We are officially one week and two days away from my departure!! I am so excited to get this summer jump started! I know the Lord has got some great plans for this summer! I am just ready started fulfilling those plans! Please be in prayer as I finish up this last week of school and get ready to head out on this incredible journey!
Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him.For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth— he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do. No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you.
Psalm 33
Have a Blessed week!!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
April Update
Oh my goodness! This has been a CRAZY month! I thankfully finished up my Spring semester in school. So I have had two weeks off to enjoy my freedom before my May semester! I don't know how else to describe this past week other than utterly insane. The devastating tornadoes came right through my small home down, leaving nothing but debris and fallen trees. It has been absolutely breathtaking to see all of the damage this small town has undergone. Last Wednesday, April, 27th was the day it all hit!There were two bands of storms that came through. Wednesday morning at about 6:30 AM there was a tornado that came through Ohatchee. This storm hit my family. Thankfully we have minimal damage to the house. A tree fell on one of our cars, and a trailer that my dad owns. We also have about 40+ trees down, or i guess I should say, completely uprooted. So needless to say, we spent all day Wednesday trying to clean up our yard and clear our driveway so we could at least get in and out! All the while knowing there were MAJOR storms coming through that night. So without power AND water, we all settled in to our home safely and waited out the storm. Not knowing this storm would completely wipe out half of our town. All we could do is sit back and watch as the storm came through and then sit back and wait to hear about all of the damage. Alabama took a big hit; this storm claimed over 250 lives. Thursday we went out to some of the main sites that were hit to try and help those that we could. It was so overwhelming trying to help people salvage what was left of their already struggling lives! It was so powerful to hear some of the survival stories; and at the same time just as sobering to hear the horrific stories of those who had lost their lives. We have a lot of work ahead of us to clean up and pick up all of the pieces of our town! Please join me in my prayer for those who have lost so much.
Today I celebrated my 21st birthday! My family took me out to dinner last night to celebrate. It was a night full of fun and laughter. (which pretty much happens anytime you get my family together!) I came home from my night class and my sweet mother had fixed me my favorite homemade apple cobbler...yum!! Concluding this amazing day, my wonderful kids from TX made me a video for my birthday!! I will post it soon so you can see it!
Quick internship update: I finish my May classes May 26th, so I leave May 27th to head that way! As of this writing we are 22 days away!! I am so excited about seeing my family there and I know the Lord has so many wonderful plans in store for us!!
Until next time,
Hollyann
Today I celebrated my 21st birthday! My family took me out to dinner last night to celebrate. It was a night full of fun and laughter. (which pretty much happens anytime you get my family together!) I came home from my night class and my sweet mother had fixed me my favorite homemade apple cobbler...yum!! Concluding this amazing day, my wonderful kids from TX made me a video for my birthday!! I will post it soon so you can see it!
Quick internship update: I finish my May classes May 26th, so I leave May 27th to head that way! As of this writing we are 22 days away!! I am so excited about seeing my family there and I know the Lord has so many wonderful plans in store for us!!
Until next time,
Hollyann
Saturday, April 9, 2011
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
More to come soon, so stay posted!
Hollyann
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
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!
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.
It has been a fun summer, and I have enjoyed taking this journey with each you! Love you all!
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!
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| pictures with t-shirts |
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| hallway that i painted |
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| 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.
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| 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!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
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!
Be blessed!, me.
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.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
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!
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!
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