WE ARE CHOSEN BY GOD

Hello! I hope everyone is having a great week!! God has blessed me very much and I just wanted to share!

First, every Monday night we have a bible study for girls in our apartment. Megan, J'Lae, Jasmin (a college age girl), and I all switch off teaching or leading the group. Some hopes and purposes for the group are to 1)unite the girls from the church, 2)answer questions/ teach things they want and need to know, 3)bring in new people, 4)and have fun! We usually have about 10 people that come and sometimes more! Just this last Monday I got to lead the group. Us "leaders" had just decided to teach about different women of the bible. There are a lot of admirable women in the bible that are good examples! I chose Lydia in Acts 16:11-15. Even though there is so little about her, we can still learn a lot from God in her story! One thing from the story that stood out to me is in verse 14, "The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message". (NIV) Just like God chose Lydia in the story, God has chosen us!! In Romans 9 Paul talks about God's election, "Not only that, but Rebekah's children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad–in order that God's purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls–she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all!For he says to Moses,“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy.For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?”
But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath–prepared for destruction?What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory–even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?" ( http://blueletterbible.org/ )

So, God decided to show mercy and compassion to you and me!! We have purpose and we are chosen!! The gospel really is Good News!

Here are some admirable qualities I see in Lydia:

• hard worker
• worshiper of God
• hospitable
• good listener
• she was chosen by God!

I also thought it was cool in the story of Lydia how the disciples (Paul, Luke, Silas, and Timothy) preaching the good news were used by God! "On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there". (v. 13-14) They weren't even looking for people, but were seeking to spend time with God in prayer. When we are seeking God he will use us!

Second, we were invited to go to a river an hour outside of Leon by a family in the church. It was a good time to fellowship and enjoy God's beauty!

J'Lae, Megan, and I

Alondra and J'Lae

Carmen and her girls (Pau and Abby) along with their cousin Jorge

Jorge and Pau eating some delicious watermelon!


the river and rock walls. it was gorgeous!!

And finally, the breakfast we had with our guys.
Monday morning the guy's apartment was being fumigated. So they bought some food and came over!! It was a fun morning. Bill made chocolate-chip pancakes, I cooked bacon, and J'Lae made scrambled eggs! We enjoy hanging out together as a team!

Megan, Bill (with juice), Tyler, Ben (with syrup), and J'Lae.

Bill and his smiley plate of food!

Ben and his smiley chocolate-chip pancake.

Us, minus J'Lae (taking the picture).

Our teammate, Ben, will be the first to leave on September the 8th. Please pray for him as he will be saying goodbye to family here and returning to Alaska to work with his church there. We love Ben!

Please continue to pray for the work here in Leon and the spiritual growth of the church!! God is continually adding to it's number here in Leon!

PS. Thanks to Omar for his class on Romans!

Happenings of late

So I would like to share some of what has been going on . From the 21st to 28th of July I took a week-long trip to the states to see two of my friends get married. My long-time good friend, Lauren (Sanders) Johnston, from school got married Sat. the 26th! It was a blast to be a part of her wedding because she is so much fun! She is always smiling and really sweet and because of that she has a ton of friends. I was blessed to be her Maid of Honor and really enjoyed sharing in her special day! The other friend, Kielle (Holt) Smith, I have known for a while, but we really didn't become friends until a few years back. Her wedding was the following day on Sun. the 27th. She is really sweet and has a desire to please God! Her wedding was beautiful and I'm glad I was able to be there! While I was there I also got to see some of my grandparents, a lot of good friends from high school, visit my home-church, and visit some of my supporters and friends. I really enjoyed my week there even though is was so short.

On the 28th of July my dad traveled back with me to Leon to visit where I live and work serving God with my team in Leon, GTO, MX. He had nearly two weeks here and it was cool for him to see and experience for himself this part of the world. And now for the pictures!



My grandparents who live in Seminole, TX. Elvoy and Peggy Thomason.



Lauren and I right before the wedding!



Kielle and her husband, Chris Smith, right after the ceremony!



Yes, I know this is gross, but it's an authentic part of the experience of a market in Mexico!



Hahaha!



My dad helping little kids at a VBS we had at the church. It was a really good turnout and a lot of kids from the children's home we work with got to come too! It was cool seeing my dad help out even though the language barrier is there!



Some kids at the VBS!



My dad and I near some campgrounds outside of Leon.



My dad and I when our team went bowling with Omar and Tana!

I hope y'all are having a great week!

So I thought I would update picture style again! My brother, Zeke, came to visit and here are some things we did together and events that happened while he was here.



He got to be there on a Sunday see the building we use and meet people from the church!


We ate some good Mexican food!


We went to visit Guanajuato, a turist city about an hour away.


We rode some buses! This is Tyler, Baron (who also came to visit), Donovan, and Zeke!


Gabi, Fernanda, and Jorge decided to put on Christ through baptism!!


Gabi about to go under!


Zeke, Roberto Rubio, David, and J'Lae at a small group



I actually didn't realize my brother would be here for the fourth of July until after he arrived! We went to a waterpark outside of Leon called "Splash" to celebrate, swim, and grill!



grillin' and eatin'


chillin'


Kason swimmin'


Maicah going down the slide!


Shawn and Barb!


Me and J'Lae


And my brother at the end of the day...I think he was a little worn out!
Well, I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Love your sister in Christ,
Annie

So here is some of what has been going on around here from May and June:




We went ice-skating with some of the youth!



Fabiola's Birthday! She is 21! We had a surprise party for her!



Fabiola, Alondra, and Ivan



Having fun playing "duck, duck, goose" at the chilren's home!



We celebrated Tana's Birthday on the 12th of June!

