DONATE TODAY!!!

Hey guys, I'm trying to raise funds for my Mission Trip to the Philippines through Paypal. I think it might be easier for some of you to donate in that way. :) Please prayerfully consider donating funds toward the Mission. I only have 9 weeks until I leave! https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=KG74SMD2DW9XU&lc=US&item_name=Mabry%27s%20Mission%20to%20the%20Philippines¤cy_code=USD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF%3abtn_donateCC_LG%2egif%3aNonHosted

Another Mission for Me!

Life has been speeding by since I returned from my trip to East Asia in May. I worked at Camp Lakeside over the summer, started school again in the fall, celebrated Christmas, visited Atlanta for the Passion 2011 conference, and then started school again this semester! IT'S BEEN CRAZY!!

I HAVE ANOTHER MISSION!!!!

I will be spending 8 weeks in the Philippines this summer, working at an orphange with some of the cutest, sweetest babies in the world. I can't wait!!! Children are my heart, and serving God is my passion, so what a PERFECT way to spend my summer!

I leave June 2 and return August 4. And I'm not gonna lie, the price tag on this trip is a little scary for a broke college kid, but that's where faith comes in! I know God is going to provide all of the finances for this trip!

Please pray for me as I prepare for this trip! Pray for my finances, pray for my family, pray for my walk with God, and pray for my heart! I need prayers more than anything!

These are Anney and Mao Mao roommates: Vanessa, Pig, Dream, Ting Ting, Swallow, Mao Mao, and I don't Remember... oops. But that's EIGHT girls in one room! I visited, and it is very crowded! But those girls consider themselves lucky--they're all good friends!


This is Russell... This poor guy reminded me so much of Pete and Ryan, that I started treating him like Pete and Ryan. I called him names, and punched his arms, but he was a sweetheart about it. In fact, he called me names right back! Just like a real brother! What a precious thing to have when you're halfway around the world from your family!



THE GREAT WALL!!! When we got to Beijing, the plan was to have a tour bus take us straight from the airport to the Wall. However, our bus driver had never been to the Wall from the airport, so we drove around the Beijing country side for 2 hours looking for the Great Wall!!! It was so funny! When we finally got there, the park was closed. But our tour guide pulled some strings and we got to be on the wall ALL BY OURSELVES! no extra tourists, just our group and tour guide on the gorgeous, misty Great Wall of China! How exciting!

We played hide and seek on the Wall! There weren't many places to hide, but who cares!? We were on the Great Wall of China!

This is the Summer Palace, which was absolutely GORGEOUS! The paintings and architecture in that place are amazing!

We also went to the Pearl Market, but because of all of the hackling salespeople, I didn't get a chance to take pictures. It was fun, though! Man, those people are CRAZY! They would stand right in front of me and keep me from leaving unless I looked at their stuff. It was insane! But I loved messing with them! What a great trip!

China Part 2

Of course, one of the first things we just HAD to have! LOL.. I picked out a very sweet, spring-time, design, and ended up with long, glitzy, ghetto nails! They were so much fun! lol. People kept asking me to scrath their backs!



We went to the embroidery factory, too. It was amazing to see the kinds of things that these people hand embroider! They look like photographs! It was amazing. One lady asked me if I would like to help her with this snow time picture. I hope that one day someone will see this embroidered picture, and notice the three stitches of snow that I did all by myself! HA!




We also went to a Karaoke place! Anney and Mao Mao sang the sweetest song to me, and my friends Laura and Noel. It was precious! And of course, we Americans had to join in with the songs we knew! It was lovely!




On the way to Jing Po lake, we had a mini worship service. It was AMAZING! I was so excited to sing American worship songs, and learning their Chinese lyrics! It was so cool! the Chinese boy on the left is Danny. He is the sweetest boy you will EVER meet, and a firm believer! I loved meeting him!




Jing Po Lake is a waterfall/river, and it is GORGEOUS!!! Down the river, there were HUGE rocks that you could climb! Of course, I had to show up all the boys and climb the tallest rocks! The only problem was, I couldn't figure out how to get down! lol. I had to get the boys to come help me! It was a gorgeous day!

