Chloe

One of my Christmas Presents :)

2010-02-11T19:21:00.011-04:00

Unlit

Lit! (It looks even better in person)

Thanks Dave and Cherith!

Turkey Bread

2009-11-25T22:37:00.005-04:00

So, this year for Thanksgiving I decided to try my hand at a childhood favorite - Turtle Bread, but with a twist. Making it into a turkey! So far it looks and smells great, taste will be determined tomorrow.

My New Place

2009-03-26T22:43:00.005-04:00

So, after a long few months I have finally put pictures on my picasa site of my apartment. I am really enjoying living here. It is great to have a place to have friends over and be hospitable :) The toughest part is having to cook for myself, but I still eat good food there is no doubt about that.

AFTER

BEFORE

2009-02-22T16:45:00.000-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Moving out and up!

2008-12-10T20:52:00.002-04:00

So, a few weeks ago I talked with MariJane, the woman in whose home I am staying and we mutually agreed that it was time for me to move out on my own and become independent. So, for the past few weeks I have been looking through the newspaper, online, and talking to some people about possible places to rent out. I came across a good looking ad in the newspaper, so I called, but they had already leased that duplex half, but they had an apartment in a four-plex that had just become available if I was interested. So, last Thursday (almost a week ago) I went over before work to take a look. It looks great!!! It has everything I wanted and is very close to my church and work, which makes it very appealing. I went home that night and prayed about it and talked to my parents, and decided I wanted it. So, that weekend I called the landlady that I had met with and told her that I would like to rent the apartment.
All of that is to say that Friday I am signing a lease on a two bedroom apartment in a four-plex and moving in on Saturday with the help of some of my friends from church!

Yay for growing up :)

2008-11-28T01:36:00.000-04:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Korean Delicacies

2008-11-14T20:07:00.003-04:00

So this past Monday I went over to a woman from my church's house. She is from Korea, and decided she wanted to teach me how to make some food. So, she taught me how to make crab meat cheese, pork dumplings, and sushi. It was so much fun, and so delicious! I think I will have to try my hand at it again. YUM!

Brrrr!

2008-11-09T17:36:00.002-04:00

Today it snowed in Midland for the first time, at least that was undeniably snow. After church there were tiny little flakes, and just a little while ago we had our first big fluffy flakes. So pretty, but so cold.

My First Trip to an Apple Orchard

2008-10-21T23:07:00.004-04:00

So, Sunday afternoon Nas and the girls took me on my virgin apple orchard experience. We had a great time, pretending to be little children again. Nas' mom and one of her friends met us there, and stayed for a while. We rode the little lawn mower pulled train, went through an alphabet maze, picked some apples, and of course ate apple goodies including an apple cider slush and donut. Yumm! It was one of the last days to be outside and not cold I think, so I loved it. The only thing missing was a corn maze, I guess I will just have to go again.
It was great to be able to spend good quality time with three ladies who are like family to me.

So, Catch-up after 2 and a half months -SORRY!

2008-10-01T22:37:00.005-04:00

Well, Lets see what I've done. I'll just tell you a little snippet of each major thing, and hope I don't miss anything.

July 18-20 I went camping with my dad's side of the family. It was fun to see cousins I haven't seen for a while, and have so many of them together for Saturday dinner. I also slept in a tent Sat night with Dave and Cherith, so that was fun. I hadn't tented it in quite awhile.

July 23-28 The whole immediate fam got together in Houston. I hadn't seen Emily since March, so it was great to see her. It was really just amazing to have all 5 of us plus Cherith together for the first time since my high school graduation. I miss my family when there is that long a space in between whole family visits. We had a great time together, went to see alligators at Brazos Bend State Park and some garden/zoo thing downtown, that I can't remember the name of.

Aug. 7 I spent part of the day with Emily in Grand Rapids as she was there for a friend's wedding, and also got to meet her boyfriend Ryder for the first and only time.
Aug. 8 On the way home from GR I stopped at Cran-Hill Ranch to see many of my friends from WI who were there to help at a youth group's retreat.

Aug. 10-16 Mission Trip to NYC! My cousin Kendra went with me to NYC on my church's mission trip. We went with the Center for Student Missions. It was a great time of experiencing different cultures, lifestyles, and missions organizations. I think my favorite part was getting to know the people in our group better, some for the first time, and really getting to know my cousin on a whole different level. It was a great time of experiencing God.

Aug 19 I started working full time at Sleepy Hollow Bookshop in Midland. I work 38-40 hours a week selling books more or less.

Aug 30-Sept 1 I spent Labor Day Weekend up at Vanderwende's condo with a bunch of old people, but had a good time relaxing, enjoying the outdoors especially the water!

Sept 16 The one year anniversary of going to DTS.

Sept 16 The first night of the young singles Bible study - Emerge- that I started. It has been going wonderfully. There are about 7 of us with potential for more. We all are really bonding and have a hard time ending. Everyone really desires more of God and want a genuine community of love and honesty. It has been a great blessing already.

I think that is all that I have done. And now, Happy October!

