"We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."
Romans 6:4
Monday, March 24, 2008
Off we go!
First, a couple highlights from my weekend at home:
- spending every moment with family
- bottle feeding and playing with our four baby goats
- great Good Friday and Easter services at my home church
- a fun target shopping trip with my mom
- dying Easter eggs, and using them for a pretty center piece
- getting emotional at church as the chicken wire covered cross was filled with flowers
- enjoying family and friends over a feast
- getting to drive Katie, a girl I met at Veritas, to and from Oakdale and the great spiritual conversations we had - which led to the chance to give her a Bible which she readily accepted!
- getting to fully enjoy the beautiful weather (washing the car, reading a good book in the sun)
- simply being at home and relaxing. . . it was wonderful!
And, now I'm back in SLO but only for a couple hours. We leave here at 3:30 to head down to the LA airport. . .in order to catch our red-eye flight to El Salvador. The time has come! Please keep us in your prayers. I'm so thankful to know that God knows every detail of every moment we will spend in this country I do not currently know. Pray that we would all fully abide in Him. . .for apart from Him we cannot do anything, and He is then not glorified. Have a great week!
- spending every moment with family
- bottle feeding and playing with our four baby goats
- great Good Friday and Easter services at my home church
- a fun target shopping trip with my mom
- dying Easter eggs, and using them for a pretty center piece
- getting emotional at church as the chicken wire covered cross was filled with flowers
- enjoying family and friends over a feast
- getting to drive Katie, a girl I met at Veritas, to and from Oakdale and the great spiritual conversations we had - which led to the chance to give her a Bible which she readily accepted!
- getting to fully enjoy the beautiful weather (washing the car, reading a good book in the sun)
- simply being at home and relaxing. . . it was wonderful!
And, now I'm back in SLO but only for a couple hours. We leave here at 3:30 to head down to the LA airport. . .in order to catch our red-eye flight to El Salvador. The time has come! Please keep us in your prayers. I'm so thankful to know that God knows every detail of every moment we will spend in this country I do not currently know. Pray that we would all fully abide in Him. . .for apart from Him we cannot do anything, and He is then not glorified. Have a great week!
Monday, March 17, 2008
El Salvador
Okay, so now it's time to let you in on some more details of the fact that I'll be headed to El Salvador in exactly ONE (!!!) week. Actually, we'll still be in wonderful Los Angeles airport. . .our flight doesn't leave until 11:55 PM. . .it'll be my first truly red-eye flight, yippee! :) So, here's what I know:
- I am helping to lead (along with the Goodsons, and baby Kate!) a team of 11 students (2 from UC Berkeley and the rest from Poly) to the capital city of El Salvador - San Salvador.
- We will arrive early Tuesday morning and will be back in LA the following Monday (Poly students have their first day of Spring quarter off thanks to Caesar Chavez!)
- We will be teaming up with the El Salvadorian Campus Crusade staff and students in order to do ministry on several university campuses
- They are organizing a "Meet the Americans" outreach for Thursday night. . .there will be a Gospel presentation that night! (and prayerfully many more opportunities to share the Gospel throughout the days on campus and in town as well)
- We'll be ministering to poor children in the outskirts of the city on Friday
- We'll be spending some time at the beaches and seeing the sights on Saturday
- We'll experience church in San Salvador on Sunday
- We'll start the trip back to SLO bright and early Monday morning
Clearly it will be a whirl-wind of a week but purposeful and worth it none the less. The Goodsons and I are meeting tomorrow morning to set a more detailed schedule as well as do planning for the content and development of the students during the week.
- Pray for the Lord's direction during this time and as we continue to prepare throughout the week!
- Pray for the team's safety. . .although we have great nationals who know where to take us, have arranged private transportation, we're staying at a great hotel, and we'll for the most part be in the most safe parts of the country. . .all in all we STILL need the Lord's protection and covet your prayers in this.
- Pray that the team of students would really connect, first and foremost very intimately with the Lord and then with the El Salvadorians and each other.
- Pray for the openness to be flexible and teachable during this week - we will all be experiencing many new things and we want to see the Lord do His work both through as and aside from us.
