Summer 2011

Wow...I can't believe we are already within two months of another awesome summer! It's about that time to get this thing back and running for SUMMER 2011!!! I can't even begin to express to any of you how excited I am about this upcoming summer! The Lord is already working in some pretty amazing ways, and I can't wait to see all that he has in store for us! I am super excited about taking this journey with you all again!!!
More to come soon, so stay posted!
Hollyann

Home....but heart broken...

Well folks, this will be the last post...I have been home now for a little over a week. It is great to be home, and see my family and friends that I have missed....but Oh my heart won't let go of my kids back in Houston.
I got ALOT done my last week in TX! Steve and his family went to CO for vacation, so it was my personal goal to get as much as I could done, and surprise Steve when he got back! OH BOY was he surprised! I busted my tail! I completely cleaned off his desk, and straightened up his office. My next project was to hang the pictures with the Tshirts I decorated the youth room with. Last but not least, I painted the hallway leading into the youth room. WOW was this a BIG job! So big, I even pinched a nerve in my neck doing it! But it was cool being able to surprise Steve with all that got done!So my last Sunday in Houston, the kids threw me a going away party. Oh my, it was too sweet. Some of the girls put together an AMAZING scrapbook! This isn't any ordinary scrapbook...this thang is VERY well done. I know they had to have spent countless hours working on it! And they will never know how much it means to me! As a matter of fact, I look at it every night before I go to bed! BUT....that is NOT ALL! They wrote me a song!!!...and they sang it to me at the party. Oh thinking back to this night just brings tears to my eyes! Once all of the sad goodbyes were said, we took it outside to the courtyard for a fun-filled evening with WATER! So many memories were made in this night alone. Pulling out of the parking lot that night was probably one of the hardest things I have done in a long time!

pictures with t-shirts

hallway that i painted

the girls showing me the scrapbook

But every good thing must come to an end...so I am now back home. Everything that I do, I'm always thinking, ' I wander what they are doing right now' or, '__ would love this!'. I even caught myself talking to myself in my car! Each of the kids chose a song on my Ipod, and we listened to it anytime they were in my car. So of course, I listen to those songs ALL the time! But one particular night I was coming home from work just a singin' to the their songs, and then I started having conversations with them! Thankfully my cell phone rang, helping to realize how insane I had gone!
So, for the time being, my prayer is that the Lord will start to heal my heart. I need my joy restored! I am having such a hard time finding happiness in anything that I am doing. I start back to college next Thursday, so hopefully I will get busy, and it will help to get my mind on other things. In the meantime, please keep me in your prayers as I am still adjusting to my life back home. I am leaving you with some pictures of my last days in Texas.

the whole crew at the water party...

It has been a fun summer, and I have enjoyed taking this journey with each you! Love you all!

Bandina Marks The End :(

So here we are. I have reached the end of what has been the best summer of my life! What has been the most life- changing experience. So please bear with me through this post, as I have become very emotional with the thought of leaving.On one hand, I am so excited to go home, and see all of the people that I love there, but my heart is here. With these people. I know the Lord has a greater plan, and he will hold my heart as I face this coming week and the unavoidable exit of Houston.
We returned yesterday afternoon from Camp Bandina! Oh what a week it was! I attended Bandina last year by myself, as sort of my interview for this internship. So this year, I saw the other side of the camp. Steve is one of the directors of the camp, so as his intern, I helped him do all the dirty work that allows the camp to run as smoothly as it does. This year the theme was Illuminate. We talked about John 9 and the story of the blind man all week. In our lives as Christians we stay so blinded to what is going on in and around us. So this week we forced the kids to blind themselves and use everything to see, except their eyesight. The week was amazing. We baptized 17 kids....yes you  read that right...17 KIDS!!!!!! And as awesome as that was, my brother was one of them. Words cannot express the feelings I felt with him making such an important, mature decision. Unfortunately, because of certain circumstances, I was unable to actually witness his baptism, which saddened me greatly, but when I was able to embrace him and tell him how happy it made me to see him grow in this capacity, the Lord showed me why I wasn't with him. After they came up from the river, He and I were able to have a very intimate, private moment together. And oh how special it was! Heath, you will never know the since of pride, love, and honor I felt to call you my brother in that moment!
Our kids grew so much, and made so many commitments to the Lord. It was such an honor to be apart of their lives, and the decisions that they made. I can't express the emotions that flood through my mind, as I am writing this. I can not believe the Lord saw such favor on me, to place me here this summer. To put me under the guidance of such a Godly man, who has become my best friend! Honestly....that is what is killing me the most! I love these kids soooo much!, but I don't know how I am going to deal with my everyday stuff without Steve's positive reinforcement that he offers me everyday!
So as for, what is in store for me in my last week in Houston....I am taking Steve and his family to the airport tomorrow morning for their family vacation in Colorado, my summer mom Margie leaves Tuesday for a Mary Kay conference, My Sister arrives Friday to help me pack and drive back, and I also will retrieve Steve and the family from the airport. While everyone is gone.....I have a few last touches to leave here on Houston (a little more painting to do, hanging some pictures in the youth room), and then of course, I have to pack up!
Sunday, the church is throwing a going away party. We have water balloons, sponge balls, and a bunch more water stuff!! And then of course, Jenn and I will pull out bright and early Monday morning.
So, once again I ask that you keep me in your prayers as I face this last week. I need my heart prepared for the day I wave goodbye. Please pray for our safe travel back. I love you all and will see you people in Alabama in a week or so!
Enjoy some pics from Bandina!

