House Update...

Okay, Okay ...
So, it's been way too long since I've posted. Hopefully, I still have my faithful readers out there!? Well, as you'll see, we've been very busy! Seeing how our entire house was PINK (yes, pink ladies and gentlemen) inside, we've been painting up a storm! Artie and I have tried our home improvement skills and clung to our Home Depot "1-2-3 Home Improvement" book. From the day we were handed the keys, we've been updating, fixing, repairing, installing, removing - and finally we're at a stopping point. (Not to say that home improvement is ever really over, it's definately looking like 'the McCall house' and it's comfortable enough to take a good break.) Here's just a few of the before-and-after pictures...

I have to close this blog with a word of thankfulness. Artie and I have been overwhelmed with how God has provided for us. We have more than we need or could imagine. We are so grateful to Him for supplying us with this precious place and give Him all the thanks!

I'll be back, sooner than later...

Sale Pending

Well, incase you haven’t already heard (and I would be surprised if you hadn’t – we’ve been talking about it to everyone!) …

ARTIE AND I BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!!!!!

We’ve been house hunting for quite awhile and came across this one in late June. We knew it was just right when we walked through it! We love it! We look forward to having the space to have friends over without stepping on each others toes :) (thanks to all of you who endured our small space!). Artie and I drive by it every few days (the people living there probably think we're crazy ... but we are, about the house!) We are packing up and extremely ready to go! We close on Friday, the 28th and move in on Saturday the 29th! We are so thankful for how God has provided for us and look forward to using our home for His Kingdom. And just to add to our blessing, we have several families from our church that live in the neighborhood! Stay tuned for some before-and-after pictures … it definitely needs a personal touch inside!

Kyle & Mandi's Wedding

Last weekend, we had some out of town friends get married here in Tampa. It was such a sweet day and everything went great. I was asked by the bride to do her flowers. I got some coaching from a friend who does them often and gave it a shot. I did two alter arrangements and four bouquets. Also all the décor. It was a lot of fun and I was so happy to be able to give to a bride, since I was the recipient of friends helping out at my wedding not too long ago. Here are some pictures …

Africa Pictures...

Finally, I got some photos to upload...




Chriszelda



Namibian Children


Me and Hilja

Me and Viola

Our VBS - 500 children!

No zoom required here!


The red, African sunsets - gorgious!

Please read the blog text below to hear stories about these photos...

O’er The Land & O’re The Free…

…And the Home of the Brave! Well, that is what I felt when I returned home. I was incredibly humbled at the greatness of God yet so brave and empowered to step out for the sake of Christ due to my experience. My mission trip to Namibia, Africa to share the love and salvation of Jesus Christ was utterly incredible! There is absolutely nothing like seeing God at work on the other side of the planet. I did a Bible study by Henry Blackaby when I first became a Christian called “Experiencing God.” In this study he explained that you cannot manufacture God’s work. You can’t declare His Hand to move and you definitely can’t save a soul. You can only, simply, whole-heartedly JOIN God where He is already working. I saw the truth of that on my trip. God was already there, already moving, already speaking to the hearts of seekers and definitely preparing hearts for our coming. God laid three young girls in particular on my path in Arandis, Namibia (where we served) … Hilja, Chriszelda and Viola. There were definitely more, but there was something uniquely special about these three. I spent the majority of my time with the orphan/abandoned children that were the focus of our trip (and hundreds of them asked Jesus into their heart!!!), but any spare time I had I spent with these three.

Hilja ~ she and I related so much in our hearts for ministry. She is engaged (or promised, they don’t call it engagement until the week of the wedding) to be married to an Angolan in seminary. Her wedding is in December. We shared a lot of words about being the woman God calls us to be as a wife and support role to our God-given men. (I have a really neat story to share about her – I’ll write again) She drew so much from our team – she truly was a joy to be with.

Chriszelda ~ she was very special and so beautiful. She was a young girl who sang with Pastor Tresford in the church services we attended. We talked a lot about the Heart of Worship. We shared our testimonies and shared Scriptures that had changed our lives. We would learn worship songs from each other and teach the different ways of our cultures. She wanted to be married and asked me tons of questions about me and Artie’s relationship. She begged me to bring her an American man to marry, one like Artie she would say! See, she was up against a great struggle in her culture. Men are very absent and non-committal (I only met two marriages!). She lives in a very unloving culture – desperately clinging to the promise of

... Psalm 143:8 …

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

Viola ~ stole my heart! I was so humbled at how God had placed her in my life! I couldn’t believe how amazingly I related to her! The same struggles, the same fights of faith – and she was on the fringes! God put her in my path because He had worked in my life and re-built the walls in my life in order to share my journey with Viola! I shared so much of Beth Moore’s Breaking Free study and a lot of what I have learned at my church about making victory in Christ a reality in my life. Brenda, one of the full-time missionaries we were with, had introduced us and asked me to be open with her and share my story. After spending next to no time with her, I told Brenda that maybe God brought me all the way to Africa just for her! As soon as I got home I mailed several copies of Breaking Free and sermon series to be studied in Africa! Praise the Lord!

So this is what I learned … God IS at work all around the world! The message of freedom, the hopes of a real unfailing love, and the promise of God’s will for His Own is just as desired and freely offered in Africa as it is in America! There is going to be a lot of people in the sky when He calls us by His trumpet in the end and I am so thankful to know a few by name that will be far in the Western sky!

O Say, Can You See?

Just Checking...

Hey Everyone! I am in the process of a new post all about my trip to Namibia, Africa! It was awesome! I just wanted to do a quick test drive to see if I would be able to post photos...

The Namibia Mission Team

Tallahassee and Cousins...

This past weekend, we had a family wedding in Tallahassee, FL. It’s kind-of complicated, but when your roots are from Mississippi it’s understandable … my THIRD cousin got married this weekend, and yes I know my third cousin. My dad’s side has always managed to keep up with each other and maintain a long lost tradition of family reunions. Johanna (my 3rd cousin) feels like a first cousin. She was there at all our family visits to Osyka, Mississippi where my grandparents lived. We had a chance to reminisce about the good ‘ol Osyka days ...
bunny rabbit funerals, multiple weddings (Sarah and I were always the wedding planners), bike races, Easter Egg Hunts, gymnastic competitions, Fish Fries, campfire singing (Coom-By-Ya – sp?), 4-Wheeler racing, FIREWORKS, filling the birdfeeders with Granddaddy, and dare I forget to mention EAT!!!!

We have lots of fun memories out in the country. And over the weekend it was a lot of fun to have all the cousins together again. Our newest addition, my little niece – Zoe Margarget – was a TON of fun! Since she doesn’t live in Tampa with the rest of us, you can imagine how we ate her up!

Tallahassee was a beautiful place to get married - Johanna we wish you the absolute best and pray for you to have Christ at the center of your marriage ... making it more than you could ever imagine!