Week on the lake

2008-07-13T15:08:00.003-04:00

So, on the way home from Wisconsin / visiting Grafs I stopped for a week or so at VanderWende's condo on Lake Charlevoix. It was a great weekend of being on the water, relaxing and hanging out. I got to surf behind the boat again, and play a lot with V's new, six week old grandson who was there for the week with his parents. It was great! Also got to sail a few times, so much fun. Now I am back in Midland for a while, enjoying seeing friends again.

Visiting the Grafs

2008-07-02T12:36:00.003-04:00

On the way home I swung over to visit the Grafs from my DTS. They live in Apple Valley, MN which is near St. Paul. It was so great to see them it had been about 6 months since I had last seen them. I was able to see the house they live in now and the house they are moving to in a couple of weeks. I also went to church with them Saturday night and then Sunday to the church that they are doing childrens ministry at. On Sunday at church I was also able to send about an hour reconnecting with Levi and Kelly from my DTS too. Then Sunday afternoon we all went to the zoo, saw the animals, and flowers. Then Monday Carissa (12) and I went to the Mall of America. Then Tuesday morning I headed almost home. I drove about 11 hours and made it all the way to VanderWende's condo on Lake Charlevoix to spend the fourth of July weekend.

Graduation

2008-07-02T12:26:00.003-04:00

On Friday we Graduated! We had a nice fancy dinner, then each of us talked a little bit about what we learned or how we changed. And then they gave us our certificates and prayed for us and we were free! It was a bittersweet night. It was good to be done and good to be heading home. But, it was really hard to say goodbye to all the people here, especially the students. We became really close and will really miss each other. I love you guys!!

Wed - Lake Day

2008-07-02T12:20:00.002-04:00

So on Wed we got to have a fun day. We borrowed a ski boat from a nearby bible camp and played on the beach, in the boat, and had a picnic. We had a great time skiing and tubing. And ended up a nice, happy tomato red.

Tues. Pie Night

2008-07-02T12:07:00.003-04:00

So, on Tuesday the 24th the SBF class had a pie night. All of the staff and all the students got one pie each. We all stood in a line and in order we each said who we were going to pie and why. Many of the students chose Tom, our director of the school, so instead of following the trend, I decided to pie Zach. He was in charge of giving us quizzes and leading discussions of one of the books we had to read, Church History in Plain Language. It was early in the morning when we had to do that and we all really didn't like it. So, he got pied for it. Then after all the pies were thrown we took all the random leftover chunks and smeared it on each other.

Fredrick, may you rest in peace

2008-06-17T18:02:00.003-04:00

So, on Friday our cook Luke was out in the yard, and one way or another, I'm not really sure, he found a baby duck with no mom. So, he decided to take it in. It was probably less than a day old, and would otherwise be some animal's dinner. Well, he was going away for the weekend, so he asked us girls to take care of him. We loved it. He was such a cute, tiny duck. We took such good care of him, loving him, getting him a good home and everything. Then Saturday afternoon disaster struck. Poor little Freddy slowly died. Then on Sunday morning we had a funeral service for Sir Fredrick. We attempted a Viking funeral, thinking that would be romantic and poetic for young Freddy, but it didn't work as planned. So, in the end he just reconvened with nature just as he began. May you rest in peace Fredrick, you were well loved.

Body in a Bag??

2008-06-10T23:20:00.002-04:00

What?!?!?! That's right, last Saturday us girls put our bodies in a bag. A ziploc bag to be exact. I had purchased a giant ziploc bag to put a blanket in, and decided it would be fun to see how much of my body I could fit in. Mel and Bethany soon joined the fun. It was great fun. And further evidence of how too much studying can effect your mind :)

Baptism into the Body

2008-06-08T00:56:00.003-04:00

So on Thursday Kurt, one of the other students, and one of the staff's kids were baptized. We went to one of the lakes nearby for the baptism. It was so cool to see them take a stand for Christ. Kurt had gone through a lot before becoming a Christian, and it is so great to see how far he had come in such a relatively short time. God is amazing and this occasion was a great reminder of His blessings and the body of Christ around us.

(photos included)

Spring has sprug . . . Finally!

2008-05-29T17:23:00.003-04:00

A couple of days ago a transformation occurred. It seemed like overnight the trees became green. It was beautiful. There are so many trees around us that everywhere you look is covered in green. And, flowers are blooming. I love it, so beautiful.

Happy Memorial Day!

2008-05-26T17:14:00.002-04:00

We had the day off of school today!! It is/was so great to have a break. It was much needed. Last week we had a week of church history with a great teacher, Suzanne. She really made it interesting and helped us put ourselves in there spot and realize to a certain extent how and why things happened as they did.

Today our SBF (school of biblical foundations) director Tom and his wife Lisa invited almost all of the base over to their house for a cook-out. It was fun. Good food.

Well, I hope all of you have a wonderful Memorial Day!

Amazing God

2008-04-24T21:29:00.002-04:00

First off I uploaded some pictures of where I live and a few day to day pics. So, check them out.

