more "firsts"

So these past couple weeks I got to be on campus for my first time since being a student. My first day we actually got to share the gospel with a chinese girl, and then my second day we got to share the gospel with a japanese girl!!!!

we got to meet a lot of students that our staff have been trying to reach for a long time. My friends Jessica, who has been working with Bridges for the past 3 years is training me and showing me the ropes. She said that we don't normally get to see that many people. Most of the time students don't seem to be home very much. So I have been very blessed to have so many people I got to meet my first week. It's been cool how many people I already got to meet.

Tonight we are doing a Christmas outreach and we have students from all over coming with us to a church that has an outdoor christmas play thing. Then we are hanging out with them afterwards to see what they thought of it, and also just have fun and get to know each other better. There's a lot of work to be done to set it all up, but this is the last major even before our confernce over New Year's.

Please be praying for me as I am helping plan the hang-out time for the conference, and have some other small jobs, so please pray I would be able to get everything done that I need to.
Thanks!!!!

Speaking Thai!!!!

As the past few weeks have been pretty busy, I have wanted to put so much on here, but I really haven't had much time.

If you don't know already, I have finished raising my support!!!!! God has been so incredibly faithful, and I am so overjoyed!

It is really hard to believe I am here right now. Here being my friend's Heidi and Gordon's house in Lansing. Last week was my first week on campus. I got to shadow some of the others here on campus with Bridges, and kind of live "a day in the life" but really it was a week.. anyway, so last week we got into conversations with a Chinese girl and a Japanese girl about the gospel, and it was really cool. My friend Jess said it is really uncommon to find people at home, but almost everyone we visited were home. (or in their dorm rooms I mean)

I finished out the week feeling pretty good, not too overwhelmed and excited for getting on campus, except that this week is planning week, so we aren't really on campus that much, we are just planning for next semester.

Although today was a bit special. I found out where some Thai girls live, and I went and knocked on their door. I got to meet 4 girls who were estatic about knowing a foreigner that speaks Thai!!! their eyes were pretty much bugging out of their heads when they realized I could speak Thai pretty well, so next week we will be going out to eat some Thai food together and get to hang out a little! I am way excited!!!!!

That's all for now, but hopefully I will have more time to write tomorrow.

baby face

So what do I do a lot during the day? well, when I am not working on support stuff, I am helping my cousins out and watching their three kids while my cousin is getting treatments at the doctor's. What is my favorite part of the day you may ask?

Well I get a small amount of time when kids are playing together or taking a short nap or something, that I get to hang out with the newest member of their family, gabriel. Gabe and I get to talk for a little bit, I make laughing, noises and baby type coos and he coos back. It's lots of fun seeing him try to talk and make noise for the first time.

I forgot to bring my camera, so I don't have any pictures, but trust me when I say he is way cute!!!

rain

So the other day I was walking and listening to a sermon via podcast, and I had been going through a lot of stuff, and was really just pouring myself out to the Lord.

As I was listening to the sermon and walking, just as the pastor starting explaining something and talking about the rain, I felt raindrops. and the sky didn't even look that cloudy! It was like God was saying he just wanted to make sure I knew he was there. right there. all the way.

wordle for last post

sorry if you are having trouble viewing my blog- it's probably because of the wordles, but I really enjoy them

here's a wordle for my last post!

Missing Thailand

Down town Chiang Rai

Today I was reminiscing to a friend about "the Italian restaurant." This restaurant was in downtown Chiang Rai. we went there relatively often, at least once or twice a monthbut then again, it was one of about 3 restaurants of American type food that was available to us. They had this absolutely amazing lasagne, but I think most things tere were pretty good ( although some of the specials were pretty special if you know what I mean :-)- well maybe you don't- but once one of the girls got the special and it was completely raw ( and I don't think it was supposed to be like that or that was not what she was expecting at all) and so she asked if they could microwave it for her. the waitress gave an interesting look, but wanting to please the foreigner, took the food back, and later brought it back the same was it had arrived- still raw. my friend asked again- can you just microwave it- the waitress sheepishly replied I think only the bar has that. again my friend getting frustrated, asked if the waitress could just bring the dish to the bar then and have the bartender microwave it. again strange look.... well then after a few more waiters and lots more confused looks- we figured out the thai staff of this italian restuarant had NO CLUE what it meant to "microwave" it. most thai people do NOT own a microwave, let alone use them on a regular basis. so once we figured that out, life was a little easier, but fun story....

