Old friends

I love the Fourth of July so much! It's always fun to be with family and friends,

but this year was particularly fun for me because one of my old friends, Jacob Stiefel, is a super cool Southern Rock star in Nashville now and he was playing in Fort Payne for their Fourth of July celebration! 
Back when I was about 15(or16)Jacob used to be in this local band called Dixie Road with some other people that me and my mom were close with. 

They used to play a lot locally and they would come shower or crash at our house afterwards and we would go to almost all of their shows and spend all day, even through sound check. It was a lot of fun and some of my best memories of high school. ANYways, I haven't heard Jacob play (or seen him) since I was 16 so it was so fun getting to see him again. And of course there were some other old friends there as well that I haven't seen since the band was together. 

Jacob lives in Nashville now and his band is called Jacob Stiefel and The Truth and they were so good!

He plays at all these cool places in Nashville and travels up North some to play, as well. He also has an album AND he's on iTunes. 


It was so funny... after the show, we went to his merchandise table to see him and he had a LINE of people waiting to get his autograph. It was strange haha because we look back and remember him so differently than people see him now. 

Sometime around 2008.

Now.

(as you can tell, he still likes to wear his shirt unbuttoned haha; some things never change!)

The good thing is, he is still the same Jacob he was when I met him... just a little more famous haha! Either way, it was such a fun time... and the fireworks afterwards were awesome! It was totally worth driving an hour to Fort Payne to hear him and the band... and now I have their album on iTunes so next time I go to a show(and I will go to another show) I will be able to sing along! :)

Oh what a night

Or should I say day/weekend?! My birthday was on Thursday and it was so much better than I thought it would be seeing as how this was my first birthday away from home. I plan to give a play-by-play of my day... so just bear with me!
First, I was greeted with a coffee from my favorite coffee place when Audrey got home from taking Deci to school. Journey came in and told me "happy birthday" lots of times... well, she tried to tell me "happy birthday" and it's the thought and effort that makes it special!
The mailman came and brought me lots of birthday cards and a package! I was so excited, because while I was expecting the package... I was definitely NOT expecting cards from anyone!
I received one from Nick and Brandi Longshore that included a Starbucks gift card, one from Nancy, Anna, and Allison Montgomery, one from Miranda and Erik Emanuel(and their sweet children), one from my sweet mother, and one inside the package from my favorite cousin ever, Ashley who lives in Georgia! (and has a blog here, in case you are wondering)
Inside the package was a super awesome journal/scrapbook thing that I am SO excited about using, I just have to think of the perfect thing to do with it first, an awesome 2-3 page letter and, like I mentioned earlier, a card!
I was literally in tears at the outpouring of love from my friends and family back home that I was totally not expecting to experience! Just when I thought my birthday couldn't get any better(seeing as how my friends in Oregon already threw me a surprise birthday party on Monday!), my friend Kylee showed up at the front door with a HUGE chocolate cupcake and beautiful flowers for me! It was so sweet of her to stop by on her way to work... go out of her way(because my house is DEFINITELY not on the way to her job) just to make me feel special!
I'm telling you all... I have the best friends/family in the entire world. You could try to argue that statement with me all day, but I would win! I never expected gifts or anything from anyone(except maybe my mom), but I was blown away at the things I received!
Here is a pic of all my gifts(including the ones already mentioned in my blog about my surprise birthday party.)

Later on in the day, I skyped with my mom, sis, and brother back in Alabama for a while and that was such a fun time! I love getting to skype with my family, but with the 2 hour time difference it is so hard to coordinate a time where we can all sit down with nothing to do for a few minutes. I'm so glad it worked out where I could see them on my birthday. It was definitely more special than just a phone call. 

After our family skype date, Holleigh, Maribel, Audrey and I went out to the Granary (an awesome pizza place in Eugene) to eat. It was so good! Our awesome server took our picture for us:

There is no group of girls I would have rather spent my birthday with! I would have added a couple of people to this picture if I could, though. Since my birthday was a weird day of the week, a lot of people had to work... sad day. But, we had an awesome time and yummy pizza!