So, I thought I would share the incredible way that God is such a vital part of our lives here. The other night there was a lightning storm a little ways away, so Bethany called Mel and I out to the balcony at the end of our hallway so see it. It was so beautiful and we were so excited about God's majesty the we started to shout with joy at each burst of lightning. That soon progressed to over an hour and a half of worship to God for His majesty and awesomeness. We had a great time just praising God and being invigorated with love for Him. That is just one example of how focused on God people here are, it is unusual in this world, but in such a close community of believers I think we are freer and more apt to be vocal with our praise and love of God. What a blessing to be here with such beautiful girls, even if for just a short time.

Oh yeah, and the next morning we heard that we were quite loud and kept people up around the base, but oh well. People live after a lack of sleep the night before. :P It was well worth it.

What an Awesome God we serve.

One Down, many to go

2008-04-09T23:40:00.002-04:00

So today I preached my first sermon!!! I didn't think that I was going to do well, but I gave it over to God and He worked through me to do quite well. I talked about the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. It was really fun to dig deeper into a passage that I have heard many times. So, I am done with the first one, and have many other outlines to do and at least one other full sermon to preach. Crazy!

On a lighter note, the pranks have begun. The other day Kurt threw a serving bowl full of water on Melissa, so we decided to return the love. Go to my pictures to see the full story. We had a great time. :)

Welcome to April in Northern Wisconson

2008-04-01T23:56:00.003-04:00

This is what our campus looks like after a first day of April snowstorm.

My first week

2008-03-31T00:41:00.003-04:00

So, I have been in Wisconsin for almost a week now and have experienced enough to feel like I have been here much longer. I will start with the basics.
I have 4 classmates 2 girls, Bethany(19) and Melissa(21) and 2 guys Kurt(19) and Tyler(22). They are all from the Midwest area, and are now good friends of mine. We also have 4 staff assisting our leader Tom in teaching us. We have dived into 4 different books, and are learning how to do word studies. We have on average 3-4 hours of homework each night, but since we all have something more than knowledge pushing us on it isn't so bad.

Friday night we had a talent show in which we all had to be a part of, so Melissa, Bethany, and I decided to do something together. We "played" glasses, but really didn't. Instead we made the noises ourselves. It was a little strange, but all we could come up with.

Overall, I am adjusting well and enjoying the time, people, and learning here at YWAM Northwoods.

I'm here!

2008-03-24T21:24:00.003-04:00

So, I safely traveled to Wisconsin, taking pretty pictures of the lake and bridge. I got here in the afternoon and have met many people. They are all nice and I am sure I will be good friends with them soon. The place where we are staying is quite nice. (I will put pictures up of the base soon.)
I just wanted to let you all know that I am here and safe.

2008-03-23T01:41:00.001-04:00

HAPPY EASTER

Getting Ready

2008-03-19T19:08:00.005-04:00

This week has been all about getting ready. I am leaving on Sunday the 23th to start on my adventure in Wisconson. I am going to another YWAM school in Weyerhaeuser, WI where I will study the Bible in depth and learn how to teach it better. That means that I am counting down the days, shopping for the last minute random stuff I need, getting maps, and saying goodbye to many friends again.

This time leaving isn't so hard, after having left and come back once I have kind of figured out how it works. I will miss people a lot, and do my best to communicate with them. Then I will get absorbed with what I am doing and not miss them as much. Then before I know it I will be back with them again and it will be almost like I never left. So, not to say that it is easy to leave, but not as hard.

My Birthday Weekend

2008-03-11T18:57:00.002-04:00

So, for my birthday I was able to have dinner with my friend Sarah, my brother, Dave, his girlfriend Cherith, and my Dad. I got lots of presents!! And had a fun time with people I love. That was in Grand Rapids, then I continued west with Sarah on our way to visit our friend Rachel in Holland. While we were in Holland we had a great time reconnecting. One afternoon we also met up with our friend Anna. With her we went to Lake Michigan to see the ice formations. Of which we took some pretty pictures. All in all it was a great weekend.

2008-02-22T12:09:00.002-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!

Visiting mi hermana!

2008-02-21T19:25:00.004-04:00

This is a little bit late, but . . . . A few weekends ago, on my way home I got to visit my sister, Emily!! It was so fun to see her after over 6 months. She just moved to a new home with 2 girls she met at church. Basically she is doing great and it was a blessing to see her again. We had a great time together. One thing we did was go to the World of Coca-Cola. We took some fun pictures that are online for you to see. Thats all for now!

Stop, Alto, Pare

2008-02-18T23:55:00.006-04:00

Argentina,

Mexico,

United States,

The three countries where I have spent the last six months. Each one has become a part of me and become home in the time I was there. It has made me learn what makes a home. Love and trust. When those two factors are present, anywhere can become home.

Now, about the stop signs. My time with YWAM Monterrey has come to an end. My life in a sense has come to a stop, just like you do at a stop sign (in most countries ;). However, you soon keep going just as I will. One other quality of a stop sign it that it is the time where you can change directions. This is one time in my life where I choose where I want to go. Now my only problem is deciding which direction to go.