Anyway, after reminiscing about the italian restaurant, I was remined of the other restaurant in town that had decent american breakfasts ( well there were a couple- but one we frequented more often at the beginning of the year). mind you we all ate american breakfasts in our houses, but it was fun to go out and breakfast was a pretty safe bet, and even though it was a little extra, it was nice to get out of the norm every once and a while, and the weekends or on days off, it was especially nice just to have someone else make eggs and "sausage" and bring you coffee or something. It was just such a fun little experience. Actually it was probably kind of close to being in europe, since the place is really set up for european tourists that visit this small norther city.

I am so thankful that I was able to have those experiences of european style breakfasts, with fun miscommunications, and friends that you make, because they recognize you as the same foreigners who come once a week or so for a year! as we ended the year,there was even this little coffee shop Doi Chaang, you might have even seen me where my shirt sporting their logo, but this little place became our stomping grounds. we didn't have air conditioning, and during the very hot days of hot season ( up to 110 degrees- or hotter even inside our house b/c of the sun), but during hot season we would go there during our free time to get out of the heat. they had food, coffee, cocoa, wireless internet, air conditioning, and cushy seats... what more could you want? so needless to say, the staff there got to know us pretty well. They knew what we were going to order even! when we told them goodbye, they we sweet and gave us free t-shirts to remember them by. I just miss all the fun times we had there, and I miss the little things like that. I often find myself longing to hang out at coffee houses still, and I do many times, but none are quite like the service and variety( of food and drinks etc..) that doi chaang had.

This thermometer was in my room and reads 90F I am sure I took a picture of it when it said 120F one day, but I can't find so 90F in my room( not including humidty) will have to do for now :-)

( here is a website that is more thai- looking to me- not so official- but more of the dai chaang stylehttp://phuketdir.com/coffeedoichaang/)

Wordle

Ok, so here's the deal with this cool picture/artwork thingy recently a friend of mine introduced me to this website, called Wordle. you can create your own just by pasting a page of text and the thing will generate what words are used most and pull it out of there. I think it's a lot of fun!

If this is your first time visiting my blog- or maybe it's been a while, I have been trying to update my blog more often, so some posts are more serious, some are lighter.... if you scroll down the page, you will find some stuff God has been teaching me lately! :-)

coolin' it down...

So we've had a lot of cool weather this past week. It's crazy because the week before my lake was so warm it felt like bath water.... it was so beautiful, but this week, I don't think the water is warm enough to go into anymore.... seriously. If it's not warm at night, then the water isn't warm during the day.

but on another note, I LOVE this cool weather. People keep telling me "oh yeah, that's right you really like the cool weather" mind you not COLD weather, but cool. cold enough to wear jeans and maybe a long sleeve t-shirt, but not cold enough that you NEED a jacket.

So although I am sad to see the warm summer days full of swimming start to leave, I am not so sad about fall right around the corner!

you know what that means!!!!! apple cider, apples, brilliant colors, bonfires, aaaaannnnndd the renaissance festival!!!!!

I have been going to the renaissance festival since I was about 11 or 12, so I have gone almost 10 years straight ( although I did miss one year while I was in Thailand). I don't know what it is about the festival, but I love the atmosphere of being in a different world.... someone mentioned how raunchy it is, well I try not to go to the raunchy shows, mostly the kid-friendly stuff- which there is plenty of- and I forget that some people dressup a little raunchy, but I never really notice, I just get caught up in the atmosphere

but overall, I just enjoy the feeling of being in the middle of a book. In a land far far away.... :-)

So just looking at the cup of joe in my previous post makes me feel all warm and wonderful inside!- I really do miss parts of Thailand A LOT! ( if your wondering which parts I'm not missing, it's the heat, humidity, sweating, and mosquitoes)but it was worth it!

the fresh smell of....

COFFEE!!!!

( my coffee didn't look quite this professional, but in thailand, they usually like to make cups of coffee look like little bits of art! Amazing!)

so a lot of mornings I kind of drag my feet a little, looking at all the stuff I want to get done throughout the day. working out being first usually ( if I don't work out first thing, it probably isn't going to happen) and then time with God and then onto support phone calls and letters. So lately I feel like I have had a little more on my plate, and not as many people to call, so I haven't wanted to call anyone, but this morning I knew I needed to get a lot done today. I decided instead of spending upwards of $3 at a coffee shop, I would bit the bullet and make a cup of coffee at home and try being motivated that way. With a prayer first before starting anything, I had successfully started my day. God helped me to start out with some baby steps, and as the morning wore on, I looked back, and realized I have actually accomplished quite a bit. now, just to finish off the afternoon with one last cup of coffee, and hopefully I will be able to cross everything off my list for today!!!! YAY!!!!

tenth Ave North

So This band has been in my CD player sicne I've been back from Colorado. I can tell how much my moods have changed since I got back...
This song, Hold My Heart was my cry out to God, I felt so lost and alone for a while, but God helped draw me to him. Here's the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WifScmrU6CI

I'll post the lyrics at the end if you want to read them.

