Domingo

This morning I went to church close to the Quinta area. It´s Chuy (YWAM Staff) and Dina´s (fellow dts student) church. To get there we had to take a bus, that was quite full, and walk several blocks. As we road the bus I thought of how different it is to get to church here from how I would be getting to church at home. I think I miss being able to drive where ever I would like. Its complicated to get around here. You have to either wait for one of the few YWAM staffers that can actually drive to take you or you have to get a bus or a taxi. ... hmm... anyway, but church this morning was good from what I could understand. When we got there it was Sunday school time. Everyone first meets for praise and worship then they got to their seperate classes. I went with Dina, Mirjam, and Casey to Chuy´s class. He´s the youth pastor at this church. He speaks some English, but he didn´t translate for us what he was saying, but that´s ok. He also preached for the Sunday morning service. He´s a very wise man I think. Oh and before the service started they called all the September birthdays to the front and prayed over us, and sang Happy Birthday in Spanish then everyone in the church came to the front and shook our hands...it was quite random and unexpected. Between Sunday School and regualar church they eat tostadas outside. Today, though, they had cake for the September birthdays I suppose.

Right now I´m in the HEB again, after we are done here, we will take the bus back to the street that leads to the Quinta, but instead of rideing the bus the whole way we´re going to walk because today is market day and all the little tiendas (shops) are out on the street. When we get back to the Quinta I might swim, but I have homework to do! (oy!) Every week we are required to journal about the classes from that week and about what impacted us the most and how we can apply what we learned to our lives. And for the first week, we have to have our journals decorated in a way that some how expresses who we are or what we want to learn during dts. I have to finish decorating and I haven´t even begun to journal yet (but I have all my notes from class so I just have to summarize them) fun stuff.

I´m still planning on sharing some of those notes on here, but as we are here in the HEB/mall right after church to eat lunch and do internet I didn´t bring them with me!

We are still having to be at the Quinta this week because the construction at the base is still not finished. It´s supposed to be ready for us to be back there by this coming weekend, but since we´re in Mexico AND it´s construction, I´m not sure if that´ll happen.

That´s all for now I suppose.

pictures

Ok, this is going to be short.
But I've loaded pictures to a web album on picasa. Check out the link on the right under "Pictures". Also check out Chloe's pictures. She's got some good ones on there tooo! I'll post more later if I can!

loves!

Hailings from HEB

Hey! Hey! Everyone! I thought I would post a little something. We managed to get Edgar to bring us to the HEB closeish to the Quinta where we can get on the internet for 10pesos per hour. Which is like a dollar an hour. Not too bad really, but the keyboards are all jacked and the net has slowish moments.

So we started classes this week. And I think I will try to post some of my notes from class, but I forgot to bring them with me, and everything on these webpages are in spanish, so its a little difficult to navigate. But I cant wait to share the cool things we"ve been studying!

This week our teacher is from Culican (not sure about the spelling) and he is talking about how to hear the voice of God. Its been soo good. Today, however, was really long. We had three sessions with him AND language school. My brain needs a break! In Language school Esther said that in a few weeks I might be able to move up to the more advanced class, because Im a little more advanced than just basic! woo! Go me.

Monday night, our neighbor was really REALLY drunk. He was banging on the gates and yelling at us girls. Our room is on the second floor, and we had our lights on (it was like almost 11pm) and so we quickly shut off the lights andwent and told Edgar and Isai who went to talk tot he guy, and after a while they were done talking to him, but he was still hanging around. He stopped a car that was driving by and talked to them, then he got in his own car that was in the middle of the road and drove off! The next day I saw that someone drove him home, he looked really hungover.

I have more pictures to share too, but cant yet!! You are just going to have to wait a little longer!! But I promise!! They are coming!!

Thats all for now.

Hola Muchachos

Hey everyone! I'm finally in Monterrey!! woo!

I've been here a week. It's been a pretty easy going week. We've been staying at the second home (Quinta) because the Base is under construction. They are totally re-doing the guys dorms. We'll be out at the Quinta one more week and return to the base next weekend, hopefully. It's nice at the Quinta because there's a pool and a nice palapa (porch with a thatch roof).