Finally

2008-02-09T12:47:00.000-04:00

Sorry I took so long to post. So I'll catch you up on the last three weeks of DTS.

The third week we were in Argentina we went to a neighborhood about and hour outside of the city, called Barrio Sacchi. We stayed at the little church there, and basically tried to help the church there be encouraged and grow. So, we did some door to door evangelism and did some kids programs. We also participated in their already established services. However, there was one thing that occurred this week that makes it a week that will always stay in my mind. There is a family living behind the church, on the property. Their son was very sick with cerebral palsy and was close to dying. A few days after we had been there, and had gotten to know the family a little bit, the mom came and knocked on our door as we were hanging out and told us that she thought her son had just died. So, we went over to her house and checked on her son and called an ambulance. It turns out her son had died. It was a very impactful time to encounter death on the other side of the world and how different people and cultures react. The parents of this boy had, for me, an amazing response. They were ministering to others and were very positive because they knew that their little boy had gone to a place free of pain and suffering to live with his best friend, Jesus. They also knew that he had fulfilled the Lord's plan for his life by being a witness to his doctors and nurses. It was a great reminder of the hope and love we have in Jesus.

The last week we were in Cordoba we stayed at the church where the YWAM Cordoba base is located. It was a time of reconnecting with some of the people we had met throughout our time in Argentina and building up the base in Cordoba. We were able to go with the staff of that base to visit a house they are thinking about buying and pray over the land. It was a nice relaxing end of our time in Argentina.

28 HOURS LATER

We arrived back in Monterrey and we able to see all of our friends again!! Like Dina, Heather, Casey, Kelly, and Levi, our other classmates. It was really fun to hear each others stories and hear how God worked in their outreaches. This week we really just relaxed, played Phase 10, and reflected on DTS. It was a great last week spending time with people

Cordoba, Che

2008-01-14T15:19:00.000-04:00

So, it has been awhile. We got to Cordoba just fine, tired, but glad to be here. We arrived Sunday afternoon, rested, and went to church. Church here in Argentina is at night, almost always. Then on Monday we toured the city and celebrated New Years with the pastor's family. We ate good food, danced, and had fun. On Tuesday we went to a river outside of Cordoba, about an hour. Then on Wednesday we went to a youth camp/retreat. While there we mostly were there to interact with the students there. We also taught some of our dramas to them to use for evangelism. Also while we were there I met my Argentinian parents. It was a little hard to communicate well with them, but they took my under their wings and loved me and cared for me like parents. It was a true blessing. We got back on Sunday, went to church, and then rested up for the free day we had on Monday. On Monday we went downtown, did touristy shopping and then at the night we went to Laura and Luis (my Argentinian parents) house for dinner. Then Tuesday morning we went to another town about 5 hours from Cordoba called Frías. While there we were able to stay with host families. Katelyn and I stayed in the house of the pastor's parents. It was great to be in a house again, and they took such good care of us, like grandparents. It is really awesome to see that when I was missing family and that care they have God puts people in my path to fill that desire. During the week in Frías we learn the intricacy of the siesta. Every afternoon we got to rest for a few hours, which was good because we were up until 3 or 4 every night. It was a relaxing week for us. A few hours of team time in the morning and at 5 we would meet with the youth from 3 churches. We taught them different lessons 1 or 2 every day and also taught them some of our dramas. Then at 11 or so we would go to the plaza and do some dramas and play some music. Then afterwards we would hang out for a few more hours. We bonded really well and have great friendships there in Frías that we will never forget. When we left they all came to the bus station and gave us a great send off of many waves with a few tears. It has been a great two weeks, and I am looking forward to another great two weeks. I praise God for the great blessing that our time in Argentina has been. Thank you for your prayers, they are greatly appreciated.

(I have no way to put pictures online from here, so you will have to wait to see all of them until I return to Mexico on the 26th, sorry!)

Durango, me pone feliz

2007-12-28T15:33:00.001-04:00

(Translation: Durango, it makes me happy)

Durango was great! It was such a blessing to be there and I know that God planned for us to go there it wasn't just by chance. We made such good friends there in the church. It is amazing how close you can get to people in just 12 days when you are with them almost everyday.

Now for the highlights:

Friday we had a free day. We started out playing volleyball with the youth group! Yay! Volleyball made me happy :) Then we went downtown and explored a little bit. It was great to relax and deepen friendships.

We also went to a park in the city twice. This park was special because it is SUPER decorated for Christmas. There are so many lights and they have lots of different Christmas Bible scenes. It was really fun to go have our fill of Christmas spirit of sorts.

For Christmas Eve we went to Isai's grandma's house to have dinner and then we went to Sanbourn's, a restaurant, for dessert. In Mexico they celebrate Christmas like we do New Years in the States, waiting until midnight to celebrate. So we stayed up until about one enjoying each others company.

