A Smile is the Same in Any Language

So the Calluras have huge news!!! And no, we're not having a baby!! But in our minds, it's something just as drastic! (Well, almost). We're going to Kenya! Not long term, but for just over a week in February. If you know us well at all, you probably know we're not the kind of people who want to travel the world to foreign countries everywhere. In fact, we'd be pretty content to spend the rest of our days safe and sound in the US where we speak the same language, understand the currency, and enjoy the food we grew up on. However, God has different plans for us, to fulfill His will for our lives outside of our comfort zones. To spread the Good News of the Gospel through our actions to the people of Kenya. Just as Jesus says in Luke, we believe the harvest there is plentiful, but the workers are few. So here we are, ready to work! We're still outlining the details, but it looks as if we have two wonderful opportunities.

#1: To work with Pastor Euticauls Wambua who heads the Youth at Risk Community Center in the Korogocho slum just outside of Nairobi. This slum is home to over 150,000 people in 1.5 square kilometers. In Swahili, the word "korogocho" literally means "crowded shoulder to shoulder." Not only is it crowded, but it's also located beside an active trash dump. Due to the lack of clean water, overcrowding, and poor infrastructure, the people of Korogocho tend to have very poor health. In 2008 the HIV rate was an estimated 14% of the population. Situated in the heart of the slum is the Youth at Risk Community Center, a school for over 300 Korogocho children. At school many of the students receive their only meal of the day. They also receive academic and Biblical instruction from loving teachers. Jarred and I will be working with Pastor Euticauls to meet any practical needs they may have at the school. We hope to take some supplies with us as we go. I am also hopeful that I can use my teacher training here in the US to better educate the teachers at the Youth Center. We'll be updating the blog with details as we figure out more specifics.

Picture I took on my first trip to Kenya of a kindergarten class at the Youth Center.

#2: Our second opportunity on the trip will be to work with a school for the deaf just outside of Nairobi. Pastor Euticauls has a connection to this school because two of his nieces are deaf. Our mission there will be to take the love of Jesus to a people group who are largely thought of as "cursed" and who are outcast from society, living in an isolated and silent world. God's been preparing me, specifically, for this mission for quite a long time. If you're reading this, you most likely know that Jarred and I have the most adorable and fantastic deaf nephew in all the world. Before he came along, God gave me the phenomenal experiences of taking American Sign Language at Clemson and experiencing the deaf community across the US through FCA Mission trips. And long before that I had an unbelievably amazing aunt who was a teacher of the deaf in South Carolina and who was making me sweatshirts with ASL hand signs when I was just a wee child. So it's clear to me that God has definitely had many plans for me to interact with and love the deaf in his name for a long, long time. While we don't know Kenyan Sign Language, we know that deaf people in developing countries like Kenya often lack not only the opportunity for education but for acceptance as well. Through our smiles, hugs, the use of an interpreter and perhaps a picture Bible, we hope the deaf Kenyans we have the honor of interacting with will see and understand that they have a loving Father and Creator who not only accepts them, but died for their sins so that they would never have to be separated from him.

Well, now you know a little bit about are upcoming journey. At the moment we are in a place somewhere between "Hooray for going to Kenya!" and "Oh my word this is slightly terrifying but exciting all at the same time!" To say that we don't feel adequate for this mission in an understatement. However, we trust that God always provides and will equip us with all that we need to serve him. This will be Jarred's first foreign mission trip, and we are excited about how our marriage will grow through this shared experience. I also can't wait to see how God works in Jarred's life as he get to experience the incredible love of Kenyans for the first time. It's going to be pretty awesome!!

We'd love for you to pray for us as we start putting together all the details and begin our fundraising campaign. And if you feel called, join us!! Seriously...we'd love to have you! We're going in February, which I know isn't the ideal time for most people, but if you can get out of work or school...holla back! And don't worry if you're nervous about the interactions with the deaf and don't have a background with sign language...they don't use American Sign Language anyway...and besides, a smile is the same in any language!!

A change of pace - BOWS!

Well hello there! It's been a while! I've had a lovely summer frolicking around the mountains and Boston. How about you? Hope you're well! It's time for a little crafting update. While I've enjoyed my embroidery machine dearly for the past 9 months, I've decided to take a break from it for a while. I'm looking to new adventures in the crafting world, but am not straying too far outside of my baby/child focused genre. After buying my sweet niece/inspiration a few gifts...I discovered the gold mine people must have of making bows. After paying a ridiculous amount for a plain little brown bow, I decided I'd learn to make them myself! Plus, I have various grosgrain ribbon lying around my craft space from burp cloths, tutus, etc that needs to be used. So today I bought the remaining supplies (hot glue gun and barrette closures) and got to work! Here are my humble first attempts at bow making:

I'll call this one "The Sarah"...as it's perfect for any Georgia Bulldog fans out there.

This next one is fall inspired...plus I had limited color choices.

Now for a Clemson Trio in honor of football season...the one week countdown has almost begun people!! Get Excited!!

And finally, a classic and ever fashionable pink. Better known as "The Amy."

Now I must say, I wanted to use alligator clips rather than barrettes for the closures, but Michaels was out...of course. But it's only a matter of time. This weekend my sister and I are planning to make a ton of fun bows together for my niece and hopefully we'll learn some fancy new tricks. Can't wait!

