WPA Part 4: Christmas Comes to Everyone

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

It hasn't at all felt like Christmas to me, probably due to the fact that I am away from home, family, and close friends, and to the fact that I am working so much including Christmas day. But tonight I joined in on the holiday festivities at the resort, and now it seems Christmas is finally here! :D Winter Park had their annual torchlight parade tonight and it was magnificent! Absolutely b-e-a-utiful! There were probably about 50 skiers and snowboarders that zigzagged in a line slowly down one of the slopes carrying flares in each of their hands. "NOEL" was lit up in flares in the middle of the slope, Christmas music was being played, and throughout the whole show fireworks were being set off continually from the top of the mountain. It was Beautiful! Directly after there was a non-denominational Christmas service in one of the buildings, and I got to go pass out free water to people, and wish them a Merry Christmas! Then I got to worship Jesus with them all. It was so beautifully wonderful! Tonight it hit my heart. Its Christmas time! Its the time to celebrate love! :D

I have been missing everyone so much, and I have a feeling its only going to get worse, but I've been trying to keep focused, and to see all the amazing blessings and opportunities that I have right in front of me. This is truly an awesome opportunity and experience! And the people here are amazing! and its my privilege to serve them, love them, and be here for and with them.

I turned 21 on the 12 month, 21st day, in the 12th year, also known by the Mayans as the day of apocalypse. It was a great day. I didn't work, and I didn't get drunk. :) I got presents in the mail, hung out with friends, got paid, went shopping, skyped with my mom, and talked to the mam of my dreams on the phone. Oh. And I drank a bit. Found out I'm a lil' odd. I like drinking alcohol for the taste of it, not for the side-effects. Most people, I suppose, drink it for the side-effects, and don't care about the taste. Both of my bosses bought me a drink, a friend bought me a bottle of wine, and a lady high out of her mind, bought me a shot. I love the freedom I have in the law to drink and buy alcohol, and the freedom I have in Christ to not let it influence me. Its good to be 21.

One thing, I crave to see a person 150% surrendered to Christ. I've always had someone to run with, and wow! what a blessing that is! It can be hard to be without my brothers and sisters continuously. I suppose that I will have to be that person until I find or create them. I was born to be that person and nothing else, I already know, will satisfy me. But when no one else around you is, and you are working 40+ hours a week at a job that physically wares you out, and you only get a chance two days a week to actually do what you are passionate about, its easy to forget who you are really working for. Bottom line I end up unsatisfied. I did not come to CO just to work a job, yet that feels like my life right now. As if that is all I was created for. But my heart tells me different. My heart has seen soooo much better! and it cant forget! It knows that it was created to directly love another's heart, and to be shared, and to not be hidden! I am created to live passionately for Jesus, and nothing else!

So many people's god here is alcohol and marijuana. That's their life, and that's all they can talk about. But my God is Jesus, the God of love, and that's all I want to talk about. Hes my life and loving is all this heart wants to do. But few people want to listen to my heart, and its easy to not even try, and act like everyone else: guarded, and half-way fake. As if none of us have hearts.
But as always, I know God is up to something. I'm just trusting that he will put doors in front of me when they open, and praying that I will go through them. I'm reminded that God is soo much bigger than me, and he often does things that I don't even know about.

I'm prepared to have an awesome week seeing things from Papa's perspective. :)

WPA Part 3: The Job

I started work this week. I work at the resort's food court known as Moffat Market. I'm working the pizza station, the Mexican food station, and the hotdog station. Sometimes entirely by myself. It was both the longest, and the shortest week ever. I worked everyday. They sent me home early one day because they didn't want me to go into overtime. Despite, I believe I'll still be going an hour or two into overtime. My feet hurt, its a battle to keep my body hydrated, and I live on the party floor so its a fight to get to sleep almost every night, but I still love being here. I love my job, most days. I've discovered its my passion to help people and love them that drives me to work hard, and to do my very best. It makes me come alive! Also, I have AMAZING managers and supervisors and because they value me it automatically makes me want to work my best for them. The place that I work could easily be a stressful environment. There is so many little things that make a big difference in the success of the business, and there are a lot of people working together to see that it all gets done. But even though my managers might be stressed, most of the time I cant tell. They never put the stress on you. They genuially  value you as a person, and want you to enjoy yourself and have fun. I have fun by making them smile by doing my job with excellence. Its really fun to make them smile. Today my boss said to me, " Savannah, we're lucky we found you." It makes me feel really good, knowing that I'm helping them out so much. :) Its also been really fun encouraging my coworkers; letting them know they are doing a great job and that I appreciate them and that they work with me; helping me out to help others out and bring a smile to their faces.

I'm learning a lot about working hard, and that management that is written into my DNA is coming alive. One thing I really like about working here is that the instructions you receive from your managers are really basic and undetailed. I like this because it empowers you to think for yourself, and figure it out on your own. Its teaching me how to manage myself better and make my own decisions to how I can best help the team out. I believe this is preparing me for the day when I have to manage a business one day.



The board I did in the coffee shop.