My sweet Lehman Family

Be blessed!, me.

A peek into my heart :)

Ok, so once again I am SOOOOO sorry that it has been a while since I have posted! We have officially hit that busy part of the summer where there are long hours all day, and every day! I am loving it, but is does cut  back on the time that I have to blog. So, we haven't been on any long adventurous trip, but we have done alot of small things. So I decided to tell you a little bit about the things we have done, and then take the rest of the time to give you just a glimpse of what is going on inside this crazy heart of mine!

So since the last time I blogged my sweet family came for a visit! We had such a blast spending time together! They got to meet several of the families here and see the amazing people that I have been going on and on about!! Calvin (my summer dad) took us around in one of his tour buses and showed us a greater part of downtown Houston. Then we ended their stay with a fun night with some of the families for 4th of July. Following that we have enjoyed fun VBS workdays, a devo at Discovery Green park, a day in Galveston on the beach, broom ball, dressing up as cows for a free meal at Chikfila, working at the food bank, fun movie nights, many laughters, and alot of memories have been made!
So I have officially hit the part of the summer that leaves me with just under a month left in this amazing city.:(
Oh it breaks my heart when I think about leaving. These kids have absolutely stolen my heart. I definitely did not anticipate falling in love with this place so fast. So I am asking for your prayers. I need you to pray that the Lord continues to use me in the lives of these kids. That as we wrap up this amazing summer, the Lord show his sovereignty in each of our lives. Please pray that he starts to prepare my heart to leave, and in return, he prepares my heart to go back home.
Some of you have been asking me what all I have learned....The Lord is teaching me so much. And although I think it will take a few months for me to process it all, I will try and reveal a small piece of my heart to you. The Lord has given me so much more confidence in my ministry. I think so many times in our Christian walk, we start to doubt our ability, or our effectiveness. But being here, and being such a major part of these kids lives has helped me to see that I don't have to be anything special, or do anything incredible...I only have to be available and open to what ever the Lord wants me to do! I have formed so many deep and amazing relationships with these kids and they are beginning to feel more comfortable confiding in me and sharing their struggles with me. Through this, the Lord has taught me I don't have an answer to every problem; I am not going to be able to fix everything. Sometimes He just needs me to be there. Be still. Listen. How comforting it is to have God to be there and listen. What an example he sets for his children.
Isaiah 48:17
This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.
I love  you all!

A Mountain Top Experience

So sorry it has been so long since I have posted!....Things have been pretty crazy!!!I basically haven't stopped since we arrived home from Model City Missions! So this will obviously be a long post, so fasten your seat belts and hold on tight!

