I am going to Nicaragua on Wednesday. We're going with Samaritan's International to a food distribution center to help feed hungry children.

Half of our team is missing their passports and we leave in about 36 hours. If they do not come in, then our team of 12 is down to 6. So, lots of prayers.

But, eitehr way, I have my passport and I am going and I am excited :) Except it is gonig to rain...the entire time...

http://www.samaritansinternational.org/si/pub_home.cfm

Please allow me clarify something...

Bobby and I did not move to Lancaster, SC because of the mountains (there are none), the city life (there isn't one) or the beaches (again, none.) In Lancaster, there are cows, county fields, and it's a city that needs the Lord. So, when people ask us why we left Charleston (which has the awesome city life and the beautiful beaches!) the only reason that we have is becase we were called into the mission field and to serve in Lancaster. That's what we are. We are missionaries serving God and it just so happens to be in Lancaster, SC. It could have been in Ethopia, Brazil, China, California, Maine, but it was here in South Carolina.

In case you don't remember, we prayed for the Lord to lead and guide us as Bobby began searching for a ministry opportunity anywhere where he could serve God and preach the Gospel to youth. Bobby was contacted by churches in Texas, Oregon, Ohio, etc. But there was no peace and no reassurance from any of those opportunities that would even resemble a call to a specific church. We continued to pray and search while i finished up school and as always, God provided. Now, one thing about a church-it's full of sinners, so if you go to a church expectign things to be perfect, the people to be smiling and friendly, the sermon to be without grammer errors, the music to be perfect, the children to be quiet, the bulletin to be mistake-free, then you my friend are going to be disappointed. You come to church expecting to worship the Lord, not catered to and impressed. Worship the Lord-end of story. If Lancaster was our home community, and we were looking for a church, we may not have joined Bethlehem. We didn't come and visit the church a few times and then decide to join. We were called to serve the Lord-working with youth at a church,and that is what we are doing-serving the Lord. Our calling is specifically with the youth and outreaching to the community. Yea, there may be alot of petty things in "church"(the system of the church) but don't let those become a stumbling block for the church (as in the church body-the fellowship of believers). The theology is sound and the doctrine is Biblical. The message of Christ is being preached and people are coming to Christ. That's the important thing. And that's why we are in Lancaster-to preach the Gospel. Any mission field we are in, any church that we are called to, any country we serve in, we are there to preach the Gospel.

A study conducted by UCLA's Department of Psychiatry has revealed that
the kind of face a woman finds attractive on a man can differ depending
on where she is in her menstrual cycle.

For example: If she is ovulating, she is attracted to men with rugged
and masculine features.

However, if she is menstruating, or menopausal, she tends to be more
attracted to a man with duct tape over his mouth and a spear lodged in
his chest while he is on fire.

No further studies are expected.

hooray for girls week :)

We're building our house! :)

I'm really REALLY excited about it! :)

It's beautiful and we walked through a model of it yesterday and it was so beautiful!

So, we're really REALLY excited! Plus, we get allowances to pick out our applicances, faucets, spa tub, lighting, carpet, etc. HOORAY!

Here's a link tot he plan of the house. We got to see the blueprints yesterday-this is just really exciting and we'll get to move in on in October or so :) HOORAY!

http://www.dongardner.com/plan_details.aspx?pid=410

Ten Simple Rules for Dating My Daughter

Rule One:
If you pull into my driveway and honk you'd better be delivering a
package, because you're surely not picking anything up.

Rule Two:
You do not touch my daughter in front of me. You may glance at her, so
long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep
your eyes or hands off of my daughter's body, I will remove them.

Rule Three:
I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to
wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their
hips. Please don't take this as an insult, but you and all of your
friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded
about this issue, so I propose his compromise: You may come to the door with your
underwear showing and your pants ten sizes too big, and I will not
object. However, in order to ensure that your clothes do not, in fact,
come off during the course of your date with my daughter, I will take
my electric nail gun and fasten your trousers securely in place to your
waist.

Rule Four:
I'm sure you've been told that in today's world, sex without utilizing
a "barrier method" of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate, when it
comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I will kill you.

Rule Five:
It is usually understood that in order for us to get to know each
other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day.
Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an
indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back at my house, and the
only word I need from you on this subject is "early."

Rule Six:
I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to
date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my
daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you
will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If
you make her cry, I will make you cry.

