Jamaica, Bahamas, come on pretty mama

Hello friends! Since moving to Orlando I have been attending church at First Baptist Orlando, and God has been making huge waves in my life. He has been pushing me to do more work in His ministry and spread the gospel to everyone I meet. I joined a group of college students that witnesses to the Disney College Program students through bible studies, dinner nights, and handing out breakfast at the bus stop at 6am. I’m not sleeping much, but I have never felt so awake.

Most recently God has called me to join First Baptist’s college group Amp’d on a mission trip to Jamaica this July. We are going to be working with Won by One to Jamaica ministries and living in the small community of Harmons, assisting with physical labor, caring for the children, and witnessing to the people of Jamaica. I cannot wait to see what lessons God has to teach me through this experience, and I am thrilled for yet another opportunity to show His love to people who may have never seen it before.

Now a trip like this takes a lot of support, and that’s what I’m coming to you for. More than anything I need your encouragement and prayer, but should you feel compelled, a monetary donation towards my travel would be greatly appreciated. Each student has to raise $1,425 by July (not an easy feat), so every little bit counts. I would also greatly appreciate if you would share my situation with friends or family that may be willing to offer their support (spiritual or otherwise). Any spare funds I raise will be applied towards the other students accompanying me on this journey, so nothing will go to waste!

I hope all is well with you – if you need to ask any further questions or contact me, please do it by email (Lawson.jillian@gmail.com) or phone (408 460 8255). God bless!

Jillian

Lent

Good morning, friends! Happy Ash Wednesday! Would that be the proper terminology? Happy Ash Wednesday? Regardless, you're reading this right now because you are curious about why I'm saying goodbye to facebook. Well, for the next 46 days, I am going to be facebook free. (And TV free for that matter too)

I've been working on actively seeking Christ every moment of every day, and to be perfectly honest, facebook and television are a huge distraction. My goal for this next month and a half is that whenever I want to watch a TV show or surf facebook, instead I will do a Bible study, or read a book, or say a prayer, or have some worship time. The purpose of Lent is to turn our minds to God. To take these vices that we have made into idols and replace them with time with God.

It's definitely going to be difficult. Even now I find myself wanting to check and see if anyone posted comments on my new pictures, or update a status about my day. But what is that achieving really? I'm hoping that through this fast I will become a more complete person through the study of scripture and unlimited alone time with my Lord and Savior.

If you need to reach me I will still be readily accessible through email and my phone, and I also plan on updating this blog with what I'm learning and going through. So stay tuned!

And now I bid you adieu. Pray for me friends, and see you in 46 days.

May the Force be with you

Yesterday was one of the best days of my life. And I mean that in the least possible cliche way.

It started out at 8am signing in for the Star Wars Weekends auditions. I got measured at 70" on the nose (I guess no more faking that I'm 5'9") and then waited around until 10 o'clock before my group finally got called in. They stood us in 5 rows, turned on some music, and then stared us down, row by row. Now, I was nervous. I had been told that they usually only take a few people from each group, and what were the chances that I would be one of them? Good golly I wanted this though, so I stood tall and proud and tried to exude as many evil vibes as I could.

I guess it worked, because they pulled me and two other girls! First we were sent to the movement audition where they taught us poses and talked to us about our characters. My character was a sheer evil baby eater that wields a dual lightsaber (that can also split down the middle and become 2). I got to walk around like I owned the place, sneer, and act like I was having a lightsaber duel. Could life get any better? The casting directors seemed to like me a lot, so they also had me try some movement for a certain bounty hunter that could have been a jedi, but didn't have the control to master the force. Now she has it out for the Jedi and also serves as a mentor/caretaker of young Boba Fett. After I moved like her, they sent me to cosmetology and wardrobe to get better acquainted with her and the dark Jedi I had been portraying earlier.

I ended up staying until about 1:30 so I could show the casting directors both looks, and by george, I think I nailed both of those auditions! It was so much fun putting away my happy go lucky guest relations smile and pulling out the evil sneer. I didn't have to be nice to anyone - in fact, I was encouraged to be straight up mean! At the end of the audition, one of the directors told me that I make one "creepy broad". Definitely have to add that to my resume.

The final question they asked me was "does this sound like something that would be fun to you?"

Oh, if only they knew exactly HOW much fun it would be for me. I tried to explain as best I could (even mentioning my RD LEEDR license plate). At the end of the day though, I was just so happy to be so close to the Star Wars universe for a while. As I told some of my friends, it was like every little girl's dream to dress up like a princess coming true, only I was bald and super evil.

I never did like being normal :)

So now I wait to find out if I'm approved to be friends with either of those characters. If I am, I expect a mass exodus to Florida. Star Wars Weekends are happening the last two weekends in May and the first two in June. Come see me be friends with her:

or her:

Clarity

I had an intense moment of clarity tonight.