Christmas: We went to VIPS for breakfast, a sort of IHOP type restaurant so we didn't have to cook for ourselves. Then we went to Edgar's (one of the guys from youth group) house for lunch and were surprised with all of our youth friends there. After lunch we went downtown to evangelize by telling the true meaning of Christmas and praying with the people in the main plaza. Then we just hung out with our friends from Durango. It was a strange Christmas, but still filled with friends and happiness.

Overall, we loved our time there, made great friends, and will miss them a lot. I hope you all had a very blessed Christmas and have a great new year. I leave tomorrow for Cordoba, Argentina until the 25th I think. So, for about the next 4 weeks I will be using internet cafes again. I will keep you as updated as I can.

Durango Part 1

2007-12-20T17:29:00.000-04:00

We arrived in Durango Saturday afternoon and then had lunch at Isai's house. Then we went to youth group for the night. Sunday we went to a town about 1 hour away to do a church service in Isai's uncle's church. We did dramas and Dina preached. Then we went to a youth group party in the night. During the week we have gotten up at about 8, had breakfast and team time, and then at about 10 we would start cleaning classrooms at the church school. Then we would have lunch at 2 and have free time until 4 when we would have a time to teach dramas to the youth group and then go somewhere and present them. We usually get back to the church at about 8, have dinner, go home, and sleep.
We have been staying at a camp about 20 minutes from the church where we are working. It is basically a bathroom with a bunch of bunkbeds. It also has windows without glass. Which means that when the night gets down to the 40's it is that cold in our room. So we sleep close to each other, with as many blankets as we have, in our sleeping bags and are pretty warm.
All in all we have been having a great time here and see God blessing our work here. Everyone we have met have been very friendly and the ones we have gotten to know are very fun to be around.

Now, just in case we don't have a chance to get online before Christmas... MERRY CHRISTMAS

Last Week

2007-12-20T17:22:00.000-04:00

Last week was busy. For the teaching we talked about world missions. Our teacher for most of it was Martha Palomares who works with our base and Frontier Missions for the region. It was very fun to hear her stories. We also talked about other major world religions.

Something else we did was raised $2000 for outreach so that everyone can have an outreach wether in Argentina or Mexico. We still need $2000 more for Dina and Heather to be able to go with us to Argentina.

On Friday night we had a Christmas party. We had a nice dinner, funny "awards" for the students, and a gift exchange. It was a fun last night to be all together for the last time.

Heading out

2007-12-14T23:55:00.000-04:00

I am leaving tomorrow at 5 am, and we only have a few minute until we have to go to sleep, so I am only writing a little.
I will only be able to use the internet through internet cafes for the next 6 weeks, so I don't think I can be as consistent in posts. I will do my best though.
Pray for us as we leave for outreach tomorrow! Thanks for all your support.

Just a normal week

2007-12-10T19:17:00.000-04:00

This past week was pretty normal. Our speaker was Juanny Galarza who is our base director. We talked about world vision and things of that sort. For me it wasn't the most interesting week, but that is ok. For class on Friday we went to a big Catholic cathedral to observe their world view. It was pretty interesting because on the 12th they celebrate the Day of the Virgin Guadelupe, so there were lots of mini parades with dancers and things. It was strange to see how devoted they are to non-biblical practices.
On Wednesday, for small groups, we made cookie dough for peanut better cookies, and sugar cookies. We made a mess, but it was fun. Then on Friday night we all cut out the cookies, by hand since we had no cookie cutters. Then baked and decorated them. That was also really messy. It was really fun to just have time to be with each other. It has been very strange to do all sorts of Christmasy things while in short-sleeves, in 80 degree weather, without snow. It doesn't quite seem like Christmas without those things. But we will have Christmas anyway.

On Saturday we had a youth group Christmas party. It was really fun, but very different. Then church on Sunday and then dinner with the youth group to eat the leftover tamales. Sunday night the girls going to Argentina and I went downtown to try to raise some money for outreach. We raised about $57, so that was fun. It gave me a very different perspective on the people that have to do that for a living. What a blessing I don't have to that to live.

Outreach Update

2007-12-05T23:42:00.000-04:00

I realized today that changes have been made for my outreach, and I needed to share them with you. So, here it is. Due to the price of plane tickets going up for the holidays to go to Argentina for the full six weeks would have been about $1800 which was more than we were willing to pay. So, we made the decision to go to Durango, Mexico for 12 days first. From the 15th of Dec. until the 27th. And then after that, on the 29th we will be flying to Cordoba, Argentina to be there until about the 25th, I think. In Durango we will be working with the uncle of Isai, one of the staff going with us on outreach. This is the plan as of now for outreach. I will be sure to keep you updated.

Here comes Christmas!

