Two Things I Never Thought I'd Do

Some of you have heard of these latest changes in my life, but for those family and friends whom I have not had the chance to update, here you go! 

First.  After much prayer and thought, I have decided to go to college to get a degree in psychology.  I have always been fascinated by the way our minds work and have always wanted to understand why people do the things they do. With that, I would like to go into counseling of some sort and maybe even focus on child development or behavior analysis. With a psychology degree I'll be able to explore all of those options as well as move up in my job as a therapist for autistic children. I have never really had the desire to go to college and for a few years I was very much against the idea. But now that I have a direction that I want to go in and something I actually want to work towards I see that college is the way to get there. 
So I will be doing the PACE program at Central Baptist College in Conway Arkansas where I can take classes at night and still work full time. I'm also planning to take CLEP tests for the majority of the general education classes to save time and money. 

Second. As probably all of you know, I very much enjoy the adventure and freedom of being able to jump from place to place. In fact, I have lived in 14 different places in the last 5 years and none of them for more than 9 months, so what I am about to say may shock you. 
My parents are buying me a house; well, a condo to be exact. Paying a mortgage will be cheaper than renting a 1 bedroom apartment and you get a lot more space and it will give them a place to stay when they come to visit, and since I will be going to school for the next 3 or 4 years, I will be at least somewhat planted. So, I'm going to have a home of my very own! And it's in Arkansas!

I am also helping out at the Arkansas Dream Center in Little Rock with the children's program they do on Saturday mornings. I get to run all the sound and tech stuff and it is definitely the highlight of my week getting to hang out with those kids as well as getting to play with all the fun light and sound equipment :)

The moral of this story is, never say never because the things that you think you'll never do (go to college or get planted in AR) just might be the things God leads you to do. 
I'm very excited for this next season and will definitely need all the prayers I can get as I will be doing things far out of my comfort zone. 

Well, that's it! I wanted to make sure that the family I didn't get to see over the holidays as well as my friends that have moved away all heard the latest big news on the life of ZuZu Ford. 
Happy New Year!

Around the World in 15 Days

Every mission trip should start off on an exciting note right? Well ours started off with snow in Texas and Arkansas and Canada that meant delayed flights for both Jon and Dad and strep throat for yours truly. If that's not exciting I don't know what is!
Jon, Ellane, and I were supposed to all fly out of Dallas together on Dec 26th but Jon was not able to get to Dallas in time so Ellane and I left on our own.

We made it to Canada right as a snow storm was hitting and managed to fly out before it got too bad. My dad was not so lucky. We went to Frankfurt Germany for about 10 hours and got really familiar with that airport and then finally made it to Delhi where we sat in the airport for about an hour trying to find Joel, who was supposed to be picking us up. Little did I know, you can't get into the airport without a plane ticket so he was waiting for us outside the whole time.
If you ever wonder what people did before cell phones, I can tell you, they waited for no reason in airports to be picked up when their ride was outside the whole time.
But we did finally make it to our hotel and got to sleep.

The rest of the team made it just in time for us to fly to Bagdogra.

One of the biggest highlights of the whole trip for me was meeting these two ladies.

 Moneema and Sanju are two of the strongest wisest women I've ever met. They were such a huge encouragement to me.

Our first place of ministry was Mungpoo. We got there just in time for their New Years Eve Watch Service and then had a bonfire at midnight.

 It was really cold there!









We got to be a part of 3 different youth conferences in 3 different locations. The next few days in Mungpoo consisted of lots of speaking, praying for people, and tea:)

And tea, lots of tea:-)

Over all, the trip was amazing. We have been getting reports back that the people are very encouraged and doing very well. It was such a huge blessing to be able to go and speak to them and in return be more encouraged and blessed than we could have ever hoped to bless and encourage them. I was sick the whole trip but that did not keep me from enjoying every minute I could.  I learned so much from theses people and I'm excited to hopefully go back next year.
God did some really cool things in our team and I hope He did the same in the people we came in contact with.

Getting back home was a very very long process that would be a very long story so I'll shorten it as much as I can.

January 8th at the Bagdogra airport to fly back to Delhi all flights got cancelled due to fog for the next 2 days.
So, we took a taxi through the night to Calcutta that took about 13 hours and flew from there to Delhi. But by the time we got to Delhi we had already missed our flights so we had to get new ones which resulted in Ellane and I flying out of Delhi on the 9th at like 9pm to Tokyo (that's in Japan....in the opposite direction from how we got there, in case your geography is a little rusty)
Now here's the part that took me a while to understand. We left Japan at 12pm on the 10th and got into Dallas at 8:30am on the 10th. Yep that's right, we went back in time.

From there, Ellane flew home to Kansas and I flew to New York City to help my good friend Nati move to Arkansas.
We started driving at about 11am on the 12th and after lots of driving through rain and road construction and several states, we reached Conway Arkansas around 2pm on the 13th.
We were a little tired.

