Summer 2007

"...My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (2 Corinthians 12:9)

This verse applies very well to the lessons I learned this summer, the most exciting one of my life. God blessed me beyond measure by allowing to me to embark on three trips--to Texas, Germany and Austria in June and Egypt in August.

These trips were completely unexpected. I went to Texas for the National Tournament in my speech/debate league. The next week I went to Europe on the gracious invitation of the Caudills (Corey's family), who were going with their aunt/sister, a German language teacher (I've studied German and love history, so they invited me). And finally, I went to Egypt on the gracious invitation of my grandfather, who wanted some family company after traveling internationally alone for several years.

Before this summer, I was like most people, just sitting at home, bored. This summer illustrated to me that God does grant us unexpected blessings when if we just ask and follow Him (Ephesians 3:20-21).

It came a price, of course. Between these three trips, going to camp in July (look at previous post), and finishing schoolwork, this year was nothing short of hectic. But it was worth it.

Here are the links to photos of my trips:

Salzburg, Austria (June 20-22, 2007)

Germany (Bavaria) (June 23-26, 2007)

Egypt (August 4-19, 2007)

NCFCA Nationals, Belton, Texas (June 11-16, 2007)

3 of my pics

Other Nationals pics (on my debate friend Silas Hathaway's blog. I'm too lazy to upload my own pics. Look for the June 17 post.)

High Point Photos

Here's the link to photos from the Collinsville Teen Boys' trip to High Point Camp, 2007.

Summer Craziness

That's the only thing I can think of to describe things right now. Talk about a hectic summer.

In my last post I wrote I would post about my trips earlier this summer, but I'm too busy to do it now. (Maybe I'll put up a long, comprehensive post reviewing summer at the end of it). Today was the last day of 5th Street Baptist Church's "Avalanche Ranch" VBS program. Eric and I helped out at it all week. It was a lot of fun. Eric had said beforehand that he wanted to get all the badly-behaved kids in his crew, and he got his wish. (It was a good illustration of "Be careful what you wish for--you just might get it." You'll have to ask Eric or comment on his blog if you want to hear any horror stories).


Today all the helpers celebrated with a big water fight, but they went too fast for me to get any camera recording of the action. Joe, one of the guys from 5th Street, persuaded my poor little brother Philip into buying a big yellow squirt gun from the prize table, which turned into an instrument of terror in the hands of a few rowdy teenagers several minutes later. (Again, ask Eric if you want details of the massacre). Poor little kids, they never know how manipulative older kids are with them.

I'm sure anyone even vaguely familiar with a teenage boy from Collinsville had heard the teen boys there are going to High Point Camp (they never update their website) next week. The 2007 theme is "Wild, Wild West." My friend Josh Bradbury has uploaded a preview from YouTube. Since German Dodge Ball is the classic game of Collinsville (and we're pros, as some people claim), all the boys from Collinsville are planning to challenge another team down in Pennsylvania to a GDB match. I have a feeling it's going to be a kamikaze mission (especially since you can win or lose points for one of two teams the entire camp is divided into). We already know that once we issue the challenge, the other team is going to form from the biggest, baddest opponents the rest of the camp can find. (i.e., the game won't be a piece of cake). But despite that ominous fact, Corey and Eric have said we won't think about losing unless it happens and that if it does, we'll walk around with sacks over our faces for the rest of the week.

Wonderful advice. Contact us for more horror stories next month.

The Aspiring Young Politician...

Mt. Monadnock

Below are pictures from a trip to Mt. Monadnock on Thursday, July 5. Eric and I went with the Wakims, Mrs. Bourret, and a family from our homeschooling group, the Roberges.


This was the fun part...





On top of the world...(at least in my imagination...)



Are we dorky or what?


Soon I'll post about my trip to Europe.

P.S. For all of you who hate photography, I apologize. I am aware that the majority of my posts involve pictures. I'm a camera bug and I can't help it. If you know my dad, you probably know where I got it from.

God Bless America...

Start Of Pictorial Posts

My debate friend Silas Hathaway often posts pictures with no words. I'm going to start practicing that meditative practice.


This was taken in April.

I guess this wasn't exactly a wordless post, was it? The next pictorial post will be, I promise...

P.S. Two posts in one day. Wow! A record!