Good Bye Olympics

I can't believe it! Our trip is almost done. Today is Saturday and we are leaving tomorrow. I am quite happy about leaving and getting back, but at the same time I will miss it here. I will miss the people and just the whole experience.

I don't know if I told you but I almost wasn't able to come to the Olympics. We got here and we were signing up and when I went to go sign in they told me I wasn't able to, because I didn't have my passport. they told me at the beginnging that I could have my license so I just brought that. But when I got there they told me because I was from a different country I had to have my passport. I was overwhelmed, I didn't know what to do. I couldn't go back to get it, there was nothing to do other then to pray and talk to the people. I got Jim and we went to the helping center. The lady thought that I wouldn't be able to get in, but what I didn't understand was that they had all the information in the computer, but I still had to have it with me. She went to go and talk to the guy in charge of the whole thing and he said yes!! What an answer to prayer! Buy that time I was ready to break down and cry and I was praying so hard! I couldn't believe that I wouldn't be able to go, I would have been heart broken.

Anyway, It has been an amazing last few days here. I have loved it! I have had great talks with people and everything has been really well. One of my supervisors, Brad, loves us. He told me the other day that we made his trip out here. And that it was refreshing to work with us and that we were awesome. What an encouragement that was! Many people have told us that and are just impression with our group. They are amazed that after standing in the same spot for 7 hours we can still have a smile on and are happy. I am so proud to say that I am in this group of wonderful people. God has done amazing things here and is still working.

There is a man, Nixon, and God is really at work there. Jeremy and I were talking about him last night and we think that he maybe a Christian. We are not sure but he has all the right views and his theology is on the right track. He asked us to pray for enlightenment, and he also invited us to his house, which we might be going over reading break. I really hope we do. There are many people that have invited us to their homes or to come and visit.

Well, I had my birthday here at the Olympics! What an amazing thing to say that I had my birthday at the 2010 Olympics. It was a great day! I worked until 1 then I just hung out. I didn't think that we would be doing anything special. That night we had chapel just like every night and they were all acting weird. Chapel started and Jim asked me to go and get a paper from his desk upstairs, which was a hint that something was going on. I did and I thought that when I got back down there would be a party downstairs... but I was wrong! I went into the office and WHAM! I had a sleeping bag over my head! They put me in a chair and started to ask me questions (Justin and Jeremy in their "intimidating" voices). The only question I remember was "If you could swing dance with anyone here who would it be?" I couldn't think because I was still in shock, but they wouldn't let me go unless I answered, so I said Jeremy. (through this whole thing I was laughing uncontrollably.) They said that was wrong and picked me up, with the sleeping bag still over me, and carried me out to the van! We drove somewhere and while we were in the car they threatened my life!! haha (I was still laughing the whole time). They then took me out of the van with my hands and feet tied up they flung me over someone's shoulder and carried me somewhere. I have to say it was not very comfortable. I had just eaten and I warned them that someone was going to have a sleeping bag full of goodies if they didn't put me down. But they didn't and I thankfully didn't puke. They put me down and untied me, with flashlights shining in my eyes I stood there stunned and not quite sure what was going on. They put a head lamp on my head and a helmet, which made me really confused. They then gave me a bike and said I had three minutes to do this track and pushed me down the hill. I was screaming and trying to do this motocross track in the dark! The boys were following me yelling and pushing me up hills. I had no clue what I was doing, I looked like I had never rode a bike before. I finally finished the track and they tied me up again and put me in the van. We then drove to Boston Pizza and had a nice dessert. I thought it was all over and they were going to be nice to me, but no! They then told me that I had to swing dance in the middle of Boston Pizza with Jeremy! I was forced out onto the floor and started dancing. It ended up being really fun and we all ended up dancing in the middle of Boston Pizza! It was wonderful and I felt so loved! It was one of my favorite birthdays!!

The rest of the Olympics was wonderful! There was a day where everyone was tired (well we were always tired) and discouraged. But that night we had a big conversation about it and the next morning we were all so happy and ready to go! We couldn't wait, and after that day every day was great. It is amazing how God gives you energy when you are doing His work. We would all be feeling crappy in the morning but by the time we started work it was gone. We would have energy and people couldn't understand how we could be happy at 5:30 in the morning. I think our happiness was a big part of us standing out from everyone else. One day my team leader couldn't understand how I could be so happy when I stood in the same spot for 7 hours. 

