SHE'S HOME!!!!!!

Today was kids' club at Oxford Manor. It was a normal Saturday morning until Brett got my attention and said, "guess who's back?" Yep. Shonda's home! They're back! PRAISE THE LORD! They finally came to their senses and got out of the crazy situation they were in. Please keep praying. They need your prayers now just as much as when they were gone. I'd write more, but I don't have time right now. I just had to update with the AWESOME news!!!! HOORAY!

the world is not a trash can!

I love kids. I love my job... most days. Today was one of those days. :) We all ventured outside (before it poured down rain!) to pick up trash on the nature trail and around our playground. Tuesday is Earth Day, so this was our little Pre-K contribution to the Earth. While picking up trash, one of my girls said, "this isn't a trash can!" I said, "you're right, the world is not a trash can." For the rest of the morning, the class went around picking up trash and repeating our mantra, "the world is not a trash can!" It made my day. :) This is a picture of how it makes us feel when we see all the trash on the ground. (hehe)

2 seconds under the bridge

Ok, for those of you who know me well, you know I love metaphors... so here goes...

I remember being a little kid in my parents' car, and not understanding how the rain somehow stopped for about 2 seconds while we drove under a bridge. Of course, it didn't take me too long to figure out that the rain wasn't really stopping, but we were just temporarily being sheltered from the battering rain drops. Tonight as I drove through the rain during a pretty heavy downfall, this image stuck with me. That's kind of how I felt today. Today I had the awesome privilege of spending the day with the Lechners, one of the families I worked/lived with in South Africa. They have been in Virginia at a conference for those who are home on stateside assignment for a few months. This was the closest they would be to me, so I made the trek this morning at about 6am! Seeing them was worth every minute in my car. I have missed them so much! One of the coolest things though, is that it didn't feel like I'd not seen them in almost 2 1/2 years. Of course the kids have grown, and all of our lives have dramatically changed (they've moved to another country!), but we've been able to keep in touch (hooray for blogs!). This morning I arrived early enough to attend the worship service with them. I was a bit apprehensive... usually when I get around a lot of missionaries, it makes me really sad that I'm not one of them! But today was totally different. When the speakers talked about missions and missionaries, I totally felt like it applied to me too. I may not be in another country, but I am 100% sure that God has placed me in Durham, NC to be a missionary here. Maybe someday He will call me back overseas, but for now, I am thrilled to be part of His plan here! Sometimes I have a tendency to get overwhelmed with my life in Durham. I sometimes try to do more than I am capable to doing (or at least doing well!). So today I took a break, I got away from Durham and away from the hustle and bustle of my busy, everyday life. Today was a breath of fresh air... 2 seconds under the bridge during a rainstorm.

And now... PICTURES! :)

Here's one of me with the family. The boys are both leaning down so that I don't feel short... they're both way taller than me now!



See how tall they are!?!



How funny is this? They had a family fun day inside (due to the rain). This is Charlie (on the left) and his son Luke racing to finish the blow up obstacle course! See why I love them? hehe :)




Angie and I... the first one was taken in August of 2005. We attempted a repeat... please note: this was after a long, rainy day! hehe :) We had a couple comments today about how we look related. Anyone agree??

family time

My Mom's birthday was this past Tuesday, but the family all got together today to celebrate. It's sometimes difficult to coordinate, but so much fun when we can get everyone together! I love my family so much. We're pretty wild (13 of us in all - 4 being kids), but it's always a good time. I'm having a hard time deciding between 2 special moments from tonight to share, so I'll share both. :) 1)When I got home, my niece, Lauryn, was asleep. She didn't sleep long though because I think it was too loud. When she woke up, she was still sleepy. I picked her up, and she laid her head down on my shoulder and drifted back to sleep. I took her to the Grandkids' room and sat with her for a while in the rocking chair while she slept peacefully in my arms. How I LOVED that feeling. She is so precious to me! 2)My Mom got the movie, "Enchanted" for her birthday. Since the girls outnumbered the guys at the end of the evening, we got to watch it. All the Boisvert ladies claimed the couch. My Mom, me, Lauryn, Cheryl (my sister in law) and my new niece who is yet to be born! I wish I had a picture of us all... 3 generations of Boisverts! Good times. :)

