random:)

Last night was our last night of crusade until after Christmas. Here is a pic of me and some of my awesome Bible study girls!:)


SOOOOOO excited about this!! Check out Norm the Niner! He's lookin pretty serious. Check out his left eye! It's gold! We are ready for some 49er football and so are the stores at the mall!

CRU SEMI-FORMAL aka THE SNOWBALL

Last night we had our first semi-formal for crusade since ive been at UNCC. The Lord has really blessed us with grown and allowed us to fellowship in such an awesome way. It was so much fun to dress up and dance! i loved it! Here are some pics from the night. sweet man!

hussain!

the dancin was awesome!

me and bradley

my girls:)

some of the girls

the djs!

Student teaching one month from today!

happy birthday to my sweet man

Today is Bradley 21st birthday! He has been such an amazing boyfriend and I am so thankful he was born! These pictures should give you an idea of how crazy cool he is:)

U! S! C! GOOOOOOOOO GAMECOCKS!!

Saturday, Bradley's family took us to the USC-Arkansas game. It was fun to see the team that my boyfriend loves so much up close. The atmosphere at the games is soo much fun. Sadly, USC got beat pretty badly:( but thats ok..I still thought it was fun!! BTW GOOOOOOO PACK;)

Grace Grace God's Grace

Do you ever have those moments when you realize just how yucky of a person you are? I mean, if you've accepted Christ as your savior then you are an admitted sinner but geeeeeezzz some days its even more blatantly obvious. Today while driving back to school, Bradley and I stopped at Bojangles to grab some lunch. The drive-up window was backed all the way to the entrance of the parking lot. We decided to go in. The line was just as crazy long inside. We realized the people working still had not gotten the hang of what they were doing:) after waiting 20 minutes...we finally got our food. Backing out of my parking space was special...the line for the drive-up window was sooo long my car was blocked in. FINALLY we make it back to the highway. I take out my biscuit and it is wrong... that was it...i was done...the attitude came bursting out...the p word that rhymes with hissed made its way out of my mouth...Bradley sweetly offers me his food and i reject it! I'm so mad i could feel that lump in my throat like im about to cry...OVER FOOD. REALLY? i mean people are starving..and im missing cheese and you would think the world is ending. well...the Lord spoke to me on the ride on...i was reminded of his amazing love for me. I am such a selfish spoiled person but he still loved me to send his son to take the weight of my sin on his shoulders so that I could have a relationship with almighty God. WOW Is that not AWESOME!!! The whole world needs to hear this message...when was the last time you shared this good news with someone new?

fiesta in my mouth!

lLast night I decided to make Charity's empanadas!!! They were amazing!!!! My picture looks a little gross because I kinda forgot to take the picture before I started eating..oooppss! They were yummy and it was easy enough for me to take..im challenged in the cooking area!

The Penguin!

Saturday night, Bradley took me out to dinner to the Penguin. I posted on this place last year! It was on the Food Network! It has really good burgers and fried pickles! We had to wait over an hour though because it is so popular! We thought that if we got there at five we would beat the rush..not so...owell! it was still great!

Back to Middle School!!!!

This year I'm working at Northridge Middle School. It has been pretty awesome so far. I LOVE the students!! They are bright and sweet and have a desire to make something of their lives. I can't wait to give them my best this year. I am truly learning how I can glorify the Lord through teaching. Each day in school is an opportunity to show the love of Christ to middle school students going through huge changes in their lives. I pray that I will make a difference this year!

loooovvveee pasta

I just wanted to have a little blog post to let everyone know how sweet my boyfriend is:) yes i know you may be gagging...but...owell;) he gets up early on fridays (when he doesnt have to) just to take me to class so i dont have to walk...he surprises me with reeses...he makes sure i know that im beautiful every day...pumps my gas so i dont have to get out of the car...spends every second he can with me...and sooo much more!!

