Guatemala

I've been in Guatemala and El Salvador with the Northwestern women's girls basketball team the past 10 days on a missions trip and it was great. Our mission was to play basketball games and put on mini-clinics all the while sharing our testimonies and Jesus' love before, during and after our games. It was so good...the girls did fantastic. I was so proud of them. A couple of them had never flown before and or been to another country so watching them take in all the newness of the trip was so fun. And- watching them step out of their comfort zone to share what Jesus has done in their life was so fun and it made me so proud. Here are just a couple things that I was challenged with and will forever remember:

1. preparing.... missions trip take a lot of prep time- i am very thankful for Krissie, my co-leader. she was (and still is) super fantastic

2. On the Run; which is a gas stations where we encountered cross dressing prostitutes and the girls had no idea how to react. it was scary, sad and super hilarious all at the same time.

3. Lake Atilian (not sure i am spelling that right), one of the most beautiful places I've been.

4. Jaime...our leader, translator and faithful friend. He has a wonderful testimony of Gods grace and mercy and how God changed his heart and his life. He was everything we needed in a leader and translator. He brought tears to my eyes and I already miss him.

5. The National teams we played. We were considered the USA team...intense! we lost some, won some and got trampled on once.

6. The refs.

7. Kelseys testimony

8. The skit the girls did...again, it brought tears to my eyes.

9. My time in the word. It was good and re-energized me. I needed that. And am often reminded how important my personal relationship with God is.

10. The laughter at the ocean

11. The El Salvador and Guatemala children...they were so cute. it makes me wanna be a mom super bad. This little 4 month old girl already had a mom, which was a good thing...cuz if she didn't i would have taken her for my own.

12. The laughter in the van rides.

13. How many times i thought we were going to die in the those van rides.

14. the moth that attacked my head

15. spending time at the orphanage with kids that have HIV... and how i sow my team/girls step out and love on them. it was great.

16. Thelma, William and Emil: our other 3 faithful friends and leaders. Thelma is a fantastic cook. William is hilarious. And Emil has a passion for Guatemala like never before.
17. the village: and how little some people have and yet how happy they are. I fell in love with a little boy there and he gave me a red flower when we left. loved it! meetings like that remind me that i NEED to be so thankful for what i have and be more willing to give with a grateful heart. (oh, watching the girls use the bathrooms there was pretty memorable as well.)
*of course there are many other things that i loved about our trip, things that i will remember for a long time and that challenged me in my own walk with God. but...

i graduated today!!! good stuff. ceremony was fine. there were lots of people that were graduating. sow Mr. Moye there, yeah, he was my high school Principal (or something like that) before he moved to the big city. He still funny as all get out. thanks dad and mom for coming down to support me. and for loving me all the time unconditionally- you rock. and thanks for dinner- it was super good, right? (we went to Axel's Bonfire grill) oh yes, carey....thanks so much for all your support as well. i couldnt have finished up with you!!!! thanks jay and jen for coming to dinner with me. love your support....and like always- YOU ROCK MY FACE OFF.

I AM OUT OF TOWN IN GUATEMALA FOR 10 DAYS. CHECK BLOG FOR UPDATES, THAT IS IF I AM AROUND A COMPUTER. WE WILL SEE. I AM EXCITED TO GET OUT OF THE STATES FOR A SPELL AND AM EVEN MORE EXCITED TO GO WITH THE BALL TEAM AND SPREAD THE LOVE OF JESUS AROUND. OUT-

Thursday Nights are back again!

i realized something today that made me really smile. i opened my back pack and removed this maroon Concordia folder that has been in my bag for 2 years. it is full of random papers with a bunch of pass words written on the side of it. it has syllabus after syllabus in it and finally i took it out of my back pack NEVER TO BE PUT BACK IN IT. i also realized tonight that for the first time in 2 years i have my Thursday nights free again. seriously, i was so excited to do nothing and everything all at the same time. but instead i had to show up to a new student orientation for school. so, next week i will get to enjoy my first Thursday night off in a super long time. it made me smile a lot to remove my folder. I've been working on my capstone paper the past month and it really hasn't hit me yet the i am finished with my master program... A PAY RAISE IS MY NEAR FUTURE. i am proud to say that i finished it. i am proud to say that i did really well, overall. HONORS STUDENT EVEN (well that is pending my the out come of my capstone paper) but i had to admit this past class writing this paper has taken every single ounce of life right out of me. the past three days I've been fighting something... went to urgent care yesterday and the doc told me that i am fine...clean bill of health. but i CANT seem to stay awake. yesterday i fell asleep in the shower, than in class with students watching me, left work early and slept for a total of 18 hours straight. yeah. i woke up today and felt way better. actually had energy to teach; and teach well. but, i got home today and took a 2 hour nap. and i am guessing the way i feel i will go to bed soon (and it's 8:30). anyways- this master program has been very intense. hard and a ton of work. but - I DID IT! I AM DONE. SUPER COOL, RIGHT? I walk next Saturday the 16th and am excited to celebrate it. today i realized that i really appreciate Thursday nights. and man oh man am i going to enjoy having them back again. sweet; right????

last weekend

little brother...not so little.these are most of the Venhuizen cousins. missing in action: jason, charlie, tim, clint and josh
these are all the Venhuizens with spouses. notice: me and jeremy dont have spouses yet so we are pretending to be each others spouse!!!!

had a big family get together last weekend to meet Jack. Jack is the newest member to the Venhuizen clan...although he is a McConaghay! Kim, the only female cousin that grew up with me on Venhuizen Road had a super cute baby this past December (i think). they were in town and we decided to have a big family 'baby shower' for them. it was good stuff. lots of food to eat, lots of noise, lots and lots of kids (little and big both) running around, and a super competitive game of steal sticks. if you don't know what steal sticks are than you just didn't grow up on VenhuizenVille road. it's a fantastic game....and easy to play. we had a good time in Steve and Kizzy's back yard playing! the crazy thing is that the batteries in my camera ran out so i didn't get any pictures of Jack....and/or family. just of the crew of Venhuizen cousins.