Hello lonely Xanga world! (I still love you Xanga!)

Well let me fill you in on the current events…

Last Sunday we set out on our annual family trip we make every summer or winter to good ole Southern Illinois where people sit around and watch the grass grow. (More on that later…)     

So Sunday night was spent at the border of McAllen at a retreat center where missionaries and can relax and pick up their mail. Pastors and youth groups also stop by there on their way into Mexico.  

Monday: We slept in and then set out for San Antonio where we spent the night at the Kennedy’s house! They are good friends of ours who live on a beautiful ranch and have a lovely guest house. I’m totally digging Southern Living! (I’ve even on a search for boots and a cowboy, I meant hat!) Holly Kennedy has been one of my best friends for years. I was a bridesmaid at her wedding and one thing I love about her is that even though she is married and has 2 beautiful daughters, she is the same Holly I’ve always known except married and with kids. And she always stops by to hang out with me whenever I come through and her husband Micah is so nice with the way he takes care of the girls so we can hang out or go shopping with Alyssa or something! (Which btw if any of you are moms, go to her site: www.xanga.com/resolvedtoworship If any of you are girls hoping to someday be moms go to her site. And if any of you are just girls go to her site.)

Oh and get this, when I first met Holly, I thought she was the snobbiest girl I had ever met (because when we arrived at her house and her whole family greeted us, she just said hi and went back to the kitchen to work on dinner. I thought, “The nerve! She’s my age, she should come out here and talk to me and entertain me as her guest!” haha I think I was the snob.)   

  Heidi is her beautiful first born daughter.

Tuesday: We spent another day in San Antonio to go to Splashtown! Like Six Flags except add water! And a cheaper version when you have a family of 7. We had a blast going on all the water slides, toboggans and wave pools, and there was not many people there so we didn’t have to hardly stand in line for anything! SWEET. We came back home that night tired and red (supposedly tan) from the sun. My face is still recovering.

For lunch we found Grady’s barbecue! A little home-style place with coleslaw, potato salad, ham, pulled pork, the world’s best ice tea. I told my brothers that one of them has to marry a Southern girl, such darlin’ accents and their cooking is just WOW! (I’m thinking we’ll nee to find Joshua a college to do his Master’s degree in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, or Georgia to go to!)  

Wednesday: We left SA and went to Austin to have lunch at my cousin Emily’s place. She owns a deli with her husband Charlie (Abdalah Rajah—he is from Lebanon and one of the sweetest men you’ll ever meet!) For any of you in the Austin area, go to Obee’s for some killer Mediterranean wraps and subs!

Molly stopped by Obbe's and hung out with us for a bit. It was great to see you again girl!

With her came our favorite little Conner!!  Such a beautiful baby!

After lunch we drove 5 hrs to Bullard, TX where we crashed at my Aunt and Uncles house (Emily’s parents). At this point, traveling has been fun, but I am ready to stay put for a while.

I really wanted to see THIS girl...

and THIS girl...

but they didn't want to get off their lazy bums and come see me.  

Thursday: We set out for the 10 hr drive to Equality, IL—our FINAL destination! Mom got salmonella poisoning at the beginning of our trip at a Chinese restaurant we ate at in McAllen, so bathroom stops have been every 30 minutes or so, I am shocked we have made it this far. Grandma’s house was a welcome sight and such a beautiful as usual. Antique furniture everywhere and just the smell of…Rest & Relaxation. Home. Our only real home here on earth because it’s the only place that remains constant regardless of where on earth we travel or live. Alas, here we are, and here we’ll stay for the next 15 days or so. I’ll tell you more about this quaint little town of Equality later, right now I’m missing out on all the porch fun. Sitting outside in the noonday drinking a cold root beer has never been so much fun as now.

PS: Today is the Euro cup! For living in Mexico I’ve never really been interested in soccer, but definitely the Euro cup! After having lived in Europe the year that Portugal won (and we went there!) then I’ve loved it ever since!

Looking For Ways to Serve The Poor

Picture: Church last Sunday.

When I first arrived in Chicago where I lived for two years, I began the search for a church. I opened the yellow pages phonebook and as my eyes scanned the page, they stopped at “Chinese Christian Mandarin Church.” I don’t know why the title had to be so long, I guess it is important to specify Chinese-Mandarin as opposed to, whatever the other options would be! I called the church to hear nothing but Chinese jabber. I googled the address and decided it looked close enough I would just ride my bike there. Stopping along the way asking people for directions, I always got, “It’s only 2 miles that was and three miles that way…” then “Only one mile that was and four miles that way” and on I rode. I left the house at 9am and two hours later, at 11am, I reached the church.

As I rode my bike my only thought was, “I want water!”  I know from what I have seen that when you love people and look for ways to serve the poor, God will draw the needy who just want water! He will bring people to you with hurts to heal; bondages to break; stories to tell; hearts to fill. When I hear the word desert, I think about Texas, tumbleweeds rolling by on dusty plains, antelope skulls on the side of the road. (People in Texas really do pick these up and tie them to the front of their hoods!) If you’ve ever been in a dessert you will agree with me when I say you don’t normally find many people worshipping the beautiful scenery. Deserts were the places where people encountered God. They met with Him there. You won’t need anything in a paradise. But deserts aren’t places to wonder around in but to cross through.

The Gospel of John talks about people everywhere who were crossing desserts in their lives; experiencing physical illness and incurable diseases, sin, guilt, pain. Jesus never let the norms of society dictate what he did and did not do. If God told Him to make the lame to walk again, the blind to see, the dead to rise again—who cares that it was the Sabbath He did it! If God asked him to turn water into wine, or eat with prostitutes and tax collectors, who cares that he would be on the front page of Jerusalem tabloids the next day—He did it!

God has given me a precious little growing group of Mexican girls to disciple with my sister. I was just thinking today, I want to get over the fear and intimidation of what others will think or if they will like it or not; I want to be so free to do what I feel God has called me to do that no one can stop me!     

Question: Do you see a Brown background with my pic on the right and whote floweres across the top? Or do you still see the ugly light blue background with the outdated snowflakes up and down the side on the right?

I thought I had changed my background, but sometimes I still se the blue, what is the deal?! I need a tech buddy to straighten me out.