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Well, Amanda & I are back in sweet southern Virginia!

It's incredibly surreal... Has it always been this green? Where did all of these trees come from?! Who are all of these Americans?

This ain't Texas anymore, y'all.

This summer has been quite the adventure. There were so many good moments, & a fair share of difficult ones. But isn't that the case in any God-sized adventure? I've loved each moment of it-- the good, the bad, yes even the ugly. Each of those moments has changed me forever. Some moments broke my heart, & some filled it more than I thought possible.

There was that one semi-embarrassing moment when Amanda & I almost missed our flight & had our names paged a few times over the loud speaker... {Our pilot takes punctuality to a new level...our dads thought the situation was hilarious.}

There were the moments when I realized that different people from my intern team & the community had become my second family. Heart-to-heart conversations, house church, milkshake runs, English classes, evenings spent at the playground & soccer field, endless rounds of UNO.

There was the moment when I gave my Iraqi friend her first Bible & watched her receive it with an amount of joy I've never seen before. So many moments come to mind when I think of her. The day I shared the Gospel with her. The day we watched the Jesus Film together in Arabic & she remembered all of the parts I had shared with her. The day I shared my own story with her. The day she asked me to tell her the story of the wandering son {Luke 15} again, because she thought it was beautiful & couldn't stop thinking about it.

There were moments spent, memories made, & friendships created with many of the short term teams. It's been a privilege to get to know them, lead them, & watch them grow through their experiences in Houston. So many of them have blessed & encouraged me more than they know through in-depth conversations, their eagerness to learn, exposing me to Whataburger for the first time, & watching their passion for Jesus & the nations pour out & make a difference in the community.

There were the moments when my favorite four year old Iraqi boy rode his little bicycle to our apartment at 7 o'clock every morning to draw "pitch-cures" {pictures} for us on our dry erase board. There was the moment that really tugged on my heartstrings when he begged to move with us at the end of the summer. And there were the countless moments when he tackle-hugged each of us & said, "I like you!"

There were the bittersweet moments on the last day of Kids Club, when I realized just how attached I'd gotten to each of the children. My heart melted as I sat in the floor with them, making bracelets & laughing & craving more time with them. And there was the moment when it was time to say goodbye. Tears were shed. Hugs were shared. Many of the kids didn't want to let go...neither did I. Those children taught me that love knows no language, race, or culture. They taught me to see the beauty in life, & that the littlest things take up the most room in your heart.

And there was the moment in the airport when I saw my family & best friends for the first time in two months. There's nothing more refreshing than sharing hugs & happy tears, followed by dinner & ice cream, with the people you love most. The people you can call {& have called on multiple occasions} when your heart is breaking from a situation beyond your control, or when you're feeling a little homesick & need to hear their voices. The people you can count on to pray with you & for you, to encourage you in the midst of frustration, & to give you a little bit of tough love when you need it. {Thanks, Dad.} This adventure wouldn't have been what it was without them & their support.

Like I said, each of these moments has changed me & blessed me beyond measure. I still can't believe God would choose me to be part of this incredible journey, but I'm thankful that He did. He's definitely used it to grow me & mold me more into who He wants me to be as He revealed to me things about Himself that I had forgotten or had yet to learn. Through all of the twists & turns, He's been faithful & He's been good. I'm excited to see what kind of adventures He has planned next!

{I've attached a few pictures that I haven't shared yet. I hope you enjoy them as you catch a glimpse of the various moments that have touched my heart.} :)

"You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of living & loving people in more than one place."

Full hearts & stomachs

Tonight has filled both my heart & stomach. My Iraqi friends  family invited a couple of my roommates & I over tonight for iftar {the evening meal eaten at sunset by Ramadan-observing Muslims}. We hung out together for four hours. We talked, we ate, we talked some more, we laughed, we drank tea, swooned over my friends incredible artwork & watched a movie.

So many more memories were made tonight that I'll cherish for the rest of my life.

I'm so, SO thankful for this close-knit relationship & the way it has deepened & blossomed throughout the past year. For each visit, each conversation, each cooking show & episode of Top Gear & CSI. This family has taught me how to truly love. They've taught me to open my heart & celebrate life for all that it's worth. They've showered me with so much kindness & hospitality, & it overwhelms me.

These people aren't just my friends anymore. They've become my family. 

