Largest Purchase of My Life

Boyyyy do I feel like an adult! I made the largest purchase of my life the other day and that was a plane ticket to Japan! Who knew that you got so many reward points!? I felt a big sense of accomplishment as I bought my ticket, I felt really grown up. Then I saw that money come out of my bank account and I thought to myself, "This must be how my parents have felt every time they've bought me an overseas plane ticket for a vacation!"

My sweet friend Bethany is getting married in December and I get to have the honor of being in her wedding party! So exciting! We got to get our dresses this last week also and it is such a cute dress and easily one I could wear again, which is an added bonus!

I also took some of my small group up to Austin this weekend for a little bonding time! Which was do much fun, we went hiking, had some Vegan ice cream, talked about some really great things, and finished the trip off with a trivia night at a local restaurant! This year has gone so quickly with them, it's so interesting to me how when you have a common understanding and when The Lord is in the center how quickly you become close friends. I met all of these girls in August yet it feels like I have known them for a life time.

I live a rich life, one I never expected, but one that has been so fulfilling.

Always,
Amanda

Konnichiwa

I'm GOING TO JAPAN!

What a fun and adventurous experience I'm going to get to be apart of!  A couple months ago leaders in Chi Alpha were told the locations of this summers missions trips!  With places in Europe, South America, Northern Asia, Eurasia and Africa all being listed we had a total of 8 trips that we could go on! 

The last two summers I was given an opportunity to go to a couple different places, unfortunately those trips never worked out for me and the Lord really used my summers to do different things for Him!  But I knew this year was the year I got to go serve overseas!  

During Christmas break God called me to live a life of ministry serving University students in America!  I'm so excited that after college I get to go do what others did for me and be apart of helping college students choose a life that reflects GOD's GLORY!  But a month ago I realized how big of a deal international students are to a campus!  My university has 3,000 international students and I realized how scared I was to share the gospel with them.  I then started thinking, "How is my full time job going to be sharing the good news with college students, if I'm scared of some of them?"  I became determined to get over this fear and I thought what better way then to immerse myself in their culture to understand them better!  

So when I heard that Japan was going to be one of the trips, I was immediately reminded of my best friends Small Group.  My best friend Lisa (blue and white shirt), 

 

has a small group full of international students, some of which are from Japan!  I recalled how friendly, sweet, and gentle those girl's personalities are and thought I would love to go and serve in their country!  

Soo what does that mean?!? It means I get to get serve a missionary named Joyce Kitano in Tokyo, Japan!  I have to raise a budget of $2,700 by May 30th!  But I believe God is going to provide all of it! From May 30th-June 12th I will be meeting and talking and telling college students in Japan about Jesus.  There are 10 universities on 1 street in Japan, that means lots of college students.  I get to lead worship for the college students during a worship night we will be having. But most importantly we will get to be encouraging the missionary who has served over their for 20 years!

If you would like to make a donation for my trip or let me know that you are supporting me in prayer, feel free to click on the button at the top of my blog that says "Donate" under "GIVE 4 JAPAN" or email me with encouragement at amanda.l.plast@gmail.com!  I'm so excited that I get to share with you the exciting things going on in my life right now and I'm grateful for the rolls that people have played in leading me to the walk with Jesus I have now! 

Always,
Amanda

the road not taken

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

--Robert Frost

I read this poem, actually memorized it in Mrs. Stanley's 7th grade English class, I was referred to as an "Energetic Fire Ball" by her in my yearbook. (Side note).  When I was thinking about my first post to explain the transformation my life has gone through in the last three years, this poem came to mind.  The last three lines of this poem could be a way to summarize all of it. 

Three years ago, I had just turned 18, probably just finished a tennis tournament of some sort, was taking the last few pictures to fill in my high schools yearbook.  But two months prior I had a real encounter with Jesus which led me to pursue the idea of him.  So about this time three years ago, I was struggling to find why people called Jesus their savior.  I understood what that meant, but I was really seeking out what that meant for me personally.  I graduated high school, having a better understanding of what Jesus was, but could not call my self someone who followed after him.

I went to college at the University of Texas at San Antonio with every intention of leaving, I thought it was the worst place on earth and was only using it as a stepping stone to get to The University of Texas.  I didn't know that when I got here, that I was going to get to choose between living a life down a road that was wide, or living a life that was down a narrow road.  I chose the narrow road, the harder road at times, but the road that definitely has been more rewarding and the one that has held the most adventure.  The road that has led me to a life filled with Jesus Christ.  So this is a blog to fill you in on things going on in my life!  The things that are important, that are going on around me and that are going to be happening in future!  Like for instance, I'm going to JAPAN in three months! (more on that later)

Always,
Amanda

 
This is where it started, this was the Small Group I got to be apart of freshman year!



This was my first year of college after being asked to lead a small group!


This is part of my first small group I got to lead my sophomore year!


This is part of my current small group!