Camp time!

So I am leaving for camp today. I am SO excited and SO nervous at the same time. It always just seemed so far off, and now it’s finally here and I’m totally freaking out. I know this is going to be an amazing experience and summer and I can’t wait to see what God does with it. Pray for me as I’m gone and if you care to write me my address is:

Jennifer Neiman
Camp Piankatank
P.O. Box 435
Hartfield, VA 23071

or you can email me at staff@camppiankatank.org and put my name in the subject line.

I’ll update as much as possible! 🙂

A little reminscing…

So, as I’m registering for classes for next semester I’m totally realizing that I’m over the hump, and I am slightly freaking out. I’m a junior in college; halfway through. In less than a year I’ll be going abroad for 4 months. That’s when I realized that my baby brother is 15 and can get his driver’s permit this year. I mean what the heck?! He’s my baby brother, that’s totally not allowed. And the other day was Angela’s birthday – 17. Again, that’s crazy, because that means next year she’ll be 18. so weird.

This all has made me reminisce a bit over the past two years…let me take you through 🙂

This was the first day of orientation/matriculation

My first roomy, Megan, and me 🙂 She lived with me the first year of college.

Jeff and I had just started dating. 🙂 🙂 🙂

During the semester, I found out my best friend from Japan was going to Liberty, and made a road trip there. It was so awesome to see her.

Over the summer, I was able to go to Thailand for a month on a missions trip with the school. It was the best summer of life. God did awesome things there. I miss it so much.

I was able to be part of the amazing life change of a local Thai girl, Alisa. She became a Christian, and her life was totally transformed. I am so thankful I was apart of that experience.

This is a Dutch couple, Sharon and Arthur, that was touring Chaing Mai, and we got to know them over the last few days of the trip.

I was also able to celebrate my 19th birthday in Thailand 🙂 I have now celebrated my birthday in 4 countries.

After Thailand, our family went to Alaska and visited friends of ours from Japan. I used to babysit the oldest girl, Kristin.

My new roommate Chelsea and me for the Fall 09. She was awesome, but left the school after that semester.

I was able to experience the roasted corn for the first time at the fair this past year. sooo yummyyy!!

Jeff, Eric, Lisa, (friends of ours from our church) and I all went to a Kelly Clarkson and Reeba concert. I got a lot of people doing double takes at me, and even a drunk guy afterward thanked me for such a great show. It was pretty hilarious.

Over Christmas break, I went to Amsterdam for 2 weeks on a missions trip. It was such an awesome trip. Definitely a growing and learning time. I loooved it.

We spent New Years in the Dam. There were thousands of people there, live Dutch bands, that were apparently really big there, and it was freezing… but definitely the best New Years everrr.

While in Amsterdam, I got to see Sharon and Arthur, the tourists from Thailand, again! It was so sweeeet. God is so awesome in how He orchestrated our meeting in Thailand to now being able to see each other again. They are such a sweet couple.

My new roommate, Alaina, Spring 09 – which I thought was going to be disastrous, but has turned out to be such a blessing! We are pretty much attached at the hip. 🙂

I was able to help teach at a Dnow weekend. I had a group of hyperactive, ADHD 7th grader cheerleaders. It was great, and they were such a blessing to teach! 🙂

Jeff and I celebrated our 1 year by him taking me “real golfing.” It actually ended up being really fun, and I was terrible at it. I did win though!!…after I nixed out a few holes as they were “stupid and totally didn’t count.”

I got my wisdom teeth pulled over break. It actually wasn’t bad at all, I was up and about the next day, and even went to eat – eating pasta of course.

Jeff and me at Legally Blonde the musical. It was phenomenal, and Jeff even said it was “tolerable,” “bearable,” and he didn’t want to “gouge his eyes out.” He even chuckled a few times. I know he secretly enjoyed it. 😉

Now I have less than 2 weeks left before I’m a junior and halfway through college. It’s been such a great learning and growing experience. I have great friends, an amazing roommate, and awesome church home.
This summer is going to be so awesome as well. I am working at a summer camp, Camp Piankatank, from June 6th to August 9th. I am SO excited – I’m sure this will be growing experience as well. I’m totally going to miss everyone at school, especially my church, but I’m excited to see what God has in store for me over the next several months. 🙂

Great Commission Resurgence

Please watch this. This is Danny Akin’s message on the Great Commission Resurgence and what’s going on with the SBC. If you care about the future of the Southern Baptists and our churches, watch this.

