My parents are headed to Tanzania in two weeks with a group from our church to do medical work in villages near the small town of Morogoro.
Back in the old days when you could still walk family members to the airport gate, I remember crying with my mom and sister as Dad boarded the plane for Kenya and Tanzania. At the time we didn’t know what he had signed us all up for, but today I am tearful thinking of how God allowed us to be apart of what He was calling my Dad to do.
This ministry has meant so much to my family. It’s meant several trips for my Dad, maybe 5 or 6 now, and 1 trip for my mom and I. It’s meant Swahili-speaking house guests on more than one occasion. It’s meant the Bishop of the Lutheran Church of Tanzania jumping on my trampoline and cheering for my soccer team. It’s meant cross-cultural friendships for my Dad that wouldn’t have existed without the Gospel. It’s been 8 years since their last trip together and I’m so proud of them for being brave again. Not just brave for the sake of being brave, but for the sake of others knowing Jesus.
We’ll be collecting donations for their trip until Sunday, June 10. The team is asking for snack-size ziplock bags, cough drops, and reading glasses (like what you can find at the Dollar Store). The ziplock bags are used for filling prescriptions and the team needs approximately 5000.
If you’re interested in donating, please send me an e-mail at elcurzon@gmail.com. We’ll also be collecting donations at VenuePM this week.
Thanks for reading and praying!
ELC
Allow me to introduce you to Enriche.
My aunt and I turned our creative outlet into a business this weekend hosting our first ever Enriche Trunk Show. If I do say so myself, I’ll say it was a roaring success.
Please scroll through some product photos and imagine yourself strolling through a lovely home, sipping a glass of wine, and leaving with pretty things for your home, life, & style.
It’s like you were there.
Stay tuned for details about our next event this summer.
Inquiries? Please send us a note at life@designenriche.com
My man and his dog. Weak moment where one of us let Charlie sit on the couch and the other one made him get off promptly after capturing this photo. I bet you can guess which one of us let him get on the couch based on this photo.
This picture brings me so much joy. We had leaders and students from our Guatemala trip over for burgers on Friday night. Since we’ve been married, Dustin and I have talked a lot about making our home a place where people feel welcome, especially the students we love serving. Having our house so full was such a reminder of how faithful God is to us!
My big sister turned 30. I tried my best to fulfill my role as the annoying little sister by buying an obnoxious sign and draping her chair in black crate paper. I feel like that was lovingly tame. Basically, I love my sister. She’s hysterical and loyal and precious to me.
As are the cutest parents in the world. Look how cute Mom is in her leopard print.
And I can’t even talk about this picture. I really negotiated with Jack for this photo and I feel like I came out on top. Frankly, this makes the sign worth it.
He is so stinkin’ cute. When did Baby Jack turn into a little boy!?
On an unrelated note, my aunt and I are hosting a trunk show to unveil some of our latest creations….wreaths, vintage framed prints, custom stationery. This is the rolled bookpage wreath. If you’re interested in more information on the event, visit our facebook page here.
Hope everyone had a lovely weekend!!!
No, I don’t think I’m awesome with a camera. Camera Awesome is actually a new app that I downloaded last week in an attempt to make my husband think I was cool. I kid. I had to ask him for advice on finding a camera app so I suppose I’m only as cool as the tech advice he gives.
I love Instagram. Love it. But I felt limited by the filters they offered and wanted to experiment with other options, thus Camera Awesome. It’s free like Instagram, but you have to pay for upgrades once you’re hooked. I haven’t paid for any upgrades yet because I’m still playing, but I’m considering it. I think a good app is worth paying for and fairly soon we’ll have to stop being so accustomed to everything being free.
You’d think my husband was in the business of tech start-ups or something.
So blog world (or just my Mom, who knows), I present to you an awesomized re-cap of the week.
I spent Good Friday with my aunt working on our design project. More to come on this later. We spent the morning sipping hazelnut coffee and making pretty things.
Charlie and I got to spend some quality time together while D was out of town. It’s amazing how much he loves me until D gets home. Then I settle comfortably back into my role as Charlie’s second favorite person in our home.
There’s no birthday celebration like an El Tequila birthday celebration. Our precious fathers share the same birthday so there was twice as much to celebrate. Look how festive John is?
I adore my Dad. I have the best Dad in the world. That’s all there is.
We spent Easter afternoon at my parent’s house watching our nephew hunt for all 437 eggs my sister hide around the backyard. Ok, 437 might be an exaggeration, but let’s just say 8 adults watching 1 toddler collect 60+ eggs is tedious and hilarious. We love you, baby Jack. One day we’ll return the favor by allowing you to baby-sit your cousins for free.
I spent Saturday morning shopping for chandeliers with my Mom and came home with this gem from IO Metro. Seriously love that store.
We planted some azaleas in our front yard because we couldn’t stand to look at our dried-up-mulch-from-last-year flower bed anymore. It was just unpleasant.
Easter Sunday. I think we’ll plan to take an Easter Sunday picture every year since our mothers started that tradition for us years before we knew what God had in store. He’s always reminding me how faithful He is even in the little things…even photos.