not giving up

To those of you who faithfully read this blog - THANK YOU! I'm really trying to update it more than I used to (Really, for a while I was lucky to post once a month.) Anywho... sometimes my posts may seem more "down" than others, as my last post was. But really, that's ministry! Some days are great and some are worse than terrible. I said in my last post that I felt discouraged and disappointed, and I meant that. I still feel that way, but I am so VERY thankful that over the years, God has taught me that it is NOT about what I am feeling. It is about Him, and His plan. I love knowing that because it makes me keep going! My feelings cannot, and will not get in the way of His plan. :) Tonight we had Bible study in Oxford Manor. We're meeting at Zee's house now since Shonda is MIA. (Please keep praying for that situation, even if you're not sure what it is!!!) It was kinda funny because tonight, for the first time, everyone at Bible study had gone to the Summit the Sunday before. We started out using a discussion guide that corresponds to the sermon from Sunday. It didn't take long though, for us to get off track. A question about salvation vs works came up (we're getting used to this one!) so we were able to talk about that for the rest of the night. It was pretty awesome. So... we may be missing some of our members, but the Word continues to be preached in Oxford Manor. Praise the Lord!

Gettin' Real..

Ministry is tough. No one ever said it would be easy. I'm pretty sure though, that I had it easier when I was a missionary in South Africa. Being a missionary in Durham has proven to be much more of a challenge. I need everyone reading this to pray. I am not comfortable giving many details out about this (and many details are still unclear to me), but things are a mess. Shonda and Vondeara are making some unwise... no... STUPID choices right now and they are affecting more than just themselves. I'm feeling various emotions right now... shock, anger, disappointment, discouragement... Part of me doesn't know what to feel. Part of me wonders if this is all real. Only last Thursday Shonda and Vondeara were in my house, enjoying a meal with us, and talking about the Bible. Now I'm not entirely sure where they are to be honest. I can't get in touch with them. Everything I hear is through their sister, who seems to be as confused as I am. It's all so crazy.

I can't say I'm surprised though. I hope that doesn't sound terrible, but I'm not. Heartbroken? Yes. Surprised? No. This is what we're dealing with, and as awful as it may be, this is it. This is the community God has placed me into, and with all my heart I will serve Him the best I know how. But this is a broken world. I can't expect things to go perfectly when we are not at all perfect. We are a messed up people. We do messed up things and make messed up choices. As part of my Bible study last night I read part of the story of Hosea and Gomer. Who, in their right mind, would choose to marry a prostitute? Who would marry and pursue a woman you knew would be unfaithful to you? This is what God has done with us. He pursues us - He loves us - He wants us to be His bride. And yet we run. We run to any temporary pleasure that we deem necessary for the moment. We fail Him time and time again. I fail Him. And He still yearns to rescue me.

Lord, I pray that you will rescue Shonda. I know that she is not too far for You to reach her. Your arm is not to short to save her. Pursue her. Hedge up her way with thorns, build walls around her, so that she cannot find her path. She will pursue her earthly loves, but she will not attain them. She will seek them and not find them. Then she will say, "I will go and return to the Lord, for it was better for me then than now." (Hos. 2:6-7)

Sping Break Day 3: dinner party!

I'm SLEEPY! But I'll write quickly (so please forgive any typos)...

