My BLOG has MOVED!

My blog has now moved to a different site! Click here for newer posts: http://aimingforjesus.tumblr.com/

The name is still the same: aimingforjesus, only it´s on a site called tumblr now that allows me to do some different things with it. Thanks for reading, everyone! Dios les bendiga!

I´m sorry guys. It´s official. I´m a bad blogger. :( But amongst lots of travel and technical difficulies, here is something that might interest yall: It´s the León field presentation video for the class of 2010 made by my teammate John McCoy. It´s just a video that the team worked on to show the newest AIMers what León is all about, hoping that some of them would like to join us in our work.

Hope yall enjoyed it! Please pray that we get a good, small team from the class of 2010! Thanks everyone!

¡¡¡Viva La Libertad En Cristo!!!

So... I´m really sorry that I haven´t posted anything in a awhile. Thanks for being patient with me and I will try to do better!

These last few months have passed in what has become the norm: Spanish class, Spanish homework, speaking Spanish, more homework, exploring the city, making friends, getting to know people, ajusting to living in Mexico, all the while speaking Spanish, or trying to anyways. Every few weeks we have some sort of event to help with at the church to change up the scheduel.

Last weekend we had a ladies day and it was super fun. Carla Borja Lowe, the lady who was in charge of Rancho Avalancha in Chetumal, came down from her home in Dallas to give the lessons. Now that I understand a lot more Spanish, I can say I was actually refreshed by her message, not to mention the event was great for getting to know more of the ladies from the church.

I also began teaching English lessons last week to some kids who are moving to Texas soon. Their dad owns a really tasty restaraunt down the street from our house. They are really cool, well behaved kids (ages 13, 11, and 9). I really like their family and I´m hoping that teaching the kids will help me build a relationship with them and give me an opprotunity to share the gospel with them.

I have a small group (or celula as they´re called) that I go to now on Thursday nights at the house of a family from church. There are usually about 10 people there. I really enjoy going and getting to know them.

If you don´t know, Septimber 16th is Mexico´s independence day or EL GRITO. And 2010 is the 200 year aniversary of their independence. To celebrate, a few of my teammates and I went to the state capital of Guanajuato. The celebration starts at midnight on the 15th so we got there at about 8 on the 15th and ate a traditional independence day meal with some members of the church in Guanajuato and then around 10:30 we went to the center of town where the mayor was going to read the speech of Miguel Hidalgo from when Mexico declared independence from Spain, like they do in just about every town in Mexico. There we a ton of people there so we spent half an hour shoving throught the crowds to get a good spot. The celebration was fun. We got sprayed with shaving cream and bubbles, watched the fireworks, and yelled "¡VIVA MEXICO!" with the crowds.

It was so much fun to be able to celebrate Mexican independence here in Mexico but more than "¡Viva Mexico!", "¡Viva la libertad en Cristo!" is what needs to be shouted to the world. Last week I had the privelegige of watching a brother in Christ be born through baptism and it brought to mind the freedom we have with our new lives in Christ. God is so good, so faithful. He never changes and his love never changes. He has given us such wonderful promises in Christ and he will never let us down on any of them. "¡VIVA LA LIBERTAD EN CRISTO!"

Thank you all for reading. Please keep my team, ministries and Mexico in your prayers!

ps Please disregard all errors that would have normally been caught by spellcheck. My computer is now in Spanish and I havent figured out how to do spellcheck for English.

Rancho Avalancha VBS in Chetumal, Quintana Roo!!!

Hello Everyone! It's been awhile! Sorry about that...

Well, it's almost been 2 months now! Most of it has passed with me going to Spanish class, exploring the city, meeting new people, doing Spanish homework, and practicing Spanish. Last month, though, some of my teammates (Nick, Princeton, Chris, Ivanka, and Ramiro) and I got the amazing opportunity to take a break from the norm and go help out at a VBS down in the Yucatan peninsula. It was amazing! There really are no words for what a blessing this trip was to me and to my teammates.

