Spring Break Part 2

So the second part of my spring break (sorry it took so long to post) 

was spent in Idaho at my good friend Meagan's house.

It was so good and I loved meeting her family and spending some time at their house

in the mountains in the middle of NO WHERE!!! It was so relaxing and just what I needed.

Nothing much else to say except that I am very thankful for my friends and all the good times

we had!!!!

Christina and Heidi ready to rock and roll
Meagan and I...haha yesss road trips with no makeup on!!!

look who came! :)
p.s. got to see my good friend Alan!! :D

Heidi and I in an amazing lodge restaurant... 
ok, I don't know about you..but this is an AMAZING sledding hill!!
My beautiful friend Meagan!!!
All of us....
haha the bathroom was HUGE!

I love you Heidi!
ohh my goodness...sweetest baby boy!!!

He is kind of like Meagan's nephew and I loved being able to

get my baby fill in.
Artsy picture of Meagan on the way up to the Lloyd cabin
smiling cause we haven't got a care in the world...
silly friends...
Kind of a fun picture by the Salmon River
haha YES one of my favorite parts...

4 wheeling was SO MUCH FUN!!!

God's Grace...

The grace of the Lord has been on my mind alot as of late. It started me thinking when the students had a class on the book of Galatians. The teacher, Brian Reese, has a great testimony of the Lord working in his life and it comes through in the way he teaches. I remembered him from last year, but there is just something about actually caring (as bad as that sounds) about what the teachers are saying and applying it to your life. The second to last session that he had with the students, I sat in and oh my goodness...it was amazing!!! There is so much freedom in Christ that we, as Christians, don't take advantage of and it frustrates and saddens me. I think some of us go through life striving to be perfect and earn the right to enter into the presence of God and what we don't get is that we will NEVER BE PERFECT ENOUGH FOR HIM!!! It is by God's grace and only by His grace that we can have the assurance that we will never lose our salvation no matter how many sinful decisions we make. Granted, we will not live a life blessed by Him as much as it would be if we were to strive after Him and follow His commandments. One thing that Brian stressed was that it is because we love God that we try and follow His commandments and NOT that we obey His commandments and that in return makes us love God. I know that I flip flop that around sometimes and so it was a good reminder for me to hear. Overall, God is amazing and He astounds me each and every day with just how much He loves and forgives me for all the foolish decisions I make. What an amazing thing to know that there is NOTHING that will ever separate us from Christ's love...

Spring Break 2009 Part 1

This spring break was one of constant moving and alot of riding in cars.

For the first part of it, I was apart of a group that went down to

Baja Bible School in Tijuana, Mexico and worked there for about a week.

It was a wonderful experience for me, very different from the previous

two times that I had been down there. We built houses (or rather you would

call them shacks here in the U.S.) for families that were in need and it was an 

amazing and heartfelt project to work on. They were all very gracious and cooked

us lunch and tried to help in any way they could. I loved seeing the students interact

with the families and try to connect with them, even if they couldn't understand their 

language. 

*So if you ever need a house built, you know who to call.....* :)

Another work project that we helped out with was at a woman's shelter

called the Deborah House. It was a very hard and emotional place to be but

amazing at the same time. It is a safe shelter for woman who suffer from domestic

violence and they bring their children there with them. The director is a very welcoming

and wonderful with the kids and absolutely lavishes affection on those children who have

seen the hard parts of life at their young age. We did alot of numerous projects there, but 

one thing I really enjoyed was working with a power tool! :) Yessss thats right folks,

Diana is getting down and dirty with work...building houses and everything! haha

But yes, a very interesting and hard experience but worth every minute.

Another activity that we helped with was getting the school, Baja Bible, ready for students

to come this fall semester. They were blessed with a beautiful building or castillo (spanish 

for castle) that they are using as the main part of their campus. We helped out finishing up the dorms that will house the students. Mudding was the area I helped out in and needless to say, I don't believe that will be my calling in life! :)

The staff at Baja is wonderful and I really enjoyed getting to know them all. The founders

were previous students and staff of Ecola and therefore can relate with what kind of

an environment we live in and the constant teaching we receive!

Something that blessed me on this trip was watching the students get out of their

comfort zones and actually interact with the Mexican people. We went to church on Sunday

and they jumped right in by trying to sing in Spanish and play sports after the service with

the kids. They never missed a chance to hand out Bibles when we were out and about in Tijuana and were just overall, very bold with their faith. I was greatly encouraged and very proud! :)

One fun memory that I will take from this particular mission trip was getting told

by the mexican market sellers, that i needed to get something for my ex-boyfriend.

Apparently this is a compliment by saying that I was a heart breaker. It just amused me that someone would actually say that and it be the FIRST thing they say.

Another thing I really enjoyed this trip, was the FOOD. Oh man, no more Taco Bell

for me!! I had the best taco de asada on Sunday and just thinking about it

makes my mouth water! :) haha

Overall, God provided safety and blessed us all in many different ways. 

Praise the Lord!!!

Heidi and I having a blast with power tools!

Meagan and I