Back in the South!!

I am back in the south and it is WONDERFUL! I do love it down here. We are doing 3 camps here in Cleveland, TN at Lee University. I will try to post more often...I realize my posts have been lacking quite a bit. Today's post will be short because it's registration day and although it has gone incredibly smooth, there is still lots to be done. This week's camp pastor is Ben Stuart and the worship leader is the band Spur58...this band is awesome!

Here's a quote from John Piper that I read today and thought I might share with you all. (If you don't know, I do love quotes.) Piper is speaking here on the total depravity of man.

"Of course totally depraved men can be very religious and very philanthropic. They can pray and give alms and fast, as Jesus said (Matthew 6:1-18). But their very religion is rebellion against the rights of their Creator, if it does not come from a childlike heart of trust in the free grace of God. Religion is one of the chief ways that man conceals his unwillingness to forsake self-reliance and bank all his hopes on the unmerited mercy of God (Luke 18:9-14; Colossians 2:20-23)."

In Missouri!

So I know it has been a really long time since I last posted...I'm sorry. I am at Winderemere Baptist Conference Center in Roach, Missouri. Yes, there is actually a town called Roach and it only has a block building post office build in the early 1900s...that is all to the town except for this beautiful conference center. Winderemere is a lot like Shocco for those of you that know of it; but, most of the buildings are much larger, newer and nicer. Most groups stay in cabins here that are stationed around a beautiful lake. We are staying in a house this week which means we have our own kitchen and living room with a fireplace...it's June though so no need for a fireplace, but it looks pretty.

Prim went for her last attempt at her visa last week and got denied again. She more than likely will not be able to make it to the states to join us. I know this is in God's perfect plan and he has something better in store for her and for us.

Today is registration day for our first camp at Windermere. It's gone very smoothly so far and I am SOO glad!! We will be here for two camps, so until next Wednesday...then...we are off to Lee University in TN! I am so excited to be back close to home! The midwest isn't the most exciting place. I'm VERY ANXIOUS to get to see everyone again as well! My parents are coming up to one camp at Lee, Dane is coming to one camp, and some friends are coming to the other! I can't wait!

I hope everything is going well in Centre and in Birmingham! I miss you all terribly!

Love you!

Ridgecrest!

Camp went great last week at Stephen F Austin University. Now, we are at Ridgecrest Conference Center in North Carolina. This is a really nice campus plus we have great housing arrangements! I feel so much better about today's Registration Day than last week...things seem to be coming together much better. We set up the worship room and office yesterday/last night and we are ready to go today!

It's back to early days and late nights which equal not much sleep for this week...but it's all worth it. Well, the Birmingham office is about to open which means we are probably about to get some more changes for housing so I shall get back to work.

I miss you all! Someone tell me what's new at UAB? at BCM? at Pine Grove? in Centre?
Continue to pray for Prim; she should be making her last embassy attempt this week. Pray that God will soften the people's hearts if that is in his plan.

I love you all!

Wow!

O wow...so much has happened since my last post. So now I am here at Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, TX. We will be here until Friday. Our FIRST camp is this week! It's the second day and it's going GREAT!

Registration day was yesterday and it was pretty crazy...I have a newfound respect for people doing registration at events because chances are that if you are waiting to sign in at a place, the reason you are waiting is because the staff is pretty busy and is trying their best to accomodate you. 1600 students are here now so it's finally the real thing! Overall, everything has been fabulous.

It's rained here for the past 4 days...I am not used to this. It hasn't rained hardly any in Alabama for months! Today is the first recreation day and it's Water Day (all water rec games) so the rain has made for an interesting first day for the Rec Team.

Vicky Beeching is our worship leader this week. I met her Sunday night and she's incredibly nice! Wes Hamilton is our camp pastor and he's been doing a great job as well!

I'm sorry I haven't been able to call anyone lately, things have been pretty crazy around here. My day usually begins around 7 and ends around 12 or 1.

