Meghan Elizabeth

My sister...


I was two years, six months, and twenty-four days old when my life changed completely. This day, 21 years ago, Meghan Elizabeth Griggs entered this world and made me a sister for the first time.  I loved her from the moment I met her. And by the story the pictures tell, I'm pretty sure I thought she was MY baby for awhile.

Many miles have separated us for years. But I know that there is nothing that can separate the bond of sisterhood. I am so glad the world got an awesome new member on January 14th, and I am beyond blessed to have her as my sister.

Meghan is currently in her third year at the University of Kansas studying to be an elementary school teacher. She has a sweet boyfriend, Tator Tot, and a great job. I love the opportunities, though too few and far between, to see her. I hope more together-moments happen in the near future.

My sister, my maid of honor, my born-bestie… Here's to 21 years of our friendship and sisterhood. Happy 21st birthday to my joyful, creative, hard-working, funny, loving sister Meghan. I love you so very much, and I am so proud to be your sister.


xoxoxox,
love bec

 

happy birthday, D!

May 13th is one of my favorite days of the year, because it is the day we celebrate the birth of my sweet Daniel. I know this blog post is a little late, but I couldn't resist posting a "happy birthday" post for the best man I know.

This May, my fiancé turned 25 -- that's a quarter of a century old! I can hardly believe it! It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating his 24th birthday in uptown New Orleans (see pics below). And now here we are, celebrating 25 wonderful years of life, and thankful for every day more that God gives us. 

side note: look how young D looks without the facial hair!

This year's birthday was wedged between some VERY important celebrations. On May 12th we celebrated his seminary graduation, and on his birthday, May 13th, we also celebrated our lovely moms. The weekend was full, to say the least, and so were our tummies! But I couldn't resist making a birthday cake for the full stuffed birthday boy. And I made it wedding cake flavored... you know, to get ready for the upcoming nuptials! :)

Excited for his birthday/graduation gift from his bride-to-be!

This is supposed to be "two" and "five" with one in the middle to grow on.

Don't be fooled... he was stuffed before the cake! :)

I love you, Daniel Jackson. Happy 25 years of life... excited to spend this 26th year of your life as your wife, and to celebrate all of the birthdays the Lord gives us together! 

xoxox

golden birthday

For those of you who may not know... TODAY I TURNED TWENTY ONE! :)

It was a super blessed day with amazing friends and people I love dearly. I am thankful to God for all the wonderful people He has blessed me with.

On another note: I turned 21 on the 21st of the month, which makes my birthday GOLDEN. (when you turn 5 on the 5th, 14 on the 14th, 31 on the 31st, etc.) SO, I decided to make this whole year a golden year, and I will blog about some of the "golden" things I do. :) I am excited!

Brief update... but it's almost time to catch some golden zzz's. :) hehehe... this is going to be fun!

joyFULL week

Hello, blogging world! :) After a fun-filled birthday week, I am back to the "normal routine" and blogging again. I want to share with you all the blessings the Lord has poured out on me this week. I am SO thankful for His blessings, and I recognize that all good things come from Him. Here's how the week was:

Firstly, started off Monday with my 20th birthday. When I arrived at the home, the children were waiting for me at the door with many hugs and "happy birthday!" (in english). After lunch, Diana and Kenneth came by the home with a piñata and cake, which the children were SO excited about! We had a great time celebrating (my first piñata was pretty rough, but I'll blame it on the 20 spins... lol). Afterwards, I went to eat with Diana and Kenneth for my birthday, and we got some coffee for dessert... it was such a blessed birthday. **And for the record, I DO have a video of my Spanish birthday song, Annie and Mary... it's just too long to upload. hehe

On Tuesday things were pretty standard. Went to the home in the morning and worked with Miguel as he prepared for his big exams. Then, around 11, my sweet missionary friend Amanda from South Carolina came over to visit with us for the day. It was very nice having another english speaker with me, and the children immediately fell in love with her! We went out on a limb and internet-ordered McDonald's for lunch (which was SUPER fun... lol), and spent the afternoon with the kids. Diana came and picked me up later that evening to stay the night at their house. Tuesday was a very nice day!

