Hard work

Lately I've been thinking about how hard relationships are. As in any relationship-parent/child, friends, boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife, co-workers. You get the picture. It requires a lot of work to be in relationship with someone. I think that's a pretty obvious statement-definitely something that I've known. That part is not new to me. But what is new or newer anyways, is that all relationships require this and it's up to me to decide if I want to put in the effort. Because the reward is great: 

The best part of relationships are when you reach that level of familiarity-you know, when it is just comfortable and easy and there's not as much work required as there is in the beginning. Of course there is still work in order to maintain what is good, but it's just so great- the inside jokes, the not needing to explain a certain back-story, the ease of jumping right in to deep conversation because all the surface level stuff has already been talked about, the feeling of being known and still loved. This is the reward of all that hard work at the beginning. And it is so worth it! 

So in Vickery, just like in life, there are some relationships that are so easy. There are kids who I feel like I have known for forever. Like they have always been a part of my life. I feel like their second mom and I know without a doubt that these kids trust me fully. There is no doubt in their mind that I want to spend time with them, that I want to play games, that I know them and the details of their life. And then there are the other kids... the ones that are hard to love. The ones that annoy me and that I have little patience for because their not "my" kids. But the funny thing about Vickery is that it is such a transient culture. People are always picking up and moving to the next best place. For whatever reason-they have family there, they heard about lower rent, someone told them it was better than where they are now. One of my very favorite families that I have known for two and a half years is moving soon. I can't even begin to imagine life without them here and yet I have to because they are really moving. After talking about it for the last year, they finally bought plane tickets and they are out of here on March 5. I love this family so much. I could tell you a million reasons why, but then we'd be here forever. Mostly they just have found a way into my heart and I don't think they'll ever not be a part of my heart. I've taken them to doctor's appointments, been with Arjun when he got his cast taken off of his broken arm, visited Indra in the hospital when Angelica was born (helped decide how to spell her name!), eaten dinner in their home so many times, been invited to celebrate their holidays, taken Arjun and Manisha to church, talked with Beda about who Jesus is, prayed for them oh so much. And so much more. But they are leaving. And I will still be here. A little more heartbroken but blessed beyond belief to have known them. Because God didn't call me to Vickery to love one family and although I can't imagine life here without them-it will go on. And there are other families and other kids who need love and friendship. And I need them too. And it will require work and awkward, hard to understand conversations and funny food and patience... It requires me playing Go Fish with the hard to love kid so that he knows that I want to spend time with him and maybe one day he'll be my favorite. And maybe I'll get to know his parents and become friends with them and share Jesus. That will be a good day. So I will work at it because as much as I can't imagine Vickery without the Dhungana family, even more I can't imagine not living here. I thank God every day that I live here. I see God at work and feel his presence here. I see things that hurt him but I also see situations that bring him honor and glory. I see people that he loves! 

So all this to say that relationships are hard but they are worth fighting for. And on the days I want to be lazy and not work at a new relationship, I pray that God would remind me what it is I'm working toward. That he would remind me of this little family that has stolen my heart. I can't wait for all the phone conversations that I will get to have with Arjun and Manisha in the coming months! If you know them too, please keep praying for them, to know Jesus, to make friends, to settle in to their new home easily. 

Thankful for this life I live! 

He's Here!

So one of my favorite Christmas presents in 2012 was a book called "The Jesus Storybook Bible." Our pastor told us about it probably over a year ago and I always wanted to go get a copy, but never did. Anyways a sweet friend of mine bought it for me and I absolutely love it! Every page is completely fun and artsy and the stories of the Bible are told simply and honestly. And the theme that runs through it, is that Jesus is our Rescuer. That God has always had a plan to Rescue us. Something that God has been bringing to my attention over the last couple of years. 

crazies :) 

