new team members

My dentist, a friend and his 10 yr old son and my mom joined us this month. It was my favorite outreach to date. I cannot wait till next month, we are going twice! Going to start collecting underwear, belts, hats and socks soon.

Deanna

When I leave downtown Austin, to head back to my comfortable home with my warm BBQ lunch cooking on the grill I always struggle to fight back the tears.  This week the tears flowed downtown; I could not even wait to get in the car. 
I met Deanna this month, a young girl who was previously a prostitute.  I have never met a prostitiute before, except for Julia Roberts anyways.  The life is not nearly as glamorous as Pretty Woman.  I saw her crying multiple times that morning.  I finally got the confidence to approach her and she told me her story.  She is broke, she has a home, but it is too far to get there each day.  She has a boyfriend who starts a job on Tuesday, so they need to stay downtown until he makes enough money so they can commute to their small home near Bastrop.  She is pondering the thought of going back into prostitution so she can make enough money to get a car.  I usually just listen, but this time I pleaded with her to not go back into that prison.  I encouraged she had a great boyfriend who loved her and he needed her to trust him and keep herself for him.  It was the hardest meeting I have had to date, but I think she impacted me more than I her.
Earlier that morning during my quiet time, I was thinking about how I keep going back into my sin, the sin of anger, jealousy and unforgiveness.  Am I any different than she?  Sometimes it seems easier to live in sin than to just trust. 
She asked if she could borrow my phone to call her mom and tell her she was ok.  I sat and watched the tears stream down her face as she told her mom it would be different this time.  I just have to pray for her and believe this time it will be.

Nokwanda's new uniform

This is the face of a happy, confident girl.  

a miracle

I think it is amazing to see this building and know that only one person lost their life in this tragedy.

homeless outreach

I know what the disciples felt like on that day when they collected 12 baskets leftover.

When we left for downtown this morning, we had no idea how many people would be there, how the toothpaste and toothbrushes would be recieved, nor how many tubes of toothpaste we actually we had. I just put it in the Lord's hands and prayed there would be enough.

Every single person recieved a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste.

Some took 2 for family members or friends who were not there, and I came home with 6 boxes of toothpaste and toothbrushes. We also had 2 new families join us this morning who said they would be back. We gave out over 300+ sandwiches, we did run out of water today, which I always hate to have happen, but they were all fed.


It was an amazing morning, I heard new stories and I would like to share them, just have to process them for a bit.

Pancake and Pajama Day

We celebrated the letter P with pancakes and pajamas this week at school. Any time we do a special event such as swim day or pajama day the girls get to join my class. I am so thankful for my new job and the kids in my class!

my new fave iced tea

I have been on a hot tea kick for weeks. When I was stocking up last week I found Celestial Seasonings cool brew tea and I must say I am hooked!!

I have been hooked on Sonic Dr. Pepper since moving to Austin and it is my own vice that I just cannot seem to give up. Since New Years, I have only had one soft drink and two glasses of tea, both with half sweet/half unsweet. Then, the heavens opened and brought me to this yummy tea (reminds me of Cheesecake Factory tea). I still sweeten slightly with sweet and low, but I am trying to wean myself off of artificial sweeteners too.

I found it at Sprouts, but other retailers may carry it.

and He delivers...

Wanna know what 200 toothbrushes look like? Yep, yesterday morning a child in my class walked in with 200 toothbrushes for the homeless outreach! His Daddy is a dentist in Leander and wanted to help out.

Thank you Dr. Tucker and Shannon!
Tucker Family Dentistry
www.tuckerfamilydentistry.com

soccer game 5

This game involved several crash and burns, and lots of tears. The game ended in a tied ball game, but the girls had a blast especially since they brought the snacks and got to distribute them.

Valentine's Party and last playdate

This past Wednesday, we had our Valentine's Party with our playgroup. At the time I had no idea, it would be our last playdate. B/c of my new job I cannot plan or attend them any more. I am so excited that one of my friends is going to keep it going. There are some Mommies and a Grandma who never miss and I am so glad it will continue for them.

Valentine treats

Thank you Lindsay for the massive sugar rush!

reminder

Homeless Outreach - Sunday 9 a.m. - 6th Street Bridge
Bring a case of water, or 3 dozen sandwiches and toothbrushes and toothpaste. If you have any clothing or items you want me to take down, leave me a comment so I can make arrangements to get them from you. My mom is leaving Kerrville Saturday a.m. so if you have anything please make arrangements to get them to her by then.
This is going to be the coolest outreach, I cannot wait to see their faces when they see we have toothbrushes AND toothpaste for everyone!! And I am believing God for toothbrushes and toothpaste for all 200!!

our new family member

Meet Leonardo! One of my favorite parts of my new job is that we have decided to sponsor another child in Mozambique.
He is almost 5 years old and attends the XaiXai Mercy Center where the church we are building is almost complete! He lives in a bamboo hut with a tin roof made of sheet metal. An oil lamp is their only source of electricity. He lives with his mother and she is currently unemployed. We love to pray for him and his mother. It is one of the greatest honors to know he will have a daily meal, medicine and soon be able to attend school.

