kRisTiN sTuTEs

Movin' On Up

2007-12-29T22:58:00.000-06:00

I moved to http://kristinstutes.com/

Come visit anytime, and make yourself at home!

Game On!

2007-12-29T10:12:00.000-06:00

I got home last night around midnight to find my house decorated with silly string and rolled with fancy toilet paper...not the cheap kind but double ply. These outlaws escaped but left behind some evidence. After further investigation, I believe the I've come up with the verdict...I find Gabrielle Ferrara, Lezi Slaughter and Ali GUILTY! All I'm saying girls is that it's GAME ON!!!!

The Best Day of My Life!!

2007-12-29T10:08:00.001-06:00

How would respond if one of the most respected people in the world came to visit you at your office? Well, Kari and Natalie came and they are great but it gets better…Kari went all the way to the North Pole and brought me Buddy the Elf! We spent the whole day together and built gingerbread houses, skipped, ate spaghetti with syrup, snuggled and had tickle fights!

Happy Birthday Shannon!

2007-12-24T16:51:00.001-06:00

Last Saturday, I hosted a Christmas Party/Birthday Party for one of my amazing girlfriends, Shannon Rasbury! I cooked lots of chili and there were lots of left overs. Either I cooked too much or they didn't like it. Towards the end of the night we played a game of Mafia (the townspeople won), but before the night ended our friend Stu performed "Oops, I Did It Again." That was probably Shannon's favorite gift, and I want to share it with you. There were several dancers in the room, and Stu taught us some new moves.

Christmas Parties

2007-12-22T08:41:00.000-06:00

I love Christmas....parties, friends, gifts and giving, ?surprises?... Last Friday, we went to Late Nite's Christmas Party, "A Black & White Affair." My friend Ashley has never hung out with this group of friends and what does she win....the grand prize....$50 gift card to the mall. It was well deserved because noone enjoys shopping more than she does.

Sunday, I overslept and paniced because I hadn't baked my 3 dozen cookies for Lacey & Melissa's Party. I made it to the party just in time but with only 32 Mocha Madness Cookies, not quite 3 dz, but they came out pretty good. Anything with coffee is good. We exchanged cookie recipes and of course sampled all of them until we were sick!

Immediately following, I met up with some of my best friends and their kids for lunch and gift exchange. I thought Brady would love the "Up Up Elmo" I got him, which he did initially, but he became a little angry at Elmo started fussing at him and tried to eat him. Princess Hayley was graceful and loved her little purse.

It gets better!!!! Sunday night was Elevate's Christmas Party! Several weeks ago I went downtown for the lighting of the Christmas tree with 100s of other people. Some of the ladies wore their festive, Christmas sweaters which sparked a desire to go to a "Bad Christmas Sweater Party," and that week they announced they would have a competition. Megan and Lydia said they had outfits so I replied "GAME ON!" Natalie and I were fashionably late and missed the judging, but it's confirmed that we would have tied. We lit up...literally!

You think someone would get rid of the sweater after the party...not me... I wore it to the Hilton Sales Team Christmas Party.

(I didn't get the memo to wear jeans and a black top.)

Mark is here!

2007-11-23T12:56:00.000-06:00

I'm a couple weeks behind, but Mark's blog best describes the last couple of weeks.

http://ignorantbliss-mabrinson.blogspot.com/

The conference is still not over for me

2007-11-11T11:18:00.000-06:00

I know the conference is over, but I can't get enough of it. Watching the videos, listening to the audio cds and reading my notes over and over.... Check out the website. I may be a little bias but I love the Opening!!

http://www.healingplacechurch.org/livethedream/blog/
(Scroll through the videos and click on "Live The Dream 2007 - Live Opener" )

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been trying to get as much girl time as possible before Mark gets here. I think I accomplished that with the conference and girl outings. Two Saturdays ago, I went to Lafayette and had lunch with some of best friends in the WORLD.

Day 2 of the Women's Conference

2007-11-07T22:33:00.001-06:00

This is just a clip of how much fun we had on day 2 of the conference. HPC's own "Singing Bees." They definately showed up the opening hIp HoP number!

Friday morning, Holly Wagner was still on fire. She continued to stress the need to fight!

-You'll have more than 1 battle at the same time so get good swinging your sword. (Sword=The Word)

-When you're faithful with 1 thing, He'll give you more.

-Make sure you're great at the things God puts on your plate, and be good at staying at your post. (Main Post=Believer)

-Ask yourself, when troubles and obstacles come your way are you still a believer? Do you doubt He can or will take care of you?

-Live a life people want to follow. Jesus said "Follow Me..." That requires us living a life like Jesus.

Christine Caine talked about when God told Elijah to go to the poor widow and ask her for food and water. The widow only had a handful of flour and a cup of oil for her and her son, but she still brought Elijah food. She never ran out of food.

God just wants the little we have. Don't look at what you don't have but realize that's all you need. God will put the super in your natural and make it supernatural.

Live the Dream Day 1

2007-10-31T20:58:00.001-06:00

What an amazing 3 days!! HPC's Women's Conference, Live the Dream, kicked off Thursday night with over 1000 women, a little hIp HoP dance and a message from Holly Wagner. What was so amazing was that all of these women came anticipating a life-changing weekend, and what's is even more amazing is that they said it far exceeded what they expected. Once again, God shocks us!

To enter the building, the ladies had to go through a line of men cheering them on. Some people may have thought that was wierd, but I think they deserve getting the royal treatment and that we should have put a sign above the door that said "Daugher's of the King Enter Here."

Holly Wagner is so amazing, and I can't get enough of her. I've been listening to one of her series in my car and I find myself taking the long route to get where I am going. Here are a few points she hit on the 1st night--

-"Princess" is not a slang word; it's actually who we are! We are daughters of the King which makes us princesses.

-Have a little bit of fight in your life. Sometimes there are battles you can't control and you don't choose (i.e. sickness), but you have to decide to fight. Some battles we do choose (i.e. parenting, marriage...) and you still have to fight.

Holly is a cancer survivor, and while fighting that battle she was faced with so many other battles in life and she had to choose to fight. She did what it said in Micah by gathering her troops (prayer wariors) and fought.

http://www.healingplacechurch.org/livethedream/blog/

3 Strikes but your not out of the GAME!

2007-10-14T08:59:00.000-06:00

I never knew Natalie and Kristan were so political. They are having a hard time with Cleo Fields being dismissed from the election. As friends, we supported them by bathing their front lawn with 103 signs.

I'd like to introduce all the members of our team, Krisin Stutes aka "Thrill of the Night," Kari Smith aka "Ms. Let me take a picture of my masterpiece while I leave my accomplice," Mollie White aka "Swift Thrower," Kaycee Smith aka "Soldier," & Nicole Duplechain aka "I'm too fine to get my picture taken."

GO CLEO or YVONNE!

Natalie, I hope you know that we did this all for your benefit. After extensive research we found that this is "sign" of love in Africa!

Don't forget to vote this Saturday, October 20th.

I love my Friends!

2007-10-10T16:16:00.000-06:00

I LOVE my friends! Seriously, I would not want to go through life without them. Sometimes I think I enjoy life too much, but I’m ok with that. Let me introduce you to 2 of them.

Kristan Bailey was the first I met out of this crew. Even though she doesn’t spell her name correctly she is still really cool. For the past couple of years I’ve always wanted to pinch her to see if she is real because she falls in the top 5 sweetest people in the WORLD. She works with mentally disabled people which is not an easy job and calls for lots of patience. She has a deck of cards with questions for her patience to answer, we went through a couple and I think I passed. Please help me celebrate Kristan’s Birthday! She is OVER THE HILL and Kari and I thought it was only appropriate to surprise her with graffiti. Congratulation Kristan!!

I have less than 3 months to play with my Natalie before she heads to the other side of the world, and I really don’t like to talk about it. Natalie Spera is moving to Africa to work with beautiful orphans. She will be gone for 10 months!! Awe! As much as I don’t want her to go I’m even more excited about the opportunity. If you or anyone you know would like to help fund this trip please do not hesitate to contact me. When I grow up I want to have Natalie’s heart, personality, love for life and good looks. Also, Congratulations Nat on your new marriage. Kari and I wish you all the best in the world! Check out more from Natalie at http://nataliespera.com/.

A Week of FUN!

2007-10-04T20:23:00.000-06:00

Last week was HORRIBLE with work and getting robbed at home. Well, this week God decided to give me a week of FUN!

Monday Night

This past Monday, 268 women came out for HPWomen. DeLynn delivered an awesome message. One point she made was "...don't act the way the devil makes you feel." Think about that!

Tuesday Night

Our Elevate leaders surprised us with a FUN NIGHT! They told us to pack up because we were heading to Celebration Station. Pizza, Ice Cream, Punch, Go Karts, Skee Ball, Putt Putt....

