Intern Sandra here, and this morning I am overwhelmed with how blessed I have been by the WJTL community during my summer internship!

In the May of 2011 I walked into the studio at the old location for the first time, nervous and excited to meet all of the DJs and staff that I grew up listening to on air.  Fast forward two years, and I get to come to the Junction Center twice a week, hang out with some amazing people, and get to know the listening community better!  What a blessing!

The first thing people ask me when they find out I’m a WJTL intern is “Are the DJs and on-air personalities just as fun and kind off air as they are on air?” My answer is always a resounding yes.  Being on air with Fred and the Get Up and Go Show has been a blast, with many laughs on air and off.  I’ve learned so much from the wisdom and experience of everyone here, and getting to put my new skills into practice on the 9 O’Clock coffee break has been so much fun.

This summer I expanded my horizons past the Junction Center, and took to the Cookie Car to get out into the community and get the scoop on upcoming events with my “Intern Sandra Out and About” segment.  I’ve deeply enjoyed getting to know both our listeners and the Lancaster area better.  At Creation Northeast, I also got to meet many of our listeners at the WJTL tent, and was so happy to see that WJTL has impacted so many people as much as it has impacted me.

The love and joy that surround WJTL is inspiring, and I can’t think of a better way to spend my summer.  Tomorrow I head back to Grove City College for my senior year, and while I’m excited to go back, I know I’ll be tuning in online to keep up with my favorite station.

Thank you to everybody in the WJTL family who made this summer a joy!

Merry Christmas! Intern Sandra here, and yes, I know that Christmas is still five months away.

The Reformation Luthern Church is having a Christmas in July event this Sunday the 28th to remind us that the miracle of Christmas is amazing in any season.  I stopped by this morning to talk to Pastor Luke, the Reformation Luthern Pastor, Mimi, the program coordinator, and Ray, a member of the evangelism committee about the event.  They all share my love for classic Christmas hymns, and I was excited to hear that the program features many hymns sung with a full choir, and even a former singer with the Metropolitan Opera!  Mimi brought up a good point; so often we only get to sing a few Christmas hymns, but at this event so many classic hymns will be sung (and played) in exciting arrangements with many voices.  Pastor Luke shared his passion for returning to the fundamentals of Christmas without the inevitable craziness that comes with the December holiday season. He’ll be delivering reflections throughout the evening that focus us on the miracle of Christmas, and the importance of it to our faith.

Ray told me a little more about the other activities featured in the event, including crafts for kids, a nativity collection, and more. There might even be a chance of snow!  The event sounds like a great time to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, and enjoy fellowship without the commercial aspect of the season.  Ray, Mimi, and Paster Luke were all enthusiastic about this twist on Christmas in July, and I had so much fun discussion the holiday season with them.

The Christmas in July event will be held Sunday, July 28th at the Eastern Mennonite Missions building in Salunga, PA. For more information, visit reformation-nalc.org, or the events page at WJTL.com.

Intern Sandra here! I’m back from Creation and getting back into the daily swing of things.

Today I resumed my Out and About schedule by visiting the Weaverland Day Camp.  The kids asked me questions about how the radio works, and what it’s like to be an intern.  They really picked my brain, asking me everything from who my favorite WJTL artist is to how we pick the music to play on air.  I had a blast visiting with them and handing out some Kids Cookie Break goodies!

Be sure to stay tuned in on Thursday mornings for more of my adventures Out and About!

Intern Sandra here! The Creation Crew has been kept busy all day with the many activities around the Creation Festival.  This morning, I hung out in the Kid’s Tent with the Kids Cookie Break.  The line up included Jesse Rothaker, The Donut Man, This Way Up, and What’s In the Bible.  There was even a special appearance by Bob and Larry of Veggie Tales!

As per usual, the Kids Cooke Break table had KCB wristbands, pencils, stickers, and plenty of cookies.

The Creation Crew will continue to bring you coverage throughout the festival, so be sure to keep an eye on the Facebook page for more updates! If you want to see more pictures, you can check out the WJTL Flickr page here.

Today I had a blast at the first day of Creation 2013!

A staple of the Creation experience is the tarp run, where groups line up all over to be the first to snag the perfect spot, using their tarp as a placeholder.  I ran into some listeners from Palmyra as they were strategically planning  their tarp placement.

