In the Sand?

Am I just like a 2 year old????

2012-03-09T19:46:00.000-08:00

Today I got to spend precious time with my nieces. Each moment with them is cherished even more with the prospect that I could be gone for about 7 months this year.

My niece is going through a little bit of a fearful stage right now. There are times when every noise becomes scary to her. Today she fixated on the noise of the large machinery doing some sort of work on the golf course across from their house. Every time she heard the trucks she would be afraid of it, run to the window to see what it was doing, worry that it would hurt her, or comment on how the noise was just too loud, over and over and over again. All of course unrealistic fears.

We decided to go to the library. I needed some coffee, and the girls needed a little snack. So, we were sitting at a little table and chairs, Josey eating her snack and Nora in my lap munching on goldfish. Josey decides to get up and move the stroller around, but the only way for her to push the stroller is to bend down and push it from the bar that runs between the wheels, so just a couple inches from the ground. Yes, she can push it, but not very well and not for very long without getting frustrated. She can't see where she is going and it is quite awkward to actually push it around. Regardless, like she does quite frequently, she decides she wants to push it. And she does, right into the table and chairs next to us. Realizing she is pushing but not actually moving she stands up, looks around, and then goes right back to try and push it and actually move the stroller, and this is repeated a couple times. She is really only caught on one of the chair legs and about a foot away from freedom go across the main entrance of the library.

Meanwhile, I'm watching all of this just smiling. I was reminded of how God sees the big picture, and me, well, I really can't see anything except exactly what is in front of me. And at the same time, how easily God can open and close doors, but only in His time and according to His plan. Maybe I'm only "stuck on a chair leg", but God knows what is best and maybe that is just where He wants me to be. Trusting Him with everything!!!

Oh, and unrealistic fears . . . ya, I have a few that God ends up hearing about over and over and over again.

Then we arrived back at her house and I was trying to unpack the diaper bag and take the appropriate items to the kitchen . . . bottle, sippy cup, snack bag, water bottle, snack cup, and maybe a couple more items. I had gathered them all up in my hands and Josey says, "No, don't take my cup home". So, I give her the cup, then she says, "No, don't take the bottle home". So I give her the bottle. We went through this with all of the items in my hands and so I just kept handing her all of the items until somehow they were all in her hands. She turns around to take the things to the kitchen, happy that she just rescued them from going to Aunt Amie's house (although I was really just taking them to her kitchen), and one of the items spill, then another, and then she realizes she needs help.
Oh wait, I do that with God! Decide that I can handle things better than He can so I try to do it all on my own, only to be overwhelmed and frustrated and start messing up everything!!!

I memorized these verses probably at least 20 years ago and still remember a little tune to sing them to:
Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take".
And yet it seems like sometimes I still act like a 2 year old and try to do things on my own instead of depending on the only One who is worthy of trusting!!!!

A weekend in Chicago . . . 13 years of memories

2012-01-31T08:39:00.000-08:00

13 years ago I decided to spend my spring break working with the Pacific Garden Mission Homeless Shelter in Chicago. I had no idea at that time how much that trip would impact my life! This past weekend I planned a visit with a lady I met on that first trip to PGM, and then spent lots of time with her over subsequent spring break trips and my time in Chicago. And although we've talked on the phone many times since I've moved to Indianapolis, I haven't actually seen her in person for years. I was overwhelmed with thanksgiving to sit and talk with her and the lady that was her counselor and recounting how she has broken the chains of addiction and sin and has been clean for 13 years now . . . and celebrating her 11th wedding anniversary!!! I am always encouraged by her constant dependance and contagious love for our Lord and her overflowing joy in the midst of all circumstances!

I was also able to spend some time in the PGM clinic, which also brings back about 12 years of memories. It's a place where health care is really just a way to reach the soul. I have the deepest of respect for the staff that work there and their servant hearts.

The purpose of my trip was to go to a 3 year old B-Day party for the son of a former 5 West Children's Memorial Hospital co-worker who is now just a good friend. While at the party I got to see 3 other former 5 West nurses and meet their children, so fun!!! And the next day, unexpected dinner with 2 other friends who I also worked with at CMH! And the chance to see them overshadowing the opening of the new hospital and tearing down of our old hospital.

Sunday morning was special as I was able to go to Armitage en Espanol - the Spanish church I went to for a couple years. The people there have been very instrumental in encouraging me through the process of learning Spanish from the beginning when I started going and only knew how to say "hola".