In the weeks leading up to Christmas all of our neighbor kiddos were super excited of course about all the holiday stuff going at school and at home. My awesome roomie bought a real, Evergreen tree and put it up in the house and we invited kiddos over to help decorate it. Thankfully Michael's had these awesome foam ornament decorating kits which made it really easy for the kids to make the ornaments. So we made ornaments, ate cookies, sang Christmas songs and decorated the tree. We also read the Christmas story from The Jesus Storybook Bible (my roomie had a copy-this was before I got mine). So Katie Joy (the roomie) and I took turns reading to the kids, telling them about when Jesus was born, how angels sang, how shepherds traveled far, and that just like several of them Jesus didn't live in the best neighborhood and at one point in his life he and his family were refugees. The kids listened pretty well and asked tons of awesome, crazy theological questions afterwards like "is God more powerful than the devil?" and "what are we gonna do in Heaven, will we be bored?" It was a fun discussion. :) My awesome roommate shared the gospel and we talked about that a little more then we prayed - it was just so much fun. There was a part that I got to read from the story about the wise men following the star, looking for Jesus:

"They followed the star through the streets of Bethlehem, out of the nice part of town, through the not-so-nice part of town, into the really-not-nice-at-all part of town, down a little dirt track, until it stopped right over...a little house. But wait. It wasn't a palace. And there weren't any guards. Or servants. Or flags. Or red carpets. Or trumpets. Or anything. Did they get it wrong? Or was this what God had meant?" 

And, of course, Jesus was exactly where God had planned for him to be. In this tiny little stable, a tiny baby, helplessly dependent on Mary and Joseph-these two imperfect people that God chose to raise his Son. Man, I just can't imagine. I got choked up reading it to the kids. I'm sure they didn't notice. But I was just overwhelmed with how much God loves them, how much he loves this area called Vickery and how even though it is considered "the not-so-nice part of town," it's an amazing place where miracles happen all the time. Sometimes you have to really look for it and sometimes they are blatantly in your face! 

Road trip! 

Another really great thing about this past Christmas was that two of my neighbors were able to come home with me and have Christmas in East Texas. Jamuna and Khagen, two of my favorites from Nepal, who live in my apartment complex had been asking about coming home with me and it just worked out that Christmas was the best time with Jamuna's work schedule. Jamuna and Khagen are two of the sweetest teenagers you will ever meet! Khagen had already met everyone in my family at some point or another through visits to Vickery but Jamuna had only met my brother I think. So they were super excited about their first "real Christmas." Jamuna and Khagen are from a Hindu family so they don't celebrate Christmas typically although Khagen did celebrate Christmas the year before with some other friends who live here in our complex by cutting down a tree and decorating it in their home. 

I love them so much 

Of course I let my parents know that they were coming home with me and everyone in my family was really awesome about it. My mom made up a new Christmas bingo game and she also made sure that Jamuna and Khagen had their own personalized stockings. And I just love Jamuna and Khagen-they are some of the most welcoming kids-they just jumped right in and called my mom and dad- "mom and dad." Jamuna was a little worried about the food, but she did great and even loved my mom's chicken and rice casserole, which is our favorite family meal ever. It was just so much fun to have them be part of our family for several days. It would have been fun to see things from their perspective- the way we play games and are super competitive, how we pray before meals, how my Uncle Dana is so redneck and how he has the best laugh in the world, just all the little things that make up your family that you don't even notice until someone else is there watching. We also read the Christmas story from The Jesus Storybook Bible(because we always read the story before opening presents)-Britt read it and I got choked up again just listening to her-she did so great. 

Sweet family

It was also an emotional Christmas because it was the first one without my grandpa. So thankful to have my grandma and Britt both there from Florida. I know it was hard for them and especially for my dad. It's always hard when you realize again that he's not here right now, but there really is this peace and joy in knowing that he's with Jesus. And I just think my life and so many others would be so very different if my grandpa had not been just who he was, who God called him to be and lived a life striving to love Jesus. This Christmas would have looked different if not for my grandpa's faithfulness. That's a pretty awesome legacy to leave behind. 

