Revealing Grace

If you ask me about any of “my kids” on the Apache reservation I could talk your ears off about their awesome qualities, their potential, and the ups and downs of their stories intertwining with my own. They are some of the most resilient teenagers I have ever met, and they honestly inspire me. I don’t know that I would be able to handle the amount of hardship and sadness that they have seen in their teenage years. So today I want to give you a chance to meet a few of my students, as well as hear what they have to say about my time with them. *I have asked permission to release their names and pictures to you, so don’t worry, they know :)*  The first person I would like you to meet is Crystal.  Crystal is such a gem. She and I got the chance to really know each other at a retreat we went to in Missouri last year. She rides bulls at rodeos and is a pretty tough cookie. She has had her ups and downs, but I am really proud of her effort to stay on track with God, even...

Well hello dear ones. First, I want to report how fabulous of a weekend I have had! SIX new people joined my support team and I am so encouraged by their desire to partner with me as I go to work with Apache Youth Ministries. We are moving toward our goal and I will report some numbers in the next week. God is certainly good, ALLLLL the time! I also got to spend quality time with my lovely college friends in Milledgeville this weekend. I felt at home  and it was the best feeling to be back. So now, I want to announce something really cool that I am excited about. I figured that I could tell you all day every day why it is important for me to be on the Apache reservation and why I love working with these kids, but eventually you are going to get bored of that. So instead, I thought you should hear from the students themselves! So here we go! The first of the testimonies! I am excited for you guys to get to know some of my students, as well as hear what they think of me. Dud...

If you are new here....welcome! I'm glad you came. Grab a good cup of tea and settle in, this is going to be quite the adventure. So! I've been home for a week. I spent the first two days in the same clothes watching hours of Masterpiece Theatre on my parent's couch. It was glorious. Then I realized that I had things to do so I took a much-needed shower and got down to business. Because what time is it?? It's support raising time. If you haven't had the experience of raising full-time support I can assure you that it is both exciting...and not...because it is actually really hard. It is first, exciting because I am being really blessed and challenged by the whole experience. It is second, hard because....well....it's really hard. It is hard because I have to ask people to commit to giving me monthly donations of money.  I don't like asking for much, and I really  don't like asking for money. I think it is because I feel bad, but as my friend has ...

I had a completely different blog post written for today, but some stuff as happened and I think I need to go in a different direction. In the past few days I have had a really hard time. From the moment I got into my car to move to Arizona things have been really tough. I have had to fight so hard against sadness, despair, and remorse. I have questioned my purpose, my abilities, and my place. On my first day back at our youth center, I caused conflict. I still stand by what I said, but I don't stand by the results or the way it made other people feel. Let's just say that the past five days have not been my finest. I can blame it on the transition, the lack of sleep, the stress, and I do think all of these things contribute, but I am convinced that the cause of this is much bigger. I have been given a purpose, and the enemy wants me to run in the other direction.  I have to say, the enemy's power is strong. As I sit in my parent's living room it is taking every...

I want to tell you everything, to repeat every kind word and every heartfelt moment from this past week, but words cannot contain all that is in my heart. My mind cannot wrap around it. Perhaps I finally understand what it meant that Mary “pondered these things in her heart.”  I have been filled with so much encouragement, so much love, gifts, joy, and change, that language does not even have the capacity to express their impact. My brain cannot process, cannot contain, cannot express. I have received so many words, blessings, and prayers, and all I could do was place them close to my heart and let them absorb. In the center of my being I pondered the beauty that has surrounded me and the words and encouragement has seeped into everything that I am. As the words of faithful friends wrap around me they have fortified me, and I am overwhelmed. My heart is the only place that can process all that I have received, and it is a beautiful and overwhelming feeling. I am bless...

I am so tired. It is the kind of oppressive exhaustion that comes from weeks of adventure, change, transition, and to-do lists that never get done. My body and mind are weary, for the last four days have been full of sight-seeing and memory-making in Northern California with little sleep and lots of movement. But the exhaustion comes from more than that. I feel as if my soul is tired, as if my heart is overtaxed, filled to the brim with conflicting emotions. I want to close my eyes and let it all pass over me, waking up with everything done and the change over, but I stay awake, trying to fight all that is fighting within me.  In these past two years I have been challenged, enlightened, and changed. I have been formed through the fire and I come out a different person than when I entered. I have been in the depths and I have been in the heights. I have cried and laughed and formed friendships that have held me up when I didn’t know what to do. These years have been full, an...

The two-week "farewell to Pasadena" countdown is moving along quickly. I'm getting all sorts of sentimental, so if you live in Pasadena, watch out. All you have to say is, "hey!" and I will launch into a monologue on how much I love you and appreciate you. Its all just too much. 2 years may not seem like a long time, but it has been enough time to settle in some roots and build up a family away from home. It is proving tough to say good-bye to all of that family, plus I hate good-byes so that doesn't help. They just seem so final. Everything changes when you have to say good-bye. Just writing the word so much makes me sad. But back to the point. Tonight I said good-bye to one of the sweetest families I have ever known. Their three kids are amazing, and I have loved being silly and watching movies with them over the last years. They are one of two families that have been amazing additions to my life since moving West. I think their kids all rock, and if ...