The newest song that is my #1 one is called Beloved, and it captures just how God has drawn me to him
here's the song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CUGTIWCFyo

I am so thankful that we can worship God through music and he can teach us so much through it.

HOLD MY HEART
How long must I pray, must I pray to You?
How long must I wait, must I wait for You?
How long 'til I see Your face, see You shining through?
I'm on my knees, begging You to notice me.
I'm on my knees, Father will you turn to me?
[chorus]
One tear in the dropping rain,
One voice in the sea of pain
Could the maker of the stars
Hear the sound of my breakin' heart?
One light, that's all I am
Right now I can barely stand
If You're everything You say You are
Won't You come close and hold my heart

I've been so afraid, afraid to close my eyes
So much can slip away before I say goodbye.
But if there's no other way, I'm done asking why.
Cuz I'm on my knees, begging You to turn to me
I'm on my knees, Father will you run to me?
[chorus]
So many questions without answers, Your promises remain
I can't sleep but I'll take my chances to hear You call my name
To hear You call my name

One tear in the dropping rain,
One voice in the sea of pain
Could the maker of the stars
Hear the sound of my breakin' heart?
One light, that's all I am
Right now I can barely stand
If You're everything You say You are
Won't You come close and hold my heart.
Hold my heart, could you hold my heart? Hold my heart.

BELOVED
Love of my life
Look deep in my eyes
There you will find what you need
Give me your life
Lust and the lies
The past you're afraid I might see
You've been running away from me

[chorus]
You're my beloved
Lover I'm yours
Death shall not part us
It's you I died for
For better or worse
Forever we'll be
Our Love it unites us
It binds you to me
It's a mystery

Love of my life
Look deep in my eyes
There you will find what you need
I'm the giver of life
I'll clothe you in white
My immaculate bride you will be
Oh come running home to me
yeah *now*

[chorus]
yea now now
Well you've been a mistress, my wife
Chasing lovers it won't satisfy
Won't you let me make you my bride
You will drink of my lips
And**taste new life

You're my beloved
Lover I'm yours
Death shall not part us
It's you I died for
For better or worse
Forever we'll be
Our Love it unites us
it binds you to me
You're my beloved
Forever we'll be
Our love it unites us
And it binds you to me
It's a mystery

Retreat!!!!

Last weekend, my young adults group from church went on a retreat, it was so nice and refreshing. The past couple weeks since I have been back from CO I can feel a HUGE change in my attitude. I have been trying to open myself up more for God to work in me and through me.

Ephesians 3:16-21 has been my go-to verse to help me remember the whys and hows.... why am I doing this?- For Him... How amd I ever going to accomplish this.... through Him

Ephesians 3:16-22 (New International Version)
16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

God has been so good to me the past couple of weeks. I can only give Him the credit, as he desires me to. I wonder if I have been putting too much focus on what I can do, and what I've been doing. I know that when I try to do things my way, they don't work out. I've know all along, but I forget to ofter and God continues to remind me ( which I am SO thankful for!) that It's Him..... It's him alone that is going to bring my support in. I need to obey Him, not just obey though,- not as what the world thinks of obey as, but meet with him and love him and spend precious time with him, and through that, He gives me the stregth to make phone calls or write letters, or do whatever I need to do- what HE desires of me- obey with Joy that I get to serve him and others through what I am doing, and bring Joy to Him. If making phone calls brings Joy to my creator, then I will make phone calls.

Since I realized the Joy I can have in pleasing God, I have found support raising activities to be less of a burden. because it's not for me. It's ultimately for him, and He knows what's best for me, so I just need to trust him.

Concerts!!!!

So while I was in CO I had the great opportunity to see Tenth Avenue North in Concert- VERY VERY good I might add, as well as Lecrae! also a VERY good concert.

