Well, I'm at my house for a couple weeks, but if home is where the heart is, I may very well be on the wrong side of the country...

Currently Listening Well Meaning Fiction By Mainstay Danger see related

A friend recently reminded me that it's been a full year since I've last updated, so I decided to give my yearly update lol just in case there is anyone (other than you Mykaela) that actually reads this. So here goes....

When my brother and I got back from france, i started working again at the same law firm i worked at before (thankfully they held my position for the whole two months!). along with leading praise and worship for my church's youth group, That was pretty much all I did for the rest of the fall/winter. When January came around I started taking some classes at Trinity baptist college. i enjoyed the classes, but they took up a lot of my time. but in the long run, i think i learned a lot from them (at least I hope so!) anyway, so i had work, classes, and praise and worship to quite literally took up all of my time. but obviously, i survived....somehow. I decided to work at the word of life island during the summer instead of taking more classes. God really opened up the door for me to get involved there and it gave me a scholarship for the bible institute, where i planned on attending after the summer. i worked in the boathouse all summer, driving boats (it was sick! lol) I was also part of a weekly drama that they did for the campers. that was really awesome because i was able to counsel some kids about stuff going on in their lives. god gave me some neat opportunities! I was also the "drummer" for the praise team. I say drummer, but i was playing on an electric drum pad, rather than an actual drum set or even an electric set. it was pretty lame at first but i got used to it and it became a lot of fun. I think the best part of my summer was the biblical preparation i got for the B.i. but second to that would definitely be the friendships i made (mykaela......lol) i met some really awesome people over the summer (and i recruited some people to come to the florida B.I. with me lol) overall it was a fantastic summer! so anyway, when it was all over, i went back home for two weeks. it was good to see all my family and friends, but i was eager to get on the move again. it's not that i didn't want to catch up with everybody, it's just that i wanted to keep going. and it wasn't long before i started going again! after two weeks I packed up and headed out for the word of life bible institute (where i am now). i've been here for a little more than 2 weeks and i already feel like i've learned so much! i'll be honest, i've constantly been busy and lost a lot of sleep, but god is the sustainer of all things and he keeps me going! i'm on the ensemble (a singing group that travels around performing at churches and stuff) I love it! I never thought it would be as much fun as it is. and i'm learning how to sight read music! it's pretty sick! we actually had our first two performances this past sunday, and 3 people got saved!!! i'm not sure if it's the classes or the ministry or what, but i have an excitement for lost people like i've never had before! it's really clicking in my mind that when someone gets saved, they are escaping an eternity in hell! that's awesome! I'm really getting pumped about evangelism and worship and learning and just everything! lol i'm also part of the collegians (pretty much a big choir that does these big productions for word of life) and i'm loving that too! but speaking of which, i have practice in a little bit so i need to wrap this up. anyway, god has been blessing me like I never would've believed (and definitely don't deserve) and i'm just grateful to be part of the ministry he has given me. be praying for me if you will, that God will continually show me his will for my life and continue to give me opportunities to be an example of him. well, i'm going to go now. but i'll write again in a year..........lol jk. I'll write sooner than that (i think lol)

ryan

Ps. the name of this font i'm using is "year supply of fairy cakes" lol no joke!

Well, things are still going awesome here in France! God is blessing us so much! We were able to do some more sightseeing last week, and this past Saturday we had a concert! God truly is amazing! We had roughly 20 people come to the concert. I was nervous, but it went really well. We actually sang some in French! That was really cool. Anyway, here's some pics of our sightseeing....

Man I LOVE the ocean!!!

This is Mont St Michel, one of the 7 wonders of the world. Absolutely beautiful at night!!!

This is me being a dork. It looks like a cheesy background or something lol

Anyway, never a dull moment with me and Brandon. Keep us in your prayers! God bless!

                                                                            -Ryan

France is amazing! I can't begin to explain how awesome it is here! Actually, I take that back. A picture is "worth a thousand words", so here's like four thousand for you.

This is the equestrian capitol of the world! Huge stables, lots of horses! (very smelly!)

This is the Castle of Chantilly (Shan-tull-ee)

Just a friend along the way. I was tempted to pet him, but decided to keep my hand. (He looks so sad though!)

This is the result of Patrice's crazy driving. (oops! Did I say that out loud?) My brother is such a dork.....

So yeah, we went to Chantilly today and it was beautiful! But right as we were leaving to come back home, we got a flat tire (the cause of which I will not state for the sake of allowing someone to have at least a little bit of pride left lol). Anyway, God is still blessing us beyond measure and I thank Him so much for His awesome power and love! Keep praying for us! God bless!

                                                                                     -Ryan