This trip also allowed me to spend time with 3 previous housemates and 3 of their precious children, my first time meeting the twins. How crazy is it that 3 of us that lived at the Nottingham House were natural red heads. Now one of the redhead housemates has twins redheads and one of the non-redhead housemates had a little girl with the cutest curly red hair. We really need an updated Nottingham House photo with these adorable little ones!!!!

I feel like my visits to Chicago are so few and far between that I never know how much to do and how many people to try and see all in the few days I have when I do get to visit. It's so hard to pick and choose who I end up seeing, and what parts of the city to see. While this weekend was quite busy and every night was spend in a different place, I felt quite satisfied with the time that I had with everybody! There of course were still a lot of people and places that I didn't get to visit that I really really wanted to, but that just means that I have to return again!!!

Monday night ended with driving to my grandparents farm and seeing the beautiful sunset over the fields, and then after dark seeing the brilliance of stars without all the city lights.

As I head back to Indianapolis I feel like my heart is full to overflowing from a couple days of really having the chance to recount what the Lord has done and marvel at the things that He is currently doing!!! Yes, my heart is torn in leaving Chicago, and probably always will be . . . but for now God has me in Indianapolis for a reason. And so, I am reminded again that living God's will is not about location but about the condition of my heart. I Thes. 5:16-18: "Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Nieces . . .

2011-07-07T17:56:00.000-07:00

My nieces are such a blessing to me. Josey is the oldest and I love spending time with her!!!
Of course, I was excitedly awaiting the birth of my second niece, and even wondering if she would come on my birthday =)

She didn't but was born 2 days later!!!
I had the privilege of holding sweet little Nora when she was only 3 hours old.

I am so thankful to be living in Indianapolis right now and having this wonderful privilege of
being a part of my nieces lives right now!!!

a banana and a man on the sidewalk

2011-07-05T21:30:00.000-07:00

life has been moving at a very fast pace the past couple years. recently God has shown me through a couple different circumstances how important it is to be looking for opportunities to reach out to those around me

the first was in kenya:
While at one of the stands at the market we were given free bananas. Well, I think, I didn't pay so maybe they weren't free??? But, we all ended up with a banana. I was excited to eat it and would have as we were walking home, but my hands were full. I was walking slightly behind the other girls when a young girl - best guess 9 yo, was walking the other direction. I smiled and said hi and she shyly smiled back. Then she stopped and turned around and I could tell that she was starting to follow me. I turned back to smile at her and she softly asked me for 5 pence. I told her no and kept walking hating every minute of that feeling of being helpless to do anything for this child. Then I remember that banana. It wasn't much - but she could eat it, and needed it more than me. I offered it to her and she gladly accepted. She followed me just a short distance longer until we crossed the street and then she stopped and watched us walk away. I know because when we got to the other side I turned around and she stood there watching us - so I waved and she returned the wave.

the second was in indianapolis:
I am frequently running late for work and rushing in at the last minute. I'm trying to do better with getting to work early. One day I actually left earlier than normal meaning that I should get to work early as well. I was excited as I drove through green stop lights instead of having to stop at all 15-ish red lights during my 10 min. commute =( However, as I was driving I noticed an elderly man laying on the sidewalk and a young girl standing next to him. My thoughts - "what is going on, should i stop, if i stop i will be late for work, oh i have to stop". So, I got turned around and went back to the scene. A college-age granddaughter was out for a walk with her grandfather. He slipped on the curb and fell. The granddaughter said that she didn't know what had happened because she was listening to her Ipod and was walking ahead of her grandpa (is that quality time or what!). As I was talking to them another stranger stopped by to help and I asked him to stay so that the two of us could help up this man. With the help of the other stranger, we had him up and standing in a couple seconds. After a few nursing type questions I felt comfortable that the man was ok and I could continue on my way. I ended up at work the same time as always, but still not late that day.

Neither of these circumstances required any real sacrifice or really any real inconvenience. They just required me being willing to see a need and realize that God had given me the resources to meet those needs.
Made me think, what other opportunities have I missed???
A dear friend once challenged me not to live with regret, so then I need to live with open eyes to see the needs around me and open hands to whatever God wants to have pass through them.

