Boot Camp week 5....a lot

yes i am alive, i just don't have time to do a blog post EVERY day :P Here is what has happened these past weeks. First off we got a tour of Brick Town! I loved it. I love doing that kind of stuff :D The Mountie's Love got hold of my camera, so we are lucky to have pictures of it. Here they are

Gangster.

Once i get a facebook, this shall be my profile picture :)

Benji had fun torturing the ducks..

We FINALLY finished this heart that the Mountie's Love made!! We have been learning about love, and she had us make each piece something about love. It took us forever and 10 days :P But we finally finished it and we are proud! Here is before and after:

Here are the pieces i did :D

We also went to the wonderful Mustache Bash, celebrating the grand opening of Shop Good! What an exciting night! I got to hold Thai Guy's baby all night!! All proceeds go to the Spero Project. Here are some pictures taken at the Mustache Bash, not taken by me sadly, i found out that i can't take picture, while holding a baby...

Me (i don't quite like this one of me) Benji, Laura (what's with the face?) Kate, Jael, and Josiah

Same...Minus Laura

This dude won BEST mustache, and he totally deserved it.

Minus the hot weather it was great :) They had different bands playing all night. Cool air conditioned store. It was amazing! Then we had a retreat up at HGM (Heart of God ministries). I didn't want to go around lugging my HUGE bag, just so i can have my camera with me, so i bought this beautiful bag for $10! It is just the right size for my camera :D Part of the retreat for the kiddos was going to the museum! I think i was most excited!! So all 14 of us packed into the 15 passenger van, to head to the museum...45 minutes away, and 8 of us were 9 and under...quite fun...not really. So after the oh-so-long drive, we arrived. All of the kids began screaming with utter joy (I was one of them....) The whole way there we could hear Annie in the background saying "I have to go to the bathroom" so that was the first exhibit we stopped at. The bathroom. But what caught mine and Jael's eye was the Chocolate exhibit!!!!! What museum has a CHOCOLATE exhibit?! But of course we didn't go to that one first, we went to the....URG i just blanked on the name!! Well here are pictures of the exhibit :) The room was dark so i couldn't get a lot of good pictures...i only got..2.


Well i didn't get a lot of pictures of the exhibits cause they all weren't the brightest....sorry. Now at last i heard these wonderful words "Time for the chocolate exhibit" and all of the kids screamed. Well let's just be honest, all of us did :)

They had these seats, that looked like Reeses cups...I thought that was pretty nifty :D
And now the fossil room...i have a lot of pictures of this one!

Little bitty dinosaur

OK now this was the best part of it all =) They had this HUGE life size model thingy of a mammoth! And its foot was up for NO reason, until today =D Well....you'll see!

Yup so that's pretty much it..so there..I'll try to update more, but it has been crazy here, so yuppers =)

Boot camp - Week 3

So this week has been great! I'm really enjoying classes. I've really enjoyed working with the refugees! They are so sweet. It makes me so happy when they race out of their house screaming "PLEASE!!!!" There are 2 new girls, that I've met. The oldest girls name is Moona; she's 7 and is from Sudan. Her sweet sister is Sooha. She's 3 or 4. These girls HATE boys...They won't even let Benji go near them. Even though i told them that he is a GOOD boy. But they love to play games, and Moona has a beautiful voice :) She sings to me all the time. And when she sees that we are there, she starts cheering, and runs and jumps into our arms. And Sooha follows behind doing the same. And they always have a smile on their face. They are so precious. Here is a video of them playing some games with us.

Remember to turn off the music down at the bottom of the page before watching the videos

Don't ask me what they are saying because I have NO idea!! I think it's something like, "Comula, Country Ice, Beada one, Beada twice. Spin around, touch the ground, FREEZE!" something along those lines. Or at least that's what it sounds like. Everyone there plays it. Now here is a video of Moona singing. Sorry if it is quite, she got really shy when i started recording.

Doesn't she sing so beautifully? She is so cute!! They all are. Remember Mustafa? He came up to me the other day, smiling big, and said "You look beautiful today Melissa."

Now back to classes. They are GREAT! Our teacher is The Mountie's Love (as my mom calls her)

Here are the people who are going through Boot Camp with us, and what we will call them for now on :)

First, there's The Mountie. He's from Canada. Awesome guy with a heart for Jesus. It's been neat to watch him trust God to provide for all his needs. He got the word from God to attend Boot Camp a week before it started, so he obeyed. He came with no financial supporters, no furniture, no idea where he was living, nothing....he just obeyed. He's engaged to our teacher (who will be referred to as The Mountie's Love).

