HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!

Today is John's birthday and I thought I'd take a minute to brag on him. (You don't have to read it if you don't want.) We don't usually buy each other mushy cards and we don't have cute pet names for each other. We are not that sentimental and John often says that our relationship roles are completely reversed. John likes to sit and talk and I usually have the remote control. He says my spiritual gift is sarcasm. You see where I'm going here.

But on this special birthday, 35, I wanted to tell John just how awesome and special he is to me. And to so many others for that matter. Here are just a few of the characteristics that I love about my husband.

Kind - If you don't like what you ordered for lunch, he will trade plates with you and eat your food whether he likes it or not.

Passionate - His deep rooted compassion for the lost has changed his life so drastically that people from his past may not even recognize him.
Loving - He truly cares about people. Not the typical, "aw, that's too bad. I'll be sure and pray for you" but "what can I do to help you and let's pray right now that God will work in your life." Not, "I'm sorry your shoes have holes", but "wait here, I'll be right back" as he drives all the way home to get a pair of shoes out of his closet and drives all the way back downtown to give them to someone in need.
Fun - He is the life of the party, but not just at your party. He's the life of our home! Although Teague and Levi are following fast in their father's footsteps and can provide just as many hours of laughs.
Honest - You will not find a more honest and open person. Confrontation is nothing more than telling someone the absolute truth in a loving way. (wish I could be like that)
Awesome - He just plain rocks! I have no adequate words to describe this one. But if you know him, you'll agree.

Happy Birthday John! I LOVE YOU!

This is the pavilion at the Coalition for the Homeless where the men can sleep for $1 per night.

This is outside the pavilion where the men sleep if they don't have $1.

When you give to the least of these...

This year, I have personally committed to the Coalition for the Homeless to provide 350 hygiene kits. This is a special group that has become very dear to me and to our entire family. Many of them sleep here at the coalition which is a screened in pavilion where they sleep on a small mat on a concrete floor. They have no family, no gifts, and no hope.

If you and your family can commit to make up a few (or a lot) and will, please let me know. You can also put an encouraging letter in them if you want. You can be assured that I will personally make sure the pack finds a needy man this Christmas. You want to help me give some hope? And spread the word! If nobody else does it, I’ll have to get 350 on my own! But, I’d feel almost guilty to keep all those blessings to myself. :-)

Thanks, John

**Hygiene Kits**

Fill a gallon size Zip lock bag with...

toothbrush in a toothbrush holder

toothpaste

pair of socks
pair of men's underwear (M or L)

washcloth
deodorant

small bottle of shampoo

bar of soap

razor
comb

shave gel
small tube of hand lotion

I think this is a first for us, Jeff is actually smiling in the picture. These are my brothers, Kenny, Darrell Drew (affectionately known as Bub) and Jeff.

Last weekend all 3 of my brothers were in town for a visit. We had a great time visiting and watching football all day. Since my brother has a really nice camera, I took the opportunity to try and get some family pictures. He took over 200 pictures but I won't bore you with all of those. Here are just a few of my favorites!

Camping with the boys!

We went camping with the Ridenour class at Camp Joy a few weekends ago, along with 8 or so other families. The boys absolutely had a blast! Why haven't we thought of that sooner? And almost all of the children were boys. So you can imagine how much fun they all had playing in the dirt, swings, campfire, canoeing (we had to turn around because we came across an alligator), smores and swimming. We had a little devotion Sunday morning and then some more fun before we headed for home. That is my kind of camping too. Bunk beds in a cabin with bathrooms, air conditioning, and they prepared our meals for us. WE LOVE CAMPING!

I can't believe how good the boys have gotten this summer. They swim like fish! Teague is diving, doing cannon balls and swimming in the deep end, and Levi can swim across the pool without ever moving his arms. He just coasts. We swim almost every day. Thank the Lord for our pool!

Our sweet friend, and homeschooling mom of 5, invited us over for her Butterfly adventure. She basically has her own butterfly center in her house. Complete with caterpillars of every kind, a butterfly tent outside, and butterflies all over the house. She had a craft table set up for the kids to make the life cycle of a butterfly, a butterfly hunt through the woods behind her house, a butterfly snack that the kids made then ate, and to finish it off, a story time where she told them about the butterflies. The best part was hearing all of the kids listen to her explain how God made the butterflies, how interesting and unique they were, but that God loved each of them and cared for them way more than butterflies. And of course, Teague loved catching them!

