ENGLAND BOUND

we leave TODAY for England!
i'm running out of time, but i will blog it up when i get back! i'm sure i'll have lots to say!


--maddie

Austin pics

sorry it's been a while. i told you i would post pics of the triplets and never got around to it!
so here they are.. this is from Dec 29 - Jan 2 when they weren't even 2 weeks old yet

^^ this is sweet baby Aidan - Aidan Samuel


^^ this is angel baby Liam Alexander


^^ Daddy and (i'm pretty sure) Luke decide to take a nap..


^^ me and Luke - Luke Cameron


^^ me and Liam



^^ all three babies in their little orbs


^^ me and Aidan


^^ mom holding Luke.. and Luke holding his cute little hat!


^^ my cousin Eli who is 5 years old and proud of it ;]


^^ Allie [9], Noah [8], and Eli [5] riding four-wheelers

pics

heres a pic of me and nat but i realized i have more at home so i will add more later!

Christmas break!

oh my goodness i haven't posted in forever!



well i hope you have had a Christmas as good as mine has been..

The week of Christmas break I spent at my Mimi's house with my uncle, new aunt and new cousin. My uncle got married a couple months ago to a girl from Sweden, Asa is her name but we call her by her middle name, Carolina. She already had a daughter who is 10 years old named Nathalie. Allie and Nat get along great which is neat. Carolina loves to shop which is also neat! I think we went to different malls every day until Christmas day and then two days after Christmas.. lol.



Then on Saturday we trekked down to Driftwood (just south of Austin), Texas to see my baby triplet cousins! Right now they aren't even 2 weeks yet. They are so precious!



Luke - he's the tiny one. He's not smaller by much, but he is definatly a little peanut! He has the most hair though.

Aidan - Aidan always seems to fall asleep when I burp him. I don't think I would fall asleep with somebody shwacking me on my back, maybe thats just me.

Liam - has the least amount of hair. Liam is always the first one up for a bottle. He likes to lay awake and look around. Liam also like the music on his little vibrating seat.

I'm in Austin for more than a week so it'll be a while before I can get pictures of the triplets up because I forgot the camera cord. But i do have pics of Nathalie.. so let me find them real quick.

JesusBranded

I am JesusBranded =D

so cool.

Missions Update..

Okay so I thought I would update you on my missions status... we just worked at the Wylie Rodeo this past Fri and Sat night to raise money for the England trip. It's so cool, we had our info meeting for the trip last Sun and we had to make a deposit to reserve a spot to go on the trip, and the past few weeks I have been working for my aunt at her hair salon and babysitting for her etc and God gave me just enough money to make that deposit that night. My mom said she probably couldn't have done it for me. It's such a God thing. I'm excited about it.

Another recent mission that I have been trying to get a little bit organized is returning to Slovakia. A team of about 25 people [including adults] went to 3 cities in Slovakia last spring break: Nove Zamky, Presov, and Bratislava - the capital (where my team was located). It was a great trip, one that I won't ever forget, you know, the usual. We got to talk to people, engage in Christ-centered conversations etc - overall it was a great trip. But we were kind of indifferent about it I guess afterwards. But here lately, the Bratislava team has been feeling convicted to go back. Like we went there, had a great time, planted seeds, but we aren't finished with our work there. It was such a transformation in the way we thought about the trip. It was all in the same week when weird little things kept happening that would remind me of Slovakia like on TV or on the streets or at the mall or just something random like that would make me think about it. Slovakia was just swamping my mind for about a week and it was all I could do to think about something else because Slovakia was the center of my focus. Then I talked to Molly (my roomie in Bratislava) about it at leadership training for church, and she said that she has been feeling the same feelings I have, and has also been constantly thinking about Slovakia - unable to avert her thoughts. So I thought it was neat that another team member felt the same thing, so I decided to ask my friend Morgan, who was my suitemate at the hotel Astra in Bratislava and she said the same thing was going on with her and she had had a seriously weird dream etc and so I told her to call Casey, mine and Molly's suitemate, Morgan's roommate, and ask her if she's been feeling the same kind of convictions and she said that one of the Slovaks commented her on myspace a few weeks ago and ever since thats all she could think about. So we all decided that we need to go back as a group, and soon too. Like within the year. So we are trying to go the week before the England trip, so that is like 2nd week of March. So, we are super stoked! Keep this trip in your prayers as it is not a church organized thing, we are planning this trip by ourselves and going back by ourselves as a group of about 6 people. Scary yet exciting. God is going to do amazing things through this.

