a father's love

the other day i was in line at target when a dad and three daughters got in line behind me. the dad was getting on to one of the girls about being late, him wanting to leave and not being able to find her for the last ten minutes. the teenager didn't have much of a defense but acted respectful, becoming aware that me and other people around were now caught in the family "discussion." about that time the dad became aware as well that those of us in their vicinity were politely pretending like we couldn't hear the argument. he said to her "you are the most selfish person in the world" in a tone that was clearly avoiding embarrassment and attempting to deflect the negative attention off of himself and blame the incident on "the most selfish person in the world." everything inside of me wanted to turn around and say "do you know what that just did to your daughter? it is your job to defend, protect, encourage, adore, and lovingly discipline your children. demeaning her in public is like an arrow piercing her heart, a wound that will fester and become a lie that speaks over her as long as you continue to treat her like that." i mean i could go on. luckily i kept my mouth shut and am now saying a prayer of protection and the father heart of God over those girls' hearts. i wish all dads knew the influence they have over their daughters hearts and that any good, bad, ugly, loving word he says to her forms the ins and outs of who she believes she is. there is my sermon to dads today. so to my dad (Dr. Doug) id like to say thank you. i have never known an unpleasant or negative word come from him-about me or about anyone. dad you helped shape my heart, you spoke love over me every day and im the woman i am today because you always believed i could do anything i put my mind and heart too.




on a side note! since charlie and i are living life as one and his life is just as cool as mine we have decided to start a "family" blog. follow us at boydadventures.blogspot.com

Awaken

Every Spring Break the college ministry of Antioch Community Church takes a short term trip to the Mexico boarder. This year Charlie and I joined around 575 students for a trip to Edinburgh, TX. Our morning were filled with worship and teachings, afternoons with service projects and seminars, and evenings with local outreaches. Our "section" is made up of 54 students who names ourselves "City On A Hill." Our big team was broken up into smaller teams - evangelism, drama, and dance. Charlie ministered all week as part of the worship team and of course I was on the dance team! Our job was to portray the joy that is full in the Lord and attract people with our energetic dances. Then someone would share a personal testimony as the crowd gathered. Next the drama team would visually enact the creation, fall of man, and the redemptive act of Jesus Christ. After that we would share the gospel and invite people for salvation or healing. Of course with over 500 students doing this every night over the city for a week straight the Lord moves! There were tons of salvations and many healings.

This past week was our first mission trip as a couple and we were super excited to be hands on in ministry together. Thank you so much for all of your financial support and prayers. Hope to keep up with everyone soon :)


The dance squad


Charlie....as himself

Married Life

yes it's been a while since ive posted anything and yes a lot has happened. this is my first post as a wife! charlie and i are just getting settled into our house in waco and are really enjoying creating a place we both feel at home and comfortable. neither of us are working as much as we would like yet, so we have plenty of time to piddle around the house every day. its been a huge adjustment for me. i am no longer the independent girl who worked as a wilderness instructor in georgia nor am i a random white girl in kenya working on a ropes course. now i am "charlie's wife" most places we go. its not that im looking for a new identity or that i dont LOVE being called "charlie's wife", it's just a really big adjustment.

i really love the community charlie is a part of here. we attend antioch community church and are a part of the college ministry there. charlie is a "lifegroup" leader and also helps with worship during their weekly college service called "dwelling place." most of the students in the ministry dont believe me when i tell them im 29, so i just go on as if ive just graduated or am just a little older than most of them. charlie and i really look forward to hosting college students in our home for dinners, lifegroups, game nights, etc.

and we still have one more party to go! mom and dad are driving out (and graciously bringing a trailer full of MORE stuff) next week and will be here for our final shower in marble falls. i look forward to meeting even more people from charlie's hometown and getting to spend the weekend with my folks in our new house. give us a call if you are driving through texas! see you all soon...



On our honeymoon in cabo san lucas

The Count Down

Charlie and I are still in the middle of our whirl wind tour of family and friends just before the wedding. this week we surprised mom for christmas. the rest of the family knew we were coming but we kept it a surprise for her. we parked the car down the street and hid in lilly's ginger bread house in the living room. when mom came home lilly kept saying "chawie here, chawie here." and pointing to the house. mom was so confused, but it was SO cute! we have used this week to work on all the last odds and ends for the wedding-programs, decorations, favors, etc. my little piece of advice to whom it may concern-try not to get married around the holidays. well that is if you have been out of the country, your life is spread over three states, and your official engagement was less than 3 months-don't add the stress of doing all that during the holidays. but the good thing is that many of our friends and family will be off from school and work and able to make it to the wedding. we are SO EXCITED about january 3rd and look forward to seeing many of you in georiga. our parents are helping us make this a party to remember. i never would have dreamed or imagined how amazing our wedding is going to be. we are trying to add some kenyan touches to everything to give it an east african feel. charlie and i are both "originals" at heart but really cherish tradition. expect the ceremony and reception to be both predictable and unpredictable. here are a few pics that our good friend brittany collins (brittanycollinsphoto.com) took for our engagement. see you soon!

