What we've been doing this weekend and Mission Photo Monday!

Well, first off, we have been flying kites this weekend. It was super fun and Michael and Julia loved it.

Secondly, my parent's accidently wore matching clothes one day this weekend, and I thought it was cute...

...so I took some pictures of them when they weren't looking.

Disclaimer: my parents do not EVER intentionally match each other. That would be frightfully cheesy I'm afraid.

Thirdly, and on to this week's Mission Photo Monday, what do you think is going on in our living room?!?!?

(Can you see me sitting in the corner with my amazing friend, Lizzie?)

Take a guess at WHAT this mission was! I'll tell you soon. :)

Mission Photo Monday: a little mission

Mother Teresa Orphanage, Ethiopia
Kidmia, Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Walliso, Ethiopia

These pictures were taken last summer in Ethiopia.

When someone says "Ethiopia", or, "Africa", particularly referring to the Eastern and Horn of Africa area, what do you envision? Famine? Deserts? Desolation? Barren land? Death?

While all of these things are accurate descriptions of some parts of of Africa some of the time, my love for Eastern Africa and the African people drives me to want my friends and family to see the beauty of Africa. So, a little mission that I have whenever the opportunity presents itself is to share the beauty that the Lord has given to His children in Africa.

"The Earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world, and those who dwell there in, for He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers."

~Psalm 24:1~

There is no part of the Creation that does not reflect the glory of the Lord. Even in the wilderness, we see His face. And usually it is in the wilderness that we see Him most clearly of all.

Mission Photo Monday: Ecaudor

In 2005, my dad went on a mission trip to Ecuador.

It was one of the trips that God used to prompt our family to adopt as Dad witnessed poverty at the 3rd world level.

All of the pictures from his trip make me amazingly happy, because my dad has the biggest heart of service of anyone that I've ever met. He would (and has) happily give the shirt off of his back to anyone in need and best of all, he would do it in secret. The biggest lesson that my dad has taught me about service is that true love and true servant hood is humble.

Mission photo Monday

This Mission Photo was taken only about 30 minutes away from my house, but I think it was probably the most fulfilling mission experience that I've ever been a part of. A team of youth and a adults from my church and school spent a week at "camp" this summer with a group of Muslim refugees from Africa whose people group and name I can't share. :( We spent 5 days just hanging out with them and with each other and I witnessed my dear friends sharing the Gospel to the kids and to each other with out EVER using words to express God's love. The camp and the people were RADIANT with the Gospel, so much more, even, than if we had been able to use our tongues. The purpose of this adventure was to build relationship with these people so that eventually we will be able to tell them about Christ and that truth will fall on ears that are open and prepared to accept because they already trust us. We have followed through twice so far since last June and spent a day with them on two different occasions. We are working on maybe taking a tip to the zoo in March and then planning another week long camp for July.

The point?

I've always heard "you can be a missionary wherever you live, you don't have to travel far away to share the Gospel".... and that always kind of got to me, because I was actually burdened to travel far away. However, not to belittle 3rd world mission trips, sometimes the most amazing things really do happen right in our own towns. I think its harder for us to accept that because we aren't always looking to see and be the hands of Christ while we're still in our comfort zones. At least it is for me.

.....Tuesday???

So, I wanted to start doing Mission Photo Monday from
http://iamone143million.blogspot.com/, but its already Tuesday. I missed it. Darn.



Can I get away with doing Mission Photo Tuesday this week , and try for next Monday???

I realized that I haven't really posted much at all about my first mission trip to Africa. When I was 11 years old my mom and I travelled with some people from my church to South Africa and Kenya for two weeks on a mission trip with African Leadership: http://www.africanleadership.org/.

That trip totally changed my world and God used it to inspire my love for orphans as well as the African people.

This is me and my friend Patience who lives in South Africa. She is the same age as me. She is the exact same height as me. She has a family. She is a fabulous artist. She is a Christian. I love her very much. And I have never seen or heard from her again since we spent a few hours together that day.

Patience is the very first person ever who taught me the difference between a project and a relationship. Between a statistic and a person. Between thinking that mission trips are all about me coming in to save the day and me knowing that mission trips often involve me being blessed by the Lord and His people far more than I could ever bless them.

Patience was the first person to teach me that.

I can't wait to see her in heaven.