Next is Pony Girl. She's from Texas and loves horses!! She's got a heart for Muslims. She's kind of quiet....so it's been fun getting to know her over the past couple of weeks. She likes to spend time with our kids...and then go back to the quiet of her apartment (lol...that probably describes all the Boot Campers!).

The Aggie and Biker Girl have a heart to use agriculture to minister to others who don't know Jesus. They are a lot of fun! It's been great spending time with them.

Thai Guy and his Wife have 2 children. They have a heart for victims of human trafficking. Their testimonies are amazing!! They are a testimony of how God makes all things new (well, technically, aren't we all!). We've really enjoyed hanging out with them (and we love to hold their baby!)

The Eskimo is a sweet girl from Alaska who is roomies with Katelyn. She cooks a mean stir fry! In the past, she's worked with Nepali refugees and is praying about where God wants to use her in the world.

Now back to classes (once more) I love having The Mountie's Love as our teacher! She is super sweet, and is really good at explaining stuff that we don't understand. She also has a HUGE heart for missions. We have started reading the book The Bondage Breaker by Neil T. Anderson and Dave Park. It is a great book that i recommend! So we have been getting into that. Also we have started a curriculum, which i do not now the name of at the moment. But it has been really great, and has shown me the real meaning of the Bible, and has shown me God's meaning of it. Which is, letting His glory be known through out the nations.

Working with Refugees

So this is my favorite time of the week. Going over to Language Lab, and playing with refugee kids. (minus the 100° :P) I love the feeling of walking up, and seeing kids racing towards me saying, "Melissa!!" It makes me so happy. First day i was there, we all got out of the car, and into the Language Lab. We got all the computers started, and once the doors opened, people came piling in. We figured out that only 3 computers worked. So we had people waiting in the back. They were so happy to be able to learn English. My dad kicked us kids out cause we took up to much room. "Go play with the kids," he said. Those were the 7 words i'd been wanting to here all day. Once we got outside this boy name Mustafa came racing towards us, smiling from ear to ear. "I'm Mustafa!" he said, proudly. "Where are you from?" I asked, "Iraq!" Yes! I said to myself, i've always wanted to meet an Iraqi kid, and here was my chance to get to know him. "How old are you?" I asked "I'm 8, but i turn 9 on August 1, we are going to have a birthday in the classroom, and you are invited," he said. We headed to the playground, and by then, more kids began to join us. I felt at home! I felt that this was where God wanted me, and i was happy, because that was where i wanted to be :) Going to Jaime's Landing (which is where to refugees live) is the highlight of my week. After we get the computers on, i race outside, and the same group of kids come out calling my name, it is the most beautiful sound.

This is Laura and Senpatu. Senpatu is the sweetest thing! She is 7 and is from Ethiopia, every time i see her, she lifts up her arms and say "Up!"

This is Jimmate, she is 9, and is Senpatu's older sister. She is so sweet. She is very shy, but is open once you get to know her. She has a bit of an attitude :) If you look closely you can see Mustafa in the background trying to crack the code to the classroom. Som how he figured it out. I have no idea how.

Now i don't know this girls name, but she is so nice! I believe she is 7, and i don't know where she is from. The past couple of days that i've been going she's come running outside from her apartment smiling big. Then she sits next to me in the same spot. She is also very helpful. Some of the kids got hold of my camera, and started taking pictures. Over the railing. "No!" I started saying, but they ignored me. So she got up, and grabbed it from them, and handed it to me. She also loves her stuffed cat very much, she treats it like it's real. She has an older brother, but i also can not remember his name.

This cutie is Jabon! He is Jimmate's and Senpatu's younger brother. Jabon is 4, and is a monkey, we'd find him climbing on the staircase, and around the edge of the balcony. It scares me so bad! He is so sweet. He always has a smile on his face, and loves to scare me..joy. Jabon has a younger sister, who is 18 months old, her name is Helima, i'll try to get a picture of her next time.

This kiddo's name is Oswaldo, and he is a ladies man! He is 7, and i have no idea where he is from. He kept asking to take a picture of me, and finally i asked him why. He smiled and said "Cause I like to." Finally Mustafa said "Cause he loves you, he told me yesterday." Oswaldo smiled and nodded. Then once we were leaving he said "Bye we love you!" and winked at me. We ran into him at the store, and he kept showing me his muscles, and waving and saying "Hey!"

(Me and Hadiel)
And last, but not at all least, is Hadiel (Mustafa's sister)! This girl is the sweetest thing. Every day she comes up to me, and has me hold her. Then she's lays her head on my shoulder, and stays there all day. She is always the hardest to leave, she will run up to our car, and sit there, saying "Don't leave me please!" It breaks my heart. One day we were walking to the playground, and she started saying "I want water!" and each time i'd say "You have to go to your apartment and get some." and she kept crying "No!" Finally i asked why and she said "Cause my mommy will hit me if i do." Wow...way to break my heart. Then she leaned her head on my should and sat there.

