After a great few days in Cairo, I hopped
back in my packed to the gills Honda and made the 9.5 hour trek down to Dallas,
TX. There I visited with my friend Valerie, her husband Jer and their beautiful
new baby, Lily. Val and I lived together in West Virgina , working as interns
for Youthworks. We were apart of the only all girls team, and the four of us
had an ease and love amongst us that was, and still continues to be, a rare and
precious thing. I have not seen Val in over two years, since we were all reunited
again for Emily's, another of our foursome, wedding. Time and busyness and
geography have taken us on different paths, but it is always a blast when we
reunite.  And obviously, this one was a whole different kind of fun as I
met her three month old daughter Lily.  What a gorgeous little gal! 
It was so great to see Val in this new role and her, Jer, and Lily's life
together in Dallas.  We cooked dinner, took pics of the babe, watched the
Olympics, and talked about the ridiculous situations we used to find ourselves
in back in the Youthworks days (involving things like a 15 passenger van loaded
down with bad paint tipping over as we drove through the mountains).  It
was a joy to see her again and have a glimpse of the new life and role God has
given her.

Thursday
morning (after Val sent me off with a packed lunch-such a mom;) I hopped on I20
heading west to El Paso.  What can I say about driving in Texas? flat.
brown. fantastically high speed limits.  I learned that tumble weeds are
not just in western cartoons and they do indeed tumble across the dusty plain. 
Not a whole ton to occupy your senses, but I found that I do indeed enjoy the
open road-good tunes, lots of time to sit in the Presence.  Driving was a
very joyful time for me.

Brittany and
I went to YHC and UGA together.  Our freshman year at YHC we were both on
a spring break trip to Juarez , MX with an organization called Casas Por
Cristo.  This was my first mission trip ever, and where I was awakened to
my love for missions.  Brittany and I both took two more trips during
college.  Britt then came on staff with Casas after graduation and has
been with them ever since (going on 7 years).  Ironically enough, I passed
through El Paso almost exactly 10 years to the day of our first mission trip down
there as freshman.  It was great to reflect with her about those trips and
where life has taken us and many other dear folk from college.  Brittany's
relentless pursuit of God's heart is so encouraging to see, and she is an
example of commitment and perserverance in one of the hardest places in North
America to live and minister.  I got to sit in on a Casas staff/prayer
meeting and it was awesome to be able to see them in action-an organization
that had such an impact on my early journey.  It was an honor to be able
to pray with them and encourage them in the place God has them.

So, Texas. In conclusion:

-Joyful reunions

-sweet baby laughter

-full circles and the start of
new beginnings

Next stop:
Arizona!