- Pray for the salvation of the lost and that those who know Him would truly become Christ-centered laborers in their country.
That's about all I know right now although I'll be posting more specific reports and prayer requests. . .especially after tomorrow. This is just so exciting for me personally because El Salvador is our new partnership (along with our existing partnership with universities in East Asia) and I am trusting that the Lord will use this week to continue to grow my heart for Latinos as well as to show me how to more effectively recruit our students here to give a summer or a year of their lives to the Lord to serve Him and see Him be glorified on the university campuses in this country. Granted it is a quick trip - I truly believe this week will have lasting effects for both those in San Salvador and those here. . .for years to come - and Lord willing, for an eternity. Thanks for praying big with me!
- I am helping to lead (along with the Goodsons, and baby Kate!) a team of 11 students (2 from UC Berkeley and the rest from Poly) to the capital city of El Salvador - San Salvador.
- We will arrive early Tuesday morning and will be back in LA the following Monday (Poly students have their first day of Spring quarter off thanks to Caesar Chavez!)
- We will be teaming up with the El Salvadorian Campus Crusade staff and students in order to do ministry on several university campuses
- They are organizing a "Meet the Americans" outreach for Thursday night. . .there will be a Gospel presentation that night! (and prayerfully many more opportunities to share the Gospel throughout the days on campus and in town as well)
- We'll be ministering to poor children in the outskirts of the city on Friday
- We'll be spending some time at the beaches and seeing the sights on Saturday
- We'll experience church in San Salvador on Sunday
- We'll start the trip back to SLO bright and early Monday morning
Clearly it will be a whirl-wind of a week but purposeful and worth it none the less. The Goodsons and I are meeting tomorrow morning to set a more detailed schedule as well as do planning for the content and development of the students during the week.
- Pray for the Lord's direction during this time and as we continue to prepare throughout the week!
- Pray for the team's safety. . .although we have great nationals who know where to take us, have arranged private transportation, we're staying at a great hotel, and we'll for the most part be in the most safe parts of the country. . .all in all we STILL need the Lord's protection and covet your prayers in this.
- Pray that the team of students would really connect, first and foremost very intimately with the Lord and then with the El Salvadorians and each other.
- Pray for the openness to be flexible and teachable during this week - we will all be experiencing many new things and we want to see the Lord do His work both through as and aside from us.
- Pray for the salvation of the lost and that those who know Him would truly become Christ-centered laborers in their country.
That's about all I know right now although I'll be posting more specific reports and prayer requests. . .especially after tomorrow. This is just so exciting for me personally because El Salvador is our new partnership (along with our existing partnership with universities in East Asia) and I am trusting that the Lord will use this week to continue to grow my heart for Latinos as well as to show me how to more effectively recruit our students here to give a summer or a year of their lives to the Lord to serve Him and see Him be glorified on the university campuses in this country. Granted it is a quick trip - I truly believe this week will have lasting effects for both those in San Salvador and those here. . .for years to come - and Lord willing, for an eternity. Thanks for praying big with me!
St. Patrick's Day!
Here's the only picture that was taken in my green attire today! I'll have you know that I was also wearing a shirt that says "Green is Good" (which I take to mean the color, not the environment in this case), green stripped socks and green converse shoes. Oh happy day! Here I am with my intern friend Caellin who also loves the color green and I love that Dan is smiling in the back ground. We had a full and productive day of staff planning. . .the Lord really provided a lot of direction and we were able to accomplish quite a lot. After this we headed up to the Pappas' home in Santa Margarita for a great St. Patrick's Day party to celebrate the end of the quarter as a staff team. Gretchen made an awesome corned beef and cabbage and we played a great game called "Whoonu" made by the makers of "Cranium". I recommend! Did you know that the Pope actually changed the date of St. Patrick's day this year to last Saturday because it landed during Holy Week?! I was not aware. . .although I'm sure I was wearing green on Saturday anyway. :) I hope your day was gloriously green as well!Sunday, March 16, 2008
I've been "tagged" - how fun!
So - I usually don't do these but perhaps it's a fun way to let you get to know me a tad better! My friend Andrea "tagged" me after she responded to these questions on her blog so now it's my turn. Here I go:
What were you doing 10 years ago?
