Coats (Visual!)

2011-01-04T05:53:00.000-08:00

Here are the pictures of the coats. The kids were stoked to get these! They were beaming and laughing and jumping up and down excitedly and all the other stuff you do when your really excited. :)

Me explaining where the coats came from:

Kids waiting for me to stop talking..

You can see the excitement in their eyes!!! :)

And the rest is explainable:

Coats in detail

2010-12-12T05:25:00.000-08:00

Well since getting a large request of (2) to explain more about the coats I will do so. :) I know this is annoying when people say this on blogs but I do have pictures and they will be coming. I'm currently at a internet cafe and don't have access to them but, as soon as I do they're going right on this very blog. Managed to accomplish getting 40 coats! Didn't think it was going to happen because of several reasons. One being that I had to go shopping in Mercado. Usually shopping sounds really exciting to me. But when it comes to shopping in Africa it's a whole new ball game. Mercado is one of the biggest markets in Africa so without a guide that knows the language and where everything is it is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Luckily Dawit, one of the guys who works for the orphanage and lives in Addis was willing to help me out. This was the key in getting all the coats. Without this one man it would have never worked, so thanks Dawit! :) Finding 40 coats is also a difficult task especially when living in a small town, that's why I went to Addis since the little shops that are close to where I am wouldn't have had that many coats in stock. So we get to Mercado and it's packed, and we go to several different vendors since we wanted to get the best price. We finally settled on the fourth shop and that's when the bargaining began. I started out thinking that we were only going to get a few coats since I didn't really see much of a selection but I was pleasantly surprised. We picked out 10 coats and then he (shop keeper) would pull out more coats and then we got 10 more. Then another selection would be shown that was good so we got those too. By the time it was all over we only had to get 4 more coats for the littlest of the little kids. It was amazing! To explain the coats is a little difficult there a little lighter than a winter coat but look similar. Some are white with stripes across the chest and others are puffy with pink and purple (for the girls of course). You'll have to see a picture to get the full image in your head. The whole process was done in under two hours which I was really impressed by. We gave the kids their coats today and they were beaming. It was perfect timing for the weather here too since it's getting a little chilly in the nights. Today was also the last day at the orphanage so that was sad. It's crazy how much has gone on in the last four months. Have grown up alot but know I still have a long ways to go! Will miss the kids but know that God is leading my life and exciting for the road ahead.

Update

2010-12-07T23:57:00.000-08:00

Here's a new post to you Mom. My only faithful reader. Haha. :) I am in Addis right now. Came with a Gimbie crowd that was headed to the airport. They picked us up at the orphanage on Sunday afternoon and we have been in Addis ever since. Why did I go to Addis? Well, some money was raised by some churches that wanted to give coats to the kids so I am here to buy them. Got to eat at a Mexican place two times while being here and it was EXCELLENTE!!!!! Wow, that's the one food I've been craving while being over here and this place hit the spot! Today is the day I'm going to buy 40 coats. I'm a little nervous about trying to find all these coats, but thankfully I have some trusty helpers (Olivia, Dawit). Wish me luck and hope you in the US are doing well.

sickness

2010-11-06T06:21:00.001-07:00

Yeah, I’ve been sick for the past 7 weeks of the 11 that I’ve been here and I’m pretty tired of it. Mumps started it out then onto a really bad sinus cold, then to bronchitis and now to what some say is typhoid and others who say it’s not. Either or I’m still sick. So, out of all the sick days I have taken I am now going to take two weeks to recover and try to get my immune system up at Gimbie Hospital nine hours away from where I am. Why go to Gimbie, you might ask? Well that’s where Taylor (my brother) is and it will be nice to be around a relative that will watch out for me. There has been a lot of ups and downs while in Ethiopia, but as cliché as this sounds I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Mom and Dad, if your reading this I know this sounds kind of untrue. (I’ve called home crying a lot!) but I really do mean it. All the heart ache and ups and downs have been worth it so far and I’m not even half way done! Pray hard for us here. I know that it sounds so brave of us to be here, but it’s not. I’m the biggest wimp out there. It’s all God working through me to get through every day. Some days I just want to give up and come home. Some days I can’t stand the kids that we live with 24/7. But most days I can’t believe how God led us to the place that I’m at and how blessed I am. I love the laid back culture that isn’t focused on time. I love the kids who make me smile and how I am getting to know each personality more and more each day. They are GOOD kids. Kids that are trustworthy and hardworking, they aren’t perfect but they are so precious to me and are becoming more and more as the days go by. I hope that once I go to Gimbie and build my immune system back up that I will be okay to come back to the orphanage and stay for the time, but if not we’ll see what happens. Might come home or I might switch to another place in Ethiopia. I’m open to wherever God leads. Hope that the US is finding you well and that you’re doing some mission work over there. It’s a mission field wherever we are. ☺ Peace.

sickness

2010-11-06T06:21:00.000-07:00

a big thanks!

