10 days

i took a road trip may 26 - june 4 to the Ozarks and I do have to say it was absolutely more than I could've asked for!!


Stop #1 : Conway, AR


i spent the first couple days with one of my best friends, Emily. we basically played the whole time i was there. we climbed pinnacle mtn in a huge thunderstorm, ventured to the top of the peabody hotel to get the last glimpses of a beautiful sunset, and then ate at flying fish. a unique fish cousine in downtown little rock. we stayed up talking until the late hours of the night. oh how i love those moments. i am so thankful for this friend. what a blessing it was to get time with her! (pictures coming soon...)


Stop #2 : Fayetteville, AR


from conway i headed to northwest arkansas to spend time with two other of my best friends, garrett and stephanie peters. we did so many different things which doesn't surprise me with these two...probably my most adventurous friends i have! i love it though because you just never know what you will be doing. :) steph and i found a mullberry tree at this park we walked at. if you haven't tried mullberries, you should! we cooked fajitas (one of my favorite meals), played phase 10, played settlers of catan, went to the farmer's market downtown, planted some fruits and veggies, hiked around natural falls, ate at a catfish house, played put put, went to church, and ate some more. it was soo much fun to see them and get extended time at their house! definitely wish i lived closer!

Stephanie & I on the hunt for some good produce.

We did it! Bags in hand full of good stuff!

Stop #3: Branson/Lampe, MO

sunday afternoon I headed to Branson, Missouri. it's a place that every kid wants to be during the summer months...at Kanakuk Kamps. i met up with one of my best friends, Bekah. all the staff from kamp were on a night off which was great because i got to see a lot more people than i was expecting. before heading back to Lampe (which is where K2 is) we stopped at the imfamous Andy's Frozen Custard. it was out of control with all the people there but so worth it.

Madi (past camper), Me, and Beks

from sunday until friday i was at kamp. i just love that place. i spent 5 summers working there and it never gets old...well kamp doesn't, but i do. :) now that i am 25, i have past campers who are now counselors. some of those are even on leadership. it's crazy how time flies and now my kids have their own kids. what joy it brings to my heart to see my campers investing into other students. to challenge them in their walk with the Lord. to share the ups and downs of life with them. and to point them to the cross. there is no greater privilege.

every conversation i had and time spent with my dearest friends and past campers was more than i could ask for. the fellowship i had during these 10 days was truly refreshing to my soul and spirit. each friend the Lord has graciously blessed me with have sharpened, refined and challenged to become more like Him.

In fast forward

Again, it's been two weeks almost since my last post. I really can't believe how fast the days go by. Even though there is craziness in my life, I love every moment. Not one of them is a surprise from the Lord.

To catch you up on the past events:

March 5: I headed to Austin, Tx to watch my camper, Sally, play in the semi-finals at the 2A State Basketball tournament. I met up with 2 of my friends from Kanakuk, Tanya Beardsley and Bethann Boitmann. God graciously blessed my time down in Austin to visit and catch up on life! It refreshed me in so many ways to see them and Sally. I also made an extra stop on my way out of town to see one of my best friends, Sarah. Such a fun day!!

March 9: Started the Believing God Bible Study with 15 high schoolers! God has been so good in blessing our time together. We have met 2 times already and I am blown away at how God moves and enriches our fellowship! Each week as we move deeper into the study, pray that God would penetrate even more in every heart and draw us to a greater understanding of who God is!

March 12-17: I had a volleyball tournament down in Houston and then spent the beginning of this week in Colorado with part of the youth group from First Baptist Hurst. Some of my girls in my small group were on that trip and I was able to spend more time with them. We had a blast skiing in Winter Park and making fun memories! With going on trips like this, I believe God has called all of us to truly live life with others. To walk alongside one another, encouraging, sharpening, and pushing them closer to Jesus Christ.

**Unexpected turn of events: Saturday, March 13 my sweet Mom, Dad, and brother were riding horses on the ranch as usual. However, during a normal day, the horse my mom was riding was spooked and jolted quickly. Mom was thrown off, hitting the ground hard and landing on rocks. She landed on her RIGHT shoulder which we came to find out she had broken her humerus bone in multiple places. My Dad and brother rushed her to the hospital and she ended up having surgery the next day. The doctors had to put in 12 screws, a plate, and a bone graft. She is RIGHT handed so this will be a new adventure for her to begin learning to do things with her left hand as she is healing. She was released from the hospital Tuesday (March 16) and has been adjusting to the "new normal" with Dad trying to take care of her. Please be praying for the bone graft to take, quick healing, the next several months as she is recovering and in physical therapy. And also keep praying for Dad as well. Pray for him to continue to have strength and energy as he is enduring this with Mom.

I am heading home for the weekend to be with Mom and Dad! I'm praying that it will be refreshing for all of us!! We continue to look to the Lord and plead His blood. We are believing and trusting God's purposes are true and right. May He be glorified in all of this!!

