Photography

There are probably a lot of things you may or may not know about me.... Two things I'll share with you tonight are....:

One.. I absolutely love clouds and taking pictures of them and the sky when the opportunity arises.  I think it comes from Psalm 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork."  

Two.. I enjoy taking pictures, and want to learn more about catching great moments so that people can hold on to them "forever" if you will. I by no means wish to do it professionally, but want to learn more!! I recently took a step in that direction and purchased a Nikon Digital SLR. Since then I have been taking more pictures trying to capture some great moments. This past weekend I went to a pool party at a friends house and took quite a few pictures, well over 100 of the kids jumping in the pool and other moments I thought would be fun to capture. I also was able to go out one evening and catch some neat pictures around our house of some plants, clouds, and flowers! I thought I would share a few of those here with you... 

Clouds at Sunset

Kate coming with a rock to clean off...

Will eating a pickle!

Will jumping in the pool off the diving board!

Will and Olivia on the diving board!

Just a neat looking picture, I thought!

I'm back....

So I am here again, I will try to blog more often, hopefully things have slowed down in my life just a little for now. I have finished another successful year for co-chairing Relay For Life in Cabarrus County. I have enjoyed doing this the past three years here. I will still definitely be involved in the event, because I absolutely love it and what it does. I cant help but think that I am one of the statistics that RFl raises money for. I have met so many wonderful people over the last few years that have now become lifelong friends!!!
This past year has been tough, with losses to cancer. I know of 2 ladies who were once on the committee who lost their battles with breast cancer, a very committed team captain lost her mom to lung cancer, just days after Relay, and our neighbor lost his wife to I believe ovarian cancer. There are so many in this world with cancer, this is why I RELAY so that we can put an end to this crazy disease that takes so much from each person who has eer been diagnosed. Although we talk so much about what we loose, I want to say what I have gained....

I have gained things that I would have never had I not gone through my trial with cancer. I grew closer to Jesus, my friends, and family. My zeal for life has also increased, meaning that I completely understand how quickly it can be taken from us, and we need to live each day fully.

So that's what was on my heart for tonight. Thank you Jesus for my trial with cancer and that i have such a passion to find a cure and to help those who are battling cancer now.
:) :)
Kim :)

Lala

Riding down the road heading to see family for the weekend! I am excited to see them. Its been awhile sad to say but I generally only make it down here 1 or 2 times per year.

It has been an interesting last half of the trip we stopped for a potty break @ McDonald's and I was gonna get a frappe dad a tea and mom a coffee... Well after standing thee in the chaos around me I asked when I may get my order and after the guy FINALLY started to make the coffee for the 3rd time I asked for my money back... When I came out empty handed we figured out we had been there for 17 min and still nothing.. I got my money back and we continued on our way..

Now were about 25 minutes away!!

Later..

Home

Well I am home. We got back to NC around 8 Sunday night an hour later than we were suppose to.. It was a mess in Philly, US Air was trying to get people to catch the next flight out so that some of the crew members could get to Charlotte. I am not sure of the reasoning, but I thought it was kind of rude and not very customer friendly.. But because of the mess we were late taking off and then we had to wait till there would be an opening for us to land in Charlotte, putting us an hour behind... Although, I wasn't really ready to come home till we were back in the US, after sitting on the plane for an hour waiting to take off I couldn't wait to land back in Charlotte!! Once we landed we unloaded and waited for the luggage, collected it and headed towards good Ole MP!! Dad picked us up, we dropped Alicia and Buddy off at their house, said goodbye and headed back across 49!! HOME finally!! Mom was happy to see me and I was happy to be home. I unloaded the dirty laundry and grabbed a nice HOT shower!!

The rest of the week was great and I am still trying to process all that I saw and had the opportunity to do while I was gone.. I plan to blog more about it as I do..

