Here we go again!!

"I don't yet know what next summer brings. I have applied to graduate school and am anxiously awaiting their decision. Depending on where I go, I would like to return to WDWSP11 as an intern leader.  We shall see what God has in store!

So, in the fitting words of a popular piece of Disney merchandise,

Been There. Done That. (hopefully) Going Back!

Signing off (for now),
Kelly"

These are the words I left you with in November. Well, it is May, and as you have probably heard, God has worked in some crazy ways in my life and in less than three weeks I am headed back to Orlando for a seven week adventure. Here is a quick recap of this year.

I started my senior year at the University of Florida. Fall brought about a lot of the same things I have been experiencing over the past four years.

Gator football- We may not have won the national championship this year, but it is still great to be a Florida Gator :)

My fall schedule made it difficult to dance as much as I usually do, but I managed to find a little time in my schedule for my Dancin' Gators :)

Fall also brought about some new, amazing changes in my life

I was a part of the Leadership Development program at my church, Anthem. It basically a leadership internship for college kids where we get to lead in an area of ministry while receiving group and one-on-one discipleship. The people I spent my Tuesday nights and Sunday mornings with quickly became my family, and I am forever grateful for everything I have learned and the love I have received <3

I got a chance to lead the UpStreet ministry, which is for K-5th graders. The team I volunteered with was amazing and the kids I worked with will forever leave their little handprints on my heart

Some more kids found their way into my heart in a BIG way. In September, I started doing volunteer work for school. My major, Communication Sciences and Disorders, required me to do work in my field of interest, which was deaf education. I started working 10 hours a week at Norton Elementary with ten hearing impaired children. I immediately knew that this was what I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing- giving a voice to those who can't hear.

I applied in fall to graduate schools and in December, I got accepted to Washington University in St. Louis, MO on full academic scholarship. I honestly can't attribute this to anything besides God. It was even further proof that I am pursuing the degree that God created me for.

Winter was amazing. I got to work a few shifts back at the good ole' Emporium and catch up with some of the friends I made last summer, as well as friends who came to visit.

I spent a wonderful Christmas with my family

Spring was a welcome time where my class load lightened a little, allowing me to spend more time doing the things I love with the people I love.

Spring also gave me more time to travel back to the Happiest Place on Earth and my future home, St. Louis, which brought about many WDWSP10 reunions. My heart soared as my family from last summer was reunited, piece by piece.

I also got to dance more than I have in the past, including performing in a multicultural talent show, where Dancin' Gators raised over $400 in donations for Haiti

On April 30th, after four years of hard work and lots of fun, I graduated from the University of Florida alongside my three closest friends in my program. We have been through a lot together and four years ago as little freshman, we made a pact to be sitting together four years later at graduation. That pact was fulfilled.

I am so blessed by an amazing family who has loved me more than I ever could have asked for

So, that is my year in photographs. In early spring, I was accepted to come back on WDWSP11 as a student staff intern. One of my favorite things about last summer was the amount of spiritual growth I experienced, inspired by enthusiastic. loving, and supportive staff members. I wanted to be able to give back to the project that changed my life and threw me headfirst into a relentless, passionate pursuit of Christ. In February, with my parents, friends, and church family looking on, I was baptized at Anthem church. I will never forget that day as long as I live. WDWSP10 taught me to trust God and led me to take leaps of faith like apply to grad schools far from home and love people that the rest of the world seemed to look past. So I am headed back. I won't be working at the Emporium full time this time. My full time job will be planning the project for the 40 students headed to Orlando in the same position I was last year. I will be leading bible studies and a ministry team and discipling a small group of girls and pouring into their lives the same way my discipler, Liz, did last year.

I am doing really well with raising support, but I am still about $200 short of my fundraising goal. I need to raise $1400 total in order to cover living expenses for this summer. If you want to donate, you can do so in two ways. First (and easiest), you can donate online! Here is the link to my online account:
https://give.ccci.org/give/View/5559770?pp=Search+Results

OR

You can email a check made out to Campus Crusade for Christ to
Kelly Wood
6946 Finamore Circle
Lake Worth, FL
33467


I love you all and can't wait to keep you posted over the next few months. I am so appreciative of each and every one of you and pray for you daily. Thanks for getting me where I am today.

In Christ Alone,
Kelly

Closing Remarks

Well, I clearly failed at timely wrapping this up. Things happen. I got busy. I got tired. Then I was in denial project was over. And then I got busy again.

And now its almost December.

