The Beginnings of a Crazy Awesome Summer

Me with two amazing ladies - my mother-in-law,
Suzie, and my sister-in-law, Joanna.  It is so fun to serve
At Uplands Reach along side them.

Hey Everyone!

The summer is kicking into high-gear here at Uplands Reach Conference Center!  I am sitting in an office buzzing with activity as I write this - it seems as if there is so much to do and so little time!

A few of our awesome Crew members!

Last Sunday, our Crew arrived.  This team is made up of seven dynamic college students who raise their support and spend a summer here working hard and loving kids.

This coming Sunday, our Boot Campers arrive.  This is a team of late high school/college-age students who are spending a summer at Uplands to dig deep into why they believe what they believe and be trained to go back to their various school campuses to be a light for Christ.  They also volunteer and help us run camps and youth rallies.

With our Crew here, we are busy preparing for Boot Campers and Teen Campers (Teen Camp starts on June 20 and goes til June 24).   Registrations have to be combed through, people need to be called, vendors and meals need to be arranged, skits need to be practiced, worship songs run through by our worship team, and our campus needs to be in tip-top shape.  All of this makes for some pretty long days!

In all the busy-ness, I am learning a lot.  I am learning how to lead people with firmness and love; how to rely on God in those moments when I feel like I have nothing to give; and to multi-task like never before!

A recent volunteer training session at Uplands.  It's so cool
to see people so willing to sacrifice their time to serve.

I am loving being the skit director!  All those years in church plays and high school productions is paying off :D  It is so fun to coach people and see them create skits and dramas that draw you in and portray powerful messages.

Tonight, I am having the Crew girls over for some girl time :)  I love all the opportunities I have here to mentor girls and share life with them as they learn how to be godly women.  As always, it challenges me and encourages me to be stronger in my walk with the Lord.

Here are some prayer needs:

-Health.  For some odd reason, I have gotten sick a ridiculous amount of times this spring and am in the midst of fighting a head cold/allergies.  Pray that God protects me and our whole team so we can be at my best to serve Him!

-Unity.  Satan seems to love to destroy unity among any team determined to serve Jesus.  Please pray that we guard our minds in Christ Jesus and love each other with Christ's love.

-Salvation.  Begin to pray that God will prepare the hearts of teen campers coming in a short two weeks; that many will truly understand the gospel and run to Jesus Christ for salvation!

I am so grateful for all of you who supported me financially and are supporting me in prayer!  I wouldn't be able to do what I do without you.  Serving Jesus is such a privilege.

Love in Christ,

A Taste of Slovakia - Garlic Soup

Hey There!

Our friends here at the camp us are going to be doing an "international potluck" coming up.

It's neat because everyone that works here has a passion for missions and we've all spent time in various places around the world: the Phillipines, Brazil, Peru, Slovakia, Chile, among others.  We all want to get together and share some of the deliciousness of those places - I'm pumped!!

I've spent time in Slovakia working at a school of missionary kids.  I got to try some amazing food over there!  One of the Slovak specialties is Garlic Soup.  I recently asked my friend Melanie who grew up in Slovakia for the recipe and I made it for Jake and I.  It is sooo easy and yummy!  Not to mention it's probably one of the healthiest things you can put in your body.  Garlic provides powerful antioxidants to help prevent cancer.  If you make your own stock, you are making it even more healthy.  So here is the recipe so you too, can enjoy the Slovak goodness! :)  Bon Appetite!

Ingredients:

* 3 cups of chicken stock 

* 3 cups water (you can use 6 cups if you don’t have stock on hand)

* 1 head of garlic

* 1/3 cup oil

* Dash of sea salt

* Freshly ground pepper

* Few leaves of parsley

* 1 cup cubed crusty day old bread

Steps:

1. Heat the chicken stock with 2 ½ cups water to a gentle boil

2. Blend the garlic in a food processor, and slowly add the oil, a few drips at a time

3. Add ½ cup water to the food processor at high speed, a tiny bit at a time

4. Blend until thickened

5. Pour the garlic mixture into the heated chicken stock

6. Add salt and pepper to taste

7. Chop the parsley finely, and sprinkle into the soup

8. Toss the cubes of bread with 2 tbsp of olive oil and toast on a frying pan

9. Place a few toasted bread cubes in the bottom of a bowl

10. Pour the soup over top of the bread cubes

p.s. don't forget to pop a few powerful mints after eating.  Your friends and family will be grateful :)

Love,

Easter at Leatherwood

Howdy everyone!

