A Week of Encouragement November 1-7 2015

Sunday:  Church was held at Mahone Middle School for a Joint Meeting.  The 5th meeting in a row to take place there.  Usually we have a joint meeting once a month, but this month was different.  God had the need for us to become one Living Light body for multiple weeks, which each week focusing on something different.  Afterwards I took Mike to Commongrounds.  (I knew he liked Chai Tea, and Commongrounds has really good Chai Tea.) He would drink it within two minutes before we got back to our table.  Before we left the church meeting Mike asked me if we should have Trae come with us.  Trae is the type of person you need to plan with advance because hes usually really busy or meeting with someone else, but he wasn't and came with us. I was pulled over for the first time ever on the way there for not stopping at a yield sign.  He let me go with just a warning.  Trae got to Commongrounds before us, and was shocked.  I told him how I had gotten pulled over. I guess Kenosha is a really common place to get pulled over.  Once we settled in Trae gave a ton of encouraging words to Mike, and shared stories from bringing the Holy Spirit on people when he went out to Oregon during the summer.  It was nice out as well so we took a walk along a boardwalk by Lake Michigan, and talked some more.  This little trip made me feel so inspired the rest of the day.

Tuesday:  Tuesday was really fun.  Tuesday night my friends an I piled in a car and took a trip to Wisconsin Lutheran.  My friend Ethan would be performing an acoustic guitar show.  To show support as a fellow child of God, I went.  Spending the night with Christians who are strong in their faith is super uplifting.  A girl named Haley came with us too.  She is a local musician who gets quite a few views on YouTube. Most of her videos have a couple hundred thousand views.  Ethan and Haley both are such humbling people.  Ethan connected with the people in the crowd, and just loved him but he never let it go to his head.  He's one of those people I never thought I'd ever be more than acquaintances with, but as I've gotten to know him more this semester it just makes sense.  His genuine love of people has shown through.  Before the show the people putting on the show provided us with Chinese food and we made an impromptu song about Broccoli, and Butterfingers.  The song was created after Aaron kept trying to get us to eat the rest of the cooked broccoli in his meal, and Trae asked how many calories were in a Butterfinger. It was a really great show and I'm really glad I got to go.

Wednesday:  Got breakfast with Felcia, Trae, Ethan, and Courtney at Bob's Diner.  We think if we go enough times they might but our picture on their wall.  Meals are half-priced on Wednesdays. Courtney tried to make butter by shaking the tiny cups of half-and-half, very determined it would work.  It didn't.  Most of the breakfast Courtney and I just observed Ethan.  He does the weirdest things, but they're overly funny, especially when your tired because you have yet to be fully awake.  I had to cut the breakfast short though, because I had to get back to class for a Spanish test.  Trae and Ethan obsess over Bob's diner.  Bob's also has a wide selection of animals you can get prepared in a skillet.

Thursday: Today I got up at 6a.m. in the morning for a morning adventure to the Pleasant Prairie Living Light. Trae and I had set up for Mike to be prayed over, because he was in need of encouragement, and also to help him out with his fight of brain cancer.  We decided to meet in Pleasant Prairie, because one of the prophets of our church had, had his body filled with cancer and it miraculously went away.  Trae thought it'd be good to have him there to pray over Mike.  Pleasant Prairie has prayer meeting every Thursday morning starting at 6.  We started off by singing a worship song then Trae, Ethan, and I along with all the people at the prayer meeting laid hands on Mike and prayed over him.  Mike got baptized by the Holy Spirit as well as prayers to help fight the cancer.  (He goes in for an MRI sometime this month).  After the prayer meeting Mike wanted to go to Commongrounds once again. I followed Ethan's car not knowing exactly how to get there.  When we got there Ethan made fun of me for driving really slow.  I told him I had just gotten pulled over near there a couple days before, and he reminded me I could still get pulled over for going under the speed limit.  This time Mike ordered three (Large) Chai Teas. Ethan started out as his normal self this time he kept trying to throw something into the trash bin and missing so he kept doing it over and over until he finally got it.  Him and Trae had gone back to Bob's for dinner where Ethan had ordered a kangaroo skillet.  Trae then told us how once him and his friend or just him? caught a snapping turtle, cooked and put Buffalo wings sauce on it.  The second half of the conversations we had were lead by the Holy Spirit.  Things we would of never known on our own.  Mostly about how we can't rush things or rush into things.  That we need patience, and God will let us know when the time is right.  Too many people in society today rush into relationships because they think they should be in one.  A lot of people rush into them without thinking about it, and that just makes the relationship unfruitful.  After this conversation I was so joyful, and so blessed and thankful for God.  I just felt God's love so much.  On the way back to campus the Holy Spirit would speak through me to Mike.  That afternoon after classes, My friend Cynthia and I met up with Milly at The Buzz Cafe in Kenosha, and talk about Chinese culture, as well as Milly's job.  With Milly's job she gets to travel to different countries evangelizing or attending conferences through Living Light.  I really want to do something like that as a job.  Talks with Milly are also always inspirational.  After meeting up with Milly I would think I was getting a cold, because I got a sorethroat and felt gross.  I still made it to the Thursday night bible study on campus where we discussed handling things in love, and dealing with anger.

Friday: My 1st week in 3 weeks I had actually been on campus.  After classes I had Mike over, feeling the need to share some Living Light podcasts with him for encouragement, while having hot chocolate.  One about spiritual maturity and the other on the Importance of Rest.  We talked for awhile after that. About Apologetics, and knowing God is really there, and the sadness that comes with someone who doesn't believe.  I also showed him all the Twenty One Pilot Debate videos.  

Saturday:  Picked up Tyler at 10:30 to meet Anna and Lizzy at a Park and Ride in Racine.  They would be taking us down to Chicago to celebrate Anna's 21st birthday.  They edited the post that told us to meet them at 10:45 to 12:15, and I was totally unaware of that.  Until it was around 11:45 and they still weren't there.  Tyler and I went and got Starbucks, and came and waited some more when he saw the post.  A little before 1 they finally arrived, and we made our way down to Chicago.  We first stopped at the Shedd Aquarium.  (With your student ID you can get in for $5!) At the Shedd Aquarium they have dolphins...what?  I wasn't expecting to see dolphins in Illinois.  After spending a bit there and taking pictures of the beautiful skyline we went to Chinatown.  At Chinatown we went to a restaurant that served roasted duck.  (Cynthia has said it was her favorite Chinese food) so I ordered it and it was only $5.  It was pretty good too.  I also got a kiwi smoothie.  There were 13 of us in total to help celebrate Anna's birthday.  We took there family 14 person van down to Chicago.  :p (13 Christians. so more encouraging conversations were had.)