Wednesday Night

5 girls and 1 guy headed to The House of Blues in New Orleans to rock out with "The David Crowder Band". They were so amazing! I was looking around and watching the people and I pictured God looking down with a big grin on His face. He was enjoying the concert too! We had so much fun--except for the part when Stog's truck was towed. As Stog headed to the ghetto to get his truck, we went to Cafe' du Monde for hot chocolate and biegnets. Good Stuff!

Thursday

My director called a sales meeting at noon and brought us Raising Cane's. After going over a few reports she told us to pack up because she was taking us to the movies. YEAH!
That evening we played our soccer game of the season. The Sharpshooters vs Coach Julio Melara's team. Let's just say the Sharpshooters looked cute.

I got ROBBED!

2007-10-02T13:08:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the delay in blogs, but I got ROBBED. They kicked in my back door and stole my computer and printer. I guess I got out pretty good if that’s all they took, or they’re upset that they chose my house because there was nothing good at to take. That’s my only excuse for not blogging in a while, but it won’t stop me from blogging.

Atlanta

2007-09-19T19:24:00.000-06:00

This past weekend I took a quick trip to Atlanta, GA, to visit with Mark's family and attend a Georgia Tech game, and when I say quick I mean overnight. The company was great, but the game was not so good.

Another Girl's Trip!!!

2007-09-10T17:50:00.000-06:00

"I have a motto. What's a motto? Nothing, what's the motto with you." If you can tell me where this quote came from, I'll give you 10 pts! So, my motto is Work Hard, Play Hard. Last week, I went to Washington DC; The first 3 days I worked and the last 3 days I played with 2 of my bestest friends in the whole world! Let me introduce you to these beautiful and talented ladies....

Emily Hammatt grew up in Baton Rouge, LA, and has a beautiful 3 month old son named Brady. In college, she was a member of the LSU Golden Girls Squad then went on to coach the LSU Tiger Girls. Emily's hip hop choreography debuted in Lady Royale's latest music video for her hit single titled "Do You Like". She can sing, dance, cook, and have fun...all at the same time...now that is talent. http://www.babysites.com/sites/scizzott/default.asp?page=home&seq=1

Samantha Fisicaro currently lives in Charlotte, NC. and has 2 perfect boys named William and Daniel. She graduated in Theatre, so you can imagine how much fun she has with her boys. Sam's latest film was "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby". She is Will Ferrell's biggest fan (in real life) and her line in the film was "Ricky Bobby, I want to have your baby." Mom's get ready, she is in the process of opening up her new children's clothing store in Baton Rouge called "Rockin' Baby".

Something is not right in this picture. Oh, the gentlemen to my right has his name badge backward. Whew... I thought it was me.

How many white haired people can you fit on 1 bench?

I did take time to visit some historical sites.... and I don't mean old people.

End of Watch

2007-09-06T19:49:00.001-06:00

I just finished this amazing book about Terry Melancon, a friend of the family, who was a Baton Rouge Police Officer who died in the line of duty. He is prime example of how 1 person can make a HUGE difference to 100s of other people. I hope when I'm gone people will say the same things about me as they do Terry. http://www.endofwatch.org/

HPC opened a church called the "Terry Melancon Chapel" in Mozambique, Africa. http://www.isaacandcarol.blogspot.com/ He continues to touch lives even after he's gone.

I'm Starting a Band

2007-09-06T07:43:00.001-06:00

I'm starting a toddler band. Here is an adorable, little, Asian girl who loves to sing, and a couple of weeks ago I posted a toddler boy from Africa who has rhythm. If you know any toddlers who play instruments, please let me know. "Lord, fill my life with these moments."

New Orleans Girls Trip

2007-08-29T22:01:00.000-06:00

This trip started when I won a free night stay at the Hilton St Charles. Not only did we get a free night stay, but they upgraded us to a suite. Yeah, I said "sweet". Shannon got us a fabulous reservation at Commander's Palace. This "palace" was only fitting for 4 princesses. The dinner consisted of excellent food, 7 waiters, and the best company. Let me introduce you to some AMAZING ladies-

Shannon Rasbury was born and raised in Baton Rouge, LA. She was named 2007 Elevater of the Year. Shannon impacts the lives of Middle & High School students, Young Professionals as well as the Business World; basically everyone. She works at the Business Report and keeps the infamous Julio Melara in order. She is a huge LSU fan, so you know where to find her this season. http://shannonrasbury.wordpress.com/

