Hey everyone! Life is busy and there was adventures like stingrays and tie dye this month. Our schedules have been normal and most of the time it is preparing to lead worship on Sunday, school work and working during the day. The first part of the month was two kinds of training. The first was Leader Training seminar which I attended in 2015 before my GAP year, so it was like a refresher. We went over how to be a team leader for the upcoming summer and rules. The next week we did a training called First Step that was purposed to prepare us to be staff if we so choose in the future. One of the best part of those classes were the snacks that came a long with it. Being informed and refreshed on godly leadership skills and policy was good too.

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 Let me hear of your unfailing

love each morning,
    for I am trusting you.
Show me where to walk,
    for I give myself to you.

Psalm 143:8 (NLT)

     

      NASA is a big name that is only 5 miles from here! A lot of us students have never had the opportunity to check out the Kennedy Space Center. There was a discount on the entrance fee this month so Hannah F. and I decided to go check it out. We went for a couple of hours and it was pretty cool. We wished we could spend the whole day there, there was so much to see. There was a space shuttle simulation that we did simulating taking off into space! That was the most fun for me. It was also really cool to see the astronaut hall of fame. Hannah and I also went and had some fast food lunch before we went to see the NASA exhibits. That was nice because we do not do that very often.

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 "...looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

 Hebrews 12:2(ESV)

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        We had a couple of fun fellowship opportunities this month along with thanksgiving. The Interns here are good with the students and tried to plan something fun for us this month. They came up with the idea of tie dye! The turn out was not what everyone had hoped, but it was still a really good time laughing, joking and learning. We did shirts, headbands and kitchen towels. That was my first time ever doing tie dye and I really enjoyed it and the fellowship. Lots of ladies had the opportunity to celebrate with Julie Clyde at her baby shower! Julie did part of her internship in Cambodia and now she is staff here in Florida. Cambodia has been a connecting factor for us to get to know each other more. The shower was wonderful, we played fun games like baby Bible jeopardy and we made little onesies for her little boy Asher who is due this December. It was a nice time to spend with the girls! Another thing we did this month was putting the thousands of brochures into the envelopes to send out. The brochures are the descriptions of the summer ministry teams that we send out along with other ministry we do. It was all done a lot faster than last year and it was nice to have conversations with the people we were sitting with each day we did it.

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           One of the Saturday mornings this month Hannah F, Mrs. Pat and I had and opportunity to go to the mall and put up a Christmas tree for the AIDS Orphans Street children program. We put up the tree with little donor cards to support the orphans. People will be able to take a child and support one for $12 a month. In regards to normal life, classes are busy but they are going well. Finals are coming up next week and we are preparing to go home for Christmas! We have been writing our own songs in music class to sing and play on the piano. Music class is hard but really enjoyable. Most of us did not know how to read music or play the piano but we all have learned the basics to be able to use if we want to further our knowledge in the future. Being in the class has been a neat experience for me and I appreciate our teachers. 

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      Let perseverance

finish its work so that you

may be mature and complete,

not lacking anything. James 1:4

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       One of the biggest things in November is of course thanksgiving! I was not able to go home for the 3-4 day break but I was invited by Hannah Ferguson's family to join them. Last year I did the same thing and Hannah and I have become good friends here at BMW. I appreciate her family's hospitality and their kindness. Hannah and I took shifts driving up to Pensacola FL and Alexandria, another student came with us so we could drop her with her family close to the end of our trip. The break was really nice and everyone spent a lot of time relaxing, talking and hanging out with each other. Hannah's immediate family was there as well as her cousins, Uncles, Aunts, and grandparents. During the break I was able to call my family and a few of my friends in Cambodia. It was nice to have longer talks with them all. The food was good with the traditional turkey and the next day we had a variety of Louisiana foods. (Hannah is from there) We also had some seafood while we were there. One evening after a fun game of mini golf we had some ice cream and other days we played many games together and watched TV. I missed my family and wished I could be with them. However, I'm very grateful that their family took me in for the holiday and is so kind to me welcoming me like their own. It made for a memorable thanksgiving in Pensacola. 

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      Last but not least I want to talk about what Jesus has been teaching me spiritually. BMW is a difficult and challenging program. Recently I was told that it is a bit like a steamer. During this period in our lives it seems as if the Lord is getting all the nasty stuff out of our hearts by having things rise to the top and then having us deal with them. I remember when the class before me gave a speech at Vespers (bible study) about how at BMW the Lord will bring up things about yourself that you do not like or thought you already dealt with. This will be an ugly challenge but it will produce growth that will bring spiritual maturity. I've been learning how important it is to be caring towards others and to be a good communicator. This helps us to have an attitude that glorifies God and it helps ministry to go smoothly.

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   Thank you so much for taking time to read this! Please check out my next update, I have new information about my internship with what I'll be doing for the next year of my life! Please pray for me, that's one of the most important things I can ask for. Thank you so much for the support, whether it be financially, in thought or in prayer! Please, please, please, tell me how I can pray for you!! God bless you all, continue to look to the Lord and I hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving!

            With love in Christ,

                                                  Annie Russum