beautiful feet

So here are a few quotes and things that I've been thinking about lately...


"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe."

“Grace isn't a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal. It's a way to live.”

"But in the brief time since Jesus went back to heaven, His invitation has morphed into something less. Much less. We've turned "go" and "spread" into complicated programs best left to missionaries and preachers. We've reduced "all the world" and "all creation" to just folks who walk through the front door at church, and we've shrunk the Good News to a shoft list of words that will save a soul from Hell. Isn't there more?!" -McKinley

Romans 10:13-15 (New Century Version)
13 as the Scripture says, "Anyone who calls on the Lord will be saved."
14 But before people can ask the Lord for help, they must believe in him; and before they can believe in him, they must hear about him; and for them to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them;15 and before someone can go and tell them, that person must be sent. It is written, "How beautiful is the person who comes to bring good news."

"Solution" -Hillsong:

It is not a human right

To stare not fight

While broken nations dream

Open up our eyes, so blind

That we might find

The Mercy for the need



Singing, Hey now

Fill our hearts with your compassion

Hey now

As we hold to our confession

Yeah



It is not too far a cry

To much to try

To help the least of these

Politics will not decide

If we should rise

And be your hands and feet



Singing, Hey now

Fill our hearts with your compassion

Hey Now

As we hold to our confession



Woah-oh-oh,

God be the solution

Woah-oh-oh

We will be Your hands and be Your feet.

Yeah, yeah



Higher than a circumstance

Your promise stands

Your love for all to see

Higher than protest line and dollar signs

Your love is all we need



Only You can mend the broken heart

And cause the blind to see

Erase complete the sinners past

And set the captives free

Only You can take the widows cry

And cause her heart to sing

Be a Father to the fatherless

Our Savior and our King

We will be Your hands, we will be Your feet

We will run this race

On the darkest place, we will be Your light

We will be Your light



We will be Your hands , we will be Your feet

We will run this race for the least of these

In the darkest place, we will be your light

We will be your light

We'll sing



Woah-oh-oh,

God be the solution

Woah-oh-oh

We will be Your hands and be Your feet.



Woah-oh-oh,

God be the solution

Woah-oh-ohWe will be Your hands and be Your feet.

Yeah, yeah



We will run we will run

We will run with the solution [2x]



We will be Your hands we will be Your feet

We will run this race for the least of these

In the darkest place we will be Your light

We will be Your light

We sing

I'm in Florida!

I'm in Florida! Mia did seriously awesome in the car on the way here. She had a lot of fun sleeping at the hotel. She was excited to be sleeping somewhere new. She really impressed me. She loves that movie "Mamma Mia", so we listened to the soundtrack at least 5 times. But the trip was surprisingly easy and fast.

I'm LOVING the weather here. Upper 70's. Today we went to the beach for an hour or so. Mia had fun collecting shells and digging in the sand. She didn't want anything to do with the water though... too cold.

Anyway, I'll write a longer post hopefully tomorrow. Hope you had a great weekend!

some pet peeves....

Okay so I've been home for a month. That's totally insane. It feels like I just got home yesterday. I miss you, South Africa.

So anyway, I'll be leaving for Florida in around 6 hours from now. I'm so glad that I came to Virginia and got to see all of my family here and now I'm really excited to go get warm in Florida and see my other set of grandparents. The trip is 17 hours so we'll be stopping at a hotel tomorrow night. Am I the only person that seriously enjoys staying in hotels? I really like it... makes me feel like a kid again. Hopefully Mia will be an ANGEL in the car tomorrow and Saturday. She usually does great in the car. Plus its a thousand times better than being squished in a hot bus for 21+ hours... (been there, done that). However, she's really not used to the whole car seat thing. A year without a car seat and now she has to be restrained in a car seat. haha. Too bad. Safety first right?

This is the most random post... So since it's almost 12:30 am and I'm bored and cannot sleep, here's a list of things that annoy me/ things that suck:

1.) When my jeans drag on the ground after it rains.

2.) When people leave a drop of milk/juice in the jug. Just finish it and THROW IT AWAY.

3.) unanswered texts.

4.) lingering hugs.

5.) disgusting, massive, flying cockroaches.

6.) when you're trying to have a conversation with someone and they're looking around/ texting.

7.) licorice.

8.) annoying people who talk too much when you're trying to fall asleep on the plane.

