Hey Friends! I survived my orientation and my first staff retreat. Our retreat was at a beautiful ranch in Whitewright, Texas. Whitewright is not necessarily known for its scenery, but I was pleasantly surprised. I say this because my high school is just fourteen miles down the road in Leonard. It was fun to share small-town Texas with my metroplex companions. My retreat consisted of playing board games, worshiping and encouraging each other before the semester begins. I left feeling refreshed and ready to work. My apprentice team at orientation. This is a photo from an impromptu trip for snowcones on the retreat. August is packed with reading the Old Testament. The apprentices and I will spend eight hours Monday through Friday reading, along with taking an online class. I am ready to immerse myself in God's Word like never before. One of my goals throughout this apprenticeship is to become more scripturally literate. After almost two weeks of studying, w