A couple of weekends ago we had a date night and ate the "love" pasta that i brought back from italy and then watched letters to juliet...pasta in the US just cant compare!!!!

anyways..im sure your sick of reading this but...he is sweet:)

F-U-N Week!!!

It's the little things in life that make me super happy right now with the way school is. This week was just a fun week here at school. The week started with some of the guys playing frisbee from my 3rd floor window down to the grass.

Later on in the week...my roomie Kaitlin and I went and had pedicures together! (this is a big deal because we hardly see each other this semester because of all the work we've been doing)

The nail salon was crazy nice...they served drinks and had awesome chairs that even massaged your butt:) ....no pictures of me sorry!

Last night...one of my friend's had a cookout because he just bought a house (yay!!) I got to see one of my good friends, Kayla, who graduated in May and is now teaching 2nd grade in Y-Vegas ;) we played the game Quelf which is like the craziest game ever..check it out! I haven't laughed that hard in a while...so yea..a fun week:)

Willy T and Da Cru - "This is Cru"

Check out this hilarious video/rap some of the guys from CRU created!!

don't do it. just don't.

To all of the people out there who like to clean out their ears with Q-tips, I would advise you to stop immediately. Cleaning your ear with these things scrapes away the skin cells that have the good bacteria that fight organisms that cause crazy bad infections. I learned this from experiencing one of those crazy bad infections myself. I woke up Sunday morning in pretty severe pain but just took some Advil. Monday morning I was wide awake at 4:30am in TERRIBLE pain. I decided to go to the minute clinic where they informed me that my ear was too bad for them to treat. Next stop, Duke urgent care where they informed me that i had a very bad inner ear infection and put me on antibiotics. Two days later....HORRIBLE HORRIBLE PAIN. Now in Charlotte..I go to the ENT (thanks to Melanie Huffman) The doctor takes one look in my ear and grumbles...he said "follow me" i followed him into one of those scary looking rooms with a table to lay on and stuff and he proceeds to suction out my ear for several minutes and look at it under a microscope. He then puts this thing called a wick in my ear that has to stay for two days and one of my awesome friends gets to pull in out. Once I sat up he sat in front of me and informed me that this "heck of a painful" ear infection was self induced. He then told me that some people don't where seat belts until they are in a crash and this is what has happened to me. I knew instantly what I did. NEVER CLEAN YOUR EARS WITH Q-Tips!!!!!!!!!

whewwww!!!!

Finally! I have finally been home (Durham) for a full week!!! I slept in my own bed 8 times between May 17th and August 2nd but I am so blessed to have had the summer that I had. I really enjoyed sharing Christ with others and traveling all over Europe for 8 weeks! I just wanted to take a second to share some of the amazing things I experienced this summer. My favorite thing I learned in Rome was how to discern the voice of my Father from the voice of the evil one. It's something I will never forget and obviously will need to use on a daily basis. Some of you may be think...why didn't you already know how to discern the voice of the Lord from Satan...and I don't know why. I know I have never been attacked the way I was in Italy before so I guess the Lord was waiting for this opportunity to really teach me some awesome stuff. Another thing that I want to share is how incredibly bad the entire continent of Europe needs to hear the message of Jesus. Now, I know that the whole world needs to know Jesus Christ but the Lord really opened my eyes to this specific need this summer. There are many places in the world where the people live in need of food, water, and shelter on a regular basis. We often think of these places first when we hear "mission trip" but I would like to open your eyes to a place where the people seem "fine" on the outside. They have food, shelter, and even nice clothes. Their countries are well off financially and can stand on their own. People seem to be fine in Europe. They have what they need, or so it seems. This is a lie. Europe is one of the darkest places in the world. Missionaries in this part of the world see the least amount of fruit from their labor (not that their isn't any-but to our eyes) Europeans have everything...at least they think so. They don't feel the need for a Savior. They can be the god of themselves. I did not encounter 1 student this summer on campus while in Italy that had a personal relationship with Jesus. I shared the Gospel with many students...none of them had ever even heard of having a personal relationship. It made many of them curious but they needs to hear in many more times. There are believers...but not many. I just want to encourage you to remember Europe when you pray for missions around the world. These people are so lost but believe they have everything. We want them to know Christ!

