Are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?

Tonight we’re headed to join the masses at the movie theatre to see Twilight, so I am currently pondering the same thought running through the heads of countless teenage girls at this very moment – Am I “Team Edward” or “Team Jacob?”

Yes, I’ll admit that I am a Twilight fan. No, I do not have a Robert Pattinson poster above my bed or a picture of a shirtless Taylor Lautner as my screen saver, but I obviously care enough to know the actor’s names. Rest assured, though, I am not the only non-teenage fan. In fact, according to this article, some women out there are just as obsessed as the teen/tween girls I know. So obsessed that they have Web sites like www.twilightmoms.com devoted to the vampire book and movie series. And I’m willing to bet that some of these ladies actually do have posters and shirtless pictures. Without a doubt.

Obsession and hysteria over under-age boys? I think I’ll pass.

Well-written books with a great screenplay adaptation? I’m in!

I’ll let you know soon if New Moon sways me from Team Edward to Team Jacob. I know – you’ll be waiting with bated breath.

-Laura

If You Wonder What Youth Ministry is like…

Here’s a taste.

-Micah

Groovin’

Good news – after seven years together, we’re still not sick of each other! Ha ha! Our “dating anniversary” was last week. It still seems like not that long ago that we were sitting on the couch in the living room of Micah’s college apartment just after midnight having the “DTR” chat (that’s Define The Relationship, for all you uncool people). And still to this day, we debate whether our anniversary is technically the 20^th or 21^st, since it was so close to midnight. You know it must be wedded bliss when you can argue about the little happy things!

Enough with the sentimental stuff…

As part of our “staycation” a couple of weeks ago, we took a day trip to the quaint town of Brenham, Texas. Since it’s only about 1.5 hours away, I would still count it as part of the stay-at-home vacation. For all of you Louisiana folks, think of it as St. Francisville without the plantations. It is an adorable small town with several cutesy restaurants and quite a few antique shops. We fit in a leisurely lunch and some store browsing, but then headed to the main attraction – the Bluebell Ice Cream Factory! The 30 minute tour was a lot of fun for us first-timers, as we got to see the ice cream production process. Probably the coolest part was watching them make ice cream sandwiches. The day even provided a flashback for Micah, who worked briefly at Dreyer’s Ice Cream factory early in his college years. It definitely gave my sweet tooth a deep desire for a cold treat, so we were thrilled to discover that the tour ended with a free scoop of your favorite Bluebell flavor. It was the freshest tasting ice cream we have ever eaten!

Yes, we even got to wear cool hats. Jealous?

This past weekend was Fallapalooza, Micah’s major fall event for the Tallowood middle schoolers. This was something totally new that he created to replace the annual middle school retreat, an event that couldn’t quite come together because of budget constraints. What a huge success! A week before Fallapalooza, 40 middle schoolers had signed up. By the time the doors closed last Friday night, more than 130 students were in our youth building! Teenagers are always so last minute. The students played laser tag on-site in one of the church buildings, dodging behind inflatable barricades and existing doors and furniture. They loved it! The simple thrill of getting to play no-holds-bar in an area that is usually off limits to their routine activity was major excitement for these guys. Very fun for us old farts to watch!

Did I mention there was a 70’s theme? We’re not just a very groovy church… The addition of Beatles Rock Band certainly completed the retro theme!

-Laura

Gators, Grandmas and a “Stay-cation”

Have you ever heard of a “stay-cation?” They are actually becoming quite popular these days as the recession is taking its toll on people’s discretionary income. As I’m sure it is not too difficult to figure out, a “stay-cation” is basically a vacation at home.

We are currently enjoying our own “stay-cation” with a little mid-day blogging, DVR watching, walking, talking and seminary. It’s so nice to both be home!

In all actuality, I guess we may not qualify for complete “stay-cation” status, as we have been out of town half of the week. Too bad, I’m still claiming it… We actually settled back into our house yesterday after spending a long weekend in Baton Rouge. Micah headed to Louisiana as planned Thursday night, but I had to stay behind for a last minute appointment on Friday afternoon. Riding in two cars was not ideal, but it was worth it. The torrential downpour that stuck with me throughout the entire five hour lonely car ride was also not ideal, but I made it safe and sound.

Good thing I did, too, because I arrived in Baton Rouge to discover that some amazing friends had offered us a couple of LSU vs. Florida tickets!! I think Micah about soiled his shorts when he found out. These tickets were going for hundreds of dollars on the Internet, but they offered them to us at no charge. The generosity of some people astounds me!

