Into the Nations

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Life of a High School Senior

Life has officially hit a speed of a million miles an hour.

Once the third week of March hit, we arrived in Crazy Town.

Here's what life looks like these days....

March 20-24: War of Special Forces (a youth revival team using games as evangelism tools) arrives at school for a full week of services both in school and in the evening.

March 27th and 28th: Away soccer games back-to-back in Jacksonville and Elizabeth City, NC.

March 30th: leave at 4am for Pensacola, FL to visit Pensacola Christian College.

March 31st - April 1st: Drive back to Greenville, NC.

April 3d - Leave for Senior trip to NYC, New York.

April 8th: Arrive back in North Carolina.

April 10th: Visit a small Bible college in NC for the day.

April 11th and 13th - Away/home soccer games.

April 14th - 24th: BULGARIA!

Saturday, March 11, 2017

Gunsi Update

Eight months after hugging little Gunsi goodbye for the last time,

I still have the incredible privilege of watching her and sweet little Metalepule grow up.

Every few weeks I'll text Ms. Dorah to see how things are with the creshe and beg for a few photos of Gunsi. On top of that, Not Forgotten is really good about keeping

their Facebook page updated, and though it sometimes requires some searching, I can almost always spot my baby somewhere in the photos.

Technology has its ups and downs, but getting to watch Gunsi

and Metalepule grow and thrive is a major perk.

Leaving South Africa meant leaving a huge piece of my heart with the children I loved and friendships I cherished. For months and months I begged God to let me go back to where my heart was. Some days my heart leaped as I thought the answer was yes. Other days I wanted to cry as I watched the door seem to close. Right now, it looks as though SA will not be a huge part of my immediate future, though I look forward to a possibly visiting within the next two years, and then doing part of my college missions training there within the next three years.

Sometimes the answer is no, as I feared. But other times the answer is wait, and God has given me the grace to be ok with that as other doors are opening.

Anyway, back to the girls!

Gunsi is now about 18 months and thriving! The little miracle is catching up quickly after her rough start and is doing wonderfully.

I was able to watch her sit up on her own, scoot, crawl and now even WALK through pictures and videos. I was even able to see her "in person" take some of her first step through FaceTime and cheer her on from across the ocean. My baby is doing so very well.

Gunsi in the picture above was beginning to get better, but still had a long road ahead of her. I was preparing to leave within the next couple days, and my heart was heavy not knowing what was going to happen to her. I remember thinking that it was nice seeing her doing well that day, because I secretly feared she wouldn't make it in the months

ahead. I should have just trusted my God! He has her in the palm of His hands and she is doing so well, as shown in the picture to the right.

Gunsi is walking!

So proud of her.

It made my heart happy

seeing how much she adored

Ms. Kedi and how much

Ms. Kedi loved her.

Little Metalepule has completely transformed! From a lethargic and struggling child who would rarely make eye contact with me, she has grown into a THRIVING, healthy, and joyful little girl. It made my heart so happy to speak to her through FaceTime and see her smile shyly and speak into the camera. Honestly, the change is so dramatic that I wouldn't have even recognized her if I Mrs. Mimi hadn't told me it was Metalepule. We are praising God the miracle of these girls lives!

Metalupule in July (left) and Metalepule in January (right)

So blessed by these girls and the miraculous work God has done in their lives!

http://notforgottensa.com/

Saturday, February 4, 2017

Homecoming 2017

With four more months left of Senior year, I am finding that time to reflect and blog on all that is going on is short and limited. Days are full, long and busy! but wonderful, and full of God's grace.

Though the days can become long and I end one exhausted, my heart is full with the simple joys of it all. From the little things like tutoring little buddies after school and joking around with best friends, to the big things such as Spirit Week and Homecoming, it is rare moment I have time

to chronicle all that is happening.

During Homecoming, I was given the unexpected, thrilling, and absolute honor of being crowned Trinity Christians School's 2017 Homecoming Queen!

After being a student at Trinity for only a year and a half of high school, it was completely humbling and beautiful to be given such an honor.

I am so thankful for the lifelong friends this beautiful school has given me, and how unconditionally and selflessly each teacher pours herself out for each one of us.

Trinity is one of the best and greatest gifts I have ever been given.

On the day of homecomeing, we left school at the half day mark - ll:37am, to be exact. We went out for smoothies and then home to get ready.

Morgan is a master at makeup and hair, and saved my life by offering to take care of mine completely. As you can expect, I was greatly relieved and thankful!