August 6

Ok I am packing up all my things and getting ready to go. I actually will board the plane in less than 8 hrs.

July 29
Today the mission was open from 4-6 and then we had Bible Study.

July 30

Today we did a theme of water day and took the time to talk about baptizm with the children and youth. There are lots of different beliefs and so today we spent time helping the children to understand what the real symbol was. This evening my team and I went to Denver for our Colorado Debriefing. It was good to get to see all of the other summer missionaries, some that we met earlier in the summer. Then we went and stayed the night in colorado springs with chris' parents.

July 31

Today we were in Colorado Springs, the boys had said earlier in the summer that they wanted to climb Pikes Peak so we went...however Colleen, Chris' mom, Tiffany, Caleb, Jonathon, and I took the train up the mountain instead. This was a lot of fun, but really cold. Since Chris and Colleens' birthday was just last week we had dinner and cake at his moms house before heading back to Greeley.

August 1

This morning we had to be at West Greeley Baptist church because it was the farewell Sunday service. The 4 of us had to sit on the stage and answer some question about what all we accomplished and learned this summer. Afterwards we said our goodbyes and had some cake. We went from here to grab some lunch real quick before heading over to the senior center where we were having another party this time a goodbye party for Chris' and his famly. There was more cake...but at this point I think I have had enough. Then we finished off our day with the sunday service at the mission.

August 2

Today we did Kids Club and youth like we normally would then Spent the afternoon with Deya.

August 3
Today was a free day so I spent the day at home with Deya and the rest of my host family. Then this evening I went to the Rockies game again this time with the Christian Challenge group from Ft. Collins. Poor Rockies lost 10-0 against the Giants.


August 4
Today was the last Kids Club for the summer and I taught. I spoke on the importance of church and how we as christians are supposed to fellowship with other believers. We also tried to stress the importance of coming to church even after we left. Since we were talking about church and the typical day to come is Sunday we made Ice Cream Sundaes after lunch.

August 5
Today we had the mission open from 4-6 but then we had our end of the year party. We had a service and then Chris allowed all of the summer missionaries to come say there goodbyes and then introduced Charlie and Sue the people that would be taking over after Chris and his family leave. Then we had 6 children get baptized. This was a really neat experience to see the fruit of what we had been working with all summer long. Afterwards, we had a pinata and fellowship. We didn't leave the mission til 10pm. This was a hard night for some. The kids really were sad to see us go.

August 6
Today Tiffany and Lee headed out. I spent the day with Mrs. Linda and packing my bags.

August 7
(PART 1)
I am still up and flying out of Denver at 8:30am. If I arrive as scheduled I shall be back home in Austin, Tx by 11:35am.

July 28

July 20

Today we went white water rafting. The water was super cold but the trip was really fun. We had a time when we had to go up on high side. This means everyone in the boat has to go to one side and then from there all 7 of us had to move to the front of the boat. I thought for sure the boat was going to flip. We made it all 12 miles without losing anyone. We went through more than one level 4 rapids. When I get my pictures I will have to upload some so be looking for them.

July 21

This morning we had Kids club and then during youth I showed them another Louie Giglio movie. The Kids learned a lot from the movie but actually didn't respond very much.

July 22

Today I finally got a chance to sleep in for a little bit then I hung out with Barbara and then she took me to the mission to help put boxes together. When we got there is started pouring down rain. Of course this would be the day that everyone decides to come get food boxes. Made for a busy and hot afternoon. Later after we closed up we cooked some dinner and had bible study at the mission.

July 23

Today we had 3 new girls for Kids Club. Tiffany recapped the lessons from earlier in the week and I made salvation bracelets with them. After lunch arrived we fed the children and then started to pack the vehicles so we could head out for our camping trip with the youth. We went down to Red Feather for a weekend of fun. When we first arrived we set up camp and then we did a scavenger hunt with the kids. Boys vs. Girls. Guess who won. :) the GIRLS!! Since the girls won the boys had to roast the girls hot dogs for them on the fire, for dinner. Since today was Chuys birthday we made him a cookie cake for dessert.

July 24

Last night was sooo cold. I had to share a sleeping bag with a girl so we put our mats on the ground and spread the sleeping bag out on top of us. The place we took the kids camping was literally in the middle of the mountains away from everything. We would take the kids in to a restroom twice a day other than that they were in the woods. Most of the children had never done any kind of camping before so there was lots of whining. Today we did a lot of hiking. One group went to the top of a mountain in the woods and then the group I went with went to the lake and we walked around the lake. Mariyah and I took a detour on to another trail and found another lake. We saw all sorts of beautiful views of Gods wonderful masterpiece. One of my favorite places was up on some rocks. As leaders we were all assigned 2-3 kids to keep accountable for the weekend. I had Kailey, Mariyah, and Alyssa. These girls loved climbing on these rocks behind our campground. The first day we discovered them we sat on top for about 20 minutes. At one point Mikey and Tiffany joined us as well. Tiffany and I got to talk to Mikey and Kailey. We ended up getting into a discussion about what would happen when we die and if we were afraid to die. Then we also talked about how awesome it was that looking from the top of the mountains that God could create all of that in just 7 days. Overall today was a wonderful day.

My girls and I up on top of our rocks

From top: Kailey, Mya, Me, and Alyssa

July 25

Last night I FROZE. It was definately colder than the night before. The girls kept me up most of the night and then I couldn't sleep because I got so cold. We woke up at about 8:30 when the sun came up and warmed us up. We all got up by about 9 and started taking down camp. Our next stop was to get something to eat and then go down to Loveland lake to go swimming. When we got to Wendy's we all ordered and then as the kids were finishing up I did the morning devotion with them. The kids have really impressed me in how much they have been learning and really listening to us when we speak to them. After we were done we went to loveland lake where the kids went swimming at the beach, and others played football at the park. We got the kids home in time for us to start cooking dinner for evening church. As soon as we were done we stayed at the church for a little while planning for tomorrow and chatting with Chris. Then Tiffany and I were ready to get home and shower. This weekend definatley made me become more thankful for indoor plumbing. aka: showers and toilets (that flush)

July 26

Today we had Kids Club and youth and then I went home and showered so that I could drive to Loveland to meet the Perkins for dinner in loveland. This is a couple that used to live in Salado but then moved away. I was really excited to hear that they were up in Estes and that I would get to see them while I was in Colorado.

