Week 34: Women of Joy

Hello out there,
This week was pretty good! On Monday one of my best and closest friends here got me a German Bible. I am so thankful!
On Tuesday we had the workout again and it was our lifting day this time. I had a lot to study this day since we had a big government test with an essay the next two days. In the end I did get a perfect on it so it was worth it.
On Wednesday I went to Youth Group again and we had a really good final message about God's Grace.
On Thursday we had the workout again and this time our running part of the week. After that I went throwing for nearly 2 hours and I actually really got some (for me) good throws in.
On Friday my host mom, her mom and my host sister and I went to Springfield and did some shopping and in the evening the "Women of Joy" conference in Branson started. There were over 4000 women and it was amazing! We had a speaker and worshiped together.
On Saturday we had to be there at 7:30am and we had more speakers and comedians and worshiped. For lunch we had Mexican with a big group of lady's we went with. Then we went shopping in the outlet mall in Branson. In the evening we had a "Laura Story" concert on the program and I loved it. After that we went to a 50s dinner and got some really good ice cream.
Sunday morning we had breakfast at Bob Evans and then we had our last and final session of the conference with our last speaker. This conference was so amazing! I loved every single second of it and it changed me! I feel closer to God than before and I love it. In the afternoon we went to the outlet mall again and then made our way back to Lamar. When we got home we had to do laundry and I went to bed at 9:30 because I was exhausted from this breathtaking weekend!

Be blessed!
Isabel❤

Week 33: Silver Dollar City

Hello guys,
Monday I got back to reality and had to go to school. We had practice every day.
Tuesday after school I had the workout again and it was our running day. So we pushed sleds and did auburns and did mirror races. On Thursday we had another workout but this time it was our lifting day in the weight room and my arms were dead afterwards and we still had to throw but it started to rain really bad so we could go home early.
On Friday we got our Cap and Gowns and I went with my Track team to the Carthage Track meet; even though I didn't get to compete since it was only Varsity. But at the end we had a "Throwers-Relay" (4×100m) and I got to run. 😂 It was really fun and we got home even later than last time.
On Saturday I had to get up at 6am because we were leaving the church at 7am to go to Silver Dollar City. It is an amusement park and it took 1.5 hours to get there. We went there for Young Christians Weekend and I had a blast! We rode a lot of rollercoaster and walked around. We also went on a water ride and I got soaked but it got warmer after a while so my clothes dried. At 6pm there was a Christian concert and "Building 429" performed. They did an amazing job; I really enjoyed it. We had dinner at McDonalds and got back to Lamar around 11pm.
On Sunday we went to church and helped with the kids during second service. We went to a Mexican restaurant in Nevada and I loved the food there. For the rest of the day we cleaned and got ready for next week.

I love you guys,
Isabel

Week 32: Springbreak

Hey guys,
this week we had Springbreak. Monday through Wednesday I had to be at the school by 9am since we had Track practice. We got our uniforms and they are not too bad. I worked on homework in the afternoons and my host family and I painted and basically re-did my host sister's and my room. It looked good before but now it looks amazing like straight out of Pinterest.
On Thursday I had my first Track meet. I am on Junior-Varsity (JV) so I went to Stockton. I got to throw discus and shot put. I had a lot of fun and we got home really late around 10pm.
On Saturday my host mom, my host sister and I went to Springfield to get more stuff for our room and just to go shopping and get away for a day.

That's it,
Isabel

Week 31: Ariana Grande Concert

Hey guys,
This week was pretty crazy and amazing!
On Monday it was freezing cold outside but we still had Track practice and on Tuesday morning it was even snowing. I had to do a presentation in Photography on Tuesday but it went pretty good. In the evening we had "Meet the Players" at the High School for the upcoming Spring season and afterwards I went to Pizza Hut with the family of a friend of mine.
Before practice on Wednesday we had a quick meeting about everything important for Track season and it felt like a Fall day outside. In the evening I went to Youth Group again.
On Thursday we had Spring Weather and I had to do a presentation in Marketing.
On Friday I went to my first Baseball game because I went to the Tournament game at the Lamar Park during school for taking pictures for the Yearbook. It was really nice outside today so we all actually practiced in tank tops. In the evening my host mom, host sister and me went to the movies and watched "The Beauty and the Beast" and I can just say I loved this movie!!
Saturday morning I skyped with my family and then we took a girls night out and went up to Kansas City. We ate lunch/dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and got ready at the hotel afterwards. We went to the ARIANA GRANDE CONCERT in Kansas City and it was so amazing! Little Mix performed before her and so I got to hear two bands/artists I really like. Ariana's stage show was pretty impressive and I am proud to be able to call this my first concert ever. As we got back to the hotel we had cheesecake,that we bought before, and everybody who knows the cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory know what I am talking about: it is so good!
On Sunday morning we went to IKEA and in the afternoon we went to the Legends Outlet in Kansas City. It was super hot today so it made my day even better!
It was a wonderful weekend and I enjoyed every single second of it.
Thank you!!

