God has a sense of humor!

Why? Because I have landed in Waco, Texas. Never in a million years did I see myself going to seminary here. I envisioned Wake Forest or Ft. Worth or New Orleans. Waco? Didn't even know there was a seminary there!

Many have been curious as to the turn of events that led to my big move south. Here it is:

How did I end up here? Well, it is most definitely a God-thing (working thru Amy & Wes!). As you know, my plan was to move to New Orleans and enroll at NOBTS. Before I left for camp in June, I mailed in all of my information and forms....with the hope to hear of my acceptance before coming home in August. Obviously, that did not happen. During my time at camp, I began to talk to Wes and Amy Butler a lot about my Journeyman term and about my decision to head to NOBTS in the fall. Amy began to share with me a lot about Truett Theological Seminary (she's a pretty good recruiter). So, I figured I could at least apply. When I first looked, the application deadline had long since passed. I couldn't tell you why, but I looked again the following day and the deadline had been extended and that meant I had 9 days to get all of my application materials in (mind you, I am in the middle of camp out in CA!). Don't know how it happened....but everything made it in my deadline time - references, transcripts and all!! The Friday after I got everything in, my application went before the admissions committee and I was granted acceptance! Never heard back from New Orleans, which made the decision easy. But, I felt complete peace about packing up and moving to Waco.

I am beginning to love it here. I have been impressed with the school and my professors. Probably for the first time ever, I somewhat enjoy going to class (minus the whole getting out of bed thing!). So, I am a Baylor Bear. Craziness. No idea how long I will be here, but I am going to soak up what I can while camped out here in Waco, TX.

Next time: The Mormon Encounter

One time at summer camp....

It has been a eons and eons since the last post. Life got busy. There is much to write about, but I'll just tackle one thing at a time. We'll start with the beginning of the summer.

I worked camp for the first time in my life, this summer. I was a part of the Centrifuge staff at Jenness Park, in Cold Springs, CA. My job was leading Bible study every day for 5 weeks, to 9th-10th (3 wks) and 11th-12th (2 wks). It was an amazing experience. Every week, God used something in our Bible study to challenge me. We spent the summer studying Moses and his journey of faith and tried to apply the lessons we learned to our own lives. Aside from leading Bible study, I led volleyball and backpacking track times.

One might think that taking 25-30 students on an overnight backpacking trip every week would cause me to dread Thursday nights. However, this couldn't be more wrong. I couldn't wait for Thursday nights to arrive. By far, my favorite night of the whole week and it always ended up being one of theirs (after I told them they couldn't get out of it!). There were definitely some groups that had me a little concerned....but something happens on the trail - you bond. It was always neat to see.

One of my favorite moments came after almost an hour of hiking. For the first bit, we were hiking pretty much straight up the mountain. So, as you can imagine, there was lots of complaining! And that could be underestimating it. It was in this first segment that I often wondered to myself why I signed up for this. But when we changed trails, we came to a look-out....where you could see everything. It was then that I knew why I did this. Their expressions and attitudes changed instantly. They were in awe of God's creation. It never ceased to make me smile. And it happened every week.

Another favorite was our share time around the fire. The group would have bonded even more while setting up camp and cooking dinner....so this time became a chance to share life stories and all God was doing. I was blessed. One night, actually the last trip of the summer, something very cool happened. After we all shared, I encouraged them to take advantage of where they were for the night....in the middle of God's awesome creation and just allow God to speak. I told them that I wanted them to see God as Creator. While in the jungle, I spent so much time looking at the stars. I always stood in awe of the fact that He placed these balls of gas exactly where He wanted them. I shared this with the group and told them to look up and be reminded that God cares for us so much more and He is faithful to finish the work He has started in us. At this exact moment, the biggest and brightest shooting star flew across the sky. Not one of us missed it. In that moment, they got it. They won't forget that night. I won't either.

Week 5 Backpacking Crew

Back on the Funny Farm

Last week, I journeyed back to the place my crazy journey began.  And after two years, I was able to re-connect with some of my greatest friends.  It was so neat just getting to sit and listen to everyone's stories.  Our God is so amazing.  All of us had totally different experiences . . . good and bad; frustrating and encouraging.  But we all were brought closer to our Creator.  It was a sweet time of fellowship with the Body.  

The FPO 1.07 Crew!

So . . . you may ask, "what's next?"  The short answer: seminary, with the purpose of heading back overseas.  I don't know all the details yet, just trying to have faith for the next step.  I'll be visiting New Orleans Bapt. Theological Seminary at the end of this month.  Please be praying for wisdom in this decision.  I hope to start in the fall, but if the timing is off I'll start in the spring.  I'm excited about what's next.  God is good.

The Xtreme Women's Team

Please pray for the Women's Team during the next 6 weeks.  Tomorrow they will be leaving Lima and boarding a bus to Puerto Maldonado (via Cuzco).  Once in Maldonado, they will head to their respective communities.  Misty & Amy will be working in Boca Inambari and Lori, Elaine & Alessandra will be working in Barraka.  From Lima, this will be a lot of traveling.  

A few prayer requests:

• Travel safety and good rest (sleeping on buses is a hard thing)
• Unity among the whole group, as well as the individual teams
• For their work in the communities (i.e., would be able to share stories, work with women and encourage the church)
• For their families back home, as the girls will be out of contact until the beginning of May

A Mother-mandated Update

Yes, you read the title correctly. Mom said I need to update on what's going on and about my possible plans for the future. So, here goes . . .

Things here in Pucallpa are wrapping up quickly. I pack-up and fly to Lima, February 17th. The new crew is scheduled to arrive that night and we will hit the ground running, quite literally! On the 20th, we fly to Puerto Maldonado (I'm going to end this journey where/how it began . . . in Maldonado AND in training!). There, we will train for about 3 weeks, mas o menos. I am excited to get to spend some quality, jungle time with those joining our team. I know it will be a great time. Please pray for their language, acquisition to jungle living and a sweet time of fellowship with teammates.

March 20th at 12:30 pm, I will arrive back home in Dallas, Texas. I am still working on how to sum up my time here in Perú. But I will . . . don't worry. There is a lot to sort through and think back on. One thing is for sure . . . I won't be returning home the same person. And for that, I am grateful. The Lord has done a lot of work on this heart of mine. It wasn't always fun or enjoyable. Most times it hurt. But it was worth it. God is so faithful. I look forward to sharing more about these two years.

Stay tuned . . .

Yaminahua-land