You know: you're becoming British/you miss home when...

First off, let me start with... I only have 30 more days til I'm back home! Everything feels better and better since I'm on the downhill part of my trip! It has been a struggle and continuous at that! Struggle as far as my relationship with my Lord and Savior! Oh how He loves me and I lose sight of that way too often! It just feels good to know that soon I can take what I've learned back to my small group girls at home, to my family and friends, to my church, to my future ministry, and everywhere else in my life! When we're children of God we have to share in the blessings as well as the sufferings. That is more than evident to me in my time that I have been here! So much has been happening at home that I have had to leave behind and it has been hard but well worth it!

Without further delay... You know you're becoming British when:

• You drink more tea then the guy from Liverpool that drinks it by the gallons! I mean I know I liked tea, but I didn't know I liked it that much! Everyone is always enamored with how much Richard the Gardener (a.k.a. the guy from Liverpool) can drink! It is said that he only drinks water, like literal water, only five times a year! Seriously, this guy drinks it morning, noon, and night! The other day he was passing through and said to me, "Wow I'm impressed!" To which I replied, "With what, my tea drinking skills?" And he said, "Yes, I would challenge you to a tea drinking contest but I don't think I will because I'm afraid I'd lose!" Thought you'd be proud mom!!!!! : )
• You start using Northern Irish slang, as in... class, what's the craic, oh aye, what about ya! And when ever you said them you have a slight Irish "twang"! Especially when you get back home!
• You start calling dinner, "tea".

You know you miss home/NKY when:

• You will go great lengths to just get a cup of ICE! Seriously... they don't drink anything with ice here, granted it's always cold, but come on... everyone needs a little ice every now and then!
• You listen to specific kinds of music to remind you of times you had at home, and dreaming of the day you'll get to make new ones! Especially Rascal Flatts, can I get an Amen!?!!!
• You will wear a ton of layers on somedays because you think it's freezing but everyone else is wearing t-shirt and shorts!

This season of my life has been the most trying and, quite honestly, horrible! I miss home everyday, I miss my family and friends. For numerous reason's it has been so hard to be here! From friends having life struggles when they count on you to be there, to struggling with God and letting Him come in and clean out your heart! I am most certainly on the road to beautiful...

Keep PUSHing (Pray Until Something Happens) I will be doing the same!

P.S. Here is a picture of me, letting you guys know I actually did climb the mountain! : )

"...be the center of our lives, oh Christ be the place we fix our eyes..."

"We lift our eyes to heaven and we wrap our lives around Your life..."

Can it not get any better than this? This is what we should be striving for. How is it then, that we get so 'sidetracked' with this so called life? Is the reality of hell not enough to scare us into saving the lost? As I sit here in my office this afternoon, with a moment of peace and quiet (finally, and may it not last too long or be to short) I finally realized that I should be mourning the lost, literally mourning the lost. We all should. So I asked myself, do I? Do I really care that these children I am called to serve and seek, do I mourn for EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM? Even through the pain and the hurt, do I mourn for them? Through the struggles that I am facing, do I love them as Christ loves me? Obviously I have been struggling with a lot of questions. This summer is nothing like last summer. Conflict after conflict. Argument after argument. Battle after battle. Struggle after struggle. Spiritual demon after spiritual demon.

I found myself looking at Chelsea Westwood's facebook. Trying somehow, someway to convince myself that she had just given up facebook because it is such a distraction to us all. Chelsea is not someone I need to be mourning for, it is the children that sit around, infront of, and beside me at night when I 'supervise' the team that is currently in. Do I mourn for them as I did for Chelsea? No. Quite honestly and boldly, NO. I think about it, but I don't mourn for it. I pray now, that the only thing I strive for is that every person I come into contact with gets to know Christ on the level I have been able to know Him at and even greater. So this week as I prepare for Lakeside to come in (praise Jesus!!!) I pray that I will have a convicted heart for every child I come into contact with, and that the Lord will give me the words, the right words to speak to them.

