Christmas 2010

Crowell Family 2010 
Hilton Head, South Carolina


I hope this letter finds everyone healthy and happy this Christmas Season. We decided to save a tree and write our Christmas letter on our blog this year. I have severely neglected my blog this year due to being crazy busy so hopefully this will get me blogging again. 2010 was a year of MANY changes! Here are a few of the major ones:

• Aaron left Phase 5 Consulting and accepted a position at MTM as their VP of Sales. He is enjoying his new position but does travel frequently. This has been an adjustment to say the least but also very rewarding and satisfying. He remains a partner at Phase 5 Consulting.
• I accepted a position at Nurses for Newborns as a nurse in the North City/North County area of St. Louis. I absolutely LOVE my job and have been so blessed by the clients that I serve. My eyes have been opened to extreme poverty that on some days will take my breath away and bring me to tears. I feel that God completely lead me to this work and I pray every day that I can make a positive impact on their lives.
• Rachel and Madison are in their last year of middle school and will head to high school next year. I can not believe that my baby girls will be 14 in a couple of weeks. They are typical teenagers with extreme highs and extreme lows. Whew! Exhausting to say the least but fun!
• Jordan is in 6th grade and is also looking forward to Rachel and Madi moving on to high school. Apparently they often come into her classroom and kiss and hug her. And if you know Jordan, she isn't really into affection. She continues to LOVE soccer and actually went undefeated this season. Their team scored over 40 goals and had 4 scored against them. There is talk of the team going to Scotland in 2012. Should be an adventure.
• Olivia is in 3rd grade and is loving school. She is starting basketball right after Christmas and is so excited. Olivia is a sweet girl that LOVES her dog Sonny, Barbies, dancing and snuggling.
• Our family traveled to South Dakota again this year to work on the Lakota Indian Reservation. This was our second year going on this mission trip. Our girls absolutely love the children on the Reservation which broke our hearts once again leaving them. We endured tornadoes, sickness, and a host of other problems during this crazy but amazing week. Check the posting before this one to read about our trip. The children will melt your heart!

Our family was blessed with 2 very special additions in January. Aaron's sister, Megan, had a little boy named Lucian. He lives in Portland so we can not see him very often but love when we can spend time with this darling little boy. As you can see, the girls LOVED him. Also in January, my brother Michael and his wife Jessica had a daughter named Elle. She is an absolute doll that we immediately fell in love with.

Our family also experienced loss this year.

My cousin Kelly passed away in October at

the age of 39. Growing up, Kelly and I spent

a lot of time together but lost touch after she

moved to California as a teen. We were able to

spend some very precious time this summer

and these are the times that I will forever be

grateful for. I was honored to give the eulogy

for this sweet woman and will always remember

her with love.

We also lost our sweet, sweet G.G. last month. Aaron's Grandmother was such an important member of our family. She was at every birthday party and holiday that my children can ever remember. She had an amazing sense of humor right until the very end. Olivia was named after her and even spoke at her funeral. There wasn't a dry eye in the whole place. We will miss her tremendously but her love will always remain in our hearts. XOXXO

And so as another year comes to a close, I am filled with peace and humility for the many ways that our lives have been changed this past year. I look forward to 2011 with wonder to see what God brings our way. We have experienced blessings as well as loss, happiness and pain, challenges and disappointments. But through it all we have experienced undeniable comfort and love from God. We have discovered the constants in our life...the love of our family, the grace of God and friendships that have stood the test of time.

May the peace and love of Christmas fill your hearts this beautiful season.

With Much Love,

The Crowell Family

Aaron, Jenn, Rachel, Madison, Jordan, Olivia and Sonny

XOXXO

Words from the Heart

Wow...time is flying by and in 3 short hours we will leave for home. What a whirlwind of craziness this week has been. We have had tornados, two deaths in town from the crazy weather (one less than a mile away), the team truck got broken into last night with a window shattered, a child went missing, several team members (including myself and Jordan) got sick...the list goes on and on. But amazingly the trip has been incredible. I have learned to be flexible, to forgive, to know which star is Venus, to apologize, to sleep on an air mattress with two crazy sleepers and a slow leak, to console, to listen, to clean a urinal, to do laundry at a laundromat, to function on very little sleep, to guard my heart, to wash dishes until your hands are completely water logged, to realize that I am in control of nothing, to fix boo boos, to give a zillion piggy back rides in one day, to cry myself to sleep, to look completely disgusting and not care, to have difficult conversations and to completely fall in love with kids that are not mine. This week was WAY harder than last year and it will probably take me longer to recover but I pray that the impact in my life will be even greater. I am so thankful that my family was given the gift of this trip.That God chose us to have this experience. Our hearts seemed to break as we said goodbye to the children tonight...tears until there were no more. Their faces we will cherish yet in a way they will haunt us. The pain and suffering, the neglect and lack of hope are hard to understand but I know in my heart that for a moment they were happy and that is all that matters. We did not come here to fix people or situations but to show them the face of Christ. And that we did. :)

PS Pics to follow...too tired tonight.