I have been home from project for a total of 114 days. It is no longer summer, and fall is rapidly drawing to a close. Thanksgiving has come and gone and my Christmas tree will go up tomorrow. I am writing this on a belly full of apple pie because I am an emotional eater and the Gators just lost to the Seminoles, something I hoped to never see in my lifetime, let alone while I was still a student.

But all that aside, I have finally found the time and the courage to write this.

Summer project finished just as it begun- one giant whirlwind. Specifics elude me now, but somewhere between my last entry and our day of departure, true magic took place. Not the pull-the-rabbit-from-the-hat kind. Earthly magic is all an illusion. Somewhere in those 3 weeks, God worked a miracle in the lives of each and every person on that project. The rag-tag group of college kids from twenty something states became an unstoppable force that left its mark on the Magic Kingdom and the Kingdom of Heaven eternally. We became a family bonded by more than just memories. Our hearts are forever entwined, joined not only through common experience but through late night conversations, hours of prayer, and countless things to laugh and cry about. When the bible talks about heaven, it often mentions the community aspect of it, and how finding a true Godly community here on Earth is the closest thing we have to compare to heaven. And when you find that kind of community, it marks your soul forever. I consider myself blessed to have experienced that.

It would be a dramatic understatement to say that our "mission" for the summer was accomplished. We traveled thousands and thousands of miles and raised thousands and thousands of dollars. All 33 of us undeniably experienced life-changing growth this summer. But more importantly, hundreds and hundreds of our coworkers were exposed to what it looks like to live like Christ did.

Another one of our theme verses for the summer was 1 John 3:18 (also one of my faves)

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

Every time each of us smiled instead of cried. Every time we came in early or stayed late. Every pep talk. Every time we did something without complaint. Every ounce of extra effort. Every task done well, not just done. Every shared cookie, every hug, every bad joke, every little thing. It was worth it. Our co-workers got it. They saw we were different.

It was clear all summer that God is doing something amazing at Walt Disney World. It became even clearer as the summer drew to a close.

It was clear when tears were shed on all sides during our last day of work. It was clear when we shared one last sunrise meal at IHOP when dozens of coworkers came to say bye. It was clear when we stood up and shared stories at the end of project banquet. It was clear that our main objective was met- college students from around the world encountered true Christianity. Students from China, South Korea, Italy, France, Germany, Scotland, Mexico, Puerto Rico, England, Morocco, Australia, Egypt, Brazil, Canada, Russia, India and SO many more. But that wasn't everything. We impacted hundreds of American students who go there for the college program. We impacted our managers and coordinators. We impacted cast members who didn't even work in our areas, like my friend Michael. He is one of the Emporium's custodial workers. He has a family and works two jobs to make ends meet. We became friends early on in the summer and said "hi" every night when he came in to clean. He told me that most people ignored his presence unless he was in their way. It broke my heart, and from then on I went out of my way to say hello.

We were also able to make an impact on the Christian community that already existed at WDW. We provided encouragement, community, and support to those who struggled just to hold on to their faith. It was an unexpected but glorious victory that our project multiplied in size. Almost all of our events and things were open to anyone who wanted to come, so that by the end there were dozens of fellow cast members attending bible study or church with us.

I learned so much on this adventure. I learned lessons in humility. My confidence as a leader was shaken, then rebuilt; challenged, then strengthened. Walls that have remained sturdy in my heart for years were broken down as I learned lessons in true friendship and biblical community. I learned the value of hard work and how far a smile can go.

Not a day goes by that I don't wish I could go back. I opened this entry saying that it hurt too much to write this for a while. I really have struggled this semester to (if I may quote my good friend Kristen) "be where my feet are." I desperately miss the community and the excitement of summer project. I get frustrated with monotony and menial tasks that seem to get in my way of sharing God's love with others.

Don't get me wrong, this semester has been awesome. I volunteer at an elementary school in their deaf/hard of hearing class and I am getting ready to go to graduate school and make a career out of bringing language and learning into the world of deaf children. I am interning at my church and helping build a children's ministry that allows kids to truly experience the satisfaction I feel in my heart. Life is great. But its not the same. But that's my fault. There is no reason why I should not be living by faith like I did all summer. I am so lucky that I got that opportunity. Now that I know what it is like to live life in a community of people who are striving to share the love of God, I crave it. I got a taste of something I cannot seem to get enough of.

