my heart hurts because I had to leave

Many of you heard about the powerful tornado that ripped a 6 mile path through Joplin, Missouri on May 22. Three days after the storm hit, I was in the van with my mother, sisters, and best friend Courtney...headed down to volunteer.

We worked with the Churches of Christ Disaster Response Team (DRT), an organization that I have worked with before while doing hurricane relief work in Bridge City, Texas. The first two days I stayed at the church building to help with the organization and distribution of donations. I loved working in distribution; I got to fill donation orders for victims (then hug them and pray with them and cry with them), I got to meet and work with lots of wonderful people (including a couple that I may end up going to church with in Searcy), and I got to work inside where the fans were blowing and I wasn't sunburned and covered in a layer of dirt and grime when the day was over :) Hours were spent sorting boxes of canned goods, toothpaste, shampoo, granola bars, sheets, etc. My favorite thing that I found while working in distributions: a bottle of Brut.
I sniffed it and sniffed it and sniffed it.
My grandpa wears it on Sundays.

On Saturday, Sunday and Monday, however, I was able to head out with "the team" (people from various area congregations...Rolla, Owensville, Houston, Iberia) and work out in the field. We raked yards clean of stray shingles and crumbled drywall and pieces of insulation. We sifted through piles of debris, looking for anything salvageable. We made huge piles of debris on the curb to be later picked up by FEMA. We met families who, just one week earlier, still had a house, a car, all their belongings. Now, their houses are gone. Their cars are smashed. Their belongings are strewn over their property, mixed together with chunks of drywall, insulation, broken glass, and twisted metal. We prayed with them, sang with them, cried with them, laughed with them, hugged them, and cried some more. While we were working at different homes, I was amazed at how many times during the day pickup trucks with a bed full of volunteers and coolers would pull up to the house where we were working and holler, "Cold water and snacks!" Many of the folks wouldn't take no for an answer, so even if we told them that we weren't hungry or thirsty, somehow you would find yourself with a bottle of powerade in one hand and a candy bar in the other.

That impressed me. All of the people in Joplin, both citizens and volunteers, gave.
Everyone was giving.

For a while the traffic lights were out, so policemen directed the traffic. Several times, while waiting at an intersection, I saw folks riding in the bed of a truck reach out and hand a bottle of water to the traffic-directing cop. It made me smile.

On Saturday, a crew of medical folks came by where we were working offering free tetanus shots. Several of our team took advantage of them...I was thankful that I had mine a couple years ago ;)

What made this trip different from the other disaster relief trips I've been on was that, to me, it was all about Him. I loved the fact that we showered in tent showers with lukewarm water, shaved our legs in the sink, and had tight sleeping arrangements...it reminded me, constantly, "This isn't about you."
This is way bigger than you.
This is about the people...
It's about loving them.
It's about glorifying Him.


That is why I didn't want to leave Joplin and my family at Mount Hope. While I was there, it wasn't about me. It was all about Him. When I got home, it's so incredibly easy to be all about me. If I want to watch a movie, I can. If I want to eat this or that, I can. If I want a hot shower, I can have one. If I want to be lazy, I'll be lazy.
At Mount Hope, it was about Him first, and others second.

If you have an opportunity to go work in Joplin, do it.
Be His hands and His feet.
Hug His children who are hurting.
Feed His lambs that are hungry.
Love His people.
It's the most amazing thing in the world.

baby!

Meet Victoria Wells, the newest member of the family...Congrats, Katie and Tim!!

mother's day

I'm trying to make up for my recent blog-neglecting.



Aunt Kristie, Grandma, and my mother...so cute :)



My mother took some pictures of butterflies, which I shall include now for your viewing pleasure.

dayschool graduation

Matthew (and Drew Eldridge) in the classroom

Elizabeth Hall, getting ready to go on stage to get her diploma :)




I took pictures of Meredith...

All the helpers...thank you, ladies and gents, for all your work this past school year!

Hike IV

Fun was had by all.

Meredith: Before...




...and after :)

just me and my books

I feel free.
From now until the end of the month, I basically have no responsibilities outside of my home...
meaning I only have to do schoolwork and chores and stuff. I don't have any youth group events to plan. I don't have any church dinners to organize. I only have to read books and learn stuff and go camping with my family and go Hike IV-ing.