I'm looking forward to keeping you all up to date on the goings on here Monterrey. Since there's no internet at the Quinta, that's kinda difficult to do....but I'll do my best.

Last week we did mostly getting to know you things. There are 10 of us attending DTS this year. There are five girls, one guy and two married couples. One of the couples has four kids. It's a pretty unique group we have here from all over the USA and one Mexican national. It's a pretty sweet team, actually, and we all get along really well. I've really enjoyed my time bonding with the girls this week. I'll introduce you to them all later with pictures, but right now I'm on someone else's computer and I don't have the time at the moment to load pictures.

This next week classes start. We have special teacher coming in to teach on the topic of......oy...it escapes me at the moment....the Holy Spirit maybe? I'll have to confirm that later. But, yeah, it should be pretty awesome. We also start Language school this week. I'm really looking forward to finally getting a good foundation of Spanish! woo.

Well that's all for now. I promise to add pictures as soon as I can!!

:-P

Ssooo somethting it totally up with my computer.... the screen comes up backwards and upside-down. Yep. I'm posting this with the screen in that current position. I'm also currently playing scrabble with Chris on Facebook and talking on Instant message!

I do have a slight, headache now though, and my eyes are feeling a bit crossed.


Anyway. I thought I would blog this moment, and now I think I will go to bed since it's almost THREE AM....ahh....Thr3e AM.....those were the days.....

DoWadiddityDUMdittyDO

Why is FX playing Independence Day so much lately?
I do not know.

Tonight I started cleaning my rooom!
(It's a miracle!)
I started in the bathroom.
I ended up cleaning out more than cleaning up, but at least it's a start!

We have a three day weekend coming!
Woo.
I love that I'm not teaching.
I love my that the kids make my job so much fun.
It's nice not to have to stress over grades and what to teach and just enjoy the kiddos.

I'm currently obsessed with Facebook.
It really is way better than Myspace.
I spend way too much time on both.

I'm sure there was some funny story from earlier today, but I don't remember it.

Things that make you warm and fuzzy inside.

So we were all out to eat last night at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Mathew ordered quesadillas, which he loves, but he got them with spinach. He really didn't like them. So I shared one of my tacos with him, and my refried beans (I'm really not a big refried bean eater) and my mom shared half her burrito with him. Sitting around the table, in the restaurant, sharing the food made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I love having a big table and everyone sharing and passing the food around. Seems like I do that more in other countries than I do here at home.

And since we're talking warm and fuzzies... My totally awesome friends, Jamie :) and Caren have both told me they're takin me out for my birthday. Yay. I feel special.

I'm still looking for a laptop, and trying to see if I can some how work it so that I can get one before I head to Mexico in September... I might be getting some money for my birthday that I could put towards it. We'll just have to play the wait and see game....

I also can't decide if I want to work that last week before I leave for Mexico. I guess I need to make a list of everything that needs to be done before I leave.....

My brother is watching the third Lord of the Rings.....and I so don't remember hardly any of it! We-OW! I need to start 'em over.

Wellllll I'm way tired, sooo that's all for now folks.

The Letter....

Hola amigos! ¿Cómo estás?
I would like to take a moment to tell you about an awesome opportunity God has opened up for me! This past year I've had the pleasure of going down to Monterrey, Mexico and working with a non-profit missions organization called YWAM (Youth With a Mission). YWAM reaches across boundaries and borders, touching thousands of people and hundreds of ministries in almost every country of the world. In every case, no matter the color of skin, or cultural differences, their passion is “to know God and to make Him known."

This summer I got to spend three weeks working hand-in-hand with the YWAM staff. The base in Monterrey hosts teams of youth every week of the summer, allowing them the opportunity to love on the people of the city. We held open-air services, vacation Bible school, hand delivered tacos to the people at low-end hospitals, and played with children in orphanages. I have been completely blown away by the move and power of God at work in the lives not only of the people in Monterrey, but also in lives of the team members that come down to minister.
It was during my weeks in Mexico that the desire to live and minister full-time in Monterrey began to grow. I have fallen in love with the people of Monterrey. I want to bring them the hope and light of Jesus. I've seen Him change so many lives in the few weeks I was there!

