new friends in mawanga

taking visitors to mawanga could not have been more fun, more encouraging and more enlightening. i have always loved showing people what i do. really just introducing them to some of the most beautiful and precious people is so special and an honor for me. 

the past week has been filled with meeting new people and traveling all over. i met up with 2 new friends of mine, Pat and Angie. they are from canada and came to uganda for Pat's bicycle charity he has in the karamoja region (north east uganda). angie stubbled upon rowan through the web and the rest is history. i met them for lunch one day last week, then drove out with them the next day to mawanga. they could only stay a night, but during their time there they got to see a lot of different areas of the ministry. 

our new canadian friends, pat and angie

angie & i visiting a sweet family

one of the things i loved is seeing pastor paul be encouraged and challenged as he was discussing things with pat. sharing ideas, concepts, thoughts, and perspectives is what we love. we (all of those involved with rowan) want to be sponges. we want to learn. we want to know what is working on the ground and what's not. we want to know how others are doing it so that we may implement new ideas and strategic process. 

pat sharing with the staff

after pat and angie left, i got busy with my work in the village. from running errands with pastor paul in iganga, to home visits, to organizing some of the files in our office, to recording videos of our kids preparing their songs and dances for African Child Day, to meeting with some of the staff to discuss ideas on a kids camp, to hearing personal testimonies of what some adults have been able to accomplish through our adult literacy program. my days are always filled when i'm there. 

at iganga market with pastor paul

organizing the folders..it was quite the task!

visiting one of our zone leaders, Juliet!

our kids preparing for the african child day

i love sitting at the end of the day with hot tea thinking about the day. really i'm looking at what God accomplished that day. i'm just a vessel. i can't offer much but only what God gives, which is His love through His blessings. at the end of the day, it's all about Him. it's about what He is doing and accomplishing. 

i am blessed beyond measure to have the opportunity to see His hand at work...

another wedding...arkansas style!

another one of my friends got married august 12 in conway, arkansas...it was such a fun weekend of celebrating and getting to love on Emily. i have loved doing life with this girl even though we are a state away. i have learned so much from her boldness and discipline in prayer, her passion for life, lively spirit, and our shared love for africa! this girl deserves to be celebrated!!

getting dressed 

(emily, her mom, and sister)

erin and i

(love her!)

shoes! 

(notice the bride is wearing TOMS)

the wedding party

erin, emily, and i pre-wedding

Mr. and Mrs. Boedeker

the cake and bridal portrait

all 4 of us...together again!

they are such strong irons in my life

 and i am so thankful for each of them!  

(erin, emily, me, and steph...some of my greatest friends!)

garrett, me, and steph..plus little garrison! :)

(they've been married 2 1/2 yrs and are expecting their first child later this fall.
he'll be making his appearance at the end of sept!)

going to all nations...Acts 1:8

when God says "go"..He is speaking to everyone of us.

God is not asking us, He is commanding us.

i have 3 friends who have recently left for 3  different countries and nations...Haiti, Zimbabwe, and Ukraine

they have said, "yes, Lord" and put everything aside to "go" on behalf of the Him.


i ask for prayer for them... pray that God will give them insight, wisdom, discernment, encouragement, energy, boldness, and refreshing strength every day in what they will be doing. they are being the hands and feet of Christ to the people of those countries. i am honored to call them friends.

Whitney Turner - Haiti Medical Team

Hannah Leigh Hatterrick - working on a farm in Zimbabwe 

Brittney Snodgress (and the team) - Kiev, Ukraine

good to be reminded...

last wednesday night i had the opportunity to go support one of my old campers at her basketball game. meet SALLY HIGGINS. she plays for west texas a&m had a game against tarelton state in stephenville; which is about an hour from where i live. 

i have been tremendously blessed by this girl. it has been such an honor to watch her grow since being in my cabin at k2 in 2007. that term will forever be etched on my heart and memory. i love the moments when i get reunited with campers. it definitely brings back all of the fun memories, but not only that. God uses those moments to reaffirm me in my role. to love. to invest into. to support. to encourage. to challenge. to disciple. to mentor. to raise up the next generation. and even though i fail daily with struggles of my own. i will keep going by the grace of God. i will keep spurring them on. i will keep praying for them. i will keep listening. i will keep being available for the Lord to speak through me. all i can truly offer is Jesus. and He alone is enough. He's more than enough to be quite honest...all that to say, i am grateful to be reminded of this and for the time spent with my dear friend Sally.

