College as a blessing.

When I begin to get discouraged and frustrated with school, this is the first picture I look at. This is all it takes for me to be instantly reminded of how much of a blessing college is. Attending this university is a privilege. Taking classes that will ultimately help me pursue my passions is a blessing. I look at these girls and their sweet, bright, beaming faces -- these girls who will never have this opportunity. These girls who's parents live in the slums of El Bambu and can barely afford to pay for their elementary schools. These girls who have a life of working in the fields and raising children to look forward to. Who will more than likely not finish middle school, let alone graduate high school or obtain a college degree. College is a blessing, and it should be treated as so.

Hiding in the Covers

So, every week since I live on campus there is a lady that comes by to clean my bathroom. They leave us a note the night before they come, so we always know to expect them so that we can clear off the counters, etc. Well, this morning I completely forgot that they were coming. Tuesday's are my one day that I allow myself to sleep in (only until 10:15 or so), and so when somebody knocked on my door at 9:45, there was no way I was getting up. I knew that Rachel was in class, and so I knew she hadn't locked herself out, and there was nobody else who would knock on our door. I rolled over to fall back asleep, only to have a key turn and our door unlock. The door then opened. Y'all, at this point I was only half awake, if that. So any sense of logic wasn't happening in my brain. So instead of getting out of bed to figure out what was going on, I grabbed my phone and hid under all of my covers so that nobody would know that I was in the room. To say I was freaking out would probably be an understatement.

After a couple minutes, I heard them filling up what sounded like a bucket with the water from our shower. Only when I heard the mop sloshing on the ground did it click to me that it was the cleaning lady cleaning our bathroom for us. I instantly let out a major sigh of relief, and fell back asleep.

To my defense, they normally yell "custodian" before they open the door to let anybody inside know who it is....

A Scary Lyric

Very often the prayer for patience is known as a very scary prayer to pray. God doesn't just give you patience, most of the time He will give you a situation to test (and eventually grow) your patience.

I think the song lyric "Ruin my life, the plans that I've made" (Ruin Me by Jeff Johnson) is a very scary song lyric to sing if you mean it. The chorus continues with "Ruin desires for my own selfish gain. Destroy the idols that have taken Your place, till it's You alone I live for, You alone I live for".

Literally, we are asking the Lord to ruin our lives. To destroy our plans. To demolish our desires. Simply, to wreck our lives.

Y'all. That's a scary lyric to sing, but it needs to be so true in our lives. God's plan should trump all. We say it does, but do we live like it does?

Mark 16:15

"Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." -Mark 16:15

This is a verse that I hear all the time. In the gospels this verse comes after Jesus is betrayed, after He is crucified, and right after He has rose again. It is His last commandment to all of His disciples.

When Jesus says this to His disciples, it is not just applicable to the 12 He has been with for the last few years. No. This verse is meant for all of us, anybody who claims Jesus as their Savior and who loves the Father.

I often get caught up in the "all the world" part of this verse. I love the idea of going into places that don't know Jesus and showing those people who Jesus is. This is one reason why I love Honduras so much, and have such a passion for orphans and foster children who might not know Jesus or have anybody to show Him to them.

I skip over the "to all creation" part of this quite frequently. Or when I do consider it, I think of those in Africa, Honduras, India. But very rarely do I think of those on Texas A&M's campus.

Very rarely do I think of the girls in the dorm room next to mine.
Very rarely do I think of my water polo team.
Very rarely do I think of those in my project groups.

Y'all, "all of creation" is surrounding us. Every interaction we have with another human being is a chance to demonstrate God's love to His children. So often I know that I miss out on these opportunities to live out one of the most inspirational verses in the Bible to it's fullest.

That was my prayer tonight. That when I become frustrated or irritated that the Lord will pull this verse to the front of my mind so that I can remember His call for our lives. To share the good news. To love His people. To be His hands and feet.

This is too important of a call to only read and apply half of it to our lives.

Blessed to Live With a Best Friend

I know I have posted this same general thing before, but I am so blessed to live with somebody who is a best friend of mine.

