One Year.

Yeah, it's been that long. Can you believe it? I can't.

I still remember waiting for my flight at the San Jose Airport and thinking, "Is this really happening?" It definitely didn't feel real at the time, and to be honest I'm not sure if it feels real now. It doesn't feel like I've been gone that long. Or does it? I don't know.

When it comes to talking about the fact that I've been here for a year, I don't have anything to say other than "seriously??" Well actually, there's a lot more I could say about this last year, but summarizing it and putting it into words would be incredibly difficult. It is kind of weird that I'm still here too, last August I definitely thought I'd be back in the States by now.

So I've moved back to ICA campus, meaning I don't live with my family anymore or even in Korhogo. Why would I do such a thing like that? Well for one, I have nothing to do in Korhogo. Don Bosco, College Bethlehem, Centre Don Orione, and even youth group have all stopped for vacation and the majority of the youth from my church are off in their villages for the vacation. So I'm back here to start getting our dorm and the gym ready.

Of course the question of whether or not it was the right decision is on my mind. It's been hard explaining to people that I'm just moving to another city, and it's even harder when people say they're simply not going to let me leave and are going to force me to stay in Korhogo! I really do want to stay there, but that's just it, I'm glad that I'm sad to leave. Saying goodbye was hard, well actually I wasn't saying goodbye but "see you next time" because I'm definitely going to come back to visit. Part of my heart will always be in Korhogo because of the great friends and family I have there.

So here I am now, living back on ICA campus. I'm not sure how I feel about it just yet. It's great being able to be independent again. But I also really miss my neighborhood, Téguéré in Korhogo. There were so many church members who lived near me, I miss seeing them every day. And campus is much more quiet than Téguéré but luckily that's about to change soon. There's already a handful of university students moving onto campus!

Like I've said before, I want to do a sports ministry with the students, especially since it will be mostly girls living here. But as good as my intentions may be and how hard I might try, there's still an unknown factor especially since I kind of have to start this thing from scratch. I have no idea if these students will be interested at all or how anything is going to work, I'm going to try to plan things as best as I can but there's no way I can know what to expect.

So right now my time is being filled with settling back in here and soon with preparing. We need to get the dorm ready to have the new team living in it and soon I'll get started on cleaning the gym. And I'm sure I'll have such a fun time amid the ridiculous amount of dust, dead termites, and bird poop in that gym.

There's also a conference for the youth of our church association on campus at the end of the month so I'm excited to have all those people around here, especially those who will be here from my church in Korhogo!

So yeah there's where things are at for me right now. I know this next month is going to pass by way too fast and next thing I know the new team will be here, the university students will be around, and I'll definitely have my hands full. Here are some ways you guys can be praying for me:

- The sports ministry. That everything will work out and girls will be interested and that ultimately it will lead to me being able to build relationships with them. Because as fun as playing volleyball and other sports are, that's not what this is going to be about. It's about furthering the kingdom of God through abilities He gave me and the sports facilities here on this campus.

- The new team. Pray for their support raising and their preparations for getting here. There's only one and a half more months until they arrive! I'll be here as their... well... I'm not really sure what my "title" is but I'm going to be here to help them through learning culture, French, etc. since I've already gone through the process myself.

- My financial support. I'm still not supported for the entire year. And now that I'm back on campus, starting to prepare, and talking about ideas, I really want to be here. So pray that more people will hear and want to be a part of my ministry here. Not being there in person to support raise has been so difficult, but God is capable of anything and can get this support for me if it's His will that I'm here.