Hello everyone!

I have some BIG news… and this will come as a shock to most of you.
For those of you who helped me make the decision,
thank you for your wisdom and prayers!

I am leaving the World Race early…actually here in Africa and in just a few days. For the next month or so, I will be working in Kenya with the Exley's; a family from my home church in Texas who have just moved there. I leave for Kenya on July 23^rd.  I'm really excited to get to spend some time there with them! I have always love Africa! I never intended on leaving the race here, but it is what I feel I should do after much thought, counsel and prayer.  I will be continuing to share about all that is happening in Kenya via email and thru another blog.  If you would like to continue to hear what is happening please send me your email address at okie_girl_00@yahoo.com

I really have learned so much this year! I've learned more about who I am, what my strengths are and the areas that could use improvement. I've gotten a clear stance on what my passions are and what are not. My big prayer this year was that the Lord would show me where I could live my life on purpose…what the area was (place or people group) that makes my heart beat. I even had thoughts of going into full time missions post trip. But now I know that my heart beats for the people of America. I'm passionate about teenagers recognizing how significant and valuable they are and how big of a difference they can make in the world around them. I'm passionate about loneliness, worthlessness and insecurities being replaced with joy, worth, and significance. I am passionate about Americans coming alive, about people being on trips like this and realizing what they were made for, seeing hearts break for others, seeing practical needs being met, people realizing that they were created to make a difference in the lives of those around them. The lessons learned on this trip will never be forgotten.

I wanted to say goodbye to my fellow racers and especially my girls: sweet Michelle, thoughtful K-T, amazing Amanda, hysterical Stacy and remarkable Shawna…okay realistically, I could go on and on! You girls have taught me so much in the last 7 months! I love you! I also wanted to say a HUGE thank you to all of you who have done so much for me this year…my financial givers, my prayer team, those of you who left comments and sent e-mails. The last 7 months would have been so much less without you all joining with me...so thank you so much!

My team and I are going to Johannesburg this weekend to enjoy the city and say goodbye. I'm filled with an arrangement of different emotions but know that this is precisely that this is the right move. As a final farewell, I wanted to post some pictures of my favorite times and people…

Arriving at the airport for training back in September...

My (ever-changing members) team cooking back in mexico...we cooked chickens...and by that I mean the ENTIRE chicken.

the boys in Aguilar, Mexico... This was my favorite time of the entire trip.

the boy who stole my heart and still has a HUGE chunk of it!

The class I worked with in Guatemala enjoying the cupcakes I made for the class...

The amazing family in Mozambique.  I sincerely loved every second with them!

My house from time to time...my good ole' tent.

The family we spent some time with in Livingston, Guatemala. 
I loved falling asleep to the sound of this family laughing together every night.

With the kids in Mexico after our '20 minute' (aka - 2 hour walk).  :) 
This place was amazing!

Staying with the baby in the hospital...

Hiking up the volcano in Guatemala and standing next to lava...so cool.

This is something I will NOT miss...meat sitting out all day and all kinds of parts to accompany it.  :)

Traveling in these bus type vehicles for hours praying that your luggage won't fall off the top.

and the wonderful family in Peru that invited us over for Peru sweets twice.

I could post a zillion pictures (trust me - I have that many) :) of all the memories, over the last 7 months. 
Some places and people I really hope to see again sometime.
Thank you for joining me over the last 7 months...
I trust that your life is being lived out full of purpose!

First an update on baby Gomotsegang! 
She came home from the hospital last night... we brougt her home last night around 7 and all the kids welcomed her with kisses and hugs.   She was a little fussy at first when sat down into her chair... she has gotten a little spoiled b/c of all the attention she was getting from the nurses... but she's home, safe and sound.

As you know, we have been working here at the Lighthouse Children's Shelter for the last few weeks. The Shelter is based in Rustenburg, South Africa, and is a registered place of safety for children in crisis situations. Many of these children are orphaned due to the HIV/AIDS Pandemic and in their short lives have only known neglect, abuse, and abandonment. Many of these children will be placed in adoptive families, both locally and in other countries. Some of the children may never be adopted and others might not survive the devastation of HIV/AIDS, but the shelter is committed to each child as an individual no matter what they have been through or what the future holds. Here are a few pictures of the babies I've been spending my days with…

this is the view outside the shelter...

here is the very used swingset...

here are a few pics of the toddlers...