I miss my roommates. I miss my Team Emporium. I miss Sarah, who worked with us and is now off on her own pursuit of God out there in Cali (her college program ended in August too). I miss Ray and Lulu and Cecilia, our Chinese friends from the Emporium who came to church with us and heard about God for the first time. Cecilia and Lulu cried when we left, and so did I. Cecilia's parting words were "I will never forget you. You will always live in my heart." Same to you girl, same to you. I hope China is treating you well. I miss my bible study, my small group, my discipler, my ministry team, my fellow directors, and my bedmate. I miss every single student and staff member on that project, from Kevin, the director, all the way down to baby Jack, the son of one of the staff members. I miss Mike Ditka resort, the employees with their Bears jerseys, the pool with its annoying fountains, the lake, my condo, the smoking burner, and all the passive-aggressive sticky notes Sam would leave to make us clean up our stuff. I miss eating McDonalds, IHOP, Denny's, waffle house, steak and shake, wendy's, taco bell, and every other bad food you can think of at all hours of the night. I miss crying till I laughed and laughing till I cried. I miss being so tired that I can't stand OR think straight. I miss riding the bus from Cast parking to West Clock. I miss walking underneath Cinderella's castle and talking about God with a half-dressed Princess Tiana in the food court. I miss the kids who came to my store and even their crabby parents. But I am thankful.

I am thankful for each and every single person that got me here. Whether you supported me financially, prayerfully, emotionally, or mentally throughout this entire journey. Thank you for giving, praying, calling, writing, caring, and even for reading this. I miss WDWSP10 terribly, but I am SO blessed to have experienced it. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

I don't yet know what next summer brings. I have applied to graduate school and am anxiously awaiting their decision. Depending on where I go, I would like to return to WDWSP11 as an intern leader. We shall see what God has in store!

Lastly, I am almost finished making a video slideshow with pictures from summer project. I will post it here soon.

So, in the fitting words of a popular piece of Disney merchandise,

Been There. Done That. (hopefully) Going Back!

Signing off (for now),
Kelly

Pixie Dust

Okay, its 2AM and I am updating. This could be a very bad idea, but I don't like being so out of touch with the world. And in some ways I do. But I really don't.

So, lets see.

I left off hacking my lungs out after getting the summer project plague due to running 25 hours a day and draining my sleep tank.

Things have been an insane roller coaster ride since then. I shall summarize with a list, beginning with the most important/pertinent thing.

~My dad had another cancer scan, which came back negative except for a miniscule spot on his lung. This is really good/ maybe not so good news. The fantastic news is that there is no sign of any cancer left where his kidney used to be. And the spot on his lung may be nothing. So lots of prayers will be said over the next few months. His next scan will be in three months.

~We brought our friend Ray from China to church with us last Sunday. He had never been before and it was really cool to hear him talk about his experience.

~Leadership is hard, but I knew that full well going in. I was not expecting it to be easy and I was right. Good news is that our directors team works really well together. Pat (see previous entry for a visual aid lol) is the female project director and she is basically opposite of me in the best way possible. Obviously if you are reading this you know how very right-brained I am. Big picture, go in guns blazing, jump in headfirst- these are me in a nutshell. I hate details. Pat is fantastic about details and things I forget about and awesome at calming me down when I spill out these extravagant, not thought out plans. I love her. We are quite the dynamic duo if I do say so myself.

~This past Tuesday we went to UCF for campus outreach. Last Tuesday also happened to by my best friend on the planet Jessica Nicole Leeds' 21st birthday. And she happens to go to UCF. Perfect. Except its really hard sometimes when my two worlds collide. I feel like not only do I struggle to keep my heart fully here and not torn between Orlando and home, but I have to figure out how to balance my heart over the whole town of Orlando. It is a struggle that nobody else here faces and not one that I anticipated. I want to be fully and utterly devoted to this summer project but I love my friends and I recognize how important it is to be spending time with them as well. I really think its an amazing blessing that I have this opportunity, whereas the last few months it has seemed like a curse that I had to choose. It is yet another clear beacon that this is exactly where God wanted me for the summer. So, after spending the day with everyone on project on campus, I surprised Jess by joining her and our other friends for birthday dinner. It was so good. I miss everyone so bad.

