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.

On the road...

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far a it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
~Romans 12:9-21
I love this passage of scripture and just wanted to share it with you before I went any further!

The past two weeks of camp have been incredible! Last week we were in Gatlinburg with 4,500 students - it was unbelievable the amount of students there! It brings chills to me just thinking about the sight of 4500 students worshipping the Lord. Wow. Those are images that I will never forget. We had a wonderful week with Louie Giglio and Fee - such great guys with a huge heart for the Lord and bringing others to know Him. I was so encouraged by them. We also had two concerts throughout the week with Leeland and David Crowder Band - both were great and seemed to really draw in the students who were there to a genuine time of worship. This was my first time working with any of these guys...I look forward to being with them again in just a few short weeks!

Gatlinburg is quite an interesting place in case you didn't know. There are more Old Time Photo Shops (which maybe we did one as a team...), fudge, candy apples, taffy, souveniers and tank tops that any one person can handle. The week that we were there was Student Life week as well as AARP week...interesting combo of people, that's for sure...! There was something just so special about that week though - the people who were there for Student Life @ Gatlinburg were wonderful - so excited to be there and so encouraging to me and our staff. It is amazing how far a "Thank You" will go! Oh how much I am learning this summer...

We loaded out of the Convention Center beginning at 11:00pm..yes..pm..the last night of the event and finished up around 8:00 am..yes..am..the next morning. An all-nighter of coiling cables, undoing trusses, gathering chain motors, packing up an office full of computers papers, printers, office supplies, and packing 4 penske trucks...big penske trucks...full of all of this stuff! It was a looong night, but I was so proud of our team as their attitudes stayed wonderful for all 8 or so hours of loading out and packing trucks. We ended up staying in Gatlinburg that next night in order to allow everyone to rest - it was a much needed break for the team and served as a great time to catch up on sleep!

We are finishing up our week of camp at Lee University tomorrow. It has been a wonderful week here as well. Ed Newton has been our speaker for the week, with Pocket Full of Rocks as the worship leaders. It has been great :)

Each week I sit in on meetings and listen as youth pastors share prayer requests for their students. I am amazed at the things that go on in this world. And I do not mean amazed in a good way... There are teenagers all over this world dealing with more struggles and difficult situations than I can't even begin to imagine having to deal with. Students come to camp every week dealing with broken homes, other troubles at home, abuse, addiction, deaths in the family...the list could go on and on. It is heartbreaking to hear. But...more than that...is the AMAZING ways that God works in the lives of these students...especially while at Student Life Camp. Nothing brings me more joy and there is no greater miracle than when youth ministers or Family Group Leaders come tell me that one of these students, that we have been praying for, comes to know Christ throughout their time at camp. Praise God!

Headed to the Georgia Baptist Conference Center in Toccoa, GA tomorrow...need to go pack the office truck now! :)

Let Your Kingdom Come...

We are wrapping up our 4th camp at Covenant College - Jeremy Kingsley and the Stephen Miller Band were wonderful! We leave tomorrow afternoon to head to Gatlinburg for one of our largest events...ah! I am excited about it, but have to admit that it's a little nerve racking at the same time :) 4,500 students is a lot...but it is exciting that they are all coming together to spend a week worshiping our Lord and Savior. Our speaker for Gatlinburg will be Louie Giglio, and the Worship Leader will be Fee. We will also have two concerts by David Crowder Band and Leeland. I am looking forward to a wonderful week!

Last week with Aaron Ivey we sang a song called 'Let Your Kingdom Come' that has continued to stay in my head...the words are so incredible...

Give us a love for peace
Move us to brokenness
Our generosity,
Release from poverty

Your Kingdom here and now
To the least of these
Distribute what we have
That all may taste and see

Let Your Kingdom come
Let Your will be done
All the Earth will say
and echo angels' praise
That You are God

So, let the sick run free
The orphan find her home
The captured man will know
Release from slavery

Your Kingdom here and now
To the least of these
Distribute what we have
That all may taste and see

We pray and ask for hope
We pray and ask for peace
We pray and ask for justice
We pray and ask for You

Let Your Kingdom come
Let Your will be done
All the Earth will say
and echo angels' praise
that You are God

BT09...