Here is Mary getting recieving her check up and getting weighed.

here are a few pics from the birthday party yesterday....

Hello everyone...

I wanted to give you all an update on the baby...she is doing much better.  Eating all her food, giggling and playing.  It's good to see her so much healthier.  She still is on oxygen and cannot breath without it.  This morning when I arrived at the hospital the tubes were taken off, but a little after breakfast they had to reapply them due to the oxygen level being so low.  Here are a few pictures from the other day...

Here is Gomotsegang being checked by one of the nurses...

This is lunch time...  She hasn't thrown up on me in 2 days...until today that is. :) uck.

and here's a shot of her sweet little face, something I get to enjoy everyday.  :)

Thanks for all the prayers for this little one. 
They are definately making a difference!

It's Sunday night, 8 pm and I'm sitting inside the emergency room at a hospital here in Rustenburg. One of the babies from the shelter has gotten sick and Ria (a volunteer at the shelter) has asked me to come along with her to help. The baby, Gomotsegang, is almost 2 years old but has the body frame of a child younger than 1. As I hold her in the car and we drive to the hospital Ria tells me that this baby girl in my arms has full-blown HIV-AIDS and TB. The 2 of these combined slows the growth process. Gomotsegang is just now sitting up by herself and cannot walk or speak any words. Ria says that they (at the shelter) lose a lot of babies at this age because their bodies cannot fight off normal sicknesses due to the AIDS.

When we arrive at the ER they immediately take her back. Her oxygen level is supposed to be higher than 95 and at its lowest was at 79. She is gasping for air while they begin to poke and prick in order to give shots, hook up her IV, start a breathing treatment, etc. She is the sweetest little girl…long eyelashes, bright eyes and a gorgeous smile. She becomes more stable as the oxygen helps her stats rise. The doctor begins to ask about the whereabouts of her parents. Ria explains to him that her mother has left no way of contacting her and the telephone number left from the father was no longer in service. We did contact the fathers work and they said they would pass along the information. The police brought Gomotsegang to the shelter about a year ago late on a Friday night. Her mother is drinking heavily and cannot care for her.

I plan on staying with her for the next few days in the hospital. My team will be working on a really cool project planting some vegetable gardens, but I feel like this is what I should do.  They have another lady staying with her at night...so I'll stay during the days.  Her hospital room is filled with 2 other children, along with their mothers. It hurts my heart to know this baby is here alone, that her parents left no way of contacting them and that they are clueless she is even here. ( Today (Monday), her father came to visit. He stayed for about 10 minutes.)
Pray for this little Gomotsegang…that her little body will be healed.

Hey everyone! Our team decided to take the day off on the 4th to celebrate the 'american holiday'.  We went and watched Pirates 3 the night before and then spent the day at the mall.  We also invited some of the staff of the shelter that we are working with over to the apartment we are staying in for a cookout and dinner.  Here are a few pics of our day.  I hope you had a good 4th! 

this is Lorinda, Maria, Josh and David looking after our food on the grill...

some other goodies...including deviled eggs, baked beans, etc.

one of our red, white and blue cupcakes...

some of our guest...

of course... our firework display

and this is Monty...our guard dog.  You can't really tell in this picture but he is massive...he's taller than me when he stands up on his back legs.  He did not enjoy the fireworks! :)

Update from Mozambique... 

This was an insert that the family we worked with in Mozambique sent out to thier supporters.  Thought it was really cool and wanted to share...

'So many things have happened since we've been back that I don't even know where to start. When we arrived back in May we made contact with an amazing group of young Americans. They are from the World Race Organization http://www.theworldrace.org/ . They are reaching out to 9 countries in 11 months. Half of their group (11) came to stay with us and helped us tremendously.