2010-10-22T05:40:00.000-07:00

Hey just wanted to say thankyou to the people who have commented. All I can do is post blogs but I can't comment back. I know it has been a while since you have commented but if you do read this blog anymore than THANKYOU!!! :) It means alot that you care to read this sad blog which consists of bad grammar and bad writing but thanks anyway! :) Will try to blog more sooner than later. Love you to you all! :)

life in Ethiopia

2010-10-05T08:38:00.000-07:00

Hi! Sorry this has taken me so long to write another blog. We still don’t have internet where we are but are hoping to get some soon so I will be able to post more on here. School has started and I have survived. Oh my I have a class of angels (2nd grade) and then a class of little devils (1rst). Sidenote: I never thought school was going to start and when I thought it was going too I was so nervous and worked up. I then came down with the mumps and couldn’t teach for the week that school was kind of starting and had to stay in bed. Then the next week on Monday it was a holiday and school didn’t happen. I was beginning to think that God didn’t want me to teach and I was beginning to be okay with that. Although I really wanted something to do since the days just drag when I feel like I am not really doing anything to help the kids. So on Tuesday it was finally starting and God gave me a peace. I was still a little nervous but not near as much as last week. I went and shadowed Liv’s class since she had one before me and then I went into it. It was a little choppy and I was fumbling for words at times but God blessed and gave me a class that listened to me. (2nd grade) It was intimidating that they were so quiet but they were really sweet and seemed to like it. I then went into 1rst grade which I thought was going to be a piece of cake. Well how wrong I was! Wow! The kids swarmed me (there’s about 25) and all wanted to touch me. (That’s pretty common here that the kids want to touch your skin. It gets really annoying and you have to tell them to stop or else they will keep doing it over and over). I told them to sit down and then introduced myself. It’s a struggle to keep them sitting down so if you’re a teacher and reading this I’m happy for suggestions, but it’s getting better and God is teaching me to love the kids and be patient. Karen, Liv’s Mom is coming in two days which I am super excited about! Can’t wait! Love getting letters at the Post Office when we go into town. It has become the highlight of my week. It means A LOT since now everyone is so used to instantly typing out an email that it is a 100 times more meaningful when I get a letter because I know the time it took to write it! Hmm…what else is happening? Well Africa is becoming more and more like home and I feel 100 times more comfortable then I did a month ago. Can’t believe that I have been here for almost two months now! It’s so true that the first month is the hardest and that it takes that long to adjust to a new culture. The dry season has come and the weather is beautiful, hotter in the day and cool at night! I also love it that my feet don’t get all muddy and that I can run around without feeling like I’m going to step in a pool of mud. The birds are spectacular here and I am trying to take some pictures to show how vibrant their colors are. Haven’t seen a hyena yet but have heard the dogs barking at them at night! ☺ Hope that you all are doing well! Praying for you! Peace.
PS/Forgive my many grammer mistakes! ☺

First blog in Africa!

2010-09-12T05:27:00.001-07:00

Wow, I'm in Africa and have been for the past three weeks! Can't believe it! At times it has been rough but I know this is where God wanted me to do be. When we first got to Addis it was 6:30 at night and we crashed at a hotel. The next day we were picked up by Suliman who hired a private mini bus to take us to the orphanage, the trip was beautiful and I managed to get a little sleep. When we got to the orphanage we were met by all the kids waving and singing, “We love you and are so happy to see you.” It was so sweet and after singing they gave us a bouquet of flowers that they had picked from the flowers that were around. Two of the kids grabbed my hands and showed me to my room and around the orphanage. It was surreal to actually be walking into to where I was going to be staying for the next nine months. I had heard some stories that there were bugs everywhere and that the shower was interesting so was interested to see how it all worked. Luckily the bugs are small (PRAISE THE LORD!!!!) and the shower is fine always giving luke warm water but it’s nice to have someway to get clean. Also we have a flushing toilet which is unusual and which we are grateful instead of the alternative which would be a hole in the ground. ☺ The weeks have flown by but the days sometime drag. The kids are awesome and it’s taking a while to find a balance of being with them and having alone time but I can’t get enough of them. Don’t get me wrong it’s not perfect here but I’m a lot more content than I am with all the modern conviences of the states. I am forced to rely soley on God and that’s exactly what I needed. I thank you for all the prayers it means SOOOOO much and for the emails and letters. I post them all on my wall and look at them everyday and feel loved! I’m in Gimbi right now (that’s why I can post this) and am visiting my bro who just got here on Thursday. It is beautiful here and a lot different than the orphanage. There are also a lot of amazing people that are volunteering right now so it’s been Awesome! To connect with other Americans and share in the journey. I love you and miss you all!

