Gallup

We have been in Gallup, NM for almost three days now, and I'm still trying to get used to the weather. It is FREEZING in the morning and at night, but then burning up during the day. Thankfully, it is not humid like Georgia. We were advised not to run or work out here because of the difference in elevation. Apparently it takes over 3 weeks to acclimate to it. I am DYING I want to run so badly. I keep having dreams about running on the Big Creek Trail in Cumming. Two months and I'll be running it again daily!!!! We were told that the surrounding area is known for each family to make around $10-$15,000 a year. Isn't that crazy? We are helping landscape here at the school, as well as lead VBS, and work with the elderly. It should be an interesting week!

Our first group of students arrived today from a little city right on the border of Mexico and Texas. I am extremely grateful for my background in Spanish! I'm having a little trouble keeping up with them when they get excited and talk really quickly, but I'm managing. We dive into the talks and saints tonight, and I'm really excited to watch their weekly journeys with God. We have such a great program, and a lot of fun skits. Somehow I managed to take on the role of a ditsy cheerleader in one of them... but I play the part pretty well. :)

A couple of the high school girls started asking if I was married, if I had a boyfriend, would we get married, did I miss him... it was cracking me up. It was quickly followed up by a guy asking me if I had graduated college yet, I said yes, and he told me it must stink to be old. Thanks for the reminder, but I'm actually still really young thanks! It cracks me up that these two conversations and identical to those I have with my fourth graders. Guess nosy doesn't change as you get older...

Thank you Grammy for the wonderful package I received today! I will put it all to good use.

Georgia on my mind

I am extremely excited to announce that I will be HOME for two days throughout this summer!! God is funny sometimes, and it is not just a coincidence that I have an overnight layover IN Atlanta on the way to and from the Dominican Republic. :) :) Both times it is only around 12 hours, but I'll take whatever I can get. Just enough time to see all of the wonderful people I miss so much, sleep in my own bed, and repack a little bit. To make it even better, one of the nights I'm in town is Kayla's birthday. God is so, so good, and I'm a happy girl. Yesterday was the first day that I was beginning to get homesick and I really began processing the fact that I wouldn't be home for two months. This great news couldn't have come at a more perfect time. I am forever thankful for a savior who loves me and is always looking out for me.

This weekend was extremely nice. I was able to catch up on a little sleep, research my saints for the talks, and just enjoy Texas. We made a Wal Mart run for forgotten supplies... to which I forgot a lot. Repacking my suitcase last night was rather interesting. We grilled out Saturday night, and then traveled over an hour to the biggest line dancing honkytonk in Texas... Billy Bob's. :) Some of the staff with me are not country fans whatsoever, but everyone was a good sport and came along. We found out that Joe Nichols was playing that night, so that made it even better! One of the girls in our group was even lucky enough to get a backstage pass to meet him... brat! ;) Inside of the honkytonk is a bull riding arena, so we watched that for a little while before the concert. I was really wishing that I had my boots and a cute dress! It was so much fun watching everyone line dance. I felt a little out of place, and then the Cha Cha Slide came on and all was well. :) Joe Nichols was pretty good. Most of his music is just rather slow. All in all we had a great time... perfect experience for Texas!

Today we are on a 12 hour journey to Gallup, New Mexico. Our first group of high schoolers join us late Wednesday night, so we're going early to prepare everything. I will miss the beautiful sunset and stars in Texas, but I have a feeling New Mexico will be no different. We are staying on a Zuni Indian reservation. We were told it's very unique because not many people are given permission to be on this property and most of the land is untouched. I'm sure it will be a neat experience compared to my constant suburban life. It's very exciting and very nerve racking that I'll be giving talks in just a few days. I pray that the Holy Spirit will flow through me to help lead these high schoolers.

