Good news.

Happy Holidays!!

As I think of all the things I have to be thankful for this year, I can't help but think of the many many people who have quite the opposite. No food, no shelter, no shoes, no mommy or daddy.... and what's more, no knowledge of Jesus. Almost a year ago, I attended a retreat with my church and met a really cool speaker who shared with us this story...

http://vimeo.com/867930

... and his story:

"Yanci is six. She loves to draw, swing, and spin until she's green. She likes to drink from my Gatorade bottle and put bows in my hair- I look good in pink. Her favorite think is being tickled. When she meets someone new she holds my hand and hides behind my leg. She doesn't like to walk and she prefers to ride on my back. Just like my kids.

Unlike my kids, Yanci lives where children are often in need of medical attention, food, shelter, and have never been told the Jesus story.

For what I once spent on fast food, I'm able to help meet Yanci's physical and spiritual needs today. I write a check to Compassion International each month and they, through a church in her neighborhood, see to it that Yanci is loved and taught and healthy. And she is.

Since I visited her last, she's written to share small victories like learning how to write her name and snap her fingers. She says her father is going to church now, her roof has been fixed and breakfast is her favorite meal.

Thirty thousand children, it's estimated, die every day because they don't have the essentials my children and Yanci have. Please consider saving just one of these children through Compassion International today. Simply visit www.Compassion.com to get started."

... And So i was hooked. My thoughts are "how can you hear this and NOT respond by doing the exact same thing!?" But I realize everyone's circumstances are different. All I do know is how these children have impacted my life. Each month I take 32 dollars out of my bank account to provide food/clothes/shelter/education for one sweet 4 year old child from Kenya, Africa. Miriam. I've written her letters with stickers and pictures of me and my family and where I live. And she's written me back! I've always wanted to sponsor a child in another country, but I never knew how personal it would be. But when I recieved that letter from my little Miriam, it brought tears to my eyes. She wrote to me in response to my letter, asking me questions about my family and where I live. I even got a picture of Miriam, her brothers and sisters, her parents and grandmother. I keep this picture in my car, on the dash, if only to remind me everyday that there are other things in this world that matter besides me. I dream of the day I can meet this sweet child face to face and what an amazing reunion that will be. To God be the glory!

With that said, there is so much more that I should do. That I could do. I pray that if you have the same passion, you will act on it. We can all make a difference if we only try. For it is written, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for thiers is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3).

"When we love the least, we love Jesus." -shaun groves

MERRY CHRISTMAS Everyone!!

Cancer sucks.

I am beginning my bible study with Beth Moore here in Houston and it is amazing. Just what I needed these days. I wanted to share with you what Beth read to us the first week from a certain blogger on her site...

"Previously driven by all things productive, motivational and rewardable.
Currently driven by all things true, honest and pure.
Previously devoted to things to fill the void.
Currently devoted to nothing that serves myself.
Previously devoted to acceptance and admiration of others.
Currently devoted to redeeming things others have passed by,
passed on, passed over or dismissed.
Life is too short to be plagued with worry, with fear and with
any sniff of doubt.
Life was made to be whole, complete and find it’s purpose in
redemption...
I understand the fragility of life.
I understand the permanence of kind words, actions and love
for those placed in our lives.
I live very far from perfection, but I am being perfected.
I live far very far from having it all, but I am supplied for.
I fight against wanting more and am learning to live with less.
I fight against judgement and am learning to live in awe of the gifts within others.
I fight for others on the things that matter. I fight against things unseen.
I am a warrior.
I am wholly REPURPOSED."
-V.

That last part is my favorite. What an encouraging word.

... I was recently informed that one of my campers from this summer is not doing so well. Little Chloe is seven and has cancer, and is being treated at Texas Children's hopsital here in Houston. Please take some time to read her precious story and say a prayer for her and her dear family! If you've ever known anyone to face this horrible battle, you know what it's like. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers! Miracles can happen!

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/chloeschmidt

"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." -Isaiah 40:31

Love you all!

true bliss.

Wow.

It's so hard to even begin trying to describe my summer. It was so filled with every emotion possible... happiness, sadness, LOTS of tears, LAUGHTER, hope, much healing, joy, compassion, FEAR, anxiety, anger, and peace. I spent my summer at Heaven on earth (http://www.campforall.org/). After spending two summers there already, I didn't think it could get much better. I am SO thrilled to say that it did so much more than that. I feel so unbelievably blessed to have worked with these people and to be able to call them my family.

To very briefly describe the major events of summer..... My grandmother passed away after fighting cancer for a few long months--see previous blog; 3 of my very favorite campers passed away, two from cancer, one from AIDS. I would do anything to trade places with any one of those angels..... and probably the CRAZiest event of my summer (or my life, for that matter), on July 9 I was in a pretty scary fireworks incident. That evening Camp staff put on a spectacular fireworks show for the kids, as usual, of which I was a part of. Somehow, in the midst of a freak explosion, I managed to get first, second, and third degree burns on my left hand and leg, one VERY long hour in the health center, a scary ride in the ambulance, one long night in the ER, and many tedious doctor's appointments. With that said.... I am so thankful to say now that after a month and a half of healing, I am completely healed. I thank our sweet Jesus everyday for saving me in that moment of chaos. I know how lucky I am and I count my blessings.

Now camp is over, and I am having withdrawals like no other. Camp For All staff 2008 make me smile more than ever, and I love them all. It has been said, and I think best described,...

"Until there's a cure, there's camp.... It grabs hold of your heart and never lets go."

