The relationships I’ve developed at the Honor Academy have changed my life. I have never had people so genuinely interested in encouraging me to pursue the Lord and who just wanted to love me because Jesus said to. I have met people who have served me so selflessly and this year, really learned the meaning of “less of me, more of Him” (John 3:30). I’ve had a lot of friends throughout my life, but I never learned the true meaning of Christ-like love between friends until I learned to love when its difficult, had others help to carry my burdens when I was down, and seen people stick by me in some really stretching seasons. I am so grateful for the godly friends I have acquired here and I know that we will be friends for the rest of my life. These will be the people with whom I will be celebrating with, leaning on, and praying with for the rest of my life. I praise God for the amazing gifts of deep friendships here.

-Amanda Fraser

OH, here we are. It is so crazy how God just gives you opportunities to grow and learn without even expecting it. I didn't think a year ago that I would be leading worship for Acquire the Fire. God has been doing some awesome, crazy things with this band.

In San Diego, the crowd wouldn't stop singing and something broke in the Spirit that really released people from bondage. People were on the ground with their hands up in complete surrender shouting, praying, and weeping... FREEDOM broke out. Ever since then every place we go experiences some sort of freedom.

In Seattle and Sacramento, it was the same thing. All of our worship sets just seem to get longer and longer each weekend. Saturday night we played for an hour and they couldn't stop singing and praising the Lord. You know God takes over when you step away from the microphone and everyone stops playing their instruments and everyone in the room continues to sing, continues to shout, and the holy Spirit just fills the room. 

Host homes have been amazing. It feels like home. I love having pizza nights where we make our own pizzas. I love doing youth services and church services and seeing kids running around the sanctuary beside a 70-year-old. There is so much unity. I love it!

I love this band. Weird people make up the best teams. You look at the apostles that Jesus chose and they were from all walks of life: A tax collector, fishermen, country men, city men, brothers, a zealot... they made up a diverse, amazing team centered around Jesus. We know that if Jesus is the center, then everything else falls into place. Great things are accomplished. I love the fact that our team is so incredibly different, yet our purpose and vision is the same. We want to see God move heavily and mightily. Some of us are incredibly loud. Some of us love to laugh out of pure joy. Some of us are more grounded and organized. Some are free spirits. Some love to read. Some love audiobooks :-). We all love people. We all love Jesus. He is the center of everything that we do. I love that although we sometimes don't have a host home, don't get a soundcheck in, not have any practice time and yet STILL be able to keep a good attitude, knowing that God is in control.

Seeing lives changed and people freed makes every single trial that we face completely worth it. I am so excited to see all of the things He has in store for the rest of the tour! :-) Portland here we come! We'll be comin' round the mountain...

-Dani Rocca

God Bless,
Ricky

(On the left Ricky's friend Jared and the right Ricky)

I have learned the healthy way to have friendships with guys and girls alike. The girls in my core are more then just girls… they are women that encourage me to pursue God with everything within. My Core Advisor has taught me so much this year. She has named our core “refined” and it really has described my year. I believe God really knew what he was doing when he placed me in Refined. He planned to take me through the fire this year, causing all the stuff from my past to rise to the top and then through gentle love and patience helping me deal with it through prayer and the word. I cannot imagine my year without being in this core! They are such an essential part to my internship.

Through the classes and Wednesday Night Services, my eyes have been opened to the world around me. I really have sought the Lord this year and “…He rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Heb 6:11) The Lord has shown me a vision for my life and my future and now it is up to me to be obedient and submit to that vision, even though sometimes it seems a lot bigger than what I can do. He has been faithful to hear me when ever I am in need. Being here grew me up mentally, but pressing into the Lord and making the most of my internship has grown me up spiritually. I really am blessed to be here, to know that the Lord planned this from the beginning. 

I could write until my hands grow tired, and I am unable to move them about how the Lord has and is revealing to me that life is not a problem to fix, as if by our own power this can be accomplished. Rather it is an adventure to live, and to live with eternity in mind!

-Ryan Jones

(Ryan is now a graduate intern at the HA and is now a Core Advisor bravely leading his very own group of godly men at the internship.)

