happy february!

the last time i wrote, we were dealing with a lot of van and snow problems. i am happy to announce that since that post we only were stuck once in green bay! the weather teased me and acted like it was spring for about a week, and then we were hit with another blizzard. but we made the best of it, and stayed in cooking delicious warm meals and watching movies together. it was some awesome team bonding time. matt, bobby, and court all ate steak... and i bought a lunchable.[ i was just craving it, ok?] but due to this cold weather i have taken up using looms i bought at hobby lobby to make hats. it has been a super fun activity do on the snow days we keep hitting on the road. 

last sunday, we led a church service in conover wisconsin. it is a super tiny town that isn't even an actual town. its more like a village. but there is a beautiful church there overlooking an amazing lake. so we got to sing lots of my favorite songs, and during offering we sang my favorite hymn, which is "it is well with my soul." my favorite verse goes like this: my sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought. my sin not in part, but the whole, is nailed to the cross and i bear it no more, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh my soul. after the service, an older man came up to me, and he told me that he loved the way i smiled while i sang. he said that my voice was great, but what stood out to him was the way i smiled all the way through our service. i don't usually take compliments to heart, it has just always been hard for me to take affirmation seriously. but when he said that, it made me really happy. it was just another one of God's reminders that i am in the right place serving Him this year.

on a different note, we found out that we are doing an event with 800 people at the wisconsin dells! i am super excited to worship with that many kids, and i am ready for an energy filled weekend! 

much love from the snowy roads of wisconsin,

hannah joy

west lakes snow adventures 2011

i am sitting in a chapel on the campus of Finlandia University, in the UP of Michigan. it. is. so. cold. and speaking of cold, i am sure you all would like to know about the crazzzy weather my team has been dealing with lately. first of all, we were in a suburb of Chicago when the epic blizzard hit, and we were stuck in the same host home for an entire week. but no worries, it was an awesome house to stay in and our host parents were incredible. after we were allowed to drive on the snowy roads, we went up to the wisconsin dells for our second event there at the wilderness resort. it went really well and was super duper fun. after we left the dells, we stayed at a host home for the night, and left the next day to drive to Hancock which is the town i am in right now. however; we were about a half an hour out when we realized that there was nooo way we were making with all of the snow and wind. thankfully the area where we stopped was right by a lodge, and we were snowed in AGAIN for the night.

on a completely different topic, i think you all should know that we have been going through a lot as a team lately, and prayers would be appreciated. we lost our teammate phil about two weeks ago. he decided he had other opportunities outside of team that were more important. this was a bitter sweet thing, and if you would like to know more about it i would be glad to speak to you about it over the phone. its just kind of hard to put into words over a blog message. i haven't really known how to type it out, and i hope i did a decent enough job. 

you will be glad to know that we have successfully gotten through two events in chicago and in the dells without him, and we are looking forward to growing together as a four person team. i really have been reading my favorite chapter of the bible [lamentations 3] a lot lately, it has been a great help in times like this. 

fun fact: last night i saw at least five different snow sculptures depicting different books such as moby dick, narnia, and harry potter. yes. it was quite the adventure. it also was a cold adventure.

before i go, i would like to write a little bit about how great God is. this is a hard thing to put into a blog as well, but i am reminded of it every day when i see my teammates, and i see the people we get to minister to. even though times are a little tough, my relationships with my teammates are growing to be a lot deeper. God is great. even though it is cold outside, the snow covered trees are beautiful. God is great. although we might have missed a booking due to crazy weather, we were provided with an amazing host home. God is great. and, finally, even though i miss my family, i know that they support me in my year of ministry. God is the greatest ever. 

thanks for listening.

love,

hannah joy <3