First off, I'd like to mention that León, Guanajuato where we live, is in the central part of Mexico. The Yucatan peninsula is on the opposite side of Mexico, and we traveled by bus. But then again, we are AIMers so when it was mentioned that this trip would involve more than 24 hours on a bus, we just laughed and said "Well, we've done THAT before." First we had to catch a bus from León to Mexico City (6 hrs), get on the metro in Mexico City, take it to another bus station, and meet up with some ladies from Mexico City who would be going with us to the VBS. After a couple of hours at the bus station, we caught our bus to Chetumal. That ride should have lasted 19-20 hours but it ended up lasting closer to 25 or 26 hours because of these traffic jams in the middle of nowhere. The ride went on and on as I mourned over a dead ipod battery and consoled myself with the Fun Dip I managed to find at one of the stops. Well, half the fun of traveling is getting there right? It was certainly an adventure. God took good care of us and Ramiro did a good job as our leader.

The next day was Sunday so we got up early to worship with the church there in Chetumal. It's a very small church (maybe 20 memebers) but the people there were amazing! The services were in English and Spanish because the man who was preaching is an American from Rhode Island who now lives in Belize. Another brother translated the sermon into Spanish for him. After a meal together, we commenced to set-up for the VBS.

Set up was such a big job! This VBS (called Rancho Avalancha or Ranch Avalanche in English) is very very elaborate and thought out. Everything is planned out and each activity has to do with what the kids are learning that day. It was so cool! To set p for it we put up a bunch of posters and foam cowboy decorations. And when I say a bunch I mean A BUNCH!!! The walls were covered! It took quite a awhile and we had about 30 people working on it!

The VBS started on Monday and went through Friday. Like I said before, it is very thought out, even the snacks have to do with what the kids are learning. They have 10 specific songs that they learn the words and the motions to over the week and they loved it! (I think I loved it just as much! I was a lot of fun!) There were 4 different stations everyday: one where they watched a video, one where they heard a Bible story and actually became part of it (being spies at Rahab's house, crossing the Jordan river, ect.), a station for games and a station for crafts. The whole thing was so much fun!

There were about 70 kids everyday and they were exited and participating and really enjoying themselves. The church in Chetumal only has a few families so most of these kids were just kids we got to come by passing out fliers. I'm sure most of them had never been to a Christian church before. One cool thing that I learned was how a VBS could be used to minister to the community, not just to the kids in the church. On Thursday we had a ladies' night and all the moms were invited to come. A few of them did and one in particular responded very well to the message and asked for prayers that she would have the strength to follow the Lord. All the visitors wrote their names and phone numbers down and members from the church are going to follow up and visit them. On Friday, all the parents were invited to come and see what their kids had been doing at the VBS and several of them did. I helped take them around to all the different activities. At the end of the last day, we gave away Bibles to every family.

I think that the VBS was a great success and a blessing to everyone involved but there were more good things that came out of this trip than just that. The church in Chetumal is very small and we were able to encourage and refresh them just by being there. We spent a lot of time with them every afternoon after the VBS doing different things and we became good friends. They were excited when we mentioned we might like to come back to visit again. The trip was just an over-all blessing. It was a renewal and a refreshing time for me. It was a blessing to be able to do everything that we did in spite of all the barriers and limitations that the language and culture shock are still putting on us. I thank God that he allowed us to go.

Thanks everyone for reading! Please keep the church in Chetumal and all the work there in your prayers. Pray that the church will really do a great job of continuing the work that we all began together.

Some More Pictures from the First Month

Here are some more pictures!

Some Pictures from the First Month

Hi Everybody!

Life has been crazy here in León this past month, full of it's own comings and goings, endings and beginings. It's all been moving so fast, sometimes it's hard to believe it's been a whole month. Then there are other times when it's hard to think of myself as living anywhere but here. It definently feels like home.

Several big things have happened since I got here: our team was completed when Michelle got here on June 2nd and we got to have 13 AIMers in León all at once (our 7 plus the 08 team's 6), but then sadly one of the girls from the 08 class, Trasa who had completed her committment in León returned home to Texas, so now we are 12 and are preparing for more departures of AIMers and missionaries soon.