9.) small talk.

10.) overpriced stuff.

11.) apathetic people.

12.) not being able to fall asleep but being REALLY tired.

13.) spam.

14.) getting a splinter.

15.) when old people try to act like teenagers.

16.) automatic flushing toilets.

17.) people who do not replace a roll of toilet paper when they finish it up, then you realize that there's no toilet paper... when it's too late.

18.) telemarketers.

19.) not remembering your dream from the night before.

20.) misplacing my cell phone.

21.) dumb commercials... specifically heath care commercials.

22.) know it alls.

23.) legalism.

24.) cold jeans.

25.) getting butter/greasy nastiness on the top of your hand when reaching into a bag of popcorn. yucky.

26.) obnoxious people who talk REALLY loud on their cell phones in public.

27.) when people say "I'm on my way. I'll be there in 2 minutes", and half an hour later you're STILL waiting. (ahem...)

28.) Those chain letters that say "if you're really a Christian you'll pass this onto 10 other people" asseblief. Go away.

29.) awkward goodbyes... not knowing whether or not to hug someone or shake hands or none of the above.

30.) Pee on the toilet seat. gross.

31.) creepy old men.

32.) people who're completely obsessed with celebrities.

33.) sports channels/ sports news.

34.) when people feel the need to pick their nose right in front of me. and by people, I mean ADULTS. please please stop it.

35.) over drafting.

36.) watery eyes from cutting onions.

37.) when you use bleach and your hands smell like bleach for like 2 weeks straight.

38.) when you squeeze a lemon and completely forget that you have a cut on your hand. Oh the pain!

39.) not taking enough pictures on vacation and getting home and realizing it.

40.) WhEn PeOpLe TyPe LiKe ThIs!

41.) taking a big sip of milk and realizing it's already spoiled.

42.) when people "forget" about the messes they've made... such as leaving leftover dinner in the oven for at least 2 weeks and having living creatures residing in it. thank you whoever did that. I'll never forget that incident. disgusting.

43.) Hearing "MOMMY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" and banging on the bathroom door when trying to have 2 seconds of alone time to pee. ( :) oh the joys of motherhood!)

44.) touching nail polish that hasn't dried yet and smearing it everywhere.

45.) a stain on your favorite shirt.

46.) people who pick at their feet/ toe nails in front of me. please... don't.

47.) google ads. "free ipod" etc. riiiiiiight... nothing's FREE

48.) an unflushed public toilet. how hard is it to just flush??

49.) the Tyra Banks show. worst show in the history of the world...

50.) mosquitoes.

51.) people who can't take a joke.

52.) delayed flights.


Hmm... that felt really good. Glad to get that off my chest. What annoys you? Did I leave something out? ;) Goodnight!

This is me...

So I thought it would be a good idea to tell you more about who I am and what I love. That's what this post is about....


I did my DTS with YWAM Orlando in September 2007. In December 2007, I went on an outreach to South Africa. I fell in love... with Africa and couldn't leave. I ended up staying a year. I just got home last month (December 2008). During the year that I was in South Africa, I did a 6 month Bible School (SBS) with YWAM Jeffrey's Bay, South Africa. After my SBS, I headed east to Durban and staffed the September 2008 DTS at YWAM Durban, South Africa. Most of my posts up until this point have been of my adventures and revelations in South Africa. At the moment I'm desperately seeking God for my next step. I have tons of crazy, exciting ideas but I'm really praying for clarity. My heart is broken for Africa. Missions is a huge part of my life.




Music is my true love. Something about hearing the perfect song at the perfect time... plus God really speaks to me through music. It is one of the things that I don't think I could live without.






I'm desperate to make a difference in the 10/40 window. I know that for the rest of my life I will be a missionary. What exactly that looks like though, I have no idea. God has put a true burden on my heart for the people in the 10/40 window... a burden that started over a year ago. For a while, I was trying to convince myself that the 10/40 window plan was completely insane. I had plenty of great reasons why that would be craziness, but in the past 2 months, this yearning in my heart has been growing stronger daily. I cannot deny it anymore. *There are over 3.6 billion unreached people in the world today. Of those 3.6 billion people, 88% live in or near the 10/40 window. It is estimated that only 4% of foreign missionaries today are working to reach these unreached people.*






I love people. I love people from all different backgrounds. I love hearing stories about people's journey's in life. I love people who're open and honest. I love people who have issues and are honest about them. I have ridiculous amounts of respect for Christians who can say: "Yes! I have struggles. I am not perfect. I do not have it all together." I just love genuine people. And isn't that what the world is after? More people who can just be real?












