Africa Bound!

Picture found here

I am SO excited to share the news that I have the opportunity to serve alongside brothers and sisters in Christ this July in Swaziland, Africa!

I’ve always hoped to one day have the opportunity to go to Africa, and the day has finally arrived. A group from Dawson (the church where I work) partners with the organization Children’s HopeChest in a “community to community” partnership model where a local congregation from the US joins together with a community in Swaziland for a few years or more to help build up the community, provide for orphans, and share the name and love of Christ.

The statistics surrounding Swaziland are staggering. This small country (roughly the size of New Jersey) is a landlocked country, surrounded on all sides by South Africa and Mozambique.  Over 60% of the population lives on less than $1.25 a day. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has spread so rapidly among the people of Swaziland that the United Nations has said that if something is not done soon, the “long term existence of the country will be seriously threatened.” The HIV infection rate is the highest in the world at 26% of adults and over 50% of adults in their 20s. Swaziland has the lowest life expectancy in the world, with an average life expectancy of 32 years. 32 YEARS! That is unfathomable to me. Consequently, the number of children left to fend for themselves is astounding, with close to 150,000 orphans in Swaziland alone. These statistics have earned this country the nickname of “Nation of Orphans.” 

Picture courtesy of DMBC 

The reality is that each one of those statistics—each one of those 150,00 orphans—is a person, a little boy or girl with a name and a story who deserves a hopeful future.  Our particular group partners with Children’s HopeChest to serve the CarePoint (facilities built in Swaziland to care for orphans) in Es’Khaleni, which is in the Nsoko region of the Southeast corner of the country. We will be serving at the CarePoint, loving on children, helping with the women’s ministry, doing door-to-door house visits, and having a festival for the community at large. Our motto will be to stay flexible and available for the Lord to move and use us in whatever way He would like.

My specific roll on the team is to be in charge of the Child Sponsorship portion of the trip. Similar to Compassion International Ministries, Children’s HopeChest has a Child Sponsorship Program where we here in the states can “adopt” a child from around the world who is connected with one of their CarePoints. Sponsorship consists of praying for your child regularly; sending money each month for the child’s food, clothes, health, and spiritual development; and writing letters to your child to shower him or her with love and encouragement. My job will be to take the newest batch of letters from our sponsors here at Dawson, hand the child his or her letter, capture a picture of the child reading the letter, and then bring a photo back to their sponsor. I am overjoyed at this opportunity to love on these kids and see their faces light up when they receive their letter. If you’ve never sponsored a child before and are interested in learning more, PLEASE take some time to go to http://www.hopechest.org/sponsor-a-child/ and read through the details of how you can help. It is such a unique way to show the love of Christ to these children.

If you're reading this, may I ask that you keep my team and me in your prayers as we head to Swaziland on July 21-31. Please pray for the hearts of the children we will be working with, that they may see the love of Christ in us as we play with them. Please pray for unity among my team that we may encourage and support one another in a Christ-honoring way. Please pray for good health, that we may have our full strength to serve these children! And lastly, pray that hearts will be soft and receptive to the gospel, that they may see the truth of who our God is and that He truly is the “Father to the fatherless.”

I can't wait to share all that God does and shows me while I'm in Swaziland! Stay tuned for an update blog with details about the trip when I get back!

Making a House a Home

This past weekend was (drum roll, please) moving weekend! I recently became the proud owner of a little cottage in Homewood, AL. I LOVE it! 

What made it even more special was that my family gave (and gave and gave) of themselves to help make this 1940s house into a home! My Uncle Ken is an incredible craftsman/builder/carpenter and put his signature work all over my new little home. I'm beyond grateful for the time and energy he gave on this project. 

Uncle Ken redoing the kitchen.

I decided to add on a 2nd bathroom to the back of the house. The construction was FAST! 

I was so impressed! 

View from the backyard.

I'm Back!

After (ahem!) a 2 year hiatus, I have decided it's time to get back out in the blogging world! On the off chance you had visited my blog previously and are asking yourself, "Hey, where's the Olive Costume?" don't worry... at heart, part of me will always be the girl from "Life from the Olive Costume." However, that title didn't allow for much growth (or motivation) for me to keep writing, so I'm changing it up! Welcome to "Stories to Tell."