Road Trip to West Texas

On Wednesday, I took a quick road trip to San Angelo to watch one of my campers from Kanakuk play in her Quarterfinal Basketball game. It was so fun and I am so thankful the Lord provided the opportunity to go. At this point in life, it's difficult to stay up-to-date with all my campers and friends at that so any chance I get, I take it. With Sally having her game, I knew we wouldn't have a whole lot of time to get to hang out and really catch up, but no matter what I wanted to support her and celebrate this time with her.

Sally and I

I met up with her precious mom and grandma at Sally's house. Sally stopped by just for a few minutes before her game. Soon it was 6:30pm and game time in San Angelo! It was AWESOME!! Watching Sally in her element brings on a whole new persepective. I loved watching her step into her leadership role as she lead her team to a victory. She was amazing! They won their basketball game and advanced to the Regional 2A tournament in Midland. One more round and they are headed to Austin for State Championship! Yay!

Here are a few pics: 

Even though it was a quick trip, it was so worth it! What an honor it has been to walk next to Sally up to this point. I was blown away at the person she has become. And I feel so privileged that I have gotten to be a small part of her life. God has been so gracious in all of this and He continues to bless our frienship year after year. I couldn't be more proud of her and excited for all that is to come!

Life back in the States

I'm Back!!! I know it's been a little bit since I've been back on this side of the world, but it's been a bit crazy and I honestly have been a little out of it. Monday, August 4 is when I arrived back to the Lonestart State. I flew back with 3 other people...Brian, Bobby, and Cara (The 3 closest people to the front in the picture below). We were all craving a little Chickfila so we decided before we all split off to have one last meal together. It was soooo good!!

Our journey back was quite the journey to say the least...we departed from Lusaka at 2pm Sunday after noon and flew down to Johannesburg, South Africa for a 7 hour lay over. We all were trying to think of things to do so we ate an early dinner and then literally went to every shop in the airport. Once we finished we found a place to camp out for the next couple hours. I couldn't sit still and knowing I was about to sit in a 10+ hour plane ride I began walking around...soon after we made our way to our gate and got settled for the night. Our flight left Joburg at 11:30pm. All 4 of us sat together in the back of the plane and it we felt like we were in a love seat. Haha...not really but it was really fun to be sitting all together. The only negative part about that leg of the flight was there was so much turbulence that I could not fall asleep. The plane was constantly shaking thus no sleep at all. :(  We hit London about 8:30am the next morning and had to move quickly through the huge terminal to our next gate. We jumped on our last leg around 11am for another 10+ hour flight. We finally arrived back in Texas at 3:30pm! Home Sweet Home!

The hardest part about flying that many hours and adjusting to the time difference is that your body is fighting against you. I made myself stay up as long as I could and then crashed around 10:30pm...I didn't wake up until 1pm the next day...14 hrs of sleep! Praise the Lord! When I woke up I was so disoriented and didn't know where I was at first. I had to concentrate so hard on anything I did. My body has not gotten that much rest since before I left in May. Anyways, I was discussing with my Mom the next couple of days and I ended up going to get my hair cut that afternoon. Some advice I would give anyone coming back from spending longer than 1 month in a different country - Don't try to drive when you first get back!! I got on the road and was driving on the left side of the road!! Ahhh...I realized about a minute later that in the States we drive on the Right side...not the Left side as we did in Zambia. Hahaha...it was such a weird moment I had and I can't really describe it all. 

I didn't have much time to adjust until I was off to Branson, MO with my family for the weekend. We left Thursday morning and got back late Monday night. It was the first time to see one of my sisters and her family since April. It was so fun to see them and talk about my time in Zambia. I also got to see some of my best friends that had been working at Kanakuk all summer...Nika and Bekah. It was refreshing to get to sit and hear how they were doing and get caught up on life. I hadn't seen them since October of last year. However, I was struggling to sleep every night. I was so tired, but when I would go to bed I would wake up 3-4 times a night wide awake. I also had the craziest dreams. It was really strange because I was having the reverse affect that usually happens when you first get to Zambia. This past Tuesday night was the first time I actually slept through the night. After a few restful nights I now feel rested! Praise the Lord!! I can function normally and think clearly!! :) 

Visiting Bekah at Kanakuk

Most of this week I have been running around trying to get things accomplished. It's crazy how you have to take care of so many things when you are out of the country for 3 months. One of those things is my Car!! I haven't driven my car since April and I had to get it inspected, serviced, and now I have to get NEW TIRES!! The joy of owning a car! Haha. In the midst of that, I have been able to rest and relax the past 2 days. It has been so refreshing to let myself stop and look back at the summer. God has brought me through so many things and allowed me to be part of such a bigger plan and purpose that only He could orchestrate. And I believe the journey is just beginning...

Thanks again for all your prayers as I was gone these 3 months. The time will be coming soon when I return to Zambia, but the Lord knows the timing and length of my stay. As for now, I am spending time with family and friends. The rest of the staff returns tomorrow and we all will be back in our offices in Irving, Tx  next week. Please pray for the many meetings that will be taking place in regards to all our new projects and even in regards to where the Lord wants each of us. I pray each of you are blessed! Thanks again!

Love to you all!

Joy