Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday AND Sunday!

Wow! I feel like it gets longer and longer since I blogged! I'm so sorry I don't do it more often! It's getting busier as I'm here longer and so I don't have as much time. Or maybe I just go to sleep earlier. Haha! So, let's get started.

Wednesday I went up to Casa de Fe (the orphanage). The first thing I did was Baby Time (favorite time of the day!) and I got a little girl named Esther. While I was sitting holding Esther a little boy said "baby" and was pointing behind a stroller, so this girl and I got up and there was a little boy, Moises, that someone had put in a stroller and left there! So I took a double stroller and put Esther and Moises in it and walked around for a while, then they fell asleep so I just sat down and hung out. After that I helped organize one of the women in charge (Tandy)'s desk. After that it was lunch time, so I ate, then I tested 2 big bags of AA batteries to see if they worked. After lunch I got to go to Baby Time again and I held a little boy, then after 30 minutes I put him back to crawl around in the nursery and went to help a girl who had 2 little babies. I held this little boy, Telmo, who I thought was like 4 months. He's actually a year old! But he's the cutest little cuddle bug ever! (I'll put some pics up on Facebook). After that the older kids got to go to the park, then I went back to the Benedick's, ung out for a while, ate dinner, and went to bed.

Thursday I didn't go to Casa de Fe because the next morning we were going to Quito so I needed to get ready for that. It was a pretty low key day though. I just packed, hung out with the kids, watched a movie, and read my book.

Friday I had to get up at 5:50am so that I could be ready to go to the bus stop at 6:20am. Once we were done with the bus trip we went to lunch with the man in charge of Samaritan's Purse for this area. After lunch we went to the wedding rehearsal, and the rehearsal dinner. Then we went back to our rooms, Dan and Kristina's room only had one bed, so Caleb and Jael stayed in my room. It was camp! I thought it was so cute! They were really excited and we had fun.

Saturday the kids woke up a little before 7:00, then they made forts til about 8:00. At 8:00 I took them over to Dan and Kristina's room to get ready for the wedding. It was a gorgeous wedding! I got to meet some great people, including this guy named Yuan (but you say it J-Juan). He was one of the best PROFESSIONAL baseball players in all of Venezuela. He was even given a contract to play for the Atlanta Braves! Then he felt God's call to go into ministry so he didn't go play for the Braves and started studying to become a pastor. I just thought that was so cool! So after the wedding, I went back to my room for a while and Yuan and Dan went and played baseball. After that we went to the mall (it was 4 stories!) then we went back to the Seminary and went to bed so that we could get up in the morning to come back to Shell.

Sunday (today) we left for Shell at 8:00am. Then I got to go shopping and buy a couple more things to take home. Then we went out to eat, then we got back. So I'm going to go clean up the room I'm staying in right now! I think that's it!

I hope everyone's having a great time! I miss you all!

Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday!

I'm so so sorry that I've haven't written on my blog! Man! Where has the time gone?
Ok, so I'll just start on Saturday and go from there!

Saturday - Today the Benedicks and I went on a river walk in Puyo. It was really nice. Then after the walk, we ate a garbage truck meal. There's this legend and that this garbage truck driver stopped at a women's house and she said "I don't have anything" and he said "I don't care just put together whatever you have". So she put together some stuff and made the garbage truck meal. It's actually only served in that part of Ecuador. It was really good though. Then we went to a coffee shop that was really good.

Sunday - Today I went to church. The pastor preached on part of Luke 14 and how we need to humble ourselves and love the more and needy because we are who show God's love on earth. Then there was a baby dedication (so fun!). After that we went back to the house and I read for a while. Then we went to a welcoming party for some people who are going to be here for a while. It's really fun just to see how many people I already know from here. They're all so amazing! It's great!

Monday - Today I got to Casa de Fe. I worked with a little girl named Juliana. She's three and working on sitting up. I'm not sure what is wrong with her but she is adorable! I have pics of her up on Facebook! I got to work with her twice for an hour each time. After the first time I worked with her I worked with a little boy, Junior, who was 4 and had Downs Syndrome (I'll put a pic of him up too!). Then I got to go work with Juliana for the second time. Then at 7 Kristina and I went to a baby shower. It was fun and I liked it alot.