I hope you all had an amazing Resurrection Day!  I have to say it was one of my favorite Easters ever.  I woke up Easter morning and got to peek behind a temporary "curtain" (a.k.a. blanket :) that Jake had put up over the entrance to his office and found my Easter surprise: my favorite chocolates and a bunch of coral-colored tulips!  And here I was thinking I would never get a Easter basket again...

After that, we went to church and got to sit in amazing service with powerful music and an awesome message.  This was one of the highlights for me:  I got to meet Franklin Graham!  He attends our church when he is not traveling and yesterday he was sitting by himself in the back row.  During the meet and greet time, we got to go shake his hand and thank him for all he does.  His humble response reminded me that no matter how much a world-changer you are, you are still human and God is God.  It was neat how his simple response to us thanking him reminded me that it's not about him, but about God.

After church, we joined our family at a lovely jewel of a place that Jake and I had never been to.  Leatherwood is an equestrian community between Boone and Wilkesboro tucked in a valley.  They had a lovely Easter brunch and even lovelier grounds to explore.  Jake and I had a blast walking around and seeing all this place has to offer.  We will for sure be coming back soon with a blanket, picnic, and books tucked under our arm!

Here are some pics:

I hope you had an awesome Easter too!  We can never be reminded too much of what our precious Savior did for us.

Love,

A Shout-Out to an Awesome Husband

I just can't help myself.  I gotta tell the world:  I LOVE MY HUSBAND!!!

The other day, I got sick.  And not just "cough, cough, sneeze, sneeze," sick.  Oh no.  The kind of sick where you don't see the light of day for days and your mattress gets quite conformed to your body.

It brings tears to my eyes when I think of how sweet Jake has been in this time.  He's bent over backwards to make sure I'm comfortable and don't have a care in the world.

But Jake isn't just a good husband when I'm sick.  Everyday, he does things that melt my heart -

- He spends time with Jesus everyday
- He is very helpful around the house
- He makes me laugh...alot!!
- He works hard and provides for our little family
- He plays a mean classical guitar
- He listens well

...and countless other things that make him the awesome man that he is.

Thank you Jesus for such an amazing husband!

Julia Child Had it Right

Okay...I (Becky) have secret love.  Natural health and nutrition.

Let me clarify:  Not that I always ACT on my interest in this subject (anyone who knows me knows that if you give me anything crunchy and salty - don't expect to see it back), but I find the study of how food and our bodies work together fascinating.  And as I start to prepare meals for our little family, my interest has been peaked - because in this crazy world we live in of processed foods, hormones in dairy, artificial colors, flavors, etc, I want to make sure that we are making good, wise choices.

A friend recently let me borrow a book after telling me about the work of Dr. Weston A. Price.  Price was a dentist who practiced in the 30's and 40's and in the latter part of his practice, saw a troubling increase in chronic disease (diabetes, heart disease, etc.) plus in increase in people having to breathe through their mouth because their nasal cavities were too small, therefore increasing teeth crowding, etc.

After he retired, Dr. Price went on a tour of the world with his wife (some retirement, huh?!) specifically to find the healthiest people he could find (a.k.a people groups with little or no chronic disease, healthy mouths, gums, teeth, and sinuses), and see what they ate.

Surprisingly (or not), the healthiest people he found were tribal people all over the world.  Any people group that was separated from "modern society" were by far the most rigorous, healthy, and happy people he found.   They lacked diseases like heart disease and diabetes; mental disorders were practically non-existant, and they were all able to breathe through their noses - which meant their teeth and gums were in good shape.

In trying to find the common denominator of what made these people so rigorous, Dr. Price found that most of these groups ate bountiful amounts of unpaturized dairy, animal fat, and whole grains.


A.K.A Cheese, Butter, and Bread - the three no-no's of any one on a "modern diet."

I was as baffled as you probably are.  What?

In the cookbook, Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, she talks about Dr. Price's findings in detail, and actually shows studies that have been done in the previous century that have promoted the low-fat diet - all of which were inconclusive or skewed.

So your friend and mine Julia Child really had it right all along - my new motto is: pile on the butter, baby!  


Crazy, huh?  As I continue reading, I will let you in on more of what I learn.

Also, check out http://www.westonaprice.org/ - this is the website of the Weston A. Price Foundation.

Givers of Dignity

We’ve all done it before – maybe almost everyday.  We’re standing in the line at the grocery store looking at all the magazines, and ... “oh my word!  I can’t believe she’s in rehab again!”  We think to ourselves.  “When is that girl going to get her life together?!”  Almost annoyed at the interruption of the on-going commentary in our head, the person in front of us walks away with their groceries and it’s our turn to pay.