Learning to wait

I have always heard never to pray for patience. I didn’t. But I guess it’s something that God wanted me to learn anyways… Over the past several weeks, I have been struggling with the challenge of waiting on God and His perfect timing. He has been faithful in providing me a summer job that I know I am going to love. He has been faithful in providing me with such a wonderful roommate who has encouraged me, challenged me, and been there for me when I needed someone the most. He has been faithful to me when I have been faithless. There are so many areas in my life where I have seen God work and am constantly amazed; yet, when it comes to certain areas in my life I doubt Him. I am reminded of Thomas the Doubter. He saw Jesus do so many wonders and miracles, knew He was the Messiah, yet Thomas would only believe if he saw and touched Jesus’ scars. Whenever I have heard that story, I’ve always been so critical thinking how could someone not believe?! Yet, how much am I like that? God has revealed Himself to me in so many ways, yet I continue to question Him and doubt His timing. I would covet yours prayers as I am still try to learn wait patiently, know that God’s timing is absolutely perfect. I know this is an ongoing, constant process, something that I will be reminded of continually. I know that God is faithful, and I know His timing is perfect. I guess it is more than simply know these things but finding contentment in Christ alone.

The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I have hope in Him.”
The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,
To the person who seeks Him.
Lamentations 3:22-25

1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 14

So I go to write a blog a couple times a week and start to write something, and then it either goes no where, ooor I think, this is stupid, why am I writing this.  Now in an attempt to keep this blog alive, I decided I need to just write something. anything.

SO. as I was babysitting tonight, as I do every Sunday night, I had about 4 three and four year old girls.  They are all so precious.

We started to play hide and go seek in this tiny little play room.  As they were playing I just started to watch.  If one of the girls found the  “perfect” hiding spot, it was the perfect spot for the seeker the next round.  They would take turns hiding in the same spot over and over again, and they were just having a ball.  I just had to chuckle, because I remember being just like that. My favorite though was when one little girl had hidden in a closet and the seeker couldn’t find her.  One of the girls that had been found kept trying to tell her to look in the closet, and I would quickly tell her to stop.  She did stop, looked at me, and looked back at the little girl and said “Don’t you think the closet would be a good place to hide?” She said it so completely innocent, and so proudly that she hadn’t actually told her where her friend was hiding.

I was completely exhausted during this, but I watched that little scenario play out – attempting to count to ten, going to the same spot over and over again, and squealing with joy each time someone was found –

Though they were little 3 and 4 year old girls, it made me think about the parable of the lost sheep.  How excited and joyful the shepherd is whenever that sheep is found.  How excited Jesus is when he “finds us.”

I know this may be simple and silly, but I just love those simple moments that make me reflect about how awesome and great my God is…and how much I LOVE kids. 🙂

Reflections

As most of ya’ll know, I had the opportunity to go to Amsterdam these past two weeks.  (If you want to read about my time there, click here) It was completely different than what I was expecting.  I learned how spiritually draining it can be, how stereotypical I have been, how lost Europe is, that there is a place and need for planting the seed, not just picking the harvest; that success is not measured by the number of converts but rather by obedience, and that the worst witnessing is to not witness at all.  It was definitely a learning experience.  When we arrived back Saturday night, I was able to go to my church in NC and take my momma :).  I didn’t realize how drained I was spiritually.  It was then that I realized how important it is to be connected with a body of believers – to encourage, learn, and grow from each other. 

Classes start in one week and one day!  I am definitely excited about my lighter load, and that all of my classes I’m pretty sure I will enjoy. Being that I will have a lighter load I will be able to spend more time on them than I could last semester.  This semester will definitely be different.  My roommate/one of my closest friends left the school, my boyfriend moved 20 minutes away (and I have no car), and another one of my close girlfriends has moved off campus.  I really want to make this a positive change, so pray that I will keep a good attitude about it.  I also hope to be able to interact with freshman more and to be involved their lives in some way.  

 anyways, here is my first attempt at simply blogging about life. Enjoy.