Some days I have no idea why God has placed me where He has and giving me the things and the opportunities that He has given me? But what I do know is that with great blessing there is great responsibility.
And since I have been greatly blessed, maybe the most important question is,
What am I doing with that great responsibility God has given me????

Eldoret, Kenyas

2011-03-13T09:25:00.000-07:00

the past few days in kenya have been amazing! we have been all around the city and have been trying to process everything that we are experiencing! the kenyans that we have met have been so friendly and welcoming! rose is an amazing host and it's exciting to see her life here! we were able to see the hospital here and it is overwhelming to see how many things could be improved and all the changes that need to be made! i've read about people having to share hospital beds but have never seen that in person until this week. we have also had the opportunity to interact with some street children here. they have such a hard life and it is neat to meet people who care about them and are investing time in trying to change their hopeless future! we have also been to the market, church, the great rift valley, ate roasted goat, and have eaten lots of wonderful food! we leave tomorrow for safari which will be a whole new great experience!

i find myself constantly comparing this place to guatemala. there are a lot of similarities and yet a lot of differences. i did not bring my computer so it will take me longer to get photos and details uploaded but i will as soon as possible. for now if you want to read more about our trip you can go to a fellow travelers blog: overcomingandbecoming@blogspot.com or for some insight into eldoret and the hospital you can read rose's blog: rosehouseinafrica@blogspot.com.

On my way to Africa!!!

2011-03-07T00:13:00.000-08:00

I have wanted to go to Africa for a long time! I remember choosing Cedarville because they had a cross-cultural nursing minor and I could go with a nursing team to Togo, West Africa. However, the year that I was able to go there were a lot of people and I was an alternate. I then tried to make other plans which also fell through. That summer though was a summer that changed my life! I ended up going to an orphanage in Albania for 4 weeks, but since it wasn't nursing related I had to find another cross-cultural nursing internship. I requested to do my internship at the Pacific Garden Mission Homeless Shelter Clinic in Chicago where I had been volunteering on my spring breaks with the women and children for the previous 2 years. I was granted my request and loved my summer in Chicago and working at the clinic so much that I sensed God was leading me there after graduation. I volunteered at the homeless shelter for the first couple years after moving there, but eventually was part of the full time nursing staff for about 2 years. It was an amazing place to work and I still miss the people that I worked with there and love to go back to visit!!!

Anyway, so that being said, I've never gone to Africa!!! I've been to China, Europe, Central and South America, and some of those places multiple times . . . but never Africa!
God has given me the chance to go for 2 weeks in March to Kenya!!!
I hesitated a lot on deciding to go on this trip. What was God's will in all this??? Let's just say I felt like God opened every door imaginable and then let me feel a peace about walking through the door to go to Africa! I pray that my heart stay open and teachable to all that God has for me on this trip!!!

I originally was joining 3 other girls but one had to cancel due to an injury to her ankle =(
So, now I will travel to Kenya with 2 friends and we will get to spend our time there with a friend who is working in the IU/Kenya partnership hospital for 6 months. I heard about and studied this Kenya project during my masters studies, so I'm excited to get the chance to see it in person! We will also travel some and go on a couple safaris as well as to a coast city which is on the Indian Ocean! I am so excited for all that is in store for us during this trip!!! I can't wait to come back with a million photos and stories to share!!!!

My mom has been to both Ghana and Uganda and I still pray that one day I have the opportunity to travel with her and meet the people that she has grown to love!!! I believe God will give me that opportunity one day!!!

Reminders of Guatemala

2011-02-18T13:58:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago I sat in a room with refugees from Nepal and Somalia. One family arrived from Nepal within the previous 12 hours. As I walked by them there was the oh so unforgettable smell . . . the smell on the clothing of the Guatemalan women and children that we would see in our clinics. Evidences of hard work and hours spent cooking over a fire and living in smoke filled homes. It's not that the smell is good or bad, it's just one of the reminders of Guatemala. Then this past week I got to spend a couple hours helping to run a student nurse run clinic for some of these refugees. We had a room full of 50 or so refugees representing many different countries. Languages were flying, we were making due with limited supplies, and yet there were many smiles and thankful hearts for the little that we had to offer! One of my favorite parts was the few minutes I had to play with the children!!! It brought back many memories of the clinics I was able to be a part of in Guatemala!!! I never would have imagined that my trips to Guatemala would help me to do a job in Indianapolis - how amazing is that!!!