I was a thirteen year old Junior High student in Oakdale. I really don't remember a whole lot but what comes to mind is the fact that I did like junior high, even more then high school actually (although college years were my favorite. . .how sad that I have to use the word "were" now! Although not sad in the sense that I don't have to take finals this week. . .). I was involved at church but didn't really fit in with some of the girls there and would come home crying sometimes. I was taking ballet twice a week and dreaming about dancing on pointe one day. . .that dream became a reality (a painful but totally worth it one)! I already liked to bake and eat sweats - it was around this time that my best friend and I made a Martha Steward video, little did we know what would become of her. So, that's about all that comes to mind right now - ah, the simple life.
What were you doing 5 years ago?
On March 15th, 2003 I was 18 years old and gearing up to graduate from high school. . .and very excited about that. I knew that I would be headed to Cal Poly, SLO and I actually was not excited about that - I wanted to have more of a say in where I would go to college. . .but thankfully the Lord knew exactly what He was doing in sending me there! I was dancing on pointe and was getting ready for my last dance recital. I was the "moon" and had moonbeams and stars that danced with me. I was working hard on scholarship applications including the full-ride Leo Volz, which my current roommate and I would later both receive, what a blessing! I didn't have many close friends at school at this point because many began living a lifestyle I wasn't comfortable with. Thankfully my church family became more and more important in my life and I found myself very busy with activities there, working for my parents, and simply being an 18 year old.
5 things on my to-do list today:
(I'll list 5 things for tomorrow. . .since things like brushing my teeth before bed is a little mundane)
1. go for a run - the weather is amazing and SLO is so green right now. I'm really not a good runner BUT I enjoy the time to be with the Lord and center my thoughts on Him as a new day is about to begin.
2. wear green - yes, it'll be St. Patrick's Day. . . I've been waiting for this day since it passed last year, I might just go all out and make sure that every article of clothing is of this wonderful hue!
3. go to the staff planning day from 10-5; I find these days to be rather intense, lots of planning, vision casting, evaluating - but also lots of prayer and fellowship. I'm so thankful for our team and how the Lord is directing us!
4. drop off stroopwafels (see www.thefoodloveconnection.blogspot.com) and the movie I borrowed from Brenna - the stroopwafels are for her to take to a Destino study session - I thought I would share a bit of my culture with them!
5. abide in Christ - this is on my to-do list daily but I wouldn't say that I check it off daily. Too often I try to abide in myself and of course this leads to frustration and failure. John 15:5 is the way to go!
What snacks I enjoy:
Hum - like most, I like snacks. . .and probably too much! Right now I'm really into grapefruits as well as snack-size bags of kettle popcorn. I also like celery and peanut butter and pretzels from Trader Joe's. That's what comes to mind right now. . .although, I'm sure there's more!
What would I do if I suddenly became a billionaire?
First off I would pray! I would pray that I would know, and never forget, that this billion dollars is actually the Lord's, and then I would pray for wisdom on how it should be used for His Kingdom and the furtherance of His glory. I would help support lots of missionaries, my church, and whatever the Lord brings my way. And I would love to fly out to Holland to scope out ministry opportunities for me there. Oh, and I've been itching to go to Israel so I'd look into that as well!
Three bad habits:
1. I check blogs and facebook too often (I am going to set a goal of check others blogs only once a week next quarter. . .hold me to it!)
2. I eat too much sugar and my love for baking doesn't help with that!
3. Not finishing books that I've started - although I'm working on this. . .slowly but surely!
Five places I've lived:
1. Escalon, CA
2. Oakdale, CA
3. San Luis Obispo, CA
4. Amsterdam, The Netherlands (for a summer. . .does that count?)
5. hum . . . we'll this summer I'll live in Santa Monica for 5 weeks so I'll just add that here now!
Five jobs I've had:
1. cheese girl. . .selling the family goods at farmers markets - getting my license was so bitter sweet, although I actually really liked this job usually.
2. babysitting - the church was a great hook-up for this
3. sandwich maker at The Sandwich Factory on the Cal Poly campus
4. child care assistant at the Cal Poly Children's Center
5. full-time missionary. . .my favorite thus far!
