"The Kingdom of Heaven is
like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field; which
indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the
herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its
branches."- Matthew 13:31-32
We are already heading into our 5th week out here
and things are going pretty rad! (I’m starting to adopt that Cali slang;))
In my time here so far I have already learned so much. My
relationship with God has grown more than I could have ever imagined. Between
workouts, teachings, work blocks, and coaching, I have managed to squeeze in
time with my investment lady, make some great relationships with the people out
here, and explore the beautiful Southern California.
Our days are packed full starting at 5:15 am. Along with
coffee and some breakfast, we do morning devotion and each member of our group
takes turns leading each day. We are learning the importance of spending quiet
time with God and hearing his voice before the craziness starts of each day!
During this time, we also read a book called “Secrets of the Secret Place,”
which teaches us how to maximize our time with God. At 7:30am, we go to our
morning workouts. Our trainer Josh does a good job making us sweat with his
hour workouts on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays! I can barely walk after leg days. Tuesdays
and Thursdays are my favorite because we get to go to a beautiful beach nearby
called Corona Del Mar. One of our staff members leads a 3 hour workout that includes
sand volleyball training at the end. Valinda Roche, Misty
May-Treanor’s(three-time Olympic gold medalist) very first partner, takes over
for the sand practice. As much as she is coaching us in the beach game, she
makes sure we don’t forget to make Jesus our main focus of it. It is pretty
cool that the athletes we look up to give all their glory and credit to God. I
am definitely learning more than just the game out here.
In the afternoons, we have lessons with the FCAV staff and
spend time working on the projects we have started. The three projects we are
currently working on are: The Personal Development Plan, Restore Your Campus,
and the FCAV outreach project. I am in charge of the social media and promotion
portions of the outreach project.
The lessons we have done so far in our teachings have been a
lot of internal learning focusing on our self-identity, discipleship, personal
development, and leadership. I have
truly been grasping the idea on what “With God” means and how I can involve Him
in every minute of my day.
Our volleyball camps just started this
past week and it was really cool to get to share what we have learned so far
with others. I got to be a huddle leader for this past camp with another intern
and we led a group of middle school girls in a bible study between their drill
sessions. We taught them the importance of “maxing out,” “self-identity” and
“with God” (all the things we ourselves are learning). Being able to share God’s love through the
work of volleyball and having a strong impact on kids is one of the greatest blessings.
Amidst our busy schedules, we have learned the true meaning
and importance of keeping the Sabbath. On Sundays, we take the day to go to
church and then spend the rest with God, ceasing regularly from and enjoying
the results of the work. All my life, I have been guilty of getting caught up
in the craziness of everything with the constant mindset of “go-go-go” instead
of taking time to look back at all that I have done and reflect on it. This is
a great time to connect with God. Last Sunday, we took a hike in a nature
preserve nearby. During that, our leader Daniel found a mustard seed plant and
showed how we as disciples of God are like the plant. It is one tiny seed that has hundreds of
seeds within it and although it may be small, it will eventually make a big
difference in the end.
There is so much excitement out here in California so far. I
am excited to see what is all in store for the upcoming weeks! Thanks for
reading and God bless!
-Catherine
Also, check out
the cool video one of our staff members put together:
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