Alive and Well!

Dear Friends and Family,

In just a few short days, I will be able to officially say that I have been here at the Honor Academy for two whole months. Keeping that in mind, I decided that it would be a wonderful time for me to update everyone on how things have been going and what my life is like currently. If I were to think of a word that would describe what things are like here, one of the first words that would come to mind would have to be busy. Things are very busy here at the Honor Academy, but I’ve had to learn that is not always a bad thing. But here I am getting so ahead of myself. I guess I should update you all more often so my update actually makes sense!

I came to the Honor Academy in response to God’s calling to be here. In the middle of my Junior year of high school, I went to a youth retreat. While I was there, I prayed a seemingly simple prayer to God. Little did I realize how much such a prayer would change my life. I prayed and asked God to show me what it meant to put Him first, and to show me what it meant to fully rely on Him. A week after I prayed this prayer, God dropped the Honor Academy in my lap and asked me to graduate a year early from high school and attend.  So, for me, coming to the Honor Academy is not just because I saw something that interested me. Coming to the Honor Academy is not something that I thought just looked like an exciting thing to do after high school. Coming to the Honor Academy is a direct act of submission to the Lord’s plan for my life.

The first week I was here, I was placed in a temporary core. A core is a group of girls around my age that all live in the same room, go through life together, and are sisters. We can have a total of six girls in my room, myself included. There are two triple bunk beds and then…well, then there’s everyone’s stuff. God has taught me a lot about patience and being flexible without me even having to leave my dorm. After the first week, I was moved to a permanent core who will be my sisters and family for the entire year. After around the first month or so, I got introduced to my brother core, and together we are a family core. The atmosphere of campus is amazing and it is something that I really appreciate here. On a typical college campus, everyone all has their own goals and ambitions. Here, everyone has gathered together for the same goal: to spend one year in a passionate pursuit of God. It’s a goal that has unified the campus in a way that I have come to believe will never be able to be duplicated.

While we are an intern here, we have what is known to all the interns as a ministry placement. A ministry placement is a place within the Teen Mania Ministries that an intern works within to help support the ministry and impact other young people their age for Christ. This has been an amazing opportunity for me. My ministry placement is in the Honor Academy Call Center. I get the opportunity to work with a group of about twelve other people and call other prospective interns, like myself a few months ago, and see where they are at in life and if the Honor Academy would be a good fit for their future. Sometimes this position hasn’t been an easy one, but it has taught me so much about being there for others and what it means to have perseverance in God. I spend thirty-one hours a week in this ministry placement. It has been an amazing opportunity to pray for the individuals that pick up the phones. It reminds me that God has a plan for every person I talk to, and sometimes we let things like fear hold us back from the plan God has for us. Part of what I do is help the people I talk to identify the things that could be holding them back, and pray with them to find direction to see if this program fits into God’s plan for their lives. It has been an amazing growth experience learning professional skills at such a young age.

The classes I have had so far this year have been good and have helped me not only learn but also apply concepts that I wouldn’t have thought about otherwise. I am a visual learner but I also like being able to put the things into practice that I learn. Here at the Honor Academy, I am in classes such as Character Development, Pursuit of God, Leadership Lab, and Risen(the women’s only class). These classes have started to help me become the woman of God that I not only desire, but am also designed to become.

The total cost for my entire year at the Honor Academy is $8,400. This cost covers my tuition of housing, books, meals, training, and transportation to the Aquire the Fire youth conferences. I will actually be attending the Cleveland, OH Aquire the Fire to help set up an event that will potentially bring thousands to Christ. I will be participating in that event from October 30^th through the 3^rd or 4^th of November. I would greatly appreciate it if you would consider supporting me in prayer and financially as I continue to progress into my Honor Academy year. Your support, especially in prayer is key to my own personal growth and the growth of others here at the Honor Academy. If you decide to become a member of my support team, please let me know. I will be sending out a monthly newsletter to update you on my year. You can donate online by going to www.honoracademy.com/donate and entering my Honor Academy ID number which is 75771. Or, you can mail me a check and make it out to Teen Mania Ministries(for a tax deduction). All donations to Teen Mania Ministries are tax deductible. You can choose to sponsor me monthly ($25, $50, or $100) or just give a one time donation.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me and I would be glad to

answer your questions. Thank you so much for your consideration in supporting

me in the Teen Mania Honor Academy. I look forward to hearing from you!

 Sincerely Yours,

Angelica Shook

 PO Box 2000 CPO # 604

Garden Valley, TX 75771

angelica.shook@teenmania.org

903-330-0136