Holiday Pictures

As many of you know, I was incredibly blessed by a visit from my parents this past week. We had a wonderful time and truly got to 'get away' for a while. Our time in Swakop and Etosha was lovely, and I've posted some pictures HERE if you'd like to see some of what we did :)
Enjoy

Year in review...

Well, I figured if a picture is worth a thousand words, I could say a lot with a little 'review' of the year with pics that highlight some of my favorite memories. So here we go...

Don't know if I can honestly say the studying part of the picture below was noteworthy, but the better part of my spring semester was spent doing just that - hitting the books with fun friends at our favorite study spot :)


We finally made it to graduation day on May 2nd - woohoo! Here is Kate, Meg, and I recreating a picture we took at our induction into nursing school:

To celebrate graduating, Meg, Carrie and I took an amazing trip to Chicago for a few days and had a blast exploring! Here we are at Millenium Park:
Birthday celebration with the Besties at the lake was a memorable few days with lots of laughs and loads of fun! This pic was post-scanoe competition :)
I spent my summer working at Lifetime and nannying Lo, Nay, and Adrienne Bailey, which was a blast! I love these kids!
The end of June brought a trip to Cleaveland to visit my friend Laura doing an internship there. It was so much fun to see her and explore 'little Italy' with her!
July 19th brought a very special day as I got to stand up next to my dear friend Amy in her wedding. She was a beautiful bride!!
I also got to spend a week at Young Life's Castaway Club Camp in MN with some awesome girls from Southeast High School in Lincoln. This was a wonderful way to end my years with these girls (whom I miss dearly!!) Here we are before our team volleyball competition:
August 29th my dear friends Dave and Rivers welcomed their second beautiful baby girl into the world, Lydia Rivers... who has already grown SO much!!!

One of my last weeks here Katie, Kris, Emily and I took a little trip to Lawrence for a night out/ concert... I laughed so hard I cried this night!
September 8th brought a tear-filled goodbye at the airport with my parents as I headed off for Namibia (apparently we decided to be 'team green' this day...)
My time here so far has provided me with some unforgettable memories, and growing experiences that I pray the Lord will continue to unpack in my heart for years to come. Here's me with my favorite Martin ;)
Here's Kristen and I in Swakopmund, Namibia at the sand dunes on holiday with my parents! 2008 was a wild year - filled with mountain top highs and rocky hard times. Through it all God has continued to be my sustainance, and sole source of joy when I felt I had nothing to be 'happy' about. He has grown my passion for his glory, his story, and his people, and I pray that these passions will grow exponentially in 2009 as well.

Wishing you a wonderful New Year!
Much Love,
Mackenzie

Children's Home Pics

Hello! I have posted some pictures of our week at the Children's Home in Windhoek HERE. We had a wonderful week and I think the kids did too!
I hope you and your family have a blessed Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

"And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6

These verses have been running through my head all week. The significance of each of the names Christ was given before he was born overwhelms my heart. God knew exactly who he was sending before he came as a baby. Christ has been so faithful to fulfill each one of these names in my life throughout the past 4 months. I have had days when I had no idea what to do or where to turn and God was my Wonderful Counselor, he gave me wisdom, insight, and guidance in each moment I needed it. As he has directed and led me here I have become aware that he is Mighty God in my life. He has never left me, and has been strong and faithful through the many ups and downs. Just this week at the Children’s Home I got to see his fulfilling his role as Everlasting Father to the many orphans we worked with. They may not know the love of an earthly father, but they do have a heavenly father whose perfect love can fill them completely. Lastly, he truly has been my Prince of Peace. On a continent where ‘peace’ is not what rules, I am so grateful for the perfect measure of peace he gives my heart each day to make it through.

I hope and pray that the names of Christ come alive in your heart this Christmas season, as you celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior… Merry Christmas!

Much Love,

Mackenzie

Fish River Canyon

This past week I had the opportunity to go on a little road trip to a few places in southern Namibia. It was a wonderful time! Kristen, Heidi, Catherine, and myself packed into a bakkie (small pickup) and traveled to Fish River Canyon. It was an amazing sight - breathtakingly beautiful! The silence from the top was unmatched! We were disappointed to find out you are only allowed to hike in the canyon with a guide during the months of April-September because of the heat, but were still able to hike around the top and catch some unforgettable views such as this one:

Me at the Canyon... it's the second largest canyon in the World!
Thursday we were able to spend the day canoing down the Orange River, which was a blast! Here is Catherine and I before we started the trek:
On the drive back, we stopped at a place called 'Giants Playground', and climbed some rocks - here I am at the top :)This week we'll be in Windhoek running a Christmas program at a Children's Home. We'll have around 15 kids who are left at the orphanage for the holiday, and will be spending the day doing songs, crafts, games, and bible stories with them - should make for a great week!
I hope that as the Christmas season is approaching quickly, the Lord is setting your heart in awe of the magnificent birth of Christ!

Much Love,
Mackenzie

Longing to be Used

“This is true joy in life, the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy” (George Bernard Shaw)

Oh how I long for my life to be used up for a mighty purpose. God is the only giver of life, and while he certainly doesn’t need us, he still wants us. We were made to seek and serve him.

More from Windhoek next week.

Much Love,

Mackenzie