Rachelle D. Alspaugh's Blog

14 years in waiting

This was one of the last pictures Julian took with his sister not long before her adoption in 2011. I'll never forget that bittersweet day. 

My heart broke for myself to lose her permanently, but it ached for Julian and the empty hole she left in his heart. He loved her so dearly, yet he never even had the chance to officially say goodbye. For years we wondered where she ended up and how her life turned out. We kept her memory alive by celebrating their April birthdays every year and sending out bouquets of prayers for her on her special day. 
We finally found her and made contact with her in 2016, five years later, and made plans to visit her in 2017. It was going to be one of the most amazing moments of my life--me, Juan, and Julian all showing up in Spain to reunite with their sister. I had it all planned just right, purchasing the tickets right on Julian's 24th birthday, surprising him with the gift of knowing he'd see his sister again. 
And then the whole plan went sour (long story), and due to my own naive mistake that I couldn't fix, Julian did not get to join us. I have carried that disappointment in my heart for the last eight years. 



Twice I tried to do something amazing for Julian, and twice the plan failed that I couldn't fix, no matter how hard I tried. 
That boy (young man) has always had my heart, but I eventually had to surrender my dreams for him to God and trust that God loved him more than I did. 

We connected with him through video calls while in Spain, and I vowed to never stop hoping and praying for a way for him to also reunite with his sister someday. 

He will always be like a son to me. She will always be the daughter of my heart. 
For the last ten years, my heart has lived on three continents. In North America with my sons, David and Juan. In South America with Julian. In Spain with Laura (Viviana in the book). 
After ten years in Argentina, eight years since Juan and I went to Spain, fourteen and a half years since Laura was adopted, God finally guided Julian to Spain to be present with his beloved sister. 

I hoped I'd be one of the first people he'd send one of their first pictures together to. I asked Juan to let me know once he heard from him. But what a sweet surprise to get the picture straight from Laura. 
So much emotion and so many memories all tucked into this precious picture. 
And all I can think is, "Why me?" Why did God choose me to be the one to keep these three siblings connected across three different continents? It's such an honor to be a part of their lives and to have them as part of my life. 

I know this post leaves a lot of gaps for anyone who hasn't been part of the story over the last 15 years. But that's okay. Sometimes when I write a post, I'm just writing it for me. 
Today is a day I have been longing for.
Julian finally made it to Spain, and Laura was the first to let me know he made it. 
My heart is full. 




 

Fresh opportunity ahead

Fresh Opportunity Ahead

One last summer morning,

Soaking up nature all around.

Slowly sipping coffee on the porch

and the peace that I have found.

There's nothing like a summer reset

to reflect, recharge, and renew,

To redirect our focus,

and take vacations long overdue.

To gather new ideas

and let creative juices flow,

To pursue more education,

continuing to learn and grow.

To reignite a fire

For guiding others as they learn,

To get to mold young minds toward greatness

Makes a passion within me burn.

I look forward to a new year

and can hardly wait to meet tonight

The students God placed in my classroom

to whom I am to be a light.

I've already started to pray for them

Lifting up one student each day

Committed to seeing them shine

in both an academic and emotional way.

Challenges await us all

But I know God will see us through.

I pray to see them as opportunities

to always learn something new. 

Blessed by a POSH sale

When I think of women’s ministry, I envision women coming alongside one another for encouragement, prayer, and Bible study. I think of ways to bring women together from all ages and walks of life to build godly friendships that will help them each grow more intimate in their relationship with Christ. Women are the heart of the home, and when those women are in pursuit of Christ, the whole family wins. 

I just moved here three years ago, leaving behind a community of female friendships that blossomed and grew over many years of studying Scripture together and praying for each other. I can’t begin to express my gratitude to God for guiding me to a new church home with a thriving women’s ministry. I went to the first women’s event I heard about, a night out on the church lawn around a bonfire, and made two new friends right away. I connected with one over our adoption stories and with another one over a cup of blueberry pomegranate tea and a recipe for banana bread. 

