What State Are You In?

An often asked question for me. Currently I am residing in Cabot, Arkansas for the next few days and then I'll be on my way to Hattiesburg, Mississippi. These past couple of weeks in AR I've been in charge of my kids club while my leader has been sitting through the services. Leading Happy Heart City has been a different but very growing experience for me. I've enjoyed being able to call the shots (on small things of course). However, it can be very exhausting and I'm fighting the end of a cold. 

So, I very much look forward to our next church where I will be able to continue to learn from my leader and take orders instead of giving them. 

 (Picture taken by James Conrad at Desert Botanical Gardens)

At the moment I'm just in my room at the end of Valentines Day. Just taking it in as a young single lady. I actually have really enjoyed today. Because, I know there's always the chance this could be my last time not having a valentine on February 14th. Only God knows maybe next year I won't have one either. But it's the possibility of it that makes me excited. Wishing you all a wonderful Valentines and an even greater Saturday. 

Goodnight.

As always you can find me on Instagram and Twitter.

Phoenix, Orlando, and Melbourne. Where to Next?

Wow so much has happened since my last post! As usual time went by fast at home. I was fortunate enough to do as much as I did while I was in AZ.

My mom, sister and I saw White Christmas at the Phoenix theatre.

My dad, brother, and I went to the desert botanical gardens to take some pictures of the famous Chihuly Glass they were displaying.

One of the weekends the family went up north to Prescott for some time away from our busy lives.

Then before I knew it my mom and I were on our way to FCC’s 25^th Nationals! 

It was great seeing so many FCC staff friends outside of summer camps! As we ran the competition it was a very fun experience to see all of the teams practice, perform, and even worship together at night. Not to mention when Jamie Grace came and did a special performance night for us!

(Staff meeting Jamie Grace)

After the competition ended my mom and I were able to stay in Orlando for a whole week doing whatever we wanted. We went to Universal Studios a few times, to the movies, and of course, shopping.

(It's always bittersweet saying goodbye to Universal Studios)

 Once again that time came to a close and she had to drive me to Melbourne, Florida to meet back up with my Life Action team. It feels so good to be back on the road with my friends ministering to kids, and families. Being back where God wants me is so refreshing. I’ve been blessed with an amazing host family with three adorable little girls and one baby on the way! Staying with them has made coming back on the road so much easier.

From day one at First Baptist Melbourne to our last service Sunday night, the kids were night and day different. In a good way. They soaked up all the lessons like sponges and every night they seemed to understand more and more.  What a great first church of the semester to start off with!

A couple of things I did during the summit…

Held an alligator. There's a first for everything. 

And we went to DisneyWorld with the team!

I had so much fun going with my close friends to such a great place! 

On one of the Sunday mornings in Happy Heart City (ages four-first grade) they learned about what obeying looks like, and how to do it. Later that night I had the privilege of teaching the kids (thirty) WHO we are supposed to obey and WHY. 

This was honestly a lesson I was dealing with while having to prepare. God was teaching me that even though I don't always agree with my authorities decisions His word says, “…whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.” Romans 13:2

In conclusion, I may feel like I’m just resisting an authority (or person), but in reality I’m resisting God. Because they are God given authorities. This goes as far as my parents, to Obama. God’s purposely place those people in charge of different areas. God is my ultimate authority and I listen to Him over any other person. Yet, I should not disrespect those He has placed above me.

Talk about a hard lesson to swallow.

So now that we are done in Florida we will be leaving early Wednesday morning to Cabot Arkansas where it’s currently twenty-seven degrees. The good news is, I'm surprisingly looking forward to the weather. However, that’s just based off of getting to wear my winter clothes longer. The sad news is, I have to say goodbye to this precious family. I'm greatly going to miss them!

Please keep us in your prayers as we travel on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Thank you for reading!

As always you can follow me on Instagram and Twitter! 

128 Days, 16 Different Beds, and 10 Families Later...

Here's some pictures to catch you up on what's been going on

This is just a few of our kids in Fayetteville, GA. We all huddled up and shared stories before going into worship time.