I'll try to post more pictures of them later :)

Our Apartment

Outside

Living Room

Kid's Room

Closet

Parent's Room

Random Closets

Mess up

So that last post totally messed up. I think i've fixed it know. I was re-reading it, and i saw a brown streak running down the pictures. So i just took off the pictures. So it should be good know :)

Boot camp - week 1

Ah internet at last :) We just finished the first week of boot camp!! It was FABULOUS! The kids haven't started class yet, i believe we start tomorrow. Let me tell you how my week has gone, and how God has moved me, and how He has touched my heart in different ways.

The drive was FOREVER. And wanting to get to our new home didn't help. After 5 hours of driving in the car, with little kids crying, and everyone starting to get fussy. We finally arrived. And i think none of us were prepared for what we saw at that moment. Words can't describe how i felt, but i'll try to name a few. Scared. Shocked. Horrified. It was a very big shock to some of my siblings, but we told them that this was what God had planned for us, and no scary apartment, or creepers will stop Him from finishing His plan. As we walked into our apartment i was shocked. It was...clean. We had a new carpet, and new refrigerator. And the rooms were big (which is always a plus when you have 6 kids) Once we were almost done unpacking, i walked out to our car. Alone. Everything was going great (minus the fact that we were getting stared out from every corner) I grabbed a box, and started to our apartment, when a car stopped (not always a good sign) I couldn't move, because it was blocking my way, so i prayed. Hard. The guy rolled down his window, he looked in his mid-twenties. "You have $10?" he asked me. I slowly shook my head. He nodded to our van "You're unpacking right? Well maybe you could give me $10 for helping you." "Um..no.." i said, and dodged his car as i raced to our apartment. Thanking God for protecting me. And that was the end of our unpacking for that day. Thank you Lord!


We finally finished unpacking, and i didn't run into my "friend" again. Once we settled in, we sat down, and began to register that we were here at last! We got a call from another couple going through boot camp. They said that they were about 30 minutes away. So we waited. Finally there was knock at our door, we opened the door, and on the other side, was the couples smiling faces. We sat and talked for 20 minutes. They told us about their trip to Iraq (I was really interested in that part :P) And why they came to boot camp. We offered to help them unpack, and they accepted. So we grabbed Katelyn and her roommate from their apartment, and headed out to the couple's car. After a few trips back and forth, it was just Kate and me. And these two guys had been watching us. Finally they stopped Kate and me. "Hey." they said. My hand began shaking. "Hey." Kate said, sounding so normal, she didn't even sound scared. At all. "It's nice to know we have nice ladies here." one of them said, smiling. "Yeah!" Kate said, laughing under her breath. Awkward. Then Kate and I went out to the car, and something was digging through our trash. We looked over and a homeless man was digging through it. He smiled as he walked away with a bag of chips, a bottle with a little bit of drink left, and an empty trash bag. (this was one of the most hardest moments for me the whole week) We FINALLY began getting ready for bed. We were all exhausted. But none of us got ANY sleep. At all. Even though 4th of July was the next day. There was fireworks, all night. But we didn't see them so we thought that they were gun shots. (Well it was the 4th of July..But was like 3 in the morning. really.)

We all woke up excited about church at a coffee shop, i mean it's not everyday you go to church
at a coffee shop! As we pulled up to the coffee shop, it was nothing like we pictured it to be. It was wonderful! Worship was great, i totally felt God's presence. The whole thing was like Nomads in an hour. It was fabulous! After that we got together for a 4th of July party! (party to the hearty!!) Not much happened that day. We slept through most of it. Which was nice.




Monday, first day officially of Boot Camp! As we piled into the car, our hearts raced, it had finally started, our first week of Boot Camp! Finally! But my heart broke as a looked out the window, and saw a man sitting on the side of the road, holding a sign that said 'Help anything. Please' I tried to hold back the tears as we drove a way. Why didn't God help this man! I knew that He could why wouldn't He?! But then i thought, God has a plan for this man. Even if part of that plan is being homeless. It's part of God's plan, and it doesn't matter if i don't understand. He knows what He's doing. Much more then i do. As we turned the corner, there sat another homeless man. Holding a sign that said 'Help me. God bless.' (thanks, for breaking my heart once more) Finally we arrived to the campus. "At last." we all told our self. Our parents waved to us, as they headed toward there classroom, and us kids to ours. We were all tired, after getting up at 7 a.m and going to bed late. We stayed on campus from 8:30-4:00. Quite a long day. And that's about how that rest of the week has gone like that..But this week. Well that's a whole other blog post :)