Whew. . .a busy summer

Since my last post, I have been on our church's annual mission trip, tried to buy a new house, worked a ton of overtime, made a quick trip to Dallas for July 4th, spent a week a youth camp, and celebrated my niece's 3rd birthday! That made me tired just typing it! And, to think there was a trip to California planned in there that got cancelled! Man, I'm crazy! I'll give you a quick run-down and let you in on lessons learned along the way, even in the midst of this crazy-busy summer!

Mission Trip: We spent the week in Jamaica Beach on Galveston Island at a little church. The men were helping this church rebuild after Hurricane Ike. Many of the women and teenagers held Vacation Bible School for the children in the mornings. I was so blessed to be a part of the Beach Reach each afternoon as well as the Teen Hoopla in the evenings. It was such a blessing to see our students boldly proclaim Christ to the people on the beach and to lead out in worship as we ministered to the teenagers in this community. God is certainly at work in Jamaica Beach!

The "new" house: So, I spotted this house in Highlands that was in foreclosure and decided I wanted to take on the challenge! It would mean taking on a second mortgage, at least until I could sell my house, as well as, spending a lot of time and money on renovations. I was very excited and decided to make an offer right about the same time it went under contract with another buyer. So, here we are a month or so later, and I'm just waiting to see if that deal falls through so that I get another shot at the house. I know that God has a plan and if it's supposed to work out, it will. I now, however, have a new hobby of searching for good deals on real estate in Highlands!

My trip to Dallas: I realized at the last minute I had a few days off around July 4th and no plans, so I called Wanissa. When we got our calendars out and realized it would be September before we could see each other again, I loaded up the car, and headed to Dallas for a very quick trip. I had a blast shopping with Wanissa, and watching fireworks with Trey, Wanissa, Cooper, Ashley and KC! I miss my Dallas friends so much (just not enough to move up north)!

Youth Camp: I think Youth Camp has by far been the highlight of the summer. We went back to Journey Youth Camp in Spicewood, Texas. We took about 50 students and 8 adults. God moved in a BIG way and it's hard to even put it into words. We have been praying for several of our students who haven't yet trusted Jesus as their Savior. We continued to pray each morning and evening of camp, along with the camp leadership. We prayed by name for many of our students who we knew didn't have a personal relationship with Jesus. On Wednesday night of camp we were sitting in the evening worship service and there were so many distractions I couldn't even concentrate. I so knew that God was up to something big and Satan was doing everything in his power to distract students from hearing from Him. At one point, one of the students even lost his contact! My initial thought was "Seriously?!?" But, immediately I started praying that we would find it and that Satan would not win. I said out loud that Satan had no business there and he needed to leave us alone! As soon as I uttered the words, the impossible happened. . . they found the contact! I mean, we were in a completely dark room! At that point I knew we needed people to be praying with us for salvation. I stepped out of the worship center and texted about 20 people at home to pray. That night, I was so reminded of God's faithfulness to answer prayer! At the close of the service, we were given the opportunity to pray over each of our students. I was also able to witness a student that we've been praying for for at least 5 years finally give his life to Christ! More than ever, I was reminded of God's faithfulness even when things don't happen on the timetable that we would like! He is so good!!

Isabella's Birthday: I can't even believe Isabella is 3 years old! I made her 4 tutu's and matching shirts for her birthday and she loves them! I also surprised my sister with amazing pics of Bella (courtesy of our friend Shari). Isabella is truly turning into a little lady and she's such a joy! At her party, she hugged each person and told them thank you after she opened their gifts! So cute!

Still more to come: So, even though it's been a crazy summer thus far, I have even more planned. We have Summer Xtreme (youth VBS) going on at church this week, then Shahla and I are taking a few of the high-schoolers to Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels this weekend. On Wednesday, Janell and I are heading to meet Alecia, Kyle, Bella, and the Kees in Orlando at Disney World! I'm so excited, since this is my first trip there in 23 years! The summer will then be topped off by Choir retreat and a couple of showers for Lacey. Then things might get back to "normal" (whatever that means!).

The one thing that has God has really shown me this summer is that I am exactly where He's called me! There is such peace in that even in the midst of chaos. I was overwhelmed by this fact one day at camp when the worship band was playing a video about orphans all over the world. I was weeping for these children, and more broadly for the lost nations that these children represent. I have to admit, my heart is for the nations. I want to be there. I want God to call me there. As I sat there and my heart ached wanting to be in a foreign land sharing His love, that still small voice said, "Kristi, I have called you to Highlands, Texas to minister to students, and I want to use you there. Use your heart for the nations to make a difference right where you are!" WOW! That was exactly what I needed to hear! God doesn't always call us where we "want" to be, but honestly, I can't imagine being anywhere else right now. He has called me to do life with students and my church family in Highlands, and to minister in my job. What an awesome responsibility and privilege!