As I’m sure you all know by now, the outcome of the game did not go as hoped, but we still had a blast. The record Tiger Stadium crowd of 93,129 was electric. And I wouldn’t be surprised if there were half a million people on campus that day tailgating! In all my years as a Tiger fan, this was the worst traffic and the most people I have ever seen at LSU. There was also an incredible energy in the air! We got to enjoy some gator jambalaya, run into old friends and watch Tiger Band march down the hill. If only the Tigers had an offense…

After gameday, we had the opportunity for some family time. We visited with my parents, brother and grandmother. Then Monday we caught up with Micah’s grandma and aunt at Coffee Call.

We fit in a little time with Istrouma folks too, spending our first Sunday at our home church in over a year. It was nice to catch up with people, and then to celebrate with some students at Madeline’s birthday party that night. Good times, good times!

Now we’re back at home with the windows shuttered enjoying our little “trip.” I guess I better return to avoiding outside contact with the world…

-Laura

Apologies

Apparently the very nature of blogging is to be dedicated for a period of time and then lose track for awhile; only to continuously repeat this cycle. Well, I’m getting back in the groove now. Sorry it’s been so long!

We have been in and out of town lately, driving back and forth to Louisiana. Micah has had some classes in NOLA, so we have become all too familiar with the Texas to Louisiana stretch of I-10. But it’s been nice to visit family and friends.

Speaking of friends, two of ours are getting married tomorrow night on a ranch in Ledbetter, TX, so we’re having a very “countrified” weekend. Too bad neither of us own cowboy boots… We’re not very good at being Texans!

This week, we’ll be attending a youth ministry conference in Houston. Soon after that, we’ll be back in Baton Rouge. Micah is currently attempting to auction off our cat for tickets to the LSU vs. Florida game. Somehow I think we’re out of luck! We’ll be in town for that game, though, so if you happen to have two extra tickets to the biggest game of the season, give us a call!!!

-Laura

A crew we will never forget

A couple of weekends ago, we got a big treat as some of our Istrouma girls came to visit! I taught these girls in a Sunday small group for several years while they were in middle school. I even coached some of them in 6^th and 7^th grade basketball at St. Luke’s. And now, they’re all grown up! Seriously, we can’t believe they are in 10^th grade now. The best part is that over the years, we’ve watched them grow even closer together as a group – a built-in support system of life-long friends.

 

 

It was wonderful to hear where these girls are now in life, and what all God is doing in them.

We filled the weekend with talking and shopping. Friday, we went to Katy Mills Mall for dinner and store browsing before spending hours playing Catchphrase. Of course, Catchphrase always leaves you with a few memorable outbursts…

Rebekah:  “An ugly cupcake! An ugly cupcake!”

(loooong pause)

Somebody:  “A muffin?”

Rebekah:  “YES!”

 

One of the girls:  “SHE played the wife of that guy on Cheaper By the Dozen!”

Natalie (I think):  “Ashton Kutcher??”

 

Rebekah:  “The opposite of ALLOWED (a loud) fruit!”

Me:  “A quiet fruit?”

(buzzer)

Me:  “Wait, what was the answer?”

Rebekah:  “Forbidden fruit!”

There were lots of others. All credit goes to my sister and brother in law for introducing us to that game. We’ve had a ton of fun playing with adults and students alike!

Saturday we headed to the teenage Mecca of Houston – the Galleria. After a number of hours shopping, we checked out the ice rink and found it a little too crowded. Determined to still have our fun, we headed to Memorial City Mall to enjoy some skating.

Then Micah, Randy and Jessica headed to an Astros game while we girls headed to a dinner theatre. We saw Julie and Julia at Studio Movie Grill where they serve you dinner while you watch.

After the movie, we hung out in our youth building for awhile. It was an odd phenomenon for us to see our students from Baton Rouge enjoying our Houston student building!

We wrapped up the night with some Guitar Hero and more talking.

The girls joined us for church the next morning and then we devoured some Pappasito’s for lunch.

It was extremely hard to say good-bye to these girls who mean so much to me. I have watched them grow up and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for them in the years to come. God has blessed them with beauty, brains and dynamic personalities. Although I’m sad not to be able to watch them grow day to day, it thrills me to hear how well they are doing and how close knit they are staying.

Other people we respect in ministry have told us repeatedly that your first crew of students will be ones you never forget. They will be life-long friends and people you keep up with as they grow into adults. I pray hard that this will come true with these girls.  Love you all (even the ones who didn’t get to come to H-Town)!!!

-Laura

The Holy Land, Part III

Our second week in Israel was spent “blessing the Holy Land.” Our crew of four adults, three graduated senior girls, three junior boys and one sophomore boy headed to the city of Haifa. Haifa is the third largest city in Israel and it is positioned right on the beautiful Mediterranean.

We worked with a messianic Jewish congregation in the suburb of Quirat Yam called Tents of Mercy.

Throughout the week we sorted food in their pantry, separated tea bags, babysat, organized a library and sorted clothing in their distribution center.

