Mission Houston

Following our move in June, we headed to Houston for our middle- and high school mission trip. It was so great to be back in our "stomping ground" to serve. The students were great and worked very hard that week. They ran a VBS for a brand new Spanish-speaking church, sorted clothes for a clothes closet, served snow cones at an apartment complex, and passed flyers out in a neighborhood to promote the church. I am really proud of each one of them for being obedient to the Lord's call to go!

Here are a few of the sweet kids that we met in Houston...

While in Houston, the boys and I split our time with our families and the mission group. Each morning I went to help with the VBS and the boys spent time with grandparents. Josh & Gabe had such a fun time visiting the Houston Zoo and a children's museum. I also had the blessing to meet up with many of my Houston friends for a playdate. It is rare that I get to visit with friends on our short trips to Houston, so this was really great!

After their visit to the zoo, the boys posed in their Houston Zoo shirts...

We also had a birthday party our first night in town for Phillip and Elizabeth (who share the same birthday - June 8)...

The boys got to spend time with their great-grandpa (Papa)...

Josh and Gabe love swimming, so it was very fun to get to swim at Grandpa & Grandma's house...

Here are a few pics of our playdate at Memorial City Mall. Let me just say, that mall has the best play area. The only drawback, is that every other mother in Houston also thought it was a good day to go to the mall, so there were lots of kids there. It was so fun to connect with some of my wonderful Houston friends, but we need to do it again in a less hectic environment so we can visit more. I really wanted a picture of all the moms and kids, but it was an impossible feat.

Here is my mom with Gabe and Michelle with Jack...the boys are good friends already and holding hands...

This was the closest we got to a group picture...Kay & Jayk, Becky & Luke, Lauren & Ava, me & Gabe. Missing from this picture are Michelle & her boys, Amanda & Jackson, Becky's son Will, and Joshua.

Kay & Jayk having a good time...Jayk and Jackson hanging out together.

On Thursday of that week, the entire mission group went to Galveston for a fun afternoon at the beach. The students deserved a break because they worked so hard at each task they were given throughout the week! Our families went along, and it was fun to be all together at the beach. This was Joshua and Gabe's first time at a beach. As Lauren said, their beach experiences will only go up from there (meaning Galveston is not the prettiest beach) :)

Joshua's first feel of the warm Galveston water...

...and Gabe's first dip in the water

Grandma and Gabe lounging on the beach...

Oksana and Joshua looking for shells on the beach...

Grannie and Josh playing with boats in the shallow water...

Peter, Joshua, Tyler, and Ava posing for a pic...

Joshua was not very enthused about having to pack up and leave the beach...

We headed to the Kemah Boardwalk when we left Galveston. We all enjoyed the atmosphere of the boardwalk, even though it was sprinkling, and the great food at Joe's Crab Shack!

It was such a great week...fun with our students and families...wonderful opportunities for ministry and some very real, cool stories of how God moved in unexpected ways!