The Ericksons

Gearing up the Blog again

2011-09-01T07:53:00.001-05:00

Okay! So we are going to try to use our blog to our advantage and post some needed links for our ministry. We'll see how this works, let me know if you have any comments!

Start of the New Year

2010-01-15T09:04:00.002-05:00

The holidays were wonderful around the Erickson house. We had the opportunity to see a lot of family and treated ourselves to a Christmas date at P.F. Changs, the restaurant where we celebrated our wedding rehearsal. Good memories :)

A month ago we thought we would be spending the whole month of January in South Korea teaching English to elementary and middle school children. But due to the outbreak of H1N1 in the schools over there, our trip has been put on hold. Our hope and prayer is that the opportunity will be there during July - the summer break for South Korean children. We're praying and trusting God for his will.

However, since we have not been overseas so much has happened! Andy was able to enroll in a graduated level class at the University of Dayton. The class is specifically geared toward the technical aspect of his job at the base. He enjoys being stretched and challenged - but I'm not going to lie, he is not a fan of all the reading! It has been several years since either one of us were in school and it just so happens that this month he has reading for class, reading for a course at work, reading for our book club, reading for Sunday School, and reading for our Life Group at church!! Oh my :) But we've been helping each other out and I think he's going to make it!

We've also taken advantage of our time at home and have started renovating our upstairs office. It is the only room of our house that we weren't excited about when we moved in. But through blessings we received at Christmas from several loving family members, we have the funds to help kick start this project. Andy is seriously DESTROYING his closet. He's taking out all of the wood paneling and plaster, stripping it down to the studs and hanging drywall. It's his first real project in our first house - so needless to say, he's excited :) I'm getting over the shock of the mess that you have to make for a project like this and liking the idea of buying paint & new curtains. I'll love it when it's all done.

Ministry has been amazing. We attended our regional SALT conference over New Year's and were very much impacted personally. Often times we walk into those conferences thinking we are going to support the students, but God always blesses us. Andy and I are in a fresh season of walking with the Lord and are feeling Him strengthen and grow us as followers of Him. This has overflowed into the start of the quarter on campus. We've had several large obstacles come up even in the first two weeks of class - but our hearts have been so enthralled with the Lord that it really feels like we are standing on unshakable ground. Christ is a firm foundation for his followers & I am learning that on a daily basis.

The students of Chi Alpha are blowing me away as well. They are constant fuel for my fire. The girls I meet with have been running hard after the Lord and are stopping at nothing to see their campus changed. And now, with the devastation in Haiti, they are opening their hearts and eyes up wider to see how they can respond with the compassion of the Lord. I've never been so in awe of these young people. It makes me want to be 20 forever...maybe that's why we love campus ministry :)

The trials in ministry this past month or two have not been easy - but we are taking the high road & choosing to see the Lord's hand and not grow weary. I listened to a student pray this morning that "we wouldn't be afraid of the gospel and we would preach it without fear". If they are praying that, then I better be living it!! I had the opportunity this Wednesday to pray with someone as they gave their life to the Lord. That is one thing in my life that is so exciting that it always feels like I'm doing it for the first time. Sometimes I get so excited that I forget how to pray the prayer of repentance!! But God has grace and is working more in the heart of the other person than He is through my words. That young lady is such a beautiful person and I pray that you also get to share in the my joy by praying with someone in your sphere of influence to receive Christ as their savior :)

A Day in the Life

2009-11-13T12:34:00.005-05:00

It's hard to believe that this is Friday of week 10 at Wright State. Two weeks till Thanksgiving! So much happening all the time :)

Today was a quiet, enjoyable day on campus. I had such a beautiful time, that I wanted to share.

We started the day off with morning prayer at 7:14am like we do every morning. Together with the a handful of students we prayed for the upcoming winter break. WSU has a 6 week break - which is more than half a quarter long. It can definitely be a time of make or break in regards to faith and good choices in student's lives. So we interceded and enjoyed being together.

I spent the rest of the afternoon updating some files in the office. I keep track of the "follow up" database we have and email all of the students that ever come through our ministry. So far this quarter 250 new students have either come to one of our events or signed up for more information at a festival. That's a lot of students! Out of those 250, twenty five have purposefully connected in more. Not the biggest number in the world - but that's not what we're going for :) What it means is that 25 individual people are getting one-on-one love, mentoring, encouragement, and authentic community. All 25 of them are worth every outreach, service, and event we've done this quarter.

And that's the heartbeat of what we do - we invest into individual people's lives. Helping and encouraging them to know God more, cultivate a meaningful relationship with Jesus...etc. Like this afternoon...

A young man came by the office while Pastor Steve and I were clicking away. He asked if he could talk for a moment about some things. Almost as soon as we closed the door you could see the anxiety and worry that was all through his heart. He expressed that he wasn't going to be able to serve on the sound crew team next quarter - a position he had held faithfully through the fall. When we started to ask why, he broke down and cried. He talked about the pressure and worry he had been feeling in regards to his family. His mom might lose her job and he felt a sense of responsibility to her. As a result of the stress, his relationship with the Lord had been weakening and his grades were dropping. And on top of everything else, he is required to take a class next quarter that completely conflicts with coming to Ignite, our main ministry meeting.

These are the moments that our ministry thrives on. We just stopped and prayed. The issue isn't whether or not this student is going to be able to help set up the sound system and balance the levels for the worship team. We can find someone else to do that. The real issue is, can this student find peace? Can he reach a level of intimacy with God where he really is living Pslam 55:22 "Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall."