Focus Rome (short version)

Craziness In Slovakia

Saturday night we found RC Cola at the restaurant we eat all of our meals at!! How crazy!! Rae and I decided to wash clothes in the washer at the hostel...when we opened the washer up, water poured on the floor..it took our clothes a LONG time to dry!! I kinda like hanging clothes out to dry! :):):)

Magnum Gold!

I have found the Magnum Gold bar in Banska!!!! These things are the best things on earth and will truly change your life!

Haluski

Tonight at dinner we had the privilege of eating the official Slovak dish of Haluski. It is potatoes made into tiny dumplings with goat cheese and fat back on on top...Yum!!! :)

Slovakia

Sooo I am back in Europe for the next 13 days! Crazy! Today I spent the whole day with my friend Zuzana who I met the first time I went to SK in 2007. Zuzana is now a believer in Christ! Praise God! It was soo amazing to sit down and talk about how the Lord has changed her life! I was almost in tears. After talking over Coke she took me all over town. I was able to meet her family for the first time. They were so sweet and fed me some new Slovak food:) well thats all for now!

The Time Has Finally Come!!

For me to see this smiling face!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bradley has been serving the Lord in Asia this summer while I was in Rome. While it is AMAZING to be able to serve the Lord in 2 different places, I am ready to see this boy!! We had no communication for the first few weeks and then finally some emails but I'm anxious to hear his voice and see his face!! (besides the 20 pics I took with me) I'm praying today that he has a much easier time getting to RDU than me!!! Can't wait to see you babe!!!:))

Ciao Roma

Tomorrow I head back to the states after 5.5 weeks in Italy:) I'm sad to leave but also excited about coming home and sharing about the experiences I've had. The Lord has blessed me with so many amazing conversations and even new friendships with Italians. I have learned many new things about the Lord. I will definitely be updating the blog with final reports and pictures from the project when I arrive at home. Thanks to my mama for posting the pics while I've been here! Can't wait to see you tomorrow!! Happy Birthday daddy!!!

Amazing Last Day On Campus

Today was my last day at Tor Vergata. It was pretty sad to think my time here is up for now. I had an amazing 4 weeks on that campus. Today I was able to share the Gospel 3 times! It was great! Tonight Aprill and I went shopping and out to eat with two friends, Ilaria and Monica, that we met last week. It was amazing to spend 6 hours just with them. They picked out clothes for us and even ordered our food at dinner. It was so sweet :) I will miss them so much!! Aprill got locked in the bathroom at dinner which was hilarious! Everyone was staring at us trying to get her out. Here are some pics from our night out!

Go Italia!!!!

Last night I had the privilege of going to watch Italy play Paraguay in a park with 20,000 Italians. It was an incredible experience! Most of the team was decked out in Italian gear. It was so fun to be right there beside them getting emotional with them. It was definitely my favorite experience I've had here and maybe the best I've ever had overseas. I think they really appreciated us supporting them... they took lots of pics of us which is kind of funny :) I actually was asked to do a commercial for Sony 3D TVs. It was HILARIOUS!

Freedom!!

I am really experiencing the freedom that is in Christ on this trip. Since I became a believer I have known that I was set free from the bondage of sin and death but never fully felt and enjoyed the true freedom that I have in that. I said in my last post that I can be a worrier and try to control certain areas of my life. Galatians 5:1 says, "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." How exciting! One of the tings I have been learning is how to know what comes from the Lord and what comes from the enemy. This has helped me tremendously in the area of worry.
The Lord brings:
Abundant life
Conviction
Repentance
Truth
Freedom
Worship and praise

The enemy brings:
Condemnation
Shame
FEAR
Sadness
Despair
Bondage
Lies

When I get to a situation where I'm worrying or obsessing over something I now sit and ask...does worry and fear come from the Lord? Does the shame I feel over a past sin come from God? NO it doesn't:) its important to recognize the enemy! Sorry this post was all over the place but just wanted to share!