I have started my first semester of grad school is speech-pathology at the University of Houston. Everyone is so great and I love it. Much prayer is appreciated as I attempt to conquer it ALL.......... Football season is starting back up again, and it makes me wish very badly I was still in Tuscaloosa. Oh how I love that town. I miss everyone of my friends and family I don't see everyday. You are my heart!

ROLL TIDE.

A Sweet Escape

Everyday during the summer my job is to make kids happy. That's it. Yes I might work 17-20 hour days, which leaves me not a whole lot of time to sleep, talk on the phone, or socialize with anyone outside of the camp world. BUT, on the other hand, I get to run around all day long with kids laughing with them, loving on them, learning from them.... just to name a few things I've gotten to do this summer already... campfires (I am an expert s'more maker), roll around with kids in a pool of chocolate pudding; teach 7-8 year old girls a choeographed dance to Natasha Beddingfield's "Unwritten"; intentionally litter by throwing out empty blue bell ice cream containers all across camp, and smearing rotten bananas on trees, just so some REALLY excited kids could enjoy their Wookie Hunt a litte more. Just the other day I got to enjoy facials and hand massages with some really cool little girls. THAT is my job. Seriously.

I am so blessed.

As I said earlier, because I stay so busy, I don't have much time to keep in touch with the outside world. With reality. I once thought that if something so tragic as 9/11 ever happened again, how long would it take those of us at camp to find out? Very wierd being so out of the loop sometimes. So.... Camp, in a very real way, is an escape. An escape from worries, problems, distractions, stress. The fact that I got a really expensive speeding ticket and have to go to court next week is not what I think about when I'm out there. Those kids give you a new perspective on life. On love. On everything.... Because my life out there is an escape, I've been able to place alot of things in the back of my mind lately. My speeding ticket. Grad school. Friends in Tuscaloosa/Mobile whom I miss SO much. And even family.... which brings me to my next point. My grandmother (a.k.a. MawMaw) was diagnosed with lung cancer in April. Because it was so advanced, she opted not to undergo any chemo or radiation. After a rough battle, MawMaw went to see our sweet Jesus on Monday night. As hard as it has been and is for us to cope with this loss, she didn't lose a thing. She gained a beautiful eternity with Christ. As we're sobbing, she's probably dancin' and eating a whole lot of good food she could never have down here. As Beth Moore writes, "God always heals physical illness. Sometimes He chooses not to bring healing here on earth, but uses that illness for a greater glory." I've learned a lot from these last few months of her life. Praise the LORD, for He is good!

Please continue to pray for my grandfather and the rest of the family. Much love and thanks.

"But those who HOPE in the LORD will renew their STRENGTH. They will mount up on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint." -Isaiah 40:31

Here's to another fabulous week at Camp For All!

GET EXCITED!

Cloud 9...

It is time for campers to leave on sunday morning and a piece of my heart is going with them....

Our first camp of the summer arrived last thursday. Camp Janus. A camp for children and teens who are survived burn victims. Campers enter the gates of camp paranoid that we may not see them as who they are on the inside but be distracted by what they appear to be on the outside. In the span of 3 short days, I laughed, cried, and learned more about being thankful than I have in a long time. Many of the children from this camp came from Mexico/South America, creating a language barrier between us. It didn't take me long, though, to realize that although my spanish may be very limiting, (and as corny as it may seem) a smile, a hug, and some laughter is universal. So with that in mind all weekend, I received endless kisses from 5 year old boys and dances with 8 year olds from Bolivia.

And then came Saturday night. At campfire. I got to experience something indescribable. A 16 year old spanish boy who, because of the effects of his burn, is left with no left arm and only a nub for a right. He quietly approached me wanting me to roast a mallow for him. The mallow was roasted and we put together an amazing s'more. In this moment, I was shown courage. That no matter what your body may able you to do or not to do, there is a way. And then for the next few minutes, I proceeded to feed this s'more to Carlos. No shame in his game. From the outside looking in, this was an incredible moment. So with tears in my eyes, I wave goodbye to these amazing kids. Back to their lives in another culture, a country, or the hospital they were just released from. Back to the real world.

...And that is why I work at Camp For All. I believe that God has blessed me with the heart of a servant. And my prayer is that as I serve, some how in some way they may see Jesus in me. If I can get just one child to smile, I have done my job. If I can make just one child leave with just a little more courage, I have succeeded. As one famous author once wrote (whom I can't recall his name)... "You cannot wash the feet of a filthy world if you're too afraid to touch them." Jesus, may I be your hands and feet. Send me.

"...The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." - 1 Samuel 16:7

love. laughter. hope. healing.

On May 10, 2008 a chapter in my life came to an end. I graduated from the University of Alabama in 4 short years, and I don't know where the time has gone. I have come so far, and God has been so good. 4 years ago, I would have never dreamed I would be where I am today. This fall I will begin a new chapter in my life as I start graduate school at the University of Houston. I am so anxious to see what God has in store for me in the years to come.... it makes me giddy. But until then......

I am spending my summer at the utmost amazing place I've ever been. I get to spend my entire summer at Camp For All (http://www.campforall.org/) in Burton, TX. Camp For All is a camp for children and adults with special needs and chronic illnesses. Being there, I am able to witness miracles each and every day. After a day in the scorching hot sun, those kids have the ability to give me JOY that never ends. This place has changed my life, and many others I know. My only hope is that the campers I see this summer will get back AT LEAST half as much love as they give to me.

"Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt all you believe to be God's will for your life."-Elizabeth Elliott

Roll Tide.