I joined the fall Bible study that month and made several new friends through deep discussion over Scripture and then exchanging prayer cards at the end of each session. I had the privilege to pray for and be prayed for by a different woman each week. I’ve attended every women’s Bible study offered since I moved here and cherish all the friendships that I’ve gained in each one. Church feels like family more and more as that number of relationships continues to multiply. 

In addition to Bible studies and a ladies night out on the lawn, I learned that our women’s ministry also hosts a ladies night in with desserts and decaf coffee, an occasional game night, and an annual weekend Gathering with a deeper spiritual focus. Sometimes outside speakers are invited, while the last two years our own women have spoken and shared their testimonies. The more events I attend, the more I grow in my relationship with the Lord and the more familial the Church becomes as I grow closer to my sisters-in-Christ. 

I soon joined the women’s ministry team after about a year and found myself helping out with one of our largest events, the POSH resale for women. Now, I’ve heard of a yearly garage sale where a church fills up a parking lot with tables full of clothing, toys, and household items to sell to the community in order to raise money for a specific mission trip or other ministry. But this looked very different and solely focused on women, with the proceeds benefiting other women’s ministries in the community. I will admit to thinking this event had less of a spiritual impact within the church while requiring a lot more time and “lady-power” to pull it off. But after observing and helping to put on this huge event two years in a row, I stand corrected. The blessings and impact are so much more far-reaching than I originally saw.

First, all the ladies in the church have a chance to go through their closets and weed out the clothes they no longer need or want so they can donate them to the sale. Then we set up tables for sorting and ask the women of the church to pick a time that they can come to help go through the clothes and separate them into clothing categories (or decide what may need an extra wash or repair of some kind).  Some ladies come with their Community Group, with their Discipleship Group, or just join with random women. While sorting clothes, they are able to just talk and fellowship together. Serving together always creates the opportunity to bond in a new way. 

Once the clothes are sorted by category, new groups of women come to help hang the clothing up onto racks. We are blessed to have a community connection that lets us use a multitude of sturdy racks to display the clothing in a really nice way. After all the clothes are hung by size and color, another group of women come in to price the items, ranging from $1-5, with an occasional $8 ticket for a high dollar item. With such affordable prices, many women can embrace the blessing of several new items for their wardrobe. Meanwhile, all sorts of women have already been blessed with the opportunity to serve together while prepping for the sale. 

Finally the day of the sale arrives, and the ministry team comes together to turn a simple glassed-in hospitality room into the cutest boutique. We roll out all the racks and set up tables to display extra accessories like scarves, hats, purses, and jewelry to accent their new outfits. 

Women from all over the community line up at the door as soon as it opens to purchase armfulls (and more) of really nice dresses, shirts, sweaters, pants, and even athletic wear and sleep wear. A lot of them say they come every year, taking advantage of the one trip opportunity to revamp their wardrobe for the whole year ahead. Some ladies hear about it on Facebook, others come by invitation from friends, and a few just see the signs on the road and decide to stop in. Several come from transformational living ministries with coupons they’ve been able to earn to buy quite a few things. Everyone who comes shops with dignity to purchase clothing at yard sale prices but feeling like they’ve shopped at a nice boutique. They can comfortably try on clothes and know they’re buying something that fits nicely. They all leave with at least a bag or two in their hands and a smile on their face. Prices drop to $1 for everything during the last hour, letting the last shoppers leave with even more! 

Women give and donate their used clothing in order to bless someone else. They gather together to serve and bond in a new way. They come together from all walks of life within the community, connecting with friends, making new friends, and spreading word about a growing church in the area. Leftover donations are re-donated to another ministry that helps women and families get back on their feet after a set-back in life. All of the money earned at the sale goes straight back into the community, specifically to a ministry that helps women.

I personally felt blessed in several ways this year. I had deep conversation with one of the ladies on the ministry team while making a half-hour drive to pick up the racks. I got to know a friend from church a little better by spending a few hours together hanging up clothes. I found the exact blue sweater in just the right size that I’d searched for all summer to wear to work. I stocked my classroom “closet” with clothes for students who might need an extra sweater or change of clothes for the day. I met the woman who bought a faith-based shirt I’d donated and saw her beam with pride over the ability to wear it to an AA meeting as a tool to witness to her friends. I reconnected with lots of women that I don’t always get to see at church because we’re not in the same community group or serve in the same ministries. I was able to help our Spanish-speaking customers so they could feel welcomed and ask any questions they had. I grew closer to our ministry team by having opportunities to talk on a deeper level whenever there were quieter periods during the sale. I watched women give extra money toward a family experiencing an unexpected need. 

