OUR CREATOR, SHINE YOUR LIGHT.

We're in San Diego and we went to the zoo today. That was cool! ... and really HOT. But fun!! Sorry I don't have pictures...I haven't had the chance to put the most recent ones on my computer yet. But soon hopefully!!

And we spent like 2 hours in Barnes & Noble today, because our refuge for the night wasn't available until 10pm. So, I had a good time walking around and looking at all the different books. (Although my feet were so tired from standing like all day!!) And I really realized that like every book that is written has an agenda. And that agenda may be true, or not. And there are a lot of books (about not-truths) that are proclaiming "facts"--even though we Americans have begun to misuse that word greatly. (Hopefully you understand what I mean.) And it's just crazy real eye opening for me.

It worries me sometimes to think how disillusioned I possibly am. But I don't want to become so "enlightened" that I lose touch with reality either.

AAAHHHHH! (an expression of slight frustration)

Another step on the path, which I'm really hoping leads to truth.

We're going up to Simi Valley tomorrow, and I get to see one of my outreach leaders from DTS, Caitlin...and I'm really excited to see her. Then Thursday, probably Disneyland. Friday, Azusa. Saturday-Monday, returning to Washington! We're keeping on.

OUR CREATOR, SHINE YOUR LIGHT.

road trip part 1

...hopefully there will be a part 2!

We are in San Francisco (but leaving in just a couple hours!), and the place we are at just happens to have free wi-fi...hooray!

We drove from Seattle to Independence, OR. From Independence, OR to Gold Bluffs Beach, CA. From Gold Bluffs Beach, CA to San Francisco, CA...and now we're off again. I don't know where we're going to stay tonight though...we'll figure it out. :-)

But we're having a pretty good time. Definitely learning a lot (or trying to learn a lot) about being in community and it's good!!

We've had some adventures...in particular, driving into San Francisco...we had to go through the toll lane so fast, that we ended up in the "fast lane" and it's where they take a video of your license plate when you go through, and then check your account later. But we obviously don't have an account...so I'm sure that our ticket is on the way. But hey, we totally busted into San Francisco and can tell the story of when we drove through the toll lane without paying. :-)

Keep praying! :-)

PICTURES:

Cooking dinner in Washington (first night)

in Oregon, cooking breakfast at a rest stop

some hot air balloons in Oregon

at Gold Bluffs Beach (it was COLD!)

in Ben & Jerry's in San Francisco

working on our best crab impersonation in San Francisco

road trip ... what what

I'm leaving today on a road trip to California. There are 4 of us, and we'll be gone for about 12 days! (We're dropping one of them off at college, so they'll only be 3 on the way back). Hopefully I'll be able to blog about it a little bit, but we'll see when we actually get on the road and see how stuff works out.

Please pray for us!

i could never be happy...

...as an atheist.

My bottom is numb from sitting on the floor for too long. It's 5:57 AM, and I still haven't gone to bed. I took a nap today, but I didn't think it was satisfying enough to cause me to stay up this late.

I'm leaving on Thursday for a road trip to CA with some of my friends.

Until then (and hopefully after then), I'm really trying to manage my time well. But I'm not sure if staying up until 6 in the morning is a very good management of time. Hmm...

I'm struggling a lot with having faith. And it's pretty exhausting. But, there are those times when I am so fully convinced that God IS, and I'm clinging to that. I know that things aren't going to be easy as I'm getting ready to leave for Georgia, so I'm also clinging to the hope that it will relent, at least for a while, sometime soon. I could never be happy as an atheist. But there is so much that is trying to push me in that direction. But there is so much to keep me where I am.

I am tired of being pulled! But at the same time, I'm glad that I am. Comprendo?

Oh Lord, I know that you know what I think I need.

Not enough words to describe what I'm thinking/feeling now. But maybe that's okay. It would probably sound better/be more accurate if I was rested.

"I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken." Psalm 16:8

walking understanding

I went walking today, on a road surrounded by sagebrush and hotness. The sky was really blue, the sun was really bright. And I was thinking: about Jesus coming back, about what this life is for, about how I can't understand how to get past wanting to cling to the things on the earth, and all of that.

"God, I just don't get it."