Bill and Sue Perkins

July 27
This morning we got up early and drove to the mountains. We went to Sky Corral and went horseback riding. We went down to the barn, put some boots on and got saddled up. It was beautiful to be riding on the back of a horse and look out over a city in Colorado on one side and the state of Wyoming on the other side. When we got done horseback riding we went up to the main building and most of us took a nap then a little while later had lunch. After lunch we went back out to the pond and went fishing. I didn’t catch anything but it was my first time in a LONG time and we only stayed there for an hour. Next we hiked up the hill to the archery range. As we were walking it started to rain. I am not sure what it is with raining on us on our day off but it rained on us while we were rafting last Tuesday as well. The archery was a lot of fun. This was my first time to shoot a bow and arrow. I wouldn’t say I was a pro by any means but it was still fun. We had to leave after an hour of archery because we needed to get back on the road to make it in time for the Colorado Rockies baseball game. The Rockies lost but it was still fun to go to a game. I hadn’t been since I was a little girl.

Me on Cuervo out at Sky Corral

July 28
This morning we had Kids Club and I got to teach the kids. We talked about the lost scroll that was found in the temple. So for snack/Craft we made edible scrolls. Take a tortilla, jelly and pretzels and put the jelly on the end and then put the pretzels in it and roll up both ends. Well that is how we taught we would make them. The jelly we had was bad so we had to use marshmallow cream instead and then let the kids use sprinkles to use as the words. We were prepared to do youth today as well but the only youth that showed up came for lunch and left before we started anything. This evening I went to dinner with Elsa.

Prayer Request:

I just found out this week that the girl I was gonna live with will not be returning to SFA until the spring semester so now I am not sure where I am going to live this next semester. Please pray that this situation will work out with the least amount of problems this has been a long road dealing with housing.

We also are leaving in a week and a half. Please pray that the mission will continue on strong even after we leave. That God will provide people to help Charlie and Sue. (The couple that is going to try to help keep it running)

July 19

July 3
Every year the Greeley Stampede is held in Greeley, Colorado. This is the worlds largest Rodeo and Carnival. Today my team had an extra free day so we decide to go to the Rodeo. It was a big outdoor rodeo. There were lots of Cowboys there from TEXAS! The Rodeo was very good we did however experience an accident. When the big preifert horses were putting on there show, they started to make a turn and start running and as the made the turn they flipped their trailer that they were pulling. The driver and the helper both went flying off and into the concrete wall. The driver jumped up and ran to stop the horses. The other guy however never got up. The ambulance had to come pick him up. I hope that everything is ok with him. The last thing we heard was that he was finally responding. After we left from the Rodeo, Tiffany and Lee left to go pick up their new mission team that was coming in from North Carolina for the following week. I went to pick up Deya and then we went back up the the fair grounds for the evening. We bought a arm band and rode all the rides at least once and some of them more.

Deya and I on the Ferris Wheel

July 4
This morning I went to the Cowboy church again at the Greeley Stampede this time with Deya. We got to listen to Sandra Dee and The Caballeros play/sing. Then after that Deya and I left in time to get back to West Greeley Baptist because she had nursery duty. The other person that was supposed to help her never came so I went and joined her in the nursery. This was really fun and made me missed working in the nursery. After Church the Hernandez family invited a group of us to come over for lunch. Then Charles and I had to hurry home, pack our bags and get on the road to travel to Estes Park for the week.

When we got to Estes we had to help set up the snow cone machine and bounce house because Estes Park Baptist Church (EPBC) was were we were helping for the week and this was just an opportunity to get to feed and meet some people in the community. They had a pig roast for dinner and then some people stuck around to watch the fireworks from the church. We had a perfect view of the lake were they were being shot off from. If you have never experienced fireworks in the mountains it is beautiful. It sounds a lot like thunder. The noise just rolls of the mountains.

The pig for the Pig Roast

July 5
This morning I got to wake up to a wonderful view of the mountains just right outside my window. The couples’ house I stayed at was up in the mountains and was just gorgeous. Some of Pastor Paul’s grandkids were staying with us for the week to attend VBS, Holden and Gabby. Today we didn’t have anything planned so Charles and I took the kids down town to just walk the downtown strip.

This was my view from the porch.

July 6
Today was supposed to be our busiest day of the week. We got up early to meet at the church with a group to be in the Estes Park Parade and pass out flyers for our VBS. This was the only publication we really had. When we got to the church that morning Charles and I were in for a great surprise, we did not know that we would be seeing our other Colorado missionaries from Texas. After the parade we went back to the church to eat lunch. While we were eating the secretary came out and told us she had received her first phone call from a family to enroll their three children in VBS. Another family just walked straight in to the church where we were and asked where they could sign their son up. This was such an encouraging thing. This church that we were helping has no children in the church and is very small to start with because not many people live in Estes. Most people just have summer homes here. This afternoon we were able to spend some time with our other missionary friends.

July 7
Today we started VBS and God blessed us with 53 kids. I was in charge of leading the Crafts.

July 8
This morning we continued VBS. In the evening, a couple from the church took Charles and I to dinner. The people at this church were all so sweet and very welcoming.

July 9
We had VBS this morning and then in the evening was family night. We had about 100 people. We had a cookout and the children showed their parents some of the songs as well as cowboy Nick came out and brought his horses and shared some stories and talked with the kids and their parents. This evening I stayed up late with some of the other people that were staying at the church to help us with VBS. They taught me how to play cribbage.

Nick preaching to the familes

July 10
Today was our last day of VBS. We finished the day by having a picnic and bringing out the bounce house and snow cone machine.

July 11
Church, I taught the K, 1st and 2nd grade class, and Pastor Paul finished up VBS during the sermon. This evening we got the opportunity to listen to a missionary from Southeast Asia. We even got to be the models for them. They are serving in an area where we can not say but I will ask that you will pray for their ministry.

July 12
Today was an extra day in Estes we hadn’t originally planned on staying through today but Pastor Paul was going to Shampoo the carpet at the church and asked us to stay and help so we did. Charles helped him while I entertained his grandson, Holden. For lunch today I finally my first chicken fried steak since I have been here. It is nothing like Texas but it was still very good. We took the boys back to the church so they could work a little while longer and then we went home and packed a picnic and stuff for a cookout. We drove up Falls River Road in the mountains and then on our way down we stopped and cooked some hamburgers for dinner in the mountains and made smores.

July 13
Finally made it back to Greeley today, it has really been a wonderful week in Estes. I enjoyed my time there and honestly wasn’t ready to leave. This evening when Charles and I got back we met up with the Colorado Christian Challenge group and rode with them to Denver to eat dinner at Casa Bonita. This was an interesting experience. The food is not all that great however you are really paying for the entertainment.

July 14
Started back at Kids Club. We did not have very many children there. There was lots of youth however. This is because we are taking them camping the weekend of the 23rd. The incentive is that they have to be at youth time for two weeks. Today was a record breaking day for the youth because of this incentive. There were 16 youth total.