The blessings extend far beyond just a few women getting some clothes at good prices. It indeed carries a lot more spiritual impact than meets the eye.

Until the next adventure!

Two weeks ago, I visited my friends one last time here in Columbus before they moved on to their next adventure near Nashville, Tennessee. They just finished up a year of serving as houseparents at New Song Mission, and now Zayde has accepted a job as a new Dual Language teacher at a school not far from where her daughter and new son-in-law live. 

We met over e-mail shortly before heading to Colombia for the second time when we arranged to work/volunteer at El Camino Academy in Bogotá while we spent a whole month with Julian. Zayde was in charge of the English summer school program at the school, so she and I exchanged several e-mails ahead of our arrival. 

Little did I know that we'd be staying in the same apartment complex where she and her husband and daughter lived and that we'd basically be doing life together that entire month. They got to be part of our adoption journey, meeting and getting to know Julian and being so very present in our fight to reopen Juan David's adoption that summer. 

The adventures of the Alspaugh/Lopez family had only just begun. Now looking back over the last 13 years, we've built quite a few memories that have bonded us together like family.

BogotáLos Cipreses (the apartment complex)ECA (the school)JulianJuan DavidAn afternoon together at a picnic in a park with both Julian and Juan DavidThe Salt Cathedral in BogotáHuman hamster ballsA dinosaur tourTeaching English as a Second LanguageRenacer (the Baptist Church in Bogotá)Merceditas (a lady from that church who knew and loved Juan David and Julian as children)Apulo (a weekend in paradise)Villa de LeyvaPozos AzulesThe emergency clinic in PaipaSwimming in BogotáJuan David's adoptionStaying with them our last week in ColombiaCrepes and WafflesSanta Fe mallAyuelos mallChurch picnicCOVID (Zayde got stuck in the U.S. while visiting her daughter)Colombia Adoptions Group where Zayde gained a lot of clients for her online Spanish/English tutoring businessSpanish book clubColumbus, INOur first overnight guests in our new homeNew Song Mission (school and summer camp)Occasional lunches after churchFiesta LatinaTeaching kids how to make arepasTerrace Lake ChurchDesserts and Decaf with the ladies at Terrace Lake ChurchChristmas lights in Madison, IN4th of July celebration at our houseBilingual teachingAnd many more!

Sometimes it's just pretty crazy to see how God weaves our stories together and connects us in ways we never could have imagined. So although I felt a tug of sadness in my heart giving them that last hug, I knew it wasn't really goodbye. So I wrote in a card, "Until the next adventure!"

New Year, New Theme, New Enthusiasm

We're only a week out until classes begin! I hit the classroom for the last two days, and now I am really looking forward to the year ahead. I'm not new, so I am not just along for the ride this year. I have a solid grip on the steering wheel, have my maps out, and am ready to be back in the driver's seat as a teacher who feels confident in what she's doing. I still have a few new things to navigate this year, like teaching more subjects--but I'm so glad to be more than just a reading/writing teacher! I can't tell you how much I missed teaching Math last year and just having some variety in my day (and a longer time period with the students in front of me). I have a Legado teammate this year (my sweet friend from church), and we have created a unique schedule that allows us to teach our own homeroom students for half the day and then each other's students for the rest of the day (but in the opposite language).
I ditched my old Alspaugh's Army theme finally and decided to create an atmosphere that felt inviting to me (and also to my students, of course). Since I would love to. own my own coffee shop someday (previous post), why not turn my classroom into one? I'm thinking for rewards, I might just have to offer cups of hot cocoa or something. I had a lot of fun playing around with new programs on the computer to create the graphics I wanted for the walls, along with some hands-on craftiness that I like to dabble in a little bit every summer. 




Got my flags and my pink lights up!