Aaaaand Tokyo! The last [or latest] of my mission trips for the year. Well, nothing too extravagant has gone on with it lately... our friend and former youth intern Brian is the one who filmed our promo video and he got that finished up about a month ago so that is cool. We are going to see if we can play it in church here pretty soon, when I get a copy of it I will definately post it on youtube. =)

One more mission... we found out today that our church is going to Israel! I don't think I'll be going on this one, I mean I've already got England, Slovakia, and Tokyo on the way. This doesn't mean that I won't ever go on this trip, because I really do think it would be so cool to see what kind of spiritual position these people are in and see if we could show them God's love in any way we can. This trip has been floating in the air for a while now. On the plane to Slovakia on spring break I sat next to my youth pastor Derek, and we talked about future mission trips that the youth could go on and he mentioned this one but I guess they are making it church-wide instead of just youth. Which is cool too. So yeah.. thats my missions update =)

Our official letters

We got our official acceptance letters today!

Take Me To Tokyo

Ahh! They reprinted! I got the shirt! =D

To view awesome Threadless tees go here:
http://threadless.com/?from=xXsaklothfashnXx

We're In!

Well we haven't got our letters yet... but its for sure that we've all been approved for the Tokyo trip officially. It was a while to wait - but we weren't that worried about it because duh its all in God's hands and it will totally be worth that wait no doubt. Anyway... I started school this past Monday, and WHS starts this coming Monday

SEC 2007

So yesterday and today was the Student Evangelism Conference in Watauga, Texas - it was so amazing! When we walked in you could tell that God had been at work there long before we got there preparing for what he was going to do at this conference. So many people invited Christ to take over their lives, so many people surrendured their life to full time ministry for the Lord - simply incredible. The speaker did the whole thing where he invites you to say the prayer to accept Christ into your heart and with every head bowed every eye closed no one looking around for those people that said that prayer and meant it to stand up and make eye contact with him and oh boy that took forever - it was so cool! There were SO many people who felt God tugging on their hearts! And there were so many people who felt God clarify what He wants them to do in life, so many people who gave their lives to full-time ministry whether it be missions, evangelism, teaching etc. It was so cool. God was at work and we got to watch it all.
*And Amy and I got to meet Superchic[k] =D

Superchic[k] and Building 429 were the main bands

Turtle-like week... yep it's been that slow.

So this week has definitely been the slowest of the summer... pretty boring without Meagan around! lol =D It's kinda nice just to chill and have nothing planned for the day - but that can get pretty old after a couple days. So anyway I can't wait for everyone to come home... I'm going to SEC (Student Evangelism Conference) tomorrow and Saturday which should be fun... Meagan is driving back tomorrow so keep her in your prayers =) Chris and Scott are still in Germany for several more days so keep them in your prayers also!

It's A Small World Afterall...

As you may have seen in the pictures down towards the bottom of the page are pictures of us frisbee golfing and in the car etc... well that day Chris mentioned that he had to leave early-ish because he and Scott were going to eat with a lady that found out from church that they were going to Germany and she had lived in Germany herself for a couple years. I found out the next day at band practice (and by email from the lady...) that that lady happens to be Mrs. Seely - one of my references! She was telling Chris and Scott that she had been asked to be a reference for another iWitness trip, and Scott and Chris thought that was kind of weird and asked who it was and Mrs. Seely said it was me... funny how we all know each other... small, small world.

Mission Trips... coming and going

We met up in the back church parking lot this morning and prayed with Chris and Scott before they left... I think I heard that they were leaving today around noon to go to Base Camp where they will have a couple days of intense spiritual training and then from there they leave for Germany on Monday. These guys are out to do God's work as well as all of the other people on this trip. Pleeeeeease pray for them! And also today everbody on the NY trip gets home! =D They should be home around 9pm tonight. I'm sure they'll have tons of stories! Still pray for plane safetey etc!