Our goal is to set people up for success - successfully know God; successfully pursue Jesus; successfully live, serve, give, and grow; successfully change the world around them for the sake of the Gospel. Knowing how to handle worry is something that may seem very small to many people. But how much more freedom would each of us have if we didn't worry, stress, or loose control when our lives were unpredictable?

Philippians 4:6 "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God"

Philippians 4:19 "And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

The student that we prayed with today will be fine. As a matter of fact, he will be better than fine. He will go on to live a very successful life for Jesus. I say that with such confidence because of what we do. Through this fellowship, God heals past wounds and wrong thought patterns. He has surround each of our students with a great bunch of friends that will stick with them and push them into success.

It was a simple but great day today :) God bless.

Lot's of New Things!

2009-08-16T16:48:00.018-05:00

Well, it's mid August. Our summer this year has been jam packed. Andy is enjoying his job at the base and has actually made some really great friends. I (Heather), just recently resigned from my marketing position with the restaurant. I am in the process of becoming a full time Missionary Associate with Chi Alpha, the international Christian college ministry that Andy and I have been with for the past 6 years.

It's definitely a change, but a welcome one. Serving the Lord on the college campus has become our life's passion. We love every aspect of it, from the rush of new freshmen to the hard decisions young adults face. It's all for the glory of God :)

I want to share some highlights from our busy summer! I hope you enjoy all of it!

These are pictures from my recent mission trip to Peru. I traveled with our Chi Alpha chapter to Lima, Peru for 9 days. We spent the time doing outreaches to young children in schools and local villages. We partnered with the Latin American Childcare program. It really touched my heart and opened my eyes to new aspects of God's love. These pictures are only a taste!

In July, Andy's cousins - David and Lina - celebrated the birth of their new baby girl, Emma. She was baptized in Michigan and Andy and I have the privilege of being sponsors for her. She's such a joy and we love her very much!

Our friends Kyle and Brittany McAllister got married August 1st. It was a perfect day! I got to try my hand at jewelry making for this. I made the jewelry for the bridesmaids. Here are some pictures of how it turned out!

And last, but not least, here's a peak at how our first shot at gardening went. It is really rewarding - and for newbies - I think we did a great job :)

Summer has arrived!

2008-06-15T19:39:00.003-05:00

Good news! Andy received a call for another interview regarding his security clearance for the new job on the airforce base! We keep reminding ourselves that we are doing this one step at a time. Although it's already been several months since the original paperwork was turned in, we're closer to the end result! We suspect that Andy will be working on base by the end of the summer.

More good news, Andy and I are now officially graduates of Wright State University! We walked yesterday in the Spring Commencement ceremony. Although I graduated last year, I was a bridesmaid in the wedding of a good friend. So it worked out that Andy and I could walk together. I think I liked that better any way.

My job is getting more and more defined as the months go on. My main focus is event and promotion planning right now. The promotions I am working on are very time consuming - but that's never a bad thing. It is just stretching my organization skills! I am also learning how to deal with ad agencies. It sounds silly, but taking calls about ads is now a weekly (sometimes daily) task. The advice that was given to me was "Always be polite. Call people back. And remember, treat everyone like a customer." It's good advice and keeps the whole thing in perspective.

Andy and I have been trying out new ways of enjoying the great Ohio weather while exercising. We tried running. I didn't care for that much. Then we tried biking. We biked all the way from our apartment to the Walmart in Beavercreek and back. It's a 5 mile loop and I must say - I was a much happier camper at the end! Running must just not be my thing :) Andy recently bought me a pink water bottle as encouragement during the active lifestyle experiment. I love it!

Tonight Andy volunteered to make dinner. He's so great! On the menu tonight is peppery chicken with pears and rice pilaf made with almonds and sunflower seeds. Being married is so much fun! We're enjoying this new life stage very much - and to celebrate, we recently bought a Wii! This is the ideal life for two recent college grad/newly weds :)

Easter Pictures from Texas

2008-04-24T16:08:00.013-05:00

As promised...

Here are some awesome shots of family Wii time!

Andy LOVES Swedish meatballs...and Ikea!

Here he is working on a University of Michigan egg!

Andy's mom bought us a Star Wars egg dying kit. We made a whole cast of Star Wars characters for Easter dinner!

The finished product!

Spring Update

2008-04-24T15:15:00.002-05:00

As of noon on Tuesday Andy was officially done with all military paperwork and is now waiting for his new job to process and approve him!! What a relief. This has been a tedious time, but the end is in sight. We are definitely looking forward to the perks of the new position - big work out facility, new health care :) It's such a blessing.

Andy spent his Wednesday afternoon building miniature house frames. Our good friend Eric is preaching at church on May 4th and needed the houses for visual aids. Andy is always looking for an opportunity to use his new tools, so he rallied the guys and went to work! They look great and will make great center pieces for the stage. Sidenote, I will also be leading worship on that Sunday. Isn't that crazy?! Our pastor and his wife will be out of town, so they asked if I could help out. This is definitely a one time things - but a fun opportunity. We're sure the Lord will use it for his glory!

I had the pleasure of helping with our Chi Alpha's first full out girls retreat. It went amazing. Liz, Sarah and I spent time praying and brainstorming. The vision we received from the Lord was totally amazing and it ministered to the women perfectly. We had awesome times of worship and prayer. I was even able to lead one of the talks. It turned out to be my favorite talk I've every given. Praise the Lord for the way he's growing and stretching all of the girls. It's such a beautiful time.

Time is a scarcity around our apartment right now. Andy and I are learning how to prioritize and make room for us among all of the other things we could do. This is the first time Andy has been working 40 hrs a week since graduation too. So that took some adjusting as well. All in all though, we are enjoying everything we're involved with - including the softball league - and are excited for the summer!!