God has been doing amazing things here and in my life as well. I'm finally learning what it is like to give all of my responsibilities, relationships, etc to God and to live in total freedom, knowing that God is sovereign and He is strong in my weaknesses. I am learning to trust that God will supply everything I need to serve Him. It is my desire to live my life with this attitude because it's one in which I want to completely surrender and be able to follow wherever I am called to go.

Thanks for all of your prayers!! Please continue to pray for Prim, we still haven't heard from her yet. She's waiting on a letter that will hopefully allow her to get her visa and come work with us!

Amanda

Aqui a Shocco...

Hey guys! Ok, so I am here at Student Life at Shocco Springs for training week. We are here until Friday and then we will drive to Stephen F. Austing University in Nacogdoches, TX...at least I think that's how you spell it. So far we've had meetings all day since Sunday...I'm ready to get into action so I can really learn everything! I can't access Facebook and Myspace while here at Shocco so you guys can comment on here or shoot me an e-mail at amanda08@uab.edu ...I miss you all! I do have AIM here on my computer in the office so during the day I'll be online. I'm learning how to work the Student Life databases and how to operate an iMAC computer also so that's a little challenging but exciting.

Please continue to pray for Prim, our compassion representative... she, along with 3 others (for the other SL teams) still have not been able to get a Visa from the U.S. Embassy in Uganda. These representatives are LDP graduates which means they have grown up in the Compassion International project programs and have been sent to college and are not graduates of college. The U.S. embassy is afraid to let them leave and come to the U.S. because they believe they will never return to Uganda. For those of you that don't know, Compassion International is an organization that allows people to sponsor impoverished children around the world for $32/mo. One LDP graduate is here (on the blue team). His name is Dennis and I can't wait to hear his story on Thursday night!

Well, I'm going to get back to work. I'm about to begin assigning student housing for our camp at SFA next week. There is so much more I want to tell you guys but I just don't have all the time right now. I will post again as soon as I get a chance! Continue to pray!! Thanks!!

En Cristo solo,
Amanda

Casi aquí...

Almost here...It's 1:00AM Sunday morning. I leave TODAY (in 8 hours) for Student Life! O wow, 8 hours...I had better get a little sleep. I'm so excited; I cannot wait!! I am really going to miss my family, Dane, and best friends but I know God has AMAAZING plans in store for the summer. I cannot wait to see more of what God can and will do!! How awesome a creator we serve! I am off to sleep in my own bed for the last night until mid-August. Please pray that God is glorified in ALL I do this summer!!!

Leave me comments and let me keep up with all of you as well!!

Una poca información por el verano

A little information for the summer...

May 28-June 1 Stephen F. Austin State Univ. (TX)
June 4-8 Ridgecrest Conference Center (NC)
June 9-13 "
June 18-22 Windermere Conference Center (MO)
June 23-27 "
June 30-July 4 Lee University (TN)
July 5-9 "
July 10-14 "
July 16-20 Liberty University (VA)
July 23-27 Oklahoma Baptist University (OK)
July 31-August 4 California Baptist University (CA)


The easiest way to send mail is to send it to the Birmingham office and they will forward it to wherever I am at. My address there is

Amanda Minnix

Orange Team
P.O. Box 36040
Birmingham, AL 35236

Still no news on Prim's visa. Hopefully we'll hear something this week! Please continue to pray for all the Student Life staffers and the teenagers that will be there this summer!

Ore por favor...Please pray

Each Student Life team has a representative from Uganda for the organization Compassion International. As of last week, Prim (a girl representative on our team) has still not been able to get her visa to come to the U.S. After several tries some of the others finally received their visas; however, Prim and a few others are still persistently trying. Please pray that God's will be done and that if she is supposed to be with us here in the states this summer that He will change the people's actions at the American Embassy in Uganda. I know God is sovereign and He will be glorified whatever the result!

El primero blog

So here's my first blog. I leave a week from this coming Sunday (on May 20) for Student Life! Yay!! I'm super excited!

Check out this blog throughout the summer to check out what God is doing in my life and in teenagers lives at Student Life camps across the country!