back in business

Lately God has been rocking my world, and I love it! A couple of months ago my friend, Brett, and I randomly went to visit an Oxford Manor parent who was in the hospital. Ever since that day we have been watching as God slowly but surely unveils His plan for His glory to be made known in Oxford Manor. We've yet to even see a fraction of this plan, but we're both running hard after the main goal - to make God famous and to see Him worshiped in Oxford Manor! We've recently begun an adult Bible study that meets on Tuesday nights. We've only been able to meet twice so far (since once was Christmas and the next was New Years), but we're excited about it. Tonight we had a great plan for the Bible study... Brett was so well prepared to lead tonight... and no one wanted to come! The host's neighbor just happened to be visiting her and she decided to stay. So instead of using the well-planned study, we just opened up the Bible and started talking about what we've been learning lately. We covered a lot and the Gospel was clearly laid out and proclaimed! What seemed like a disappointment at first turned out to an awesome time of getting into God's Word... what more could we ask for? Both ladies seem to want to come to church on Sunday. Pray that they will go through with this desire... that God will keep their paths clear from distraction and that He will burn in them a desire to seek hard after God and His Truth!

I'll be honest... this ministry is much more difficult for me than anything I did in South Africa. Crazy how that works, isn't it? I guess kids' ministries for me were always "safe." I know kids... I know how to teach them and answer their questions. But adults? That's a whole new ballgame and I'm only beginning to scratch the surface of this new adventure! It's amazing though... I may wonder sometimes why God has me in this ministry... I often don't feel adequate or ready for it. But I know He has me here. I know this is where I am supposed to be. And WOW! What a great feeling that is! Nestled right in the middle of God's plan. There isn't a more peaceful place I can imagine.

unrequited love

If there's one thing I've learned, it's that sometimes your love seems to go unnoticed... unreturned... and sometimes downright abused. Yes, I love Durham - with all my heart I do! But Durham threw me a curve ball the other night. A couple nights ago my house was broken into and robbed. Thank the good Lord that Leanne and I were not home when it happened. They broke in through the back/basement door. They broke the door frame right off - totally avoiding the quality locks that my Dad made sure were installed the day I bought the house! Apparently the alarm sensor on that door was not working (gee, thanks alarm force!). They got away with around $2000 worth of stuff (computer, PS2, games, guitar, jewelry, CD player, DSL modem, wireless router...). God has faithfully provided love and support for us through our church, and the outpouring of prayer and encouragement has been amazing. The night it happened Leanne called some people from out SummitLIFE group. Within minutes, 2 guys from our group were there and we'd received offers to stay with people that night if need be. The next day (Wednesday) I called Kevin Cates because the door frame had been busted in and it needed to be fixed before we could close the door again. (Kevin is the guy who organized the major home repair day we had here back in April.) An hour later he and Ryan were here checking things out. They ended up not only fixing the door, but also installing a bar across the door to put up when we're not home (it was a back/basement door). The door is probably safer now than before! :) Last night, 12 young professional came over to the house to help us get our home back in order. The robbers had literally destroyed our house on the inside. Almost every drawer or basket or box that could be opened was opened, dumped out, and many times strewn around the room. Last night the YPs came with a cleaning vengeance! They cleaned (the forensics lady had dusted for fingerprints and the black dust was everywhere!), folded clothes, swept, organized, and even rewrapped Christmas presents that had been torn into (but not taken - praise the Lord). They made our home a joyful place again just by being there and cleaning with smiles on their faces! Most importantly, they pointed us back to the Gospel and were there to remind us that we serve a God who is sovereign and whose ways are higher than our ways. They encouraged us, prayed with us, and just plain loved on us! I don't know what we would have done without the Summit. How do people get through these things without a family such as this?? I wish I could get this through to those who think that they don't need, or don't have time for, a Summit Life group. Leanne and I could have never planned for this to happen, but it did. And when it did, our Summit family was right there, ready to do whatever they needed to do. Leanne and I are so thankful to have the support system that we have within not only our small group, but also the Summit in general. We are determined that God will get glory out of this! If it's only letting people around us see the joy and peace we can have even in the midst of this, then so be it. Our God is so much bigger than this! :) Today the alarm people came to check out and repair the alarm system. We also opted for a higher level of security. We have an electrician friend who is working on putting a motion sensor flood light in the back of our house too. In the end, I think our house will be more safe than it was before!

