Saturday, June 6, 2009

The Rain in... London?

I feel like I should stop being surprised when I wake up and it is below 50 degrees, raining and just miserable looking outside. It is London. Jet Lag is still on my tail and woke me up just after 7am this morning- but it made for a relaxing morning of calm reading before the big day of my pseudo brother- Kyle's graduation! Congratulations on graduation (outside) on the coldest day in June with the longest graduation ceremony I think I have EVER been too! It was only 6 hours later, plenty of nice British and American new friendships, Champagne on the soggy lawn, surrounded by TASIS (The American School in Switzerland- London) graduates, pictures and memories... that I realized I was so numb from the weather and beyond cold that I was finally able to have a conversation without my lips chattering. In all though, it was a wonderful ceremony, Ky-guy got the highest award the school gives (who's surprised) and we all cried.... Congratulations!

But as I was de-thawing back home in Ascot... my big passed on to me Gwyneth Paltrow's website and it seemed to make everything better... check out http://goop.com and I hope you are as delighted as I was...

Hopefully pictures to come!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

badmiton in ascot...

June in London is beautiful... at least it was yesterday! Arriving after noon, I made my way from Heathrow to the Wyper Resident's tucked away in Ascot outside the city. It was a gorgeous summer day in Surrey- one that all Englishmen and women stop what they are doing to sit outside and simply soak up every ounce of sunlight that covers their body. Life shuts down as the sun comes out. It is that very afternoon that I learned how to play English Badminton in the backyard- a game I quickly became addicted too!

Today was a different story however... the sunshine was only a hint in our imagination as the typical, dreary, English countryside was splashed with the ever so horrible liquid sunshine- as the Scot's would say. Luckily, it never rained, but it made us exchange our swimsuits and tans for TOMS and jeans. Quiet the change. However, it was a nice change to the Texan... I embraced the cool weather and opportunity for a fleece in exchange for the Texas summer weather I so happily left!

We kept today simply- in all efforts to battle Jet Lag- I slept over 12 hours and stayed up past 10pm last night...quite the accomplishment! Yet somehow today I still felt dragging as we shopped the high streets of Windsor and scaled the castle walls with guards looking on...

But in the end, I am simply enjoying my summer home and other family.. it is good to be in Ascot. The Ascot Royal races start in a little over a week- no doubt we will be entertained with royal and fashion alike!

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Oi!!





Oi!! Hello from Brazil!

Sweet family and friends- there are not enough words to describe the joy of the Lord in this journey to Brazil. It was absolutely incredible to see Gods’ beauty and the grace wherever we went and I cannot thank you enough for your support and prayers along every step of this trip. It is such a blessing to share in this mission with you.

Your prayers and support were a testimony of God’s faithfulness and love.

Where do I even begin? God’s beauty was more than I could even begin to grasp in Brazil. The joy alone in looking at each child was unforgettable. The skies- the morning sunrises on the Amazon River and the evening sunsets will forever be engraved in my heart- they were absolutely majestic and I still feel speechless when I look back at pictures. The simplicity of the turquoise houses along the calm water or the seemingly ordinary beauty of the extraordinary nature was absolutely unreal… God’s handwork is so apparent in the simple surroundings and laughter of the children of the Amazon.

My favorite part about this journey was the simplicity of our single-minded purpose everyday: one effort to serve others and to love without hesitation for the Lord. To be accepted and wanted by these sweet Brazilian people was so humbling, as it was to see the Lord walk before us, protect us and provide for us. These incredible people were so thankful for all that we did- from the smiles of the older women hanging out the open windows watching us play with the dozens of children trying to hold your hands or hug your waist. Their love is so passionate- they cherished a smile, a nod, a hug and it was incredible to be in such a thankful environment and surrounding.

Let me tell you about it…

Our trip started off at 4am on Saturday, March 17th, and we traveled from Dallas to Atlanta and got into Manaus around midnight on Saturday. Manaus in a large city that is in the northwest area of Brazil, right on the Amazon River and that is where we started our journey! We were met by our 8 college age Brazilian translators at the airport and took a short drive to a dimly lit harbor where our large, three level, open aired boat sat waiting for us!

Nineteen college age students literally transformed into nineteen 5 year-olds at Christmas, as our big eyes led the way of running on the dock and playing on the boat. After settling in, meeting the wonderful crew and touring the boat, we finally climbed into out hammocks at about 3am to finally close our eyes- not quite able to anticipate what we would wake up to.