A spankin' from the Lord:)

Yes a spankin'...well kinda...I have just entered, as of 22 minutes ago, the 5th week on project! I can't believe it! I get asked a lot what the Lord has taught me. Honestly it would be impossible to say everything I've learned...its so much! But I can tell you I've grown in areas that I was not expecting. I expected to grow in the are of sharing my faith, which I have, but I don't believe that was the main thing the Lord was trying to show me. I am very comfortable with talking about the Gospel with Italians and its crazy to think a year ago I would have been really nervous. The biggest thing I've learned is letting go of many things in my life and giving control over them to the Lord. I have always been a worrier and it took me coming across the ocean to Italy for me to finally learn how to give Him control. What a peace it brings! Its incredible. I share with people that the first two weeks of project were a spankin' from God:) it was rough letting go but I'm so glad and thankful for His hand in my life. Hebrews 12 says that if the Lord didn't discipline his children, you would not be his child. I am loved! There were many tears shed the first two weeks but I am soooo amazed at the Lord. He is worthy of praise! Some of my favorite verses from Hebrews 12 are:
Therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
12:1-2
Wow!! Gives me chills!!

Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.
12:12-13
I love how he is making what is lame holy!!! I love this stuff!! Also, Hebrews 11 says that having faith pleases the Lord. I'm so grateful for the testing of my faith during my weeks in Italy:)

Market

Every Friday and Saturday morning, there is a market like 100ft from where I live. This morning I went shopping! It's fun (sometimes) to haggle and get stuff for pretty cheap. Today I did have one man that would NOT budge...nothing worked...even the puppy face and leaving..how sad! Normally if you walk away they will try harder. Not today! BUT I did get a skinny belt and some shoes at a nice price. :) My shoes are so euro and I'll probably get some weird looks in the states but that's ok! I'm babysitting a family tonight so the parents can have a date night. I'm so excited! I love going to a home..it's so nice.
P.S. There are other people on this trip with me..they are just on my regular camera. All blog pics are quickies taken on the blackberry! :)

How many bus drivers do you normally see this relaxed?? :)

My Average Day In Roma

During the week I go to my campus from 12:30 to 4:00. I work at the School of Business. It's neat to meet students with that major and talk about their dreams. Today I met two girls who were soooo sweet. We talked about Jesus, and are probably gonna meet up soon to eat Japanese and talk some more Jesus!:) That's what I do everyday...I go on campus and pray for the Lord to place girls in my path to sit down and share with. It's pretty awesome! Italians are generally open to you just sitting down and eating with them even though they've never met you before. BUT it takes a LONG time for them to let you "in." It's still awesome to meet girls even if I'll never see them again... I pray they remember our conversations. This afternoon I went to help 4 year-olds practice English. It was adorable! A family from Tennessee started a family life program in the city. We practiced English with the kids while the Lile's talked and shared with the parents. It was great to support them in their very special ministry!

Personal Space

So I've been wanting to capture the public transportation system for a while. It's totally normal for there to be 50 people on a bus that fits maybe 30. It's kinda full actually...most days anyway. Some days I'm just like "get off!" But most of the time I just soak in the culture...gotta love how this lady looked right at the camera!

and excuse my spelling and grammar mistakes!! im super tired when i do these:)

last week

Last week was a hard and discouraging week. Yea..just gonna be honest. I had very few spiritual conversations and no hearing from Bradley really weighs on me some days. I want to share the Gospel multiple times everyday and some days it just doesnt happen which can be hard to take it. Im still sooo thankful for the ones I have had and Im sure there will be more. Keep praying for that:) I did actually hear from B tues but i missed his phone call..i did get a voicemail though..its HARD not talking to your person for this long...i mean i knew that getting into it but yea...you get it:) This week is looking to be much brighter. The Lord is good! Keep praying for Italians!