Hey y'all! Hope all has been going well for you... Well as you can see I've got such a nice office and trust me, all this past week that was the only scenery I had. Don't get me wrong; I love my internship but its kinda hard to sit at a desk for such long extended periods of time in order to create and write curriculum and design family ministry programs. I guess it just something I have to get use to, I guess. However come next week, I'll have a week off from my internship to rest and relax! So excited for that; To Do List: Sleep in, Do a little more exploring around Anderson, Spend some time with my man, spending time with my host family, Maybe get some reading done and school assignments for my internship. Yeah, it'll be good... :) Speaking of family ministry programs, I officially started a couple of them this week! One of which is called "Summer Sizzle", our Wednesday night children's program for the children's ministry. We are using some of the material from Lifeway's "Amazing Wonders Aviation" and are having a blast with it! This isn't just something to keep kids entertained while mom and dad go to Wednesday night service or small group; we play game, sing, dance, and learn about God's incredible power in all aspects of life! Also during this time I've been putting together and putting the word out about the small group I'm starting at the church the first week of July - for engaged and married couples! I'm so excited about it and can't wait to start it next week! We are going to go in-depth and look at what God's original design is for marriage and how to keep God in the center of one's relationship while hitting on topics like holistic intimacy, communication, conflict, headship and submission, learning to love and respect one another, and so much more! Its been cool to prepare for it and to break it down to help make it more prominent to couples. I just can't wait to start it and see how God will take this passion of mine and what he's placed on my heart and see what he'll do with them! Now to tell of my newest food find here in Anderson! If you go down to the historic downtown area of Anderson, you'll probably see some quaint businesses and restaurants. Now when I got there, I was told by many people that I met there to try one of four places: Summa Joes (I went on Monday and apparently its not open on Mondays), Sullivan's (I couldn't find it until I was leaving), Peter's (really nice and expensive from what I heard) or Trio (which is where I ended up). Now I didn't know what to expect since there were no doors or anything to indicate its entrance; it was just a huge gaping hole in between some storefronts! But when I walked in, it felt very cool and comforting! Decked out in some really modernized, Italian influenced decor I was excited to try it out! Now when I sat down, my waitress told me that the Lobster Bisque was their specialty there (and I believe her very much so); however, I tried a modernized take on the philly cheese steak sandwich - it was a philly cheese steak wrap but it was cooked a little bit differently! They had all the regular fixings on it (onions, peppers, and mushrooms) but they cooked it with some black pepper and spices that just put it over the top! It was so gooey and spicy all at once! Makes my mouth water thinking about it again! You get a choice of a side item like salad, soup, or fries (and you know I can't turn down fries) and a drink! One of the other things about this place is their house bread - hot fresh bread with olive oil and fresh Parmesan cheese dowsed on top! It was so simple and so amazing! And with all this great food, it only cost me about $10! I really can't wait to go back there again; the people there are so friendly, the atmosphere warm, and the food so good you'll find any excuse to stay just a bit longer. Well that's it for me this week! Check back next week to hear about my internship adventures and my food discoveries! Until next time, take care and later dayz! ~Jeanne ;)

Hey there y'all! So... I just finished up week 2 of my internship where I got to help facilitate Chick-Fil-A's week-long Winshape Camp at our church for 1st graders to 6th graders. Y'all I have to say I have never been so exhausted and yet so extremely overjoyed and in love by an incredible event like this before! We had over a 175 kids show up to the camp during the week where they learned how to not just be ordinary people, but extraordinary people for God! The kids learned about repentance, courage, surrender, missions, and worship while they participated in awesome activities like cooking, archery, flag football, digital photography, gymnastics, dance, drama, and ever so much more! We had the amazing green team from Winshape Camps, consisting of 23 gifted and incredibly altruistic 20 somethings, come in and lead 30 volunteers from our church. So many lives, children and adult alike, were