I have my own bathroom with a magnetic door, so I had fun putting up a few magnets to decorate it. The students don't use the classroom bathroom, so it's mostly just for me and for storage. I do keep extra sanitary supplies in there for girls who get a surprise "visitor" during the day and extra shirts, sweaters, and pants for kids who are cold, who break dress code, or who have an accident of some type at school. 
My classroom ended up last on the list for the floors to be waxed, so I couldn't get in to work as early as I would have liked to. But yesterday I worked one very long day and made a lot of great progress! It really helped clear my mind (and the growing piles of "things for school" in my house) so I can focus on the littler, more tedious things to be ready for school on Wednesday. 
My main color themes are blue/green for English/Spanish, purple for bilingual time, and pink, well, because it's just a necessity. 
The door so far (The language sign flips for English time)
The entrance
The front of the room

The Reading "Café for Spanish reading with lots of menus for learning throughout the year. I also put a Colombia scarf on that giant bear to show that he's bilingual and likes to travel, too. :) Plus he takes up so much space on the bench that I won't have to worry about kids sitting too close together. There's just room for one kid. I was shocked last year to see so many 11 year old boys flock to sit with the bear (who was on the floor last year). Those are all coffee cups on the bulletin board that I still need to write all of the kids names on.

The flag wall, where we'll add a new flag and study a new country each week. We're starting Week 1 with Argentina because it's first in the alphabet. I had a vision for this last year that I never did implement well, so I'm looking forward to a second chance to see the kids engage in this cross-cultural learning. I can't wait till we get to Puerto Rico since several kids are already signed up to go and have even started their fundraising!
Small group area with a travel wall and a Math wall. I purposely left these bulletin boards pretty bare because this is where I will keep a lot of my anchor charts and resources for whatever we're learning at the moment. 
The area behind my desk. Last year my desk was up front in the corner of the room, and it just felt so cramped and crowded. Then at the end of the year, I decided to move my desk to the back of the room by the windows, and what a difference it made!! I had space to move and breathe, windows and sunlight to cheer me up, and easy access to the bathroom. And I had a better view of those mischievous sixth graders who weren't always on task. 
My personal space to put pictures, etc. 

My little zebra board holds pictures of my very first bilingual students that I taught as first graders in Warsaw, my Pre-K students that I taught in Colombia, two high school age girls that I met in Guatemala (one who had to drop out of school because she couldn't afford books), and two cousins from my first fourth grade class in Garland, one who was killed a year or so ago. I even taught his daughter in Pre-K. Those pictures represent my WHY. 
The English reading area Spanish books are in the front of the room, English books in the back--hopefully they won't get so mixed up this year. The turtle has a Colombia hat on to show that he's also bilingual and loves to travel. 
The "coffee shop" area.
So, its a new year, I have a new theme, and I have renewed enthusiasm and excitement. When I was in the Dominican Republic on spring break, one of the missionaries prayed with us on our last night as we prepared to return to our own mission fields. Often times I've struggled to leave a mission trip because I felt like I was just getting started. But I remember feeling so clear that night about the mission field God has put me on, the American public school, specifically working with bilingual children and families. I mean, I had just found out that my friend from church decided to move up to sixth grade and be my teammate, specifically talking about how we could pray for our students together.  Meanwhile my other new coworker who started going to my church had just visited me at Freedom Christian School right there in the Dominican. It was pretty obvious that I'm directly where God has placed me. It's not at all the mission field I had envisioned when He so strongly called me to make the move to Columbus, as I truly thought I'd settle in at New Song and stay for a long time. But it's beautiful to see how He's woven things together to put me where I am, to draw me to my church here that would continue to connect me with the people He intended me to work alongside. 
So here's to stepping in to Year #23 on the mission field, AKA the American public school! I love looking at these pictures and seeing so many artifacts/gifts that bring back memories of other years. That's what makes teaching feel so rewarding. Students touch your heart and stay with you wherever you go. 