We went to a class that teaches English by teaching American songs, analyzing the meaning, and singing it over and over. Do you see what song their learning?!? Their teacher is a believer, and she's not afraid to say so either! We met many students that night who did not believe anything about that song, but were willing to find out more! It was a great sharing experience!

Mao Mao, Anney, and Dillon, from Texas. Dillon is a pretty cool guy. He's lived in China for over a year now and is going home in January! He was an amazing inspiration to all of us.

We had two birthday celebrations in China! It was so sweet of our friends to throw them both a birthday celebration! It was an exciting day for everyone!

One of my favorite things was seeing the Chinese folk music performance! These college students are good! And when they were finished playing, they gave us a chance to try! I was told that I had lips that were meant to play the flute! lol. yeah right! It was so much fun!

This is my tiger friend, Bob. He was my favorite tiger at the tiger park because when I asked Bob if he wanted to come home with me, he jumped up on the fence and growled. I took that as a yes! hahaha.. I loved the tiger park! It was so exciting!

China Part 1

China was simply incredible! I'm hoping to go back really soon--perhaps December! We'll see. I loved those people so much! They were so incredibly sweet. I miss them already.
I've seen Paris, Mexico, Chicago, and New York, but I've never gotten to see how the people of that region live. In China, we lived with the students on their campus, and walked their city streets every day. It was amazing to see how they live their lives.

Olivia, Laura, Mao Mao, Anney, and me at the lake on campus. These girls were the cutest, sweetest things EVER! they were so funny! We taught them about "sarcastic" and they would tell each other, "You look beautiful today!.... SARCASTIC!" It was hilarious!

Playing Chinese hackey sack while meeting new friends!

My bathroom in the dorm. The shower, sink, and toilet have nothing separating them, so EVERYTHING got soaked when you took a shower. It was definitely something to get used to!

This was my bed. The mattress was literally a piece of plywood with a thin topper on top. it was probably as comfortable as sleeping on a rock. But it was just another thing to get used to!

We visited the Buddhist Temple. It was rather awkward for our team because we don't believe in Buddha, but it definitely opened up some amazing conversation about religion. Amazingly, my friend is a believer and had never been to the Buddhist temple. However, some of the other Chinese students decided to take that time at the temple to worship instead of talk. But it was a really cool experience.

This is my Chinese name, given to me by my friend, Anney. It means smile! How fitting! She taught me how to write it, along with several other things. It was exciting

We also learned about Chinese calligraphy. Let me tell you, it's one thing to write characters on paper, it's completely different to write them with a brush and ink on scrolls. It was hard! But I'm so proud of my finished product!

We also visited the violin factory! It is incredible to think that all of these violins were hand crafted! And these were only a few of the thousands that we saw in the factory. The workers work for hours at a time on a single violin, with little light and poor ventilation. I couldn't do thier jobs!

We also saw a Peking Opera with a cast of children! They were so talented! We watched them get ready for thirty minutes doing hair, makeup, and costumes. I was amazed at how patient they were! The performance only lasted about 60 seconds, but it was really cool to see all of their hard work come together!

I'M

GOING
TO
EAST ASIA!!!

More details to come!

Roadblock

So... shortly after I (finally) said YES to God, there was mention of an opportunity to go to East Asia for two weeks in the near future. I was PUMPED!! I just KNEW this was the trip God had in mind for me! I have had no doubt at ALL!

Until recently, that is. I know I'm meant to go to East Asia. I KNOW it. And I wish I could describe how sure I am that I'm meant to go with this group! But there's one little detail that is holding me back--a stinking, silly, little plane ticket. In order to go with this group, I have to get on the same flight, and thus far, we have NOT scored that ticket.

I KNOW that if this is God's will, He will provide a ticket, and the funds to pay for it. But I'm worn out from waiting.

