Student Leadership Conference and then Home Again!

So, February 8-10 saw us in a very youth-specific outreach: a Youth Leadership Conference. Two pastors from Cy-Fair Christian Church in Houston, TX came down, for the second year in a row, to do this conference with our youth. The topic was "Authorith = Love", and they really challenged our kids. Some responded better than others to the authority that these pastors brought with them, but I think that overall it was a very successful outreach. I would describe it all for you, but one of our other staff members, Steve, who is in charge of the youth ministry, blogged about it himself, and he did a great job describing it all, and even included a couple of pics. So, I'm just going to link you to that blog! Go HERE and enjoy reading about what the Lord is teaching our youth! And please continue to keep them in your prayers concerning this area of obedience and submission! It's a biggie! One of the pastors preached on Sunday, and then after the service in Cofradia, they headed back to Guadalajara to fly home. Well, I went with them, since I too was flying home from Guad!

We left Sunday afternoon, and they dropped me off that evening at the Garza home where I lived while in school. It was so wonderful to get to see everyone! Angeles and Romel had planned to have everyone over after church that evening for a celebration dinner to say hello to me and to say goodbye to Sally as a couple weeks later, she was graduating and returning to the states. My favorite part of that evening was the look on Erika's face when she saw me standing there. I was there before they all arrived, and I was sure that she had heard that I would be there. Apparantly, she didn't, however, so as she walked in her face was priceless as she tried to process and figure out who I was standing there! It was great to hug all the dear folk there in Guad, and that night, two of the American students spent the night with Sally and I. Sally and I had a good time watching some Gilmore Girls and chit-chatting while the other two girls studied for classes the next day. Then on Monday I went to school with them and hung out with Erika all morning, after which we headed to Starbucks and hung out some more that afternoon.

Then Tuesday morning, I grabbed a cheuffer service to the airport at 6 am since I had a 9 am flight HOME!!! My flights were all incredibly uneventful, thank the Lord. My trip went more smoothly than I could have even prayed for, especially given the fact that there was an ice storm in DC while I was flying in. I was very concerned, as was everyone else, that my flight would be delayed or canceled due to the weather, but there were no problems at all. I was excited thinking that it was icing at home. I've been missing the winter weather so much. I love the weather in Mexico right now. It's perfect...for Mexico. But it's certainly not winter, and as far as I'm concerned there is a time of year when the cold is appropriate, and I welcome it! I've missed the snow and having my nose freeze, wearing winter clothes and drinking hot beverages under warm blankets in a cozy living room with my friends and family. So, the prospect of such cold was thrilling! However, when we finally broke through the clouds over DC on our descent, I gasped audibly as I was greeted by WHITE on the ground. I had been telling everyone for so long that the reason they were having unseasonably warm weather was because God knew how badly I wanted cold that He was storing it for me to be unleashed fully upon my return, so much so that it would SNOW! Oh me of little faith, even though I knew it was icing, I was not expecting a white ground! It was a glorious moment to break through the clouds and see that God had cared for even such a petty prayer request! :)

The drive home from the airport was even smooth! Since the weather had been so bad, everyone had left work early so that though we were driving home in rush hour on the worst interstate for rush hour, we had no traffic problems cuz most people were already home! Elena and Ken picked me up, and I had a good time visiting with them until my dad arrived at their house. Now, I'm home with my family, taking the couple of quite days that I have to take organize receipts and expense reports, etc. so that I can get my taxes done while I'm here! It is so wonderful to be back with my family: to hug my nephew, to hang out with my sisters, to talk to my friends on the phone and just drive to their homes when I feel like it, to drive my car again (although that took a little getting used to, since I'm now used to a 68 Ford pickup..hah!), etc. God is just so good to me, and I'm eating up his goodness by the bowlfull!