{Camp has Begun!}

Camp has started at the Friendship Center, and many kids have come. Yesterday I think our end was 49 kids, and today we had 60. A lot of kids from last year are back at camp, and I am so happy to see them! I’m grateful for the returning kids, but I also miss the ones who I haven’t seen, and may not see at all. A lot of the Sudanese students are supposed to come back tomorrow. So pray that they do. I will be excited to see all of them.
I also took photos finally with my new camera. Hopefully I can have them up soon! The kids seemed really excited about getting their photo taken. I am hoping to take a lot of photos, so that everyone can see their prayer kid another year older.

Specifically, pray for Jose and Montez. Jose had a rough week at the start, and I know he has a lot going on. Pray that he will see God’s love in everyone working, and that he will know he is cared for. Pray also for Montez [BooBoo]. I saw his little brother and sister, but his grandmother said he was away visiting his mom for the summer. I don’t know if he is in a better situation or not, but I have felt a need to be praying for him.

[Montez]

[ Jose]

Also, pray for the other summer Missionaries. Tetsuya (Tony) is spending the week in Mexico with my other missionary friends. Kelly is on a travel team in New England. the purple penguins group is working in Tennessee as a travel team. My friend Amy is in Nicaragua. And my other summer missionaries in Iowa: Jonathan, Kimmie, Adam, and Tim. When I remember more, I will write them on here. There's a lot!

Love you guys!

First few Days in Iowa.

So, I spent the first few days going through Orientation and meeting other summer missionaries. I will be working with Adam, so please be praying for him too. Tonight we have Saturday Supper, and will be meeting and socializing with the neighborhood. Most of the ministry and witnessing here is done through socializing and building relationships with the people who come to the Friendship Center.Today, we went to see Mikey, Alex, and Jose. They were "Cooking Out" in their backyard. It was adorable, because they all came up and hugged me, Mikey being the first. Then we saw Eric, Maria, Miguel, and Maria's baby that was born just as I left last summer. He is soooo big! It's adorable. We also saw Jesus, Carlos, Victor, and I met some new people. I am excited about everyone coming to Saturday Supper tonight. It's going to be a great summer. Please begin praying for the people in Iowa, and that opportunities will come to share God's love with them, and tell them about Jesus' sacrifice to give them Abundant Life.Love you guys! Keep in touch. I can't get online much, but I can receive letters, and I'm really good at Writing back.

So please pray for Adam and me and Jon and Mindy as we work at the Friendship Center.

Photos of Week 5

So, I AM back home, but I want to keep putting up photos of the kids, and the trip. So please continue to enjoy. This is Week 5!



This is Pope's group. They were SO much fun and invited me to spend a lot of time with them.



Tatiana braiding Charlie's beard.



They played Volleyball a lot.



skaterBoys. This is Jefferson and James, two of the youth from the church. Jefferson is really sweet. James is kind of quiet, but he's a good kid.



Evan, from Pope's group. He hurt his ankle real bad, but kept on working hard. We sat together and had a great time singing and talking.



Ellen, Maddy, and Nadine. All three sisters, and great friends who I miss terribly.



Here's Jesus, in his usual attire. We were teasing him about his pants.







They had a basketball tournament at the Center. A lot of guys came to play.



Adrian thought it would be fun for me to take photos of them throwing the basketball. This went on for a good 5 minutes.



This is Ruben. He's a fun kid.



Junior, Victor, Kasandra! Finally something Victor and I have in common. We both love photography.



JD, after the basketball tournament. He was really sweaty.



Here is another Disaster Reliefer, Teddy. He was like my big brother. And this is Nadine.



And this is the full Disaster Relief team for the first week. They were super sweet, and treated me like family. It was wonderful to have dinner with them every night. I miss them a lot.



This is Mary and Jerry. They were a sweet family who we ate dinner with every night. They worked with Disaster Relief, and would clean the shower trailer and wash clothes.



My original church. This is Eugene, the pastor, Alex, the worship leader, and Matt from Disaster Relief. We spent a lot of time talking. He's very knowledgeable.



This is Andrea and Dan. I stayed with them for two and a half weeks. They were really sweet, and Andrea helped me with a lot of stuff. And gave me plenty of dating advice, if I ever get around to that.



Victor doesn't like to smile. So Vanessa wouldn't either. Vanessa and I spoke together, and she prayed to receive Christ! Near the end of camp, she smiled more. And Stephanie is in Green. She smiled all the time.


Another adorable photo of Maye. She is Soooo cute.



This was super cool. They had all the kids draw their biggest fears on paper. Mine was tornadoes. Then they taped them all together, and taped it to the ceiling. The Bible story was on David and Goliath, and they used our fears as an example, and had one of the students knock them down "with God's power" to show that with God, our fears can come tumbling down.



