Party in the DR 2012

I'm in the Dominican Republic this week with a group of 37 from Grace Bible Church. Our group of high school, college students & adults are putting on a camp for Dominican junior high & high schoolers at Pico Escondito in Jarabacoa, DR. I'm social media-ing the trip via instagram, tumblr, twitter & Facebook. I'm currently in love with tumblr because of its ability to link the 4! Whatever you're on, I am there! Upload a pic to instagram, it auto uploads to tumblr which auto posts to Facebook & twitter. Who knew I was THIS tech savy?! Check it out if you're so inclined... www.campdiscovery2012.tumblr.com Adios!

Here's What I Love: Dressing Up!

Two weekends was the Grace Country Fair (the churchy "alternative" Halloween option)--it was such a fun time to hangout with youth kids, serve the community & dress up!  An estimated 2000 people came &  I rocked the fair like it was 1989 (one of our kids asked if I was 80s Barbie & I just went with it since they have NO IDEA who Kelly Kapowski was--so sad right?!).  Yes, I did puffy paint my sweatshirt and even though you can't see I was rocking some sweet sparkly leg warmers too.  The pic above is with two of my 8th grade girls--one of the biggest joys of my week is hanging out with them!

I went to visit my parents in Corpus this past weekend.  My mom's birthday is this week & it was a fun weekend full of yummy food, football (GIG 'EM AGGIES!) and crafts.  What more could you ask for, right?!  We had the best fish tacos I've ever had in my life at this place right down the street from my parents house!  A newly discovered favorite!!

The current countdown is 17 days till Thanksgiving & 47 days till Christmas!  Can you tell I'm excited!  Woohoo!  :)  My favorite time of year is just a few weeks away!!

It's the most pumpkiny time of the year!

I love fall!  I love that the weather is getting cooler (in Texas this means mid-80s & I love it!), I love that the leaves change (except for having to rake them...but the weather is getting cooler so it's bearable), I love that the spices in food also change...apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin...love 'em!  Christmas decorations & movies start sneaking their way into stores & on tv and it just makes me so happy!

Another thing I'm loving about this time of year is the relationships that are growing in my 7th grade girls small group--I'm loving getting to know these girls & spending time with them!  These girls are a joy & I'm loving watching them grow in their relationships with each other & the Lord.

Here's some pictures from this past month.  A couple are from a tailgate cookout we held before a high school football game & some are from carving pumpkins with my junior high girls.  We also had a junior high lock in this weekend which was purposefully undocumented (who wants to remember what people look like at all hours of the night).  The lock in was a huge success though!  We had 67 kids signed up but had close to 90 by the time everyone got there!  Lots of pizza, coffee and dodge ball equals recipe for a good night!  :)

Happy fall ya'll!

Dominican Republic

It's taken me a while to blog about this trip because honestly it took this long to process it.  Last month we took a group of thirteen (8 highschoolers, 2 college students & 3 adults) to Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic.  Grace partners with the missionaries who started the Doulos Discovery School and sends groups every summer to work on the school and in the community.  It was Kevin's (youth pastor) and my first time to go to the DR & it was quite an experience!

We flew from Houston to Miami to Santiago, DR where we were met by people from the school who accompanied us on a bus ride to Jarabacoa.  Jarabacoa is in the central, mountainous area of the DR and was beautiful!

The school was awesome!  Missionaries, Chad & Krista Wallace, started it about 7 years ago with the mission of educating and raising up leaders in the DR.  I loved hearing their story and the journey the Lord has led them on during their 15 years there.  We did a lot of painting in the school's library and classrooms.  Our work projects throughout the week we were there included: stripping existing paint, sanding, paining, mixing concrete, and cleaning the pond.  We also painted and cleaned up a police station in the town.  

Our team did fantastic!  There was very little complaining and a LOT of hard working!  I was very impressed with them!  To be honest though, the trip was hard.  We worked all day, every day.  It was hot & humid, there was no a/c, there were bugs & rodents in our "villas" where we stayed and the power went out nearly every day.  There were multiple points throughout the trip at which I thought "I am never coming back here again."   

It wasn't until I got back & was talking with a woman I meet with periodically, who had served over seas as a missionary for a few years did I realize we did exactly what we'd set out to accomplish.  Serve.  She listened to me tell about what was hard about the trip and she asked, "But did you get to serve the missionaries?"  And I had to admit, "yes."  We weren't there to get glory, we weren't there to go on vacation, we were there to represent Christ, who didn't come to be served, but to serve.  The hardest thing about the trip was getting over my own selfishness and attitude.  

I'm not volunteering to go back tomorrow, but I would go back.  I loved seeing what the Lord was doing there and I would like to see how He continues to grow the school and use it to reach the DR for Christ.

Here's a few pictures from the trip: the girls on our way to the school one day, one of the school families we had dinner with, the police station we painted and our whole group at the school.    

mother MAY i....please catch up?!

Well the month of May is nearly over & apparently when it comes to blogging I have the attention span of a gnat.  Here's the highlights of May (and some of April)--

Bethany's Wedding Day

Senior Girl Brunch

I gave a brunch for the senior girls in our youth group to encourage them in finishing high school & starting college well.  It was a sweet & girly time to spend with these precious girls.  The a/c was broken at the church that day so we're all a bit shiny in the pic.  I have to show off the food because I was so pleased with how it all turned out--

Blueberry scones & mini-quiches.  Scones are from Peace Meals & the scones are a combo of two recipes--super yummy & fun to serve since they stand up on their own.  I'd be happy to share the recipes if you want!  

Youth Leader End of the Year Dinner

Most of the girls.

Weekend in Hunt, TX with my Midland friends, Dawn & Sarah.

Lunch in San Antonio with my friend Bekah & cousin Lee.

Bekah had gotten engaged the night before & Lee got engaged two days later!  

Tune in soon for adventures in gardening!