What felt like days later of rocking, wonderful hammock sleep, I woke up to the hum of the boat cruising along the river and cool, breeze washing over me. As I peeked out of my cocoon, I just sat up in awe. We were on the Amazon River- I was literally wondering if I was watching Jurassic Park pass by and the only thing keeping me from the wild, untamed green shores was a wooden rail. It was incredible. The first day we spent 18 hours traveling up the river to get to our first village. That time on the boat was just incredibly peaceful- we were so unconnected from the world and we could just sit and focus on the Lord, His purpose, His Word and spending time in conversations and encouragement. I still crave that unconnected feeling of daily surrender and focus…

Each day was fairly similar in terms of the sizes of village we went to and the ministry in which we engaged. One of our teams did vacation bible school (VBS) and anywhere from 50 to 200 kids would come out to play games, learn the Truth of the gospel, hug and love on us. As nutty college students, always enjoying a good laugh at the sacrifice of our own teammates, we quickly taught the kids the game “Capture the American”- a situation that looked like a teammate, not on the VBS team, walking past the kid area and we would yell their name, wave at them and as they waved back their smile would turn to terror as 80 kids looked at us, looked at them, then fully sprinted toward our “American” In hopes of capturing them, which typically looked like tackling and squealing with delight of victory! I’m not sure who enjoyed “Capture the American” more, the kids or us!!

Other ministry teams include a women’s ministry group who would cut hair and paint nails. We also had a photography team who would take family portraits around the village then head back to the boat to print them off and come back and give them to the families. Just seeing the smiles come across these mother’s faces when they would see their family was the most humbling thing- to serve them and give them something that was literally priceless to them- something that they would cherish for years, if not their whole life.

One of the most unique ministries was the evangelism team, we would go deep into the villages, walk into the houses and just sit and share the Truth with people- anyone who would listen. It was humbling as an American, because people will listen to you simply for that fact alone. It was incredible to just stand on the streets and tell people of the Truth of God, to sit and answer questions, to pray with people or to simply plant a seed in someone for eternity. And lastly, we had medical teams, one that would give eyeglasses to people and another that, with the help of our Houston based Oral Surgeon, Warner, would pull teeth- sometimes whole mouths of teeth!!

Each day stated early with the sunrise and ended late in the night with laughter coming from all parts of the boat. This trip was filled with more joy, laughter, encouraging conversations than I could have anticipated. Our translators were incredible and we quickly came to love each and everyone of them- we truly were blessed to grow so close to them and so thankful for their servant like hearts- without them we would have been lost.

Besides sleeping in hammocks, running around the boat barefoot, loving on the crew without sharing the same language, late night alligator hunts, numerous daily outdoor showers on the back of the boat, the nights spent on the front of the boat looking at God’s splendor through only star light, reflecting on the days and the children we fell in love with and the praises to God that we would sing shamelessly into the black, Amazon sky… The journey through Brazil was a beautiful, passion filled and peaceful adventure of serving the Lord in everything that we did, relying on Him for all of our strength and having one purpose each day that was so clear- all these things made it hard to fly back to the schedules, meetings, busyness and fast paced world waiting for me in Dallas.

But I come back with a spirit of joy to apply the passion God showed me in Brazil and make it my daily journey here in Dallas. As one of my best friends has said with missions- it is a process of coming back and learning how to allow your feet to bridge the gap between Brazil and Dallas. It is a journey of finding contentment in the everyday, whether in Dallas or Brazil, and learning to live a life of love in all that you set your heart to. God used you and this journey to open my eyes and heart to show me His immense love.

Thank you for sharing in my journey- for supporting me and loving me. I am so thankful for each and every one of you, for your prayers and letters of encouragement. I will always have a passion for the children of Brazil and their love that is simply the heartbeat of their life.

This photo is just a glimpse into that love and joy that is seen in those children and their smiles- thank you for this opportunity and for placing me in the midst of their joy to see God’s love. I have been blessed by this journey and I pray that in some beautiful way you have been too. Feel free to go to my blog- whatisthenextchapter.blogspot.com to see more photos and videos. I am always passionate about this and I would love to talk and share more stories anytime!!

By Grace- Ciao!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

A taste of Brazil...





Their beauty is infectious...







Its a process of bridging the gap- as one of by best friends said- it's an everyday challenge of bringing together my heart that is in Brazil and feet that stand in Dallas...







It is hard to justify with words the experience of Brazil... God is good.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Off to Brazil!!

Sweet family and friends- I cannot thank you enough for your prayers, financial support and encouragement. I am completely in awe of your support and love! The trip is more than I can imagine and I cannot wait to be down there, loving on kiddo's and running around the amazon!

We will be blogging while we are down there- check the ONE28 blogspot (the group I am going with) at http://128brazil.wordpress.com/ but done worry I will fill you ALL in when we get back!! Between the documentary that we are making and the thousands of pictures that I will now doubt take.... it will be a well remembered trip!!

I look forward to tell each and every one of you all about this amazing trip and what the Lord does!! Stay tuned!