We have wonderful pictures from our Easter in Texas with the family. I'll post them soon. We were able to spend several days with Andy's brother Kevin before he was deployed to Kuwait. He is over there now and doing well. We are keeping in close contact with him via email, and that has made the transition easier.

We love all of you!

Fast Forward

2008-02-24T22:00:00.003-05:00

Wow! Where has all the time gone? I couldn't believe how long it took us to update - but things are wonderful!

After much suspense, we ended up getting that cute little apartment :) It's a clean, two bedroom, two bath in a quiet community, with a new stove, and new carpet! My dad and several of our guy friends pitched in and helped move our 600 pound piano. And I will be forever grateful! Having them do it saved us SO much money.

Andy and I are in the midst of change again. Andy's last quarter is almost over and he is getting ready to start his first engineering job at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. It's a cool story really. He got the interview from a resume that someone else submitted for him and then got the call back less than an hour after the interview. We are still praising the Lord for working things out so smoothly for us!

Ministry is really developing right now as well. Andy is connecting with his guys in new very rewarding ways. This stage in our lives has changed our relationship with the students - but definitely for the better. We are able to see more and encourage more. We are so blessed on a weekly basis by the way the Lord is moving in Chi Alpha and continually changing lives. My dGroup is wonderful! We've spent the quarter letting the girls lead and then hashing through how the meeting went afterwards. It's been an awesome challenge to each of the girl's leadership style and I believe has changed our understanding our leading. It's not about being up front - it's about running along beside and sometimes even encouraging from the back. I'm so blessed by my dGroup and am definitely excited for where the Lord will take it next quarter.

My job is going well. It is shaping and developing in ways I never expected. But I feel like I am really starting to grow into it. I'm really getting involved in event planning and in training. I feel as though I am really using my college education and that is incredibly rewarding. You'll have to watch Fox 45 in April, because your's truly might be on the Morning News! ;)

We have soo many pictures we want to share, I'll really have to pick and choose on the next post. We spent New Years in Iceland this year with Andy's family. His cousin David was married to a wonderful woman he met there named Lina. We officially survived an Icelandic winter! Plus we got to experience some of the perks - including a geothermal spa! The wedding was beautiful and everyone is so happy to have Lina in the family. You really need to see the pictures!

I think that does it. If you can, my family is going through a lot of changes right now with different things and could definitely use your prayers. We love you all very much!

Update on the apartment hunt

2007-11-24T18:18:00.000-05:00

Several weeks ago I went around and picked up pamphlets and information on about half a dozen apartments. We sat at Qdoba after one of my shifts and filtered through all the information. We picked through which places were in our price range, had the specifics that we needed (first floor, appliances), and just plain looked nice. That left us with only two real options and I hadn't had the chance to walk through either.

So, last Monday, Andy and I made plans to walk through the first option. It is a little place in Fairborn. Come to find out, it is also real close to the Campus.

When I had been there a few weeks earlier they were offering 2 bedroom 2 baths for $599. We went and walked through the model and they told us that until the end of the month they were running a special - 2 bedroom 2 bath for $499 a month. That's $1200 over a year!

We went home...made some phone calls...sent some emails...and prayed. Two days later Andy text messaged me from work saying he wanted to go fill out the application that afternoon. For $499 a month, on the ground level, with appliances and two full baths - it was hard to pass up.

So now, we are waiting for the paper work to go through. In reality, if this is going to happen, we could be moving boxes again within a week. The idea of having our own place is so thrilling. We had both of our parents in for Thanksgiving this week (pictures on that are coming!), but it wasn't technically "our house". We have been laughing and talking a lot lately about what having our own home would be like. We even bought a Christmas tree and picked up decorations from my mom in anticipation of the holidays.

Stayed tuned for the latest developments! We could know as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday!!

Looking for a new home...

2007-11-12T17:17:00.000-05:00

(This is Andy)
So i have two exams left, and i don't feel like studying for either of them. So instead of procrastinating, i decided to create a long-awaited post. : )

We will be out of the house we are currently in, around mid-December. So we have been shopping around for places a little closer to campus to rent.

It's a bit a pickle because we don't have tons of money, now but in 6 months, i should have an engineering job and be sitting, well, much better off than we are now. Thank you college!

So right now we are looking for an either small rentable house or 2 bedroom apartment. If you guys know of any, lead would be greatly appreciated.

We know God is involved, but we are just not sure how he wants us to go about this. Is it too spiritual to ask for an amazing deal? or are we just suppose to smoothly transistion into a normal apt. near campus like most people. Well we haven't figured that out yet.

Thoughts, prayers or wisdom are always appreciated.

We love you guys!

Chi Alpha Fall Ball

2007-10-29T07:20:00.000-05:00

And there you have it. Pocahontas and John Smith...if they went to college.
The Fall Ball was a blast! More pics to come :)

Wright State Chi Alpha

2007-10-25T19:23:00.001-05:00

If you haven't heard:
God has blessed us with an amazing ministry at Wright State and it is so much fun!

The opportunity to be a part of what God is doing at such a small school in Dayton, Ohio has been one of the greatest blessings in our lives. The Lord is interested in each individuals life - no matter where they are.

This whole quarter our campus pastors have been serving in Guadalajara, Mexico...so it's been different around here! But it definitely hasn't been bad. We are seeing our students really come into an understanding of God's love and what it means to be part of a family. They love this community and they are growing in their trust and respect of other people - and themselves.