Christmas was really special this year (last year?) and again, I'm so thankful to live where I live and experience Christmas in new ways. Through the eyes of my neighbors. Through the eyes of shepherds and wise men. Through Mary's eyes. 

Here's one other quote from The Jesus Storybook Bible that I love: 

"But this child was a new kind of king. Though he was Prince of Heaven, he had become poor. Though he was the Mighty God, he had become a helpless baby. This King hadn't come to to be the boss. He had come to be a servant."

So thankful for our servant King!!  

Thankful

Yes, the title is "Thankful" and yes, I know it is December! I meant to write this a little closer to Thanksgiving but here it is anyways. My mother always says when I'm feeling down or sad to write a list of the things I am thankful for. Well, I am not particularly down or sad at the moment thankfully but I do think it is important to write things down so that on those days when things seem especially hard, I can look back and be reminded of the things God has given me. 

In no particular order: 
1. My friends-I have amazing friends. Some days I wonder at how I am supposed to keep up with all of the good friends that I have. (Some days I realize I am failing at that miserably! Sorry if that's you!) I have friends who speak truth to me in kindness, who make me laugh like nobody's business, friends who share my quirks and friends who have their own quirks that make them especially "them." I have friends that when I change the subject in the middle of talking about something else, roll right along with me and don't need any reason why I'm all over the place. I have friends who listen to me talk and process out loud and not make any sense but still pretend to understand and help me make sense of the "crazy." I have friends who hug me every time they see me because they know I love hugs!! I have friends who take care of me when I'm sick, who text me funny things, who tell me that they thought of me because they saw something about refugees or Africa and they know this is close to my heart. I have friends who let me hold their babies and call me Aunt Jess. You don't even know how this melts my heart! I have friends who teach me about how to love Jesus through the way they work in their jobs, the way they meet the needs of others, the way they have moved halfway across the world to bring Light into darkness. Like I said, they are just amazing. God is so sweet to me and I feel Him in these friendships of mine! 

2. My job. I have a job. That is reason to be thankful enough I believe. But my job is so great and also, so hard. I get to talk with children who have been abused and neglected. I get to play games with them, draw pictures, read stories, talk with them about their behaviors, listen to their hurts, give them goofy nicknames, hold them in my arms, pray over them. What a job! I also get to walk with foster and adoptive parents through really hard things-these parents who have taken in children not their own, not at first, but then everything changes and you better not mess with these foster parents who will fight for these foster children, especially when it seems like no one else is fighting for them. What a privilege to walk with them, to pray with them, to encourage them, to support them and sometimes, on a really good day, give them advice and suggestions for their children that actually work! My job brings a lot of hurt into my life that maybe I would not have if I worked somewhere else, but I am not sure I would do anything else. (Ok there are days I dream about moving to Africa to hold babies for a living!) But right now, I am so thankful for this job that God has given me and for the way He is at work in this job. 

3. My FAMILY!! Oh my goodness I love my family. I miss them all the time, but I also feel really close to them no matter how long it is before I get to see them again. Dad-you crack me up-I am pretty sure that no one makes me laugh like you-I don't know exactly what it is, but the way you tell a story is awesome and hilarious. You have to remember to not tell me falling-down stories when I'm driving. Just not safe. Also-thanks for teaching me to want more of God in my life. Mom-you are so consistent and encouraging. Thank you for taking my many phone calls, break-downs, ranting and raving - all with a grain of salt - and with patience and most of the time, sympathy. :) Thanks for encouraging me to be thankful! Even when I don't want to be. Andrew-one of my best friends (told you!). I love your passion for things, like duck-calls, or for people, like your sweet friend whose family is overseas and you made sure he had calling cards so he could speak with them. You blow me away with your compassion. You also drive me crazy with your stubbornness. Mostly you teach me about Jesus and I'm so thankful to be your sister! Britt- my "sister-cuz" as Mom would say. Man, I love you a lot. I love that any time I get to see you, I know that it means I will be getting lots of hugs and cuddles and kisses on the cheek and just lots of lovin'!! You fill my cup! I love your passion for life. You love to take care of others-to your detriment sometimes, but you just can't help it. You care about everyone no matter who they are. I want to be more like that! Traci-our newest family member-I am so glad you picked Andrew. You are perfect for him. You have patience that none of us have! :) Traci- I love your heart for the world. Love that we can connect over having been to other countries and caring for the least of these. I love your laugh- it is crazy contagious! Thankful for all of my other family members-especially my grandparents who all have loved Jesus and who have always made sure that we do too. What a gift to have these examples in my life. 