YEsterday I found out about a Newsboys, superchick and sevenglory concert here for $10!!!! now I am not a huge newsboys fan, but I really like Superchick a LOT!

so I am going shortly to the concert, and I am praying it doesn't rain.... at least not for the superchick part :-)

Hiking

So the past couple weeks I have been in Ft. Collins, Co for the bi annual CCC staff conference. I would like to share more in more posts, but this one is about the hiking trip I took with my friend Catherine. This is Catherine:

Cathrine is a friend of mine from MSU. She lived right across the hall from me, and was a light to our floor in our dorm. It was her I ran to on the first night of our fall retreat with questions like "why do you believe in God?" while crying for no understandable reason. She helped me to better understand what a relationship with Jesus could actually look like.

So while I was in Ft. Collins, I stayed a couple extra days to spend time with her and catch up. one of the days we went hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park!!! I was so excited, I have never been officially hiking in the mountains before.

They were predicting rain, and there has been known to be some hail up in the mountains, but when we started out Friday morning, it was the most beautiful morning yet! we did about a 2.5 mile hike up to Mill Lake, and it was just gorgeous. It was a great time of rest for mind and spirit. One of the rules on the hike, is we were not allowed to talk about work or anything related! by the end of the day, I was pretty beat physically, but felt so refreshed to be able to do something totally not related to working, and not have work related things on my mind.

I felt so awed by God's beauty and majesty and worshipped by enjoying these mountains he created. Here are some pics from the day:

The beginning of the trail

the trees I thought should belong in an enchanted forest

a little stream alongside the trail

a BEAUTIFUL waterfall!!!

A cool mushroom!The cool scenery

a bunny along the trail!!!A Marmot!

a little chipmunk who was begging from us when we stopped at the top and rested and ate a quick snackMe and Catherine! at the top!

Shortly after this photo, dark black clouds rolled in and we raced down the mountain and the first few drops started to fall as we finished the trail. We then went up to the highest point you can drive in the USA. and yes, it started snowing! more like sleet, but mind you this is the middle of July, I LOVED it! so much nicer than the heat in thailand!

My favorite part, if you couldn't tell was the wildlife. Right before we left we saw elk and a beautiful rainbow(actually a double rainbow but it's hard to tell from the pic) to finish off the day

fun in the Lake

I know I need to post more, but I always feel like I post about silly stuff. but I haven't posted ina while, so I thought I would mention how this summer is going. One of my favorite things of being at my parents house is that I get to swim in the lake. It's kind of a nice reward to look forward to after getting a lot of work done. During that hot hot week in June, the lake was almost bath temperature, but after the cold weather around the 4th, it has cooled down considerably, but with the sun out, I think it is perfect for cooling down on a hot summer's day.

It's nice I get to have friends come and visit and we can relax water-side. I got to go kyaking the other day, and I forget how much fun it is! For my friends that aren't as big of swimmers, it's nice just sticking our feet in the water and enjoying a nice converesation, with a cool drink during the day or a hot cup of coffee in the evening.

I feel like summer is coming to an end too quickly, I feel the pressures of time and more as august approaches. I know that school will be starting soon, and I still have a little ways to go on my support needed for the fall. God has been doing some amazing things, and really providing for me miraculously, but I feel like I am floundering at times, that I know what I want so badly, but I have no idea when God plans on getting me on campus, and it is so frustrating.

I am so thankful that I am able to share what I am learning with others as well, and I have such a faithful team of encouragers to keep me going when things get rough.

Please be praying that God will get me to campus soon! ( if you or anyone you know who is thinking about supporting me, or may be interested, please let me know in the next couple weeks if you can!!! you can call 248-884-4746
go online at : https://give.ccci.org/give/View/0584391
or write at 3895 Lotus Dr.
Waterford, MI 48329 (checks made out to Campus Crusade for Christ) )

Blue Jays

So here's the deal. I am always thinking of new things to put in my blog, and I think I just have such a boring life right now. In fact the best thing I could come up with in the past week was one day I thought "ooo I could blog something about how I almost hit two animals today while driving, and that almost never happens!!!" yeah, you are probably glad I didn't blog about that after all :-P but really not much new here. I am glad it's warm enough to finally go swimming in our lake, in fact, the past couple days have heated up so fast, the lake is barely even refreshing! but otherwise, I am enjoying the middle of the afternoon swims to refresh a little.

There is another cool thing that I have been enjoying lately. we have some blue jays nesting in a tree right off of our deck, and we can see them flitting back and forth and whatnot all the time. most recently the babies hatched, and now the parents are always feeding them. here are a couple shots I got. I am hoping to put up some more photos of the babies soon!