 

Building Memories with my Sisters in Christ

I just love quaint little tea shops and coffee shops and cafes. I love the intimate, cozy vibes they give off and the sweet invitation to just sit and share time with a friend or small group of friends. Someone once asked an icebreaker question about something you would do if time or money were not a factor. I said I'd love to have my own little tea/coffee shop someday. :) I had a friend who owned one in Texas that I just loved to visit. 
We also have found an adorable little tea place here in Nashville, IN that one of Chrissy's friends owns, and Mike and Matt's business has done a ton of work for her. So I invited my Discipleship group to go there last week while I'm still off for the summer. Unfortunately she was closed when we got there, but we also had plans to visit a new bakery near there. So we walked to the bakery and found this treasure of a place to sit and enjoy each other's company that morning. :)
I love the sweet friendships that I have been slowly building with these three ladies. It's so nice to have friends who enjoy meeting up for coffee (or Chick Fil-A occasionally) just to talk and share time together. Through our simple chats over coffee and tea, we've gotten to know each other and have become a system of support, prayer and encouragement through life's daily challenges. I've loved the flexibility to meet on different days and at different times and locations during the summer, and I'm so thankful for their flexibility to work around my teacher hours during the school year. I never had a sister, and I'm not a big group kind of girl, so maybe that's why my sisters-in-Christ and the coffee shop atmosphere is so inviting to me. 




Hannah is in a different Discipleship Group, but she's like my soulmate sister here, one of my closest friends. We've met up at a lot of coffee shops over the last three years, but my favorite time was when she came over to have coffee with me out on my own patio (my own little coffee shop!). We are in very different stages of life, so our schedules aren't always easy to coincide, but I'm so thankful God crossed our paths and brought us together as friends/sisters-in-Christ. 

 

Summer Reading 2025

I always have several books that I'm reading at one time, but they're usually some kind of devotional book, Bible study, or something related to either church or teaching. But I've never really considered myself much of an avid reader, partially because I mostly read non-fiction (books that can be read in sections over a long period of time). Gifting myself time to read a novel just for the pleasure of reading isn't something I do often. Somehow I always feel guilty for not being more productive with my time. (Don't ever tell my students I said that since I'm always hounding them to read their library books!)
But now that my summers aren't centered around quality time and experiences with my own children, I don't feel so guilty in making time to pleasure read. I'm also getting better at reading a wider variety of subjects and genres that I haven't explored before. Over this last year, I read my friend's science fiction novels that she wrote. And as soon as school got out, I read two books that taught me quite a bit of history.
So here's what I found the time to read this summer:
Child of the Dream (a historical novel about Jackie Robinson's daughter)Leadership Journeys (a book about the childhoods of four different presidents--Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson-- and what personal traits and circumstances led them to the Presidency)Elevating Educational Design with AI (a book that I did for a book study with my district over how to use AI as a thought partner to create more choices for student engagement). Pretense (just a fun novel about two sisters who found Christ as young adults and watched him redeem some painful experiences of their lives)Dark Clouds, Deep Mercies (a book about the process and purpose of lament that I bought for a friend who recently experienced a tragic loss in her life, so I bought myself a copy to read along with her)Good Boundaries and Goodbyes (a book that explains how appropriate boundaries can enhance relationships and keep you from giving up the best of yourself in order to keep people happy)
Child of the Dream really enlightened me about what it would be like to grow up in the shadow of someone famous, especially if you don't share the same ability that led to their fame. I learned a lot about certain events in history while reading the book, too. A friend gifted it to me during Teacher Appreciation Week, so I wanted to read it before putting it in my classroom library. 
Leadership Journeys  actually fascinated me to learn about each President's childhood and the challenges they had to persevere through as children and as young adults,  though it wasn't quite as quick of a read. I chose it as my free book at the Mobile Book Fair at school after the lady running it told me I should get it for my sixth graders to read. I don't know that many will take the challenge to read such a thick history book, but I will definitely reference it in class now that I've read it. 
Elevating Educational Design with AI gave me a lot to chew on and also became an incredible resource to help me see where I was a bit too stuck in my ways this last year, holding on to my Texas teacher mentality when the midwest education mentality differs so much. It opened my eyes to a lot of things I can do differently just by adding an element of choice so students will take more ownership of their learning. In addition to all that, I'm not so afraid of tapping into AI and using it as a thought partner to create more meaningful choices for students to demonstrate their level of learning. 
Pretense did not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed giving myself the gift of time to pleasure read through all 700+ pages of this novel that led two sisters through their childhood up through their late 20's, highlighting their personalities, their educational goals, their careers, their successes and their failures, their heavy losses, their relationship (or lack of relationship) with God, and  their romantic interests. I bought it at Goodwill specifically to have something to read while in Michigan, so I made it my goal to read as much of it on that trip as possible. I may or may not be guilty of closing myself off to my family because I had my nose buried in that book. 
Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy helped me to see how lamenting sets us apart as a Christian during a time of suffering. Everyone complains, but only Christians lament because our lament turns our focus and trust back to God who is in complete control and never abandons us in our pain. It took me back to a dark time in my life and made me see that much of my poetry at that time mimicked psalms of lament even when I didn't know it, which explains why writing poetry always feels so therapeutic to me. It's a wonderful resource to go back to during any time of loss or to guide a friend who is hurting. 
Good Boundaries and Goodbyes gave me permission to use my voice more often to express my own needs rather than constantly trying to make sure the other person is happy (or at least not disappointed). This actually enhances relationships. God gave boundaries to be in fellowship with Him, so it's obviously something He models for us. A friend from my Discipleship group mentioned the book to me several times, and I finally just decided to order it and read it. I'm glad I did. 
So that's my summer reading list for this year. I don't have a lot of time to read in the school year, although I always have a book or two on hand that I'm slowly getting through by reading maybe 5-10 minutes at a time. Wonder what new books I'll hear about or just stumble across over the next year??




