Update?

Feel like I should update, but only since it's been so long. Not really in the mood though! I would rather be outside enjoying the sunshine, and watching the trees change color!
I love Fall!

Lovely Day

Listening to Kirk Franklin's "Lovely Day"
a lovely day it has been!

Sitting here counting my blessings!
1. I have an amazing youth group!
2. I work for a wonderful church!
3. The Pastor I work with is amazing, and incredibly encouraging, and easy to laugh with!
4. I have a lot of great friends here in Oregon, and all over the world...literally!
5. I just came off of an amazing summer!
6. I love the other youth workers that I get to team with!
7. I am leaving for vacation in a few hours and get to see my other best friends this week!
8. If I were to have to pick bridesmaids for my wedding today, I would have a list of 7 non-negotiables, and 2 more that I would want to throw in there. I know that's a weird way to think of it, but it's your best friends who stand with you, and I have 7 best friends! I'm so lucky!
9. If I think about it, I have even more "next to best" friends!
10. I get to see two of my old small groups on Sunday!


This has been the second best summer of my life!
The #1 best summer is still 2005.
Highlights of 2005...
Noah's Ark: Backpacking, Rafting, Rock Climbing Adventure
SAVE: San Antonio Volunteer Experience...where I had the most important kiss of my life, from a homeless man
Living Water Weekend
HEB camp
Guyana Mission Trip
My sisters wedding

Highlights of this summer...
2008
Campbell Farm Mission Trip in Wapato, WA
Mexico Mission Trip with Rancho Agua Viva in Ensenada, Mexico
Junior High Camp at Camp Magruder
Greatest Camp Ever at Camp Magruder (Sr. High)
Luis Palau City Fest
New best friends (Jennifer--has been a great friend for a while, but this summer still strengthened that. And Danielle.)
Laying out by the pool with my friends.
I got a puppy
and so much more!

This has been a great summer! I'm sad to see it go!

I leave for vacation in a few hours...the official end to an AMAZING summer!

Need to focus on the excitement that will happen this week!

blog

Waiting for some video stuff to download, so in the meantime I thought I would blog. I'm trying to decide if I should blog about how Daisy got her name, why I finally got a dog, or why this has been the second best summer of my life. I feel like all of those should get their own blog titles, so instead I will blog randomness.

something stinks. I hope it's not in my house!

Quote of the night...

Tonight was the first night of Portland Cityfest with Luis Palau! Great night! Great bands...City Praze, Phil Stacey, Kirk Franklin, Kutless, and Chris Tomlin. All people and bands that I love.
So, maybe someone in our group had a little crush on Chris Tomlin...and this leads us to the quote of the night...
Nicole: I don't see a wedding band!
Random Guy in front of us: What did you say?
Nicole: I really like the band!

Nicole's my cousin visiting from S.A., and it has been so much fun having her around! I've been laughing so hard all week, and it has been great! I'm excited to follow her back to S.A. in a few days! :)

Daisy, my dog, wont stop crying. This is going to be a LOOOONG night! (Now, I'm thinking of Alison from our mission trip)
My mind is too random for myself!

Time to update

Well, I guess it's time to update, since it has been a while.
Here are my thoughts today...
1. This year's airshow must not be very good, I haven't seen or heard any practicing, and I live next to the airport.
2. I think I'm going to get a dog tomorrow. I'm nervous, but very excited. Her name will be Petri Dos.
3. I'm feeling very old. I've been watching TV reruns of people that I have always seen as being older, well in character they are 28-33, and it is freaking me out! Different shows, different people. I'm getting old.
4. I think I want to do something huge for my 30th birthday, but I already have plans to do something spectacular for my 35th (if I'm not married yet)
5. I want 4 kids. Today, however, I decided I want none. My nephew is in his "no" stage, and I don't know that I would have patience for it if he were my own, and we know that all kids go through it. Don't really have to worry about it now!
6. I'm really tired today. I should be going to bed right now.
7. I may have a puppy tomorrow...how crazy is that?
8. I had a nightmare last night about the Burger King Mask!
9. That reminds me of how much fun camp was...I miss it!
10. There was just a severe thunderstorm warning on the TV, but it's an hour and a half away. I miss thunder storms.
11. I have a little crush on someone my family would probably never approve of. Harmless, right? But there is still that sense of hope. It could never work out. We are too different. But as a girl, I still can't get him out of my head. Sometimes I hate being a girl.
12. Which then leaves me to my thought of...when?
13. No dwelling on this.
14. I just realized that I am numbering my random thoughts.
15. I'm having so much fun typing my random thoughts, that I am going to continue!
16. I went swimming today, once for fun, and once to swim laps. I'm out of shape and out of practice, I need to read my swim lesson books again, and maybe start teaching at my pool here. That would be fun.
17. I love my family! I really missed my family for the last month, so I have been inviting them over almost every day, and it has been really nice!
18. I should go to bed. I'm heading up to Mt. Hood tomorrow for some hiking, and to go on the Alpine Slides. Should be an amazing day. And who knows...maybe Petri Dos will come home with me tomorrow, and I can take her hiking on Saturday! Yay!

