venticinco

Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

1. I love freetetris.org
2. I have little interest in politics - but I do support our troops, and I do not support abortion.
3. In high school, I won our PE badminton tournament; in PHE105, I haven't scored more than 8 points in 1 game.
4. For Spring Break, I may very well be going to Florida, instead of leading a missions trip in my home town (which was my other idea.)
5. Hey, every week I give up my favorite TV show to attend a Bible study.
6. I haven't had a comp since January 6, and I have learned that I could indeed live without one.
7. I applied to be an RA in Kem Hall. I've made it through 2 stages, and I'm ready for stage 3 (group interviews) on February 7!
8. My mom works at IWU; therefore, my college career is cheaper than my high school career. What a deal!
9. I had a serious crush on a this guy for 7 years...
10. I would LOVE to know where God will send me...
11. I have never really driven through snow.
12. Everyday, my goal is to drink 2 or 3 Nalgenes (64-96 ozs.)
13. I go to bed thinking about my goddaughter 3+ nights a week, and wake up thinking about her almost as frequently.
14. I have little interest in seeing Europe.
15. I wish I had continued piano lessons for a few more years...
16. I have worn spandex under my jeans everyday since November 1.
17. I love game night!
18. I love reading, but I can never find the time.
19. I love scrapbooking and I'm almost almost finished with my Cambodia scrapbook (then I'll start Ecuador & Kansas!)
20. In the last 6 months, I've started to enjoy going to bed earlier -- and getting up earlier. WEIRD!
21. I've been going to the gym to bike 5ish miles 3 times a week.... and it's become one of my new favorite things. (With the ipod, of course.)
22. I collect elephants.
23. I love baking cookies - then giving them to people.
24. If I tell you that I'm praying for you - I really am.
25. I would give my life to see my father surrender to Christ.


I tag: Keetha

Cambodia Team 09

Back: Hannah, Zoey, Loren, Angela

Front: Myself, Ashton, Aimee

I feel so blessed to have an awesome team of girls.  I love having team meetings and dinners, and I'm excited to get to know them more!  They're an awesome group of girls.  Really!

The Unknown Impact

A couple weeks ago I was at the Horizon (the contemporary Sunday evening venue at my church) and I was sitting alone in the back after service; from a distance, I was watching three little girls, Emma, Amarah, and Elaina play pretend. I heard Amarah tell the two others that she wanted to be the mommy, Emma agreed and said she wanted to be Jewel. Elaina then fought Emma about being ME, and both agreed that Elaina could be Jessie. I kept sitting there, silent -- touched. I thought WOW, they are fighting over being ME. I try to always do what is right, but knowing that these three little girls are watching is alot of pressure (and it should be!) They are watching be, and they are going to try to do what I do. I knew this to an extent.. but never thought that in their little games, they would pretend to BE Jessie and I.
On Monday, in Intercultural Relationships, Dr. Jolly was trying to open the class for conversation and no one was speaking. Reluctantly, I raised my hand to speak. Dr. Jolly acknowledged me and as I began to give a response, he interrupted and said he wanted to introduce me. I wasn't sure what he was doing, so I waited. He then proceeded to tell our class (47 students!) that I am his best student. "Excuse me, what are you doing?" I was embarassed.. no one wants to be labeled this. I'm NOT a brown-noser! Then, I was touched. Whatever it was, I have done SOMETHING to get his attention, and with that came respect and appreciation. Yes, I work hard -- but I'm sure many of his students do.
It's encouraging to know that others have seen good things in me. Whatever is going on.. I hope that I can keep doing the right things...