impacted in some way, shape, or form. By the end of the week, we had 15 kids accept Christ as their Lord and Savior! Praise the Lord!! I can't tell how incredible of an experience this was and how much I can't wait to use this event myself once I become a Children's minister! If you want to learn more about it check out their website http://winshapecamps.org. In other news, I got introduced to another one of the local restaurants here in Anderson: Arnold's Famous Homemade Burgers! This one and only restaurant has been a part of the Anderson community since 1981 and has been one of the main staples of Anderson ever since! The restaurant is set in a 50s/60s diner with the black and white tile floors, bright silver lunch counters and chairs, and tons of photos from that era forward; definitely a very easy going, friendly, and enjoyable place and atmosphere. But its their food that really gets the customers coming back! Ranging from their famous homemade burgers to chicken fingers to salads to just about anything, Arnold's really has some of the freshest, best tasting food around. I was joined on my first visit there with my host family as we sat to enjoy our some time together (which is rare) and some awesome burgers and hot dogs. I had a great bacon cheeseburger; the patty's texture may remind you of a Wendy's burger but I guarantee you its so much more fresher than Wendy's is! So whenever you're in the area and are craving a good burger, check out Arnold's! To contact them or get directions, check out their website at http://www.arnoldshamburgers.com. Well that's it for me! Hope all is going well for you and hope to hear from you soon! Later dayz! ~Jeanne ;)

Hey there y'all!! Sorry for the very, VERY long time off from the blog but now I'm back! And... I've got a couple things happening that I just had to share with y'all!! One of the first things that I want to let y'all know about is that ever since Thanksgiving last year, I've been looking for an internship for me to do as a requirement for my degree in Family and Children's Ministry. About a month before summer began, I locked down and confirmed an internship! Right now, I am literally typing this from my host home in Anderson, SC where I am living for the summer while I fulfill my summer internship at Covenant Baptist Church. I work under some of the best pastors ever and the kids are so much fun! I'm enjoying it so, so, SO very much! Right now I'm in my 2nd week of internship as the church is hosting Chick-Fil-A's Winshape Camp and we have between 150-200 kids this week! So excited and so much fun! When it comes to the rest of the internship, I have so much more to do and so much more to plan and to execute but I really can't wait! Now another thing I've been wanting to announce for quite sometime! I've been wanting to get to see and get to know the cities that I've been living in while also helping to invest back into the community! So what better way to do that than to not only check out the local restaurants but to also promote them and advertise for them! So you could say I've become somewhat of a local food critic and advertiser... ;) Now while I'm here in Anderson, SC I'll be sure to let you know what I find and how it goes! And since I'm already here... ;) Let me tell you about one of the most popular hot spots for eating and enjoying one of America's favorite classics: Hot Dogs! Check out Skin's! Skin's Hot Dogs has gotten such a awesome response and following that it even made it on to Food Network's popular TV show "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" with Guy Fieri! Having been around for about 66 years, its become a real staple in the community here in Anderson! As it tells us on their website: "Skins was established in Anderson, SC in 1946 by Loyd “Skin” Thrasher. In a humble, “pool hall” type atmosphere Skin sold anything he could, including short-order meals such as sandwiches, hamburgers, & the same hotdogs we enjoy today. As time passed, the hotdogs became the item of choice for Skin’s patrons. To meet the local milltown folks’ demand for a quick & quality meal, Skin decided to get rid of the pool tables & concentrate on hotdogs. Today the legend lives on just the same."~skinshotdogs.com Seriously, when I first got here and started asking around, this was one of a few names that kept popping up! Now I will say that unfortunately I didn't get to try this at one of their four restaurants but it was an awesome experience none the less! Classically cooked with a great blend of pork and beef meats, either naked or covered with their chili, its a great place to come to enjoy good food at good quality! Well that's it for now! I'm gonna chill out for a while before heading to bed and finishing the rest of this week with Winshape camp! I'll let y'all know how it goes as well as some more killer restaurants in the areas! Later dayz! ~Jeanne ;)