364 More Days... Bailee's 16th B-day... Scott & Chris Are Leaving Tomorrow!

So we just passed the year mark for when we leave! The countdown is on... 364 more days. I am only waiting on one more reference to send in the paperwork. =) Today is my friend Bailee's 16th b-day so we are going to go have fun tonight... riding in a limo to go play whirlyball =) And tomorrow morning we are going to send Scott and Chris off with prayer before they leave - because they are leaving tomorrow! Keep 'em in your prayers!

NAME!

Okay I just found out that there is a lady that works with Hawaiian Falls (where Morgan currently works) who also deals with non-profit organizations to help them get their funds and she said if we can come up with a name for ourselves (that we could also use for our blog...) - we could get funds just from a name! So put your thinking caps on pronto! And THINK THINK THINK of a name for us! Something clever! Maybe even biblical! Maybe something to do with like kung-fu fighting, or tai-kai-fondoh! Dude whatever! Think and comment!

New York Trip

So there are a lot of people from my church heading off to New York on Saturday and I'm sure they would appreciate your prayers as they hit the streets and help build/plant a church over there and what not. They are going to have an amazing time and God is going to bless that trip for sure!

Germany Trip

I wanted to ask you guys to keep my friends Chris and Scott in your prayers - they are going to be going on a mission trip with iWitness to Cologne, Germany on the 21st. Just pray that God will keep 'em safe and that they would be blessed but in return bless others with the gift of knowing who God is.

Make That Five... Oops... Maybe Six!

So today I found out that another girl from our youth group is trying to go to Tokyo next summer. She is having a bit of trouble getting her dad to let her go. Just keep her and her parents in your prayers, that their hearts would be softened and God's Will be done! I was talking to Chris a couple of days ago and said he was praying about it... =)

And you ask, "Who are the 5 girls & the guy that are *God willing* going to Tokyo?"

1. Maddie Pannek
2. Morgan Williams
3. Meagan Carter
4. Lauren Tarver
5. Stephanie Knight
6. Christopher Roberts

Picture #1 - Meagan, Chris, Me

Video/More Fundraisers

We thought it would be a good idea to make a short video clip to play in 'big church' about each of us going on the trip and our needs for prayer and equally our needs for $. We also wanted to share when our fundraisers would be so we could get some support, and help with working etc. So far we just need tons of people to show up at Splashfest on August 4th - be there and represent! We are also trying to plan a couple days that we would go and car-hop at Sonic - but we need tons of people to help out! If God is calling you to help out with this mission, this may be the way to do it. Just by donating your time - a couple of hours car-hopping at Sonic. Also on our fundraising agenda is a garage sale. I normally don't like garage sales because I thought they never made that much money, but with our Slovakia trip, they proved me wrong! So we basically need people to donate stuff - GOOD stuff not junky things. =) Also another fundraiser that has been neat in the past is where you have an auction - a people auction where people (who want to donate) can 'buy' a person for a day and that person can do the buyer's yardwork, laundry, walk their dog etc. We will need some people who are willing to help and be auctioned off! We also need some people who are willing to donate, or 'buy' the people being auctioned off. More info will be out later and on the little info video! We should be able to have sign up sheets and a place to donate out in the mall area at church later on. I'm excited! =D

References

For the trip, we have to have 3 adult references

1- youth pastor - Derek Draper
2- church leader - Scott Reuthinger
3- adult that knows you well - Tamara Seely

I gave out the last of my references today! So now I just get to wait... and be patient... and wait some more. It's all in God's timing first of all, but it's in the references timing also because iWitness won't make their descision until they have all three references. *sigh*

:o)

Okay, so in the mean time of these Tokyo posts, I thought i could just debrief on what else is going on. Right now I am sitting in the Stooksberry's office listening to Ashley play High School Musical on Bailee's stereo... funny how she knows the words... (lol <3 ya ashley) and Meagan is taking a shower. :/ Last night we went to see Fantastic 4 - it was good. Today is 4th of July and the skies were actually blue! It's crazy. Anyway... if anything else interesting comes up I will edit the post. Ya'll comment

Clever title...