This past week we drove to Twin Lakes, CO for Wilderness Trek through and an amazing ministry, Majestic Mountain Ministries (TEAM ASCEND). And of course, as every other trip I have taken with Westbury, you know that we would have to have van trouble before we get started! I think it is a curse of mine:)...We got all the way through Houston traffic, when the brakes started messing up!, so we had to turn around and get another bus!...I think the Lord knew our frustrations, because he stepped in and was glorified in everything else that occurred on this journey! I don't know anyway to describe the feelings I had toward the kids other than, OH WOW!...I have never seen a group of teenagers climb a mountain that is 14, 421 ft. high, trek to high camp for 12 hrs., be cold, thirsty, in pain, and NOT complain!!! They will never know how proud I am of them. They worked sooo hard, endured alot of obstacles, and they did it TOGETHER. It was such a beautiful picture of the Father walking this life journey with us. There were times on trek when you would get separated from the group, and you were all alone, just you and the mountains....but somehow you always had this underlying presence with you. And you knew without a doubt that the Lord was carrying you through.
Once we reached high camp, we were given the next day for a solo day or a day of Acclamation. Basically you are given 3 hours to take off, go anywhere in the mountains, and sit and have some serious quite time...just you and God....Oh be still my soul....This is my third time to do trek, but I have to say, the Lord got a hold of me this year! I went in to trek with this overbearing pride on my shoulder. I guess being "the intern" I felt I had to be the strong one, the one who didn't struggle, and was able to hauss up that mountain with no problems....WRONG! Most of you know the struggles I have with my knees. And most of the hike, my knees would force me to the back of the line, and far away from the group. Sometimes it would take me up to 30 minutes to catch up with them for a break! Oh this was so discouraging to me. I wanted to be right up in the middle of them, cheering them on, but at times I simply couldn't. I felt the Lord little by little tearing down my pride...and it hurt. ALOT. So when I reached my spot for my solo time, I just broke down, bear and vulnerable before the Lord. Oh he showed me so much. I was able to write each of my fellow hikers a letter of encouragement, to let them know how proud i was that they had made it so far. Once I left my solo place, I turned around, and was so comforted by the realization that Christ knew I would be on that mountain, in that particular spot, at that particular moment, and he was there waiting on me.

the view from my solo spot!

So the next day was Summit Day. The day that everybody dreads, yet looks forward too every year. You dread getting up at 1:00AM, and hiking in the cold, but you look forward to it, because yo uare able to reach your ultimate goal. This was a tough day for me. My legs were so soar from the high camp hike, so I was in a lot of pain hiking to summit! Long story short, lots of tears, and encouragement later, we reached summit with such a feeling of accomplishment...I got to the top and immediately went to call Mom, but didn't allow myself time to compose my feelings! I squalled the whole time I talked to her!...(I'm pretty sure she thought I didn't have good service:))

 That basically sums up all the details about trek. I did want to take this time to brag a little on my boss, Steve. Oh my, what a man of God. And what a blessing it is to work alongside him this summer. I was so humbled to take this experience with him this past week. It is so special to me to look back at all the events it took to bring me here, in Houston, with these kids, on that particular mountain. Oh how my God's plans are so much greater than my own.

Anyways I am finishing up a fantastic weekend with my best fried Ellen, and my sister, Emily. They have been able to experience alot of the teens with me, and today we went to the Houston Galleria (5-story mall!). We have enjoyed many laughs, several chik fliks, and alot of memories! Mom, Dad, and Heath arrive Thursday, so hopefully next week I will be able to update on all of our adventures!
I love you all, and ask that you continually keep me in your prayers! Don't forget to leave comments, so I know who is following!
Peace and Blessings to you all!
Holly

Mt. Massive 14, 421 ft.

Model city Missions 20ten

The only way I know to explain it is ….this past week was AWESOME! It was great to be able to come home and spend time with my family and friends in Anniston. So the week started off with many laughs....to start off the adventure, we stopped for a potty break in Orange, TX and as we were leaving our trailer holding our baggage, came off the hitch!!! What made it even more funny, is we didn't even know about it!, we got several miles down the road before the Austin group called to let us know that they nor the trailer were behind us!! To top everything off, the air went out on the bus!! ahh, it was miserable!

On to a better note, I was able to spend time with all of the teens, watching them shine Christ’s light in the city of Anniston and Oxford.Our teens, combined with the teens from Greenbrier, West Metro (GA), and Western Hills (TX), experienced the Lord in a way only few people get to experience him. The kids did Prayer walks throughout various neighborhoods around Anniston and Oxford, they painted a house, garage, and porch, and they cut almost 20 yards!! We conducted a day camp during the week that consisted of many kids from the community; they rebuilt a roof on a porch, and visited a nursing home each day. All I can say is…The Lord was glorified in a way this past week that is almost indescribable!!

