Just Simply Amazing

click on the link below…

All I Really Want for Christmas

     When I watched this video I couldn’t help but thank God (numerous times) for the family that I have. So many times I forget that there are other children in the world, all over the world, who don’t have parents to love on them or tuck them in bed. And they either don’t have siblings to play with or their siblings were taken somewhere else. They are constantly waiting, wishing, and hoping to be loved, to be cherished, and to have someone they can talk to and depend on–while each of us get that and more…every single day.

     While we are praying we will receive a new IPOD, the latest movie on DVD, or a hundred dollars from somebody this Christmas, all these children want is a loving family. I didn’t write this to make you go on a guilt trip, but just to remind you that your family is special. Through a strong, Christian family God can accomplish many great things, like He did with a certain family a long time ago. Jesus was born to a virgin, then He grew up and became the Ultimate Sacrifice to save each and every one of us. He did that so that you and I could be part of God’s family.

     So as you celebrate Christmas this year, look around you, feel the love and joy, and thank God for what He has given you.

Merry Christmas,

Brianna

Hello Friends and Family!

Right now my family and I are in New Mexico visiting my Dad’s side of the family for Christmas. We are so excited that God worked things out so that we could come up here for the holidays. There’s no snow up here yet, but we all (ok well probably just all of the kids) are praying that we will have a white Christmas.

Very quickly I want to share with you a challenge that God has laid on my heart. For the past couple of weeks, I have been thinking about Christians and the different ways that we should be acting or things that we should/shouldn’t be doing as Christians. Through a series of events, I realized that there are tons of people who say they are Christians, but then act just like every other person in the world.

In the Bible God tells us that we should be set apart for Him, consecrated, holy, pure, encouraging, of one accord, thankful in everything and for everything. He also tells us to fear not, keep His commandments, go and make disciples of all nations, be a witness to the lost, glorify Him in all that we do, be courageous, stand up for what is right, seek His face, be strong and valiant, be wise and gentle, take care of widows and orphans, do not mock others, be perfect, be ready, and then to not love the world, but be a light to it. He tells us to be different.

Be honest, how many of you keep all of God’s commandments everyday? Are you always encouraging to everyone? Do you always stand up for what is right? Do you always lay aside your pride to go and do whatever God asks you to do?”

To the parents…I know it may be hard, but are you willing to go against the flow to do the right thing for your children? Can you be the role model and ask God for help when you feel that you don’t have the strength to tell your middle schooler or high schooler “no” to something, again and again and again? I speak from experience when I tell you the more your kid fights you on the latest rule or restriction, the better it is for them if you just go ahead and follow through with whatever you say.

To my fellow teenagers…Can you set aside time in your schedule to do something that lasts for eternity? Could you maybe be more encouraging to your friends and family or show more respect to your parents, siblings, and authorities? Can you stand up for what is right and stay pure in every way? I know this is hard, but just think about it.

To the younger kids…Are you able to be thankful in every circumstance–even if you feel you are being left out of something or are being bossed around? Can you remember to obey, love, and respect your parents?

Just by how you act, react, speak, think, dress, and other things, would people alwaysbe able to tell that there is something different about you? I challenge you to think about these things and to then go and make a difference in this world, to go and be such a bright light that there would be no way people could miss seeing Christ shining through you.

In Him,

Brianna

Psalm 15:1-5

“Lord, who may dwell in Your sanctuary? Who may live on Your holy hill?

He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellow man but honors those who fear the Lord, who keeps his oath even when it hurts, who lends money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.

Journey to Bethlehem…a night to be remembered.

Last night our whole family and some other people from the T.C. went to a church that was putting on a little Christmas pageant/interactive walk-through. It was really an amazing experience! Basically, what the church does is takes you for a walk through some woods while acting out what it would be like to travel to Bethlehem on that special Christmas night, so very long ago.