~It is a really big deal for our store to make budget for the week. It helps determine a lot of stuff, from payroll to how many people they can hire to what hours the store is open. It is also really rare that we make budget. Last night, we were part of the closing crew, meaning we worked until 2:15. At 12:30 or so, just as the store had closed and we had begun our closing assignments, TJ ( one of the managers) came out saying "TIME TO SHOP!!!." Apparently this has happened before, but our budget was 1.5 million dollars for the week and we had made $1,499,582. Which meant that we were about $4o0 away from the golden number. At this point, my coworkers and I each grabbed a basket and began literally shopping. All the things that we have had our eye on were ours for the taking. Well, to buy, not take, but you know what I mean. But it was so ridiculously fun. We raided the candy section with enough sweets to satisfy us for the night and picked up all the little things we had been wanting for weeks. I grabbed this really cute stuffed Eeyore, a car decal, a pen, some candy, etc. It was about $40 worth of stuff I would have bought anyways, but due to all of us shopping, the store made budget for the week and we all got cookies as a reward. It was hilarious, we were all ringing each other up at our registers and joking around pretending to be annoying guests. I think it was my favorite night to date.

I just really love my co-workers, and not just my fellow project-ers from Team Emporium (although I want to brag on us, we are really close and probably the most awesome team that ever existed except perhaps the Justice League). I work with some really really amazing people. One unique thing about working at Disney is that there is pretty much nobody who works there for the money or just because they need a job. I work with people who are willing to work minimum wage night shifts stocking fifty dollar mickey mouse dolls just because they believe that happiness is real and dreams do come true. Sure, we complain and grumble and moan, but at the end of the day, it is evident that there is something unique about each and every cast member. Every night a collective prayer goes up amongst Magic Kingdom cast members that their break ticket comes somewhere between 945 and 10, because no matter how many times you have seen the Summer Night-tastic fireworks, it never gets old. I was one of the lucky ones twice this past week. The first night I got my slip at 10:08 and sprinted backstage to watch the last 5 or so minutes of the show, joining a pod of my coworkers behind the shop. You have a semi-clear view of the castle, and personally I have found few spots better to watch the fireworks than behind the Emporium. Two nights later, I was told to go on break at 9:52. I almost cried from joy. As I stood outside slurping microwave chicken soup with a spork, I looked around and realized how blessed I was. I was standing amongst a group of adults, whether college age or far into their seventies, who were instantly transformed into children the moment the sky began to light up.

No matter how insane the store was that night, no matter how many angry guests you had to deal with that day, all is right with the world when Tinkerbell flies through the sky, forcing the evil pirates to leave (there is this utterly fantastic scene in the Nighttastic fireworks where Captain Hook and his band of hooligans "take over" Cinderellas castle and begin to "blow it up" (fireworks shoot off of the castle to make it look like it is exploding. It is both the most disturbing and the freaking coolest thing ever) all to the tune of Pirates of the Caribbean music). I watched the faces of my co-workers the other night and caught a glimmer of the very thing that lies in each of our hearts: hope. No matter what, we still have hope.

Today I went to church, went swimming with people from all over the world who I consider my dear friends who I didn't even know two months ago, had a ten minute conversation in broken Spanish with a woman from Venezuela who thanked me profusely for even attempting to communicate with her, played football with a boy dressed up as Buzz Lightyear in the middle of a busy store had a spiritual conversation with another Christian girl and two Mormon girls over dinner in the Main Street Break Room, and made a 5 year old girl with Down's Syndrome stop crying and start laughing by giving her a sticker and sprinkling her with Pixie Dust. I am so blessed. This still all feels like a dream.

It is bedtime. But remember, no matter what, God is still good. Good will always win. No matter what circumstances surround you right now, God is greater and more powerful than all of them, and he is also more good and just than all others. So have a little hope. Tinkerbell brings hope to thousands every night. But God brings hope to billions.

I love you all.
Kel

Photos? Maybe?

Okay, these are all out of order, but here is a summary of the last 6-ish weeks of my life
(I cannot believe its almost 2/3 over. Seriously.)






















Tim, Jamie, Erica & I (collectively known as Team Emporium) outside our place of employment














A bunch of students and staff celebrating Katie's birthday (see here)














Trip to EPCOT after Traditions- our first time using our Cast Member ID to get into a park!!!




















The boss himself in the Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade














Me, Alexis, Pat, and Jess. These are probably my three closest friends on project :)




















The finale of the castle show- Dream Along with Mickey




















This is Liz. She is the reason I am sane right now. I miss her terribly already.














This is my LTG- They weren't kidding when they named it that. Liz, me, Laura, Savannah, Sarah, Alicia, and Kelly V. My "moms" were wonderful leaders and now Laura has taken over as the leader!














Team Emporium in costume












Catching a wave at Cocoa














Being taught how to surf













This is where I live!














The parade that passes by my store twice a night















A bunch of people crammed in my living room to watch Princess and the Frog



















Campus Crusade International Headquarters and Lake Hart















Movie night with some of the girls

This will be long.

