-Discovering a new coffee shop in Old Colorado City
-Drinking a huge cup of coffee too late at night
-An ocean of sunset colored leaves
-Dancing in an alley with a pro wrestler in spandex
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Lists
October 5, 2011
-Sleeping in
-Pumpkin Spice coffee
-Quality time with family
-New foods
-Bike rides
-Ant covered Lake shores
-Psalms
-Fleet Foxes
-Deep thoughts
-Ecuador
-Cold showers
-Tangled hair
-Maple candles
-Peace of mind
-Thoughts on lonliness
-Thoughts on Theology
-Telephone conversations
-$1.00 shoes
-A guy that looked like Elvis
-Gungor
-Old friends
-Sore legs
-Glares and smiles of strangers
-Dessert
"Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind. For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness."
-Sleeping in
-Pumpkin Spice coffee
-Quality time with family
-New foods
-Bike rides
-Ant covered Lake shores
-Psalms
-Fleet Foxes
-Deep thoughts
-Ecuador
-Cold showers
-Tangled hair
-Maple candles
-Peace of mind
-Thoughts on lonliness
-Thoughts on Theology
-Telephone conversations
-$1.00 shoes
-A guy that looked like Elvis
-Gungor
-Old friends
-Sore legs
-Glares and smiles of strangers
-Dessert
"Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind. For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness."
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Pumpkin Spice
Today was one of the best days i've had in a while. Today was my day off. I set my alarm so I could enjoy as much of the day as possible. I woke up pretty sleepy, but dressed quickly despite the fact that I haven't showered in at least two days. I started off my morning at Raven's Nest Coffee, taking at least three wrong turns on the way. It's crazy how bad I am at getting places. I've met the girl who was working once before, at church. I said hello and ordered something that she suggested. Something sweet, topped with whip cream. Slightly different from my normal coffee shop order which is usually black coffee, iced coffee or iced tea. I sat in a worn love seat in a corner. I spent about four and a half hours in the little shop reading, wasting time on my computer, talking to God, journaling, and letting myself dig into every part of my mind. Coffee shops always seem like the best place to think. The music playing was wonderful. Nice change from Starbucks music. An old cowboy sat near me so he could plug in his phone. He was trying to find some place that was going to help him with food stamps and I let him borrow my pen as he listened closely to directions. He said thank you and made small talk. I could barely hear what he was saying so I smiled and nodded. I decided I was probably weirding the workers out by being there so long, so I headed to my car. I decided to spend the rest of my day in Manitou.
When I got there, I couldn't find a spot, so I pulled into a parking area that I had to pay at. I couldn't figure out how to pay, or if I really even had to, so I just gave up on paying and began walking. I walked by a group of homeless guys and one greeted me with a friendly "hey". I continued to walk, people watch, and stop in shops every once in a while. I love when you walk around a town you don't live in, strangers say hello like they know you.
As I was walking, two younger guys, probably around my age, kind of stopped in front of me and took a picture of me with a nice camera. I figured they were probably taking a picture of something else, because they didn't say anything to me, so I continued walking. Later, as I was walking, I saw them in the distance about 40 feet away, taking pictures of me again. As I got closer they said, "We're taking your picture, ok, act natural." I just kinda stood there and then walked away. I probably should have asked what they were doing. I ended my trip in a little local market where I purchased some pumpkin spice tea, and soynut butter.
On my drive home I listened to good music, while the rain fell softly.
When I got there, I couldn't find a spot, so I pulled into a parking area that I had to pay at. I couldn't figure out how to pay, or if I really even had to, so I just gave up on paying and began walking. I walked by a group of homeless guys and one greeted me with a friendly "hey". I continued to walk, people watch, and stop in shops every once in a while. I love when you walk around a town you don't live in, strangers say hello like they know you.
As I was walking, two younger guys, probably around my age, kind of stopped in front of me and took a picture of me with a nice camera. I figured they were probably taking a picture of something else, because they didn't say anything to me, so I continued walking. Later, as I was walking, I saw them in the distance about 40 feet away, taking pictures of me again. As I got closer they said, "We're taking your picture, ok, act natural." I just kinda stood there and then walked away. I probably should have asked what they were doing. I ended my trip in a little local market where I purchased some pumpkin spice tea, and soynut butter.
On my drive home I listened to good music, while the rain fell softly.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
A New Start.
So back in the beginning of January, I began this blog to document my three month stay in Ecuador. Once I returned to America, I kind of just forgot about it. It is now September and I have started a new chapter of my life. I recently moved to Colorado Springs with my Dad and Step mom, started a new job, and I am getting more involved with my church. I have decided to start up this blog again so I can post whatever cross my mind and to use is slightly as an accountability partner. If I'm able to write things down, I am more likely to stay on track with everything in life. So, this is me, starting new.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Weekend. And other stuff.
So this past weekend was pretty decent. Julianna, Katelyn and I attended a youth group thing on Saturday. Considering that this is Ecuador, everything was in Spanish. When I first got to Ecuador I would try to listen to everything i could and try to figure out what people were saying, but after a while, my mind just kind of automatically started tuning things out when people were speaking Spanish. If I return t Ecuador, I WILL learn Spanish. It's no fun not knowing what people are talking about. Anyways, even though I couldn't understand people, I was still enjoying myself and they had a big bonfire which made the night even more enjoyable. Towards the end of the night, Julianna, Katelyn and I started talking to a few people in the youth group, and they talked in English the whole time so I could understand them, it was great (:
The next day, we went to church, and then after church, we had lunch at the house of a family from church. The last month or so, I've been doing the Daniels Fast. Up until Sunday afternoon, I hadn't broken the fast at all. I didn't want to be rude though, so I ate what the family was serving. It was pretty good, but I realized that I don't miss "normal" food as much as I thought I did, and I also had a horrible stomach ache after eating it, so we'll see what happens with my eating habits once the fast is over next Monday. We then spent the rest of the afternoon playing ultimate spoons. Which is def one of the best games ever. I don't care how lame that makes me.
We then headed home, and I had a wonderful fruit smoothie to try and make my stomach feel better.
So I leave Ecuador in eight days. I can definately say that I am so so in love with Ecuador. I am very excited to get home though. I finally feel like I've accomplished what I was supposed to here and I can return home. I have to fly all day next tuesday and I am not looking forward to that. Especially the six hours I have to spend in the freezing cold Miami Airport. I really really dislike that place. But my Mom and my sister are making the three hour drive to Denver to pick me up. Then, I get to stay at my sister's house that night and then paint a back drop for some concert thing the next day. I am so stoked. I've missed everyone in Colorado so much, and especially my twin sister. You guys seriously need to get yourself a twin. Best thing ever.
Well I get to spend my last eight days going to orphanage, going to a soccer game, making some amazing oreo BTS cake and going to the beach one last time so I can be darker than all you pale Colorado people ;) Just kidding about the being dark part. I'll always be pale *sigh*
The next day, we went to church, and then after church, we had lunch at the house of a family from church. The last month or so, I've been doing the Daniels Fast. Up until Sunday afternoon, I hadn't broken the fast at all. I didn't want to be rude though, so I ate what the family was serving. It was pretty good, but I realized that I don't miss "normal" food as much as I thought I did, and I also had a horrible stomach ache after eating it, so we'll see what happens with my eating habits once the fast is over next Monday. We then spent the rest of the afternoon playing ultimate spoons. Which is def one of the best games ever. I don't care how lame that makes me.
We then headed home, and I had a wonderful fruit smoothie to try and make my stomach feel better.
(Yeah this is seriously where I get t stay at the beach. Be jealous)
Friday, March 11, 2011
Don't you realize?
It's time to get out of your comfy church seat and away from all the comfy "christians" around you and get out into the world and actually help people!
"Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains in ruins?" Haggai 1:4
"Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains in ruins?" Haggai 1:4
I would love you with all of my heart, but I've already given some parts of it away
So yesterday, I recieved a message from a guy I dated over a year ago. It doesn't matter what the entire message said, but at one part he mentioned how he was still bitter over a lot of things. That really got me thinking about the real damage that relationships cause. Relationships have been a big topic on my mind lately, and if you know anything about my life, then you know that, but that message just really hit home for me.
What is the point of relationships really? I remember being in the end of my 8th grade year and being so excited that I was soon going to be in high school, because it seemed like everyone in high school had a boyfriend. Looking back now, I wish I could have slapped 14 year old me. Why was I so excited to have a boyfriend? I've always had self esteem issues and I know that was a big part of it. I also felt like I was the last girl in the world that hadn't really dated anyone, and I just thought it made someone "cooler" when they had a significant other. Over the four years of highschool and the one year I've been out of high school, I dated 7 guys. But what did I really gain from these relationships? I ended up getting hurt, I hurt people, I hurt friendships, I completely lost focus on God at one point, I dealt with depression and other issues, I pushed my family away, I wasted time, money, emotions and much more. Does that sound like fun to you? No? Then why does everyone think that dating is such an amazing thing? I can say that thankfully I do have a friendship with my most recent boyfriend, But why couldn't all of these relationships just be friendships? If I would have done that, I would have seen early on that those relationships were not God's plan.
A big problem we have is that people are incredibly selfish. We are always trying to please ourselves. Why else would we get into relationships? We want our physical or emotional needs filled. But how many times do we actually think about the other person involved? How is this relationship going to effect this persons life, time, emotions, relationship with God, relationship with friends and family, etc? We never think about those things.
I think another problem people have is they think they need to "try out" a lot of people before they find "the one." I had a friend once that tell me that she believed that you need to kiss as many guys as possible and sleep with quite a few before you're married. Um really? I'm sorry but does no one realize that one day they could be married and you're going to have to look at your spouse and tell them the truth about your past? How is that going to make you feel? How is that going to make them feel? Why do people feel they need to "practice" before getting married? Joshua Harris in I Kissed Dating Goodbye makes a good point about dating. I'm not going to quote it exactly, but he says something along the lines that if you go from relationship to relationship so you can practice what it's going to be like to be in one that lasts forever (marriage) how are you going to last in marriage? It obviously shows that you can't commit. Why do you think so many marriages end in divorce these days?
Another thing, when it comes to "practicing" the physical side of it. Like my former friend said, she felt that she needed to have a lot of physical experience before marriage. Why do people feel that way? Once you marry someone, you're going to have plenty of time to "practice," you're going to have the rest of your life actually.
I also have a problem with people thinking that they "own" someone because they're dating them. How do you own them? God is the true owner of that person and I don't see a ring on their finger so they're not yours at all, sorry. This is why I believe that a relationship should go in an order similar to this: friendship, deeper friendship once you feel that that person could be the person you marry, engagment, marraige. To some people that may seem extreme, but when you think about it, what's so extreme about it? It's actually a lot less extreme than the world's view of dating. This way, there isn't a ton of wasted emotion and hurt. The friendship isn't about to get into anything more serious than that unless the two people feel that God has told them that they can move it in the direction of engagment.