When you first get there you receive a Hebrew name, (I was Judith which means, “The Praise of the Lord”), and then you wait for your “tour guide” to lead you through the whole experience. To get to the path, we rode an “iron camel” (a.k.a. a tractor and trailer) and then we started our walk. We experienced everything from angels to Zealots, we saw Mary’s parents, Joseph’s parents, shepherds, the wise men, King Herod, the busy market place, and we even had a run-in with some Roman soldiers. Every time we came across some of the soldiers we had to show them our “papers” (the papers with our Hebrew names) and if you lost your paper you get thrown into the dungeon (thankfully that did not happen to any of us), but my advice to you is never, never, never, EVER fold your “papers” because if you do then the soldiers will make you stand in front of everyone, stand on one leg, then hop up and down on the other leg, hop up and down on one leg while spinning in circles, and then either walk backwards for a while or say the Alphabet backwards from “X” to “I”. (and yes, I do speak from experience *grin*…I chose the backward walk) At the end of our journey we wound up in a stable with Joseph and Mary and their baby boy…Jesus. The whole thing was a great reminder of what is was really like to live back in those times and what it was like for Mary and Joseph to leave their home and go to Bethlehem.

I was thinking, a lot of the time people just see the Bible as something of old, something that happened a long time ago and something that doesn’t pertain to the “now” of life. But it does…the Bible is still very alive and active today and many of the things that happened back then to people happen now, but in a more modern way. I mean, take a look at Mary and Joseph. They had to take a long journey to get to their destination and we also have many long, hard journeys that we have to make in life. Just as Mary and Joseph trusted God to help them and be with them along the way, we also need to trust God and believe that “in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Another thing is, sometimes, when we get to our destination things don’t always turn out like we want them too or like we think they will. Joseph and Mary ended up in a STABLE of all places! I’m pretty sure that Mary hadn’t planned to give birth to the Prince of Peace, our Emmanuel, in a stable that was filled with animals. Just like Mary and Joseph, and like with my family, when you follow God you can end up in places you could never have imagined and, you know what, most times those places are the best because you are exactly where God wants you to be, following His perfect plan, and in His ever-loving hands. There is no better place to be.

So this Christmas, remember what was done for you. Remember Jesus, the Heavenly Child, and that His sole purpose in life was to grow up glorifying God and then, in the end, He was the the Ultimate Sacrifice and He died for you. He could have called the whole thing off and just forgot about you, but no…He loved you so much that He came to earth to save you. He was and is the greatest Gift of all. Remember that.

Love to all,

Brianna

Hello to all of my faithful readers!    

I am sorry that I have not written in so long, but these last weeks have been our busiest ever! So much has happened that there’s no way that I can write down everything for you. I wish I could, but there is just no way. (You’ll just have to wait until I get back…grin). Anyway, our character session is over. We had a close down party last Thursday, a birthday party for Amy last Friday, and right now I am in Indiana visiting my mom’s side of the family for Thanksgiving.

These past few months have been totally amazing! I have met many, many incredible people and kids in the schools and at our different bible clubs. I have so manystories to tell you all sometime…stories about Brandon, Rawaa, Tyshawn, Eric, Dale, Tish, our team, birthdays, community service projects, grub worms, fun outings, people at the training center, and times when our strength was gone and God renewed us. Every trial, joy, and event that has God brought me through has changed and grown me in so many different ways that I can’t even begin to describe how close to God I have drawn. All I can say is that He is just simply amazing.

At first going to live in OKC was hard and frustrating and I had no idea why God wanted me and my family to be up here during this time, but now that I have gone through the character training and have met so many kids and hopefully made even a small difference in their lives I can now truthfully say that I have learned that the best place to be is in the middle of His will. If you are in God’s will then He can bless you in so many ways…like in the grinning faces of kids who are happy to see someone who actually cares for them, or in their joyous laughter after you just held them and talked to them during one of their let downs or heartaches, in their sad eyes that light up as you sit down to eat lunch with them, in their hugs and high fives as you walk down the hall, or in their voices as they tell you that they want to “grow up to be just like you”…it is so rewarding. I can’t imagine what I would have missed out on if we had decided to stay in Texas and skip out on these once-in-a-life-time opportunities. (Now that does not mean that I wanted to ditch all of you back home…grin…I want you all to come up here and live with me.)