During there visit they stayed over in Tamane with the orphans and served them. One evening we showed a Jesus film in Fakete. At the end of the show the people were invited to come forward for prayers and heeling. A man with named Thomas came forward and asked that we should pray for him, because his hearing was very bad. Two days later he came to our house to fetch a Bible. He now attends every Sunday. Two Sundays back he announced that he had hearing problems for 15 years and that his hearing is now perfect. Praise the Lord for his healing.'

Hope everyone is doing great...I plan on Updating soon with pictures of the kids from the shelter. :)

Sorry I haven't updated in awhile...we have been busy little bee's. :)
 Things are good here in South Africa.  We arrived in Rustenburg about a week and a half ago from Swaziland.  My team is working with a missionary here whose name is David.  Here is an update on what I have been up to.

PAINTING...

For the last week we have been helping paint an administration building of the South African School of Theology.  It's been a long process but is almost complete.  The people we have met here on campus are great!  They, and there families, have been fun to get to know over the last week.  They have been very accomadating and have allowed us to stay (in the newly remolded) dorms.  We've had hot showers, electricty and access to the kitchen.  The weather here has been literally freezing at night...we even heard rumors of snow about 2 days ago during the middle of the night.  A cold front came in and it was definately fridged.  It's warmed up quite a bit since then but is still pretty chilly at night.  Here are a few pictures of our painting process.

This is one side of the building....we actually had to power wash, scrape loose paint, sand, fill, and prime the whole thing (a few times) and then we are currently putting on a tanish-brown coat (3 or 4 coats) on as a top layer.

Here are a few of us...working hard...as you can tell.

And here is a pic of Josh...you can see he is using a tree branch as a paint stick.

THE LIGHTHOUSE SHELTER...

The missionary, Daved, that we are working with has established a shelter here for children in crisis.  There are about 30 children total and range from the ages of 2 weeks to about 10 years old.  They basically live out thier complege lives there....eating, sleeping, going to school, etc.  He's created a home for these kids.  It's a really neat shelter.  The kids all have different stories.  Some are HIV positive.  We heard stories of abandonment; one child was fround in the trash minutes after he was born.  Another girl was raped numerous times before she had turned 3 years old.  These children have all come from different back grounds and are given a second chance here at the shelter.  He has numerous workers that work 4 days on and 4 days off.  There is pre-school class that meets at 9 every morning.  My first day there we made crafts and practiced numbers and days.  The class ended as the kids sang and danced to a song with the lyrics ..."I am not forgotten, God knows my name".  I began to tear up as a I watched these children sing and dance to a song with lyrics so true.  These kids have been forgotten by parents and family, they have been thrown out as trash... But God has not forgotten them.

I have been helping out with the babies of the shelter...The youngest one is 2 weeks old.  He is so tiny and cute.  Some of them are learning to crawl and sit up.  It's different in the nursery everyday.  I help with feeding them (you can imagine how much work it is to feed 11 babies at the same time 6 times a day).  Most of the time I leave with spit and baby food all over my shirt.  But none of that matters when you're giving a little bit of love that way overdue.

WRAP UP...

I personally am really enjoying my time here in South Africa.  I really love the shelter and am thankful for our host and accomidations.  There is a big mall nearby that also has a movie theatre (we already took some time off to watch Ocean's 13) so that is really nice.  Our team is also supposed to help with a garden project here as well.  We are needing to build some type of protection around the gardens because monkeys and chickens keep getting inside and ruining the crops.  :)

Love you all and miss you tons...I'll post some fun pics of the kids at the shelter soon so you can see the delights I get to spend my days with.  :)

I had an extravagant, spectacular 26^th birthday!!! I was allowed to spend the night with my team and use good, quick internet which let me call home and talk to Tati for hours…I also spent the night at a hotel and pampered myself…I got an fantastic box from my friend Meagan filled with goodies and then presents from my team followed by birthday cake with sprinkles and ice cream! I took a few pics to share my day with you! Thanks to everyone who made my day…It really means more than words can say! Love you…

Here I am...all dolled up in birthday attire...
(thanks to the amazing meagan!)


I went out with a few of the girls for a birthday dinner...