A-F-R-I-C-A!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-08-16T16:12:00.001-07:00

Well, this is it. Ethiopia here I come. I am so excited and cannot believe the journey God has brought me to get to this place. I keep hearing people say, "What a blessing you will be" but I keep thinking what a blessing the people will be for me. I am going to an orphanage and will be helping take care of 40 orphans. Plus teaching a little english here and there. Maybe more here than there. :D I am excited and scared because of the unexpected but know that God has worked out this place and has called me there. Ready or not I am looking forward to being broken and stretched by God and know that this experience will be something I will never regret. So here's to Africa and the first post of my Africa experiences.

P.S. Pray for me :) And I will pray for you. If you leave a comment! :D

Christmas in July

2010-07-09T14:58:00.000-07:00

It was a perfect summer day. The breeze was just right, the weather was sunny and the temperature was in the 70's. As it got dark Hebby came over and we were thinking of something to do. So we thought lets bake something! We decided to bake cookies so we looked in the index of the Joy of Cooking and found tons of varieties of cookies! We finally decided on not the typical summer dessert but Gingerbread Cookies! Oh yeah! Bring on the Christmas spirit, and so we did. We turned on the Christmas music, got out the flour and vanilla etc...and baked away! It was really weird to almost feel like it was Christmas. It's amazing how powerful music can be to put you in the Christmas spirit. Maybe I should have Christmas music on more often since it makes me so happy. I was quickly reminded when I stepped outside to feel the warm breeze and the humid blanket covering me that it wasn't Christmas and that I am happy that it is summer but it was fun pretending. So here's to Christmas in July.

2010-05-04T09:21:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that summer has begun. Now that school is over it seems that school has flown by. While I was in school there were times where I thought that time was slower than ever but looking back it all went by so fast. Sitting at home seems to make time go slow but then again when summer is over I will look back and say it went by fast. It's funny how memories are. You only think of the good times and erase all the times where you wish you were somewhere else. This summer there are alot of things I want to do. For instance...
1. Lean on Jesus more.
2. Learn how to surf
3. Teach myself how to sew
4. Get better at the guitar and violin
5. Read
6. Exercise daily
7. Visit my Grandma's and family
8. Go to the beach
9. Get a job!!!!
10. Draw/Paint
11. Get outside more
12. Get better at long boarding while trying not to kill myself

There are things that I know I forgot but that's the general idea. So here's to the summer of 2010!

counting down!

2010-04-06T11:45:00.000-07:00

Weeks Left of School!!!!!!!!!

san antonio

2010-03-08T09:33:00.000-08:00

The start of my spring break began with a weekend with my Daddy in San Antonio, Texas. It was fun to spend quality time and go site seeing around the town. The weather was beautiful and I loved being with my Dad! Some of the things we did were go to the missions around the town, visit a cave, and ride a boat around the river walk!

Saturday night we went to eat at a authentic mexican restaurant and sat by the river!

got to experience a river boat!

our view from the hotel!

got to visit a cave!

cactus everywhere!

this was our favorite mission that we went too.

trying to get a clear picture in the elevator but didn't succeed

cool painting that was in the hotel

my awesome pops!

a cathedral in the middle of the city that had an awesome park outside

can you tell I like cactus?

at the alamo!

just beginning our tour

My handsome Dadio! :)

2010-01-27T09:02:00.001-08:00

God speaks to His people in blessings bestowed; and when these are not appreciated, He speaks to them in blessings removed, that they may be led to see their sins, and return to Him with all their heart. PP 470

tithe

2010-01-20T12:58:00.001-08:00

On Sabbath I went with the Weber family to their church in Calhoun, Georgia and the pastor spoke about tithe. He showed this video and it really touched me.

