Back to School! lalala

WE MADE THE SHORTHORN! (campus newsaper :))

School is back in full swing here at UTA! I'm super excited about a new semester and especially excited to meet new freshmen on campus. This year I'm joining one of the Residence Hall Bible study groups that targets mostly freshmen. Man.... the memories of when I first walked on a college campus and went to all my first Aggie events. It was all so exciting! So, now puttin myself in new students' shoes.... I get excited all over again for them! Praying many will come to know Jesus in a deeper way. Love being a part of what God is doing on our campus. Man, I have the best job ever.

Last night we had our first WideAwake (worship/Bible study) and had over 300 people in attendance. So fun!

Meet two of my new roommates! I'm living with 3 UTA students/1 BSM intern this year! We get to live in an awesome house (built in 1916 with the first ever outdoor bathing tub ---aka swimming pool of Arlington, TX). I'm excited to be close to campus so we can open our home to reach out to students. For my 27th bday we had our first house party... many more to come too! (with college girls it's like a party 24/7 with the drop-ins).... yea. I feel young again!

Let's be honest.... I get to eat pizza at least once a week, stay up til midnight, sleep in (sometimes), eat free food on campus, talk to people about Jesus, and DON'T have to go to class or study. I have an awesome job.

Bringin' it back!!!

So, I'm thinking I'll re-enter the blogging world. I've never stopped reading all you fun people's blogs... but post-Thailand I didn't feel like my life had enough blog-worthy material. After being back in Texas ten months.... I've decided my life is exciting enough to write about again. Ha. OK.... so fo' reals. Be watchin'. Next blog will be about my life at camp in Oklahoma! I'm here for the summer. We have thousands of youth come through each week. It's pretty much like a small, crazy town around here. I'll be up here in OK til the end of July. Lookin' forward to the fall back at UTA as well! I'll keep yall posted on all that. ;)

HAPPY SUMMER!!!!

BSM Jar Wars 2010

Since being back in the States, I've been havin a blast working with college students at UTA. My main role on BSM staff is to mentor students, share the gospel, and encourage them to live missionally wherever they are. Some of our students are going overseas this summer... which is awesome. Here's a short video of the fundraiser we did to raise money to send them around the globe!

Grace International School

Hey yall! It's been a while since I've blogged... mostly because my Thai days have passed! Now I'm back in Texas enjoying working on a college campus and traveling to other campuses for student mobilization--- sharing with them opportunities to go abroad and ways they can be of impact here in the States while they're in school too.

Recently, I received more info about the school I taught at in Thailand. The kids there are a huge part of my heart and the families they represent. Hope this will remind you to pray for their future and wisdom for the GIS staff and school board.

video of Grace kids!!!

Grace International School in Chiang Mai, Thailand, offers affordable, high quality education to the children of Christian workers in Southeast Asia. One-third of the world’s population, more than two billion people, live within a three hour plane flight from Chiang Mai, making it a strategic location. Grace has been in existence for 10 years and has served more than 1,500 students from more than 20 countries. The ministry of GIS enables hundreds of missionaries to minister in SE Asia.

A recent lawsuit brought against Grace International School has jeopardized the future use of the current school facilities. This suit was filed by the Nittibukon, a neighborhood association legally recognized by the government, charging that GIS had purchased the current property and facilities illegally.

When Grace purchased the property, all papers were properly filed in government offices and the title deeds were legally transferred to the school. All proper due diligence was taken to ensure the legality of the purchase. Due to the enactment of a recent law regarding consumer protection, the Nittibukon claimed what they believe is their right to have the property given to them.

In August, 2009, the court ruled against Grace International School, requiring the school to:

• Abandon the facility and turn the land deeds over to them
• Restore the facilities to their original condition
• Pay a fine in excess of $140,000

Grace will appeal this decision and is working to pursue a just resolution in this case. Should the appeals courts not rule in our favor, GIS will be forced to vacate the facilities in the next year. It is therefore vitally urgent that the school acquire/obtain a new facility. However, regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit, it is clear that GIS needs to relocate in order to continue to grow in the coming years. The current facility is bursting at the seams and admittance of new students has been limited/restricted.

We ask for your prayers! Please pray for God’s provision for GIS, as well as wisdom for school administrators as they guide the school during this challenging time. GIS must raise $10 million dollars to purchase property and build a new campus. But we serve a GREAT GOD who goes before us! We are thankful for God’s provision these last ten years, and we look forward to seeing how God will provide for the coming years.

Today I took Nat and his family to back to the doctor... we learned a little more about the physical therapy he needs. He also received Botox injections which will stay in his muscles for 6 months to aid in his therapy. We'll go back next Thursday to get leg braces fitted so he can begin to strengthen his muscles and learn how to walk!