Emily Morrow grew up in a very small town in Louisiana but returned only 2 days prior to our girls trip from Peru and a couple of weeks ago from Sydney and in 1 month she’ll be in Italy. You can take the girl out of the country but you can’t keep the girl from going to other countries. (I think that’s how the saying goes.) While in Peru, Emily interviewed the First Lady! WOW! She has stared in several films; her latest was “The Reaping” and will be publishing her own movie and book in the Spring of 2009. http://emilymorrow.wordpress.com/

Elizabeth Demarest was born and raised in Brazil. She has a perfect little boy named “Nathanael” who has big blue eyes. Neither one of his parents have blue eyes, so obviously we know he got them from his Aunt Krissy. Start clearing your schedules, in a few years Elizabeth will be traveling the world and speaking to millions, and I’ll be her Travel/Booking Manager. On Sundays, HPC asks her to do the welcome announcements and 30 seconds later she's having an alter call. My girl can serve it! http://www.aleyandelizabeth.blogspot.com/

What do you get when 4 girls go to New Orleans? Good Times & Lots of Shoes!

My Cambodia Footage

2007-08-29T21:38:00.000-06:00

While I was in Cambodia, after the orphanage and festival, we started heading home and spent the night in Phnom Phen. One morning I woke up and said "Lord, I know our intentional mission is over, but please put something in my path today to give You praise." I've always been told "Be careful what you pray for." A group of us went to the Killing Fields, which is a museum depicting the torture the Cambodian people went through during the genocide. On the other side of the fence was a group of kids begging us for money. We told them they had to work for their money. I cashed in a few dollars, just enough for each one of them to have 25 cents (which is a lot over there). We taught them several songs, and I'm so glad I get to share this moment with all of you. This was truly one of the best moments on the trip.

Leadership Training

2007-08-29T20:59:00.001-06:00

I'm not a big TV or movie person, but from here on out if someone asks what's my favorite video, I'll direct them to this one. I can't stop watching it!! I can't wait to go to Africa and learn their dance moves.

Oliver Edward Prats

2007-08-22T19:19:00.000-06:00

Let me introduce you to Oliver, better yet, he has his own blog that he personally updates -http://www.oliversmiracle.com/. It was so beautiful, on Tuesday I received a text around 3pm that said Oliver would need a 2nd surgery, and the doctor said he would probably be bound to a wheelchair and for us to keep praying for him. At 5pm, I received a 2nd text message that said "Keep the prayers coming, Oliver just moved his legs!" God is so Good!

Oliver's been anxious to come in the world to play. His mom and I went on a retreat earlier this year, and Oliver was inside her belly praising God so much, she had to sit as close to the bathroom as possible.

He doesn't like getting his diaper changed. Could he have a little privacy!

54,000 in 30 Days!!!

2007-08-15T19:38:00.001-06:00

Per David Meyer regarding Cambodia, "We touched the lives of well over 160,000 people that we know of; over 54,000 of them accepted Christ. I can think of nothing else that tells the story any better than that. Tens of thousands of lives that will never be the same!! Thank you to all who have prayed and supported this cause in any way. To quote our good friends Delirious?-”This month we all became History Makers!”

30 Days of Hope for Cambodia

2007-08-11T19:21:00.000-06:00

The festival came to an end this weekend in Cambodia, and it went out with full force. I'll let Joyce's son David explain.

Wow! What a night! In all my years of missions, I have never experienced what just happened here in Cambodia. Right before Delirious?, Darlene Zschech & Joyce Meyer (my mom) were about to hold an indoor blow out service for about three thousand people, several men from a local government office came and tried to shut the meeting down. They were able to successfully get the power shut off, even though they had no authority to do so. We decided to take the meeting outside. Joyce had to climb the fence just to get into the courtyard and the crowd went crazy. We all proceeded to worship God, led by Darlene Zschech and Martin Smith, and hear words of encouragement from Joyce—all through a bullhorn! God works all things out. He is absolutely sovereign! It was truly a historic moment for the church of Cambodia!

Unfortunately, tonight and tomorrow night has been cancelled. But I can say first hand that the people of Cambodia felt hope and experienced God!

Here is a list of things I learned/experienced on the trip:

1. When someone doesn't speak your language AT ALL, speaking slower doesn't help.

2. The people in Cambodia were so sweet, if you asked them for something, they always say "Yes", but never come back with what you asked for...they only know how to say "Yes".

3. Chris Tomlin is my favorite artist, and at a local church they were singing "How Great Is Our God" in Khmer. That alone was Awesome, but there was a boy about 5 years old at the alter with one hand raised and one hand on his heart singing with his eyes closed. That was definitely a highlight on my trip.

