Back In The Game

Hey friends! I've been back in Irvine for 3 days now and today was the first day of official classes. However, Campus Crusade for Christ has been busy prepping for the upcoming year and meeting people. It's been nice to see everyone so excited for the new year. I know it definitely helps me get excited.

I unfortunately couldn't make it to the Club Fair on Monday where we did a lot of interacting with new Freshmen. We passed out "Freshman Survival Kits" to any student that would take a minute to fill out a Spiritual Interest Questionnaire. These FSKs, as we've been calling them, had a Bible and the Donald Miller book, "Blue Like Jazz" in them. Apparently they were a hit, because we passed out over 1,600 SIQs. We'd be praying for 1,400, so it was super exciting to see God in that. :)

On Tuesday and Wednesday we had an SIQ callback party, which means that we took all the cards of people that said they were interested in knowing more about Cru and called them.

I'm not going to lie to you, people; I was petrified. I've never been a huge fan of calling people I don't know, so throw talking about spiritual things into the mix, and I was practically immobilized. I texted one of my friends from my band, Corey, and told him "You would THINK that talking in front of prisoners for 3 weeks would make a phone call easy, but NO!"

It was crazy, because I kept hearing all of my friends leaving voice mails over and over, while I kept having every single student pick-up. I thought, "Really, God? Are you trying to teach me something?" Of course. And ultimately, as scary as it was, it was really rewarding. I even made an appointment to meet with a Freshman commuter for lunch on Tuesday, so she'll know some more people. Her name is Annie, so you guys can be thinking and praying about that. :)

My friend Sam (I'm co-leading a Bible Study with her this year) has this sweet wall at her apartment that people can write on. Everyone who comes over writes on it. Someone had written these on the wall. I took these pictures because I thought "Stop On Green" would appreciate them. :)

Nacho: "I'm not listening to you! You only believe in Science. That's probably why we never win!

Esquelito: We never win, because you are fat!

"Get that corn outa my face!"--Nacho Libre

I laughed so hard. :)

Last night we had Interfellowship, a worship night where all the Christian clubs on campus get together so all the incoming students can check them out in one place. It was super fun having so many students all in one place talking and worshipping. Definitely cool.

Today was my first day of class. I had an upper-division writing course called "Writing About Music" and a music cultural course called "Beatles and the 60s". I'm going to be completely honest and say that I'm not sure I'm going to enjoy either of them. The writing class is all about how to write weird stuff in the music field, like newspaper releases and program notes. It's kind of dull, but it beats writing some sort of research paper.

It hit me today as I was sitting in class that coming back to school has been kind of strange. Not just because I've been outside of the educational system for like 15 weeks, but because I feel so different. My view on school is drastically different. I think it comes down to labels.

When we think about the people in our lives, it's really easy to put a label on them. In fact, everyone puts a label on themselves. People can definitely themselves in all sorts of ways, and do. Woman. Man. Singer. Dancer. Student. Career Driven. Mom. Daughter. Single. Married. It's the thing that you esteem as being the most important thing about you.

And I got to thinking today, while I was trying not to fall asleep in lecture, how cool it is that we get the option of defining ourselves in terms that are eternal. That we get to allow Jesus to be our label, if we want Him to be. It's given me a completely different outlook on school. Classes seem dull, but it's the life that occurs in between the lectures that I'm excited about. :) I was excited about it last year too, but this year feels so much better.Summer Project was really life-changing. 

Everyone I've talked keeps saying the same thing, "It's going to be a really good year. I can feel it. Something big is going to happen." 

I would have to agree. :) 

Thanks for reading everyone! Tonight is our first Cru meeting and tomorrow we're having a fun bonfire at the beach to continuing connecting with new students. I'll keep y'all posted! 

--Hannah

At Keynote, We're All About Life Change...

Hey y'all! Wow, it's been so long since I wrote. I started this blog to keep my friends and supporters updated during Summer Project, but I kind of failed at doing that. I was so busy that I rarely got a chance to write. Insane, right?

I'd like to do a bit of a wrap-up of Keynote, because I would love to share with you all that God did this summer, in my heart and in the hearts of others.

I remember sitting in Ball Room A at the San Diego Winter Conference and listening to James White ask the audience, "What has God given you for the glory of His kingdom that you need to give back?" As it hit me that I was absolutely 100% supposed to go on Keynote Summer Project, I remember feeling like I was finally right where God wanted me to be. 

A few months later I was elbow deep in support raising. I was discouraged, but knew two things for sure: One, that no matter what the price I was going exactly where God wanted me to be. Two, that this summer was going to answer a lot of questions about my life.

On June 7th, I was driving around Indiana with my aunt, uncle and cousins. The incredible green landscape rolled by our car windows and the most gorgeous white clouds floated lazily in the sky, as we drove home from church. I was overwhelmed with the strangest and most comforting realization: I was home.

Weird, right? Little did I know that that feeling would only intensify as I dove head-first into the most incredible summer of my life.

Going into Summer Project, I expected God to show up in miraculous ways. Did He ever! I learned not only practical things like how to communicate from stage and share my story, but God also penetrated into the deepest parts of my heart. I learned how to communicate my heart to others, and allow others to see me for who I truly am. 

On tour, I got to talk to people with some of the most incredible stories of God's redeeming love. Literal prisoners who had been saved by Grace. How insane is it that these men and women have lost it all, but as they hit the lowest of low God found them and picked them back up?

As a result of STOP ON GREEN's concerts, 87 people made the decision to follow Jesus. I feel so blessed that God allowed me to be even a small part of seeing that happen. Real life change. 

Let me tell you a story about a woman in the Indianapolis Women's Prison. We'll call her Betty. Betty had been in prison for 21 years, and was actually getting out soon. If that wasn't amazing enough, she had previously been on death row for attempted murder. She heard about Jesus in prison, and it completely changed her life, 100%. She's so changed, that she's off death-row and getting out of prison. :)

I will never forget the people we met in prisons, but even more than that I will never forget the people on my team. I know I made not just good friends, but life-long friends this summer. We're still talking and it warms my heart to have them as such a huge part of my life and my growth. :) I miss them more than I can actually put into words. I'm hoping to see them again soon! 

Me with my Shawna, Natasha and Lindsay. :)

Trevor and Corey: The Plain White Tees ;)

Chelsie and her love of beards always made me giggle. :)

The redheads! Me and Tim, our awesome sound guy!

Swerve, our wonderful "sister" band! Allie, Gray, Mike, Nate, Tess, Lauren, and Sam.

Dan, our awesome and hilarious music director. No, that's not real poop...

Ethan on electric guitar, and Corey behind him on bass. This guy was an excellent Team Director with Lindsay. :)

Mel, our tour manager and his son Andrew. Andrew was our band mascot. :)

Corey, me and Natasha before our last concert. This is my favorite picture of the whole summer. :)

"Stop On Green" in Virginia. I love this band!

It was really hard to come back to California after having this wonderful summer. A couple weeks ago, I was feeling frustrated with having to go back to school. Two more years of college sounds like an eternity when you want so badly to be somewhere else, much less a place where you felt so purposeful. Not that I don't absolutely love my family and friends here and in Irvine, but I also feel like I finally know what I'm supposed to do. I was encouraged by a verse in James that said:

"Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:4

With this verse in mind, I'd love to continue this blog into the next couple years of school. I know God has a lot to teach me in these next two years. I'd love to share this journey with my family and friends, so if you're up for it, please continue with me. 

Thanks again all of you for reading, loving and supporting me this summer. It was incredible and I know I couldn't have gone without you. 

Bring it on, Junior year. I'm ready. :)

--Hannah