So friends, please pray for us and for God's glory to be shown through all of this. Both of us are pretty strong about all of this, but there are definitely jumpy moments when we hear things and notice that we are a little more on edge than we thought we were. There will be moments when it will be easy to let fear get the best of us, and I really covet your prayers in this area! There's not much that's more personal than your home... I keep thinking about the fact that people were here... in my bedroom! I have to make a conscious effort not to let those thoughts get the best of me.

I think it is very interesting that JD's sermon on Sunday covered the topic of fear. The sermon was based off of Psalm 27. The first point JD made was to acknowledge your fears - to realize that bad things might happen. The second point was to use your fears to be a messenger to show what we care most about. The one thing David (the writer of the Psalm) wanted was to see God's face. This is what Leanne and I want - we want to seek and know God more though this. Also, JD made the point that David did not feel victimized, even though in the world's eyes he had the right to! Leanne and I could feel like victims... our home was broken into and valuables were taken. More than the valuables, our sense of security was robbed. But you know what?? The Bible says to consider it pure joy when we face trials of any kind (James 1:2)! So praise the Lord! Hallelujah! Leanne and I truly believe that we are whole heatedly seeking God in our lives right now, and if this is what happens as a result, well then... bring it on!

Well, I need to be getting some sleep. "I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me." Psalm 3:5

More Home Repairs!

Yesterday I think my roommate thought I was crazy. I looked at her and said, "you know, I'm kind of excited that something is broke in the house and that I get to fix it today." Ha! My how things have changed over the past year and a half. Lately things have been going very smoothly for my little old house. A couple of nights ago though, I noticed that my bedroom was strangely cold. On Saturday I finally investigated and found out that the duct connected to my bedroom had fallen down. So basically, all of the air that was supposed to be going into my bedroom, was going into the crawl space - not good! My friend, Brett, and I tried to fix it right then, but we couldn't get the duct to come up far enough (we did however, have to tape a hanger to a broom and fish out the duct from the hole in my floor!), and we had to get going anyway (to the Christmas tree lighting! but that's another story:)). So, after church on Sunday Brett came back over and we worked some more on trying to get it to come through the hole in my bedroom floor so that we could attach it. (The house is built so that you can't get to the underside of this duct from under the house.) We finally managed to get it up through the hole, but then we had to made a Lowe's-run to get a piece we needed (I can't remember the name of it). Eventually we were able to attach the duct, but then we couldn't get the grille back over the hole! Oh well... at least now the heat is coming into my room! Guess I'll have to get Dad back up here soon so he can help me fix the rest of it. Is it crazy that I actually enjoy this kind of thing now? I like trying to figure out how to fix things! How funny...

a long lost love...

I know... I know... it's been forever since I have updated. There's a lot I could write about, but to spare you, I'll focus on one thing for now. Last month I rediscovered a long lost love.... CAMPING! Since October, I have been camping 3 times - once with a friend, then with my family, and then we went camping for Leanne's birthday! Too bad this love was rediscovered as the weather is finally turning cold! There's just something awesome about getting out of the house... away from television, computers, and radios... away from NOISE! (well, unless you go with a lot of friends like the last time I went) Don't get me wrong - I very much enjoy the comforts of home and my comfy bed! But every once in a while it does a body and soul good to get away from these comforts and spend time outside in God's beautiful creation! And nothing can replace the cozy feeling of being around a campfire with special people. :) Hopefully I will go camping many more times in the future!

