OLD School

Many have asked "So what's next?" Well, here is the great thing about not having any ties, I can pick up and go when/wherever the Lord calls. Currently He has led me to the Outdoor Leadership and Discipleship School (also known as: OLD School). This program is one of the 3 main facets of Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters (summer camp, missions camp and OLD School). OLD School "is a semester-long wilderness program designed for college-age students who know Christ and desire to go deeper in their relationship with Him. Their mission is to point young adults toward Christ Jesus, using the tool of wilderness training and the vehicle of relational discipleship. Through 16 weeks of wilderness immersion, OLD School students experience a variety of courses, including backpacking, multi-pitch rock climbing, caving, mountain biking, sea kayaking, serving at a Honduran orphanage, and more. Students will also earn certifications in Whitewater Rescue, Wilderness First Responder, and Leave No Trace."(OLD School description)

There are approximately 10-12 students with several proctors who lead each section and 2 proctors will go with us on every section. We will be gone from September to December with a day or so in between each section and a break for Thanksgiving.
Here is a tentative scheduled:

• September 9: Students arrive
• September 10-11: Class & preparation
• September 12-25: Backpacking section
• September 27 – October 5: Nantahala river training & Swiftwater Rescue Training (SRT) section
• October 6-16: Rock climbing and mountain biking section
• October 19-29: Caving and primitive skills section
• November 1-9: Wilderness First Responder (WFR) class section
• November 11-19: Sea kayaking section
• November 24 – December 2: Thanksgiving break
• December 2: Student prep day
• December 3-11: Honduras section
• December 12: Graduation banquet

In addition, we are each assigned a book to read (mine: Crazy Love by Francis Chan) and a teaching assignment for the semester; I am to teach on: What happens to people who have never heard the Gospel? At the moment I have no boundaries as to how I can research this question. SO... if you have any recommendations for resources or any advice/tips please send them my way (bekah.turbeville@gmail.com).

I so look forward to spending fall outside enjoying all the Lord has created and growing deeper in my adoration of Him. Would you please join me in praying for this semester, in addition to the 6,000 dollars I need to pay for it. Who knows where it will come from but I'm sure the Lord has a plan. If you would like to make a donation please make checks with my name/old school on the memo, then mail it: SWO/ Attn Amanda Potter 75 Mae Johnson Way Andrews NC 28901. Or if you would like to make a payment through paypal please make it to thebird@swoutfitters.com and put my name in the memo/notes section of the transaction. (These payments will not be tax deductible).

Lastly, please pray for where the Lord will lead me after OLD School. Thank you all very much for your wonderful support and prayers thought out the years. I couldn't have made it this far without each of you.

Home at Last

After 13 weeks of being gone (2 for training, 10 for camp & 1 caring for my grandpa), it is nice to finally be home. My time at Snowbird was a wonderful experience and a place where the Lord taught me so much.

Being trained at the Climbing Tower

1. Grace: As I mentioned before this summer I studied Romans 5 & 6 (mainly 5). God used this passage to teach me that grace cannot be earned nor rejected. Grace is something that is freely given and we often have no choice but to accepted it.

2. Humility: These lessons are never easy to learn however they are often the most beneficial. The Lord taught me to come to Him with open hands when I speak. Words can damage or heal, bring grief or joy. It all depends on how you use them. And sometimes they aren't needed.

3. Perseverance: This was probably the hardest because it means learning to fully depend upon God. Many times through out the summer I found myself looking forward to the end so I could rest and do a better job at fighting this war on sin. In those moments I had to learn dependance upon God to help me keep fighting.

