Are Tortillas a Dairy Product?

Wow! I know it has been awhile since I have written! Things around here have been going great but super busy! I would like to begin with a fun story that all of my Texas friends will appreciate! A couple of weeks ago, I decided to make Debbie Gargis’s fabulous tortilla casserole. I went to our local grocery store but did not find the large display of tortillas that I would normally find at HEB or Albertsons. After quite a bit of searching, I decided to ask a store clerk, "Could you please tell me where the tortillas are?" With a puzzled look on his face he asked me to repeat myself, so I did and added, "They are round and used in Mexican food." He had no clue what I was talking about, so he called another man over and I repeated my request. This man seemed hopeful when he said, "Oh yeah," but then it just went down hill as he continued, "That’s a dairy product right?" Finally a nice lady who had been listening to the conversation pointed me in the right direction. It is definitely a whole different world up here, but I love it!!!!!

Justin's mom, sister, and Angela!


I had a great time a few weeks ago, as Justin’s mom and sister came to visit. They had never been to NYC before, so we did lots of sightseeing including lunch at the real Serendipity, complete with World Famous Frozen Hot Chocolate for dessert! It was really refreshing to have family here and a good Texas accent to remind us of home!
I got to really be home for a couple of days recently for my sweet Tressa’s wedding. It was beautiful, and I praise God that I could come home for the special day. I had a great time seeing old high school friends and being with my family! A huge thanks to Granny for taking up my dress the day of the wedding; you are the BEST!!!
I am officially going to be a FIRST GRADE teacher!!! I cannot tell you how excited I am to get to begin teaching precious little ones! I know that the Lord has given me this job at Abundant Life Academy for a purpose beyond anything I could ever imagine; it is going to be an awesome year. The staff has been so welcoming and is really making me feel like part of their family already. If anyone has good first grade pointers, please let me know!

Some of our College Students:

Angela and the girls!!!

Justin and the guys!








Please continue to lift up our ministry. On September 11, we are officially launching "the well" a ministry designed to reach young adults and college students. Until then we are busy doing service projects, hanging out with the youth, and organizing for the fall. Also, Justin has been very blessed (but getting fatigued) to have a speaking engagement almost every week! You can visit The Well online by clicking here




This has been a crazy fun week with our church’s Vacation Bible School! Susan and I have taken on the world of 3 and 4 year olds- WOW!!! They are adorable and have really been a joy to teach. I will try to send pictures of this event if I get a chance. We can’t tell you how much we appreciate your partnership in our ministry here! Please keep praying and let us know how we can pray for you.

Love,
Angela

A Long Week

Hey everyone,

I am writing on a very much needed day off, recovering from one of the longest weeks I have had in some time. Last Wednesday, we took our college students and some of our older youth to a concert and prayer meeting at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. It was not a Brook Tab event, but NHNY (the organization sponsoring us) rented the facility, invited Charlie Hall an amazingly talented worship leader, and led a time uniting college aged Christians from all over the city together. It was a great event, I felt our students really began to catch a vision for taking Christ to their schools and communities. With traffic exiting Manhattan and after taking a student home, I rolled into the apartment about 2:30 a.m. The next day, we awoke at 5:30 to take my mom and sister to the airport. Needless to say we struggled with fatigue at our all day service project.

Sunday, July 31 we had the second official gathering of The Well. Although we had some technical difficulties with sound equipment, overall, it went well. We doubled our attendance from the last meeting, and we once again casted our vision for the fall. We feel very confident that the Lord is going to use The Well to draw many people to Himself! We announced our weekly Well gatherings that will start on September 11.

On another note, Angela and I also have been battling sickness this weekend--Friday and Saturday, Angela had a cold, and Sunday and today, I have felt pretty awful. I know it was totally God's grace getting me through last night.

Please pray for our students and young adults. Also pray for leaders within our students and others that could fill gaps in different areas and lead different ministry teams. Right now, its four of us doing everything. We really need some leaders to step up and fill critical roles in starting a college ministry.

We love you guys and thank you for your commitment to keep us in your prayers. If there is anything you would like us to pray for, please feel free to contact us by email or phone.

For His glory,

Justin & Angela