Las dos fantasmas en un árbol

I just finished my 2nd writing for Spanish Conversation and Composition. Our first lesson was on "the supernatural" and this is my best attempt at science fiction (which, I do NOT enjoy by the way.) It isn't too exciting, and it's rather ridiculous, but I thought I would blog it for the few Spanish readers that follow here.
Fue una mañana muy caliente en septiembre de 1999 en Tegucigalpa de Honduras. Yo tuve catorce años. "¡Feliz cumpleaños, mijo!" mi madre me dijo, cuando ella entró mi cuarto y me despertó para que me preparo para la escuela. No pude abrir las ojos, porque estuve muy cansado. Me giré y vi que mi madre estuvo en mi cuarto todavía. "¡Feliz cumpleaños, mijo! Feliz cumpleaños!" ella me dijo otra vez. No fue mi cumpleaños, pero cada mañana por unos años, mi mamá me saludaba como este. No sé porque, pero fue una tradición para nosotros.
Me bañé, me vestí, me cepillé los dientes, y me descendí las escaleras. En el comedor, había arroz y una comida desconocida sobre la mesa para desayuno. Mis hermanitos, Habacuc y Sofonías, ya estuvieron mirando las noticias en la television. La analista de noticias estuvo hablando sobre de fantasmas en la primer calle de Catacamas, solo tres kilómetros de nuestra casa. La señora se dijo que había dos fantasmas blancas en un gran árbol. Ellas estuvieron se reían y comiendo una cabra. “¡Que ridículo!” yo dije a mis hermanitos, “Las fantasmas no existen.” Habacuc y Sofonías estuvieron de acuerdo.
“Mires con cuidado, mijo,” mi mamá nos dijo. “No es imposible.” Entonces, Mamá nos dijo una cuenta de su niñez cuando ella vio dos fantasmas con sombreros, en las hamacas de sus vecinos. Las fantasmas se aparecieron como el señor y la señora, los vecinos. “Pero las dos no tuvieron brazos o una boca, ” nos dijo mi mamá. “Esa día, estoy muy segura que yo vi dos fantasmas… pero nunca más.” Mamá se heló y estuvo tranquila y no dijo nada más.
Con curiosidad y otros sentimientos extraños, mis hermanitos y yo comenzamos nuestro paseo a la escuela. Sofonías me preguntó si creo en las fantasmas, “¡Claro que no!” se respondí y continuamos por la calle. Un momentito después, yo oí el ruido de una automóvil. Este es raro porque nadie en nuestro pueblo tiene coches, solamente motocicletas o asnos. Un momentito después, había un otro coche, y uno más coche, y tres motocicletas. Habacuc, Sofonías, y yo seguimos con velocidad, hasta que nos encontramos en la primer calle de Catacamas, con un gran grupo al lado del árbol que vimos en la tele.
“¡El rumor es verdad!” Habacuc me dijo, “¡es verdad!” Se dije a él que no es verdad, pero es probablemente un engaño tonto. Había más de diez personas allí, estuvieron mirando en el árbol. Yo oí que un hombre se dijo “¡Dios mio, hay dos gringos!” y otras se dijeron “¡Hay dos fantasmas!” Más gente estuvieron llegando, pero nadie salió.
Me metí por el grupo y más allá de las cámaras hasta que podría ver con ojos buenos. Cuando estuve delante del grupo, yo pude ver las siluetas– un hombre y una mujer. La mujer tuvo pelo largo negro rizado, como mi mamá; y el hombre fue gordo pero guapo, y tuvo un bigote negro, como mi papá, pero la piel de los dos fue muy muy blanca. Yo tuve contacto visual con los dos y el mujer me saludó "¡Feliz cumpleaños, mijo!"
Tan pronto como Habacuc y Sofonías llegaron al frente de grupo conmigo, corrimos lejos de los fantasmas y el árbol. Mi hermanitos y yo corrimos a nuestra casa para encontrar nuestros padres. Yo encontré mi mamá en el comedor, estuvo mirando la tele. Ella estuvo tranquila hasta que ella nos vio y entonces inmediatamente me abrazó. “¿Por qué estuviste en el árbol con la fantasma?” mi mamá me preguntó.

