I wouldn't mind...

I wouldn't mind living here:


with people like this:

and this:

and this:

and this:

I wouldn't mind having a truck like this:

With 2 boys like this:

With traffic like this:

I wouldn't mind sights like this:

I wouldn't mind shopping like this:

Mi ahijada

Kiara Sofia Saltos

On Monday, January 28th, this little girl, was born to Geovanni and Christine Saltos. Geovanni is a national Wesleyan pastor in Racar, Ecuador. I met Pastor Geo and Christine in Ecuador in April. I built a strong and special relationship with Geo and Christine during my visit and we have maintained our relationship since my return. In a previous blog here I wrote about 'the best day in Ecuador', a day full of memories with Geo and Christine. That afternoon is especially forever impressed upon my heart and memory. In Geo’s muddy blue truck, Christine, Geo and I shared our testimonies, our fears, and our dreams. Through the bumpy mountain streets we sang together and we laughed together. Since April, Geo and I have continued to speak roughly once per week.
On Friday, February 1st, I received an e-mail from Geovanni’s brother-in-law concerning the arrival of Geo and Christine’s second daughter. I was equally surprised and concerned, as Kiara was not expected until March 10th. Kiara was born weighing 4.4 pounds and was 31 centimeters in length. Due to her health and size, Kiara was placed on a ventilator for four weeks, and she remains there today. The e-mail did not mention the baby’s name so I was very curious when I spoke with Geo on Saturday. Geo and Christine asked me to choose a name for their baby. It was an incredible feeling! I NAMED a little bundle of life, a little ball of joy. I chose the name that Kiara Sofia will be identified with all her life. It is seriously an indescribable feeling. THEN Geo declared that he and Christine wanted me to be Kiara’s godmother. I cannot express how special this is. I do not know the full responsibilities of a godmother, but I hope to exceed the Saltos’ expectations. Geo and I have been seriously considering our options for my visit to Ecuador in June and/or July. It is an wonderful opportunity which I hope becomes a REALITY. Please pray with me for the growth, strength and health of my goddaughter. Pray for the faith of the Saltos’ family that God will provide for their every need. Pray that Geo & Christine, myself, and Wesleyan missions can schedule my visit to Ecuador. Finally, praise the Lord for this beautiful and precious, new life.

Geovanni, Christine, their daugher Jael & myself

our last day together in Ecuador.

Significant Memories of 2007.

The good and the bad:

January 2007:
-I finally reached 2007 and my daily countdown began to graduation.

February 2007:
-Superbowl XLI, February 4, the Colts defeated the Bears 29-17.


March 2007:
-On March 29, Grandmom turned 78.

April 2007:
-I went to Ecuador on a missions trip for 10 days with my Senior class. There I learned lessons that have had huge impact on my life; also, I developed close friendships with Carlos and Abuelo, and especially with Geovani and Christine who I continue to talk weekly with.
-The day after I returned from Ecuador, I went to the Southwood prom with Evan, and the following weekend we went to Lakeview’s prom.

May 2007:
-May 26th I graduated from high school.

June 2007:
-On June 1st, Eldine Landis was killed in a motor accident.
-I attended my last teen camp as an eligible camper. The same week, I made a new best friend.

July 2007:
-In July, two very good friends adopted four rambunctious, yet beautiful children.
-I was a counselor at Junior Bible Camp for my third summer.

August 2007:
-I went to Baraboo Wisconsin to help some friends at their small dying church. I painted a wall that is now world famous, went to the Noah’s Ark (the world’s largest water park) and hiked some pretty amazing trails.
-Family Camp - always good times.

September 2007:
-Labor Day weekend I moved to IWU and began my first year as a college student.
-Evan & I broke up.
-Days later I turned 19.

October 2007:
-Over fall break I began volunteering at Francis Slocum elementary school. I did the required community service, but continued going because each of the children took a piece of my heart.
-I began watching Lost - the #1 drama of the 21st century.
-Halloween was Ryan’s 1-year death anniversary.

November 2007:
-I applied to World Impact and was accepted as a member of a team of seven girls who will be traveling to Cambodia on a mission trip in May of ‘08. This will be an entirely new experience in every aspect. Also, I will be ministering alongside Tim and Tiffany, two of my sweet friends who moved to Cambodia a year and half ago.
-I began a sponsorship of Turatsinze Emmanuel, a nine-year-old boy in Rwanda.
-My sister told us she is pregnant.

December 2007:
-After Christmas I went to Orlando for an international Wesleyan youth convention.
-While traveling across two time zones, I celebrated the turn of the 07/08 new year twice.

Noomas.

How much time and energy do we spend wishing things were how they used to be? We often think about times in our past when things were different and want our lives to be like that again. Some of us have even come to believe that our best days may actually be behind us. But if we’re in some way hung up on the past, what does that mean for our lives now? How are we and those around us affected if we’re not fully present? If we’re longing for the way things used to be, what does that really say about our understanding and appreciation of our lives today? Maybe we need to learn to embrace our past for what it is, in order to live our lives to the fullest, right here, right now.

We want to know why we are here. If our lives really matter. How our religion is relevant to this life. Today. We want to understand what significance this minute, hour, week, month, and year has to our lives.To our world. We need a God who cares about this life, in this world, right now. We want to understand why everything we think, everything we say, and everything we do matters. We don’t want to just sit back and wait for something to happen or someday to come. We want to know if all the choices we make now will shape our world and lives for eternity. Because we want our lives to have meaning today, and our lives today to have meaning forever.


