Life... A true reality: May 2005

My brother-in-laws first time to Texas, so we had to show him the ropes or how to ride the tractor... which ever came first.

An Event FULL Weekend!

This weekend was full of exciting and memory making moments. My sister Julie, her husband Geno, and my nephews Quentin and Nikadian flew in on Thursday for my brother Aaron's high school graduation. Thursday night we went to eat with my grandfather Fr. Jim and his wife Mary. They hadn't gotten to meet Geno, Nikadian, or Chris yet, so we thought this would be a perfect time.

A little background history... Fr. Jim was the man my grandmother was married to when she died. This was Geno's first trip to Texas. He was born in North Carolina, but is "from" Baltimore, and now lives in San Diego. Geno and my sister got married in Dec. and had my beautiful nephew Nikadian in January.

On Friday we all drove to East Texas, more specifically Pittsburg, Tx, to watch my brother Aaron graduate. He was the class president this year. We all had a great time yelling for him and posing for the camera afterwards.

On Saturday we got together with my mom's cousins and my cousin's. We had a really great time talking about my grandmother and her siblings. It was a great time to share in pictures and memories!

On Sunday we spent time with my dad and then with my mom. Overall, it was an awesome weekend! Sorry to post so many pictures, but I took so many and I wanted to show off my family whom I love and adore! Hope you enjoy!!

Quentin blowing on Nikadian's tummy. He loves being a big brother!

Chris and me... the happy couple.

Julie and Aaron... what a duo!

Those of us that were present for the picture: Julie Tossey Gray, Pat Anders, Morrison "Geno" Gray, Aaron Tossey, Melissa Campbell Fruscella, Steve Fruscella, Mhonta Fruscella, Laura Tossey, (second row) Gretta Gibson, Danielle St. John, Quentin Jackson, Heather St. John, Nikadian Gray, Carolyn Gibson Anders

Danielle, Julie, and Heather holding Nikadian.

Everyone watching Quentin have a blast playing in the water puddle.

Nikadian at the family reunion on Saturday.

Aaron with Quentin... boy, Quentin always has a blast with his Uncle Aaron!

The men of the family... Geno, Aaron, Chris, and Dad

The Tosseys! Quentin, Me, Dad, Aaron, Mom, Nikadian, & Julie... we're a cheesy bunch!

The most enthusiastic clapper of the day!

Class of 2022 representing!

Geno, Nikadian, Julie, Quentin, Laura, Chris, Fr. Jim, & Mary

Memorial Day Weekend

Just a sneak preview... I had an awesome weekend with the family and will share it with ya'll (pics and all) tomorrow!

The End of the Season?

As the end of May approaches I am constantly reminded about how this time of the year is the end of a "season". You may ask "End of a season? What are you talking about?". Well, graduations are taking place at colleges, universities, and high schools all over the country. I just graduated from grad school and in a way I feel like it's the end of a season of my life. My favorite tv shows are having their season finales. What will I watch all summer? Maybe this topic seems really weird, but my heart is partly sad because I am saying goodbye to what's left of my "childhood". I'm saying goodbye to the part of my life where irresponsibility used to live and where decisions I made did not seem to permanently affect me. I am beginning life in the "working world"... the grown up world. I know that I'm not going to give up my childish ways over night and I will still have my "childish" days, but this is the beginning of the end of all of that. I guess my mind has been thinking back on my days at SWU... the fun I had and the awesome experience college was!! I miss those days. There are people that I left behind in SC that I deeply miss. In my heart I really want to move back to SC... move back to those friends and that life. For some reason it seemed easier, but in reality I guess it wasn't any easier. You may ask, "What of your friends in Tx?" Well, most of the people I'm really close to here in Tx I've known since middle school. I moved to SC before and we're still friends now. Even some of them have ventured away from Tx. I don't know... maybe I'm being silly. I know that God brought me home to Tx for many reasons. Too many to count, but I long to return to SC. Maybe this time of year reminds me how I really found who I was in SC. I moved there not knowing anyone after growing up in a small town in Tx where everyone assumed they knew you... even if they didn't. Moving to a place where no one knows you can be very refreshing because you can start new a be the real you. I guess I send this blog to all my SC friends so they know I have not forgotten them. I still long to be there hanging out with ya'll!

Noelle in Cambodia

One of my roommates from SWU, Noelle, is in Cambodia right now. At the end of her trip she will have been there 1 year teaching English classes at a Bible college and working with World Hope International to help stop child trafficking. She has been helping to provide a safe place for young girls to go when they've been exploited. She sent me an email asking for prayer and I want to share that email with you. If you know her or not pray for her and their efforts in Cambodia. So, here is her email asking for prayer:

Please pray for me. I am having a hard time. I can see the end. I will be returning home on July 28 and heading to graduate school at Wheaton in Illinois in mid August. As the end approaches it's hard for me to see beyond the "I wish I had done this or that differently." I can't see the fruit of my labor and I wonder if I've been a blessing or a burden. I realize that this is a common feeling that people face when one season in life finishes and another is about to begin. I am already beginning to feel the loss of leaving Cambodia. I don't want to leave. The work is not finished. It will be hard for me to return home and leave all the people who have become some of my dearest friends. I struggled with the decision of staying longer or coming home, but felt that the Lord was opening a door for me to walk through at Wheaton. I will pursue a master's degree in Clinical Psychology. The Psychologist at the World Hope Assessment Center has already asked for me to come back during my summers and intern under her. Hopefully this will be possible.