Okay, I am back.
I know it has been like ten days since I said I would be back.

Since it is now impossible to give you a blow-by-blow considering I can barely remember what I ate for breakfast, I will hit on the high points.

Two Tuesdays ago we went on an "international journey." We met early in the morning at EPCOT and were divided into teams that represented several of the countries present in World Showcase- Italy, China, Japan, Morrocco, the US, and Mexico. I was in the Mexico group, and we spent the whole morning at the Mexico pavilion learning about Mexican culture and attempting to "assimilate." We talked about how much family was a huge part of Mexican culture and we each were assigned a role. I was given the role of mother. Go figure. All my roommates already call me mom. But we also had a father, a grandmother, and four kids. We had to pray the Hail Mary prayer several dozen times throughout the day. We couldn't do anything unless "Abuela" or Papa said it was okay. At one point, one of my "ninos" was kidnapped by a Mexican drug lord. We talked a lot about Mexican Catholicism and the impact is has on the culture and then related it to our lunch, or at least what we thought would be our lunch. After promising us a grand traditional Mexican lunch all day, we were served two corn tortillas and a spoonful of salsa each, and we shared a one liter bottle of apple soda between the nine of us. This is related to the gospel in mexico because the knowledge of God is easily accessible but very boring, and most are satisfied with just that. After a long deep discussion about this, we were surprised with a lunch reservation in the San Angel Inn restaurant inside the Mexico pavilion, which was the most delicious meal I have had on project to date. It was fabulous authentic Mexican food, but I think it was even more satisfying because I had just spent an hour convincing myself that I was full after a lunch that was probably 150 calories of food. It really hit home for me because before I was a Christian I truly believed that my life was great, but I had no idea what I was missing.

After lunch, we met up with the other groups and shared our experiences. Some other groups had it much worse off than we did, and the American group had been forced to walk around all day and act like ignorant tourists, which was funny, but really representative of how other cultures see us. They had all these luxaries that we pined for when we saw them. They had so much food that they tried to give it away to us when they visited Mexico just because they didn't want to carry it anymore. I really admire our staff, the whole day was so incredibly well thought out. Every action and plan represented something else.

We spent the afternoon walking around and talking to the international students who are there on the college program. We asked them all about their culture and what religion was like there. I got a HUGE rush from this because I am such a history/culture nerd. I loved learning about how my life compares to the life of a 21 year old living in a country like Norway or Mexico. I was shocked at how easy it was to talk to everyone we stumbled upon. After we got done talking to everyone, it was time to watch Illuminations, the firework show at EPCOT. It is all about global culture connecting and how we are all one, which means SOOO much more after spending an entire day talking about it. It was so moving. I think this was my favorite day of project thus far.

We took another one of our days off and spent it at Hollywood studios. It was a lot of fun, we got to see the fireworks there, Fantasmic, which is one of my favorite shows. It was really awesome :)

The next Tuesday was Woman's Day. We all had the day off (we have every Tuesday off for "project day") and we spent the whole day together. One of our staff women, Betsy, just so happens to be a jazzercise instructor, so we started off the morning with Jazzercise, which was a blast. After that we had some much needed "scheduled rest and relaxation" time. We all had the afternoon and had to spend some time doing personal bible study/ quiet time (quiet time is just a fancy way of describing time spent in conversation with God, whether that is prayer, studying the bible, reading a Christian book, listening to worship music, etc). This was so refreshing I can't even describe it. I read through Hebrews 10, 11, and 12. There is a lot of good stuff in there, including my favorite verse- "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."- Hebrews 12:1

We were also "forced" to do one of the following activities: Shop, relax by the pool, watch a chick flik, sleep, or play volleyball. Needless to say, they didn't have to force us very much.

That night, we went out to Macaroni Grill for dinner as a group (there are some pictures on facebook and I have to add mine as well). When we got done with that, the staff women surprised us by taking us mini golfing in our dresses lol. That was a lot of fun, and when we got back we were put in a circle, and one by one our disciplers presented us with a necklace with a single pearl on it to represent the "Pearls of Women" we had been learning about all summer in our weekly woman's time. It was really really wonderful.

The woman who disciples me (discipler=biblical mentor. Jesus had 12 disciples who were his closest friends and associates and who carried on his teachings when he went to heaven) is really amazing. Her name is Liz and I can't remember if I have written about her before and am feeling too lazy to go back and look. We get one on one time every week and she has been so patient and loving and understanding. I really admire her a lot, she is balancing being a staff woman with being a mom (her husband is one of our directors and they have two adorable daughters I have considered kidnapping because they are amazing). I am just so blessed by the people I have encountered here. I feel like with everything that was going on with my dad I came here a hot mess with a broken heart and little faith. But every single person here has, in some way, helped me get back on my feet and helped me continue to remain faithful to God. I know that no matter what, God is still good and He loves me. I am thankful that people here help remind me of that.