Day 5: Carnival and Tornados

Whew, as I write this our entire team is in a locker room in the teen center because we had a tornado touch down 16 miles from where we are. We have been on "lock down" for close to 2 hours. And if you know my children you can imagine the state they are in...especially Jordan! In a weird way it has been kind of fun. We have gone around the room telling each person what we love about them and what we are thankful for. Olivia just said "I am thankful that if I die in here I will go to heaven." In a way this was funny but also so mature and awesome. The good news is that we had a successful carnival just before the storm hit and that was our biggest priority. I kept my eye on the sky for quite some time as the storm was coming in praying that we could give the people of the reservation what was promised. There were smiles all day and fun was had by all. I had a mom come up to me and tell me that the spin art booth that Rachel and Madi did last year AND this year was her daughter's favorite. She said that she decorated a mirror with the spin art from last year. How cool is that? My biggest blessing today was the tug I felt on my shorts about an hour after the carnival started. I looked down and saw my most favorite child from last year's trip...Xandria. I have looked for her all week and have asked about her to everyone I could think of. We shared a VERY long hug that completely melted my heart. She followed me like a puppy and promised to come back tomorrow. And so, the conditions weren't perfect, the day wasn't perfect and my voice is completely gone but Xandria made it ALL worth it! I will post pictures when I get out of "lock down". Mom, don't worry..we are fine!! :)

Day 4: Bonding

Today was a great day. We spent a ton of time with the kids and bonded with many of them. We are all getting attached to our "favorites" which means that they spend a majority of the day on our backs. They LOVE piggy back rides!This is our dear friend Keiley's shoes...a little big for her, huh? I will talk more about her later. We accomplished a lot of stuff today and are looking forward to the carnival tomorrow. Here are the highlights of our day:

We drove through town today to put up flyers for the carnival. This was my first trip into town and the poverty is quite evident by the sights that we saw today. Rachel took these pics...ESB is on everything, street signs, walls, etc. We found out today and it stands for East Side Bloods. There is a ton of gang activity here.

We met Kaslynn today and as she entered the youth center I was sickened by how dirty her clothes were and her shoes were about ready to fall apart. She had an "accident" which gave me the perfect opportunity to give her some new clothes. She had a blast going through the clothes that we brought with us. She settled on this outfit and said she looked "buuutiful". :) She modeled for me and loved looking at the pictures. I gave her a few more things that I thought she could use and she carried that bag around ALL day! Although it won't change her life it sure did bring a smile to her face and some pep in her step.

Livi's pink DS has become all the rage. These boys follow her around and beg her to play it. Things "walk away" constantly around here so I warned her to guard it with her life!

Today in walked a little boy named T.J. who was completely filthy. His clothes were messy, his face was dirty and his socks that were once white were brown. He was very withdrawn and shy but after I broke out the sidewalk chalk he came out of his shell. He loved every shade of blue chalk and confiscated them all!

Today I had a case of deja'vu. Last year I met Keiley on the playground and she had a very infected foot. I ended up cleaning her feet and Olivia gave Keiley her shoes since she had none. We found out that she walked to the youth center every day through broken glass. Well, today in walks Keiley with the same infected foot. She had shoes on that were clearly not hers but a nasty foot to go with it. As we walked into the youth center to get the first aid kit she grabbed my hand and said "I mished you!"

We have had lots of problems this year with kids running around shooting bows and arrows. And these are not "play" arrows...they are the real thing. One landed very close to Jordan today on the playground...Aaron handled it! They shoot at dogs and anything else that gets in their path. Amy and I were driving through town today with the windows down and we were a little concerned that a bow might come through our car. I can honestly say that this thought has never crossed my mind in St. Louis. :)

We are all exhausted and trying to gear up for a VERY full day tomorrow.

Here are a few prayer requests 1. Pray for good weather for the carnival. We have a 30% chance of thunderstorms which would not be good. 2. Pray that my voice does not completely go since I have lots of directing to do tomorrow. I have not felt good all day. It is like springtime here with pollen counts through the roof. My voice is almost gone...ugh!3. Pray that lots of families come tomorrow to the carnival and that they have a great time.

Day 3: Flexibility

Jordan and Malachi...adorable little boy that loved "J"

Our first full day on the reservation was met with many challenges. First of all, as I mentioned yesterday the teen center where we are staying is in much worse shape than last year. The grass is several feet tall and completely overgrown with weeds. Aaron spent all morning and worked through lunch trying to get the grass under control. Did I mention that most of the time it was pouring down rain? He was such a trooper and completely covered in grass when he was finished. Flexibility.

My big project this year is coordinating the carnival on Wednesday. The reservation has 1000 people and last year we had 600 at the carnival!And so, needless to say, this is a very big job. Once we arrived at the teen center we (Amy and I...carnival co-chairs:) organized the thousands of prizes packed in banana boxes in a secure room. We were so proud of our organization. Well, it didn't last. This morning we were informed that our "secure room" had to be cleared out...ugh! And so we spent most of the day moving and organizing the bazillion boxes that we had just done yesterday. Flexibility.

