>24hours.

  Entering Vogel's room for the last time; Having a stye in my eye for the last time; Stressing out for the last time; Testing in AP Biology and AP Chemistry on the same day for the last time; Group testing in Chemistry for the first and last time; Complaining for the last time; Driving in Lucy for the last time; Making food with my Oma for the last time. 
  The last time before I am on my way to Romania; the last time before my life changes.
   Maybe I should not have said what I said to my sister in front of my father.  "You don't want to see me on the last day I am alive?!"  Let's just say, he kinda told me to shut up.  
  He didn't really like the idea of my dying, but I kinda do.  NO! not the kind of dying as in my physical body being inanimate, but in a different way.  There are tons of bible verses that I can use to explain myself, here are a few:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Galatians 5:24

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. Mark 8:35

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John 12:24

And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Matthew 10:38

When I die to myself, my selfish desires and sinning-ful ways, only then am I becoming alive in Christ.  I cannot serve two masters at the same time; I either crown myself Queen or Him King.  The sinning nature of humans automatically causes the person to crown himself king (or in my case, Queen), but, when we become Christians, we take the crown off our heads; and even though we still sin, the crown has been transferred from out head to His.  We trade our rags (unholiness) for God's pure white robe (righteousness). God no longer judges us by our sins and faulty decision making skills, but by our one decision: accepting Jesus' blood.  
The only being allowed in Heaven with rags is Jesus; and that is because his radiance shines through even the dirt; we need his white robe in order to hide our dirt.

This is dying.  Dying to yourself.

Students from Fayetteville Christian School, Village Christian Academy to spend spring break doing good in remote locations around world.

This article is taken from The Fayetteville Observer. Do not mistaken this writing for my own!

When Jesus gave his followers their Great Commission, he simply said to go and make disciples of all nations.
The advice to bring granola and bug spray came along later.
Next week, nearly 80 high school seniors and chaperones from Fayetteville Christian School and Village Christian Academy will share scripture and sweat in remote locations around the world.
One group will trek into a steamy tropical jungle, while the other will hike through chilly Old World scenery.
Both will come home tired and, their teachers hope, thankful.
"The students will get a workout, that's for sure," said Roger Vogel, a teacher at Village Christian. His group of 36 will head into the Transylvania area of Romania to share their faith.
Meanwhile, 47 students and chaperones from Fayetteville Christian will travel by dugout canoe to a remote village in southern Costa Rica.
The trips are part of the faith-based curriculum at both schools, a tradition that the students face with a blend of excitement and anxiety.
"It's a mix of both," said Erin Stanley, a senior at Fayetteville Christian. Her group plans to teach a Bible school and work on a fresh water project for a local tribe, the Bribri.
Students such as Chima Enwere acknowledge the week away from the comforts of home will be a challenge.
"No cellphone, no computer, all in a place I've never seen," he said.
Kevin Clark, another senior, said the experience will remove him from "my Southern comfort zone."
"For some people, the physical work will be different, but we'll all be a long way from home," he said.
That's part of the process, said Fayetteville Christian headmaster Tammi Peters.
"We can talk about the importance of mission work in the Christian faith, or we can do it," Peters said. "The experience teaches them how to teach others about our faith."
But the students learn other life lessons as well, she added.
"The experience helps prepare them for their life after high school, whether they're going to college, to the military, whatever God has planned for them."
Vogel agreed, saying that the experience should make the students less hesitant to go overseas in the future.
"Not only is it an excellent opportunity to serve the Lord, but it teaches them a bit about themselves," he said. "We're teaching outside the classroom. In the future, if an opportunity to travel overseas comes up, they'll have their passports and experience to fall back on. It'll be a piece of cake."
One lesson all the students share is to bring snacks. That and bug spray - lots of bug spray.
"We've been warned by the group from last year," Clark said. "I'm bringing granola bars and beef jerky."
"It's a different world," added Stanley, who said she's bringing Chunky Chips-Ahoy to fend off hunger and homesickness.
"It's going to be tough for some of us," Stanley said. "We'll be depending on each other for support."
Plus, Peters notes, the trip helps prepare students for the day they leave home.
"When they come back, they are much more appreciative of the blessings the Lord has presented us in our home country," she said.

jksaj klfdjsaklj dmngre wiojksa!