Fourth of July weekend was really hard for a lot of us. I was really homesick and worked like 27 hours between friday, saturday, and sunday. Saturday and Sunday Magic Kingdom had their Fourth of July fireworks show, which was apparently the most epic thing in the history of ever. I say apparently because I worked both nights and wasn't allowed to watch it. Everyone else on project besides my work group was able to watch it at least one of the nights. I was just in a horrible mood all weekend and am mad at myself now for acting like a two year old for half of it. But I am over it now, it was just hard. I missed family bbq, swimming all day and almost killing myself with fireworks.

So all summer projects that are in the United States (or "stateside" as we call them) are only led by Campus Crusade staff for the first half of the project. At the midway point, student leaders are appointed to the following positions: Director (one male and one female), Associate director (one male and one female) Woman's time leader, Mens time leader, ministry team leaders (one to two per team, and there are four teams. see previous entries) and one leader per small group, which also leads the group bible studies. I was aware of the leaders being appointed soon, but was totally not thinking about it last week. I had a lot of other stuff on my mind, such as having the closing shift six nights in a row. Jenni, one of the project directors, had a meeting with me one day which I assumed was just gonna be to catch up on life (she had really been helping me through a lot of the stress associated with my dad and family all project long) but when we met she told me that the staff was offering me the role of Associate Project Director and that I had a day to pray about it and then get back to her. I was in total shock because I felt like I had been a mess the whole time I was here, but she told me that the whole staff really admired how hard I had worked to get here and how evident it was that the project was extremely important to me. I prayed about it a lot and decided to take on the new role.

The mid-project dinner was this Tuesday, and it was also the day the staff left. It was really hard to see them go, but we had a good day. We went back to Cocoa beach for more surfing, but the waves were a lot rougher this time, and it was a little discouraging. We all got pretty beat up, but it was still good. We had a banquet at Buca di Beppo that night, and it was delicious and fun but really emotional because each group presented their small group leaders with cards and presents. When the banquet was over we had a dance party, which again was fun, but it was where we said a lot of our final goodbyes. I didn't think I would get that close to the staff in just five weeks, but it was really really emotional to watch them leave Wednesday morning. I am going to miss everyone so much, especially Liz, but I know that everything will be okay.

Work is going well, I have really started to build some great friendships with my co-workers. The hardest part is the hours that I work. I have gotten off at 4 am several times, and most nights it is around two when we finish. It takes a lot of prayer and willpower to drag myself out of bed only a few hours after getting home to go to project time, but it is always worth it. I have been getting home, sleeping 3-5 hours, getting up for project time, then going back to bed after lunch for a few hours before heading right back to work. Sometimes I sleep more during the day than at night. This exhausting schedule has finally caught up with me. I woke up sick this morning and had to call into work. Which is how I had the time to write this haha.

I am sorry I have been slacking on keeping up. I am going to try and be better but I am not making any promises. I will for sure update this weekend, since I have sat. and sun. off, and I will probably talk more then about how the leadership part is going. So far so good though :)

I love you all and never forget you are in my prayers!
Kel

Se Habla Espanol?

Someone needs to be holding me more accountable to blogging. I fail.


Alrighty then.
Last time I updated was last Wednesday.

Beginning where my last entry left off, I have since bought insoles for my shoes, which cost about the same as the shoes haha. But my whole body is thanking me. Last Thursday was my last official day of training. My trainer was a Colombian man named Eddie who loved to tell stories about the guests he has encountered in the last thirty years, most of which he couldn't even finish telling because he would laugh so hard. It was quite amusing.

Friday was my first day of work without a trainer, and it was also the first day of my family's Fathers Day vacation. I had spent the morning (after Holly's bible study- we talked about being humble. SO convicting) seeing the Karate Kid with some other project kids. We had tried to see Toy Story 3, but it was sold out. On Wednesday and Thursday nights the Disney Beach Club Resort had showed the first two Toy Story movies and we had a lot of fun going to watch those.