One of my favorite groups this summer

My one regret is not being joyful. It seemed easier to be prideful in my service and act as though I had some kind of right to "this" or to "that". When in reality I have none... "But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners."(Romans 5:8)

Prayer Requests

Hey all! I'm very sorry I haven't blogged as much this summer but great things are to do everything when I finally do. Just a quick update,  we have 3 more weeks left... yikes! So if you could please be in prayer for the SWO staff.
Things to pray for:
1. Fight against sin - the enemy is laying g it on hard
2. Focus on Christ - the distractions lay around every courner
3. Our last/only chance to minister to our students - this is their week 1
4. Heavenly focus - God is the only one / thing that can satisfy us
5. Strength - we are all very weary, spiritually, mentally,  emotionally & physically

Please pray for us, the enemy is hard at work among us & we lack the strength to fight sin. But the Spirit that lives in us is greater than the spirit that lives in the world,  it is the same Spirit that brought our Lord Jesus back to live.

Thank you.  May the Lord bless you and keep you

What a Summer

Well, I have been at SWO for 3 weeks now and it has been very busy. If I'm very honest it has been hard but good. Lately I've been studing and really enjoying Romans 5 & 6. It has been substaining me when camp becomes really hard. These passages point to Christ and all He has done for us despite our many sins.

Romans 5:1-9 "Therefore, since we have been made right with God by faith we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved previlege where we now stand and confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory. We can rejoice too, when we run into problems and trials for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope does not lead to dissappointment. For we know how deeply God loves us because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. When we were utterly helpless Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person but someone might perhaps die for a person who is espeically good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, he will certianly save us from God's condemnation."

AMEN!

I hope this encourages you.

I've been slackling with friends....

And it's been a lot of fun

Endings & Beginnings

So much has happened in just one short month. I'm always amazed at how much God can cram into just a few short weeks. Well in the past 6 weeks once again a lot has happened; both good and sad. Let's start with the sad: there was the passing of my aunt (my dad's sister), the leaving of CIU not knowing when I will return or see my dear friends again and the closing of one of the best seasons of my life.

Now for the good exciting! My grandfather (my mom's dad) turned ... well he had another birthday with which we threw a suprise party for!

He shared it with my cousin Heather (in the blue)

When asked who was the tattletale in the family

On of my favorite pictures from the evening. (they were telling embarrassing stories on each other)

My big sister, Carolyn graduated with her masters in speech language pathology!

Roomies!

Our (adopted) family from Texas!

I graduated with my bachelors in Youth Ministry and Associates in Bible!

She is just a surprised as I am! (haha)

My wonderful roomie, who I will miss dearly

My girls wrote all over my car! and I LOVED IT

Our new favorite candy coconut m&ms!

And lastly the start of new jobs! Carolyn is in Charleston for the summer and I am on my way to Snowbird today!

As much as my family and I have morn over and miss we have just as much if not more to celebrate and praise God for.

Psalm 146:1-2: "Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord O my soul. I will praise the Lord all of my life; I will sing praises to my God as long as I live." And may this be our prayer as long as we have breath. Amen.

6 More Weeks!

Hey! I hope y'all are doing well. There are only 6 more weeks of school until graduation! It is so hard to believe that the years have flown by so quickly. But with each passing day the years have gotten better. I couldn't ask for more. The Lord has blessed me with so much, such as a school where I GET to study the Bible, a family that LOVES me, friends who will ALWAYS be close no matter how far we are, a job for the SUMMER, and a Savior who DIED so I could LIVE with Him forever. What more could a girl ask for? Nothing really, I've already got it all. Thank you Lord, thank you for it all. May I never take it all for granted but ALWAYS be praising YOU.

So now about that SUMMER job. Here is a little bit about Snowbird Wildness Outfitter (SWO):

SWO is a Christian camp that preaches Jesus Christ and the power of His saving work on the cross.  They also mentor teens so that they will be conformed into the image of Christ by “the power of the Holy Spirit and knowledge the Word of God…"

SWO is unique in that it does not bus campers in from a local city but receives youth groups of all Christian denominations from all over the United States Each group will bring their own chaperones and take responsibly for their campers at night.  During the day SWO’s goal is to equip these chaperone leaders while the summer staff disciples their teens.  In addition to mentoring teens I will be leading a few of Snowbird’s activities. SWO has lots of outdoor high adventure activities such as: paintball, zip line, poopie pole (better known as leap of faith), 3 man swing, whitewater rafting, horseback riding, and tubing just to name a few.