This past week at our weekly meeting, Ignite, we had a missionary from North Africa come and share her heart for missions with us. Our students were challenged. We asked them that if they felt God could be calling them into missions work in any form, to come forward and write their name and where they are called on a piece of paper. Thirty students wrote down their names! And the places where they wanted to serve covered more than 15 countries. I was so proud of them. We are praying now for God to carry out those desires He has placed within their hearts. Please join with us in asking for the kingdom of God to be forwarded through our students!

We've done awesome things all quarter and I am so proud of every single students. Here is a glimpse at how cool Wright State is!!

They always know how to have a good time. Even when we are fighting with the laptop there, Michelle and Kyle keep it light and make us smile!

Fall Breakaway this year was such a success! We had the largest amount of students from any Ohio college at a big 47! There was much laughing, some crying, but in the end - everyone was challenged and touched by the Lord.

These are shots of the hangout time at Fall Breakaway. Above, Andy organized a dodgeball tourney and had a blast pelting people with foam balls. The winners? A team called "Smooth Jazz" :) Below, a group of my beautiful girls kicking back and loving on each other.

This is Jessica. She is one of the new girls in my dGroup this Fall. She is a senior dance major and in love with the Lord. I could tell you books about her!

Here are the lovely ladies from my Thursday night dGroup. We are making musical instruments out of beans, pipe cleaner, paper plates, and plastic cups. We were studying "bold worship to a powerful God".

This is football jersey night at Ignite! From left to right: Nathan (freshmen), Jason (staff), Dan (senior).

Chi Alpha is a blast, hands down.

And we want everyone on campus to come into the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Praise the Lord!

Update on our every day...

2007-10-02T13:34:00.000-05:00

Andy and I could not have predicted how the first couple of months of marriage would go. Between Andy going to school, me working my new job, discovering how to be on staff with Chi Alpha, pouring into our students, and being in love - we have to stop and laugh to keep ourselves grounded.

Chi Alpha is a blast. We are learning so much through trial and error. Andy's dGroup has had a rough start, but he and PJ have been praying and coming up with ideas on how to get guys to commit. My dGroup is amazing. The girls are insightful and very loving. If you can, pray that the intimacy just increases as the learn to trust each other!

Being on staff isn't always sunshine, but I love it anyway! Jason and Sarah make me laugh and are such a huge support. I look forward to our staff meetings and realize more everyday how much goes into this ministry. I've never had the privilege of doing something this rewarding. This ministry changed my life, and now I get to help change the lives of others. Thank you Jesus.

Qdoba is one big blessing from the Lord. My position as "Marketing Specialist" is flexible, interesting, self directed, and fun. Right now, I will admit it is a bit intimidating as I am going around to local non-profit organizations (i.e. schools and churches) and pitching a fund-raising program. But, the way I see it - this will hopefully increase my boldness and self confidence. My favorite part is developing strategies. I wrote a report last month on how to execute catering with excellence. I'm so into my job : )

We have Chi Alpha pictures we are itching to post. I'm not in a place I can upload them right now, but soon! I promise!!

If you haven't heard yet, Andy got hit in the face playing flag football on Monday (October 1st). I got a phone call while I was at the XA office telling me that Dan was taking him to the hospital and that I should meet them there. Turns out he accidentally got hit as the center stood up after hiking the ball. Six hours and nine stitches later, we were home again. I was surprised at how much it bled, but he was a trooper. We took pictures, but only to lighten the mood. My guess is that they would not be appropriate for a blog post. I might take a picture of him post stitches after he's taken a shower and then show everyone!

Good news! We now have both car and health insurance! Please pray that the Lord continues the bless our finances : )

Honeymooning in Lake Tahoe - Cali

2007-09-22T11:15:00.001-05:00

Parasailing wasn't as scary as we thought it would be!

This is how it looked all the time...

In front of our cute little cabin!

An artistic rendition of Andy.

What you don't know is that there is a sign on the dock that says "No diving".

After a picnic lunch right next to a water fall, Andy and I are taking in the view...

*sigh*

For ten days, life was slow :) We enjoyed every minute of it.

More Wedding Pictures!!

2007-09-21T22:20:00.001-05:00

The excitement of our reception :-)

It was worth the wait.

All of the grandchildren!!

Always laughing...

There was so much to praise the Lord for that day - especially our friends. Thank you to everyone that helped make that day so memorable!

As promised!

2007-09-13T18:18:00.000-05:00

The wedding was more beautiful than I could have hoped. Every little girl thinks about this day and imagines how it might be. Andy was more than perfect and we had so much fun dancing till we couldn't dance any more. Here's a glimpse at the pictures:

This me getting ready in the bridal room.

Me and my Daddy. One of the best moments together.

Four of the best friends a girl could have!

Everyone had fun that day :)

Andy always makes me smile, even when he's saying his vows!

Here we are taking communion for the first time as husband and wife.

Praying.

We have some catching up to do!

2007-09-13T09:45:00.000-05:00

Well, Andy and I are settled into our temporary new house. There are still more boxes than we know what to do with - but at least we don't have anything more to move in! We keep the mess contained though, because we like to entertain. We've had the opportunity to have friends over for dinner and pictures. So it's definitley been fun!

School has started up again. Andy has his last full time quarter this fall and in the winter he will finish up his undergrad with a part time quarter. Praise the Lord for Andy's job! This winter quarter Andy will be going for 8 credit hours. And, if he works full time for the physical plant, they will give tuition reimbursment for up to 8 credit hours. Perfect! The less we owe the bank the better.

