my host home!

I just got back from my first tour of my host home and all I can really say is YAY!

My home sponsors are so awesome and I really feel like I'll be able to fit right in there. Their family reminds me so much of my own and I am so blessed and grateful that they have chosen to open their home to me.

The coolest part about the home is that my room is really its own part of the house. I even have my own entrance! It used to be the garage so it's very spacious and has lots of floor space. And my host family has provided me with a great (big!) bed, lots of shelving and drawers, and even a huge TV with a DVD/VHS player. The only thing missing is a closet which really doesn't matter to me because I don't have much to hang up anyway. I'm pretty low maintenance so one small rack to hang a few things on is all I need. My room also has its own bathroom and is connected to the laundry room which will be so convenient for laundry days. The laundry room connects to the rest of the house so while I am in my own secluded space I am still just a few steps away from hanging with the family. :)

It's not that I didn't expect the house to be great, it's just that I have above and beyond what I could want or need there. It really is so amazing, as is the family I will be living with!! I am so excited to live there for the next 10 months.

The funny thing is that for the last week or so I have been thinking about and making lists of the stuff I'm going to want to bring with me, including storage items, bedding, my own TV, and even a few furniture pieces. But I don't even need any of that. I can move in quickly and easily and spend my extra time turning my room at my own home into less of a black hole of messes and more of a normal teenager's room for when I come back. :P

That's all for tonight but I'm so jazzed!!!

CHA-CHING!

I have the most exciting annoucement to make: (drumroll, please!)

I have now received enough donations to pay the first installment (half of the total cost) for 24/7 tuition!!! Everyone has been telling me that it takes a miracle to raise the $4,000 that is required of 24/7 students, and I have experienced one of those miracles! Former and current 24/7 students as well as the staff members have been saying that I just need to pray, pray, pray and God will somehow miraculously provide the funds needed to be a part of this amazing, life-changing program. Not that I didn't believe them, but having faith that God will provide something for you that you could never obtain on your own is tough! And I don't mean that it's tough to trust God. I mean that it is so difficult to humble yourself enough to admit that you couldn't possibly do this on your own and commit turn over your life completely into His hands and trust that He will come through for you. There's almost always that voice in the back of your mind spreading that seed of doubt, telling you that something will go wrong and He won't fully take care of you. But God amazes me daily, like he did today!

I received an exceedingly, unbelievably generous donation from my Grandma Hall today that marked the halfway point in my saving. I have enough to pay the first installment due in November! Her donation plus several others that were above and beyond what I could have ever imagined that I would receive has sparked a hope in me that this really can be done. God really WILL provide this for me, and He is showing me that daily. If this is what God is willing to do for me when I am constantly falling short of anything that could be considered pleasing to Him, then what is in store for me during 24/7 (and after) when I am encouraged to praise Him, read His word, and serve Him and others every day? I am so excited to see what else he has in store for me and my classmates over the next 10 months and then for the rest of our lives!

All this is to say that I feel so truly blessed and I am so grateful for such generous friends and family that have sacrificed so that I can have this experience in 24/7. I am reminded today of the verse that I hear every weekend at the end of the church service, a verse I've probably heard over 50 times, that never really sunk in until today:

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!"- Ephesians 3:20

Praise the lord!

It's almost here!!!

I got an exciting inside look at the rules I'll be following when my homesponsor, Michelle Ault, emailed me the "Homesponsor Handbook". For anyone interested in my weekly schedule, activities I'll be involved in, expectations of me from my homesponsor, and a few other details about 24/7, here you go:

• Most people wonder why I have to live in a host home, when my own home is perfectly fine. You might not understand why I have to leave my family and live with a stranger. But you have to consider the big picture: "24/7 students come from several different states and occasionally from other countries. Many times students coming to 24/7 are far from anything that they would call 'home'. Homesponsors are able to give them a 'home away from home' where they feel safe, secure, and welcome. As a Homesponsor, you will impact your student's life as they impact your family."
• Spending the night away from home: "Students are allowed to spend the night away from their Homesponsor’s house five times a month. The student is responsible for letting their Homesponsor know when they will not be home for the night."
• My homesponsors will be doing random room checks (making sure my room is clean and mess-free) and I am expected to always have a spotless room.
• Athletic activities: "Students participate in a rigorous workout 4 days a week. Activities include: running, weight lifting, an Eco Challenge team adventure race, and an Olympic Triathlon. They are also involved in a competitive intramural sports program weekly."
• Spiritual activities/growth: " Students are involved in a wide-ranging spiritual program that is designed to provide direction for each student. Church services, fasting retreats, scripture memory, Bible studies, personal discipleship, and special conferences are some of the aspects that make up the spiritual program."
• Typical weekly schedule (the times in between are the times I am available):

Monday: Off

Tuesday: 6:30 to 5:30 and 7:30 to 10:00

Wednesday: 6:30 to 4:30 and 5:45 to 9:00

Thursday: 7:30 to 5:00

Friday: 6:30 to 7:00

Saturday: 6:30 to 1:00 and 3:30 to 8:00

Sunday: 7:30 to 1:00

• Typical day schedule:

6:30 Workout

9:30 Prayer

11:00 Class

12:00 Lunch

2:00 Class

4:00 Class

• For once in my life, I'll actually have a curfew! (AHH!):

Monday – Thursday 11:00 p.m.

Friday 12:00 a.m.

Saturday 11:00 p.m.

Sunday 12:00 a.m.

• Weekly requirements:

- Scripture Memory

- Church Services

- Bible Study

- Daily classes

- Physical Fitness Program

- Consequence Time

- Home Sponsor Night

• No dating, intimate/lengthy conversations or private meetings with opposite sex
• Host home duties/expectations:

- Bathroom must be not only tidy but CLEAN at all times, regardless of messes made by other people using the same bathroom. (I will be living with an 11 and 13 year old, yet I will be held responsible for the cleanliness of the bathroom).

-Room must not only tidy but CLEAN at all times (make bed daily/put away all clothes/dust/vacuum/change sheets weekly).

• Weekly scripture passage memorization (there will be a cumulative test right before graduation).

That's all the info I have for now, and I promise I will post more once I get back from Orientation (Sept. 3)!