Here is my Core Advisor and my sisters, we are Devoted! Shout out to my brother core the Brotherhood (not pictured)!

A man named Walter Trobisch once said “God has the film of my whole life in
view and not just the snapshot of my present situation.” This quote was so
powerful to me the first time I read it. I’ve found that it has exemplified
my experience in my first six months here at this internship. It’s amazing
to watch as God, even now, is writing my life. He’s not just taking the
snapshot of what’s happening now, but is truly looking to write the film of
all that He’s called me to be. I want to talk about the four pillars of the Honor Academy and how they have dramatically changed my life:

WISDOM: Mike, my core advisor, has become my best friend. He has great
knowledge of the Word and plenty of Scripture committed to memory. He knows
how to be silly and have a good time, but he also knows when to buckle down
and get serious. With his own story of restoration and redemption, he is
very relatable and knows how to deal with all sorts of issues.

I’ve learned and retained a lot of information from the classes here at the
Honor Academy. Character Development was instrumental in the discovering
God’s purpose and desire for my life. Trailer Club has renewed my
relationship with my dad. Worldview has opened my eyes to the modern world
of war and belief conflict.

VISION: This internship has significantly changed the role of Christ in my
everyday life, given me lasting and Godly friendships, and enabled me to
discover more about God’s purpose for my life.

Before I came to the Honor Academy, I had no specific direction for my life.
Since I’ve been here, God has revealed to me that I am eventually called to
be a speaker to young people (mobilizer). My heart is to travel throughout
the United States and speak to them about living a life motivated by
purpose. I feel that I have some stepping stones that will lead me to that
eventual goal. I know that I am going to be a sender and support
missionaries financially after I go to college.

DISCIPLINE: My accountability partner is Ben, a fellow August that is
in my room. I know that I can share anything with him or confess something
trusting completely that He’s a good friend who cares about me enough to
help me stay on the right track.

I was a caller for the Greater New York City Area BattleCry for the first
six months of my internship. I was truly blessed by it and was thankful to
be a part of all that God is doing in the NYC area. My new ministry
placement is in the Global Expeditions call center. I look forward to
learning from past mistakes and utilizing every possible moment in GE.

LEADERSHIP: I’ve embraced the standard of a leader in more ways than one. Myquiet times have been consistent and I’ve kept up with the Bible Reading
Plan. My friendships have been amazing. I’ve never been around so many Godly
men and women who are so fun to be around.
Going back to the opening quote, you wouldn’t buy a roll of film and get it developed after taking a few pictures. Granted, those pictures may be great shots, but there’s so much potential in the unused portion. It would be a shame to waste the remainder of the roll for only a couple pictures. I’ve grown a great deal since arriving at the Honor Academy, but God is not through with my time here. I plan on becoming a Graduate Intern and look forward to taking some great snapshots in my future here at Teen Mania.

Zack Brewer | August Intern

One of the perks of going to the HA is the fact that every intern is given the opportunity to go on an, all intern, ADVENTURE TRIP not offered by Global Expeditions. This years Adventure trips included Israel, Europe Worldview and Albania.
Tessa Cockhill, a current August intern describes her trip over an interview style article. Check it out!

HA: In your opinion, Tessa, what would you say impacted you the most over the course of your trip, not just within Albania but the whole experience of going on an ADVENTURE trip itself?

Tessa: I would have to say the people that we worked with and the impact that they had on our lives. Just seeing the kids and the looks on their faces, the smiles and the laughter, realizing the culture/poverty they came from was such a blessing. This one little girl, every time I would see her, would give me flowers that she’d picked because it was one of the few things that she could give as a gift.

HA: Could you tell us a little bit about your team.

Tessa: …Oh My Gosh… The best people on the entire PLANET! My project Director was phenomenal! It was amazing how all of us just meshed together and worked so well with one another!

HA: If you could describe this trip in one word, what would that word be and why?

