4th of July 2011

We had a blessed 4th of July! We spent the afternoon and evening with some friends from church. We BBQ'd at our apartment, played Apples to Apples, had yummy dessert, and then went down to the park to watch the fireworks! Here are some pics of our fun!


Our friend Liz waiting for fireworks!
Ruth and Tyler!

Jeff and Amy!


Patriotic flowers make everything a little more spirited...even if they are only carnations;)

The counter waiting for food:)
Our festive table:)

Seattle

Back in June our dear friends Emelia and Emily were in Seattle for a visit with friends. We of course had to go see them! Tyler and Emelia were especially close friends during college. I like hearing their hilarious stories from their Simpson Days. Emelia has an amazing heart and she is loved by us Ellises! Emily holds a special place in our hearts too! She was the missions coordinator when Ty and I were at Simpson. Emily is so genuine and is passionate about missions and social justice. Tyler and I have actually been able to meet up with her 2 times in the past couple of years so we feel blessed!
I had been itching to visit Seattle for the 1st time and let me tell you, I LOVED it! We were only there for about 7 hours, so I can't wait to go back and see more of the beautiful city!



I loved the market!

Tyler is trying to hide his excitement;)
It was fun to visit the random shops at the market! Emelia thought this would be a good pick for our friend Josh!

Urban Plunge 2011

It's so not acceptable that I haven't blogged in almost a month! I am going to catch up starting NOW!

Back in June we took our first youth trip with a small group of our junior highers. We spent the weekend serving in Spokane! This serving weekend has traditionally been called "Urban Plunge." It was awesome to watch our students serve and work hard. We also got to take them on a neighborhood exegesis where they spent time reflecting on neighborhoods and living conditions different from their own. It was a great weekend and we have great students!

Team pic! In the back row on the far left is Liz. Liz is in Moses Lake for the summer completing an internship with the children's/junior high ministry and we were blessed to have her as another leader on the trip!

Derek doing yard work:)

Cute Tori:)I adore these boys! Such hard workers!

Ty and Alex taking some time out for a little fun!

Sam working hard!!

No youth trip is complete without a game of Ninja!

I think my most favorite part of the weekend was hearing the students give their testimonies in front of each other. I was definitely in tears. It was awesome to hear what God has done AND is doing in their lives. Us leaders shared our testimonies too and I think it was good for the kids to know more about each of us. Many of the students were very nervous about sharing and they weren't alone. Sharing my testimony always makes me nervous. I felt sick to my stomach before sharing with them. It's always hard for me to be vulnerable, especially when it comes to sharing about my health issues and the challenge they present in my life sometimes. However, they are a huge part of my testimony. God has been so faithful and deserves praise for what He has brought me through and the strength He continues to give me. Even though some things make me feel vulnerable and are very personal, Tyler and I both felt like I should share some of these hard things with the students. I think it's good for the students to see that their leaders can be vulnerable and to hear about what God has brought us through. It was a blessed time with our students.:)

Tyler and I continue to be radically blessed by our new church and the students we get to work with!