4. Being able to preach before 100 people in a foreign country with help from an interpreter was a great experience. I started and ended my speech in Khmer, which they thought was funny or maybe they couldn't understand me. ??

5. Being able to be a kid with kids. Watch the video.

6. Being used by God when you feel you have nothing left to offer.

7. Seeing a country full of people who are different, yet they worship and praise the same God as we do with just as much passion and conviction...better yet, with more passion.

8. The average income for a family in Cambodia is $400 a month.

9. 1,000 new women and children are forced into prostitution each month; mostly by someone they know (husband, parent, other family member...).

10. When you return home after experiencing something like this, you can't help but evaluate everything in your life. Literally you don't have a choice, your mind automatically does it.

I was going to do a Top 10, but I learned so much.

11. There's still hope for Cambodia!

Olinde and Leach Wedding

2007-08-11T14:35:00.000-06:00

One of my best friends, formerly known as Christina Olinde, got married last weekend to a great guy named Christian Leach! Mark came in town to celebrate with us which was very special!

Michelle and Madeline are two beautiful girls I use to babysit when they were babies.

Back Home

2007-07-28T05:34:00.000-06:00

I'm Home! It's Saturday, and I've been up since 5:30AM. That has never happened before. I may be present in the Central Time Zone but my body still thinks I'm in Cambodian Time Zone.

One highlight I can't believe I haven't shared already is when we arrived in Cambodia you will never, ever, ever believe what we saw on our way to the hotel...here goes LSU fans....a guy on a bike wearing an LSU hat. By the time I got my camera out it was too late, but it was PRICELESS.

Here are some pictures from the first few days of the trip. I wanted to take one of the flight attendants home. They are so adorable! There's also a picture from our infamous breakdown.

Day 1 at the Orphanage and Festival

Orphanage Dedication and Day 2 of the Festival

Around Town

One morning, we took a "Tut Tut" to the market and hung out for a while accompanied by our new best friend and interpreter Pheneth Kim. He's 19 years old and is about to graduate from high school.

Yes, I did eat a cricket! I learned that in the poorer areas they would eat crickets and spiders just to stay alive.

There's so much more to share...

A group from Celebration Church in Jacksonville, FL, came with us and did a great job posting pictures and interviewed people around town. http://hopecambodia.blogspot.com/

I haven't decided whether or not I'm coming home.

2007-07-23T08:29:00.001-06:00

This is the best way I can describe this trip.

Psalms 48:8
We had heard of the city’s glory, but now we have seen it ourselves—the city of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. It is the city of our God; he will make it safe forever.

Last night was our last night at the festival and it went out with a bang!! There was no room in the building for our group so we enjoyed it outside with a thousand other people.

Check out Pastor Dino's blog for more details and pictures. There's a picture of McCall and me with our new friends from the orphanage.

http://www.dinorizzo.com/

I'm in Heaven

2007-07-21T22:33:00.000-06:00

No seriously! The last few days I've been playing with kids at the orphanage then enjoying the festival at night. I'm learning to speak Khmer! There so much to tell and I don't know where to start.

Yesterday, we dedicated the building at the orphanage. The kids sang songs and did a skit for us. They are so beautiful. I fell in love with a girl named Damer. She's 15 years old and speaks a little English. She had the most beautiful smile. When I was leaving she held my hand as we walked to the van. I opened the window to tell her "bye" again and she reached in and said,
"I love you so much". WOW! Our mission and theme is Hope For Cambodia, and that is definitely what we are doing.

There's another orphanage down the street for girls ages 4-10 years old. There are about 50 girls and all have been rescued either from rape or child traffic prostitution. There's a coalition on the border of Thailand and Cambodia dedicated to saving these girls from this lifestyle.

Tonight is our third and last night to host the Festival. A local band plays music then our band gets up and plays. No one in the crowd speaks English, but they praise God by clapping, dancing and jumping. It's amazing the number of lives that are being changed.

I've eaten chicken fried rice and pizza from the same restaurant for the last 3 days for lunch and dinner. I dreamed of it last night.

The hotel is decent, but we're not allowed to brush our teeth with the water.

God is good! I can't wait to post pictures of everything, and I can't wait to see what else God has planned.

Oh, this morning, my pastor asked me to go with him to a local church to share my testimony. I've learned a little Khmer, but there was an interpreter next to me. That was an amazing experience!

