Home from Belize

Hello all!

I am home from Belize, and to welcome me home last night was mom and sister at the air port, thick humidity, and then a late night luggage stolen from my Maple Grove front step! Yes stolen! I just spent a week in a rough part of Belize City and nothing went missing. Now I come home and set my smelly mission trip bag out on the step for the night. Why? you may ask did I set it outside??! Well lets just say I wanted to give some nice bugs that may have made that bag my home a chance to escape in the night before I found them.

Little did I know that some one in Maple Grove would want my smelly, dirty old clothes, my old sheets, air mattress and Praying Pelican Missions leader book. I am happy right now that they took the work of me needing to wash all those clothes. I am very sad about one thing that was in my bag. The pastor we parented with this past week gave PPM a gift of a wood carved map of Belize for in our office! And sadly that was the only wonderful thing in my bag that was taken :(

My bag is labeled with my name and address, and just maybe I will be returned when they find nothing worth taking.

Now for a picture story of my trip in Belize City at Lake Independence Baptist Church.

Me with my group from Iowa

Some rain filled basket ball games

Painting the church floor all week! Also the back wall with a fresh white :)

Crafts at Vacation Bible School

Learning some songs

Fixing the yard drainage

Some seeing the ocean for their first time

The school we stayed at all week.

Thank you Belize and Jesus for such a wonderful week!

You better BELIZE it people!

Off to Belize for the week!

Looking forward to:

 fun moments like this!

Beauty like this!

Amazing teams like this!

And mostly, God having his way in all things!

Happy weekend!

Hello blog readers! It is about time for an update around here!

A wedding shower:
A week late but better late the never, last weekend my aunt and cousin had a wonderful fun wedding shower for me. We had great brunch food, silly laughable game time, showered with gifts and good talks. It was great seeing some of Dans family and some of mine in the same room. It was homey and comforting to have so much support while Dan is away. I am so glad they all could come! Wow am I sure blessed.

Letters from my Dan Man:
My favorite part about summer comes a few days out of  each week. "paper thin" in white wrapping, bell placed on each one, filled with messages and updates from my favorite person. An update for you all, swimming tests past, he's going well, first 5 weeks are done and he moves on the phase II today. Praise the Lord he is faithful in it all. Keep up the prayers for health and safety! thank you

my 2! letters that came today <3

Fun with Shudderfly:
Spent many an hour playing with making our guest book and it arrived this week! Check out shudderfly if you want a cute family book, or book about a trip you took, it is easy, fun and REALLY cute!

Love Language:

Read a great book this week that Dan left me to read for the summer, The Five Love Languages. I recommend this quick read. I learned a lot from it and made me even more excited to be married!

So that is the last week all wrapped up. Many fun weekend things planned. And oh happy day JULY is just around the corner! :) Belize in 2 weeks! And becoming a wife so soon!

Smile :)

Song to look up written in my last letter I got from Dan :) Enjoy this one! He must have heard this song in Chapel

OK! where the wind blows!

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. 2 Tim 1:7 (AMP)
What a great truth for the day! Jesus gives these things to his children. It is interesting to see how the world tries to make this these but it cant give us TRUE power, love, calm, well-balanced, discipline, self control. Something always comes up, something always gets hard or a trial comes. But with the Lord these truths are beyond circumstances. 
 
 
I am currently on my trip! Sarah,2 kiddos and I made it through a night of driving. It went smooth. We arrived to Emily and her new puppy and CUTE apartment. We are enjoying our days of sun and good girl talk time. Sarah's husband is deployed at the moment, Emily's husband is in Jamaica for Praying Pelican Missions and Dan is boot camping. So we had a common tie at the moment and it is great to have the support and encouragement.
 

Cute Van Man

Chiquita :)

No smiles from this girl, long day at the pool!

Restaurant of choice!

haha, the band for the night

Well that's all for now folks, it is windy and a bit rainy here tonight, hoping for fun pool time again tomorrow :)

Weddings, Road trips and Letters Oh My

Hi Hi blog readers!
Weddings: So this past weekend was Rachael and Josh's wedding. This started out with my road trip to the north woods of WI!  Lots of set up, little details, then wonderful wedding, fun reception, gave a speech and only cried a little. Watched this great couple take there first few steps and dances as husband and wife. It sure made me want my wedding to be here :)

2nd wedding of the year, fun time decorating the car with Stouties!

Rachael and Josh! :) 

1st wedding of the year, Jeff and Alys!

Such a happy couple

Road Trips: Today I leave for a road trip with Mrs. Sarah her 2 cute kiddos, we are off to Oklahoma to stay with our friend Emily and her new puppy for a long weekend! We have been planing this for a long time. So fun that it is here now! I am all packed and have my luggage with me at work today ready and waiting for my 4:30 pick up by Sarah! woohoo.  We will go through the night and reach sun and fun and Mrs. Emily in the morning :)

Letters: I am so happy to say that I now have Dans address! He has been getting many letters from me now :) After 2+ weeks of NO communication, I can send him letters now and... I GOT ONE from him yesterday! Talk about happy, people! These weeks of letters will be so much better then nothing. Funny how we take little things from granted sometimes. How in just a moment letters can seem like the BEST thing. You forget others get talk on the phone, text and actually be in the same room with their fiancées?! what... lol but really I'm so thankful! Thank you to all our friends and family that are encouraging and supporting us and praying for us. It does not go unnoticed! 

Philippians 2

 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Have a great rest of your week! 

Power of words, Power of God on our side!

Good morning all!

So this weekend is my friends Rachael and Josh's wedding! :) Here is the cute couple soon to be husband and wife:

So happy for you Rachael and Josh <3  

So this will be wedding #2 for the summer without Dan, we have almost 2 weeks down sense he has been boot camping it up! Have you ever heard someone say that God can give peace that is outside your circumstances?  Take a look at these verses.
Philippians 4:4-8
 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."


I love how the word explains how to receive this blessing of peace beyond circumstances. Rejoicing, gentleness, prayer, petition, thanksgiving, Going to God! This is truth today and yesterday and tomorrow. And for the summer and years ahead we all need this. Finish the rest of these verses. And lets walk this out today. Go to God, think on truth! I remember I did a study on this in Costa Rica, and just thinking on truth is powerful. So many worries or wonders are things that are just in our mind. They are not even reality in our day or things that will even happen. When we are children of God, He is on our side. I read a quote my friend Jillian posted yesterday and need to put it here because it is so powerful. The power of words, and the power of God. 


You will never fear God properly until you realize that the very thing that should make you fear Him is the very thing that is for you. The very power that should frighten your enemies should comfort you, The very power that could crush you is carrying you, The very power that could obliterate you is actually holding you together. The second you became a child of God, God became 100% for you 100% of the time. - Steven Furtick 


Good huh?! Oh yeah! Have a happy Thursday everyone!