Getting closer

I can't believe I leave for São Paulo in less than a month! I am getting really excited but also a bit overwhelmed at leaving my friends. I had to say goodbye to a dear friend in December, and that brought me to realize that I have to do that so many more times. Crazy!

Well, right now I'm in Amarillo, Texas at a Super 8 Motel. We decided to spend the day here instead of trying to drive the rest of the way to Kansas City today. The snow was coming down pretty heavy and the entire I40 is having storms today. So.....looks like a relaxing day catching up on some emails, reading, maybe a movie....it's not too hard to wait another day. : ) It's pretty crazy how I have no idea when I'll be back in the States again. I'm actually ok with that part, it's just all the people I don't know when I'll see again! Especially because so many of them are spreading around the world in a year or 2.

I had an interesting and very fun Christmastime. I got to see my Grandma, brother and sister-in-law, aunt, uncle and cousin! We had a BLAST! We did a "Christmas pageant," did some lip sync (soooo much fun!!!), and ate so many goodies. We counted how many kinds we had: 20!!!Since it was a bit warmer in Arizona, it was a wonderful relief from all the snow and freezing winds of Chicago and we went on walks and runs. One thing that happened though was my Grandma ended up having to go to the hospital a couple days after Christmas. She has some lymph node problems, and was having a lot of pain in her arm and a fever. She is still in the hospital and they found out she had torn her rotator cuff in her shoulder and may have some infection also. We would appreciate prayer for that situation. She's somewhat discouraged about having to be helpless for a while.

In comes the New Year!! I pray it will be one that brings glory to God's kingdom! There seems to be so much craziness in the world right now and it's hard to stay focused....it's so important to remember that each year that goes by brings us closer to seeing Him!!!

Sorting and packing and Romans papers

And so it comes to a swift close, this college life of mine. Last night I wrote papers for a few hours, then went back to my room and packed for a couple of hours. It is funny to go through all of my stuff and find such random things....seashells from vacations past, bracelets some little girls made for me, old rocks from the river I swam in for 5 years in Flexal, and so much more. Letting go of some of these things has been good for me, because in the end, what will they matter? Not much.... :) The people I experienced these memories with are so incredibly special and I don't need rocks to remember it.

So, I will probably not miss the long hours of research and writing in the library, but I have certainly learned a lot through all of my different papers. Looking back, I have written about so many different topics, including post partum depression, abortion, existentialism, Eastern mysticism, repentance, and the effects of divorce on children. I do not regret a single topic I chose.

Praise God for running! I'm off to do that since I just finished one of my papers. My thoughts are so scatterbrained right now and I'm ready for a break!

Life lessons...

Sooo... yesterday I was at the Shedd aquarium with my second cousins and their families, which was about 10 people in all. There were four little girls, 8, 2, 1, and a 5-month old. We all got in free because of a thing my cousin's husband got online for a Christmas party there. It was tons of fun- we got to see a bunch of cool shows and see the aquariums all day. But we stopped in at this guest lounge area, and I was playing with the little kids. I guess I was distracted, because on our way out, I was putting little 1-year old Sarah into the stroller, and I completely forgot to grab my purse off the table. We went downstairs to this dolphin area, and I realized I didn't have it. In the course of ten minutes, I had left it in the lounge. Quickly running up there, I had a sinking feeling, and it was indeed gone. I checked all over - lost and found throughout the day, bathroom, upstairs and down, but nothing. I called the banks and my dad, praying that either we would find it or the person wouldn't use the cards before I could called the banks. I also had some checks written out to me and a phone in there, but that's ok because I have an old phone a friend let me borrow that will work. Thanks Reb!!! Sorry Diego I lost the phone you lent me!

Throughout the whole ordeal, I surprisingly was not freaking out as much as I normally would. I know my parents were praying I wouldn't worry about it, and I actually didn't (very much). God allowed each "important" item in my purse to get taken care of, and now I have learned a few things through it. First, purses and wallets are all going to burn at the end of all things. :) I do realize money can be important in life, but God is letting me know that He can take care of all that, giving me a presence of mind (and also a great dad) to take care of the necessary details. Secondly, people are much more important than things! I knew that in my heart, but having to realize it in such a difficult way was good for me. My cousin's husband Dan, after expressing how bad he felt about me losing it was like, "Well, at least you're alive and well, no one was hurt, no one's bleeding..." SO TRUE! :) Third, it's so crucial that we develop a sense of eternity, not the silly things of this life. Whenever we get so emotionally attached to things here, we forget to focus on the Real King, Christ. This might also be a good preparation for living in Sao Paulo, since it's not exactly uncommon to have things stolen right off you on the buses, streets, etc. :)

Anyways, that was my Saturday adventure. In some ways, I'm thankful this happened, not that I'm glad to have to deal with all the issues, but that God taught me a lot through it. Who knows? Maybe someone can get some use out of my Chicago train pass that was also in there. :)

Oh the times of change...