July 15
This evening we met at the mission to help with the boxes and clothing again and then Bible study afterwards. We heard today that Charlie and his wife sue will be taking the position of helping to keep the mission open after Chris leaves for California. Chris and his wife have actually been in California for the past 3 days trying to find a house in California. I believe they have found one now and shall be back in Greeley tomorrow.

July 16
Today we had the regular kids club and I taught the children a lesson on Adam and Eve. After youth, Tiffany got a chance to talk with Veronica and she accepted Christ. This was definitely the highlight of our day.

July 17
Today was a long and eventful day. Josue took Mrs. Linda and I to Denver. We got to go to the zoo and then to the capitol. We got to see a month old seal and a baby giraffe. I love going to the zoo however today had to of been the hottest day since I have been in Colorado. Yes it reached 102 degrees today. This evening when I got back was a little rough. I ended up moving once again. This time I moved in with the Hernandez family and here is where I will stay til August 7 when I fly home. I have loved this family and they have taken care of me.

July 18
This morning we finally made it back to church at West Greeley Baptist and afterwards Mrs. Helen had us over for lunch. This lady LOVES the Atlanta Braves. She set up the tables with a blue tablecloth, red plates, there were foam baseballs for coasters, trading cards as decorations, and then she even had our names placed on baseball stickers that were on a toothpick stuck in side of a reese's peanut butter cup.

July 19
This morning we had kids club and none of the younger children showed up. There were about 5 youth so we did the lesson with them anyway because unlike the rest of the time we planned two different lessons for today. With the youth we showed them the Indescribable video by Louis Giglio. If you have never seen this movie it really is amazing. It makes us feel very, very small and shows us how BIG our creator God is. Earlier in the week Deya and I had decided to start a work out since we would have more time together. So when I got home it was Zumba time.

Prayer Request and Praise
-Veronica’s Salvation
-Our Camping trip this coming weekend
-Southeast Asia missionaries
-For me to finish Strong with my mission…only 3 weeks left

July 2

June 23
Our theme for the week at kids club has been hope. For our craft we made mosaic crosses with seeds and beans that we had at the mission. The kids are very creative. Since its Wednesday we went bowling again. This time it was our team and Josue and his aunt Nancy joined us.

June 24
Today Charles and I meet Chris at the food bank at 2 and helped him pick up some food to take back over to the mission. We loaded up food on carts and in grocery baskets from the warehouse and then took it all out to the van to fill up the back and the bed of the truck. Once we got it all back to the mission we unloaded it and I started sorting through everything and placing it where it belongs in the food pantry. As I was still putting stuff away we had to open the mission to start putting food boxes together to hand out to families as they came. We then had bible study at 7.

June 25
Today for Kids Club to continue the theme of hope I taught the kids about being a light of the world. Since this is something I had been studying for quite some time and even doing myself this summer. I challenged the children to find ways that they could be a light for others or even bigger to share with their family and friends about the hope that we can have in Christ. Matthew 5:14-16; Luke 11:33-36
When the food was brought for lunch the iPod issue was brought up again and Mikey started cussing and even threatened to hurt his little sister. Tiffany and Lee walked her home and Lee eventually talked to Mikey about the situation. After we got lunch served and the problems all handled. We started the youth bible study. We started by playing Mafia. The children really enjoyed this game. After all of this was done and I got home, I crashed. I was sooo tired I slept for about an hr and a half then had to get up to get back to the mission.

This evening we took about 5 youth to a place called Higher Grounds. This is a place designed for teenagers to hangout. Kind of like a bar or club setting. There was a pool table and, booths, bar to order drinks (non-alcoholic), and even a designated smoking area outside. There is a skate park connected on to the building as well. Two of our guys went and rode their skateboards while the rest of us all sat around talking. I was able to spend lots of time with Veronica. We had some good talks and she shared a little about her home life and her father. After a while Veronica and I were bout ready to go so we went to find Tiffany. Tiffany was sitting in a booth with two boys talking about a gang that they are in. She introduced us and we sat down and joined in on the conversation. The stepbrother of one of the boys came over and really started pouring out his entire life with everything he knew and had experienced with gangs and being in one. This kid was only 17 years old and from California. He has been in fights many times, shot at and even shot twice. Just as I assumed he told us that the kids in Greeley are really sheltered when it comes to gangs because the town has lots of police and is well monitored. I was really amazed how much this kid opened up to us.

After we left we went to McDonalds to eat before taking the kids home. While we were eating the fireworks started going off over at the Greeley Stampede. This was the kick off night.

June 26
Today we had nothing planned and I didn’t want to stay in the house all day so I decided to try to find some time to hang out with some of my new friends from Greeley. Barbara is actually leaving the end of August to go to Bulgaria on a mission trip for 4 months to test the waters and see if she is really called to Missions. Elsa is my friend that has just accepted Christ this summer :D. I plan to try to meet with both of these girls at least once a week if possible. To help with my relationship with these girls and our relationships with Christ I feel like this is something I am supposed to make time for as part of my mission here in Greeley.

Barb and 2 of her friends were going to see Knight & Day right after lunch so I joined them and then afterwards we went to TCBY to have some ice cream and talk for a little while . Elsa has been taking classes this summer and our schedules don’t always match up so I told her to call me when she had a free day. Today was that free day for her so finally we were both able to hangout. I had her meet me for dinner and we had a good long talk as well just about things going on in her life and how to handle some sticky situations. We finished and neither of us ready to go home yet so then we went to Starbucks to just enjoy each others company a while longer.

June 27
This is the day of Worshiping. Today really was a wonderful day of spending time listening to all kinds of different worship music. Since the Greeley Stampede started this past Friday we thought we would go to the Cowboy church on the fairgrounds this morning. We went to the free pancake breakfast first and then went outside to find a seat in the HOT sun. Gospel Trail opened in music for about an hour and then Pastor Shorty Huffman preached for a little while followed by the famous Michael Martin Murphey. This man can sing. It was an awesome morning of worship. To follow up on the amazing morning we Charles, Colleen and I went to dinner and then spent the evening in Loveland at Praise in the Park. This is a Concert that is put on by a church called resurrection fellowship. I love being able to be outdoors, listening to praise music (LOUD), and seeing large numbers of people just singing and praising the One true God. There will be another gathering this summer….and I will be there.