So going back to what the title says, I would just say to give the way you're dating more thought. When you one day say "I love you will all of my heart" to your spouse, how much of your heart are you actually going to be able to give them?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On a kind of related note, God has recently spoken to me that he wants me to be single (which is why i very recently became single) and I am stoked about this. I just know that God has some awesome plans for me in the future and I know I can't do these things unless I have my full attention on God. God has already done AMAZING things in my life and I'm stoked for the future!
What is the point of relationships really? I remember being in the end of my 8th grade year and being so excited that I was soon going to be in high school, because it seemed like everyone in high school had a boyfriend. Looking back now, I wish I could have slapped 14 year old me. Why was I so excited to have a boyfriend? I've always had self esteem issues and I know that was a big part of it. I also felt like I was the last girl in the world that hadn't really dated anyone, and I just thought it made someone "cooler" when they had a significant other. Over the four years of highschool and the one year I've been out of high school, I dated 7 guys. But what did I really gain from these relationships? I ended up getting hurt, I hurt people, I hurt friendships, I completely lost focus on God at one point, I dealt with depression and other issues, I pushed my family away, I wasted time, money, emotions and much more. Does that sound like fun to you? No? Then why does everyone think that dating is such an amazing thing? I can say that thankfully I do have a friendship with my most recent boyfriend, But why couldn't all of these relationships just be friendships? If I would have done that, I would have seen early on that those relationships were not God's plan.
A big problem we have is that people are incredibly selfish. We are always trying to please ourselves. Why else would we get into relationships? We want our physical or emotional needs filled. But how many times do we actually think about the other person involved? How is this relationship going to effect this persons life, time, emotions, relationship with God, relationship with friends and family, etc? We never think about those things.
I think another problem people have is they think they need to "try out" a lot of people before they find "the one." I had a friend once that tell me that she believed that you need to kiss as many guys as possible and sleep with quite a few before you're married. Um really? I'm sorry but does no one realize that one day they could be married and you're going to have to look at your spouse and tell them the truth about your past? How is that going to make you feel? How is that going to make them feel? Why do people feel they need to "practice" before getting married? Joshua Harris in I Kissed Dating Goodbye makes a good point about dating. I'm not going to quote it exactly, but he says something along the lines that if you go from relationship to relationship so you can practice what it's going to be like to be in one that lasts forever (marriage) how are you going to last in marriage? It obviously shows that you can't commit. Why do you think so many marriages end in divorce these days?
Another thing, when it comes to "practicing" the physical side of it. Like my former friend said, she felt that she needed to have a lot of physical experience before marriage. Why do people feel that way? Once you marry someone, you're going to have plenty of time to "practice," you're going to have the rest of your life actually.
I also have a problem with people thinking that they "own" someone because they're dating them. How do you own them? God is the true owner of that person and I don't see a ring on their finger so they're not yours at all, sorry. This is why I believe that a relationship should go in an order similar to this: friendship, deeper friendship once you feel that that person could be the person you marry, engagment, marraige. To some people that may seem extreme, but when you think about it, what's so extreme about it? It's actually a lot less extreme than the world's view of dating. This way, there isn't a ton of wasted emotion and hurt. The friendship isn't about to get into anything more serious than that unless the two people feel that God has told them that they can move it in the direction of engagment.
So going back to what the title says, I would just say to give the way you're dating more thought. When you one day say "I love you will all of my heart" to your spouse, how much of your heart are you actually going to be able to give them?
On a kind of related note, God has recently spoken to me that he wants me to be single (which is why i very recently became single) and I am stoked about this. I just know that God has some awesome plans for me in the future and I know I can't do these things unless I have my full attention on God. God has already done AMAZING things in my life and I'm stoked for the future!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Today
Today was a good day and this is why:
-It was sunny enough to wear shorts! Even though I still have bug bites completely covering my legs
-I attempted to make oatmeal for the second time, and actually succeeded. It was amazing
-I got to have a nice conversation with my sister and most of the refuge girls over skype
-I decided to wear make up today for the first time in a long time, just for the heck of it
-I mopped the kitchen. Clean floors just make me a happier person
-I watched despicable me for the first time and loved it
-I had left overs from my dinner last night so I didn't have to do any cooking today
-I went to the orphanage today!
-I was finally able to meet the special needs kids there and take a walk with them. That seriously made me so happy
-I got to spend time with my favorite little baby at the orphanage and he was all smiles the whole time!
-I got some great stuff outta the good book today as soon as I woke up
-I'm just in a good mood
-I'm usually always in a good mood here though. Ecuador is truly amazing, and so is the wonderful life that God has blessed me with
(:
-It was sunny enough to wear shorts! Even though I still have bug bites completely covering my legs
-I attempted to make oatmeal for the second time, and actually succeeded. It was amazing
-I got to have a nice conversation with my sister and most of the refuge girls over skype
-I decided to wear make up today for the first time in a long time, just for the heck of it
-I mopped the kitchen. Clean floors just make me a happier person
-I watched despicable me for the first time and loved it
-I had left overs from my dinner last night so I didn't have to do any cooking today
-I went to the orphanage today!
-I was finally able to meet the special needs kids there and take a walk with them. That seriously made me so happy
-I got to spend time with my favorite little baby at the orphanage and he was all smiles the whole time!
-I got some great stuff outta the good book today as soon as I woke up
-I'm just in a good mood
-I'm usually always in a good mood here though. Ecuador is truly amazing, and so is the wonderful life that God has blessed me with
Monday, March 7, 2011
Shell
So this last weekend, I was lucky enough to be able to travel with Katelyn, Julianna and Mrs. Shedd to the town of Shell near the jungle. I first went to Shell back in the beginning of January and I fell in love with it. It's a cute little town and it doesn't have danger like Quito does, which I love. It's nice to walk down the street and not really have to worry about being robbed. Also, Casa de Fe is located, an orphanage, is located in Shell. I love that orphanage so much. There's just something different than For His Children about it and I just love being there.
While we were there we stayed in a little apartment a couple miles from the orphanage. It was the cutest little apartment. I could have easily lived there, and we were able to stay there for free! It had wood panels on the walls and I just fell in love. The features of houses that people usually find out of date and ugly, I usually fall in love with.
Our first evening there, we got settled into the apartment, had some dinner, drove around town a little bit and then headed to bed. The next day Katelyn, Julianna and I walked to the orphanage at about 9am. It was so amazing to see the kids again. There were all so happy to have people there that held them and gave them love and played with them. Unlike For his Children, whose mission is to get kids adopted by the time they are 2 or 3 I believe? Casa de Fe is more focused on giving the kids the skills they will need in order to be able to go to college or just survive in the world. Knowing that makes it pretty sad when you look at all the children there and realizing that they will probably live in the orphanage until they're old enough to be on their own. It is a very wonderful orphanage and the kids all seem very happy, but it just makes me sad when I think about how spoiled I've been with my family. I have awesome parents, and even awesome step parents, amazing siblings and amazing step siblings. I've had people that I could call Mom and Dad and know that they will always be there for me. It really just breaks my heart that I have so so much in my life, and these kids probably won't get that. A lot of the children there either have a mental or physical handicap. Most of the children are from villages in the jungle and if you have a child that have one of these issues then it means that the child is cursed, it will curse the whole village and it must be killed. Because of this, most kids are just abandoned and that's how they end up at the orphanage.
While I was there, I met a little girl named Lucita (That's probably spelled wrong, I'm sorry). She is about three years old I'm guessing and she's missing a foot, her left hand only has a thumb and she has scars all over her body. I really fell in love with this girl and she fell in love with me. She wouldn't let me leave her side for the two days I was there. She was one of the most determined little girls I have ever met. When we would sit on the ground, she would always crawl off of my lap, grab my shoulder for support and then try her hardest to stand up straight. Everytime she was able to get herself to a standing position she would call out for the tias or anyone around to look at her. When they would, she would get a huge smile on her face and then collapse into my lap. It was such an amazing thing to see. She was very persistant on doing everything herself like reading a book and turning the pages by herself, using the bathroom without any help, and crawling into my lap by herself. It was hard saying goodbye to her. I picked her and and said I was leaving and she gave me a huge kiss on the cheek. That brought me close to tears.
While I was there I was able to hold, play with, tickle, hug and kiss so many amazing children. One little baby, probably about 5 or 6 months old had the biggest and cutest smile I've ever seen. We were told that he was sick and to not hold him so we wouldn't get sick but I just couldn't help myself. I figured I wouldn't get sick so I held him a lot in those two days. And now I have a horrible cold, but it was definately worth it!
This weekend Ecuador celebrated Carnival. Usually it consists of people throwing water at you, but apparently Shell does something a little different. On our way back to the apartment one day, we walked by a group of about 15 guys. There were yelling Hello! Carvival! and they were covered in black paint. We tried to ignore them but when we looked back, they were all charging towards us. They caught up to us and completely covered us in black paint. It was pretty scary, a little painful and they knocked off my glasses in the process. We then had to continue walking home covered in black paint. Along the way random people started laughing at us. It was definately worth the memory though! That would never happen in the States. The next day they just threw water balloons at us which wasn't so bad.
It really stinks that that was my last trip to Shell. I leave Ecuador in two weeks and I just can't believe it. The time here just flew by. It makes me really sad when I think about it too much. I am super excited to see my friends and family again but I just don't know how I'm going to be able to live in the States again. I've been showed a whole new world and going back to my old life would just be selfish. I know that God wants me in the States now though and I am really excited to see what he has planned for me. Hopefully I'm wise enough to listen to everything he tells me. That's what i've been trying to do so far and look where that got me (: I don't feel like this is my last time in Ecuador though which makes it easier to leave soon. This place is just so amazing. I can't just go home and forget about everything I've done and learned here.
I was pretty positive I wasn't going to go to college. To me, going to college meant that I was going to have to have some career that I didn't really love just so I could make good money, and I really hate money. I would be happy with being poor. Then I realized that going to college didn't mean I would just be stuck in the states with some boring job. I have a heart for special needs kids and If I went to college and got a degree in special education, then I would be able to go to a place like Shell and actually be able to help children, not just visit for a couple days and then leave. I don't know if this is God's plan for me but last night all I dreamed about was being in Shell and helping those amazing kids. I guess we'll see what God's next step for me is.
While we were there we stayed in a little apartment a couple miles from the orphanage. It was the cutest little apartment. I could have easily lived there, and we were able to stay there for free! It had wood panels on the walls and I just fell in love. The features of houses that people usually find out of date and ugly, I usually fall in love with.