4. Towne Center, Vickery Meadows. I am thankful to live where I live. Daily I am reminded that the world is so much bigger than my own little story. Daily I get to interact with people from Nepal, Burundi, Burma, Thailand, Mexico and Dallas, TX. I love that pretty much I am guaranteed to hear my name called when I walk out of my apartment whether it is by the many children I know or sometimes by a total stranger who just happens to know who I am. I love that there are several good friends from my church who also live here that I get to walk alongside as we try to show Jesus' love to our neighbors. I love my sweet Burmese family who cooks breakfast for me and my roommate every Sunday. Who every time I talk to them remind me that I have family here in Dallas-they are just not related by blood. But they are related by the Spirit of Jesus and that is more than enough. They check on me when I am sick and worry about me when they have not seen me in three or four days. I love the Nepali family who also calls me daughter, sister and friend. They invite me in for meals, for their special holidays, for the births of their babies. What a privilege! I want so much for these friends of mine to know Jesus as their One Saviour. I am thankful for the many conversations I get to have where I try to explain Jesus (yikes, how do you explain Jesus??) and then God reminds me he is bigger than me and that he has a plan for the people who live here and it is better than any short-term solution I can come up with. I am even thankful for the days that children knock on the door and even though I maybe don't want to open it up -I do, because how can I not? I love these children so much. I am thankful for the small taste of being a mother-I love getting to do homework and encouraging kids to read. I even love it when the only reason a kid knocks on my door is to tattle on somebody else. It just makes me laugh. I absolutely love this crazy little place called Vickery. 

5. Thankful for my Jesus! Thankful for God who sent his son into a hard, dark, unfriendly world, so that one day he would die for the sins of that dark world. And so that one day I could know Him because of his Son. I am thankful for God's faithfulness and his sweet, gentleness in the way he cares for me. I know that my life could look completely different but for his grace. And I am thankful for that grace!! I am thankful that although there are times when I think my life should look a certain way and I express those thoughts to Jesus, that He already knows and He loves me still, even when I am kinda mad at Him. He reminds me of the truth in His word. He reminds me that he cares about justice more than I ever could and that he loves my refugee friends and my foster babies more than I could ever imagine. Jesus reminds me to have compassion and grace when really I want to be angry or mean. He reminds me that he loves the whole world and he has had a plan from the beginning of time to rescue this world and make it new again. And I am most thankful for this- that he will come again and we will be restored. 

Thankful, 
Jess

The End of an Era

African Youth Choir

     One of the main reasons I got involved in my church in Dallas is because the very first Sunday I visited they had a very specific prayer time set apart for the many refugees that now call Dallas "home." I was sold. A huge part of my decision to move to Dallas was because I wanted to find a way to work with refugees whether that was through an actual, paying job or just being able to spend time with them in a hang out kind of setting. My church had and still has a pretty active relationship with a group of refugees from Burundi and Tanzania. Several months after starting to attend my church I heard about an opportunity to partner one on one with a refugee friend and practice English skills. I attended a meeting about this and was assigned a partner. My partner ended up being a young girl named Joseline. She lived with her family in a low income apartment close by where I was living at the time. When Joseline and I first became friends and English partners, she was 22 I think and I was 26. During our time together we learned about each other's families, each other's cultures and a tiny bit about the English language. I have never had any kind of ESL training so basically I bought an English workbook and we worked out of that. Probably not super beneficial when actually teaching English but we made it work. We laughed a lot especially when we just did not understand each other which was often. But I got to meet her family and got to know her younger brothers and sisters pretty well. Joseline and I met for about a year and a half every Wednesday evening. Ok, not every Wednesday, but pretty consistently! 

