Mmm...I am long over due for an update!

I'll start with West Virginia. I was a leader for my church's Jr. High Missions trip. I left 6 hellish days after getting back from Jamaica. We flew from Houston to Pittsburgh and spent the night there (arriving at our hotel at about 1am) We left for West Virginia at 7:30am and arrived at the Dayspring grounds just in time for their 11 church service.  There were a million other groups there but our group was the youngest. Most were highschool or older. We scraped and painted this lady who lived in Fairmont (a good 20 minute drive from our camp)'s house as well as her fence. It was a lot of work and we would usually be up at 5:30 in order to get ready and do devos before driving 15 minutes to breakfast by 7. We would work long hot hours and in the evening would be faced with an hour and a half talk (that was a seminar for missionaries about to go into the missions field so it went over the jr high kids' heads) where half of them would fall asleep out of sheer exhaustion. We would fall asleep anwhere between 11 and midnight and then start all over again. It was really draining but it was really good for them. I really got to know a lot of the kids that I'm being paid to "minister" to by just loving on. So that was cool and by Thursday of that week the kids were really growing spiritually. We flew back saturday and as soon as i stepped foot into the pittsburgh airport a 104 degree fever hit me. Ohhh joy! We had a 2 hour layover in Cleveland and we didn't get back to houston until 8:30 that night. I was really happy to be home at that point! :)

Ms. Scott's 118 year old house

One of the crazy old guys that ran the camp

Chris the other youth staff guy person

Bethany!!

There was this insanely good place called the Dairy Creme Corner and that is their large cone!

Hahaha, yeah, a lot of gun shops :)

Since that trip I've been insanely busy with work. All the while I've been thinking WHY DID THEY HIRE ME??? I'm their first ever straight outta highschool intern and at times I've felt too young for things but this week its been incredible how God has addressed that and how that was NOT him putting that notion in my head. First off the pastor's sermon was just on that subject as if he were talking directly to me and then a lot of the kids started telling me things that they said they were never comfortable telling anyone else and that alone makes the whole job worth while. I act like a crazy little kid sometimes but I can see how God has used that to convey approachability. ITS AWESOMMMME!!! Oh and on thursdays, the guys do ulitmate frisbee while the girls do Richard Simmons work out videos. It's pretty hysterical!

God has also been working with me on trust some more! My car had to get the tension whatever replaced and I freaked out cuz I haven't gotten my pay check yet but there is this wonderful invention called Mommys. I was thinking about it. They must have a hard job. They have to dig their sorry excuse for a child out of messes even when their being total jerkoffs!

But Sam (my car) is fine now. He even has a subwoofer :)

I think I'll save Jamaica for yet another post. For now I'm busy with work and I have orientation next Thursday which I am pumped for.

LOTS OF LOOOOVVVEEE!

90 to nothing--that basically describes my life right now!

Let's see...Jamaica was amazing. I'll have to write another post with what all that trip entailed. I don't have enough time right now. Once I got back from Jamaica I was swamped at work. And the day after I got back I got this head cold so I've been stuffy all this week which is no fun. Sunday I was basically at the church all day. That night we had a food fight and by the end I had eaten dog food that was not in its original form...Monday was more work and I managed to spend some time with my BFF Leslie. From there I spent the night at one of my girl's houses where she was having a mini sleep over (when I say my girls that means one of the Jr. Highers that I get paid to hang out with). We stayed up way to late but it was fun. I had to be at the church all day Tuesday for meetings and then got together with the Lenz' and Katie Walliser for a late dinner at Bennigans. I got home about---oh i can't even remember. Probably 2ish. Wednesday was more work and church stuff and then I picked up my friend from England (Jessica). We were up way late that night as well...Thursday Jessica and I picked up a friend (Alexandra) and drove to Austin where Alexandra has a lake house. We went out on her boat and had fun that night (and were up to all hours of the night) Went out on the boat with her friends on Friday all day and then drove back to houston. I pulled into my driveway at midnight(I had to drop Jess off in the Woodlands) and my house was wrapped! haha! Its really funny because we don't have any tall trees in our front yard so its not that big a deal. So I went inside and CRASHED!!! I woke up at 9 to my mom telling me to go clean up the TP. I was sooo miffed because i was exhausted. It didn't take that long to clean up though. I was really cranky for awhile until I woke up. Today I do laundry and pack. I leave for the airport at 3! I'm going to West Virginia and I'm a leader for the Jr. High missions trip. It will be really good and I'm uber excited. I just hope I get enough sleep. Luckily I've just about kicked the head cold but I still lose my voice randomly.

Got to dash, but I will write again on the flip side of W. VA (I fly back the 28th late).

LOVE to you all!

Wow, so much has been going on! First off my graduation party was a whirlwind of bliss. I think the best part was getting to see the Shipperlees. My friend in England's mom and brothers were in town visiting Lara's (the mommy) parents.