Also we had a group from Wasilla, Alaska come to visit. I really enjoyed getting to know them and working with them some with what they were doing. We helped them do a VBS for the boys at an orphanage. That was a lot of fun!

Spanish class also started for us new AIMers. We've learned a lot already. Our coordinator's wife Tana is a good teacher. We do a lot of work but it's going to pay off in the end. I've been getting to know the city pretty well and I'm able to do a lot of the basic tasks I need to do without needing somone to translate for me.

The church here is really great! I'm getting to know the members some. A few of them speak English but most don't so we just try to communicate as best we can. Last weekend we went to the state capital Guanajuato with a lot of the youth from the church to have a youth reunion with the youth from Guananjuato. It was a lot of fun! The missionary there and his wife were very welcoming and glad to have us there. On top of all that, Guanajuato is a beautiful city. I can't wait to go again.

We've been invited next month to go help with a VBS down in the south of Mexico that a church in Dallas is doing. I'm really excited about it! I'm told that the south of Mexico is very different from central Mexico where we are.

Well, that's all for now. Thank you all for reading! God bless!

Prayer requests:

The AIMers and missionaries in León in this time of transition

Our involvement in present and future ministries

The lives God wants to touch through us

Spanish classes

León Sur Iglesia de Cristo

VBS trip to southern Mexico

On the ground in León!!!!!

HI everybody!!!

I'm finally here in León, GTO, Mexico!!!!

5 of my 6 teammates and I arrived here on Monday and are settling into our new home. I'm loving it so far! It's a beautiful place with wonderful people. This will be our first night our new house, me and the other girls. We've been staying at the home of a family from the church. They were very kind, giving us a place to stay before we got everything we needed to live here. The house we're living in belongs to our coordinators, Omar and Tana. They will be moving out soon and in to the home of another missionary family who are going back to the States. The house is really nice. I'm enjoying it. There's plenty of room for the 6 girls who will eventually be living here.

Yesterday marked the one year aniversary of the 2008 AIM team arriving in León. They are really awesome. I'm exciting to be working with them and all the other missionaries here. There are so many good mentors.

We have a couple of crazy weeks coming up. We're still trying to get to know the city and the people. There's more moving to do. A group from Alaska is coming down for a short-term mission trip in a few days. Our 7th teammate will arrive next Wednesday. And Spanish class will start week after next.

God is good. He has brought me to a wonderful place to do his work. I'm so thankful for this opprotunity.

Please pray for:

All AIMers on the field and those still trying to get there

All the missionaries in León

My team as we are trying to get settled in

Michelle's safe arrival here

León Sur Iglesia de Cristo and all the other believers in Mexico

The lost of Mexico

Princeton's Presentation

Hey Everybody! This is a video of the presentation my teammate Princeton did at my home congregation last Sunday... well, half of it. My battery died. Prince did an awesome job of communicating what we've been doing, what we hope to do in Mexico, and basically what AIM is all about. He had a difficult task, trying to put the past eight months plus aspirations for the next two years into 20 minutes. Well, actually 25. Long story made super short: AIM is about walking by faith. You're learning and serving and growing in the Lord, all the while trusting in Him to get you through each new adventure. It's the best, craziest, most challenging, most fun, most faith-stretching thing I've ever done. There have been some really tough times but I could never regret going because of all the growth God has produced in me though it. I loved my time in Lubbock and I'm so excited to start my journey in Mexico.

Please pray for all 66 AIMers that started in August, all 13 teams as they get visas, gather support and arrive on their fields, the 08 class their field time is winding down, and the 2010 class as they make decisions, fill out applications and gather support.

Thanks so much!

My Family Going-Away Party

So last Saturday my family had a going away party for me complete with dinosaur and Scooby-Doo cupcakes and a Pokemon piñata. My nephew helped pick out a few things. :) It was lots of fun! Here's a video of the piñata:

Hey guys!

So Prince and I went exploring at the George Bush Presidential Library on Friday and had a good time. Lots of photo ops in spite of the lighting... We've been getting ready for him to speak to my congregation on Sunday. It should be good. More later.

Break Time

Hello again!

So for awhile I didn't write because I didn't think I had anything to say, and then I didn't write because I was busy running around actually doing stuff. So these passed few weeks I've been reading, painting, helping at the school I used to help with, helping at church, visiting family, watching a few of my friends' performances, and visiting some of my favorite places in this area. And that's about what I'll be doing for the next few weeks as well. Right now my teammate Princeton is in Bryan doing all these things with me. On Sunday, he'll be speaking to my congregation about everything we've done in AIM so far and some of the things we hope to do in Mexico. It should be good.

One of my favorite places around here is JJ's snowcone place. Best Snowcones Ever. I've even discovered a few new excellent flavors. I love taking my puppy Kota on rides so one day my mom and I took him to JJ's with us and he gladly licked up a strawberry snowcone. It was adorable.

Last Saturday my mom and I took Princeton to another favorite place, Washington on the Brazos, to The Star of the Republic museum, Texas Independence Hall, and an 1800's farm. I mostly took him because I wanted to go and I didn't think I could convince any of my other friends to go with me to a place that's all about Texas. He said he enjoyed it though so that's good. The farm is really cool: lots of animals, people in costume and old stuff. I'd never thought to open up all the drawers and cabinets in the old house and touch stuff, but leave it to Princeton to discover that it can be done. I always love going to Washington on the Brazos and being so close to history.

On Sunday my mom, Princeton and I attended the Spanish worship service at my church. I enjoyed it and understood a little. We also visited my grandparents for Mother's Day and had a good time with them.

So far this week Prince and I have visited lots of different places around Bryan/College Station, mostly restaurants and random shops. We are also helping at Cornerstone Christian Academy this week. It's been fun.

Well, that's all for now. Thanks for reading! Hopefully this blog will be more interesting when I get to Mexico...

Prayer requests: Mexico, León and all it's missionaries, Cavitt (my church in Bryan), the León Sur church, my team and classmates as we're preparing to leave for new countries, Cornerstone, and that Princeton's speech will go well and be received well. Thank you so much!

Check this out!!!

Hi everybody!
This is justa quick entry to tell y'all that you should totally watch this video! It's pictures of León, Guanajuato, Mexico, the city where I will be moving in about a month! :) I'm so excited!!!!
Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX9ClAcfpG0 . Enjoy!!!

Back in Bryan

Hello again!

I'm pleased to report that we had a safe and uneventful trip back home to Bryan. It was sort of a challenge fitting everything in the car... Note to self: must downsize before moving to Mexico. I was fortunate enough to have my buddy George come visit me for a few days down here. He got to hang out with my friends and family and do tourist-y things that I hardly ever do. I know several people are looking forward to him visiting again... in 2 years. He earned the respect of the guys in my youth group by eating more "death burger" (a Bonfire burger with insane sauce from Carter's) than they did and was loved by many because he's from the far off land of polar bears and penguins...We had fun but now he's off to his home in Alaska and there are no more AIMers around. It's very disorienting...

My puppy gave me a good welcome with much licking and sniffing and wagging of his tail. Everybody else just stuck to hugs... I'm looking forward to spending some good time with my friends and family before I leave. Speaking of leaving, I'm still set to fly on the 18th of May!

Well that's all I've got for now. Prayer requests same as last time. Pray that the AIMers will have good breaks where they get to spend time with their loved ones.
Thanks for reading! God bless!

Hello internet!

Hi Everyone!
I wanted to keep y'all updated on my adventures in missions better and more often sooo.... I got this blog! Yay! I've never actually had a blog before so we'll see how it goes...

In recent news: I'm leaving Lubbock on Thursday to go home to Bryan. I'll be there for about a month before flying to León, Guanajuato, Mexico. I'm excited to see everyone back home and to head to my new home in Mexico but it's sad to leave my friends here.

Prayer request: All the AIMers on the field and those of us who started AIM back in August (especially for peace and for support). Please pray for Mexico, for León, for the church, for the missionaries and the AIM team there.

That's all for now!