I am enrolled, and am raising money to attend YWAM's training program called Discipleship Training School (DTS). DTS "Aims to prepare messengers of the gospel, helping students to know God in depth. The goal is to form Christian character and establish Biblical relationships while developing a daily walk with God. This intensive Christian training course begins with an 11 or 12 week classroom phase followed by a typically 12 week outreach." Once I complete this program, I can become a full-time staff member at any YWAM base around the world. It is my greatest desire to live and work with the people of Mexico, and to see God at work in their hearts and lives.

Would you please consider supporting me? I am in need of massive amounts of prayer. Please pray for my safety and for God's guidance through this whole experience. I also have a financial need. I have raised $1,613 so far. I still need about $3387! God has been incredible thus far in how He has provided for all my needs. I know He is faithful and has prepared the way for me to go!

Thank you for your time and prayerful consideration of my spiritual and financial needs! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

Gracias y Dios Bendiga!

lazer tag, or ice skating might make a birthday fun too

Happy Birthday to my MOMMMMMM!! Today she turned 46! woot. I'm sure she'd be thrilled to know I posted that :-p


Yesterday I got to talk to TWO of my new friends in Mexico. I haven't gotten to talk to Eliza since I left, so it was an extra special treat to catch up with her on IM. AND Luis got on IM toooo! I was very relieved to find out that he and his family are safe and surviving the hurricane that hit their area.

So I was thinking this morning about life, and people, relationships, God....yeah..I woke up early...And you know, it's really easy to mis-judge a person or situation. Sometimes we get pretty comfortable thinking we know what's what. We think we know a person, or we think we know a circumstance so we have all these preconceived notions before we deal with whatever it is we think we know. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, we all do it. I think though, sometimes we can miss out on something great because it's outside the box of our thinking. And I think that the Living God is mixed in with all the other crazy religions and junk going on in this world. He's put in a box. When we think about God, he is automatically linked to religion...stuffy rules...regulations....do's and don'ts...blah blah blah....

In my mind's eye I see it like this: A room, slowly being filled with people who smoke. All the smoke that pollutes the air is like our prejudices, and preconceived ideas. While the smoke bothers us at first, the longer we stay in there the more accustomed to it we become. And we may even start making excuses for the effects its having on us....we fail to see through the smoke, what the real problem might be. If we would only step outside--outside our fears and preconceived notions--we'd find a breath of fresh air. The God I know and serve is not a religion. It's not just something just to pass the time, or to help me "fit in".

He is a breath of fresh air.
A relationship with the Most High God is like none other in the world.
You can take that to the bank.

Anyway, don't know if that made any sense...makes sense in my head. :-p

I'd like to go go-cartin' for my b-day

So, in case you forgot...MY BIRTHDAY IS IN A WEEK!! Hope y'all have that surprise birthday party all planned! Ha ;-P

Today I went a baby shower for one of my friends, Johanna. She's having her second kid soon. I told Chris this, and later my mom this, and it's worth repeating again...I don't know that I want to have kids anymore...it's a lot of work. AnyWHO...one of the ladies there, the wife of my previous principal, has FOUR kids. She is the same age as me!! Seriously, she turns 26 Sept 17th! It's crazy to think that things could have gone so differently for me and that, that could be me! I'm soooo glad it's not!

Don't get me wrong, major KUDOS to all my friends with kids (which is a majority of them probably). I know y'all work hard. I just don't know if that's something I want anymore.

Anywho, that's all for day I 'spose. I need to draft a letter for my Mexico trip. Maybe I'll post it here when I get it done.

Goooooodnight all.

ho-hum

Well y'all. I figured it was time for an update. It's sad. I always think of great things to say here, but by the time I actually get to the computer, they're alllllll long gone and forgotten!

Today I did a garage sale to raise money for my Mexico trip. Well...I say I did, but really my Mom, Jamie, and Kristen did a ton of hard work. They made the day the success it was. :)

I'm currently lovin' my job. I can pretty much pick my hours, I get to play with kids all day, and they pay me for it! AND, AND, it's temporary! Woo. It's great. Its really good to be able to have a job and know that you can pay for your own stuff. It's definitely a good thing.

Hmm...That's all for now I guess.......I'll try to make the next post more interesting.

Tacos y Burritos

So, I'm posting again. I have a headache, and I can't sleep.