Being married is wonderful. I don't think either of us have ever laughed so much. We enjoy taking care of each other, cooking, and spending nights watching the Back to the Future Triology. We're making a point to make time for "us". It's paying off :)

Chi Alpha started off with a bang! Lot's of new people, lots of fun, and a little bit of running around. It's fall quater, what did you expect? We've had a tailgate party, awesome dGroup hang outs, meaningful prayer times, and so far two sweet Ignites! We're having fun getting back into everything, connecting with the students, and loving the Lord.

Jesus is taking care of us. From everything from finances to time. He's keeping us close to Him and helping us learn to balance this new life of ours.

On more of a bummer note, I was slightly ill this week. Put me a bit behind in my Chi Alpha work, but I'm back in the office today taking another swing at things.

There are BEAUTIFUL pictures...but I don't have the cd with me right now. Hopefully we'll have XA pics, wedding pics, and Tahoe pics real soon.

Thank you to everyone who blessed us at our wedding. We sat in our cabin in California and cried as we opened our cards. We appreciate your kindness and your generocity. We also laughed and smiled as we opened all of our wonderful presents. We could never have expeced so much love. Thank you.

We're Back! (married Version)

2007-08-23T22:07:00.000-05:00

We are Back!
We are Married!
Jesus is So Good!

2007-06-29T16:47:00.000-05:00

So we made it! Back home that is. It was a crazy trip, but before I go into it I want to sincerely thank all of you that supported us to go to the trip. We were pretty concerned there for a while and God really came through, with you guys, Thank you Thank you Thank you!
We couldn't have made it without you. I hope you all can feel a part of what we are doing because you really are.

Thank you.

So to start off, I guess ill start out with something funny. So being a son-of-a-pilot, I never really got sick on airplane, except maybe on little Cessna's or piper cubs. But it seemed though as soon as we crossed the boarder flying into Mexico, it hit me, like a sack of Mexican jumping beans. I was light headed and couldn't hold it back.

It wasn't the best start to the trip, but it wasn't the work either.

The main goal while we were down there was to help facilitate a brand new Chi Alpha at the University of Guadalajara. There are a total of 11 separate campuses to the U of G, most of which are hours apart. Our main focus was as the Marketing and Finance campus called C.U.C.E.A. We spend the majority of our campus time at CUCEA.

Each Campus had its own crest, all significant in themselves. To the right is CUCEA's. The majority of the city is Catholic so there were many crosses around town and on businesses and signs but for the most part it was a formality rather than something meaningful.

The image at the bottom with the two lions and the tree is the symbol of the city of Guadalajara, Mexico. It was actually a full statue in the downtown.

The main ministry that we partnered with down in Guad, Mexico was one called "Engage Ministries". It is a ministry through the AG church that allows students that are still in college to experience full time mission work, while still gaining college credit. It was really a great thing because most people that go into missions need to be ordained and so forth so by that time they have a wife and 2 kids, and the passion for mission work might be gone or at least diminished.

From the students that we talked to, they loved being apart of ENGAGE because they learned that mission work (full-time) was nothing like they expected. Some students actually decide to not continue in the world mission field because of what they found while in the "trial-period". It was not a bad thing but rather a great way to experience and be shown what they are really working for, not necessarily the easiest life.

Well after moaping around for the first day, and having Heather ask me if there was anything she could do to help, I finally felt began to feel better and regained my strength.

We spend the majority of the first week in a daily routine. We would arrive at the Engage house by their bus, eat breakfast and then head out to campus. We spend the morning either praying or talking to the students about their lives, building friendships and hopefully entering into a conversationn about their faith or at least why we were in Mexico. While hanging out with some students that loved to jam, I learned about a sweet instrument called a melodica, I think its my next online purchase. We ate lunch on the CUCEA campus each day that we were there, lets just say there were a lot of deli sandwiches. And then we would round up the students that we knew and go over to the soccer fields (also cement basketball courts) and played soccer from about 2pm - 4pm. We played a lot of soccer in the sun, but it was so much fun! And then we would hang out and finish up before the van came to pick us up at 5pm.

It was a stretch for me because I don't speak any Spanish but Heather speaks it very well. For the first few days it was difficult to connect with any students that didn't speak English well. I played soccer with them and talked music but it wouldn't really get 'real'. Before I knew it we were done with our part of the campus ministry and we were off to other stages.

Mexico: Round Two

2007-06-27T21:55:00.001-05:00

On Saturday we went to the market, and huge indoor/outdoor plaza that spanned blocks and was stuffed full of fake Nike's, Levi's, mysterious drinks, and soccer jerseys. Me and Heather ran around the whole place, I picked up some sweet soccer jerseys and she picked up some well needed hand-made blouses and skirts. It was great! And they even had cheap fresh mango's!

Shown to the right is the typical traffic in Guadalajara.

This was two girls on in the market begging for change. It was very sad to see this next to so many wealthy vendors.

Church on Sunday was definitely and experience. Well in the morning it was 3 hours of straight Spanish, no projector with words, no translator, just passionate Mexicans praising Jesus. It was great to see, but a little hard to participate.

Sunday night was similar, a little more upbeat and American (meaning American songs translated to Spanish) so it was better, but most of all it was great to see them loving it all.

On Monday we painted the ENGAGE office which took longer than expected because apparently we had the wrong paint (oops).

The next day we went to the village (the outskirts of Guadalajara) and did ministry with the kids. This was my favorite day up until that point.

We got to play a ton with the kids, teach them some songs, have a Bible memory verse (all in Spanish, again I don't really understand it).

Afterward we gave them coloring books and candy and toys, they were so thankful!

One little six-year-old girl said that it was the first coloring book she had ever had. It was very hard to leave them.

