Friday, April 29, 2011

Reflection: Russia {and other ramblings}

What a week! My "baby" brother AJ turned 21 this week. I FINALLY caught up to the age of technology we live in and upgraded to a smartphone. I had a terrible stomach bug for three days this week- that hasn't happened since middle school! My Grandpa (who already doesn't have good health) is in the hospital again. There was a Royal Wedding (always enchanting to see those lovely events that take the world by storm) and there was a an unbelievably devastating wave of tornadoes that made its way through the Midwest and South. The Space Shuttle Endeavor was supposed to be launched for the last time today, but the launch was scrubbed. My Tampa Bay Rays are on a HOT streak and swept the Minnesota Twins this week. {I say this all so I can use this as a bookmark of sorts in the future for my personal reference in my blogging history.}

Onto the MAIN purpose of this post:

I love reflecting. In my 24 years, I've done an awful lot. I live such a blessed life! The Good Lord really has blessed me and given me so many neat opportunities to serve and to be served, to explore and to have adventure, to share and to see. One of the things I love most is looking back on my adventures and travels and reliving them.

With spring break season wrapping up, I was thinking about the spring breaks I've had over the years. Annually, I look forward to spring break, for the wonderful week off of school. Usually, my adventurous self does something fun! One of the most memorable spring break weeks was when I spent my break in Russia in 2007. As a Missions major at The Baptist College of Florida, I did get class credit for the trip. But it was about more than that. The trip was about sharing Jesus Christ's love with people who live in a cold, frozen, forgotten land in the rugged Ural mountains of Russia. To show young people that there was hope when they thought there was none. While most of our peers were soaking up the sun at the beach in sunny Florida, my teammates and I traded the sun and sand for clouds and snow. And it was totally worth it.

We fed teenagers living on the streets to get away from abusive, alcoholic parents. We told Bible stories and shared love and joy with kids in orphanages. We taught conversational English classes in some high schools and colleges. We prayer walked, encouraged some local Christian leaders, and we of course got some sightseeing and cultural experiences in, like straddling the border of Europe and Asia!



If you've never ridden a Moscow subway (and you're not claustrophobic), make sure you put it on your bucket list! You'll never experience anything else like it!




The Kremlin and part of Red Square in Moscow. (We had a day's layover in Moscow on our way to Ekaterinburg in the Urals, so we got a little sightseeing in.)















Our team and some of the homeless teenagers who live on and under the streets. We fed them hot soup and hot tea and talked to them, just trying to share the love of Christ. The two guys in the front row kneeling (wearing the black beanies and matching jackets) run a ministry that feeds these kids every week and builds relationships with them. Since we visited in '07, the ministry has exploded and they have seen many people come to Christ and have changed lives!















Here I am talking to some girls in one of our English classes. We circulated around the room to different groups, and they got to ask us all sorts of questions. They were all enthralled with our American lifestyles! Two of these three girls were teen moms.















Our team with a new friend! We were prayer walking, she heard us speaking English and stopped us to talk for a while! It was a great conversation!


If you have ever traveled abroad, gone on a mission trip, or had a fun adventure with family or friends, take some time to relive those moments! Look through a few pictures, daydream a bit about your fun time, and be thankful for the opportunity.

Memory Lane is now open!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!










Christ the Lord is Risen! He is not in the tomb!
Jesus overcame death! The victory is His!

Our traditional Easter family picture after church....

Friday, April 22, 2011

Journey to the Cross

Today is Good Friday. What does this day mean to you? What does it mean to most people?

This is what Good Friday means to me.....







Pretty heavy stuff. Praise God for sending His Son Jesus to die a death not deserved! He did it to pay my debt of sin that I owed, but couldn't pay. You can't pay the debt you owe, either. And we all owe a debt because we sin.

This is the message that I shared tonight at Journey to the Cross, an interactive walk and "tour" through Jerusalem as it would have been the week Jesus died. (The week we now refer to as "Holy Week" - Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday.)















Here is a photo of most of the cast from tonight.




















This is my Dad. He was the Centurion who stood at the cross and told the story of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. If there had been voting, he would have won for best dressed and for best story. He was great! I was the character at the stop on the tour after his, and many people came to my stop very emotional. It was a very realistic portrayal.

As we celebrate this holiday weekend, remember that it's more than just another "holiday" with time off of school and work. Jesus died... but then HE AROSE! Jesus isn't dead! He lives! That's something to celebrate on Easter!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Reflection: National JOSC

In a "previous life" (read: the teenage years) I was an accomplished sport pistol shooter. I still enjoy picking up my guns and having fun at the range. But for several years, I practiced daily. I gave up weekends to go to matches and competitions all over the state of Florida. I was pretty good. (I used to Google myself to look up match scores and see my name in rankings published around the internet.) It became a prideful thing, and I knew that ultimately it wasn't my life's calling. So I gave up my Olympic dream. But not before I made it to the National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships three times during my high school years. 


















[Above, you see me on the line at the OTC and sitting happy in my Olympic dream.]

I'm recalling this now because currently it's the week before Easter. And one year, my family sat in an airport on Easter Sunday because we were returning from the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs after one of my matches. I am so thankful for my family and for what they mean to me! My parents totally supported my sport of choosing, to the point of paying for my expensive hobby, and turning a trip out West into a family vacation so we could all be together on Easter, even if it meant being in airports and on planes. 














Through all the craziness of each of our lives, my family is a constant. I don't deserve the amazing people that God has blessed me with. Thank you, Jesus!

Well, from thoughts on Easter, to shooting, to family... that's my life. I love it.

Monday, April 18, 2011

What a Weekend!

This weekend was certainly an interesting one! For most of the weekend, we didn't have internet, cable TV, or our home phone! Today they finally got it working again for us. Phew! It's challenging to function without e-mail these days.

On Saturday, it was RAYS game time! I'm a Major League Baseball addict, as ya'll know. The Rays are my AL team, and Saturday was the first game I've made it to this season! The Rays were playing the Twins. We were quite the whole motley crew!















AJ really had to concentrate on taking this picture!
(From top to bottom) Pastor Greg, Sue, Kristi, Me, and AJ!

Kristi and I are big Evan Longoria fans. (Who isn't?!) Evan's on the DL right now, but he was presented with his Gold Glove award from last season. We were pretty excited to be there for that, since I hadn't even realized the presentation would be that day!















The game ended with a walk-off win! Johnny Damon came up with a hit at the perfect time, bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th! GO RAYS! (Our cowbells were clanging loudly at that point!)















Here you see the team mobbing Damon after he rounded first base.

I'm sure I'll be heading down to the Trop for more games this season, but the first one of the season is usually the sweetest!

Friday, April 15, 2011

It's a blog! By Rebekah!

That's right, I'm blogging. Again. Once upon a time (when I was a college freshman) I had a blog. A Xanga. That lasted all of about 10 days, I think.

There are lots of people in my life that blog, and I aspire to be like them. (Check out my Aunt Linda's great family blog here. Aunt Cheryl's blog is cool, too! Then there's my fabulous friend Johnnie-Ann's political blog that absolutely rocks, even though she should update it with a new post.) I've had people suggest to me that I blog since my life is quite the adventure. So, I'm going to give it a shot. Rebekah's life is now a blog for the world to see. I plan on posting regularly. Get ready for it... it's gonna be grand!

Enjoy!