Papa mama feeding the chicks

wow

I know it has been so terribly long since I last wrote. Sometimes I dread writing, because I feel like my life isn't exciting right now.

But God I am sure would say my life is anything but dull. right now my life is filled with breaking me down, and building me up, in ways I never could imagined. once I think I have a constant in my life, like a friend to count on, or a set schedule, or something like that, God seems to flip it upside down, so I am never counting on "it" too much, and so I turn back to Him. He has been making it painfully hard for me not to seek after him daily. If I slack off for even a day I feel so Far from him.
I am so thankful that we have a god that looks after his children so well, and is willing to discipline us to help us to behave a little better. I know I have been trying to follow hard after him, but I feel like my life is monotonous that I try to switch things up or add more to it, but as soon as my schedule gets busy with one thing, I don't have enough time for the other.

For example, I try to make time to see friends throughout the week as much as I can, but then I feel like I am not get chores and other things done as much as I ought to. And once I start feeling like I am actually being diligent, I feel like I forget about friends, or don't have as much tiem I as I would like to spend with them. God has been helping me to be more diligent lately and I happy for my efforts, for the most part. Although, it has seemed like the past couple weeks have been a little bit difficult. I have not been able to get in touch with a lot of people that I would like to, or I have put too much hope in people and not the lord, and have been disappointed.

anyway, I feel like I am rambling quite a bit.

the point to my story is that I was so upset that I did not have very many appointments set up for this week for support, and I did not have a very good outlook. however, the rest of june seems like I will be so busy I won't have much time for anything else. in the midst of my wallowing though, I was trusting the lord to help me keep going, or at least trying to. and even as slow as the past three weeks have been I have had over $300 in monthly support come in!!!!
so praise the lord.... as a friend of mine recently said "He can move mountains!"

ugggghhh!!!!!

so I am basically feeling like that. UGH!!!! I look and my support stuff, and wish there was more that I could be doing. I wish somedays that I did just work a plain and simple 9-5 job, and not have to worry about raising support. but then I realize I would probably be worrying about something else going on at work, or complaining about something else.

It just goes to show that whatever you are doing, you will always find something to not be happy about. I know it is probably because of the original Fall. the work would be tedious and difficult, but then I also know that there is so much going on, so much more at work here. Satan does not want me to do this job. He would be perfectly happy with me being in some "regular job" effecting only a small sphere of people around me. and I know God is teaching me so much by depending on him. I just wish I could see the end, or be looking back from the end seeing the fruits of all my efforts.

Please be praying for me that God would help bring in my support quickly!

inarticulate

in⋅ar⋅tic⋅u⋅late 
–adjective
lacking the ability to express oneself, esp. in clear and effective speech


I feel like this is one of my favorite words lately. And really it describes me well. Many people may say I am a good pubic speaker, but if I don't memorize what I am going to say before I say it, I stumble and get nervous about being put on the spot. In normal conversation though, there are so many times I feel like I put my foot in my mouth, because I try to descibe something, but don't do it too well. well that's because I am inarticulate. It seems like I can never find the words that I want to say. Or I say something, but its not quite "right"

I feel like with Easter, and studying of the passover, Moses has come up a bit lately, and I am reminded of his inability of clear speech, or his studdering problem. I think this gives me hope that I don't have to be perfect when I talk, or worried about saying the right stuff, but God will and can help me to be effective, even when I don't trust in myself.

going, going, going

This past week has seemed so hectic to me, and I can't think of what I did that made it so hectic!!!

I think now that my parents are home, more of my time is spent helping out around the house, and just catching up with my mom here and there, and continuing doing everything in my schedule I was doing before my parents got back home.

I can't tell you how much of a difference it makes having people around during the day. I feel so fortunate. Before they got home, I was struggling a lot. I am not sure with what exactly, whether it was being alone almost all day every day, or the monotomy of raising support, or just a general feeling of uselessness. But I am thanking God that he has lifted my spirits, and is helping me continue to learn what it means to trust in Him, and Him alone.

My mom asked me recently about my blog, and I told her while I was in Thailand, it was interesting, a new adventure almost every day, but here I don't feel like my life is much out of the normal. there isn't much spectacular going on in my life, but I do feel like I should be keeping you updated on some of the enw stuff going on. So I will try to make an effort to update this more regularly.