The last ministry day (Wednesday) we prayer walked around 4 different campuses, none of which had we previously visited save CUCEA. This day started our harder than expected. I was feeling pretty sick at the point again so it was hard to gain the energy to walk and pray on the little food that I could hold.

We saw a lot of interesting things on the campuses including a mountain view in the Art and Arch.'s backyard, and some weird paintings on another campus. We finally came to the Law campus. At the end of the walk we came to this tree we saw something really cool about it.

As you can see the tree is busting through the cement barriers as it grow, the blocks continue to fall apart. The understanding that we felt was that our prayers and time there, along with the other teams, ministries, kids outreaches, church services and the like, were all feeding into the grow that God is doing in that part of Mexico (dubbed the 'black hole of Mexico' as far a Christianity). Even though at times it felt like only 10 days, or small prayers on campuses we knew nothing about or didn't speak the language, God was moving.

Jesus' love is growing in Mexico.

He kind of brought it all together in one short moment. It was just like Him.

Guadalajara, Mexico

2007-06-06T20:21:00.000-05:00

We are officially leaving for Guadalajara next Tuesday the 12th at 7:25 a.m. We will be arriving in Dallas Ft. Worth around 8:55 a.m. and then Guadalajara at approximately 1:10 p.m.

From there we go directly to the university we are ministering at. We won't see the hotel till later that night. We will be on campus for a week, and the last 3 or so days will be spent 2 1/2 hours outside of Guadalajara ministering to the underprivileged community.

A building on the campus of UG

Our main objective is to be a blessing to the missionaries that are dedicating their lives to bringing the gospel to the students of Guadalajara. We will be praying, playing soccer, worshiping, and connecting as much as we can with the students on that campus. Essentially, we will be doing what we do best - but in Spanish!!

Please pray for us. This is an extension of the ministry that Andy and I have been pouring into for four years. This will be the second team of students our Chi Alpha has sent down this year. In July we will also be sending our campus pastors down for 6 months! We are investing in this project to pioneer a Chi Alpha Campus Ministry at the University of Guadalajara because we know this is the Lord's will. He didn't just call the American students to salvation - but all mankind.

So you know, we will be flying out of Guadalajara on June 21st at 2:05 p.m. and into Dallas Ft. Worth at 4:40 p.m. Then it is home sweet home and on to wedding planning at by 9:35 that night.

A Change in Season

2007-05-29T23:03:00.000-05:00

There is only a little over a week before the end of my undergraduate career. There are only two weeks until we leave for Mexico. When I take time to stop and breathe, my first thought is always "Where did May go?"

Andy and I are back into the swing of things after an amazing weekend up in Michigan. Andy's family threw us a wedding shower at his Uncle Allie's house - which sits right on the lake. We sat in the hot tub, we went tubing, we caught some fish and were seriously blessed by the generosity of his family. Even though some of the items that we put on our Khol's gift registry were seasonal, his relatives still managed to buy us dishes, bathroom decorations, and some of the kitchen supplies we asked for.

It was very relaxing and so much fun. In the 10 months we've been engaged, we've never had that much time just to focus on ourselves and enjoy one another. We are amazingly blessed and extremely grateful to everyone who helped put this weekend together. Thank you!

Here we are with brand new Serta pillows from Aunt Dorie!!

Opening up our massive grilling utensils...

My handsome fiance, waiting patiently for a bite...

Slow and peaceful all weekend, just enjoying family and each other...

The lake was amazing as the sun was setting. We watched this from the dock off the back of Uncle Allie's house...

I caught my first fish early in the day on Monday. It was a little baby blue gill!!

Good Day Sunshine!

2007-05-23T08:53:00.000-05:00

Wow! It felt like the winter went on forever! With college classes actually being canceled, the restaurant closing early, digging our friends out, and forgetting to update our blog - spring was way over due!

There is so much going on in this little town. I am working a new job. I left Qdoba Mexican Grill at the end of March and am now officially selling cell phones, high speed internet, and dish network for Cingular Wireless - now the new At&t. It is a huge change, and sometimes I can't believe I'm really doing it, but nonetheless, it's paying the bills and giving us health insurance. If you know anyone who wants to switch to Cingular, I have business cards!!

As of today, I am due to graduate from Wright State University in 17 days. These have been the quickest four years of my life. I'm not sure I'm ready not to be in school*. (*I'm ready to never have homework again!) However, I'm very excited for the year ahead. For those of you who are also keeping count, the wedding is in 73 days :) We are leaving on our first international missions trip next month. We're headed to Guadalajara, Mexico! We've been brushing up our Spanish and Andy even downloaded a Spanish podcast to practice with! Then of course, we will be on staff with our campus ministry fall quarter. So really, I'm getting an extra year of college...and everyone will be jealous. I will get all the perks of social hangout and being involved in the ministry without having to attend a single class. Yeah, it's going to be amazing.

Spring quarter has proved to be unique. After all this time, Andy and I finally have a class together! We are taking Comparative Non-Western Music. One of the best decisions we ever made. The class is stellar, the prof is awesome, and we get to build our own instruments! My step-dad, Steve, helped me with mine. I'll post some pictures as soon as I have them. We built a hammered dulcimer. It's stinkin sweet :) Andy, being the electrical engineer, is building an electronic theremin. Ask him about it, it's really cool but definitely outside of my expertise. Think 50's movies...then add those "waaaa-ooooo" noises. That's what he's making. He's so creative :)

As far as the ministry goes, it's been so good. Andy's really been connecting well with several of the guys. They lift weights, go to the batting cages, and play with his electric scooter - "Lightning". He loves it. As for me, I'm spending a lot of time talking to my girls about leadership for next year. They are very gifted, very talented young women. I look forward to seeing how they will impact the kingdom of God. I love them so much.

