Bittersweet

Well, I'm back in the States. While I am SUPER happy to be back in my comfy bed (especially because I am sick - and who wants to be sick in a third-world country), I am sad because I left the place that I love. My heart truly longs to be back in Kenya. 

God is good and He has a perfect plan for my life, so I know that He will sustain me here. I am excited to share the wonderful and unbelievable things that the Father accomplished during my trip. Like last year, I will post separate entries for each day once my body heals and the Lord helps me process all that I experienced. 

Thank you for your constant prayers and please continue to pray that the Lord speaks to me as I ponder all that HE has done. I'll leave you with this sweet saying that the orphans in Sudan and Kenya say: "God is good, all the time.......All the time, God is good." Yes and Amen!

Check It Out

Tomorrow is THE DAY!!! 

Visit our team blog while we are gone to check-up on us and how the Lord is working in Kenya. Thanks again for being prayer warriors for us! :)

ClickHERE for the link to the Kenya I Team blog.

What An Encouragement You Are!

Well, I leave for Kenya in about 2 1/2 days!!!!! I can't believe that I have waited an entire year for this day to come and it's almost here! I am overjoyed and thankful that the Lord is giving me this sweet opportunity AGAIN! He really is SO good!!!!! 

Okay, so now I need your help. More than anything I want this trip to be covered in prayer. Would you/your family please commit to praying each day or each time the Lord places it on your heart for me and my precious team? This would mean the world to me! Below are the specific things (in no particular order) that I'd like you to go to the Father about in prayer.

1. safety & traveling mercies (Our travel time from DFW to Nairobi will be about 25 hrs.)

2. team unity (We need to constantly honor and serve one another. This can be difficult because a. we are sinners and b. we will be together 24/7.)

3. strength & health (This gets challenging with the 8 hour time difference!)

4. changed & encouraged hearts for the precious people that we will be ministering to

5. our families in the U.S. (Many people on the team are leaving behind spouses and/or children or nervous parents. ;)

6. that time will not go by too quickly & we can soak up every amazing moment

7. for spiritual warfare to stay away from our team and those that we minister to at Naomi's Village

8. that I won't bring back a kid...haha! Just kidding! :)

 This is the one request that continues to weigh heavily on my heart each day as I prepare:

9. that the Lord will reveal to me if Kenya & Naomi's Village is the place that He wants me to go to do long-term missions (Please pray that my heart is sensitive to the Spirit & willing to obey)

Thank you SO much for walking along side me on this amazing, fabulous, life-changing experience to the place that God has burdened my heart for: Africa! I love and appreciate you! 

*Don't forget to "like" my status about this post on Facebook if you will commit to pray for me. My trip is June 14-25, but start praying now, please!*

Some More Pinterest Love

A few months back I had a post (check it out here) that shared some of the recipes I've tried and liked from the almighty Pinterest (okay, kidding about the "almighty" ;). Below are some things that I've since tried from Pinterest. 

I made these cute cupcakes for Chelle's lingerie shower. The decor was all pink/black zebra, so these matched perfectly! 

*Brownie/Strawberry Cupcake* 

I made these fun cake-in-mason-jars for Chelle and Martin's couples shower. I made one with chocolate cake and the other with strawberry cake. I also made my own cream cheese butter cream frosting to go along with the cake and I must say, it was the bomb! :)

Eventually, I want to try all of the recipes on my Pinterest boards. Obviously I can NOT eat all of these recipes by myself, so my home group members have become my guinea pigs. They are oh so sweet to try everything! 

*Chocolate Chip Cookie bars with a Caramel & Peanut Butter center.......absolutely sinful!*

 *Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownie*

I used Pinterest to give me ideas for my "end-of-the-year gifts" and it was a success! Here are the things that I've made.

 

*It "mint" so much to me that you provided snacks for our class during testing week!*

 

*Thank you for being an "ade" for our class*

 

*I gave these to my kiddos at the end of the year because we always checked our Math problems with Skittles.*

*This was SUPER easy to make, cheap, and works great!*

 This one is probably my favorite.

