VA Goodness!

Yes, I'm back from SMTS! No, I don't have any pictures...I was kind of too busy studying for pictures. I will have some soon, though, from the official SMTS photographers, so it's all good. Thanks for your prayers ya'll, I had a blast. God was so faithful. It feels like it went by so fast! Many stories and pictures to come...

Well, in the mean time, I'll share with you some pictures from our family reunion in VA. I was so tired and dazed, since I had come straight from SMTS, that I mostly sat around and took pictures. Enjoy!

Awww....




Two of our great-aunts

Two of my mom's second cousins, or cousins of her second cousins, or something...








Cutie #1

Cutie #2




The little girl is from Guatemala; she's really cute!




Grandad with his buddies :-)

Horseshoe skillzz

Football...

AJ attacking a watermelon

What a perfect day; it was beautiful. The next day on the way home, we stopped at a lookout.

I learned 3 important truths on this trip:

1. The speed limit in Hot Springs is 55
2. The best sausage gravy ever can be found in Hot Springs
AND
3. When you are given directions to go on, say, Route 234, the next letter, which tends to be either N, S, E, or W, is one which determines the outcome of your trip. Especially at 10:30 at night. Oh, and just so you know, Route 42 East (or was it West...?) takes you to a very nice parking lot for a bed and breakfast.

~ Taylor ~

You would never imagine all of the different products that are in the Wal-Mart "travel-size" section. It's hilarious. Mini hairspray, mini soap bars, mini hand sanitizer, mini stain wipes, mini paper towels. I have now mini-sized my collection of toiletry items. And they are all packed neatly in little "travel bags", which will even pass through the security at airports, and are basically ziploc bags. Oh well. They look cool anyway, all seven of them, with airplanes on the front and an arrow showing me how to close them.

I keep getting asked if I'm nervous, excited, scared of homesickness...none of the above, really. I'll be nervous tomorrow, trust me. I doubt I'm going to be homesick, no offense to my dear family. Excited? Definitely!

So...prayer requests. Pray for my physical condition; many of you know about my back and ankle problems. My back especially will cause me pain. I have had a hard time keeping up my physical therapy exercises, so pray that time is given for that, even at SMTS. Pray that the pain does not distract me from learning, and retaining what I will be learning. I think I have all of my piano songs mastered, but pray that I don't mess up really bad during worship times!

Pray for my family at home. Especially pray for my little sisters, the 2 and 5 year olds; apparently it is very difficult for them when I am gone. Amy, 5, will put things on my pillow to welcome me home. I left for four days a few weeks ago, and came home to bubble gum, tic tacs, and an orange Starburst. As Mom commented, my pillow is going to look like a shrine when I get home.

And finally, pray that I would have humility to accept whatever God brings my way over these next two weeks. I don't want to just know, but believe that all things work together for good for those who love God. Everything is predestined by God; I'm just here for the ride.

Romans 8:28-39, "God causes ALL things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become confromed to the image of His Son, that He might be that first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; whome He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

If God is for us, who is against us?

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justified; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, 'For Thy sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principlities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, not any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

I can't believe...

...how fast time flies! It seems like yesterday the Summer Missionary Program was eons away, and now it’s here! For those who don’t know, I was accepted to work for Child Evangelism Fellowship this summer. On June 10th, I will go to a Bible camp about two hours away for Summer Missionary Training School, or SMTS. If I come through alive, I mean, when it is over, I will begin teaching 5-Day Clubs throughout the area for five weeks. Then comes a soccer camp for a week, and then I’m done!

Now that SMTS is only days away, I am starting to get a little nervous. Okay, a lot nervous. There is so much to do! So to finish, let me give you some things that I would appreciate prayer for:

• Pray that I am not overwhelmed by all that needs to be done!
• Pray that my perfectionist personality will not interfere with an ability to focus on one task at a time.
• Pray that once a day I will be able to push everything out of my mind and seek God's face through devotion and prayer.
• I have volunteered to play piano for worship at chapel during SMTS. Pray that I can master the big stack of music that came in the mail the other day!
• Pray that I can memorize the 5-Day Club verses and the Wordless Book verses. That has to be finished by SMTS.

God has been so good by giving me this opportunity to serve. Pray that I do not lose focus of this through all of the little details and logistics to be worked out.

That’s all, for now. I will make sure to post again before I leave. Oh, and one more thing…

CONGRATS WCFS GRADUATES!!! WOOHOO!!

~ Taylor ~