Greetings from Phnom Penh, Cambodia

2007-07-19T09:59:00.000-06:00

We arrived in Cambodia last night (Phnom Penh). My first Cambodian dinner was alright. It's similar to Thai and Vietnamese...so lots of rice, noodles and spicy soups. The poeple are amazing. They get a kick out of us trying to speak their language (Khmer). I can count to 20 in Khmer.

Today, we drove to Battambang where the festival and orphange is located. It's about a 5 hour drive, but it took us 6 1/2 hours. We have a 9 bus caravan. Half way here, of course my bus' transmission went out. My driver kept saying "No Problem, No Problem"; I think because that's all he knows how to say in English. When I originally got in bus the driver put on Enrique Iglesia. It thought that was so funny. Below is a picture of the town at night and my bus driver with these two boys who were so cute.

Tomorrow, we're painting the orphanage and getting prepared for the festival. The governement still hasn't granted us permission to host the festival in it's current location, so we may have to reset everything in another location. Please pray for that everything goes smooth.

Greetings from Hong Kong

2007-07-17T17:18:00.000-06:00

Well, we've made it to Hong Kong and only 8 more hours to go!!! I just went to Burger King. A Whopper Meal is $40.00 & an ice cream cone is $7.50. (Haven't figured out the money conversion or the time change). All I could afford was the ice cream cone and it was really good!

We're about to board and head to Singapore, but I'll update my blog as much as possible.

I know what if feels like to be pregnant...

2007-07-15T07:49:00.000-06:00

Now that I've got your attention..I'm not pregnant, but preparing and waiting for this trip feels like forever (9mths) and it's finally here. We're flying out tomorrow and will return July 27th. My leader, Marc Cleary, is already in Cambodia. Here's an email he sent us. (FYI-It's a little graphic.)

Last night was our first service for HOPE Cambodia. Everyone was making quick adjustments as the Cambodian Government switched venues on us at the last minute, moving us from a 10,000 seat arena to a 700 seat theatre. Despite the sudden change in venues, God displayed His glory. Hillsong London rocked out and Ps. Gary Clark, also of Hillsong London, delivered a powerful message. There were so many young people attending that were on fire for Jesus Christ already. They were dancing and celebrating before the Lord.
During the day, we visited the Royal Palace of the King of Cambodia, fed monkeys, rode on an elephant named Sambo and took a boat ride down the Me-Kong River. After enjoying the local sites and attractions, we visited Cambodia's dark past by touring the Genocide Museum at the infamous S-21 prison and the Killing Fields of Phnom Penh. It was amazing actually standing in the places where just 30 years ago millions of innocent people were literally slaughtered in the cruelest ways for no reason at all. The heaviness and darkness was unbelievable as you saw the make-shift prison cells that people were chained to everyday that were no bigger than small closet. The Khmer Rouge regime was so deliberate in their terror that the photographed and kept detailed files on everyone one of the millions of people they slaughtered. This is very horrifying, but I saw pictures and read first hand accounts of them tossing babies in the air and catching them on swords and long knives. I also saw the actually tree where they took babies and beat them to death against it while playing music loudly to cover up the groans of the thousands of people that were dying in the ditches they just finished digging. It is the most brutal and evil things I have seen firsthand.
Yet, despite the dark past, Jesus Christ is breaking through the darkness with His eternal light. The young people that were at the first service are the hope of Cambodia. I was fortunate enough to hang out with a 20 year old college student named Vatanak (pronounced Va-tah-nah). Despite his father being a prominent buddhist priest, Vatanak accepted Christ as a teenager taking free English lessons at a local Christian Church in Phnom Penh. He told me that ever since he accepted Jesus that his life is "full of love, joy and peace unspeakable" that he never knew existed.
Vatanak is why we are here. To create an opportunity for kids like him to be changed and help change others through Jesus for all eternity.

Happy Birthday America!

2007-07-04T09:41:00.000-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7Wt4XlXUrc

27 More Days...

2007-06-19T20:27:00.000-06:00

27 more days till I leave for Cambodia! WOW!! I got my shots, passport, paperwork...

Every Tuesday, my team and I meet and talk about our plans and paperwork, but last night we had a guest speaker who lived in the same town we are going visit. He lived in Bataambang with his family until he was 12 years old; before, Khmer Rouge came in and seperated him from his parents. They seperated all of the kids from the adults; then those who were skilled farmers and laborers were taken to the fields, and those who weren't were never seen again. (He said, "I think you know what I mean.")