Heat Stroke

For those of you who know me well, you know of my struggle over the past year dealing with pre-hypertension. Unfortunately it runs in my family, and yes, at 24 years old (really beginning around 18)... I already have higher blood pressure. I've had every test run on me to see if something is wrong, only to discover that it's merely heredity. Right before I left for this trip, my cardiologist prescribed me a diuretic pill to help level out my sodium in hopes that my blood pressure would level out as well. He is adamant against not putting me on blood pressure medicine at this age. Well... God was definitely trying to get my attention to take care of myself prior to the heat and labor I will experience for the next six weeks. This morning at mass, I was praising Jesus by singing like always while we were kneeling before communion. All of a sudden, I started getting really hot and my head was extremely fuzzy. I started sweating, badly, but we were in the middle of mass and I didn't want to make a scene. I just didn't understand what was happening to me. I felt like I was having an outer body experience for a good minute or so, and stripped off my jacket. The next thing I remember is being woken up and being sat back into the pew, absolutely drenched in sweat. Apparently I passed out so peacefully (slouched over the pew like I was praying) that my teammates thought I had either fallen asleep or the Holy Spirit had come over me and I was in deep prayer. Yikes! I have learned my lesson. Taking a diuretic pill and drinking nothing but orange juice and unsweetened tea (yes, I said unsweetened... Welcome to Texas!) isn't a great idea. Thank you God for the reality check BEFORE we begin our mission work. :) We have the next two days off from work, so we actually get the chance to look around Texas a bit. A neighbor is letting us ride horses in the morning after mass, so I'm pretty excited about that! We are only 10 miles from the Oklahoma border, so we will also be driving there sometime tomorrow. :) Looking forward to a relaxing weekend before the madness begins next week.

Summer Schedule

I found out my team and schedule today, and I am very excited to be spending the summer with many wonderful people! There is one girl here in particular who I have connected with the most named Christie. We both prayed hard to be on the same team, and God is good. :) I am grateful for what I know will be a lifelong friend after this summer.

Here is my schedule and location for the next two months.

June 1st -- June 9th: Gallup, New Mexico

June 10th -- June 23rd: Joplin, Missouri

June 24th -- July 7th: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

July 8th -- July 21st: Joplin, Missouri

There is a possibility that I might stay for the final mission trip the week of July 22nd through the 28th, but if not... I'll be flying home on July 22nd! :) Already missing all of you back home, but it's hard to feel incomplete when I'm whole in Christ. I'm so blessed to have this opportunity and I can already feel myself changing in such a positive way... praise Jesus!

Just found out yesterday that I will be co-teaching first grade next year with a wonderful sister in Christ! I am so excited, so thankful, and so ready to be with the young ones again. :) It has taken some stress off of me for next year which helps me focus even more on my summer.

I read Psalm 131 today and really connected with it. It's humbling. "My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me." I may not be perfect and I may not love the Lord like some people around me. I love Him, worship Him, adore Him in my own simple way, and for Him... that's enough.

God is good all the time!

All the time God is good!

You are the sculptor and I am the clay.

Just a few wonderful things to share from the past two days.

We watched a video by these two guys who perform Christian skits on various topics. This particular one is called God's Chisel. It focuses on the necessary truth of being the work of God and accepting His will. One line that I connected with the most was, "How can you work on your character when you are so concerned with your appearance to others?" Isn't that such a beautiful truth? What a simple reminder in a very self centered society that our focus should be centered on God and NOT ourselves. Through Him, our character will be strengthened. This in turn makes our appearance to others even more beautiful and more powerful. What better way to lead others to Christ than by modeling our lives after Him? Allow God to chisel out your imperfections and your sins to make you into His masterpiece. You are made in His perfect image, and He will constantly remind you that you are more than worth it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhfUzodLRvk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Then, to bring it all home... here is the reading from last night's prayer during the Liturgy of the Hours;

"Stay sober and alert. Your opponent the devil is prowling like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, solid in your faith." -1 Peter 5:8-9

We all struggle with being devoured by the devil. However, be reminded that we are an image of God. When a young girl breaks up with a boyfriend, it is typical for her to tear up a picture as she cannot physically hurt the boy itself. Similarly, the devil tears US up as we are an image of God. Satan cannot tear up God, so it resorts to tearing us up and beating us down. Stay strong and use God as your refuge. He will always lead you down the correct path and keep you away from evil.

Why are you here?

One of the first questions we were asked at team training today was, "Why are you here? What made you choose to do this?" I had been asked this question multiple times by my parents, friends... even by strangers at church. "Jaime, this is a great thing you're doing... but why?" Every time someone asked, I seemed to find a different answer and never had a definite answer to the question. I realized today that it's okay to have multiple answers to this question. I don't think that I know the answer to the full extent yet, and I may not really know until the end of the summer.  All I know is that I am here because I was called by God to serve. So here I am, in all His glory, serving him and those in need. I can already say after my first day that it is the best decision I have ever made.