Five things you don't know about me:
1. I really like the smell of certain perfumes on people and will be very quick to compliment them on this!
2. If I were competitive (I'm still not at all!) I would rewind back to my high school years and join the swim team. . .then my current technique would be better and who knows - maybe I would have been en route to the summer Olympics!
3. I used to hate spinach (it made my tongue feel funny) and cashews (they tasted like plastic) growing up and now I love both those things - oh how my taste buds have been refined!
4. I don't own an apron even though I spend so much time in the kitchen you think I would have earned one by now!
5. I have never been really obsessed with any movie stars or musicians until I discovered Shawn McDonald. . .thanks to my friend in Wisconsin. It's the first time I have ever bought a CD on it's release date for fear that it would sell out - his voice and lyrics are amazing!
I tag. . .
anyone who has a blog (or is going to start one as a result of reading this amazing post) and who found it interesting to learn these things about me - now it's your turn. Have fun and I'll be checking. . .hopefully not too frequently. . .to see if you've updated lately. Have a blessed week!
What were you doing 10 years ago?
I was a thirteen year old Junior High student in Oakdale. I really don't remember a whole lot but what comes to mind is the fact that I did like junior high, even more then high school actually (although college years were my favorite. . .how sad that I have to use the word "were" now! Although not sad in the sense that I don't have to take finals this week. . .). I was involved at church but didn't really fit in with some of the girls there and would come home crying sometimes. I was taking ballet twice a week and dreaming about dancing on pointe one day. . .that dream became a reality (a painful but totally worth it one)! I already liked to bake and eat sweats - it was around this time that my best friend and I made a Martha Steward video, little did we know what would become of her. So, that's about all that comes to mind right now - ah, the simple life.
What were you doing 5 years ago?
On March 15th, 2003 I was 18 years old and gearing up to graduate from high school. . .and very excited about that. I knew that I would be headed to Cal Poly, SLO and I actually was not excited about that - I wanted to have more of a say in where I would go to college. . .but thankfully the Lord knew exactly what He was doing in sending me there! I was dancing on pointe and was getting ready for my last dance recital. I was the "moon" and had moonbeams and stars that danced with me. I was working hard on scholarship applications including the full-ride Leo Volz, which my current roommate and I would later both receive, what a blessing! I didn't have many close friends at school at this point because many began living a lifestyle I wasn't comfortable with. Thankfully my church family became more and more important in my life and I found myself very busy with activities there, working for my parents, and simply being an 18 year old.
5 things on my to-do list today:
(I'll list 5 things for tomorrow. . .since things like brushing my teeth before bed is a little mundane)
1. go for a run - the weather is amazing and SLO is so green right now. I'm really not a good runner BUT I enjoy the time to be with the Lord and center my thoughts on Him as a new day is about to begin.
2. wear green - yes, it'll be St. Patrick's Day. . . I've been waiting for this day since it passed last year, I might just go all out and make sure that every article of clothing is of this wonderful hue!
3. go to the staff planning day from 10-5; I find these days to be rather intense, lots of planning, vision casting, evaluating - but also lots of prayer and fellowship. I'm so thankful for our team and how the Lord is directing us!
4. drop off stroopwafels (see www.thefoodloveconnection.blogspot.com) and the movie I borrowed from Brenna - the stroopwafels are for her to take to a Destino study session - I thought I would share a bit of my culture with them!
5. abide in Christ - this is on my to-do list daily but I wouldn't say that I check it off daily. Too often I try to abide in myself and of course this leads to frustration and failure. John 15:5 is the way to go!
What snacks I enjoy:
Hum - like most, I like snacks. . .and probably too much! Right now I'm really into grapefruits as well as snack-size bags of kettle popcorn. I also like celery and peanut butter and pretzels from Trader Joe's. That's what comes to mind right now. . .although, I'm sure there's more!
What would I do if I suddenly became a billionaire?
First off I would pray! I would pray that I would know, and never forget, that this billion dollars is actually the Lord's, and then I would pray for wisdom on how it should be used for His Kingdom and the furtherance of His glory. I would help support lots of missionaries, my church, and whatever the Lord brings my way. And I would love to fly out to Holland to scope out ministry opportunities for me there. Oh, and I've been itching to go to Israel so I'd look into that as well!
