Elsa! (Guest Blogger:Todd Erickson)

My dad wrote an awesome blog so I wanted to share it with you guys. Hope you enjoy it!

On one of our many trips to Santiago Zamora, a small village just 15 minutes from our home, Katey took a quick shot of our new friend Elsa. Elsa lives in a home that Servants 4 Him built last summer and it now includes a water filter and a clean fuel efficient stove. Elsa and her sisters love to spend time with Katey and especially brush and braid her hair. They have become friends.

Soon after that visit, a local magazine advertised for the opportunity to have photos published in their January photo issue. Katey submitted her pic of Elsa and it (along with one from Clay) was highlighted on page 86. Elsa was a bona fide model.

Two weeks ago, Katey had the opportunity to share the January Revue magazine with Elsa. She got to see her very own photo published and the smile that spread across her face was, as the commercial claims, priceless.

Is anyone among you happy, Let them sing songs of praise. James 5:13

(Todd)

Hope you enjoyed it. Here is the picture that I got in the magazine of Elsa...

And here is the awesome picture Clay got in the magazine...

-Katey :)

School Supply Distribution.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

-Proverbs 1:7

This weekend we got the opportunity to give away some of the donated school supplies to kids in the villages. They need to have all their school supplies to be able to attend school. They also need clean clothes and shoes, so we gave out some of the donated clothes and shoes too. We also got to pray for them and their school year. I got to pray for one girl and I prayed for her school year and for her knowledge in the Lord. It was a great day of being able to provide some needs and pray for the kids!

-Katey :)

A Quick Review of the Past 2 Weeks...

I am sorry that I haven't blogged in a little while...I have been busy. And I want to tell you all about it so here is a bunch of pictures and explanations of how I spent my last two weeks :)

On the 22nd of December we went with some friends to Oakland Mall in the city to see the new Narnia movie. It was tons of fun! It was really nice to go see a movie in the theaters and it was such a great movie...so spiritual! And we even got our pictures with Santa :) It was a great day with friends!

And then on Christmas Eve we had dinner at the Forrest and Carols house and then went to the candle light Christmas Eve service put on by our church. It was a good Christmas Eve!

But thats not all, at midnight the sky lit up with fireworks from EVERY direction to celebrate Christmas Day! It was like nothing I had ever seen, heard, or smelt! And its definitely a tradition that I will enjoy (:

Then Christmas morning we had a normal Christmas morning. But then once we opened gifts and ate breakfast, we went to the airport to pick up the Oesterblads!

And with them came more gifts! It was like a second Christmas morning. Thank you so much to everyone who sent stuff down with the Oesterblads! And thank you to everyone who signed my shirt! You guys are AWESOME!!!

(in the picture above I am reading all the signatures on a shirt that a lot of my friends from school and church signed!!)

Then we spent the week with the Oesterblads! It was a great week. We...

Sifted (first picture) and cleaned (second picture) sand for a water filter!

Went to a village where we played with kids and the guys built a new stove for a family.

The second picture is me with two little girls who braided my hair (:

The last picture is the Oesterblad guys with the family that got the new stove!

Went to some ruins in Antigua!

Hiked the volcano Pacaya. And while we were there I talked to our guide from the last time we hiked Pacaya and I gave him a picture of himself that I had taken last time. He loved it and he said that he didnt have a picture of himself. It was so cool!

And we celebrated New Years Eve with food, movies, and of course...Fireworks!! We set off some of our own and then watched them light up the sky at midnight just like Christmas Eve! It's so cool to watch!

So thats how I spent the last two weeks!! It has been a really fun last two weeks. Thanks for reading...sorry for the excessive amount of pictures :)

-Katey!!