So I'm not very good at introductions, but I'll do my best.
My name is Shannon, I'm 16, and I go to a country school in Manitoba (I live on a farm) having 100 students from kindergarden to grade twelve -- very small, very close ... a little suffocating.
I wouldn't say that my life has been surrounded by Christian influence...as a family we went to church, I was encouraged to say my bedtime prayers, but it never truly felt as something that was my own. My parents didn't have me baptised as a baby because they wanted to leave the decision to me, and so at 13 I was baptised in the Lutheran Church that we attended, and confirmed on the same day.
Looking back now, I see how unprepared I was for either, and in many ways I wish I could take it back and have saved something so important for a time when I felt both spiritually and theologically prepared. I never truly felt at home within the Lutheran Church, but living in the country, many options weren't available.
I think my turning point came when I was 15, and I was asked to be a counselor in training at a Bible Camp that I've attended since I was 8. Being with such incredible young girls who were thirsting for God so much was an amazing experience.
When I got home I joined an online journal group and made two friends who lead me to prayer in the rosary which has been a great influence on my life, and they guided me a lot through the school year between summers that followed that was a real struggle for me.
I went back last year as a counselor for five weeks of my summer and took away unbelievable memories, things I'll never forget, girls who found God, who rediscovered God, the fellowship and power of speakers we had and early mornings spent on picnic tables, talking to God.
I won't say that I'm spiritually strong right now, because I know that I'm not and I seem to have a new struggle every day, but I was able to tell myself a while ago that I knew I would get through it and come out strengthened, and it makes me wonder if it wasn't me telling myself that, but Him.
On the prayer front, I was still attending rosary in the evenings until very recently, when a friend and I had an argument and I discovered after two years that there was a side of him I did not know...I have been blocked from that prayer group, and it hurts more and more each day, each hour. I still don't fully understand and the wound is very fresh.
So I suppose I've come here in search of what I fear I am losing ... fellowship. Being so far away from the church I attend now (45 minute drive), I don't have that support group, and without my prayer group I fear I'll slip even more.
So I suppose that's my lengthy rambling of me. I love to write, to draw, to sing, I'm in Grade 8 Piano with the Royal Conservatory and taking harmony as well. Camp is my bright spot of the year ... everything else is so dull in comparison.
So...hi!
I hope I can find comfort here, and if you could take a moment and pray for my situation with my prayer group, it would be appreciated so much.
Thankyou,
Shannon
My name is Shannon, I'm 16, and I go to a country school in Manitoba (I live on a farm) having 100 students from kindergarden to grade twelve -- very small, very close ... a little suffocating.
I wouldn't say that my life has been surrounded by Christian influence...as a family we went to church, I was encouraged to say my bedtime prayers, but it never truly felt as something that was my own. My parents didn't have me baptised as a baby because they wanted to leave the decision to me, and so at 13 I was baptised in the Lutheran Church that we attended, and confirmed on the same day.
Looking back now, I see how unprepared I was for either, and in many ways I wish I could take it back and have saved something so important for a time when I felt both spiritually and theologically prepared. I never truly felt at home within the Lutheran Church, but living in the country, many options weren't available.
I think my turning point came when I was 15, and I was asked to be a counselor in training at a Bible Camp that I've attended since I was 8. Being with such incredible young girls who were thirsting for God so much was an amazing experience.
When I got home I joined an online journal group and made two friends who lead me to prayer in the rosary which has been a great influence on my life, and they guided me a lot through the school year between summers that followed that was a real struggle for me.
I went back last year as a counselor for five weeks of my summer and took away unbelievable memories, things I'll never forget, girls who found God, who rediscovered God, the fellowship and power of speakers we had and early mornings spent on picnic tables, talking to God.
I won't say that I'm spiritually strong right now, because I know that I'm not and I seem to have a new struggle every day, but I was able to tell myself a while ago that I knew I would get through it and come out strengthened, and it makes me wonder if it wasn't me telling myself that, but Him.
On the prayer front, I was still attending rosary in the evenings until very recently, when a friend and I had an argument and I discovered after two years that there was a side of him I did not know...I have been blocked from that prayer group, and it hurts more and more each day, each hour. I still don't fully understand and the wound is very fresh.
So I suppose I've come here in search of what I fear I am losing ... fellowship. Being so far away from the church I attend now (45 minute drive), I don't have that support group, and without my prayer group I fear I'll slip even more.
So I suppose that's my lengthy rambling of me. I love to write, to draw, to sing, I'm in Grade 8 Piano with the Royal Conservatory and taking harmony as well. Camp is my bright spot of the year ... everything else is so dull in comparison.
So...hi!
I hope I can find comfort here, and if you could take a moment and pray for my situation with my prayer group, it would be appreciated so much.
Thankyou,
Shannon
Glad to have you here! 