Joseline and I at my birthday party in 2009. 

Emily and Fainanse

Around this same time the outreach pastor at our church contacted a friend of mine who was also interested in hanging out with refugees and let her know of a need that the church had. A van driver was picking up several of the Burundi children and dropping them off for the 11:15 service at our church but there was no class for them to go to. So my friend, Emily, and I headed off to the church gym one Sunday morning and started a class for these Burundi kids. This class has changed many times and took on many shapes over the last several years. It started out as Emily and I playing soccer with 20 or so children, ages 5-14. It morphed into a small Sunday school class that met in the old junior high room at one point and we had worship time and Bible study. Some Sundays we would have 5 kids and some Sundays we would have 25. We never knew what Sunday morning would look like. It has been stressful and exhilarating all at once. It has been beautiful to begin to understand this wonderful culture and it has been painful to know some of the things these children have been through and to see how this has affected them. I have watched children that started out as what I would call "disrespectful" and "hard" turn into young men who smile and say "yes ma'am" and "how are you?" when they used to ignore any comment headed their way. 

Alex 

Christmas party-Noella and Emmeline

Happy and Divin. :) 

     It has been hard and many tears of anger and frustration have been cried. Many prayers have been prayed, some answered, some not yet. It has also been really refining for me and for many friends who have also taught and hung out with these children for various time frames. And now it has come to an end. 

     The last several months we have only  had about four young men showing up regularly. And for the majority of this time, my friend Bethany and I have been the main teachers. There have been so many great people to come along to help in this class over the last couple of years. Several really amazing guys that have been so consistent and have taught the truth of God's word in ways that I can't imagine doing myself. It has been wonderful to watch these young African boys listen intently to these men teach from the word of God and then play basketball, dodgeball or soccer with them right after. But lately as Bethany and I have had the privilege of teaching the boys, we have felt that God probably didn't call us to work with pre-teen and teenage boys (although God definitely has a sense of humor). We have also just realized that it is time to be finished with this class. Both of us struggled with letting this go, but we both have realized over the last several months that God is bigger than either of us and He has the power to protect the faith in these boys that has been planted, not solely by us but by their parents and by the Lord himself. So we let the boys know that the last Sunday in August would be our last Sunday but that we would continue to see the boys and their younger sisters at their African church service occasionally and that we would also come visit them at their houses. 

     Today we sat down with these four boys and talked about things we have learned over the last few years. Things that were mentioned: patience, understanding that God is in control of our situations, learning that the God who gives is also the God who takes away, forgiveness, and that anything good that is in us is because of Christ. Then we had a really sweet time of prayer where we each prayed. Happy God (who is going into ninth grade) prayed for Bethany and I and for all the leaders/teachers that have helped over the years and thanked God for us. I did tear up a little at this point. I almost broke down crying a few weeks before at the thought of leaving these boys! But I know that the Lord is good and faithful and I'm committed to praying his protection over these boys, that they will always turn to Jesus and know how much they are loved by him. 

Dodgeball- Stephan showed no mercy.

Tusseigne - thankful for this smile. 

There are so many memories with these boys, from the many injuries (especially Enock), Easter Egg hunts, building the Ark of the Covenant, taking them all to the water park and to the Children's Museum of Nature and Science and just the many amazing God-inspired things they have said and also the sayings that were probably not so God-inspired! It really has been one of the biggest blessings of my life to love and fight for these kids. Here are pictures throughout the last couple of years. 

 

Our group at the Museum of Science and Nature

One of my favorite smiles from Divin,
Milking a cow at the Museum.

Bethany helping measure out a
piece of wood for the Ark. 

Joseph, Enock and Russell

Putting in the 10 commandments.

Ark of the Covenant! 