The Assessment Center is well on it's way. We have been interviewing and hiring staff over the past few months. We now have a vehicle to transport staff and the girls. We have hired four housemothers (we will eventually need at least two more), a cook, two helpers, a counselor (we need one more), a guard (we'll need a few more) a psychologist and two volunteers. We still need a safe driver to drive the girls to the center when they are first rescued, social worker and a housecleaner for our facilities. We will be training staff for the next few weeks and hopefully we can open our center for children shortly after training. I am leading three training sessions this week for our caregiving staff. Please pray that God will be with the translation and comprehension of it all. We have a location for the center. The maintenance work should be complete this week. We hope to begin painting pleasant scenery on the walls and filling the rooms with toys and fun things very soon. I am most excited about decorating this center for children. Fruit trees line the back yard, and hopefully animals will soon graze our land. We have lots of vegetable seeds for the children and teens to plant in our vegetable garden. Pray that the girls will sense the peace of God when they enter our property. Pray that they will not escape or be lured outside of our high walls. I will let you know when the first rescue takes place and children are brought to our center. Pray for our staff. We are all feeling the attacks of Satan as we begin this fight against one of the highest forms of organized crime in this country (child trafficking). Pray that we will be united. We know that this battle is not against flesh and blood so we begin each morning with prayer for each other and for the young girls that are hidden somewhere in the darkness. This is the first center of it's kind in the world. There are many homes for young girls, but our center is like the emergency room. It is a transition from brothel to long term aftercare. We specialize in mental and physical healthcare of the child. We will be granted legal custody of the child until the court decides if the child can return to the home. We will do family investigations and work with local foster homes and orphanages to determine where the child should be relocated. Pray that God will grant us wisdom. We suspect that a child will not stay with us longer than two months before being sent to a medium or long-term care facility. We have a short time to help stabilize the child and show them love. World Hope offers just a small part in the healing process. Our aim is that no child be retrafficked. Please pray for our partnering organizations (those that offer long-term care) that will be most influential in each child's recovery.

I have been so busy with the assessment center so the missionaries at the Bible college allowed me to drop two of my English classes. Another staff member is teaching those classes and I am continuing to teach my level three class. This has given me much more time to work with the assessment center.

A team from Southern Wesleyan University (my alma mater) will be arriving in Cambodia on Thursday, May 19. They will leave the States on Tuesday, May 17 and depart from Cambodia to return home on May 31. Please pray for their safety as they travel. The team consists of five college aged girls and one team leader. I have been busy planning for these girls. Pray that God will use this experience to inspire, grow and change them that they may be better instruments for His service. I am so excited about their arrival. We have a busy 11 days ahead. The girls will visit a Wat (Buddhist temple), prayer walk around the brothel areas in town, ride an elephant, visit a women's development center that cares for girls at risk or are victims of sexual exploitation and/or abuse, take a boat ride to a nearby village, teach classes at the Bible college, lead chapel services, lead the service at a house church, prayerwalk around the assessment center, minister to street families, train our staff in hygiene, shop in the markets, visit the killing fields and genocide museum, see the palace and much more. They will be exhausted by the end, but hopefully they will develop a burning in their hearts for the people of Cambodia. They will probably never forget the faces of those lives they will touch and who in turn will touch them. Pray for this team, and for me as I attempt to lead them.

I need your prayers. I have been feeling so flat and overwhelmed lately. One of my friends and prayer partners asked me how long it had been since I last sent a prayer update. I realized it had been too long. I can feel it when you pray. I wake up refreshed and renewed as if I had just returned from a long vacation. Thank you for the battles you fight for me! You are dear to me, I can't wait to meet with you all when I return. God bless you!

In His shade,

Noelle

"The Lord watches over you- the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm- He will watch over your life."
Psalm 121:5-7

Thank you for your support for Noelle, even if it's just in thought.

Graduated!

Here are the pictures you've all been waiting for! It was tons of fun to wear the hood!

Chris and me. Aren't we a good looking couple?

Isn't the hood awesome? I thought it was one of the coolest parts of graduating with my Masters!

Me and my parents.

Me after graduation posing for the camera.

3 of my favorite boys!!! My nephews Jaelyn, Nikadian, Quentin.

Graduated!

Well, it's over... I finally graduated. My parents and my boyfriend's parents put together a cook out for me yesterday evening. We had a really good time! I have 7 weeks left in my last internship and that's it. Except of course for the licensure exam. I'm finished the end of the first full week in July. I start working at CORE in Longview, Tx on August 1st. So, here I am, almost at the complete end of a long journey, and it feels great! I'll post pictures later this week.

Aaron Tossey

I'm so very proud of my brother! He's incrediably smart and athletic. Not only that, but he plays the sax and is awesome at it. He's a mormon which has been weird to think about. I don't agree with a lot of what mormons believe, but I know that he is seeking God. Does that sound crazy? My sister and I witnessed to him when he was 10 or 11, but it's hard to comprehend God at that age. He was mostly concerned with building forts and getting dirty. Despite the fact that I don't believe most of what he believes I still love him very much. I have faith that God will lead him where His will wants him to go.

I mainly just wanted to show off his pictures and what a handsome stud he is!