Three bad habits:
1. I check blogs and facebook too often (I am going to set a goal of check others blogs only once a week next quarter. . .hold me to it!)
2. I eat too much sugar and my love for baking doesn't help with that!
3. Not finishing books that I've started - although I'm working on this. . .slowly but surely!
Five places I've lived:
1. Escalon, CA
2. Oakdale, CA
3. San Luis Obispo, CA
4. Amsterdam, The Netherlands (for a summer. . .does that count?)
5. hum . . . we'll this summer I'll live in Santa Monica for 5 weeks so I'll just add that here now!
Five jobs I've had:
1. cheese girl. . .selling the family goods at farmers markets - getting my license was so bitter sweet, although I actually really liked this job usually.
2. babysitting - the church was a great hook-up for this
3. sandwich maker at The Sandwich Factory on the Cal Poly campus
4. child care assistant at the Cal Poly Children's Center
5. full-time missionary. . .my favorite thus far!
Five things you don't know about me:
1. I really like the smell of certain perfumes on people and will be very quick to compliment them on this!
2. If I were competitive (I'm still not at all!) I would rewind back to my high school years and join the swim team. . .then my current technique would be better and who knows - maybe I would have been en route to the summer Olympics!
3. I used to hate spinach (it made my tongue feel funny) and cashews (they tasted like plastic) growing up and now I love both those things - oh how my taste buds have been refined!
4. I don't own an apron even though I spend so much time in the kitchen you think I would have earned one by now!
5. I have never been really obsessed with any movie stars or musicians until I discovered Shawn McDonald. . .thanks to my friend in Wisconsin. It's the first time I have ever bought a CD on it's release date for fear that it would sell out - his voice and lyrics are amazing!
I tag. . .
anyone who has a blog (or is going to start one as a result of reading this amazing post) and who found it interesting to learn these things about me - now it's your turn. Have fun and I'll be checking. . .hopefully not too frequently. . .to see if you've updated lately. Have a blessed week!
Finals Week Survival Kits
It's finals week for the students! Yesterday I had the freshmen girls over for a study break and we used our time to make "Finals Week Survival Kits" for all the girls on their floor (50). Each cute baggie contained a scantron, a Cal Poly pencil, a vitamin drink packet, candy, and this awesome bookmark that one of the girls made:
The girls really took ownership of this project - it was neat to see them want to take a break from their studies to do something with the heart of reaching their friends for the Lord.
The girls took the baggies with them to personally deliver one survival kit to each girl on their floor. They worked so quickly that I forgot to take a close-up of the final product. . .you'll have to take my word for it - they turned out so cute!
As these baggies are now distributed pray that the women on the floor would keep the bookmark and sincerely consider coming to the Bible study at the start of Spring Quarter. There are many who don't know Him that the Lord wants to bring into a personal relationship with Him!Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Night at the Oscars!
Okay, here are the pictures I promised! It was such a fun night. . .
Some of the Trinity Bible study ladies. . .wearing their High School prom dresses!
At the entrance everyone was given a pair of sunglasses with their table number written with gold pen on the side - such a great idea!
We all sat at a table together, enjoyed a family-style meal and watched the videos.
Sweet Laura, she's a doll!
Bailey and Laura voting for their favorites. . ."Forrest Gump, Learn by Doing" won!
Kelly and I - looking lovely as usual. :)
My "siblings" Julie and Tim!
Bethany, one of the prayer coordinators that I coach.
Yay for a fun night and for remembering to take some pictures. Hope you enjoyed them!
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Hi!
Well, it's been a while since I've updated. . .I hope people are still dropping in to read - although, I guess I'm preaching to the choir because clearly YOU are still reading. Thank you! Blogger isn't letting me upload pictures right now so I'll post again soon because I have some great "Night at the Oscars" pictures to show you. This event was last night and it was such a blast! I borrowed a great green dress from a friend. . .I know where she bought it - I might have to see if they still have them. About 300 students came out for this event. Everyone looked so great. . .I saw many old prom dresses and great tuxes. Dinner was served family style, seriously - where would we be without Costco and the great food that you can get in mass quantities? The Community team not only put together a great menu but really a great evening. From the table decor to the MC for the evening to the showing of awesome videos that students made (such talent!) to the fun awards ceremony at the end - it was just such a blast. Yay for another great event. . .and I promise to post pictures soon.