Update on my mom: She's doing so great!! She looks good, she's starting to feel good, and she's back to work full time. I've never been so proud of her. She took this challenge head on and never looked back. People have been telling me that I get my determination from her. They've never been more right. She's also helping me plan this wedding like it ain't no thang. I don't think she even blinked during the chemo while we were doing wedding stuff. Praise the Lord that she got to still go with me to get my dress, pick out the bridesmaid dresses, and look at stationary. That stuff is really important to me. I love my mom. If you get a chance, you should ask her about the power of prayer. Her life is a testimony to it.

For Memorial day weekend, Andy and I are going to see his family up in Michigan. They are planning a wedding shower for us! Such a blessing. I even bought a new bathing suit. *blush* I'm really looking forward to it!

There are most definitely pictures to go along with our busy lives...and as soon as I have them I'll post them. In the mean time, could you please keep us in your prayers? We have finals coming up and we are also in the middle of trying to raise $800 a piece for this trip to Mexico. We sent our support letters out this week - and we trust in the Lord to provide the money :) Love to you and yours!

-Heather

Is it Spring yet?

2007-02-11T13:36:00.000-05:00

Well, this winter has been a busy one to say the least. Lots of school, work, and electric bills. Officially we are just over half way through the Winter Quarter at WSU, and I am going to happy/sad to see it go. I brought lots of snow but also lots of late study nights!

I figured that I would give myself a break from a weekend in the lab to post some pictures for a while ago. I really like em.

The first one is from another snow day that we had. This one actually didn't fall on a weekend! They actually closed school for it! Imagine that! We are suppose to get some more inches this week, I hope it comes, if there is one equation that I learned in engineering its is that snow is inversely proportional to the amount of school after a given point. It's only a theory though. To celebrate the snow day, me and heather went over to our friends house and had some authentic Arabian Lunch with rice, chicken and vegetables. It hit the spot. Then we went to the local Meijer and sled down a big hill that they had. It reminded me of middle school! In the picture you can see heathers car and a yellowish apartment behind it where we at our Arabian lunch.

Here is another picture of the snow we got all in one morning! 5" and Wright State cancelled at 2:41pm in the afternoon. It's a pretty big deal!

The next picture is of us making snow angels from the last snow we had! Don't let these pictures fool you, this has been a very mild winter. I just wanted an excuse to use the "snow" setting on my camera.

Me and H went on a date about a week ago to a local park. We got up early (as you can see) and walked around in the snow. It was a ton a fun but very cold!I'm not actually in this next picture but its the only one we have of my intramural basketball team. We are 1 and 1 and the last game we went into over time and won by a buzzer-beater! But the coolest thing was that my roomate (Adam) made a basket by shooting BEHIND THE BACKBOARD (nothing but net!) to tie us up to put us in over time! It was an amazing game. The team is a great way for me to chill and fun away from studies! In the picture are Don Ahossin and Epaphrodite. They are both from Africa and have been over here about 2 years.

This picture is of me and my dGroup (Discussion Group) for Chi Alpha. We had a fun activity about "pressure" and how it related to our lives. The activity consisted of "who can blow up the ballon fastest?" but of course as men, we decided to do it facing each so rubber shrapnel could fly over the opponent. It was a lot of fun! If you look closely you can actually see the ballon breaking (light red) because the other one, about the same size, you can't even see through it! Me and Heather really like our new camera that we got for Christmas. Thanks mom and pop!

The next two pictures are of the SALT Conference that Chi Alpha Campus Ministries goes to every year. This year it was in Indianapolis. It consisted of a lot of good speakers, worship through the new year and local street witnessing. SALT is always a highlight of the break. The theme of SALT 2006 was "Preparing for Gods Best". This is the group shot. The conference gathered all the Great Lake Region Chi Alpha's together. Wright State was definantly one the biggest. Praise God!

This is me and my friend steve, celebrating the new year.
Here is a picture of Chi Alpha's first annual "Chinese Christmas". We invited all the chinese students that we know over to celebrate Christmas with us in the Chi Alpha House. It was packed. We played jenga, Christmas trivia, gave away lots of fun gifts as well as these sweet wooden boxes containing Gold, Frankencense, and Myrhh. I don't know how to spell those. It was a ton of fun and the Chinese Students really enjoyed it. In the picture is Jason, my good buddy who does a lot of International stuff for Chi Alpha, and a ton of Chinese students along with Chi Alpha students. I guess I haven't really posted pictures of the Chi Alpha House. I'll have to do that some other day.

Here are some older pictures from Christmas, sorry it took me so long. This is Grandma chillin' in the rocking chair. Don't let her near any puzzles under 1000 peices, she put it together in less than 20 minutes!

This one is my favorite from the Family Christmas, it was during the gift exchange. Rob and Shelby were a trip!

Here's Kevin and Courtney. They are so cute!

Me and Heather at the Geigers (with Shelby's doll).

During all the rush of a multiple-family Christmas, me a H stole some time to do some sight-seeing. It was very cold in Springfeild, Ohio, but the lights were great. This one looks like she's in London, hopefully we will really get a picture like this some day.

This last one is my favorite from Christmas. It's me and H in downtown Springfeild (her dad's sides hometown) sitting in the Christmas lights.
I hope you enjoyed my massive media filled post. Things are great down here in Dayton, OH. Me and H are both looking to get better jobs, and we both have good prospects, Praise Jesus. We would love to hear from all you guys, feel free to email me or Heather, or post here. The wedding plans are coming along great. All we have left to get is the DJ, which we are looking into right now. Then we will just wait until we need to finish preparing.