June 28
Today has been a busy, some what hectic, but very good and accomplishing day. We have a team in from Missouri helping us for a couple of days. They brought in a team to cut down our trees and repaint the building it looks wonderful they did a good job. The sign that was hiding before and no one could see has been repainted and the tree is gone. There was one team inside with me making food boxes and sorting through clothes hanging the summer stuff up and putting away winter clothing. The other team was running the kids club and entertaining the children. At one point in time I just sat back and watched all the teams and seeing all of these people taking care of the building. I noticed some of the children through out the day picking up trash and two of the boys picked up the mat at the front door and took it to shake out the dirt. It was like there was something in the air, the children all had a little pride and wanted to take part in cleaning when they saw so many other people doing so. After we served lunch at 1:30 we loaded up all the kids and took them over to some apartments where there is an indoor pool. Chris told me I had to make sure none of the children died on my watch. Let me tell you I am glad there were other adults there watching cause when I looked in the pool there were at least 30 kids in there with me. We took the children home after a couple hours and then the team all went back to the apartment complex for a cookout. Tiffany, Tamika and I walked around the neighborhood to see who we could find to invite to the cookout. Many families were sitting outside watching their kids play. We invited everyone we saw and hoped they would come and boy did they. As soon as we got back to the tent there were people coming from all over. As soon as people started getting food more and more just keep coming.

The best thing about today: there are two younger guys that came with the group from Missouri. One named Omar and the other James. James is the one that repainted the sign for us. Omar went out on the canvassing walk through the trailer park. He shared the gospel with any one he met. The biggest difference that he had then the rest of our team was that he was Hispanic and he knew Spanish. Omar was able to spend lots of time talking with people he even led Grandma to Christ. Grandma is the lady that has 20 people leaving in her house. She had taken in many of her children and grandchildren. When Maryiah came to tell me that a man came into her home and talked with her mom and grandma she was excited and not until later did I realize why. She didn’t tell me that her grandmother accepted Christ.

June 29
This morning I had to get up to take Elthea and her husband to Loveland so they could try to find a home that they can afford. Since I didn’t have to be at the mission til 3:30 and Loveland was about a 30 minute drive I stayed there and went shopping and ate Chick-fil-a for lunch. This is the closest one to me. Then after I got back to Greeley and finished running some errands I went out to the mission for the carnival. We set up our block party trailer and did another cook out with the help from our friends from Missouri. We had the Bounce house up and going, Snow cones, Popcorn, Music playing, Carnival games, and then after a little while cooked some hot dogs and hamburgers.

June 30
Today has been a slower day but an extremely hot day. I do not sweat hardly ever. This summer I have probably done so more than I ever have. Today I was dripping in sweat. All of this to say as soon as kids club was over I was at home taking a shower and enjoying the privilege of having air conditioning.
We had a total of 5 kids for kids club this morning. We did our lesson and games inside and then for the youth today was Alyssa’s birthday so we had some cupcakes for a snack. Charles spent a lot of the afternoon with Mikey. This was really cool because Mikey was asking lots of questions about God and Christians.

July 1
Since Thursday is kind of like a chill day for us I was at home all morning and then left about 12:30. I joined Mrs. Linda and Deya for an afternoon of fun. I then had to be at the mission for the evening to open and then have bible study. As soon as bible study was over I went home to check on pooch. Pooch, is Ms. Judy's dog (the lady I am now staying with). Judy left earlier today for a couple days to go to her family reunion and left me in charge of pooch. After I let pooch in the house I went back to rescue Deya from being by herself. We ended up stayin up super late and watching movies at the house.

July 2
This morning we met Chris at IHOP for our weekly meeting. For Kids Club we had yet again low numbers but God is still working in the lives of the students through us. Since the 4th of July is this weekend we did a lesson today on having Freedom in Christ. One of the Girls, Faith, was asking lots of questions about eternity and heaven and hell. She wanted to make sure she was going to heaven. We explained to her and she said that she has accepted Christ into her life but she doesn't have a personal relationship with him. She was also worried about her aunt who is an atheist and asked if she would go to heaven? Which of course if she doesn't have a relationship with Christ and doesn't accept him into her life then she will not be in heaven. This led to having a wonderful conversation with the few girls that were there. This afternoon I met up with Barb at Starbucks to just chat about what has been going on about plans for the future. It really is awesome to be able to just share and listen to another Christian. Especially in the time of doing lots of ministry. It is very important to make sure that we are not only pouring out all the time but that we are being poured into as well. When the cup is empty there is nothing left to pour out.


Prayer Request:
Mikey-He knows he is doing wrong, just for a desire in his heart to want to change
Grandma-God is really working in the house of this woman.
Elsa-Relationship with Christ, continue the eagerness to want to learn and know more
This next week Charles and I will be staying in Estes Park to help with their VBS.
Faith-Her christian faith to become stronger and for her to have a better understanding our role as Christians.

June 22nd

Wow its been a long time since I have been on a computer with internet. Here is my latest update.

June 12
Today was the Summer Sizzlin’Festival which we decided should have been changed to the Drizzlin’ Festival. It rained all day long. It started on Friday and continued throughout the day. Last night we came and set up everything for the garage sale and since I was the only one that had really done much with garage sales before I got put in charge of running the whole thing. We set the gym up last night as if it was going to be inside and then if for some strange reason it cleared up outside we would then move outside. Since it didn’t we did everything inside, well everything except the music/concerts. They set up many tents outside and continued on. Inside I was in charge of pricing things for people at the garage sale, there was a cotton candy machine and popcorn machine. A couple of other booths were set up as well. Chick-fil-a even brought us 100 spicy chicken sandwiches that they passed out for people to try. This was HOT! I love chick-fil-a but I think I will stick to nuggets or the original sandwich. We ended up making a little over $600 at the garage sale and all of the proceeds went to the Hill-N-Park mission for us to use for the kids this summer.

June 13
Woke up and it was still cold outside. I had to dig out my warm clothes for church. After church we took the missions team to see Karate Kid. There was 21 people all together. Mrs. Linda had to get there and save everyone’s seat. THANKS! The movie was really good. I recommend it. After the movie we had to head straight to the mission for dinner and our church service out there.

