We are back! And what an incredible, God-filled couple of days! The
team of college students we were privileged to work with were such an
inspiration and sharing fellowship with these on-fire Christians was
uplifting to our spirits.
Each afternoon we did some sort of work project; the first day we
unloaded the pre-made walls for five houses. The second afternoon we
painted the Habitat for Humanity office, and the last day we
sheet rocked and painted at a church that had suffered a fire. (This
church still needs work for anyone interested, I will hopefully be
going back to help some more.)
Stacie and I had some issues with the sun, but hey our tan is
going to be that much better – fringe benefits for working for the Lord
Stacie also went to great lengths, managing to get those last spots that couldn’t be reached by ladder.
In the mornings we put on a VBS at a new apartment complex. A lot of
the families were from New Orleans and as a result there was quite a
bit of inter-relations among the kids. These two little guys were my
favorites – QwenDarius and Jyran. We centered the whole thing around
the verse where Jesus says “I am the light of the world” and tried to
teach the kids the difference between light and darkness and what
impact that would have on their lives. We could really see that God was
at work here because, amazingly enough, the favorite activity during
the VBS was story time. We even had some older boys coming who were
15-16! Sometimes the parents or older teens would just watch us from a
distance or come and ask why we were doing this. Hopefully we were
lights not only to the kids, but the whole community as well.
16-Mar-2006
12-Mar-2006
This is going to be the last post for several days because I’m doing a
mission endeavor here in my home town but most likely won’t have
computer access. Our work started on Saturday when all of us Jones
people joined with the college group of First Baptist and worked at an
international outreach. There was pampering for the moms, car washing
for the dads and a joy jump for the kids!
I think the kids had a blast and I did too! (Even though I slightly twisted my ankle in the joy jump – all in the line of duty 
)
I made some new friends and learned three new words in Chinese – kick,
throw and good job! But even though our verbal communication was
limited, I could definantly show love and they understood that loud and
clear.
David was awesome with the kids too!
The next day we decided to celebrate the warm weather by breaking in my
brother’s jet-ski. I’m telling you, zipping along at 60 mph really
makes you glad there’s a big guy to hold on to!
Tubing is the best! (though Katie and Tim aren’t so thrilled with it)
Stacie and I are experts – or so we thought. Egging Michael on by
holding on with only one hand, he got faster, and faster. Either we got
tired or he got wild but he managed to flip us and I flew through the
air landed on my back and literally skipped two or three times across
the water before I stopped. All in good fun (though I think my neck is
going to be sore).
11-Mar-2006
Last night was a wonderful and much needed break from reality. It all
started by shopping with Mikaela – I got some new sandals and a pair of
khaki pants. Mostly though, we got in a good time to talk (partly
because we got a little lost on the way to the Cooks). At the Cooks we
had a blast! After a wonderful supper, and some pecan bars expertly
served by Daniel, we went outside to play hide and seek. It was a very
competitive game; Halle got a shiner and I got a big bruise on my knee
during a less than fantastic attempt coming into base. I did however
manage to tag Daniel – though he promptly returned the favor on the
next round. Jeremy too snuck up on me and tagged me, Brian scared me
out of my wits and Daniel and Jeremy carefully laid a trap and ran me
right into it – I was tagged once again.
After such exertion a walk was suggested and even insisted on by
the Cooks as a cool down from the game. We explored an old box car,
went cow tipping 
and I got to walk in the moonlight with an
incredibly handsome and buff guy (that would be Brian for those of you
who hadn’t guessed already). Finally I was packing everyone in the car
to go (my parents are gone for the weekend) when a prime opportunity
presented itself. Daniel was saying his goodbyes but had carelessly
left his keys right where someone could have taken them! I thoughtfully
picked them up just to keep them safe and wouldn’t you know, he chased
me down and demanded them back! Some thanks for my thoughtfulness – an
act like that really ought to be rewarded with ice cream.
We finally dragged back in to our house by midnight. I had some
thoughts of getting up and training this morning, but my body refused
to move when the alarm went off at 5:15. Instead I got up at seven, at
cake and made a peanut butter, banana milkshake for Katie and I and we
watched Treasures of the Snow together until the others got up. It was
such a wonderful morning to just sit back and do nothing. But now we’re
all off to do a mission endeavor here in town – nothing like thinking
of others to get your mind off yourself.
9-Mar-2006
God is really laying it on thick right now – tough stuff.
7-Mar-2006
Wow, that was depressing. 
I’m sorry.
That was so last night. I’m okay now (I can’t stay down for long) I have many reasons to rejoice:
I corrected and sent in one of my portfolios! Please pray that they will accept it.
I had a wonderfully awesome bike ride this morning – explored new
territory and enjoyed the sights, smells, sounds and feel of a
beautiful country sunrise.
Stacie did Indian scholarship paper work today – she’s so good to me. 
I signed up for a mission outreach this weekend.
The printer died but then revived so I got my other paper work done!
And best of all – I get to see my nephew this evening!
