Friendship

"A hug is worth a thousand words. A friend is worth more."

My wonderful friend Angela sent me these flowers today at work. It was a huge surprise and a huge blessing. It's been sort of a rough week and it is so encouraging to have friends who love me! I really appreciate all my friends and family who are such a big part of my life. I love you!

And a bonus picture... of a sunrise, of course! :)

Trick-or-Treating

My cute little nieces & nephews on Halloween...

Yeah, this is as good as it gets for a group photo :)

Trevan Ray Plew

My new little nephew arrived just a week after I got home from Chile... it was sweet of him to wait for me! :)

He is adorable (of course) and so sweet! His big sister and brothers all adore him, and I think they might be driving their mom crazy fighting over him! ;o)

Chile 2008

Here are a few pictures from my mission trip to Chile this year. It was a different experience from last year for me... really great, but just in a different way. I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I did last year, but thankfully a lot of the other team members did! :)

It was great to spend some time with the girls... we had several opportunities to lead Bible studies and share the Word with them, which was really exciting. A lot of the same girls were there from last year, so it was very cool to reconnect with them and see how they have changed. Sadly, some of them have been getting into trouble, or are in situations that aren't very good. All many of these girls know, and the only things they see as an option, are drugs, alcohol and prostitution. But God is faithful, and I am SOOOOOOOOO excited about the project that Vision for Chile will be working on next October. The House of Hope will be a transitional home for the girls who are 18 or older and don't have anywhere to go when they lose goverment funding at age 18. Vision for Chile and the House of Hope will provide a place to live and funding for 5 years of university or vocational training, as long as the girls meet certain requirements! It is a HUGE project, and is scheduled to open in January 2010. In addition, Vision for Chile is working to get interns at the home year-round in order to disciple and encourage the girls in their spiritual lives. Very exciting stuff!

The work we did at the Hogar this year (well, the team did... I was in the kitchen again this year) was to paint the administrative building, work on the second floor of one of the other buildings doing residing, and build a huge steel structure over the girls' play area so that they are able to play even when it is raining.

We were able to spend the last couple of days resting, shopping and seeing the beach in Vina del Mar and Valapraiso. It was a wonderful trip, and the team was absolutely amazing - it is always so encouraging to me that so many different people from all over, with so many different personalities, can come together and accomplish so much through and for God!

There are lots more pictures on my Facebook page!

Fall Pictures

Here are a few pictures from the last few months... I am definitely playing catch up! :) Jonas played football this year, which he enjoyed, but not as much as soccer (that makes his Uncle Robert happy!)