I'm Back!!

Hey everyone I'm back. I just got back tonight from Wisconsin. 12 students from our youth group went along with 3 leaders on a mission trip. It was amazing...that pretty much sums in up. But I know everyone will want to hear like all the details so I'll fill you in.

Ok, so we stayed at Crossroads Church in Madison, Wisconson along with 5 groups from other churches. There was a total of about 80 people. We were divided up into 6 teams with a mix of kids and leaders from different churches. It was awesome to meet new people and we ended up becoming great friends with all our group members and many more kids. So here's a typical schedule of what would happen during the day...

7:00 wake up
7:30 breakfast
8:15 quiet time with small groups
8:45 assembly for daily assignments
9:00 off to work sites
12:00 lunch break
12:30 back on the job
3:45 - 5:45 shower time
6:00 dinner
6:30 free time
7:30 - 9:00 worship and teaching time
9:15 small groups
9:45 hang out
11:00 bed time

So as you can see we were always very busy. The opportunity to serve was great and the members of our group made it fun. Here's a list of the projects we did...

Community Gardens- we picked 1,500 pounds of veggies which went directly to an outreach service
Middleton Outreach- we sorted clothes at a shelter
Holy Wisdom Monastery- we spreed ed mulch on a trail in the woods and cleaned inside
Second Harvest- we packaged food to be sent to shelters
Salvation Army- we cleaned, organized, and played with little kids there

Not only was serving an amazing part of the experience but the teaching time (service) was too. Rich, the speaker, was an absolute amazing guy. I could relate to all of his messages and he really made me think. Hearing his messages really brought me closer to God and made my week. I am so thankful that he was there. I can't even begin to explain how great he was. By the end of the service practically half of the people were always crying because he was so amazing and the stories he told were touching and incredible. Other than that we just hung out with all the awesome friends we met, played volleyball, pool, etc. We were all so sad we had to leave today. It was so so hard to say goodbye to everyone again as we are toally hoping to stay in touch and see them again next year. Anyway, our youth leader is goin to send us all disks with the pictures on them so until then I'll just post a couple we took last night of all our friends. We were running around dnapping pics of them all...pretty fun. So I'm just trying to catch up on everything...all the comments and blogs!

Wacky Wednesday...what extreme sport should you try

You Should Try Adventure Racing

Not only do you have the extreme attitudeYou've the extreme endurance for an adventure race!

What Extreme Sport Should You Try?

Smart Card Sunday/ 5 Reasons me-me

So it was nice to just take a little break from the blogs. I've been hanging outside all day long this past week and have not been on the computer a ton. but i didn't forget about smart card Sunday...

Take
your focus
off of how others
see you. Cease
being obsessed
with the need to impress
your friends and your
foes. Keep your concern
on the vision you see in
the mirror. Don't allow
the approval of others
to obstruct you
view of YOU.
- Travis Smiley

I was also tagged at the beginning of the week by Ashley to participate in this me-me "5 Reasons I Love Jesus" meme. So hear it goes...

1. He is always forgiving. ~ This is incredible! I am just now getting back on track from making some poor decisions that I regret and not being as close to him as I used to; and instead of being angry at me for making some bad choices and being farther than I wanted from him for awhile he welcomes me back with open arms.

2. He leads me in the right direction. ~ As many of you know, 7th grade was a hard year for me. My best friend and I got into a huge fight and we haven't really talked much since, which was one of the hardest things I've gone through. But after loosing her, God lead me towards some of my old friends who I now have reconnected with. Lauren and Kenzie are not only a ton of fun but great christian girls. The 3 of us have actually even started a bible study together this summer which has helped all of us grow a lot.

3. He helps me make the right choices ~ Being in middle school you are faced with hard decisions daily and have to put up with much peer pressure. I've already been faced with situations where God has given me the strength to say "no" to my peers and make the right choice.

4. He works in interesting ways. ~ Last week, I was really tired and not wanting to get up and go to church Sunday morning. I was sporting a frown all morning and didn't speak a word on the way there. But as I sat in church listening to Pastor Todd I felt like the sermon was faced all towards me and was exactly what I needed to hear. It just proves to show that God works in interesting and mysterious ways.

