if I could be Pastor Sara... If I could be just like Pastor Dave... It's alot to think and most definitely pray about, and I'll post more when I know more.
Well, I think that's about it for now. I've got a crapload of, well, crap to do, so I'll post (hopefully) soon, like within the next millenium....
Much love
Sara
