Hello from beautiful Gulf Shores! Welcome to my very first blogging adventure of the #summerofourlives! I’m super excited to keep you posted on what big things God is doing in and through our lives throughout the summer. First of all, before I go into detail about what the first few days have been like around here, here are a few things ya’ll (I’m trying to further develop my southern accent) should know about Kaleo:
-Brief Description: Kaleo is a 9-week leadership discipleship summer program through the campus ministry organization Student Mobilization. Basically what that means is we move to Gulf Shores, Alabama and spend a summer in the sun learning how to deepen our walk with God through Bible study, prayer, time with the people around us, and sharing it with others! Talk about an ideal summer!
-We live at Staybridge Suites, an extended stay hotel only a few miles from the beach. It’s legit.
-We’re also put with 3-4 other girls in “D-Groups” (which stand for discipleship groups), and I’m lucky enough kick it this summer with Jordan Priddle, Libby Steinboch, Cherie Nelson, and Melat Dereje!
-We land a full time job while we’re here at a variety of the gracious businesses around Gulf Shores. Our D-Group is working at places varying from Chick-fl-a to Publix (a grocery store) to Alvin’s Island (a souvenir shop), and Ann Taylor Loft!
-When we’re not working, we spend time learning how to study the Bible, develop a steady prayer life, share our faith with others, and learn from older people in the faith! We also make time for lots of fun with socials, group dates, and the random shenanigans we get into every day together! More to come on our specific schedule in a later blog!
So now that you know a little more about Kaleo, let me tell you about my first few weeks in Gulf Shores! I joined a carpool of 5 other d-group leaders in Springfield, MO to being our 2-day trek to Alabama. We stopped for the night in Memphis and stayed with the Cummins, an awesome couple who financially support some KU StuMo staff members. As soon as we pulled up to the StayBridge the next day, the team leaders were standing by the side of the road cheering and holding signs to welcome us to Kaleo 2012, and from that moment, I knew that we were in for the summer of our lives! D-Group leaders, team leaders, and staff spent the next few days learning how we could make the most of our summer by setting ourselves and our friends who would be in our d-groups up for maximum success.
One of my personal highlights from preparation week was getting to spend time learning from the older, much wiser people around me. It was so cool to get lots of quality time with the other girls on my team and spend hours hearing how they created beneficial traditions, consciously set a Christ-like example, and relied on God’s sufficiency to lead them through the summer. What an encouragement the women around me have been, and will continue to be!
After a few days of training, the most exciting day yet was here: the day that the participants arrived! I think there was more anticipation among the D-Group leaders and staff than sorority bid day back on campus! I was so excited to see Melat, Jordan, Libby, and Cherie, I couldn’t help but run after the car that carried several members of my group as they parked!
After everyone was settled, we began discussing what our summer will look like together. One of the traditions we decided to set from the very beginning was to take a daily picture to document the #summerofourlives! In this blog, I will use those pictures to walk you through our summer adventures! Here goes...
Day #1
Our very first picture as a D-Group! Note the mountain of bags around us...
Day #2
Wednesday night we were challenged by an incredible talk at TNT (Thursday night talks...they’re usually on Thursdays) about making the most of our summer by “throwing off everything that hinders...” (Hebrews 12) so we can freely run the race and pursue God with everything we have. We also got to see Xavess, one of Cherie and I's friends from McDonald's last summer!
Day #3
After our first day of work, we all had to unwind at “The Hangout” (a restaurant by the beach) and the beach! No one made it home without being tackled in the sand at least once... (Jordan made sure of this)
Day #4
I know what you’re thinking...We actually had a reason for dressing up like we were stuck in the 80’s on Friday! Our first social “Kaleo Kraze” was a costume contest where we had secret themes that matched another group-- ours was 80’s and we were matched with a radical guy’s D-Group.
Day #5
Saturday’s in Gulf Shores are some of my favorite times throughout the summer! We spent the morning/early afternoon in spiritual leadership training all about how we can share our faith with others. After lunch, we paired up and went out on the beaches to talk to people and share with them! This time was definitely terrifying my first time doing it last summer, but God has significantly blessed my life through seeing how much people actually love talking about spiritual things and seeing lives change right there on the beach!
After a quick nap...
We invited Jessilyn’s D-Group (Jessilyn, Bailey, Elizabeth, and Cassandra) over for Br-inner (breakfast for dinner) Saturday evening. The evening consisted of much chatting, giggling, a punked picture, and even a concert by Cherie and Jordan. It’s a good thing Jessilyn’s group are such good sports about our goofing around!
Day #6
Another cool aspect of Kaleo is the opportunity to get plugged in to one of the fabulous local churches in the Gulf Shores/ Foley area. We have the privilege of attending Liberty Church in Foley. We absolutely loved the super contemporary worship and upbeat congregation who greeted us with hugs at the door! After church, we took advantage of the beach only a few miles away for the afternoon and soaked up the sun.
It is hard to believe that we have already been here for an entire week, yet it seems like our D-Group has known each other for much longer than a week! If this week is a preview for the rest of the summer, we are definitely in store for some life-changing experiences and an incredible bond as a D-Group.
Each week, I will include a few prayer requests for our group, the project, myself, and K-State. We would love to include you in our journey through the incredible support of prayer! Here are a few things to be praying for...
-That we would have a clear view of the gospel’s impact on our lives every day and be motivated by that knowledge.
-A positive attitude, perseverance, and the opportunity to share our faith with those around us at our jobs.
-Continued unity as a group and vulnerability with each other.
-That what we learn will become ingrained in our walks with Christ for the rest of our lives, not just routine for this summer.
-Pray that God will let what we learn impact our friends back on campus in the fall.
Until next week!