Our first evening there, we got settled into the apartment, had some dinner, drove around town a little bit and then headed to bed. The next day Katelyn, Julianna and I walked to the orphanage at about 9am. It was so amazing to see the kids again. There were all so happy to have people there that held them and gave them love and played with them. Unlike For his Children, whose mission is to get kids adopted by the time they are 2 or 3 I believe? Casa de Fe is more focused on giving the kids the skills they will need in order to be able to go to college or just survive in the world. Knowing that makes it pretty sad when you look at all the children there and realizing that they will probably live in the orphanage until they're old enough to be on their own. It is a very wonderful orphanage and the kids all seem very happy, but it just makes me sad when I think about how spoiled I've been with my family. I have awesome parents, and even awesome step parents, amazing siblings and amazing step siblings. I've had people that I could call Mom and Dad and know that they will always be there for me. It really just breaks my heart that I have so so much in my life, and these kids probably won't get that. A lot of the children there either have a mental or physical handicap. Most of the children are from villages in the jungle and if you have a child that have one of these issues then it means that the child is cursed, it will curse the whole village and it must be killed. Because of this, most kids are just abandoned and that's how they end up at the orphanage.
While I was there, I met a little girl named Lucita (That's probably spelled wrong, I'm sorry). She is about three years old I'm guessing and she's missing a foot, her left hand only has a thumb and she has scars all over her body. I really fell in love with this girl and she fell in love with me. She wouldn't let me leave her side for the two days I was there. She was one of the most determined little girls I have ever met. When we would sit on the ground, she would always crawl off of my lap, grab my shoulder for support and then try her hardest to stand up straight. Everytime she was able to get herself to a standing position she would call out for the tias or anyone around to look at her. When they would, she would get a huge smile on her face and then collapse into my lap. It was such an amazing thing to see. She was very persistant on doing everything herself like reading a book and turning the pages by herself, using the bathroom without any help, and crawling into my lap by herself. It was hard saying goodbye to her. I picked her and and said I was leaving and she gave me a huge kiss on the cheek. That brought me close to tears.
While I was there I was able to hold, play with, tickle, hug and kiss so many amazing children. One little baby, probably about 5 or 6 months old had the biggest and cutest smile I've ever seen. We were told that he was sick and to not hold him so we wouldn't get sick but I just couldn't help myself. I figured I wouldn't get sick so I held him a lot in those two days. And now I have a horrible cold, but it was definately worth it!
This weekend Ecuador celebrated Carnival. Usually it consists of people throwing water at you, but apparently Shell does something a little different. On our way back to the apartment one day, we walked by a group of about 15 guys. There were yelling Hello! Carvival! and they were covered in black paint. We tried to ignore them but when we looked back, they were all charging towards us. They caught up to us and completely covered us in black paint. It was pretty scary, a little painful and they knocked off my glasses in the process. We then had to continue walking home covered in black paint. Along the way random people started laughing at us. It was definately worth the memory though! That would never happen in the States. The next day they just threw water balloons at us which wasn't so bad.
It really stinks that that was my last trip to Shell. I leave Ecuador in two weeks and I just can't believe it. The time here just flew by. It makes me really sad when I think about it too much. I am super excited to see my friends and family again but I just don't know how I'm going to be able to live in the States again. I've been showed a whole new world and going back to my old life would just be selfish. I know that God wants me in the States now though and I am really excited to see what he has planned for me. Hopefully I'm wise enough to listen to everything he tells me. That's what i've been trying to do so far and look where that got me (: I don't feel like this is my last time in Ecuador though which makes it easier to leave soon. This place is just so amazing. I can't just go home and forget about everything I've done and learned here.
I was pretty positive I wasn't going to go to college. To me, going to college meant that I was going to have to have some career that I didn't really love just so I could make good money, and I really hate money. I would be happy with being poor. Then I realized that going to college didn't mean I would just be stuck in the states with some boring job. I have a heart for special needs kids and If I went to college and got a degree in special education, then I would be able to go to a place like Shell and actually be able to help children, not just visit for a couple days and then leave. I don't know if this is God's plan for me but last night all I dreamed about was being in Shell and helping those amazing kids. I guess we'll see what God's next step for me is.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
James 1:27
It's not very polite to pick favorites, but this little boy is my favorite. We like to call him the Asian Ecuadorian Sumo wrestler. I can't even express how much I love him. It's too bad they don't give children to broke 19 year olds, huh?
James 1:27
Monday, February 28, 2011
The Homeless man
So sometime near the end of 2010, maybe November, I drove up to Colorado Springs and met my Dad for lunch during his lunch break. It was a wonderful lunch at a very nice restaurant filled with business men. After lunch, I said goodbye to him and then headed to a starbucks on Tejon Street. It was chilly and starbucks had all its neat holiday flavors so I decided to try something new. While I was there, I decided to pick up my step Mom her favorite starbucks drink. Then I could stop and see her on my way out of town. I left Starbucks and was feeling like a great daughter for getting Patti her favorite drink. I was also excited to drink my coffee which I decided I wouldn't try until I was in my car. I was walking down the sidewalk and I noticed a lonely looking homeless man in his forties maybe. It's not unual to see homeless people in downtown Springs, but this guy stuck out to me for some reason. A thought suddenly came to my mind, "You should really say hi to that guy and offer him your coffee, you haven't even touched it yet." I thought about this for a second, but then fear and selfishness started to fill my mind. "What if he doesn't say hi back?" "What if he doesn't want my coffee?" "I'm too shy to talk to a stranger." "I really want this coffee!" So, I let fear and selfishness take control and I kept walking to my car.
I still feel guilt for not listening to God in this situation. And it turns out I didn't even like my coffee. I've noticed in my lifetime that this situation has actually come up a lot. Not exactly the same way, but how God has very clearly told me to do something and I just let myself get in the way of Gods words and I choose to do what makes me the most comfortable. It's time for me to change this. I need to make myself uncomfortable sometimes. Maybe situations won't turn out exactly like I thought they would, maybe I'll be rejected, maybe I'll be embarressed or hurt, but who cares? If I listen to God then he will bless me so much more than I can even imagine. I'm done with my homeless man attitude.
"Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word." Jeremiah 26:2
I still feel guilt for not listening to God in this situation. And it turns out I didn't even like my coffee. I've noticed in my lifetime that this situation has actually come up a lot. Not exactly the same way, but how God has very clearly told me to do something and I just let myself get in the way of Gods words and I choose to do what makes me the most comfortable. It's time for me to change this. I need to make myself uncomfortable sometimes. Maybe situations won't turn out exactly like I thought they would, maybe I'll be rejected, maybe I'll be embarressed or hurt, but who cares? If I listen to God then he will bless me so much more than I can even imagine. I'm done with my homeless man attitude.
"Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word." Jeremiah 26:2
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Mindo
So on Friday afternoon, four young adults and I boarded a bus in Quito and headed two hours towards the coast to a little town named Mindo.
The bus ride there made me feel quite car sick, and although it wasn't too long of a drive, I was happy to reach our destination. Mindo is kind of a tourist town, which means it's pretty safe, unlike Quito. We stayed in a super nice hotel while we were there. It included a pool, breakfast, a room with a bed for each of us and a nice bathroom and it was only $15! The first night we were there we just walked around town a little bit and got something to eat.
The next day, we had breakfast and then headed into town to start all the activities we had planned for the day. We started the day with a hike. A couple of us rode in the back of a truck to get to the trail. I will never get tired of riding in the back of trucks in Ecuador. The scenery is so beautiful everywhere and it's nice that the cops don't care if you're in the back ;) It was a really nice hike and it ended at a beautiful waterfall with little pools around it. We hung out there for a little bit and then headed back to the beginning of the trail to continue on to the ziplines.
The last time I went on a zipline was when I was 12. I was hyperventilating the whole time, and it really wasn't even that high off the ground so I figured ziplining above the rainforest was going to kill me. I decided I needed to get over this fear though, so I hopped on the first zipline and hoped for the best. I ended up loving it! Even when one of the workers was bouncing the line! There were ten ziplines in all and the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen.
After the ziplines, we headed down the mountain a little bit to go tubing. It definately wasn't what I expected. There were a bunch of tubes tied together with ropes for us to hang on to. We all climbed onto the tube raft and started heading down the river. There were some decent rapids and we got soaking wet. I definately think that this was my favorite part of the day.
After that, we headed back to the hotel so we could shower and pack everything up. We then walked around town a little more, ate some lunch and then headed back to Quito.
During the day, I had gotten a TON of bug bites on my legs. I didn't realize how bad they were until I was home and I showed Julianna and Katelyn. There's more bug bites on my legs than actual skin, but after that amazing trip, it was worth it (:
The bus ride there made me feel quite car sick, and although it wasn't too long of a drive, I was happy to reach our destination. Mindo is kind of a tourist town, which means it's pretty safe, unlike Quito. We stayed in a super nice hotel while we were there. It included a pool, breakfast, a room with a bed for each of us and a nice bathroom and it was only $15! The first night we were there we just walked around town a little bit and got something to eat.
The next day, we had breakfast and then headed into town to start all the activities we had planned for the day. We started the day with a hike. A couple of us rode in the back of a truck to get to the trail. I will never get tired of riding in the back of trucks in Ecuador. The scenery is so beautiful everywhere and it's nice that the cops don't care if you're in the back ;) It was a really nice hike and it ended at a beautiful waterfall with little pools around it. We hung out there for a little bit and then headed back to the beginning of the trail to continue on to the ziplines.
The last time I went on a zipline was when I was 12. I was hyperventilating the whole time, and it really wasn't even that high off the ground so I figured ziplining above the rainforest was going to kill me. I decided I needed to get over this fear though, so I hopped on the first zipline and hoped for the best. I ended up loving it! Even when one of the workers was bouncing the line! There were ten ziplines in all and the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen.
After the ziplines, we headed down the mountain a little bit to go tubing. It definately wasn't what I expected. There were a bunch of tubes tied together with ropes for us to hang on to. We all climbed onto the tube raft and started heading down the river. There were some decent rapids and we got soaking wet. I definately think that this was my favorite part of the day.
After that, we headed back to the hotel so we could shower and pack everything up. We then walked around town a little more, ate some lunch and then headed back to Quito.
During the day, I had gotten a TON of bug bites on my legs. I didn't realize how bad they were until I was home and I showed Julianna and Katelyn. There's more bug bites on my legs than actual skin, but after that amazing trip, it was worth it (:
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Life right now
So on Monday, I started the Daniel's Fast. You can't have dairy, meat, sugar (or any sweeteners), anything deep fried, white flour, white rice, or anything to drink besides water. I'm doing it so I can develop better eating habits, feel better, take my focus off of food, and I won't lie, if I lose a few pounds, that would be nice too. It seems like usually, everytime I eat, I feel a little sick afterwards. Since starting the Daniel's fast, I've felt great. I have a lot more energy, I don't feel sick and I've made some great meals so far. I'll be doing it until March 21, the day before I leave Ecuador. I want to be able to share one last meal with the Shedd family, and I want to make them a BTS cake that I'm able to enjoy too ;) So that means that I have about 35 more days to go. I have faith in myself that I can do it (:
It's really crazy that I only have a little over a month left in Ecuador. After learning I was going to Ecuador, figuring out how I was going to get there, where I was going to stay, and what I was going to do there, working hard and saving up money to get here, stressing out a lot about if this was really what God wanted me to do, and if three months was going to be too long, my time here is coming to an end.
