Hey everyone! I have had a wonderful day. Today I got up and did my quiet time out in this courtyard area outside the hotel. It was nice to just hang out with God, talk to Him and hear what He had to say. God has already shown and done so much in me, in the short time I have been here. One major thing is that serving God may involve at times leaving your family and comforts. When I first got here I was really homesick and would have been fine to leave and go home the first day, I missed my family, my house, my dog :) Yesterday I realized that God wanted me to leave everything and follow him in Charleston. Now this doesnt mean forget about them and drop all communication but just that I need to step out in faith and with no comforts of home to comfort me, I had to put all my trust and comfort into Gods hands. With this, I then realized that even if we don't have anything else in the world, if we have God everything will be okay. This is something that I have already known for forever but it didn't become real to me, until I left my comfy home. Anyways, back to today. After eating breakfast me and the roomies went to good ol wally world and got some food then we ate lunch and headed to the great Folley Beach. We soaked up the sun for a couple of hours until we went back and showered and got ready for dinner. Before we left for dinner I got to skype with the fam which was nice seeing their faces :) We went to one of our host churches and this great lady cooked an amazing dinner, we had chicken, green beans, salad, mac and cheese, and lemonade/sweet tea mixture, all homemade :) After dinner we got told what ministry group we would be in. I found out I will be in the Community group which is a group that puts together the socials throughout the summer, with the goal of creating authentic relationships with everyone on project.  We talked about some great ideas, and I am excited to see some of them play out. After this meeting. I hit the gym and got a nice short workout in to end my day. Now I am just chilling in the room with the girls and milton (my bear). It is nice to have some time to relax in the room.

Here are some pictures of my room and a picture of the beach today :)

Hannah

 Roomies at the beach.

 My closet for summer.

 The room

 My bed and Milton

This morning we had more orientation and I found out what McDonalds store I will be working at and who I will be working with. I also found out that my orientation is not until Monday so that means I have all of tomorrow and Friday free :) woop woop After lunch we met back in our meeting room to start a scavenger hunt. We were split up into our D groups and were given of a list of things to find and certain things were worth certain points. Another thing was that the staff were disguised and scattered amongst down town and if we found and a got a picture with them, that was extra points. We did not win, but we weren't trying too hard. The scavenger hunt gave us an opportunity to explore the Charleston downtown area, which I am in love with. There are SO many cute little stores and cobble stone streets. We went down rainbow row, the battery, and the water front park, which was beautiful and we got to see some dolphins :) Then we had dinner and turned in our money we raised! I am so blessed and thankful for what the Lord has given me financially to go on this project, I still have a little more to go, but seeing his provision through this has been a great growing experience God hand picked me and wants me at Charleston this summer, I cannot be more excited to see what he has planned! The last thing we did was called "window to the soul" which was a time with our D group to open up and tell a little about our history, our greatest achievements and failures, how did we see God work last semester and how we were feeling coming into summer project. It was nice to see that we all had different stories and different strengths and weaknesses but that God had placed us together here this summer to work for His glory. Something that is good to keep reminding myself, is that God doesn't call the equipped he equips the called. Which is so encouraging! I am so very thankful for this experience because it is one that not everyone gets to do, and it is something that I will carry for the rest of my life.

Here are some pictures..enjoy!

 This was the Movie Theater in the Notebook! I was so excited :)

 The Market

And it begins...

I made it to Charleston safely! I left this morning a little after 10 and as I was driving out of town I started thinking, " I will not see this place for 10 weeks" and that kind of made me sad. I am such a homebody, even though Greenville is not the most exciting place on earth..it home for me.

 Five hours and some boring interstate later I arrived at the lovely Charleston Marrriott. This hotel is so nice and beauitful. It feels unreal to be living in a hotel all summer. I met my roommates and they are great :) After we unpacked and got settled we went to dinner with our D (discipleship) group leader. That was good just talking and getting to know each other. After dinner we met the staff and got these project notebooks with all kinds of information. After the meeting we had an ice cream social and that was nice meeting everyone from all over. Now I am just chillen in bed with Milton (my polar bear) reflecting on the day.

I have to say, I miss home and everyone A LOT, I hope this is normal..I am still excited to see what the next couple of days will be like but it is hard to get past the first couple of days. Thank you for your prayers they mean a lot. Also please say a special prayer for Josh's dad, he was in a wreck this morning (hes ok) but has a broken nose and a few broken ribs. Thanks again :)

Till tomorrow :)

Hannah 

 So I have never done a blog before and I am probably no good at it..but thats okay :) here we go..

 I officially started packing today..and with that came the realization that I am actually leaving Tuesday. This brought so many mixed emotions. I am SO excited to see and live in beautiful Charleston all summer and I can't  wait to meet everyone! I am also feeling very nervous mostly because I have never been away from home for more than a week (I know its about time haha) and now I will be away for 10 weeks! I am also nervous because I don't know anyone on the project and I do not really know what to expect. One thing I am certain of is that God knows what He is doing and has big plans for me this summer.

I know this summer will have its challenges and it won't always be fun or easy, but I know it will be rewarding. This summer I hope to be stretched, grow closer to God, make tons of new friends, and most importantly have a new, strong desire tell people about Christ.

I am asking for prayers as I go on this journey, please pray for everyone going on project to arrive safely on Tuesday, pray for nerves to calm, pray for boldness and pray for the people's hearts we will be talking to. I cannnnnnnottttt waitt to telll everyone all the stories from this summer! I will try and update this as often as I can. Next time I blog...I will be in CHARLESTON :) Love and miss everyone already!