Our faithful four- Happy God, Alex, Divin and Enock.

Finally a smile! 

They love basketball!  

I can only imagine what amazing things the Lord has in store for these kiddos. I know that he will use their stories to bring glory to His name! Praying that they will grow up to be men and women after the Lord's heart. 

Birthday Month

I love celebrating my birthday. I'm sure that will get old one day...pun intended! But right now it is a lot of fun and who doesn't love cards and gifts and hugs? My birthday was June 10 and it was great. My current roommate and I share the same birthday so we had a joint birthday party in our apartment on our actual birthday. We invited friends, family and neighbors. Here is a glimpse of our par-tay:

Roomie Rach - Happy shared birthday! 

Sweet neighbors

The Dunghana family-We love them! 

So many friends!

Sweet sisters. Makes my heart smile.

I'm so thankful to have gotten to celebrate with these friends and neighbors. I also got to see my mom, Mawmaw, brother and sister-in-law the weekend after my birthday. The day before my birthday I was able to go to a Tim McGraw/Kenny Chesney concert with two great friends and their husbands. And my supervisor at work made me cupcakes!! Turning 29 is definitely off to a good start-super grateful for all the blessings in my life. 

Yay birthday month!

jess 

(Un)hindered Obedience.

Yesterday was a long day. It was full of really good things and people that I love, but it was hard. It was busy and required some flexibility on my part, but it was mostly hard because I caught another glimpse of my heart and it was not as pretty as I would like it to be. It was one of those days where there were a lot of opportunities to be involved in what God is doing here in Vickery and I was involved. I was obedient. But I was not joyful. I would say that joy is one of the characteristics that should mark a follower of Jesus. Obedience is too, but I am really good at being obedient without joy and that is not a characteristic of Jesus. "For the joy set before him, he endured the cross." (I'm paraphrasing..Hebrews 12:2). 


This is something that has marked me for some time, I think. In my bible study group, I told my "life story" once to all the girls in my group and one of the girls said something to the effect of "Jessica, you may not always want to be obedient to Jesus, but you are obedient." Something like that. And she meant it as a compliment. I get that. I also know that without joy, without love...what's the use of my obedience? It is just another thing that I am doing with no lasting value. 


Jesus keeps reminding me that my joy should be in him, that the things I do "for" him, should be out of joy and love for him. I want it to be that way. And sometimes it is. The thing with Jesus is, that he still blesses my obedience even when I am so unwilling and so frustrated when something that he asks me to do interferes with what I really want to do, which is usually something focused on myself. 


One of the sweet babies that I wrote about in my previous post has been in the hospital the last two days. From what I can understand, he has a bladder infection. I found out about this yesterday from an extended family member so I passed along word to have one of my friends (the aunt of the baby) call me later to tell me how the baby was doing. My friend, J, called me at 8:30 last night and I immediately asked about the baby (so caring of me) and she said he was okay, but could I take her to the hospital to see the baby and the baby's mom (her sister) and to drop off food for the mom. My initial, gut reaction was "I don't want to go. I don't want to drive downtown to the hospital late at night. I don't want to figure out parking. I just don't want to go." But I said yes. (me being obedient, but without joy.) And we went. And you know, it was great. We were able to see the baby and mom even though it was after visiting hours (thank you, nice nurses) and the mom was so grateful to see us and encouraged by us coming, especially because her sister and mother were able to come. It was just good. I got to hold this precious baby that has been sick and before I left I got to pray for him. This family is Hindu and they know I follow Jesus but I always want to be respectful to them and so I asked the mom "Can I pray for S before I go?" And she said "oh yes, I was going to ask you to pray before you left." What a sweet moment of being able to pray for this little baby that Jesus - Jehovah Rapha - the Lord who Heals, would heal him! And that this family was okay with me praying for him. I am so thankful that I got to be there last night. And so awed by Jesus' grace, that even in my selfishness, he still allows me to be a part of times like this. He is so good. 