I love stories of all kinds--books, movies, Grandpa's tales, friends' adventures, poems, song lyrics--and I truly believe that each one of us is a story that is being written day-by-day by the Author and Finisher of our faith. I was recently at a seminar with my sister-in-law where one of the speakers quoted part of Psalm 107: "Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their stories." The Lord completely took my breath away with those words, reminding me of the simple truth that each one of us is intricately made and loved by the God of the Universe. For those of us who have come to know the saving grace of Christ, the fact that we have been bought with a price and adopted into a relationship with the King of Kings is the most beautiful story we can ever tell. How can I not share my story and the story of those around me? Let's show the majesty of our Father by being storytellers!


My good friend Emily Tuttle recently finished up an eleven month adventure where she traveled to eleven countries with a group of likeminded friends through a ministry called The World Race to share and show the love of Christ with those they met. I've always known Emily was an amazingly talented writer, but along her journey, the Lord showed her just how gifted she is in using her talents to tell stories to further the Kingdom.  I'm so proud of her and how she has obeyed the Lord's direction in her life. Emily recently posted this quote from Andy Fraenkel that I am completely in love with (I hope you don't mind me "stealing" this, Em!): 

"Sacred stories are those of transformation, 

they are stories that draw us closer to the Lord, 

and they help us to see our connection to all things. 

There's a saying in the Jewish tradition that the shortest 

distance between a human and God is through a story. 

So if storytelling is a journey, sacred storytelling is a pilgrimage—

a pilgrimage to a place called Hope." 

My hope is that this blog can be a place where stories of the redeemed can be told. And, don't worry, it can be a place where we can all laugh at the newest adventures (and misadventures) I've been on! 

The Girl in the Olive Costume

Here it is: my first blog entry. In all my dreaming about one day starting up a blog, I never imagined it would have the word “olive” associated with it. But, hey, if the shoe fits… or rather, if the costume fits, wear it loud and proud, right?

What exactly, you might ask, does an olive costume have to do with my life? Well, you’d be surprised! Like all good English major alums, I have a tendency to see life through metaphors. And this particular metaphor, albeit silly and strange, fits my view of life to a “T.”

My friends and I have a new “go-to” movie when we are in the need for a girly, sidesplitting laugh-fest. This gem of a film is entitled Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging. Yes, you read that right. (And if you haven’t seen this yet, please, go put it on your NetFlix queue immediately.) Angus is about a group of 15-year-old girls in England stumbling their way through the misadventures of growing up. This awkward age that we all remember so well is perfectly captured in this one of a kind film. And although my days of romping around declaring, “it’s boy stalking time,” are now over (for the most part, that is!), there is still a part of me, deep down, that truly resonates with Georgia, my 15-year-old on-screen heroin.

Let’s be honest, there will always be a part of us that feels what Georgia feels during her adventures: confused, love-struck, embarrassed, giddy, ridiculous. It’s this unashamed mixture of raw, untainted emotion displayed in the film that continues to resonate with me. Georgia feels so much and lives life to the fullest. Yes, she messes things up quite badly and quite often, but she learns from her mistakes and becomes a better, more mature person because of her blunders.

So, when the opening credits of the film begin (which, by the way, is counted in my top 5 favorite opening film sequences) and show Georgia arriving at a party dressed in a giant stuffed olive costume only to find that her 3 best friends decided to skip their assigned “orderve costumes” and stick to something more flattering, I can empathize. Georgia storms out of the party and races through the streets of her small town. The sight of that giant, round olive costume and her little legs trying to move as fast as they can through the streets never ceases to amaze me. Through my laughter I always have the same thought: that’s me!

I’ll admit I’ve never actually worn an olive costume. But sometimes… well, sometimes it sure does feel like I’m wearing one! Too often I find that I’m out of place and completely off base. But I’m learning that life would be so dull without these ridiculous olive costume moments! And that’s what this blog is for. Life is full of olive costume moments and I’m so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family around me to share my adventures (and misadventures) with. So here’s to life. And here’s to olive costumes!