Now that Nati is finally here, the search is on for an apartment for us to live in. It's been quite a long process that is still not over but we are praying and believing that we will find a place soon that we can afford. We would appreciate all the prayers you can muster for that situation and I'll be sure to update again when we are moved in!

That's all folks! Thank you to everyone who prayed and supported this trip and made it possible!

Going to India!

Hey everyone, remember how I went to India last December/January? Well I am going back this December/January! 

When I went with my Dad last time we were able to see all the churches that our missionary friend's ministry has planted and saw all that they are doing in that area. 
One of the biggest things that my Dad and I noticed at the churches we went to was that the churches that had youth involved in the services had so much more life and energy than the ones that didn't. 
So from seeing that, my Dad decided that next time we come we are going to put on a youth conference to encourage the youth in all the churches to step up and lead and be the example for the rest of the congregation and ultimately their towns and cities. To give them practical training for using sound systems and how to make things sound better. To empower them to serve. To teach them how to lead worship.

So that's what we are doing! We are going to put on a youth conference in India! We are bringing some more people with us this time to help us lead worship and speak at the conference. 

This is where we will be having the conference. The auditorium is the 3rd floor and the bottom two are dorm style rooms for people to stay in. It holds and houses a ton of people. (I would tell you the specific number if I could remember it:)

I'll update more when we have done more planning of details but what we do know is the conference will be 4 or 5 days long and I'll be there for about 2 weeks. The cost for me to go on the trip will be around $2500. 

If the Lord lays it on your heart to support me to go on this trip I would greatly appreciate anything that you can give. Even more than that I need your prayers. If you could be lifting up the trip and that the right people will come and that God will move in their hearts and that each student will leave more encouraged more passionate and more on fire for what God is doing than they came. 

I'm so excited for all that God is going to do!

Brown Hair, Hard Work, And...a JOB!

So I went home last weekend to get the rest of my stuff from my parent's house and got to hang out with my fam for a few days. Got my car some new spark plugs and engine coils that she apparently needed. 

Got to drive my brother's mini cooper while my car was getting worked on though!:)

Got to play some good ole hand n foot 

 
















Got my mom to dye my hair:) Yes everyone, the brown is back!

 




















Then I loaded up my car and headed back to Arkansas!

On Wednesday I had an interview at Starbucks and afterwards came home very frustrated and not sure what I was supposed to do and where I was supposed to work that would work with my schedule for missions and for seeing my family on holidays and stuff. 

So I did what I usually do when I don't know what to do. I ranted at God. And then I asked what I was missing. Did He tell me to do something that I missed somewhere? 

Then He reminded me that the last pay check I got from New Life and the money I made from working for my grandparents I did not tithe on. I'd thought about it several times but never got around to doing it. 
"Really God?" 
"Can we just make a deal? I'll tithe double when I have an income again?!" 

To which God replied....
"You asked what you were missing"  

"Good point" 

So I got out my computer and looked up how much my last paycheck was and what I made from my grandparent's and I got online and tithed. 

The second I closed my laptop I got a text message from my friend I went to Haiti with, Kristie Bridges. She is the director of Little Life Academy at the GLR New Life campus. 

I looked at my phone and laughed. She said, "Hey girl I have a job opening if you are interested in applying at LLA" 

After apologizing to God I replied to the text and said I'm interested send me the app. I had an interview the next day. I wasn't really sure if this was going to be the job for me or if God was just proving a point that His resources are limitless so I asked Him to make it clear if I should take it.


Then my good friend Katie and I went to work laying sod....

 



















































We started at 7am Thursday morning and stopped at 12:30pm 

I ran home, got cleaned up and headed to my interview. 

Kristie told me that when she was typing out that txt she was making a list of people to send it to and God told her to just send it to ZuZu. She didn't understand why and she questioned it a little but God said again, just send it to ZuZu, so she obeyed and just sent it to me.

After hearing this I figured it was pretty clear that God went to a lot of trouble to make the timing of that work out just right so this was where I was supposed to be!
And the more I thought about it the more it made sense. It's a school so they aren't open during holidays! and my trip to India is mostly over Christmas break to where I will only have to take off 3 days! 

So, I am now a 3 year old teacher at Little Life Academy in Little Rock and I start in the morning!
 
Then Friday morning at 7am we went back to work and worked and worked and worked...

 

until 6:30pm. 900 yards of sod. 14 pallets. 2 very sore and tired girls. 
Felt like I just did an ironman. 

Which was perfect timing to be sore because bright and early the next morning was our Real Life event EPIC! 

 It was a giant field day! Which means, lots of running! 
I was on the green team. 
We decided to play golf and go for the lowest amount of point we could get. And we won at that!

 

To cap off that very intensely crazy week I got to be on the worship team in Cabot again which meant getting up at 5:30 to be in Cabot by 7am woohoo! 
This morning I got to sleep in:)  

And now, I am officially moved out of my car, into a house, and I start my big girl job in the morning! 
Thank you to those that prayed and encouraged me during the oh so fun time of not knowing where I'd be going and working and all that! God is so so faithful!  

