A planting (mattaw) of the Lord...

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’S favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion — to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting (mattaw) of the LORD for the display of his splendor.  Isaiah 61:1-3

This coming August will mark a significant time in my life as I board my first international flight to travel across the Atlantic. Just two days after my sister gets married on August 11th, I will find myself making my way over to Kitale, Kenya. I have been blessed with the opportunity to join an amazing team of 13 others from the Williamsburg Community Chapel to serve at the Mattaw Children's Village for 14 days. 

Mattaw's ministry is to rescue the orphaned and broken children of Kenya, give them a home, meet their physical and emotional needs, and train them to be a garden, a mattaw, for the display of the Lord's splendor. We will be helping to complete a building project at the village as well as spending time with and loving on the children of Mattaw, a small fraction of the 1.9 million orphans presently in Kenya. Mattaw's vision is to create more villages so these children in Kenya will be orphans no more.

Feeling a pull towards Africa over the last few years made me open to serving in this way (and actively seeking opportunities to do so), but it was not until recently that God paved the way to turn the desire to go into a reality. One of the amazing parts of God's timing is that the bible study I completed over the last year focused on Isaiah 61:1-3, the centerpiece passage that encompasses the vision for Mattaw Children's Village. 

More than anything, I covet and value your prayers for my time in Africa, our team, and those lives that will be touched by God through us. I believe that God is faithful to answer prayers, and I am asking that you pray for safety, good health (being able to take necessary medicine), smooth travel(!), and open hearts to how God would have us serve the missionaries and children of Mattaw. Knowing that I have the prayers and support of my family and close friends back home will give me peace as I take this step of faith.

Beyond your prayers, if you are led to join me in this ministry by financially supporting this trip, please make checks payable to Williamsburg Community Chapel. Envelopes can be sent to me or directly to the Chapel (Attn: Faith Olson - Director of Missions, 3899 John Tyler Highway, Williamsburg, VA 23185).  Please include a note designating (or mark on memo line) Kimberly Newton - Kenya Missions Trip.  Any support should be received by the Chapel no later than, July 25, 2012.

My heart has been drawn to Africa for years. I am truly humbled and overwhelmed by the opportunity before me and am unbelievably grateful for your prayers and support. Thank you, dear friends, for reading...

Please click on video below to view more information on Mattaw...

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California...Take Two

I've been back for over a month but didn't want to go without documenting my second (7 day) trip out to California at the beginning of March. This go round was for the actual work meeting that I had been planning for the two months prior. After all of the time that goes into preparing for these meetings, I am always excited when the event is upon us. It's a nervous excitement...anxious to see the fruits of my labor but concerned that all the pieces might not come together as I imagined. Thankfully, everything went smoothly for the most part and our group really enjoyed all aspects of the time in San Diego.

 A last minute decision to change my flight out there gave me two extra days in La Jolla on the front-end before having to head to the resort to prepare for everyone's arrivals. San Diego/La Jolla offers so many fun sights to see and beautiful places to explore that I barely even scratched the surface in January. I thought going out early would allow me to see a few places I missed on the first trip or that I could just enjoy some down time on the beach if the weather cooperated. Well...it didn't. It poured rain the entire day that I arrived and the temps were really cool. (The family I stayed with said that it hadn't rained this much since they moved there 8 months prior.) Oh well. I suppose I couldn't expect it to be perfect there again (like the 80 degree temps in January). So...the zoo and beach didn't happen. Guess I'll just have to go back. :)

I did venture to Balboa Park with a friend on the second day (despite the chilly air) just so all of my extra time in Cali wasn't spent inside. The architecture was impressive and the flowers made the cool walk worthwhile... 

View from street level of the house I stayed at in La Jolla...

The weather did improve slightly with each passing day so by the time the meeting was set to begin, our guests from the east coast were thrilled with a forecast of sunshine and highs in the 70s.  The mornings and evenings were still cool, but midday was ideal - warm, sunny, and free of humidity!

On the main day of arrivals, a small group of our advisors got up extra early to play golf about 30 minutes away from the resort at Torrey Pines, a spectacular course in La Jolla overlooking the Pacific (it is actually close to the area pictured above where you see the cliffs on the right).  The 7 guys allowed me to tag along to experience the course and take photos of the action.  It actually ended up feeling like I was their cruise director. :)  Because we were on the course by 7:00am, there was a nip in the air.  I sure was glad to have overpacked and thrown in an extra fleece and puffy vest!

If you look closely, you'll see two pairs of jets above. We were all completely mesmerized when the jets flew overhead throughout the day. Miramar wasn't too far away so there was plenty of air traffic.