Even though teaching for two and a half months was very rewarding all of the interns, including me, are now sick or have just gotten over some sort of sickness. We are pretty sure that we have become sick because of the spiritual warfare that was raging the whole time we were teaching. (we didn’t realize it, but we were definitely on the front battle lines and being in the firing range 24/7 is very draining) Anyway, please pray for all of us because being sick is not fun. Pray for me because I have a racking cough, hardly any voice, and very little energy to do anything. In fact, I slept the whole twelve hours that it took for us to get to Indiana this past Saturday and mom has graciously let me sleep in everyday until 1:00 p.m. I am getting better, but I still need prayers.

I’ll talk to you all later! Love you guys,

Brianna

          Standing beside a bubbly stream, in a valley between two lush green hills, wearing my flowing, pure white dress I witnessed the most wonderful thing in the world.  While the tall grass was waving in a flowing breeze that still carried the refreshing smell of rain, I spun around and around making the dandelion fluff swirl and twirl around me.  As I became dizzy, I looked for and then found a smooth, dry rock.  I sat down, spread my skirt around me, and thought, “God, you are so amazing. You have made everything here so beautiful!”  A deep, loving, and gentle voice coming from right behind my shoulder answered, “Why thank you. I knew you would like it.”  I slowly stood up and turned my head towards the Voice and then I saw Him; He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead, “It is all for you, My child.”  Shielding my eyes from the sun’s bright rays shining down and warming the world around me, I looked up to see His face and realized—He was gone.  I frantically looked around, trying to see where He had disappeared to, when I heard something like a whisper on the wind say to me, “I have not left. I am all around you and I will always be with you.”  Comforted by those last words, I moved down from my rock and once again twirled in the tall, waving grass, rejoicing in the true love I had discovered on that incredibly special day.

While up here in OKC I have met with God in new, amazing, and beautiful ways. How and where do You meet with Him?

Brianna

While visiting with new acquaintances we often get to share our story of how God has been working in our lives.  The questions of “what type of work do you do?” and “what are you doing here at the training center?” obviously come up early in the conversation.  We can’t help but laugh as I begin to cast my thirty-second version of our daily schedule.  God has placed us in an environment where every day is a new adventure.  In the morning I may be talking with investors or business owners coordinating a large funding transaction to a company providing pure water or building homes in Africa, and in the afternoon I may be cleaning hair balls out of drains for the training center.   We are available to help in any way that is needed.  We are thrilled to submit ourselves to be available to channel God’s resources (our time and energy) for His purpose no matter how great or small. 

My encouragement to you is to be available to God.  Observe where God is working in your life, in your school or work place, and join him there – no matter how big or small the work might be.  If God is working, it can’t help to be important and just simply amazing, indeed.

Robert

Wow, I have been really busy and I’m sorry that I just left all of you hanging there, but my schedule here comes before writing blogs so…

The schools that we have been able to volunteer at have been amazing! We have been able to lead assemblies and teach classes. Every Monday, Alicia and I get to teach one of my favorite third grade classes ever! It is really cool because God’s words just flow right through us and half of the time we don’t even know we are going to speak and then right out of the blue we say something…it is actually quite comical sometimes.

At the school we go to on Wednesdays, we already know a lot of the kids because they go to a bible club with us on Tuesday afternoons. Every week at our Wednesday school we are able to eat lunch in the cafeteria with the kids and one time, it was so funny, we almost started a riot because all of the kids wanted one of us to sit with them. Also at this school, a couple of weeks ago, Thomas, Alicia, Samuel, and I went out to play on the on playground with some of the kids during recess. We had such a blast! Right when we walked out of the back doors each of us were literally swamped with about twenty to thirty little first and second graders climbing all over us, we barely made it out the door before we were completely covered in kids. We played swing-on-the-monkey-bars, tag, freeze tag, and duck-duck-goose. Now, as a hint, never play duck-duck-goose with about thirty little kids (lol). Every single time when someone is being chased and they have to find a spot to sit, they always decide to sit in your lap and every time that starts a dog pile. We were able to play with the kids for about thirty minutes and when we tried to leave the kids jumped on us, said that they didn’t want us to leave, and kept hugging us until we couldn’t breathe. Poor Alicia, she had so many kids on her that Thomas had to literally go dig her out. When we finally made it back inside we were luckily still breathing, Thomas was glad his poor shirt was still in one piece, Samuel was happy that he had come out with his glasses still on his face, and Alicia and I were relieved that we had been able to retrieve our shoes from our ever-adoring fan club. Just to be able to play with the kids and start a friendship with each one of them was amazing! We had so much fun and we all definitely want to go to recess again.