Then I looked at this one on youtube and thought it was really good too.

video

2010-01-10T16:38:00.000-08:00

It's a poem about the woman at the well

John 4

switch

2010-01-10T15:49:00.000-08:00

I am in the process of changing my major to Graphic Design. It has been a journey to discover that this is really what God and I want to do with my life. I have always been interested in the creative side of things and when I was younger I wanted to be a fashion designer. When I got to college I had this preconceived idea that art was for the world and there was no ministry in it. I thought that people would look down on me if I did it, so I choose a major that "good" adventist girls choose, Elementary Education. Now there is nothing wrong with this major and most of my friends are in this major and they are some of the most awesome people that I have met but, they feel specifically called in the profession and are passionate about doing it. I just felt like it was a good thing to do and it was a field that was going to be easy to get a job in. I also love being with kids and thought that this was the field for me but, I really wasn't on fire for it. This past semester was the turning point for me and I became convicted that God can use me in the area that I am the most passionate about and that is art. I love the creative side of things and am really excited how God is going to work. Already things have been falling into place and it feels good to be where God wants you to be. If he changes his mind and wants me to do something else then that will be fine too but for right now I'm sticking to this and am excited what God has in store!

2009-12-08T03:30:00.001-08:00

pray for taylor.

spirit week--

2009-11-12T05:46:00.000-08:00

Favorite Days of Spirit Week:

Blast from the past:

Holiday Day:

2009-11-03T10:33:00.000-08:00

I was reading in Numbers 19 talking about the laws of purification and this was something that struck out to me.

When sacrificing the "red heifer" that was called for, there were three materials that went in as the fire was burning.

These three things were:
Cedar, Hyssop, and Scarlet
Looked these up in Strong's Concordance and here are the definitions I found---

Cedar-has a firmness of root which is unusual with the pine and also is wide-spreading

Hyssop-was a plant used for medicine

Scarlet-has a special process where it involves a insect that attaches itself to a tree and hatches from there never letting go once it's attached. The material that covers the insect is what we make silk out of.

These materials are all so different but yet they are all being thrown into the fire to help purify the heifer. These struck out to me as being the trinity.

The Father being the cedar which has a firmness of root and he wants to spread the gospel rapidly
The Holy Spirit being hyssop for it's healing in our lives and helping us not to tempting by the devil's snares
The Son being scarlet because he gave up his life to die on a tree so that we might use his grace in our lives.

This is just another representation that Jesus is in the Old Testament.

What do you think about it?

it clicked

2009-09-06T18:13:00.001-07:00

By rejecting what we want, we're accepting what God knows we really need.

Quote

2009-08-19T14:28:00.000-07:00

Of what are you afraid my child? Inquired the kindly teacher. O sir, the flowers they are wild, replied the timid creature. -Peter Newell

Theory

2009-07-14T15:50:00.001-07:00

This is my theory for love. For meeting Mr. Right/Mrs. Right and living happily ever after. Don't Look For Him/Her! Over the years I thought I have found Mr. Right more than a few times, which is kind of embarrassing (actually really embarrassing). Even though I think they are the perfect one something always happens whether it be they end up liking someone else or they never knew I existed in the first place. Then I tear myself down and think what's wrong with me? Was it my personality, how I said something or the way I looked? Last night I realized (with the help from two wise parents) that there's nothing wrong with me (in the way of personality or looks) it's just that it isn't God's timing and the ones that I thought were Mr. Right was God sparing me from not having to go through the heartbreak of giving a piece of my heart to them. This doesn't mean that this theory means that when you stop looking for love that that's when you'll find it. I have believed that but then if you stop looking for love to fall in love that isn't really stopping just another way of thinking. I am giving up on the opposite sex for right now and just giving God my heart to do whatever he wants with it. I don't know if I will ever get married but I don't care as long as I am doing Christ's will.

2009-07-14T15:46:00.000-07:00

Intermission Ecuador

2009-05-28T11:34:00.000-07:00

1. Dawn, Holly, and Sterling from my church also went on the mission trip. The journey started Sunday night, we stayed in the the Best Western and this is the day after traveling to Miami to catch our flight.

2. The plane ride over was only 4 hours. We sat in the very back of the plane and got to know the flight attendants who were really hilarious. One was from Quito where we were flying into and he was telling us all about it. I wish I had a picture to show of them.