I plan to update more in the near future... I promise!

something to remember when I'm a "seasoned" teacher

Yesterday was a very long but awesome day. I, and my amazing assistant ,started bright and early in our classroom. We labeled, organized and speculated. We also had 4 parent teacher conferences - 2 of which were in Spanish! God has been so good in helping me remember words. One of the Moms (who is doing well in learning English herself) told me I have a good Spanish accent. What a wonderful compliment!! Then, a little later in the day, one of the other pre-k teachers and her assistant came by to see if we needed any help setting up our classroom. They were so wonderful. To be honest, they didn't "do" much... we'd already done a lot, and I'm still horrible about doling out tasks on the fly. They ended up putting up paper and border on our 3 bulletin boards, which was VERY helpful, but the lead teacher, Cindy, ended up doing more than any other teacher I've met yet. She told me many things she liked about the classroom. Then she asked me how I handle center time. After I explained it to her, she looked at her assistant and said, "We are going to do that!" (And today when I saw them again, they said they'd already made a chart like the one I use:)) Wow. To hear a teacher, who has been teaching for many years, say that she is going to use my idea made my teacher ego soar! I had some issues last year with my new supervisor telling me all the things she didn't like about my classroom, and not much at all about what she liked. I felt like I was a great teacher, but she made me have some doubts. Well, I've been finding my nitch the past couple of days. I like where I am, as a teacher, right now. I kind of have that "new teacher" excitement still because I've really only taught for 1.5 years, and I'm finally where I've wanted to be from the beginning. But, I'm about 4 years older than a brand new teacher would be, and I have a little bit of life experience under my belt. ;) I'm new enough that I've still got some "fresh ideas" to try out (and tell others about apparently!), but experienced enough to know about some things that work and don't work. So yeah... the past couple of days have been great. And I definitely need to remember when I'm a seasoned teacher and meeting young, doe-eyed teachers... find an idea they have, and adopt it! And be positive positive positive! Oh... and at our pre-k meeting today, Cindy was appointed as my "mentor." Hooray! The Lord is good, and His mercies endure forever! :-D

Mi escuela nueva!

*My new school!*

Ok, so after enough "encouragement" from my mother, I'm finally going to update you all on what's new in the life of Bonnie B! The biggest news is that I am finally teaching in Durham Public Schools. Since college (4 years ago!) I have wanted to teach in Durham. My whole vision when I came home from South Africa (gosh... almost 2 years ago now) was to "be" in Durham... live in Durham, work in Durham, and go to church in Durham. I always thought it was more difficult to invite people to come to church when it was pretty far away! By the grace of God, and in His true fashion "just in time," I got a call from the pre-k coordinator in Durham Public Schools. She called me the Sunday before I was to start teacher workdays for Orange County! It was a crazy, whirl-wind week, with me changing my mind every other day about what I wanted to do, but in the end, I knew it was finally my time to teach in Durham. There are some perks to Orange County's program that I will miss, like shorter days for the kids, a bilingual teacher in the room, and 3 adults in each classroom. I'm having to brush up on my Spanish, but yesterday I learned that I am capable of calling Spanish speaking parents and coordinating parent/teacher conferences! I was pretty psyched that the parents and I could communicate on the phone... maybe just in short, kindergarten sentences, but it's better than nothing! :) Maybe not having a bilingual teacher will be a plus - I'll be forced to relearn everything I used to know. I typically don't handle changes well... I know they are inevitable, but for some reason, they always catch me off guard. So the past couple of days have been somewhat difficult as I've tried to get to know some of the teachers, learn the policies and procedures of a new program, and reorganize my life around a new schedule. But the stress will be worth it I think. It may take me time to adjust, but I know I am where I am supposed to be for right now. And now... I have a whole notebook of salary and benefits papers staring at me, and they're not going to fill themselves out. Time to get some work done! Thanks for checking in...

finally painting!