Well, I guess I never thought I'd be saying this, but I officially have only 7 weeks left of actual college classes. All my life I thought college seemed like this looming event in the future that would probably never actually get here. And now it's almost over -weird. Anyways, I guess with the end coming up really soon, I've been pensive a lot lately. Whenever I had to make a transition in my life, which was pretty often, I usually began to take things a lot more seriously and make more of an effort to be sure that everyone around me knew that they were important to me. But why only when I'm getting ready to leave? Why not on an ordinary day when I am stessed out....can't I still offer the most I can for those people I am close to? It seems like, as the old saying goes, "You only appreciate what you had when it's gone." I need to learn to more fully appreciate who's here now and all they add to my life...

Anyways, today was basically hilarious on lunch shift for dishcrew. I was working rack, loading the dishes on, and Mel and Josh were on silver and slop. I had thrown a sponge that hit Josh square on the arm and another that hit Mel square on the ear/face. :) It was pure delight to me. Anyways, Josh decides he wants to get me back, a fair decision in my mind, as it is pretty normal to have sponge fights on silver/slop/rack. He throws it at me, completely missing, while I shriek (something I only do when I'm hyper or working dishcrew or both) and proceed to dump over my bucket of water all over myself. They were doubled over with laughter, and Killer soon shares the story with Nate and Naomi. News always travels fast on the crew, and soon everyone was looking at me knowingly, assured of the fact that I am a clutz who manages to dump water all over herself, even when I didn't even get hit by the sponge. I just enjoy those little D.C moments, and these are some times I will treasure and never forget.

Then there's those times I miss my boyfriend like CRAZY, like right now for instance. I have learned that when those times come, instead of being melancholy and feeling sorry for myself, I need to put every single one of those desires and feelings before the Lord, focusing back on who is my True Rock. Even though it's ok to miss my Aulo, it's important that he not become what I trust for support and the strength I can run to at the end of the day. God's really been convicting me of that lately.

So, anyways, Mel and Angelica are here studying, and I should probably take the hint and go do a bit of reading for Apologetics. or maybe just get to sleep soon, since I'm babysitting in the morning. That's another things I'll miss, watching little Liem and Raine every Friday. it's been fun...

The main thing for today is to be reminded that the people around me have always been important to me. They are some of God's instruments in shaping me into who He wants me to become. and i'll definitely miss them.

There are quite a few things in the world that can make me smile, one of which happened last night, which was, obviously, July 4th. We had a great cookout with Crossworld friends and went swimming, played volleyball, the whole works. Around 8:00 we quickly cleaned up everything and hurried over to the fireworks, which are a pretty exciting and long display they do in this area every year. There were 11 of us, a nice fun group, and we took 3 cars and headed towards the park.

Of course, it was pure chaos there. Streets lined with cars, and, here in the Philly area, the streets are narrow to begin with, and created in a complete mess of curves and badly angled intersections, (which is probably a result of the historic meaning to this area, and the fact that it was built long before anyone thought about cars. :) We all walked over to the park then claimed our spot with 3 blankets, right by the port-a-potty, which was the only place left. But sometimes the world is just too picky, we didn't smell a single whiff the entire time. Anyways, the fireworks display was a bit late, but we had fun talking and I enjoyed observing all the adorable kiddos around us, one of which did a funny little dance to the music and had the sweetest smile the whole time. The mother kept encouraging him to do his little "dance" whenever he stopped and so he would continue his little jumping actions. :)

Well, after the beautiful fireworks, which were set off to the most random music, we started our way back. This was, of course, chaos once again, but organized chaos. We were surrounded by people, so one of the missionaries, Uncle Larry, used one of the pillows we had brought to keep us all together. This was absolutely hysterical.... I mean it was this HUGE pillow with paintings of macaws and palm trees on it, which they had bought in Brasil, and he was holding it above his head so that we could see where they were. He had a perfectly straight face and I was trying so hard not to crack up. The funny thing was it really worked! We didn't once lose each other. People kind of looked at him like he was crazy, but HELLO, they were probably lost in the crowd and we knew right where our leader was.

So, we all had a nice little laugh about that. It's funny the things that'll trigger a laugh, especially now that I can laugh since getting my wisdom teeth out a few days ago. :) I absolutely love the missionary community; it is one of the joys in my life. I pray there will always be those uncles and aunts in my life. There are too many to count even now. Praise God for family anywhere you go...

The beauty of children...