3. The first night we stayed in the capital of Quito at Hostal Arupo, which was super nice and clean. Something I wasn't expecting.

3. The next day we boarded a bus and traveled to our first destination Cojimies on the coast. The trip was 7 hours long on narrow two way roads on the sides of mountains. Really pretty views. I learned that drivers honk not only to caution but also to say 'hi' to other drivers.

4. They call it, can you guess? The Devil's Face which we passed by on the road.

5. We stopped at a Adventist Academy to eat lunch which was really delicious! Some of the best caf food I've ever had, seriously. We need to bring these cooks to Southern! :)

6. We also stopped at a tribe of indigenous people. The men leave a section of hair longer on top of their heads where they dye it red and make it really smooth, at first I thought it was a leaf, but to my amazement it was real hair. They also had spears which they hunt with that they let us try.

7. We finally got to our destination (Cojimies) at 8 o'clock at night, where we had our first meal which consisted of soup, fruit juice, rice and cheese. I think we pretty much had cheese or an egg with every meal. We stayed here for 2 days, built the church and did outreach (vbs & medical care). Here are just some of the sights and first church ever that one day church has done.
This is just one of the huts where we stayed.
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Liv catching up on her sweet dreams

The start of the church

We went on a boat ride to the island of love

Chicks that followed each other around

House right next to church

VBS! :)

Medical Outreach

8. We packed all our stuff onto this bus and headed to Pedernales where we stayed right on the beach practically. This is where we built the other 2 churches and stayed for the rest of the week. I stayed and helped in the kitchen on friday since not as many people were needed to build the church and helped the cook (dawn). I got to go around and see the markets and to cut up some really good fruit and veggies.

The view from the hotel

The bars which blasted music till the early hours of the morning :)

Can't remember the name but it looks really nasty. Surprisingly tastes good.

My first time trying lychee. I really like it.

9. Went to church in the city.

10. Then went to a nature reserve 45 minutes away where we saw howler monkeys in their natural habitat.
This is Lissette tryin some coconut milk. :)

Prickly trees

Spiders were everywhere

10. After the reserve we got to go to the beach and cool off after our big hike. One of my favorite memories. So Beautiful!

11. Our last church.

12. Outreach time
Medical Outreach

VBS!

Cute little boy who when I sat down next to him started to scoot away and cry.

13. Our last night in Pedernales, we drank our last pina colada which were amazing!

14. Anita the older lady helped out in the hotel cleaning rooms and making sure we had everything we needed. She was so sweet! She would try talking to me but I never knew exactly what she was saying. Makes me want to learn spanish.

15. On our way back to Quito.

16. We went back to the Adventist Academy to eat our lunch which was delicious again. We then stopped by a taffy place to see how they made it. The men pull the taffy into thin little pieces and then the women put them in plastic and seal them up to sell.

17. The next day we were tourist's, visiting the equator and went to the highest gothic cathedral in South America where we climbed all the way to the top which was about 151 m. up! We also went to the wrong equator line where they first thought it was, but then changed it.

Pictures just show a little bit of what the trip was like, but experiencing is what you really have to do to get the full mission story. This trip was so awesome and I hope to do another one! The team we had was really amazing as well and I really enjoyed getting to know everyone. We had a total of 15 people who I think God called to come on this trip. It was amazing hearing how this trip came together; like how they were going to call the trip off two weeks before it happened but they said that they would give it one more week and in that week almost all of us that went on the trip signed up. God is good, and I was blessed to have experienced it!

Lack Thereof

2009-05-19T08:12:00.000-07:00

Trust-assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something

2 Samuel 22:31
As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.

economic crisis?

2009-04-26T09:37:00.000-07:00

Does our society need more money or do we as a society need less to spend money on?

bee happy

2009-04-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

The honey bee is getting some attention.

Why?
well check it out:

http://helpthehoneybees.com/#/home/home/

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/category.jsp?fromDisplayPage=fromDisplayPage&cmElemTag=top&navAction=jump&navCount=120&id=BEES&cm_mmc=Email-_-15_Apr_09_BTreesS-_-042109BTreesS-_-Btrees

C.T. Studd

2009-04-05T14:38:00.000-07:00

"Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell;I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell."

special music for the north river congregation

2009-03-28T17:16:00.000-07:00

wow

2009-03-26T19:29:00.000-07:00

He who co-operates with the divine purpose in imparting to the youth a knowledge of God, and molding the character into harmony with His, does a high and noble work. As he awakens a desire to reach God's ideal, he presents an education that is as high as heaven and as broad as the universe; an education that cannot be completed in this life, but that will be continued in the life to come; an education that secures to the successful student his passport from the preparatory school of earth to the higher grade, the school above.