Tuesday - Today I worked at Casa de Fe again. Today I stayed for less time so I only worked with Juliana one time. Then I went out and sat with the preschool class and watched Shrek and read and just hung out. Then I came back and at 4:45ish I went to watch one of the other missionary's kids so that they could go on a date for their anniversary. Now I'm back at the house and probably going to go to bed soon. =D

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

Sorry it's taken so long for me to post! A lot has been going on.
Wednesday I got to go to Puyo (which is the town over) to buy some souvenirs. We rode the bus there. That was pretty much an experience in and of itself. They take off as soon as everyone is in the bus. Sometimes women with babies are still getting up the stairs when they take off. They zoom off as fast as they can and shift super hard. It made me think of when Mary Wallace and I were in the car and my mom shifted while we were in an automatic. Haha! After that we went to the grocery store and took a taxi back. At 7 there was a bible study and I watched Caleb and Jael. Then I went to bed!

Thursday at 9 some of the missionary women got together to pray and I watched 5 kids, but one of the (Sydney) was super helpful! She was only 9 but I think if I had a kid I would trust her with them, she is very responsible. After that we went to the Nate Saint Memorial School's library to get some new book, then I got to go to the Nate Saint house! It was really cool! I got to see some of the books they owned, they still had the kitchen the same way as when the women were in there when they found out their husbands had been killed. When we went back to the house we went over a swinging bridge, that was crazy! It felt like you were coming off a trampoline when you were done. For dinner we went to Puyo to a Chinese restaurant. It was really good, then we went for ice cream and took a taxi back to the house. Then it was time for bed!

Today (Friday) I got up and Caleb, Jael, Anna, Lily and Violet went out and played in the water in the Benedicks front yard. Then we came in and ate lunch. I took a nap and when I got up it was time for me to go to the VBS at Sicha Puma. I went with Matt and Amy and their two kids Lily and Violet. We had to walk in mud for a while to get there. There were a lot of kids there that were really dirty and not so healthy. It was really sad. Then I went to this womens house and I tried Chicha. Chicha is a drink where a women chews up Yuca and spits it into a bucket then she lets it ferment and that's what I drank! Haha! I just got back. My pants are a mess and I am tired! I think I'm going to bed soon. Caleb and Jael are getting ready to watch Holes and Kristina's making some popcorn. I like being here a lot. It's really the first time I've gotten to meet the people and experience the culture. It's really fun. =D

Tuesday

Today was a lot of fun! I went to Caleb's presentation for preschool, it was a little less than 2 hours, but the kids were really cute! When they asked Caleb how many people lived in his house he said 6 and there were like "no, 5". Then they realized he was talking about how I was living at the house too! I thought that was so cute! Then we came back to the house and ate lunch (mac & cheese!). The kids played outside for a while after that, then they came in and learned about David and Goliath. After their lesson Jael and Anna went and took naps. So I went in my room to read my bible and fell asleep (oops!). Haha! At 4 was kids club, 2 girls and 1 boy came and they learned about John 3:30 and talked about how God could become more and we could become less. Then they wrote the verse on a shrinky dink. I didn't get a picture :'( but those kids were so excited to watch them shrink! Then they got to see fake snow and we talked about if God is more than he will make you expand like the water made the snow expand. After that we went outside and the kids played while Kristina and I talked to Amy (their neighbor). Then at 6:00 3 of the doctors played a basketball game against 2 of the residents and 1 other guy and one 20-18! Now we're back at the house. The kids are in bed, Dan and Kristina are doing a bible study with the residents and interns and I'm in my room about to watch a movie! Woohoo!
Weather
I was asked what the weather down here was like. It's very humid! The paper and cloth feel wet even though it's just from the humidity. It's not super hot here though, so it's not the sticky kind of humid you think about. It's really interesting because the humidity here is probably out of this world, but you can barely feel it because it's not that hot.
That's it! Love you all! =D

Monday

Today was pretty fun. I woke up, read to Caleb and Jael and then after a little bit we took Caleb to his last day of Preschool! Then after a while we went and picked Caleb up. We got to eat lunch at a local restaurant, it was good but it was really big! I maybe ate half. Then we came home and Caleb and Jael played with the two little girls next door (Violet and Lily). Then we ate dinner (honey chicken and rice YUM!). Then I gave the kids some books I brought for them. They loved it! They were so excited! It was fun to watch. Kristina read them a couple of the new books before they had to go to bed. Jael was falling asleep while she was reading them! Then we prayed and the kids are all in bed. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, we are going to a presentation for the fact that Caleb is done with Preschool, then at about 4 Kristina does kids club and then Dan might be playing a fun basketball game at 6 and then there is a bible study at 7:30. I'm really excited though. It's been fun to meet some of the other missionaries and people that live around. It's quiet interesting the different culture. I'm already realizing how different it is and I've only been here 2 days. I love you all and hope you are having an awesome time! Good night!