 

A mid-July encouragement for teachers

As teachers, we all know what mid-July means. School is literally right around the corner. We have to get back into a routine of earlier bedtimes, earlier alarms, etc., and get our brains back into work mode. We start to mentally scramble, wondering if we got everything done and used our "time off" as productively as we could (and, of course, we often then cower in shame over all the time we "wasted"). 

I love summer time more than anything. I'm an introvert who loves silence and soaks up the opportunity to just spend time alone. My creative juices flow when it's quiet and no one is around. Now that I no longer have children to tend to at home, summer looks a lot different and gives me plenty of time on my own or time to just catch up with a friend or two. Teaching bilingual students is very rewarding and enjoyable to me, but it definitely takes a lot out of me. What I hate about summer is the guilt I always start to feel around this time, guilt that I didn't use the time as wisely as I could have. 

So today I forced myself to just go sit out on my porch and spill my thoughts onto paper to make them rhyme. A habit/hobby I haven't dabbled with nearly as much as I used to, but a habit that has always been very therapeutic and meaningful to me. 

Was It Enough?

Midway through July,

summer break nears its end.

How many more times

can I schedule coffee with a friend?

Random lunch dates,

appointments any time,

to live with so much flexibility

makes the summer life sublime!

I curled up with books,

went for long walks outside.

I breathed in the silence,

let nature be my guide.

I traveled out of the country

and took a family trip to the beach.

I took a lot of pictures

to keep the memories within reach.

I cleaned out the closets,

reorganized several rooms,

tackled time-consuming projects,

left the smell of fresh paint fumes. 

Now August quickly approaches,

and my mind is back on school.

I ask if I did enough,

my question proving me the fool.

Summer's not about accomplishments

or a time to get it all done.

It's about a mental reset,

time to relax and have some fun. 

A chance to step out of the classroom,

to stop assuming so many roles,

to take off our many hats,

to recharge and refill our souls. 

With all the weight a teacher carries, 

A full battery is required.

A summer break will be necessary

until we are retired.

Teachers operate on full-speed,

endlessly giving from a heart so large.

Taking guiltless time for yourself

is a perfect way to recharge. 

While we celebrated

July 4, 2025, our country's 249th birthday. 

Many saw a day filled with family, friends, good food, and fireworks. But in a few places, an overwhelming darkness seemed to reign, literally coming out of nowhere. I wasn't in any of those places, but my still heart feels extra heavy today as I try to process so much incredible sadness. July 4th will never be the same for a lot of people.

