Thursday, October 31, 2013

Meet Brittany!

Yesterday was a little crazy, and I was a little moody, so I plum forgot to write before I went to bed! So today you get two posts!

Today I want to tell you about Brittany. Honestly, I never got to know her very well. Her roommate was a teammate of mine in Peru, and I met her through visiting Jessi and other summer missions events. Brittany served in the Philippines while I served in the Grand Canyon, and God filled her heart there!

Now, Brittany is in the middle of midwifery school in the Philippines. Yes, you read that correctly. Midwifery school! How crazy She actually gets to take care of pregnant mommas and deliver their little babies when it's time. I can't think of a cooler, more awesome way to serve the Lord. I love keeping up with her and seeing her heart for these people through her blog and facebook posts. Being away from "home" for so long can be soo difficult, but I love that shes always up for new adventures, serving in new places and at all hours of the day whenever she can!

Read more about her journey here, and see pictures of cute little newborns!

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Friend bragging


So I failed miserably at my 31 days of writing, buttt that's okay! I still want to tell about all the cool things my friends are doing, and ask for you prayers for them as well! So look forward for 2 more posts this week to hear about Becky and Brittany.

Today I will tell you about Melissa!





Melissa was my teammate in Peru. At first, I thought she was going to drive me bonkers, but I grew to love her and my time with her. We had many adventures and jokes and just plain fun times figuring out life in our beloved Peru. Sometimes I still catch myself wanting to tell her something I hear or see, but no one here seems to appreciate my weirdness quite like Melissa. But really, this woman taught me and challenged me and helped me grow so much in the 10 months we were housemates, and for that I am forever grateful!

Nowadays Melissa is living in Nepal working with an organization called Tiny Hands. They intercept girls who are being trafficked across boarders and provide safe houses and care for them after they are taken out of slavery. Tiny Hands is working towards building a Dream Center for these children as well as other orphaned or needy children in Nepal, and eventually Melissa will be a teacher at this center. Right now they are working on the construction and legal processes of starting the home there, and Melissa is teaching in a local school.

If you want to keep up with Melissa and her journey, she blogs occasionally here. Fair warning, she doesn't hold back on the rawness of living/serving overseas. Prepare for some Bible bloggin :)

For more information on Tiny Hands, click here.

Thanks for your patience in my (lack of writing) & faithfulness in reading over here!

Monday, October 14, 2013

Bullfloat

Sorry for the absence! This weekend was crazy! But oh so fun! Between camp with my 242 group and the Color Run, I'm exhausted! I'd do it all over again a hundred times though!

Camp consists of some excellent teaching mixed with crazy games. Typical. I may or may not have gotten a fat lip after colliding with a youth minister during a game. But no fear! We were both fine, just sore! Today I'm just going to leave you with some of my favorite pictures from Saturday, and tomorrow I'll give you a run through of everything else!







Thursday, October 10, 2013

Day 8--Generosity


Forgive me if you don't like hearing stories about my 8th graders. That's been my life this week.

Last night at church the lesson was on generosity. Not so much the typical "we need to give give give!", but why it's difficult to give & whats going on in our hearts to make us want to give or not. And y'all, these are 13 year old little people, so they we're not talking about giving money. It linked well back to last week's lesson about service. How can we intentionally, with a full heart, give our time and energy and money (what we have) away?

In our small group, a few of my girls opened up & dug deep into the convo. We talked a lot about why it was difficult to give. And most of them agreed that it's a self-confidence thing. That we, as young people in 2013, compare ourselves to everything and everyone else. That we want the best clothes and 5 pairs of Uggs and the newest iPhones, but we do NOT want to be known by our stuff. We have this yearning to be known for who we are, but we want to cover ourselves up with material things. And I find myself right there with them! How silly are we?

We also touched on how we are so selfish for absolutely no reason. What was funny was that everyone agreed we were selfish with our food! To be in Nashville where we can get whatever food we want at any time, we all don't like sharing it! It reminded me of the jungle in Peru when the group passed out candy to the children. Most of them saved at least one piece in their tiny little pockets to share with their mom and siblings. Try explaining to a 3 year old determined to share that chocolate will melt in their pocket in 90 degree weather, and they should just eat it now! But how precious were their hearts!

We ended last night with thinking of ways we could be generous. We had ideas ranging from "sharing my donuts at tennis practice" to "practicing patience with the boys beside me in Spanish class" to "sharing my candy with my little sister" to "taking some clothes to goodwill".

I just pray that we all, especially myself, have a giving heart in all circumstances. To exemplify Christ’s gentleness and kindness in giving our time, money, energy, stuff, and lives away.

Here’s some of these jungle babies I was talking about! 









Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Day 7--Full

Writing a blog every single day is a lot harder than it originally sounded. At first, a million little topics rush to your mind, but when it comes time to actually write... nothing! So here's to being 2 days behind!

Staying true to positive thinking, let me just say my heart is so full these days! And after snacking like I did last night, my belly is too, but that's another story!

Okay, I'll tell that story. Aaron and roommate Laura and I watched a movie last night, and I snacked the entire time! I hadn't felt so miserable in a long time!

muddy buddies and popcorn after a Chipotle dinner=miserable.

Anywho, life this week seems to be revolving around trip planning, hanging out with people at least 10 years younger than me (and Aaron), and enjoying some beautiful weather. How can I not be overflowing with joy? Thank you Jesus for weeks like this!




Monday, October 7, 2013

Day 6- Monday nights

Mondays are gym days. I always dread it around 4pm, but I love love love the feeling of accomplishment and achy muscles at 6pm. I started going to the Y about a year ago, and never did I ever think that I could do as many push ups as I can now, even if they're on my knees.

Today we had class outside. And in case you don't live in Nashville, it was absolutely gorgeous out today. It was so fun and just good for my soul. And while I'm not super good friends with the people in my class, I love that we all push each other and encourage each other and look forward to seeing each other every week.

Moral of the story, go do something that makes you feel good. Physically and mentally. I promise, it'll be good for your soul.

Now, going to see gravity with my man. Goodnight all!

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Day 5--Sobrinos!

I missed day 4. Forgive me. You get extra pictures today.

Friday night i was supposed to have a girl's night with my niece, but both of my nephews were begging to come stay with me too. This is unusual, so I said okay.  (We planned another girl's night in a couple weeks.)  We painted pumpkins and made cookies and drank apple cider and watched a movie and did everything you're supposed to do while visiting your cool aunt. It was a good time for all. I wish I got to see these kiddos more.

We watched Little Rascals, one of my all time favorites. All of the kids were asleep within the first 25 minutes, so Aaron and I watched the rest. We attempted to move the boys upstairs to go to bed, but Mason started throwing punches when we tried to lift him up. We settled for just making sure he had a pillow, and he even threw punches while trying to get him to lay on it! Of course, he didn't remember any of this Saturday morning and was embarrassed when we told him! Sweet little one!

Enjoy some pumpkin painting pictures!