So yeah, Friday was my first day all by my onesies. I worked till 130. My parents got to briefly see me before the night time rush came in. Magic Kingdom has night parades at 9pm and 11pm and fireworks at 10pm, and in between all those the store is INCREDIBLY crowded. Like its exhausting just to look at. But it wasn't too terrible. The title of this entry relates to the fact that I have used my spanish skillz (or lack thereof) more in the last two weeks than I have in the last five years. At least three or four times a night I use bits and pieces of the few words I remember from la clase de espanol to try and communicate something to our latino guests. I give directions to the bathroom, read off prices and totals, and try to tell them where to find things. It is probably very entertaining for them.

Saturday I had my LTG meeting at 815 and then headed to Typhoon Lagoon to spend the day with my dad and brother (my mom doesn't enjoy waterparks too much). It is tradition for my family- fathers day weekend we go to Typhoon Lagoon and take photo in the Family raft ride. My dad has the last 7 years or so lined up on his desk (although in the middle there is a picture of us in Colorado, which is where we spent the fathers day after my senior year of h.s.) It was really awesome to spend time with my dad after everything that has happened this year. I consider myself so blessed, and it was ridiculously hard not to get overwhelmed emotionally in front of him. I did that in private later. God has been so faithful in answering prayers- prayers that came from literally all ends of the globe as people who I don't even know prayed for my dad. It is so humbling. After the waterpark we went back to the hotel where I spent some time with my mom. It was wonderful.

Saturday night I worked until 1215, which is probably the earliest I will ever get off again. It was a good night, just rather boring. I was in the back corner of the store where nobody ever shops. But, this gave me more time to make a little magic. We have this phone number that you can call to hear a pre-recorded message of Goofy singing Happy Birthday to little kids. It is fun to find kids with Happy Birthday pins on and give them the phone to listen to. We also have these little certificates where you can fill in the kid's name and their honor for the night. I crowned one little girl princess of the Emporium and made a little boy an Honorary Astronaut (he had just ridden Space Mountain for the first time)

Sunday I joined my family one more time at Hollywood Studios. We went on Tower of Terror and the Toy Story ride and ate lunch before they headed home. It was so good to spend some time with them once more. After that I went home and took a nap, because Sunday night I worked from 8pm-4am. In-freaking-sane. The park was open until 2 for Disney Resort guests and we have to stock and such for two hours after the last guest leaves. It is insane. I was so delirious that everything was funny. You get assigned a different area to close every night, and mine was bobbleheads, Magic Kingdom shirts, and 2010 merchandise. Lets just say that bobbleheads are really amusing at 4am.

Monday was good too. We had group bible study, where we once again talked about being too proud and competitive. Seems to be a theme in my life lately, so I am listening to whatever God wants to say. I have been kinda journaling through it, which has been helpful. I have some areas of my life where I need to work out my kinks, and that is one of them fo shizzle.

Monday night I worked till 315, which was exhausting after just closing the night before. My normal assignments were great, two of my favorite register areas. But I also had Cash Wrap for my closing assignment, which meant I went around to each of the 35 registered and restocked tissue paper, boxes, bags, pens, tape, delivery slips, and so on. Definitely the most tedious and least favorite assignment yet.

okay, I know I still have a few days to update, but its time for bed. I will update again tomorrow and pick up where I left off.

Hasta la vista!

How to hang ten and cause cash register malfunction

Hi friends.

I wish I had the energy to update more often. Lets see, I left off thursday night. I am doing really bad at updating often, I apologize.

Last Friday morning we had an optional bible study as a project activity, which I went to since I have been forced to miss a lot of activities due to a crazy training schedule. It was awesome. It was led by one of my fellow project-ers, Holly. After that, we grabbed a quick lunch and headed to Blizzard Beach for the day. It was a lot of fun. I somehow found the courage (a.k.a I was forced against my will) to ride Summit Plummet. It was amazing. And terrifying. I don't know if I have ever been that scared in my life. I screamed really loud for the first few seconds and then I was worried I would drown so I stopped. If I was not so tired, I would probably spin this into some analogy about life and faith, considering the worst part was waiting in line for 35 minutes, building up anticipation. But I am tired, so it wouldn't have the full effect. I need to be awake to analogize.

Friday night we did something else, but I can't remember what it was.

Saturday I had more training, this time back at Disney University. 6+ hours of learning how to use a cash register. It was fun. Sorta. Then we had another movie night I think. I am really having a hard time keeping all the movie nights straight.