 

As I relaxed by the pool at Rancho Bernardo (yes, I did get some down time while all of the guys were playing golf (again) one afternoon), I gazed at some exotic flowers.  I had heard about birds of paradise but never seen in person.  I loved them!

 Orfila Vineyards & Winery...the location of our offsite dinner.  We timed it perfectly and were able to see the sun setting just as we arrived.  The light reflecting off of the mountains was beautiful and a perfect backdrop for photos as well as a wine tasting and hors d'oeuvres...

Dinner at the winery was in "The Barrel Room"...surrounded by barrels and candles. 

 And I finally got my beach day on my last day in California.  It was a mostly free day and I contemplated touring around, but the 80 degree temps drew me to the beach, of course.  What a great way to wind down from the meeting and enjoy my final hours on the west coast before catching the red eye.

 

Easter

In Christ alone, who took on flesh

Fullness of God in helpless Babe

This gift of love and righteousness

Scorned by the ones He came to save

Til on that cross as Jesus died

The wrath of God was satisfied

For every sin on Him was laid

Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay

Light of the world by darkness slain

Then bursting forth in glorious day

Up from the grave He rose again

 My Easter gifts were wonderful but did not come in the form of goodies in an Easter basket this year.  First and foremost, we celebrated our Risen Savior...the amazing gift of eternal life because of His sacrifice on the cross and then conquering death through His resurrection.  The tomb is empty!

My Mom and Dad hosted lunch for a small group of family (from both sides) including both of my grandmothers.  I felt extremely blessed to share my Easter with both of them.

And, of course, we had a delicious meal and some sweet treats.  We are fortunate to always have more than enough food and some talented cooks.  Our dessert spread was overwhelming and I enjoyed my fair share (gluten and all).

The icing on the cake was two boat rides over the weekend.

It feels like summer is close when the big boat is brought out of storage and put in the water.  Always one of my favorite days (and rides!) of the year.

Snow Scare & Answered Prayer

My drive from Williamsburg to Richmond a few Sunday evenings ago was probably one of the biggest scares I have had. I keep thinking that I dreamed the whole thing up because it seems so crazy now looking back. I was aware that the forecast was calling for snow in Richmond on Sunday evening and a little less in Williamsburg later on into the next morning. Because it looked like the weather might affect my morning commute with the peak of the storm hitting Williamsburg between 6 & 9 am, I decided (with support) that it may be best to head out early in the evening on Sunday to avoid trouble the next morning. I quickly realized that this was not a wise decision, but once I had committed, it was very hard to turn back. 
7:00 PM - Left Williamsburg
7:20 PM - Shortly after getting on the interstate, snowflakes were falling big and hard. The falling snow was dizzying and I was having to concentrate on the faint road lines to stay focused. As soon as I started experiencing this, I should have turned around. Believe me...I will next time...if there is a next time of me being anywhere close to an interstate when snow is in the forecast! 
7:30 PM - The roads quickly turned to white and the lines I was using for guidance started disappearing. And I started panicking! I have many miles under my belt and I feel as if I know the stretch of road between Williamsburg and Richmond like the back of my hand, but neither of those comforted me in the least when my ability to see was dramatically fading with each passing mile. I realized after about 10 miles on the interstate that the conditions were getting dangerous and that it would be wise to get off as soon as possible. When the next exit approached, I couldn't find the exit ramp because snow was completely covering the road at this point and I was forced to keep driving. (My car does not exactly perform well in the snow and has little traction when it drives on any of the white stuff.) At this point, tears were starting to well up in my eyes. I quickly tried to fight them back knowing that I needed to be able to see and this wasn't going to improve the precarious situation in which I found myself. I was fighting so hard to stay on the road that I didn't feel as if I could even reach for my phone to call home. 
7:40 PM - My Mom called at this point (fortunately) to check in and she could hear the panic in my voice. She ended up handing the phone to my Dad and he encouraged me to keep on as I was, which was staying in the tracks of a big tractor trailer that was paving the way ahead of me. One problem...all of the traffic was driving way faster than me and would quickly pull ahead. As soon as the cars were gone and there were less headlights around and fainter tracks to find, I would begin to get nervous again. 
8:00 PM - I had officially slowed down to 20 mph and was creeping along in whatever tracks I could find that other cars had paved ahead of me.  I would cringe every time a tractor trailer blew by me because of the tidal wave of snow that covered my car when they passed. The snow hit so hard that it felt as if it might force me off the road.
8:30 PM - At this point, my Mom was talking to me on speaker (it eased both of our nerves). I could tell that the traction of my tires was worsening. My car started to slide and pumping the brakes didn't make much difference. I ended up sliding off of the road, but fortunately I wasn't going very fast so I didn't slide very far.  I thought this might be the end for me and that I would just have to give up (I had even thought as far as being thankful I had food and extra clothes in the car in case I had to spend the night there. I wasn't thinking straight (obviously) because I doubt my parents would have let me just sit there. I just couldn't imagine wanting anyone else to be out in the horrible conditions like this to help me.)  I put my car in reverse and miraculously was able to back up into the road and get going again.
9:00 PM - I finally made it to the I-295 ramp (and was relieved to have made it that far even though I still had a ways to go).  As I was making my way up the ramp (which has a slight curve and incline) I felt the back end of my car sliding (again!) and I turned completely horizontally across the ramp.  Fortunately, all the cars behind me were able to get stopped in time and they sat and waited until I reversed (AGAIN) and got going in the right direction (AGAIN!).  Miracle #2.
9:10 PM - The conditions on 295 were slightly better and I was feeling more confident that there might be a chance that I could make it home until...
9:15 PM - I notice a red light indicator on my dash...and my car was overheating! At the point where it caught my attention, the gauge was reading as hot as it could read. I knew I needed to do something (like stop!) quickly but I couldn't navigate whether I should wait till an exit or pull off into the deeper snow on the interstate (and risk someone sliding into me).  I continued to drive unsure of what to do until I started detecting a burning smell and smoke (or something similar) was pouring out from under my hood. The only option at this point was to pull off on the side of the interstate.
9:20 PM - I get on the phone calling around Richmond to find someone with a rollback who can tow me.  Being that it was a snowy evening with many cars in ditches, it was hard to find anyone who was available anytime soon.  They told me that they would get to me when they could. As I sat on the side of the interstate praying that no one would slide into me, I quickly was growing more and more scared about being broken down on the side of the road by myself.  Thankfully, my Dad was already making calls to find someone who lived close by to come help me.
9:45 PM - Help #1 arrives and drives me to the only gas station open around to buy antifreeze and water.
10:15 PM - Help #2 arrives at the same time we make it back to the car with fluids. Filled my car with water and antifreeze hoping it would cool down.
10:30 PM - Car has cooled slightly so we make a plan to drive as far as possible to try to get it to the next exit and off the road (about 1.5 miles ahead).  As soon as we get my car going, we realize that it is stuck in the deep snow!  Imagine help #1 and me(!) trying to push the car (as it's snowing steadily still) while help #2 is driving.  Amazingly enough, we get it going and we all caravan down the interstate at 20 mph for 1/4 mile...until my car overheats again! We all pull back off into the snow and wait until the temperature gauge comes off of hot again. We decide to drive the car a bit until it gets really hot and then let it sit for about 20 minutes until it cools slightly enough to keep going.  We repeat this process at least 4 times before making it to the exit.

