The Campout

Last weekend, some of the other youth coaches at church and myself took several of our teens from the youth group on a campout. We had an excellent time. We got there and set things up, and then played several rounds of dodgball. That was fun, as it had been years and years since I had played dodgeball! Then one of the teenagers, Rachel, taught us a game called human pinball. That might sound painful, but actually it was not bad at all. It is basically a different twist on dodgeball, and it is always cool to learn new games. After several rounds of dodgeball and human pinball, we changed it up, and got a game of kickball going on. Again, it had been years since I played, and it was fun. Of course, it made it even better that my team won. I think it was something like 10-14. I am still having fond memories of those games.......for the first three days after that, I was so sore I could hardly walk! And still now....a week later, I have a rather large, purple bruise on my left leg where Jeremy beaned me with the ball twice in the same spot! Thanks Jeremy for the fond reminder of the lovely time we had at the campout!







Most of the Thrive band was at the campout, so we all decided to bring our instruments, and we set them up in the barn there on the property. We had a good time jamming....just for fun on Saturday night, and then we put together a bit of a musical worship time for our Sunday morning church that we had out at the camp. That was quite enjoyable also. I even took my new guitar and got to play around on that and learn a few new things.



Saturday night and again on Sunday morning we played yet another new game...again, with Rachel leading the way. It is sort of a card game, and it is called Mafia. It would take forever to explain it on here, but just suffice it to say, it was a ton of fun. It is only the luck of the draw as to who is the Mafia for each game, but out of I believe 10 games, I was mafia at least 7 times! It was crazy! I had a good time though, and have already told several others about that game.












I could go on and on, but I am sure my readers are getting quite bored by now! So, I will say, the food was great...thanks Angelique, the Sunday morning worship and lesson time was nice....well I was kinda in charge of that, so of course I am going to say it was nice! It was indeed fun teaching out there in the open around the morning campfire though. Quite a difference from being in Sacred Grounds (our teen meeting spot at church). Listening to a varitey of teens and adults sing karokee....well....it was........not too painful I supposed. haha! And just spending quality, uninterrupted time with some of the most wonderful teenagers around....priceless!

the latest UPDATE...

Well I just wanted to drop in a little update for those I have not told yet. I have received enough donations so far to buy my plane ticket to Guatemala. So, I have my ticket, have my passport and am ready to go! Now I just have to wait until January....bummer. I guess that is good though. I still need time to raise money for my accomodations, food, and travel within Guatemala. I was concerned about having the money quick enough to get my ticket before prices went up, and God did provide, and I know He will provide the rest as well. He knows my heart, and knows that I am doing this for His glory and not mine, so I believe that He will help make it happen.

the BIG trip

For those of you who don't know, and many of you do, I am heading out to Guatemala in January to work in some orphanages and show love to the kids who have no home and no parents. I will be going to an orphanage called Hannah's Hope. I will do crafts and play with the kids there, and visit with and do Bible studies with the young ladies in the House of Hope, which is a place connected to Hannah's Hope where young mothers learn how to care for their child and also learn work skills so that they can go out and get a job to properly care for themselves and the baby.

I will also be going into the Guatemala Ghetto and take sack lunches to the very poor children, and just try to show them some of the love that Jesus has for all of his children. Then I will also go to another orphanage, much poorer then Hannah's Hope, where at the present there are around 96 kids and 1 adult! Can you even imagine a ratio like that? I am sure there are days and days at a time where those poor kids do not have any kind of adult interaction at all. I long to be there for those kids, to hold them, to show them that someone cares........and ultimately if I could, to bring a few of them home with me!!

Now, in all reality, I know that I cannot bring any of them home, which is a huge part of my decision to go down there. Most folks know that I want to adopt very badly, and yet cannot, so I have decided that since I cannot take in a baby who has no home, I can at least go and be the best Jesus to these kids as I can.........and hopefully, even if this is the only glimps of Jesus that they get, that it will be enough to bring them some joy, and when they are old enough, to remember this joy, and seek out who Jesus is, and come to a relationship with Him.