After living in this house for about 14 months, I'm finally painting! Tomorrow morning, bright and early, I am waking up to go buy a few forgotten supplies. Then I'm going to paint the downstairs. What once was purple, will become a lovely pale yellow. I can't wait to see how the lighter color will brighten up the room! I'm excited to be at a point where I can start to do some "cosmetics" to the house. For the past year I've done nothing but fix and repair... There are definitely still some repairs that need attention, but they can wait. This little house deserve some pampering. ;) I got thinking the other day about how this house represents my life. I absolutely adore this house... even with its flaws (some minor, and some MAJOR!). It was in terrible shape when I bought it. It had sat empty for at least a year and a half. I had to clean from top to bottom. There were spider webs, bugs had taken up residence, and the whole house smelled of mildew. The water heater was on its way out, and decided to bust the first time we used it, the refrigerator died within 2 weeks, the heater/air conditioner has malfunctioned 4 times (at least), the kitchen flooded multiple times, the floor in the living room was caving in, and I could keep going... (really, I could!). There have been days when I simply wished for one week without something going wrong! So much has been done to this house. Today a friend of mine, who has heard about the house for a year now, but never seen it, came by for a visit. She came in and said, "what a cute house!" And my response was, "Yep, I sure do love it. I've had to do a lot of work on it, and there's still so much left to do, but it's mine, and I really do love it." :) You know... I can imagine God saying that about me sometimes. I was a mess when He bought me. He had to clean me up from head to toe. He's always having to clean up my messes and fix my broken pieces. I'm feel like there are some times when He wishes that I could go one week without something going wrong. And yet, He loves me. I am His, and He Has already taken care of every problem that may come my way. Nothing surprises Him. I can almost imagine Him chatting with the angels and saying, "There's my Bonnie. I sure do love her. I've had to do a lot of work on her, and there's still so much left to to, but she's mine, and I really do love her." :)

vacation #1

I'll keep this short and sweet for the moment... the trip up here was long, but uncomplicated, which is good! Friday night we just chilled out at the hotel. Saturday morning we headed over to my aunt's house and then went to a family member's 50th wedding anniversary. It was nice to see family, but what I was really excited about was seeing my friend, Melissa! We worked together in South Africa and have stayed in touch since we both came back to the States. My parents drove me to her house Saturday evening. After they left, Mel and I had dinner and then went to Dennis and Nikki's house. The plan was to just go to this one store and then hang out. Well, when we got into the car, Dennis said, "let's go to Chick-fil-a!" Now, the closest chick-fil-a in Toledo, Ohio (and we were in Michigan). So... we went to Toledo (about an hour away). Random, but fun! :) We went to Lifeway Christian Bookstores first (apparently there's not one of these close to Melissa either). Randomly, we saw a guy that once came on a mission trip to South Africa. Then we went to chick-fil-a, which made Dennis a very happy man. Everyone but me (the one from the South) got a big ole cup of sweet tea. Dennis is from Michigan, but I swear he thinks he's from the south... it's funny really. After that we went to Cold Stone (mmm...) and then went in search of a Wal*Mart. We finally left Wal*Mart (when they closed!) at 11:00 and headed back to Michigan. Fun times all around... I haven't laughed as much as I did in those few hours in a very long time!! Sunday morning I went to church with Melissa (her Dad is the pastor). After church she had to take me back to my aunt's house for the family reunion. We made a short stop at one of the coolest stores EVER called the Flower Factory. They have really cool, really cheap home decor stuff. I wish I had more money and more time to spend there, and I wish we had this store in NC! Oh well, a good reason to come back to MI. :) Finally, we arrived at my aunt's house and Mel and I said our good-byes. The reunion was a lot of fun. Lauryn (my youngest niece) was adorable, and such an entertainer. And it was great seeing my cousins again. One of them is an elementary school librarian, and after talking to her, I am seriously considering going to grad school for library science! It's something I've thought about before, but now I'm more motivated to actually pursue it... we'll see how that goes once I get back home and settled into real life again. Now I'm back at the hotel and ready to crash. Tomorrow we head for Kentucky! (Thanks for the tip Jessica!)

Have a great week, and thanks for checking in!

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

Hope for Durham!