2007-12-03T00:07:00.000-04:00

This past week we all talked about relationships; family, friends, and romantic. Our speaker was Larry Ballard from Madison, Wisconsin. It was fun to learn more about how best to relate to people and good guidelines to have for relationships.
On Thursday we all raised a fund from staff and students to buy a real, live Christmas tree. So a few of us went to pick one out. It was funny because we made sure that it smelled good and we laughed at for sticking our noses in all the trees. Once we got it in the room though the rest of our group admitted that it smelled good. So, it worked out.
Then Friday my parents came to town. I took them to tacos for dinner with most of the students. Then a few of us went back to my parents hotel and played in the freezing pool. Then on Saturday we went downtown to a river walk called Santa Lucia, then went to the governor's palace and went through a museum there, it was all in Spanish though so they didn't really understand most of it. Then we went to the shopping district and wandered around looking for Christmas presents. We had a relaxing evening with a typical Mexican dinner and hanging out.
Sunday I went to church while my parents listened to a podcast sermon from back home. Then Amber came with us to the old neighborhood, where on Sundays there is an artisan market. Then we went to the flagpole-lookout. That evening we celebrated Christmas.
Monday morning they joined us for worship and then went to the airport to go back to Houston.

Pictures

2007-11-27T00:14:00.000-04:00

Sorry that last post was so long.

If you want to see any pictures I suggest going to Dan and Carey's pictures. They are other students here with me, and my camera broke, so I couldn't take any myself. There is a link to their photos on this page to the left.

Nayarit Out of Control

2007-11-25T20:21:00.000-04:00

We left for Tepic, Nayarit at about 5am on Saturday the 10th. It was dark when we left and dark when we arrived in Tepic, it took about 14 hours to get there. As usual there was all sorts of craziness in the vans on the way. After being together, confined that long you get really comfortable with each other and things that aren't usually funny are. Anyway the drive wasn't really to bad, and it was really fun to see lots of Mexico that we otherwise wouldn't have.

We got to Tepic just in time to have worship with La Fuente Church's youth group. Then we went to the houses we were going to be staying in and got settled for the night, went for tacos, and hit the sack.

Sunday we went to a smaller town outside of Tepic named Pugo. There we went door to door inviting people to our program and then performed some of our dances. After one of the pastors from la Fuente preached. That afternoon we all went to the service at la Fuente which is the main service for that church. We all really enjoyed that service.

Monday thru Thursday morning we studied with a school that is part of la Fuente. It is pretty similar to ours, but longer and a little bit more work. The director of this school, Vangaurdia, is Clemente who was our fifth teacher. It was really fun to get to know his family and the students in the school.

Thursday afternoon we left Tepic to go to Bucerias, which is about 20 minutes from Puerto Vallarta. Through people knowing people we got to stay in a very nice vacation home right on the beach. So, we slept with the windows open, listening to the sound of the surf. It was great! We went there with the students from Vangaurdia and the some if the church's youth group, there were about 40 of us in all. Then we met up with a doctor group from the States and did a program with children from the school in both the morning and the afternoon. Some other people did cleaning/painting, and some did evangelism.

Then Saturday we returned to Tepic to work with another church, called la Cristiana Vida (the Christian Life). That night we did a youth service and got to meet some of the people we would be working with for the next week.

Sunday we went to church in the morning and in the evening we went back to Pugo, but a different place, since we were with a different church. I worked with the kids, and man, did they give me a run for my money. What energetic kids!

Monday we had a free day which was really nice. We went to a beach called las Islitas (Little Islands) and had fun relaxing, playing in the ocean, and enjoying each other's company for the day.

Tuesday we worked around the church and had one class with the school that Roberto Wilmer, our third teacher, has at his church.

Early Wednesday we left to go into the mountains to work with the Huichole Indians. Some people from Roberto's school/church came with us. It took about 5 hours to get there including all the stops we had to take for the vehicles. It was very fun. Most of them speak Spanish, so communication was not a problem. What was hard was the lack of any running water in the town, no electricity, cooking over a fire, and sleeping on concrete. But in spite of that we had a really good time playing with kids, doing some dramas, and showing 2 movies with a generator.

We left the mountains on Friday morning, spent the afternoon resting, and then in the evening went to pray for Tepic. We went to sleep early so that we could leave at 4:30 Saturday to return to Monterrey. Another about 15 hour car ride and we were back.

We are now living at the base and it feels good to be here. Thank you for all your prayers, I appreciate them all.

Crazy Busy Week

2007-11-09T21:50:00.000-04:00

This week our speaker was the founder of YWAM Monterrey, where I am. His name is Roger Audorff. He and his wife Debbie came down for the week. The left the base to work as missionaries with Assemblies of God about 2 years ago. It was really fun to hear all their stories about people and events from here. He taught about team building and how we should build each other up and encourage each others gifts rather than be jealous of them.

This week we were also getting ready for Tepic, leaving tomorrow at 4am. We have had drama and skit practices every night except Monday this week. And we had to pack everything that we have here at the Quinta to move it all to the base so that we can live there when we get back from Tepic. It was super busy.

On Thursday we went to a couple of poor neighborhoods in Monterrey to pass out blankets and New Testaments. We prayed for them and were able to encourage the local pastors. It was really cool, but made us have even less time.

All in all it was a good, but busy week. We leave for Tepic tomorrow morning and I am not sure when we will have internet, so I will keep you as updated as possible.

