Seattle Weeks 4&5

Well here is my last post covering the past two weeks. I'll be home in a few days and it's weird to even think about as I sit here writing this out. Compared to week 3, weeks 4 and 5 have been a walk in the park in relation to what we have done. Week 4 we went to Odle Middle School everyday. The mornings were laid back and gave us the chance to take care of reading or quiet times or anything we had responsibility wise in planning events. We met with Pastor Warren a few times to discuss the weeks ahead before our camping trip and before the Creation Festival and in the evenings we headed back to the Purple Door to fix dinner. I think our homemade dinners at the Purple Door are some of our fondest memories with my team. The whole experience of cooking, sitting down to eat, talking, laughing, and then cleaning up together are some memories that I'll hold tight to for quite a while. Plus I am proud of the way my cooking skills have expanded this summer. I can cook a good filet out of the oven, with some mashed potatoes, chopped carrots, and finish up with some killer monkey bread. :) But it's times where we are all just sitting around sharing stories and just learning more about one another that I cherish the most - I feel like I've known them for years.

Me, Alyssa, Susanne, and Missy waiting on dinner (Guys serve Girls)

They were so proud of their meal - also best dessert ever ^

 



 Well the weekend between weeks 4 and 5 was so nice. It was the first weekend that for me was completely free. Saturday I knocked out some blog posts that I hadn't a chance to get to earlier and then got to sit down and watch the first part of the trilogy of Lord of the Rings. I really enjoyed the quiet time to myself and felt relaxed about everything. On Sunday, after church, my friend Olivia picked me up and we traveled the roughly two hour drive down to Chehalis and Centralia where her parents live. Now for those who don't know, Olivia was (and is) one of my best friends growing up. She moved up to Washington after seventh grade and I haven't seen her until this year when Lakeside's youth group came up over Spring Break. So to actually go and see her house and spend time with her outside of Seattle was incredible. I've missed hanging out with her and you know when you have a God friend when things haven't changed between the two of you and you pick up right where you left off. It felt as if we did this kind of thing every weekend - hanging out, going to eat at the Quesadilla Factory, and riding quads around the trails. Definitely a sweet day that was not near long enough but I rejoined my team later that night and it was hard not to get into the excitement of leaving for our camping trip on Monday!

Monday morning came and we were furiously packing and getting the van all set and then after our trip to Odle we began our week of camping. After four almost five hours of driving, we arrived at our first campground site right on the beach. It was my second time to see the Pacific Ocean and it's always incredible to see the vastness of any ocean and the way it stretches forever. It was here that we saw a bald eagle and ate our hobo burgers and s'mores. I slept soundly in my sleeping bag and was grateful for the extra cushion of a sleep pad that I had to lay on. The next morning I rose to eat Maple and Brown Sugar oatmeal and then sat down for my quiet time. As I sat on the beach, listening to the pounding of the waves, I read through the book of Esther. Her story is such an encouragement and I drew a lot of strength from it, especially as I come out of this single minded summer. Everything around me isn't going to be focused on Christ, and that is why it's all the more important that I work to focus on my own heart and keeping it facing towards Christ and the cross.

Some views are hard to put into words...

 

Well the rest of the week follows suit in that we would pack up camp and drive to the next campsite while stopping off at amazing sites such as Ruby Beach, the Big Cedar Tree, Sol Duc River, Hoh Rain Forest, Lake Crescent, Hurricane Ridge, Forks, Hot Springs, and Cape Flattery. Just so many incredible views and met some cool people. Also I was proud of my team, because we were literally around each other 24/7 and while we got short at times we got along really well and were fine throughout, praise God.

 

Lake Crescent

 Big Cedar Tree

Massive rock at Ruby Beach

Ruby Beach

Sol Duc River

2nd Campground

Marie and I at Cape Flattery

On our way back from Cape Flattery we could see Canada :)

 

Hot Springs

 

Well I think I'll wrap it up here because I think it's hard to put into words how great this summer has been. Thank you for all of your prayers and support! The Lord has been so good this summer and I am excited to see what all he has in store for the future. Feel free to ask me about what He has done in my life this summer. Other than that, all my love and I look forward to seeing you very soon.