For quite some time now I've felt like I've been trapped by this life I thought I was supposed to have. Nothing I was doing could ever quite live up to these expectations of the path I imagined I'd be on. Don't get me wrong, I've loved so much about my life in the past year - DCP will forever be one of my most treasured memories. But despite all this living I've been doing, it never seemed "right".

Then tonight, I'm driving home from work, listening to some Alexi Murdoch and thinking about life and love, and suddenly, no warning, I'm free. I realize I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. It's not just acceptance that my life didn't turn out the way I hoped - it's joy that I have hope. That God's plan is thousands of times better than anything I could think of for myself, and if I could just learn to trust in that, I'll no longer be captive to foolish desires of the past.

When I realized this, tears came rushing to my eyes. Brilliant, wonderful, relieved, liberated tears.

For the first time in over a year, I truly let him go.

And then I watched the Volkswagen commercial Cassie posted on my facebook wall and I fell into a fit of hysterical giggling. Silly Jillian really does have trouble staying serious.

But to sum it up, the lyrics from the song I was listening to pretty much perfectly describe my current state:

Well I have been searching

All of my days

Many a road, you know

I've been walking on

All of my days

And I've been trying to find

What's been in my mind

As the days keep turning into night

Well I have been quietly standing in the shade

All of my days

Watch the sky breaking on the promise that we made

All of this rain

And I've been trying to find

What's been in my mind

As the days keep turning into night

Well many a night I found myself with no friends standing near

All of my days

I cried aloud

I shook my hands

What am I doing here

All of these days

For I look around me

And my eyes confound me

And it's just too bright

As the days keep turning into night

Now I see clearly

It's You I'm looking for

All of my days

So I'll smile

I know I'll feel this loneliness no more

All of my days

For I look around me

And it seems You found me

And it's coming into sight

As the days keep turning into night

As the days keep turning into night

And even breathing feels all right

Yes, even breathing feels all right

Now even breathing feels all right

Yes even breathing

Feels all right

I hope you enjoyed the more reflective Jillian. She doesn't come out in public too often :)

I'm not moving

Training is complete and work has officially begun. Today is my 2nd day on the job without any trainers looking over my shoulder. To be perfectly honest, I feel like I do a better job when I think no one is watching. There's all this pressure to be perfect with the manager and trainer standing behind me. I know what I'm doing, but I can't help but doubt myself with the people in charge right there.

I've had some interesting experiences with guests already! Starting to learn tips to recognize ticket scammers, how to make small talk AND correctly process transactions at the same time, and learning about my co-workers and their stories. Some fun stories of experiences at work? Well I had a guest (who thought he was the funniest man on the planet) work with me for about 45 minutes before he finally decided to buy a ticket to the park. I stood there and smiled and laughed and on the inside rolled my eyes, but when it comes down to it I think I left him with a positive impression of WDW and our Guest Relations team. And that's really the goal, isn't it?

I also had a fun transaction with some Spanish speaking only guests. Now after about 9 years of Spanish and 2 of Italian, I'd say I understand the language pretty well. Sure I'm a little slow and unfamiliar with most of the vocab, but I can definitely get the general impression of what the person is trying to say. Unfortunately, my speaking skills are not nearly as advanced. My lack of vocab makes it difficult for me to get my point across and whenever I try to think of the Spanish word, all that comes to mind is Italian (and vice versa). It's infuriating. So I have this family from South America who is picking up their tickets and trying to get some information from me about how to use them. There was a lot of charades and writing numbers down, but I think I was eventually able to inform them of how to use their tickets. At one point I heard the husband telling his wife that they were wasting their time because I don't speak Spanish, but in the end they left with smiles on their faces and 5 days of fun at the parks.

I predict work to be a lot of the same - like how it was at Disneyland. Working at a Disney park is a unique experience. You're constantly busy, yet when people ask what you've been up to you can't give a very long response. Work is usually slight variations of the same issues - but I enjoy it nonetheless. Even when I have to repeat instructions to the restroom 5 times in a row, each guest is hearing it for the first time. I have to keep that in mind. Every guest deserves a brand new experience.

It relates a lot to my Bible study from last night. We're going through Paul's missionary journey in the book of Acts (which is fun because I've actually been to most of those places...). A huge lesson we can learn from Paul is to be intentional with everything we do and say. Sure I may be giving the same message to the majority of the guests here, but I don't know where they're coming from or heading to after they leave me. I don't know their story, and I have no idea the effect I'm going to have on these people. Paul wants to preach in Jerusalem more than anything, yet God's path keeps him away from it for a long time. And when he finally makes it to Jerusalem, what happens? He speaks once and then gets taken away to Rome. That's such a great lesson that you never know how many chances you are going to get. Each interaction is so important. It can be hard to remember that when you spend 8 hours a day doing the same old routine, but it's essential to really enjoy this job. When you embrace each interaction as a brand new experience, you can never get tired of what you do.

At least, that's the hope.