*It is cream cheese/caramel/heath bits apple dip all wrapped up cute. This taste amazing!!!*

You can check out the links to these fabulous desserts and gifts on my Pinterest under the "Tis Better to Give" and "Sweet and Tasty" boards. Enjoy and get to Pinteresting (hmmmm, is that a word???).

End-of-Year Fun

A few weeks before school ended we had Field Day, and it was one of my favorite days of the entire year! It was SO fun to just "let my hair down" and be a kid with my kids! ;) 

My girls thought it was HILARIOUS to hug me when they were wet.......oh how I love them!

 I'm only slightly competitive ;), so when it was our turn to play tug-of-war I was all about strategizing. Unfortunately, this little event led to really sore hands and back. Gosh, how old am I???

Such a memorable day! 

I can't wait for Field Day 2013!!!!!! 

Ready & Willing

I am ready to go to Africa.
You were willing to send me.

Thank you to everyone who is helping me get to Kenya in few weeks (16 days to be exact!!!). I was completely overwhelmed with the outpouring of financial support from friends, family, and co-workers. God is SO good because He pressed upon your hearts to send me to do His work in a place that I love so very much! Thank you for responding to that call. I am very happy to report that I have ALL of my money raised and I am simply waiting on the day to arrive!!!! Isn't that exciting?!?! :)

Just a reminder that once we are on the trip we will be blogging at this address: http://kenyateam2012.blogspot.com/

A Renewed Desire

Summertime!!!!! It is FINALLY here! I wasn't sure that I'd make it, but I did! 

As I look back on my first year of teaching I am amazed. Amazed by God's goodness. Amazed by the amount of work it takes to be a teacher. Amazed at how expensive this career is. Amazed by all that I accomplished and all that I did not accomplish. Amazed by all of the knowledge that I thought I had but actually gained this year. Amazed that I juggled teaching about 7 subjects each day. Amazed by the wonderful 5th grade team of teachers the Lord gave me. Amazed by how the Father hand-picked 20 precious children for me to shepherd. Amazed at how quickly it went by and at how slowly it drug along. Amazed that I am finished and I live to tell about it. Amazed.

These past 10 months have been a challenge. Of course, all good things take work and sometimes a little heartache. And pretty much every teacher I know says that your first year is always the hardest. (I'm praying they aren't lying!!! ;)  I had moments when I questioned why the Lord had lead me to teaching. There are many reasons why I love being a teacher, but let's not lie, this is a stinkin' hard career! The Lord answered my prayers and re-affirmed His will for my life on the last day of school. 

The story begins about 1 year ago when I returned from Africa. I LOVED my time in Sudan but I wasn't sure how the Lord could really use me and my experiences there. I was expressing this frustration to God one day and I felt Him tell me that my job is to share my heart with the children who would soon be my students. Hmmm. How was this going to make a difference? But, I obeyed the Lord's direction and pretty much talked every day about my love for Africa, missions, and the fact that there are children all over the world who need a home, love, food, and the sweet saving grace of Jesus. I had no idea what impact this would have on the 20 kiddos the Lord let me lead each day, but I knew that this was what I was called to do. My class seemed pretty interested (They even raised about $500 to help feed orphans around the world!!!), but the tediousness of the job began to shake my confidence in my ability to make a difference. 

Fast forward to last Wednesday at our Christian Character Awards where I presented each student with a character quality and Bible verse that I believe describes them. This day was such a blessing for me because it allowed me to focus on each child and how the Lord has uniquely gifted them. What a blessing to be able to encourage these children to use their gifts to further the Kingdom!!! I also asked the students where they see themselves in 10 years. This was SO fun (and sometimes hilarious) and the parents loved hearing these goals! The biggest blessing of the year comes when 7 of my students say that they want to be missionaries. I was blown away! I know that they are only 11, but I believe that I have done what the Lord wanted me to do by planting a seed of awareness in their hearts about missions. I had a few parents come up to me and say that their child had never spoken about an interest in missions until this year. This is when it hit me; the Lord was answering my prayers! He was reminding me why I became a teacher. He was showing me that the desire he put in my heart at the beginning of the year to share my love and His love for the nations with my students had paid off. He was renewing my desire to make a difference through teaching. 

What a mighty and faithful God we serve!!! Never give up on the dreams that the Lord has put in your heart. 

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."   ~Jeremiah 29:11