Greenville, NC

 Meet Pastor Ed, the youth pastor, and his wife, Rachel :)

I wish I could've put a clip of him talking on my blog for you

to hear!  He was from London & had an awesome British accent!

 We stayed with the Bray Family this week..

they're fostering twins, Doug & Mattie :)

 Doug was so funny!  He said all of us girls were his girlfriends! haha :)

 We had the War in the cafeteria, but since that was

used during the day, we had chapel in the auditorium.

The school had a good size student body..

probably over 100 in the Jr./Sr. High!

 Trash Ball in the gym!

 Miss Nicole celebrated her birthday this week! :)

Do you like the girl's "party hats"?  They're very creative! ;)

The pastor even brought in a cake for chapel and had

everyone sing to her!  That was great! ;)

The girls and I had fun decorating her little spot :)

 I was glad that Nicole's favorite candy was Snickers..

since we decorated her desk with them! :)

 Tug Away! :)

 Meet Britteny.. Rachel Hollandsworth's twin!!! :)

 Brittany & Me

(This was a different Brittany from the one above..

there seemed to be a lot of them this week!)

 Leeza & Laci

Two sisters and very sweet girls.. they seemed very

open to the Lord's working in their hearts this week.

Leeza seemed to get very close to us girls..

I know it was really hard on her when we left.

 Nicole & Rebekah (the pastor's daughter)

Leeza & Me

Some of our team was just talking about this the other day.

Even though, on this side of Heaven, we may not know those lives 

who have been impacted through the Lord using us, or what the Lord

ends up doing with their lives.. but I do look forward to the day when

we stand in Heaven and see those lives who have been touched through the 

Lord using us.. it's an incredible and yet sobering thought!  May each day.. 

moment.. we be used of Christ to impact those around us for eternity!

Weekend visit to Carrboro :)

 On our way to Greenville, NC, our team stopped over

in Carrboro, NC, for Saturday night.  It just so happened

that I have some really good friends who live there! ;)

It was wonderful to see the Webb Family again! :)

 We got in Saturday evening, and Mrs. Webb had a delicious

dinner all prepared for us :)  This is the first time Mrs. Van had

met Pastor & Mrs. Webb.. I think they hit it off really well! :)

They talked and talked at supper, and then even took a walk

afterward while Dr. Jim and Pastor Webb went and toured downtown!

I was very glad that they were all having such a good time! :)

 While Amanda and Nicole rested at the house,

Jack, the girls, and I went to a nearby park to go for a walk.. 

and it ended up that we went frog hunting, too! :)

 I know this sounds prissy, but I didn't really wanna get my hands

all dirty and slimy before we got back in the car, but Jack didn't mind..

she was picking up frogs left and right!  I think the girls really enjoyed it! :)

 The girls kept pointing out several things to us..

(Remember Jack?! How could we ever forget! ;))

Stephanie was trying to point out the "bubble".. 

I was looking and looking & then we realized she was

talking about this frog that kept croaking and had a "bubble"

in his throat! :)  Pretty funny! :)

 I was SO glad that we got to stay for Sunday School

and Sunday morning service.. of course, we just had to

take pictures before we left! :)

 I won't tell you the complaints I kept getting from a 

certain someone when we wanted to take this picture! ;)

I love the Webb Family.. they're just precious! :)

 

Amanda, Nicole, and Jack have really hit it off too :)

I'm glad that we could all stay the weekend together,

although it went much too quickly!

It was so much fun to see the Webb Family again.. all of them! :)

I thank the Lord for special friendships that He gives us..

a little taste of Heaven on earth, I think! :)

"Off" Week in Taylors, SC :)

 This week, our team was in Taylors/Greenville, SC area.

We didn't have a school we were actually ministering in

this week, but I still stayed busy doing school with my girls :) 

On Monday night, we helped Fellowship Baptist Church in their 2:52 club.

 It actually worked out that my friend, Jennifer, who goes

to church there, was home this week on Spring break!

It was so much fun to be able to spend some time with

her and her family this week.. they're precious and lots of fun! :)

 

Me, Jennifer, and Josh (Jennifer's brother)

We just got done enjoying Chick-fil-A! :)

 We also celebrated St. Patrick's Day when

we were there!  Carly and Jackie, friends from

Wisconsin, sent us girls a package with candy,

socks, and St. Patrick Day hats!

 

 Cozy socks! 

(Or "yummy socks", as Mom would say :))

 

Here's the St. Patty's Day crew! :)

We had fun and wore our hats to lunch :)

 

Janna was commenting that her ankle was bothering her

and before we knew it, Miss Amanda was to her rescue! :)

 Spring was in full bloom!  It was BEAUTIFUL!

I especially loved these big, white trees!

(I'm sure they have a name, but I'm not quite sure what they are :))

 "Off week"?!  Nah!  Let's have a recital! :)

 They did a great job!

Their talent just amazes me!

Of course, Nicole and Amanda have done an excellent

job in teaching them as well.. :)

 Amanda, Nicole, Annaleese, and I went for a walk after

the recital.  Stephanie and Janna had gone to spend the night 

at their grandparents, and since Leesie had been sick, 

she had to stay with her parents, so we all went for a walk!  