I just had to share a few things that happened this week with my childcare job. I have been working with kids that are going to soon be missionary kids. It has been an exhausting and rewarding week. Exhausting because they each have about 5 questions per minute, if not more, and they are 8-10 year olds, so they are naturally curious about the entire program, and want to know what we have planned for the day, like in the middle of Bible lesson! But God's teaching me to be patient and remember that I was just like that not too long ago. ;) Yet it is rewarding because those kids are very sweet. I've been hanging out with all age groups, and they are sooo great. For example, the boy on the right, Caleb, brought me like 2 flowers in the first day. And he loves giving out hugs like none other. My other kiddo, Cassie, is 10 and she is Caleb's sister.

The other day it was raining and we had a somewhat gloomy, indoor day. WE were headed over to the house we teach them at, and she whispered to me, "I brought something that is perfect for rainy days...it's just for you and me, but I feel bad I didn't bring it for everyone. I just can't carry that many." So, when we arrived at the house, (a 15 minute walk), she pulled out two styrofoam cups, 6 packets of sugar, and two teabags. It was so sweet, the way she had thoughtfully known that I happened to be losing my voice from answering so many questions, reading them books and correcting their behavior. :) The cups were somewhat smashed, so we decided to use real mugs. And, she also happened to know that I LOVE sugar in my tea. Anyways, little moments like this make me love these kids no matter what.

First impressions...

Isn't it funny how so many times we immediately label people when we meet them? And in a short amount of time, you realize what a mistake that was? Even if it isn't a bad label necessarily, there seems to be a consistency in the fact that the initial impression isn't accurate. It is really incredible how many times I've been proven wrong. It isn't even worth the effort to "judge a book by its cover" because in time there are so many amazing, deeper, wonderful things you discover about the people that come into your life.

This recently happened to me with several people, two of whom I will share here... these 2 people happen to be a very sweet and amazing couple who I just met about 2 weeks ago. They temporarily run the mission guesthouse here in Pennsylvania that I'm staying at for a few days. They are actually from western Canada, and when i first met them, I assumed they were a quiet, typical 60-something couple. They were very sweet and engaging, (which is still true :), but I had no idea about how much fun they'd be! God brings people so unexpectedly and at the times when you most need it! I have had so many fun times with them this week! The husband helps out sooooo much!!! He is always in the kitchen at mealtimes, helping his wife get things ready for the guests. He absolutely never compliains about it either. His wife had a problem with her "rotituary cuff" (something in her shoulder) and he made sure she knew he would take care of things. Also, they are both such teasers!! I mean, I just met these people, and the husband was dryly commenting about the fact that I had half of my dessert then decided I wanted a bit more chili. He was like "your stomach's gonna get so confused, which flavor do I process first! Oops, here comes more salty food!!" He is somewhat like my dad with his dry humor and she is kind of like my mom in how she laughs heartily at every funny thing he says.

Anyways, this couple has really blessed me and helped me to feel comfortable in this huge, beautiful, old house (I'm familiar with it, but I rarely stay here, the last time I did my family was just joining the mission and I was 5). Oh and one more thing, the husband was trying to fix up the VCR and he was asking me if i used it at all.. I said no and he said he had watched "Veggie Tales" to test it out. He said, "It has certainly been a while since I watched that one!" ;)

So much more I could say on this glorious summer night, but it is bedtime. Love you all and pray you have a blessed June!

Just livin' and lovin' life...

So basically summertime is amazing. :) Even if there are rainy, chilly days, somehow they seem to be more bearable if they happen in the month of June. But then you wonder, why couldn't out attitude be like that all the time? I mean, God created the cold, wintry freezing days too. And yet it is so much easier to not complain when the days are nice and beautiful. That is just something I've been convicted of. Anyway, life's been very full and awesome these days. I just love being able to have days that are not consumed with schoolwork and I'm able to have a mind that functions a bit easier. It's wonderful to be allowed to think about something for a long while or read a book at my very own preferred pace!!

The next two months are full of travelling and changes in scenery always! Won't be a boring summer, by far... You can pray that I continue seeking the Lord and putting Him first in every friendship and decision I face!

Another start of a summer...

It seems like the more we let time rush by us, the less we enjoy it and allow God to help us learn from it. Sometimes, I find myself getting excited about the future and not dwelling on what there is to be seized in each day. I just finished my third year at Moody, and there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of time left in my college life. That, in itself, is a stunning statement. So, one thing that must be understood is the fact that the Lord has given us each these moments to use for HIS glory and to focus not on what I want for myself in the future, but rather on what He's teaching me in the present. However, there is room for dreams and plans, but they must be held loosely, allowing Him to mold and shape our lives as He desires. All I know is I have to keep working with what He's given me.