Rachel and I laugh together. We make fun of each other. We joke together. We drive around a jam out to music. We make the most of early mornings. We talk about what God is doing in our lives. We worship together. We study with each other. We encourage one another. We live life together.

It is wonderful thing, and I am so blessed.

Spring 2013

Spring 2013 is going to be BUSY. I'm taking 16 hours, 9 of which are writing-intensive...
Spring 2013 is going to be EXCITING. I can't wait to see how our water polo team ends up doing!
Spring 2013 is going to be NEW. Leadership stuff begins this semester for Cho-Yeh in preparation for the summer!
Spring 2013 is going to be FUN. Rachel and I have way too much fun hanging out together!

All in all, I can't wait to see how God's plan for this semester is going to unfold! He has blessed me with classes I love, a team I adore, a spot on leadership that I'm stoked about, and a roommate who is wonderful! It's going to be a wonderful semester!

Cho-Yeh LEADERSHIP!

I have been blessed to see camp from several different perspectives over the last few years. I was a camper from 2007-2009. In 2010, I joined staff on Work Crew. 2011-2012 I was a counselor for all summer. Until very recently, I was intending to spend a 3rd summer as a counselor, but plans have changed! I have been asked to be a part of the 2013 Leadership Team! My official position is Activities Coordinator.

My job will consist of organizing all the activities at Cho-Yeh for summer camp. I will be responsible for maintaining all the equipment, and staffing each activity with counselors. On Sunday afternoon's I will help each camper sign up for their activities for the week, as well as ensuring that every camper is a the correct activity throughout the week. I will also help with other events and programs around camp as needed. I will work with the rest of the "activity team" which consists of an aquatics director (this summer is Caleb), as well as a ropes head and a paintball head.

I am so excited for this new opportunity at camp! I can't wait to see what God is going to do this summer at Cho-Yeh!

Azariah

This little girl's name is Azariah. "Azariah" is a Bible name, and in Hebrew it means "helped by God". Sweet Azariah accepted Jesus into her heart last week, her name couldn't be more perfect!

All The Poor And Powerless: Honduras 2013 (Pictures)

Just a few of the pictures from this week. Our camp photographer hasn't uploaded her pictures yet, but once she does I will probably upload some more, as I know she has some of my favorite pictures on her camera!

All The Poor And Powerless: Honduras 2013 (Words)

This last week in Honduras has been bigger than words can describe. God showed up in HUGE ways. 

We arrived in San Pedro Sula Saturday afternoon, and then proceeded to go grab lunch at our favorite Honduran restaurant, Power Chicken. We then drove to Santa Elena where we would be based out of for the week. We ate dinner and just settled in for the night. 

Sunday: We spent the morning touring Canchias, the village where Heart To Honduras was started. It was cool to see one of the houses that we started building last year finished, and to get to see that family again. We then went to an obstacle course owned by the CEI camp (the camp Heart to Honduras partners with), and spent the afternoon doing team-building activities. That night we went to a church in Santa Elena, where I was able to share part of what God is doing in my life in front of the whole congregation. 

Monday: The first day at the job-sites in the neighboring village of El Bambu! We started building the frames of the house, and got to reconnect with some of the children that we met the year before. It was so incredible to see their beaming faces as they ran down the hill into our welcoming arms. That reunion is one I won't soon forget. Caida, a 2 year old, was now walking on her own. Cenya and Marisol had smiles bigger than I had ever seen. Pedro had to have grown atleast a foot. These kids are precious! After spending the morning loving on them, we went to a mission home in Las Naranjas, where we ran day camp for an extremely poor neighborhood where we had over 200 children at the camp. We were taken a back by the need of these children and families. It broke my heart to see mother's lying to our faces in an attempt to steal what we had for their kids. I was able to meet one sweet little girl, Azariah, who must have been about 5 or so. She was so precious and loved me despite my poor attempts at understanding her Spanish. The name "Azariah" is biblical and means "whom the Lord helps", and that gave me so much hope for her precious life!