The day kicked off with a Steve Taylor concert, and wrapped up with a stellar show from Switchfoot.

For more pictures, visit the WJTL Flickr page here, and stay connected with the Creation Crew on the WJTL Facebook page. Be on the lookout for pictures, videos, and more!

Intern Sandra here!  Last night I had a blast out and about with Radio Friend Phil and Intern Sarah at the Lancaster Catholic Carnival.  The night was full of food, rides, and a Phredd concert, featuring Radio Friend Phil on xylophone.

Next week I’ll be at Creation Northeast with the WJTL Creation Crew! Be sure to keep an eye on the WJTL Facebook page and website for updates throughout the week.  If you’re going to be at Creation, make sure you stop by the WJTL tent and say hi!

This morning we talked with Dave and Susan from Red Lion Zion United Methodist Church about their upcoming first annual Alive! Outdoor Music Festival next Saturday and Sunday, June 22nd and 23rd.

The words “music festival” don’t do the event justice; the weekend is jam-packed with food, kids events, a craft show, a movie screening, and of course many wonderful artists. Susan told me how the church had thrown a small music festival a few years ago to benefit one of their congregation members, and about six months ago she started to feel called to put together a larger festival. After much hard work, the Red Lion Alive! Festival started to come together, and now the weekend is going to feature two full days of bands, activities, food and more! The lineup is quite diverse, including Derek Sandtrom, The Keystone State and Delta Road Singers, The Jazz Resurrection Project, Steven Courtney, Rainbow Puppet Ministry, Colleen Sherlock, Tim Storey Magic, and much more!  There will be plenty of activities for the kids, including face painting, crafts, Bible stories and event finger nail painting.  Dave and Susan are excited for the weekend, especially because there is currently no outdoor Christian music festival in York County.  Admission to the entire event is free, and this festival looks like it’s going to be a blast! To get more information, including the entire lineup of events, you can visit redlionzionumc.org.

This morning I went to the Underground Skatepark in Dillsburg, PA!  I talked with Dan, Brittany, and Derek about their mission and upcoming summer events.  Underground is housed in the basement of Celebration Community Church, and the area is completely filled with ramps and other structures made in-house by volunteers.  The skaters with Underground are not only passionate about skating, but also creating relationships with the people that come to their events, and sharing the Gospel with them. At each event and skate night somebody will come up and share the Gospel with the crowd, and the crew has tons of amazing stories and testimonials to share.

These guys have found a way to share God’s love through their passion for skating, and their enthusiasm definitely shows.Underground keeps busy; they’ll be at Creation, both Northeast and Northwest, in addition to holding many skate events throughout the summer, including bringing pro skater Brian Sumner to the Underground this July!  For more information on their weekly events, what they’re up to this summer, and their ongoing ministry, you can visit undergroundskatepark.org or check out their Facebook page at facebook.com/theundergroundskatepark.

Be sure to tune in Thursday mornings from 8-9 to see where else I’m going to be!

This summer on Thursday mornings during the 8-9 hour, I’ll be hopping in the cookie car and heading into the community to get the scoop on upcoming events! Be sure to tune in for live interviews, and keep an eye out for more cookie car fun throughout the summer!

This morning I visited the Soccer Shots office in Lancaster and chatted with Zak and Justin about their upcoming Spring Celebration Bash this Saturday, June 1st!  They were both very excited about this Saturday’s event, which will feature free soccer clinics for kids ages 2-8, music, games, food, fun, and the Soccer Shots mascot! Justin also told me about the philanthropic arm of Soccer Shots, Global Goals. Global Goals is a nonprofit organization that provides opportunity for disadvantaged youth in the US and around the world to enjoy the game of soccer, something both Zak and Justin seemed very passionate about. You can learn more about Global Goals at soccershots.org/global-goals.

I had such a blast taking to these two guys, and learning more about Soccer Shots!  Be sure to keep tuning in on Thursday mornings to find out where else I’ll be!

For more information on the event, you can visit the Events page at wjtl.com.  Parents are asked to register their kids for the free sessions at lancaster.ssreg.org and you can find out more about Soccer Shots at soccershots.org/Lancaster.