June 14
Today we had Kids Club and it was really cold. The weather was kind of yucky stick so it was hard to keep the kids all together. We did however learn a new verse for the week.
This evening was the start of our VBS at West Greeley Baptist Church. At first I was not assigned to a room and I was just kind of wandering around doing odds and ends things to get it all kicked off. At this point I was thinking to myself “God you have placed me here for a reason please show me where I need to be used. Not to much longer I was watching the older kids play games and Mrs. Sue the lady in charge came and found me and said have u been assigned anywhere cause I could use an extra set of hands. I went with her and she took me to the Kindergarten classroom. This is the room where Mrs. Joye was the teacher, the pastor’s wife. They were in the middle of there lesson so I just jumped in and started working with the kids as well. After we had helped the kids and where getting ready to rotate, Mrs. Joye decided to assign a few kids to each teacher so we had only a few to keep up with. I was put with four kiddos. Charles was also helping in the room with me and was assigned some kids. Josiah was in Charles group and he didn’t know want anyone being in charge of him. I told Josiah he needed to be in charge of Charles instead and to keep up with him. He liked that idea better. Jonathon thought that was a pretty good idea too. Jonathon was in my group and he told me he thought it was funny that he was going to be in charge of his teacher. Next we go up stairs to Crafts. When we get there everything is going good I have my kids doing what they are supposed to and I here one of the other teachers trying to get the attention of another little girl. At the same time Mrs. Joye goes to shut the door so the little girl would not leave the room. I am walking across the room to help a child and see this little girl running from someone. I just reach out my hand and grab her arm. I hold on to her hand and say Jacklyn I need you to listen to me. This little girl didn’t skip a beat and she is in my face as close as she can be. I just simply told her that her teachers where trying to get her to come help them with planting her seeds and that I needed her to go sit and her chair and she did just as I asked her. After all of the other teachers trying to do just what I did. Mrs. Joye came over to me and said I think Jacklyn will be one of yours for the rest of the time since you have more experience in this area. At this point I realized this is what God wanted me here for to use what I have been learning the past year in school and working with this child. The rest of the evening with Jaclyn was just as crazy she was running everywhere and not listening to other teachers, yelling and dancing during music instead of learning motions, she even game me a war wound (cutting me). All in all it was a fun evening and I actually enjoyed getting to work with her. This is just the type of opportunity I have been waiting for.

June 15
Today we took the youth from the mission to the swim park downtown. There were 15 of us altogether. We went intending to get to spend time with the kids and getting to know them better and this allowing them time to get away from siblings and parents. It was a really neat I had more fun that I thought we would. As a background of who and what we have been working with. Most of the youth we took with us have all either been on probation, into drugs, sex before marriage, pregnancy, stealing, etc. So going into today I was kind of worried to see how the kids would be with us. They were on there best behavior, and I was able to get to spend time with quite a few of them.

This evening we had VBS again. From the beginning this time I was with my friend jacklyn. The one thing I ask from her is that she has to hold my hand when we switch classes so tonight she started by asking if she could hold her own hands. Which was fine for a little while but the point of her holding my hand is so she can’t run away. Tonight she started to make new friends and first was holding Naveas hand. This little girl was ok with it for a little while and then didn’t want to anymore. When we went to play games outside with the youth she then became attached to one of the guys named Eric. At this point I left her and went to play tag with all my other little friends. I don’t know if anyone has ever played tag with a bunch of kindergarten kids but man my little friend hector he is fast. I am thinking next time we play he is not IT. Since Jacklyn found a new friend I still had to work with her a little bit because they didn’t understand what to do with her or how to get her to come and listen. I got her inside and with her snack and told her to go sit at a table. She found where Eric was sitting and joined him. When we get done with snack I tell her she will need to throw her trash away and grab somebody’s hand. Jacklyn said, “Can I hold his hand?” and so for the rest of the night she held Eric’s hand and he went with us to the next room and then back to the sanctuary.

This is Perla and Hector two of my kids in the kindergarten classroom.

After VBS Tiffany and I stayed at the church and hung out with all of the youth from Kansas City, Missouri. They decided they were gonna come out and play with us as kids club tomorrow. I can’t wait the kids are going to be soo excited.

June 16
Today has been a great day. This morning we got to the mission early so we could get ready for the mission team to join us. At first there were only like 5 kids so we had to send them all to find their friends. Having the missions team from Kansas City was good because it helped to add to our number and make it fun for the children. In our tribes (teams) we all came up with chants and practiced our two bible verses, then did a relay race with our new bible verse. The younger kids have really surprised me with how quickly they have been learning the verses. One of the students came and told us today where the ipod was and is going to try to get it back for us. Tamika came to Tiffany today as well and told her that she wanted to talk to her. She was really concerned for the mission and knowing that Chris is going to be leaving she was wondering what would happen to the church. Tiffany assured her that only God knew who was going to take Chris’ place and that the church will remain their. As an updated for everyone Chris my supervisor has been working at the mission for 13 years now I believe and the mission is being defunded at the end of the summer so his family had been looking for a new job. They will be moving to California at the end of the summer when we leave. This does leave the mission up in the air for now. However, God will provide someone to take over the place. There is just so much stablished already and the children are all worried of what might happen. For example, lets go back to Tamika. She is a very talented girl. She love basketball and is wonderful. However, she doesn’t do her school work and so she doesn’t always get to play. She has also been really involved with drugs, in a gang, just about anything you can think of. When she came to tiffany today she told her that she knew what she had been doing was wrong and she wanted to change her lifestyle. As the first step her gang members have already agreed to let her out. Tamika is a tough girl if you couldn’t already tell. This girl was in tears today when she was talking to tiffany because she could remember growing up in this neighborhood and having this church here. Please pray for Tamika as God is working in her life as well as for the mission and who God is going to place there to help continue to run the place.

This evening we had VBS again at the church. The children are so sweet and I love being with this class. Some of them do however wear me out. A few don’t mind Mrs. Joye very well and I have to become the disciplinarian. Thank goodness they listen to me. We played tag again tonight as well. This time it was a less intense game.

After VBS was over I stayed at the church and hung out with the youth again. I have really enjoyed spending time with them the past week. I love being here serving for the summer and having groups come in as well it makes me feel even more important because they all look up to me. Mikaela is my friend that I hung out with most of the time. While we were just all sitting around talking Eric decided it would be a good idea to scare the kids that were watching the scary movie. He went outside to try to sneak up on their window. The church they are staying at is pretty old and Eric barely tapped at the glass and SPPPPPSH the glass shattered. We got the mess cleaned up and covered the window. Now Eric has to talk to pastor Frank tomorrow. :/

June 17
Today we took the mission team up to Estes Park and into Rocky Mountain National Park all the way up to the top. It was a lot of fun. However, it was super windy. The youth and I tried to take some pictures and it was freezing and are hair was everywhere. This made for a fun time though. We took our lunch with us and once we got to the top we decided to just eat in the car where it would be warmer and we wouldn't blow away. We had to get back to the mission in time to open for a couple of hours. Then we went back to VBS for the last night with the kids.

