Deep in the heart of Texas

Howdy Partners!

FOOD| I can't contain my excitement on this one guys - just writing about it is making me hungry. This week I finally tried Chicken and Waffles. Beautiful. Absolutely delicious and BY FAR my favourite dish since arriving. It was well worth the wait! Four perfectly made, light and tasty waffles, served with three pieces of crispy, tender chicken, maple syrup and peppered gravy. Mmmmmmm. 
And don't worry guys - I'm still staying healthy ;-) I'll only have it once a month!

TEXAS STATE FAIR| Once a year the state of Texas have a big state fair in Dallas and we went along to check it out this week. It was truly a different taste of Texas - it was really fun and we got to see an experience new things.

Okay so imagine some of your favourite deserts...........and now imagine them deep fried!! That's the Texas State Fair. They have everything from deep fried milk and cookies to deep fried butter (yep I said butter). 

I tried deep fried ice cream and it was nice and also very sweet so I didn't eat much of it.

The other thing you'll find at the Texas State Fair is giant sized everything. Giant corn dogs, a giant plate of curly fries and giant onion rings are but a few of the wonders I saw.

PUMPKIN CARVING| I carved a pumpkin last week!
Clearing out the pumpkin was the worst part as it couldn't have smelled worse! Btu again well worth it as I'm rather proud of my first attempt. :)

DALLAS| I took my first proper trip into Dallas with a few friends this weekend and thoroughly enjoyed experiencing the busy city life once again. 
First stop was the Dallas Museum of Art. Then we walked around for some time (never get to do this usually - always in a car) and I tried Italian Ice which is similar to sorbet but not as smooth. The best part of the trip was trying chicken and waffles (which I've already told you about). 

SCHOOL| We aren't allowed to talk about God openly/directly in our lessons but this week we pushed the boundaries as we spoke to the kids about where their identity comes from and whether it should or shouldn't be wrapped up in the things they do. God has really blessed all the work we do with the schools and we are seeing the students asking questions and wanting to know more about God and how to understand the bible. 

PRAYER| A student from church has been suffering with concussion and if she isn't able to get to the route of the problem she will not be able to play soccer at school anymore and will loose her scholarship to university. She is extremely worried and said she has been working towards this since she was five years old and will be completely lost if she isn't able to continue. Please pray for healing for her and that God will show her that she is more than just a soccer player.

Thanks for your time folks!
God Bless and have a fruitful week!

Let There Be Light!

Hey People!

Stormy Weathers| When it first started we just thought it was a bit of heavy rain and were quite unmoved by it so carried on with what we were doing. But then the lights started to flicker and all power went. At the time we were at church and within a couple of minutes they were rushing us to a safer building because the church's roof is made out of tin and they thought it may collapse!! 

By the time we got to the other building the storm had gotten pretty serious. Things were flying everywhere - we were getting reports of the 80 mph winds pushing cars off the road and big oak trees falling down. 

After about 30 minutes it had passed and we were left to explore the damages. Indeed many trees had fallen down - there were branches and trash cans all over the road (it was also trash day) - the roof of a school had been partially ripped off too. The traffic lights weren't working because the whole area had temporarily lost power. The skies started to clear almost immediately and a few hours later the sun was shining again and it was all back to normal. 

Well not everything was back to normal.......52.5 hours!!! - That's how long we lived without electricity in the house for!

The novelty wore off after a few hours and it wasn't fun at all. However it did create a nice mood for some reflective thinking and a taste of what life before electricity was like. And there was no major damage to the house so thank God!

Blood moon| I got to see a total lunar eclipse this week guys. It was really cool and I had to wake up at 5.15am to go outside and see it but it was way worth it! A lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth and Moon are exactly aligned with the the Earth in the middle. The Earth's shadow falls on the moon and it's called a blood moon because the moon appears red.

Concert| I went to my first concert here in the US on Saturday. It was a Lecrae and Andy Mineo! I went with a few others and it was a great venue too!

Funtimes| My new favourite game is Mancala! My mum has it at home but I didn't know how to play it. But I will be a worthy opponent by the time I get back! :-)

Prayer| Some of the kids at church have inconsistent attendance because their parents are divorced and they live between two homes - so please pray that we will still be able to have an impact on them and they will still feel like they belong to the group even if they aren't there often. 

That's all folks! Stay safe and God bless :)