Easter thoughts

So I never really know what to write. I have all these great ideas of things I could tell you, but I really am not a fan, deep down, or writing. It's hard to make myself take a moment and tell the world about my goings ons. unless there is no one to listen to me :-) no really.

Anyway, this past week we celebrated Easter. I felt like I should write something special and meaningful. As I was thinking about Christ dying on the cross for us, one thing popped up over and over and over again. Love. We need to love one another. That's what it was all about. God's love for us. By us demonstrating God's love to others, by loving them, we are giving them a glimpse of God. Easter seems like a time of sadness, reflecting on the cross, getting deep and personal. And also a time of rejoicing at the resurrection, that Christ rose from the dead, and offers us that same renewal.

But really, we should be rejoicing in Love, and Easter should almost be a day of service for us. Most of us spend Easter with family, ok I understand some people struggle to love their family, but really for the most of us, that is where we feel most secure. We know they already love us, we already love them, but really we should be loving on people that don't deserve our love. Christ gave himself up for all of us. All of us who are undeserving of love. we ought to give up a little of ourselves, our time, whatever, so that we can truely share that love with others.

Easter should not be just one day of the year that we rejoice in the cross, but really should make up our whole year in celebrating his death and resurrection. so yeah I don't get the whole bunny rabbits and egg thing. but I do understand the love.

Update on mouse

well actually it ended up being mice... I have caught and thrown away 5 mice now.... ugh! well my brother helped with one. but hopefully they are almost all gone.

I think I found the hole they were getting in too, so I need to get my brother -"Mr. Fix-it" to some and well, help fix it! :-)

As for other matters, I am still raising support. It gets hard at times, and there seem to be few people to contact, or few people that are able or interested in giving, but God surprises me every week, and really helping me to trust that it is all in his hands and not my own. I am so thankful for all the people who are so encouraging, which is almost everyone I meet with. It amazes me when people praise what I am doing. I don't think it's all that big of a deal most of the time, just that I am following the lord's call on my life, but really when I think about it, it has taken some HUGE leaps of faith to get me here, and even now the lord continues to teach me new things every day.

So I just want to say thank you to all of you that the lord is using in my life to encourage me, and help me to trust God even more.

Daily I am reminded of God's faithfulness, and I can barely wrap my head around it most of the time. but as with many of the promises in the bible that God has given to his people, God has not fulfilled them over night, but has taught the people through the waiting period. and many times people had to wait decades (or centuries) for got to fulfill his promises. now I don't plan on raising support for decades or centuries, but it is a good reminder that it takes a few months. That if the Isrealites could wait a few years, surely I can wait a few months.

So I am still praying that I would have my support finished by the end of April. I am about halfway there, but like I said, God is moving in big ways, and I am finding more and more each day to be thankful for.

so thank YOU again and please pray with me that God would get me to MSU soon!!!

A house "guest"

So as many of you know I have been taking care of my parents house, and most recently I have had some company. but it's not exactly good company. Actually I could do without.

It all started one night. I was just on the verge of falling asleep when I hear a small scratching noise. I am thinking, maybe it is an animal outside. I try to ignore it. but th emore I listen, the more it sounds like it is scratching on the drywall on my ceiling. Well let me share with you about my house. our house is set up so the attic is right above my room. So by now you have probably figured it out. Yes. There is a mouse living in the attic above my room. And it liked to keep me company at night by scrathing a little, just as I was falling asleep, so I would remember it is there. Well after lots of counsel and mustering up my courage I got the ladder out and stuck a sticky trap up there. Thinking I would try a sticky trap with bait like I did when we had a rat in our back room in Thailand.

So I stick the little trap up there and lo and behold, I climb up a couple days later.... and much to my surprise, the box wasn't where I left it. no, it is almost falling out the attic door (which scared me) and of course I let out a little screeam and slammed the door shut, and then proceeded to control my breathing and try to open the door again. after getting a better look, this is what I saw:

yes.... the mouse chewed its way free.

So then I resorted to the more tradtional trap that snaps shut and will get your fingers if your not careful.

Well, after continuing to hear scratching, I bought another sticky trap and went to put it up there, and what did I see.... the mouse stuck in the trap !!!!! yay!!! and Major EW EW EW EW EW. now I needed to find someone to dispose of it for me.... well I had some offers, but they all fell through, and I knew this thing would start to smell if I didn't do something soon, so I used many pastic bas as gloves and threw it all away.