I was the last to arrive at the airport last night, and the introvert in me was screaming when I walked up to the 11 other people I would be working with this summer. Now, only a little over 24 hours later, I have 11 wonderful new friends, mentors, and companions. We are all from different parts of the country but are connected by one, strong passion... Christ. A new friend, Shannon, mentioned a quote today that sums it up perfectly. It says, "It is beautiful to see God in nature, but it is even more beautiful to see God in other people." For once, I am at peace that I am not the strongest Catholic here. I have so many wonderful things to learn, and so many wonderful people to guide and strengthen me along the way. I have prayed the Liturgy of the Hours three times now and have to admit that I am a little confused. One day at a time. I went to weekday mass for the first time, and it's amazing how whole I felt the rest of the day. Beginning your day with Jesus is always a great start.

Today we focused on team building. It felt like R.A. training with a spiritual aspect added to it... could that get any better? I felt very much in my element discussing how games connected to the work we'll be doing with the teens, and how it connected spiritually. It's funny how much it connects with being an elementary school teacher. After training we went to a local family's house for dinner. They made German sausage, sauerkraut, roasted potatoes, and peach tea... unsweetened of course. The town we are training in is called Muenster and has a very strong German background. She also made German chocolate cake... yummmmm. The family lived next to a wheat field and the biggest tractor I have ever seen was out there farming. We all had to take pictures of it like crazy tourists. :)

One of the things I am most thankful for is that there are multiple runners here. A few of us ran after we got back from dinner, and then proceeded to do an ab workout followed by squats and lunges. I am psyched to have workout partners for the duration of the summer!

Goodbye Georgia...

It's officially here!!! Even after saying goodbye to everyone, after buying 13 cards for all of the events I'm missing while I am gone, after repacking 14 times to get under the 40 lb. limit, after getting lucky that the lady checked my bag with 41 lbs (oops)... it still hasn't hit me that I am leaving for two months. I'm trying to determine if God has wrapped me in His peace or if a breakdown will happen later. I'm hoping the first is true. :)

I know I have said it a million times, but thank you again to all of those supporting me on this trip. Whether monetarily or through thoughts and prayers, I am blessed with many amazing people in my life. I can't wait to see where this journey will take me, and I'm taking everyone along in spirit. :) I have no doubt that God has big plans for me this summer. It may be the teacher coming out in me, but I know that I will learn just as much I will teach these high schoolers. Hopefully their hormones just stay away for the week. ;)

I received a lot of advice over these past few weeks especially, but I received one particular text message from a very special person in my heart that I wanted to share. After admitting to him that I was nervous about leaving, he said, "You aren't going there to come back. You're going there to BE there and to help those in need. You have the rest of your life to come back. Treat every day like it is the first day of a vacation and you are less likely to be homesick." I can't wait to be God's hands throughout this trip. He will rebuild me while I help rebuild homes for others. 

I miss you all already. Have a wonderful summer!!

Deuteronomy 31:6

You revive me, Lord.

Can't even believe it's almost here. All I have left to do is pack up my classroom and then I can officially get ready for this summer. :) So happy to say that I've finished my second year as a special education teacher and still have a job next year in an incredible school. I am very blessed!

A song I listened to on the way to school this morning has been weighing on my heart all day so I had to share. I can't wait for God to "revive" me all summer long.

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." -Psalm 73:26

You Revive Me- Christy Nockels

Let the packing begin...

Thanks to some amazing people in my life, I am proud to say that I have raised my goal of $3,500! All of that stress for nothing... the Lord always provides. :) I can't say it enough, truly. THANK YOU to all of those who helped me monetarily. I went through multiple avenues to raise this money, and I couldn't have done it without a single one of you. The Lord is good!

This trip has snuck up on me so quickly, and it's hard to believe that I'll be leaving for Texas in just a few days. It seems like yesterday I was just looking into this opportunity and praying for God to lead me in the right direction. My head is swarming getting everything together at school and for this trip. It's a little too much at one time, but I know that the Lord will be my stronghold through it all and I will get everything done. Somehow I'll have to say goodbye to everyone I care about in just five days, finish and send home data for my sweet special education students, pack up my classroom, and then get myself together for the trip. Ah!!! It's so exciting that it's finally here!

On a sad note, I just found out that BOTH of my best friends will be moving to other states a few days before I get back. :( One will be in Raleigh, NC and the other will be in Chicago, IL as their men move with their company every six months for the next two years. There must be some purpose in the timing of this, but I'm having a hard time saying goodbye to both of them way too soon. I haven't known life without them for five years, and it's such a bummer I am missing everything this summer with them. But I'm looking forward to free places to stay...vacation please? ;)

If you have any petitions in your heart that you would like for me to pray for throughout my summer, PLEASE let me know. Call me, e-mail me, tell me in person... I would love to pray for you!

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." -2 Corinthians 4:16-18