I know for sure now that this is whar God wanted me to do. I feel like this was also the perfect time in my life to do it. I feel it helped me go from being a highschooler to being an adult. I've learned so much here (maybe not as much Spanish as I would have liked to) and I've got to experience so much. I'm so thankful that I'm also able to live in a beautiful house with a wondeful family. God is so great.
In other news, Riley and I have slowly been going through the book of Jeremiah since I arrived in Ecuador on December 28th. It's really great to have someone that I can do this with considering the church I attend here is in Spanish. I enjoy going there, and trying to figure out what they're talking about, but I really miss going to an English speaking church, helping with Surge youth group and having bible study with Riley more often. So the times that we are able to go through a couple chapters are a huge blessing to me.
Also is Ecuador, I've had more time to read, which has been wonderful! I read a couple books when I first got here but they were poorly written and filled with wordly morals that I don't agree with. When we went to Quininde last week, I was able to borrow Passion and Purity from someone so I read that while I was there. I had started reading it last April, But I only got about half way through it. It was great actually finishing it. It's a great book that I think everyone searching for a God based relationship needs to read. After I finished that, I started reading I Kissed Dating Goodbye, which is a more recent book and was actually written after the author read Passion and Purity. Since it's more recent, it's a little easier to read for younger teens and it's written by a young guy so it's very enjoyable to read. I haven't finished it yet but I would still recommend it.
Well that's my life as of right now (:
It's really crazy that I only have a little over a month left in Ecuador. After learning I was going to Ecuador, figuring out how I was going to get there, where I was going to stay, and what I was going to do there, working hard and saving up money to get here, stressing out a lot about if this was really what God wanted me to do, and if three months was going to be too long, my time here is coming to an end.
I know for sure now that this is whar God wanted me to do. I feel like this was also the perfect time in my life to do it. I feel it helped me go from being a highschooler to being an adult. I've learned so much here (maybe not as much Spanish as I would have liked to) and I've got to experience so much. I'm so thankful that I'm also able to live in a beautiful house with a wondeful family. God is so great.
In other news, Riley and I have slowly been going through the book of Jeremiah since I arrived in Ecuador on December 28th. It's really great to have someone that I can do this with considering the church I attend here is in Spanish. I enjoy going there, and trying to figure out what they're talking about, but I really miss going to an English speaking church, helping with Surge youth group and having bible study with Riley more often. So the times that we are able to go through a couple chapters are a huge blessing to me.
Also is Ecuador, I've had more time to read, which has been wonderful! I read a couple books when I first got here but they were poorly written and filled with wordly morals that I don't agree with. When we went to Quininde last week, I was able to borrow Passion and Purity from someone so I read that while I was there. I had started reading it last April, But I only got about half way through it. It was great actually finishing it. It's a great book that I think everyone searching for a God based relationship needs to read. After I finished that, I started reading I Kissed Dating Goodbye, which is a more recent book and was actually written after the author read Passion and Purity. Since it's more recent, it's a little easier to read for younger teens and it's written by a young guy so it's very enjoyable to read. I haven't finished it yet but I would still recommend it.
Well that's my life as of right now (:
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Quininde Part 2
Sorry this took so long Kyla and Nichole!
Well last week Doctor Jenny, Missy, Julianna, Anabel and I headed back to Quininde. We went to the project as soon as we got there. It was great seeing all the kids again and they were so happy to see us. We spent the rest of the week, eating with the kids, teaching them English, and playing with them. The time spent with them was one of the best times I've had in my life. They're all so loving and happy even though they come from either poor or abusive homes, or both. It really made me think about my life and how ungrateful I am some times. I've been so spoiled in life by an amazing family, friends, always having food to eat, never really having to worry about money, always having clean clothes to wear, etc, etc, but I still find things to complain about. That's something I'm really going to try to work on.
Well besides having an amazing time with the kids, there were some hard times on the trip. We stayed in Doctor Jenny's beautiful house that was located on a beautiful palm tree plantation. The bad thing was, there were many creatures inside the house and we found a lot of them during our stay there. During my two weeks there, I found 4 frogs. All of them were in the bathroom and I surprised myself with how calm I was each time I found one. One night, Julianna found one on my bed. I really didn't sleep too well that night. We also had bats in the ceiling. We never say them, but we could hear them all night, which was kind of freaky. There were also lizards in the house. I was hoping that doctor Jenny would kill them, but she said that they eat other bugs so she leaves them. One of the things that scared me the most was using the bathroom in the middle of the night. I was always afraid that I was going to step on some bug or lizard with m barefeet or a frog would jump out of the toilet at me. Thankfully, that never happened. Doctor Jenny's house only has cold water. So that means, cold showers. It wasn't too bad considering it was incredibly hot there but the first minute in the shower was always the worst, especially since I feared some kind of bug jumping down from the top of the shower while I was in it.
One day while we were there, on our way to the project, Anabel and Julianna were riding in the back of the truck. We were making a U turn and Anabel fell out of the truck. It looked like she had hit her head and then rolled. As soon as she fell, she stood right up and got in the car. She was a little out of it and couldn't remember what happened at first and I think we were all in shock. God protected her though, and she ended up being completely fine. It was definately a miracle.
On our last night there, the power went out. This put me in a bad mood because I had been looking forward to a shower all day. Since we didn't want the food in the fridge to go bad, we had a candlelit dinner of yogurt, milk, cereal, and some kind of corn stuff that we had picked up in town. Since the power was out and we had nothing to do, we ended up going to bed extremely early. Since there was no power, that meant no ceiling fan, which meant an extremely hot night and a horrible night of sleep for me.
The next day, the power was still out so we headed into town at around 6:45 to go get some breakfast. We went to a restaurant that we had gone to lunch at a few times. The food there was super cheap and each meal we had was about $2 for a huge amount of food. We then went to the office and did a quick bible study. I decided to take a shower there, but since the power was out, it was only a small trickle of water, but it felt so good after a hot day and night with no shower. Everyone else waited until we went to a friend of doctor Jenny's house. He had a generator so everyone else was able to have a normal shower. We hung out there for a few hours and napped, read, relaxed and had an amazing lunch. We then headed to the project for our last day with the kids. It was a wonderful day.
Sheryl, Katelyn and Erin then met us at a gas station in Quininde so all of us girls could have a nice relaxing weekend at the beach. It was the perfect ending the week. We all had a great time swimming in the pool, swimming in the ocean, finally finding some good coffee, getting a little burnt, getting a little tan, eating good food and just relaxing.
(:
Well last week Doctor Jenny, Missy, Julianna, Anabel and I headed back to Quininde. We went to the project as soon as we got there. It was great seeing all the kids again and they were so happy to see us. We spent the rest of the week, eating with the kids, teaching them English, and playing with them. The time spent with them was one of the best times I've had in my life. They're all so loving and happy even though they come from either poor or abusive homes, or both. It really made me think about my life and how ungrateful I am some times. I've been so spoiled in life by an amazing family, friends, always having food to eat, never really having to worry about money, always having clean clothes to wear, etc, etc, but I still find things to complain about. That's something I'm really going to try to work on.
Well besides having an amazing time with the kids, there were some hard times on the trip. We stayed in Doctor Jenny's beautiful house that was located on a beautiful palm tree plantation. The bad thing was, there were many creatures inside the house and we found a lot of them during our stay there. During my two weeks there, I found 4 frogs. All of them were in the bathroom and I surprised myself with how calm I was each time I found one. One night, Julianna found one on my bed. I really didn't sleep too well that night. We also had bats in the ceiling. We never say them, but we could hear them all night, which was kind of freaky. There were also lizards in the house. I was hoping that doctor Jenny would kill them, but she said that they eat other bugs so she leaves them. One of the things that scared me the most was using the bathroom in the middle of the night. I was always afraid that I was going to step on some bug or lizard with m barefeet or a frog would jump out of the toilet at me. Thankfully, that never happened. Doctor Jenny's house only has cold water. So that means, cold showers. It wasn't too bad considering it was incredibly hot there but the first minute in the shower was always the worst, especially since I feared some kind of bug jumping down from the top of the shower while I was in it.
One day while we were there, on our way to the project, Anabel and Julianna were riding in the back of the truck. We were making a U turn and Anabel fell out of the truck. It looked like she had hit her head and then rolled. As soon as she fell, she stood right up and got in the car. She was a little out of it and couldn't remember what happened at first and I think we were all in shock. God protected her though, and she ended up being completely fine. It was definately a miracle.
On our last night there, the power went out. This put me in a bad mood because I had been looking forward to a shower all day. Since we didn't want the food in the fridge to go bad, we had a candlelit dinner of yogurt, milk, cereal, and some kind of corn stuff that we had picked up in town. Since the power was out and we had nothing to do, we ended up going to bed extremely early. Since there was no power, that meant no ceiling fan, which meant an extremely hot night and a horrible night of sleep for me.
Sheryl, Katelyn and Erin then met us at a gas station in Quininde so all of us girls could have a nice relaxing weekend at the beach. It was the perfect ending the week. We all had a great time swimming in the pool, swimming in the ocean, finally finding some good coffee, getting a little burnt, getting a little tan, eating good food and just relaxing.
(:
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Quininde
I haven't made an actual post in a while, so i'm going to try to make one now. I'm sick right now so this might come out completely horrible, but oh well. I feel the need to tell you about my trip.
We headed to Quininde on Tuesday and stayed there until Friday. While we were there we helped with a program for kids in a neighborhood in the town. Right now the kids are on Summer vacation because it's the rainy season. While we were at "the project" We helped teach the kids some basic English, like greetings, numbers, colors, fruits, days of the week, ect. and we were also able to spend a lot of time just hanging out with the kids and playing with them which was awesome.
It makes me sad that I didn't take the time to learn Spanish before coming here because I want to communicate with the kids so bad and I just can't. We can ask each other our names but that's about it. I took a year of Spanish in high school, but I just knew that I wouldn't be spending much time in a Spanish speaking country so I did very poorly in the class. I definately know that God has a sense of humor because of course, the first place he sends me is a Spanish speaking country.
Anyways, while we were in Quininde we stayed at Dr. Jenny's house. She is a woman from our church, she helps out with the project and she was the one who drove us to Quininde. She lives on a beautiful palm tree plantation in a beautiful house. The only problem was the creatures that were inside the house. There were some openings in the house, which isn't a big deal when you live in the coast because it's always hot, but openings tend to let things in the house, like frogs, bats, lizards, and a number of bugs, and we got to experience all of these things. Thankfully, we all had bug nets to cover our beds and I think by the last night we had all calmed down a lot about all of the creatures in the house.