For the past three weeks, two times a day, I have found myself sitting in corporate worship with teenagers from all around the country. Interacting with students day in and day out is such a blessing! Sitting in the back of an auditorium and watching students encounter Christ is more than powerful. In just these past three weeks, God as taught me so much about myself and who I am in Christ. I have been challenged in my job, challenged in my walk with Christ, and challenged by my amazing team and their hearts for the Lord. I praise God for blessing me and Graham with an incredible team of college students and college graduates. These people are beyond wonderful! Their love for Christ and desire to serve in His name never ceases to inspire me. The Blue Team...also known as BT09...is a blessing to me!

I truly love my job. I love the fact that I am able to play a part in making camp happen for students across the country. I pray that my work makes the work of every Youth Minister attending Student Life this summer easier so that they can spend more of their week at camp pouring into their students. My favorite part of my job, though, is getting to love on and encourage 11 of the most incredible girls I have ever met. Take a look at them:


Aren't they gorgeous??! These girls are some of the most passionate ladies I have ever met when it comes to talking about Jesus Christ. They have truly challenged me, more than ever, to dive into the Word and strengthen my relationship with my Heavenly Father. I praise God for each of them and for giving me the opportunity to love on them.

Covenant College has been such a fun place to 'live' for the past several weeks. It is on top of Lookout Mountain - the view is INCREDIBLE!!! The weather here is crazy - there are times where we are literally in the midst of a cloud. This is what it looked like the other day...

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That's the Chapel that you can barely see in the background. It was so creepy. When it is not cloudy though, this place is beautiful :)

We have been blessed with wonderful Camp Pastors and Worship Leaders. The first week we had Adam Robinson speaking, and Chuck Hooten as the worship leader. The second week we had Jarrod Jones speaking, and Chuck again as the worship leader. This week we have Chad Norris speaking and Aaron Ivey as the worship leader. God has blessed each of them in unique ways to share the Gospel. Here are some pictures of these incredible worship leaders as they lead students to Christ...

That's about all that is going on right now! We have a camp that ends tomorrow morning, and another that starts tomorrow afternoon so things are about to pick up once again around here! After this coming camp, though, we're off to Gatlinburg for our Student Life @ Gatlinburg event! I am really looking forward to it. I will write more later...for now it's time to shower and get ready for Youth Minister's meeting and worship tonight. Have a wonderful night :)

Oh...and an exciting update on this summer...throughout our 3 weeks at Covenant, we have had a total of 95 children sponsored through Compassion International! Praise God!

The Simple Things in Life...

A swimming pool. Pretty common thing, right? Almost everyone in the United States, by the time that they are 5 years old, has spent time in a swimming pool. Probably several times a year, in fact. Many people have them in their backyard, in their neighborhood, at their Country Club, at the condo they stay in while visiting the beach. There are indoor swimming pools, outdoor swimming pools, infinity pools, lap pools, Olympic-size pools – none of which really impress people here because we are so used to seeing them day in and day out. (…well…except for infinity pools, those are pretty amazing to look at!) Would you agree with all of this?!

Well let me tell you someone who would not agree with this. Hezron Ongode Aidi. Hezron is a native of Kenya who grew up as a sponsored child in Compassion International. His story of God's faithfulness, grace, and compassion in his life is truly amazing. When I went to Kenya back in February, I had the pleasure of meeting Hezron, an LDP student with a heart of gold. LDP stands for "Leadership Development Program" - this program is part of Compassion International and allows students to interview in order to be accepted into the program. Once in the program they are able to attend a university as well as participate in classes through Compassion on how to be a leader. Hezron, who grew up in the most poverty-stricken conditions, is now a college graduate with a Computer Science degree. Amazing! This summer, Graham and I have the privilege of traveling from event to event with Hezron so that he can share his story of how God used Compassion International to break the cycle of poverty in his life.

One of the first days that Hezron was in the United States, Graham and I were able to steal him away for the day and show him around Birmingham. We started the day by going to my dad's office so that Hezron could see not only what an American business office looks like, but especially all of the technilogical components in Dad's law firm. Hezron walked around constantly saying, "Oh my...oh my...oh my..." He is so amazed at how BIG everything is and how COLD everywhere is! Later that afternoon we asked Hezron if he wanted to go see a movie or go bowling, or what all he wanted to do. He hesitated for a while, but then finally said, "I think I would like to take a swim." Now let me just remind you that Birmingham went through a week in May where it was just cold - not swimming weather, that's for sure. He continued saying, "I have always wanted to get into a swimming pool. They look so pretty and I have only seen them in the movies." Graham and I looked at each other and there was no more question of what we were going to do that afternoon - Hezron was about to take his first dip into a swimming pool! Our neighborhood has a pool so we let Hezron borrow one of Graham's swimsuits and took off to the pool. I felt like such a mom - I was thrilled to witness Hezron experience this! He absolutely LOVED the pool!!! He splashed around and practiced his "swimming" the entire time. Graham and I asked him if he had ever swam before and he said, "Yes, but only in Lake Victoria, not a pool." Lake Victoria...not an answer you hear to that question very often around here! When he got out of the pool he started walking towards one of the chairs next to the pool...I asked him if he was done swimming and he said, "Yes, but now I need to bask. That is what you do when you get out of a pool, right? You bask?" So he proceeded to "lay out" for a while after swimming :) On our way back to the Student Life office that afternoon, Hezron looked at Graham and said, "What is the date today?" Graham told him and he said, "I am going to write that down in my journal because this is the best day of my life!"