These are the kids from Sudan. Raniya, Lydia, Shata, Angelina, Rubekah, Ethopia, and a few who I didn't get to meet.



Every Kid loves Pizza. Especially Mikey.

Some Smiling Faces..[Week 4]

Week 4!

I know I'm totally delayed in this.. But I'm trying to keep things updated and in order, for my memory, and for your entertainment/Prayer purposes. So enjoy Week four. I'm on Week 8.


The beloved guitar case, which is a miracle in itself. Ask my mom, if you want to know the story.


The backyard of the Friendship Center.


Kids ride their bikes to the Center.


1st through 3rd grade Recreation! They love running



Preschool-Kindergarten Recreation. They just like being goofy. This is Blessenprays (Blessen for short).


Chenoa, a total cutie. She's Alyssa's little sister. She's really shy in the mornings and by lunch time, she's jumping all over you.


Preschool Soccer is the best!


This week, a mural was painted downstairs in the basement. It's the Woman at the well. And this is Bobb. No really. His name is Bobb.


Jesus(Hey-zues) was in charge of painting Jesus(Jee-sus). It was kinda ironic to me.


The preschool/Kindergarten class! So many cute kids. So much love.


Lots of basketball is played. David threw the ball and I caught this contorted picture of his body.


1st-3rd grade class!


4th - 6th is usually our biggest class. We were talking about Bible stories


Here's the Youth group for the Friendship Center. Enidar, Rose, Carla, Miguel, Carlos, Ernie, and Jesus.


This kid was walking down the street by himself, pushing his bike.


Chenoa. Oh boy, this is a story. So. We had a water balloon fight. And Chenoa was being chased down by Jquincy, so she started crying. She ran to me, and I picked her up, and we both ran. Then allllll the kids decided they wanted to hit me with the water balloons, so we both got soaked!


So once Chenoa started crying, since she had gotten wet, Alex got upset. So he tried to comfort her by talking to her. He told her she could hit him with her balloon. Eric and Alex tried to dry her hair with their shirts. It was, adorable!


He handed her back the balloon, after many failed attempts of her throwing it at him. He was so sweet and so concerned about her being happy. Alex just loves younger kids.


Ciara threw the remaining water on the kids who were dying to get wet.


David, got soaked. He was so happy though!


The pizza guy came, with ALL the pizza. The Pre-K/Kindergarten kids watched with eager eyes, and shouted "Thank you Pizza guy!"


Everybody loves Pizza!


Eric, Alijandro, and Eduardo shared the garlic sauce with me.



The almost finished Mural. It's beautiful.

The workers are Few. [Or Plenty!]

So these are a few people that have been working this summer, either at the Friendship Center, or in Des Moines in General. They are working for God, and helping others, even if only for one week.




This is the Disaster Relief Team!


A second shot, with me in the photo as well. Yay Disaster Relief! These guys were super sweet.


The guy in Maroon (Matt) teased me the most.


They've all been such sweet people


Here is 'other Matt'. He's a firefighter from Oklahoma. God is going to do great things with his life.


Week 2 of Peppermint College, this team from Tennessee came to help! They were super sweet and taught me how to knit. They also took me out for dinner, and bought me socks and photo frames.


A photo with the two youngest team members from TN. Ciara and Jessica. They were pretty fun too. I was glad to spend time with them.


This is Dob. He helped with painting a mural in the basement of the Friendship Center. And Blessenprays is the girl with the ball. She's a handful but super cute.


The preschool teachers!


Preschool is a fun group ^___^


Willie ( in white) is the Head lady in charge of the TN group. They always seemed prepared for everything.


This is Pablo. He's pretty great.


Dob and the mural. He sketched it out, then helped the older youth draw and paint it till it was finished.


Dob prefers cartooning. He showed Pablo a lot of cool things. Now Pablo is making little cartoons.


Group shot of the Preschool kids! They are the cutest.


The first week of camp, we had this team from Arkansas come to help out. This is Cody. He's cool.


They were a youth group, and super helpful.






Breedo and I got along really well. =)




They were always playing pranks or doing something.








My favorite guitarist. This is Tim. He's helped me so much with Praise Band on Sunday mornings. He's amazing with guitar.


This is Colleen. She's Tim's wife. She is super sweet. We're like sisters. She sings on Sunday mornings, and though she won't admit it, she does a great job


And here is Sandy, the Pianist, Colleen, and Laura, who also sings.

So those are just a few of my coworkers. They are all such great people and I have adored working with them! Please keep them in prayers as they continue their mission work in other places.