So, what about Guatemala???
My last trip to Guatemala was now about 3 years ago. It is so hard to believe that so much time has gone by since I've been to that country that I love!!! When I moved to Indianapolis 3 years ago to complete my masters in Community Health Nursing I thought I'd be done in 1.5 years and as soon as I finished I'd be off to Guatemala to live there long term. So, while I'm learning to trust God's timing and not my own, God knows just when I need some encouragment and gives me some occational reminders that He has not forgotten the desires of my heart.

In the fall I was able to attend a conference about global medical missions. Talk about an encouragement to the soul!!! But, it was also a time of releasing my heart's desires to the Lord and remembering that I live to serve God in whatever and wherever He has called me, even if that means going somewhere besides Guatemala. That comes with a lot of fear, questions, doubt, tears, etc . . . and yet there is peace because there is no fear in love!!!

How humbling it was to stand before the large wall sized map (can't get the photo to upload) and be reminded that God is at work around the world, and God needs workers around the world!!! This was the challenge:

Where will you be involved???

Pray

Learn

Support

Thanksgiving and Christmas

2010-01-06T17:20:00.000-08:00

Had some good family time over the holidays. I did have to work some nights at the hospital, but we were able to arrange plans to easily accomidate my and everybody else's schedules. It's so fun to have Josey around and see her growing and changing!!! I also became Josey's godmother the Sunday after Christmas and am honored to not only be her aunt but also her godmother!!!

I finally finished up all of my classes for 2009 - it was such a relief as I was finishing up assignments and projects from summer and fall semesters!!! This coming semester I'll be working on my research project, a conversational spanish course, and working with the undergraduate nursing students to orient them to the spring break program as well as travel with them to Mexico. I'm sure it will be just as busy as always . . . still trying to get motivated to be prepare so that I'm not alwasy procrastinating =)

Peru

2009-11-29T20:33:00.000-08:00

I'm so thankful for the chance that I had to travel with 3 friends on my first trip to South America!!! We spend 8 days traveling around Peru and had a great time!!! We had a couple days in Lima, a couple days in Cusco, then took a train from Cusco to Machu Picchu where we stayed at Aguas Calientes for a night, back to Cusco for a night and then on to Puno for a couple nights. From Puno we flew to Lima and around 1:30AM we flew from Lima to Atlanta and then I flew on to Indy. It was a long overnight flight, but thankful for empty seats which gave me a chance to lay down and sleep!!!! This past week had been busy with work, Thanksgiving, and decorating for Christmas! Not sure I've processed all of my travels and the fact that I'm back in Indianapolis yet! Below are some photos:

This first photo was taken in Lima, Peru.

This is an Alpaca - we learned the difference between alpacas and lamas!!!

Machu Picchu was amazing - the ruins as well as the surrounding mountains!

This was my favorite place that we ate at in Aguas Calientes after a long day at Machu Picchu - we drank a common peruvian drink called chica morada, played cards, heard live Andian music, has little dancers for entertainment and ate pizza cooked in a wood burning oven, oh, and had coffee and cookies from Trader Joes for dessert!

Market in Peru

The day after Machu Picchu we had to wait until afternoon to catch the train so we wandered upon a trail that we though would lead to a waterfall - instead it lead straight up a mountain, and we made it to the top!!!!!!!!

Not to mention the 8 wooden ladders that also went straight up the mountain and we had to climb up and down them on our hike . . . but the view really was totally worth it!!!!

We took a bus from Cusco to Puno and this was the highest point we were at during out time in Peru - 4, 335 meters which is equivalent to 14,222 feet. Since it was raining we got the photo and then ran back to the bus.

From Puno we had a day to explore Lake Titicaca, which is huge!!!! First we stopped at the Uros Islands which was very interesting because everything is made out of reeds - including the island, boats, houses, watchtowers, etc. . . .

From there we were on the boat another 2 hours before reaching Taquile island which required a bit of a hike uphill to get to lunch and then about 500 steps down the other side of the island to return to our boat.

Will post more photos later - we had over 1,600 photos between the 4 of us - anybody interested is seeing all of them???

Working hard!!!

2009-11-09T17:52:00.000-08:00

Thought I should have some evidences of actually doing some work while here - since that is the reason I'm here anyway! This is the children's hospital where I was able to take a tour of all the different services as well as observe for a couple hours. I also returned later to do some interviews for my project.
This is the university from the entrance. It's just one of the campuses of the university and it divided up into just the social sciences.