I did want to share a little more about the Dominican Church we went to .. Here is what I wrote in my journal. On the way to the church I shared my cancer story with Dr. Pons and those sitting around. She said she wanted to cry and then said "God is Good." I said Yes, He is!! Who would have thought 4 1/2 years later that I would be on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. It is still quite surreal that I am really here!! El musica es muy bonita!(The music is very beautiful.) We sang "Este Es El Dia", This is the day. It was wonderful hearing worship in another country and language. God is not the God of just the US but over the entire Earth. What an AWESOME GOD we serve!!! I wish I knew more spanish should I could understand the pastor. Looking around everyone is zoned in on him. He seems to keep everyone's attention, I have a feeling he is preaching Truth, all the people here seem genuine!! When they were singing praise to God, I felt like I could see their hearts on their faces, and it was a heart that loves JESUS!!! The pastor would ask questions and the congregation would respond, He preached from John 9:1-12, His first question was, What is the best gift someone can give you?
The closing song was "I am a friend of God" "Eres mi amigo fiel, eres mi amigo fiel, eres mi amigo fiel, tu amigo soy. The congregation was singing from their hearts, what a beautiful time of worship! Thank you Jesus for allowing me the opportunity to witness and be a part of this. I can still hear them singing in my head. They were so passionate about what they were singing...

More later..

San Juan Day 3...

Today was yet another great day! I am loving this even though it is hot, muggy, and not in great conditions. It is amazing how God can prepare you for things that you would normally have a hard time with...

Today we went to a place that was RIGHT on the Haitian border. It was poverty unlike I've ever seen before. I didn't go in the houses but I imagine that they quite possibly have dirt floors, no running water and their bathrooms are outhouses. The place we set the clinic up at was their church building. It did have a dirt floor and the "stage" was a mound of dirt with boards around it to make it stay.. It had 4 windows, 2 doors, and nothing other than the 4 walls. The drive up to the place took about 45 minutes on a dirt road that was in very bad shape. There were times that I wasn't sure the bus was going to stay on the road. Once set up we starting seeing patients. We broke for lunch and ate lunch and then played some with the kids. We did the "Hokey Pokey" with them in Spanish and the Chicken Dance. They liked the Hokey Pokey better. Juan Ernesto also preached and from what I was told 4 people asked Jesus into their hearts, they then sang a song, I'm not sure what it was though, but it was a special moment. We then saw patients until time to go and head home.

I'm still trying to process everything I saw and express how much it makes me thankful for what I have back in the states. But I know that God is completely sovereign and I am right where I am suppose to be and they are right where they should be. At day two of going out to the campo clinics I have been changed and been more blessed by these people than they will ever know. Every smile, sweet look and precious little child's face will be engraved in my heart for ever. Thank you to everyone who has prayed, sponsored, or encouraged me about this trip!!!

I will post more pictures when I have time.

Day 2 in San Juan...

Today was our first day going to Campo Clinic. It was a new experience for me. Basically we go into villlages and set up a clinic in a school, house, under a tree, wherever we can then the dr.'s see the patients, and then they are given vitamins, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and medication if they need it.. We carry a mobile pharmacy with us. I helped with the pharmacy. It was so neat to see the different ones that come in.. They stood around outside the room we were in and looked through the windows. All the children are so adorable, and they are so appreciative that we come! We saw over 100 patients today. I know that we made a difference in their lives.. When we left the "president" of their community came up and thanked us and gave us hugs. It was so nice of him..

So Far...

This has been a great trip. I am so thankful that I was able to come!!!

Friday was a long day. We got up at 2:00am and went to bed around 12:00am... In Miami we met up with Anna Blair and Andres who are also on the trip with us we rode from the airport to the hotel in a taxi van to say the least it was an experience...Whew.. Once we arrived in Santo Domingo and headed to the hotel. Relaxed for a little while then met a new lady named Jane who is amazing!! We met some of her clients for Dinner.. It was a great dinner, full 6 or 7 courses ... We were stuffed at the end.. Then we hung out for awhile outside..

Saturday we met for breakfast, then headed out to tour Santo Domingo. We rode their new subway up the city walked around that area and it was interesting the street vendors had everything out you would ever want. After that we rode the subway back to the hotel area. Cooled off and then met Father Phil, another of Jane's friends picked us up and took us the other end of the city and we walked along the road by the shore. We then went around the Colonial City "the old city" it was very interesting.. A lot of culture, we saw Christopher Columbus' brother house it was really neat and full of original pieces... We also went to the Cathedral it was gorgeous! After that tour we stopped at the Super Market to pick up a few items... Then we walked back to the hotel, which was quite a haul for me anyway.... Once back at the hotel the rest of the group was there we freshened up and headed to dinner..

Dinner was delicious at Adrian Tropical on the shore! Then back to the hotel, hung out and to bed!!!

I'll post more when I have time to..

Please pray for our group as we go out tomorrow for the first time.

Kim :)