  You may be wondering why the title is so.  I can assure you it was not to get your attention, even though it completed that task.
  Just yesterday, I was walking in the school hallway and stopped at the water fountain to fill up my water bottle.  As I looked to my left, one of my friends was walking towards me down the hallway.  I heard him say something not of English- or any language of that matter.  I asked him, "Did you just say, 'Four days until Romania,'?"  And then he replied, "How did you know!?"
  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it is not officially three days until we leave for Romania, maybe even a little less.  Today, the students participating in the trip received their Romania sweatshirts, which combined with the Romania jackets, are sure to keep everyone nice and cozy!  We are all ready and excited to head out of the country and into a changed life.  The next two days will be the last of our 'old lives' as we enter into something more than ourselves.
  Today, I found that coffee will be my new best friend over the next couple of weeks!  Good thing they do not come in Starbucks prices over there!

  Continue to Pray!

Commissioned.

  I have never been "commissioned" over; I may have been prayed over before, but this time it will stick in my memory forever.

  At the very end of the service, Dr. Martin, the preacher of VBC, called the mission team up to the alter.  He said a little something as I watched the camera drift over our faces; I tried not to look at myself on the screen.  He ended the service as he always does and then asked every member of the mission team standing to kneel before the alter.  This is when my emotions started rolling; I am too much like my mother.
  Hannah, my best friend, was right beside me, as always.  He sister-in-law put her hand upon her as I felt a hand come upon me; but I couldn't see the owner of this hand.  I felt like a angel was touching me and giving me some kind of courage, some kind of boldness.  I remembered my grandpa and how if he was still alive, that would be his hand upon me.  That morning, I purposefully put on the bracelet him and my grandma had picked out for Christmas; I feel closer to him when I wear his memory.  Every time I think about my grandfather, I have to shake it off; he is gone, I think, you can do nothing to save his physical body, you must now save others' spiritual bodies.  Just thinking about my grandfather helps me put my mind back on track.  Although I wish he was still here, there is nothing I can do about it; but, with God's help, I can help change the future of those still living, physically living; I can help change their spiritual future, so one day, like me, they will be able to see their grandfather again.

Finalizing.

  Today, for many North Carolinians, consisted of staying inside away from the cold snow with some hot chocolate.  But, the senior students, who in a week will have departed from the state, had a different agenda.  
  Today was a day which included weighing suitcases and getting all the final specifics in order.  It was a day that started off with donuts and ended with taco bell tacos.  Dramas were performed, stick dances were danced, and smiles were brought to almost every ones face when one student would yell out, "In a week we will be on our way to Romania!"  Many things were finished and started today.  Many things were brought up; and through this meeting many reminders were felt.
  I was reminded of how I need to start getting to bed earlier!  Now, I must go take a nap in order to store up some "sleep" for this trip.

"It Depends."

  If I was face to face with God and he told me to do something, there is no way I could defy Him.  
I am the type to obey every authority, so why wouldn't I obey God?  There are many who defy the wishes of human authority figures, so it should not amaze me that they would ignore the wishes of God.
  "OH! If we were going to Africa, I would totally be going on this mission trip!"  That statement may not seem harmful, but it is disrespecting not just those in Romania by saying 'they are not good enough for me to come to them' but also disrespecting those students and adults who are going on the Romania trip and God. 
  God knows much better than us humans, so if God leads us somewhere, we must follow; even if it is through a high school mission trip, where it may not seem of value.  But, in partaking in this mission trip, each of the forty individuals, student and adults, are carrying out God's mission; through this mission trip we are stepping out in the front lines, even as teenagers, something many adults have never done.

"Wherever you are -- be all there." 

It should not matter where a mission trip takes place, a true Christian should WANT to go wherever the opportunity is; God has given the opportunity for a reason, and if one uses the opportunity, God will allow great things to happen.  Sadly, many United States Christians are not truly Christians; the type who say one thing and do another, the ones who give us a bad name; the type who do not care about saving the lost from a life without God, a life of eternal dying, an eternal destiny cannot be changed, ever.

Pack Up and Get Out.

  The countdown is approaching single digits, and the excitement levels of the Village senior students are continuing to increase.  With every passing day, Romania only is coming closer, and the days we have been waiting for, for so long, are soon going to be reached.

   Since we leave next Saturday, this Saturday we are having a team meeting, and included in this meeting, each student must have all his/her luggage for the trip in order to get it weighed and such. Because of this 'having to be packed one week early' mess, my room and bathroom currently look like a bomb has been dropped, a tornado has arrived, and a '34' has been let loose.  Even though I am normally a very organized person, when it comes to packing, I have A.D.D. and O.C.D.; I cannot focus on one item while packing, which turns it into 'packing week'.  I do enjoy to wake up to a messy room because it, indeed, reminds me of what fun I will be having in *insert number of days left until Romania here* days.

I rather be blogging than journaling.