So, things I am learning:
1. Jesus desires my joy, not just my obedience. 
2. That these people are my family. And if I truly believe that, I will act it out. Not only when someone else is watching or asking me about "what's it like working with refugees in Vickery?" But when it counts. When nobody else knows. When my family needs me. Whether it is just to listen, or to eat a meal together, or to give them a ride to the hospital late at night when that's not what I had planned. That is what family does. And they are my family. 


Thanks for reading, 
jess

Cup of Blessing

A scripture that I have been trying to hold on to lately is Psalm 16:5-

Lord, You are my portion

and my cup of blessing; 

You hold my future. 

It's good right? The title of the Psalm in my bible (Holman Christian Standard Bible version) is Confidence in the Lord. I lack a lot of that for some reason. I think I just get caught up in all the things I want (not need) and how I don't have some of those things right now. Marriage. Kids. Those are the big two. And some days I do not have confidence that God is going to fulfill those things in my life. But when I am pursuing Jesus, pursuing time with him, pursuing friendships that speak truth over me then I remember that the Lord truly IS my portion. He IS my cup of blessing and he HOLDS my future. Sigh. So good.  I wish I had better theological things to say about this, but all I can really say right now is that I know Jesus is good. I know that he is more than enough for me every day and that the only reason there is anything good in me is because he is in my life. Oh yeah-Psalm 16:2- I said to the Lord, "You are my Lord; I have no good besides You." Hello-story of my life!! This is something that I have really been and continue to struggle through. I don't think that anyone ever overtly taught me that I need to please God through doing things or that what I do is what makes me worthwhile, but through some really good conversations with others in my life right now, I am learning that I find a lot of my worth in the things I do. That I work with foster children, that I love refugees, that I am good somehow because of these things. Ugh. Not true! I think I have equated these things with part of the reason why Jesus loves me. Or that somehow because I do these things other people will know how much I love Jesus. I have placed my value in these things. And I have left Jesus out of it and started to believe that somehow I could meet others' needs. Right... So the plan is that I will pursue Jesus daily because he has pursued me because he loves me. And he loves you. And the first commandment is: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." So this is what I will strive to do. Ask me if I'm doing this next time you see me! :) 

Stuff going on in Vickery lately-

Lots of babies! Two of my friends have had babies over the last two months. And they are beautiful, sweet Nepali babies!! I'm so proud of the two moms and how they are doing! Both babies are precious and healthy. 

Angelica and Saneesh 

Random fun times with kids in the apartments. One of my little friends, M, is really into listing out homophones (which if you are like me, you don't really remember grammar things-homophones are words that sound like each other but are spelled differently such as: ate and eight.) See how that works? One of our games lately is to be able to list out as many homophones as we can think of. M is a smartypants for a 1st grader and she can think of way more than I can. Love her. 

Sweet brothers (ok, most of the time...)

I spent a few hours with my Burmese family last Sunday. Played Go Fish for about an hour outside their apartment. Then the mom came home and she invited me in to eat Lepetho (no idea how that is spelled) but that's what it sounds like when she says it. Basically it's a leaf from Burma that is cooked and then mixed with a dried bean mixture. Very interesting and actually I thought it was really good! We ate it out on their balcony of their apartment and also had sugar cane candy and tea. It was awesome! And it really is so fun to sit and hang out with their family. They very much treat me as family I feel like, although they like to tell me how great I am -which is not good for the pride and value thing I was talking about earlier. So I always just say-Jesus is good, not me. And they know that ultimately that is true. I am so thankful for them and how they invite me into their home and expect nothing from me. This week I was sick and I got a text from the father today asking me how I was feeling. Family!! I'm so thankful for them. 

Burmese snack. :) Mmm

I went to Florida for Spring Break with my friend Katie. We went to visit our friends, Matt and Bethany, and it was a blast. I read through the Hunger Games series (just in time to see the movie), we spent time in Miami at the beach and played tons of games. It was such a nice break from work and Dallas. 

Miss this girl! 

Thanks for reading.... 

jess