A blurry memory of my good friends Karis and Trysta at our team Christmas party.

This is just a little snapshot of all the snow that was falling the day before Thanksgiving. We were in North Carolina and had a nice relaxing holiday together as a team.

My mom wishing me a happy birthday on FaceTime a few weeks ago.

This is the only coffee shop near the church we were in during our summit in Princeton, Kentucky last week. We loved going, it was very unique.

Every once in awhile Zac will give the kids a lesson on life sayings.

My roommate and I took the privilege of moving our host families "Elf on the Shelf" one early morning

This is my dear friend Austin. He's leaving for bootcamp to be a Marine and I won't be able to see him for a long time. Being able to travel with him for the past year and a half has been a blessing not only to me but the whole team. He's one of the most humble and loyal people I know and he will be greatly missed! 

  

If you're like me and you come from a background of warm weather where the sun is so hot it’s like an outdoor sauna.

Then you will not be able to relate to what I'm about to tell you.

When I first heard the rumors I was reluctant to believe them. I refused to listen or give into the fear.

Could this really be happening right now? Of all the times just a few days before we leave to go home for Christmas break. The weatherman had to say those two dreadful words that mean so much more than what it sounds like.

Ice storm…

An ice storm has the potential to wipe out all the electricity in the city, keep everyone from getting food, or anywhere for that matter. The last time an ice storm came to the city of Princeton everyone was out of electricity for three weeks. Fortunately, we never ran out of electricity but we did have to cancel three services due to weather. On Sunday morning my roommate and I were getting ready for service and just after I finished doing my hair and makeup (at six in the am) we get a text about morning service being cancelled. Needless to say we crawled back in bed and I slept until eleven that day.

On Sunday night however we finally had our last service and I had the privilege of being able to tell the kids about how Jesus died on the cross for us. Before I taught that night I made a quick post on Facebook asking for prayer and it made the biggest difference. Thank you so much for all who prayed for me!

The next day (Monday) we left from Kentucky to go to Michigan. There where twelve of us on the bus traveling together yesterday. We stopped for lunch at Subway and on our way back to the bus, as we were about to get on, there was shattered glass everywhere. Our bus had been broken into…

We all were immediately jolted with fear. As one by one people were stepping off the bus saying, “My Macbook was taken” and another, “My backpack is gone” I was scared to see if anything of mine was gone. I had chosen to sit in the far back of the bus and by the grace of God none of my stuff had been touched.

Altogether, three backpacks were stolen along with wallets, laptops, iPads, and other valuable things. Although everything that was taken is just stuff, what everyone was hurting most for was all of their memories. Thousands of pictures, videos, and even homework for some of them. What I hurt the most for is my friend who had her novels in her laptop. Year’s worth of work for her and its all gone.

You would be surprised by how the team handled this. With grace, nobody got mad and yelled. There was no fighting. Just a calm and disappointed spirit.

When the police came, they filed several reports and recorded what all had happened. But there was nothing else they could do. Even though something awful like that had just happened we still had four hours of driving before we would get to Michigan. So we cleaned up the glass and someone ran over to the liquor store and asked if we could have some cardboard to cover our broken door with. No sooner than later (three hours) we were driving on the highway with Vodka cardboard on the outside of our Life Action bus. For the last hour of our trip we all laughed and made jokes together about what had all happened. Yes, they were joking about it. They could cry, or whine, or decide to stay upset for a long time but instead they chose joy.

(Team member coming from the liquor store bringing the cardboard to cover up our broken door)

The best part of this story is that my friend Zac who is a diabetic had all of his medicine in his backpack. Whoever tried to take his backpack couldn’t get it through the small door and they had to leave it on the steps. Granted they took out his Macbook Pro. However, if Zac didn’t have his insulin he could have easily gotten blood poisoning before we could get to the camp and we would have had to take him to the hospital. Praise God.

(My friend Trysta and I snuggling up in a cabin at the camp the night before we went home for break)

So even though the Life Action Blue Team has had a rough start to our Christmas break, we know God is sovereign and continue to celebrate the holidays with joy.