YAY!!!!! no more mouse..... or so I thought

the next night.... what do I hear??? more scratching.... it seems like Jerry had a friend up there. so I had to start the process all over again... what fun!

fellowship

Fellowship:
Dictionary.com says :
1.the condition or relation of being a fellow.
2.friendly relationship; companionship.
3.community of interest, feeling, etc.

I have come to find how precious fellowship truly is. My first two weeks after coming back from Florida were a little rough on me. I didn't realize just how much I really need people. I mean I have always realized I need friends, but I just didn't realize how edifying friendship can really be, and as Proverbs 27:17 says "as iron sharpens Iron, so one man sharpens another."

God has definitly blessed me the past couple weeks with new friendships and bringing me closer with a coupole older ones. As well as helping me reach out to those I haven't gotten a chance to talk to sinc eI was in Thailand, and it has been refreshing. I am just so thankful that I don't feel like I am all alone anymore. When I first got back from Thailand, everyone wanted to see me and hang out and catch up, but shortly after, everyone was too busy with their own lives. I felt totally out of the loop. Like I didn't belong. Like I belong overseas and I should just come home every once and a while, so I would have friends to hang out with. but that's not really friendship. not the deep kind.

so after being in Waterford, the LONGEST I have ever lived here. like lived lived here, not just been home from school for the holidays or weekends. I have finally felt like I have some community... it is still young, but at least its a start.

reflections

so the reflection on Jesus' words that I read for today was based on Mark 8:1-2
Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat."

the Reflection said:
" But that is the lesson Jesus taught on the day he fed so many. Rather than deny the compassion he was feeling, Jesus took what was available and passed it out to the people. Provisions would be multiplied to meet the need. As you feel your heart filling with compassion for the great needs around you, ask God to show you what you can do to meet the need.... Then pray that God will bless and multiply your efforts on behalf of a needy world."

I feel like this is so relevant to me, my life, and many around me right now. So many people see needs around them, and feel helpless to make a difference, but what they don't realize is that just giving what you have or a small piece can really make a difference, God will multiply it. For me that gives me hope that God will multiply what little has been given to me in support already.

my story

so, after writing the post below, and while I laid awake last night, I thought about how to better describe what God has offered me.

When I was a senior in High school. if you had told me I would be a missionary in Thailand one day, I would have said you were nuts, off your rocker.

you see the way I see it, it was like I was at a ball, a wall-flower with no partner to dance with, not really sure if I wanted to dance.

and then I caught His eyes. the most eligible man in the room. everyone was staring at him as he crossed the room. and He! He was staring at me. I looked around me to see if there was anyone nearby that he could be staring at. He couldn't possibly be looking at me. Who was I?

He came closer and closer, and as he stood in front of me, he offered his hand to me and asked do you want to dance?

This was no ordinary dance. This was leaving behind everything I knew and trusting him. I had no idea how to dance, but he said he would lead me. and be with me every step of the way.

I was very unsure, knowing this dance would change my life, but the look in His eyes, the way ?He looked at me, like he was madly in love with me, and would give me eternity if I asked for it, how could I possibly refuse?

So I decided. I would take his hand. I would follow Him to to floor and see what this dance was all about. I took a few tentative steps forward, and before I knew it, I was swept off my feet, doing circles around the dance floor. it was like my feet weren't even hitting the ground. and I never wanted them to.

This dance He was offering me, He really was offering me eternity with Him!!!!!! and HE CHOSE ME! I couldn't believe it. He never said the dance would be easy, and it has been very difficult to stay in step at times, but He was always there if I ever fell. He has NEVER left my side. this dance is the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I can't imagine NOT dancing. the love He has in His eyes for me, is worth every single step. Even if the steps are painful at times, it's worth it.

I want to spend the rest of my life dancing with Him. I want others to feel the joy to know what it means to dance with Him as well.

So will you Dance?

Vonnette Bright

Wow, last night I heard Vonnette Bright, the late Bill Bright's wife and co-founder of Campus Crusade. It was so amazing to hear her story.
She grew up in the same small town as Bill and even as early as 7th grade, Bill was in love with her. After they were engaged though, Bill's letters took on a different note. Vonnette said before he was very creative and cute in his writing to her, but now all his letters contained scripture from the bible and prayers and things of that nature, that was all over her head. She was very worried about him being involved with a group a fanaticists and went to where he was living to help save him from these strange people.
The only problem was, that Bill shared with her wha he now believed about God. Vonnette had never seen anyone with that much enthusiasm for God before, she grew up going to church and decided that these people were having too much fun for being Christians. and they really needed to tone it down a bit, God really wasn't THAT exciting. but Bill shared with her, about God's love, and how God really wants to know us personally and surrender our lives to him that we might have a full and abundant life. He said that if what he said was true about God, then you had to either truely believe it, or that it was all just loony. Well Vonnette decided to give her life over to Christ, but the story doesn't end there.
it's amazing how much has happened in the past 50 years. God used two people to start a ministry that reaches thousands of people all over the world. in over 190 different countries and 20,000 staff members.

