Living A Grateful Life
These last couple months have been incredibly busy! So many things have happened. To start the month off, me and a couple of my close friends took a trip up to Tahoe for the day, which was beautiful. The last of the warm weather they had before the cold front began. Above is a picture of our little crew in Tahoe.
Over at Midtown, things ramped up as we prepped for and went to 7th-12th grade summer camp in Santa Cruz in early August. Above are some pictures from Summer Camp. At MA (Modern Abolition) we were busy making gear leading up to this trip, we made all the sweatshirts, long sleeves, t-shirts, hats, backpacks, and other fun giveaways including water bottles and notebooks for the students and leaders. Summer Camp was an amazing experience. I was able to witness and be a part of 6 of my 7th grade girls accept Christ, and I was able to baptise 2 of them in the ocean. Another one of my girls was baptized soon after returning home. We had over 20 students and leaders get baptized in the ocean at the end of the camp. God touched a lot of hearts and brought healing to many students as they dedicated their lives to Him. So beautiful to be a part of and have the opportunity and privilege to witness.
Towards the end of August, my family and I waved goodbye to my brother for a while as he moved to Chicago for college. My Papa also got a bad case of covid around this same time, but thankfully he made a full recovery.
Towards the end of August, I got to witness the baptism of my youngest brother, Lennon, who has gotten involved in our YTH 46 ministry at Midtown Church this year. He was emotionally moved by the spirit to get baptised as he had given his life to God. So many amazing moments that God showed up and showed off in August in the lives of the people around me.
Above you can also see pictures of some of my students as we had a park hang, girls skate night, and a movie day with these kiddos. Our YTH program has been thriving since getting back from camp as our students have found true community and trust in each other and their leaders. We also had a fall kickoff event for the students, and I was able to make the gear for that event. You can see a picture of the gear above.
At the beginning of September, we also hosted a dance event at Midtown Church called The Midtown Get Down. It was such a fun event to get to work as I had the privilege to make the apparel and sell for MA at this event. So many talented dancers showed up to face off.
In September, I also finally posted an acoustic version of an original song (that will shortly be posted to Spotify, Apple music and other music streaming services in its full studio version) on my Youtube channel. The song is called “Good Days,” and will be featured in my album coming out soon. The inspiration for this song came from time spent in 2020 quarantine. I had lots of free time sitting in my bed, so I began looking through old pictures. The nostalgia this created inspired me to write this song about how life is so much simpler as a child. The older you get, the more complicated life becomes, and quarantine brought its own set of trials like isolation and feeling like a lack of purpose, which lead to a depressive state for me. You can watch it by clicking this link. I hope you enjoy it.
Mid-September, I had the privilege of attending a young adults retreat in Santa Cruz with a couple of my close friends from our 1825 group at Midtown Church. There were many other young adult groups from other churches in Nor Cal present at the retreat, and the speakers, worship, and exercises planned for the event were phenomenal. It was a very refreshing experience, and God gave us all a breath of fresh air.
Speaking of young adults, Midtown Church threw a block party event in Sacramento towards the end of September for the young professionals in the area. This event was hosted at a park, and there was live music, food trucks, and I even got to have a popup shop and sell gear for MA there. It was a fun event where I got to make many connections with people.
Towards the end of September, I was also able to attend the wedding of a good friend of mine to celebrate his new stage of life with his wife.
My sister turned 14 and started her first year of high school (I’m so old, I’m crying). It is her first year back in person for school, so a lot of exciting changes and new friends for her.
Overall, August and September went by so fast and feel so long ago already as I write this. But there was so much good that came from these months, and I’m thankful for them. God has been moving intentionally in my relationships, and bringing me so much hope from the way He’s been working in the lives of the people around me.
As always, thanks for reading!
SHAE'S JOURNEY 