Tuesday: The morning we made LOTS of progress on the houses in El Bambu! We also got to continue to play with the sweet village kids. That afternoon camp was held at the CEI camp for all the village children.  The first girls I tried to talk to that afternoon were middle schoolers who laughed at me for a good 3 minutes at my not-so-great Spanish and then began to talk behind my back and point and sneer at me. I was honestly kinda hurt by their actions, but eventually one of the girls came up to me and began to talk to me. We taught each other our languages. She would point to something and tell me the Spanish name, and I would tell her the English name. It was so fun! She was 12 years old, and her name was Carla. I loved getting to laugh and play with her, and all too soon it was time for her to head back home. I was excited to see her again on Thursday!

Wednesday: The same typical morning routine at the houses, except for that we FINISHED both houses in El Bambu! We then went to camp in Las Naranjas, and it went MUCH better than on Monday. I got to hang out with a fire-cracker of a girl, Haiti, and ended up blowing bubbles for nearly 2 hours with a crowd of youngin's. They LOVED it, and I couldn't get enough of their joyous smiles as bubbles would pop in their faces. It was hard to say goodbyes to all these kids, as I knew that the fun they had at camp probably wouldn't be had again for a long while. Wednesday night we went to a lake/river/stream/dam/reservoir thing and all showered in the lake! It was much better than the ice-cold showers we were used to!

Thursday: We went hiking at Panacam National Park, and got to see some absolutely gorgeous views. We were able to go swimming in ponds with gentle waterfalls flowing into them, and hammock for a while! It was so beautiful to be there, but I also learned that I am not much of a hiker... I was tuckered out afterwards! We ran camp in Santa Elena that afternoon, and I hung out with Carla the entire time. She also had brought her baby cousin who was only a few months old who fell asleep in my arms for a while! So precious. That afternoon was also a real eye-opener to me. I saw a little boy, probably 8 or so, whose back of his head was bleeding. We found out that his mom had beat him a few days ago, and that was the result. In America, this cut would have needed several stitches and he would've been removed from his home, but that isn't possible in Honduras. It definitely shattered my heart, as the little boy didn't even think anything was wrong with the situation. 

Friday: Friday morning we went to the El Bambu houses for a dedication. It was such a blessing to see the families and their new homes, but it was also so very hard to say goodbye to them and all the kids in the neighborhood. Tears were definitely shed as we got on the bus and drove away from El Bambu and all the kids that stole our hearts. Friday afternoon was spent doing touristy things. We went ziplining over a 150 foot waterfall, and then proceeded to hike under the waterfall, with thousands of gallons of water pounding your head every second. We definitely experienced God's beauty and power first hand! We then went to a market where we were able to shop, it was a fun time! That night we went out to eat and then stayed at a Bed and Breakfast.

Saturday came way too soon, and none of us were ready to leave the beautiful country that stole our hearts. We left though with hearts full and an even more passionate love for our Father, Savior, and Creator. He is so good.

Ephesians 6:19-20

"Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should." --Ephesians 6:19-20

Ever since returning from Honduras last year, I couldn't wait for the day when I would return to the country that captured a huge chunk of my heart. Well, tomorrow is the day! Please keep me and the rest of my Cho-Yeh team in your prayers this next week as we seek to live out the Gospel. We couldn't be more excited to see how the Lord is working in other parts of the world!

The Best Part of My Job

It is no secret that I love my job at Cho-Yeh. I love the people I met, the strangers that become family, the community and passion that surrounds camp. I love it.

But there is something I love more about my job, and that is the relationships I build with my kids.

When I was a camper at Cho-Yeh, I loved staying in contact with my counselors throughout the year. When I needed advice, they were always there. When I was excited, they shared in my joy. When I had a question, they did their best to answer it. They spiritually encouraged me, and were intentional about asking about my walk with God. They were my biggest role models. Now, as a counselor, I have the opportunity to be that person for over 125 girls every summer, and I am blessed to have those relationships continue with a few of my campers long past the summer. I am so joyed to be have these girls in my life, they are definitely the best part of my job!