Continue praying for them with me, that more followers of Jesus will enter their lives, that the seeds that have been planted will be harvested as they understand Christ's love.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. {Eph. 3:12}

Loose Threads

If there's anything I've learned this summer, it's that life is made up of lots & lots of loose threads. And on their own they look like nothing more than random knots & snarls that don't make any sense, but together they create something meaningful & unique & beautiful.

As my remaining time in Houston is {all too quickly} coming to a close, I've been reflecting on all of the "loose thread" moments. Moments of discouragement & frustration because on some days, ministry just wasn't happening. Days when I questioned my call to be here because I wasn't meeting many people in the community & the Lord didn't answer my prayer for that as immediately as I wanted Him to. Moments that turned into memories that will last forever. Visits with my Iraqi friends who have become my family. Being served an African feast by the sweetest Congolese family. Getting caught in the rain on the way to visit someone with one of my roommates & using Rubbermaid lids as makeshift umbrellas. Teaching English to the most incredible refugee ladies. Relationships formed- with my intern team, with the short term teams, with the people in this community.

All loose threads on their own, but woven together, these moments make up the most extraordinary tapestry. A tapestry full many different colors & flavors; one full of life & joy, tons laughter & some tears, & an enormous amount of love. A tapestry more beautiful than anything I could possibly dream up on my own.

It hasn't always been easy. There's been a significant amount of sweat {I mean hello, this is Houston} & tears & heart-to-hearts with my team & with the Lord. But I'm thankful for those moments, too. They've caused me to grow in ways I never would, had I not experienced them for all that they were.

And now here I am, looking at my last days of ministry in Houston, Texas. {At least for the summer of 2014. Who knows what God has up His sleeve for the future?} It's incredibly bittersweet. My roommates & I taught our last ladies' ESL class today. Tears were shed, hugs were given, & laughs were shared as we remembered so many of the memories that were made during the past two months. It has been such a privilege to be part of these ladies' lives; I honestly feel like they've blessed me more than I've blessed them. They've taught me so much about love, kindness, & friendship, & I'll cherish those lessons for the rest of my life.

That's just a small glimpse of the beauty of the people & places I've fallen in love with. My heart has been filled to the point of overflow, & I wouldn't have it any other way.

I will sing to the Lord, because He is good to me. Psalm 13:6

Untitled Ramblings

Has it really been an entire week since my last update? Goodness, time is FLYING by these days... 

I discovered something recently. I've fallen even more in love with this place & these people. I wasn't even sure that was possible. So many of these precious people have claimed a piece of my heart, but the most beautiful thing about it is that they've allowed me to claim pieces of theirs as well. 

Since it's been a while since my last update, I thought I'd share the highlights of the past week. :)

I was able to visit with my Iraqi families a few times & have some incredible conversations with them over homemade coffee cake & Coca-Cola. It really touches my heart that although they are observing Ramadan {which means fasting from any food & drink until 9pm}, they still pour out so much hospitality with every ounce of warmth that they have. 

Sunday: Each short term team begins their week by visiting mosques & Hindu or Buddhist temples to expose themselves to the faiths/people groups they'll be reaching out to during their time in Houston. We took this week's team to a Hindu Mandir & a Vietnamese Buddhist temple {which I actually visited on my own short term trip last summer}. 

During our visit to the Mandir, one of the leaders of the temple led us through a very detailed exhibition about the origins of Hinduism, & he invited us to stay & observe the worship service. I'm still struggling to find words to describe what I witnessed & the feelings I felt; it was incredibly heartbreaking to watch as those precious people chanted & bowed to mere idols that can do nothing to save them. My eyes were opened to just how seriously Hindus value their faith, & how much devotion they pour into it.  

Re-visiting the Buddhist temple brought so many flashbacks from my first visit there. I remember the worship service, the singing & the bowing. The fruit sacrifices to the statues, the incense, the prayers. Fragrances & images that will stay with me forever; things I don't enjoy remembering but hope I never forget, because they opened my eyes to the reality of spiritual depravity & deepened my passion for Jesus like nothing else ever has.