One of the better parts of the trip, besides the amazing kids was the great food. We went out to eat a few times and it was delicious, filling, and super cheap! We ate lunch at one place a couple times and a coke, bowl of soup, plate of rice, fried plantains, meat and veggies, and a cup of fruit was $2.25! It's crazy. I think America needs to try this out lol
On the last day of the trip I ended up getting really sick. Thankfully it didn't hit too hard until the drive home so all I had to do what sit for a few hours. By the time we got back to the house in Quito, I could barely walk. My duffel bad felt like it weight 50lbs and I had to stop about three times on the way from the car to my bedroom. I had a horrible headache, I had the worst muscle pains I've ever had, I wasn't able to eat anything and anything I did eat went straight through me (sorry for the tmi). It was not fun. By the next day I was still feeling just as bad, maybe even worse, so the Shedd's took me to the hospital, just to make sure I didn't have Malaria. Thankfully I didn't, and I just have some kind of infection, which is fine with me. It gave me an excuse to be in a hospital and I got some sweet meds that made me feel almost completely better! Now I just kind of feel like I'm gonna throw up. But that's way better than the previous stated stuff.
Well I'm headed back to Quininde tomorrow and I'll be there until friday. It'll be nice to be able to spend more time with the kids and get to know them a little better. Hopefully I won't get sick again! Then Sheryl will most likely be picking us up friday and us girls we head to the beach to stay in there new condo!
It's gonna be a great week!
Honestly though, every week here has been amazing. God is so so good.
(:
We headed to Quininde on Tuesday and stayed there until Friday. While we were there we helped with a program for kids in a neighborhood in the town. Right now the kids are on Summer vacation because it's the rainy season. While we were at "the project" We helped teach the kids some basic English, like greetings, numbers, colors, fruits, days of the week, ect. and we were also able to spend a lot of time just hanging out with the kids and playing with them which was awesome.
It makes me sad that I didn't take the time to learn Spanish before coming here because I want to communicate with the kids so bad and I just can't. We can ask each other our names but that's about it. I took a year of Spanish in high school, but I just knew that I wouldn't be spending much time in a Spanish speaking country so I did very poorly in the class. I definately know that God has a sense of humor because of course, the first place he sends me is a Spanish speaking country.
Anyways, while we were in Quininde we stayed at Dr. Jenny's house. She is a woman from our church, she helps out with the project and she was the one who drove us to Quininde. She lives on a beautiful palm tree plantation in a beautiful house. The only problem was the creatures that were inside the house. There were some openings in the house, which isn't a big deal when you live in the coast because it's always hot, but openings tend to let things in the house, like frogs, bats, lizards, and a number of bugs, and we got to experience all of these things. Thankfully, we all had bug nets to cover our beds and I think by the last night we had all calmed down a lot about all of the creatures in the house.
One of the better parts of the trip, besides the amazing kids was the great food. We went out to eat a few times and it was delicious, filling, and super cheap! We ate lunch at one place a couple times and a coke, bowl of soup, plate of rice, fried plantains, meat and veggies, and a cup of fruit was $2.25! It's crazy. I think America needs to try this out lol
On the last day of the trip I ended up getting really sick. Thankfully it didn't hit too hard until the drive home so all I had to do what sit for a few hours. By the time we got back to the house in Quito, I could barely walk. My duffel bad felt like it weight 50lbs and I had to stop about three times on the way from the car to my bedroom. I had a horrible headache, I had the worst muscle pains I've ever had, I wasn't able to eat anything and anything I did eat went straight through me (sorry for the tmi). It was not fun. By the next day I was still feeling just as bad, maybe even worse, so the Shedd's took me to the hospital, just to make sure I didn't have Malaria. Thankfully I didn't, and I just have some kind of infection, which is fine with me. It gave me an excuse to be in a hospital and I got some sweet meds that made me feel almost completely better! Now I just kind of feel like I'm gonna throw up. But that's way better than the previous stated stuff.
Well I'm headed back to Quininde tomorrow and I'll be there until friday. It'll be nice to be able to spend more time with the kids and get to know them a little better. Hopefully I won't get sick again! Then Sheryl will most likely be picking us up friday and us girls we head to the beach to stay in there new condo!
It's gonna be a great week!
Honestly though, every week here has been amazing. God is so so good.
(:
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
On the road again
I got that gigantic 1.5 liter water bottle for 46 cents. Oh how I love Ecuador.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
So I do not plan on going to college. Maybe one day I'll decide to go, but right now is not that time and I am perfectly fine with that. My dream is to either live in a tiny house or be able to travel all the time. The ideal job for me would be selling my paintings and being a volunteer for whatever I'm needed in. That probably won't work out considering I might need more money than that to survive. God is good though and he has a plan for me. I've been listening to that plan so far and I am so extremely happy with my life. So I'm just going to keep going with the flow and listening to my amazing God.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Why
Is it that I can only seem to devote 5 minutes of my time to prayer before I completely lose focus
*Why is it that even after I think I've opened my heart completely to God I still feel a little empty in the end
*Why is it that I can feel when I'm going through a rough patch in my faith but I can't seem to do anything about it
*Why is it that sometimes every word in my bible seems to touch me, but sometimes it feels like my eyes are *just skimming the words as fast as I can just so I can say I read it
*Why is it that right now I feel a burning or a stirring in my heart but I can't figure out why
*Why is it that I can't be completely happy with the place I'm at, even when you've showed me so clearly that my work here is not yet done
*Why?
*Why is it that even after I think I've opened my heart completely to God I still feel a little empty in the end
*Why is it that I can feel when I'm going through a rough patch in my faith but I can't seem to do anything about it
*Why is it that sometimes every word in my bible seems to touch me, but sometimes it feels like my eyes are *just skimming the words as fast as I can just so I can say I read it
*Why is it that right now I feel a burning or a stirring in my heart but I can't figure out why
*Why is it that I can't be completely happy with the place I'm at, even when you've showed me so clearly that my work here is not yet done
*Why?
3:30
So it's just about 3:30 p.m right now. It seems like lately, I've been doing the same thing around this time. I grab a cup of coffee, go to my room, move my three pillows against the wall so I can sit back against them, read blogs/check facebook, and think about a lot.
Today my thoughts are focused on my high school diploma and what it represents. This topic is going to be related to unschooling. My posts will not always be about unschooling but when I become interested in something, I become a little obsessed. Like back in December when I went to a Listener show, all I could think about for the next week was how my friends and I just needed to jump into my 1974 Dodge van and travel the U.S doing spoken word. Of course, I still think that that's a cool idea, but it's not constantly on my mind. So bare with me until my obsession with unschooling ends.
So, high school diplomas, they seem to be so important these days, like you achieved soo much because you now have a little slip of paper that you will most likely stick in some drawer or box and forget about it. What exactly did you achieve in high school that was so amazing anyways?
For me, my high school diploma represents, never having enough time to work on my paintings, skipping classes every once in a while, being bored out of my mind, being stressed about math and science, my mind cannot comprehend the two subjects no matter what I do, sitting in class rooms not listening to what the teacher says because I'm too busy day dreaming, barely doing any homework and being lazy but still managing to make honor roll, which I never really cared about making anyways, being depressed because of lonliness, feeling shy and not really socializing (see, being in public school doesn't magically mean that you're going to socialize with people. That didn't come until after I graduated), reading through most of my classes, wishing I could spend more time at work instead of school so I wasn't so exhausted by the time I actually got to work, ect. ect.
So, all I'm really trying to say is that my high school diploma really means nothing to me.
Today my thoughts are focused on my high school diploma and what it represents. This topic is going to be related to unschooling. My posts will not always be about unschooling but when I become interested in something, I become a little obsessed. Like back in December when I went to a Listener show, all I could think about for the next week was how my friends and I just needed to jump into my 1974 Dodge van and travel the U.S doing spoken word. Of course, I still think that that's a cool idea, but it's not constantly on my mind. So bare with me until my obsession with unschooling ends.
So, high school diplomas, they seem to be so important these days, like you achieved soo much because you now have a little slip of paper that you will most likely stick in some drawer or box and forget about it. What exactly did you achieve in high school that was so amazing anyways?
For me, my high school diploma represents, never having enough time to work on my paintings, skipping classes every once in a while, being bored out of my mind, being stressed about math and science, my mind cannot comprehend the two subjects no matter what I do, sitting in class rooms not listening to what the teacher says because I'm too busy day dreaming, barely doing any homework and being lazy but still managing to make honor roll, which I never really cared about making anyways, being depressed because of lonliness, feeling shy and not really socializing (see, being in public school doesn't magically mean that you're going to socialize with people. That didn't come until after I graduated), reading through most of my classes, wishing I could spend more time at work instead of school so I wasn't so exhausted by the time I actually got to work, ect. ect.
So, all I'm really trying to say is that my high school diploma really means nothing to me.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Unschooling
So recently, as in the last two days, i've discovered a topic that I find very interesting. That topic is unschooling. This post is completely my opinion. There isn't much research or anything behind it really, so please don't judge what I have to say, comments are very welcome though (:
So the basic idea of unschooling, as I took it, is letting your kids learn through personal experiences, surroundings, interests, ect. without actually going to school, or having textbooks, desks, chalkboards, ect.
At first I thought, "You people are just a bunch of crazy hippies who obviously don't realize the importance of normal schooling." But then I really started thinking about it. Every child is born with different talents and interests. School definately does not take that into consideration and every kid is forced to learn the same things. When you really think about it, how much of that stuff that you learned in school did you actually use? How much of that stuff do you even remember? In my case, I really don't use or remember very much of it! The things I use that I learned in school are basic math and basic grammer. Both of those things can be learned just be living your life though. So really, what's the point of "normal" schooling? For me atleast, I spent a lot of time being very unhappy, extremely stressed out at times, extremely bored at times, and wasting valuable time on pointless subjects when I could have been working on the talents that God blessed me with.
While in highschool, I was never really able to take an art class with a professional, meaning everything I did in art I just learned on my own. After graduating, I needed some extra money to travel to Ecuador so I decided to sell my painting at a local coffee shop, Solar Roast. I ended up selling a painting for $225.00 in a very short amount of time. I'm pretty proud of that, especially since I had no actual art classes.
