Sorry its been so long

Hey all! Sorry it has been ages since I have blogged! I am so extremely busy I barely have time to sleep! I am having the time of my life out here and I have got to experience things that I have dreamed of doing and seeing. We have been putting on Sunday services since we have arrived and I preached at Sunday service about 2 weeks ago. It was definitely a new experience for me. I am not one to stand infront of a congregation and give a sermon but with God's grace I got through it and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I preached about trusting in God and his plan for your life. God has changed my heart so much since I have been here and I think that that is a big reason that he called me to come here this summer.
I recently got to go white water rafting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on the snake river a couple weeks ago. It was amazing! I have been on about 5 hikes in the past 2 weeks. I have hiked about 76 miles since I have arrived here. I got to see a moose and her baby out at a lake one night and I have seen tons of bears! It is truly amazing to see these animals.
I have about 4 weeks left here and I have mixed feelings about it. I am anxious to get home and see everyone but at the same time I don't know how I am supposed to leave all of these wonderful friends I have made and leave Yellowstone. It is truly an amazing place and I will be lost without the mountains, elk, bison, and all the other wonderful aspects of Yellowstone. I am so blessed to have gotten to have this experience and make life long friends.
My mom, Cassie, Jason, and Jadyn are here right now for my cousins wedding. It is so great to have them all here and get to see them. It is there third day here and they have about 4 days left. We are going to go explore Yellowstone in the next 4 days and I am excited about that and showing them some of the secrets that only people who live here know about :)
I hope all is well back at home! I will be home soon to see everyone! I want to thank everyone for their prayers and support. It is greatly appreciated! See everyone soon!

Still Chugging on

Hello From Yellowstone!

Hey everyone! First of all, I want to say thanks to everyone that left me a comment..it really made my day! Thank you all so much for all the prayer and support! It means so much to me. I will try to do better on blogging more often but i've been super busy since I have arrived in Yellowstone on trying to adjust to everything.
I will start by updating everyone on my past 2 weeks here. First of all, it is absolutely gorgeous here and I can never get tired of looking at the mountains. It's been pretty cold, in the 4os and snowing. My job is really enjoyable. I love all of my co-workers a lot, most of them are from China or Thailand. Two girls from Thailand trained me and their names are Nut and Oil (unique, I know). I work 5 days a week and I have Sundays and Mondays off to do things with the Christian ministry team. I get off work every day at 3 so I still have time to enjoy all of my evenings.
I have made a lot of friends, on and off the ministry team. Everyone here is so nice and supportive. This upcoming Sunday I will be putting on my first service at the Chapel in the morning and at the campground in the evening. I am the only girl in my group this week and I will be leading prayer at the services. There are 40 ministry staff throughout the park and there are 9 in my location (Mammoth). 4 girls - Kathryn (Yellowstone), Jacqueline (Pennsylvannia), Amy (Texas), and me and 5 boys - Michael (California), Alex (California), Joseph (Maine), David (Yellowstone), and Derek (Ohio). We all get along really well and I am excited for what God has in store for our group this summer.
I have also got to do some exploring. I've been on a 5 mile hike (which was beautiful!) and I saw a grizzly bear with 2 cubs. She was off in the distance and didn't notice us but it was so cool to watch! I also got to go out to Lamar Valley in Yellowstone where there is a wolf den and we saw a black wolf. I have went to Norris Hot Springs and walked the whole trail and got to see Steamboat geyser (the largest exploding geyser in the world). Tomorrow I am going white water rafting with some friends so I am really excited about that!
I will try to blog again soon and keep everyone back at home updated! I miss home a lot, but I am enjoying myself. I appreciate everyone who is supporting and praying for me. It means so much to know I have support not only here, but at home too!
How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number-living things both large and small. (Psalm 104:24-25)

Much love,
Carrie

ACMNP

Hello everyone! This summer I am attending ACMNP (A Christian Ministry in the National Parks) and I have been asked to keep a blog of my experiences while I am gone. I decided to go ahead and write my first blog to let everyone that reads this know a little bit about this program and what I will be doing. I will be working at the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel in Yellowstone National Park while providing Christian ministry in areas which otherwise would not have one. ACMNP brings people from different denominational traditions together to provide a service of worship, which no one of the denominations can do alone.
ACMNP is held in several National Parks throughout the US every summer, some even provide ministry in the winter. All the parks try to provide a national structure through which participating denominations of the Christian church can cooperatively carry out their mission in the National Parks. We organize services of worship which will include a Biblical understanding of creation so that worshippers will both appreciate and care for God's created Earth. The mission statement for ACMNP is: To extend the ministry of Jesus Christ to the people who live, work, and vacation in our National Parks by providing opportunities for Christian worship, nurture and fellowship.

Each staff member that works in the parks this summer is also required to lead a worship service at some point. We are placed into groups and we are to provide scripture, sermons, music, prayer, creed, offering, and a benediction. Every Saturday, before the services, we are to go out into the parks and invite people to come to our service. This is called campground calling and it is the most successful means of publicizing the services of worship in areas where campgrounds are located. Our task is to always inform, not to proselytize. My Uncle Bill Young is the pastor of the church in Yellowstone so I am so excited to have him there with me this summer, as well as my Aunt Debby (who is my mom's older sister).

On our days off, when we don't have to work or have worship, we get to do activities around the park if we so choose to. Some of the activities we will get a chance to participate in are: camping trips, hiking trips, campfire gatherings, kayaking, rock climbing, biking, and tons more. We will be living in dorm rooms with a specified roommate. My roommate's name is Jacqueline and we have already met at the training conference in Ohio. We are also required to take a bear training class when we arrive in Yellowstone because of all the wildlife, especially bears, that are present in the park. It is suggested that we bring bear spray (the bear version of pepper spray). So everyone pray for me! :)

I hope that everyone has a better understanding of what I will be doing this summer. If you have any questions just leave me a comment and I will post the answer! I am so excited for what God has in store for me and all the fun stories I will have to tell when I arrive back home. I am flying out on May 14 and will be flying back home on August 12. I want to say thank you to everyone for their support and prayers!

"Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord's coming is getting closer." -Hebrews 10:24-25

"But the time is coming-it has, in fact, come- when what you're called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter." -John 4:23

My address for the summer:

Carrie McMillion

Yellowstone National Park: Mammoth Hot Springs

c/o General Delivery Xanterra

Mammoth Hot Springs

Yellowstone NP, WY 82190

* I will post my phone number later.