*My friend, Isaac took this picture. I asked him why all of the children in Mozambique have frowns. He said the young children are still scared of the white folks!! I cannot wait for this Christmas, Ben and I both plan to travel to Mozambique to help host their Christmas parties.

YMCA

I have been working at the gym for a little over a month now and I have already gotten two promotions. On Wednesday nights, I now do fitness appointments and maintain the fitness area. If you are a new member to the gym and do not know where to get started I teach you how to use the equipment and get you started on a workout program. I also do the 12 week to fitness program for beginners. I have learned how to teach target heart rates to help burn fat. I love this new position. I love helping people who are overwhelmed walk away with a sense of purpose. I was there just 2 years ago and now I am less than 6 pounds from ideal goal weight, plus I am healthier and stronger than I have ever been in my life.
On Friday, I was called and asked to teach MDO four days a week now. This is my dream job!! I did not realize how much I missed teaching until I stepped back into the classroom. I now teach Monday through Thursday mornings and the girls get to go for free. We are all loving it. Because of the extra income we also see the light at the end of the tunnel in our debt!

Romanian visitors

On Friday night, we were invited to Pastor Mel's for dinner to see our friends from Romania's Campus Crusade for Christ. They are here raising support for the missionaries in Bucharest. We watched a video of the events that have been happening since we left. He also came bearing gifts. One of the pictures I took in Bucharest is in their yearly calendar they distribute to sponsors.

The average income in Romania is $500 a month, then on top the missionaries have to raise their own taxes b/c it is a non-profit orgnization. For every $10 raised $8 goes to taxes. Last year, they had 116 workers in Bucharest, this year they are down to 86. 86 missionaries to reach 300,o00 students, you can do the math.

If you are interested in learning more about their amazing ministry Elvis will be showing the videos from our team's accomplishments Monday night at our church. If you are in the area, I would love for you to meet them, especially those of you who sponsored my trip.

Merry Christmas Mom!

For Christmas, the girls gave Mimi a special gift that she wanted. I found out and was able to make contact with my sweet friend Sandra via facebook and make it happen. This is Nokwanda, she is 13 years old and in 4th grade in Swaziland. She was ranked 3rd in class and when she grows up she wants to be a doctor. She volunteers at one of the care points I visited in Swaziland last Christmas. She also attends weekly Bible clubs at Fonteyn. She is being fitted for her brand new school uniform. School started this past month; the school year runs January through November. We will post pictures of her new school uniform when she receives it this next week. Merry Christmas Mimi!

she shoots...

SHE SCORES! Landry scored her first soccer goal at game #4. The girls have so much fun chasing the ball and the occassional contact makes them grin from ear to ear. They do not understand the concept of soccer skills yet. Mommy's co-worker, Coach Dan always talks about the daisy pickers, I think he is referring to our little blondies. They are having fun, they are smiling and they are winners in our eyes. We do have Pele Junior on our team, actually two of them, so we have a good team.

outside at the museum

Ok, if you have not gotten the jest of it quite yet; we all four had a blast at the Children's Museum. I have never been to a children's museum as well-kept and diverse as this one. I highly recomment it. If it were closer we would have a family membership, but it is just a little out of reach.

Hear this, hear this...

The girls worked really hard in the hardware store. Bella installed a hand dryer and had fun making the doorbell work. LE came as close she ever will to a credit card at the ATM machine. Both girls wrote their own newspaper, Landry wrote about the new ambulance in New Braunfels and Bella wrote about a rare sighting of a black bear in the hill country. We got to bring their newspapers home complete with their pic on the front page.

Richards Construction Company

The girls would have made PawPaw proud with their skills. Bella wallpapered the walls and LE installed the plumbing. Both girls worked really hard on the siding and they made a beautiful home to put on the market. Oh, if we could have moved in ourselves.

grocery store

The girls had so much fun at the grocery store. Bella bought the store out of peanut butter and Blue Bell. Where LE chose healthy options "for Mommy and Daddy". She did pick out a donut though. We had the entire grocery store, oh if I could only be that lucky at HEB.