Changes.

It is so hard to believe it was 4 months ago that I set off on my journey to New York. Looking back on the days before I came I am reminded of the changes God has done in me, and in my life. I was a totally different girl 4 months ago. I have learned so much about God and myself. Before I came I relyed totally on myself for everything, I had a very hard time trusting in God. I worried about things that weren't even in my control. My senior year of high school was a really tough year for me. You may not have known it but I was struggling with a lot of things. I was trying to figure out who Kylie was by the worlds standards and not who Kylie is in God's eyes. During my senior year I just stuck to myself a lot and didn't really talk to very many people at school. Since I was little I have always done that, I haven't really had a problem with not having very many friends, my few close friends were fine with me. Since being at Word of Life I have met some really awesome people and have actually enjoyed making an effort to get to know people. I have been totally taken out of my comfort zone countless times since being here and as a result have grown tremendously. God has been teaching me more about Him through other people and their stories.
In September I was totally lost, I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. I have learned that it isn't what Kylie wants to do, its what God wants Kylie to do. He has a purpose and a plan for my life that is greater than I can ever imagine (Jeremiah 29:11). One thing is for sure, I want to live my life for Jesus and tell everyone who I come across that Jesus loves them no matter what they do and that He died on the Cross for ALL their sins, so that we wouldn't have to. God loves us SO incredibly much. It amazes me everyday. Now, I am not saying that its going to be easy surrendering everything to God, cause its not, its going to be really hard! I am going to have to surrender to Him each and every day, but to me its worth everything.

These are some verses that I have been reading a lot lately:

1 John 2:15-17 say: "Do not love the world, or anything in the world, if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For every thing in the world- the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does- comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."

1 John 3:16-18 : "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. ANd we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and truth."

Galatians 5:22-23: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."

1 Corintians 10:23-24: "Everything is permissible- but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible- but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others."

Romans 12:9-13: "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another is brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people whoa re in need. Practice hospitality."

Psalm 103:12 - "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."

Proverbs 31:30- "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

Those are just a few verses that have really been changing my heart and the way I go about life. God has changed my life, and He can change yours too!

I am looking forward to going back home and showing the love of Jesus to everyone!

There is this video we watch a Word of Life every friday before Snow Camp starts. It is a great reminder of who God is. I encourage each of you to watch is. To watch it, go to godtube.com and search for "Thats my King" it is AMAZING!!

Well I know this is long but I had to share what God is doing in my life with you all! :)

i'm back in new york

I left cali to come back to new york friday the 2 and arrived in albany saturday at 12:15 am. This time i didn't have the comfort of a friend to travel with. It was very hard leaving home again, and all my family and friends. To tell you the truth I thought about the possibility of staying home. But some how God got me up those escalators, and on that plane once again. The first half of the trip seemed very fast. The plane from Sacramento to Las Vegas was running late, so instead of having my 1 hour layover like I thought, I had to run from one gate all the way to the other side of the air port to make it on the other plane to albany. I made it just in time. I believe I was the last passenger on the plane. After a very long plane ride i arrived in albany and was amazed by all the snow on the ground. Growing up in Cali is totally different than the way it is here. I quickly got off the plane and went to the baggage claim. I somehow managed to get all three of my bags and went and waited for someone from the school to pick me up. Finally, someone came up to me and asked if I was a student at Word of Life. I was so relieved because I was beginning to think they forgot about me, and I really didn't like the idea of spending the night in an airport. We got in the car and started heading back to the school. Before we got there she was nice enough to take me through the taco bell drive thru. It is open till 2 in the morning! That was my last real meal :)  When I got to the school they literally just stopped the car and didn't help me at all with my bags. Picture this: A girl from cali, walking in all this snow, with three very heavy bags trying to drag them up steep stairs. And to top it all off the dorm was LOCKED! I panicked and quickly ran after the van, but i didn't get her attention so i called kate, hoping she would answer, and she did, thank the lord :) I got three hours of sleep that night because i had to be up for snow camp meetings... not fun! 

Yesterday we started classes and sadly i slept through them. I don't no what was wrong with me but I had such a hard time staying awake. Today was better, I only fell asleep during one class, so I am getting better :)

Anyways, I just thought I would fill you in on my trip here. I need to get caught up on homework so i am not behind when snow camp starts. 