Arkansas...You're not rid of me yet

The way God works is so funny and random, sometimes I think he tries to see just how random of a situation he can put together for his glory. 

For instance, He sent me on a mission trip to New York where I met and connected with Nati, an British sounding Spanish girl who is on staff at Metro and wasn't even really supposed to be around our team but was for that week, and then after spending 5 days with her and txting back and forth for 2 months, she comes to Arkansas for her vacation for 2 weeks and now is hopefully going to move to Arkansas in January and I feel like I've known her for years. And through her being here, I realized that God had no intention of sending me somewhere else like I had convinced myself He was, but that He wants me to stay in Arkansas

I mean, how does He come up with that?? 
I don't understand how He does it, but I'm thankful He does:)

So, what am I doing now, you ask? 
I am staying in Arkansas. There, I said it. I am staying in Arkansas. At first I was not excited about that at all, but it's cool because each day I am realizing more and more why I am supposed to stay. 

God is not going to send you somewhere that will be comfortable for you. He's not going call you to do something that you can do on your own. Then you wouldn't need Him. 
Going to Africa or Russia or Colorado or New York or Washington would have been comfortable for me. I would have still done great things for God sure, but I wouldn't have needed Him very much because I would have been comfortable.

Right now, Arkansas is my mission field and I am growing to love it more and more. 

So more specifically, I am living in Conway at Lindsay Skoog's house, helping out with Real Life in Cabot, and playing on the worship team in Cabot. 

I'm so thankful that God's plans are better than my plans.

Russia, Minnesota, and a Vacation

This summer has definitely been the most eventful of my life thus far. 

In just the last month and a half I have been to/through 8 states and 4 countries, 6 different airports, flown on 9 airplanes, and 1 cruise ship.

It's been a wild ride that is for sure and I have loved (almost) every minute of it. 

So to catch you all up I'll start with Russia. 

Honestly, the week leading up to the Russia trip I was dreading the whole thing. I questioned why I had agreed to lead it and even more why they were letting me lead it. The night before we left I was pretty much freaking out. But I got up the morning of and managed to get it together, or at least look like I had, and we left!

We made it to Poland where Matt Hall was there to get us and bring us over the boarder to Russia. But first we stopped for some Polish Mcdonalds.

We spent the majority of our days at a camp that 3 orphanages had sent their kids to for the summer.
We played all kinds of games with the kids and did all kinds of activities.

We did all kinds of crafts with the kids.

One day we got to go to the Baltic Sea. Lena was my tour guide and translator for the day.

Now each day we would get to the camp and two little boys would run up to me and one of them would take my daypack and the other would take my phone and then would walk around carrying my bag and taking photos with my phone. 

These two definitely stole my heart and I would have packed them in my suit case to bring home if I could have.

I even got to play some basketball

That's the majority of what we did everyday... 

There was one day in particular though that was a breaking point for me. 
After church on Sunday we got to take some presents to a couple of orphan graduate sisters that Matt and Jackie have had relationship with since they were in the orphanage and are now living in an apartment. 

Only one of the sisters was there when we were there, but we got to talk to her and ask her about her life. Hearing her story broke my heart. And then the realization that she is only one story. Only one of so so many orphans out there who have no one to turn to. But now Matt and Jackie Hall are there and they are making a difference. 

Hearing their vision for the future of their ministry was truly inspiring. 



We spent our last day of the trip sight seeing and shopping in Gdansk Poland.

It was a really cool city. 
But then it was time to say goodbye and head home, so the next morning we began the long journey home. 
I woke up at 4am on Thursday morning in Poland and went to bed at 11:00pm Thursday night 26 hours later. Time zones are so weird.

I spent Friday seeing as many people as I could and dealing with missions receipts and all that fun stuff. Then Saturday morning I got up at 3:30am to go to the airport again and fly to Minnesota to be in Hannah and V's wedding. 

It was a very short weekend. 
But it was great getting to see everybody. I forgot how much I like that Blume family.

And then they got married! 

Then I flew back to Arkansas! I spent about 18 hours there and then drove to Texas to meet up with my family and go on a long overdue vacation. 

We drove to New Orleans Louisiana and then hopped on a boat to Cozumel Mexico. It was a 4 day cruise, with a morning/afternoon stop in Cozumel. I got to go para sailing with my dad when we were in Cozumel. That was pretty cool.
I've decided that cruises are my new favorite way to vacation. It was great, got to spend time with the fam, got to sleep, got to eat more than I should have. 

Now I'm back in Texas for a couple of days. I got to hang out with my long lost friend Brittany and my precious niece Avey this morning. I have missed them. 



Well now I'll go ahead and cover the question you're all wondering about and I keep getting asked...
What's next?! 

The answer to that question I will be sure to talk about in a future blog as soon as I discover it!

The possibilities are infinite! 
The adventures are endless! 
The prayers are appreciated! 

In the mean time, God is awesome, and hanging out with Him gets more and more fun everyday! If it isn't for you, I pray it becomes so!