Memories are the best!

Yes, the laughter and awesome memories have really been a big part of making it through the past couple crazy weeks of school. Many of the girls on my floor have had birthdays this month. We have gone out for early breakfast before classes, had cupcakes in our lounge, and even sang the loudest happy birthday song you have ever heard in the student dining room! My birthday was on Monday, September 19th, and I am now officially 21!!! I celebrated by going home for part of the weekend to see family, Midnight toast of sparkling pomegranate juice with my roommate and friend across the hall, Thai food for dinner, and out with a couple girls from my floor for yummy cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory! It was a fun day, even if I was at school and had classes.

God has been good in giving answers to prayers, such as which ministries to be involved in this year. Yet, I am still not sure on a couple, whether I should stay with them or not be involved and if I should fill that time with a different ministry he has brought along my path.
In regards to classes, I love what I am learning and some have been challenging my knowledge of the Bible in different ways. Conducting for band has been an awesome and practical class that I have been soaking in every minute of information! For band I tried out to be a student conductor, and though I did not make the 2 spots (only 3 of us tried out), I am still going to be very involved in rehearsals and sectionals when needed.
Something you can be praying for me in is my 'sickness' for Uganda. I really miss the friends I made and all of the kids there. Saturday Club, staff meetings, stories and laughs around the dinner table, and even, yes I am going to say this, the bumpy roads and crazy traffic! It was a huge part of my life for the summer, and I find myself dreaming of being back there when someone mentions Africa, Uganda, or something relating to it, like mangoes. I am not sure right now if that is where God wants me to go or not, or if he has used Uganda as a step for another country or opportunity. Please continue to pray that God would make it clearer each day.

With all that has happened, I will be posting a few pics from the last couple weeks so you can 'see' what has been fun and exciting instead of just hear about it! Looking forward I have a couple large reading assignments and Moody will be concluding their year-long 125th celebration with a fancy banquet on October 1st.
Talk soon.

September already?

Wow! Time has flown by this year and I cannot believe that it is already September 8th! School has kept my brain thinking with homework and music practice, and life has been crazy busy! The new development on my hall floor is that some of the rooms have bed bugs - currently my room is bug-free. Phoebe and I are hoping to keep it that way and are taking many precautions til the other rooms are done having bugs stay in their rooms. Please continue to pray that we do not get them and they don't spread to others. On a lighter note, last weekend I was able travel to St. Louis to visit family there, but also to celebrate the wedding of my cousin Angie Rill. Her and her now husband Andy Parker asked me to play piano for their wedding, and though it was a lot of practice beforehand, I am honored and blessed to have had them ask. The time there was blessed having been unable to see all the extended family at the last wedding and over the summer since I was in Uganda at that time.
Now it is back to the schedule of classes and life. I have decided to not be on our floor's Ministry team this semester, but instead am going to head up a worship night every so often for our floor. Should be a good experience!
Well, I am off to another day of classes and also the kick-off of the worship team's Thursday Night Praise tonight!