Monday & Wednesday: Two of my favorite days! My roommates & I are still teaching English classes for refugee women. Our classes have grown, & so have our hearts. I feel so, so blessed to be a small part of these women's lives. It has been so fun to watch them excel in their new language as they speak, read, & write. Today one of the ladies told me that I am her favorite friend. These ladies have filled my heart with so much joy. I've loved getting to know each of them & watching them learn as they've taught me so much in return. 

Ongoing {and new!} adventures

This has been such a good week.

On Monday a few of my roommates & I got invited to eat dinner with a Kurdish woman from one of our ESL classes. There was chicken, homemade bread, & dolma {a traditional Iraqi dish} galore. We all ate our fill plus some. The entire meal reflected all of the time & care this sweet woman poured into preparing it; she had no idea what parsley is, but she bought some to go with our meal because she knew it was American. To her it was merely a small gesture, but it touched my heart in the deepest way.

I visited my Iraqi family yesterday, & I'm convinced that I fall more in love with them each time I visit. We've been having some really good {& DEEP} conversations about Jesus & faith lately. Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, began Sunday, & my friend shared a lot of details about it with me while I was there. During Ramadan, Muslims {who are physically able to do so} fast from all food & drink from dawn to sunset. The main purpose is to focus on God & strengthen their relationship with Him, while allowing their physical hunger to remind them of the poor.

So, please be praying that while Muslims {& this family in particular} are spending this time intentionally searching for God, they will find Him & He'll change their lives forever.

I've been helping one of my roommates teach a ladies' ESL class, & it has been SO fun. Most of the women are either Muslim or Kurdish, & I've fallen in love with each of them. I've especially bonded with one woman in particular. She is a 56 year old Muslim woman who travels partway to class by bus & walks the rest of the way. She's always the first woman to arrive, usually 15 to 20 minutes before class even starts. She is so eager to learn & I've enjoyed getting to help her. Today there was an empty seat next to her; she looked up at me & smiled {as always} & said, "Sit down, Teacher Rachel!" Y'all, my heart melted. I feel so blessed. Continue to pray for all of the seeds that are being planted, watered, & harvested. It has been so exciting to watch God work & move. Even greater things are still to come. :)

Sunday Sweetness

During the past month, I've come to realize that there is never a dull moment when living next door to two eleven year old Iraqi boys. This week alone I've played endless rounds of UNO, refereed impromptu relay races, engaged in a water gun massacre, laughed until my sides hurt, & felt more love than my heart ever thought possible. {I've also come to realize that as long as I live in Houston, I'll never have to do my laundry alone, because one of them is always with me; walking, talking, & helping me fold my socks.}

These boys are best friends; wherever one of them is, the other one isn't far behind. They're both incredibly full of life & mischief, & I've actually started writing down the things they say because they're just too funny. 

This morning the boys showed up on our porch {which happens more often than not} to ask Amanda & I to hang out with them {which also happens more often than not}. They wanted to read Colossians together, so we grabbed our Bibles, sat on the steps outside our apartment & had the sweetest church service I've ever been part of. One of the boys, A., is Muslim, & it's so amazing to watch him soak up God's word as he discovers its truth in such a fresh way. The other boy, F., is a follower of Jesus {you may remember him from this post} & the definition of childlike faith. He's crazy about Jesus; he reads his Bible every chance he gets, whether it's out loud to us or quietly to himself. He loves talking to Jesus & prays the sweetest, most heartfelt prayers I've ever heard. And his heart is set on leading A. to Jesus if it's the last thing he does. It's the most precious thing I've ever experienced in my life.

Both of these boys inspire me in my own life; A. inspires me to open my heart & enjoy God's word like I'm hearing it for the first time, & F. inspires me to love God more & view every day as an opportunity to celebrate His grace. These boys have stolen more pieces of my heart than they realize, & I wouldn't have it any other way.

"This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard it & understood the truth about  God's wonderful grace." Colossians 1:6

Transformation.

I realized something this morning. 

Exactly one year ago yesterday, my feet hit Houston soil for the first time, & my heart began to change forever. And exactly one year later, I'm back in the place so many pieces of my heart belong to.

I realized a few other things today as well. 

A year ago I had no idea what refugees or unreached people groups were; today they're something I think of a lot. A year ago I was ignorant & stereotypical; today some of my closest friends are Iraqis {No, they're actually NOT terrorists.} My life is so different because of Houston & the millions of things God taught me through it. 