So there are 4 of us from my church trying to go to Tokyo... we thought it might be fun to each have a personal blog and also have one blog where all 4 of us can post etc. BUT, we can't think of a clever title or URL! Please comment... =)

My fave verse...

This is my favorite verse:

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12

Spring Break 08!

Man, I sure do have a ton to say tonight! Well we had roundtable today and we found out where we are going as a youth group mission trip next spring break! England! I'm excited. - We went to Slovakia this past spring break just fyi for those of you who didn't know. - I guess I'll just have to tack that on to my fundraising for Tokyo. :/ Eeek. That means I am trying to raise about $4500. Oh buddy that is a LOT of money. If you would like to start donating now, do not hesitate to comment me. *sigh* I'm relieved to know that this is all in God's hands.

'Scrapbook' Dates

Here are a few key dates of mine that are basically 'scrapbook' dates - just dates to remember when I go back through these later on. Basically these are dates that my mom wants me to remember. (heh heh)

Downloaded application - June 17 2007

It took me over 2 weeks to fill this application out while also drowning it in prayer and going back over ever single question and making sure that all my answers were heart-felt.

Mailed application - July 2 2007

First fundraiser planned - July 7 2007

Filmed the video *first time* - July 11 2007

1st reference mailed - July 16 2007

2nd reference mailed - July 19 2007

3rd reference mailed - July 22 2007

Filmed the video *second try* - August 17 2007

MY BIRTHDAY! =D - August 17 2007

Got the official acceptance letter - August 28 2007

Finished the video - September 2 2007

I will be adding to this post as more key dates pass my way...

My Testimony

Here is what I like to call my testimony. It all started last year, probably last summer. I went to youth camp for the first time, not expecting anything spectacular - I had no idea. Throughout the week I could tell that God was speaking to me, but I had no idea what He was trying to tell me. I was frustrated with this, but a youth leader at camp told me to be patient and little did I know that I was going to have to do just that. About a month later our youth group went to a conference called SEC. Just a little 2-day youth group trip, something to do on a weekend is what I expected of it. This 'little 2-day youth group trip' is a key factor in my life so far, God called me to do something with missions in my life at this conference. So I thought I had fully figured out what God was trying to tell me when I was at youth camp. Not so much. A few months later I was trying to watch a music video on On Demand - "Fearless" by Building 429 to be exact. I had heard it on the radio and liked it enough to watch the video to it, so I was watching it and then the On Demand started messing up. It kept rewinding and playing the chorus of the song. I was about to turn off the TV and go do something else when I realized that it must be a God thing. By that point I knew God had called me to do something with missions but I wasn't for sure what. Subconsciously I guess I was being picky or limiting about what God wanted to do with my life. This music video was God being real and in my face about being picky or limiting to my calling. For a few months I didn't feel like God was moving in me in a supernatural way. I felt kind of blah. I was getting caught up in school and was trying to stay busy because I liked it that way etc. Then summer 07 came around. My busiest summer yet. I went to youth camp, this time knowing that God can do marvelous things in just one short week. Towards the end of this week God reminded me of my calling to mission work. He led me into a conversation concerning the trip to Tokyo with iWitness ministries and that sparked my interest. The day after I got home from youth camp, I had a God-given revelation. God told me that He wants me to go on this trip and be a part of the iWitness ministries mission on "Making Him Famous." This is about where I am now, thanking God for every step in my testimony that He has given me.

So... first post on my blog!

Hey guys, this is my blogspot and I created it specifically as a diary to my journey to Tokyo next summer. This is just an insight to my thoughts, and my views on what is going on. I do not intend to 'impress' anyone by my blogs, I am putting out there what is going on in my head and my heart and if you care to read it, feel free to. I will be marking the key dates in the journey just for the sake of remembering each step it takes to get where I am trying to go. Enjoy!