An Embrace from God

2007-11-05T19:55:00.000-04:00

This past week was a great week. We had a teacher from Indiana. His name is Brian White and he talked about the father heart of God. We basically talked all about how much God loves us and how He want the best for us. It was a great time of just relaxing in the presence of God and feeling His love and embrace.

Otherwise it was just a normal week as far a I can remember. Some Spanish class, some work duties, some intercession, one small group time, lots of class full of stories, and the week was over.

Oh, yeah, and on Thursday we had a foot-washing service. It was really nice. I don't think I've ever been to a foot-washing service before. This one, at least, was neat. Pastor Brian and Edgar both did it. One washed, the other dried, and while doing this they both prayed for us and shared what they felt God was telling them about us. It was really cool.

Then this weekend I went to the border again because the base needed me to put a vehicle permit in my name, since they don't have enough Americans for all the American vans they have. That was alright, not probably first on my list for weekend plans, but still good. Carey and Amber came with as well as two staff. We had two 15 passenger vans with us to register, and one of the staff is Mexican, so he couldn't drive it in the US. That means that I drove through McAllen in one of the big vans. It reminded me of our big blue van.

Anyway, that is all that is going on in my life as of now. I have a busy week ahead, since we are leaving on Saturday at 4 AM to go to Tepic, Mexico for two weeks. Beside that I hope you are all doing well and I love hearing from all of you.

Backtrack to this weekend

2007-10-30T20:09:00.000-04:00

Friday night we had a costume party. We were all supposed to dress up as a character from a movie, but it expanded a little bit. It was very interesting to see how far people would go for a party and who people decide to be. I think it sheds some light on people's personality. There are pictures of this, it is pretty funny. Then early Saturday morning the Graf family and Katelyn and I left for the States. We got across the border in about four hours and proceeded to spend the rest of the day until about 7 shopping for things that are more easily found in the States. Then that night I stayed with the kids while Dan and Carey went out on a date. It was very nice to have carpet and an oven (ours at the Quinta is broken). So, I made some cookies and a frozen pizza for dinner. It was a great night of relaxing. Then on Sunday morning we all went to Palm Valley Church in McAllen, TX. It was nice to have sermon in English after many in Spanish. Then we did some more shopping and headed back home. It was nice to be in the States for awhile, but Monterrey has definitely become home, and where I live, not the US, at least for now. It was great to realize that this is home now.

Spanish or English

2007-10-29T20:14:00.000-04:00

This week we talked about spiritual warfare and intercession. Our teacher was named Clemente Duran and he is from Tepic. He and our teacher from the teaching about righteousness, Roberto, are going to be working with us in two weeks when we are going to be in Tepic. It was a very good week. On Thursday morning we went to the mall about five minutes from our house to practice evangelism. I was in a group with Dina, Levi, and Heather. We walked around and through a series of events that God had to have orchestrated we had the chance to talk to a man named Eusebio. We talked to him for a long time and through this time he came to accept Jesus as his Savior. It was an amazing experience.
This week during our workshops we learned many dramas to music that we will be doing during our outreaches. They are fun to do, and will be very effective in street ministry. One of them is about the Good Samaritan, another is about how with God we need to be real and not wear a mask. They will be fun to do.
We also heard about what we are going to do in Tepic a little bit. We are planning to do street ministry and also help some visiting doctors. We are also planning to do preaching and teaching in the churches. They also told us that they are going to need all of us that are bilingual to translate and help the only English-speaking doctors translate. So, this week my Spanish class began to practice translating as much as we can. We are now trying to speak in Spanish as much as we can, so we can become more and more fluent. It is cool to see how God can use this.

An incredible week once again

2007-10-21T20:58:00.001-04:00

This week was a great week. Our speaker was David Holmbeck, a YWAM base director from Weyerhaeuser, WI. He was a great teacher and really fun to have around. He really wanted to get to know all of us, so he spent a lot more time at our house around us than any of our other speakers yet. We spent the week talking about the Holy Spirit and many other topics that this led us to like baptism. Since I mentioned it now, I'll tell you. I was baptized on Friday with one of the other girls, Katelyn. I was baptized as an infant, but wanted to be re-baptized when I personally, fully realized that I was a new creation in Christ. I wanted to follow biblical precedent and be baptized to physically demonstrate that. There are pictures of it online, too, if you want to see. Other things we learned about were the gifts of the Spirit. It was really good to learn about the Holy Spirit, there was so much I didn't know, or maybe I knew, but didn't understand or remember. I do now, so that is good. It still feels like there is so much to learn, and I am excited to absorb more. Other things that happened this week.... We had to say goodbye to Mirjam on Wed., she was only here to volunteer for a month and now she is traveling around Mexico with her best friend. We all miss her, but were glad we had this time with her.
Oh, and last weekend we took Mirjam to the flagpole since she hadn't been there yet. We then walked around downtown some. They have some cool fountains there. I have pictures of that, too. It is just generally a nice place to walk around. I think that is all for now. Goodnight!