The Tour

I have had a few people comment to me lately that they miss my blog posts. Who knew?! I figured once I got back to the states no one would be that interested in my measly little life. But for those few and faithful....I Love You! I flew from Nairobi to Dallas, TX (of course with a couple of stops in between) with my wedding dress in a zip lock bag in my backpack. There is a slowness and simplicity I am already missing about Kenya. Today I was thinking "I never could have gotten this many things done in one day in Nairobi." While many things in the states are so much more convenient (like a hot shower ANY time I want it) I do miss taking things slow and the "we will get there when we get there" mentality of Kenyans.

So here is the rundown of life in the past three weeks:
Got picked up by Charlie at the Dallas airport and drove to Waco
I finally got to meet Charlie's family
Charlie put the most beautiful ring on my finger, officially engaged
Flew from Waco to Atlanta
Drove from Georgia to Florida
The Pennington's finally got to meet Charlie
Drove from Florida to Georgia
Flew from Atlanta to San Antonio
Meet Charlie's extended family
Drove to Waco
Four engagement parties
Four Thanksgiving dinners
Signed a lease on a house

So at this point it is hard to figure out which way is up. Oh and did I mention we are getting married in 30 days?! It is only by the grace of God and our amazing parents that things are getting planned and running as smooth as possible. Thank you for loving the future "Boyd Family" we look forward to seeing many of you January 3rd!

Uganda

Last week I had the chance to hang out with my bff Lindsey in Uganda. She was visiting East Africa with a team from our church. We spent a few days hanging out at an orphan school, teaching silly songs, playing games, and in general just loving on some babies. The Helping Hands ministry she was working with organizes orphan sponsorship, enabling individuals to help pay for orphans to attend school and have at least on guaranteed meal a day. Two of our days at the school in Busia were spent giving out gifts to each child, reading the letters from their sponsors, taking updated pictures of them, and allowing them to write letters back to their sponsors. I don't know all the numbers but I would say not even one third of the 700 kids at the school have sponsors. It is beautiful to see the pure unadulterated joy on a kids face when they receive a bag of goodies from someone who is loving them from across the world. Kids got things like pens, pencils, candy, notebooks, socks, toothbrushes, etc. The children who did not receive sponsor gifts were given a small toy (instead of a gallon sized zip lock bag) which they treasured. My heart was full, overflowing, and resting in the goodness of the Lord as I spent hours taking pictures, putting children in line, calling students out of class, explaining for the hundredth time how to write a letter to their sponsor, and filing paperwork. There are a million more things to talk about the trip - visiting churches, praying over land, riding boda bodas, and eating American candy over girl talk late into the night.



I am spending the next couple of days catching up with work and preparing to be gone again. Stu and Lauren (who I am semi filling in for) have returned from some time in the states and we will get all back in the grove of Stu leading Adventures as make my way out of the picture. We have been blessed beyond belief as a friend of ours has invited us to Mombasa (to stay in a house for free) for the weekend. It has been a dream of mine to visit the coast on this trip to Kenya and I am super excited that it is happening for sure! I am looking forward to lounging by the pool, feet in the sand, and sun on my face.

Thank you all for love, prayers, and support. Of course I am still counting down: days until the states-29, days until wedding 75!

Rest

Today is my first Saturday off in I don't know how long, and tomorrow will be my first time to go to church in about a month. I have been busy at the ropes course every weekend for a while and I am truly grateful for a day off. I've been trying to settle into a "Sabbath" every week. I know we are supposed to have those but they are usually filled with some sort of work to one extent or another. So one day a week I try to do nothing I would consider work. It is truly refreshing for the soul to have no agenda, no hurry, and no worries. And today is that day for me. A morning at Java House (yummy coffee and pancakes) followed by sweet fellowship with the Lord and now some afternoon of internet time (and probably another cup of coffee). About this time in the afternoon, if I am on the internet, I think about America and the rising sun. Soon my friends and family across the Atlantic will be crawling out of bed and I look forward to whoever feels the desire to get online. From Blogger to Facebook to Yahoo, Gmail, and Adventures emails not to mention texting and Skype, it's nearly impossible to get away from communication. Speaking of - Mom is up at 6am and ready to chat! Wedding plans are demanding so I will leave you now and talk about bands, registries, and invitations for the rest of the afternoon. I love you all soooo much, looking forward to another update soon.



Tusker - I can't wait to get home to my baby :)