Today was the first day of the Summit's "mission trip to Durham" aka Hope for Durham. I'm so incredibly blessed to be part of a church that knows that we must love our city if we want to see her changed into a place where God is worshipped. Today I helped out at a place called the Agape Corner. It is a Christian boarding school right in the middle of the roughest area in Durham. (I'm not exaggerating... the street the house is on was recently designated as one of the top crime hot spots in Durham.) Anyway, Todd, my partner in crime, and I spent the day priming and painting a couple places in the house... one of the them being the laundry room WHILE they were doing laundry!! Talk about HOT! I'm pretty sure it was cooler outside! :) All was well though. I got to meet Todd, who is in the orchestra at the Summit. I always enjoy getting to know people that I normally wouldn't talk to much at the Summit. Anyway, here are a few pictures from today. I can't write too much... I need to finish packing! Friday morning I leave to go on vacation with my family. We're going to Michigan, where I not only get to see my family, but I also get to hang out with Melissa!!!!!! (I worked with her in SA.) Then we're travelling through a couple states and will eventually end up in Tennessee for a wedding. Hooray for vacation! :)

Ok, here are the photos...

Horizontal Lighting

This evening we had a pretty great thunderstorm in Durham. As I was driving to Bible study, I saw something I haven’t seen in a very long time: horizontal lightning! Usually I love storms while at home, and hate them while driving, but this time I didn’t care where I was. You see, the last place I saw horizontal lightning was in South Africa. For my last year in SA, I lived in a really nice apartment with an awesome view. Whenever it stormed, I could see the lightning for what seemed like a hundred miles. Johannesburg is somewhat known for their spectacular lightning storms, and I had the perfect view from which to admire them. I’ve never really understood why I like storms so much, but maybe one reason is that they remind me of just how big this world is, and how much bigger our God is, who created it all, and holds it all in His hands. Lightning is a huge and magnificent power – how much more powerful is our God!? It makes me feel so small, yet so comfortable to know that the same God who created the lightning created me as well. I am comforted to know that God has a plan for me – a plan greater than He had for even that huge bolt of lightning that I witnessed today. I am forever wondering what that plan is, and I’m always trying to stay one step ahead of God… trying to figure out His will for my life before He’s ready for me to go there. I wish I had a simple answer to the question of how to stop doing that, but in all honesty, I don’t! (Any advice is coveted!) I try to take one step at a time, but it’s so difficult at times. Just when I start to feel comfortable here, in Durham, in the wonderful life I’m living, I reconnect with a South African friend… we talk about life in South Africa, what I’ve been missing, and what I’ve been doing here. It’s always nice, but this time she told me about this teaching possibility in South Africa. The chances of things working out for me to do what she was telling me about are slim to none, but still… it made me think about it again. It makes me wonder whether I’ve been doing the right thing here in Durham. I mean, I bought a house for goodness sakes! Talk about having strings attached to Durham. And not just any house, but my special little house… I can’t just up and leave! This is what happens though… I’ll go weeks, months even, without missing SA, and then out of the blue - WHAM! – my heart is aching again to be back there. But… the lightning tonight reminds me: God is in control. He’s got it, and I can trust Him. When I want to question what God’s will is for my life, He has already told me in His Word. “He has shown you, oh man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8 Lord, help me walk.


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

update on Brian

Good news!! It looks as if my 11 year old nephew passed a kidney stone... crazy. His kidney looks to be fine now, and last I heard they were planning to send him home this afternoon. I think it's bizarre that yesterday the doctors said it looked like his kidney was failing, and now it's fine. LOTS of people were alerted to his condition yesterday, and LOTS of people started praying. I believe God heard those prayers on Brian's behalf! I'll update again if anything changes. Thanks for praying!!

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

Pray for Little B!

He'd probably kill me for calling him "Little B" in a public sphere like the world wide web, but he'll get over it. ;) A couple weeks ago Brian had appendicitis. He had to stay a bit longer because his appendix burst during the surgery. Well, last night (Thursday night) he went back to the emergency room (in Sanford) because he wasn't keeping anything down (including the antibiotics they had him on from the appendicitis). Well... in all honesty, I can't report things exactly, but the run down, as I know it, is this... Brian only has one kidney (apparently he was born that way). The "good kidney" is now having issues. This morning I heard it was failing, but when I visited him this evening, they weren't sure about that. I'll probably have to wait till tomorrow to learn more. They transferred him to Duke because they couldn't do any more for him in Sanford. So, he's in my neck of the woods now! Please be praying for God to make it known that He is with Brian, as well as with his whole family. Jamie (his Mom) is so tired of hospitals! And I'm sure Little B is too. Pray that God will give them peace as they await reports from the doctors. God is good, and I know He is with them!! Thanks!