Every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, we volunteer with a different organization which allows us to lead bible clubs. Now, at a bible club, we have a small group session first and normally what we do during that time is teach a group of kids (that are split up by grade level) a new verse-of-the-week, an object lesson that goes with the verse, and sometimes a craft. Then we have a large group session, and that is where one of us leads songs and then someone else teaches the kids a story from the Bible. Our favorite large group lesson to teach so far has been about Cain and Abel.

Every bible club, and child, is so different and we have all learned that since each club is different we have to teach a little differently each time. Every week, I get to help teach a second through fifth grade girls class, a second grade class, and a fifth grade girls class. So, as I said before, something that worked for one class might not work for another, but that makes it so fun and interesting and there is never a dull moment.                   

Our favorite song that we sing over and over at a bible club is “I Have a Friend Who Really Loves Me”. If you haven’t heard it, it goes like this, (the first verse is in English and the second is the same thing only it is in Spanish)

Verse 1 – I have a Friend who really loves me, He love me, He loves me. I have a Friend who really loves me and Jesus is His Name.

Verse 2 – Yo tengo un Amigo que me ama, me ama, me ama. Yo tengo un Amigo que me ama, su nombre es Jesus.

On Tuesday of this past week we had forgotten that the kids were on fall break, so we got out bible lessons ready and we make it to the place where we hold our Tuesday club and then we set up for the kids and Ms. Esther and Jocelyn go to pick up the kids and when they get back they don’t have anybody following them. (Now, this was really weird because normally they pick up about fifty or more kids.) Anyway, when they come back with no kids we ask what happened to everyone and they told us what someone told them, that there are no kids here because they are all home enjoying the week off! We laughed so hard and we just had to take this picture…

This past week we had a lot of “no school/fall break” days and so what we did instead was find ways to serve the community. We have painted window frames, hallways, bathrooms, we have shoveled grass that has overthrown sidewalks, picked up trash, raked leaves, trimmed trees, and washed windows. God always blesses our time and allows us to accomplish many, many tasks for people around the city. 

I just want to clarify that we do not always work 24-7 up here. (lol) We loveplaying Ultimate Frisbee and soccer. Also, the other day Mr. Chad took us all out to play a couple rounds of putt-putt golf. (Just for the record, I got a hole-in-one!) We have been taken to see the 45th Infantry Museum of OKC and last Friday, Mr. Chad also took us out to a corn maze. We had a blast and it was funny because every time we tried to get lost we found our way through immediately and every time that we tried to go through it quickly we got lost.

Also, last weekend I had fun because me and my whole family got permission to come home to Texas on October 9th through the 12th. It was so fun and refreshing! We had to go back because a friend of ours was getting married and I needed to be there because I was going to do some of the photography and Bridget and Courtney were going to be the flower girls. (They were absolutely adorable!) While down there, God allowed us some time to have a few special visits with some of our friends back home. We wanted to visit all of you, but a lot of the time we were busy with wedding rehearsals or errands that we had to run while down there and some other things. It was sad that we didn’t get to see all of you, but I keep reminding myself that God’s timing is sufficient and that all things happen for a reason. 

Sorry, this was so long, but as you have now read, a lot has happened and I didn’t even include our volleyball game, the ice cream trips, Sarah’s birthday, the fire drill, the paint war, or some of the training sessions! Oh, and Thomas’ semester is over now so he is going home, but we have had four new girls arrive yesterday. 

I’ll have to tell you more about everything when we get back. I’ll be keeping you all posted and I can’t wait to see you and and talk to you all!

In Him, Brianna

Hey Everybody!