Luke, Neil(grandad), Lara, Sam, Cody, Me, Joan(grandma), Liam and Emma.

I've been really busy with work. It is so great though! I get to go to all day meetings where I feel like a real grown up cause I have a job where there are offices and office supplies and expense forms. Then I get to hang out and act lunaticly like a little kid and just love on the Jr. High Girls. This week was like the craziest week 'cause we've been getting ready for Jamaica and starting everything into full swing.

Speaking of Jamaica, I leave TOMORROW!!! I leave for the airport at 6:45am! It will be really good and I am really excited to see how God is going to use our youthgroup. When I get back its just a mess and will be insane but once July rolls around hopefully I'll be able to catch my breath.

Jesus is so amazing. He has given me such an exciting life! I think about that a lot. All the crazy stuff that happens to me that should so go into a book or something and I know Jesus is like "well I didn't want you to be TOTALLY bored!" Last Sunday I had a lengthy chat with my Dad after church. Afterwards I saw that I have really changed. I've forgiven him some more. I actually didn't think I'd get to this level of forgiveness with him for a really long time, if ever. I think my favorite part of the conversation was talking about where he lives. He lives at this homeless housing place. Its an ex-motel that has been turned into housing for the homeless. It's pretty cool actually(from how he described it and how its set up). When I got home I realized that a huge change was that I thought it was sooo cool that my dad lived there and was basically homeless. Not everyone can say that their dad is homeless. Sure he's not the conventional homeless guy, nonetheless that's what makes it even more unique and really...cool!

One aspect of the house here is that it is definitly summer! Everyone is home from school (including my mom since she is a teacher) and Cora snagged a friend of hers from college to help out with her job at Kidventure so Mayra is living with us this summer. I am enjoying the full house a lot. Mostly because it is a different place than it used to be. A little bit of Jesus-love goes a long way, let me tell ya!

Well, I best be off to bed. Love to you all!

My day began with a start. What time was it??? My phone was dead. Whew! Only 7:43! I have 2 minutes to lay here! I got up, changed back into my clothes from the day before, gave Mrs. Yonley a hug and was on the road before 8. I got to drive fast . Not insanely fast, but for long enough and fast enough to put me in a good mood. I got gas and stopped by a mail box and was home by 8:45 which is crazy but seriously, I didn't drive that fast. There just wasn't any traffic. I took a shower and then Cora and I went to Cody's 8th grade "graduation" which was just a special chapel at STE and donuts. Then I cleaned as much of the house as I could before I dashed off to Aunt Marla's to confer and then go shopping for my party food. I started and sorted things and then drove to salt grass off I-10 for a church staff meeting at 7. We ate and then went to Rob's house and planned out almost the entire summer. We finished sometime after midnight. The drive home was lovely. There were hardly any cars on the highway at 12:30 and the radio had some good night driving music on. God is really good to me. This job is such a blessing. I don't deserve it.

You should come to my graduation party!!! (Sat. 24th 3-6pm. 832.260.5101 for directions)

I was out of internet all weekend! Come to find out some squirrels chewed through our phone line. Haha! A lot happened though.

Friday I babysat all day. I'm going to try to upload this really cute video of Audrey on the elliptical! it's great! Then my church had this coffee and concert shindig and afterwards I saw Ironman which is really really good. In the beginning I was like Ohhh, HYPE! but by the end I loved it. Got home at like 1:30 and trying fizing the internet for an hour (hahaha! though a cable was unplugged too which was weird)

Wow, Im such a dork!

Saturday i left my house at 9:45, was at my church in rehersal for youth Sunday until noon, drove to my BFF's graduation party, then out to Katy to another friends' graduation party then from there to a rollerink for another friend's birthday party and got home about 11:30 completely exhausted.

Sunday was really hysterical. The Youth Sunday part went great but lunch afterards was so awkward but really amusing. I don't feel like typing out the story but it has to do with this lady trying to set me up with her grandson. Sunday afternoon I was sent to our ghetto walmart to get a few things and I ordered some pics while I was there. They would take an hour so no big, I'd just walk around walmart for an hour. Well, our walmart is something else. It's very ghetto. I'm the only white girl in the whole place and to make it worse I'm in heels and a skirt so I stick out even more! I've gotten used to the stares, but on this occasion I was asked out but some creepy guy. "Are you married???" bahahahaha! His whole schpeal was pretty funny (well it is now). So I hid in the lampshades until my pictures were ready.

Today was the last Monday of HEP. I still have 3 tests and a 5 hour chem lab on wed before I'm finished. I had 2 dance numbers and a drama performance today. Mrs. Ownby was out of town so I was in charge of all the dance gallies. I'm exhausted. But its nice to have internet again. I had 45 e-mails in my inbox and the internet has only been down since friday night!