Our Bible Bee Trip. (Very Belated)

So I decided it was time to post about our Bible Bee trip. Our first stop was at the Hanson's house. We played Balderdash 3 times. Some games got a little long, but it was really fun talking with cousins and just being with them.  (and playing Balderdash at 11 at night is rather interesting. Although the definitions do get pretty funny.)

These four had a great conversation together!

It was great getting to see this little guy. In this picture he was supposed to be taking a nap. However, Josh and Caleb thought that he needed some company. He was very tired that night. :)

Here we are with Julie H. We got to catch up with her for about an hour than we continued on our travels.

We made it to the JW Marriott! It was amazing to see how God took care of and provided for us every step of the  way. Since not all of the family could come we were limited on drivers. Plus, my mom was hesitant to drive our older mini van that long of a distance. After some talking we decided to rent a vehicle. It was a 2016 model!! I think it gave some peace of mind to my Dad knowing that if anything happened to the rented vehicle, we were not responsible for it. Praise the Lord for his direction and protection!! We had beautiful driving weather and Mom did a fantastic job driving.

Playing Ultimate Frisbee with Bible Bee friends.

The National Bible Bee is a wonderful couple of days filled with fellowship, God's Word, opportunities to witness, and an encouragement to memorize more of God's Word!! I was so blessed to soak up the Word of God. It truly is powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword.

Dutch Blitz! We played this game more than once at Bible Bee! The camaraderie of fellow believers is precious. I love the spontaneous times that I was able to pray with other sisters and brothers in Christ. You can walk up to just about anybody and feel an instant connection. There are definitely those that feel lonely...in any setting there are those who need us to walk up and be friendly with, and to make them feel welcome. Somebody has probably done the same for you, so be willing to do it for others.

Mom & Esther right before Esther went to take the Online test and do her Oral round.  We praise Jesus for how well Esther did. No she didn't make it to Semi-finals, but she did her best, and learned a lot in the process. In our eyes she is a winner, as is anyone who memorized God's Word. Esther knew 4 of the 5 passages in her Oral Round...Since she had not memorized all the passages we were afraid that she would have to pass on all her passages(and thought that it might be discouraging for her!) Thank you Lord for caring about the little things and giving her just the right passages!

Elizabeth met Anna M. Their family has been a great blessing to hundreds of homeschooling families and Elizabeth has read their blog for a long while, so she enjoyed getting to meet one of the family members!

Even in San Antonio you have to eat :) Little Caesars! One of our favorite places to eat on trips.

Mmm...Esther + JoAnna eating pizza for lunch!

Rachel with all of the Commanders she got to work with. Rachel was so excited to be able to work with a great group of young people eager to be serving Jesus. Rachel served in this same capacity last year, but it was rather stressful. This time, things were laid out so well, plus it really helped to have some many optimists together:)

Rachel + Bethany X. (Steve photo-bombing in the background!)

Getting instructions on what to do when all the contestants come on stage.The Senior Commanders helped the Senior division telling them where to go, keeping them calm, praying with them, and also volunteering where ever else Bible Bee needed them. Rachel was one of the ones giving out the medals that all of the contestants received for participating. She was even able to give Esther her medal!!

This picture was taken before we picked Esther up from her Testing. It was nice to have quality time with family!

Swimming in the Rapid River down at the JW Marriott. What a fun place to be and relax with your family. The price of this water park was included when we stayed at the hotel.

This year Rachel worked as a Senior Commander with Bible Bee. She really enjoyed her time there. Here she is with Mrs. M, one of the many people she got to work with. The Body of Christ is so beautiful Ephesian 2:13
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Rachel, working at registration. We were so excited about the music this year, very beautiful and really made me think of The Lord. Though there were quite a few technical issues, I appreciated the staff so much. I never saw them get angry when things got crazy. They got low on sleep, but persevered through it all. They put so much work into it, and hardly could find time to enjoy all the fruits of their labors. A huge thank you to the staff and for all those who volunteered and made the National Bible Bee a success.

Elizabeth in our hotel room. Notice the picture of the cow in the background. Priscilla liked this picture so much she wanted to take it home with her! We were very blessed to listen to some many godly men share their faith during the conference. Ray Comfort, E.Z, The Benham Brothers, Steve Green, and more!

We had an extra seat in the van so Priscilla was able to join us! We loved having you along Cilla! Although she insisted that she was trouble with a capital T, she really wasn't:) It was a blessing to have her come!

On one of our 14 hours of driving we decided to take a break at the park! We listened to lots of music, watched some DVDs, read quite a few books, and talked and slept...oh of course watched the scenery:)

Well we finished our trip safely:) It was such a blessing to stay with Ben and Emily! The longer you live, the more you appreciate family. Don't ever take them fore-granted! We finished our trip with an epic game of Spoons, and...

Yes, we played Balderdash...again.

  Matt and Dad, thanks for holding down the fort while we were gone. We really missed you though!!
Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year. May our hearts continue to be yielded to the King of Kings. Living in his service is the most beautiful thing that we can do with our lives.