I just want to say that I am very glad I am here. Yes I miss home a lot but I am learning so much about God and myself. 

I will write more later :)

packing :)

Today I dug my suitcases out of the closet down the hall and started putting all my clothes in them :) I am SO excited that in a week I will be at my favorite place in the world, home! I didn't really realize it till I came here, but I took home for granted. Home is the best place in the world. I can't wait to be surrounded by people I love :) It will be so wonderful! It seems like it is taking forever to get to Wednesday! I wish it would just be here already! 

Tomorrow (Sunday) I have classes, and also on Monday. I usually get those days off. But they have to cram all of our classes together in order for us to be home for Thanksgiving. Oh man speaking of Thanksgiving... I am so excited to get REAL food! No more cheese, pita, and mushy rice for me! :)

If you guys could pray for my flight on wednesday. I haven't traveled by myself before and am a bit nervous. I have a lay over in Las Vegas so that should be interesting :) 

Anyways, I can't wait to be home! 

See you all soon!

yay!

i come home in 5 days! i am so excited to see everyone! 

love you all! and see you soon! :) 

- Ky Ky

9 days!

it is officially nine days till the day i come home! and i can't even begin to tell you how excited i am to get on that plane. i am so excited to see everyone. i finally get to meet jack, and see co co!!! 

anyways, yesterday i got back from superbowl. basically, a bunch of youth groups come and watch a hockey game and then after that a message is shared and then after the message is fun games that last till 6 in the morning. 

after the message was shared the speaker asks the kids if they want to come forward they can, and the counselors (me) were waiting outside to talk with them. I talked to two girls, who came together. One was 13, and the other 14. The 13 year olds mother died not too long ago so she just wanted to make a new dedication to God, the other trusted Christ for the first time. So i explained the Gospel to them and made sure they understood what it means to Trust in Christ. After that, I prayed with them and they went back to the arena. 

A girl named Christie (my team leader) and I went to a bowling alley and helped out there. We basically got to run the place. We got the kids their bowling shoes, passed out pizza, and drinks, and helped with the prizes. It was a lot of fun. At around 3 I took a caffeine pill, bad idea! (when I told joey want i did, he wasn't very happy with me haha, supposedly they can make your heart stop and you can die, and you can get addicted to them So i promised him i wouldn't take one again :) i couldn't fall asleep for anything on the way home. everyone was knocked out and i was just sitting there with my eyes wide open. finally we got back to the BI around 12 and I went back up to my room to wait for Kate. When she got back we went to lunch and then came back and slept 2 1/2 hours till dinner. After dinner I came back and slept till this morning haha. I feel so gross but I am not tired anymore. Kate is CRAZY she was down in the lounge till 12 am! She is still sleeping as i'm writing this :) 

Anyways, I was up for more than 24 hours.... and I was seriously so CRAZY it was funny! 

I need to get ready for Church now, so I gotta go. I can't wait to see everyone next week!

Open Air Evangelism

As most of you already know by previous post on Friday and Saturday I was in New York City doing Open Air Evangelism with my Ministry Team for Word of Life. It was a very amazing experience, and one that I will cherish forever....

On Friday after lunch we all gathered in the bus to leave for our 4 hour journey to NYC! I was beyond excited not only to go to New York City, but to also have the opportunity to witness to the lost. Well, 4 hours had past and we arrived at our destination. We quickly dropped our stuff off at a little old Church we stayed at, right in the heart of New York. We then set off to the AMAZING Time Square. For those of you who haven't been there, it is SO awesome and beautiful!! I highly recommend you take a trip there sometime in the near future. But anyways.. we got with our partners and they set us on the street. I always had a guy watching me. The one that was keeping an eye on me was actually from New York City, so that was really cool. It was really hard for me to have the confidence to go up and talk to people. Finally after some time I decided that I should at least pass out tracks, so that is what I did. The night ended so incredibly fast and it was time to head back to the Church. 

The next day we got up and got ready for another day of witnessing. We went to Bryant Park, which was really cute. There was a little ice skating rink right in the middle. I really wanted to go ice skating but then I remembered why I was there, and it wasn't to do that :) It started raining pretty bad so we quickly got on the subway and headed to Grand Central Station. This was a whole different experience in itself. There was SO many different types of people, it was really scary. Again, I felt very scared going up and talking to people one on one so I continued to just hand out tracks to people. 