On Wednesday morning we woke up and headed on the 2.5 hour drive to Panajachel. Kenneth had to meet with some pastors out there for a team that's coming in the end of July, and he invited me to go with them! We arrived around lunch, and I'm not sure if my eyes have beheld such beauty! Lake Atitlán, with the most blue water I've seen, surrounded by volcanoes and beautiful clear sky... ah! The Heavens really do declare the glory of God, and the sky (and ALL creation) proclaims His handiwork. After visiting Pana and meeting with a pastor, we took a boat across the lake to Santiago Atitlán, a small little town on the other side of the lake. We stayed the night in a bungalow there, and met with another pastor on Thursday morning.

The pastor took us around on Thursday after the meeting, so Kenneth could see where the team would be working. We went to a smaller village outside the town and visited a home that the team will be rebuilding. I've been to Haiti, Peru, Mexico, and I have seen poverty... but it never gets easier to see. Visiting this home reminded me again of the comfort that I am surrounded by... the comfort that I am used to. It also reminded me of my state of depravity before the Lord came to rescue me. So I pray that this family would recognize the Lord's work while the team is building them a home, and that the Lord would receive all the glory due His name. Also, a noteworthy part of our visit with this family is that they are all Mayan... none of them spoke Spanish, but rather an obscure Mayan dialect called K'iche'. So, I was literally only communicating through gestures. And I once again discovered that a smile and a piece of candy are universal signs of love for children. :)

We made it back to the city late Thursday night and woke up early Friday morning to take the children to the water park... and we had SO MUCH FUN! It was a long day, to say the least, but the weather was perfect for the outing, and the children had a blast. We swam, cooked lunch, and then looked through the small zoo. Finally making it back at 5pm, I was POOPED OUT! However, when Amanda called me that evening, I didn't hesitate in the least to agree to go to dinner with her and Jessi and Roblans. :) We had a nice time visiting and eating, and then I stayed the night with her that evening.

Saturday morning Amanda and I woke up and got ready for our day of "freedom." hehe- we took the car, picked up Stephen in Zone 18, almost wrecked heading back to the children's home, and then went to the mall for lunch. It was SUCH a fun day, although a little dangerous with 3 20-year-olds driving the streets of Guatemala, and although we all just met, I felt like I was with some of my best friends. It's amazing the ways that being in the Lord's will connects people. :) Although saddened that day by the loss of our country in the world cup, we were grateful for time spent together and to get OUT. :) However, I will say that unless it's an emergency and I absolutely HAVE to, I will not drive in Guatemala City. lol.

Saturday night I stayed the night with Claudia and Nathan, Diana's sister and brother-in-law. It was nice being with such a beautiful Christian family, and I was blessed to see a real-life missionary family in action. :) They are such sweet people. Sunday morning we went to Nathan's dad's church (who is an IMB missionary here in Guate), and spent the afternoon at their home. What a blessed Sabbath day it was! I came back here, talked briefly with mommy and Daniel, and crashed.

And... that brings me to today! Today has been the first day of the trip that I've done NOTHING. I woke up and got ready, spent some time reading, ate some breakfast, watched Brasil win their game, ate some lunch, and it was STILL pouring down rain. So I decided just to rest for the day and start again tomorrow. It's been a nice day to catch up a little.

(and since I brought up the world cup, I will say that it's SUPER fun watching this tournament in a central american country. I've never heard the word "GOOOOOOOAAAALLLLL" said so often, and I'm enjoying the chances I get to watch some of the matches. Also: VAMOS BRASIL A GANAR!! :)

I can hardly believe I have only 3 more nights in this room... 3 more full days with the children, and only 4 days until my sweet Mommy is here! While I am excited that this part of the trip is nearing, I am also sad, because that means the trip is coming to a close. Being a part of this ministry has been SUCH a blessing, and I'm so thankful to God that I've had the opportunity to work with these children. I look forward to spending these next few days with them, pouring out every ounce of love the Lord has given me. Please continue to pray for them. :)

I will try to update pretty regularly for the remaining time I have here. Thanks for reading.