Here!

Woohoo! I got here safe and sound! Sorry I haven't post yet, I haven't had the chance! =)
So, here's what's happened so far.
Friday - I got up and got to the airport at 4:30, my plane was suppose to leave at 5:30, but we actually left around 6:30. Then I got to Minneapolis and left from there to Tampa. In Tampa 2 of my cousins and their sons came and picked me up. Then I got to go see my Grandpa George, Grandma, Aunt Star and 2 of my other cousins.
Saturday - I got up and went to Denny's to have my aunt serve us brunch. Then I went to the airport. Though my airplane was supposed to leave at 2:00, it was delayed til 3:00 so I had to reschedule my flight to Ecuador. So I got into Ecuador at 9:50. Customs were easy and Dan was right outside to meet me. Then we went to Seminary and I got my own room to sleep in!

Today (Sunday) - The Benedicks and I left Quito a little before 9:00 and got to Shell around 3:30. I got to unpack my stuff and hang out for a little while.  Then we went to the park, which has a replica of Nate Saint's airplane (I think it's really cool!). After that we got to eat and I took a shower. Now I'm listening to Caleb and Jael recite their memory verses and we're about to pray! Good night!

Independence Day

I was thinking, today is a day where we celebrate the fact that we have freedom. God gave us the freedom to do anything we want, no matter how bad it is for us. Yet, we get to have the freedom to choose to obey God. I don't know about you, but when I think about freedom I think about not having to do what people tell me. Yet, God ALLOWS us to do what He asks, it's not something we HAVE to do, it's someting we GET to do. I just thought that it was really cool that we have been given the freedom to follow after God's heart. That's something we get to do, it was just really cool to me. There is freedom in not being free to sin, but being free to serve God! So I started looking at verses about freedom when I was reading my bible tonight and I came across this verse, it's 2 Corinthians 3:17 and it says: "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." We are free when we serve God because He in and of Himself IS freedom. It's a very exciting thing to think of while I'm getting ready to go to Ecuador this week and I hope it's something exciting for you to think of as you go along being free to serve God.

Today ~ Saturday 7/2/2011

So, since my family is on vacation and I only have SIX days til I go to Ecuador I decided I'm going to try to get packed sooner. I've been very motivated today! I got the suitcases out (yes, that's all I've done so far)! Haha! I also found out my plane leaves at 5:30am on Friday. Ugh! I'm getting more excited every minute I get closer to leaving! My fears are kind of at the wayside right now, I hope they stay that way! =)

My Calling to Missions

Woohoo! Next week I'm going to Ecuador for a month! I'm so excited! I've had a couple people ask me to post while I'm gone, so I figured I would start a beautiful blog about what I'm doing right before hand and also during and how I feel about my calling while I'm there. So, today I went to youth group, only one more youth group meeting before I'm gone. I have such mixed emotions about going, I'm super excited but I'm so nervous to be gone for a whole month! This next week I figured I would kind of just go over my calling, how I feel and all of those kinds of things. Today I'm going to talk about my call into missions and how I've dealt with it.

I was called to missions when I was 5 years old. For a few years I was really excited about my calling and then it was just kind of a fact of life. Then from the time I was about 9-12 I just decided God hadn't called me into missons and I was able to do anything I wanted as a career. When I was 12 I went to Ukraine on a Work and Witness trip with my dad and that's where I really knew that I was called to missions. Well, although being called by God is an amazing honor, the reason he has to call people is they are also very hard callings. So from the time I was about 12 until January of 2010 I really struggled through the fact that I was never going to get rich, and I would be lucky if I even had a washer machine. Then in January I completely turned my life over to God and told Him that if missions was really what I was called to then I needed a clear sign. I believe that if you are really seeking God he will never leave you wondering, and about a week after I asked God for a sign the NYI president at my church gave me an application for a trip to Guatemala for teens called into missions. I applied, and within a month I was accepted to go. That's where I really solidified the fact that God had set me apart for something amazing. Not that I haven't had times where I struggled with my calling since then, but now I know that God will be there with his loving embrace the entire time.
I found my life verse this last year and I want to share it with you. It's Ephesians 6:19 and it says "Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,"
I pray that God will bless you so that you will be able to fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.