I wish you a Merry Christmas.

It’s good to finally be home!

Home Is Where The Heart Heals

They will tell you that your second year in Life Action is easier than the first. In some ways it’s true… in other ways, this year has been really hard for me so far. I know that majority of the reasons can’t be helped. However, life’s circumstances get in the way and eventually you are dealing with a big mess. For instance, this past month has been a wreck and I can’t wait to get home. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love being here and teaching kids but right now Satan sucks and I’m ready to be back in Phoenix.

I’ll spare you my sob stories and fill you in on the good things that have happened recently…

This is the Hallmark Movie some of my team made. I told you I would share it but don’t forget it’s SUPPOSED to be ridiculously corny. That’s the whole point of the movie. We had fun making it so I hope you enjoy!

                                           

(In the beginning of the movie the girl finds out her husband has been missing in action for a long time and they finally declared him dead. So she is packing up to move back home with her parents)

I also bribed some guinea pigs into letting me take pictures of them while we were there. I was just itching to edit something and use my camera.

This is one of my favorites!

Not long after that it was time to leave Apex and we headed toward Fayetteville, GA where we are now! Which happens to be ten minutes from the Walking Dead TV set! My host family said they could take us there while we’re here, so I hope it works out. By us I mean all my roommates… All five of us girls have been staying together. My host family built their home specifically so that they could host missionaries periodically whenever someone needs a place to stay. So their generosity and kindness has spoken volumes to all of us girls. They are certainly an inspiration.

(Right before we left Apex)

(Hanging out in Starbucks and getting our holiday drinks)

This church has had smaller numbers as far as how many kids we’ve had in services. For Happy Heart City it’s been as low as two or three on the weeknights. Surprisingly low but we still teach and do everything as though we have fifty children. “Do everything with excellence” is something we continually strive for. Regardless of numbers the kids that do come we have had so much fun loving on them and teaching them about God’s Word!

This is our last full summit of the year before Christmas break. So when we finish here it will be Thanksgiving week and we’ll be going to Buladean like we did last year. Then going to another church in Princeton, KY for an eight day summit and I’ll finally be on my way home! I would and always do appreciate your prayers. They have seriously made an impact on my life and I’m incredibly grateful for that. In return if there is anything I can pray for you about feel free to leave a comment, message, or email me and I will be praying for you as well.

North Carolina and the Hallmark Challenge...

Every church we go to we have a team activity to increase a bond between our team. For instance, we went to the beach at our last church, the church before that we played hide n seek (way more fun than I thought it would be).

This time our team activity was to make a Hallmark movie. We were divided into two teams and tonight we will watch the results of each teams hard work.

I cannot wait to show you how my teams turned out!

In other news, we are in Apex, North Carolina! Which happens to be a couple hours away from some family members that I have not seen since I was around eight years old. Gladly we found a day where we could meet for lunch and catch up. It was so nice to hear about all that they are doing and plan to do in the future. Unfortunately not everyone could be there but I got to see my great cousin and great aunt! It was truly a blessing!

Speaking of blessings... this church has had the most receptive kids I may have ever taught. They soak up the lessons and seem to completely understand how to apply it to their lives. One of the seemingly rare times that God lets you in on what he's teaching them.

Yesterday marked five years of marriage for my sister and her husband! I'm so happy for them and miss them very much. I miss my whole family very much. For those of you wondering I will be flying home December 10th! Just about 38 days away, but who's counting? I greatly look forward to being in my own room with familiar surroundings, people, and my own church that I miss very much!

A week from now we will be in Fayetteville, GA. Then spend thanksgiving in Tennessee like we did last year. One more church after that in Princeton, Kentucky, and I will finally be on my way back to Phoenix!

Until next time, you can see the most recent of things in my life on Instagram and Twitter!

Stuart, Florida

Happy Heart City at Stuart Beach!

Stuart Florida has been sunny and warm.

But I'm so excited for that North Carolina fall weather! 

