Ole Miss Bound!

I haven't had a lot to post about in recent weeks so I thought I'd update you all on our weekend away! Over the past 2 years we have managed to go to Oxford for an Ole Miss game. Year 1 was to see Bama vs. Ole Miss and Year 2 was to see Samford vs. Ole Miss. Well today we leave for Year 3 (Bama vs. Ole Miss again). The best part about this weekend is not football...oh no. It's being with our dear friends Hannah and Daniel (aka Haniel). They moved to Oxford 3 years ago for Daniel to go to Law School. We have missed them greatly but look forward to this annual reunion! Here are a few pictures from last year.

Oh the BUSYness

I have definitely stepped out of the blogging world for a while. Life has been crazy and our days very "busy." BUSY has been then theme over the past month as Joe has been working long hours crunching numbers but thankfully TODAY ends most of that! It has been a tough month for both of us (as it always is) but again we have made it through and are excited about some good time together.

In my time as an "accountant widow" as my friend once called it, I found myself filling my time with reading (and of course some TV watching) as well as spending time with friends and some of the youth. I have been so thankful for the people in my life!

A side note about my reading... I just finished Same Kind of Different as Me. What an amazing book! My friend, Kelley, encouraged me to read it several weeks ago and I have been trucking through it (I'm a slow reader). This story of these two unlikely friends was like nothing I'd ever read except the stories of Christ and his desire to reach the "least of these". It reminded me that there are opportunities to reach out and show others the love of Christ without having to go overseas. There are opportunities in my own community! It was also an amazing testimony of God's grace in the life of someone who by the world's standards would never be influential, yet he is being used to change the lives of many. Anyway, I could go on and on...

But I won't. :) Again, I hope to post more soon. For now, I am going to enjoy having Joe home and the BUSYness of tax season behind us. Maybe I'll even brush up on my cooking skills. :) Any great (and extremely easy) dinner suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

O Happy Day!

Well, I have been back from Hungary for almost a month now. Joe was in Peru for 11 days and is now back as well. We have so much to update everyone on I honestly have no idea where to begin. I hope Joe can give you some updates on his trip to Peru. I know I have loved hearing about how the Lord used their team. They had over 100 kids each day for basketball camp and 20 prayed to receive Christ. Again, I hope he can update with his perspective on the week because I know I can't do it justice.

So for me...I have finally gotten my thoughts (and pictures) together for a Hungary post! I titled the post "O Happy Day" because it truly was a week full of Happy Days, and the song that continued to resignate throughout our youth camp was "O Happy Day" by Kristian Stanfill. It was amazing to see our kids, along with the Hungarian kids jumping around and singing...

"O Happy Day, happy day, when you washed my sin away....

I'll never be the same, Forever I am changed"

~ This was the first weekend at the lake with the Paulus youth group. Our group and theirs got along great!

A few of us hiked up to the top of the mountain to enjoy a beautiful view of the countryside!

It's amazing how you can hear a song so many times but it takes a certain moment for the words to really hit! Well, because of Hungary and the way the Lord moved and is moving in so many hearts I can say (and I know the rest of the team would agree) that I will never be the same and I pray that my view of people and for the lost world has changed dramatically.

We led a youth camp over the course of the week. Throughout the week we taught English, played a ton of fun games, and just hung out with the kids. They LOVED us! Because of the relationships that were made, they were very interested in what we had to say and "why we were so happy". Each of our youth shared testimonies each day of how their lives had changed since knowing Jesus. Hearing young people talk about faith was so new and different to the Hungarians, yet they were so interested because because they could see something different in our youth. The Hungarians could not understand that you can have a personal relationship with Him and that you can pray to God without having to go through someone else. Hungary is considered "Post-Christian" which basically means that Christianity (the Catholic faith) is a thing of the past and not something that many of them put a lot of emphasis in. And for those that do know about Christianity, they think of all the rituals and rules and miss the part of it being a relationship with a loving God. So we were some of the first people they met that had this "new view" of Christianity.

There were 3 kids who accepted Christ and others who had so many questions. It was neat to see them wrestling with questions and hear them asking some things that even we as Believers wrestle with. One girl in particular couldn't understand why bad things happen if there is a God. Mark talked to her at various times throughout the week and I have actually been able to keep up with her through email. For all of these kids, our goal and our prayer was to plant a seed and to connect them with the Paulus Staff and youth group so that they could continue to hear the gospel and see the gospel lived out through the lives of the Believers in their city!

~ Converse Youth Camp - what a great name when the whole week was about building relationships...

what better way than to "converse". :)

We were able to see the sights of Budapest on the Saturday before we left. The missionaries, Janos, Ildiko, Sanyesz, Zoli, Andras, Sarah, and Christine and Esther (their daughters) took us to some great places where we learned a little more about the history of Hungary but mostly just enjoyed the beautiful city. We also ate at an amazing restaurant (translated it means Mama Elizabeth's Kitchen). It was a great ending to our week. However, the fun did not end there. We ended up with a whole day layover in New York after missing our flight back to B'ham. It was a nice transition to getting back to the states and allowed us to wind down as a team and just have fun!