This morning a friend and I got together and made acai bowls - check out a new blog I started to learn how to made this yummy treat: www.thefoodloveconnection.blogspot.com This blog brings together friends from all over so that we can exchange recipes and share new food experiences, like mine today, with each other. I hope it takes off and gets updated frequently!
I also headed down to Arroyo Grande (the ocean was just sparkling in the sun - it is seriously warm today!) for a car wash that a friend's church high school group was putting on to fundraise money for their Mexico Spring Break trip in 2 weeks. My friend's mom was collecting the money at the beginning and something she said really stuck: "it's only in God's Kingdom that we have to work in order to serve". . .I think that's how she said it. In this case it's so true - these kids gave up a Saturday so that they could give up an entire week to further the Gospel in Mexico. . .what a joy it is to do the work of the Lord, in whatever capacity. This car wash was legit! They washed over 100 cars today and I definitely saw some sunburns in the making!
Speaking of Spring Break. . .it's hard to believe that I'll be headed down to El Salvador in a little over 2 weeks. We gathered the team of students together (minus the two that go to UC Berkley) before our weekly meeting on Wednesday and it was such a blast. Most of the student I don't know at all or I don't know very well so it'll be a great time to bond together as well as serve together. It's going to be a packed week - Monday to Monday (because Cal Poly doesn't start school til Tuesday of week 1, thank you Caesar Chavez!). I'll give you more details as they unfold.
Well, I'm going to dive into some of my Beth Moore Daniel Bible study homework. We're studying prophesy and end-time events right now. . .challenging stuff - I'm so thankful that we know who wins in the end because complete victory occurred on the cross and will one day (soon?) come full-circle. Oh how this motivates me to pray that more would be sent into the harvest, and would be obedient to the call of the Lord to do so. We've all been called and we've all been sent. . .and in honor of the John Piper conference coming to the Central Coast. . .let's not waste our life!
This morning a friend and I got together and made acai bowls - check out a new blog I started to learn how to made this yummy treat: www.thefoodloveconnection.blogspot.com This blog brings together friends from all over so that we can exchange recipes and share new food experiences, like mine today, with each other. I hope it takes off and gets updated frequently!
I also headed down to Arroyo Grande (the ocean was just sparkling in the sun - it is seriously warm today!) for a car wash that a friend's church high school group was putting on to fundraise money for their Mexico Spring Break trip in 2 weeks. My friend's mom was collecting the money at the beginning and something she said really stuck: "it's only in God's Kingdom that we have to work in order to serve". . .I think that's how she said it. In this case it's so true - these kids gave up a Saturday so that they could give up an entire week to further the Gospel in Mexico. . .what a joy it is to do the work of the Lord, in whatever capacity. This car wash was legit! They washed over 100 cars today and I definitely saw some sunburns in the making!
Speaking of Spring Break. . .it's hard to believe that I'll be headed down to El Salvador in a little over 2 weeks. We gathered the team of students together (minus the two that go to UC Berkley) before our weekly meeting on Wednesday and it was such a blast. Most of the student I don't know at all or I don't know very well so it'll be a great time to bond together as well as serve together. It's going to be a packed week - Monday to Monday (because Cal Poly doesn't start school til Tuesday of week 1, thank you Caesar Chavez!). I'll give you more details as they unfold.
Well, I'm going to dive into some of my Beth Moore Daniel Bible study homework. We're studying prophesy and end-time events right now. . .challenging stuff - I'm so thankful that we know who wins in the end because complete victory occurred on the cross and will one day (soon?) come full-circle. Oh how this motivates me to pray that more would be sent into the harvest, and would be obedient to the call of the Lord to do so. We've all been called and we've all been sent. . .and in honor of the John Piper conference coming to the Central Coast. . .let's not waste our life!
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