Celebrating!!

I love celebrating life with my friends! Every end of a season is just as sweet as the beginning of a new one. Early Friday morning I drove down to Austin, Tx to be with one of my best friends, Sarah Escamilla as she closed out her time at Texas. Her and I met 3 years ago in Zambia. God knitted our friendship together and has continued to bless it over the years! She is truly an "iron" in my life. She has consistently encouraged me, sharpened me, and walked beside me through it all!

Sarah loves her water fountains!

Friday night after the celebratory dinner with her sweet family, we parted ways and I headed down to New Braunfels to stay with my sister Jamie. And as an additional surprise, my other sister, JJ and her whole family were staying the night as well. It is the unplanned visits that are actually the best! All of us stayed up till the wee hours of the night talking. It was so great! I am so blessed with this family! Saturday we spent the morning talking over coffee and then eventually headed northbound on 35 back home.

Sunday was another day to honor those ending a chapter in their life. My senior girls in my small group were honored during church. Most of them only have one more week of their high school career. It's crazy to think that was me 7 years ago. Crazy how time flies! I am so incredibly proud of these girls and all they have done to get to this point. The next four years are even better! Congratulations girls!

Miss Jordan Garner is headed off to Oklahoma Baptist.

Miss Madeline French is headed to my Alma Mater...

BAYLOR!!

Miss Sarah and Amanda Barnard (my cousins' cousins)

are both going to Aggie land...A&M

Bible Study Girls..well some of us!

Fall Events

College Game Days...

Last weekend I took a trip down to College Station to reunite with some girls that I had the privilege of living with in Zambia, Africa this summer. We all went to the OSU/A&M Game Saturday morning. And to clear the air...I chose to wear orange because it was the closest to Texas' burnt orange and I didn't want Jen to be the only one out of the group cheering for OSU. The final score proved that I chose the right team to support!! :)

Here are some pics from that weekend..

*Sara, Jen and Me

*The group at the game (Jen is taking the pic)

*At dinner in downtown Bryan, Tx

Texas/OU weekend was another weekend that I simply love for 2 reasons...one is that all (well a lot of them) of my Kanakuk friends come in for a reunion Friday night and then we all watch the big game the next day. And that is what we did!! I love getting to see old friends that have impacted your life so much over the years and spend quality time with them. Today a group of us watched the battle between Texas and OU! It's been a crazy week, but so thankful for ending my week with such incredible friends!! (I'll add pictures from this weekend soon...)

Life back in the States

I'm Back!!! I know it's been a little bit since I've been back on this side of the world, but it's been a bit crazy and I honestly have been a little out of it. Monday, August 4 is when I arrived back to the Lonestart State. I flew back with 3 other people...Brian, Bobby, and Cara (The 3 closest people to the front in the picture below). We were all craving a little Chickfila so we decided before we all split off to have one last meal together. It was soooo good!!

Our journey back was quite the journey to say the least...we departed from Lusaka at 2pm Sunday after noon and flew down to Johannesburg, South Africa for a 7 hour lay over. We all were trying to think of things to do so we ate an early dinner and then literally went to every shop in the airport. Once we finished we found a place to camp out for the next couple hours. I couldn't sit still and knowing I was about to sit in a 10+ hour plane ride I began walking around...soon after we made our way to our gate and got settled for the night. Our flight left Joburg at 11:30pm. All 4 of us sat together in the back of the plane and it we felt like we were in a love seat. Haha...not really but it was really fun to be sitting all together. The only negative part about that leg of the flight was there was so much turbulence that I could not fall asleep. The plane was constantly shaking thus no sleep at all. :(  We hit London about 8:30am the next morning and had to move quickly through the huge terminal to our next gate. We jumped on our last leg around 11am for another 10+ hour flight. We finally arrived back in Texas at 3:30pm! Home Sweet Home!

The hardest part about flying that many hours and adjusting to the time difference is that your body is fighting against you. I made myself stay up as long as I could and then crashed around 10:30pm...I didn't wake up until 1pm the next day...14 hrs of sleep! Praise the Lord! When I woke up I was so disoriented and didn't know where I was at first. I had to concentrate so hard on anything I did. My body has not gotten that much rest since before I left in May. Anyways, I was discussing with my Mom the next couple of days and I ended up going to get my hair cut that afternoon. Some advice I would give anyone coming back from spending longer than 1 month in a different country - Don't try to drive when you first get back!! I got on the road and was driving on the left side of the road!! Ahhh...I realized about a minute later that in the States we drive on the Right side...not the Left side as we did in Zambia. Hahaha...it was such a weird moment I had and I can't really describe it all. 

I didn't have much time to adjust until I was off to Branson, MO with my family for the weekend. We left Thursday morning and got back late Monday night. It was the first time to see one of my sisters and her family since April. It was so fun to see them and talk about my time in Zambia. I also got to see some of my best friends that had been working at Kanakuk all summer...Nika and Bekah. It was refreshing to get to sit and hear how they were doing and get caught up on life. I hadn't seen them since October of last year. However, I was struggling to sleep every night. I was so tired, but when I would go to bed I would wake up 3-4 times a night wide awake. I also had the craziest dreams. It was really strange because I was having the reverse affect that usually happens when you first get to Zambia. This past Tuesday night was the first time I actually slept through the night. After a few restful nights I now feel rested! Praise the Lord!! I can function normally and think clearly!! :) 

Visiting Bekah at Kanakuk

Most of this week I have been running around trying to get things accomplished. It's crazy how you have to take care of so many things when you are out of the country for 3 months. One of those things is my Car!! I haven't driven my car since April and I had to get it inspected, serviced, and now I have to get NEW TIRES!! The joy of owning a car! Haha. In the midst of that, I have been able to rest and relax the past 2 days. It has been so refreshing to let myself stop and look back at the summer. God has brought me through so many things and allowed me to be part of such a bigger plan and purpose that only He could orchestrate. And I believe the journey is just beginning...

Thanks again for all your prayers as I was gone these 3 months. The time will be coming soon when I return to Zambia, but the Lord knows the timing and length of my stay. As for now, I am spending time with family and friends. The rest of the staff returns tomorrow and we all will be back in our offices in Irving, Tx  next week. Please pray for the many meetings that will be taking place in regards to all our new projects and even in regards to where the Lord wants each of us. I pray each of you are blessed! Thanks again!

Love to you all!

Joy

The final days...

WOW! I cannot even believe that I will be getting on a plane in just a few short days and moving to Zambia for 3 1/2 months. God has been so good in calming my heart and preparing me for what is to come. Thank you for praying for me as I embark on a new journey. Continue to be praying for every step to go smoothly from our travel, to opening the Tree of LIFE village, to sharing the gospel with those who have never heard.

Last weekend I drove down to Waco to spend time with some of my best friends...it is always so refreshing for my heart to be with them and I truly cherish our friendship as well as the time we get to spend together. All day Saturday I got to spend the day with one of my longest and dearest friends, Julie Anna Hammett (formerly Aboussie :) ). We ate lunch at Panera and then ventured over to the suspension bridge where we walked around by the river and just talked. We haven't been able to do that since before her wedding in January so it really was a blessing to get quality time with one of my best friends. Jules has been one to always listen, support, challenge, give advice, and simply knows where you are in life. She is a woman of encouragement and full of zeal. There is never a dull moment with her and we (as well as our families) have developed a deep bond between us that only gets stronger as the years go by. We have been friends for now 17 years!!!

