Highlights of 2013: Part 1

This last year has flown by and brought with it many adventures and changes in my life. I thought I would just share the highlights of 2013 and a few pictures with you...

In March, I began courting James Kyte (which is part of my excuse for my long absence here on my blog :).

In April, I flew home for a week to be with my sister while my parents flew down to Mexico for cancer treatment for my dad. Thankfully, he is now cancer free and we pray that it stays that way. 

On May 18th, I graduated from Baptist Bible Translators Institute. Mom, my sister, Joanna and James all came down to celebrate this event. Dad was still recovering from surgery so was not able to make it. 

 

During the month of June, James and I took a missions trip to the Bahamas with his church for a week. And yes, it was a missions trip. :) During the week we helped missionaries Jason and Heather Lowe with a Vacation Bible School. I worked with the preschoolers which was a fun and challenging group. 

To be continued...

Christmas Break

Christmas was an exciting and busy time. I was able to go home for a little over 3 weeks. During that time I was able to visit and catch up with family and friends. The first big event was seeing my little niece get baptized...

That afternoon was spent with my Mom's side of the family...

 

 

 

Christmas day was spent with all of the family at home...

Since moving to TX, we had two new additions to our family which I met for the first time during our break...

Chloe - an adorable, but naughty little pup

and precious little Abigail Grace

Mom hosted a Ladies Christmas Tea while I was home to have some time to fellowship with some of my favorite ladies...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greetings from Texas!

Greetings from Texas! Today we are finally enjoying some cooler weather. 85 degrees is actually starting to feel cold now. Texas is very different from Maryland. I can’t say I will ever get used to scorpions and BOUS’s (Bugs of Unusual Size). Just so long as I don’t find a snake in my house, I’ll be good.

I have a nice sized two-bedroom apartment all to myself. It is much nicer than I was expecting. The other two single girls share the apartment connecting to mine. Our class at BBTI is very small this year, just three single girls and three married couples plus lots of kiddos.

Yesterday concluded our second week of classes. Everything is going very well. The classes are not as hard as I had expected but still definitely somewhat of a challenge. First thing in the morning, we have World Survey. In this class, we learn about two different missionaries, a country and an unreached people group. We each take turns researching and giving the reports.

Following World Survey is our Phonetics class. This is the most challenging (and humiliating) part. It is actually rather interesting learning how to analyze everything we say. We are learning how to make all sorts of crazy sounds. At least we get lots of laughs in this class.

Bro. Cobb is teaching our culture class. For this class we are learning about many aspects of different cultures. Sometimes learning about the different cultures can be overwhelming. It is no wonder so many people experience culture shock. This class is definitely showing me mine own weaknesses and inability to adjust to another culture on mine own. Thankfully, I know that wherever the Lord puts me, He will give me the grace to learn how to adapt. 

Here are some pictures of my house:

BBTI

The end of next week I will be heading to Texas for nine months of training at Baptist Bible Translators Institute. Your prayers will be greatly appreciated during this time.

Camp BIMI

Several weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend Camp BIMI with a couple of friends from my church. Camp BIMI is for those who are seeking God's will concerning missions. We had a wonderful week and it is really hard to put into words what we experienced. It was just what I needed.

In the mornings we had sessions similar to college classes. Every session was taught by a different missionary so we were able to learn from many different experiences and life in different cultures. In the afternoons, we had an activity and choir practice.

Following dinner, we had the evening service. In the evening services, each one shared his or her testimony and where they were at concerning missions. We also heard a presentation each evening from the different BIMI directors and the fields they represent.

It was such an encouraging week. We were around some amazing missionaries that have been greatly used by God. One thing that I appreciated was their openness and humility. We were allowed to ask them any questions that we wanted. They were very down to earth and sought to be an encouragement to each one of us in whatever way they could.

New Seasons of Life

It is hard to believe we are half way through March already! I am looking forward to spring. It looks like much more than just the season is about to change. In August, I will be heading to TX to attend the Baptist Bible Translators Institute. This has been on my heart for awhile now, but the Lord had not opened the door. Finally, things have fallen into place and I believe that it is His timing. Everyone keeps asking what I will be doing after that. As of yet, I don't really know. I am just praying that the Lord will direct me to where He would have me.

The biggest news is my "little" brother is soon to be engaged - and yes I can say this publicly because the whole world knows pretty much, including his soon-to-be fiancee. He is not one for keeping secrets. He is just waiting for the ring to be resized. We have officially launched full speed into wedding plans. Both Joanna and I will be in the wedding along with my brother John, niece and nephew. I am supposed to be doing their engagement pictures so I will be sure to post a few once they are done.  

Pictures from Florida Family Vacation

Just after Christmas we were able to take a family vacation to Florida. We spent the first several days in St. Augustine and then headed further south to Orlando to meet up with my brother's family at Disney World. It was a rather crazy trip, but it was fun being on vacation with our entire family especially my niece and nephews. Here are some pictures from the trip: