Posted on 3/8/2006
Well, we're in the process of moving website. Go to www.myspace.com/kristinandali
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Posted on 3/6/2006
Okay, so this is going to be short and sweet and I promise I'll write more later today, but I just wanted to say...
I've been sitting on the front porch of my parents' house for the past hour or so, enjoying a cup of coffee with an old friend and catching up on life. Suddenly, Lincoln starts barking and running around....I look up to find a big brown UPS truck in my drive way. I thought, "Oh, it's probably for my dad or my little brother because they always get packages!" So, I walked out to meet him at the truck and to receive the package. As I began to walk away, I slowly looked down at the package and, much to my surprise, I saw mine and Ali's names! It was our plane tickets to AFRICA!!!!!!! WOOHOO!
Okay, sorry for the semi-lame story, but I just had to share the excitement with all of you! Hope you're half as excited as I am! :)
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Posted on 2/26/2006
Freedom in the sky:
I love flying...especially sitting by the window where you can stare out into the midst of the sky. My eyes always tend to be captured by the clouds. As a little girl, on those looooong car rides to
Florida
(where most of my family lives), my mom and I would always try to find little hidden pictures in the clouds. My mom even managed to see Abe Lincoln one time! It's true :) So, as I sat on my plane yesterday, gazing out at the clouds, I began to look for the artistic creations of God. The first thing I saw was like a little girl dancing on top of the clouds. It was beautiful and it just made me smile. It was like a sense of freedom. A couple of weeks ago at worship with the FYM team, I closed my eyes just to listen to everyone singing and I saw a picture of me and God dancing in an open field. FREEDOM!
Prayer Requests:
So, I'm in
Jackson
,
MS
once again. It's kind of strange being at home, but kind of nice at the same time. I still have that dirty kid syndrome I described in my last post....that feeling of not wanting to change clothes or take a shower. It's kind of funny, especially when your parents begin to plead with you to get in the bathtub! I sort of feel like a dog! :) But, simplicity is a beautiful thing. As I'm at home, I plan on spending some good quality time with my family in hopes of leaving for
Nairobi
,
Kenya
in two weeks. Please pray that God would continue to speak into my parent's hearts and that He would continue to allow me to share with them what He is calling me to do
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Posted on 2/22/2006
Yes, I'm still alive and kickin! :) Sorry it has been almost a month since I've posted anything. I tend to either forget or just figure that Ali has posted enough for the both of us! You should check out her stories and pics from this past month so you can be caught up (click on Ali Mitchell).
Hmm...where to start? Well, I've been in Matamoros, Mexico for almost TWO whole months now. WHOA!!! Who ever would have thought that I'd end up in Mexico, much less for two months! It's been an amazing, restful time though. Hanging out with the FYM team has been both a blessing and an encouragement. As Ali and I have kind of fallen into a discipler role for some of the girls, it's funny to see how we've influenced them along the way.
* dirty kid syndrome
* dreadlocks
* knitting
The Dirty Kid Syndrome:
Well, for those of you who know me, I often like to spread out my showers. They just seem to feel better when you've hit day number 4---the water feels more refreshing, the shampoo seems to smell brighter, and your body just feels cleaner. Being here in Mexico, where the hot water runs out quite frequently and the dust is constantly consuming you as you walk down the street, it just seems like a good idea to NOT take a shower every morning. As the girls have observed mine and Ali's "dirty kid syndrome" technique, some have taken a likin' to it :)
Dreadlocks:
I guess this is just the next step in the dirty kid syndrome. After living in New Orleans after the hurricane, I didn't have much of a choice as to how I would fix my hair everyday; hence, the small ponytail/bun that has essentially formed into a few dreadlocks. I love it! It's a bit freeing---no more conditioner, hairdryers, or straightners! Again, being the observant girls that they are, (especially with two cool girls like me and Ali, haha!), a few decided to step out in faith and take that next step. Deanna and Rachel began the process and the dreads seemed to be forming well and quickly. However, our two little friends grew quite impatient and decided that they couldn't handle it. SAD! They looked awesome! But, I guess it's a little freightning to think about having to cut all of your hair off OR having some random "friends" in your hair (spiders are BAD in Mexico). :)
Knitting:
And the third step to the dirty kid syndrome, especially for those who experience cold weather quite often and sometimes unexpectedly. It got down to the mid 30's here the other day, and not having heat in a completely concrete building = no showers for anyone! So, the girls decided that I would teach them to knit scarves. Deanna, Danielle, and Katie were fast and eager learners. Danielle was so eager that she even knit with school yarn and pens, haha!!
Now that's dedication!
Well, I don't know if you would say that Ali and I are good influences/disciplers or not, but I think teaching a little bit of simplicity can go a long way in life.
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Posted on 2/2/2006
This morning during worship/debrief time with the FYM group, we began talking and praying about Sudan/Uganda/Kenya because we watched "Hotel Rwanda" last night. In the midst of this precious, intense time, someone mentioned the fact that these people, now, have open eyes and hearts to know and receive Christ. This automatically reverted my mind back to New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina. I remember thinking that same thought about the people of New Orleans and then I got to actually see it happen. I've never seen so many hardened hearts become so soft and receptive. God also laid heavily on my heart the verses he showed me during that time, Joshua 1:9, 15-16, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go...You are to help your brothers until the Lord gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you east of the Jordan towards the sunrise. Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go." And earlier, before worship/debrief, I read Genesis 28:15, "All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."
My prayer:
That God would continue to confirm Africa in my heart or give me guidance/discernment elsewhere.
Continue to let me hear your voice, gracious Father.
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Posted on 2/2/2006
Having worked at Starbucks in the past, one can become quite a coffee snob. Or for those of you who have "the Buck" (as Ali and I like to call it), on every corner, could say the same. Either way, being here in
Mexico, drinking only Folgers, can make that craving for Starbucks greatly intensify! But, I guess I'm just glad for coffee
at all! Okay, so right across the border, Ali and I found this shell of a Starbucks with a sign out front that said, "Coming Soon!" We drove by in anticipation of its opening but also with a feeling of sadness at being SO close, yet, still SO far away. So, it was back to the ole Folgers. The next week, Ali and I attempted to cross the border again in search for the Buck, only to find the same shell and the same disappointing sign. :( By this time, I had grown to like (okay, like is a bit of a strong word...but couldn't think of another one; suggestions welcome!) Folgers and Ali was stuck on drinking hot chocolate for her caffeine "fix" BUT this did not lessen our cravings for (me) a tall cup of Guatemalan Antigua or a (Ali) tall non-fat latte with caramel sauce on top and a blueberry scone for the both of us.
Okay, so, the third week's a charm, or at least we were hoping! We wake up and unexpectedly have to cross the border again due to having to take one of the FYM girls to the hospital. While waiting with her and getting her all checked in, she told us she was going to sleep if we wanted to go run some errands. The first thing that popped in our minds was, "Let's go see if Starbucks is open!" As we turned down the road that it's on, we began praying, "Oh God, please let the Buck be open. It would make our day, our week even! Thank You, Amen!"
 As it slowly crept up on us, we saw people sitting outside. Then, we saw a big sign that said, "Drive-Thru, now open." We started laughing like little kids because we realized our prayers had been answered! But, even better than the drive-thru....it was GRAND OPENING DAY!!!! WOOHOO! So, Ali and I rushed inside, ordered our coffees and scones (and a few extra scones for the next morning) and sat in 2 big comfy chairs and enjoyed two of the best cups of coffee and scones! :) During that time, one of the baristas was walking around handing out free coffee samples. When she came over to us, we told her that we had been living in
Mexico for the past 3 weeks and we were SO excited about them being open. Basically, we flipped out and we blamed it on the caffeine rush, ha! So, after making her take a picture with me, she gave us like 6 bags of coffee and 2 travel mugs----I guess it pays to be cheesy and nice :) Isn't life grand! haha!