After that, I headed over to Johanna's apartment to stay the night with her. I had the priviledge of discipling Johanna my Senior year (her sophomore year) of college. It was and is a friendship that I cherish and will always continue to have. She and I have a unique friendship and it's as if we are sisters. We have walked through many seasons of life together and I am so blessed to have her in my life. She as grown so much and I am amazed at her wisdom, courage, joy, and discernment. She is a little sister who always wants to be in "the know" about things. I can't believe she is about to graduate and begin a new chapter in her life. We woke up the next morning and went to church at Antioch, grabbed a quick lunch and said our goodbyes.

After church, I ran over to Common Grounds (a famous coffee stop in Waco) to see Kaitlyn. She is another girl I discipled my Senior year of college. She is a junior now, but I still feel like she is a freshman. We sat at Common Grounds and really got to hear how each other was doing. Kaitlyn has become a woman of depth and one who is so intentional. When we get time together there is no messing around, but only authenticity. We chatted for awhile and then I saw a few other friends as they were stopping in to get a caffeine fix for studying. I always love coming back through Waco because it not only brings back such great memories but it allows me to see so many people I cherish and love so much!

Spending time with those girls encouraged my heart so much! Knowing they are supporting me 100% and praying for me every step of the way is more than I could ask for. I love you each and I am so thankful for how God has blessed me through you! I can't wait to hear what God does in your life over the next few weeks and months!

Thanks again to all of you!! So many of y'all have played such a significant part in my life. I know that the days, weeks, and months ahead of me will be filled with challenges, joys, decisions, opportunities, trials, triumphants, prayers, and victories.

As you all know by now, I leave Sunday, May 3 at 5:30pm from DFW. I fly to London with a 12 hour lay over and then straight south to Lusaka, Zambia. I'll hopefully post one more time before I leave.

Let the adventure begin... :)

Love you all!

Joy

Hustle and Bustle

Well life has not slowed down a bit! I have only 9 days until I head off to Zambia for 3 1/2 months. That is just crazy!!! I have been trying to work diligently in getting things done at work, but also trying to spend time with friends. Which I did have some of my closest friends come in town last weekend. It was so great to see both Stephanie and Garrett (I hadn't seen them since their wedding the beginning of March) and get to have some great fellowship with two of my favorite people. They came in on Friday afternoon and they took me out for a late birthday dinner at Cozymels (it has become of my favorite places to eat as well as a tradition when we all get together). Saturday morning we cooked breakfast and just got to talk about what we were learning about the Lord. We then packed up and went out to the lake that is near my house. We played a little football and then got to just sit by ourselves with the Lord. (Much needed by all of us!) That night we went to church at The Village and then hit up Starbucks on the way home. It was a great end to the night to sit and talk to one of my best friends about how we are both doing in the season and transition that we are in. I guess it's always a good conversation when there are both tears and laughter!! ha. Sunday we headed over to the last Camp LIFE meeting in Dallas. It was so fun to be with so many people who are coming to Zambia this summer. You could definitely feel the excitement from everyone there!

That about does it for this week. Everything is in full speed ahead! My packing has begun and my last minute trips to stores are in progress. I am heading to Waco on Saturday to several of my best friends before I leave. It's very bitter sweet, but I am so ready to be back in Zambia.

Please be praying for my health to stay up, for wisdom and discernment in making decisions, for the Lord to really use the gifts and passions in me to love on HIS kids, and for the Lord to reveal HIMSELF in new ways! It is a big summer ahead and I need all the prayers I can get.

Hope you all are doing well.

Serving HIM,
Joy

A Day at the Lake & there after...