The buildings are open concept - which is nice, except in these months it's very very cold!!! There is no heat and the wind blows through the halls making for a very chilly walk anywhere in the building! And yes, I do mean cold - it's been in the 50's and low 60's here . . .without heat and a real winter coat i've been barely staying warm enough!!!
But what an amazing view of the mountains even from inside the university!!!

And here I am working with Margarita in her office!

Things are going well for my project and I feel like i've accomplished what I needed to during my time here. I haven't done too much of the touristy stuff though. We'll see what this week brings however! And the fun thing is that I know I will be returning in March with some of the IUPUI students and will be working with some of the same professors! It's nicer to be able to see you soon instead of good-bye to all of my new friends here!

Pachuca and Piñatas

2009-11-09T16:59:00.000-08:00

Here is the famous Pachuca Reloj close up. This is the pride of Pachuca and it is claimed the the mechanism that runs the clock is the same that runs Big Ben. Sounds kinda silly - but actually the English settled in this area to do mining and so I would say it's quite possible!

It's so tall that it was tricky to get a photo of me in front of it!
Some of the surrounding streets and mountains around the Reloj.
There are cactus everywhere around here, even farms of them. Some of them are called "Nepal", which I think is the same as the prickly pear and you eat the leaves - yummy!!! Even before coming here I made some salsa with Nepal in it just for fun!
Here are some photos of the fiesta I went to for the 3 children. Of course the little girl had to have a princess piñata!!!
And we had to be so careful with the older boys who were swinging so hard at the piñata, this is the one of the birthday boys.

And finally what all the kids are waiting for - massive amounts of candy!!!
There was also tons of cake - one cake was decorated for the siblings, one side for the boy and one side for the girl . . . too cute!!! And a whole other cake for the other birthday boy!
The house where the fiesta was held was up the side of one of the mountains and they had an amazing balcony on each of the levels that looked out over the city of Pachuca. Even from here it's impossible to see the entire city because it wraps around the sides of the mountains!

And here is a photo of the house that i've been living in for the past couple weeks.

This adorable little girl was so gently hitting the piñata - it was just too cute and I was able to get a bit of it on video:

First week in Pachuca

2009-11-02T19:46:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the city of Pachuca in the state of Hildalgo, Mexico. People here say this is a small town and that nothing is really that far away. However, there is around a million people living in this city and it's jam packed with houses and buildings and continues to grow! It's beautiful here as the entire city it surrounded by mountains!!!

I was taken on a tour of the University that I'm working with here in Pachuca and at one of the buildings they had an observatory that was on the top of the tallest part that you see in the above picture. It was an amazing view of the entire city of Pachuca and I was able to see various landmarks from above! The crazy winding streets looked even crazier from above - as well as some of the incredibly steep streets that seem impossible to go up in down by any means of transportation!

When studying Spanish in Guatemala I heard about a holiday that I never wanted to be part of, or even be around for. Well, this year I ended up in Mexico during that holiday. It's called 'day of the dead' and really the celebration starts with halloween but continues for many days. There are many differences and the people are remembering their ancestors but the meanings behind what they do and some of the things that they do are just not things that I want to take part in or even be around!!! The below photo are some of the flowers that are used during this holiday. Just a couple hours later all but a couple of the orange flowers were gone.

This week I also went to a Mary Kay party with some of the professors from the university. It was fun to spend time with them outside of the university! Below is a photo from that evening.

Saturday I went with my new missionary friends to a nearby city called Real de Monte. It's a city that was settled by English miners a long time ago and maintains some of the traditions started back then like tin roofs on all the buildings and more European style buildings. This is also the origin of the famous Paste which is a food that can only be found in and near Pachuca. I've eaten many of these since coming here! It was traditionally lunch for the miners.

This town is up the mountain about 20 min., the problem was that the entire mountain was covered with a cloud! We were at about 9,000 or so feet elevation and because of the cloud cover the temp got down to 47 degrees F. It was cold!!!!!!!!!!!! Unfortunately the cloud never lifted, so I took pictures even though it was hard to see. Well, you'll get to see what I saw anyway!

This is a picture of the mountain on our way down . . . no wonder it was so cold and we couldn't see!!!!
And you can see the same cloud covered mountain just a little bit farther away - notice the blue sky above and around the cloud!!!