Some of the central claims of the Christian faith are the source of many discussions and heated debates. But are we always debating the right things? Maybe some of our discussions would change significantly if we had more insight into the actual circumstances that surrounded the first people of the Christian movement – if we had a better understanding of the things they did in the context of the world they lived in. Maybe some of the claims of the Christian faith that we typically perceive to be unique aren’t really that special at all. And at the same time maybe we don’t always put enough emphasis on the things that truly should matter in our lives.

We always think we know what’s missing from our lives in order to really make us happy, don’t we? If only I had that car, or that job, or if only I could lose those 15 lbs, then I’d be happy. Really? How often do we want something only to find out that it wasn’t that great after all? Sometimes we ask God for things and if he doesn’t deliver right away, we start questioning whether God really understands or even cares. Do we really trust God? Do we trust that God is good and sees a bigger picture than we ever could? It’s easy to want what’s right in front of us, but maybe God knows what’s better for us, and sometimes we just can’t see it.

I love Nooma.

Oh to be a child again.

Two fold blog:
1. I have realized that one of my most favorite things in this life is watching children participate in worship, in singing praises to our Lord. Last week I was a counselor at JBC, a camp for young children. One evening I found myself completely surrounded by little girls with their eyes closed, voices raised, hands lifted, and tears running down their faces. It was so inspiring to witness the passion and sincerity in their hearts. Yesterday morning I watched the India Children’s Choir perform in church and one certain beautiful little girl seized my attention. The song, in their native tongue, spoke something about having no earthly treasures, but Jesus is enough. What a powerful message to acknowledge and believe at such a young age.
2. I have really made many good friends in the last six months, yet I have also lost some really close high-quality friends. Not to death, but to other directions of life; change of address, change of family.. maybe I have changed. It will never get easy. I am half-expectant that the rest of my life may be this way, at least the next four years of college. One day I will move quite far from my family and my friends.. maybe with a husband and child. I have no idea where my life will lead, but I am learning to be dependant on Him to be “my steadfast”. There are so many in my life whom I have respected and depended on for guidance, many of whom have recently turned to another road. I am not ready to "grow up".. I hate "moving on". It often seems easier to others rather than to the true source, meanwhile I know I must also continually rely solely on God. Nonetheless, thank you to those who have always been there for me.

Holy Stomachache.

I have lost my special Bible. Sure, I have other Bibles; but this is the Bible. The Bible I have poured my heart into during the previous 3 or 4 years. The Bible I have shed so many tears over. The Bible that has given me strength and joy and peace when no one and nothing else could. The Bible that has proven to be truthful and promising. I have waited over a month for it to simply reappear from it’s vanish point, but it hasn’t. Maybe you would say I have placed all my eggs in one basket. I don’t care, I really really want my Bible, my special Bible. I know, they all speak the same message, but this one has really spoken to me on many occasions. I need that Bible, if for nothing else but security and attachment.

The Case of the Mistaken Identity.

In the recent weeks I have begun to fight an unrelenting battle to discover who I truly am, the being of my core. I am so continuously guilty of finding my identity in my surroundings, rather than in my heart and my soul. I find my identity in being a college freshman, in being Jessie’s twin sister, in being Evan’s girlfriend, in being a leader of my youth group, in my knowledge and experiences… I tend to take what people say I am and rightly make that who I am, in the full knowledge that that may or may not be me. My essence thrives on other’s opinions of who I am, not that I am out to impress but instead to live on what they suppose, rather than what I know. I let people believe what they think. Though I am a leader, I am not confident; I have no idea who I am or what I want in life. After eighteen years of life, I have yet to determine any possible gifts and abilities that I may possess. I do know that I am emotional. I am indecisive. I care about a person’s wants and needs. I want to live God’s best for my life, yet I have no concept of what it is.
I must find my identity in Christ. He designed my character, my being, and I cannot genuinely honor Him with my life until I am living out who and what He created me to be; whether that means breaking away from the forged and artificial person I have become or excavating my insides to recover the truth within my being.

Meanwhile, I had a really great time at camp. I am sad that this is my last summer as a camper, but I expect there will be greater opportunities in college; whether it be on a summer traveling team, or in a foreign country on a 6 week missions internship. I cannot imagine how uplifting, yet exhausting, a summer of service and sacrifice would be. The friends, memories, and lessons will never be forgotten.

The organic God.

Recently, I have discovered a danger in religion, that I will settle for a secondhand faith, one that appears to be polished on the outside but artificial.
This next week at camp I am only going to focus on developing an organic relationship with God. Organic in essence meaning natural, pure and essential; stripped of all pollutants and additives of this world. I am desiring to discover God in a healthy, refreshing new way so that I cannot help but fall in love all over again.
There is a fine line between how to be there and really be present and affect the world. In order to affect it and really be there, you have to be immersed in it. It is definitely a balancing act and something that is a challenge for me, how to really be in both worlds at the same time. Sometimes I feel like I am drowning in this submerging progression. Now I am in the process of trying to figure out how to do both, how to be in the world, but not of the world. I am also, though more diligently, on a personal search for truth. I am taking in and being open to what I am taught, yet I must let doubt confirm my own beliefs.
We know a lot about God, just like we know a lot about Brad Pitt or George W. Bush, without truly knowing Him. There are no short-cuts or substitutes for knowing God ourselves. It is a pursuit that must always begin in the Word.
Through scriptures I have discovered a big-hearted and deeply mysterious God. In Him we find our identity. The Bible is a huge invitation into conformity to Christ. I admit it is usually the heavy-handed "why" questions that bottleneck my faith, but there comes a time when we have to move forward(!!!) with all of our questions, baggage and uncertainties to experience God.
I will never have God in the palm of my hands. There are aspects of God I will never know but, it is someone I can pursue my whole life and never grow exhausted.
I must shed potential familiarity and begin with a simple and purist agenda to know God, organically, through his word.