I have been meaning to post for so long and the days have just slipped by so quick. Anyways, last Sunday, March 15 was a much needed day of rest for me...SOOO I took the day and went to a lake and spent time with the Lord!! It was by far the best day I have had in a long time. I had my backpack packed with my Bible, journal, and food. I was set! ha..but seriously, I got to walk around, sit by the lake, listen to worship music and just enjoy being outside! The Lord revealed so much to me in the hours that I spent there...and just as the scripture says..."He will wash you with the water of His word...(Eph. 5:26 paraphrased)" and that is exactly what I felt the Lord was doing that day...

1. As I was sitting by the lake I ended up reading Psalm 23:1..."The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want" or another version says, "I have all that I need"...and I came to a much deeper understanding of such a simple verse that I have known for a so long. We all know that we should not be in want because of who the Lord is to us and what He provides for us, but do we trust Him enough to give us what we need and not necessarily what we want? The is the first thing that God challenged me with...'Do you trust me enough with what I am giving you is what you need right now in your life?'

Its definitely a daily choice that we all face...

2. The second thing that I came to realize was when I was walking around this lake. I had not been out there so I was just exploring all these trails while listening to music and the song "Acres of Hope" by Shane and Shane came on. It's basically illustrating how the Lord pursues us and is leading us to a place that draws us closer to Him. He must draw us out of where we are in order to go to a place that He longs for us to be...fully in His Presence.

Here are the lyrics to the song:

He will allure her

He will pursue her

And call her out

To wilderness with flowers in His hand

She is responding

Beat up and hurting

Deserving death

But offerings of life are found instead

*Chorus*

She will sing

She will sing

Oh, to You

She will sing as in the days of youth

As You lead her away

To valleys low

To acres of hope

Acres of hope

Here in the valley

Walk close beside me

Don’t look back

For love is growing vineyards up ahead

You have called me master

And though you’re in the dark here

Call me friend

And call me lover and marry me for good

(Chorus)

How the story ends is

Love and tenderness in Him

Not safe, but worth it

So the valley's up ahead

Or the ones we live

We'll sing together

We'll sing together

This is the scripture that inspired the song:

“Lord, sustain me in the valley. Give me ears to hear

Your sweet tender voice and lead me in to

acres of hope in this dry and weary land.”

"Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. ‘In that day,’ declares the LORD,’you will call me 'my husband'; you will no longer call me 'my master. (Hosea 2:14-16)

That day at the lake was the beginning of such a great week of realizing the beautiful pursuit Jesus has for us! For so long I have known that, but it's another thing to receive it and begin to give more of yourself to the Lord. My time in the Word has been so much richer and I long for that time to just sit and quiet my spirit in the presence of the Lord! I pray that each of you take time to let your mind, heart, and spirit rest in this crazy and busy lifestyle we all live in!

Some other highlights of last week...

• I went to lunch with some of my dear Kamp friends from the past several years...Jrob, Kelly Adams, and Liz Norris...it was so fun to get to fellowship with those who you have served along in ministry together! There is just nothing quite like it!
• I headed down to Waco on Sunday to see a few of my closest friends..Johanna Scanio (and all of her roommates!) and Kaitlyn Amos. We went to church that morning at Antioch and then hit up a few of my favorite stops: Food for Thought and Common Grounds. It was so great to see all of them! It's refreshing to be around friends who just get you and who mean so much to you!

This week...

• I have hit the 40 day mark until I embark on an incredible 3 month stint in Zambia! I believe God is going to do so much and reveal more things this year than ever! Please cover the months of May, June, July, and part of August in prayer!
• 1 Year ago from today, March 24 2008, my Dad was diagnosed with Stage 3 Esophogeal Cancer and for 8 months he has been cancer free!! Praise God! He is doing okay, but really needing to gain some weight. He is at his lowest weight since surgery back in July, which puts him below 150 lbs. Please keep praying for his strength to return and energy levels to come back!

I know this is long-winded but I had a lot to write about. I am going to have to get better at this as time gets closer to when I leave, but especially when I am over in Zambia. Thanks again for keeping up with what is going on. I hope you all are doing well!

Serving HIM Alone,

Joy