Speaking of the Hike IV...I'm thinking about carrying my big Seussy egg along in one of those Baby Bjorn carriers. Maybe not...I can see it getting a little annoying ;)

The pool guys are coming tomorrow to check out the pool and make sure everything is okay...which means we'll be swimming within a few weeks! Hmm...that sounded really nice last Friday when it was like 90 degrees and Mom called to make the appointment. Today it is freezing, and swimming doesn't sound very appealing.

plants, choir, frying pans

Last year, Jeni Steele gave me a plant (lily of the valley, my favorite).
I planted it in our flower bed, and promptly forgot about it.
But guess what happened a few weeks ago?
The lily of the valley started poking up through the mulch!
Funny how that happens...
I have now developed a habit of going out to check on my plant every day to see if it's 'blooming' yet...I'll post pictures when it does.

The big Spring choir concert is this Sunday. If you want to come, it's at St. Pat's at 3:30...tickets are $5.00. We're singin' Rutter's Mass of the Children and some other good stuff...should be a fun afternoon with great music!

I finally got to see Tangled...it was nice :) I felt like I could identify with the whole having-tons-of-hair-and-then-suddenly-it's-gone thing (Woah! Sorry. SPOILER ALERT, if you haven't seen it yet). So, yeah. I liked it.

Catching up

1. My hair is cut. 2. Senior pictures. Yahoo.

3. Seussical. Seussical the Musical.

Seussical has opened. The first weekend of performances are over. The second weekend begins tomorrow night. If you don't have your tickets yet, good luck. I think we're basically sold out.

4. This SONG. This song makes me cry. I've been listening to it over and over and over for the past twelve hours.

5. My graduation party was on Sunday. I think I have finally come to grips with the fact that I'm leaving in the fall.

6. I paid $57.00 for gas yesterday. Bleck!!!

7. I miss all the Seussies.

8. My dog has a lot of ticks. I need to take care of them :P

9. I'm going to see my love this summer...the Rockies :)

10. "Take Me Home, Country Roads" is another song that makes me cry. I don't understand why; it just does.

11. I have now listened to a song performed by Mr. Justin Bieber.

12. I have (unfortunately) now listened to a song performed by Ms. Rebecca Black...and I am regretting it.

13. Choir....I was able to go to choir practice for the first time in 2 weeks. It was nice to sing some real music for a change; Rutter's Mass for the Children. It's lovely. THIS is my favorite movement.

Googling hair

I've been having loads of fun googling such topics as "1920's bob with bangs," "chin length bob with bangs," "bob with bangs," "1920's makeup," and "Clara Bow." Here is what I've come up with. Hair is probably too short for what the costumers (ahem, Laura) want for Mayzie, but I love this picture anyway. Again, too short for Mayzie, but I adore it :)

Little bit longer....

Here we go. I think this is what the costumers want...Laura said to look for the pictures with the scarf in her hair, and I'm assuming this is what she meant.

This is cute...

If it was up to me, my hair would be cut like this - especially the bangs, I love the bangs - but Laura might say that it was too short :) After the show, I'm going to have it trimmed into a pixie. It's going to be fabulous for summer...my hair won't take three hours to dry after swimming!

day nine

Favorite classic book: Little Women.

And that's all I'm going to say about that. I'm not even going to post a picture.

day eight

I'm not really doing too well with the whole posting every day thing...

This one was hard.

Day eight: an author that I don't like.

Myself. Now, before you freak out and call a therapist in for me, it's not that I don't like myself as a person...I am fearfully and wonderfully made :) I just don't like myself as an author.

I've been trying to "write a book" for the past several years. The plots always turn out sounding stupid, and the characters always turn out shallow and flat. I'm going to keep writing, but I think it'll be a while before I turn out anything that I'm proud of.

day 7..

Favorite author: Madeleine L'Engle...I say this because I like every book of hers that I've read. Yay L'Engle!! :)

Lesson learned: LOG OUT.

Love,
the real miss jenna kay, not her obnoxious little sister :)




btw...I love my sister, no matter how obnoxious she acts ;)

Yes,Jenna I will now sign you out because you forgot to!(no matter how fun it is posting on your blog when you are at choir and don't know what I am doing!)
Your Loving Sister,
<3 Rebecca <3

Wow,bloging is fun!!!