I'm a single mom. Being a mother is nothing short of amazing. It's also more challenging than I ever thought it would be. My daughter's name is Mia and she'll be turning 3 in February. She's the love of my life and I completely adore her. I cannot imagine my life without her nor would I want to.















I love the outdoors. I love sitting out on a dock and watching the sunset over the lake. Or maybe even better, I love watching the sunrise at 4:30 am with a great friend and a warm blanket. I love camping down at the river and laughing with old friends in front of a fire. I love summer time and being able to take a drive into the mountains and hike and check out some amazing waterfalls. I love the beach in Jeffrey's Bay-some of my best memories are of the breezy, 72 degree weather days when Christina and I would grab a sheet, a book and a bottle of grapetizer (it's a South African thing ;)) and lay out at the beach for hours on end.














Other randoms joys: {Chocolate-although I've gotten spoiled on Cadbury and now it's pretty much the only chocolate I like} {FRIENDS} {REAL coffee... not nescafe instant crap} {Meeting new people, especially other missionaries} {Laughing hysterically} {FAMILY} {Late night girl talk (every night for 7 months) with Christina} {reading} {Silliness} {Meeting people who inspire me by living radically for Jesus} {TRAVELING!!} { Rad times of worship and intercession} {Driving with the windows down} {Boiled Peanuts} {Movies}

Relaxin' in Virginia

The date on that last post isn't right... I don't know why the date is messed up but anyway... I'm in Virginia freezing my butt off until January 9th. I came up here with my parents, Cole and Mia on Sunday. My parents and Cole left on Wednesday and I'm staying here and spending some time with my grandparents and relaxing. This is a TINY little town that I'm in. Other than a Food Lion down the road, the closest store is like 15 minutes away! Today was cold and rainy... I was really hoping to see snow, but it didn't happen. Cold weather is not pleasant when it's rainy and windy. Not to mention that Cole gave me his germs and now I'm coming down with a cold. This weather does nothing to help that. But other than being cold and getting my brother's germs, I'm doing wonderful. It's so so so good to see my grandparents and spend some time with them and get some much needed rest.

Mia seems especially old lately. I dunno she really seems to have grown up, even in the few weeks that we've been back home. She talks about as much as a 4 year old. Wonder where she gets that from?... She seems to be having a great time with my grandparents here in Virginia. She's not too keen on the cold weather though. Mia has an incredible memory; she's been telling stories of things she did in Durban and Jeffrey's Bay. She tells stories about things she's done or seen and she is constantly talking about her South African friends (or my friends rather). Almost every day she asks me "Mommy where is ____" and she'll ask a different person almost every day. But before I can answer her questions, she answers it herself like this: "OH! I know where _____ is! He's in Jbay!" Literally every day she talks about Christina (my best friend and roommate from Jeffrey's Bay). She talks about how we're all best friends and she informs me that Christina now lives in Michigan. :)
Anyway, other than relaxing and freezing, nothing much is going on. Man it feels good to say that! It's a good feeling knowing that I have absolutely no plans for a week... Hope y'all had a great Christmas and New Year!

just a bit of reflecting and dreaming...

I've been a slacker. I've sat down dozens of times since I've been home, really wanting to write a blog but I've had trouble finding the words. However it's the beginning of a new year and I've been doing some reflecting on 2008 and dreaming about 2009 so here goes...

Well... I'm home (obviously) and I really didn't think I'd have a hard time getting adjusted. I knew it would be hard to leave all of my friends, and I knew it'd be a process learning to live with my parents (no offense to them! It's just that after I've lived away from home for so long... I've just gotten used to things a certain way). I can't really explain it. Things are just different. That being said... I'm an adapter. I am not in my element but for the time being, this is my home... I gotta just remember what I love about here. Looking around at how blessed I am, it's not hard to find things I love. I'm absolutely ecstatic to wake up every day and see my wonderful family. I've missed them tremendously.
But I have all these dreams and all this passion that if I don't do something with very soon I might just go a bit crazy. I have direction. I have goals. I have huge dreams that are not "normal" for a twenty-two year old, American woman. I want to be uncomfortable. I wanna be challenged. I wanna EXPERIENCE life to it's fullest. I wanna do things that at this point I've only dreamed of. I wanna give grace like I've never given it before. I wanna love others more than myself. Being radical for God is very very costly, but I know He's worth it.