Or maybe for many of us, it’s more like this... “Oh my gosh.  She is gorgeous.  And so in- shape!  What?  It says she had her baby only 3 months ago...and she looks like THAT?!  I haven’t even had a baby yet and I can’t manage to get that trim!”

What is the common denominator here? 

We are living in a culture that doesn’t give humans the dignity that God created them to have.  Why is this?  Because if one believes that we are the product of mere chance and time – no greater than a worm in the soil, what dignity is there to be had?

The sad part in all of this is that those of us who have said we believe that God created us in His divine image and gave us purpose and meaning in life, should live differently than the world.  But unfortunately, we dish out the same criticisms and believe the same lies that our culture does.

Our society has become deficient in dignity-givers and fat in dignity-takers.  Millions of dollars are made yearly in making fun of celebrities; photographing them in their most vulnerable moments; spreading rumors about their personal lives – all so that we can feel like we have it together.

Don’t forget the billions of dollars spent every year on porn – the art of stripping a man or woman of their soul and portraying them as a piece of meat to be preyed on.  Their dignity is stolen – not to mention their innocence.

Unsuspectingly, the very media that delivers us photos of people that we can gossip about, also delivers us images that make us feel devoid of dignity and worth.  We’ve all seen the pictures of the airbrushed models or super-toned actors and left feeling like we have nothing to offer. 

Church is not a safety zone either.  We gossip about our worship leader’s new haircut, “so and so’s” weird quirks, and how we wish our pastor would preach on something else, etc.  We forget that these are the precious brothers and sisters that God has given us to walk hand-in-hand with for the cause of the Gospel.  Instead, they become our competition; our fodder for gossip; our laughingstocks; our after-church entertainment.

In C.S. Lewis’ book, Prince Caspian, the prince tells Aslan that he wishes he came from a more honorable lineage.  Aslan replies, “You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve, and that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor in earth.”

God created us with inherent dignity.  Why?  Because we are created in his image.  Yes, sin has marred the perfection that God once had in mind for us, but this does not strip the fact that we are still made by God in his image.  Psalm 139 says that he knitted us together in our mother’s womb.  God didn’t make humans on a big factory line in China and sell us wholesale.  We are each, individually, made just how he wanted us.

Not only that, we all were created with a special purpose that only we can accomplish with the giftings God gave us.  Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  He had in mind, before the foundations of the world, special tasks that he wanted you to do.  And he created you (and everyone else) with unique qualities to fulfill that mission.

Who are we to judge the worth of another?  God knit us all in our mothers womb, and bestowed on us the task of being his image bearers on earth.  Also, God died for us all because none of us has what it takes to wash our own sins away.  The ground is level at the foot of the cross – no one is more worthy than anyone else.

As believers, let’s change the pattern of things.  We know the Truth – and this Truth has set us free to become givers of dignity rather than takers.  Instead of buying into the world’s lies about what makes someone valuable, let’s show the world that everyone is valuable in God’s eyes.    

“Speak evil of no one, avoid quarrelling, be gentle, and show perfect courtesy toward

all people.”

Titus 3:2

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from the Hatfields everyone!

Here are a few pics from our Christmas in California, which we enjoyed thoroughly :)

                                               A "First Christmas as a Married Couple" Pic

                                                

                                   I enjoyed many sweet moments holding my nephew - Baby Stevie.
                

                                 This is kind of a family inside joke, but anyway, the guys all sported their new pj     bottoms with A shirts that my dad bought for all of them...pretty hilarious...

Needless to say, we had an awesome holiday.  After enjoying Christmas with my family, my Mom and Dad hosted a "West Coast Reception" on Dec. 29th for Jake and I.  Many of the significant people that I grew up with and have been an example to me in my life were there, and it was extremely meaningful.  Their was a lot of creative touches that Mom and Dad put in that made it so sweet.  We had a great time!

We also got to spend some time on the beach and sledding in the local mountains.  Gotta pack in the fun! :D

This is what the coming year holds for the Hatfields (as we know so far):

- Becky raising her support and going onto the full time staff at Uplands Reach Conference Center this summer

- Jake working as a server at Ruby Tuesdays and finishing his bachelor's degree in May.  Woohoo!

- Becky starting a small group Bible study for High School age girls in the community

- Moving to Raleigh, NC in August and Jake starting seminary at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

We are so excited for what God has in store for this coming year (many surprises we're sure!).  Your prayers are coveted as we launch into a new year of ministry and training for what lies ahead.

We're so thankful for all of you, friends!  May God reveal himself to you in a fresh way this year.