Rule Seven:
As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear,
and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to
be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is
putting on her makeup, a process that can take longer than painting the
Golden Gate Bridge. Instead of just standing there, why don't you do
something useful, like changing the oil in my car?

Rule Eight:
The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter:
Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden
stool. Places where there are no parents, policemen, or nuns within
eyesight. Places where there is darkness. Places where there is
dancing, holding hands, or happiness. Places where the ambient
temperature is warm enough to induce my daughter to wear shorts, tank
tops, midriff T-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and
a goose down parka - zipped up to her throat. Movies with a strong
romantic or sexual theme are to be avoided; movies which features
chain saws are okay. Hockey games are okay. Old folks homes are
better.

Rule Nine:
Do not lie to me. I may appear to be a potbellied, balding,
middle-aged,dimwitted has-been. But on issues relating to my daughter, I am the
all-knowing, merciless god of your universe. If I ask you where you
aregoing and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the truth, the
whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have a shotgun, a shovel, and
five acres behind the house. Do not trifle with me.

Rule Ten:
Be afraid. Be very afraid. It takes very little for me to mistake the
sound of your car in the driveway for a chopper coming in over a rice
paddy near Hanoi. When my Agent Orange starts acting up, the voices in
myhead frequently tell me to clean the guns as I wait for you to bring my
daughter home. As soon as you pull into the driveway you should exit
your car with both hands in plain sight. Speak the perimeter password,
announce in a clear voice that you have brought my daughter home
safely and early, then return to your car - there is no need for you to
come inside. The camouflaged face at the window is mine.

i survived 3 midterm exams...

wait, wait...

i survived 3 graduate level exams...

wait, almost, but not quite...

i survived 3 gradute level midterm exams back-to-back on Saturday....tests from 9-11, 12-2, 3-5...

the important thing is that I SURVIVED! Whether I passed or not is another story :)

Poverty.
Say it.
Let it roll around on your tongue for a little bit.
It’s so much more than a word.
It has a feel to it like a chill in the air.
It has a smell.
It has a face.

The fact that I can sit on my office wearing my nice work clothes typing on my nice dell desktop eating some applesauce breaks my heart. There are people out there with no idea when they’ll eat their next meal.

If you are saying “Maybe they should get a job” I‘d really like to slap you. What is going on in your head that when there is a need you want to find a reason to excuse yourself from helping the. Instead of looking at people and putting the responsibility on them, why don’t you look at yourself? How are you helping them? It’s not right to just sit here and complain about it. “Lazy people sitting around and collecting money” Yea. Some people do, but you know what, most of them don’t. People out there have needs. People that live a little further down the street past Cooper’s Point, and Deer Run, and Atlantic Palms….they have needs. What can I do to help them? WHAT CAN I DO!?!? You can do something because that something is better than nothing.

There a difference between thinking about these things and doing something about them.
What will it take to move people to action? What will it take for you to witness to that lost person? What will it take for you to pick up a few extra things at the grocery store and drop them off at your local food bank? So what if you don’t go out to eat again for the fifth time this week. Take that 20 bucks and donate it.

Where’s your heart at? Do you honestly care?

I have my own computer at work now. HOOT! HOOT!
That just means y'all are in trouble!

We moved.
I work, but not in Charlotte.
I work in our city.

It's hard to be materialistic here and think about going shopping for $40 jeans and $50 shoes when I go out and investigate cases where children are running around naked begging for food. No lie. Or when you find 3 brothers who were raised outside, they have no teeth because their teeth are rotted down and they can't communicate because they have their own language. They are 6, 4, 2. The 2 year old's diaper has been duct taped onto him and hasn't been changed in 4 days. These kids haven't been bathed in weeks. They were picked up because they were alone in their yard trying to crack nuts open to have somethign to eat. The last thing on my mind is what can I buy for myself today? What material item am I going to spend money on and not ever use again?

It's hard when the brutal truth is put in your face everyday...and you really can't do anything about it except paperwork....

We're moving on Thursday next week!!

Bobby got the youth ministry job in Lancaster.
I GOT A JOB IN CHARLOTTE!

HOOT HOOT!

Hi Karen! ;)

12 hours with a C, you fail out. Fail one course and you are set back one year. If you fail out of USC program, you cannot return for 6 years. There are only 190 programs in the US, We are in the top 15%. There are 450 students in the Social Work college, grad and undergrad.