After 3 years, 8 months and 22 days he escaped and was taken to America with no education and couldn't speak English. His grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles where killed, but what is so awesome is that he's not angry or bitter. He lives in Baton Rouge with his father and works at Subway and is hoping to open a franchise within the next few months.
WOW again...

There is so much to be said for this 1 man and so much to be done.

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On another note, here's a picture of Brady Scott Hammatt with his Aunt Natalie. He was born this past Friday-just in time to be announced at the dance recitals. The crowd went wild!!

I've been busy being blessed!

2007-06-12T20:50:00.000-06:00

Sorry for neglecting my blog (for all 2 people who read it), but I've been building up all this good news to share with you at one time.

1) I graduated from my 1st year of Elevate! Here are some pictures from the evening of people who have no idea how much they've invested in my life (Pastor Dino, Mike Haman, my Mom, Michelle, Elizabeth and friends-2 of which will be going with me to Cambodia (hint not the pregnate one)). I'm excited and ready for next year!

2) Two beach trips! The first trip was our annul girl's trip which was a blast, and the second trip was to celebrate Christina Olinde's upcoming marriage.

(Pictures to come.)

3) I have a handsome new cousin,

Brayden Joseph Guidroz. I knew it was

a boy the whole time.

4) I just moved into a new house.

That doesn't look like this, but I still love it!

5) By the time my next blog is published, I'll be a new Aunt. Congrats Emily!

New Favorite Artist & Author

2007-05-15T20:41:00.000-06:00

Kari Jobe
Revelation Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FObjd5wrgZ8

The More I Seek You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3GijrnfStk

https://karijobe.com/

Pearls of the King by Lee Domingue
Lee came and spoke at one of my Elevate classes. Everytime he shared a "pearl", I knew to buckle up because it was going to be powerful. This is an amazing book, I've given it out as a gift because it's something one shouldn't keep to himself.

http://www.leedomingue.com/

Gabby

2007-05-06T10:56:00.000-06:00

Friday morning, I received this email from a friend--

A good friend of mine and Nancy's, Gabrielle Marcantel, or as we called her, "Gabby," was killed in a automobile accident on Wednesday afternoon as she was driving from Baton Rouge to Destin, Florida, for a Women's Retreat. Gabby was a member of Healing Place Church and had just turned 29 on Tuesday, the day before the accident.

She was an LSU grad student living with her parents as she was obtaining a masters in Counseling. She volunteered at Healing Place Church in New Beginnings, a ministry for people trying to overcome addictions. She was an awesome girl, very happy and content, and very affectionate, and as she put it, "very blessed with many great friends and family." She will be missed greatly. Her funeral will be Monday morning at HPC, so please pray for peace and comfort for her family and friends. Thanks.

On Friday, Gabby's father received lab results showing lymphoma and went to the doctor for a scan. The doctors are very optimistic! The results showed a large cell lymphoma, and he should be successfully treated and in remission for at least 10+years.

It's so easy to praise God when things are going great in your life, but can you praise him during the storm?

On January 17th, Gabrielle wrote the following in our pastor's blog:

Thank you so much for an obedient heart. I am sure you hear it all the time, but I am so blessed to be under your covering. This is a long overdue, but I also wanted to thank you for being led by God to approach communion in such an open way during the Christmas services. I was raised in a very Catholic home. I grew up in Catholic schools and have watched my parent pray and say the rosary each morning all of my life. When I first got saved (October 2000), I was living at home. My father told me I still had an obligation to attend mass. He first stepped foot in HPC when I invited him to my towel ceremony after the leadership course. You are a daddy of a daughter, so you understand what it is to be (or have) a daddy’s girl. When I asked my mom and dad to come for Christmas (after suggesting we go to mass together on Christmas Eve), I was amazed that he answered yes. I know my dad has a relationship with Christ, but he recieved! I saw him wipe tears away (and he is a hard man). He gave me money to put in the offering and accepted communion, the biggest shock of all. We went to dinner that night, and he acknowledged that he was able to commune with the Lord in the mass. He even admitted to wishing it were post-Vatican II (the silence). He also said he didn’t care where I served the Lord as long as I had a relationship with Christ. Thank you for your sensitivity. I know it is not fear of man, but sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.

How amazing is it to know that when someone you love passes away they went to see the Lord. Will your family have that peace if something should ever happen to you? Do you know beyond a shadow of doubt where you'll go when you die? Will people say the same things about you as they are about Gabby? Check this out http://www.legacy.com/theadvocate/DeathNotices.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=87762409

47th Street

2007-04-30T21:29:00.000-06:00

I had so much fun hanging out with my new friends Saturday on 47th street. We overloaded ourselves with pickles, hamburgers, hot dogs, basketball, bubbles and rockin' music! They taught me a few moves.