~ Around Budapest

~New York and fun times in the airport!

I have posted several picture collages, but this is only a glimpse at the pictures taken. Also, the pictures and even my thoughts cannot do the week justice. I was truly amazed at how the youth responded to the culture in Hungary and they saw a need so much greater than they had imagined...a need for Hope and Joy in a Savior. We all were truly burdened for this city and pray that through the ministry of the Paulus Movement, some of these kids will come to know Christ as their savior!

Life as I know it

I have so much to catch everyone up on, but have not had the time or energy to process everything that has gone on over the last couple of weeks. I am back from Hungary and cannot wait to share the amazing stories of that trip! The Lord truly did above and beyond all that we could have imagined. I will be posting on all that soon!

As for now, Joe is in Peru! We had about 2 days together before he left (2 days that I was still in the grogginess of jetlag). Their team is safely in Pucallpa and will begin their basketball camp and construction project tomorrow. It's always hard being apart, so pray for us as we have 8 more days until he comes home! Also, pray for the team as they serve the people in Peru.

This weekend I got to spend some sweet (but short) time with my family and not just my parents and brother, but my extended family. My cousin, Luke, got married. It was a beautiful wedding and I will share pictures of that soon. His wife, Leah, is an amazing young woman and I'm excited to have her in our family. I also got to catch up with Sarah (and Ryan) and Rebecca (and Tyler), my two cousins...2 of my favorite people that I rarely get to see. It truly was a great weekend!

~ Stair-step cousins. Sarah, Me, and Rebecca.

~ My family before the wedding. I was the 5th wheel. :)

~ Me, Stephen, and Stephanie at the reception.

More to come soon...

Hello from Hungary

Well, we have made it! After 17 hours of traveling, we landed in Budapest around 11:45 this morning (that is 4:45 am B'ham time). We drove through Budapest on our way into Diosd. As you can imagine, we are exhausted but have been able to keep pushing through to overcome the jetlag. Tonight's sleep will be amazing. :) Tomorrow we are off to Lake Balaton to meet the Paulus Youth ministry. They are finishing up their annual church retreat. We will spend the day with them preparing for next week's youth camp outreach.

I will post a few pictures soon, but for more updates visit the Youth Blog!

Sweet Summertime

Well, for many people Summer began in June, but for Joe and I this past weekend was our first time to get away and relax, spending a lot of time in the sun and enjoying time with our families. We spent the July 4th weekend with our families at the Densons' lakehouse. It was great to get away with no agenda and eat, sleep, and have fun on the lake. It truly felt like a mini-vacation and I was so thankful for that time. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

(Me and my parents...I was so glad they came!)

(Joe and Bear going for a swim.)

(Lura, Ms. Martha, and Mrs. Denson enjoying the sun)

(Dad enjoying a nap with the dogs)

Next up...Hungary and Peru. I leave on July 16-26, then Joe goes to Peru July 30-August 9. We are so excited but will appreciate your prayers. I will keep you all posted. :)

Hale County and a New Beginning

I had the privilege of going with the youth on a mission trip to Hale County, which is part of the Black Belt. It was an eye opening experience for me as I find myself thinking that taking the Gospel to the nations skips our own community and state. I realize that is very ignorant on my part, but for some reason it's easier and more comfortable for me to pray for and participate in global mission, but I so rarely consider the needs of those so close to me!

Hale County is in a poorer part of Alabama, however, the people we worked with were full of joy and content with what they had! We started our day by serving on work projects and ended with a day camp for kids. They were so excited to see us as many had participated in our camp 2 years ago. We shared many Bible stories with them and several of our youth shared how Christ had changed their lives and shared about some of the challenges of growing up. It was great to see young people sharing their faith and truly reaching out to the kids.

I will say that I was the hottest I have ever been in my life and at times I had to remind myself of my purpose on the trip and ultimately on this earth! However, I never heard a complaint from the youth as they demonstrated Christ's love by dying to their selves and serving despite the conditions we were in.

So on to the new beginning...I am making a small career transition as I am going to be the new youth "intern". So this week was a great time for me to get to know the youth that I didn't know and grow closer to the ones I did! I am so excited about this. Through different circumstances in my life, the Lord is showing me that this IS what he has for me at this time and that I am in the midst of his GREAT PLAN! I'm so excited this is part of it! :)

In closing (I sound like I'm preaching a sermon), I want to share a verse that a sweet friend reminded me of a few weeks ago. It's Proverbs 16:9 and somehow I had missed it all these years.

"The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps."

~ Our group ready for a hard day's work!

~ Spelling LOVE after a Bible story on love...I think we lost the "E"

~ The sign before we started painting (an after shot will be posted later)

~ Getting creative on how to reach the top of the sign!

~ Enjoying some shade while planting the shrubs.

~ She said "Child, sit down...I'm gonna do your hair"...so I did. :)

~ Katherine and Mary Claire - hard workers!

~ Christian and I in the midst of digging.

~ walking down the dirt road...it's like a scene in a movie

~ Sweet Ceyen. Victoria was helping him put together his game that he won.