Wow! So much has been going on that I haven’t been able to blog much, but now I have a little free time to catch you all up on what’s been going on. First, last Saturday we, (my family, the other interns, and I) all went to the zoo, it was totally amazing! All of us interns got to teach kids about how different animals can teach us about different character qualities. I taught about the Giraffe and how it shows us “Availability”. We were there all day and told our little “spills” quite a few times. I took a picture of my model…here she is. (You can click on the pictures to make them bigger and not look so awkward)

After our “Zoorific Day of Character” at the zoo, we were able to go out to dinner. We thank God all the time that He has brought together such an awesome team and it’s really cool because we are all from different states. God has blessed us with a great comradery and we all get along so well together.

 (from left to right there is Sarah, Samuel, Thomas, Sharon, me, Alicia, and one of our team leaders, Esther)

One of the things that we learned about in our training session today was that we need to give 101%. What is 100%? So how can you really give 101%? Well, if you match a number to every letter of the alphabet then this is what you’ll get…

A=1, B=2, C=3, D=4, E=5, F=6, G=7, H=8, I=9, J=10, K=11, L=12, M=13, N=14, O=15, P=16, Q=17, R=18, S=19, T=20, U=21, V=22, W=23, X=24, Y=25, Z=26.

Now, look at these words…Knowledge=96%, Hard Work=98%, and Love of God=101%. Isn’t that amazing! I thought that that was totally cool! We have has many lessons like that, but I remembered this the most.

During one of our bible studies we came across a great verse that you all have probably heard it is, “Train up a child in the way he should go and he will not depart from it.”. Even though we can’t talk about God in the public schools we can still plant seeds and “train up” these children “in the way they should go” and “they will not depart from it”. We start going to the schools on Monday so pray that we will be ready with our lessons and that God will use us in great and mighty ways. Pray that He gives us wisdom and patience and understanding us we work with all these kids.

More updates later!

Walking in His light, Brianna

Good Morning Everyone!

Well, we are finally settled into our new home and we have already been put to work. 🙂 So far we have bussed tables, weeded and trimmed the flower beds, rearranged furniture, vacuumed halls, and made up rooms.

The other day Dad, Mom, Camille, Addison, and I, were all fixing up a room for some interns and coaches coming in for (Character Education), we had to move the furniture into these rooms, (that included dressers, mirrors, beds), and everything went very smoothly until we had to get some mattresses from the storage room on the fifth floor all the way up to the rooms we were working on, on the eighth floor! When we tried to get the mattresses into the elevator we discovered that they wouldn’t fit!! So up the stairs we went. It was so comical! We all had to push/pull a mattress or box spring up three flights of stairs without turning ourselves into new wall decor or an extra stair in the staircase. We finally made it up the stairs, luckily without any major damage to any light fixtures or fire alarms. (Just kidding, we actually didn’t hit anything, excluding ourselves and the walls.) By the time we came bursting out from the staircase door, we were all very sweaty and very giggly. We couldn’t help laughing at our own expense, because the whole ordeal had been so funny! We have so many great times like that, but there is no way I could share them all. We all wish you guys could share in these experiences with us, but we also have to remember that God has a plan for each and every one of us and at this time you all’s paths are just a little different than ours.

Yesterday, I asked God if there was anything in particular that He wanted me to do and I didn’t hear His voice, but I heard from Him by reading His word. This is what He told me in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Jesus Christ.” After I read that I was like “okay, this is what I need to be doing not just today, but everyday.”. 

Another verse that I read the other day that helped me a whole bunch was James 1:12. “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

God is teaching us so much about having good attitudes and keeping a servant’s heart and we are all looking forward to what He will be teaching us in these next few weeks!

Pray for us to be a light to everyone here that we come into contact with, pray for me because my training starts tomorrow and pray that all of the interns arrive safely. Also, we are going to volunteer at the OKC Zoo on Saturday, so pray that all will go smoothly and we can help accomplish whatever needs to be accomplished. We are praying for you all as well!

Be open to God’s voice and to following where He leads. We can’t to see you all again!

Love ya’ll!

Brianna

Here are some pictures of the rest of us doing our part in weeding out the gardens.