California bound

So sorry that it has been this long...(this is Brady a couple months ago...isn't he the cutest thing
you ever saw?!)
So where am I? Well, after a long but fruitful summer, I have found myself back in California! I had a lot of time to rest this summer, and God was so very faithful to His promise to restore my heart and my soul. I have been missing you all so very much, but blessed to be reading and hearing how this summer and now this fall are shaping up. I had the pleasure of seeing many of you at camp the last week of the summer and had such a blast! I cannot tell you how that refreshed my soul to see so many of you and to be able to hug you guys and catch up! Although this summer was challenging, God always gave me something to look forward to and brought fellowship always in the nick of time.
About two days into Youth Camp, I got a call from my college volleyball coach who offered me the job of Asst. Volleyball Coach this fall, so I packed up and drove down as soon as Youth Camp finished. I have enjoyed how the Lord has opened opportunity for me here though it has not been easy to be so far away from a place I would call home (that would be Canada :). God has opened the doors in amazing ways for a place to live, and I have so enjoyed being home at my church. I am continuing to trust the Lord and wait for His direction for the Spring and to what and where He will call me next.
I wanted to tell you all how proud I am of you. I have spent the last three weeks with a team of volleyball players that are your age and my heart hurts for the difference in these girls. They are complete products of this world and their environment and their crude behavior is a testimony to the enemy's grip on this world, yet I have found such joy in continuing to hear the dedication and commitment that you all have chosen in allowing God to shape and guide your lives. May you always seek His kingdom above all else, recognizing that this world has nothing to offer you. May you use the gifts and character that He has blessed you with to bless those who cross your paths and may your hearts always be filled with the joy of the Lord no matter what circumstances you find yourselves in.

I love you all so much and would appreciate your prayers for these girls that the Lord would open their hearts and remove the blanket that the enemy has covered their eyes with that they may see the truth.

You are in my heart and my prayers,
Amanda