July

Hello all, sorry this took so long to write this, but the first part of this past month I was very lazy and just didnt post, and then the last two weeks here actually have been pretty busy so that is why I have not been able to post.  This new blog is just going to be a quick overview over the last month or so and what you all have missed out on due to my laziness.

After VBS things really slowed down immensely for me here at Our Redeemer. After VBS was over and the past DCE intern left I had minimal things to work on and I was just really excited to head back home for my week with family and friends at the wedding I attended.  Summers here are extremely slow, and apart from Sunday services there are not too many things that have immediate attention needed.  The majority of the time that I spent in the office was spent planning ahead to events in August and really just getting into the daily grind of what a church worker is all about.

Going home was so much fun, I was able to see many people from both the Speckman and Strehlow side of the family which was really cool because I dont know when I will be able to see them all next.  Also it was Kari's 21st birthday so I was able to take her out a couple of nights and help her to celebrate that event the right way!  One of the best part of the trip home though was going to the wedding Kevin Thomson and Jordan Scifers!  It was so great to be a part of their wedding and to see all of my friends there too. This was the first wedding that I have ever stood in so that was a new experience for me as well.  Im sure many of you saw the pictures on Facebook of my date, Michelle, no she is not my girlfriend we have been really good friends ever since early in grade school so she came along as a friend.  I wasnt able to see her at all when I was in Milwaukee so she drove down for the wedding and we had a blast together, and all my friends liked her alot too! Overall the wedding was a blast and seeing people my own age was refreshing to say the least.

Since I have come back from Milwaukee things have actually picked up quite a bit.  I have had my first youth event, and we are in full fledged planning for the next year ahead with Sunday school, youth events, and everything else.  My official title here is director of family ministry so I am doing everything under the sun at Our Redeemer, not just youth ministry, which is actually what I would prefer so it is a good fit.  It still amazes me how much I feel as though I fit into this church and community so quickly.  The work that I am doing I love, and I feel as though God has placed me here for great reasons, many of which I have not seen yet.

I have been looking forward to the National Youth Gathering since I left New Orleans last year and now we are getting to the point where I can actually start to look forward to it for real.  Planning for the National Youth Gathering (NYG) has really started to take off for me this week, and information for our group already starts to be due early September so I need to be getting everything ready for that.  Im really looking forward to the group that we have going and being in the role that I will be in for that event.  All of the Alaska churches some what plan to stick together at NYG which simplifies planning, and is really helpful to myself in my first year on internship, and this being the first group that I have ever taken to a NYG by myself as well.

Apart from that life is good here in Alaska, I continue to build relationships with people here, and meet new people.  I actually met one of my classmates good friends from grade school who teaches at the local Lutheran grade school which was alot of fun.  I have been golfing a ton, and I am meeting quite a few people through that, as well as opening ministry opportunities with many of the people that I meet out on the course as well.  My goal is to get down to a single digit handicap by the end of the summer, currently I am resting at a 12.5 handicap thanks to my trusty app that I have on my Ipad.  I am golfing well, and continue to run alot and actually feel like I am getting back in shape from the end of senior year/my lost battle with 14 steps.

I hope all is well with everyone at home in Illinois and Wisconsin!

Alaskan Snow Princess update: None

Adam and Kyla on the right, are two of my best friends in the DCE program (engaged to be married), and two of my best friends in general, and my date Michelle in the yellow

The groom, and his groomspeople at the reception