-Ed 19.1

ask yourself

2009-03-19T19:05:00.000-07:00

The world wants you to think that everything is about you. That we should think only of ourselves but there is a greater purpose. God calls us all to a higher purpose to not only love but to love one another. Philippians 2: 3, 4 says "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." We're going to talk about, what is selfishness, how to be selfless to those around you, and how to enlarge your area of service.

Before we learn how to be selfless we must first find what selfishness is. Dictionary.com gives this definition: devoted to or caring only for oneself; concerned primarily with one's own interests, benefits, welfare, etc., regardless of others. Today we live in a world that thinks that all that matters is me. We see it on a day to day basis with having to by pass all the couples making out on your way to the dorm or people skipping in line to get food at the caf. Or even going to walmart and seeing all the people who chew out customer service because they can't return their dust devil vacuum. People do what they feel. In an experiment done by John List, an economist at the University of Chicago a team of colleagues, showed that donations are less than magnanimous after all. Using controlled trials to compare different methods of door-to-door fund-raising, professor List's team discovered that it was much more effective to raise funds by selling lottery tickets than it was to raise funds by asking for money. Selfishness is spreading like an epidemic, but we can be the ones to change it. Now that we know what selfishness is let's take a look at what others are doing to change this fast spreading disease.

Mike King author of Learn This said "Something I believe is truly valuable in life is to reach out to others." Fact is that we are all selfish, but we have to choose to change it. Like being nice to the cafeteria servers and saying "thankyou." or turning around in line at KR's and meet a new face. Smiling at someone who you cross as you're walking on the promenade. Opening the door for someone and letting them go first. These are all things that you can do but let's take this a step further. Because at least for myself I can even fake being nice to my friends. We can put on that happy face for the friends but when it comes down to your family all the barriers come down. In Acts 1:8, Jesus says "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upone you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samarian, and to the end of the earth." Jesus is saying that first we must be witnesses to our own, our family. Then to those who are friends, and then go to the end of the earth. So do something out of the ordinary. Write a post card to your dad or give a phone call to your grandma you haven't talked to in a while. Once you start reaching out to those you know you're not gonna want to stop there.

Ministries such as Bible Work Club which gives you the opportunity to tell someone about Jesus by giving a bible study. Patten Towers a ministry based in down-town Chattanooga where you can go and participate in being a friend to people who have low incomes. From going to the zoo with the residents to serving potluck at the church service there are tons of people who just need to see a smile. Grace In Action is similar to patten but it's an actual hotel that they are renting out at the moment. The owners, Penny and Tommy Peak, are really genuine and love when people come to volunteer their time. This is where I went for community service day and so much help is needed. From organizing a clothing shop to tutoring kids on their math homework there's an oppurtunity for anyone. Now your thinking that these are all nice things to do but you're too busy, or they're too far away but these are all coordinated by Southern students just like yourselves. You can make the time to go and get involved, which isn't that much when you compare it to eternity. If you don't like any of the options that I said, sadly there are plenty more places that need your help.

A short video........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42E2fAWM6rA&eurl=http://palmowniy.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embeddedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42E2fAWM6rA&eurl=http://palmowniy.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

I just want to ask you......What would hinder you from being selfless?

sinner sarah

2009-03-08T17:15:00.000-07:00

After talking one night with some pretty cool people. I've decided to post a journal entry. This one's for you Ahn.
-----
One night I wrote while listening to two songs put on repeat---Canaan Bound and Silence of God by Andrew Peterson. They got me in the mood to write.

Why?
Why can't he go away
Come again another day?
Like the rain or maybe not come at all.

Like when the sun comes out
Melts the freshly laid snow

What are feelings?
Why do they happen
even when God doesn't
want them too?

I know feelings can be overcome
but why do they have to
be so hard to let go?

God help me, I need you
I've prayed to you and it
seems you don't hear me.

Please help me overcome this
I know I can't do it
Only through your power and strength
----

Isaiah was a friend I made when I first moved to Florida. He died of cancer last summer.

I never was a good influence.
During that year I let God go.
Thinking it wouldn't affect anyone but myself.

I was wrong! So wrong. Death came
creeping upon a friend with no thought from anyone.