Love you guys,
Isabel

Week 30: Last Show Choir Competition

Hello out there,
This week in Weights we had our "Max.- out" week. That means that we have to choose our maximum weight that we can do for 10 reps on Squats, Bench Press and Power Clean. It went pretty good actually since I am only lifting since about 2 month.
I also had Track practice every day after school and I keep working on my events.
On Wednesday I went to Youth Group again and Friday night my host family took me out to eat in Joplin at Applebee's.
On Saturday I had to get up pretty early because we left the High School at 7am to go to Webb City for our last Show Choir Competition. As we got there we got ready and then we had to go straight to the warm up and performed at 9:50am. We didn't really do good and the clinician basically agreed with that. We stayed for the rest of the day and we played cards, listened to music, ate and watched other groups performing. We watched the awards but since we didn't win anything again we left pretty soon after. Thus Show Choir season was so much fun with all of them but of course it's a bit sad that we didn't win anything besides "Best Shoes".

That's it from me,
Isabel

Week 29: First Track Practice🏃

Hello out there,
On Monday this week we had a Government test where we had to study a lot for. After school we had our first Track practice!! We did our warm up and then we started throwing. I am going to do (or at least try) shot put, discus and javelin. It was pretty rough since I never did anything besides shot put but I will work on improving.
Tuesday in Marketing we did presentations so we had to dress up and after school I had to go to the Spring Off-Season workout since throwers are supposed to do these Tuesdays and Thursdays. We pushed/pulled sleds, did Auburn's and flipped tires.
Wednesday we only had a short Track practice because most people left for the Sectional Basketball Game that was over an hour drive away. I went there with people from my Youth Group and school because the church where I go to Youth offered a bus there for free. So I went to the game and sadly they lost. It was pretty close but not enough. I am still super proud of all these guys because they did an amazing job this season! Go Lamar Tigers! But this also meant my last basketball game here and that thought really made me sad.
On Thursday after school I went to the workout again and it was super hard but they pushed me through it. At 6pm I had solo practice again.
Friday was already practice #5 and it went ok. In the evening FCA had a movie night at the school so I went to the first one (Priceless). It is a really good movie! I went home after the first one because I had to get up pretty early the next day.
Saturday I got up at 6am because I had to be at the school by 6:45am. We went to MSSU in Joplin for District Solo/Ensamble contest. We stayed there all day and I had my solo already pretty early at 9:52. I got a 2 on my performance, which I'm pretty happy about (1 is the highest, 5 the lowest).
Sunday went to church again and helped with kid's church again. My host mom got back this afternoon from her ASSE trip and I was super happy that she got back home safely.

That's it for this week,
Isabel♡

Week 28

Hey guys,
On Monday was Presidents Day so in morning we made our way back from St. Louis and stopped at some places so that we got back in the late afternoon.
Tuesday we had school again so I went to the workout after school. It went pretty good until I dropped a 25lbs plate on my knee but I still kept going. Luckily I didn't hurt it seriously so it only hurt for 3 days.
On Wednesday we had a Blood Drive again but I couldn't give blood since I'm from Germany. In the evening I went to Youth Group again and I really enjoy it more and more every single time.
On Thursday after school was our last Winter Off-Season workout and somehow it made me kind of sad to not work out with this group again. In the evening I had Solo practice for choir competition and after that we had Show Choir practice until 9.
Friday I stayed a bit longer after school with a friend of mine and I picked my Senior picture.
On Sunday we went to church and during second service we helped with Kid's church. Then we went to Webb City for lunch and got some shopping in Joplin done. When we got back home I just prepared everything for next week.

Hope you guys are doing great,
Isabel