It was sad leaving the Olympics. It was weird thinking that it was your last day and that you would never have to get up at 3:45 again tomorrow. We said goodbye to everyone and got emails from people. I really hope that we are able to stay in contact with certain people. We have planted seeds in some of these people and I hope that they will blossom! God did amazing things there and I am so thankful that I was able to be apart of it.

Coming back to camp was great! Monday we had a 4 hour debriefing time with both mission groups. It was really good hearing all the stories on what God has been doing. This week has been really relaxing and lazy, which is nice. Today we went to Mystic Beach, which was GOREOUS!! I loved it! I just sat on the beach in the sun reading my Bibes (That is what we call the Bible here. We shorten everything). It was such an extraordinary day.

Please be praying for people's health, we are all still resting up from our trip and we are getting a little sickly. Thank you for all your prayers while we were gone! We could see them being answered.

Welcome to Whistler Olympic Park, please get your tickets ready...

"Hi! Welcome to Whistler! Please get your tickets out and ready because they will be scanning them up ahead, thank you." I don't know how many times I have said that. Or how many times I have said "hello", "bonjour" (yes, I speak French now), "please stay to the right of the path...STAY TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE!!!" and so much more. Soon I will be waking up in the night yelling, "going to Longsdale? your bus will be numbers 17-20!." or maybe it will be, "Can I see your tag please?" or maybe, "I am sorry but you cannot come in here". Through this experience I have had many laughs. I love watching people, they are hilarious. There are many people who have come in with very interesting costumes and then there are some who are just weird. There were two guys who seemed to be drunk every time I saw them, but they knew me by name and took a picture with me every day they saw me. They were Italian and told me that they would always remember me and that I was just so nice and they will tell people, "this is Ellie, she is a nice girl". How flattering coming from two drunk guys who probably had no clue where they were.

Lately it has been hard to witness to these people. I haven't been feeling very delightful. I am getting worn out and am looking at it more like a job where I clock in and clock out rather then a mission trip. We talked about how we are having a different perspective and that we need to remember why we are here. I haven' been able to have any sweet talks with people lately just because of where I have been stationed at. But I am forming friendships with people all around the park, which is cool. But sometimes I have a hard time being nice to these people, sometimes they just push my buttons and I am ready to just tell them off. I haven't yet, I just pray like crazy when I feel like that. Yesterday was a hard day just because no one would listen. They didn't like listening to the little girl standing in the path telling them what to do, which is frustrating because I am just doing what I am told.

But I am feeling pretty frustrated and down lately. I am not having cool opportunities like other people and I am just... just frustrated. I am extremely worn out and am not having the energy to pour into these people's lives. How can I teach people about God when I know nothing about Him myself. I just feel incapable to help these people. Sometimes I don't even want to be here. I am getting frustrated with people and being around people all day just makes me feel as though I am going to go crazy! There is no where to go to be alone, but I am trying to keep my hope up and trust in God. It is hard and I am feeling like I am drowning and I just can't do it anymore.

Please pray that my last five days of working will be good. That I will be able to help these people and that they will see God in my life. And that I will be doing God's will and not mine. Sometimes I try to steer a conversation in a certain direction so that I can start "the talk", but I am praying that God will just give me boldness.

Thank you so much for all your prayers, I appreciate it and will try to keep you up dated.

Theology, homework, olympics, going insane....AH!

What a week! This week has been quite a heavy one. Monday we started our class with J.P. (Jim Paulson) who teaches Theology. I was quite excited about this class, but as the week went on that excitement left. I love Jim, he is a great guy but his teaching style was not necessarily my favorite. I had a hard time understanding what he was talking about and what exactly he was getting at. I was a little angry because I didn't do well on the quizzes, even if I did study my butt off. Some of the things he said I did not agree with and had many questions after each day of class. We didn't do much this week because of class and all the homework we had to work on. I was a little frustrated because no matter how much I studied for the quizzes I didn't do well, but at least I passed =D.

Well, it is day six here at the Olympics. What an AMAZING experience I am having! We got here last Wednesday and that was a gong show. We were on the go all day long. We got to go to the dress rehearsal for the opening of the Olympics, which was beyond explaining. It was wonderful! Watching it on T.V. is nothing like seeing it in person. We were also correcting things that they forgot or what the crowd was doing wrong =D. Friday, us at Whistler Park (W.O.P.) had our first day of work. We were just a little bit excited! The day was great! I had a great time working. The people i worked with were nice and I had a good time talking to all the spectators. The next day was even better. I had great supervisors and the day was just a good one. The next day I didn't have such a great day. I was tired and not really feelin like working. But it is amazing how God gives me energy when I feel like I don't have any. God gives me the energy to get out of bed.