God, restore my patience and give me assurance. I've stepped up and said YES to You, now please, help me stand firm in faith. Help me to be okay without this control. And most of all, God, mold, teach, and prepare me for this grand adventure I'm so certain I'm going to have.

Mabry on a Mission

God has been doing some AMAZING things in this life of mine. And the cool part is, I KNOW He's not done yet!

This is the verse I've been confronted with SEVERAL times since January:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" ~Matthew 28:19

I know the Great Comission. And I consider myself someone who makes disciples. But there here's what has been happening in life lately. One little word has been sticking out to me:

GO! Go? Go where God? I've been going! I go to school, I go to work, I go to church, I go to camp, I go to CHICAGO! --where else do you want me to make disciples? (btw, don't ask that question unless you're willing to get the answer!) You know what, God, I'll go. As long it isn't China or something, I'll go wherever you want me to go. ...China? Really, God? I can't do that. So...um... no.

"If you love me, you will keep my commands." I do love you, God. But CHINA?! I can't go to China! I don't have money for China!
"GO"
But God, I don't even have a heart for China.
"GO"
But...
"GO"

So, I'm going to China. I'm not sure when, where, how, or with whom, but I'm going to China. And the most amazing thing of all is that I'm actually REALLY excited about it! What an AWESOME God we serve!

A time to THINK

So, I got some of my laundry stolen from the laundromat yesterday. Lost my favorite pair of jeans, my favorite Michael Buble t-shirt and an embroidered towel that I got for graduation. I guess someone was in need of new clothes, but I did get really upset. REALLY upset.

But then God reminded me that I have been asking for spiritual humility lately. He sure has a way of answering prayers. I know that I don't really NEED those clothes (although they were some of my favorites to wear), and I do have other clothes to wear. So, I guess someone needed those jeans more than I did. :)

Another thing that's happened, I met with my mentor this week and she is a lovely woman. She's former teacher and now a stay at home mom with three kids. I really would love to be a stay at home mom, but my mentor pointed out that there's really no such thing as a part-time teacher. You either work, or you don't. So I got to thinking about that. THEN, in my "intro to special ed" class (as I like to call it), we talked about speech pathology. Speech pathologists can work with regularly developing children, children with disabilities, AND when the time comes to be a stay at home mom, I can do that, too! AND there are only 5 speech-schools in Mississippi, and one of them is in Columbus, just 20 minutes away (and where my best friend, Alyssa goes to school :))

So I have a lot to contemplate. But I'm relying solely on Jesus to lead my way! Lord, show me YOUR desire for my life send me some neon lights so I know I'm on the right path!

dunno

I'm sitting here at work, bored, tired, stressed, excited, and... well, blah. that's about the only way I can describe it. It has been raining here for 4 days, and it's only going to rain more, they tell me. I think the lack of sunshine is really starting to get to me. It doesn't help that I still have a cough from the last football game, almost 3 weeks ago.

I didn't go to bed until after 2 last night. I just couldn't sleep. And then, I started crying. For NO GOOD REASON! So I prayed that whatever was keeping me up at night, and cranky during the day, that God would take it and make it His. It was interesting.

I have 4 tests in the next 3 days, and I'm a little stressed. I took a geography test last night and am anxious for the results. Then I have Social Foundations, Psychology of Exceptional Children, Teaching Grammar, and Statistics. I'm not sure how prepared I am for any of these tests, but I'm doing my best to study for them.

I'm super excited that mom came to town, and that Alyssa is coming to town tonight and that we're ALL going out to eat in Starkville! It's gonna super fun. I'm also excited because I'm going to take mom to Walmart and see if she needs to buy (me) anything. :) it's gonna be a blast. I'm also excited because MSU is playing LSU this Saturday at home, and I can't wait to watch!! Go DAWGS.

