Mama Mia

I just had to give a shout out to my mama. She is the most beautiful creature I know. She is strong and loving. She is intelligent and witty. She is fun and playful. And she is my mom!


I just know she is going to become even more beautiful as she discovers a deeper relationship with her creator. My prayer for her has always been that she sees her value. That she realizes what a treasure she is. That she takes hold of what God has planned for her, without fear, totally trusting in Him.

I love you mama!

June 12th 5:07pm Baby Izaak Makes His Debut

It's Official

So I am an Aunt for real! Baby Izaak entered the world at about 5pm on June 12th. He was 6lbs 8oz and 19 3/4" long! He is sooo cute and as soon as I find my cable to connect my phone to the computer I will show you how cute he is. Here is how it all went down...

Wed. Night
My sister calls and asks, "So what are you doing at 4:30 tomorrow morning? Can you come to the hospital with me?"

Thurs. Morning
4:30am arrive at hospital
5:45am I call my mom to report that Sarah is 1 cm dilated and she should probably start driving to the hospital (from New Orleans) cause she didn't want to miss it.
4:30pm Sarah has been in labor like 12 hours and Izzak is still inside the oven so the Dr. does a c section and by 5:00pm we have a baby!

So it was a long day but totally worth it. I got to be a part of one of the greatest miracles ever... the creation of life. God has been planning Izzak since the beginning of time and he is finally here to start walking out the plans God wrote for him long ago. So cool!

Baby Izzak Calhoun Martin

Sarah is going to be admitted to Woman's Hospital on Thursday at 4:30am to start her delivery!!! I am going to be an aunt the day after tomorrow!!

Let's cover her in prayer!

I AM SO EXCITED TO BE AN AUNT!!!

Baby Count Down

So I am going to be a aunt in a week or less! I am going with my sister do a Dr. appointment today and we are hoping and praying that she will be able to pick a date for enduction...yes you can pretty much schedule a baby these days.

We are hoping that little Isaak Martin will be born on Friday June 13th! I will keep you posted about his arrival. I think it is so awesome that God even has his due date planned. God knows his name, He has plans for this boy, He has knit him together in my sister's womb! How cool is that!!

I have been practicing my Auntie Heather skills as much as possible at the church nursery so I hope that will pay off. I am really excited about being an aunt and I hope to be able to help Sarah for a while after the baby is born. I am so excited that my mom will be coming up for a few days after the delivery to get to know her grandson! Wow...three generations in one house...way cool!

Venezuela Part III

The food here consists of a lot of queso and jamon - ham and cheese! They make arrepas which is a fried sandwich and it is filled with just about anything you can think of. They make a dough out of masa flour which has the consistency of Southern grits. They make it into a patty and then fry it, cut it in half like a pita pocket and fill it.

The Maracuchos eat a lot of beef, lomito, as well. It is grilled and served with avocado salad, arrepas, plantains, and of course cheese. The drink of choice, when it isn't whiskey and water, is fruit nectar which is like a thick juice from what ever fruit you want and it is very good. Oh and coffee! They have great cafecito which means little coffee - it is like a cross between cappuccino and espresso.

Venezuela is more Caribbean than Spanish. The climate is different across the country because it is so wide, but it is always hot in Maracaibo. There are palm trees every where but not much vegetation.

The traditional music is from a saxophone, bas drum, snare drum and trumpet. It sounds like music from the Andes mountains combined with New Orleans Jazz! The popular music now is called reggatone which is like hip hop and reggae music combined and it is big in the discos.

As different as Maracaibo is on the surface the people there still face many of the same issues as Peru. There is political unrest. There is poverty. There is violence and theft. This is a city trying to carve itself out of its past and into its future and no one knows what that will look like - not even the Maracuchos.

Venezuela Part II

The Maracuchos party like no body's business! My step-sister's wedding started at 6pm and they didn't stop dancing until 4am! At the Christmas eve party dinner wasn't even served until midnight and we left the party at 2am. I haven't stayed up this late this much in years!

The Maracuchos take pride in everything from the way they dress to the cars they drive to the food they cook! There is a lot of money here but if you look through all of the glitz and glamor you see the same undercurrent of poverty that runs through most of South America.

Maracaibo, Venezuela is more modern than Lima, Peru. There is air conditioning everywhere, most of the buildings are very modern and the city has started to grow up - sky scrapers are coming up out of the ground to forever change the Maracucho skyline.

To Be Continued...

Venezuela Part I

Venezuela is a very diverse country but I have spent all of my time here in Maracaibo where the people call themselves Maracuchos and will loudly proclaim that their city is different than any other city in the country. They will say they speak Maracucho Spanish, they eat Maracucho food and dance to Maracucho music.

They are a a people who are full of passion about everything. They speak at lightening speed because they have so much to say. They take hours to eat a meal because they enjoy every bite and every conversation. They dance all the time and they party all night long!

To be continued...

Merry Christmas from Venuzeula!

Merry Christmas! It has been a great trip to see my step sister get married and spend Christmas with her family! The weather has been great (went swimming yesterday and took a nap under some palm trees) but I can´t wait to get back to the states!! I miss my Elevate family :( and I still have another week to go.

I knew I would miss HPC and the Elevate crew but I guess I didn't realize how much apart of me they had become. I am incredibly blessed to have a loving family and friends like those at HPC! It is really funny that I miss the long hours the cramming for tests and the crazy outreaches, but I do!

So I will fly back into the states tomorrow night and then it will be on to Chicago for another week! I am looking forward to spending New Year's with my Dad, but I am also looking forward to getting back to Elevate and ALL that it entails, lol.

Home for the Holidays

I am so excited about going home for the holidays!! I get to share all of the things that I have been doing with my family (I just hope I can remember them all) and maybe they will see how God is working in my own life. I get to share with them the impact that Elevate is making on me and the other interns. I get to give them a return on their investment in me by letting Jesus shine though me in their presence.

The one thing I don't want to happen when I go home is to fall back into my old habits of being a self centered arrogant child how gets upset when she doesn't get her way! You know what I mean, don't you. I remember when I would go home from college for winter break and I would slip back into acting like a sassy 16yr old. I used to be pretty sarcastic to my parents and even rude (Oh my mother is an amazing woman to be able to put up with me and my sister)!

What I do want to do is serve them. I want to make this holiday season about them. I want to love on them and help them and do whatever they ask of me! I want to make my home my mission field. I want to be Jesus to may family!

Family

I miss my family!

Frejya AKA: Bean, Beanie-Weanie, Frejoles Negra

A little trip down memory lane...I know this really isn't relevant to this blog but I miss my bean!

Frejya, the greatest dog that ever lived, well still lives! I sat by her when she delivered her first litter of puppies. I would have been there for the second litter but they were a surprise (a BIG surprise)! I stayed with her for 3 days in Memphis after a routine surgery almost took her life. I hope I never have to feel that way again, but somehow I don't think that is realistic.

For those of you who have met her, you know that I am not bragging...simply stating the facts. She is loving and kind, but don't mess with me cause she'll take you out! I hope everyone finds a dog like this at least once in their life and can share the experience with someone special.

Looking Back

This is a pic of my sister, Sarah, and I in Peru last February. We were at a restaurant named El Piloto - The Pilot. Oh the food was great!

I know this is an odd post, since this blog is supposed to be about Elevate, but this trip to Peru really solidified the idea of mission work in my heart.

Before Peru, I wanted to travel the world, but after my trip there I realized I wanted to travel with a bigger purpose than just seeing the world.

I want to travel and share the love of Jesus through serving the local people! From there God had been shaping his vision for my future, and I am so ready to discover what he has planned!