Prayer request: I just found out today that my car is messed up and is going to cost a little under $400 to fix. :( I have to have it fixed because I need it for training... man I hate money sometimes... I'm trying my very hardest not to stress about where this money is going to come from. I know God is my provider! Please pray that I won't let this be a setback for me and that I won't get discouraged (which is so easy to do with money issues for some odd reason!). Thanks loves!

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

What an incredible day!! First of all, I was commissioned to the mission field by my home church, Flat Springs Baptist, this morning. What a blessing that was. I was joyfully surprised that Reverend West came back to do the service for me... if you don't know him, he was my pastor during some pretty crazy years of my life (otherwise known as adolescence!). He baptized me (and I was just reminded today that I was the 1st person he baptized at FS!) and he was there quite often to help me sort though the great theological questions that teenagers come up with. :-) My best friends were also there, as well as MANY people I did not expect to see. If you're reading this, and you were there this morning, but usually don't go there, THANK YOU for being there - you made it very special. My Dad was also ordained as a new deacon at FS today - big day for the family! This afternoon was the wedding shower for my brother, Brad, and his fiance, Cheryl. Talk about a major amount of presents! I cant wait to get married just for the gifts! haha (ok, not really!) Not too long after that I got to go to worship at the Summit, which is always a blessing, no matter when I go... I'm SO going to miss the Summit church!!! Then after enjoying a very late dinner with some Summit folks after church, I stopped by to surprise the Psalmers with a visit from me! :) (Psalm 100 is a Christian a cappella group I sang in at UNC, if you don't know.) Man I miss those guys! It was so great to just sit back and listen to them making such a joyful noise unto the LORD! If you're reading this and you live anywhere near Chapel Hill (and you're not IN Psalm 100) you need to go to their concert Nov. 21-22! They rock - that's all there is to it. :-) Praise the Lord for days like today!!!

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

Good news! It's looking like I'm going to be able to teach life skills at some of the schools where Melissa (another journeyman) teaches! This is very exciting to me. One, I'll get to work with someone who has experience, and two, we'll be able to reach more kids within one school. :) I am so ready to just get to Joburg! Forget training... I want to go straight there! I think I am a little more nervous about training than I am about going to SA.... I don't know if I can handle being around all those smart people!! :) Pray that I won't feel intimidated by everyone there!

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

Highlight of today.... I got to hear Elizabeth Elliot speak at Southeastern Seminary's chapel service today!!! This lady is one of my heros of the faith, and it blessed me so much just to see her face to face! I also got to go out to lunch today with some of the ladies from The Summit, which was very nice. Sometimes it's nice to spend time with ladies who are not just my own age. :-) I also got to spend some fun quality time with my Mom tonight - praise the Lord for that! Dad was out, and we had some nice girl time. :-) Well, seeing as it's 2:30 Friday morning, and my cat is telling me it's time for bed, I'd better be going. Less than 2 weeks till training now!!!

(Tuesday night/Wednesday morning...)
Two weeks from right now I will be fast asleep in my new/temporary home at training! What a crazy thought. I'm really beginning to get excited - praise the Lord! I am somewhat enjoying being at home, and it's seeming a little more normal. Monday night I got to spend the night with Jennifer Pickesimer, and that was definitely a blessing. I miss my Carla!! (my Durham roomy of 4 months) I went to the NC State Fair with my Dad tonight... that was ok I suppose. It's good to spend time with family! :-) Though this is supposed to be time for me to relax, I have felt MORE busy in the past few days than I did when I was in Durham - what's up with that? Pray that I will use this time effectively and not waste it away!! Time for bed. =)

So I'm not so good at transitions... I just moved home to Sanford today. Much thanks go out to Mr. Saunders and Lauren for helping! It's strange though, to actually move home. I haven't done that since I went to college. To be honest, I'm a little down right now. Just thinking about how much change is occurring right now and in the SOON future is a little overwhelming. I know it's all worth it, but it's still hard! I'll be making many drives to Durham in the next couple of weeks for church and the such, but for the most part, I'm a Sanfordian again...

Well, time to go to the Sanford wal-mart with Mom... fun times

Well, I finished my last day of work as a 2 year old teacher! I must say that I had mixed emotions... I'm so glad to finally be moving on, but at the same time I'm really going to miss MY kids. After work I got to hang out with a bunch of cool kids at church while their parents went out on dates. Talk about a fun time! I had kindergarteners and first graders. I love having kids who can talk to me!!!

I move out of this apartment in less than 12 hours... how strange. Lots of bittersweetness going on here lately. :-/ Next time I post, I'll be living in Sanford!

Peace

Prayer request:

I'm an idiot! I haven't started my application process for my Visa (no, not the credit card). I just forgot about it... is that dumb or what? Anyway, now I have to rush around and get that started right away and PRAY that the South African government doesn't see any problem with me getting it. Please pray that there won't be any hang ups with me getting it!! Thanks guys. :)

I've begun my last week of work! I'm actually beginning to be a little (JUST a little) sad about that. My kids are the cutest little people. We're talking about African animals this week to help them know I'm leaving... quite fun. :) Tonight I went to the church I grew up in to talk about my calling, missions, and South Africa with a group of women. That went fairly well, and I finally got to show someone the video of the South Africa trip! I got many new prayer partners and it will be nice to have their support while I'm gone.

Tomorrow's my day off from work. Praise the Lord! But I will be busy busy packing up everything to move back home this coming Saturday. I always leave way too many things to do at the last minute - the story of my life. Well, it's been a long day! I'm off to dreamland. Catch ya later!

Get this... in one week from today I'll be moving out of this Durham apartment and back home to Sanford, NC. Crazy! Though I won't miss my neighbors ANY, I surely will miss being in Durham, so close to all of my friends. I don't think I have been at home for a whole 2 weeks since I started college 4 years ago! It's a good thing I get along well with my Mom and Dad. :) I'll be home for 2 weeks, then on November 4th I head out to Richmond, VA to go to MLC (the Missionary Learning Center). It's just now beginning to set in that I'm really going... and it's not far off into the future anymore. Only one more week of work... man I never thought that would get here!! I love my kids, but I'm ready to move on. :)

Oh, here's a link to some pictures... I do update it periodically, so check it out. There are some new pictures from the young pro's cookout last night.

Thanks for checking in on me =) I'll keep this updated if/when something exciting happens!

Welcome to my weblog! I'm very excited about this, and that you're actually checking this out. There's not much interesting going on right now, but soon there will be great things on here for you to know and hear about! Stay tuned...