I like the following names: Mason, Preston, Greyson, Payton, Harper, Lennon
Also: Evelyn, Olivia, Madeline, Alyssa, Abigail, MacKenzie

Bobby likes: Muffi-jo, Xuqiu, Sovanrithy, Warpspawn The Shredder, Thor "Zoologist Doctor" Griffin, and Ranlat


Husbands.....geez :) j/k!

Date:	2006-06-02 09:24
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	content

Wow...yesterday at USC was a cool answer to prayer...Here's the situation...the full-time program is 60 hours (2 years)...which means 12 hours of classes that are 3 hours long..and then a field placement. You are require dot do 2 days of field placements....so, after 2 days of class and 2 days of field, it's almost impossible to work full-time or even part time.....so...I went to USC for advisement yesterday and it was awesome! I can go part-time for 3 years....the first year I can take 3 night classes...and then the next 2 years, I can take classes on Saturdays and still graduate in 2 years! How freaking cool! That way I will be able to continue to work full-time....and if I get on at The Lancaster House, The Girls Home, or The Convalescence House, they can count as my field placmeemnt because I am already in the field....so....I don't have to quit to work somewhere else....how cool!


My classes:
Human Behavior and Social Environment I
Social Welfare Problems and Policy
Psychopathology for Social Workers

My advisor, Frances, was really down to earth...You really don't get finanial aide for grad school. you don't even get considered for a GA (work-study) unless your GPA is 3.6-4.0...It's the difference between a Toyota and a Lexus. It's a luxury. It's somethig you have to work hard for...most anyone can go and get a B.A., but to continue to get a MSW....it's gonna take work....and a lot of papers...and it'll be hard....so...ummm....yea...

I'm going to Columbia today to register for my classes for Grad School :) HOOT! HOOT!

Date:	2006-05-31 10:51
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	bored

I've been looking online for jobs in Lancaster and I found the Lancaster Children's Home and the Girls Home in Rock Hill....who knows...maybe I can get in there and start working in July! I've also been looking online geting quotes from moving companies and looking for apartments/real estate....lots of exciting stuff coming up...I'll be lving about 30 minutes from Stephanie.... :)

YEE-HAW!!!

I went 4 wheelin' over the weekend...it was freaking awesome!

Looks like the country is where we'll be going...ya'll :)

Date:	2006-05-26 10:18
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	sleepy
Music:	typing...

Silence: Joy Williams
Are you listening
To anything that I say
'Cause I been praying
How many prayers can I pray
I'm still waiting
Maybe You'll show up today

I know You're here, but I can't feel You
And if You're speaking, I can't hear You
How much longer will this last

So okay Answer me with silence
It's okay if You don't say a word
You're testing me to trust You'll be faithful in this quiet
So okay
Answer me
With silence

Why do I question
Your intentions for me
When Your affection
Is a proven legacy

Oh Father, Father
Turn my fears into peace
I know Your love will never leave
I know You want what's best for me

You're testing me to trust You'll be faithful in this quiet

Oh, it's okay
If You answer me with silence
And it's okay if You don't say a word
You're testing me to trust You'll be faithful in this quiet
So okay
Answer me
With silence


I've felt the Lord's silence these past few months...and it wasn't really silence,just that I needed to trust and that we needed to trust and know that the Lord is faithful...and that our time would be coming soon...and that He does have it all under control...with Grad school, and with a scholarship, and with bobby's job....and with everything...

Well, I got accepted to Grad school at USC :) I start on my Master's in Social Work in the Fall. Bobby has an interview this weekend in Lancaster for a full-time youth minstry position. Lancaster also has an extension campus for USC so I can take classes from home. I feel like out time here in Charleston is coming to a close and we'll be leaving soon and I'm excited! And I'm nervous...and scared...and joyful...and expectant.

On another note, Cherie will be staying with us for almost the whole month of June while she finishes her classes up for her B.A. in English :) I'm really really excited! Lots of girl time to be had! ;)

And on the last note, I have been working on a top-secret surprise...very humbling...definantely something that I've been working on for months and the Lord takes the wierdest things to teach you something ya know. It's definantely the Lord!

Oh yea...I got my digital camera now....wedding photography has never bene easier! ;) And it's fun!

It's hard to believe that i have been cleaning out my yahoo! email box for about 3 hours...

my job is boring.

and i got promoted yesterday.

what the heck?!?