October 06, 2013

Bottle Cap Necklaces Order Form

One way that I'm fundraising for our upcoming Spring Break trip to Russia is by making bottle cap necklaces! They can be customized, and there are many designs to chose from. Simply fill out the order form below to purchase a necklace. You can be as specific as you'd like! If I don't have the design you are looking for, just ask and I can see if I can do a custom design!

Also, bottlecaps can be used as necklaces, keychains, or bag tags! I have a new one on my keyring and I love it! :)

Thanks so much!







Here is an example of a few necklaces on the type of organza chord that I use. I also have ball chain by special request.







Cap Color
Design Number
Custom Text (if applicable.)

October 03, 2012

Such a long time...

I can't believe it's been such a long time since I've posted! It has been nuts with the new school year, but this past summer was amazing. We took a trip to Russia in late June and spent about 2 weeks there working with orphan graduates. We were also there for our friend Viktor's graduation. It was so special to be able to be there for him on his special day! The Lord is continuing great work in Russia and we are so blessed to be able to be a part of it! Looking forward, we are praying about going back for another Spring Break trip in March. Not sure what the trip will look like, but we're praying and preparing for whatever the Lord has in store!

I stop and think about all those sweet kids that we've met in Russia quite often.... keep them in your prayers. I know winter months are not only cold and lonely for them physically, but spiritually. Pray that the Lord would wrap them up in His warmth and love. 

June 06, 2011

One Week!!!

SO, we leave for Russia exactly 1 week from today, so I thought it fitting to post about some of the things we're super exicted about!!!

- This is the biggest team we've taken thus far, and there are 4 new friends traveling with us to meet these sweet people and children that we have come to know and love! I can't wait for them to get to experience what we've had the blessing of experience for so many trips now!

- We are staying at the Transition Home! What's the transition home, you ask? Well it is part of a ministry of one of the local bible teaching churches there. Orphan graduates can live there after they graduate from the orphanage. They participate in bible studies and work projects. We will be staying there for the majority of our time in Russia... this is so exciting because we'll get to hang out with many of the graduates that live there! :)

- Retreat!!!!!! For the first time, we are taking a big group of orphan graduates on a retreat! We will be away from the city for a few days with them. We will be talking about identity in Christ! I am so excited for them to hear all about who they are in Christ!

- Friends! We have made some sweet sweet friends over the years, and we definitely always look forward to seeing them on trips like this!!

- The Orphanage! We have permission to visit the orphanage for 4 days, and we will be putting on a camp for the children there! We were not allowed to visit the orphanage last year, we only were allowed to bring some of the children into the city, so we haven't actually taken a team there in a while! I am very excited to see all of the children we've grown to love and also meet all of the new faces there!

We are so excited for what the Lord has in store! We will hopefully be updating with prayer requests before we leave! We'd love your prayer support for these sweet kids and graduates!

May 19, 2011

Quarters of Hope...

It's that time again, we're going back to Russia. Rewind: We went over spring break to two new orphanages, and had an absolutely wonderful experience and I just realized that I never got to update about that trip! I will post soon, because God did some AMAZING things there and I am excited for where He is leading us.

Ok, so back to present time -- we're going back to the orphanage that we started sponsoring in 2007, and we cannot wait to see all of our sweet kids! We've heard that there has been a lot of turn over there in the past year or so and that means there will be a LOT of new faces that we haven't gotten to meet. We were able to 'drop in' over spring break and say hello to some of the children we've grown to love, and I can't wait to see them all again in June.

One of the main things that the Lord always teaches me during this time is trust. Honestly, most of it deals with finances, and getting the funds to be able to go do to this ministry. It is always such a character builder -- and each trip, the Lord really teaches me more and more about honestly trusting in Him.

This year I did a '$10 for Hope' challenge on Facebook. I created an event and my goal was to see if I could get 250 people to commit $10 for Russia Missions (Each team member was asked to raise about 2,500 for trip costs and costs and ministry expenses). Though I did not make it to 250, many many people gave and the Lord has provided the amount of money I need to make this trip. He is GOOD!

In the meantime, I have encountered a few great stories, and I wanted to share some of them with you because they really encouraged me.... they are from completely different ends of the spectrum, but both impacted me in a huge way.