more about bridges

Now that things have calmed down slightly, I will tell a little more about the bridges conference. It was so cool to meet so many new Christians. many of the students were chinese, and the few I talked to seemed to have very similar stories. one students had been here since august, and started going to Chinese church with a friend, and prayed to have Jesus come into his life in
September! another student had been here since May with a similar story, and has been a Christian since July. one girl I walked up to who was by herself later told me, I should do what you are doing. if I see someone by themselves, I should go and say hi to them. I think what you are doing is very good to make people feel welcome. I felt so blessed that this girl, a very new Christian was so excited to start serving and meet others.

Over and over I got to meet people who were volunteering to help out with bridges, or were new Christians, or were just checking out who God is. It was such an amazing time to see so many nations together, and working together.

I feel so blessed that I was able to experience that, and even more excited that this is my job! and I will have many more conference like this in the future.

I am very sad I didn't bring my camera with me, but it seemed like it would be more of a burden on my trip (which in full will last a month and a half) with limited packing space, and not too much time to use my camera, I opted out of bringing it. but fortunately, some pictures from the conference will be posted soon, and I will share soem with you.

Vision 08 Bridges Conference

I have so many stoies from the past couple days, I don't know where to start. so I guess I am warning you this will be a little bit of a longer post. :-)





So Dec 28-Jan 1st was the vision 2008 Conference for people involved with Bridges International. This included undergraduate and graduate students, volunteers with the Bridges Program, and Bridges staff. There were about 800 international students who are studying at schools all over the US that attended the conference, as well as about 50 American students and volunteers. About 500 of the students were Chinese, and in total, 50 different nations were represented at the conference.





The conference was held in Washington DC and Bridges Staff, and new staff (like me!) arrived a day early to talk logistics. Actually most of the planning was already finished, but it was good for me to start meeting people who are a part of Bridges who work all over the country. One of m y biggest highlights was meeting up with staff and interns from MSU!!!! Currently there are two interns working with Bridges at MSU, (who studied my year) and two full time staff, although, one of them is from Turkey and she will be leaving next fall to return back to Turkey.



It was so nice to see all of them from MSU, as I have been home since I was in Thailand, and have not actually been able to help out at all at MSU until I have all my support raised. I also got to meet up with some friends I met at New staff Training I had back in September. I am so excited that I am getting to know more people my age, and making new friends, I feel like I live in a cave in Waterford half the time!



Being in DC was pretty cool to me. I have never really been to DC before (except to spend the night) and so I never got to see all the touristy things. I really enjoyed seeing the Mall area, with the capitol building, the Washington monument, the lincoln memorial and the National Archives. I didn't get to really walk around these sites, I just walked by them. It was super windy on the day we went and too cold to stay outside long, so a group of us hung out in the National Art Museum all day. I LOVED IT!!! I secretly have this love of studying fine Art. so I really enjoyed being there.



But now onto the good stuff!!! My favorite part of the conference ended up being a random night for me. We had these things called "coffee house" it was a time to get to know other people. I met a group in the children of Abraham track. It included people from many muslim nations. I played blackjack with a guy from Saudi, a couple Kazaks and some americans. Well we ended up near a guitar and one of the american girls wanted to hear a russian song some of the students were singing earlier.

so with that group and the help of a chinese guy, and a russian, they taught us this russian song. then, invited those of us who weren't involved already to join their group to sing an african zoolu song in the talent show. At this point I thought one foreign song was enough for me for one night, so I politely declined, but wanted to watch them practice. well, as they were almost finished practicing, the girl leading it said the altos needed to be louder. they were trying to figure out how, and then I volunteered to help them out, since it was a pretty easy song, and I had already picked it up just from listening. I was pretty nervous to be in a talent show in from of over 900 people, but I decided I needed to get out of my comfort zone and just enjoy it. I had a great time overall and just enjoyed seeing the harmony (literal) of so many people from different nations working together. It was great!

more to come soon!