End of Semester Ponderings

Photos have been placed randomly for your enjoyment! = )


First of all, I apologize for being so out of touch. I’ve heard from some that I haven’t updated and you were anxiously waiting, wanting to know what was going on in my life. This semester has been incredible. I don’t really know where to start. I did update a time or two over the semester, but not nearly as much as I should have or planned to.

It’s currently pouring rain outside, there’s a tornado watch or warning or whatever going on right now. Apparently one was sighted near the freeway near school. I’m baking brownies for the Sunday School picnic tomorrow….that just may be rained out….which would be a bummer, but I sure would have plenty of brownies! = )

Spring break eating.

Alright, so back to how my semester went. It went way too fast, that’s for sure! I enjoyed my classes although homework got so overwhelming at times. I realized I was working way too much and this next semester will be cutting back on work, especially since I’ll be an RA this next semester. I hear that can be a full time job in itself.

Trying my hand at flying.

One of the things I learned a lot about this semester is about relationships with all sorts of people. I can name specific people who set incredible examples for me. One of my friends roommates, a senior, was a great example of someone who had genuine concern for others and made time to sincerely ask: “how are you?” She didn’t want the typical: “Oh good,” or “I’m fine,” she really wanted to know how the deep things in life were going.




This freshmen semester is used to build the Old Testament foundation for the rest of my three semesters here. I have to say, Old Testament history was my hardest class. I thought I was going to fail it. I like history and enjoyed the class, but I had a hard time memorizing all the names, dates, and places for the test…of which there were many. The only reason I passed was because I did all the reading assignments and I got good grades on my papers, which I prefer writing over taking tests. I was thankful for a passing finishing grade.

I loved my Hermeneutics class. It was a very full class with a lot of long assignments, especially near the end of the semester. Wow, there were times that I just wanted to tear up the assignment sheet and throw all of it out the window at 2 in the morning. Thankfully my good friend Nina kept me on the straight and narrow and helped me think through things. Nina wasn’t the only one to encourage and prompt, Lisa, Jeremy, and Abby did their fair share of helping me get through this past semester. Thanks guys! I think Hermeneutics was my most beneficial class in that it was more practical and not so much “memorizing”, but rather, putting to use in a practical way what I learned in how to study the Bible.
Of course coffee helped keep me in tip top shape!


Here at NTBI we’re prompted to get involved in a ministry. We’re encouraged to put into practice what we’re learning here and now, not later when we’re “on the mission field.” I’ve been volunteering at a healthcare and rehab center and it’s been incredible! I love to visit with older people who have so many fascinating life stories to tell. When I was younger I always wished I had grown up in an earlier era, so hearing stories of people who did grow up in an earlier era is exciting to me. It’s amazing too how open they are to listen to someone else’s opinion and even another person’s faith! I’ve had opportunities to share the gospel with a couple of the residents that I’ve gotten to know quite well. It’s been a great learning experience for me. There are two specific people that I visit each week when I go. One is an Italian man; the other is a Yugoslavian lady who spent most of her growing up in Germany. Of course there are other residents that I visit, but these two I make a special point of spending time with each week. Although I always leave the healthcare and rehab center (HCR) in good spirits (helping and serving other people really brings joy!) it’s also the hardest thing I do each week. It’s hard to go into that facility each week and see people whose minds are back to when they were three, four, five years old, people who lay helpless in their beds, people who drool and can’t talk, people who repeat the same thing over and over again because they can’t remember they had just spoken the same words three minutes earlier, people whose minds are just fine – but never have a visitor – whose family never visits and so they become unhappy and depressed because their lives become the daily monotony of a whole lot of nothing. It’s only through the strength of God that I am able to go and be happy and energetic in attempts to brighten their spirits and give them something to take their minds off their current state at least for a while. I often find myself wishing I could visit with every single person and make their minds understand the love of God and the importance of a choice only they can make regarding their eternity.

Playing Driver's Ed Sorry at KC's.

On another note, Summer Team Evangelism Program in Los Angeles is coming up fast! We leave June 16th for the two week missions trip reaching primarily underprivileged Latino kids. My hope is that many of the kids that have been there the past two summers will still be there this summer. The past two years have each been very different with great lessons learned each year…I’m expecting this year’s experience to be yet another stretching time in my attempts of service to God.

Your guess is as good as mine.

A note regarding my future as several of you have asked “what happened with the ship thing?” Well, that’s a very good questions! The OM Ships options have been on my heart a long time and continue to be on my heart. I’ve found myself burdened with the different choices I’ve had to make since graduating from high school. My Mom can attest to my fickle uncertain ways and knows that I struggle with “what choice is the right choice?” I would love to have everything figured out and know what was happening next, but God just doesn’t work that way and I need to trust Him. Don’t get me wrong, needing to depend on God’s direction is an exciting adventure…but also hard. So, while the ships remain on my heart I continue to watch the updates and consider a time when I can possibly set sail and serve on a ship atmosphere. I am confident and have no doubts on the choices I’ve made so far. Everything in its time I suppose and I’m happy to be here at NTBI, and will continue to seek God in ‘what happens next.’!!!

Sara and me


I still haven’t answered all the questions:
I got a job as a driving instructor at KC’s Driving School. One of my teachers here at NTBI hooked me up with the job. I love it! While it can be exasperating at times and not an ‘active’ job, like I’m used to, it’s been a good experience for me. It’s a small business with just 11 of us instructors. I’d wondered in the past if I would enjoy being a teacher and because of this job I found out my answer: yes! While I’m not as good at it as Mark or Jeremy, I still do enjoy it. While teaching thirty high school students in a classroom can definitely be a fun challenge, I prefer connecting with the smaller classes. Behind-the-wheel instruction isn’t as stressful as many people seem to think (well, honestly, sometimes it IS stressful) and is often quite fun depending on the students’ personalities.

Amy and me


I believe this blog is plenty long and you’ve digested enough of my life over the past couple of months. Please continue to pray for me as I continue working at KC’s over the summer and then begin Student Leadership Training here at NTBI on August 6th, and then classes start just a bit over a week later. Aaaahh!!