Among the many chaotic moments of this weekend, my eyes were opened to just how beautiful grace really is. My Ethiopian roommate & I were sitting on the stairs outside our apartment having an incredible conversation with our Iraqi neighbor & a young African woman. Both of them are followers of Jesus; our neighbor & her family came to America after being exiled from their own country because of their faith, & my new African friend accepted Jesus last week. While I was sitting with them, it hit me: the four of us are completely different. We each have different backgrounds, different stories. But one thing binds us together like nothing else can: Jesus. I think I tasted a small piece of heaven that night as I sat next to these girls, listening to them share how much God's love has turned their lives upside down in the most beautiful way & I realized, these girls are my sisters. We laughed, we cried, we listened, we shared, we spoke encouragement & poured out all the love we had to give. There's truly nothing sweeter...other than watching our little Iraqi neighbor {who loves Jesus more than any eleven year old I've ever met} study the Bible this morning with one of my fellow team members. This boy sits outside & reads his Arabic-English Bible everyday. {Several times a day on some days.} It's been so overwhelmingly amazing to watch him grow as Jesus' love literally spills out of him & floods every single conversation he engages in. {Quite literally the most precious thing, ever.}

Life in Houston is a grand adventure, & I'm loving every single minute of it.

Heartstrings {part 2}

It's been an awesome week, y'all. It has been such a privilege {& lots of fun} to lead this week's short term team & watch them interact with the people in this community. To watch the ways they've literally poured themselves out & poured Jesus into whoever they come in contact with has touched my heart in the deepest way. Teaching the kids at Kids Club stories from the Bible that they're still talking about days later, using their personal stories to tell Muslims about the love Jesus, befriending an Iraqi man who desperately wants friends & helping him improve his English, having an incredible worship session with a family from central Africa & leading four of them to Jesus...and we thought our hearts were full before.

This week we were able to meet two Jesus-believing Congolese families through in-home ESL. One of the fathers read his favorite Scripture to us {Eph. 6:10-19}, & the other family prayed over us in Swahili after we prayed for them one day. Such a blessing.

While my heart is full, it is also torn. The spiritual darkness of my Iraqi friend has been weighing pretty heavily on it the past few days. Please keep praying. I've realized this week {through reading Hosea 11 & realizing just how much it relates to me & my own relationship with God at times} that the love & compassion I have for my friend is a mere fraction of the fierce way my God loves her. And that not only encourages me, but also gives me hope. I stumbled across a quote today that put it in perspective: "Your small & steady acts of faithfulness are being used in big ways in the Kingdom of God." All I can do is be consistent; pray, trust, obey, wait. I'm merely sowing the seeds; He's the one doing the watering & working behind the scenes. 

Now all glory to God who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. {Eph. 3:20}

Heartstrings

This afternoon I was able to spend some time with my Iraqi friend & her father. My friend is still talking about the Jesus film we watched together & how much she is enjoying reading the Bible I gave her. During my visit today we talked a lot about faith & the similarities/differences between Christianity & Islam. My friend understands so much about Jesus & I love watching her take it all in. However, she is also deeply rooted in earning salvation through good works, which is a huge part of the Muslim faith. 

Today my friend was asked how she could know her good deeds were "good enough," & she responded with "Because of Muhammad, of course." My heart broke. But how can it not? She is absorbing so much of who Jesus is, yet Islam is such a large part of her life. Please pray for her heart to be open to Christ's love for her & His absolute redemption, & for me as I continue to reach out to her & her family. 

There is a purpose here. He has a plan & He will work it out for our good & His glory. It may seem like confusion to me, but to Him, it's anything but that. Here's to praying through the waiting, resting in the knowledge that He is good & He is in control. "Greater things have yet to come & greater things are still to be done in this city."

Week Three!

Long time no blog, right? It's been an insanely busy week here in Houston.

During the past week I've assisted with teaching ESL to refugee women from Africa &  the Middle East, tried some Arabic egg rolls & kabobs, & had dinner with an Egyptian family. Needless to say, it's been quite the cross-cultural experience.

Also, our second short term team arrived this weekend, & they're already making an impact in this community. I love it.

Today some of my team & I met a wonderful family from the Congo who we'll be helping with ESL, & tonight we were able to spend time at the complex's soccer field & interact with tons of the refugees living here. From the spontaneous soccer games, to running around the playground with the kids, to listening as a Muslim woman shares her beliefs & traditions because for the first time someone cares enough to listen- my heart is so full it just might break.