I guess I'm just a great big ball of emotions this week, and it gets confusing sometimes. But I'll figure it out soon enough!

dreaming

I've been dreaming a lot in the past few nights. and if a dream is a wish your heart makes... I wanna learn to play the guitar, write a new song, and get it heard on the radio. I wanna live in my own apartment with lots of hamburger helper, CapriSun, and a dog. I wanna ring my cowbell for 6 hours straight without getting a headache or having sore muscles. I really wanna see Alyssa. And apparently, I really want to be a fish.

who knew?

Problems...

I guess I got really used to wearing my glasses at MSU; I never really wore my glasses before this semester. Now, I've left my glasses at home and I've had a headache for 2 days and it's making me nauseated. It's not so fun, especially since no one can find my glasses anymore. :(
Please, Lord, place your healing hands on my head and help us to find those stinkin glasses!

You all remember a year ago, when I changed my major to Elementary Education because God told me to, right? Right. Well, I was going strong on that path, confident that that's what God wanted for my life. And I was so happy about it. Well, I'm still happy about it, but now I feel that God is leading me down a slightly different path: still children, just chrildren with "special" needs. Now, though, my confidence in Elem Ed is turning into pride, and I really don't want to get in the way of God's will. At the same time, though, I don't want to make an emotional decision to head down this "special" path when it's NOT God's will. Please, Lord! Give me some flashing NEON lights here! A sign that is unmistakably from YOU!!

HOLY COW!!!!!!

Who knew August would pass so quickly? I realize it's been four months since my last post, but you have to realize how busy things have been in the last four months. I had CATS, finals, graduation, 3 weeks of nomad/bum life (which was fun, btw. I learned how to use a laundromat and live off of hotdogs!), then 6 weeks of Camp Lakeside (which, btw, was AMAZING!), then 2 weeks to prepare to move to college, 1 week of getting settled at college, and 2 weeks of classes. It's been busy, people!

Now let me tell you how amazing God is. So I moved into MSU a week before classes actually began. My roommate (one of my amazing co-counselors at camp) had band camp from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. during that entire week, and all the girls on my floor were "rushing" and junk. Needless to say, I was lonely. REALLY lonely. But that next weekend the BSU had something called basic training, and I signed up for it. I have to say, I was not looking forward to it. I don't like big crowds of people and I felt like a kindergartener on my first day of school. It was not good. But I sucked it up, put on my big girl panties, and went. IT WAS A BLAST!!!! We played games, and visited other churches in the community and ate (a LOT), and just had such a great time!

The BSU divided all the incoming Freshmen and Transfer students into "family groups," and I absolutely ADORE mine! We've only known each other for 2 weeks now and I already feel like I have some best friends! God has been so good introducing me to these people. Last night we had our first Bible study together, and we're studying the book of Acts. It's gonna be great. Everyone laughs when we get together. Last night, I laughed so hard I almost couldn't breathe, and then, of course, in typical Mabry fashion, I accidentally snorted and the laughter started back up again! It's so much fun and I love those people.

God has really provided me financially as well. I have a job working in an office on campus, and it's great. I answer phones and do homework the whole time, so it really fits into my tight schedule. Also, I'm volunteering at Suddeth Elementary School, working with a kindergarten class for one hour per week. I'm really excited to work with those kids! They're just so cute :)

God has also provided me with some pretty easy classes. I think the hardest one I'm taking right now is Statistics, and it's not so bad. I made a 100 on my first test today! The other night, I was in my Geography class (which, I don't like), and I got so bored that I decided to write Pete a letter using my LEFT HAND. GOOD GRIEF! how bored do you have to be to write a letter to your brother with your left hand? it was ridiculous. but i found it funny that even with my left hand, my handwriting is better than his! :)

Anyway, that's all I have time for right now. Maybe I'll post some pics soon!

better than strippin

Okay, so I have this brilliant idea for a little extra scholarship money, and I'm thinking if I can just get some attention on this, it might work.

I'm going to paint a picture and list it on ebay, along with a little sob story about how I'm a broke college kid in need of some schoolin'. Then, hopefully, it will get bid on for lots of money (all of which will go straight to my MSU fund) and I'll be a little closer to my apartment. :)

Am I genius or what?

