Greetings!

I'd say it's pretty obvious that I haven't posted since 24/7 started! AH! I miss all of you so much and I'm a bit homesick, but God is working here in big ways. Way too much has happened to explain everything in detail. However, I'll do my best to give you an informed synopsis of what life looks like for me now that I'm immersed in this internship.


There are 5 first year students: Sam, Joel, Chris M. (Crispy), Julia, and myself. They are all great people with great hearts that are eager to learn! There are 3 cadre (which is a fancy term for 2nd or 3rd year 24/7 student that is placed on leadership and given responsibilities), who are Nicki, Trevor, and Bethany. 


This is what my schedule looks like from week to week:


MON-THURS
**7:30-9a (Workout)
**9-10:30a (Breakfast/shower)
**10:30-11a (Read/Study/File)
**11a-12p (Prayer)
**12-1p (Lunch)


After 1pm, our activities vary from day to day. It normally consists of classroom, Tracks (which are individualized internships where we work one-on-one with the corresponding staff member of our calling), and outreach (Thursdays).


Fridays we have OFF (unless we are going on a trip), and Saturday mornings are reserved for outreach also from 8a-12p. On Sundays, the day always starts at 7:30a. I serve on the worship team 2-3 Sundays out of the month, and on Sundays that I'm not serving on the worship team, I usually serve as a greeter/coffee brewer (now serving Starbucks coffee!) On Sunday evenings, I'm always serving at VERT (high school ministry service) as the worship leader and it's been a great experience. Practice starts at 4p, and the service usually ends around 8:30.


We have been on two camping trips thus far and they have been pretty fun (aside from being apart from Kayla of course). The first camping trip was to Tennessee, where we met up with the 24/7 group from Florida. Their group is much larger than ours (by about 30!). We all started the day by hiking up the tallest mountain in the Smokies, Mount LeConte. It was a 6 mile trek to the peak. But we were informed that not only were we hiking to the peak, but that we would (as a group) be carrying eachother one at a time up the mountain on a cot/stretcher! It was definitely one of the most challenging things I've done. There would be 3-5 people carrying the cot over rough terrain and inclines at any given time, and each person rotated laying on the cot every ten minutes. It was a great teamwork exercise, but quite frankly I'd rather not think about it so I'll move on. :-)


After the mountain we were supposed to go back to another campsite, but we were surprised with a multi-million dollar cabin rental! What a great relief! We had 2 days to relax and unwind after a crazy excursion up a mountain. The cabin was complete with hot tub, arcade games, pool table, and a great location. We are required to drink only water for the first six weeks, but during our time at the cabin, we could drink whatever we wanted which was nice! The 2nd day, we took a trip into Gatlinburg, TN which was a new experience for me! It was definitely an interesting place, and I had the chance to share some elk, wild boar, alligator, ostrich, and kangaroo jerky with everyone. Fun fun fun!


The other camping trip we went on was this past weekend. We went to Hanging Rock in North Carolina, and hiked 8 miles the first day and 6 the second. Obviously we enjoyed hot dogs over the fire and s'mores!


During outreach, we will be focusing on a neighborhood in town that is home to many people living in poverty. We will be playing with and tutoring the kids that live there, picking up trash around the neighborhood, and doing other things there to make a difference for Christ. 


It's dinner time for me! If you have any questions about what I'm doing, please feel free to email me or call me! heeter.chris@gmail.com, 614-563-3711


Prayer requests:
-That Kayla, and also myself, can find peace and comfort that I'm going through this program. 
-That we can have effective counseling sessions, that will prepare us for marriage and get us through this season of our lives. 


SONG FOR THE MOMENT: Hillsong - I Will Exalt You