Please pray for this woman, along with the other families Amanda & I are connecting with. Pray for their hearts to be open & that we'll pour into them all the love we possibly can. Also pray for this week's short term team as they shine their light into the darkness of this place.

The days are getting longer & the nights are getting shorter, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I'm amazed by the progress being made, the dozens of relationships being built, the hearts being opened & the lives being transformed forever. It's such a beautiful thing.

Sowing Seeds

The past couple days have been packed with loads of busy-ness & such.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to help teach an ESL class for refugee women, & later that evening my team helped at a kid's ESL club {mostly composed of Nepalese children} in another apartment complex. And it has been proven that kids do, in fact, say the darnedest things.

Today I was able to visit with my Iraqi friend for a few hours. {Read about her here.}
I gave her the Arabic Bible I promised her, & I've honestly never seen anyone more excited in my life. When she learned that it was hers to keep, she exclaimed between thank-you's, "Oh my goodness, this is the best gift ever!" We also had a chance to watch an Arabic copy of the Jesus film together. She was so eager to watch it & was completely captivated by the entire film. She was already familiar with some of the scenes because of the Creation to Christ story I told her the other day, & I was overjoyed that she remembered them. Her father came in for part of the film & wanted to watch it too; he knew the story of Jesus healing a blind man, among a few others. He glanced through the Bible I'd brought & was so excited that he knew the story of Noah. {Noah is also in the Qur'an.} At the end of the film, my friend expressed how beautiful the life of Jesus was to her & how much better she was able to grasp it by watching the film. She also planned to watch it again later with her mother. {Y'all, I can't even contain my joy right now.} Please pray for their minds & hearts to remain open & receptive. I can't wait to see what God is going to do in their lives.


The light shines in the darkness, & the darkness can never extinguish it. {John 1:5}

Growing through the chaos

Today started out with a rather interesting twist. Our short term team came in yesterday but had to leave unexpectedly during the night, changing up the vast majority of our gameplan for the week. It seems like anything discouraging that could possibly happen has happened during the past week. Van breakdown & repairs, getting lost on the way to a prayer service at our boss's church due to our GPS going haywire {& leading us forty minutes in the other direction}, Satan's {multiple} attempts to cause strife & division among my team. You name it, we've faced it. Yet we've come out stronger in our faith & as a team, & we're moving forward confident in the fact that God is working every single bit of this chaos out for our good. He knows what He's doing; keep trusting. {Thanks for the text, Dad. Love you.}

So today my team & I were able to go to our boss's church instead of taking the short term team on a tour of a Hindu temple as originally planned. After the chaos-filled week we've had, it was so refreshing to worship God for being in control & ultimately victorious over anything the enemy tries to throw at us.

I feel so incredibly blessed to be part of such a fabulous intern team. I've been blown away by the way they've encouraged me this week & can't thank God enough for placing these particular people in my life. Here's to growing through the chaos, together.

"That is why we never give up.... For our present troubles are small & won't last very long, yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them & will last forever. So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever." {2 Corinthians 4:16-18}

Fabulous Friday

Today I had the opportunity to visit with one of the Iraqi families I met during my short term trip last summer. The daughter of the family is my age & we've stayed in touch throughout the past year. This is a Muslim family, yet they are very open-minded toward Christianity.

The way we met them last year makes me laugh, because it was obviously such a God thing. As we were walking through the apartment complex one day we came across this particular family trying to move a couch out of a U-Haul & into an apartment. We helped them & they invited us inside, where they welcomed us with the most incredible hospitality. We had some great conversation that day & a few more days after that, & we continued to keep in contact through social media & snail mail.

Today during our visit we talked a lot about each other's faiths, asking questions about different traditions & beliefs. The daughter explained Ramadan, & I explained Easter. The conversation turned toward Jesus, & I learned that they do believe in the miracle of Jesus' birth, & His death & resurrection. However, the imams {Muslim pastors} had never told them why Jesus died, & the daughter asked me to tell her.

