The Cameron Park Zoo in Waco the other week

Home last weekend

I hit up Lafayette quickly last weekend to soak up some time with Becca and friends before I'm off for months in Spain.

Dustin. Deano's. YUM.

Got to see my girl

On the way home I went to this place...

And saw THIS! It was octupus...and stir fry. Yum ehhh just kidding. I didn't try it.

I've loved cooking lots. I made chicken alfredo.

Love you all,

Andrew

P.S.- Last full week of summer school this week

20 Things That Give Me Life...Updated Version July 2011

One year ago at Crooked Creek Ranch on Summer Staff, our coordinators encouraged us to make a list of 20 things that bring us life. That set us on fire. The good stuff in life that makes it all worth it. So here's my updated list (no particular order):

1. Reading and worship songs and spending time with Jesus or talking about Him.
2. The 4 accents I can do... Kazakhstan-y, British, eh, and Country.
3. Being silly and delirious and laughing with friends.
4. Hugs and Kisses and Massages
5. Serving or giving time. Especially to disciple/teach. Loving on/investing in others.
6. Dating and pursuing Becca Stanton. It's true. Gotta say it.
7. Being like-minded, good communication, working together well for a common purpose.
8. Sharing life stories.
9. Anything that makes me cry in a good way...like the movie Blood Diamond or a YL Say So
10. Traveling. Period.



The Original List I made a year ago

11. Disciplines. Working out...push ups, ab ripper x, running. Spiritual...meditation/memorization, prayer, reading, purity. 
12. Sports. Playing and watching. Especially championships.
13. Remembering all we've been given. Reminiscing. 
14. People honestly, caringly asking how you are. Getting to know someone deeply.
15. Being vulnerable and opening up. Bringing the dark into the light. So refreshing.
16. Going to 2 movies in one night. Especially with Dad.
17. Being really close with my family. Especially Mom and our conversations about God and life. And anything having to do with Max. Hahaha.
18. Top ten lists and all sort of lists in general. Like this one.
19. Great books. Speaking of...I need to make a list of those I've read.
20. Education. Learning. Using and applying it also. Like cooking. Or hopefully like this Spanish I've been learning.

Yummy Spaghetti I made

Went with STARS (sorta like an after school program for) kids from around Waco
 to Baylor's Mayborn Museum where there's an exhibit on Egypt right now . That Mark , me, and Hugo.

I ran one day in this severe weather. Woah.

End of free summer update, summer school ahead, and lots of pictures in below entries

Dear Family and Friends,

LFT YOUNG LIFE CAMP

Since I last posted, I went to Young Life camp with Lafayette folk and Mom and Dad tagged along as Adult Guests. That was an awesome week in beautiful Georgia mountains with the temperature and everything. God worked in the lives of everyone as we saw dozens and dozens of people hear, some for the first time, the transforming news of the gospel. In an environment where it just clicks. God's beauty all around. Amazing food with selfless servers and workers. An adventure. A leap of faith off the ropes course or blob. Real honest time to talk (with no cell phones around!). And the clearest stories and illustrations of the reality of brokenness and Sin followed by our rescuer Jesus and his great love for us. Eternal impact was made through that week. Coming home from camp, everyone had a lot of new life in them.

My favorite thing about Young Life camp is that you go with your friends and leaders from home that you know to camp. You are transformed together. And you come back to live life together again. You have community and new vision for what life can be like in Christ. Of course struggles and trials come, but you have Jesus to help you through now...in a way you maybe couldn't before...because you thought you were on your own.

SUMMER FREE TIME

It's been a great half of the summer so far. After YL camp, I only had a week and a half before I came to Waco. I spent lots of time with Becca. Played lots of card games (Nertz). A couple movies...Marley and Me...Transformers 3. We met with some YL college friends to play another game called Quelf one night and other nights we had some bible study. We went on a double date with Becca's best friend for Independence Day to watch fireworks downtown and then swimming. It was a very fun-filled time.

BACK TO SCHOOL

Now I'm back to Waco. Thursday Summer Session 2 started. It ends August 10. School is great so far. Both classes have been enjoyable. Operations Mangagement - Mrs. Umble walks in to class the first day and says, "Raise your hand if you really want to be here...notice I'm not raising my hand." HAHAH. It was a great start. She's a very able and funny teacher. She commutes from Whitney everyday and told us she likes to swim a lot. And I'm liking what we're talking about. Every organization has two fundamental problems: 1) Inadequate information and poor communication and 2) poor performance measurements. Also, we're reading a novel-like book that inherently teaches you ideas called The Goal instead of a textbook. We have to read all 270 pages by Wednesday when our first exam is. Really really liking it though. 

And my Business Law class- Mrs. Agee (pronouced A.G....or "anything but aggie" she says) is really funny also. She is a former lawyer so she has a great passion for the subjects and so many stories. She engages us by asking questions to specific people and gets people in front of class to illustrate things. So many interesting stories. 

On Friday night as I was reading The Goal, one of my Young Life mentors in Waco, Ronnie Smith called me and asked if I could help him drive through the night to Amarillo to help out a buddy of his. I wasn't doing anything so I agreed, as well as one other person did. Just a little 16 hour drive. We left at 8 pm. We were helping out a buddy of Mr. Ronnie's that was at a YL camp in Colorado and he had to take 10 guys home early from camp and couldn't make it all the way back to Paris, TX without some help. They were a little behind schedule so we actually met them in Dalhart, an hour and a half northwest of Amarillo. I drove from 2:30 to 4:30, we waited for them to meet us and slept for an hour, and we started our return at 5:30 am. Mr. Ronnie took over for the guys in the van with the kids and the two leaders slept in Mr. Ronnie's suburban as I continued driving till 9:30 when we stopped for breakfast at McDonald's. We finally gave them enough rest that they could make it make safely, and we got back to Waco at 3:30 pm. 19 hour road trip. It was a blast, I had so many great conversation with Mr. Ronnie from whom I've learned so much. He mentors mentors for a living...church pastors and YL staff around the nation. And his wife Sharon and he also run 2 Kona Ice/Snow Cone trucks. Haha. 

That's enough for now. That's all you should want to know and more.

Love you all,

Andrew

Amarillo Blvd. in Amarillo

On the over-passes...the L's are boots

Pictures of newly set up desk, summer school schedule, Amarillo

My desk for the next 4-5 weeks

Operations Management and Business Law, Monday thru Friday

Past Amarillo, almost to OK which is almost to Colorado!

AMARILLO SKY

Texas Driving Never Ends

July 4th and YL camp

Becca during VBS

Lauren Lavergne, one of Becca's best friends, her boyfriend Zack Wilson

We went to watch fireworks downtown on the  fourth of July

BOOM

Personable Dustin

All the leaders at YL camp

JR 

Our cabin "Pleasant Hill"

"He was injured...injured bad..."