Back Home

Well, we're finally back. I'm happy to have a real shower, and a nice bathroom that can flush, and my own bed, but I miss Mexico. I would have stayed there for much longer if I could have. The camaraderie among our team was amazing. I was really good friends with people I had never met before. A couple of the girls I hadn't seen since Mexico last year, other than a couple of meetings we had this spring, and we were the best of friends. It was also great to get to know my classmates and those I already knew better. We had so much fun together, and there wasn't even much real drama. I saw a much different side of my principal than I'm used to as well. (One thing I learned - he can be very scatterbrained. Or maybe it was more like preoccupied. Either way, I never imagined he would be that way.) Sometimes it was a little bit of a struggle to love everybody on our team, but I think I learned a lot from the experience.

I also learned a lot of other things. As of right now, I don't really have a huge, obvious, amazing God moment from the trip. I have a few smaller ones. I really thought God was trying to show Himself to me in a different way this trip. That was somebody's prayer for me, and it really resonated with me. I think that was accomplished. I learned that God doesn't always work in big, conspicuous ways. Last year building the house, the first couple of days went amazingly well, and we finished on the last day a little after it got dark. This year after day 2 (out of 4) we were about 40% done with the house. However, we finished on the last day a couple of hours earlier that last year. We don't know how, and it didn't even seem like we were working harder than usual, but we caught up all the same. It was a very quiet miracle. It never would have happened without God, but it wasn't really obvious what He was doing. It speaks to me that God is in control of everything, because He's always working even if we don't see or sense it. (Sorry this is probably just a big blob of words. Oh, well. I'll write more stories later!)

Two Days!!!

Strangely enough, I think I used up most of my excitement already. It's not like I'm indifferent to the trip, I'm just not as extremely excited and bubbly as I have been already. I think part of it is that it just seems a little surreal. In three days, I will be in Mexico. It seems too good to be true! I've been waiting for this trip for a long time, basically until we talked to our team leaders last year about going with our school. Now it's finally here. I didn't think it would ever happen. I'm sure it will hit me the moment we get on the bus. That's good, though, because I think I need that excitement to survive all week with how much sleep we will get. It's usually not much, especially on the bus. Just two days!

Two Weeks!

We only have two more weeks until Mexico! I can't believe it's so soon. In exactly two weeks I will be sitting on a bus, probably in Kansas or Oklahoma, enjoying the (hopefully) snow-free landscape and starting to think about how in the world I'll be able to fall asleep on the bus... well, I guess that's all part of the experience. I'll definitely have more to say when I get back!

A Wedding

My brother's getting married! I'm so excited! And also a little nervous... After all, he is only 2 years older that me. I'm nervous because they're so young, and I really want everything to work out for them. But I'm also nervous because in just two years I will be the same age as him. He was the same age as I am when he started dating his future fiance. I don't really plan to do the same but it's a little unnerving nonetheless. It seems like this year I'm being forced to grow up so fast... I never really considered myself immature, but so much is happening. Anyway, that's a discussion for another time. I'm a bridesmaid, and we're going dress shopping tomorrow. The color for the wedding is pink. Not my favorite color, but I think I'll survive. Holli (the bride) probably wouldn't have chosen in except for the fact that the dress she chose isn't completely white and it goes best with pink. I'll also have a sister! I definitely have friends as close as sisters, but I've never had a sister before. Now we just need to find somebody for my oldest brother...

Acquire the Fire

Yesterday and the day before I was at Acquire the Fire with my school. It's a Christian youth conference. It was amazing! My favorite part may have been the worship - there's nothing quite like being in the midst of hundreds of teenagers all on fire for God worshiping together. Normally I wouldn't jump, or sing at the top of my lungs, and I don't often raise my hands when I sing, but here I did all three and didn't feel out of place at all. I was able to really, truly feel the amazing joy of worshiping and serving a powerful, loving God. The speakers were also great. One man that talked was born without arms or legs. He had a really powerful message about purpose. Many people have trouble finding a purpose for their lives. Just imagine how he felt - having no limbs except one foot and a couple of toes would severely cut down on your options. And yet he has an amazing ministry now, and has affected hundreds of thousands of lives.

I also had highlights of a different sort. There's nothing quite like seeing your math and language teachers playing their air guitars, or having a conversation with them about cat farms, pink coffee, and why mayonnaise provides a good object lesson about relationships. Well, that was two different conversations, but I think you get the point. (We were tired that day.) Everybody was able to have a lot of fun, and I really think we grew closer together as a school. God moved in many ways, at least in my life, and I sure hope that those changes will stay. It's one thing to worship with everybody else, and to listen to what the speakers have to say, but it's another thing altogether when you get home and try to read the Bible and pray every day. It's just as important, if not more so, but you don't always feel the same fire and excitement about it. That has been my problem - finding something that I can do on a regular basis that keeps me grounded in God and that I'll be excited about making time for. If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them. I'd love your prayer as well. This has been an ongoing struggle for me, and I need all of the weapons against the enemy that I can get, including those wielded by others.

Relaxing

I really don't have a whole lot to say. I should probably be studying for the tests I have tomorrow, but... I don't really want to at the moment. I've been so busy lately, it's nice just not doing anything. Having nothing at all to do is never fun - it just translates as boredom. However, having things to do and not doing them is what's relaxing. If you don't feel guilty or get in trouble for not doing it, that is. I don't think either will be a real big problem for me.

Speaking of doing nothing, I can't wait for this weekend. 3 days without homework, during which I can just relax and get everything done that I've been too busy to do lately... It sounds wonderful.

I can't believe that the school year is half over! It doesn't seem like it's been almost 5 months since we started school. Of course, in other ways, it seems like it's been forever. I can't believe that summer was only 5 months ago. It's complicated. Anyway, I should probably go. If nothing else, I can just get ready for bed and read. That sounds like it would be, well... very relaxing.

Mexico Poem

This is a poem I wrote last year in Mexico. I need help with an end for it!

The mountains in the distance

are framed by pale grey skies

with hazy fog entwined between the peaks

The slopes are colored

with a dark green hue

obscured, with only a hint

of where they end

and where the rest begins

In the foreground trees are standing

further covering up the mountains

and their majesty

Birds are swooping

diving amongst the boughs

dancing

in a gentle breath of wind

The air is fresh, invigorating, cool

laced with smells that

drift from flowers

sweet

like honey on the wind

The sounds I hear are perhaps

the most enchanting aspect of them all

the soft whirring of insect wings

the wind rustling through the trees

the joyful calling of the birds

as they dance among the leaves