June 18

Today was a very long day. We had prepared a water day for the kids at the mission and the missouri kids came back out to join us again. I was having a really rough day and I needed to get away for a little while so I called Mrs. Linda, a lady in our church that I have been getting to know, and she came to pick me up. I went with her and just tried to chill for a little while and then went to a funeral. It really is an awesome thing to be able to go to a funeral and just see everyone happy. There was some grieving but for the most part it was a big celebration because "Cooney" was an amazing godly man. Getting to hear all the wonderful stories about him makes me wish I really got to know this man. He did the best he could trying to make sure everyone had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Man I hope that this will be the testimonies at my funeral some day.

This evening was the family night at VBS. The parents came to eat dinner and see the kids preform there songs they learned throughout the week. It has been an awesome week. We had 100 kids total through out the week and of that 10 kids accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior

June 19

O where to begin with today. Today has been a wonderful day but at the same time very eventful. We started out getting up and leaving Greeley at 6am to drive to Longmont to help with the 9 Cares Colorado Shares food drive for the mission in Longmont. For the most part people were very generous and brought lots of food out for us to take. As well as bringing clothing and stuff from their home that they no longer needed.

Here is where the crazy part begins. My ear had been itching and so I took out my hearing aid, scratched my ear and noticed that there was a small tear in it. Put it back in my ear. A little while later I did the same thing only this time it is broken and I cant find the end piece. At first I try not to freak out but look on the ground everywhere, ask Charles and someone else to see if they see it in my ear still. Nope nothing. So I continued on with my work and put the rest of my hearing aid up. Then a while later my ear starts hurting and not knowing where the other part is made me nervous.

After Charles and I were done with our shift we left to go find something to eat. As we are driving around I see a Five Guys. (This is probably one of the BEST restaurants ever) One of my favorites so I asked charles if he was up for a burger. He had never been here before and I was sooo excited. This was just to make my day better. We ate five guys and then started to head back to Greeley to go see Toy Story 3. Well by the time we get back to Greeley, my ear is really hurting and so when we get to the pastors house (where charles is staying) I had Mrs. Joye look. She saw nothing in my ear but I told her it had to be so Pastor Frank took me to the Urgent Care. At this point I am nervous first of all because anything to do with my ears scare me, as well as being in another state where I don't know the doctors or what to do. I end up working myself up and when I get to see the nurse she was very good at just listening to me and calming me back down. She immediately noticed that there was more than just an ear problem that was stressing me out and so she began to question me. I ended up spilling everything to her which was really neat because I was having trouble trying to decided who would be best to talk to the past couple of days. She kept telling me to just lift it all up to God and that He would take care of it. Man was this what I needed or what. Just never would of expected it from a random stranger. After I had calmed down she went and got the doctor to come look at my ear. At this point I still wasn't positive if it was even in my ear. She had me lay on my side where she could look in and there it was she saw it. A few minutes later this is what she pulled out.

Charles was amazed that something this big could be in my ear canal and he couldn't see it. When she took the piece out it didn't hurt at all but when I sat up I immediately felt something in my ear and I asked her if there was any liquid. She told me that I had a small scrape on my ear canal and that she wanted to give me some ear drops so that I could take some extra precautions to keep it from getting infected. When I was done and leaving the office at this point feeling MUCH better. I told the doctor and nurse Thank you. The nurse looked at me and smiled and said if you need anything you know where to find me. ;) This almost made me cry again. This was like my angel God had sent to take care of me today.

Now to make my day better once again. Charles and I went to see TOY STORY 3!!!! It is super amazing. definitely made my day along with removing the hearing aid, and five guys.

June 20

Father's Day

Since none of us were with our Father's today we went to Pastor Frank's house and spent the day with him. One of his children came and brought his grand kids. We had a cookout and the kids played in the slip in slide. This made for a chill and relaxed day. Then we went out to the mission for our evening Church Service.

June 21

At kids Club today our numbers were a little lower but we continued on anyway. This week theme is Hope and Joy. We taught the kids today from James 1. We talked about trials and how we will be tested but we are supposed to persevere and then one day we will receive our crown of life. The kids were good listeners today and we had good discussions with them. We had graham crackers with peanut butter and m&ms as a snack. The kids love to make food crafts.

June 22

Today was our day off so we decided that we wanted to go for a bike ride. We all loaded up our bikes and packed a lunch and took off for a trail. We ended up biking 18 miles round trip. Went half way stopped and ate lunch at a park and then turned around and rode back. This was really fun we all went at our own pace and just enjoyed ourselves. There was one part however that I was in front of everyone just strolling and I saw a yellow sign to show there were going to be curves up ahead and when I saw the sign I thought that looks kinda like a snake. A few minutes later I SCREAMED. There was a snake spread out across the path in front of me. I waited for someone else to come so I could worn them. Charles passed me next and then Lee. We were all ahead of the other 3 though and Lee stopped and ran over it. We then decided since it was nearly dead we would keep going ahead a little ways and then stop and watch the others come by and get scared. Sure enough a few minutes later Tiffany went right next to it and Screamed as well. :) At least I wasn't the only one.

After we got back to the truck we were all hot and sweaty and wanted to go jump in a pool so we took our bikes back and put on bathing suits to go for a swim. After all of this was over I was feeling a little warm. I got quite a bit of sun today thank goodness for sunscreen.

Prayer Request:

Pray for our team

Chris and Colleen as they start packing to move to California

The hearts of the children we are working with.

New mission team coming in next week

June 11th

I have had limited access to internet so I will try my best to keep this updated at least once a week if I get a chance to do so more often I will. Also the mailing address that I have given out is the one to the mission. The kids that are in this neighborhood are bad about stealing things so if you are going to mail me something I can give you a new address or my mom has them as well. I just didn’t want to post them for security reasons. Thanks

Where has the time gone. I have already been in Colorado 2 weeks. It has been amazing and I have already been through many challenges and adventures. Let me get you caught up.

June 2nd
Last Wednesday we started Kids Club and we had 30 kids on the first day. We just played some games with the kids to try to get to know them and allow them to open up to us. After we were done for the day we went home for a short break and then went bowling as a team. I think this maybe a regular thing. Wednesday night is cheap bowling night here.

June 3rd
Thursday is our mission day. We got a new shipment of food in today so we had to restock the food pantry. I sorted through thing and organized it all by the type of food. When I came on this trip I didn't know I was going to be elected to be the cook for the summer. However I am not too worried about it. I am a person of many skills. I actually love to cook and after I had been in the food pantry Chris asked me to find something to make for dinner. The only thing I could really find that would feed enough people was some hamburger helper. A fact most people know about me is I HATE cheese. Most hamburger helper has cheese in it and this one did. Knowing this was the case I didn't try the meal and I was actually a little worried that I didn't fix it right...but after I put it on the table it didn't last very long. The dishes came back to me pretty clean.