Wow. A swimming pool - this memory will always stick out to Hezron as being one of the "best days of his life." Graham and I could not move past this. That night Graham and I went to a Coldplay concert with some friends of ours and yes, we had a blast, but at the same time we could not stop thinking about the fact that for us to be entertained we have to pay over $100, have lights, music, and incredible talent in front of us. And even still we find ourselves complaining that our seats are not close enough. Seriously?

I'm so thankful to Hezron for reminding me that it is the simple things in life that we should be thankful for...

Here are some pictures (and a video) from Hezron's experience in the pool, as well as our pictures from the Coldplay concert...

This is what we call, "basking" :)

At the Coldplay concert...

One of my favorite people... We were freeeezing...!!

Relax and Celebrate...

Work is in full swing as we are headed out on the road in TWO WEEKS. Wow...I cannot believe the summer is already here! Over the next couple of weeks Graham and I will be working to finish up all of the details necessary to prepare for our camps this summer. Although it is a fun time of the year as we are beginning to meet some people on our team, it is also a time of year that causes...well...Stress. So...in major need of some relaxation, Graham and I joined my family at my parent's lake house at Lake Martin this weekend. This is most definitely one of my very favorite places on earth. There's nothing like spending the day playing outside...on the boat, wave runner, grilling out, laying in the hammock, fishing...it's the best!

Here are some pictures of my heaven on earth :)...






It was a wonderful weekend and a very special time as my family was able to be together for a very important day....Mother's Day! This Mother's Day was particularly special because not only did I get to celebrate the blessing of my incredible mother, but this was also my first Mother's Day to celebrate my husband's mother and stepmother . These three women are so wonderful - they have been and continue to be an example to both Graham and myself. I am so thankful for the example they are to me in so many ways. What a blessing they are! Here are these beautiful women...




We are so blessed.

Algunos de mis memorias favoritas...

These are the sites that I miss more than words can express...






Anyone who knows me knows that I adore Los Mochis, Mexico. I believe it will always be my home away from home. Through all of my time spent there, I learned so much about myself in so many ways. God blessed me with some incredible and lasting friendships with natives of Los Mochis, as well as some pretty wonderful people all around the United States. I will forever be thankful for my time spent in Mexico. God used my time there and the people I met there to shape my self, my walk with Christ, and my faith in many, many ways. I long to return SOON! I can honestly say that many of my most favorite memories come from my time in Los Mochis and time with people I met there. For example...

One of the best moments of my entire wedding weekend was going to dinner the night before my rehearsal. I rode with my dad to meet my two favortie Los Mochis men, Marco and Abner Vallejo (two of the most amazing men that I know) for dinner at a Mexican restaraunt here in Birmingham. These two men have played such an important role in my life and have demonstrated the love of Christ to me in so many ways. I could not get married without them there and considered it such a blessing when they said that they would come read scripture at my wedding. We walked into the restaurant and right before I turned a corner, my dad said, "So there may be more people here than you were expecting..." I look up and see two large tables filled with my Mexican family! Marco's family, Abner's family, and my precious friend, Danitza, were all sitting IN BIRMINGHAM and had surprised me for my wedding! I have tears in my eyes as I write this and just think about it! It was the best wedding gift I could have asked for! Of course I started crying then...and later during dinner...and again before we left! I could not believe it! After getting over the initial shock of seeing everyone, I began drilling them on how they got to Birimingham, where they were staying, how they got to the restaraunt, etc. I soon learned that the AMAZING people in my parent's small group at Brook Hills had pulled their resources together to bring the Vallejos up to Birmingham, and house them for the weekend. I was speechless. They knew how special these people are to me and they knew just how much it would mean to have them at my wedding. Praise God for these people and their hearts! It was incredible :)