I contemplated a long time if I should share how I am feeling with all of you. I came to the conclusion that I would be fake if I didn't share my stuggles with you. Homesickness is the worse feeling, especially here, especially for me. This summer is going to be a continuous struggle for me to get through, when all I want to do is go home and see all of my friends and family. PUSH. Pray Until Something Happens. We as Christians a lot of the times seem to put on the front that we always have it ALL together. We, out of anyone, out of any group of people, should be saying, WE NEVER HAVE IT TOGETHER, nor will we ever. That is where Jesus comes in. We are made clean, restored, renewed in Christ. Because He came to save me, to save you. I need God, we need God. He came as one of us and died THE MOST humiliating death.

As I just looked to see how cold it was here in Northern Ireland, it's finally back to normal weather, a fantastic high of 55 and a low of 47, which we're only one degree off of that right now. Oh and might I mention the rain, of course it rains here!

Freedom. By the blood of Christ. We are free. We are loved. We are enough, just in who we are. Christ didn't want us any other way. Broken and miserable is a perfect way to come to someone who can make you whole and happy. And only in Him can that be found.

So the next time you're standing in line and the person behind you starts conversation or vice versa, look at them straight in the eye and think, if I don't witness to this person or start some type of a relationship, this person might go to hell and the blood will be upon my shoulders. (Ezekiel 3:18,19)

"find in Me thine all in all"

Well guys, I have some great news!

DARREN IS HOME!  I went to see him on Monday and he was lying on the couch just eager to get up and do something, but also whipped out at the same time!  We stayed and talked to his 'mum' for a little and then prayed over him!  His mum is so nice and loving!  I have recently become close with some of his sisters and they're just my favorites, I know I shouldn't have favorites, but I can't help it!  Anyways, Darren is good and at home safe and sound!  Now we just need prayers for his full recovery and for patience for his family to be able to withstand the extreme crakyness of him wanting to get up and do everything himself or going out to play!

Thats it for now!  Talk to you guys soon!

Love and miss you all!

...You fill my life, there's nothing else I need!

Hey guys,

Just here to give you a Darren update!  You're prayers have been amazing!  Darren's skull and vertebrae are both fine, but he did have to have skin graphs done.  When he was hit, there was a huge chunk of skin down his leg that was taken out.  So they did the graphs and now they're just waiting to see if he needs plastic surgery.  My friend Ewelina described it to me as someone taking a spoonful of skin right up his leg, it was that deep!  So, thank you again for all of your prayers, I will let you know when he is out of the hospital!  It is expected that he'll be out on Monday but he will probably still be very sore so continue to pray for him and his family!  One for him because he'll probably want to get up and do everything he possibly can as soon as possible and two for his family to be patient with him!  

Thanks again guys!

God bless!

so i'll stand, with arms high and heart abandoned...

Hey all,

Just a quick update in my crazy month-long madness of two teams coming in and out!

Our Jamaican team arrived the other day and we started 'working' in Newcastle today!  It was an extraordinary afternoon until we got the call... the call that could possibly change our lives forever, especially those who live here.  Today after our mini bus left and the other one lagged behind, we reached the house and got a call almost immediately after we walked in.  It was Ben Haas, one of the most awesome leaders in Newcastle.  I was the one that answered the phone but kept my cool as did he as he told me a shortened version of the story... 'umm, the team is going to be late, Darren was hit.'  My only reaction was to stand with my mouth wide open and hoping to God that I didn't have to be the one to tell Richie, needless to say I had to tell him.  Darren had been hanging onto the back of the mini bus just fooling around but once he let go there was a car coming the other way.  There was no time to react, or at least I hope there wasn't.  Darren was hit head on... I remember him being the first one to come up to us today and say.... 'hey, you said you'd be here at three, not HALF three!'  That was his way of saying, I'm excited that you're here, so next time be here on time!  About two hours ago Richie got a call that Darren's condition is worse than we hoped for!  He is only six years old and has a bright future ahead of him and we hope to keep it that way!  He might have a fractured skull and something wrong with his vertebrae, pretty much he could be paralyzed.  So what I want to ask is that I could have prayers please... LOTS OF THEM!!!!  I know Darren and his family would love that and would greatly appreciate it!!!!  I'll keep you posted!

Thank you for all that you've done for me... I love you all!

God bless!