#1) One night I was at our college bible study, and we were about to get started when a young friend came up to me and said that she had received my '$10 for Hope' invite on Facebook. She said that she had a lot of friends going on mission trips this summer and that the Lord had really laid it on her heart to give to the ministry that was going on... she asked me how much more money I needed (which at the time was about $1,500). She then told me that she had gotten some grants for her school this semester, and she still had a good amount left that she felt called to just 'give'.... she went out to her car and handed me a check for $400. I couldn't believe it. I think I was in shock at the moment... and even now, I think of how sacrificial it is for a college student to give $400. I still am amazed at the sacrificial heart of this sweet girl, and how she chose to give that money instead of use it for the million other things that could have come up... Man, I pray for a sacrificial heart like that.

#2) During the whole '$10 for Hope' thing, I would get things in the mail pretty often, because that is how most people would send their donation. A few days after I got the check mentioned above, I checked the mail and received a envelope from a childhood friend. She is married, and also has a little boy who is very young. I have kept up with this friend only through Facebook, and I have been excited to see that she is growing in her walk with the Lord, but we hadn't talked that often. I opened the envelope and there was 9 one dollar bills, and 4 quarters taped to a piece of notebook paper. Quarters of hope. On the notebook paper it said, "Sorry about the change, money is really tight right now. Hope this helps." At that moment, tears ran down my face. I couldn't believe the sacrificial heart of this friend. That $10 was a huge sacrifice, and I could feel the weight of what that meant to her and her family. Again, I pray for a sacrificial heart like that.

So, in both cases, I saw a great example of sacrificial love. Each sweet friend sacrificing in a different way, but bringing glory to God in an amazing way and reminding me what this whole thing is about.... showing Christ to others. They both did that for me, and I am grateful.

Our team will leave for Russia on June 13th, and I cannot wait! We need about $4,600 total for each person to reach their fundraising goal -- and I know God will provide!

All I have to do is remember those quarters, and how those and so many other $10 donations added up to get me to the fundraising total I needed. 

April 04, 2011

Spring Break Videos Video!

Here are some moments from our Spring Break trip that we caught on video... they are pretty silly, but too fun to watch!


March 29, 2011

Fundraiser Necklaces





Hey friends! WE'RE GOING BACK TO RUSSIA!!!!


Thea team from my church and I will be traveling back to Russia in June to visit some graduates, and hopefully an orphanage, and continue to bring the good news of Christ to the people there! We CANT WAIT!!!


One thing though -- going means we need the support to get there!! That's where you come in! :) We have a few different ways you can support our trip, but the latest is these necklaces! Erin & I make them, and we are selling them for $15 each to raise support!!


Here are some examples of necklaces that we have made! We make ALL different types... different colors, designs, etc. Also, on some of them we put the russian word for either 'faith', 'hope', or 'love'.... what a great way to remember these sweet kids in Russia and to be reminded to pray for them!! Also, we can customize text on them, so if you want something specific, we can do it!!!! Just note that when you order:)


We are so very excited to see what the Lord has in store for this upcoming trip!! Thank you all for your support!!





Just like with our T-Shirts, you can order online!! :) Be specific with what type of necklace you would like, and we will ship it to you! Above you can see some of the different designs that we can make :) There will be a small addition for shipping though!

You can order below!!!









Necklace Options
Color Scheme
Enter customized wording here
Other comments:)







March 27, 2011

$10 for Hope


Russian Orphans and Orphan Graduates are in desperate need of hearing the hope of Christ!

They have stolen my heart, and I have the opportunity to travel back to Russia in June, but I need YOUR help! :) We just got back from a GREAT trip over spring break, but it's time to start getting ready for June!

What can you use $10 for?
- a few trips to Starbucks?
- eating dinner at Chili's?
- buying that CD you want from iTunes?


OR

You can use $10 to help give hope to an orphan in Russia. I think that $10 goes way farther:)

I will keep track as we go and we will see how far we can get!

The goal: Get 250 people to pledge to give $10... You can send it to me at

735 FM 980
Huntsville, TX 77320

If you send a check, you can make it out to University Heights Baptist Church!! It will go straight towards our June trip to Russia...

Will you join me in sharing the love of Christ with these sweet children in Russia?

We're at zero.... lets see if we can get the thermometer up to 250!!!!!!!!! :)