Here are some pictures. I give you fair warning, you may fall in love with them too!

Other Amazing Bloggers

2007-04-22T19:44:00.001-06:00

I'm putting all the attention on these bloggers. They challenge me to live the life God intended-ALL THE WAY.

http://charlesandkristen.blogspot.com/

http://www.isaacandcarol.blogspot.com/

http://www.dinorizzo.com/

Stretched

2007-04-18T20:48:00.000-06:00

My prayer lately is for God to STRETCH me - growth requires being stretched. This past Saturday, I had the privilege of serving in the inner city of BR-just blocks away from where I work. It was raining when we all arrived, but that didn't stop us. We loaded the trucks with bags of groceries, drove down to a dead end street, parked, then blew the horn. Suddenly, 5-6 kids plus several adults were coming out of each of the houses. Houses I knew no one could possibly live in. The roofs were caving in, no electricity... We gathered in their front yard, all held hands and prayed for each one of them. They were so touched and brought to tears.

There was a warehouse about 20 feet away were homeless people, prostitutes and cross-dressers began coming out of. They were curious and joined us. Emily was one of the ladies-we asked her if there was anything we could pray for her about and she said she'd like to get off of crack. After praying for her she hugged us and thanked us. She just wants to be loved-just like all of us.

My favorite was Ms. Hilda. She's 80 years old and lives all by herself. She doesn't know were her next meal will come from. After I prayed with her, we just hugged each other and cried. She blessed me more than I could ever bless her.

Be careful what you pray for because God will make it happen in His own way. I've been stretched and blessed.

Rebecca St.James & dEleRioUs Concert

2007-04-10T22:59:00.000-06:00

I made it back to Baton Rouge from Charlotte, and what an exciting trip back! Last night, I spent the night in Atlanta while my luggage made it all the way home. Changing in the airport and taking a shuttle to work keeps life EXCITING!

I just got back from the Rebecca St. James & dEleRioUs Concert. Check it out--

"Wait For Me"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaXh636e_Z8

"Forgive Me"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MxE50QJxCM

Daniel Is Born...

2007-04-06T13:25:00.000-06:00

My best friend, Samantha, had another beautiful and perfect little boy! Daniel was born on March 26 and weighed 6lbs and 14 ozs. I get the pleasure of spending Easter in Charlotte and also celebrating Will's 3rd Birthday!!

The Office

2007-03-21T23:36:00.000-06:00

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6RWq4k6Nc4

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjwfrsvI0cU

Chris Tomlin Concert

2007-03-21T22:56:00.000-06:00

I Love Chris Tomlin! I just got back from his concert. He is my favorite artist because it's not about him.

Check it out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB5ZiRCTlw4

Cambodia Bound

2007-03-14T21:33:00.000-06:00

After I stopped listening to myself and stopped planning a trip I wanted to go on, I heard from God who let me know I was suppose to go to Cambodia. The only way I can explain it is that I'm so excited I can throw up. I'm scared and excited at the same time. This trip will definitely be LIFE Changing. Who knows, I might sneak a baby in my luggage and bring him back home.

Here's some information- In April 1975 (not very long ago), after a five-year struggle, the nation of Cambodia fell victim to one of the worst genocides in history led by an extremist group known as the Khmer Rouge. Under the leadership of a man named Pol Pot, they unleashed a horrific plot to gain control of this Southeast Asian country. The results were unimaginable. People of all ages and walks of life were driven from their homes, regardless of their physical condition; those who refused to leave were killed. Children were taken from their parents to live in forced-labor camps. Factories, schools, hospitals and businesses were shut down. Professionals of every kind—lawyers, doctors, teachers, engineers, scientists—were murdered, along with their extended families.

Please pray for me and the whole group. Any financial gift would be a blessing!

Latest Book

2007-03-11T15:15:00.000-06:00

I just finished this book and would reccommend it to any couple. Ladies, it'll help you understand your man and vice versa. I can now understand Mark's thought processing (yes, kind of scary). For more, click on http://fivelovelanguages.com/forcouples.html.

lil' gifts from God

2007-03-11T11:27:00.000-06:00

I love these kids more than life! Seriously, I have a hard time breathing when I'm around them.
President William, Prince Nathanael and Sir Brandt