Twenty-two things about Week Two

1. Joseph Avakian, our speaker for the week, is an Armenian born in Lebanon who fled to Cyprus during the civil war and lived in Germany for quite a while who speaks 7 languages- so yes, he is kind of my hero. :)
2. He spoke on hearing God's voice, by sharing from his own experience how God has spoken to him throughout his life. A few points that stood out to me:
            3 - God doesn't just want to be involved in the "big decisions" of your life (such as, "God, should I move to Timbuktu?"), He wants to be involved in every part of your life! (So yes, ask Him, "God, how long should I cook this salmon?). If you remain open to Him and His spirit all throughout the day, He will continually reveal Himself to you in all sorts of ways.
          4 - The spiritual world and the physical world are not separate! Humans have become so in-tune with the physical that we have lost our awareness of the spiritual. But God uses both to speak to us so we need to be "listening" to both.
        5- We often put ourselves in "boxes" that keep us from hearing from God. Following this metaphor, just as boxes have six sides, there are six strongholds that get in the way: fear, comparison, criticism, egoism, arrogance, control. To counter these, we can take hold of: love, identity, exhortation, generosity, humility and freedom. :) I am working on breaking out of my box!

6- On Friday afternoon, I went with some of my new friends to Santa Monica where we walked around the Pier, rode the ferris wheel and ate dinner on the 3rd Ave Promenade to celebrate my roommate, Holly's 20th birthday!
7- Saturday, we went for a lovely (yet surprisingly strenuous) hike in La Tuna Canyon. The weather was lovely and I do believe I have the beginnings of a fantastic tan :)
8- I have decided where I will be going for Outreach! *drum roll* As I prayed about it and spoke with my   fearless leaders, Benjie and Megan, I feel confident that God is calling me to Haiti! He led me to Isaiah 61:
            "He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the         prison to those who are bound.... And they shall rebuild old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities." While I know it won't be easy (for one thing, our team is by far the smallest, with only 4 students including myself and two leaders), I am clinging to the knowledge that God has something big for me to do in Haiti :) Needless to say, I am excited!
9- Ok, so that's only 9... But I got people to hang out with, stuff to learn and love to spread!