So, there ya go............I have been wanting to share about this in my blog for those of you who don't know about it. Also, for those if you who do, maybe this gives you an even better glimpse into why I want to do this, rather than just the fact that I am doing it.




About Guatemala - for anyone interested:
Fast Facts...
Full Name: Republic of Guatemala
Capital City: Guatemala
Time Zone: GMT/UTC -6 ()
Languages: Spanish (official)
Religion:
Roman Catholic
Pentecostal
Mayan-Catholic fusion
Indigenous Mayan beliefs
Currency: Quetzal (Q)
Geographic coordinates: 15 30 N, 90 15 W
Area: 108,890 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Tennessee
Land boundaries: total: 1,687 km
Border countries:
Belize 266 km
El Salvador 203 km
Honduras 256 km
Mexico 962 km
Coastline: 400 km
Climate: tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands
Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau (Peten)
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m - highest point: Volcan Tajumulco 4,211 m
Natural resources: petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle, hydropower
Natural hazards: numerous volcanoes in mountains, with occasional violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast extremely susceptible to hurricanes and other tropical storms
Environment - current issues: deforestation in the Peten rainforest; soil erosion; water pollution Environment - international agreements: party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: no natural harbors on west coast
Population: 14,655,189 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 42.4% (male 3,185,037/female 3,033,947)
15-64 years: 54.2% (male 4,019,052/female 3,928,984)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 226,745/female 261,424) (2005 est.)
Median age:
Total: 18.47 years
Male: 18.25 years
Female: 18.71 years (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 34.11 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 6.81 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
35.93 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
Total population: 65.14 years
Male: 64.27 years
Female: 66.04 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.53 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 1.1% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 78,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 5,800 (2003 est.)
Ethnic groups (2001 census):
Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and Spanish - in local Spanish called Ladino) and European 59.4%
K'iche 9.1%
Kaqchikel 8.4%
Mam 7.9%
Q'eqchi 6.3%
Other Mayan 8.6%
Indigenous non-Mayan 0.2%
Other 0.1%
Languages:
Spanish 60%
Amerindian languages 40% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2003 est.)
Total population: 70.6%
Male: 78%
Female: 63.3%

my week

Hey Blogging World.........for those who check in on me often, I am sorry I have not written for a bit. This has been a long crazy week........work wise. Things were slow for so long at work, and now they are picking up, and it is taking me a bit of time to get used to it. However, that is a good thing.....more business means good business, which means a continued paycheck!

Anyway, the talent show at church last Sunday night was awesome. I really like how it was set up like American Idol, or America's Got Talent, with the judes and all. I must tell on myself and say that I did not realize that "Randy" was Paul until about half way through the show! To my defense, we were sitting in the very back of the church, and my eyes are not the best...but you would think that I would have recognized his voice! Mike mentioned something about him and called him Paul..and it took about 30 seconds to realize what he was talking about. Crazy!

I enjoyed getting to be "the band" for two different singers. It was awesome...and one of the songs was definately a challenge! We played it together for the first time Sunday afternoon.....and it was not a pretty picture at all! However, after going over it more and more, and fine tuning certain parts of it, I feel that it turned out really well.......and we all had a blast! So, it was good, and I hope that God was pleased with it.

I just got home from work, and it is late, but I wanted to write a bit of something for you all to read......and I did.

Cheers!

Good Times

Yesterday we went to the Kentucky State Fair. Mike and I took Patrick and Thomas with us, and we met another of the teenagers, Will, there later on. We had opened it up to the class at church, and these three decided they wanted to join us. We had a really good time, despite the hot and sticky weather! Mike, Thomas, Patrick and I got there first and we walked around for a bit, looking at the stuff people had entered and seeing what kinds of freebees we could walk away with. Then, we met up with Will, and had some fair food and headed over to the Mercy Me, and Tree 63 concert. It was great. Considering there were 4 musicians in our group, we all had our certain instruments that we had our eyes on! I was watching the drums, Patrick the guitars, Mike the bass guitar, and Thomas the keyboards. It was fun to watch the performers, and to talk abour our playing together that we do.