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

Hooray for being appreciated!

It's so nice to be appreciated! This week is "Teacher Appreciation Week." It happens to come at a perfect time. :) It's the end of the year, and it's easy to think that no one cares (especially the parents) about what we teachers do. But this week has been nice, to say the least. :)

Wonderful Weekend

What a wonderful weekend!! It all got started with a much needed nap… all 2 hours and 15 minutes of it. I was expecting Leanne to come home from work earlier than that and wake me up, but alas, she did not… so I slept for a long time. Like I said, it was much needed. The nap was quite helpful in staying up Friday night to watch Spider-Man 1 and 2 at la casa de Chris, Clifford y Jason. Yes, we watched both movies in one night… and yes, it was a late night. Unfortunately I had to be up in the morning to go to Sylvan… I somehow stayed awake for a few hours for work and then headed over to Oxford Manor. It was raining, so Oxford Manor kids club was cancelled. So, I did what any responsible young woman would do… I called Leanne and asked if she wanted to go shopping. She said yes, so the shopping commenced. After finding some great deals, we came home to get ready for another fun-filled evening. We drove over to Brier Creek to watch Spider-Man 3 (hence the watching of 1 and 2 on Friday night). I’m no movie critic, and I hardly feel qualified to comment on how well the movie was made, but it sure seemed amazing to me! After the movie, we all (the many who had gathered to watch Spider-Man) made our way over to Sips coffee house in Durham to hang out with more YPs than I even knew existed, and to be hilariously entertained by none other than the likes of Rhett and Link (www.rhettandlink.com). Much fun. Much laughter. And a lovely white mocha with raspberry flavouring. Some friends went to a late dinner and some went to karaoke afterwards, but I somehow stuck to my commitment to go to bed at a reasonable hour since I had to wake up extra early this morning to sing on the praise team at church. Somehow I didn’t think I would be glorifying God very much with a voice that had only about 3 hours of sleep! So I came home, went to bed, and woke up early this morning to start yet another full day of excitement. I sang on the praise team for all three services this morning, which is always fun… though a tad bit tiring. We went to Las Palmas after church… hadn’t been there in quite a while. I got to talk to Nikki more than I have before, and she’s quite a funny character (in a good way, Nikki!). The idea was birthed to have a movie night here… so we all went our separate ways for a few hours. Leanne and I went to ESL, where usually I help watch the kids… but today they had more students than usual, so I got to work with a lovely lady name Laura. I was nervous (I’m used to teaching kids, not adults!) but we had a good time and got to practice some English. Good times. After ESL, we trekked home again to prepare for the movie night. Not long after, the friends got here, and we hung out for a short bit before watching the movie on Leanne’s new TV! (Bless you, Leanne!) Now, I’m about to go to bed… once again tired, and once again wishing Monday morning wasn't coming so stinkin’ early. But hey, if having friends like these means being a little tired at work… bring on the coffee!

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

tidbit of insight

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah.
(Psalm 68:19)

I was reading this Psalm this morning. You know how there are things you kinda know about God, but they don't really dawn on you right away? This verse kind of was like that for me this morning. This verse showed me, plain and simple, that God daily bears us up. He is out salvation. Selah! I wasn't sure what Selah meant, though I've seen it in the Bible many times. So, I used my handy dandy e-sword resources and learned that Selah means a suspension of music, or a pause. In other words... the Lord daily bears us up, He is our salvation. Pause. Stop. Think about it!! God is bearing me up today. He bore my sin and my burdens yesterday and will do the same for tomorrow, but for today I need to pause and remember that the Lord is to be blessed (or adored, as e-sword says) right now because He is bearing me up, He is carrying my burdens and carrying me through this day. He is my salvation. SELAH!