I booked a gorgeous, spacious hotel room for my birthday...


decked out with satelite TV, a king size bed, fluffy pillows, etc.


and then ordered room service for dinner


Then I opened up some presents....
I got an amazing box from Meagan and some gifts from my team...






Fun, fun presents...

and even more presents...


The next day some of my team picked me up and took me back to where we are staying only to find more suprises!


Even more fun signs inside the house... (joy you are awesome!)


When I got upstairs to my room I found more presents...


And yes Meagan...Almost all your decorations were hung up and used!
It reminded me of home! :)


Later that night I was called downstairs to find a birthday cake, ice cream and a happy birthday song...




Cake complete with sprinkles...and in world race form (a little smashed from the trip home) :)


The End. :)

---

on a side note...we leave for South Africa in the morning at 10:00...
My team is going to work with an American missionary there doing some painting, building, working with orphans, etc. I'll write again when I can!

Here are a few pictures of our time in Mozambique...
Thanks again SO MUCH to the Rudolph family! I loved every second at your house! 
The internet connection here in Swaziland is as slow as a turtle...Thanks to Ryan for all the pics!!!
Enjoy! 

This is the enitre group that sayed with the Rudolph family!

This is the Rudolph family...

This is a pic from the night we showed the Jesus Film...There were about 200 people counted.

This was after the film...asking for prayer.  A guy came forward asking for healing (his ears were bad).  He also gave his life to the Lord.  The next day he showed up at Jacko's house asking for a Bible and told us that his ears had been healed.  He also showed up again on Sunday for church along with 2 friends.

We also got to help with some construction.  Here is a pic of the guys...they helped lay concrete and build the sides for a shower/bathroom for future mission teams that will come in and stay here.

This is one of the nasty bugs we had to put up with on a daily basis. yuck! (and scary)

On one of the Sunday's we took some of the orphans to the beach...It was really fun!

This is the view from a lodge there in Mozambique we stayed at the night we came back from the bush.

This was really a treat...They cooked up T-Bone Steaks for our entire team free of charge.  I think this is the first time I've eaten steak since leaving Texas.  You can see the excitement on all of our faces.

  
This was our day out on the boat/island...completely gorgeous!  We spent the day snorkling and deep sea fishing.  I'm to the right in the wonderful green shorts! :)

The night before we left for Swaziland we had a going away party with the Rudolph family and some friends we had met in Mozambique.  After dinner we gathered around the bon fire...The guys defintaely have bragging rights for how high the flames actually went!

We made it safely to Swaziland after a 14 hour bus ride from Mozambique.  It was quite an interesting ride...Just about every 20 minutes a 'guard' would be in the middle of the road stopping our vehicle.  I learned after the first few times that they required either a gift or money in order to let you pass.  If you didn't give him either, the vehicle would be pulled over, everyone would get off and they would search through everything (which would take 2 or 3 hours).  I asked the driver what the point was and he answered... 'they all just want money'.  Lukily our driver had  'given them gifts' on the way to Mozambique and we got thru quickly on our way back to Swaziland.

I'm really excited to be in Swaziland...Not sure yet what to expect, But I plan on it being a good month. 
My birthday is in a few days and you can't go wrong with birthdays! :)
Have a good Saturday!

A great guy from my youth group nammed Ben Dossett passed away yesterday in a motorcycle accident. 
Today was supposed to be his High School gradutation day.
His funeral is on Saturday. 

I first met Ben on a mission trip to Mexico; he was full of laughter and genuine kindness.  Those around him loved and enjoyed his friendship.  My heart broke when hearing the news  and even now as I write this.  I will never understand death, the why, the unfairness of it and the questions it brings.  Why a high school senior who has his entire life in front of him - loses it. 
I never find answers...
only tears...
and a comforting thought that God is still faithful and in control.

Pray for Ben's family (Dwayne & DeRhonda and his brother Jonathan), pray for his friends, for peace.

For my girls who are left to mourn; some of his good friends (Sarah, Kelsey, Macy, Ilsa...) I can't imagine what you are going thru and i'm so sorry that I can't be there with you right now.  Know that I'm praying for you, for peace and comfort.  I love you! E-mail me anytime you need to.