Families gathered in nearby homes and cabins along the Guadalupe River in Texas.  Young children and teens enjoyed the time of their lives spending a week away from home at summer camp. Camp directors and young college-age camp counselors welcomed different groups of campers from week to week all summer, bonding deeply with each group. I'm not in Texas and I didn't know any of those families or campers. But I've camped right along that very river in a borrowed pop-up camper so we could float down the river in tubes alongside our friends. I cherish my memories of summer camp as a child, and I recently assumed the role of an adult leader in a cabin full of 11 year old girls at a camp. 

I don't know what any of those families, counselors, or campers had planned for the 4th of July, but I'm sure they anticipated some fireworks, some patriotic music, and some good food. Who was going to let a rain forecast dampen the mood? In fact, rain is quite welcome in the middle of a Texas summer. It started to rain around midnight. Who could have ever imagined how much rain would actually fall during those early mornings hours, bringing a deadly flash flood to sweep through their cabins before they even had a chance to get up for the day. Many campers survived and evacuated the camp in time. Many had to be rescued. But over a hundred people didn't make it when the river overtook them. Some entire families, along with camp directors, camp counselors, and a whole cabin of little girls got swept away. Over 30 children lost their lives. I can't even imagine the horror of being the one to recover their bodies as the flood waters began to recede. 

Later that same morning, a mission team from my church started out their day in Kenya with a carefully planned agenda. They'd been gone for a week already. I had all intentions of praying over each day's specific request but sadly did not keep up with my intentions. But as I sat out on my patio that morning and scrolled through Facebook, I saw the prayer calendar pop up, read their plans for the day, and immediately prayed for them. Then God burdened my heart for anyone on the team with any medical issues, so I prayed for that, too. 

Shortly after, I got a text from a friend asking for prayer for someone on the Kenya team with a medical emergency that landed them in ICU. And then not long after that, I got an e-mail from church about an urgent need for prayer, saying we needed a miracle. 

Her name was Bria. I didn't know her, but I recognized her husband as one of our worship leaders at church. I found out they had three beautiful young daughters, and she was a local dentist. She went on this trip to Kenya without her family, alongside a close friend who also went without her family. They went with a large team of 35 people (mostly from our church) to work with our church partner there. Both of our pastors and their wives (and families) went on the trip, too. 

Here is a picture of our Pastor praying over some of the team after calling them forward during one of the services at church the week before they left. (Bria is on the left with a long beige sweater.) He prayed for safety, strength, and for God to use each and every team member to use their gifts and talents for His glory. No one fathomed the thought that one of them might not come back. 
Sometime on Friday morning in Kenya, Bria suffered from seizures (not common to her) that led to cardiac arrest. After prolonged CPR, they airlifted her to Nairobi to their Intensive Care Unit. The lack of oxygen led to extensive brain damage, and they had her on life support. Our church (and thousands of others) rallied in prayer for a miracle while her husband and a friend fought against all odds to travel to the other side of the world as quickly as possible, despite a multitude of impossibilities. They made it early Sunday mornings just a couple hours before she slipped into eternity with Jesus, the one she went to Kenya to serve (and served every day here, as well). She and her husband both had fully surrendered their lives to Christ and committed to go wherever he called them to go, despite their own agendas. 
The team returned back to the States late last night and are likely just beginning the long road of processing the events of this trip. They all were supposed to come home together, or at least that's what we thought. But God had other plans all along. He wasn't surprised. In fact, he placed the burden on her heart to go, provided the funds necessary, and made the trip possible. He had a purpose for her to be there, along with every single person on that team. Just like he purposed for all those little girls and their counselors to attend a Christian summer camp last week along the Guadalupe River. He knows the number of our days before we're even born, and there's nothing we can do to to change that number.
Why did I get to take my sixth graders to camp in May and still come back home to blog about the experience while those little girls didn't get to go home to talk about all the fun camp memories? Why did I get to go on a mission trip with our Dominican team, come back home, and make a photo book of our adventure while the Kenya team had to come back fractured and incomplete? Some came home heavy-hearted, Bria went home to heaven, and her husband and close friends remain across the world to deal with all the complications of trying to bring her earthly shell back home. 
We know God is good and will gain glory through even these most heart wrenching circumstances. But it leaves our hearts so heavy with sadness thinking of those who have to go on without the ones they love. Moms and dads who lost their daughters, kids who lost siblings. Three daughters who lost their mom. A husband who lost his wife, his ministry partner, his soulmate. A church who lost a sister-in-Christ. A team who traveled to the other side of the world together and lost one of their own while there. 
No, I didn't know any of these people personally, but I'd be lying to say I'm not affected by these tragedies.  Even for me, July 4th will never be the same. Even I feel numb. 