The best part of this whole experience was seeing my fellow classmates talking to people about Jesus, and seeing how the people reacted to what they were saying. In Grand Central Station, sitting across from me was a mom and her two daughters. I really wanted to go talk to them, but right when I was about to, some of my friends beat me to her. So, I just sat back and watched them. It brought tears to my eyes seeing how they accepted what they were saying. After my friends left, I just sat there and watched the mom explain to her children what they were saying. Sometimes it can make a persons day, if you just go up and say a friendly hello. 

There were about 26 people that trusted Christ from our group alone this weekend. We have an amazing God! 

I didn't have the time to take pictures when I was there, but I am going back soon with my parents and Joey. So, I will be sure to get some then :)

By the way: The Martina McBride song is for my mom :) 

Tomorrow!

Tomorrow I will be going to witness to the people in new york city. i both scared and excited for this expericnce. keep me in your prayers. i will be sure to post lots of pictures when i get back!

Sitting at the feet of Jesus

Last week devotions was on Luke 10:38-42 

"Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She has a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me." But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." 

These verses apply to my life so much right now. Here I am, at Word of life Bible Institute, in a little town in the middle of no where. Sometimes it feels like I am just wasting my time here, but looking back on these verses it reminds me that this is my year to sit at the feet of Jesus. I want to be like Mary. I want to learn all I can about my God. I don't want to be like Martha distracted by all the things of this world. Reading these verses always reminds me of why I am here. I will never get another year to just sit at the feet of Jesus. I am so thankful that I have a God who loves me so much! He is amazing! 

its been a while.

Hey everyone!

So lots has happened since my last blog... lets see if i can remember it all... hmmm

well first i must say earlier this week we got our first "snow." kate and i were pretty excited to say the least. during one of our 10 min breaks during class we ran outside, while everyone else looked at us like we were complete weirdos. by the end of class the snow has stopped and we haven't seen it since. 

i have been pretty busy trying to keep up with all my homework. it is a lot harder than it was in the beginning cause i don't spend all my time in my room studying because i actually enjoy going down in the lounge at night and socializing :) (right now i am in the library trying to study, but i'm not actually getting anything done, hence the blog :) we have a theology paper due on the 6th and i decided to get a head start on it... we can do it on anything we want and i chose Revelations from God, like Natural Revelations, and Holy Spirit Revelations. So, we will see how that goes. 

We have to do jobs here on campus. And i am on swat which means that i don't have a set schedule i just go where they need me. I have done things like housekeeping, food prep, food line, and the dreaded maitnence with all the guys. i did not enjoy that at all because i was the ONLY girl! The other day i found out that my new job for the rest of the quarter is being a babysitter for this family that lives here on campus. I am really excited about it. I get to get them off the bus and go to their house and watch them. Their parents are the ladies basketball couches. So i will probably watch them about two days a week. I went up and introduced myself to the mom yesterday.

 last night i took some pictures while lydia and i were working the dart booth. This was my first official event with my ministry team. it was 30 degrees last night and i had  A LOT of layers on, and drank A LOT of hot chocolate. i have some pics on my camera but haven't uploaded them onto my computer yet, so those will come later i promise. 

well i just wanted to update all of you really quick. i think this is my longest blog yet. on and the countdown is on till i come home! one month from tomorrow, and i am not excited AT ALL! haha.. 

well i love and miss you all!!  

comments would be nice... hehe :)

p.s. i just read this and it sounds really bad.. sorry i am just in a hurry... ( my mom always wants me to update my blog even though she never updates hers :)

correction

i miss all the CALI YOGURT GIRLS way more than EURO TART! just thought i would make that correction :) 

welcome to the world!

tomorrow jack jeffrey draper is going to come into the world!! i am so excited and really bummed that i can't be there on this very special day. along with his big brother cohen, he will be one loved little man. i can't wait to see pictures and to hold him! i love him already and i haven't even met him yet :)

thank you :)

i just wanted to say thank for to my uncle kelly and aunt connie and their whole family for the wonderful box of goodies :) it was wonderful! the brownies and cookies were pretty much gone the day i received the box :) thank you so much for your thoughtfulness. can't wait to see you all in november! i love you! 