Sunday I was able to go to my missionary friend's church. It was a neat Sunday as they were celebrating 11 years and the return of a special guest. There was a lunch after the service and a yummy cake that was served!

Bienvenidos a México!!!

2009-10-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

I have heard this phrase over and over again since arriving in Mexico: Bienvenidos a México or Welcome to Mexico!!! It has come in the form of a greeting after arriving at the airport or when meeting somebody new.
But, there have been some other times that I have heard it such as:
*when the electricity went off for 4 hours during a storm one night
*when we were driving to a clinic and there was a section of the street flooded so we had to
turn around in a narrow street
*in traffic or when somebody runs a red light
*when driving the wrong way on the highway because the right way was blocked
*after eating real Mexican tacos (like in this photos)

I've had a few days here in Mexico to take it easy and adjust to the 7,500+ ft. elevation. Because of my many travels to Guatemala and my time in El Paso/Juarez most things are pretty familiar and there is not a lot of culture shock! I've been challenged with speaking Spanish again and love being surrounded by the language - I can't wait for mine to improve some more!

A street in Pachuca, notice the houses on the
mountain in the background -
Pachuca is surrounded by mountains,
and the poorest live on the mountains.

I've been staying with a wonderful missionary family and have enjoyed my time with them so much! Today (Sunday) I traveled with a traveling medical clinic through the university to a nearby town. They had mobile dental offices and an eye clinic as well as doctors, nurses, pharmacists, psychologists, nutritionists, etc . . . who were able to help the people. After graduating from the university there is a requirement to do a certain amount of social service ranging from 6 months to a year. There were between 40-50 people staffing this clinic and a foundation that helps to fund these clinics provided us with breakfast and lunch as well as had entertainment for the patients. There was traditional Mexican singers and dancers, as well as clowns and people on stilts throughout the day. It was quite the fiesta in this little town as the clinics and entertainment all took place around the town square. I will soon start my official time with the university and will have to wait and see what that holds!

Booths set up for the medical consults.

Dental office

Town Square with Clinic set up around it

Traditional dancers from different Mexican states

Welcome baby Josephine!

2009-09-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

My niece was born on 9/9/09 and I was so excited to be living here in Indianapolis so that I could get to the hospital and meet her just hours after she was born. She is such a beautiful little miracle - Josephine Rose!!!

Meeting her for the first time
Sleepy, but oh so pretty in pink =)

A glimpse of those pretty eyes

Proud Mom and Dad getting Josephine ready to go home

Josephine sleeping through the tour of her new room

Grandma enjoying holding her first grandchild

Can't believe I'm finally an aunt!!! So fun!!!

Day at the Indianapolis Zoo

2009-07-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

This week mom and I were able to get to the Indianapolis Zoo for the morning, and we were so excited when Maranatha and Joseph were able to join us! We had a great time watching the Dolphin show, walking around looking at the animals, and even going for a carousel ride!!! Mom rode in the wheelchair which made it a little more interesting to maneuver around, and there was only one time that we though I was going to dump her forward . . . oops! For some reason she didn't want to go down stairs in the wheelchair, but thankfully the zoo is very handicap accessible and we just had to find the ramps.

Mom, Maranatha, and Joseph

Joseph ( I seem to always just miss his huge smile!!!)

My Urban Garden

2009-07-09T20:32:00.000-07:00

I've had little experience at gardening - but have enjoyed trying. One year I grew zucchini and cucumbers and some herbs. Well, this year I thought I would try again, but the trick is that I only have pots to use for my garden. So, plants have been moving around from pot to pot trying to figure out the right size pot for the plant. Most of these plants I started from seed - the beans, zucchini, cucumber, spaghetti squash, and cilantro. I bought the basil and mint. Everything is getting bigger than I expected, and it's hard to keep up with the watering when the plants are in pots. The other day I decided that 3 cucumber plants were too much for the one planter because they are flowering like crazy but no cucumbers. I was contemplating just pulling up one of the plants to see if the other 2 would start producing cucumbers. So, the one day I just decided to pull up the middle plant and see what would happen. Well, once I pulled it out I got a better look under some of the leave and itty bitty cucumbers were growing =( i looked for them on the other plants and there were a couple, but not as many as were on the one that i pulled up. I was very sad, but quickly planted what was left of the root system and have been trying to see if I can keep it alive. So far the vine is alive and healthy although lots of the leave are all shriveled up and sad looking. Oops!