Sunday I went back to Celebration Community Church, which I still really really like. The pastor talked about how when we don't have much, when we do give, it means a lot. He was speaking monetarily (the church meets in a high school auditorium and is trying to build an actual church) but it is very applicable to life. You don't need to have a lot to make it count. It was awesome. A bunch of us went to Wendy's for lunch, then our small groups met. After that, we played more sand volleyball, went on yet another Super Walmart run (I am really starting to hate that place) and then spent the night at Magic Kingdom. They have a new fireworks show for the summer. It was wonderful. I don't want to give too much away, but lets just say one of my favorite movies ever was well represented. Arrrg.

Monday we had group bible study (an actual project coordinated one, the other one we kinda made up on our own) and it was really really cool. I have never been in a co-ed bible study before and I liked it. We are going through material this summer called the Gospel Centered Life, and we talked a lot about the ways we judge people this week. First impressions or not, we got down and dirty with every person's tendency to judge others, which can all be related back to certain standards that we hold ourselves to. For example, we may judge someone on their body type because deep down, whether we know it or not, we hold ourselves to a high standard in regards to body type. I had never really thought about it that way before.

After bible study, we went to Hollywood Studios. I ended up just sticking with a group of four other girls the whole time, which was nice because we did a lot of girly stuff, like the Little Mermaid show and the Beauty and the Beast show, stuff I never usually get to do in big groups due to being vetoed by men (usually my dad and brother). We had a lot of fun.

Tuesday was amazing. We drove to Cocoa beach and spent a few hours just talking to people vacationing there and using a tool called Soularium to talk about things concerning faith. It is a box of fifty photographs and a set of questions like "which three images best describe your life?" "which three images represent what you WISH your life was like?" "which image best represents your view of God?" etc. The photos are all beautiful and range from a baby bird to a barbed wire fence to a fishing hook to mountains to an old couple holding hands and walking down the path. It is such a cool way to find out more about people. We buddied off, and Alex and I talked to this older couple who were adorable. They both said that true happiness was living the rest of their lives together. So sweet.

Annnnd, after that, we all went to Ron Jon Surf Shop and rented surfboards and went surfing! IT WAS SO AMAZING!!!! I had a blast. I was in the second group to go. Our staff team went a few weeks ago and was able to help us learn and give us a push when we were out there. The weather was kinda gloomy but the waves were apparently perfect for learning- 1-2 feet. I got up three times!!! I felt like I was flying. It was incredible addicting, I can't wait to get back out there. A bunch of people are talking about going again before the summer is over.

Today was my second day of training in the store. We started at 10 and got off around 630, so it was a long day. I was on a register most of the day and cannot even begin to list the ways that one can screw up on that machine. It is really high tech, which is sometimes awesome, but sometimes really complicated. One time I meant to key in the price of $4.95 and ended up keying in the quantity as 495. My guest nearly fainted from what came up as a $2,600+ total. The manager had to come over and fix the cash register, which had a meltdown when I tried to void 494 of them. I almost had a meltdown too, but luckily utter disaster was narrowly avoided. There is so much to remember with every single transaction that sometimes I forget to do things like breathe. I made change so people could press pennies in the machines outside, searched through a maze of a stockroom for items I knew we didn't carry, and almost took my finger off trying to cut the plastic wrap off of an autograph book so a kid could get Goofy's signature before he went away. I also taught some Norwegian men how to use American money. That stuff was interesting.

But the best part of the day was definitely when I got to just walk around the store or stand at the doors and greet/entertain/ interact with guests. I stood at the front of the store with Mickey gloves on and gave kids High-5, or High-4's since Mickey only has four fingers. I gave crying kids stickers and thought their parents were going to crown me queen of the universe for quieting their sunburnt, exhausted children. All the little girls came in wearing princess costumes and I would say "Hi Princess!!" and tell them how pretty they were. One little boy came in wearing a full out pirate costume and I pretended to be scared and hid behind a display. He looked at me like I was insane. Clearly I got more of a kick out of that game then he did. I also embarrassed a dad by making the whole store sing Happy Birthday to him. I love people.

Tonight a bunch of us went to one of the resorts that was showing Toy Story on a big screen TV in honor of Toy Story 3 opening Friday. They are showing the second one tomorrow night.

Tomorrow I work again. My feet hurt really bad from my $7 Walmart work appropriate shoes. I may need some insoles. But I can't wait to get back to work. How often can someone say that? I can't wait to go stand on my feet wearing an itchy polyester costume and deal with cranky parents who ask when the rain will stop and why it is so hot and why everything is so expensive. I can't wait for that because along with all the bad stuff comes little girls whose faces light up when you call them princess and sweet old ladies who find the perfect shirt for their grandson and little babies who giggle when I contort my face for them. That makes it all worthwhile.

That was long. Thanks for reading. Love you all.
Kel