speaking of food.. on monday and tuesday my mom goes into the yogurt shop and without fail always tells me how she is getting euro tart!! i tell her she needs to mail me some, but she won't haha.. i wonder why?!?! :) i miss you euro tart! and all the girls at the shop! i can't wait till i come back and work!!! and our christmas party will be SO much fun!! :) 

mom

mom..

being here for a month has really made me realize what an amazing mother i have. thank you for always being there for me when i need you. you are a wonderful person, and a great influence to me. not all daughters are blessed with a mom that actually wants to be involved with their daughters life. thank you so much for all the fun memories i have of growing up. i look forward to many more. i love you :)

from my grandparents :)

yesterday i got a package from my grandparents!! I was so excited when i saw that it was from them! i quickly went back to my dorm to open it and inside was ALL this food! i must say this is very generous of them!! i will be all set on food for a VERY long time! thank you so much grandma and grandpa!! i also got two letters, one from my mom and one from my dad. it was so nice reading those and knowing that people are praying and thinking about me. i definitely am feeling all your prayers. i feel very comfortable here. i know that God is going to do amazing things in my life this year and i can't even begin to tell you how excited i am about that. its really funny how things work out because i didn't even think i would end up coming here after graduation, but here i am. its so comforting to know that God has a purpose and a plan for everybody. (Jeremiah 29:11) I am learning so much here and am so grateful to my parents for everything they had to give up in order for me to come here. I love all of you! and i hope you are all doing well. see you in november :)

okay, so i normally wouldn't put a picture of myself on my blog, but my mom insisted. she wanted everybody to see my smiling face :) oh and kate is the best at cutting bangs :)

Lydia's Birthday Dinner.

so yesterday was Lydia's birthday so we planned to go to dinner. We went to Outback Steakhouse in Glenns Falls. It was a lot of fun to get away from the school for a while :) Her sister drove about 6 hours to surprise her for her birthday, it was really sweet. hope you enjoy the pics :)

Kate and I in our dorm after gettin all pretty :)

some guy i don't know hehe, lydia, and dustin (which is one of her good friends from home)

the good side of the table :) Dawnell, Lauren, Me, Kate, and Matt

Lydia and her friends again :)

the girls before leaving me, kate, dawnell, lydia, and her sister

the girls again :)

the other side. i feel really bad cause some names i don't remember. the guy on the far left is known as tpain but i don't know his real name, dustin, i don't remember, lydia's sister and lydia.

i miss co co!

i miss this little guy so much. he brings so much joy to my life. i get tears in my eyes thinking about him! but i will see him next month, along with his baby brother :)

ky ky loves you cohen!! :)

friends :)

so we have kate, me, dawnell, and lydia. they are both from pennsylvania.

i actually sit by lydia in class and that is how i met her. she is also on my ministry team, which is SO nice too! so we will be going to new york city together when we do open air evangelism. last night we went to the lounge and tried to put a princess puzzle together. but we gave up and decided to give each other a tour of our dorms.  they live in england which is right across from us. they have a really nice dorm cause it was just re-modeled. anyways, here is just one picture. there will be much more to come :)

surprise :)

so today i went to check my mail just like any other day. and to my surprise i got something in the mail :) i was so excited! it was from my auntie ree and uncle kevin, and sara.. they backed me cookies, which were REALLY appreciated and so did my room mates (i ate like 3 in a row) :) and a dog grow a pet, which is really cute.. i have a little friend to keep me company.. and he kinda reminds me of jack :) i just wanted to tell you guys thank you SOO much!! it is nice to get things in the mail from home! i miss all of you and can't wait to see you when i get home! 

thank you again :)

word of life.

this is the lounge right below our dorm.. we have parties there every night just kiddin :)

the library

where we wash our clothes :)

mail time :)

just a random field

our cute little bookstore 

book store sign

the dining hall/gym

the lake

the road we walk on to get to the dining hall haha and another dorm

our dorm :)

word of life 

my lovely bathroom.

so this is my lovely bathroom :)

there are four showers.. and the best time to get up and take a shower is like 6 or 6:30

these are kinda obvious :)

the bathroom :)

the sink (it gets nasty sometimes) haha

and what the shower looks like

so this is pretty much the whole bathroom. next, i will take pictures around the campus to show you what it looks like :)