11:45 PM - Finally make it to the off ramp to exit I-295. How relieved we were to make it to this point. The only stressor was the chance we had taken at causing significant engine damage to get my car off the interstate.
12:15 AM - The rollback shows up. Thrilled to have a tow but sad to see my car on the rollback.
12:45 AM - Left my car at the dealership and thanked the driver for the tow.
1:15 AM - Finally climbed in bed (after a 6 hour trip home) and thanked the Lord that He protected me and got me home safely after a night full of horrible road conditions and car troubles.

I woke up the next morning to the scene above.  How could something so beautiful wreak so much havoc?

I did have to drop a nice chunk of change to get my car repaired, but the good news is that the damage was minimal and my car was fixed in 1 day! The results were WAY better than anticipated...especially after wondering if I had ruined the engine driving it while overheating for so long. 

With daylight savings this weekend and a week ahead of warm temps, I can't believe that snow was a reality any time recently. I'm thankful to be seeing more and more signs of spring!    

California Dreamin' Part III - La Jolla (Day 2)

Thanks to taking the red eye late Sunday evening, I was able to enjoy another full day with the Zs before having to head home.  Our first stop before church was at their local farmer's market.  Even though I enjoy the ones here in VA, ours just do not even compare.  The market was huge and takes place every Sunday.  The vendors were all so friendly offering samples of any of their foods.  It was hard to be there and not be able to bring back a few bags of fresh veggies and fruits.  They had many varieties of produce that I had never seen before and the flowers were exotic and unique.  One of the favorite things I tasted (and brought a small bag home) were honey orange flavored almonds.  Yum! 

The girls ate up the samples (figuratively and literally)

After the market, church, and lunch in Del Mar (and a full Saturday the day before), the gang was all ready for some down time that afternoon.  Of course, I wanted to soak up the nice weather while I could so I made my way back to beach for a few hours by myself.  I was thankful to not have missed the sunset that day. 

Happy toes...

 The only reason I was able to leave (rather than purposely missing my flight home) was knowing that I would be heading back soon.