Tessa: Heart-Wrenching. I’ve been so blessed in my life. Going to a foreign country broke my heart in the sense that I know I have everything I need back home. It wasn’t just the hunger that made me sad or their way of living. It was just knowing that I was amongst so many people that don’t know God the way I do that made me sad.

HA: Generally, what do you think sets apart an Adventure Trip from a trip offered by Global Expeditions?

Tessa: It kinda depends on your team leader. There are so many ways to minister and I think just being on an Adventure trip allows you to work in a lot of ways that you may not typically be able to minister as a GE missionary. Just the flexibility and working or moving somewhere else at a moments notice allows you to be a little more mobile. You’re working in a smaller group and can go from place to place quickly wherever need be.

Wanna know more about Adventure Trips? Talk to one of our representatives at
1-800-863-6306

Before coming to the internship, the very idea of having massive movie parties with hundreds of girls, bake offs, and monthly women’s breakfasts did not appeal at all to me. I know, I am a girl, so this does not make sense at all. All throughout my life, though, being surrounded by a large number of very girly individuals just seemed obnoxious to me. It actually creeped me out somewhat. Girls can be crazy!

But, after being at the Honor Academy, I came to appreciate the very gatherings of women that I once despised so. It is only because I came to realize that not all girls are immature or completely silly. The women I have come to know and love at the internship are beautiful, inside and out, and we can genuinely gather as one body of females. This is exactly what the women’s class at the Honor Academy, 360, taught me. 360 is all about being a complete woman in Christ and I have come to enjoy and look forward to the times when I can get together for class and special events with my sisters in the Lord.
We recently had one such special event just this past Saturday and it was truly one of the most exciting experiences of my life. . .

We went to the ballet!

After much primping, curling, and getting dressed in our finest attire, hundreds of ladies crammed into bus after bus on our way to Tyler, TX to see Ballet Magnificat’s production of The Hiding Place. You could feel the excitement in the air as we all impatiently waited to line into the theatre and take our seats. Seriously, almost every girl in that room was living vicariously through the dancers. It’s just a little girl dream to be a ballerina and dance the night away.

Through the course of the show, though, we saw greater meaning behind it all as the women on stage worshipped God through the performance. The Hiding Place told the story of Corrie Ten Boom, a Christian woman who lived during the Holocaust that hid Jews in her house to keep them safe from being shipped to concentration camps. We laughed and even cried as the dancers glorified God through showing the hate of the Nazis, the intensity of the war, the compassion and joy of Christ, and in the end the incredibly redemptive power of love and forgiveness.
I even cried at the end, and I cannot make myself cry at all.

Going to the ballet was truly amazing and it taught me more about worshipping God through everything. Not only that but I came out of it more united with my new roommates than ever as we all got to share in this once in an internship experience.

~Hannah Bickley

 can hardly BELIEVE it’s been 2 months already since this internship began! Is it just me, or is anyone else thinking that this has been the best two months I’ve had in a long time?
God is working in and weeding things out of my heart that I never even knew were there! Where would I be had I not decided to join this pursuit of God you ask? That’s an excellent question and I’m glad you asked… Odds are, I’d still be going to college, majoring in English, and standing at a grocery store check out line ringing up groceries, finishing, and then saying the same thing 500 times a day, “Have a good day sir!”

Luckily, even though I enjoyed ringing up groceries very much, God has called me to something different… it so happens he wants me to SAVE THE WORLD! I have never been more excited in my life to know that God is calling every single one of us to dream bigger than we could imagine, to reach farther than we thought we could, and to grow with more intensity than we ever have before!
It shocks me to think about what God has done even in these past few months and it’s exciting to know he has even more in store for the rest of the year! God has given me a Ministry placement that I love, a core that I’m crazy about, and a cricket in my room somewhere that you can hear but cannot find ANYWHERE!

I thank God for bringing me here! The peace of knowing I am exactly where he wants me at this point in my life is amazing. Just knowing that he wants to take me great and amazing places is an exciting thing indeed. Thank you God for Life, The Honor Academy, for Grocery stores, for ESOAL, for my core, for Meatball subs in the cafeteria and for loud, invisible crickets!

-Jacob Ollervides