Every evening we feed all of the kids at the youth center. We have two separate kitchens...one in a building with the little kids and the other for the teens. To feed all of these children is quite a chore. Not to mention that they are all starving and have A.D.D...:) Tonight was our first dinner with the kids and the menu was chicken strips, french fries, corn, salad and fruit. When we pulled out our chicken strips they were frozen into a giant mound. We had to basically hacksaw through them to get them on a cookie sheet. And then to top it off we have an oven that only cooks on a quarter of the oven so the food has to be rotated constantly. The kids didn't mind and ate every bite. Flexibility.

All in all we had a very full, busy, amazing day. This was our first day with the kids and it was such a joy to see the kids that we fell in love with last year come through those doors. As you can see from the pictures everyone found their special child. I can't wait to see what relationships develop this week.

Last night we had an incredible experience that I wanted to share just so that I will not forget. After 9pm all of the children go home and we lock all of the doors. Last night at around 10pm we got a knock on the door. For some reason someone opened the door and there stood a man named David asking to speak to a counselor. Aaron just happened to be walking by when this was going on. He took some chairs and he and Donn went out to speak to the man. This man stated that he was down on his luck and needed someone to talk to. He has four children and his wife just left him and moved out of state. Aaron instantly felt a connection to the man and realized after a few minutes of speaking to him that he was adopted as a child and grew up in a town just south of Kansas City called Grandview...this is where Aaron is from! We are in the middle of an Indian reservation in South Dakota...really? How insane is this? At the end of their conversation the man asked for a favor which was to pray with him. This is even more amazing since the liklihood of finding a Christian on the reservation is next to impossible. God works in some crazy ways.

Here are some pics from today:

Aaron weed wacking the jungle...for 7 hours straight!!

Donn and Aaron after their 7 hours of yardwork.

Rachel and Keisha doing airplane.

Aaron was outside mowing in the rain when he saw Keisha standing in a field nearby by herself. Aaron recognized her since she was wearing the Mizzou sweatshirt that Rachel gave her yesterday. He turned off the mower and went over to her and asked if she would like to see Rachel...she smiled very big as he scooped her up and brought her inside. It is so unbelievable that these kids just wander outside and walk around in the rain without an adult having any idea where they are.

Rachel and DeJuan...he is a very sweet, high energy special needs child. He loved Ray!

Madi painting some nails... Madi giving some DS lessons Madi getting some math tutoring from Malachi. :)

Sam with K.Lnn

Sarah with Sunrose and Jordan with K.Lnn

Mizzou pom poms...M-I-Z-Z-O-U

Olivia doing some DS teaching with Cassy

Livi and Cassy doing some gymnastics.

Look at the hair color difference...not many blonds here.

And so, first full day was not one that we anticipated but we rolled with the punches and got through it. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little more smooth. Keep us in your prayers.

1. Pray for the rain to STOP! We need good weather for so many reasons I can't even explain them all.

2. Pray for the health of our team. We have colds, coughs, broken toes, migraines, stomach aches, etc.

3. Pray for the pastor that we met last year when our team rehabbed his church. His wife Ann has had some cardiac issues and her condition is getting worse by the day. She is hospitalized several hours away and they have 5 young children that need their mom.

Thanks for checking on us...

The Adventure Begins

Yesterday at 6am we departed for an adventure. The Crowell family along with 10 other families left for South Dakota. This is our 2nd mission trip to the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation where we serve the Lakota Indians of the Sioux Tribe. When we asked our girls if they would rather go to the beach or to South Dakota this summer, without a second of hesitation they yelled "South Dakota". And so we packed up and headed 900 miles to a magnificent but yet incredibly deprived part of our country to once again spend a wonderful week with the people that we so fell in love with last year.

As I write this, it is approximately 2am and I have just had my first shower since Friday...ewww I know. :) We have already had an incredible experience that I will write about tomorrow...an amazing story of how God works in absolutely incredible ways. We will be challenged this week like no other. The conditions on the reservation are much worse than last year...not sure why but sadly it is the case. But, we are with an incredible group of people that share in this mission and will be with us every step of the way.

Kids can have fun anywhere! This is like one gigantic sleepover....good times!

Tee Pees...does it get more Indian than this?

The beautiful land of South Dakota...breathtaking!

Unpacking the truck...all hands on deck!

These are the banana boxes that we packed for the carnival...we have over 6,000 carnival prizes, a dunking booth, a bounce house, a cotton candy machine and 10 other games. Woo Hoo!

Our luxurious sleeping quarters. This is the woman, young girl and tween room...most crowded room by far. There is a man room and a teen girl room...good times. A week sleeping with Olivia...ugh! She is a violent sleeper.

We are heading to bed now after a VERY long day. Tomorrow the kids arrive and the party begins. We are so grateful for our safe travels and the hard work of our team and can't wait to see what the week will bring. Keep us in your prayers.

Prayer requests:

1. Good weather..more rain is in the forecast. They have had record rainfall amounts in the last few weeks.

2. Kids that show up tomorrow at the Youth Center (rumor has it that the numbers have been low lately due to kids getting beaten up...yikes!

3. We can figure out a way to get the grass mowed (the playground that was fairly nice last year is a complete disaster with grass several feet high...this will be the location of the carnival on Wednesday where we will entertain approximately 600 people! Pray hard for this one!