June 4th
Kids Club was again today and we started with our theme of survival today. We made dirt cups with the kids as our activity. (chocolate pudding with gummy worms and crushed up Oreo cookies) I think the crushing up of the cookies was the kids favorite part well besides eating it.

June 5th
We got up early this morning because we had to drive to Longmont. There is another mission in longmont called the Good News Center and they were having a fundraiser at the applebees there so we went to help them out. I don't know if you have ever been apart of a Saturday morning at applebees but its super fun. As a fundraiser you have to presale tickets to get people to come eat a pancake breakfast at Applebees. Then you have to have people come in to help serve as the "employees" you need some waiters, waitress, and hostess. The four people on my team got to be the waiters and waitress. It was sooo much fun. I have never worked at a restaurant before and never been behind the scenes at applebees either. We got to take orders, go to the back and place orders, make drinks, take orders out to customers, get refills, take plates back to kitchen and where they belong, and then clean the tables and start over. When we got done and we were getting ready to leave I was talking to the manager for a second and he asked me if I had ever waited on tables before and I told him I hadn't and he asked if I wanted a part time job. Haha I had to tell him I was only there for the summer and I was doing missions. It was a really neat experience and a great way to make money. After we left applebees we went to horsetooth falls. This was a beautiful hike. When we got to the top there was running water. We spent some time just relaxing and taking in the beauty. On the way back down, well parts of it were up too, I decided I wanted to try to get some running in. After I was done and back to the car I was worn out and done for the day. Waiting tables and then hiking the mountains and running that's a lot.
I napped on the way home and then we all went to pastor Frank's house for dinner. He did some barbecuing on the grill for us. While we were waiting we played washers. Lee and I won! We both even got a ringer.

June 6th
Sunday is our church day. We went to West Greeley Baptist Church. Pastor Frank had us all do some introductions for the church telling where we were from and what school we attend. Surprisingly there were a couple people that had heard of Salado and even Nacogdoches. It really is a small world. My Sunday school teacher told me he had family in Lufkin and Diboll (Diboll is where Andrew's family is from) and after church there was a lady that told me here and her husband lived in Georgetown for 7 years til his job moved him to Greeley. The lady that played piano asked which church I went to in Nacogdoches because her husband had been talking to a pastor of a church and was trying to get a music ministry job there. I didn't get to finish talking to her because she had to go find her husband but I am almost positive it was the church in Nacogdoches I went to for 2 years.

June 7th
After Kids Club everyone came over to my house and again I cooked dinner. Lee cooked the steaks and hamburgers on the grill and I made the rice-a-roni (that charles wanted), french fries, and baked a confetti cake (our favorite).

June 8th
Today was our free day so we went in to Denver and went down to 16th street mall. We rode the bus down the strip a couple of times and then got our exercise walking back. This evening my team wanted to watch the big basketball game so I took kermie by myself, without the rearview mirror still, to Windsor, CO. for a bonfire. I got to see some of my fellow texans. Jarred and Amber :D and makes some smores.

June 9
Kids Club today was amazing I lead the bible study and we talked about the Great Commission. We read from Mark 16:15. “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” After we discussed how important it was for us to go and share the gospel with our family and friends, I taught the kids how to make a salvation bracelet and how to use it to share the good news with others. The kids were more attentive then I expected them to be. All of the children were able to make two necklaces or bracelets so they could keep one and then share the other with someone else. After we all had lunch it was time to start the lesson with the older kids, we did the same lesson with the older kids. This time Charles led the Bible study and then I walked the youth through the salvation bracelets as well except with the older kids I taught them how to make a square knot with hemp string. They did an awesome job and were very attentive as well. I know God is really at work in the lives of the children and I can see this more so in some children than others.

Ok so there is usually something bad that happened sometime through out the day and today Lee’s iPod got stolen. He left it out on the table and then we were all outside with the children and there was no one supervising the mission when two boys walked in and after they walked out they went straight home. Lee went to look for the iPod and it was gone. We are pretty positive that we know who it was since there were only the two boys. Lee has taken this pretty hard. Please pray that he doesn’t let this hurt his ministry in worrying about the iPod.

Usually kids club is over about 2:30 but today since the kids were enjoying the bracelet making we didn’t leave the mission until closer to 4. Tiffany and I went back to my house and crashed. The kids wore us out.

At 5:45 we went and picked up Jonathon and Caleb (Chris’ kids) and took them to get some dinner at McDonalds before heading up to the bowling alley for bowling night. There were about 15 people there all together so this made it fun. We had children everywhere. After I left the bowling alley I went home and packed my stuff and was able to move into my new home for the summer. :D Praise the Lord for the wonderful opportunity.

June 10
Today was a chill day we didn’t have to be at the mission until 4 to help prepare food boxes and clean up the clothing closet. I met Jane today she is a teacher in Greeley. Well she actually just lost her job this year because they were cutting back on teachers. She felt like she needed to do some missions work and she had been asking around for a place to do so. She came up the mission today and Chris sent her to work in the food pantry with me. Since it was just the two of us, I really got to talk to her and get to know her a little bit. She was telling me since she didn’t have a job she wanted to try to a little missions work because it helped her to keep it off her mind and she felt like that was something God had been laying on her heart. This was a blessing for us because we can always use volunteers at the mission especially on the days when we have kids club and my team has to lead the kids program outside so that leaves the inside work to be done by volunteers. If there are none then one of us has to go work inside. Jane said she would love to come in again on Friday (tomorrow) and she might even try to get her daughter to come help too.

June 11
This morning when I got to the mission Jane came to help again. She even stayed and joined us during the youth time. Today for the youth time we had the biggest group we have had during that time yet this summer. The Kids even stayed after and just shared a little of their lives with us. After we left the mission we had to go up to West Greeley Baptist Church to help set up the garage sale for tomorrow. We are having a Summer Sizzlin' Festival with activities for the children and families as well as a garage sale. This is the kickoff party for VBS that starts this next week.

