Thankful for Christmas

I LOVE Thanksgiving and Christmas. You have an excuse to eat lots of good food, you get to be with your family (hopefully) and of course, it's time to prepare for the birth of our Savior.
How amazing sweet is that?

Thanksgiving lunch at my aunt's house. I think there were about 20 of us total!

My cousin, Karlin... she's so cute.

And another cousin, Alejandro. Don't you love that smile??

We finally got the (topless) tree at 205 decorated! Ain't it purty? :)

There is so much to look forward to at this time of year. It's amazing that we (in the states) get to begin the "holidays" with a day of being thankful. I just pray that this Christmas season will touch you like never before, that you will be able to see Christ as the Savior he came to earth to be.
It was an amazing miracle and he IS an amazing Lord.

TGI Fridays, Squatty Potties and a Little Basketball

It's amazing how much American food you will eat when you are out of the country! We ate at TGI Friday's twice and McD's twice. I think the last time I ate at Friday's was when I was living in Atlanta! And I may eat at McD's once a year. Actually, I think the last time I visited McD's was while I was going through Germany to and from South Africa. It makes me laugh!

Now, I've used squatty potties before. I know they exist and I'm not afraid to use them... unless of course the door doesn't really lock and the only light in the water closet is busted! However, after walking about for a bit and trying to figure out what I was going to do, I realized I didn't have a choice and decided to chance it! Luckily, after stepping outside to make sure the coast was clear, I saw Sasha and told him there was only one. So he said, "It's ok, you are safe!" You will be happy to hear that "Operation Squatty Potty" was a success :) haha!

The gym we were in for our conference on Tuesday was amazing. Although it was REALLY cold! Everything went well and the people we met in the Ukraine were very interested in what we had to tell them about Upward. We are at the very beginning stages, but who knows... Upward Ukraine may become a reality! We'll just have to see what all God has in store.

Orthodox churches are all over the place.

As are statues!!

It was a really good trip. It was odd being in Eastern Europe this time... many things were very familiar because it was Europe. But there are a lot of differences because it's in the east and still has a good bit of Russian influence. I'm thankful that God is allowing me to see different parts of the world and meet people in other cultures... and that's my job! It's amazing. He's amazing. And I'm so grateful for all that He is doing around the world and right here in Greenville. I love it!

I'm in the Ukraine!

First of all.... we made it safely.
Second of all... it's FREEZING.
But third of all... it snowed some today! So at least there was a reason for me being so cold :)

So far, I love it. But to be honest, there aren't many places that I've gone in the world and not loved. We haven't met too many people b/c we only got here about 24 hours ago, but our hosts are amazing and have been wonderful. We went to a market today and loaded up on fun souvenirs and headed to a church service. We ended up leaving part of the way through, but our hosts mainly wanted us to just see one example of a worship service. He actually helped plant that church and aparently it has declined in the last few years with their worship attendance. But he said that their small groups are going strong... a bit odd to me, but he said the church leadership isn't worried about it. If he were still there, he'd be worried, but he has helped start another church in the past 5 years that seems to be going really well. They meet on Saturday afternoon though and our flight didn't arrive until after it was over.

We start our Upward conference tomorrow and from what we've heard, many people are very excited about it. So, be praying for us and the people in Ukraine as they hear about what God has done through sports in the US and other parts of the world. Pray that they will be able to help us understand what it would take to help them use sports ministry here!

the FAITHFUL life

"...being a child of God isn’t about the easy life… it’s about the FAITHFUL life."

That's what I found my fingers typing on Natalie's blog this morning in response to what she's been struggling with (read it). I've always known that the life of a Christian wasn't easy. The Bible tells us as much! But every once in a while I find myself expecting things to always go my way or trying to rest in the fact that "my plans" are going to work out.

In talking with Natalie about what she is going to do when her little girl comes I've realized that I have absolutely no clue what my future looks like. In 11th grade I remember standing in the AP Chemistry lab talking to my lab partners/friends about how my life was going to work out. I was going to go to the Naval Academy, get a degree in engineering, apply to NASA and become an astronaut. Simple, right? Sure! NOT how God works. Unfortunately I had to learn that lesson a couple of times the hard way.

Of course I know what I would like to do and what I believe God is calling me to do, but I don't know for sure. All that I do know is that He is faithful beyond my imagination. His plans are to prosper me, NOT to harm me. He is in the process of reminding me of that and I'm thankful. I try to look at life with an attitude of excitement... I mean, it's better than a movie because you have NO IDEA what God is going to do!! Most of the time I'm just laughing at myself because who would have thought Miss "I'm going to be an astronaut and no one can stop me" would end up getting her FRENCH degree from CLEMSON to then go live in Belgium and come home to SPARTANBURG, SC (of all places...) to work with a ministry that I love and adore? If anyone would like to stand up and tell me that God doesn't have a sense of humor after hearing about my life, then forget it, because I'll just tell you to sit back down :)

Since I didn't know where I was going to be or what I was going to be doing 3 years ago when I graduated from Clemson, what makes me think that I know what even the next year holds?? I'm excited about it. I know that God isn't going to drop me and leave me. There are times when I try and do it with Him, but He is always there waiting (patiently, I might add) when I go sprinting back to Him. If only WE had that much faith in HIM. Wow. I wish I could get to that point and really see what God fully has in store for me.