On Thursday we hosted a big block party at Oxford Lake…WOW! There were so many people from the community that came because they heard about everything we were doing, or we knocked on their door, or they saw something different in what we were doing as they walked by….it was FABULOUS! I was really excited for the kids that we had a good showing, because they were able to see some immediate fruits of their labor. We finished the week off with a fun trip to raft the Ocoee River! Of course there were plenty  people that were thrown out of their rafts…there was definitely many laughs, and many memories made! Because we left the next morning fairly early, many of the westbury girls just came and stayed at my house, so we had everyone in one location. We all needed showers REALLY bad because we smelled like River water, and of course....you know this would happen to us...but Ohatchee cut off the water!!! Oh my, we had 14 girls at the house needing showers, and we had NO WATER!!! Oh my....the stories we have come away with from this trip!
 On the way home, the air went out again!! But we made it home safely! Since we have been back three of my girls have accepted the biggest marriage proposal they will ever have! They took on Christ in Baptism!! It has been awesome to be here and experience that moment with them!....
Getting ready for Trek now. We leave Friday afternoon, so there is alot to do to prepare for that! I am asking that you all pray for me! Pride is a big factor here. Being the intern I have this need to keep it all together, and be able to do everything with a smile on my face! BUT having done trek 2 times already, I know what all it demands physically. So, other that the fact that i am COMPLETELY out of shape, I do have issues with my knees. So please pray for me that I make it up that mountain, and also that I drop my pride and am able to surrender to my own weaknesses.
Sorry this post is so long..there was just alot to cover...I will leave you with a few pictures from the past week!
Oh and before I go, I have a friend that has a blog and i follow her pretty religiously:)...but she had a great idea, so Anna if you are reading this, yes I am stealing it from you!...But I do have alot of people telling me at random times that they are keeping up with me...but I would love to hear from all of you! I do miss yall alot!, so feel free to leave comments, that way I can know who all is keeping up with me!!
Love you all!

Get Ready...Get Set....GO!!!!

So, as of tomorrow at 5:30 AM our summer is in FULL swing!!And what better way to kick off the summer, than a trip back home to Alabama!!! I am so excited to spend the week with the teens serving the Lord in Anniston! And what better people to do it with, than my own family!
Well. this week I have been finishing several projects, getting ready for the summer to begin. For the majority of the week I spent my time in the youth room finishing up the painting! I am so excited about how well it turned out....honestly, I didn't know how well it would turn out..but I am SOOO PROUD! Several of the kids came up during the week to help me, which was awesome because I was able to get to know some of them better, and start forming relationships with them! Here are a few pics of how the walls I painted turned out!

Last night the whole church took a trip to the Minute Maid field, to watch the Astros play! This was oh so fun! We all enjoyed many laughs together, I got to know some more of the parents. And then we all watched the Friday night fireworks!...AMAZING!

Today I slept in, I have been trying to rest all I can because I know once tomorrow comes, rest is going to be out the window! but then I got up and got SO MUCH done! Margie and Calvin were out for the day, which means I could clean without getting in trouble! I washed all my laundry, and my sheets, cleaned my bathroom, my bedroom and the upstairs living room...Mom you would have been proud of how fast I got it all done! I was in a rush so I wouldn't get busted:)....Now that I feel better about having a clean living space, on to the packing. Can I just say how weird it feels to pack for going home. As of this writing, I am done with everything, and I am now relaxing, watching Hallmark movies, and settling in for the afternoon! So excited about this coming week. I can't wait to see what the Lord reveals to all of us!..My family has 7 girls staying in our home...how fun is that going to be?!..you might want to start praying for Daddy now:)
This week in my quiet time, the Lord led me to this scripture, and I thought I would share it with you all.I was studying in Mark 5. I have read the story of this woman all of my life, but for some reason today this story just played a whole new role in my life. So close your eyes and imagine this with me:
There is a HUGE crowd gathering....obviously to see the "Messiah". So many people crowding around, pushing through to get the best view. There is a woman, she has been plagued with bleeding for 12 years!. she has visited so many physicians, who have taken her for all she is worth. But here it is, her moment. She thinks.." Oh if i could just get close enough...close enough to touch just the hem of his garment, I know i will be healed." people all around her pushing her away, when she slips up on him and grabs his cloak. Jesus stopped!.."who touched my garment?"...the disciples were in disbelief..."Jesus, how do ask who touched your garments....do you see this crowd...anyone could have touched you"...oh no, Jesus knew. Full of fear and anxiety...she falls at his feet..."Lord it was me...I knew if I could just touch the hem, I would be healed."....
In just one moment, in just one single touch, undeserving grace and healing mercy, were hers. What a beautiful example of our sovereign Lord. I think of times that I let fear hold me back....but if i could just have the faith..to just get close enough to touch the hem of his garment......
I love you all and will hopefully see some of you tomorrow!