Sasha Leigh

I am going to make this short and sweet because I am running low on time this week!

This week was Junior 1 and I had five, extremely argumentative campers. The whole week seemed to be one big argument....Oh well! Each girl was sweet and special in her own very way. God was good and I was able to talk to most of the campers.

I had one big challenge this week. On Wednesday, during skit time, I some how got pushed off a chair during my very energetic and awesome skit. I fell and hit my head on the piano and the stage in the exact spot where I got my last concussion. Well, as you can guess, I received another concussion and I ended up in the emergency room. The next two days, I was forced to rest and was able to participate in a few activities.

Friday night was amazing! I got to lead a girl to the Lord and it was an amazing experience! I am so excited to see how the Lord is going to continue to work in my life this summer!

Well, I must go for now! Have fun and I will post next weekend! Toodles!

Wow, I am sooo tired! Camp is going great!

I arrived safe and sound at the Jackson Hole airport around 1:40 pm. I got to the airport that morning at around 8:20 am and got through security and chatted with some of my friends who were flying to Europe that day before I had to board and I get to my gate to board and my flight was delayed by at least 2o mins and so we finally got to board and my flight didn't leave till a little after 11 am and my flight in Denver was scheduled to take off at noon in Denver's time zone...not ours. So my flight was originally supposed to leave at 10:25am and so my layover was supposed to only take an hour....well, I had to run when I got to Denver because my gate was like 30 gates away from the one I was supposed to board at. I made it in around five minutes and I made it! Yay! God was good and everything worked out and one of the girls who got off the flight was going to the same camp as me! Emily is her name and she is a sweetheart! We met the Loftus' and waited for Matt to fly in shortly after we did. We met him and went to Wendy's and we were on our way to camp! It took an additional two hours to get to camp and by the time we got there, all three of us were about ready to be done traveling!

The next day we started staff training. The rest of the summer staff arrived at camp safely and we had fun getting to know each other! We have an amazing staff this year and I am excited to see how the Lord is going to use us all this summer! We all seem to want the Lord to work immensely in our lives and that fact drives us on as a team! Isn't it amazing how the Lord can bring together the most random group of people and use them for His glory in a way that none of us could have ever imagined?

On Thursday, we got to hike to the Red Cliffs and they were amazing! I will be posting pictures when I remember to bring a camera cord for my laptop....oops, bad Sasha! The hike up to the mountain wasn't too bad if you were in shape and used to the altitude....which is not me...I never thought I was going to make it up there but God was good and I got up there! It was an amazing view! Just looking out at what God had designed was inspiring! How can I accurately describe what God has created? I can't but the pictures I will post later on can! Anyways, we hiked back and we had some more fun doing some more sessions.

On Friday, we were supposed to go to Green River Lakes but once again, it was raining. It has rained almost all week and we really haven't seen the sun at all this week which is apparently really unusual! So, instead of having fun at this activity we had some more sessions. Yay!

On Saturday, we were supposed to hike to Little Sheep, which is a mountain, but it was raining or about to rain so we didn't go...instead we drove to Green River Lakes and walked around and took some awesome pictures...which I will post later....It was raining but we didn't stay for too long. It was fun and Chandler hid behind a boulder and jumped out at me and scared the living daylights out of me! Needless to say, I jumped and screamed like a little girl! Oops...so we got back that night and ate tacos and we played an amazing game of Markers! Ok, so if you are wondering what markers is, markers is like spoons only using markers. We were playing triple elimination and I was out like near the end but I was quite aggressive to say the least and I ended up diving on the table twice and on jumping off the table one of these times to retrieve a marker! It was amazing and even though I lost, it was a great game with some of my amazing friends!

Today, I had an amazing time at the Church and the morning message was amazing! God really broke me! It is about time because I was due for a revival! I need to repent of my sins now and be in a right relationship with God so I do not miss out on the blessings and plans God has for my life! We serve such an amazing God who is willing to forgive us even when we turn our backs on Him. That thought just blows my mind! Anyways, my week here has been great and I am making some amazing, lifelong friends! I shall continue to keep you updated and for now, I must go! Tschuss!

Today, starts an exciting but life-altering journey! I am leaving for camp in a few short hours and I am so excited to see how the Lord is going to change me this summer. I am excited to see what God has for me but am also nervous because of the unknown circumstances and trials that God is going to put in my life to test me and make me more like His Son. If I come out loving God more than I do now because of this summer, than at the end of the summer, my time will not have been wasted.

For camp, I was asked to memorize two Psalms...which I am still working on but will have down very soon! One of these Psalms in particular has already impacted my life so much. Psalm 51:1-17 says:

¹Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

²Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

³For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

⁴Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

⁵Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

⁶Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

⁷Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

⁸Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

⁹Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

¹¹Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

¹²Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

¹³Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

¹⁴Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

¹⁵O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

¹⁶For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

¹⁷The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Psalm 51 has made me realize how much of a sinner I am and how thankful I am for the mercy and forgiveness of God! I think God put this passage in the Bible just for me and it convicts so often because I am often not broken over my sin like David was in this Psalm. I truly admire David because he was so open about his sin and his emotions. God has shown me that I need to be honest about my sin and being serious and be broken over the sins that I commit. I mean, I know I have done wrong and ask forgiveness, but to truly be broken over my sin that could possibly put me in a wrong relationship with God and my fellow man. I want to be as true to the Lord as possible this summer and for the rest of my life about my sin and other areas of my life!