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

families away from family

I am realizing that I have got to be one of the luckiest girls in the world. It seems like wherever I go, God blesses me with amazing friends and people to call my family away from family. This never happens right away, but over time, I am constantly being blessed with new, and very different friends. A strange thing is happening lately. My American friends are using text message (smses) more and more, and my South African friends are jumping on the internet communications bandwagon (facebook, myspace...) It's amazing! In the past few days I have been able to reestablish communication with friends across the globe that I haven't talked to (or smsed) in months. It makes my heart do funny things though. On one hand it makes me so sad to think that I haven't seen my SA friends in a year and a half. So much has changed, I'm sure, and I haven't been there for a bit of it. I've tried to keep in touch, but that's so much easier said than done. I thank God for cingular, the one cell phone company here through which I can send smses to South Africa! But even smses don't convey what's really happening in a person's life. Yeah, "life is good" but what does that mean, really!? What have I missed? And what have they missed about my life? Gosh... a lot! But, on the flip side, "meeting" back up with them online makes me so incredibly happy... like maybe everything hasn't changed, and they do still remember me. Maybe they do still want to be my friend, even though I am thousands of miles away. It makes me realize that it's awesome to have people to miss and be missed by. It means that God blessed me in incredible ways during my time in South Africa. He didn't just send me there to do His work and then come home. He allowed me to build friendships with many life changing people. People who challenged me to think beyond how I'd always thought, and helped me to grow deeper in my knowledge of who Christ is. Oh, how I miss Johannesburg. I miss everything about it... the crazy traffic, the smell of feld fires, babies peeing on me on a regular basis (hehe)... Sunday night church services at NUC (and of course Mugg & Bean afterwards!), game nights at my cool flat... I miss it all. BUT!!

My how God has blessed me here. For many many months after my return a year and a half ago, I wondered if I would ever have friends like I did in SA again. My friends there were different than friends I'd had before. Many of them were studying at the Baptist College there, and were ministry minded like me. They were lots of fun (on many different levels!) but they were also strong and God-centered people. When I came back to the States, I had a couple friends, and that was it. At first I met a few people here and there, and they were cool on the surface... but there wasn't much underneath. In SA, I'd learned to look beneath the surface in seeking friendships. I'd learned the benefit of seeking out friends who are real and true people... not afraid to let you see who they really are. I found that hard here though. No one wanted to be real, and no one wanted me to see them for who they really were. I felt more alone in those first few months here than I'd ever felt anywhere, including South Africa (and I felt pretty alone for a while there before I met the amazing people I referred to already). I can't pinpoint one specific day that things changed. Well... maybe I can. Last year, the Sunday of Memorial day, Robin coaxed some of the young professionals (yps) into going to Frankie's to play putt-putt since we didn't have to work the next day. I almost didn't go... but reluctantly decided to at the last minute. I remember having the most fun I'd had in months, and then staying at Robin's house with Josh and Jon until the wee hours of the morning. And all of a sudden, I had friends. I didn't know at the time how awesome they would turn out to be. Didn't know that Josh would turn out to be a powerhouse yp leader with a quite contagious hunger for God's word. Didn't know that Robin would turn out to be a dear friend who has taught me many a things about hospitality, friendships, and dancing (thanks Robin!). Sure didn't know that Jon would turn out to be my Bible study leader less than a year later and quite possibly be the most important person in the life of my house up to this point (besides my Dad, that is!). And that's just 3 people. Tonight I saw something that rocked my world. It doesn't seem huge, but it was in my eyes. Tonight was prayer meeting at the Summit, and at the end of prayer meeting, they introduce the new members and if you know them, you go down and pray with them. Tonight 3 young professionals joined. When the invitation was offered to come down and pray with them, practically the entire 3 rows of YPs got up to go pray with our friends. Amazing. Priceless. This is our family. This is the family I have when I can't go home. We're an eclectic bunch, to say the least. We have our share of issues and differences, but what family doesn't?? I know I'd be lost without them... without their contributions of event planning, witty humour, prayers, home repairs, late night conversations, and who knows what else!? Many of these friends are studying at the local seminary. Many have done missions in the past, or plan to in the future. Even my new roommate (the one, the only, Leanne!) is called to missions, and understands my heart more than I ever thought anyone besides my Mom and lifelong best friend could! God has blessed me once again. I don't deserve this! I have done nothing special to earn these friends, and that's what rocks. God gives freely and without holding back when we earnestly seek and desire to do His will. I sure have been trying lately, but I know it's not my doing, but His! He is the reason I have the friends I have now. He has brought each and every one of them into my life for a purpose. I couldn't be more in awe of His goodness to me than I am right now. He is faithful to do as He promised in Psalm 68:8 (a verse I found and clung to in a lonely time in SA)... "God sets the lonely in families." Praise be to the God who keeps His promises!