The music was great, and the quality time with the boys.......all four of them in my case!! was great!

Will had a special moment after the concert. He had really been getting into the music, and was really feeling the Holy Spirit and lifting himself up to God throughout the concert. When it was over, a man who was sitting across the ailse from us came over to Will and told him that he could tell that he really loved Jesus!



I thought that was awesome........and it made me think........can people tell that I love Jesus?? I need to be sure to take a step back and watch myself from time to time, to make sure I am showing my love for our Lord as well. I am not a really expressive person, so it is hard for me to show it as openly and outwardly as Will was at the concert, but, as Jesus told us to go out and tell others about Him, I need to make sure I am expressing my love for Jesus, and being like Him to the best of my ability at all times!

Back to the fair.........well it had been a very long day, but after the concert we took the other two boys home...Thomas and Patrick. We got to their house at about midnight, and I figured their mom would be waiting up for them to get home, and being glad they were home, that she would be ready to drop into bed....WRONG! She invited us in, and her, all three of her boys, Mike and myself stayed up talking until 2am! It was a really enjoyable time........we talked about everything from church, to home schooling, to music.....cats, dogs, houses, cars, kids, family, etc etc......It was a great time. We got to enjoy some great, late night fellowship with some great Christian friends.

.......and a good time was had by all!! (if the above pictures are not showing, click on view show, and you will be able to see them)

Animals

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I love animals. I have four cats and two snakes. Most would say that is a very strange combination, actually, it is, but it works for me. I am a bit strange myself.

One of the great things about where we live is that we are just a short walk away from a nice park, and inside the park is a petting zoo. Mike and I enjoy going over there, and we always find food to take with us. Today we went and took some bread and buns that were going stale, and also I cut up a yellow squash that had been sitting around here for a while. We found many happy eaters over there, one of which was a new member of the zoo. It was a young goat named Cupcake. There are also deer, rabbits, cats, chickens, raccoons, ducks, phesants, and roosters. It seems like a strange combination of animals, but yet they all seem to get along...the ones that are mingling. I do have to say that the raccoons are separated out from the rest. However, they are pretty calm and friendly as well.

So, that was my fun for today. I added a picture at the top of the deer, the goat, and me, and below is a video of Cupcake (the goat) and me. She tried to eat my hair!! It was a fun time.......Enjoy!
Amy and Cupcake

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a Point, at last

Hey all.......I know that there are those of you out there who read my blogs, and are thinking, hmm, is she going to write anything new?? Well, here is something new...only, I really don't know what to write about. I have not had any good thoughts lately.

So, just a note on what I have been up to I guess. I helped my best friend get moved into her new house last weekend...like, not this past one, but the one before that! They built an awesome house, and the best part about it is that now she is my "country neighbor." It takes about 10 minutes to get to her house from here, but in the country, that is considered close!

This past weekend I went to the Harrison County Fair on Saturday night. I met my neighbors out there, and we listened to two bands. They were both pretty hard rock groups, and I loved it. I knew one of the guys in the second band. It's so funny, he is all tatooed and pierced, and plays in a hard rock band....but he is so quite and shy. To look at him you'd think that he'd be really wild! Hey...there is a good point there! You cannot judge others by what they look like! Personal example..I used to have an eyebrow ring, and I absolutely loved it. I only took it out because it got infected and would not get better. However, I did notice a time or two that I got "the look" from some folks......personally I thought it was kinda funny, and kept thinking..."if they only knew me they'd be surprised." But anyway....that was a good experience, and a good example of how someone's looks do not always define who they are.

OK, there ya go....a story with a good point!

The rest of the weekend was good too. I always love being at Thrive, and especially playing in the Thrive band. It really rocks! We have a great time, and I am really excited now to see that several of the teenagers are starting to bring friends with them to Thrive. That says a lot!!