 

We also spent the majority of two days working in a former bomb shelter. The building is in an area known as “Little Texas,” named for the high crime rates, which the Israelis relate to the Old West they have seen in movies. The nickname really amused our majority native Texan group! While the bomb shelter was once used to protect people during the most recent Lebanon war and then used as a daycare, it was now being used as a center for troubled teen girls. Our challenge was to clean and update this bare-bones building into a place where young girls would want to hang out.

Overall, the week of work was amazing. We got to invest in an already established ministry, and hopefully help them expand their reach in the community.

In between projects, we enjoyed our downtime at the beach. Life is tough when you’re watching the sun set from the shores of the gorgeous Mediterranean, right?

At the end of the week, we took in the sights from the top of Mount Carmel. We visited the spot that is believed to be where Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18). Micah read the story to us from his Bible as we looked out over the mountainside. It was another moment to remember!

After that, we shopped in the marketplace and took a look at the beautiful Baha’i Temple and Gardens.

On our last day with Tents of Mercy, we attended their Shabbat service. We wore headphones to listen to the English translation of the Hebrew service. Many others heard the Russian translation in their headphones, as Haifa has a large population of Russian immigrants. The service was beautiful, passionate and long! After three hours, though, we said a sad goodbye to our new friends and headed off for our very long journey home.

Overall, it was the trip of a lifetime!

-Laura

The Holy Land, Part II

Our touring continued with two days in Jerusalem, seeing as much as possible. First stop: the Mount of Olives.

The view from the Mount of Olives was breathtaking. We got an aerial view of the Temple Mount and our first good look at many of the Holy City’s sites. The largest Jewish cemetery in the world is on the Mount of Olives, across from a large Muslim cemetery. Scripture says that Jesus will return to the Mount of Olives, enter the Temple Mount through the Eastern Gate and reclaim His earthly throne. Muslims believe that a Jewish Messiah will not defile himself by walking through a Muslim graveyard. That combined with the bricked over gate should stop him, right?

While on the top of the Mount of Olives, we had the opportunity to ride a camel! He was a very odd creature, but it was a fun ride.

We journeyed down the steep mountain to the Garden of Gethsemane. Our first stop was the beautiful Church of the Nations, with its intricate mural. From its front steps, we had a perfect view of the Eastern Gate. We then walked into the garden and saw 2,000 year old olive trees in the area where Jesus prayed the night before his crucifixion.

At the Israel Museum, we saw several of the Dead Sea Scrolls (no pictures allowed) and a giant model of Jerusalem as it would have looked in Jesus’ time. The gigantic replica of Herod’s temple really brought to life what is very specifically described in scripture.

The Garden Tomb is one of the two sites thought to be the spot where Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected. The face you see in the hill side is Golgotha. At the base of the hill is where most protestants believe the crucifixion took place. That place today is marked by an operating Muslim bus station. Ironic? We toured what is believed to be Joseph of Arimathea’s garden, which is very obviously the garden of a very rich man. A tomb was found there with evidence of one person being buried, but no remains were found. We had communion at the side of the tomb, which was yet another memorable moment!

 

We began our last day of touring with a bang at the Temple Mount. We went through extremely tight security, got an overhead view of the Western Wall and then walked onto the Temple Mount. It was incredible! The Dome of the Rock is beautiful

We walked through Hezekiah’s Tunnel in the City of David, written about in 2 Chronicles.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the Catholic location of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection. The church is beautiful with gorgeous Catholic mosaics. The line for the actual tomb wrapped around the entire huge church.

Before wrapping up the day, we strolled up the newly excavated Southern Steps. This was the main entrance to the temple during Jesus’ time, meaning that without a doubt He would have preached on these very steps!

Our final stop in Jerusalem was back at the top of the Mount of Olives. There, we prayed together as a large group one last time before splitting into our service teams. As we prayed, one of the afternoon Muslim calls to prayer rang out loudly. It was a reminder of the difficulties we would face as we went out to minister to the Israeli people.

After we split, our team headed to Haifa for a week. That’s a story for another post…

-Laura

The Holy Land, Part I

In the midst of all these June and early July activities, we were meeting, preparing and praying about our trip to Israel. The weekend immediately following HP&L was a busy one, with our final Israel Saturday morning meeting and our commissioning service. That Tuesday, we were off!

The 16 hour flight was rough, especially when the food made Micah sick. But when we got there it was unreal! We stepped off the plane in Tel Aviv and drove straight to Galilee. That is, after going through customs and scary security. And waiting about an hour for our friend and Micah’s summer intern, Peter, to get out of the customs holding pen. Apparently an “Iraq” stamp on your passport makes Israeli security VERY nervous.

We headed straight to the Sea of Galilee where we were staying at Kibbutz Ginosaur. A kibbutz is a farming community, and this one doubled as our hotel. Let me reiterate that first point – we were staying on the shores of the Sea of Galilee! Where Jesus walked on water. Where Jesus called several of his disciples. Crazy!