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

Karaoke

I promise to actually write later... for now, just enjoy some photos...

in His time

I bought my house almost a year ago. I knew it would be a challenge. It's 80 years old, and was a foreclosure house with lots of issues. A guy gave me a great estimate on the major repairs, and my plan was to have him finish them before I ever moved in. A couple weeks later he got sick. (Convenient, eh?) He never could come do the work, so I had another guy give me an estimate. Basically, after asking me how my realtor convinced me to buy this house, he said he'd let me know if he thought it was "worth fixing." He never got back with me. I had a third guy from the Summit come and give me an estimate, and his was pretty reasonable, but still over $1000. I figured I'd just take a part-time job, and wait till the summer to be able to get the work done. Then I found out that Kevin, a guy who helps out on the first impressions team on Sunday mornings (as do I) remodels old houses for a living. How I had not known that previously, I have no idea. I asked him if he could come check the house out and give me an estimate. He came out a week or so later on a Sunday afternoon. On Monday night he called me and said to find out who was willing to come out and help (young professionals from the Summit). He also said that he was able to get everything donated. I was floored. I was humbled. And I was in shock for a good 30 minutes. :) That was a month ago. Yesterday a year of prayer and tears came to fruition. Around 10 young professionals came out ready to work, and work HARD! They dug deep ditches for the french drains, cleaned out a nasty crawl space, jacked up the floor, installed a sump pump, fixed the front stairs, installed the french drains, ripped up carpet, installed new (well, new to me) hardwood flooring in the living room, and I'm sure I'm missing something... As I watched all of this unfold, I had to stop myself from tearing up many times. Was this really all happening? Indeed, it was. This is what the Church is, my friends. I don't have a clue how people ever make it without family like this. Where would I be without the Summit? Where would I be if God has not sovereignly placed me here almost 5 years ago (wow... it really has been that long!)? I don't even want to think about it. I'm sitting in my living room as I type this. I look around and see the handiwork of so many summit members in this one room alone. Thanks guys, you've made this house a home.


I uploaded all of my pictures from this weekend onto facebook. Let me know if these links don't work for you!
Work day page 1
Work day page 2

here are a few random shots... but the links above have almost 100 pictures, so take a look!



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

weekend projects

This past weekend I had so much fun at home! I have started to learn how to sew (I'm still nowhere near ready to fly solo... I still need much more teaching from my Mom!). I also got to make and decorate cookies with my nephew, Brian, and color eggs with my other nephew Zachary. Fun time!






Check back next week for pictures of the house projects that will FINALLY be done on the 14th!!!


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

Addendum

(If you haven't read the post below, read that one first!)

A few minutes ago, I was getting myself ready to go out, and I hear a knock at the door and then the doorbell. I figured the boys were back for their kool-aid. But it was Nyny again and a little girl at the door with a bleeding elbow. Nyny frantically asked, "can you help her!?" (He's quite dramatic!) So, in they came again, and this time Nyny was my little assistant, getting out the band-aids and assuring Destiny that it wouldn't hurt when I washed it off. Nyny took off downstairs in search of the cat as well as his drink. When we were finished, I invited Destiny downstairs for a drink as well. She came down with me, and a few minutes later I hear more footsteps! Nyny had brought two of his friends, Marcus, and one who didn't tell me his name. Marcus wanted some kool-aid too, so I made some more. :) When we went upstairs, Marcus' dad was waiting for them, so I got to meet him. His name is Luis. We talked for a bit, and I was able to invite him to the Easter services at the Summit. They only live a couple of streets over. I am so excited I am about to bust!!! This is what I've been waiting for!!! :) :) :)

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