What does it look like...

So I found out a couple of weeks ago that I will be returning to Kenya with Compassion International in February!!! Words cannot express how excited I am to go back to the place that forever changed my life. I do not know details of the trip, yet, but I absolutely cannot wait. I don't think that the sights that I saw while in Kenya this past year will ever leave my mind. The faces of the children, the sights of the slums, and the smells of the shanties I visited, haunt me to this day. They are ingrained in my senses...in every way possible. I cannot escape the overwhelming feeling inside of me to reach out to these people...

...But what does that look like? We are talking in church right now about James and have focused, in particular, on James 1:27. What does it look like to reach out to orphans and widows? What does it look like to change the life of a person living in poverty. I know that lives can only be changed through Christ Jesus - but what can I do to bring them to Christ as I live on the other side of the globe? The same goes with my other love...Los Mochis, MX. Again, what does it look like to reach out to these people living in poverty when I am so far away from them? Is it short term missions? Long term missions? Prayer? Financial support? A combination of those?

This is the reason that I love Compassion International. They are providing answers to the questions mentioned above. They are providing a way for people, just like you and me, to reach out to those living in poverty and bring them the one thing that they so desperately need: hope in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. They are providing them with their basic needs and then raising them to find their hope not in their current circumstance, but in the fact that they are a child of God. Praise God for the work that he is doing in 26 countries around the world through Compassion. I cannot wait to return to Kenya with Compassion and see the impact they have made in even the year it will have been since my last trip there.

I recognize that there are so many ways to help those in poverty. I continue to search out what that looks like for me. But for now...I am confident that the work that God is doing through Compassion is a reflection of James 1:27.

This has always been something that I have firmly believed, but it was confirmed that much more when my church (The Church at Brook Hills) decided to focus much of their resources on funding Compassion International's Child Survival Programs in India. And by programS...I mean the ENTIRE COUNTRY of INDIA! Seriously?! When David shared this last Sunday my immediate reaction was to of course tear up...ha...but then just sit in awe of God's glory. What an amazing opportunity for Brook Hills! To read more about Child Survival Programs through Compassion International, visit this website: http://www.compassion.com/contribution/csp/faq/default.htm.

Natural Overflow of Faith...

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
-James 1:27


www.compassion.com

Let the planning begin...

This was a huge week for the Events team here at Student Life...we found out what teams we will be on for the Summer of 2010! This may not seem like a big deal to others, but it is incredibly important to us as it tells us which events each team will be hosting next Summer so that we can begin to plan. Graham and I have an incredible schedule that includes...Lee University in Cleveland, TN, Windermere Conference Center in Roach, MO, Gatlinburg, TN, Daytona Beach, FL, Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, OK, Branson, MO, and Tuscarora Conference Center in Mt. Bethel, PA. We could not be more excited! If you live near any of these locations, please come this summer!

For more information about these events, as well as any other Student Life 2010 events, visit:
https://www.studentlife.com/events/home-camp.php

http://www.studentlife.com/events/theme-video.php

Back to The Real World...

After several weeks of vacation/recuperation we have finally re-entered the real world. We started back to work on Tuesday of this week and things are back in full swing as we prepare for the year to come! It feels good to be back - the people that Graham and I work with are truly like family to us. We are blessed.

To catch you up on what we have been doing...

We started with a 4 day get away to the lake. We strongly considered going on a cruise during this time, but with the ones that worked with our time schedule we decided it probably wasn't the best of ideas considering the only boat that was going during that time and had space available was super cheap...scary cheap...since this was their farewell cruise. That ship is being retired this month... Enough said. We also decided it would be more fun to go on a cruise with another couple and experience it with them! Anyone interested?! So, that being said...the lake it was! You can't beat a free vacation! Melanie and Reynolds joined us for the first two days, then we stayed down for two more - it rained most of the time, but considering we slept most of the time anyways it didn't really matter to us what the weather was! It was so nice to have some days away...free of responsibilities...decisions...work...ahhhhh...so nice :) We returned to celebrate the birthday of my beautiful mother and had a wonderful birthday dinner at Melanie's house. Reynolds is a grill-master, so we always love going to eat at their house. We left a few days after that to spend a week in Oklahoma visiting Graham's family. As always, it was so great to be with them! We got to see most of his friends too which was lots of fun - they are all so sweet and so much fun to be with. Good times :)

Now we are getting back in the swing of things...and I'm loving it. I started in a new Bible study last night with some ladies of all ages from Brook Hills. We are doing a precept Bible study on the book of James, and I cannot wait. I have never done a precept study before, but I have heard that they are absolutely amazing. I will also start teaching Sunday School next Sunday which I could not be more excited about! I guess 'teaching' is a relative term when the kids were born between May-July 2008 :) Precious. It is good practice for my litttle niece who will be here SO SOON!!!!! The nursery is finished and ready to go...I will put some pictures up just as soon as I have them. It is beautiful!