Well, after our little rendezvous at Starbucks, Ali and I made our way back to the hospital to get Vanessa, the FYM'er. After spending 7 hours there, we were finally getting ready to leave when, all of a sudden, I hear a man's voice asking us about our friend (Vanessa). I slowly turn around and it's this sweet, tall black man standing in the next room across from us. I just started laughing and almost ran up to him and hugged him and thanked him for being black. Okay okay okay....you're probably wondering, "what in the world is Kristin thinking?!?" Well, let me back up for a minute: earlier this same morning, I was up on the roof (kinda like in my picture ) just journaling and praying about
Africa. Well, half-way joking, I told God if He wanted me to go to Africa, to show me a black man (seeing a black person in
Mexico or
South Texas is like seeing a monkey on a bus). And, lo and behold, I saw the sweetest one ever later that day! Don't you just love God's sense of humor! I sure do! :)
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Posted on 2/2/2006
so please be patient with me! i know i'm bad at this blogging stuff...but i promise....sometime today there will be a new blog with stories and many pictures! :) love you all and thanks for reading!
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Posted on 1/25/2006
What in the world....who ever would have thought I'd be in Mexico for three weeks! CRAZINESS!!! but good and restful, which is EXACTLY what I've needed. Man, these First Year Missionary kids are awesome and on fire for the Lord. It's so great and refreshing to see how God is working in their lives. Ali and I have become head chefs for them over the past two weeks. It's been quite a fun experience. We even cooked our very first pizzas, FROM SCRATCH, last night and I must say...they were quite tasty :) They ranged from pepporonni, to cheese, to veggie....yummy!!! They are trying to convince us to stay. uh oh! Well, since we've been here, we've had a lot of time to just rest with God. We've done everything from reading on the roof, praying on the trampoline, to worshipping with the FYM teams. We've also done a bit of ministry stuff such as going to this landfill where people live and praying for people as we pass out bread. Today Ali and I are joining one of the FYM teams and going to an orphanage to play with kids!!! I'm super pumped!
We've also managed to have some fun in the midst of rest. We traveled to the States twice to have some good old fashioned American food (okay, so it was Italian once and Mexican once, but who cares....haha!). We also went to the mall twice to have lattes and cookies....YUMMY! It was soooo good and needed! Back in Matamoros, we've also had some downtime to get out and venture around town. It's quite funny considering that Ali and I combined know the equivalent of like 10 spanish words hahaha! The kids sent us off on a bus to get to the market and a coffee shop, and we wound up like a mile away from our stop, kinda lost, but in a good lost kinda way haha. We ended up at a different coffee shop and a different market. so it was fun! we made it a day of lattes and food and browsing.
well, we're both still praying for discernment and guidance from the Lord as to what to do next. Ali is definitely going on to Africa and I'm still not sure where the Lord has me. But i've come to realize that He doesn't care WHERE I go, but what I do. As long as what i'm doing is FOR HIM, He says I can go wherever and He will go with me.
okay, well, for pictures and better stories, click on Ali's blog and you'll probably get a better idea of what we've been doing! :) Adios amigos!
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Posted on 1/21/2006
well, i'm okay! actually, i'm great! i'm sitting here in matamoros, mexico and it's raining cats and dogs.....for the first time in 2 weeks! so i can't stay here and write too much or else i'll be swallowed up by the mud! anyways, God was calling me to just rest after 4 months of going going going...so, that's exactly what i'm doing! i've stayed behind to REST! praise the Lord for it! i'll give more details SOON! thanks for praying for me!
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Posted on 1/14/2006
we've been in mexico a week now and it seems like a month. the days have been filled pretty much with speakers praying over us and teaching us and a bit of running around doing last minute things (Wal-Mart, mostly, haha) before the big day comes...tomorrow. tomorrow we get to wake up at 5am (blahblahblah) and hit the road to race to Vera Cruz. from there i think we're climbing a volcano and then racing to guatemala. man oh man.....what joy 2 days in a 1985 suburban will bring! haha ;) well....i guess that's where ipods come in handy! (hopefully!) alright....i'm sure i'll have LOTS more to say after the next 2 days. until then.....
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