 

It would be pretty hard to tell you everything about every site we visited, but I’ll do my best through pictures.

 

Our first stop was Tel Dan, where the tribe of Dan would have settled. A tel is a city built on top of a city, built on top of a city. We walked down a hill and saw layers from the time of Jeroboam, then Abraham and then Ruth and Boaz.

The next stop was Ceaserea Philipi where we saw remains from a temple to the pagan god Pan and a Herodian temple.

Then we visited Capernum, the center of Jesus’ ministry. We walked through the remains of a synagogue where Jesus preached and Peter’s house.

We wrapped up our first day of touring with a quick stop at the Jesus boat exhibit, and then off on a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. It was an experience we’ll never forget, as we took in the gorgeous sites, perfect weather and significance of our location! Some of our students played the Darabuca drums, while the rest of us danced to Hebrew worship songs. A few of our most talented guys even treated us to some break dancing.

The next day, we stayed in the Sea of Galilee area with stops at the Mount of Beatitudes and Peter’s Primacy Chapel. At the Mount of Beatitudes, our tour guide showed us a certain spot in the hillside overlooking the sea where the acoustics are amazing. The spot now overlooks a grove of thousands of banana trees. Our guide told us to imagine that each tree was a person listening to Yeshua preach the Sermon on the Mount. An incredible image!   

 

At Peter’s Primacy Chapel, we walked on the site where it is believed that Jesus fed the 5,000 with only a few loaves of bread and some fish. At this exact spot in the Sea of Galilee, there are seven springs, making it ideal for fisherman. This is likely the spot where Jesus called several of his disciples and where he later told them to cast their empty nets on the other side of the boat to find the fish. And, of course, while we stood in the Sea of Galilee we could not help but remember that on this same body of water, Jesus walked on top of the waves!

Next we went to Kefar Kedem, an Orthodox Jewish community. Our guide, Mike, helped us dress in Biblical period clothing and then led us to a threshing floor. We learned how to separate the wheat from the chaff and then made our own flatbread. After devouring our fresh bread, we ate the best meal of the entire trip underneath a canopy of grapevines and a thatched roof. We then hopped on a donkey and took a ride! I couldn’t help feeling a little like Joseph and Mary as Micah led me and the donkey down the path.

One stop we had been looking forward to all week was the Dead Sea. Surely it could not be as amazing as people described it to be. It wasn’t – it was better! The sensation of floating on top of the water without trying is indescribable. We even floated out to deeper waters and stood upright – with no ground beneath our feet!

Our final destination of the day was to head up to Jerusalem. We drove from the lowest point on Earth, the Dead Sea, to the highest location in Israel, Jerusalem. So we literally drove “up.” Our guide had been giving us info about the areas surrounding Jerusalem and then she turned on some Hebrew worship songs. We silently passed through a large tunnel and as we emerged, the bus rang with a collective gasp. Immediately to our left was the skyline of God’s chosen city with the gleaming Dome of the Rock at its center, all set in front of the sinking sun. It was a glorious site to behold, and one we won’t soon forget!

And that was just the first three days!!

-Laura

Summer 2009

Whew! What a crazy summer! We have been completely negligent of our blog, but now we’re back with lots to catch you up on.

The summer officially started with the Middle School Lock-in in May. Then the time for camp quickly arrived… and that’s where we fell off the blog wagon. Camp Tallowood 2009 was amazing, but it really feels like ages ago.

Micah with some of our graduating seniors as we waited for the buses of other students to arrive.

The 6th grade boys compete for their first time in Acquire the Tire!

My tribe, Benjamin, throws up their wolve sign during the Tribal Shout after telling the story of the prophet Joel.

The Issachar tribe got the prophet Micah, so their shout included a couple of familiar characters, played by Grace and Joseph.

A few of my awesome girls!! Charlotte and Mary Katherine are a couple of 6th graders who were in my room, and Katy is one of our graduated senior girls.

Soon after camp was HP&L, our middle school in-Houston mission trip (Hopefully that will be getting a new name next year. It just confuses a lot of people!). Micah and I took our students all around Houston doing random acts of kindness, a vacation Bible school, sorting Food Bank donations and working at a homeless shelter. We also hosted the 8^th grade girls at our house. They were wild, and a whole bunch of fun. Especially on our late-night Katy site-seeing trip.

All of us at the Houston Food Bank

Music time during the VBS the students led at an apartment complex.

Addie and her new friend Gia during VBS.

Rec time during VBS.

Tuesday Pool Party!

Alicia, Kate and Kayla at the homeless shelter where we cleaned more than 300 beds, replaced pillows and mattresses and made cards for the residents.

Our HP&L crew of middle schoolers and sponsors!

So that was the first half of the summer. Much more to come about Israel and other stuff soon…  

-Laura