The other day I was told to "draw a picture" of the pizza table with all the pizza ingredients in it. So I took 10 mins, got my creative mind goin', and drew out all the mushrooms, and Pepporoni's, and olives,ect. It was a little bit more detail than what they needed, but I knew they'd appreciate it. 5 mins after I turned it into my supervisor, another manager approaches me asking me if I'd like to come in the next morning (my day off) to write and draw on their huge chalkboard in the coffee shop. In exchange they'd give me breakfast. I excepted. The next day I got to use my mad drawing skillz, and handwriting skills, to make the most beautiful board in Winter Park. :) Every one of my managers individually came in to look at it and was very impressed, each one saying that they'd give me something for my hard work. It ended up taking me 4.5hrs to complete the board. My boss asked me if I wanted to go over to Doc's Roadhouse (another one of his restaurants) and do their chalk boards over there. I was having so much fun, I was thrilled to say yes. So they put me on the clock for the whole day, and sent me over to Doc's saying to take as much time as I needed. I did 4 small chalk boards over there in 3.5hrs. AND two of them I was allowed to do WHATEVER I wanted as log as it had something to do with Doc's! So I got to be all creative and really impressed the manager there. She gave me a free dinner: salmon patties with lemon and capers. SO good! That ended up being a 9hr day. Now she wants me to come and do another one in exchange for another meal. I'm thinking, "am I the only creative person working here who is confident enough to go all out there, and make something amazing for our 1000's of daily guests?" 

One thing that has really stood out to me while being here is the confidence I have. Everyone here have so many insecurities. All different ages. Multiple times I'll be talking to a 26 or 27yr old and realize, "wow. This person has been in this world 6yrs longer than I have, and they still have no idea who they are or what they were made for." They have nothing to put their confidence in. But how could they? They don't know Jesus. And I know that I would never have the confidence and security that I have if I didn't know Jesus, because he is my foundation, my identity, my security, and my confidence. Without him, I would be just as insecure and selfish as they are, or most likely worse. I wouldn't be in Colorado right now, I know that much. It makes me so sad that the solution to all their problems is so simple, and I know the answer, and they are so desperate for it, yet they don't see the simple solution when its presented to them. They would never believe that Jesus is that answer unless they experience him themselves. This makes me realize how much humbling it takes a person to turn to Jesus. And oh, what a beautiful thing when that happens!

I met a Christian girl who works at the resort and lives in the same building as I do! She is amazing, and has already been a great encouragement to me. She is also my ride to church on Sunday. It has been really nice to worship God with fellow believers.

Through everything the one thing that I got to remember is that God is my team mate and I must ask him for help in everything. I can't try to do things on my own. That is when I get burned out.


As a side note: I got my board and boots in the mail yesterday. Hope to hit the slopes on Monday! :D

WPA Part 2: The Mission

Its my second day in Colorado. The shock of my brand new life here in Colorado is gone. By the grace of God, this shabby shared hotel room 3,000ft above sea-level in the Rocky Mountains, surrounded and filled with people who are living for that moment they can strap their ski's or board to their feet, already feels like home to me. A peace that paces my understanding ignites a fire of passion and excitement in me as I realize God has strategically placed me in this sphere of influence. I am filled with excitement as I realize, this is my first real missions trip!

Five o' clock comes around and everyone on my floor start congregating in the hall with beers in their hands.A giant speaker gets pulled out into the hall and soon music is blaring so that you cant escape it. Everyone is talking, and laughing, and every other word is a cuss word. People are going outside to smoke every so often. Its a party.
I stand out like a star in the heavens. I don't drink, smoke, or cuss. I know who I am, I am confident enough to not even notice peer pressure let alone resist it, and confident enough to be honest. I am one Spirit with Christ, and confident in Him and the life he has spoken into my heart.

I've faced a fare amount of challenges since being here, already. Everything from not having enough money to eat (I'm good now), to staying encouraged, to knowing how to handle drunk people. I am continually going back and forth between being incredibly excited about what God is doing and going to do this winter, to wondering what the heck I am doing here in this culture so different from what I have ever known, and so different from my home, Heaven. Yet it is so good for me to be here! I feel like I'm finally out of my box, and free to be the person I was called to be. Like a soldier going from the boot camp to the battlefield. Everything in me tells me I was made for this!

I just realized last night that I asked to be here. Five months ago I was in California asking God to take me out of my comfort zone into the super dark places so that he could shine really bright in me.  I asked him to put me in with the drunks and the prostitutes, and the people who don't know love. Places where I would have to trust him with my life, and rely on him to help me, cause Lord knows I have no clue how to help people that have been so screwed up. All I know is they need Jesus' love.
 And look at me now. He took me here.

So you see even though its challenging sometimes, I'm so happy to be here. I'd much rather be here amongst these drunkards and sinners and be a lil' unsure, uncomfortable, and sometimes fighting to be myself, than in California or Montana, comfortable, among family, bored, and continually having to remind myself why I'm alive. Here I am continually reminded why I'm alive, because this is why I'm alive. To pull people out of the hell we were all in once, by the life of Christ that is in me. I was made for this, and God has diffidently given me a grace to be here amongst these people.

That being said I would appreciate all the prayers, advice, and encouragement you could give.
I need family here. I know they're out there, so pray that I meet them soon.

To my family all around the world(you know who you are) I love and miss you very much!