I got to talk with one of my very best friends, Briana, last night for almost 2 hours. It had been a while since we had been able to actually catch each other...so we had lots to catch up on :) It was wonderful hearing her voice...and since she recently moved to California we of course had to plan a trip for me to come visit her...right Rae?! :)


One other exciting thing... Fall is well on it's way which not only means incredible weather...but it also means college football is about to kick off! I just know that Auburn is going to take it away this year :) .....

That's about all that is going on here with the Hills. Life is good and we are blessed!

Clarification...

...Graham and I are NOT moving to the North! After my last post I believe that I made it sound like we are packing our bags and moving to New York. Wrong. We are loving life in the South right now and will stay here until God calls us elsewhere :) Whether that be Alabama, Kentucky, New York, or Alaska...who knows...but for now, we remain Southerners. My apologies to all of those who called with questions about our Northern-bound plans. No worries :)

The Northern Ways...

We are in our last week of camp right now. It is such a bittersweet time. Part of me cannot wait to be home and get back to the normalcy of everyday life, but another part of me aches at the fact that I will not be with these 24 amazing people every day. Well, except for Graham of course...and thankfully I get to be with him every day for the rest of my life! :)

I was able to go home last weekend for my dear friends', Alan and Amanda Bates, wedding. I love these two so much and was so happy to watch them as they begin this journey called life together! In typical Beth Ann fashion, I ended my night in Birmingham with a trip to the Emergency Room...with a sweet case of Bronchitis. Thanks to a shot and some good meds, I am beginning to feel better, but can tell that my body is in need of some serious rest. Please pray for renewed energy and rest for me and my team as we finish the summer!

I am currently sitting in Mt. Bethel, PA...and it is gorgeous! I always pictured this area to be more city-like (don't make fun if that is completely crazy of me to think...my geography skills are not the best), but it is the most green and lush place I have ever been before. Absolutely beautiful!! After pushing our team to finish load-in quickly, we surprised everyone with a quick trip up to New York City for the night! It was incredible. There were many people on our team, including Graham, who had never been to NYC before, so it was so much fun experiencing this with them for the first time. We started off having dinner in Little Italy at La Mela...this food was incredible! It was a family-style restaraunt with amazingggg food. They bring out different courses...5 courses...and you share it with your table. Our meal included tomato/mozerella cheese, vegetables, pastas (including a wonderful potato pasta for us gluten-sensitive folks :)), meats, and dessert....all cooked Italian-style...all amazing!! We then got on a subway (which was quite an experience for many of us southerners...) and headed to Time Square! We could only spend about 30 minutes here taking pictures and gawking at the lights/billboards/people...but it was worth every second! Here are some pictures:

Office girls...

La Mela...

Waiting on the subway...

Leadership in Time Square...
BT09 girls waiting on the subway...
Incredible...
Little Italy...

So here is the conclusion that I have come to as I have spent time in the North. I love it. It is different. Very, very different. People look at you a little crazy if you smile or say hi to them as you pass them on the streets. Sir and Ma'am are not in the vocabulary. Loud. GORGEOUS. Fun. Exciting. Fast-paced. Green. Big City. Lights. Peaceful. Corn fields. Eccentric. Traffic. Fashion. Chilly. Culture Shock :)

I was talking with Graham tonight...and although there are so many contrasting ways to describe what I have seen of the North, the one thing that sticks out to me the most is the fact that it is very unchurched. As we were driving up to Pennsylvania and then through New Jersey on our way to New York, I saw maybe 2 churches. Maybe. As I talk with the Youth Ministers of the churches that are attending camp this week, it is amazing to me the situations that they deal with as ministers in the north. In the South, if someone is sick or if someone loses a family member, what is the first thing that happens? A phone call is made from a local church to see what meal they can bring to their home to help take care of them for a night. One of the first phrases thrown out is, "I will be praying for you." Although those of us from the South know that this is, unfortunately, not always the most sincere or genuine statement because it is what you are supposed to say, it can at least serve as a comfort during trying times. From what I can gather from conversations here, this just isn't the case. For example, we have four students here this week who have never heard of Christianity. They have never been around christians, heard about Christ, never been to a church, never known that a camp existed for people their age to go to during the summer and spend time away from smoking/drinking/abuse/parents. They signed up for this week of camp seeking a refuge, and just two weeks before coming they surrendered their lives to the Lordship of Christ. They are meeting in a home in New Jersey with 9 other students, learning who God is and who they are in Him. They are here, for the first time, experiencing worship. They are loving it. They have never been reached out to before or asked if they can be helped, or told that someone is praying for them. Graham and I were talking with the man whose house they meet at during the week and he was telling us all about these students and their experience this week. Praise God for His sovereign ways of bringing people together and showing Himself in mysterious ways. These students' lives are being changed and they are excited to take this in to their homes and their communities. Praise Him!