Tonight I had a full housel! My original plan was to invite just Brett, Shonda, and Vondeara over for dinner. Then I decided my friend Paul might want to come too. Then I remembered my friend Zee (also from Oxford Manor) who recently saw Brett and told him to tell me to call her. So I called her. But for a long time, no one called me back. At about 6:45 I almost canceled since I hadn't heard from anyone. Brett suggested I call Tina (Shonda's sister) to invite her and to see if she knew where Shonda was. So she says she wants to come and that she'll bring Shonda. Brett and I go to the store to buy some dessert stuff and while we're there, Paul calls. He might be coming. (yay!) When we get home, Zee calls (it's 8pm by this point)... she wants to come... and asks if her boyfriend can come. Why not?! Then Vondeara calls.. he asks if his brother can come. Then Zee calls back.... Can her boyfriend's Godbother come? Of course... Brett leaves to go pick up Zee and the other 2 guys, and Tina is on her way with Shonda, Vondeara and Vondeara's brother. I'm freaking out. I go through the panty and freezer looking for ANYTHING I have that can go with the ham steaks I had bought (thank God for Food Lion MVP sales! hehe). The original plan was ham, green beans and macaroni salad. That was it... but I KNEW that would not be enough. I found some bisquik and had just enough (literally) to make one batch of drop biscuits. Once those were in the oven, I remembered the potatoes my Mom had given me when I went home for Easter. Though I'd never made mashed potatoes (by myself and from scratch), I figured now was the time to learn! So I got those cooking, and found some frozen corn in the freezer. Phew! All within about 30/45 minutes I had prepared ham steaks, green beans, corn, mashed potatoes (which were, according to my friends, "bangin'") biscuits and macaroni salad (well, that was made ahead of time). I must admit, I'm a little proud of myself. Everyone raved about dinner, and you know... it wasn't that hard! To make the night totally amazing... dinner turned into a straight out Bible study. Someone asked a question, and "Pastor Brett" went to town. I'd say for a good hour questions were asked and every time we went back to the Bible for answers. By this time Paul was there too, so that helped a lot, and he was able to add some good insight. I LOVE THIS! Again I say, this is exactly why I bought this house. I have desired from day one for this house to be a place where people would learn more about Christ. I never imagined it would look like this, but I am so glad it does!! God has blessed me so much! He is truely a God who surpasses all my expectations. :) For Him to put me here... in this time... in this place... What an incredible honor to be His chosen servant!

Amen and goodnight!! :)

Spring Break Day 1 : no plans...

I had all intentions of this being a "do-nothing," uneventful Spring Break. It seems God had other plans in mind. My day started off fairly normal... I had to get up early because the Time Warner Cable guy was coming to install our internet (finally!). A little after he left, a friend of mine who is a news reporter in Durham called to ask me if I new a girl named Skye in Oxford Manor. When I said I didn't, he told me that he was on his way to Oxford Manor because he was assigned to a story about this girl's murder. Whoa. I know this stuff happens "all the time" in Durham, but it happening in Oxford Manor made it hit home that this is real. I'll admit that at the time I didn't do all that I should have. I tried to reach Shonda, but her phone was off. I should have driven over there, but I didn't. I was too comfy at home enjoying my uneventful Spring Break. As I was getting into my car later to go to Sylvan, I checked my phone and noticed that I had a voicemail from Rick (another missionary to Oxford Manor). He said that he had talked to Shonda and that she knew Skye through some line of connections. And then it hit me. Skye... Sha's sister... Sha, the young man who I've mentioned before a few posts ago. Sha used to live with Shonda and he came to Bible study on Thursday nights. I called Brett to inform him of what was going on, but unfortunately I had to go to work. Rick called to say he and Brett were heading over to Oxford Manor. My heart hurt. The last place I wanted to be was at Sylvan. I wanted to be where I should have been earlier in the day. I wasn't at all focused on my students. Since it is Durham's Spring break this week, Sylvan had many no-shows. My boss was kind enough to let me give my students to someone else so that I could go to Oxford Manor and be with my friends. When I got there Brett and Rick were outside talking to Sha already. He seemed so stoic at first, still in shock I'm sure... still processing what had happened. I had nothing to say... no great words of wisdom... but I was there... He did at least smile when I showed up! :) Maybe all I was supposed to do was to be there, give him a big hug, and let him know what we are praying for him. Maybe I don't have to have words of wisdom... not yet anyway. He's not in a place to really hear them right now. It amazed me as I stood with Rick and watched Brett minister to Sha. He didn't say a whole lot... he just stood with him and let him talk. This is a very confusing time for Sha's family. This is a time when we especially need to be on our knees before God begging Him for His glory to shine through all of this. I plead with you, right now, pray for this family. Pray for healing. Pray that many will come to know Christ through this tragedy. Pray for wisdom for Brett, Rick, and I as we seek to serve this community in any way we can. Praise God for His sovereignty in this as well. It's no coincidence that Sha was part of our Bible study and that he is a friend of ours. Praise God that Shonda and Vondeara seem to see this as an opportunity for them to tell others about the Lord (they are growing so much!). Praise God that I am on Spring break with "no plans" and am completely free to be there for whoever needs me!

Psalm 33:20-22

20 Our soul waits for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.

21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him,
Because we have trusted in His holy name.

22 Let Your unfailing love, O Lord, be upon us,
Just as we hope in You.