I kept walking, and all of a sudden I heard an airplane in the sky. I looked up, and didn't see anything--only the bright blue sky, the bright sun and a few clouds scattered here and there. But I heard the sound, I knew it was an airplane, and I knew it was out there somewhere.

But I couldn't see it.

you should read this--there are pictures!

Yesterday I got back from Ensenada, Mexico.

I needed to go to Mexico and I'm so glad that God gave me that opportunity. I needed to go to Mexico not be IN Mexico, but to hold dirty little kids and remember what's really important. Helping people. Loving people. Learning. Growing. Being in the States is great, it's comfortable, I can buy really cute clothes, I can eat as much food as I want, etc. But I forget what's really important. I get so caught up in ME. So, I needed that reminder/wake-up call to see past America.

So there were 12 of us (6 leaders and 6 students). I was one of the leaders (and also the song leader for VBS). I made a lot of mistakes, but I think I really learned a lot. In particular:

#1: Don't draw so much verbal attention to the fact that you're a leader.

#2: Be sensitive to people moods, instabilities, hurts, etc. They aren't always ready to answer your questions.

#3: Control your curiosity. Like #2, people aren't always ready to answer your questions. Even though you would answer almost any question anyone could throw at you, that doesn't mean that everyone else is the same.

#4: Be open to listen to constructive criticism. If you ignore other people's feedback on your leadership skills (rational or irrational) then you aren't going to learn and grow.

"Tent City", our home for the last week (it was a lot bigger than this--there were 600 people there!)

So how it works is this. A lot of people get together through this program called Mexico Outreach, and we all live in "Tent City" and have chapel every morning and night, and during the day we all go out in our separate groups and work on our "ministry site". My group worked at this place called "Leche y Miel" (milk and honey): there is a lady named Josephina and she cooks lunch for the neighborhood kids who wouldn't normally get very much food. And even though she is not in a very prosperous situation herself, she goes on mission trips to a small town in Mexico. So, we put on a VBS at Leche y Miel (our theme was "putting on the armor of God"...it was really fun) and also some of our people worked on building another little kitchen next to Josephina's house like 10-15 minutes away from the current building.

It was so incredibly interesting to be able to go on this trip, because I went 3 years ago right after I graduated high school. We went to the same place, Leche y Miel, and there are even kids that I remembered from before who have grown up so much since then. It's crazy how much has changed in there. And it's crazy how much I've changed. Physically I'm different (I've lost like 25 pounds since then). Mentally I'm different (I'm a little less emotionally unstable). Spiritually I'm different (I have a completely different, more intimate relationship with God). And it was really cool to be able to contrast my previous experience with the current one, and see the reality of those changes.

So, I had a really great time in Mexico, and even on the way home. I ended up flying on a different ticket than the rest of the team (because I joined the team late) and so I flew home by myself. I had some great opportunities to talk with people about their opinion, view, belief, lack of belief in God. And it was so interesting. But the rest of my team had a heck of a time. They were supposed to fly in around 10pm on Friday, but they didn't arrive until around 7:30pm on Saturday! Their flights were cancelled, delayed, etc. You name it and it happened to them. But praise the Lord they are still alive, and are still talking to each other. :-)

Okay, I've written a lot. I'll post some more pictures now. Thanks for reading.

A group (I think it's sort of an organization) that makes quilts donated 100 of them for us to take to give away (did I mention that we had 23 checked bags + 12 carry-ons + 12 "personal items"?) So, we gave about 25 out to some of the families at Leche y Miel, and Josephina is going to take the rest with her on her next mission trip to Senora. This is little Daniella and her quilt.

The older girls liked to play with my hair (even though I didn't wash it for 6 days and it was incredibly gross)...and I didn't mind. Who doesn't like getting their hair played with? :-)




I only remember seeing this little boy, Luis, the last 2 days, but he was really sweet. One day when we were coming, the kids were like mobbing our van (but they mobbed the van every day, and would tell each other which American was theirs, "I get that one!") and he "called" me. :-)




He is just CUTE. Markito. And YES, I KNOW I'm making "the-face-that-I-always-make-in-pictures-even-though-people- tell-me-not-too-but-I-can't-really-help-it". :-)




Our Team! Back row (L-R): Jenny, Clyde, David, Don, Robert, Kendra, Pamela.
Front row (L-R): Lynn, Andre, Julia, Me, Trisha


The End (for now).