Don't get me wrong it's been great here. I've been to the beach a couple times and it was nice to get my feet wet. But this girl is ready to pull out her new sweaters, long sleeves, boots, long socks, scarves and all the goodness the comes with fall weather. Let's not forget coffee either. Lots and lots of coffee! 

We finished our third Sunday service Sunday night and wow, we are all amazed how its over already. But I'm not gonna lie, considering the first whole week I was here I spent laying in bed... I was ready to go a little sooner than normal. I was also really bummed out that I didn't even get to meet all the kids that came to Happy Heart City this summit. Still I have to rely on God's good and perfect will, knowing He knew I wouldn't meet them all, or teach all of my lessons, and so on. 

Sunday morning on my way into the church my roommie and I stopped at Starubucks for some coffee. I ordered my tall caramel machiatto like normal and when we arrived at the church my leader was still fighting a strong cold. She was supposed to be teaching that morning. However, I insisted she give me one of her lessons to teach that day because she also was supposed to teach that night. When you don't feel good you really don't want to do anything, and the idea of teaching all three lessons that day... well, you get it. 

So she asked me if I would teach that mornings lesson and as soon as we were done planning my co teachers and I ran to Starbucks as soon as we could. As you can guess knowing I had to teach and being as tired as I still was after my first cup... I ordered myself another tall drink and had downed it pretty fast. Believe it or not four shots of expresso in less than one hour did not work as fast as I thought it would. After a lot of prayer for the morning it was my turn to teach the lesson. I just want to give God praise for all of His help that morning. He was so gracious to keep the kids attention and to help me find the right words to say. Praying that all fifteen plus lessons we taught in the past two weeks will have made long lasting impacts on the kids as well as their parents.

Sometimes the hardest part about being in ministry is that you don't always see what God is doing in someones life. Or even sometimes the whole church. We may hear a story or two but God doesn't do the same thing in every place we minister too. There were a lot of people who said that  Life Action being in the church the past three weeks has been a blessing. That's pretty much all I've heard but I still praise God for it all. 

Bright and early on Thursday morning we will be all packed up and ready to go to Charleston, South Carolina for the night. Then the next day we will finally arrive in North Carolina.

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter to hear more about road life and whatever else I decide to post! 

From Missouri, to Florida!

After three long travel days, we arrived in Stuart, Florida! It is very beautiful here, and the church is right next to the ocean. How cool is that? There's also a Starbucks only five minutes from the church. Oh, how I've missed Pumpkin Spice Lattes.The Blue Team has some serious addictions to coffee but we especially love Starbucks. A lot of the team has gold cards and I'm working on getting one as well. So far I only have one star... but I hope to get a gold card by the end of the travel year.

The church here in Stuart, also has a private school that uses the same buildings. So they've asked us to run some of their chapels. During one of the mornings fifteen youth realized they didn't know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. One of the girls said she prayed a prayer when she was little. So our youth minister asked then why are you saying you need Jesus to save you. She replied, "All my life I've known about God, but I don't know God" That along with a couple of other stories there have been some miraculous changes!

If you haven't heard, I've been very sick for the past two weeks. I've seen a doctor and even the emergency room! That was an adventure. However, today I am feeling much better and the prayers of many have meant a lot! I hope to be able to go back to services and teach again soon!

Through two weeks of not feeling good at all and just laying in a bed, I keep asking myself,
"God, what are you trying to teach me?"

Well, today I believe I got my answer.

God has been convicting me of the words that come out of my mouth. Specifically in the area of complaining.

"Do all things without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining..."
Philippians 2:14 (AMP)

As you can guess, I'm very sick of being sick. I would like to be healthy enough to do everything again and eat what I want. That being said a lot of what comes out of my mouth are things to just complain about. Or even if I don't say them I'm thinking them. Every time I start to make a big deal of something God whispers in my ear, "Do all things without grumbling... and complaining..."

It's not easy and nobody's perfect. Yet, I definitely see my problem and I need Jesus to help me to be more grateful.

What are you grateful for today?

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus"
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)