Here is what a day of working at the Olympics looks like: Get up at 3:30 , get ready and eat. Leave for the bus at 4:25 (I think), the bus comes at.. I don't know what time but we get there at 5:30ish. We then go through security get our lunch ticket and our ticket of where we are going to be working (which changes every day). We start at 6:30 and work until 1 or 3:30 or sometimes 5. The only thing that I wouldn't mind changing is the one meal during our shift. For those who know me, know that I LOVE to eat and am always hungry. This one meal thing during sometimes an 8 hour shift just does work for me. The other day I almost passed out from not eating. I eat at 4:30 in the morning and then sometimes I don't get to eat until about 1. But I have been bringing snacks which helps a little.

God has given me great opportunities to talk to people. I usually have a good conversation each day with a person. I have been able to tell people that I am at Bible college and what we do. They think it is very cool that I am doing that, but some people just stop talking to you when they hear it. I was working with a kid named Patrick and I was able to tell him about Theology and what it was and what we were doing for or our paper. I am becoming more bold and being able to start a conversation with people, which was always hard for me. It is still hard, but God has been giving me the ability to talk with people. When I see how much I put myself out to these people, I realized that I should be living like this everyday. That I need to be talking to people and reaching out to them everywhere I go. I have met many Americans which is awesome! There was a fam from Chicago the other day and then another fam who said they would root for me! It was nice meeting people from home. From being so far away it is a great way to be able to tell them why I am here in Canada, which brings up the subject that I am in Bible school. One of the girls I told that I was in Bible school asked me if I was very religious, I was a little taken back wasn't quite such what I should say so I just said, "you could say that I guess".

It is amazing because people can tell who we are. They say that we have a "joy", a "spirit" and an "energy" about us. They will say to me, "you are part of that group aren't you?" I love being able to say yes to that question. Being able to say yes I am in a group that makes such a big impression on people and that people can tell us apart from the others. I have been seeing God working so much on this trip, and I am loving it!

Please pray for energy and that we will all stay healthy. We are already getting very tired and exhausted, and some are getting sick. We have crazy schedules and are on the go all the time. Thank you for all your prayers! We see prayers being answered every day here! What an amazing God we have!!

Where did January go???

Well, January has flown by extremely fast! I can't believe it has been a month since I have been back. Life is slipping threw my fingers and I don't know if I like that. This past week was kind of relaxing, but kind of hectic at the same time. We had Jim's class on Tuesday and Thursday, which went well. It is amazing how quickly a week can pass, I don't even remember what I did. I always have to look back to the schedule to have everything come back to me. Monday was the day after we got back from the Mt. Washington trip, we just had chapel, hung out, and did homework. But we have been doing worship on Monday nights which have been amazing. We go to Club Coco and just sit around and worship. It is one of my favorite nights of the week. I love to go and sit in a corner open my Bible and read and to listen to the music and sing to my God. I find my heart is constantly over flowing with love for Him.

Class was good, but we have this group project, which I am not too excited about. My group, Kaitie, Rivs, Nicole, Jader and Abby are awesome though. We are never too focused on what we are suppose to be doing but some how we always get it done. Our project is on how we can make the waterfront for camp better. We have amazing ideas. If anyone needs help in that area, we are here, got a couple ideas that we could sell you. Just give my agent a call and we will get together sometime and chat.

On Friday, everyone's youth group came to camp. Which I didn't know until the day before, but what is new? Nothing has changed, I still never know what is going on. I personally thought that it was going to fail and that it wasn't going to turn out very good, but I was wrong. I didn't think that we would have a lot of kids, but we had over a hundred come. It was a very fun night. We played a game, again didn't know what was going on, felt lost as I was playing the game because I didn't know how to play. But it was fun running around with my youth group kids and just having a fun time. I am glad that I have at least three kids that like me, otherwise I would be depressed. One of the girls, April, just gives me a death stare every time she sees me and doesn't talk to me. I try, but she just won't. She likes Katie, but me, she would rather not have anything to do with. There are a couple girls like that, who don't like Kaitie or I , but we just still love on them. That is what we are there for, right? I find it hard though, loving on kids who don't like you. Oh well, I just pray and try to be a good example for them, which is something I think they need.

Well, I can't think of anything else that has been happening here. It hasn't been very eventful, but in a way it has been. Some how I feel as though I have had no time at all but when I think about it I don't know what I have been so busy with.

please pray for us as we prepare ourselves for the Olympics. Pray that our hearts will be ready and that we will have lots of energy for this busy next three weeks! Thank you.