Carolina Pride

A few weeks ago I got a little crazy and bought 4 size 2T Rosalina dresses on Zulily. If you've never heard of it, it's a great website to buy boutique baby clothes and accessories for lower prices. Every once and a while I find a great deal on something that could be embroidered (aka the tennis racket covers from a few posts ago and these little gingham dresses). If you've never signed up for a Zulily account or their daily emails, use my personalized link: http://www.zulily.com/invite/mcallura918

So here are the two dresses I've embroidered so far. I decided to go with our Carolina pride and joy, the Palmetto Tree and Crescent Moon. They, like many items, don't photograph quite as cute as they look in person.

I have two pink and two blue dresses. I think I might use a matching blue thread for the embroidery on the second blue dress rather than white. We'll see.

As always you can find these and other items I have on Etsy.

 http://www.etsy.com/shop/mecallura



California Dreamin'

About a year ago I started Googling conferences for Jarred to go to. I'd heard enough stories from all his colleagues of the great times they'd had going all over the world for these things. It was time for Big Girl to find herself a vacation!! And it was good for Jarred's resume too, of course. I came across the perfect fit for him at Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA. Yes, please!! I'd never been to the west coast or put my cute little toes in the Pacific (and by "cute little toes" I clearly mean "long skinny, finger like toes" but that just doesn't sound as good now does it). I actually found this conference long before Jarred found out about Puerto Rico, so this Cali trip has been in the works for a long time! I even reserved our hotel room before he even found out if he was accepted. What can I say, I have confidence in my man! Plus discounted rooms at the Four Seasons just weren't going to last forever. Gotta be a little proactive sometimes, am I right? You know how it is ladies. So without further ado, here are some pics!

First we started out with a hike in the mountain-like hills surrounding Stanford. We came across this comforting sign about what to do if we encounter a mountain lion or coyote I think my favorite part is, "if attacked-fight back!" Oh my.

Jarred's ready to fight back...

On Jarred's birthday we went to a Putt-Putt and Arcade place for a little friendly fun and competition. How this ball rested on the hill and didn't go into the water, I'll never know. Dang it!

Love this homemade sign at the course. After one particularly frustrating whole, I began to understand why they had it up!

An action pic of me dominating Jarred in Pop-a-Shot.

For those who don't remember, Jarred and I basically fell in love over Hangman. Needless to say, Wheel of Fortune is our game!!

The next day I surprised Jarred with a trip to the Santa Cruz boardwalk. It's the largest of its kind in the world. And that rollercoaster may not look like much, but I assure you, it's intense!!

Ferris Wheel

 Bumper Cars

Another surprise for Jarred...a helicopter ride over the coast! We do it up right!

I was so excited about this next shot. Our pilot told us that 80% of strawberries in the US are produced there. It's  Driscoll Farms, and I totally recognize that name from the grocery store. Sure enough, if you look, they are grown in Watsonville, CA, right where we were. Love it! 

Toes in the Pacific time! So cold!!

You can see the pain on Jarred's face. Freezing! But nothing I have conquered in the mountains.

We finally made our way up to San Francisco and rode bikes over the Golden Gate Bridge. It was truly breathtaking and so, so fun!



More pictures to come on facebook! Even though we had to battle fevers of 102 while there, we managed to have fun!

Tennis Racket Covers

Ready to have the cutest kid on the court? Check out these super fun tennis racket covers I found online. I would have loved one of these back in the day when I took lessons. They're perfect for summer camps too. They're also a fun branch out for me from the usual baby items. Although I must say, the embroidery doesn't photograph well because the print is so busy. Some things just can't come across as cute on the blog. I'm searching for more of these with a more grown up print, but not having a lot of luck so far. I can find some beautiful ones, but they are a fortune. Hopefully I'll come across something soon!

New Adventures on the Horizon

As I say goodbye to 25 solid years of life, I can see new adventures on the horizon. 25 brought a new job, a new hobby, and my frist trip to Puerto Rico, land of my hubby's ancestors. Good times! But 26 is stacking up to compete for the top spot of awesomeness. One week from today I'll be touching down in San Fransico for my first ever adventure on the west coast. And better yet, I'm not only taking my handsome husband but one of my best frirends as well! Can't wait to share it with you guys. Also on the agenda, thanks to a exciting yet frightening birthday gift from Jarred, professional voice lessons. EEEeek! Not sure how I feel about this, but it's sure to be an adventure!! Apparently they give you a DVD copy of each lesson, ummm No Thanks! I'm not sure that I ever want to hear my voice recorded. It was a very thoughtful gift though as Jarred knows two of the things on my life's bucket list are 1) to be in a community theatre production and 2) to have enough confidence to sing a solo at chuch. One day...one day. I'm excited to push myself out of my comfort zone and enjoy some vocal training. I hope they don't mind if I bring my own mic!

Time to go Diva Style!!! Bring it 26!

Finding True Freedom, From the White House to the World

It's time for a new book recommendation just in time for summer reading! Ginny Brant (wife of AB for any of you Clemson ASL alumni) has written a moving book about her father, an influential politician from SC who worked for Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Bush. It's the story of his journey to faith through the turmoil of the Watergate scandal. If you're interested in politics at all, love reading about how the Lord works in mysterious and miraculous ways in people's lives, or just like reading a good biography from time to time, this book is for you! Check it out on Amazon!

Learn more about the book and Ginny on www.ginnybrant.com It's an easy read that will leave you feeling more well versed in the history of American politics and more in awe of how powerful God is.