 
The year-round staff at SWO begins mentoring their summer staff by mid-March; we are currently going though the book of Mark. I am so thankful to be part of the Snowbird staff this summer. Also, SWO offers year-round positions, which begin at the end of the summer; I am considering being an intern with them but am not sure what the Lord has in mind. 

As I begin this next chapter of life please join me in praying that there will be grace when I mess up, and that I will grow in wisdom and humility. Also please pray that the Lord will give me strength as I serve Him. Lastly, my summer position is partly supported by financial donations.  If can provide a gift of any amount, it would make a great graduation present. You can donate to SWO in my name by going to http://www.swoutfitters.com/sw-outfitters/donate and clicking on the printable form (for some reason the Snowbird Support Link is not working). Any amount would be much appreciated.

Also, this summer you can send mail to: ATTN: Bekah Turbeville

                75 May Johnson Way,    Andrews, NC 28901

 
Lastly, next weekend we are having staff orientation where there will be about 150 of us who will be attending and thankfully 2 of those people go to school with me!

Thank you so much!  Dios bendiga (God Bless)!

 Look blow for some fun pictures :)

So much goodness :)

This will be a quick review of the past month. My last post seems like it was so long ago.

February 11: I turned 22! My sister hosted a lovely party for me! That same week we had snow & ice which caused classes to be canceled again (& now we trying to make)

February 15: Myrtle Beach 1/2 MARATHON!!!!! My dad, sister, our friend Heather & I ran. We had such a blast!

Sorry, it was the best we could do after 13.1 miles :)

Our smelly shoes...

February 21-23: My parents gave me the best birthday/graduation present EVER! They sent me on a personal retreat to The Cove (click here). It was very restful & the Lord & I had a great time together. He has been teaching me so much since then!

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." 2 Cor. 8:9

It was so beautiful!

February 20 something: Carolyn got a job at a school near Greenville, SC.!!!! We are super excited for her :D. I, however, spent the rest of February filling out job applications and doing school work. BUT THEN...>>>

March 6th: Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters (better known as Snowbird or SWO) called me and asked if I'd like to work with them for the summer... It was all I could do to calmly answer YES!!!!! Haha! I'm so excited! You can check out their website by clicking here! I start May 19th (just 2 days after I graduate!) More info about working with SWO later.

Well, Thank you & remember you stand in God's grace because of the price Jesus paid for us. It is nothing we did but it was ALL Him. HALLELUJAH!

Life

Across the hall a couple & a roommate wash dishes and chat about the day, just down from them a group of friend share stories and laugh about life and at the end of the hall two people are playing guitar and are singing worship songs. I sit listening to this busy evening unfold, thinking a new blog is about due and about the events of this coming week. This is one of the most restful evenings I have had in a while so I take full advantage of it. My days often consist of classes, ministry, school work and lots more. Even though all of my classes are on Tuesdays and Thursdays (and that one occasional weekend class) all the other days still manage to fill up (haha). But I'm excited and very ready for this week to start (or at least I think so). I will be celebrating my birthday and this weekend will be going to the beach with my family (oh I can't wait to see my parents!). But enough about my boring scheduled! Let's talk about some really fun things that have happened.

First, one my dear friends had a birthday. We celebrated by going to see Frozen, hitting up bubble tea and eating homemade goodies!

Playing Jenga & drinking tea

Birthday Girl!

A newlywed, surprise visitor came...

with her husband! It was so wonderful to see them

Happy Birthday Asian!

AND THEN! The Super Bowl! Little known fact about me, I LOVE football! Our pastor opened his home to our church family and we had one of the best Super Bowl parties EVER! Let me show you:

And this continued every time the Seahawks scored (so funny)

Let's just say the food was really really good!

That evening was so much fun, just to spend it with my church family, holding kids, eating yummy dishes, watching one of my favorite sports and resting in Christ. (Even though the game stunk, we still had a great time).


P.S. Frozen (click here for the trailer) was one of the best children's movies I have seen in quite a while and I highly recommend it for all ages.