Death to one so young wasn't thought
I didn't know and if at that point I did.
I would have just felt sorry for him.

God knew but yet I still wonder..
Did he know God? WHat if I was different?
What if....

Isaiah haunts me.
He makes me want to never stop
working for thought that
someone might die without knowing Christ.

But yet, everyday someone does.
Please Lord, come home soon!
I hate this dirty devilish world.
----
This is me just thinking about how when I want to change something I have to change it with myself first. If I see something wrong then instead of complaining and talking about it, I need to kneel down and pray about it.

It starts with Me.
Not you, not them.

If I want to see something change.
I have to be the first one to change it.

I'm the complainer who
thinks of all the solutions to solve
everyone's problems but my own.

The devil can get me caught anywhere in
A situation, even if it's something
that is good in God's eyes.

My God is bigger than that cunning serpent.
It starts with me, not you, not them.

obama, family, washington....

2009-01-25T16:21:00.000-08:00

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/01/the_inauguration_of_president.html

MLK day

2009-01-22T11:02:00.000-08:00

MLK Day Included:
Going to Grace In Action

this is what it looks like.

What is it? It's hotel to help people that aren't well off get back on their feet. Helping them get a job, get clothes and have a place to stay. It's an awesome ministry that penny & tommy peak are leading out in and hope to own the hotel that they are using at the moment which 300,000 dollars is needed to own it. I really enjoyed my time there which consisted of organizing the clothing room. Emily, April, Janessa, Steph and myself sought to organize a room that was stacked with clothes! There were clothes stacked even in the bathroom! From mens to babies clothes it was alot and it was overwhelming but I like what janessa said, "It's better to have more clothes, than to have not enough." It was amazing how many pieces of clothing were donated. We didn't get all of it finished but I hope to go back and help out again. The owners are super sweet and really accepting of anyone who comes with willing hands.

2009-01-18T10:31:00.000-08:00

Well, I've been told to write on this thing which I don't really like to do. I don't know somehow it scares me to write out my thoughts just so others can read them. I prefer the old fashioned way of letting my emotions out, through paper and pen. I do however want to keep those I love happy. So, I am going to get better at this blogging thing and start to write more of my everyday experiences down.

This weekend I went to Nashville with a old friend who I grew up with. It was fun times. On Friday night my home church had a agape feast and naturally I went. I had the priviledge of sitting by a little girl who didn't seem to like me at first. She practically ignored me as I ate my delicious food which was chicken salad sandwich and yummy potatoe soup. I tried the whole smiling thing, saying hi, but nothing seemed to work. So sad to say I did the same thing and ignored her, continuing to eat my soup and sandwhich. After the meal was over we had communion. So the men and the women separated and washed each other's feet. While I was having my feet washed this little girl and her Mom were sitting right next to me. I didn't want to try the whole smiling thing again so I was talking with my friend. While we were sitting there my friend found some marbles, two to be exact and starting rolling them around. The little girl was looking and seemed to be intrigued. I asked her if she wanted one, putting it in her hand. She looked at me and then the marble and said, "yes!" I then smiled and she smiled. I smiled even bigger and she smiled even bigger. She was pretty happy that she had gotten a present. When we got back to the tables she introduced me as her "new" friend. She told me her name was Maddy and I told her mine. How quickly the barriers were let down just by giving her that one small blue marble. At church the next day she wrote me a note saying this. To:Sara-my bestest friend. From: Maddy. It's funny how quickly she changed from not speaking to bestest friend.

yeah. not sure how to end this.

so the end.

2008-10-31T07:59:00.000-07:00

Today on the promenade I saw these two guys dressed up for Halloween. One looked like Mckain with a mask on and the other was a guy who dressed up as a runner with short shorts and a tank top topped off with an afro. After they pass by Britt (my roommate) tells me that must have been Mckains running mate!

yeah, i thought it was funny

:)

blah...

2008-10-03T07:14:00.000-07:00

So I think of all these brilliant (or not so brilliant) =) blog's I'm going to post one day and I just never seem to get around to it. One of these day's I'm going to do it but for now have to go do hw. PTL for Friday!