I was thinking the other day about tacos and burritos. Until I went to Mexico and experienced real tacos. I never really liked what we, as Americans, call "tacos". Growing up tacos were hard, crunchy shell things with ground beef and what-not in them. Gross.

Did you know that a "burrito" is Spanish for little burrow, or little donkey. Yep.

Mexican tacos are more like what we call burritos. Soft tortilla with yummy goodness on the inside.

ANNNd, a lot of Mexicans prefer flour tortillas to corn ones. I was always thinking that hard-core Mexicans were all about the corn tortillas, but that's just not true. The ones I've had the pleasure of knowing enjoy the flour ones just as much. Yay for flour tortillas!

mmMmm... now I could for a good taco....

Mas Fotos Por Favor!

Here are some more photos! I hijacked these from Luis and other random people. :) I think I shall commentate on them this time. In this picture here, we have the Green, Blue, and Red teams from El Campimento de Monterrey. It was an exciting week that we totally weren't expecting. We (the other volunteers and myself) thought that we were going to be helping with the camp...the day of, nay, hours before departure they tell us we were to be CAMPERS. It took some time for us to adjust, but the week turned out pretty groovy. Definitely the most challenging week in Mexico. Besides Aaron, no one else on my team spoke English, and we barely knew Spanish. It made games like soccer and volleyball pretty hard to play. I got pretty frustrated with the whole language barrier thing.


And here is me and Luis Miguel. We were in a gift shop at the Safari we went to on Friday of my second week there. This place was crazy... we could feed camels and ostriches and other random wild animals. I held a baby lion cub. The camel bit my finger.












Yep....That's the culprit right there.... the one who bit me....look how happy he is about it.






Shopping! Well....I didn't do much shopping. I just followed Jerry and Luis around. I started out shopping by myself but ran into Jerry and Luis and they made me join them...in this pic we ran into some more of our group and snapped this awesome photo.








Me, Molly, and Luis. I really like this photo. It's pretty good. Luis and I were sitting on the stairs waiting to go back to the Quinta. Molly jumped in the middle and we took a picture...cuz that's what you do when your in a different country with people you don't know very well.


Back row: Jon (YWAM Staff), Madi, Aaron
Front row: Pricilla (YWAM Staff, and Jon's girlfriend) Kristen, Melissa, Me, Luis Miguel. We were outside of Starbucks! Every thursday, Guapo or Jon would take the volunteers out somewhere and we would chat about how things were going and what not. It was a special time just for us. ... good times.







TACOS!! Can you see me on the ground in the background? There weren't enough tables open when we got there, and by the time some were open I was already quite comfortable. Every Friday night we'd take the team out to tacos as a last great meal in Mexico before they left in the morning. The tacos here are sooo gooooood. Yum. and only 30 pesos for two good sized ones. You will have to come and visit me in Monterrey and I'll take you to get tacos. I promise.




Ha ha. This one is just funny! We were waiting for Jerry to get out of the bathroom. Like how everyone but Luis is leaning?

Luis Miguel = chick magnet

ha.






Ok, that's all for now I suppose. Hope you enjoyed.

Pictures are worth at thousand words right?

That's all for now I suppose! I'm much to tired to write anything more. ;-p

They're so smart, we believe what they say.

Yesterday I went to the doctor because I've had a sore throat, nasal congestions, itchy/water eyes, cough thing going on since Monday.

The doctor, a very nice lady, didn't take much time with me. She thinks I'm not that sick, and tells me so. Says she'll give me a Zpack and a cough/decongestant syrup.

I immediately asked if it would make me sleepy.

"OH no!"she says, "This is a non-sleepy kind." Then she smiles.

When I get my drugs, I think two thing: "I hope she didn't give me codeine, I told her that stuff makes me sick. " And, "Here goes the no sleepy cough syrup...."

I was out like a light in less than 20 minutes flat.

I couldn't have stayed awake if my life had depended on it.

It's a good thing I wasn't needing to operate any heavy machinery.

:-P

Dare to Discover

I do believe that the Discovery Channel is quickly becoming one of my favorite channels to watch. Has anyone see the previews for Shark Week. Totally awesome. And I'll be back from Mexico just in time to watch! woo.

:)