Anonymous

Be kinder than necessary,

because everyone you meet

is fighting some kind of battle.

--note card on my roommate's desk

Superbowl party!

My Cambodia team is starting our first fundraiser on Monday morning. We are selling candy bars for $1, and auctioning 18 invitations to a Superbowl party at President and Mrs. Smith's house. Mrs. Smith has really been wonderful helping me plan this event, and I know they will be fabulous hosts. I think it's going to be alot of fun (whoever wins!). I'm really hoping for big success, because my girls are pretty worried about funds. Our travel agent found tickets at a very nice price ($1286-$1485) so that helps, but the cost is still high. God has provided for me so many times, that I am not worried, but I understand that they are. We are hoping that towards the end of February, we will sell t-shirts. I'm also wondering if we could host a faculty babsitting night during a concert in the PPAC...

Loren Dearth:

I thought she was the answer to my prayers - a prayer I had not yet even prayed. If you follow my blog, you should know that I am leading an IWU World Impact team to Cambodia in May. We are leaving together on May 1, and after my team leaves on the 23rd, I will remain in Phnom Penh on an internship until June 13th. Although the missionaries, Greg and Resie Fernandez, will remain - I will feel quite "alone." Well, there was discussion about the possibility of one teammate, Loren - also an Intercultural Studies major, staying with me for internship credit. Her advisor just reviewed her degree audit, and decided that she is not far enough in the program, and therefore not ready for an internship. Being rather nervous about three weeks of "flying solo", I'm rather disappointed. I will be stretched - and it will be a big leap of faith. I'm a little unsure of what my emotions will do to me in the 4th, 5th, and 6th week of the trip. ALSO, I'm rather nervous about the 12-hour layover which finds me in Seoul, South Korea at 2:00am. I've experienced enough to know that God is big and God is good and God is faithful, BUT my human nature says "I don't want things to be hard!" and I feel like they're going to be...

2nd semester :: Sophomore year

I am just realizing that when this semester is over.. I am halfway through college. HALFWAY. I have grown and I have learned alot, but where will I be in two or two-and-a-half years? I don't even know where to look.

Classes are going well -- as well as they can when I would rather be doing many other things. I'm taking badminton at 8:20 twice a week. I have been forcing myself out of bed at 7:30 to bike 4 or 5 miles before class. Badminton ends at midterms, so it will be nice to have those extra hours in the morning, but I would like to continue my routine at the gym - probably extended hours there.

I'm taking economics from Ivan Pongrasik, a late-60s man from Yugoslavia. I haven't heard him say a good word about America, but I imagine he is happier here than in communist Yugoslavia. Thus far it has been a class of lectures based upon his opinions and predictions of our soon-to-be-doomed nation via the poor economy, via our corrupt government.

I am taking Intercultural Relationships with Dr. Jolly Beyioku, a middle-aged man from Nigeria. Last semester I had him for Nonprofit Essentials Management, and I'm enjoying Intercultural Relationships much more.  Like, I can read my two INT220 books for enjoyment!  These are things that I WANT to apply to my life.

Of course, I'm still continuing Spanish with "Conversation and Composition".  Last semester was the best Spanish semester of my life, (next to soph & jr year with Sra Swan in high school ;D) and it's been difficult to adjust to a new prof.  Profe M last semester was increíble and he really cared about me.. and this semester is different.  I'm working really really hard to advance my Spanish, and looking for an opportunity in the community to be involved with Spanish speakers.

Another class I am really enjoying is Inductive Bible Study with Dr. Lennox.  I have learned so much, and I never thought I could make thirty observations from one verse of Scripture.  

Finally... Dr. Pettis. =)  I love that man.  He is my Intercultural Studies advisor, and I have had him every semester.  This semester I am taking Theoretical and Theological Foundations of Cross-Cultural Leadership.  It is a bigger class than I am used to having with Dr. P, but it's good.