This is the bridge that we named Teague after. Not sure who this John Teague is but we loved the name as soon as we saw it. And that was over 12 years ago. JTH

Ryan and Courtney's wedding

This past weekend we drove to Birmingham for Courtney and Ryan's wedding. Courtney is John's cousin and Teague was the ringbearer in the wedding. This was his 4th wedding as ringbearer and he did a great job!

Thailand

I was unable to get pictures posted while I was in Thailand but we're finally home and I'm trying to get some more pictures posted and tell you a little more about what we did. I'm sure the pictures that are up so far tell a story of us vacationing along the river and leisurely rafting through the jungles of Chiang Mai. Which we did, but that was about 2 days of the 14 so I will try and create a better picture of our trip.

Once the AGM started, we were working with missionaries from the SouthAsia region. The whole family comes to this annual event so some of us were working with preschool, some with children, some with the youth, and some on the worship team. I was on the worship team and John was with the 6th and 7th graders all day so our days were very different. Don't worry though, we met up every night for Starbucks, our $3 massage, and a stroll through the night market.


The kids absolutely LOVED John (which is no surprise to those who know him well) and he adored them. I think we would have brought them all home with us if we could. We were able to get to know some of the parents and spend time with them and just soak up a little of their lives. It was incredible!


I spent my days with the worship team. We led the adult group (about 300 or so) each morning from about 8 to noon. It was the most amazing worship experience I have ever had. They were so hungry and ready to sing praises at the top of their lungs because they only get to do that once a year. Imaging going a whole year without the corporate worship that you have grown accustomed too. Then we were able to spend time with some of the couples and get to know them and their stories. I could not even begin to share their stories with you, there are too many and I would cry my eyes out.


Then I would go out to the youth camp in the afternoons or evenings with the band and we would sing for the kids. 8th - 12th grade. Talk about some great teenagers who were just as excited about singing and praising God as their parents.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Today we finally made it Chang Mai, Thailand. After 26 or so hours of flying and going through 11 time zones, we made it to our final destination. Today is also our 12th wedding anniversary. What a way to celebrate! Most of our day was spent in Bangkok. We went to a Jade Museum (aka. Jade store) where John bought me a Jade necklace for our anniversary. Then we spent several of the hottest hours of my life at the Palace. The pictures are amazing and hopefully I'll be able to get some up here soon. I really don't think I have ever been so hot in all of my life.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Half of our group is still not here so we have today to explore the city. Slept late, explored the city, shopped and had dinner. Some of our group rented scooters and took a ride up the mountain. They never made it because Amber wrecked her scooter and had to be taken to the emergency room where she had surgery for her broken wrist. That was our excitement for the day. The second half of our group arrived today.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Today was a whole team fun day. We spent the day at an Elephant Farm. It was incredible! If you have ever dreamed of riding an elephant through the jungle, then this is definitely the place you need to come. We got to sit on the elephants and take pictures. Then they did a show where the elephants did some tricks; played soccer, dunked basketballs, played harmonicas, (no joke) and the funniest was they painted. They put long paint brushes in the elephants mouth and, with a little guidance from their trainer, painted an elephant or a few painted flowers. Cole, one of our worship leaders, had an elephant paint a flower on his shirt while he was wearing it.

We then loaded up on the elephants, 45 in all, and headed out in a single file line through the jungle for an hour or so ride. It was so surreal that we were doing that. Then we took an oxe cart back to the main base camp. Almost forgot to mention that we took a bamboo raft down the river. Just 10 long pieces of bamboo tied together with rope. I was in the raft with John and 4 other guys so our raft was a little lower in the water than most.

Tuesday night we met together for dinner and David G., the head of this region, talked to us about the region and the missionaries serving in this area.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Today we started working with our groups and doing some preparation for the AGM. Set up the school for the children, set up one end of a hallway in the hotel for the preschool, started practicing. At night we are on our own for dinner so we head down to the night market for dinner, shopping, and massages. They cost about $3-$5. No kidding!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

John is on the children's team with the 7th grade boys, so they spent the entire day at a school. They just had a great day of getting to know the kids, playing with them, swimming and just being there for them. Their parents are all in meetings back at the hotel. John said his day was just awesome and emotionally draining to hear stories from these kids who are living on the mission field. I'll let him add some stories. I spent the day with the worship team practicing in the heat. (you have to pay extra to have the air turned on) The Tebow's were also here, Robbie, Peter, and Tim, visiting their sister, Christi. Tim spoke to the youth and were able to ask him questions.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Same schedule as yesterday, it just helps me to write it down so when I get home I can remember all that we did. These last few days have been considered Pre-conference. Tomorrow starts the AGM conference where we will be in high gear. So before our team is spread out over the city doing different jobs, we're having a worship service with just our team. It will be a week before we are all together again.