So I shared the Gospel with her from creation to Christ, using this particular story we've learned as a team: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBmEkBfQK4Y. {Muslims are very interested in stories & love to hear them, which is why we share the Gospel in this way.}

After sharing with her, she expressed such an eagerness to learn more & wants a Bible in her original language, which I'll be taking to her within the next few days along with a DVD on the Gospel & Jesus' life called the Jesus Film. I honestly feel so blown away that this is happening & that God has allowed me to be part of it. Be praying that Light will flood their hearts, that they will continue to be open, & that seeds will be planted.

Also pray for our first short term team arriving tomorrow afternoon & for our own team as we train & lead them while they're here. :)

Day Three!

Day three in Houston has proven itself to be absolutely FULL of happenings & adventures & organized chaos…& I’m lovin’ every minute of it.

For lunch today, we ate at a Middle Eastern restaurant-store duo; we had shawarmas  {a yummy sandwich wrap with either chicken, beef, or lamb, & sautéed veggies} & baklava {a rich/sweet pastry  filled with chopped nuts, such as pistachio, & sweetened with syrup or honey}. 

After that we walked around at a beautiful Hindu temple.

We've done a significant amount of training the past couple of days, along with getting to try new things & meet new people...most of whom think I'm British due to my pale skin & blue eyes. Haha. I also got a chance yesterday evening to visit with one of the families I met during my short term trip to Houston last summer. It was so fun to reconnect & practice some {limited} foreign language skills. :)

Please be in prayer for the people we're meeting & reaching; many of them are followers of either Islam, Hinduism, or Buddhism & desperately need some Light in their lives. Also, the power steering belt {among other things} on the van we're using broke on the freeway this afternoon, so PLEASE pray that it can be fixed quickly & easily. Thanks so much, y'all! Xoxo

Hello, Houston!

After running off of {roughly} three hours of sleep & an enormous amount of caffeine, Amanda & I finally arrived in Houston around 4:30 yesterday afternoon! We are exhausted & still struggling to put the jumbled mess of our thoughts into coherent words, but our hearts are so full. 

To our fabulous family, friends, & support system- we love & miss you, & we're beyond grateful to have people like you in our lives. Thanks for everything. 

And that's all for now, due to the fact that breakfast is cooking & coffee is brewing. Stay tuned for lengthier, adventure-filled posts as time permits. :)

This is just the beginning...

After a significant amount of contemplation, I've decided to blog about my {& Amanda's!} adventures & experiences in Houston this summer, sooo I thought I’d start off with my story to fill some of you in on what exactly I’m doing & why I’m doing it:

It all started with a short term mission trip that left a long term impact. I went to Houston, TX, for a week last June, & I realized rather quickly that I was definitely NOT in southern Virginia anymore! Despite the absence of mountains & open fields & authentic sweet tea, I was completely captivated by the diversity of the city & its people. Houston is home to about 70,000 refugees {people who have been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster} from 78 different countries, & it’s truly an experience like no other. Honestly, I had to remind myself several times that I was actually still in the United States. 

While in Houston, my group & I met some amazing people & built some special friendships. The way these loved us instantly & welcomed us into their city & even their homes touched my heart in such a huge way, & by the end of the week I knew I had to go back one day.

I learned from talking to some of overseers of the short term trips that I could apply for a summer internship & spend an entire summer in Houston doing what they did. Little did I know, my friend Amanda’s heart was being pulled in the same direction as mine, & after tons of prayer & talks, we both took a huge step & applied.

SO, Amanda & I are BOTH heading to Houston on May 31st! We are so excited {& blessed} to be part of such an amazing team as we minister to the refugees of the city together. Many of these refugees come from areas where access to the Gospel is limited or completely nonexistent, so our goal is to build friendships with them, have some intentional/meaningful conversations, & just invest lots of time & love. One of the many different things our team will be doing is leading different short term mission teams & training them to connect & share Jesus’ love with the people they’ll reach out to during their week in Houston.

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine an adventure like this would be a reality for me. Sometimes LOTS of times I have to remind myself that YES, this IS real. I’m incredibly excited to experience all the things that are in store for me & my team, & I can’t wait to tell you all about it! To my TOBC family, thank you all for your prayers, support, & encouragement in this. I’m overwhelmed by your love & will definitely miss you all something fierce. Amanda & I are beyond blessed to have such a fabulous support system. Xoxo

So, there’s my story. And it’s only the beginning. Stay tuned for more adventures & whatnot. :)