Another reason I like the idea of unschooling is because I believe it would give a child a better self image, or self worth. During the last couple years of elementary school and through middle school, my family had a low income. My mother was working three jobs and could not afford to buy my two sisters and I all the coolest clothes, accessories or school supplies. The biggest importance to most people while in school is what other people think of them. I know that this is very true in my case. Because I couldn't have the "best" things, my self confidence really went downhill throughout the rest of my years in school. Another thing that public schools seem to do is take away self expression, at least that was how it was at my school. I'm a very creative person, therefore, I like to do things a little differently, whether it's in the way I dress, the music I listen to, the choices I make, ect. Since graduating, and entering the "real world" I don't feel the pressure of having to be a certain way and this has made my life so much better. In an unschooling environment, the child wouldn't feel these pressures and they could always be themselves.
This isn't very well written, even after having years of English and grammer classes, God didn't bless me with being able to write, but this is my opinion.
I'm sure after more time and more research I'll be able to develop this more, but these are my thoughts for now.
If you want to know more about this topic, check out these amazing blogs:
http://walkslowlylivewildly.com/
http://theorganicsister.com/
So the basic idea of unschooling, as I took it, is letting your kids learn through personal experiences, surroundings, interests, ect. without actually going to school, or having textbooks, desks, chalkboards, ect.
At first I thought, "You people are just a bunch of crazy hippies who obviously don't realize the importance of normal schooling." But then I really started thinking about it. Every child is born with different talents and interests. School definately does not take that into consideration and every kid is forced to learn the same things. When you really think about it, how much of that stuff that you learned in school did you actually use? How much of that stuff do you even remember? In my case, I really don't use or remember very much of it! The things I use that I learned in school are basic math and basic grammer. Both of those things can be learned just be living your life though. So really, what's the point of "normal" schooling? For me atleast, I spent a lot of time being very unhappy, extremely stressed out at times, extremely bored at times, and wasting valuable time on pointless subjects when I could have been working on the talents that God blessed me with.
While in highschool, I was never really able to take an art class with a professional, meaning everything I did in art I just learned on my own. After graduating, I needed some extra money to travel to Ecuador so I decided to sell my painting at a local coffee shop, Solar Roast. I ended up selling a painting for $225.00 in a very short amount of time. I'm pretty proud of that, especially since I had no actual art classes.
Another reason I like the idea of unschooling is because I believe it would give a child a better self image, or self worth. During the last couple years of elementary school and through middle school, my family had a low income. My mother was working three jobs and could not afford to buy my two sisters and I all the coolest clothes, accessories or school supplies. The biggest importance to most people while in school is what other people think of them. I know that this is very true in my case. Because I couldn't have the "best" things, my self confidence really went downhill throughout the rest of my years in school. Another thing that public schools seem to do is take away self expression, at least that was how it was at my school. I'm a very creative person, therefore, I like to do things a little differently, whether it's in the way I dress, the music I listen to, the choices I make, ect. Since graduating, and entering the "real world" I don't feel the pressure of having to be a certain way and this has made my life so much better. In an unschooling environment, the child wouldn't feel these pressures and they could always be themselves.
This isn't very well written, even after having years of English and grammer classes, God didn't bless me with being able to write, but this is my opinion.
I'm sure after more time and more research I'll be able to develop this more, but these are my thoughts for now.
If you want to know more about this topic, check out these amazing blogs:
http://walkslowlylivewildly.com/
http://theorganicsister.com/
(This is the painting that I recently sold)
Edit: I do realize that every child is different. In that case, if my child was motivated by being in school and learning all of the subjects requried in school, I would be completely fine with them choosing to go to public school. In the end though, it would be THEIR choice. I want to do whatever makes them the happiest.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
http://mrspriss.com/2010/10/14/the-harsh-realities-of-marriage/#comments
Go check out this wonderful blog and read this story!
True Love!
Look what I made!
The only thing I could find that I could possiblly make something out of is a tattoo magazine that I was going to throw away anyways because of the large amount of half naked girls in it. So, I spent a little bit of time cutting it up last night and today I'm determined to actually make something out of all the random things I cut out.
Monday, January 17, 2011
It's almost 11:00 am and I'm laying in bed. I've been awake for a couple of hours but I'm just not feeling very productive today. Our choices for breakfast today were either oatmeal or cereal. I chose oatmeal because I absolutely love the stuff. It had been sitting on the stove for a while so I stuck in the microwave for a little while. When I took it out, I put a decent amount of "sugar" in it and went to taste it to make sure it was warm enough. It turns out that the "sugar" was actually salt. Probably one of the worst things I've ever tasted in my life. I decided some captain crunch would be a better breakfast.
There's only two coffee drinkers in this house of eight and that's Dan Shedd and I. He makes coffee in the mornings and then goes to work and I'm usually still asleep at this time. This morning the coffee was all gone by the time I finally got my lazy butt downstairs, so I haven't had any coffee today. Maybe I'll learn how to make coffee in more coffee makers than just my own one day.
Because of my lack of coffee, I don't really have much energy today. Also, I've found a new blog that I really enjoy http://andersonfamilycrew.blogspot.com/ so I'll probably be laying in bed, listening to Lykke Li, reading this blog, thinking of all the creative things I wish I could be doing, and avoiding showering for the next couple hours.
There's only two coffee drinkers in this house of eight and that's Dan Shedd and I. He makes coffee in the mornings and then goes to work and I'm usually still asleep at this time. This morning the coffee was all gone by the time I finally got my lazy butt downstairs, so I haven't had any coffee today. Maybe I'll learn how to make coffee in more coffee makers than just my own one day.
Because of my lack of coffee, I don't really have much energy today. Also, I've found a new blog that I really enjoy http://andersonfamilycrew.blogspot.com/ so I'll probably be laying in bed, listening to Lykke Li, reading this blog, thinking of all the creative things I wish I could be doing, and avoiding showering for the next couple hours.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
So last night I had a dream. I'm suprised that I actually remembered most of it because I usually never remember my dream.
The first thing I remember about the dream is driving home from i'm guessing the airport. There were a few other people in the car but I don't remember. Our first stop was my Dad's house. I remember seeing that the were done with remodeling the kitchen. After we left my Dad's house we walked one of my old friends from 4th grade to her house which was in a super sketchy neighborhood. I left as soon as I could. I think Kyla might have been with me.We walked up the dirt road that led to my old house in Rye. When we got there, my mom told me that her and Ron had moved back to Rye, and they had added three small rooms to our old house. If I remember correctly, Nichole had moved back home with her husband and three kids.
I don't remember every detail of the dream, obviously, but I remember not being happy to be home. You would think I would be considering I was able to see my family again, but I longed to be back in Ecuador, in the Shedd's house, living that life that I had grown used to. I didn't feel like I had accomplished what I was supposed to while being there.
I feel like that could be God's way of telling me that even though I've done a lot in the short amount of time I've been here, I still haven't done what he sent me here to do.
That makes me really excited. I know as soon as I'm doing what God wants me to, he'll let me know. I think that will really help me with figuring out the next step of my life after Ecuador.
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In other news, I've had this song stuck in my head all morning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTk980WeD8A
And these are my doodles from church today:
And these are the verses I underlined while in church:
(I go to a Spanish speaking church, but I don't speak Spanish, so I just read on my own during the service)
Psalm 65:2- "When we were overwelmed with sins, you forgave our transgressions."
Psalm 66:8- "He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping."
Psalm 66:20- "Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!"
Psalm 119:115- "Away from me evildoers, that I may keep the commands of my God!"
Psalm 119:127- "Because I love your commads more than gold, more than pure gold."
These aren't all the complete verses but they're what stuck out to me
And to end this pointless post, I love the dress i'm wearing today:
The first thing I remember about the dream is driving home from i'm guessing the airport. There were a few other people in the car but I don't remember. Our first stop was my Dad's house. I remember seeing that the were done with remodeling the kitchen. After we left my Dad's house we walked one of my old friends from 4th grade to her house which was in a super sketchy neighborhood. I left as soon as I could. I think Kyla might have been with me.We walked up the dirt road that led to my old house in Rye. When we got there, my mom told me that her and Ron had moved back to Rye, and they had added three small rooms to our old house. If I remember correctly, Nichole had moved back home with her husband and three kids.
I don't remember every detail of the dream, obviously, but I remember not being happy to be home. You would think I would be considering I was able to see my family again, but I longed to be back in Ecuador, in the Shedd's house, living that life that I had grown used to. I didn't feel like I had accomplished what I was supposed to while being there.
I feel like that could be God's way of telling me that even though I've done a lot in the short amount of time I've been here, I still haven't done what he sent me here to do.
That makes me really excited. I know as soon as I'm doing what God wants me to, he'll let me know. I think that will really help me with figuring out the next step of my life after Ecuador.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In other news, I've had this song stuck in my head all morning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTk980WeD8A
And these are my doodles from church today:
(I go to a Spanish speaking church, but I don't speak Spanish, so I just read on my own during the service)
Psalm 65:2- "When we were overwelmed with sins, you forgave our transgressions."
Psalm 66:8- "He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping."
Psalm 66:20- "Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!"
Psalm 119:115- "Away from me evildoers, that I may keep the commands of my God!"
Psalm 119:127- "Because I love your commads more than gold, more than pure gold."
These aren't all the complete verses but they're what stuck out to me
And to end this pointless post, I love the dress i'm wearing today:
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Are you afraid of the dark?
I remember being about 12 years old. I was at Camp Lazy Acres, half way between Rye and San Isabel. I was there for a girl scout overnighter. I had been looking forward to it for a while.
I remember being completely happy, hanging out with friends, doing the normal girl scout activities, until I found out that we were going to have to go to bed soon. I wasn't unhappy because all of the fun was soon going to end, I was unhappy because there was a chance that I was going to have to sleep somewhere that was completely dark.
I started freaking out inside and tried to make myself seem calm and composed on the outside. After a while though, I couldn't hold it in and I began to cry.
I ended up making it through the night but this night always stands out to me as one of the nights that I was most afraid of the dark. I'm 19 years old now, but this fear of the dark still creeps in sometimes. Especially when I'm alone.
Last night was one of these nights where that fear came back.
I closed my eyes to go to sleep and it felt like I had only had my eyes closed for maybe a couple minutes. I don't really remember what exactly I dreamed about but I remember sitting up in bed, seeing a lot of black around me and trying desperately to make my bedside light come on. When I woke up completely my bedside light was on and I was sitting straight up in bed. My heart was racing, my body was shaking and I was completely terrified.
I wish I could remember what I dreamed about so it would be easier to convince myself that it wasn't real. Because of the dream I had last night, my fear of the dark is back a little bit and I'm really dreading going to sleep.
Knowing me, I'll be awake every hour or thirty minutes tonight since that's what always seems to happen if I feel afraid before I go to sleep. Also, I've had a decent amount of coffee today which could keep me up.
On nights like these I pray constantly and I'm hoping that will help a little bit.
I remember being completely happy, hanging out with friends, doing the normal girl scout activities, until I found out that we were going to have to go to bed soon. I wasn't unhappy because all of the fun was soon going to end, I was unhappy because there was a chance that I was going to have to sleep somewhere that was completely dark.