Independence Day Weekend 2025

Busy weekend, full of fun and family!
July 3rd--I rode with David in his truck that he especially likes to parade around on the Fourth of July, his truck with no doors and two flags flying in the back. Mike drove my Escape behind so I would have it to drive home after the fireworks while he rode back home with David. We met up with Matt and Chrissy and the boys, who also rode in their "fun truck" that Matt's been working on for our annual trip to the dunes. (My hair is a mess because I rode in a truck with no doors!)



After waiting on all the traffic to clear out, it made for quite a late night. 

July 4th started out bright and early with my sweet friend coming over to join me for my morning coffee on my new little patio area I took on as a summer project. We have one little covered area on the side of the house that's been pretty much a storage area since we moved here. Definitely not a very aesthetically pleasing area. Now that Mike has built a large carport on the other side of the driveway, I no longer felt guilty for wanting to claim this little covered area for myself. Mike has said for awhile that he has visions of fixing it all up and building a deck on that side of the house, but I didn't see any reason not to at least make it look pretty as it is now. So I got David to help me move some things out of the way, and I painted the rickety-looking picket fence white, along with the two poles supporting the cover above. I just love sitting out in my new area on long summer mornings where I don't have to deal with the dew or the beating sun. I thoroughly enjoyed having my dear friend, Hannah, come spend the morning with me outside on a day she had off work. Such a sweet time of fellowship and sharing from our hearts. I'm super thankful for God giving us this precious friendship not long after we both just moved here and "happened" to meet in a random small group at church. 

The rest of the day we spent cleaning up more and getting ready for our 3rd annual 4th of July get-together at our house with Matt's family. Matt loves to put on a big fireworks show, but he can't do much on his property due to his horses and other houses around him with outdoor animals. So he was pumped when we moved to a house out in the country with plenty of space to do fireworks. The first year we did a cookout, the second year a fish fry, and this year we continued with the fish fry and invited a few more people. 

Here's Matt and Mark, his father-in-law, setting everything up and getting it ready to fry. 

We fried lots of fish, cauliflower, zucchini, pickles, mushrooms, onion rings, onion petals, curly fries, and regular French fries. Don't worry, we also had salad, fruit salad, fresh watermelon, and a special watermelon just for adults. Plus we had jello cake and dirt pudding. 


We definitely had space for all of our guests to park, even for Matt, who brought a trailer with go-carts and 4-wheelers for his boys to ride around. 



And Boots had no shame in claiming  a chair of his own while he joined us for the evening, at least until it was time for the fireworks. :)


More guests to share my new little space with! My sweet friends from Colombia, Zayde and Alvaro. Whenever we tell our story of how God connected us in Colombia when we spent a summer with Julian, we find ourselves in awe again of how God uses every detail of our lives. 
We've been storing an old boat that Mike and Matt had in high school, so it was funny how they all had fun tinkering around with it. We don't even know if it still works. 
Bev from church, Chrissy, Jan (Chrissy's mom) and Barb from church (Bev's sister)

Boots took a liking to Zayde

And Wes couldn't wait to show all the fireworks to his new friends from a different country


Here's just a little snippet of the grand show Matt put on for us in our front yard. 








July 5th has now been a lazy day for me while Mike and David are outside working on the truck to get it ready for a trip to the dunes this coming week.
But I made sure to make a phone call to my dad to celebrate his 79th birthday! I was thankful to know my brother celebrated big with him today by having him out to his place by the lake and making his choice of grilled salmon. Wish I could have been there, too!

FaceTiming with my dad is a rarity, so I was glad I remembered to snap a quick picture before we hung up.