ROAD TRIP!!! woot woot!

So I was in Walmart yesterday doing mom's weekly shopping. I really hate Walmart (though I don't mind buying her groceries because I get mine for free!) and I really strongly dislike some of the people who go there. People are often rude, inconsiderate, and either don't walk fast enough, or try to run you over. It's awfuL!

Needless to say, I was ready to get out of walmart and get back home. So while waiting in the line, trying to get checked out, I started thinking (not good when I'm bored.). I have 21 days from the time I graduate until the time Camp Lakeside starts back. That's THREE weeks for those of you who can't count. Frankly (and no offense to mom or dad) I don't want to be stuck at home for those three weeks. So it occured to me... I'm getting out.

That's right! I'm meticulously planning a spontaneous 3 week road trip to some place not in Misssissippi, Alabama, or Arkansas. Great idea, right?!

Here's how I see it. I've pretty much got school covered right now with different scholarships and such, so the money I have saved up right now, I'll use to blow on my road trip. So money's covered-- i don't have to worry about that. But now I'm having issues figuring out where to go...

Should I go to Chicago and stop in St. Louis and visit the Great Lakes? Or head east toward Philadelphia, D.C., and New York? Or perhaps I should make like the old pioneers and head west toward California. I dunno yet. Why don't you give me your opinion?!?!
****NOTE: to anyone who thinks this is a bad idea, I don't wanna hear it. LOL

Wish me luck!!! Oh, P.S. I have a solo (ok, so it's actually a duet) in the NWCC Singers Concert this Thursday! Pray for me!

Choir Trip '09

We had such a fun time on the coast for our Mass Choir trip this year. Everyone complimented us on how well we knew the songs we had to learn and how put together and professional our choir sounded. I was very proud! We got home at 4:00 this morning and i am exhausted! But we definitely had a ball!

My lovely friend, Josh. He has a beautiful voice and last night he played his guitar and sang on the beach. it was wonderful!

The Biloxi Lighthouse. The only working lighthouse in America! COOL!



We went to Ocean Springs, also. It's really a beautiful little town. All sorts of shops and restaurants. There was a Walter Anderson Museum, which was absolutely beautiful! I love his work. We stopped to take a photo op by the pretty flowers.

Then we found this CANDY SHOP! Hallelujah, praise the Lord! It was delicious! That was probably my favorite part of the whole trip! lol

Free at Last!!!

CATS is over!! Praise the Lord, Hallelujah, I'm done with this show! Don't get me wrong, I had a really fun time, but I'm so grateful that it's over! Praise GOD!

It went really well, all 8 shows, and I'm thuroughly exhausted... and apparently so was my roommate, Sarah. This is what Alyssa and I did to celebrate.

My Poor Mother...

HAS NO LIFE!

I was on facebook today and this poor woman, bless her soul, has filled out surveys and every chain letter thing you can think of...

And bless her heart, she apparently thinks I have no life either. THREE unread e-mails from her, a few instant messages, and I'm sure there was a comment or something in there. Poor thing. :)

love you, mom!

WOOHOO!!!

WE WON!!! The Allie Awards were this past Friday night and I had so much fun. I wasn't nominated for anything specific, but a few of the shows I participated in were! I had two dates: Drew and Casey, some of my best friends from school. Musical Comedy Murders won for best comedy, and Guys and Dolls was nominated for best musical. It was great to walk up on that stage and accept my (OUR) award!

AND

My beautiful, talented (favorite) roommate FINALLY won her Allie Award. In fact, she won two! I was so proud of her! GO Alyssa!!! She was so shocked to win the first one and she didn't think she had a chance with the second one, so when they announced her name as the winner, she turned to us all in absolute SHOCK! It was hillarious!

Jamison also won an Allie for his stunning performance in Hedda Gabbler. I was very proud of him, also. We had such a good time :)

MORE EXCITING NEWS!!!!

I'M IN!!

It's official! I've been accepted to Mississippi State University! woot! Only 6 more months until I move to Starkville!