the worst that can happen is adventure.

This is the phrase that has been on my mind a lot lately.  My roommate in college used to say it all the time, and I've adopted it as well.  Its a way to keep the glass "half full". When bad stuff starts to happen as we move about our lives, at least we'll have a fun story to tell afterwards!  Some less than ideal things have happened on this adventure I'm on in the past week...

As I write this, I am sitting in a large arena-type conference center in Germany. It is being transformed from a massive empty space to a backstage area full of people working, the main stage complete with audio visual wonders, and a giant dining area with rows and rows and rows of tables.

I left Carlisle with OMNIvision, the group doing the stage and audio/visual setup for the conference, around 1pm on Sunday.  By 5:30pm we were on a ferry bound for the Netherlands, and by 10pm we were well on our way into the English Channel.  And I was on my way to my first overnight stay on the water. (adventure!)  We arrived in the Netherlands at 8:30am Monday morning, and were back on the bus and on our way to Germany by 9:30.  The goal was to arrive at the stie by 5 or 6pm, but were stuck in traffic for hours (adventure?!?) due a car engulfed in flames on the autobahn, and were delayed...and didn't arrive until 10pm.

Now I've been sleeping on an air mattress on the floor, have survived a few sleepless nights because of being too cold (adventure?) and soon this giant conference center will be overrun with thousands of teens.  They arrive on Saturday, and tomorrow will begin the round of deadlines to produce their daily newsletter in TWELVE different languages! That's the reason why I'm here...should be an adventure!

I leave on August 6th (it was the 7th, but my flight got cancelled and moved...more adventure?) to go to Moldova for their "River Adventure" outreach.  We will be building a raft and floating down the river, Huck Finn style (adventure!).  We'll be visiting villages along the way and running activities for the children.  I don't know much more about it at this point...adventure?

So, pray for me these next few weeks.  This week especially pray for me as I battle fatigue and "roughing it", as well as giving my all in tight deadlines.  Pray for the teens, that they will encounter God in a real and powerful way this week.  I know as a teen, this type of event was really special and helped me grow as a teen.  I hope other teens feel the same way!

The iBus..what we rode down it...complete with computers and missing AC!

some of the trusses going up in the main stage