I started freaking out inside and tried to make myself seem calm and composed on the outside. After a while though, I couldn't hold it in and I began to cry.
I ended up making it through the night but this night always stands out to me as one of the nights that I was most afraid of the dark. I'm 19 years old now, but this fear of the dark still creeps in sometimes. Especially when I'm alone.
Last night was one of these nights where that fear came back.
I closed my eyes to go to sleep and it felt like I had only had my eyes closed for maybe a couple minutes. I don't really remember what exactly I dreamed about but I remember sitting up in bed, seeing a lot of black around me and trying desperately to make my bedside light come on. When I woke up completely my bedside light was on and I was sitting straight up in bed. My heart was racing, my body was shaking and I was completely terrified.
I wish I could remember what I dreamed about so it would be easier to convince myself that it wasn't real. Because of the dream I had last night, my fear of the dark is back a little bit and I'm really dreading going to sleep.
Knowing me, I'll be awake every hour or thirty minutes tonight since that's what always seems to happen if I feel afraid before I go to sleep. Also, I've had a decent amount of coffee today which could keep me up.
On nights like these I pray constantly and I'm hoping that will help a little bit.
-I write with my right hand and do pretty much everything else with my left
-My ankles pop everytime I walk
-I'm 46 minutes younger than Kyla
-I enjoy not wearing make up because I can rub my eyes whenever I want
-I like my coffee black
-I like waiting until my coffee gets almost luke warm so I can drink it really fast
-I love being barefoot but I don't like when my feet are dirty inside of a house
-I don't like realistic or super abstract paintings
-I wish I had the ability to write
-I usually have goosebumps because I don't like dressing for the weather
-I love not having a large amount of money and I hope that I never become rich
-Right now I have no plans on going to college, therefore I doubt I will ever make a large amount of money
-I love being near water or walking in it, but I don't really enjoy swimming
-I love bike riding, as long as it's not on a small mountain trail
-I love friendly people, but who doesn't?
-I'd love to be able to work with kids more, especially special needs kids
-I'm supposed to wear my glasses all the time but I don't
-I hate when things on the wall are crooked or off centered
-I love buying things for people
-As much as I hate to admit it, I once considered drawing on my eyebrows
-I love hiking
-I hate running
-I love rafting
-I hate sports
-I played soccer for 6 years but was always bad at it
-It's hard for people to believe that I was a cheerleader
-I love cleaning up after people
-I love when furniture and decorations don't match
-I love chandeliers and fireplaces
-I love hugging people but I hate being the one to go for the hug
-I hate wimpy handshakes
-I love the smell of clean clothes and new cars
-I love holding babies
-I want to learn how to sculpt
-I love reading books
-I can't think of the last good book I read
-I love having meaningful conversations
-I want to go backpacking through somewhere, but I'm not sure where yet
-I've always wanted to go to Greece and Ireland
-When I was four I blamed my sister Nichole for me not looking Hawaiian, since I was born in Hawaii
-I get nervous and scared extremely easy
-I like old things over new
-I have a 1974 Dodge Van that I love, but doesn't work
-My ankles pop everytime I walk
-I'm 46 minutes younger than Kyla
-I enjoy not wearing make up because I can rub my eyes whenever I want
-I like my coffee black
-I like waiting until my coffee gets almost luke warm so I can drink it really fast
-I love being barefoot but I don't like when my feet are dirty inside of a house
-I don't like realistic or super abstract paintings
-I wish I had the ability to write
-I usually have goosebumps because I don't like dressing for the weather
-I love not having a large amount of money and I hope that I never become rich
-Right now I have no plans on going to college, therefore I doubt I will ever make a large amount of money
-I love being near water or walking in it, but I don't really enjoy swimming
-I love bike riding, as long as it's not on a small mountain trail
-I love friendly people, but who doesn't?
-I'd love to be able to work with kids more, especially special needs kids
-I'm supposed to wear my glasses all the time but I don't
-I hate when things on the wall are crooked or off centered
-I love buying things for people
-As much as I hate to admit it, I once considered drawing on my eyebrows
-I love hiking
-I hate running
-I love rafting
-I hate sports
-I played soccer for 6 years but was always bad at it
-It's hard for people to believe that I was a cheerleader
-I love cleaning up after people
-I love when furniture and decorations don't match
-I love chandeliers and fireplaces
-I love hugging people but I hate being the one to go for the hug
-I hate wimpy handshakes
-I love the smell of clean clothes and new cars
-I love holding babies
-I want to learn how to sculpt
-I love reading books
-I can't think of the last good book I read
-I love having meaningful conversations
-I want to go backpacking through somewhere, but I'm not sure where yet
-I've always wanted to go to Greece and Ireland
-When I was four I blamed my sister Nichole for me not looking Hawaiian, since I was born in Hawaii
-I get nervous and scared extremely easy
-I like old things over new
-I have a 1974 Dodge Van that I love, but doesn't work
Friday, January 14, 2011
Reasons why today is wonderful:
*I woke up feeling completely awake, even without coffee
*It's a beautiful sunny day
*I had an ice cold shower, which wasn't the greatest, but it made it so the mirror wasn't fogged up when I got out of the shower
*I got to buy more gifts for people today
*I got a pedicure for the first time in my life
*My room is clean
*I stayed warm all night
*I got food for super cheap
*I am just in a wonderful mood
(:
Imperfections
Imperfections. One of my favorite things about people. Take a look around you, at all the people. No one is exactly alike, even twins, like myself. God is such an amazing artist.
I believe one of the things that shows what an amazing artist is imperfections. I am quite the people watcher. I love just picking a place to sit, and observing the people that pass me. Or meeting new people, and studying their faces, finding the little details that God gave them. That scar from an accident when you were young, that birthmark that embarrasses you because of maybe it's size or location, that cluster of freckles, that cowlick that makes your hair not do what you would like it to, the way you walk, the way you talk, the way your eyes aren't the same size, your slanted smile. The list goes on and on but i'm not trying to point out things that are wrong with people. I love these things. I see such art in them. People are such beautiful, wonderful creations. It makes me feel so proud that such an amazing God would take the time to make me, sculpt me out of nothing, and give me my own special touch that makes me special, unique and beautiful.
I forget this a lot of times about myself. I can see the beauty in everyone, except myself. I forcus on a wordly view of people too often and try to become something I'm not. I get nervous about what I'm wearing, I get nervous about my weight, I get nervous about my make up, about everything. It's really stupid. God took the time to make me, why am I criticizing his work?
I believe one of the things that shows what an amazing artist is imperfections. I am quite the people watcher. I love just picking a place to sit, and observing the people that pass me. Or meeting new people, and studying their faces, finding the little details that God gave them. That scar from an accident when you were young, that birthmark that embarrasses you because of maybe it's size or location, that cluster of freckles, that cowlick that makes your hair not do what you would like it to, the way you walk, the way you talk, the way your eyes aren't the same size, your slanted smile. The list goes on and on but i'm not trying to point out things that are wrong with people. I love these things. I see such art in them. People are such beautiful, wonderful creations. It makes me feel so proud that such an amazing God would take the time to make me, sculpt me out of nothing, and give me my own special touch that makes me special, unique and beautiful.
I forget this a lot of times about myself. I can see the beauty in everyone, except myself. I forcus on a wordly view of people too often and try to become something I'm not. I get nervous about what I'm wearing, I get nervous about my weight, I get nervous about my make up, about everything. It's really stupid. God took the time to make me, why am I criticizing his work?
Thursday, January 13, 2011
I see myself as a creative person. The creative people I know are usually very good at writing. I guess God did give me the gift of expressing myself through art, painting to be exact but I don't think I ever say what I'm feeling through my art either.
Right now I have a million things running through my mind. As always though, this is all I can think of to actually write down.
Dog Crap
So far my time in Ecuador has been one big, amazing vacation, and today was no exception. We started out the day around 10:00am and headed to a cable car thing that took us to a place where we could see all of Quito. Most of the family knew that I was going to be a little scared because i'm slightly afraid of heights, depending on the situation. I tried to not show that I was scared but inside my heart was racing. My emotions have a mind of their own a lot of the time though and I become a lot more nervous about situation than I should be. The ride up ended up being incredibly slow and not scary at all. I quickly realized that my fears were very irrational. We all got to the top and walked around a little bit and took in the amazing view. There hasn't been a part of Quito that I haven't liked. It is just so beautiful here.
(This is where I had to stand before getting on the cable car)
After we were done with that, we went out to eat and then headed home. Once at home, I went straight to my room and fell asleep for the next 45 minutes or so. In the last few months, I've felt bad about taking naps, but I was exhausted. I'm guessing it has something to do with the lack of coffee I've had since arriving in Ecuador. I feel bad asking for coffee since only two people, including me, drink coffee in the house. After I woke up I threw on some shoes I haven't worn before and headed outside so we could head to the orphanage. Of course because I was wearing new shoes I just had to step in dog poop. Thankfully it was dry and just crumbled beneath my shoe.
We headed to the orphanage but stopped at the Shedd's old house first to see what the new owners had done with it.
I really enjoyed being at the orphanage today. I was in the infant house. I spent most of the time with an infant named Michael. He's kind of a chubby baby and he's constantly moving. Most of the time I help in the infant house I just hold him the whole time. Today I got to take him outside and take a walk with him while he was in a carrier. It feels so good just to spend time with all those kids. I'm not sure how much of an impact it actually makes on the kids or how much it actually helps the tias, but there's nothing else I would rather be doing with my life right now.
After the orphanage, all 12 of us piled into a car that was definately not made for 12 people. Thank goodness the police here don't really care about stuff like that. We then headed to the mall and Rachel and Jason treated us to a great dinner at Crepes and Waffles. It's crazy how different the service at restaurants is here and in the states. I'm not saying this as someone who thinks they're better than waitresses, I was a waitress and worked in the food industry for about two and a half years. Here everything comes out at different times and the waitresses don't seem to care if anythings wrong, they just blame it on you.
Well that's all for my day. I get kind of bored with describing all the details of my day, so i'll probably post something later on a different topic.
After we were done with that, we went out to eat and then headed home. Once at home, I went straight to my room and fell asleep for the next 45 minutes or so. In the last few months, I've felt bad about taking naps, but I was exhausted. I'm guessing it has something to do with the lack of coffee I've had since arriving in Ecuador. I feel bad asking for coffee since only two people, including me, drink coffee in the house. After I woke up I threw on some shoes I haven't worn before and headed outside so we could head to the orphanage. Of course because I was wearing new shoes I just had to step in dog poop. Thankfully it was dry and just crumbled beneath my shoe.
We headed to the orphanage but stopped at the Shedd's old house first to see what the new owners had done with it.