5. He has a reason for everything and will always keep his word of meeting all our needs. ~ You know, sometimes it's difficult for me to understand why God allows bad things happen. For example, why weren't we matched with one of the little girls we requested on the last COP list and why couldn't my mom have any kids right after me but could after Sophia. But we just have to remember that God has a plan for everything. Maybe there is a different little girl out there that is meant to be in our family instead of one of the three we last requested. And if my mom had Daniel earlier would we have chose to adopt Sophia? Then where would she be?
"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus" Philippians 4:19

I have to say, thanks Ashley for tagging me. It really caused me to stop and think! I definitly need to do that more often! =)

what flower are u

Sorry I am getting to this so late. Our computer and cable went out all day and just came back on so I'm just getting to everything. You Are a Carnation

You are down to earth and grounded. You tend to be more traditional than trendy.Your confidence gets you through anything.People trust you and are very loyal to you.

What Flower Are You?

Smart Card Sunday

I decided to do 2 Smart Card Sundays since I've been gone for the last couple. Hope you enjoy them! =) Have a great Sunday!

From

the dawn of time,

God has known you

and loved you. He's not

waiting today for you

to get it together.

He's waiting for you

to come to him with

open, empty hands.

~ Dr. Bruce Wilkinson

The words

you use to describe

others make sharp

YOU-turns.

Your judgments,

criticisms, and

compliments

boomering back

to you. What you say

about others,

you're also saying

about yourself.

-Travis Smiley

Congratulations Gwen!!!

My wonderful Gwen was just recently matched with this beautiful little girl who they are naming Maggie. They are hoping to travel in 2-5 months to bring her home! This baby girl and this family were truly meant to be and I can't wait to see her in her mommy and daddy's arms. I love Gwen and her family so much and am so excited for them to bring another little addition to the family home soon! Stop by her blog to leave her with some warm and congratulating words...she'll love it! :)

Which Dessert are you Most Like?

Sorry I posted this so late but I wanted to wait awhile since I just posted my pics from the trip yesterday! Anyway...hope u all like the quiz!

You Are a Brownie

Decadent and intense, you aren't for the weakhearted.Those who can deal with your strong flavor find out how sweet you really are.

What Dessert Are You Most Like?

Gettin Back into the Swing of things...

OMW I've never had such a busy summer! So I got back from Europe on July 3rd, late at night. Left for Tennessee a day later. I Just got back from Tennessee Sunday night! Was gone at Kenzie's house all day yesterday our Bible study! So I am just now getting a chance to get back on the blog. I uploaded all these pics to Kodak before Tennessee thinking all of you could see them but it wont work so I just decided to upload a couple to blogger! Hope you all like them! I'm gonna try hard to get around to all the blogs today and upload more pics of the reunion soon! (the pictures are in order from the places we went...just like the bottom post)

I'm Back

Hey everyone!! Boy am I glad to be back! I made sure to make time for a quick post as I just got back late last night from Europe and have been trying to unpack and pack since we're leaving tomorrow for Tennessee to meet all the families for the Ping Jiang Reunion. The business just never stops! Overall I had a pretty good trip and saw a lot of neat things...hope you enjoy the pics...

Click here to see a slideshow
updated: ok I know you're all dying to see pics....I'm working on the slideshow as it's not working

What we did in Europe

Amsterdam:

Ate at Hard Rock Cafe

Van Gough Museum

Ricks Museum

Corrie Ten Boom House

Saw the Rembrandt statue-Night House

Germany:

Visited DaKow (first made concentration camp)

Visited Castle in Heidelberg/saw huge wine barrel

Drank and danced at beer garden

Austria:

Swaraski Crystal Museum

Italy:

Boat ride to Venice

Shopped for purses in the black market

Visited St. Marks Basilica

Shopped and hung out in St. Marks Square

Rode in a gondola down the canals

Verona Coliseum

Toured Romeo and Juliette's house

Switzerland:

Great Mountains

Rode to the top of Mount Pilateus

Boat ride on Lake Lucern

Shopped for Swiss Knives and chocolate

France:

Shopped at Galleria Lafitte (one of the largest department stored in the world, 7 floors)

Visited the Louvre(largest museum in the world)/saw the Monolisa

Visited Notre Dame Cathedral

Went to the top of the Eiffel Tower

Boat ride down the river

London:

Rode on the London eye (largest ferris wheel in the world)

Toured Windsor Castle

Stopped Buckingham Palace

Saw Big Ben

Ate in a city called Convent Gardens

Went to see a Broadway show (called Wicked)

With Love

I missed you soooooo much Lulu......I can't wait to see you tonight!

Love,

Mom