2008-09-18T13:44:00.001-07:00

DA 48/4

2008-08-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

Heaven and earth are no wider apart today than when shepherds listened to the angels' song. Humanity is still as much the object of the heaven's solicitude as when common men of common occupations met angels at noonday, and talked with the heavenly messengers in the vineyards and the fields. To us in the common walks of life, heaven may be very near. Angels from the courts above will attend the steps of those who come and go at God's command.

quote

2008-08-13T20:32:00.000-07:00

Betty (my grandma)-"Thomson, you need to take Sarah to the hearing doctor." Thomson-"What?" Betty-"Maybe you both need to go."

=)

Ramen in a pot

2008-08-12T20:28:00.000-07:00

I was ASI this past weekend and didn't want to pay the price for the meal tickets they offer. so i decided to just go to the grocery store and buy food for sabbath. Well I bought ramen cause it's easy and fast and I thought that there was a microwave in the hotel room. So, I got back and realized that there wasn't a microwave. My friend Cindy and I thought we would call down to the front desk to see if there was a microwave that we could use but get this there was a waiting list already. They said that there were 8 people already waiting to use it and they said that they would put us down on the list. Since the waiting took to long and lunch came I wasn't sure what to do. I looked everywhere in the little kitchen that we had and there was nothing. No bowls or anything but we did have a coffee pot. So I got this brilliant idea to cook Ramen in the coffee pot. It worked really well just heated up the water then stuck the noodles in the pot and that's it! :) Luckily we had plastic forks so I had something to eat it with. Pretty exciting. Didn't know coffee pots could be so handy.

augusta 08

2008-08-10T15:26:00.000-07:00

2008-08-04T20:56:00.000-07:00

Back of our t-shirts from this summer. More pictures coming soon!

=)

2008-05-07T14:47:00.000-07:00

can't wait for my bro to come next week! then in a few weeks after that for my dad and other bro to come! yay!

detail #2

2008-05-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

Well i can't not write about the one and only Sue Viko. This woman has been through thick and thin with me here at AFCOE while going door to door. She is the best outreach partner I could have asked for. She comes from down under (Australia) but she's definately very on top of things. =) I definately think that God led us to be together Sue has taught me alot of things. haha. Oh man! the stories I could tell, but I'll spare those. She's a one of a kind and I wouldn't trade her for anything!

2008-04-14T23:54:00.000-07:00

general idea

2008-04-14T23:38:00.000-07:00

so being my first blog and all i thought i would have to type out more than what i just did earlier today. The reason for me getting one of these? well i don't really know but i am kind of intimidated by some deep people on here (not naming any names) that talk about important things. well i'll be writing just random things so you'll have to forgive me. Not saying that i don't like to get deep but probably won't have time to write all my deep thoughts down (because there are so many) =) well this is pretty exciting though christy kept telling me to get one and i told her i always would so now i am keeping my word and have gotten one. What's going on right now in my life? well I'm here at AFCOE and the four month program is going by so fast! It's already more than half way through and the evangelistic meetings have started. It's really exciting to see how evangelism takes place and how God works, but it's not easy. It takes so much work to get people to come to the meetings, it was hard enough for people to study the Bible. Unfortunately none of my contacts have come yet but I pray that they will. But if they don't it's exciting to see everyone else's come and for their lives to start changing. Some of them are in the process of doing that right now since the evangelistic meetings have been going on for about 3 days now. There is nothing better than to see lives change through Jesus. I pray that they will keep up the changing over these next few weeks as we get deeper into the Bible. I'm also gaining a big blessing from attending the meetings as well. Our speaker Eric Flickenger is really good at making things clear. This has really helped me in understanding our beliefs and Daniel and Revelation. I still was a little confused at how all the beast worked and what they meant but this past Sunday we studied it and it was really clear to me this time! I was really excited! AFCOE has been such a life changing experience and I'll have to tell more stories about our class later to fill you in on the details of what the AFCOE experience is really like. =)

very 1rst

2008-04-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

so this is my very first blog. quite an exciting thing. i'm in class so i can't type to much but i will write more later

Just A Thought

I don't know if this works but....

Coats (Visual!)

Coats in detail

Update

sickness

sickness

a big thanks!

life in Ethiopia

First blog in Africa!

A-F-R-I-C-A!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas in July

counting down!

san antonio

tithe

video

switch

spirit week--

it clicked

Quote

Theory

Intermission Ecuador

Lack Thereof

economic crisis?

bee happy

C.T. Studd

special music for the north river congregation

wow

ask yourself

sinner sarah

obama, family, washington....

MLK day

blah...

DA 48/4

quote

Ramen in a pot

augusta 08

=)

detail #2

general idea

very 1rst