thanksgiving:]

guess where i am now?  i am sitting at my home computer. i was able to be home for thanksgiving, and we are here through tomorrow morning. it has been quite a blessing to see my family, because i have missed them dearly. i think my teammates were a little bit scared of my huge family when we went to atlantic for my moms side of thanksgiving... but they dealt with it, and i am happy that my extended family got to meet them. this thanksgiving i am thankful for lots of things. i feel so blessed to be a part of this ministry, it really is the perfect fit for me this year. i am thankful for my family who has loved and supported me in this crazy year off on the road. i am thankful for my teammates who create beautiful music, and are some of the most amazing people i have ever met. and i am thankful that so far, we have had good health while we have been on the road. i have been reminded lately that what i do with music isn't my own gift, but it is a gift God has given to me, and it is a gift that He has called me to use this year. i am having the time of my life doing it, and i am learning a lot along the way. some things i have learned: having three boys in a van a lot of the time can get pretty smelly. 19-20 year old boys can eat A TON of food. too much pizza is pretty much always a bad thing. XLR cords are used in a sound system to connect microphones and instruments to the sound board. finally, i have learned that i tend to bouce around and head bang when i play the piano standing up.
[thats all i have time to write for now, i have to go force my teammate bobby to get a hair cut because he looks like a stray dog. seriously.]
love to all,
hannah joy

a random compilation of stories, thoughts, and prayers.

my apologies for neglecting this blog, but internet access has been scarce, and i have been verrry busy! 

this past weekend, i had a concert on saturday night, and two worship services on sunday morning in illinois! i also had a concert in wisconsin that same sunday night, so my team had to drive rather quickly to make it in time! [we were a little late...]

however, i am absolutely loving everything i have been doing since i have been on the road. my team has been traveling in between illinois and wisconsin a lot so far, and there has been LOTS of beautiful scenery. two weeks ago, we led a youth retreat at a camp in wisconsin called moon beach, and this weekend we are leading the same retreat at another gorgeous camp for kids in another area of the state. they have both been on lakes that God created to be totally beautiful. The camp is in Pepin wisconsin, and my breath is literally taken away every time i look out on the lake. Last night we had the opportunity to play music at a campfire on the beach overlooking the lake. it was an amazing experience to sing songs of praise while looking up at the stars, and hearing the waves crash against the shore. 

from time to time, i get tired of being with the same people every day, and driving to a new place every two to three days. don't get me wrong: i love my teammates, but being with them 24/7 makes our 15 passenger van feel pretty small sometimes. it gets kind of difficult staying in different beds all the time, even though i really enjoy getting to know new host families, and hearing their life stories. however; over and over again, i feel like God is reminding me that He has called me to be doing youth encounter this year. i am reminded when i have fun times watching the hilarious tv shows "the big bang theory," and "it's always sunny in philidelphia" with my teammates. i am reminded when i get to see beautiful wisconsin lakes and hillsides. i am also reminded when i realize that i get to lead worship through music three, four, and sometimes even five times a week.

our theme verse for the year says "i put my hope in the Lord. He is my help and my shield." it fits perfectly with where i am in my life, and i am totally adoring sharing the Lord's good news with people all over the country this year.

love,

hannah joy

p.s... when i was in illinois, the most ADORABLE elderly lady came up to me after our worship program and said, "i am 95 years old, and i absolutely loved dancing to your music tonight. thank you for using the gifts that the good Lord gave you." this made me smile for the rest of the day.

urban frog... what?

i am currently sitting in a restaurant called the urban frog in greenbay wisconsin. it is very unique and exciting. we packed bags for lutheran world relief earlier today, putting school and health supplies together at a local church, and we are going to play a program there tonight. i also get to see some of my family tonight, because my dad's sisters family lives in green bay, and my grandparents are visiting them! yayyy!

lately, i have been having lots of fun, but missing my family a lot. so it will be great to see relatives tonight.

so we have a lot of amazing songs that we sing at the churches we do programs at... and my favorite one right now is how he loves by david crowder band:

 he is jealous for me. loves like a hurricane, i am a tree. bending beneath the weight of his love and mercy. when all of a sudden i am unaware of these afflictions replaced by glory. and i realize just how beautiful you are and how great your affections are for me. and oh, how he loves us so. oh how he loves us. how he loves us so. we are his portion, and he is our prize. drawn to redemption by the grace in his eyes. if his grace is an ocean, we're all sinking. and heaven meets earth like an unforseen kiss, and my heart turns violently inside of my chest. i don't have time to maintain these regrets when i think about the way that he loves us. :]

much love to all.

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

GET READY FOR LOTSSS OF PHOTOS

this is my team! phil is the one in the weird looking sailors hat, bobby is the red head, courtney is the blonde, and matt is the one in the beautiful sweater vest. 
[[and i'm the one with the purple hat on...]]



this is my friend simon! he is from denmark, and he is on the new vision team traveling to australia. we were at the chicago zoo with an awesome hippo.



yup. here is my buddy kyle. he is very tall... and likes to use me for an armrest!



this is the future bumper sticker my team is getting made to go on the back of our van. 
we know you're jealous! :]



so this is quite possibly the most epic photo ever. it is of my boss donna and me... 
at the "circus"...



this is one of my best gal pals, camilla. she is also from denmark, and she was on support staff at training camp this year!



this photo was taken at a crazy dress dance at camp! i am with my buddies joe, gretchen, and alex:]



this was one of the first days of camp... 
i am with my good friend gretchen who is on the east coast team, my teammate courtney, and my friend kassie who is on the east lakes team.


