Hello from Guatemala! :)

What a wonderful country! :) Everything here is so different and interesting and beautiful. We are blessed to have the most flavorful fruit i have ever tasted, for every single meal. I have really enjoyed being able to have quiet times in the hammock on the rooftop balcony. It's been sunny and warm almost every day. 
We've been working a lot with the homeless and with little kids, which has been really fun, really challenging, and really different. I think that ministering to the homeless is really difficult. We had the opportunity to hand out snacks, sleeping bags, and water to the homeless in Houston, and I just found myself really not knowing what to say. Now we're doing the same thing in a country where we don't speak the language. This is one of the many examples of how God is continually pushing on the boundaries of my comfort zone. :)
Today I gave my testimony for the first time on outreach, at a small church, and i was so nervous. Speaking through a translator takes a lot of the pressure off :)
Anyway, I really like it here a lot! I've had the chance to brush up a lot on my spanish, and learn (what feels like) a little. :) 
I also discovered that i have allergies to the black smoke/smog/exhaust that is all over in the city... my throat got really scratchy and my head is really stuffed now. I was getting headaches, but those have gone away, for now :)

Please be in prayer for:
- Andrea and Andre, a young mom and her son on the team. He has a broken arm and was struggling with a really bad cough for awhile, and it's really wearing on both of them.
- My health... it would be really nice to be able to breathe properly...i want to show off my soccer skills! :)
- direction for after outreach...
     -Come back for School of Evangelism
     -Work, go back to college
- Finances

Thanks everyone! I'll try to update more frequently! :)

 

We had to push our van after it broke down on the highway :)

Stateside Debriefing

Hey everyone! 
I'm back in Lindale on the base for today, then i'll be leaving for Guatemala tomorrow! So excited!

Houston Stateside outreach was awesome! We had the opportunity to minister in several churches and with several ministries reaching out to the homeless. I wish i had time to write about all of the great things that happened, but here are a few awesome things.


 Highlights: 
- I learned that quiet times are *imperative* on outreach. If i went without for a day, it was very obvious in how i acted and in how i felt. and each day, my quiet times were exactly in line with what i needed to hear to get through the day! it was amazing :)
- We were able to put on a vacation bible school after school in two of the poorer neighborhoods, and we were really able to love on the kids and show them God's heart for them.
- I also had the opportunity to pray for a girl (I felt like God was pointing her out to me) and she ended up crying because i prayed exactly what was on her heart without her even telling me about it. Praise God! She ended up bringing her younger sister up to me for prayer later on in the week because we did a chapel service at her school. God really brought a lot of healing through that!


All in all, stateside was really awesome! pray the same for Guatemala! :)
Love you all, and i'll update again as soon as i get a chance!

 

Photo of the Clincher Drama

On the brink...

Wowzer... almost done with Psychology...!!!!
almost.
I need to catch my breath.
Christmas with my family has been really great :) i love those guys. I'm sad to be leaving tomorrow... it seems like I just got home. :(
However! Exciting things are in store!
Dec. 29 ( i think... :D) i leave for Houston to do street ministry, which is going to be awesome!
January 11 ( i think... :D) we leave for Guatemala!!! *SO* excited for that :) and I'll be gone from home until sometime after Feb. 20th...back just in time for my Birthday ;)

Hope ya'll had a great Christmas! :)

Taking a break from decorating the dorm :)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... :)

Hello Friends and Cyber-stalkers! :)

It's so good to be home and have a little time to relax!
I was able to hang out with the youth group on Sunday night and sing Christmas carols to some shut-ins in the area. I look forward to doing it every year :) It was really good to see all of my youth group friends and observe how well everything has carried on since a rather drastic student leardership shift... God is so good! :) He's going to accomplish His purposes in a group that is seeking Him, even when it seems like everything is turning upside down. :) Thanks for such a warm welcome home, into the cold weather, everyone! :)

A picture with my neighbors/boyfriend :)

Where has the time gone!?!

Wow! I cannot believe that two weeks from today i will be at home with my family! It seems like i just got here....
and three weeks from today I will be getting ready to leave for outreach!
We will be spending two weeks working in larger cities in Texas, mostly doing street ministry. Then it's off to Guatemala for a month! :)
So this week is ministry prep week. We've been having classes to learn to teach English, VBS, and to learn a drama.
On top of all the meetings and classes, I am pressing in on the deadline for my online psychology class! yikes!

Please be praying for me during this week, as many people are getting sick and starting to lose focus because it's almost break-time. Keyword: ALMOST. We're not there yet!
Please pray for:
- Focus and smart use of my time
- Good health!
- supernatural energy :)
- A good attitude

Me & Joel at a wedding at Dayspring

Happy December! :)

Okay... So, lately I've been feeling bogged down by all of the stuff I have going on. To the point that things that I would normally really enjoy have become just another thing in my schedule to get through.
Thankfully, that's not where the story ends.. praise Jesus :)
Today while we were praying as a class for direction for our individual futures, God spoke to me "Find joy in all that you do." it was that simple. How could i expect to get through the next few weeks alive and well if i was dreading everything i needed to do?
Sometimes God says just exactly what we need to hear, even if we don't recognize the brilliance of what he's saying to us, and how much it really covers all of what we need. :)

Me and Sarah... she's from the same state! :)

Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches!

Hands down, my favorite cold weather, comfort food! :)
And it sure is cold outside! and windy.

Well, this week we have the cutest old man (I think i say that about all the old men teachers....) teaching this week on the Father Heart of God. It's been really neat to hear all of his stories and how God has revealed His father heart through this man. What a neat guy!

It's also the week before ministry prep week...and for some reason, we're starting ministry prep this week too. Which is kind of stressful :(  I'm going to be a TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) Teacher, I'll be a demon in the Clincher Drama, and I'll be one of the dancers in a dance we're doing. PLUS! I have to finish my classes before Christmas break. ahhhh!!!!  So much to do. and so little time. We have special classes for teaching and for the drama, so i'm up and ready to go by eight and back in my room at 10.

I realize, that seems okay. But, it's really not. because, i have like, 2.5 hours in the middle of the day to do everything *I* need to do, because we're in class the rest of the time. kind of a rigid schedule. But it will be worth it!

Please pray that God gives me the grace, time, energy, and intellect to finish everything that I need to, on time!

My friend Maggie blessed me with a coffee mug that she said matches my eyes :)