Lots of learning

2007-10-12T22:08:00.000-04:00

This week has been good, too. A little bit harder because it was so much information. Our teacher, Roberto Wilmer, directs and teaches at a Bible school in Tepic, Mexico near Puerto Vallarta. He taught us about grace, justice, and righteousness. He usually teaches this class in 6 weeks, and taught almost all of it to us in 5 days. Needless to say there was a lot of information and it was hard to absorb and process all of it. But, it was really good information. This week we also had workshops. We have them two nights a week, Tuesday and Thursday. They are all about the arts. Last week we had drawing and this week both were about dance. We are learning a choreographed dance to a song in Spanish that we can use as an evangelism tool during outreach. It is hard, but will be fun to do once we get it down. Speaking of outreach, we have decided where we are going to go. Half of us will stay in Mexico and the other half, me included, are going to be in Mexico for two weeks and then in Argentina for 4 weeks. There are going to be five single girls in this group as well as one male and one female staff. We are all really excited about going. I am so glad that all of you are interested in what I am doing and praying for me. I wish that I could personally talk with all of you, but I can't. Just know that I am so blessed to have all of you supporting and loving me. Thanks!

Another Great Week

2007-10-06T13:34:00.000-04:00

We had a really great time this week with our teacher. His name is David Teran and he is originally from around here, but right now he is a youth pastor/ worship leader in Wisconsin. He is good friends with one of our leaders, Edgar, so they joked around a lot. It was fun to feel more comfortable with him and more on equal level. He was also very passionate and excited about what he has learned about worship. The one thing that stuck out the most in his teaching, or maybe more was that we should be extravagant in our worship. The woman who washed Jesus' feet with her hair in Luke 7:36-50 did this and Jesus praised her for it. We should go the extra step for Jesus in our worship too. Another thing was that we can worship in all things it is not just singing and in singing and worship it doesn't matter what others think about you. The only people who matter in your worship is God and you. All in all it was a great teaching and I learned a lot. In other news this week, my Spanish class grew. Heather and Katelyn were moved up to our group from the beginning group. It will be a little bit hard for them, but it is better to be challenged than not learn new things. We have just been hanging out this week. There is still construction going on at the base. It has been quite a few weeks longer than planned, so we are still at the other place, the Quinta. It has been working out fine with the only real complaint being no internet there. I appreciate all your prayers and am doing quite well.

First week of Teaching!

2007-09-29T14:21:00.000-04:00

We started having teaching this week, last week was more orientation type stuff. So, we had a guy named Miguel come. He was from Culiacan, was in his 40's and has a wife and 3 kids. He was a great teacher. He had Bible references for each point and had fun stories for many of them. It also felt like he really cared about us and wanted us to understand what he didn't know at our point in life. We also started language classes this week. I am in the advanced Spanish class with Ruth leading it and Amber and Casey as the other two students. We are going to learn more vocabulary words, some "Christian" words, and hopefully practice conversational Spanish. It should be fun. This week we also had a surprise party for one of the girls here. She was turning 12, so we had a piñata and some games. It was fun. The most fun I had this week, though was washing clothes by hand. It really wasn't too bad, but hopefully it won't become a common chore for me. I think that is about all we did this week. I also put more pictures online and I also have a link to my friend Heather's pictures, so you can see more if you want.

Amber and I at a lookout of Monterrey

2007-09-23T15:56:00.000-04:00

I'm in Mexico!!!

2007-09-22T17:15:00.000-04:00

I'm in Mexico now, and doing great! I got into Monterrey on Saturday afternoon. Going through customs was no problem and meeting up with our group from YWAM was very easy. Right now we are staying at a house in Guadalupe, Mexico a suburb of sorts of Monterrey while the base in the city is under construction. We will hopefully be moving back there next weekend. Meanwhile, however we don't have any internet unless we go to an internet cafe. My time here has been wonderful. Our whole team has really bonded well. There are 10 students and about 6 staff as well as other random people. We have already become good friends and I really feel like this is definitely where God wants me and with the people He wants me to be with. We have explored Monterrey and had praise and worship times every morning. Next week starts the real teaching times where a guest teacher comes and lectures us I guess. This should be fun to see how a normal week will work. The day that we arrived here was Mexico's independence day, so that night we went downtown and saw fireworks. It was really neat to see how similar it was to our 4th of July. Everything has been great with only 2 complaints- mosquitoes and ants, but that in minimal and pretty expected. All in all I am doing great and God is blessing my time here. (Pictures next time, it is time to go today.)

Mexico Awaits

2007-09-06T10:33:00.000-04:00

As most of you know I will be heading to Mexico soon. I was officially accepted into the Discipleship Training School (DTS) with Youth With A Mission (YWAM). This program last for 5 months and is divided into 2 parts. The first 3 months are in Monterrey, Mexico and this part is considered the lecture phase. The last 2 months are in an area deemed to be in need. This part is the Outreach phase. I will be leaving Midland on Sept. 10 and visiting with my parents in Houston until the 15th when my mom and I will be heading to Mexico.