It was such a beautiful evening! :)

Amanda met a little friend along the way.. :)

Needless to say, I took a little detour and kept walking

while she petted her furry little friend..

I like animals for the most part, but cats.. YUCK! ;)

 On our way back to the church we took a detour by the graveyard.. 

it was so interesting and sad how many babies were buried there.

 At lunchtime one day, we went outside to

enjoy our food.. this is where Janna decided to sit :)

 Gotta love the warm sunshine!!! :)

Rose Elliott, a lady from the church who I'd actually stayed with

the spring before when our team was there for Revival meetings,

had some of us girls over to her house on Friday night for pizza,

games, and fellowship!  We had a fun time! :)

The War in Florence, SC

 

This week we stayed with the Lee Family, some friends

who I met when I went to BCM my freshman year.

Mr. Lee's job moved them down South, and I was glad

to be able to go to the church they now go to and stay

with them for the week!  They're a precious family!

 Their little boy, Andrew, kindly let me use his room :)

 Amanda & I worked with 1st to 3rd grade for Sunday School..

I just love teaching kids! :)

 This picture is for Stephanie & her girls (some friends from FL).

I thought you'd appreciate seeing a picture of the purse that y'all

gave to me!  Thank you so much for your sweet, sacrificial gift!

 We went out with a couple from the church for Sunday lunch.

I really enjoyed talking with Mr. Anderson and hearing all

about how he used to work for Presidents Nixon and Johnson!

 The restaurant feels like you're in an

outside cafe but it's all inside!  It was really neat!

 Guess who showed up on Sunday night and surprised me?!

I was SO surprised!  I was up practicing for church that night

when lo and behold my dear friend, Jacquelyn, walks in the door!!

I thought for sure my eyes were playing tricks on me!

It was so good to see her!  I started crying but then had to pull

myself together because it's near impossible to cry & sing! :)

Jack, thanks SO much for coming & surprising me!  It was great!!

 Jack even helped lug us around and took us recruiting :)

We went to this library to pick someone up.. isn't it awesome?!

So, I wanted to get a good picture of the building, so I walked

right out onto the front lawn to try and get the best picture.

Jack informed me afterwards that there was a big sign saying

to keep off the grass! haha Well, I got a picture anyway! :)

 We enjoyed Chick-fil-A's new Banana Pudding Shake!

It was pretty yummy.. if you like banana's! ;)

Things like this make teaching all worth it! :)

 Here's Jack reading to Anna, the youngest of the Lee's children.

She'll make a great mother someday, don't you think?! ;)

 Jack & her little buddy, Andrew

 Jack & I with Andrew & Anna, the last two of the four Lee children

 You like my new Easter hat?! ;)

 This week there was no Christian school with the church

so we did the War instead of the War of Special Forces

and had just two teams, the Navy and the Army.

We only had two nights of the War, Wednesday and Thursday.

Wednesday we had almost 30 teens, which isn't too bad with a

youth group of about 5 but it's still not too good, either :)

Praise the Lord, though, that Thursday night the Lord really

brought them in.. we had almost double!

 Amanda & Anna

 Friday night's crowd!

 Taylor & me

She was a girl from the church youth group who also

attended a large, public school.  She was faithful to invite

out her friends & ended up passing out over 80 brochures!

On Wednesday night I had the opportunity to talk with Davina

and lead her to the Lord.  It was very special!

Then on Thursday night I talked with a girl after the message

who had raised her hand but had not responded to the invitation.

She said that she did want to talk so I took her into a private room

where we could have some quiet :)  I found out that she was a girl

who'd been talked to the night before by a lady from the church

and Mrs. Van, but she had not accepted the Lord as her Savior.

I knew people had been praying for her, so as I started to talk with

her, I was praying for wisdom and the Holy Spirit to convict.

I had asked her why she had not yet accepted the Lord, as she

was clearly under conviction.  She said that she was not sure she was

ready to commit herself.  I asked her what exactly that meant.

I told her that the Lord wasn't waiting for us to be perfect in

order for us to be saved, but that we could come to Him as sinners,
and, in fact, what need would we have to be saved if we were perfect?!
It seemed to click in her mind as the Lord gave wisdom & words to talk
with her.  It was so special to see her face lighten up with understanding
as tears trickled down her cheeks..
That night Toni came to Christ as a sinner and accepted Him as her Savior
to wash away those sins.. Praise the Lord for His miraculous saving work!

Anna & Me

The Lee kids & Me

We ended up having Friday off because the Vans left to go

to Charlotte where Dr. Jim would fly out early Friday morning

to preach at a teen conference in Michigan. It was a nice,

relaxing day :)  We slept in, went bowling, played games,

and ate, of course! :)

Playing "Catch Phrase"

(Couldn't resist putting this picture on.. such a classic! ;))

I love seeing Nicole laugh this hard! :)

Some were just too exhausted to stay awake.. :)

It's pretty amazing that he could fall asleep amidst all that noise!

Nicole & the Lee girls

Such a cute picture!

Mr. Lee also let the guys ride his motorcycle!

A pretty brave thing considering some had never ridden one before! :)

Getting ready to watch some Stewardship Skits! :)

Couldn't resist taking a picture of the guys with their pink blanket! ;)

 

The End :)