life in Ethiopia

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!

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!!!!!!!!!!!!

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

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.

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!

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

san antonio

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! :)