I believe in people. I believe in enabling people to become world changers. I believe in restoration of lives... of communities. I believe in freedom. I believe in justice. I know what Jesus Christ has done in my own life and I want to do everything I can to tell people about how amazing my God is. I wanna sit down with people and hear their stories. I wanna hear about other people's journeys. I want to have an open ear and heart to people; to take the time to make people feel validated. I want to love others because Jesus loves them; because we're all worthy of love. I wanna TRULY love people. I'm currently learning what that looks like. I'm learning what it looks like to be like Christ. I fail... a lot, but I really am trying.

Isaiah 58:9-10 (contemporary version)
I'll tell you what it really means to worship the LORD. Remove the chains of prisoners who are chained unjustly. Free those who are abused! Share your food with everyone who is hungry; share your home with the poor and homeless. Give clothes to those in need; don't turn away your relatives. Then your light will shine like the dawning sun, and you will quickly be healed. Your honesty will protect you as you advance, and the glory of the LORD will defend you from behind. When you beg the LORD for help, he will answer, "Here I am!" Don't mistreat others or falsely accuse them or say something cruel. Give your food to the hungry and care for the homeless. Then your light will shine in the dark; your darkest hour will be like the noonday sun.

HOME!!!!

We're home!!! After about 30 hours of traveling, we finally made it back home. Mia did pretty good on the plane; she slept a good bit. I had a really hard time sleeping though and I'm still pretty tired. Jet lag this time has been a bit tougher than I thought. I'm exhausted at night and then wake up all throughout the night. Mia's pretty much the same with her sleeping schedule. She has a nasty cough too.

It feels a bit weird to be home. Kind of like a dream. Here are some things that are odd to me: to be able to open my fridge and eat whatever I want. To see white eggs. To see milk in a jug. To be able to use the computer at any point during the day. To have a house phone. To have a tv and satellite and tivo. To hear a southern accent... and you guys have THICK accents... thicker than I remember! To sleep in such a huge bed. Not to live with like 30 other people. To take an amazing, hot shower anytime I want... and it doesn't flood the entire hallway when I shower! To finally experience winter at home.

Although I have so much to get used to, I'm so happy to be home. Of course I know I'll miss South Africa, and it'll always have a place in my heart, it just feels good to be back around my family and friends. I already miss my South African friends though.

Please continue to pray for my team as they're rockin it in Botswana. I'm so proud of them and I cannot wait to hear all the stories of what God's doing in and through them in Botswana. I'll keep yall posted on the stories too. Anyway, thank you so much for all of your support and prayers. I wouldn't have be able to do what I did if it wasn't for you guys. Thanks a ton!

(UPDATE: the pictures are of my team in Botswana)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! I absolutely cannot believe that it's Thanksgiving already. Well... we made it back from Worcester on Sunday. The trip back went okay... Mia didn't do as well as usual. Very tired and whiny 23 hour bus ride back to Durban, but we did survive. :)

Okay BIG BIG NEWS: With much prayer from the leadership on the base, I will not be going on outreach with my team to Botswana. The trip is a pioneer trip to a village in the desert and they think it'll be too much on Mia. Which means.... I'll be heading back to the US on December 8th!! So I'll be seeing you guys in about two weeks!!! Please keep my in your prayers as I'm getting ready to leave my team and fly home.

It feels good to be back in Durban. The weather isn't so great. Humid beyond anything I've felt in a long time. The humidity is possibly worse here than it was in Florida. Horribly humid. Very hot. Which means that laundry never gets dry (everything line dries). Literally as soon as you step out of the shower, you're already sweating. There's no where to go to escape the heat. Thank God it's slightly cooler inside... but not by much.

This week we're having training for next weeks OVC Camp (orphans and vulnerable children). Lots of information and even a bit of inner healing this week. It feels good to be more prepared to know how to handle potential situations to do with the kids we'll be spending time with next week at the camp. There will be 80 kids at the camp. The kids that are coming to the camp are the kids from Burlington (the township that we do ministry in), so we have relationships with some of them already.

Anyway, hope everyone's having an awesome Thanksgiving! I love you guys!