Prayer request
-Veronica 13 yr old girl
-Kayli and her interest to ask questions and know more about God
-Pray for Jane and that she will find a job and/or continue to help out at the mission
-Lee’s Ipod that was stolen
-Communication between the group

Praise
-Housing
-Veronica for continuing to come to kids club and then staying for the youth time

June 1

Since Monday was Memorial Day we had the day off so we all loaded up along with Chris' family and went up towards the mountains. We stopped along the way at a park and had a picnic, played some games, and spent time resting. In the afternoon, when our team left (the four of us) we went up into the mountains. God is absolutely wonderful. I am in awe of His creation every single day. As Charles said today, "Going into the mountains was another team building day". We navigated our way to the top of the mountains. Traveling on Trail Ridge Road up to the highest road traveled in the US. (I think that is the fact don't quote me though). There was snow piled high on the side of the road and once we started on our way back down we started to see elk. There was one point where they were on the side of the road right next to our car. When we got into town we were able to pull over on the side of the road where we could get out and get about 15 ft away from them. Our day had been wonderful and we had made it back to Estes Park just in time to eat dinner. After dinner we headed back home through the mountains. There was a part where the traffic had come to a complete stop and there were people walking around so 3 of us got out and started to walk to see if we could see what the problem was and we walked for a little while til we heard there was a wreck. We ended up waiting for an hour and a half for traffic to clear up and to be able to head home. The only thing we were able to see was one ambulance that drove away and a car that was on a tow truck that was totaled. The front end of the car was torn up really bad. We said a prayer for them hoping whoever was in the car was not hurt too badly and thankful they didn't roll down the side of the cliff. After our adventure filled day we finally made it home to rest.

Today we started planning for our summer and the schedule of Kids Camp that starts tomorrow! We made it up to the mission about noon and did some brain storming on the theme of survival. For the month of June we are going to come up with lessons, crafts, games, bible verses, and other activities that have to do with survival. After we planned for this week. We went out into the neighborhood and started canvasing the trailer park with flyers about the summers kids camp. As we started walking through the streets children started joining us to help us figure out which houses had kids in them and where to go. We ended up having so much help that we split into two different groups. Today seemed to be a very productive day and I can't wait to see what God has in store for us tomorrow.

My blessing of the day: I went to Best Buy because my computer battery is going bad and the cord is frayed so it will no longer charge or hold a charge so I went to purchase a new charger. I get to the store and the guy finds a charger for me but then checked to see if I still had warranty on my computer...and I DID! so now I will be able to get both of the items replaced for free bc my warranty is until August of this year. I was excited to hear this. It really was a blessing.

Prayer Request:
Kids Club -pray for lots of children
Wisdom-in planning for the future days to come
Words-that they will be His words that I am the mouth He uses

May 29

Hey everyone! I have finally made it to Greeley. I actually got here on Thursday night but I have not been able to get to the internet til now.

Wednesday we spent most of our time at the airport. I arrived in Colorado at 8:30 in the morning and had to wait for the rest of the Colorado Missionaries to arrive. The last one arrived at the airport at about 1:30pm. Right as the two kids got to baggage claim the tornado warning siren went off. We were then delayed a little longer. After everything had passed by we headed to Ponderosa Baptist Camp for our Colorado orientation. It was really fun to be able to meet up again with another group of students to hear about all the different summer missions projects that would be happening in Colorado.

On Thursday after we were done we headed to Greeley. Day one of being in Greeley we started working at the mission. The mission is the Church that is at the front of the Hill-N-Park trailer park. There are over 600 homes in this area with many children. The mission was originally a Church plant that grew and then relocated leaving only a building behind. A lady from the church decided that the building needed to be used and the people in that trailer park needed to be witnessed to so they then decided to open it up for a Food Bank and clothing location. This all started 13 years ago. Now the building is known as the Lighthouse Mission.

When we first arrived at the mission we went in to the food pantry and started to put food boxes together and wait for families to come in and pick them up. A food box consist of Cereal, 2 canned vegetables, canned fruit, chips or crackers, pasta, eggs, meat, bread, and a desert. They also were giving a bag if they wanted to go through the clothes closet and pick any of the clothing they could fit in the grocery bag. We were able to drive around the trailer park and meet a few of the kids this day as well. At 7pm, after we are done with the food boxes, we open up for a bible study at the mission.

Friday we hung out at the mission getting to know some of the volunteers, training in the kitchen for feeding the children for kids camp, and then in the evening at dinner at Chris' house (our supervisor).

This all leads up to today! Today was a team building day. When Chris first informed us that we needed an activity for today his first question was does everyone know how to drive standard. Well guess what I don't and all of the missionary vehicles that we have this summer are standard. So guess what Charles and I did today. We learned how to drive a five speed. We are gonna be pros by the end of the summer. We both caught on surprisingly quick. We started in a school parking lot driving a little car as we like to call Kermie. After Charles felt comfortable with starting and stopping we got him out on some of the roads. As we pull up to the main road. Charles turns around and with a serious face says, "This is the main road". We died laughing poor thing he was soo scared. Needless to say it was a great team bonding activity.

Prayer Request:
-Kids Club (starts June 2nd)
-Comfort in evening times
-Strengthen team relationships

May 23

This weekend was Orientation in Dallas at DBU and today was the last day. It was a really great weekend I finally got to meet my partner for this summer. We also got to know are Tribe (some fellow Go Now Students). This weekend was fun and now I am literally ready to Go. The time is getting closer. I will be boarding the plane at 7:10am on Wednesday morning to fly to Denver. When I arrive in Denver I will be waiting at the airport for the rest of our team to join us and then we will be staying at a camp to do our Colorado Orientation for two days. Then off to Greeley Colorado for the summer. :D

Prayer Request:
Safe travels
Team Member
-Me, Charles, Tiffany, Lee
Supervisor
-Chris Watson

May 11

Hey, Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I have never done anything like this before but I thought it would be a really good opportunity to give it a try. This will allow for everyone to stay connected with me while I am on my mission trip this summer.

Go Now that is what we are called to do. “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’" Matthew 28:18-20

I have wanted to do a mission trip through Go Now since my freshman year of College now that I will be a senior next semester I decided it would be a good time to GO. At first I wasn’t sure where I felt like I was supposed to go. I read through the list of locations and was trying to decide if I should go somewhere within the states or outside the country. I went through the list the first time and I narrowed it down and really just prayed about what I should do. I originally narrowed it down to one specific one. I prayed about it and something didn’t feel right. I didn’t want to pick a trip because it was something I wanted to do I wanted to make sure it was God’s will for me to go on the trip. So I decided that I would just go through the interview and have them place me where I belonged. This is when I first realized if I didn’t learn anything else this would be the summer I would learn to become flexible.

Discovery Weekend is a designed to be a weekend for all of the student missionaries interested in trips to come together and go through an interview process and make a final decision on what trips they would like to go on. This year God had a different plan for us. We were all supposed to meet in Dallas but this is the weekend that they got 13+ inches of snow. SFA along with about 5 other schools all drove to Tyler for a Discovery Day instead.

After I went through the interview process it took about a week to get the results back. I was excited to see that the trip they picked for me was in my original top 5. Lighthouse Missions in Greeley, Colorado.

I was originally supposed to leave on June 1st and my schedule has already changed again. I will now be flying out from Austin at 7:10 on May 26th and returning on the 7th of August.