Happy Birthday, ZEAL!

ZEAL is turning one year old in September.

I almost can't believe that it's been a year since the launch of this ministry at Miami Baptist Church. It is the first thing that I have been a part of since the beginning. Something I have dedicated myself to, prayed over, been blessed by...

One year ago we set out to create an environment where young adults could feel at home in. We wanted to be relevant...but most importantly, we wanted God to be glorified. That has been our prayer from the start and it continues to be our prayer as we begin this new year of opportunities.

Over the past year we have tried many different things at ZEAL. Some were a huge success...others, not so much. But we always left room to grow and we sure did learn a lot. We are always in the process of seeking what it is that the Lord is trying to achieve through us and I am honored to be a part of a ministry that seeks to honor Him and serve others.

My hope and prayer is that you may find a "home" where you can fellowship with people who care about you and worship a God who loves you. Be it at ZEAL or some place else.

In any case, we will be celebrating ZEAL's very first birthday on Sunday, September 2nd at 7PM! So I REALLY hope that all of you can make it out and bring a friend...bring two friends...maybe even three! This is going to be a very special service and you don't want to miss one second of it. Trust me! So be on time and be ready to celebrate a very special birthday.

120

Last week my grades were FINALLY posted for the senior lab I took over the summer. It was the last five credits I needed to reach that magic number of 120.
I am extremely pleased to report that I got an A-. Yay! I looked up my SASS report and the beautiful phrase at the top of it says, "All Requirements Identified Below Have Been Met." I was so happy and relieved
As for actually receiving my degree...I have to wait a few more weeks. FIU is slow. I should call and make sure everything is okay. Knowing the way FIU operates they're just waiting to screw me over...
Also, there is no ceremony in the summer time. If I want to walk I have to wait until December. Eh. I'll survive just fine without a graduation ceremony. Who needs it?

:-)

Buzz Buzz

I've been slacking in the updating department...many apologies.
Things have just been insanely busy ever since Alex and I got engaged.
:-)
I'm working everyday and it seems that I have something to do everyday after work. Appointments to keep, errands to run, media rooms to clean up (that was the MOST time consuming)...

Last week I got to take a not so relaxing vacation. I went on the ZEAL summer retreat at Ft. Wilderness. I'm not the camping type...but this wasn't SO bad. We got to play games and have interesting conversations. It was nice to be out in the Disney wilderness with my fellow ZEALots. ;-) The best part was swimming in the shark tank at Typhoon Lagoon! The water was freezing! But it felt good in that heat (that's me up there with Kat and Shany at Typhoon Lagoon). I had fun on the camping trip...even with all the mosquito bites and rope burn (due to some rousing games of tug-o-war).

As for the wedding plans...they are progressing nicely! Alex and I have come up with some GREAT ideas for the ceremony to make it interesting and fun...and truly reflective of our personalities. I promise, it won't be your average boring wedding. I have an appointment with the pastor of the church I want the ceremony at on Monday...and I'm going dress shopping on Tuesday...and I'm still researching reception sites. We shall see. I'm starting to get really excited about this wedding business. And I'm training myself not to become a bridezilla. I remind myself that there's really nothing to worry about. God will work everything out the way He sees fit. It also helps that my sister is also engaged and going through all the wedding planning frenzy. The family doesn't need TWO crazy brides. I'll let her get all stressed out and I'll be the calm and relaxed one. :-)

The Blog We've All Been Waiting For...

It happened.

Alex and I are officially engaged to be married.

So here is the story...maybe I won't have to repeat it fifty million times and I can just direct people to my lovely blog so that they can get the scoop.

My buddy, Ali, is a photographer and had expressed an interest to do some portraits of Alex and me. We headed down to Key Biscayne yesterday and went to different locations to take the photos. We ended up at the Lighthouse (El Farito for all the native Miamians)...however, we encountered a bit of a problem. It was closed. There happened to be a wedding going on. That didn't stop us. We have a rebellious streak. We jumped the fence and commenced with the picture taking. We found a nice spot with the lighthouse in the background, right next to the ocean. As luck would have it, the security lady found us and asked us what we were doing there and how we managed to get in. We muttered some excuses but she said we had to leave. Alex pleaded with the woman to let us take just two more photos. She reluctantly agreed.

This is when I noticed Alex fumbling with something in his pocket...I wondered what he was doing but didn't say anything. I was thinking, "He better stop messing around, we need to take these pictures and get the heck out of here!"
And then he looks at me and says, "Before we get kicked out..." (gets on one knee) "Will you marry me?"

Hugs and kisses were exchanged and I managed to let out an, "okay" as Ali snapped a bunch of pictures all around us.

Then we got kicked out.

Anyone who knows us, knows that this is the perfect Alex and Kristel engagement story. :-)

Photos of the proposal will most likely be posted up on myspace soon! So keep checking back.