GOLIATH!

So for our Old Testament History class, we had to build a life-sized model of Goliath. Each student had to put in at least 10 hours so, between all of us, approximately 850 hours went into this dude. It started out with a wooden frame. I took the liberty to give him a heart. I drew it on the beam of wood that went through the center of his chest. And yes, I colored it black since it was full of sin and hatred for God and I made it small since he was a cruel man. Ahh I'm brilliant sometimes...and humble! haha Anyway, we wrapped chicken wire around the frame and sculpted it til we got the shape we wanted. My group was in charge of his chest and torso area....fear not, we gave him a nice six pack. Unfortunately, our amazing handiwork was covered up with cloths and armor. Darn toga. Back to the building of the gargantuan man....after the chicken wire, we paper macheed him, slapped plaster all over him, sanded him down, and painted him. Then we dressed him and he was ready for war! Here are some pictures of our masterpiece! Enjoy!

Here is the bottom half. Who would have thought that such a manly dude would wear a skirt? haha

Aaaaaand the top half.

He may not be the best looking guy.......but I'm sure he has a great personality!

Tada! What a stud!

Just to give you an idea of how big Goliath was, Drew, the taller guy on the left, he's 6'4"....doesn't even reach Goliath's hand.

And when Tom and Dave put Josh on their shoulders, he doesn't even reach Goliath's shoulder! Goliath was one big dude. David....not quite so big. But David's faith was enormous. We each have our own "Goliath" in our lives. Read the story of David and Goliath and you'll find that it's not a question of how big your giant is.....it's all about how big your GOD is!

Home sweet home :)

School is finally done! We cleaned that place like crazy and then we had graduation. Lots of people invaded my 'home' and none of us quite knew how to handle it. However, when they all left it was creepily silent in the building. I was the last one left in my dorm so I spent two days all alone. The night of graduation I spent 4 hours playing Apples to Apples with my friends Steve and Drew. They were in the same "lonely" boat as I was. Then one of my teachers, Mike Sullivan, and his wife had a group of us over to their house for dinner. It was so nice to have a home-cooked meal and just sit and talk. What beautiful people they are! On Sunday I visited a new church with Steve and Thomas and I loved it! It was a tiny, old-fashioned church....I mean really tiny. The sanctuary was about the size of my front room...maybe a little bigger, and it was PACKED! The people there were so extremely nice and welcoming. A couple from the church had me and Steve and Thomas over for lunch and are already planning a "welcome back" dinner for when we return in January. That evening Steve and I played "go fish" for over three hours. You can tell that NTBI was the happenin' place! haha You can also probably tell that Steve and I were the last ones there. Anyway, the next morning I got up at 3 in morning to head off to the airport. I was pretty nervous, I'm not gonna lie. Not really about the flying but about the whole check-in process and finding my gate.....blah, blah, blah. But as I waited for my flight I read the passage in Philippians that says not to be anxious but instead to make our requests known to God. So I prayed that I'd find my way, that there would be no turbulence on the flight, and that I'd find my way around the Dallas airport. He answered all three. So here I am. Home sweet home. I didn't realize how much I missed this place til I came back. Thanks to everyone for all of your prayers! I can't wait to see you all! For those of you who will be spending time with me over the weekend, you'll be meeting my friend from school. Be nice to him.
Love you all! Come see me!

Aaaalmost done

Just one more day of classes guys!!! After noon tomorrow, my first semester is officially over. It's bitter sweet....the time went by so fast! It'll be weird not being here for the next few weeks, but I can't wait to go home!!! I praise God for His steadfast love in allowing me to come here and build so many amazing friendships! It'll only get better as the years go on. :)

Give it up for Tacky Christmas!

So instead of having a formal Christmas party this year at NTBI, we had a Tacky Christmas Sweater party. Those of us who couldn't manage to find a sweater just wore the tackiest Christmas outfit we could manage to find. I tried to choose pictures to show you that would give you a good idea of the phenomenal range of Christmas tackiness that was on display tonight. Enjoy. :)

Jenna and the Bettssss

We pretty much rock.

Christina, Amanda, and I. These were two of the best sweaters!

California Danny and Jessy (aka. Papa Elf)

Me and Ryan. I helped him put his fabulous outfit together. Nice, huh?
With Tessa. She had Shirley Temple curls and a rad sweater!

And finally, here's Aidy the Englishman. Get ready to meet him, yo!

What does this world need?

So a few weeks ago Dave Percy, missionary to Thailand (I believe), spoke in chapel and he said something that really caught my attention. He asked "What do you think one of the greatest needs in the world is?" A million thoughts raced through my mind as I pondered what the greatest need could possibly be. My primary thought was that the world needs Jesus. Dave went on to answer the question. What is one of the world's greatest needs? His answer: Bible translators. A little red flag immediately went up in my head. Now I have a passion for language studies and would love to be a translator in the future....but would that be considered one of the greatest needs? He then went on to say that he wasn't just talking about language translators. We definitely need those who translate word to word, but we also need those who translate The Word into actions! Our lives should be an epistle to be read by all men. Language can be a huge barrier between people, but actions can often speak so much louder than words. I can't tell you how many stories missionaries have told me about ministries that have fallen apart, despite sound teaching and doctrine, because of the poor testimony and lifestyle on the part of those in leadership. As believers we need to realize that the world watches us closely. Our testimony reflects on our Savior. Our testimony and actions should declare the name and character of our God! We may not be fluent in multiple languages. We may not be great orators. We may not have the knowledge or ability to translate the scriptures into obscure dialects. We DO have the knowledge and ability to bring the Scriptures alive in our lives though. Translate those beautiful Words into life! The Word is alive!!! So how about it? Are you ready to be the missionary that God made you to be? Are you ready to be a translator? Open your front door....welcome to the mission field! Lets go!