I really enjoyed being at the orphanage today. I was in the infant house. I spent most of the time with an infant named Michael. He's kind of a chubby baby and he's constantly moving. Most of the time I help in the infant house I just hold him the whole time. Today I got to take him outside and take a walk with him while he was in a carrier. It feels so good just to spend time with all those kids. I'm not sure how much of an impact it actually makes on the kids or how much it actually helps the tias, but there's nothing else I would rather be doing with my life right now.
After the orphanage, all 12 of us piled into a car that was definately not made for 12 people. Thank goodness the police here don't really care about stuff like that. We then headed to the mall and Rachel and Jason treated us to a great dinner at Crepes and Waffles. It's crazy how different the service at restaurants is here and in the states. I'm not saying this as someone who thinks they're better than waitresses, I was a waitress and worked in the food industry for about two and a half years. Here everything comes out at different times and the waitresses don't seem to care if anythings wrong, they just blame it on you.
Well that's all for my day. I get kind of bored with describing all the details of my day, so i'll probably post something later on a different topic.
The unfaithful bride
This was an idea that was brought to my attention by my sister Kyla. It's a simple idea but it's something that people seem to forget.
As we know, we are the children of God. So many times in our lives that's exactly what we act like. If you think about small children, they tend to make a lot of mistakes. Their parents always forgive them though, and a lot of the time, the children make those mistakes again. We as christians do the same thing. We sin, and ask God for forgiveness, knowing that he will openly give it to us. Sometimes we do extremely horrible things, but no matter what, God forgives us.
But the bible also tells us that we are the bride of Christ. We tend to forget that a lot. Think about it. How should a bride act? She should show love towards her husband, honor him, remain faithful, be completely honest with him, trust him, ect. How often to we actually act this way towards God? We constantly cheat on him, try to hide things from him, speak badly about him, put things before him, ect.
I think we would see a big change in today's "christians if we started acting more like the bride and less like a child.
As we know, we are the children of God. So many times in our lives that's exactly what we act like. If you think about small children, they tend to make a lot of mistakes. Their parents always forgive them though, and a lot of the time, the children make those mistakes again. We as christians do the same thing. We sin, and ask God for forgiveness, knowing that he will openly give it to us. Sometimes we do extremely horrible things, but no matter what, God forgives us.
But the bible also tells us that we are the bride of Christ. We tend to forget that a lot. Think about it. How should a bride act? She should show love towards her husband, honor him, remain faithful, be completely honest with him, trust him, ect. How often to we actually act this way towards God? We constantly cheat on him, try to hide things from him, speak badly about him, put things before him, ect.
I think we would see a big change in today's "christians if we started acting more like the bride and less like a child.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Jeremiah 1-3
Chaper 1
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew[a] you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
6 “Alas, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”
7 But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD.
9 Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.
* I read these verses right after I got to Ecuador and they just seemed to fit so perfectly. I had doubts for months on whether this was the right thing to do. I even had doubts as I was going through security. Our purpose here is to do God's will, no matter what it is, even if we don't believe we are right for the job or ready for it. We get so selfish sometimes and just want to do the bare minimum so we can still feel ok with calling ourselves christians. We need to put ourselves out there, and listen to God no matter what.
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew[a] you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
6 “Alas, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”
7 But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD.
9 Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.
17 But you, dress yourself for work; [1] arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. 18 And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”
* I read these verses right after I got to Ecuador and they just seemed to fit so perfectly. I had doubts for months on whether this was the right thing to do. I even had doubts as I was going through security. Our purpose here is to do God's will, no matter what it is, even if we don't believe we are right for the job or ready for it. We get so selfish sometimes and just want to do the bare minimum so we can still feel ok with calling ourselves christians. We need to put ourselves out there, and listen to God no matter what.
Otavalo
So today we went to Otavalo, a town about an hour and a half from Quito. There have a market there that is world famous. I decided that I was going to get everyones presents from there so I bought a ton of stuff today. It reminded me of the time I went down to Mexico because you can bargain with the people and get stuff for a lot cheaper, even though it's super cheap to begin with. I wish I lived in Ecuador so I could decorate my future house with stuff from there. They have everything you can imagine.
We shopped for a couple of hours and then had lunch at the pie shop. We all spilt huge sandwiches and had huge pieces of pie and we were all completely stuffed afterwards. It only cost a little over four dollars for each person to eat.
(This isn't a picture I took but I was too busy shopping to take any pictures today)
We then shopped a little bit more and then headed home.
Now, I'm sitting in my bed relaxing, because for some reason I'm exhausted. I've been looking at etsy a lot lately and I think I'm going to start buying handmade things. I'd rather help those people out than the big retail stores. Also, I think I should try to sell some paintings on etsy. That way more than just people in Colorado can see them. I really need to start painting when I get home and actually put some real effort into it. Also in etsy, I discovered that I have a new love for crocheted animals, as lame as that sounds.
We shopped for a couple of hours and then had lunch at the pie shop. We all spilt huge sandwiches and had huge pieces of pie and we were all completely stuffed afterwards. It only cost a little over four dollars for each person to eat.
We then shopped a little bit more and then headed home.
Now, I'm sitting in my bed relaxing, because for some reason I'm exhausted. I've been looking at etsy a lot lately and I think I'm going to start buying handmade things. I'd rather help those people out than the big retail stores. Also, I think I should try to sell some paintings on etsy. That way more than just people in Colorado can see them. I really need to start painting when I get home and actually put some real effort into it. Also in etsy, I discovered that I have a new love for crocheted animals, as lame as that sounds.
laundry
It's a little past 7am. I've been awake for a little over an hour. We're going somewhere that I'm not going to attampt to spell the name of. I'm sitting at the edge of my bed right now listening to Jose Gonzales. There's damp clothes covering my entire room right now, except for the floor of course. I took them out too early, and I was too lazy to take them back downstairs so I figured this would work.
I'm starting to realize how lazy I am lately. There's a bouquet of dying roses about two feet away from me. The smell is awful but I guess I've had better things to do than throw them away.
It's finally sunny in Quito. 6am is the perfect time to wake up here. The colors of the sky are beautiful and the reflect on the city so nicely.
I wish I had a good book to read. My mom bought me two books before I left. I read one of them, to pass time, but it was a very poorly written and very predictable story about murder, love, lies and perfect looking people. I wish all books and movies were just documentaries, biographys and autobiographys. That would be a lot more interesting. Maybe some people would stop living in a fantasy world then.
I do have my bible with me, the best book that I really should be reading more...
I'm starting to realize how lazy I am lately. There's a bouquet of dying roses about two feet away from me. The smell is awful but I guess I've had better things to do than throw them away.
It's finally sunny in Quito. 6am is the perfect time to wake up here. The colors of the sky are beautiful and the reflect on the city so nicely.
I wish I had a good book to read. My mom bought me two books before I left. I read one of them, to pass time, but it was a very poorly written and very predictable story about murder, love, lies and perfect looking people. I wish all books and movies were just documentaries, biographys and autobiographys. That would be a lot more interesting. Maybe some people would stop living in a fantasy world then.
I do have my bible with me, the best book that I really should be reading more...
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
January 11 cont.
I've actually been trying to wake up early lately and stay awake. My mom never uses an alarm clock and I never understood how she did that. She told me she prayed that God would wake her up on time. I've been trying that and it's actually worked.
I woke up at 7am. I actually slept all night, which was nice since i've been waking up every hour for about the last week. I spent the first few hours of the morning just straightening up my room, moving my bed next to the wall hoping that will help me sleep, and wasting time on facebook. The Shedd's have a maid, just like most families in Ecuador. She made a delicious lunch today. It was some kind of potato soup. It feels strange for me to have someone clean up a mess that isn't their's. I then showered and sat around for a few more hours waiting to go to the orphanage.
We left around 4:30 and stayed until 6:00. I got to work in the toddler house today and I really enjoyed it. All I did was push a boy around in a wheelchair the whole time, but it brought him joy, and the tia's have their hands full with all the kids so i'm happy doing anything that will make their life a little easier for that day. There was a family there today that's in the process of adopting a little boy. It's nice to see the process actually happening and knowing that that boy will soon have a family of his own.
Helping in the orphanage here in Quito and the one in Shell has really opened my heart even more to special needs children. Ever since my mom started working with special needs kids years ago, they've had a special place in my heart. It seems like those are the kids that people aren't really interested in adopting, they usually want the healthy kids that will be easier to handle. I understand completely though, it would be hard taking in a child with special needs. I do feel like maybe I could be one of the few that adopt a special needs child. I'm still very young though so who knows what God's plan for me, concerning that, would be.
After we left the orphanage we came home and waited for pizza to arrive. I spoke with Riley for a few minutes and then joined the family upstairs to eat pizza and watch inception, and that's where I am now.
I feel like I need to start making my blog more personal, more like a diary. I need somewhere to let everything out. I won't do that here but I'll try to get a little more personal.
Lonliness has crept in every once in a while since I've been here. I haven't been here very long though and I think that's why. I still need to get used to my surroundings I guess even though I feel very comfortable with the Shedd family.
Well, that's all I have to say for now
(:
I woke up at 7am. I actually slept all night, which was nice since i've been waking up every hour for about the last week. I spent the first few hours of the morning just straightening up my room, moving my bed next to the wall hoping that will help me sleep, and wasting time on facebook. The Shedd's have a maid, just like most families in Ecuador. She made a delicious lunch today. It was some kind of potato soup. It feels strange for me to have someone clean up a mess that isn't their's. I then showered and sat around for a few more hours waiting to go to the orphanage.
We left around 4:30 and stayed until 6:00. I got to work in the toddler house today and I really enjoyed it. All I did was push a boy around in a wheelchair the whole time, but it brought him joy, and the tia's have their hands full with all the kids so i'm happy doing anything that will make their life a little easier for that day. There was a family there today that's in the process of adopting a little boy. It's nice to see the process actually happening and knowing that that boy will soon have a family of his own.
Helping in the orphanage here in Quito and the one in Shell has really opened my heart even more to special needs children. Ever since my mom started working with special needs kids years ago, they've had a special place in my heart. It seems like those are the kids that people aren't really interested in adopting, they usually want the healthy kids that will be easier to handle. I understand completely though, it would be hard taking in a child with special needs. I do feel like maybe I could be one of the few that adopt a special needs child. I'm still very young though so who knows what God's plan for me, concerning that, would be.
After we left the orphanage we came home and waited for pizza to arrive. I spoke with Riley for a few minutes and then joined the family upstairs to eat pizza and watch inception, and that's where I am now.
I feel like I need to start making my blog more personal, more like a diary. I need somewhere to let everything out. I won't do that here but I'll try to get a little more personal.
Lonliness has crept in every once in a while since I've been here. I haven't been here very long though and I think that's why. I still need to get used to my surroundings I guess even though I feel very comfortable with the Shedd family.
Well, that's all I have to say for now
(:
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