It is because of stories like this that I cannot get the thought out of my mind of coming to a place like New Jersey or Philadelphia or New York City and ministering to these people. Reaching out to these people who so desperately need to be loved and need the love of Christ in their lives. Talk about stepping out of my comfort zone... It would be a HUGE transition. But it is definitely something that Graham and I see the need for and pray about. I mean, let's face it, who ever said that I deserve to live within my comfort zone?

One of my best friends growing up, Katie Furr, now lives in NYC teaching and ministering to students through a Teen Center. After spending some time up here, my respect for her has grown tenfold. Not that it wasn't there before...but praise God for people like her who throw out what they know as familiar to them and go where they see a need.

We have a few more days left in PA then we will begin the drive back down to Alabama. Our worship leader this week is Brett Younker...amazing...and our camp pastor is Sam Bhatt. It is great to be back with Sam - he has such a special way of reaching students and encouraging them (and myself) to dive deeper into the Word of God.

Summer Update...

It has been a while since I have been able to update you guys on what is going on...my apologies! The past few weeks have been rather eventful...to say the least! We wrapped up our week at Lee University and headed to the Georgia Baptist Conference Center in Toccoa, GA to spend a week with Ed Newton and the Jeff Johnson Band. This was a very small week of camp, but still God did huge things in the lives of the students who were at camp that week. It is pretty refreshing to have such a small group sometimes...it is a time for the staff to truly pour into the students and spend quality time with the camp pastor and worship leader. We celebrated the 4th of July that week and what started off as picking up the worship center after worship on the 4th, turned in to a 2 hour dance party with BT09 and the Jeff Johnson Band. So fun! Nothing, though, topped Graham carrying on his tradition of singing, "God Bless America," during celebration on the morning of the 4th...


What a proud moment. .....

It was a great week...but unfortunately ended with almost half of my team being sick. Very, very sick... The next week of camp was at the Georgia Baptist Conference Center again with Adam Robinson and Matt Papa. This was a wonderful week for the students...the feedback we heard was so encouraging...but for our staff, this week was pretty tough. With 8 people being out due to being sick, the rest of our team had to step up and take on two or three extra jobs in order for the week to run smoothly and hopefully not allow the kids to realize that anything was different. It was a challenging week, but a good bonding experience for our team as we realized that in order to get through the week we had to lean on each other, and most importantly God to have the strength, energy, and health to carry on. It was funny because the week before everyone got sick we had Jeff Johnson as a worship leader. Jeff has a song called, "Ruin Me." Our team LOVES this song so while he was here we sang it constantly. Funny how that played out in our team over the next week..! Still such a great song though :) I don't believe any pictures were taken this week...

By the time that we finished at Georgia Baptist, everyone was feeling much better as we headed down to our largest event of the summer...Student Life @ Daytona. This is the event that has consumed most of my time in the office leading up to the summer. With 7,000 people attending the event, there is much preparation involved!! It was, however, definitely worth every second of work. Our camp pastor for the week was Louie Giglio and our worship leader was Chris Tomlin. We had concerts on two nights with Leeland and David Crowder, as well. It was great being back with these guys and getting the chance to learn more about our Father through them. Praise God for the gifts He has blessed them with! I can honestly say that there is not one that I walked into the worship room and did not get chills or tear up. 7,000 students worshipping the Lord....7,000 students learning more about Christ and who they are in Him....7,000 students sitting on the edge of their seats as they learn what it means to live for Christ and ways that they impact the world for His glory. Amazing. During our time in Daytona, we had 753 Compassion children sponsored! That means that 753 more children around the world are now able to be released from the chains of poverty and introduced to their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Praise God! Here are some pictures from this incredible week...



We are now back to where we started the summer off at Covenant College. It is good to be back! I can't believe we are on our 10th week and only have 3 more to go. This time has flown by! Our camp pastor this week is Sam Bhatt and our worship leader is David Odom. I am looking forward to a great week with them!

Here are some other pictures from the summer that I just haven't had time to put up...they are in random order, but regardless...here they are.. :)

Ashley Turner, a precious girl on my team, was baptized one night of our first week at the Georgia Baptist Conference Center. This girl is amazing and has committed her life to the mission field. Praise God!

Out to dinner in Chattanooga!

On the sky lift in Gatlinburg...maybe I had to beg to go on this... :)
At the top of a mountain in Gatlinburg

Our team mascot...Hoot!
Some of my favorites!
Dinner with Lindsay and Justine
Welcome to Late Nite...
Shea! This girl is amazing.