After this we went to the rose garden where there is this super old tree that sits smack in the middle of the rose bushes and such. It just so happened to be blooming and it was so beautiful! 

We left the rose garden and took Holleigh back to her car because she had some things to do at home, and Audrey, Maribel, and I went to Yogurt Extreme for dessert! I love frozen yogurt so much... it was only fitting to eat there on my birthday! It was so yummy! 

After Yogurt Extreme, I went to Maribel and Thania's apartment for Bible study and to hang out with my working friends who had finally gotten off work! When I got there, there was another cake waiting on me! It was an orange jello cake and it was awesome! 

I thought my birthday was over(and technically it was) but the next day I received another birthday card and some drawings from 2 of my favorite little girls from back in Alabama, Emma and Ava Rhoden. Also, my mom bought me a NOOK tablet from Barnes&Noble that came in that day as well! I have been playing with it nonstop and already have like 4 books downloaded to it. I love it so much! It's the best birthday gift I think I have ever gotten(thanks mother!)

My birthday festivities continued yesterday(sort of) when Holleigh and I got the chance to go to a Ducks baseball game for free! I love baseball here lately for some reason, and it was like 75 degrees outside... perfect day for baseball! It was an awesome time, for sure! 

I am so thankful that the Lord placed me in a place like this with so many people who care so much about me! I don't know how my birthday would have been without all of these amazing people He has placed in my life. Thank you, Jesus! 

*Tonight is our first service project in the Whiteaker district with The Beautiful Mess! We will be cleaning  up the neighborhood and inviting people back for dinner in the basement afterwards. Please be in prayer for our team as this happens. We really hope the Lord blesses our efforts and plants seeds and fosters relationships tonight.

Happy birthday(week)to me!

My birthday is tomorrow and I am so excited! Honestly, I'm not sure why I am so excited about it... other than the fact that I will be 20! No longer a "teen." I don't consider myself a child as it is since I don't live with my mom or even in the same state as my mom, and I am totally independent, but it will be nice to have an age to reflect my responsibilities, ya know?!
I was a little worried that my day/week would be sad because this is my first birthday I will have spent away from home EVER, but it has been surprisingly spectacular so far!
On Monday, I went with my friends Thania, Derrick, and Maribel to the movies to see "The Vow" for the second time, and then they made up this big lie to get me to go into McMenamins where so many of my friends were waiting on me for a surprise party! It was totally awesome! :) and I am so blessed to be here with all of these guys who care so much about me to make me feel so at home during a time I have felt the most homesick.

McMenamins is my favorite place to eat in Eugene, and their strawberry lemonade is my favorite thing there! Audrey had ordered me one and had it waiting on me when I arrived at the party!
It was so special. Sharee made me a cake that was the most delicious cake I have ever had, they sang happy birthday to me TWICE, I received some birthday gifts, some homemade and some not, ....and SHAWN MCDONALD came to my birthday party! Yes, you read that right! Here is proof:

It took me forever to get the courage to ask him for a picture haha! But, I am so glad I did! He is good friends with Ethan, who is good friends with The Crash team... and he was in town and in Portland recording so decided to join Ethan at my party! Totally awesome! Check out this creeper stalker video my friend Holleigh made at the party. She was supposed to be taking a pic, but ended up videoing by accident. Look to my left and you can see Mr. McDonald sitting and chatting away at MY BIRTHDAY PARTY!

Here is a picture that Ethan took of the group at the party... 

Is that enough proof for you?! 

He was there... legit. And I felt like a little school girl because I was so excited and shy haha! BUT, it was the best birthday celebration so far and I am so blessed to have such great friends/family here in Oregon!

Please listen to and enjoy this Shawn McDonald song, which happens to be my favorite one by him.

Wooh!

Finally!

Oh my gosh.... I can't believe it has been so long since I have posted a blog post. To my faithful readers: thanks so much for emailing and commenting and checking on me, but I am still alive and well! Life just gets so hectic and I am the worst time manager EVER! Not an excuse, I know. But, I have been busy with Bible studies and moving houses and starting work(and then getting fired from work), looking for new work, school, and The Beautiful Mess which is our missional outpost/eventual church in downtown Eugene has officially started up and it has been so AWESOME and uplifting and encouraging, and busy! I love it so much, though and I am so glad God gives me great opportunities to serve and that my life has been consumed by Him! Our first service project  is scheduled for April 22! We will be cleaning up the neighborhood and then inviting people back to have dinner with us! Check out the website here.

I hope you all had an amazing Easter! I got to spend mine serving homeless with some other churches/ministries. We had a worship service, short message and then served dinner afterwards to a crowd that I don't think any of us expected to show up. It was so awesome to be able to serve alongside my friends and be able to share the love of Jesus with a group desperate for some kind of love. Below is a video taken by one of our friends of the dinner.

If you look when it goes to the water coolers you can see me standing there! woop woop!

Here are some random pics that describe what has been happening in my life in the past month or so!

.I got a hair cut! Rocking the new bangs and hanging out at a park on a beautiful sunny day! Notice the capri pants, sandals, and sun glasses!

Brooke came to visit and we took her to the coast! It was far from warm and sunny, but it was a BLAST!

Maribel and I took Brooke up to Skinner's Butte one sunny day to enjoy the day and soak up the vitamin D that we are all lacking due to NO sunshine ever haha!

Went to a new restaurant called Off The Waffle and had this amazing waffle. It was the waffle on bottom, a fried egg, bacon, and maple syrup. It was called something like Prophecy or Prodigal something or another haha! Anyways, yummiest waffle EVER.

The very first Beautiful Mess meeting in the basement of Eugene Evangelical Church. This is also where Hosea Youth Services meets on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

We had a snow day! So pretty, but it stayed around for days and got really annoying after the first 24 hours haha! Apparently Eugene was on the news back in Alabama because it was a freak snow storm... totally abnormal for this time of year.

Oh, and in case anyone is wondering: my birthday is in 9 days! And I will be 20! I definitely don't consider myself a child by any means... but I will officially be out of my teens. People keep telling me it is all downhill from here. We will see! I am excited and sad at the same time, because it will be my first birthday away from home EVER!

I PROMISE to try and keep this updated more... there was no excuse other than not wanting to take the time away from my day to blog, and then logging on to post something today totally overwhelmed me because of how long it had been. Ugh! Definitely a motivator to never go that long without posting again! Thanks for sticking around, loyal friends!

March Sponsor!

Okay, so this past month or so I have met SO many awesome fellow blogging ladies. I think that is one of the MAIN reasons I even blog. This post is centered on a new friend I have made in the "blog world."

 Her name is Elizabeth and she blogs over at

Here is a little tidbit about Elizabeth and her blog!

{About Me} Hey everyone! My name is Elizabeth and I’m a 20-something senior college student. I’m new to blogging, so I’m still getting the hang of this…but I love writing, trying new things and saving money (who doesn’t, right?) I’m obsessed with organizing, drinking coffee and listening to country music. I have a newfound love for the outdoors, old movies, crafting and cooking. I’m a yoga enthusiast and have just recently started Pilates (which I love!).
{About My Blog} After the summer of 2011 I found myself with an overwhelming number of credits to take my final year of college so I had to quit my job of 2+ years. Although I had spent my entire summer working and taking classes, I still found time to shop, vacation and spend way too much money. At the end of the summer I was hit with a wake up call -- despite all the hours I had put in at work, my bank account was devastatingly low. I realized I couldn't spend like I had been any longer.
Now I’m finding it more important than ever to save money. I thought that by starting my blog, I could share my tips and tricks I've developed and learned along the way to help others who were living on a budget, or just trying to save a buck or two here and there! I am by no means an expert (I'm studying history and then going on to grad school to be a teacher), but I have developed and adapted a lot of tricks that work for me. I also want to offer a few health, beauty, fitness and other tips as well! Come visit me at Fearless & Frugal and bear with me while I get started! :)

I love reading Elizabeth's blog, because I can totally relate to the things she blogs about, and to me that is so important when it comes to choosing which blogs I read. I also love that she is so genuine about her struggles with being a young woman and college student who doesn't have it all figured out! Click over to her blog and show her some blog lovin'!

Lucky me!

So, I have been winning giveaways from blogs like CRAZY lately... and I don't know what it is that makes me so lucky haha! While I was home for Christmas, I won a giveaway for an AWESOME hand swen phone cover from The Williams Post, a few weeks ago I won a Blog Critique E-book from Whispering Sweet Nothings, and this week I won a Cuppow from Long Distance Neighbors!

What is a Cuppow, you ask? Something that gives me just another excuse to buy mason jars at thrift stores!
See for yourself:

It's this awesome lid that goes on the top of mason jars to turn the jar into a travel mug! I LOVE my travel mug and I'm excited to have this to broaden my travel mug horizons!

So, if you ever want to win a giveaway on a blog... just let me enter for you, because I always win! Ha! Okay, not really. BUT, I have won every [blog] giveaway I have ever entered. That's pretty good odds, right?

ALSO, I got word that I start my new job officially on March 14! I have my first employee meeting on the 10 and my first shift is that Wednesday after! I'm so excited to have my own money and to be able to have a budget and be able to do more outreach and ministry things because I will have money to spare!

Brooke, one of my best friends who I wrote about a few blog posts back(here), is coming to Oregon to stay for a while this Tuesday and I AM SO EXCITED! It will be so refreshing to have someone here who I can relate to and talk to and hang out with. I can't wait!

Have an awesome weekend, lovely friends! 

It's Friday, I'm in love!

Happy Friday, friends!

:)

While you're over at Whispering Sweet Nothings to check out the link up... check out her Pinterest contest as well! It's pretty awesome!

Let's Review.

What's been happening in my life lately, you ask? I'm so glad you are wondering, because I would love to tell you!
Lately, I have relapsed in my Pinterest addiction. Sad, I know. I was doing SO good for a while. But, this is my FAVORITE Pinterest find of the week:

Okay, I love Adele as much as the next person. But come on, this is funny stuff. (via.)

Also this week, I found an AWESOME new blog to read and met a new friend (okay, we met through email, that counts, right?) named Haley. Her blog is called Divine Dating and it has been totally relevant to my life right now. I highly recommend it to single women of any age. I know you will find encouragement and strength from the things Haley posts about.The Lord speaks through her and He is using her blog for great things! I am so glad I connected with her!

Last night we had a mini girls night at Sharee's. We watched One Day with Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess.

First things first, I am not a fan of Anne Hathaway at all, but I love Jim Sturgess dearly (I am slightly in love with his character in Across the Universe, even more so if he didn't smoke so much weed in the movie haha!) ANYWAYS, even though I don't like Anne, I suggested we get the movie because some friends of mine liked it. Long story short... woah, do not waste your money on this movie. Such a sad movie in a few different ways. I won't say much about it, because it would give away important plot points, and I may not have talked some of you out of seeing the movie. It was definitely chick flickish, but not something I would recommend when feeling down and out, it's not really a "feel good" chick flick. *Steps off soap box*


My bible verse of the week this week is a very well known verse, but it has been such a welcoming reminder in my life lately.

I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

(Psalms 139:14)

I encourage anyone who struggles with identity or self esteem issues to write this truth on sticky notes/index cards and put them every where... in your car, write it on your bathroom mirror, your desk at work, MEMORIZE this verse and keep it in your heart. It serves as an encouragement to my heart when I am feeling superficial and getting caught up in how the world sees beauty.

I will leave you with a link to a song that has been on my heart this week. It's literally been coming up everywhere. Even when I have iTunes on shuffle, the song comes up way more often than it should. Pay no attention to the weird slides and the (few) lyric mess ups, just listen to the words of the song and sit at the feet of Jesus.

It's Friday, I'm in Love!
Link Up Party

Reminiscing.

I have been trying super hard to keep in contact with people in Alabama. Being across the country it is so hard to continue relationships that were so easy to maintain while in the same state. 

I have been dealing with some stuff lately and my friends in Alabama have really stepped up and had my back. It's so comforting to know I have friends I can count on for anything any time of day even though we don't see each other like we used to! 

I have also reconnected with some old friends from high school recently. This has inspired me to look through old pictures of the "good ole days" 

Thought I would share some old memories!

I love all of you girls MUCHO!
I thank God for you all EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
Thanks so much for always being there for me, even though I like to ramble and complain a lot.
I couldn't ask for better friends! ♥

life update.

Happy Sunday, folks! Hope you all have had a fantastic weekend! I didn't do much at all other than relax a little bit! 

So, I basically just wanted to update on things even though there isn't a great deal going on in my life right now. 

I still haven't heard from the job interview I had last Monday at Vanilla Jill's. Hoping I hear from them soon. Either way, I have plans to go out and apply at other places probably on Tuesday. 

School is getting ridiculous, and I am also in the middle of doing scholarship stuff for my transfer school (New Hope Christian College in Eugene.) 

(Me and Sharee in front of my future school!)

This week God is teaching me to have a softened heart. I am too negative about life and people in general. I am quick to anger and slow to show mercy and love. And I have to admit, I have a little problem with gossip, which can really hurt people. So, God is helping me overcome that problem. I have been reading Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller (which is coming out as a movie soon!) and he said that after he became a Christian he struggled with the fact that he wasn't "good" in God's eyes even though he seemed, to himself, to be quite good. He said he tried for one week to not say anything bad or negative in any way about a person and then he really realized how bad he really was. I have been challenging myself to write down every bad or negative thought I have... not so I can show people, but so I can realize just how bad I am in that area of my life. 
I hope this helps bring awareness to my hard heart.

I am selling knit hats and crocheted dishcloths for my India mission trip. Read my guest post from last week to find out more and to see pictures! There are also several ways you can donate to my trip: buy a hat or dishcloth, click the "Donate" button to the left of this post, go here to donate another place online, or stay tuned because I am about to start making super cool jewelry to sell as well!
Anyways, I also want to say thank you to all of my friends who are on this journey called life with me. I truly have an amazing support system, and I want you to know I am thankful for all of you!

*Hasta luego!

A time and place for everything.

I feel like I complain a lot. I also feel like my blog is place for transparency. I feel this way because I hate reading blog posts from people who seem to "have it all together" and have the perfect life with perfect kids and a perfect job and they never have bad hair days or lock their keys in their car. I can't relate to those types of bloggers because that isn't real life. That being said... I have to just be honest here for a second and say that I am struggling. I have posted a couple of times before about being single and the effects of my life because of that(see this post, or this one, or even this one) okay... so maybe I talk about it a lot. It sure seems that way lately. The thoughts have been consuming my mind and I just want to openly share that with you guys today. As I have mentioned before, I do not WANT to be married right now or in the next year by any means... sometimes it just gets to me that I don't have anyone. I try to remember the verse in the Bible that says in Romans 12:2-

Do not conform to the patterns of this world, 

but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. 

Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--

His good, pleasing, and perfect will. 

It is the culture we live in that tells a person they have to be in a relationship to be happy, and while I know that is the case... I still find myself being sucked into this lie all the time and it is such a huge distraction in my life. 

We had a much needed girls night at our friend Sharee's house last night. We put hot oil treatments in our hair and sat in the sauna, and then did face masks and just sat around talking about what we miss about Alabama and it was so fun and reminded me why I love getting to hang out with just girls and having no obligation to a boy or anything. I love having girl friends to sit and talk with about silly stuff. Today, on top of struggling with the dumb want for a boyfriend... I miss my girl friends back home in Alabama and I miss girl talk and "stalking" people and "stealing" our friends' cars and having dance parties or marshmallow fights at the church at 3 AM. I miss having the option to get out of the house and go do a million different things with a million different people if I wanted to. I miss seeing familiar faces in town... Today I just miss home. 

My friend Sharee prayed with me in the sauna last night about these inward struggles going on in my brain and I really feel like it helped tons. I am still thinking about it and it's still a distraction in my life, but hearing about some things she has been going through lately and how God spoke to her heart and gave her peace about her situation, gave me hope and reminded me that God is still God and He is still good. No matter what "worldly" desires I may have, God still has the controls and none of this is a surprise to Him. I am so thankful for that and so thankful for friends He has placed in my path here that allow the Lord to speak through them to help ease my mind. Thank you, Jesus! You are so infinitely good to me and I do not deserve it in the slightest. 

In lieu of my love for the Savior of the universe and His promise of a new tomorrow I am linking up with Whispering Sweet Nothings for It's Friday and I'm in Love! An all things goes, no strings attached, weekend-long link up!  

Movie Review: The Vow

 Let me start by telling you the story of how our evening went before the movie started. So Friday night Audrey and I along with our friends Thania and Maribel went to see the new movie The Vow. Audrey had talked to Maribel the night before and we agreed to meet at the theater by our house at 7:30 even though the movie didn't start until 7:55, but after seeing what everyone was saying about the movie on Facebook yesterday, I was getting the feeling we should plan to get there earlier... but we stuck with 7:30. So Audrey and I left the house around 7:20 so we knew we would be there on time. At 7:28 we were pulling into the parking lot, so I texted Maribel and our conversation went a little like this:

Me: Hey! We are pulling into the theater parking lot right now... are you guys here yet?

Maribel: The movie starts at 7:55.

Me: Yes??? Audrey said we were supposed to meet at 7:30, were we not?

Maribel: Yes, I am on my way.

So after the confusion, Audrey and I walked into the mall that the theater is located in and went up to ask how full the theater was so we could order tickets if we needed to before they sold out. This is the conversation between Audrey and the ticket lady:

Audrey: How open is the theater for The Vow?

Ticket Lady: Very open. We've only sold 10 tickets.

Audrey: Okay, great. Well then we will just wait to buy our tickets then until our friends get here. 

According to this conversation with the ticket lady, we didn't need to buy our tickets early or even worry about buying them on time, even though a lot of people had mentioned on Facebook about some theaters being sold out. After our friends arrived and we bought our tickets and waited in line for concessions (we couldn't resist the sell of buttery popcorn even though it's not on our diets), we proceeded to walk into the theater only to see that the ticket lady was MORE than WAYYYYYY off on telling us they had only sold 10 tickets.... there was literally like 1 seat on each row that was still open. As we decided we were not gonna be able to sit together (as there was 4 of us) we saw 4 seats together on the VERY. FIRST. ROW. Yes, the row where you literally have to look straight up in order to see the screen and not in the cool iMax kind of way... in the your eyes cannot look at the whole screen at once kind of way...  

After facing the inevitable, the movie finally started and I was hooked from the very first scene! I think the coolest thing about this movie is that it's based on a true story. Not to mention the great love quotes that will be overly quoted in the next few weeks. 

 The movie starts with a couple who is madly in love and a tragic accident causes the wife to lose every memory she has of her husband. The movie basically follows the journey of the couple as they try to cope with their tragedy and figure out what the rest of their lives look like. All in all, it was well worth the $6 I paid for a movie ticket and well worth having to stare straight up to the screen. It made me want to journal every single detail of my life. (totally unrealistic-ha!) But in all honesty, I definitely started thinking about the fact that it is so important to make the most of every single day, because you or someone important to you may not remember or not be around to experience life with you tomorrow. It also reminded me that fairy tale loves really do exist in more than just storybooks. I have to admit, I cried just a little while watching. But I will definitely watch this again when it is on Netflix/Redbox. I leave you with a clip from the movie and then an interview with the couple the movie and book were based on. Beware that there may be spoilers for the story in the interview if you have yet to see it, but its worth watching for sure. 

ta-ta for now!

Exploring Oregon: Holleigh's Birthday Weekend

Holleigh Woodward, one of the people from our Crash team and one of my really great friends, had a birthday this weekend! Holleigh has a really fun time with her birthdays; she likes to celebrate the whole month! Okay, that is an exaggeration, but she does like to celebrate her "birthday week."

While Saturday wasn't technically a birthday celebration for Holleigh, we started the weekend at Spencer's Butte. We took a hike up Mt. Pisgah last weekend (blog post here.) and while that was beautiful, Spencer's Butte is a whole other kind of beautiful. Once you get to the top (okay, confession time... I did not go all the way to the top. I blame that on my grumpy troll mood that day) but even so, once you get above the tree line, you can look out and see the Three Sisters, Mt. Bachelor, and some other mountain that we were not sure the name of. It was the perfect sunny and clear day for a hiking trip like that, if you know anything about Oregon weather, you know how that goes. 

So Sunday was her actual birthDAY, yes... Super Bowl Sunday... but we pretty much left the day open to whatever she wanted to do and the day turned out to be one of my favorite days in Oregon so far, and with Nick and Brandi Longshore being in town this past week, the day was all the more fun! First we started the day at church. We have been attending University Fellowship in Eugene. It is definitely not Lifepoint, but it is a great church that we feel will have a vital role in the church plant we are planning for downtown. After church we went to eat at a place called the Beanery which is such a cool atmosphere. It's basically deli-style food with REALLY good coffee.

After lunch, we all met back up at our house and headed to a local vineyard/winery called Sweet Cheeks. The view from there was just gorgeous, and we were lucky to have another super sunny and warm day in FEBRUARY! 

Next stop, King Estate Vineyard/Winery. This place, I have to say, was probably more beautiful than Sweet Cheeks. The building looks just like a castle. 

Thanks to our friend Ethan Holub, we received the VIP treatment! Someone from the staff picked us up and took us to a semi-secluded part up on a hill where we could look out and see the whole vineyard. It was amazing! 

After this, we all came back to our house to play games and eat junk food! Of course the game Quelf had to be involved... and then a little late night 90's Trivia Pursuit. 

All in all, it was an awesome weekend. Birthday's away from home are hard (I imagine... I have yet to experience it.) This is Holleigh's second birthday since she has been in Oregon. Not being able to see your family on what you consider to be the best day of the year takes a toll on the spirit. I am so glad we were all here to celebrate her birthday and make it something special! 

Missionary Friends Spotlight: Jake Kersh

Meet my friend Jake!

Jake lives around Birmingham, Alabama. I met Jake this past summer on Lifepoint's bi-annual Mexico mission trip. Let me just tell you that my friends Natasha Terrell and Jessica Bearden sat in the same van as him and Jamey Walton, who also joined our church for that trip, for about 15 hours wondering who these strange people were in the van with us. Haha! Eventually we started talking to each other and what an awesome week we all ended up having. I can honestly say that was my favorite Mexico trip so far. Jake is such an awesome servant of the Lord, and is an encouragement and inspiration to a lot of people, including myself. He fell in love with Mexico that trip, just like I knew he would... because who couldn't help falling in love with these faces? 

So, we go to Mexico and help a missionary family (Roy and Rebecca Busby) that is also from Alabama build a house (or 2) for a pre-selected family from the canal and other miscellaneous things they need help with while we are there. Rebecca and Roy bring many teams down to Reynosa, Mexico, to help people who are living in houses like this:

Get houses like this:

 Jake is taking time out of his summer coming up to head down to the canal to help Roy and Rebecca and then join our team from Lifepoint in July and head back to Alabama with the team. Below is an interview with Jake about his upcoming trip:

Q. What led you to go to Mexico the first time?
A. What led me to Mexico my first time? Hmm…My buddy Jamey Walton was told about a mission trip to Mexico by Ben Salter at work. I’ve been called to into the ministry (Missions) since I was bout 15-16 years old. So, when I had the opportunity to go on my first mission trip I was like, “LETT”S GOOOO!”

Q. What made you want to go back?
A. I believe everything happens for a reason and I do know that it was set before hand by Christ for me to go to Mexico. I think all the time on how many things had to happen to allow me to go. Things such as:
1. My buddy Jamey Walton becoming an electrican allowed him to get a job 10+ years in the future to meet Ben Salter who attends Lifepoint.
2. Ben Salter becoming a Christian and leading him into a friendship with Jamey Walton.
Just so many others to name. It’s awesome how God works and the chain of events he uses to get us to where HE wants us to be. But, I say that to say this…Christ wants…called me back to further relationships with the people of Reynosa, Mexico.

Q. Why are you going on the next trip?
A. What I’ve interpreted from consistent prayer and meditation (not hindu meditation ;D) that Christ wants me to further my relationship with the people, assist Roy and Rebecca (Main mission family there), and to follow God’s will in my life. Plus, why waste a summer doing pointless things when I can impact Christ over 1000 miles away. I live serving Christ by serving others.

Q. How long will you be staying?
A. I’ll be leaving May 31st and returning July 14 with the Lifepoint Group. It’s going to be off the hizzy.

Q. How much (estimate) are you looking to raise money-wise before you leave?
A. I hope this doesn’t come across as a “jerk-move” but, I don’t want to say because I believe that Christ will provide for his flock and by just stating the need for money all the money will be met perfectly. Christ works in mysterious ways. I’ve just seen so many AWESOME things happen all by the grace of God.

Q. What other needs do you have for the trip besides money?
A. Other needs? I’m a worry wart and I hate asking for stuff I’ll just say, “Whatever the Lord calls you to give!” I love seeing my needs provided for by God through allowing others to serve. I can live off basically nothing, but anything to give away to the people. It’s really nothing about my need but, what I can do for the people. Things such as bibles, tracks, devotionals, (all in Spanish of course..). THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!!! All I want to do is make the TRUE Word of the Lord known to the people. 

Q. What will you be doing on this trip specifically?
A. I’ll be helping the Busby family with WHATEVER they need. I’ll be like a little gopher man and building my relationship and trust with the people. Since’ I feel led to do some full-time missions in Reynosa, Mexico…

Q. Contact info?
A. I have a bunch of ways. Everyone has a facebook and if not they are not human. Lol. 
Facebook.com/jakethelobster
Twitter: @jakethelobster (I’m a pretty cool tweeter. ;D)
Email: jake.kersh@hotmail.com

I’m reachable anytime. I can receive all three within hours or even within minutes. So if you think it’s too late in the night. I’ll most likely get it. :)

I hope you will join me in praying for Jake and the people of the Canal in Reynosa, Mexico. I pray that if the Lord is calling you to help Jake in any of the ways listed above, that you will be obedient to that and contact Jake from the info he provided or email me and breannarains@gmail.com. The people in this colonia have a very special chunk of my heart and it means so much to me and Jake knowing that there are people praying for life change and basic needs in the area. Also be in prayer for Roy and Rebecca Busby as they continue their ministry on the Canal. Pray that the Lord gives them perseverance, and strength, and courage, words to speak when needed, and a smile on their face when words aren't necessary.  

If you want to read Jake's blog (which shows his passion for the mission field and Mexico) go here. Roy and Rebecca have a blog, also (here) with a great video of the Canal from when they first arrived in the colonia until today.