Aside from work I'm really happy with where my life is headed. I've found some wonderfully fun, intelligent, inspiring, uplifting, and challenging people to spend my time with. I'm getting so many opportunities to develop my faith and witness to the people around me. I'm learning a lot about different walks of life and the stories of the people I'm meeting.

I know God sent me to Orlando for a reason, and I think I'm starting to get a taste of it. And it's oh so good.

Come on now sugar

Another 2 wonderful days off have past, and I completed my first day of On the Job Training.

Sunday I went to First Baptist Church Winter Garden and really enjoyed it. I've been missing some good worship music and discussion of the Bible and God's word...it's a little bit sad how I don't realize how much I've missed it until I experience it again. Sometimes I am the worst friend ever to God and Jesus, but thankfully I have people in my life that encourage my spiritual growth and developing a closer relationship with Him.

After church I spent all day hanging out with my new CP Apartment friends. It's such a relief to have found a place I feel so comfortable and unafraid to be myself in so quickly. After being so homesick, it was really necessary for me to find that peace.

Monday was back to Universal with Lance and James. Oh man, what a ridiculously fun day. First of all, AMAZING weather. It was warm and sunny and I didn't even have to wear my coat. The crowds were light (and the onesies helped) and the company was delightful.

Then today was Day 1 of training and I felt really good about it. Not only did I get a lot of time to talk through processes and different information I'll need to know, but I also got quite a bit of experience with REAL LIVE GUESTS. I sold tickets, renewed passes, made reservations, and got the answers wrong multiple times. And you know what? It was totally ok. Guests were patient and supportive when I told them I was still in training, and I'm just generally feeling good about life.

I predict good things :)

Tickets tickets and more tickets!

The last 4 days have had some fun times, some less than fun times, and some incredibly educational hours.

We'll start with 4 days ago - Tuesday. I spent the day at the Animal Kingdom with fellow GR interns Michael and Liz. We were able to watch the Festival of the Lion King and It's Tough to be a Bug, ride Dinosaur, and eat some delicious food at the Yak and Yeti. Mostly I just wanted to wander around the park and really get a good feel for it (should I happen to pick up a shift there). We also stopped by costuming and I was able to pick up the right shirts.

Wednesday was spent at the Magic Kingdom. I haven't been there in about 12 years (or something) so it was quite a crazy day! Especially considering the fact that it's Disneyland - but not quite. We were lucky and the park was pretty empty that day so we got through almost every attraction in the park. I thoroughly enjoyed the interactive queue for Winnie the Pooh. I think that if things like that had been around when I was younger I would be all over it- now my germaphobe side gets the better of me. I absolutely loved Mickey's Phillharmagic and really enjoyed the Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor. Haunted Mansion had some really cool changes that I'm definitely going to want to check out again, and I got to ride the PeopleMover for the first time since riding it at Disneyland waaaaaaaay back in the day. I'd say overall it was a magical wonderful day that ended with the fantastic new castle show for the "Let the Memories Begin" promotion and "Wishes", the Magic Kingdom's beautiful fireworks show.

The last 2 days have been dedicated to ATS training. I have now learned how to do just about anything I want with a Walt Disney World resort ticket. I actually had a lot of fun in those classes because it was a wonderful mixture of a challenge that stimulated my brain, but also simple tasks that I could be proud to accomplish. I'm feeling really positive about getting started at Downtown Disney, especially because we keep getting told that ticketing will be a major component of our duties down there.

Aside from class and "research" as I like to call it, I've been meeting some wonderful people and finally starting to get settled out here in Orlando. My fellow GR interns are a fabulous, diverse, fascinating crew that I love getting to know more. I really hope to pick up some shifts in other parks so I can work with these people and learn more about them. I've also been making friends with other professional interns in different departments and they all have lots of great stories to tell and advice to give. Finally, last night I checked out a group that was started for CPs, but includes people from all walks of life. They stem from the First Baptist Church of Orlando but they're basically just a community of believers looking for support, inspiration, and lots of fun in the people around them. I went to a "breakfast for dinner" event with them last night and had the time of my life. I haven't felt that comfortable with a group of people since moving to Orlando. Sometimes it's hard to remember that God always provides - so when He does, it knocks the wind out of you a bit. Either way, I'm thanking Him for the google search that led me to this uplifting community.

Tomorrow is my property orientation for Downtown Disney (it's only 3 hours, but I'm sure it's gonna be jam packed and full of really useful information). Sunday is church and an outing with these new friends, then Monday another trip to WWOHP, and finally on Tuesday I get to start my OJT (on the job training). I cannot wait to get my hands dirty and start helping these guests! I want to make some magic here!

-Just realized I forgot the "less than fun times". Just goes to show how meaningless they are. But anyway, brilliant Jillian managed to lose her Disney ID within the 2nd week here. I know I know, I'm scatterbrained. But yes, getting it back was a bit of a process because I haven't actually started training yet, but the wonderful cast member at Security was able to call around and help me out, and even though he teased me a bit for losing it so quickly, I was able to get my ID back without any major repercussions. :)