"We are the clay and You our potter" Isa 64:8

This afternoon I had the honor of speaking at a luncheon to raise support for the Center for Sport, Peace, and Society. We are trying to create a center on campus that would be an extension of what we are already doing as far as sport and peace building. Our hopes are to expand our service learning course with the refugees to include more departments on campus and hopefully eventually have the opportunities for study abroad using sport to help in different areas of the world. The luncheon today was our way of getting the information about the center out and in the hands of people who can make it happen. It went so well, and two members of the audience openly voiced their support and encouraged others to jump in fast. I really believe amazing things can and will come of this. I am so thankful God has allowed me to be a part of it! I have so many moments where I am in awe of what He is doing, and I seriously wonder how in the world I ended up in the middle of it! God has been so graciou...

It is now my second week of school. Honestly I have been rather bored in my classes. I always thought it would be a good idea to take all my hard classes first and save the easy ones for Sr. year. Well, that just means the easy ones are even easier since you've already learned most of the material in the hard classes. My biology 140 classes spent almost an hour going over electrons , protons, and neutrons and the bonds they create to make molecules. I mean it is a freshman level class, but for someone who just finished a year's worth of organic chemistry I could have spend that time doing much more meaningful things. My other classes are going well, none are hard but I'm hoping they will present a little more of a challenge than my biology class. I really don't want my brain to turn to mush! Outside of class, working with the soccer team is great! I still only know a few names but I 'm having fun and don't mind being there all the time. Many doors have already ...

Today started the beginning of my senior year of college. I think it would mean more if it were actually my last year of school instead of my last year of undergrad. Its hard to get excited when I still have at least 7 more years of school beyond UT. It hasn't even been a week since I arrived home from Zimbabwe, and I have already jumped head first into athletic training and school. Yesterday I sat on the side of the Lady Vol soccer field watching our girls practice in one of the best women's soccer facilities in the nation. They all had matching cleats, socks, shorts, and practice jerseys. Only a week ago I had watched as girls only a little younger then they had played barefoot on a hole-infested field .They had no jerseys or cleats with which to play. They were only content that t hey had the chance to play. You know, with this being my fourth trip to Africa I thought I wouldn't really get culture shock. I mean I've seen this kind of poverty before but every ti...

Church in Africa is rather different than church in the U.S. For starters, if you want people to show up by 10 you should tell them 9, and then just plan on having a late lunch because there is no telling when you'll be done. We prepared for a 2 and a half hour service where I would lead a few songs and Sarah our leader would share a message from Exodus. The rest of the time would be filled with any songs they wanted to teach us or just singing together. This was our plan, but God had something else in mind. When we pulled up in our massive vehicle, the whole village knew we were there, and the children came running. Our service was full of children with a few adults and some of the girls we were there to work with. We started singing some children's Bible songs and then decided to redo the message to better accommodate the number of children there. Sarah told of Noah's ark and had the children act it out as she told it. She then explained the message and meaning behind th...

After about 30 hours of traveling I touched down in Knoxville again. Before I jump back in to reality I want to pause and rewind to spotlight the events of my journey to Zimbabwe. When we arrived in Harare, my heart almost jumped out of me with one breath of crisp African air. It was finally real. I was finally back in Africa! My team consisted of other women with my same passions through which lifelong friendships were made. When we arrived at our dorms we unpacked and then quickly re-packed for the 5 day journey ahead of us. We drove the next day to Antelope Park where we had our safari drive and were able to walk with lions and play with elephants. Throughout the day I was amazed by God’s creation. Everywhere I turned He seemed to show Himself in a more awesome way. Our second day at the park we left early to head to Mutare Zimbabwe. Two of our team members had been corresponding with a family there for about 8 years and we were going to try and surprise them. The drive took about ...