Happy Weekend, friends! Hopefully more Camera Awesome fun this weekend.
Friends,
I’ve found two new blogs that have increased my quality of life.
Mainly I love them because the women are blonde so I feel like I can relate.
Or maybe it’s that the only thing I have in common with this women is the color of my hair and a deep admiration for bright lipstick.
If you don’t fit into either of these categories, I hope you can at least enjoy the pretty pictures.
Happy Wednesday!
Sterling Style
Brooklyn Blonde
I don’t know how to begin.
I figured that was the most effective way for me to begin my Guatemala recap because frankly I’ve been sitting here for a few minutes and this post isn’t going to write itself.
D and I spent the last week in Guatemala. We weren’t alone and we weren’t on vacation although I have already been asked about my vacation to Tanzania. I suppose I don’t expect everyone to know what were doing, but to clear any discrepancies, we were not in Africa on vacation.
We spent the week working alongside some amazing students and leaders working with ministries that serve some of the poorest areas of Guatemala City. I stepped into this trip because I’d started meeting with some high school seniors at our church with Amy Ann. D has been working with some high school juniors since they were in eighth grade. His guys jokingly say they’d hazed D when he first started meeting with them, but I’m so proud of him for sticking it out. I’m learning that for guys heckling can be a love language, which means these guys really love each other.
This was my fourth trip to Guatemala since being a junior in high school myself. I’ve walked into it in several phases of life, but I’ve never walked away with a clearer picture of Christ’s love for the church. For many of you reading this, my prayer is that what I share makes you uncomfortable, uncomfortable in a way that challenges you to start figuring out what you believe, uncomfortable in a way that allows you to question God so He can prove himself to you.
Here’s what I know with every fiber of my being to be the truth and the greatest news for every person:
We’ve messed up. We don’t deserve what we have. We can’t make it right.
We can’t make it right because the only person that could was Christ. He never messed up. He deserved everything, but lost it all so that He could make us right.
Stop running from Him. Stop striving to live a good life and rest in the freedom that’s He’s offering since He’s already made everything good.
The students we worked with this week get it. They’re asking questions and they’re seeking to know Him. They want their lives to represent the freedom that they have so that others’ can understand the Gospel. They’ve inspired me to be bolder which is why I’m using this post to share in my own simple way what Christ has done for me and for you.
My heart is that my own unperfect life would make much of the One who saved me.
We’re leaving for Guatemala in a few days and I can’t stop thinking about how gracious God has been to me since I first stepped foot into the Guatemala City dump as a naive 16 year old. I’ll never be able to sufficiently articulate how He’s transformed my heart through missions or how He’s refined me through all these opportunities. I thought I’d share the Kari Jobe song that has been on repeat in my car. I think it sums up my heart right now better than I can.
I don’t dream of cooking, but I do dream of all white kitchens with open cabinetry and marble countertops. I feel like this is an environment that could inspire me to branch out beyond cereal and velveeta.
# 1: My personal favorite
#2: Look at the architectural elements on the cabinets. I also totally love the bar stools.
#3: I call this one the trifecta. Wainscoting to the ceiling, open cabinetry, and a bench seat. I could do without the checked fabric on the chairs, but seriously this would still look good with folding chairs.
All these kitchens were taken from the galleries at House+Home. Enjoy!
Friends,
I’m so happy to be back. Where have I been? Wait, does anyone reading this not personally know me (Mom and Amy Ann) and already know the answer to this question?
Just in case, the answer is I have been in a hole studying. I’ve been studying for a very important exam for my career and had I-should-be-studying guilt every time I tried to read my regular blogs or daydream here. Good news, though! I passed.
I’m ready to zone out in the blog-reading, pinterest-pinning trance that we all know and love. So allow me to update you on elc.life via my iphone/instagram…
My boys on a lovely riverside walk on the most beautiful January day.
For Valentine’s Day we spent the evening downtown at The Mayo. Our wedding reception was in the Crystal Ballroom at The Mayo and I’ll forever be in love with this Tulsa gem.
This is a map of Tulsa from the 1950s. It’s right outside the entrance to the ballroom and we love it. I would seriously love to re-create this in D’s office someday.
My most favorite little boy, Jack, came to stay with his aunt while D was out of town and his parents were on a hot date. We snuggled and watched The Lion King. I’m crazy about him.
In honor of not having to study yesterday, I attempted something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. The 30 x 30 remix from Kendi Everyday. You take 30 items from your closet and make 30 outfits. It’s such a great way to be a good steward of what you already have and play dress up. I’m totally planning to try it again in the Spring.
***Sidenote: Apparently when I initially posted this, it didn’t save the last portion of my post so those of you reading this on the day I posted might have been thinking “why did she post pictures of clothes laying on a bed?” Well, the answer is I’m better at style than I am at technology. Or I’m average at both, I don’t know.***
Thanks for stopping by! Please come back this Spring when I plan to be a real blogger that posts more than bimonthly.
ELC