Video Translation :)

Me: Hello, Nat!
Nat: Hello!
Me: Where are we?
Nat: We're at the hospital
Me: What are we doing here?
Nat: About to get some shots! (8 Botox injections)
Me: When you are able to walk, where do you want to go?
Nat: America!
Me: Really? You want to go to America... to visit me, right? You should go to the beach too!
Nat: Yeah
Me: OK.... see ya later!
Nat: OK.
Me: God bless you!

The sand between my toes...

What is the first thing you want to do when you learn how to walk? My 11 year-old friend, Nat, answered, "Go to the beach!" Nat wants to know what it's like to run along the shore and feel the sand between his toes. Nat was born pre-mature with cerebral palsy. His family lives in a village about 50 kilometers south of Chiang Mai. I've known Nat for about 2 years and not a day passes by that he doesn't have a huge smile across his face.

A few weeks ago I began to ask Nat's mom about what help they had received from doctors... just wondering why Nat wasn't able to walk. Through that conversation I found out that he had never been able to receive proper medical care for his case as the doctors at public hospitals wouldn't see him past one visit. The family was turned away by many doctors as they couldn't afford appropriate treatment. Nat has never been given hope of walking.

This year one of my friends read Nat the story of when Jesus healed a man's paralyzed legs. Nat smiled from ear to ear just thinking of the possibility of walking after being in a wheel chair his whole life. My friends and I began to pray for Nat's healing. After talking with my family in Texas, my younger brother and his friends were able to raise $1,000 in a one-day garage sale to help pay for Nat's medical care.

For the first time in his life, Nat heard a doctor tell him that he could learn how to walk. Hope was given. Nat and his mom were brimming with happiness as we left that hospital two weeks ago. This Friday we start Botox injections, leg brace fittings, and physical therapy. Nat has learned that the money paying for his healthcare has been sent by the Ulimate Healer. Nat is now even praying on his own for complete healing. His child-like faith speaks louder than words. The entire village is watching and waiting for the day Nat will walk.

I can't wait for the day when I can come back to Thailand and take Nat to the beach!!! Today to celebrate, we went to see the aquarium at the mall in Chiang Mai. You'll see Nat above taking pictures of the fish that maybe one day he'll get to see in the ocean.

If you'd like to contribute to Nat's medical care, there is need for further finances for his physical therapy over the next year. If you'd like to help, you can e-mail [email protected] for more information.

Road Trip to Lampang, Thailand

Here we are in Lampang on THE SLIDER!!! :) We drove two hours to slide down this crazy hill! ha. It was fun. Our day trip with friends from our community center included a stop at the mechanic shop, great lunch eating Guay Thiaw, desert at a Rotee "drive-in", at least four U-turns on the roads, shopping at a ceramic shop, sliding down The Slider, and shopping at the night Walking Street. What a fun day!!!

After about only an hour at The Slider, we were worn out. Just walking back up that hill can take the wind outta ya! I may just have to fly back here for next years trip. ;)

Singin' with our friends in the village!

Creepers.... or not

One of my favorite words that Jenn and Heather refer to on their blogs is "creepers." I think I met the Thailand version today. I can hardly think of one single time where I felt unsafe around someone here in Thailand... maybe that's because I'm naive. But that's not the point of this post.

Today I went to the American Consulate to get new passport pages added to my little book since I'm filled up. I'll be taking a couple trips up to a big country north of here the week before I go back to the States. I now officially only have one month until I leave Thailand for these trips and then I'll be on Texas soil by July 24th. Yeee-haaaaw!

OK... so the creepers...

Today, when I was filling out my application, standing in line, and sitting in the waiting area.... 6 of the 12 people waiting there as well wouldn't stop asking me questions. They were like super nice. Nosy nice. Wanted to know my whole life story nice. Creepy nice. Spoke English perfectly and could understand every word I said nice. I was trying to think back to 3 years ago.... standing in a public government building somewhere in Texas.... do normal people ask that many questions? Do I ask back? Do I look at the floor the whole time to avoid eye contact with potential new question-askers? Should I be genuinely nice back and they'll just know I'm not a creeper myself? AAAHHH... the questions in my brain wouldn't stop. Then about every other second, I got a chill up and down my spine. I was creeped out.

OK... so out of all the people there in line, I was the only American girl. There were two guys about my age. The rest were older men living with Thai wives or girlfriends. Three years here and I can't seem to shake what goes through my head when I know what most of these men come to Thailand for. I really think the answer today was that they're just lonely. They finally were able to talk to someone in English... tried to find any commonality possible... like their great aunt died in Texas.

So like any non-creepy nice person would be... I answered their questions, smiled, and wished them a nice day.

I sure hope my brain is not weirded out by strangers in America. The moral of the story... I think most creepers just need a good friend... I'm just not sure I'm that person.