One Year!!!

Yesterday was our one year anniversary for my team. A year ago yesterday we walked off a plane into a place called "Leon", not knowing very much Spanish and having no idea what we were getting ourselves into! And now, here we are working and growing! Praise God for a good/crazy/fun/hard/unforgettable year!!

the welcome sign they made for us!!

us three girls at liberty! me, Megan, J'Lae

Ladies Day and more...

Every two months we have a Lady's Day in the Church Building. A speaker comes and encourages us on a certain topic. Our speaker this time was Ilse. Ilse and her husband Raciel live in Guanajauto (the capitol of the state of Guanajauto) as missionaries. Last October some of my teammates and I went to Guanajauto (only 45 min. away) for a week to help and work with them. They are really awesome people and they also have an eight-year-old daughter named, Annie!!! On Saturday, the 26th, Ilse talked about having faith! It was really encouraging and challenging. It seems like lately we have been learning a lot about faith. Jazmin (a university student in the church here)taught in our new girls group about faith. After the Ilse spoke, we had a surprise baby-shower for her. She and her husband have been trying to have another baby for about 7 years and God is faithful and so good!!

Last Monday, or Cinco de Mayo, I got to lead our new girls study!! It was challenging and exciting that I finally got to share God's word with them! I talked about having Spiritual Disciplines and that in our personal relationship with God it is very important to grow!! We are so blessed that God provided the way for us to have a relationship with Him. At the beginning of the study I brought in a vase of Gerber Daisy flowers. Then I had all the girls pass them around and look at them. I asked them what flowers (or plants) needed to grow. Their answers were: water, dirt, sunlight, and care or attention. We are like blooming flowers before God!! Growing into what He wants us to be. But, relationships take work. Among many things; for a relationship to work we need good communication, listening, pursuing, and loving. It is the same with our relationship with God. Some ways we grow closer to Him are through prayer, reading and thinking on His word, loving: serving, dying to self, even fasting (setting aside things to focus on God. Ex: TV, Food, coffee)!

Why is it important that we are growing in our relationship with God? Because if we are not growing, then we are dying and not useful. God wants us to be useful and flavorful like salt, and holy and different like light; so that everyone can see God through us and praise Him!! God is our Father and wanted that relationship so much he sacrificed Jesus so that we can be with Him.

Looking at the life of Jesus, we also see he was spiritually disciplined! Ex: Luke 5:16, Mark 1:35, Luke 2:46, John 13:14-17. And ultimately in Matthew 26:39-42 we see Him dying to himself and his desires to follow God's will; which is always the best, but usually not the easiest way.

This week has been especially busy because Megan's and Ben's families are here visiting!!! It is so cool when your family gets to actually see, touch, and experience what you do! We are blessed to have Megan's parents, and Ben's sister and mom (his dad is staying with the guys...yikes!)staying with us in our house. It is very big and perfect for guests.

Speaking of our house...we are moving!!! Since we are not getting a new AIM team this year, we are moving into a smaller apartment about two blocks away. It is kind of sad because we have already lived in our house for a year now and we have a lot of memories here. But it is too big for just us three and while living in our new apartment we will be able to save a lot of money to go towards other things. We are staying positive and thinking of it as just another Adventure in Missions among many!

Good things about our apartment:
it's only two blocks away in the same neighborhood!!!!!!!
we each get our own bedroom!
there are 2 1/2 bathrooms
dining room
living room
really roomy

downsides:
the kitchen!!!! We cook a lot, so this will be hard. The kitchen contains: a sink and pantry. no cabinets, shelves, counters tops, or STOVE AND OVEN. Seeing this as a big problem in the future we have searched and looked into buying a mini stove/oven. The cost for one is actually less than what we will be saving on rent every month compared to the rent before. God will provide and He is soo good to us.

I have to say that God is soooo incredibly good and that I'm having the time of my life growing, learning, and serving Him here in Leon! Thank you for helping me spiritually, emotionally, and financially! It's going a long ways and it is definitely worth it! Much love in Christ, Annie

The Pole

A couple of days ago I was walking to a bus stop with some of my teammates. I noticed some shattered glass on the sidewalk and while trying so hard to avoid stepping on the glass I failed to notice a pole thing and I ran smack into the pole! Although all I suffered was a small scratch on my forehead and some embarrassment, it makes me compare it to our spiritual lives. How many times do we focus on one point or struggle in our lives, and while not paying attention something bigger hits us right in the face?! We need to be ready and alert for Satan and his attacks! Just like Peter warns in his first letter, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour". When we are disciplined and on the look-out, it won't be as easy for the devil to attack. And the next verse is really encouraging! I know that I'm not alone and there are others in this fight too! "Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings". -1 Peter 5:8-9 So be on the look-out for your pole!


Here are some more pictures of when I went back home.



These are some of the graduates!! and some of my former teammates in Leon! woohoo for the AIM class of 05'!!



This is Bill from my Area Church in Lockney! He is really sweet! Please keep him in your prayers as his wife, Meese (Mary) passed away not even a month ago. He is such an encouragement to me!!

Here are some AIMers serving!! This team is going to a delagation(region) in Mexico City called Tlalpan. They're pretty cool!

This is right after my brother was baptized. He is hugging my dad!

Christian, me, and Alison. They are some really special kids. Their family lived in Leon and worked as missionaries to help establish the church here. I was really blessed to see them in Lubbock!

All the 06' AIMers that were there for Graduation and Camp Adventure! Plus Chris Johnson (my former coordinator) and Eli Hooper, the coordinator of the Grass Valley, California Team.

Two cool people! Jo (from my class) and Andrea (from the 07' class).

And lovely Barb!!!