... so i hope you enjoyed all of these photos! now you can put faces to names when i talk about all of the friends i have made at camp. much love to all!
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

moose burgers

so... you may not know this, but i am a pretty non-violent person. i don't like the idea of hunting, or listening to people talk about it. this can be very difficult in northern wisconsin. the last host home we stayed at was gorgeous. it was a huge log cabin style home on a beautiful lake with lots of fun stuff like arcade games and a indoor hot tub. however... there were stuffed dead animals.all over the place. there were at least ten stuffed dear, a stuffed racoon, lots of huge fish, two stuffed grizzly bears... and a really really big stuffed moose that overlooked their dinner table. so we had venison bacon. and venison sausage. and venison meat sticks. and i successfully avoided eating these by filling myself up with pancakes and such. however; the last day we were there our host mom was talking about a great lunch she was making for us. guess what it was? it was MOOSE BURGERS. to make things even more painful, she pointed out that the meat for these burgers came from the moose on the wall that was overlooking the dinner table where we were eating said burgers, and in doing so she put a face to the meat i was supposed to eat for lunch. awesome.
sincerely,
hannah joy.

i am currently in a coffee shop near conover drinking some delicious peach tea.

we have officially had two bookings so far! last saturday we played at a church service, and it went well for our first one ever. then we played the same program for the churches sunday service, and it went even better which was very encouraging. oh, the church was in hayward wisconsin. after we finished with the sunday service, we packed up and traveled to conover wisconsin which is a verrrrrrry small place.

we ate some pretty tasty tacos, and then played lots of fun games with the kids at the church, which overlooked a gorgeous wisconsin lake. the house i stayed in overlooked the same lake, which was totally amazing to wake up to! today is our free day, and we are spending it in town at various coffee shops taking advantage of their wi-fi:]

tomorrow is going to be nerve-wracking and exciting all at the same time... we are playing at a maximum security detention center. i have heard from past people that have been there that it was one of their favorite bookings, but it still sounds a little scary! not to worry though, Jesus is a cool guy and i know that He is going to work through me. which is pretty awesome. 

i made 45 new friends at camp and i miss them dearly, but i am loving my teammates at the same time. there is one other girl on my team, her name is courtney and i absolutely love her. she has already graduated from college, and is sort of the ""mom"" of the team. matt is my team leader and he is great at leading and life and stuff like that. bobby is creepy sometimes, but he's great at the guitar and we love him anyway. i was just kidding about the creepy part. phil used to be in a metal band and is therefore both interesting and great at music. he plays the drums as well as the base and guitar, and he makes it so every single song we play is totally epic. anyway, i should probably get back to having my day off. so, love and hugs to all who read this. i miss you dearly. 

love, hannah joy

first booking!

we just played at our very first church in ashland wisconsin, and in case you were wondering, it went wonderfully! we played two songs and did a hilarious puppet show for their childrens sermon. they had lots of delicious brunch food for us afterward, and they sent us off with plenty of cookies and muffins for the road. they even had an inflatable moon bounce for the kids [and the young at heart] for fellowship time. lets just say, our team used that moon bounce A LOT. we are talented. sorry this post cannot be longer, i will have lots more internet access when i am on the road for good in a week. 

love to all, 

hannah

lamentations vs. microwave

lamentations 3 has always been my absolute favorite chapter of the bible. after i tell people that, they usually think i am off my rocker, because it's so freaking depressing in the beginning... but you have to read the depressing junk to make the ending of the chapter that much more incredible. 

 ¹  I am the man who has seen affliction
       by the rod of his wrath.
 ² He has driven me away and made me walk
       in darkness rather than light;
 ³ indeed, he has turned his hand against me
       again and again, all day long.
 ⁴ He has made my skin and my flesh grow old
       and has broken my bones.
 ⁵ He has besieged me and surrounded me
       with bitterness and hardship.
 ⁶ He has made me dwell in darkness
       like those long dead.
 ⁷ He has walled me in so I cannot escape;
       he has weighed me down with chains.
 ⁸ Even when I call out or cry for help,
       he shuts out my prayer.
 ⁹ He has barred my way with blocks of stone;
       he has made my paths crooked.

c'mon people, i know it's america and we are part of the "microwave generation," but we can still read entire chapters in the bible, even if it takes more than a couple minutes. i don't mean to sound like i'm not a part of the microwave generation... i enjoy hot pockets just as much as the average 19 year old. i just enjoy reading lamentations in my free time too. ;]

......

¹⁹ I remember my affliction and my wandering,
       the bitterness and the gall.
 ²⁰ I well remember them,
       and my soul is downcast within me.
 ²¹ Yet this I call to mind
       and therefore I have hope:
 ²² Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
       for his compassions never fail.
 ²³ They are new every morning;
       great is your faithfulness.
 ²⁴ I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;
       therefore I will wait for him."

the packing of my suitcase.

packing. is. not. fun. 
also, I have not cleaned my room properly this entire summer.. so that makes things a little bit difficult. 
however::: i am excited! very excited. and nervous. but excited too. 
heres the deal: i leave sunday to go on a year long adventure with an amazing Christian organization called youth encounter. i will be traveling all over the u.s. in the specific area between michigan and louisiana. 
annnnnnnnd.. drumroll: heres the best part: i get to play music. the entire time. music, music, and more music. it's a good thing that i love music, otherwise it would be pretty dumb to randomly go on this adventure. 
but for real, God has a plan for me. and right now He wants me playing the piano and singing for a year. i can handle that! 
i would totally post some pictures of my half packed suitcase and disaster of a bedroom, but A: i don't know how, and B: my horrible messy room would scar you for life.