¡Dios le bendiga!

yay!!!

I'm 20!! :)

Bec Bec's Last Week As a Teenager:

When one of my best friends, Mary Wiltse, turned 20, Annie and I made her a list of things she had to do during her last week as a teenager. (for evidence, please refer to her xanga... lol) Well, the tradition has continued! :) And even though I am spending my last teenage week out of the country, I still have a list of things to do. Here's the list Annie and Mary sent me on Monday:

1. Have someone sing you happy birthday in Spanish (and record it).

2. Color a picture.

3. Sing Disney songs and record it.

4. Take a picture near the sink hole.

5. Bring home some ash.

6. Put your whole day's plan into your facebook status.

7. Write a mushy love-letter to your boyfriend (Walter Daniel Jackson).

8. Talk like a teenager (for example, "so um I like went to the store today and um it was like SO hot").

9. Make up a dance to a popular song.

10. Randomly hug 5 people.

11. Wear a ribbon/bow in your hair.

12. Eat birthday cake.

13. Eat dessert before dinner.

**All of these things should be recorded on your blog for all to see. :) We love you!! Happy Birthday!!

xo,

A & M

So... you've seen it yourself, and now you get to watch as I try to make all these things happen over the next few days. Here's what I've done so far:

#2: color a picture. I kind of took this a step farther and colored THREE pictures. (It's easy to find coloring books and crayons in a home with 8 children!) So, as you can see, one is Annie, one is Mary, and one is me. hehe

#5: bring home some ash. This is the one I really didn't want to do. When you spend 4 weeks with ash all over the place, you'll know what I mean. It's EVERYWHERE. But, it was on my list, so I did it creatively! :) hehe

#11: wear a ribbon/bow in your hair. Since I am out of the country, I had to improvise here. I just pulled the ribbon off my backpack and used it! But, being with children all day, my bow was at some point transferred to Lidia's hair, and not returned until the evening. :) hehe... I guess I should have known that would happen!

I will continue to update my blog as I complete my list. I am thankful for Annie and Mary, what good friends they are to me, and I love them SOOOO much! :)

ok, that's all for now!

¡Feliz Cumpleaños, Carlitos!

Yesterday we celebrated the 6^th birthday of the sweetest boy I’ve ever met: Carlos. Carlos has CP, but the Lord has truly blessed him. He is able to walk, write, eat, etc. by himself, and he does most things that children his age do. He understands SO much, and he communicates well, even though he cannot talk. I am sure that Mary Wiltse needs to come down here for a few weeks and teach everyone Spanish sign language so he can communicate better, but that’s a different story. J Anyways, yesterday we celebrated his birthday, and it brought tears to my eyes several times.

Firstly, all of the children gave him a special message, saying “happy birthday, we love you, God bless you.” It was PRECIOUS! And they all gave him a hug. Here's a photo of Juan José with Carlos...

Secondly, there was a piñata. Of course! Hehe… it was so funny watching them bust it open. They all cheered “carlos, carlos, carlos!” When the candy came out, of course they were all so excited to have some! (not that they needed it… there’s plenty of hyper activeness here.) And then, to top that off, we had a delicious chocolate cake… mmm! But aside from all of the fun birthday activities, I was so blessed seeing the grace and mercy that the Lord has bestowed on Carlos. He is loved SO much, and I know that love comes from our Father. Thank You so much, Lord, for Carlitos.

There are many sweet people that love this happy boy.

I have been so blessed to spend time in this ministry. I had a long conversation with the sweet lady that runs the home, Doña Ruth, and her heart for these precious children that seem to have hopeless lives is SO MUCH like the heart our Father has for us. First we are hopeless, then He reveals Himself, and we have life abundantly… and eternally. AH! What a picture. May I have a heart for the Fatherless, too… those around me that are without hope. May I tell them of where they can find life.

Thank you, Lord. Provider and sustainer. Father to the fatherless.

Please continue to pray for these sweet children and for me.