Pseudo-Relationships and bad relationships

I live a life of what I call "Pseudo-Relationships" or in other words, relationships that seem so great, but really..."He's just not that into you!" Relationships that will never go anywhere, never work out. Sometimes because God says no, and sometimes because he says no. Othertimes life just says no. In all of these bad relationships and pseudo-relationships, I've tried to learn, but have been in a hole. That is until recently!
Recently, I have learned a lot from these relationships! As I talk with my students, I am surprised about how much I am able to share about past relationships, dumb mistakes, and pseudo-relationships. It's amazing how my dysfunctional life can connect me to these youth. Where as I feel like a screw up, sometimes I think that they respect me more for it, because at least I'm honest about it.
I like that my kids can ask me questions, and that I can talk to them as a single woman...but one with hopes of a family in my future. It's nice to show them that I rely on God in each situation, and the mistakes I have made (like following a boy around the country) have been because I didn't listen to God, or just honestly ignored Him.
So, although these seem like messed up relationships, I am grateful for what I have been through so that I can relate to the kids. One day things will change, but by golly, I'm pretty happy with where I'm at right now!

And have I mentioned yet today, how much I love these youth?

Mexico Mission Trip

Last night I returned from my 15th mission trip, my 5th time to Mexico. It was as incredible as ever! I love going to Mexico, the people there are so beautiful, inside and out. And their passion for God really inspires me, encourages me, and draws me into worship.

The team was a great team to work with! Everyone got along great, and I was truly blessed by the people that I spend the week with. I came back with so many friends, and got to enjoy a week of laughter and beauty. I hope that next year more people from my youth group will go, because it is truly an unbelievable experience. Even with only a few who went, it was an incredible journey, and I learned so much!

We ended up having a group of 26, unfortunately a few nights before we left, our 27th had an emergency appen..imy. I know God has a purpose for this, but it was very difficult to lose him.

The 26 worked great together. We stayed at Rancho Agua Viva, in Ensenada, Mexico, about 2 hours from Tijuana. We spent the week doing a VBS at "El Faro" the Baptist church, as well as working on building the seminary building for the Mexican seminary at the camp, and working on a tiendita for a pastor and his family to work at so that they can pastor the church.

One of my highlights of the week was on Wednesday night. The camp hosted a special dinner for us, and we got to hear the testimonies of 3 of the seminary students, Carman, Hector, and Manuel. What incredible testimonies of God's love and how God uses us and works in our lives.

Carman was the first that I heard speak. She felt God calling her to a small mountain town, so she packed up, and took a TV and VCR with her. She started her ministry by going from door to door showing the Jesus film, but people didn't want to hear it. So she decided to try something new. Many of the women in the town would never know how to read, so she started a class to teach women how to read, and through it she also taught them scripture and about the love of Christ. Eventually their husbands didn't like them spending so much time away from home, so they had to miss class to do chores. Did Carman give up? No! She started going to the river with them to do their laundry, she helped them to cook, make tortillas, clean, anything she could do to be able to build a relationship with them and share the love of Christ. Incredible! Would I be willing to do that?

Hector's story was also incredible. He went into a culture of scary men who dressed in armed guard, carried machetes and guns, and he went to them and shared God's love. He went into a scary situation and was able to get them to see the power of God and make changes in their lives! can you believe that? Once he was called to the seminary, he didn't have enough money, so he travelled by bus for 5 days without eating, got to the seminary, and didn't speak a word of Spanish. In just a matter of time he was learning Spanish, and now works at the camp as he is finishing seminary. God has used him in mighty ways.

Manuel coaches soccer, so that he can share the gospel with the youth of his town. He coaches, plays games, and prays and does Bible studies with his team. Lives are being changed every day, every week!

There was also a story of a man who went to a town to share the gospel. Great things were happening in the town, and some of the people didn't like it. So two brothers decided that they were going to kill this man the next time he tried to go to the town. He went every week. There was only one road into and out of the town. So the day that the man was coming, the brothers sat on the road, ready to kill him. Dark came, and the man never came, so they returned to their village. When they got there, the man was there. No one knows how he got past them, since he walked that road. (well, we know...the power of God!) The next day he took the brothers for a walk, and they both turned over their lives to Christ! Now one of them is a pastor!

Incredible stories all week, of God's power and of how He works!

I also got to meet Chuy and hear the story of his grandson, Kairos. Kairos is, I believe, 4 years old. He has extreme seizures, and has had over a thousand of them in his life. He needs surgery. A surgeon has offered to give Kairos the surgery he needs, but even with a free surgery, the costs for the tools, room, etc. are over $60,000. Kairos just got accepted to have an appointment at the MAYO clinic. The family is doing everything they can to raise money for the surgery, selling t-shirts, bumper stickers, hosting bands, etc. Please pray for Kairos and his family, and that they will be able to get the surgery for him and he will be able to live a happy and healthy life.

Lastly, I want to tell you about my new best friend, Petri. Petri is the dog that I am trying to adopt. He is a golden retreiver/cockerspaniel/shepherd dog mix. He is the perfect dog, and I want to bring him home so bad. I really miss him. I tried to bring him home, but the day we left, we couldn't find him. It's probably better that way since I will be at camp for the next two weeks. But after that, I really want him. I want to give him a good life, and to love him. There is a chance I will be able to get him up here, please pray that it works out. I know it sounds silly, but I really do love this dog, and am ready to have a pet. I need to work out a few kinks, but it's possible. The main thing is that I have to get him to San Diego (which shouldn't be too hard) and then get him up here from San Diego (that's the hard part). So, I know it sounds funny, but please pray that it happens. Bring Petri home!


Here is a picture of Petri. (Click on the picture to get the whole pic)