Well, my dear friends and family, I must be off to bed! Pray for me this summer as I embark on this new journey in my life and that I would become more like the Savior with each passing moment. I shall try to post every weekend and every chance I can but I can't promise anything! So until next time my dear friends, adios amigos!

Wow, I am a terrible blogger! It has been quite a while since I have last blogged! God has been so good and I finished my semester of college with good grades and a lot of new friends! This past semester was challenging but God showed Himself mighty in the midst of all my trials and circumstances. Isn't it amazing how many times we don't realize what God has done for us until we look back after some trial or period testing and see the hand of God in our lives? So many times this semester, it was like that for me! I went through each trial wondering why and for what purpose do I have to go through this but discovered later on why. I went through each trial because God wanted me to become more like His Son through each and everything I endured. We serve such a great God!

I am headed off to camp a week from Tuesday and I am sooooo excited! I know God is going to do a wonderful work in my life this summer and I can't wait to see what He is going to do! Could it be Tuesday already? I am so excited to meet all my fellow staff members! I know one of them and the rest are all complete strangers but I am sure they won't bite too hard when I get to know them!

Anyways, a quick update is all I have time for today! I have decided that today is a good day to be productive and I have already washed my van so I need to go find something else to do...like figure out how to fit everything into two suitcases since I am flying to camp. I am sure I can find plenty to do, so alas I must say farewell. Until next time, tschuss!

I can only imagine what you are thinking! She finally updated her blog! Wow, I think I need to be a bit more faithful with blogging!

A lot has happened lately! I started second semester at, you guessed it, Maranatha and am loving being back. My practice time for my clarinet proficiency for my major has tripled from the four hours I had at Pillsbury so I am getting used to practicing for at least two hours a day! I am supposed to, key word, supposed, to be practicing at least twelve hours a week. God is good and only through Him am I going to be able to practice that many hours a week with all my homework!

This semester has been an interesting one. It is great getting to see my old friends everyday as well as my new friends and former Pillsbury now Maranatha students but it is also disheartening that I am having some unusual circumstances applied to me since I am apparently a "returning student" instead of a transfer student. I don't particullarly enjoy these circumstances but I know there is a reason for all these things and God is teaching me a lot about patience! How many times I have to learn about patience, I don't know, but God does.

On a more random note, I am exited for warm weather, flowers, sunshine, and the lakes this summer! This summer, I am going to work at camp and enjoy all the fine aspects of summer! As to what camp I am working at, that is still a mystery. You see my dear friend, I have two staff contracts from two different camps this summer. My first contract is from Camp Chetek and my second contract is from Red Cliff in WY.

God works in such myseterious ways. As of this Sunday, I had thought that God had closed the door to Red Cliff. I had interviewed with them in Oct. and had failed to obtained one of my references phone number, email, or anything. I was telling my friend Tina this and the next day, Mr. Dean from Red Cliff, came up to me since he was here at MBBC and asked if I was Sasha. Of course I said yes, and apologized for not finding the reference's info. and he looked at me and said he didn't need that reference since he had talked to the camp director at Chetek, who was my other reference who must have given me a great reference, and said he had a contract me. I was stunned and went and pick up my contract later. It is amazing how God works! Everytime He does work, all I can do is stand back and be amazed at how great our God is! I think I am going to work at Red Cliff this summer since the need is great and I believe that this is where God would have me to be.

Well, this update must end since I have plenty of other stuff to do right now and not to mention, rep. class in a little bit. So to whoever reads this blog, which is probably no one, I bid thee farewell! Tschuss!

Hey, if you all could pray for me and Pillsbury, I would appreciate it! Today after chapel, the student body was informed that Pillsbury would be closing in December. God has been good to me and Pillsbury thus far and I know He will continue to be but sometimes it is just so hard to trust when every thing is goes haywire. All I know is that God is good and everything will work out for His glory.

Well, I don't know what to say..these are two of the wonderful pics that were taken well Jeremiah was in Minnesota. Jeremiah is in the Heritage Singers singing group from Maranatha and just happened to be in Minnesota a couple of times! :) What fun it was to spend a little bit of time with him this summer! God has really blessed me with an amazing boyfriend!

The first pic, well actually, both were taken in Owatonna, the the second and third time I saw him this summer.....what fun! The last pic is the morning we went out on a date to Perkins and I had a yummy ham and cheese omelet! I then drove him to Blooming Prairie where we met the rest of the team. Since the girls just happened to be late, we went and played at the park! What fun it was to swing again like a little girl! Then, sadly enough, it was time for me to say goodbye till August. :( I had fun with him and can't wait till August! :D

I was reading in my devos tonight and a few verses in Ecclesiastes 2 stuck out at me. Ecc. 2:24-25 reads as follows "There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul good in his labor. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God. For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I?" The whole book of Ecc. is talking about vanity and these verses sum up the theme of the book. That our fullness should be found in God and what He has done for us, not in the labors and things of this world. How often do I take pleasure in this little thing or that thing or that I got a 100% on my homework assignment from Mr. Hudson? What vain things distract me! These verses hit me like a ton of bricks making me realize that I need to find my completeness and satisfaction in God and not in myself.

For some odd reason, I thought of one of my favorite songs when I was writing out what I had learned in my devos. "In Christ Alone," by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty, is a great example of where I should stand in relations to this world and my faith. It may not make sense to you, but it is crystal clear to me. Here are the lyrics: