Goin' to the REAL Country

I can't tell you how excited I am to be going to Austonio/Crockett this weekend.  I have never been to the "real country" for an extended period of time.  I'm gonna take pictures so I'll share the stories with y'all when I see you next.  Aside from all the excitement of getting to see all the cows and chickens I also get to see my boyfriend, which I might add is the most exciting thing about the weekend.  I also get to meet his parents which I am totally pumped about.  Yay!  Can't wait!!  I leave tomorrow and come back Saturday night.  Pray that I have a safe trip if you think about it.

As far as the job goes things are winding down and yet are so incredibly busy.  Next week our plate is completely full every night.  Mon-Fri we have a different activity with a different age group.  I am really excited about it but in all the excitement I am really sad that I have to leave.  I have discovered why I love this job so much.  There are actually a lot of reasons but one of them is that the reward, though many times small, is so sweet because the victory is not for yourself but for the Kingdom of God.  I get this amazing feeling when I think about the angels rejoicing because another believer was baptized.  I get this overwhelming feeling of blessing when I think about the way the spirit moves in peoples lives and seeing the fruits produced by the teens that I get to work with and challenge and who challenge me daily.  God is so good!

I am sad to leave but I am excited to go back to school and see everyone.  I have to brush up on my Greek.  I'm afraid I'm not gonna get my summer reader done.  I still have a couple of weeks but I don't know.  It's just extra credit so I don't have to do it but how cool would it be to start my class with extra credit?!

I gotta get back to work! Have a great day!

Be Blessed!!!

Back on American Soil

Well, we are back from Mexico and it feels good.  God was able to use our group to do a lot of good work while we were there but it feels great to be back home.  We spent a lot of time with concrete while we were there.  It was probably the hardest work that I have ever done as far a manual labor goes.  I think the most rewarding thing all week was to see our kids working so hard.  Everytime I looked up I saw our 10th and 11th graders outdoing themselves.  Time after time we had to MAKE them STOP working to go eat but no sooner did they leave the roof they were back.  They blew me away.  One day, they had the choice to go to these Cave's that we were told about or to stay and finish plastering the walls of the auditorium and 28 out of 31 without hesitating said they wanted to stay. The other 3 really didn't have a preference.  What a joy to see God working in their hearts that way.  We also had a 4 1/2 hour blessing time on Thursday and the way the kids encouraged each other just brought tears to my eyes.  The love of God was so evident in their lives.  Mexico was an amazing trip!  God is good!
 
As far as the relationship that you guys have been praying about for me these last two weeks, things are great.  We are officially boyfriend and girlfriend as of July 16 and I must say I am totally pumped.  Hugh is a great guy and really loves the Lord.   God has truly blessed my life through him.  I can't wait for y'all to meet him!! He has decided to go into ministery and will be going to LCU in the fall which is only 2 1/2 hours away! I can't wait to see what God has in store for us!  Really, ask me anything you want.  Now, I'm gonna filter the questions but I love to talk about him so hit me with your best shot!  Thanks again to everyone  who has been praying!
 
Work is going good.  It has been a little hard to focus today b/c I have some sort of sinus something and have really just been in a different world.  This too will pass, that's what I am telling myself to feel better. 
 
Guys, thanks you so much for everything y'all have done for me.  I really truly love y'all and I can't wait to talk to y'all and see you again!
 
Be Blessed!!!

Dependence

Hugh is coming back into the State of Texas today after being in Mexico a week! I am really excited. I won't get to see him until tomorrow and then my group leaves for Mexico on Sunday so it'll be a quick visit but I am just glad that we will get to hang out.

I am really excited about our trip to Mexico and very anxious at the same time. I don't really know what is going to go on down there. It's very much a play it by ear trip, the kind of trip that makes me uncomfortable. It is way out of my comfort zone to not have a plan. There have been a lot of things like that this summer. Someone mentioned to me that maybe God is trying to teach me that I am not in control even when I think I am and that I should learn to just depend on him. At first I wasn't sure about that but the more that happens this summer the more I think God is totally teaching me that lesson. It's weird b/c even though I feel like that's what I need to learn- it's so hard! It's so hard to COMPLETELY depend on God and give it all up.

If you think about it pray for me this week as I travel to Mexico with no plan of action. Also keep Hugh and me in your prayers- that God show us what direction we need to go in our relationship. You guys are awesome and I am so thankful that God has given me friends like y'all. Have a super weekend!

Be Blessed!!

Mexico

Hugh is in Mexico so it has been a long week but he's doing awesome work for God down there. We are getting some stuff done for church this week b/c next week we will be in Mexico. Anyway! I am really excited about going down there. It's gonna be great. so anyway I'm out! Gotta get ready for rEal and the Backdoor tonight!

Be Blessed!!!

God's Timing is so much Sweeter!

Howdy do? It has been a great week for me very much in part due to a blessing that God has put into my life in the form of a guy. A wonderful Christian man. We have been on two and a half dates and they were incredible. I was talking to my roommate last night and I discovered that I really couldn't figure out how to explain the emotional roller coaster that I am on. I really really really like him- I think it's more then like. I wish there was a word that meant more then like but not love. Anyway. As I was talking to her last night I realized that it has been 4 years since a guy has kissed me or held my hand or even shown interest in me and there were a lot of lonely times in those four years, but then I thought how worth it, it has been. Hugh is an amazing Godly guy and is so sweet and really treats me like the most important thing in the world and that is so much sweeter then and bum would have been in these last four years. I guess what I am really saying is that God's timing is so much sweeter then mine could have ever been.

If you think about it be praying for me and Hugh these next two weeks. We are both going to Mexico at different times and decided to seek out God's guidance in where this relationship is going. I know what I want but I really want to do what God wants so I need prayers to really open my heart to hear God.

I hope that everyone is having a great summer.

Be Blessed!!!

The Grave No Longer has a hold on Him!

Just when you think you have experienced enough "big stuff" for the summer tragedy strikes. This morning one of our 7th grade girls mom passed away. It was very sudden and very traumatizing for the youth group.

It's crazy to think that one day everything is going fine and dandy and the next day a parent dies. Or maybe a teacher or friend or other family member. It really puts things in perspective. I think about all the people I haven't talked to in a while and all the people that I might be upset with or holding a grudge against and it all seems so stupid all the sudden.

I worry about my friend. I wonder how this will effect her. Will this shake of her faith cause her to cling to Christ or to fall away from him? I'm praying for her. Being 13 and losing your mother. I can't even fathom it. If you think about it pray for her too.

There is a bright side to this. As with Christ on the third day when he was raised from the dead and then as he ascended into the heavens so to will this Godly women sit at God's throne for all eternity. The grave no longer has a hold on Christ nor on Mrs. Anderson. Praise be to God for his son!

Be Blessed!

Yuk!!

So I'm going to the Dentist today to get some cavities filled- YUK!!! Pray for me and Be Blessed!!!

Ain't Nothin' Like It

Well, two weeks of camp and now back to reality! I was thinking about everything that I have experienced these last two weeks and all the people I have met and the lessons I have learned and I think the thing that sticks out most to me is how incredibly challenged teenagers are these days. I don't ever remember dealing with some of the things the kids in my groups these last two weeks have encountered. That's not to say that they weren't out there but they never knocked on my door. I praise God for being so faithful to wretches like us.

MPulse- Aliens in the World. What a concept for Middle school kids to grasp: It's ok to be different! My MPluse group really didn't seem to get it until our Mission: Rescue where they had to talk our counselors into coming back to Jesus! It was great to see them opening their bibles and recalling information from the week to save their friends! Awesome!

Kadesh-Grace. The thing I learned about grace this week is that it is a never ending study, it's hard to understand and that it is that easy. Just say yes. That was the most difficult point to get across to my group. All you have to do is accept God's grace. High Schoolers live such complicated lives that the idea of just saying yes is impossible to them. It's that easy!

What an amazing two weeks. I told my groups both weeks that I have never been to or taught at a camp where you are challenged so much in one week! What an opportunity they have to really dive into the word of God!

Camp-Ain't Nothin' Like It!!!

Be Blessed!!!

FREEDOM!!!

Grace is freedom. This week I was at Kadesh Life Camp at ACU and the theme for the week was Grace. I must say that this was one of the most emotionally and spiritually draining weeks I have ever had. This week a lot of things were shared with me that I really didn't know what to do with but God provided so much support for me through my friends like Casey and Greg and Bob that this peace really overcame me this morning on the drive home.
One of the things that was mentioned at camp was by Reg Cox and he told us that it frustrates him so much when people look at the cross an the whole crucifixion and completely miss it. They look at the pain and they look at the torture. They look at the roman guards or the wailing women or Simon or this or that but they completely miss the point of Grace. Did he die for me? YES!
Besides that, I was able to enjoy a great week of worship. Ryan did a wonderful job leading our teenagers on a spiritual journey through praise and singing to God. What a blessed person and so gracious to use his gift for God in every way he can! Thanks Ryan.
I am going back to Abilene tomorrow. We are taking our Jr. High kids this time. MPluse is the camp at ACU for our younger teens and it is a very different camp then Kadesh. I am really excited about it!
I gotta jet but I hope that everyone has had a great week and that all is going well!

Be Blessed!!!

Nertz for Jesus

We are leaving for Kadesh tomorrow. I'm very very excited and a little bit nervous. I think it's gonna be a great trip but I have no idea what to expect. I do know however that I am in charge of making sure that we have everyone when we leave any where and that the part that makes me nervous. Counting heads! Pray for me!

So last night we were supposed to have our big Summer Spalsh Off but for anyone from the Houston Area you could probably guess it was cancelled-rain. Yeah, it rained and rained and rained but it was so fun. We played some Ultimate for a while before the rain started so we still got in about an hour and a half of fun in and afterwards- when news came that it was cancelled for real- The other interns and myself were invited to the Cates house to chill with the 8th graders!

What a blessing that was. We got to teach them how to play nertz (the card game). It was this card game where I realized how much they (the youth group) watch and listen to how we talk and what we say and our actions. Example, I like to say "amen" to start off the game, typically I say it softly but the girls heard and they said "WHY DO YOU SAY AMEN?!?! THAT'S DUMB" I just told them "I like to bless the game before we play." Of course thy laughed at me and said it was stupid but the rest of the game when someone said "go" they said "amen." Now most likely they were just making fun of me but regardless, they heard me and listened.

What a mighty tool God has allowed me to be. Who would have thought that I, little ol' Mandy, would be a mighty tool used to help build up the Kingdom of Heaven? What an honor!

Be Blessed!!!