We love you guys. Please pray for us as we pray for you.

Jesus loves you so stinkin' much!

okay, i just found this awesome picture of me and heather. Its from a costume party from the fall. We were.... well.... square dancers of course! I like this one a lot. And yes, its the same multipurpose hat from the previous post. : )

Welcome Back Winter!

2007-01-19T11:01:00.000-05:00

Christmas break was long and so good. :-) Andy and I both worked - but because the Lord is good - we had the opportunity to spend a lot of our time with our families.

Chi Alpha still met over the break. We spent December looking at what it means to live a Spirit led life and how important the work of the Spirit is in everything we do. We also attended our annual leadership conference, SALT. This year is was held in Indianapolis.

For Christmas, Andy and I were in Marysville, Springfield, and Centerville all within a matter of a few days. But the ten hours of driving were totally worth it! The Red Gift Exchange was a blast and little baby Evie is adorable!! We took a ton of pictures just of her. ;-) Mom and Dad Erickson blessed us like crazy. We went home with more food than we knew what to do with and gas money. Praise the Lord. My grandfather got us a crock pot and both my mom and Andy's got us cookbooks. Mmmmmm...talk about exciting! Andy was adorable at my grandmother's as he sat on the floor with my younger cousin and played with an electronic dinosaur and a dancing Buzz Light Year. I'll have to check for photos of that later! My step dad had to work at the fire station on Christmas day this year. So it was just my Mom, my younger sister Courtney, Andy and I for Christmas. A quiet bunch - but still, so much love! My mom is an amazing cook and just an all around joy to be with.

We are at week 4 of Winter Quarter. Classes are, well...classes. They are important, but they can be so stressful. I have done 2 news broadcast recordings in the TV studio so far. By the end of this quarter, you all should be able to watch my 10 minute news show. :-) Andy has been working diligently getting his senior design project together. He and his best friend Dan are on a team of four designing and building a rocket that will eventually be a kit for high schoolers. This is their last big project as college buddies, so they are thoroughly enjoying it.

It snowed on Sunday! We heard that Marysville got some ice, but in Fairborn is was just beautiful, perfect snow. So what did we do? WE WENT SLEDDING! We decided that snow is probably one of our favorite things ever.

We pray that the Lord is blessing all of you! Enjoy this weather and hopefully we will talk to you soon.

P.S. The school news paper published an article about the two of us! You can check it out online using the link to the right!!

Finals are Over!

2006-11-16T17:31:00.000-05:00

Whew! I thought they'd never end!

We are both officially on winter break. Next week is Thanksgiving, and we are so excited! My job schedule worked out so that we have plenty of time to be with family - on both sides. Praise the Lord. Kevin will be home next week too, so we'll get to spend some time with him.

With school done for the next six weeks, that opens up a ton of time for planning the wedding! The date is officially set for August 5th at Benham's Grove in Centerville. If you go to the website you can see pictures of the area and the gazebo we'll probably have the ceremony under. This is so simple too, because we can have to ceremony, take pictures, and have the reception all in the same place! I want there to be as little stress and running around as possible that day. :)

My mother and I went to check out our potential caterer this week. It was so much fun. Over break, Andy and I will get to finalize the menu. We are going against the advice of our friend Bevan and not getting taquitos! However, it was a fun suggestion.

I think we have all of our holiday plans figured out. We should be able to spend time with every part of our respective families. It's a total blessing that it worked out. We love all of you very much and look forward to seeing you soon!

Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.
Isaiah 26:12

Cowboy Andy

2006-11-13T00:37:00.000-05:00

Andy and his best friend Dan at the Wright State Indian Student Association celebration of Diwali. Known as the "Festival of Lights," Diwali symbolizes the victory of good over evil, and lamps are lit as a sign of celebration and hope for mankind.

Why is he wearing a cowboy hat at an Indian celebration?? He said he was having a bad hair day. :)

One Quarter Down Two to Go!

2006-11-13T00:17:00.000-05:00

Andy and I are finishing up our Fall quarter at Wright State. Andy has three finals in the coming week. Lucky for me, none of my classes had final exams - just papers. So I plan on spending the week taking care of my hard working roommates and cooking for Andy. ;)

This quarter has been so amazing. We will have been engaged for three months come Thanksgiving, and it is still just as exciting as the day Andy proposed. Wedding plans are in the works and invitations should go out by the first of the year. It was so difficult to coordinate a date and a location, but we settled on Andy's birthday, August 5th. (He said recently that marrying me would be the best birthday present he'd ever received!)

It feels like we have been going non-stop since August. Between Chi Alpha, school, work, and being engaged there's so much to do! But we welcome it with open arms. Chi Alpha is doing amazing. We are seeing a growth in numbers, but more importantly we have seen several salvations, three baptisms, and numerous changed lives and it's only the first quarter! We are both serving on recruitment this year. Essentially, we just cast vision and spend time with guys and girls within the group to ensure that other students are taking ownership for the ministry. We want to leave behind a legacy of solid leaders someday when we leave Wright State behind.

We are both working right now. I am still a shift manager at Qdoba Mexican Grill. I had my one year anniversary in September. Our franchise is opening a third store this month, so everyone is buzzing with excitement. Andy is interning with KLH, an engineering firm in Dayton. It's a good opportunity that will hopefully open different doors in the near future.

The holidays are almost here!! Andy and I both want nothing more than to spend tons of time with our families. We plan on taking my sister to the Christmas lights at the zoo, making cookies with my mom, and retreating for several days to Marysville. It is long overdue.