I have limited space, but somehow or another it seems to be working =) And so far no complaints from the neighbors =)!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is one of the bean plants - I've had a couple small servings of beans. I just started a couple more plants to see if i'll be able to have a continued harvest of beans =)

I've been able to eat 2 zucchinis already and there is a third and possibly fourth that will be ready soon - this is a photo of one of them.

I was able to freeze some basil - I ended up with 3 of those plants and they are doing fantastic. Otherwise I'm just hoping for a little bit more fruit from the garden - and that they will stay alive for the rest of the summer and into the fall! This year was kinda random in what I planted - was trying to use up some leftover seeds. Maybe next year I'll be able to try again and be a little more prepared for planting a garden that I can handle!

4th of July weekend

2009-07-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

I have never been able to consistently celebrate the 4th of July holiday. One year I was in Guatemala, a couple years I was in Chicago sitting on the lakeshore, at Navy Pier, or in Grant Park amidst the millions of people, or at various locations like the fairgrounds near the town where I grew up. Last year I was in the midst of moving out of Chicago and was trying to get myself ready to go to Guatemala the shortly after and finish up a paper, som in the craziness didn't plan for celebrating the 4th, so I just watched fireworks on TV. Well, this year I'm living here in Indy, my mom is staying at my brother's house recovering from double knee replacement surgery and my brother, sister-in-law and her parents were all in town. I had thought it would be fun to have everyone over to my place and then walk a block or two and see if we could see some of the downtown fireworks. Well, then on the 4th it was rainy and cloudy and nobody was up for the adventure . . . good thing though because the fireworks were canceled and postponed until the 5th. So, the 5th was a busy day at my brother's house and once again nobody was interested in attempting to see the fireworks . . . except me! So, I just went back to my apartment (thankfully early enough that there was plenty of parking!) and about 5 min. before the fireworks started I walked about 3 blocks to Mass Ave. and had a perfect view of all the fireworks. It was great. Then they were over and I walked past all the poor people stuck in traffic trying to leave and back to my apartment. Next year I think that I will be planning a 4th of July party at my house - and I'll supply the fireworks =)
Here's the only 4th of july photo that I have from this year:

All in a Sunday

2009-05-31T20:53:00.000-07:00

This morning I got off work around 3am, came home, and went to bed. I woke up to my alarm getting me up in time to make it to my church's spanish service which doesn't meet until 12:15pm, since I knew I wouldn't make it to any of the earlier services. I was rushing but ready to get out the door on time, so I grabbed my purse and Bible and rushed out the door. Before closing the door I always turn the lock on the door handle and then close the door and once outside I lock the deadbolt. Except today when I went to lock the deadbolt, NO keys in my purse!!! ooooops - they were still inside. Thankfully my sister-in-law has a key to my apartment and was able to come to the rescue and get me back into my apartment! While I was waiting I was able to re-pot some of the plants in my garden. I currently have green beans, cucumber, zucchini, spaghetti squash, basil, mint, and possibly cilantro growing. They are all in pots so I'm not sure what will grow and what will not, but i'm hoping that I get lots of use out of the plants!!! All were started from seeds except for the basil and mint!

Anyway, after cleaning up the house some and working on a project for school I decided to go for a jog/walk down by the Indy canal. It was beautiful outside, a bit crowded on the canal but not too bad. Then I saw the most precious little family of ducks swimming around, the little ducklings were tiny and so cute to watch. I rounded the curve of the canal and down a little ways was one lonely little duckling just kinda sitting scared stiff in the water all alone. I was so worried for the little duck. Paddle boats were going by it and it just hardly moved because it looked so scared and was so tiny in comparison! I couldn't leave without making sure that the little duckling got reunited with it's family, but how because the mama duck couldn't see the duckling and the duckling couldn't see the mama duck. So, I walked back down around the curve to see what the mama duck and other babies were doing. After a few minutes they started to swim back in the direction of the lost little ducking. I was so excited I just kinda walked slowly with them making sure they made it back far enough to be reunited. After about another 15 min. or so the baby duck was finally reunited with it's mother and siblings. Whew - that was a stressful exercise, but all turned out ok in the end!!!

The day ended good as it looks like we are close to finishing up our project for school. Actually, myself and another classmate are putting together a professional poster to represent a project we completed last fall and will display it at a poster session during a conference for public health educators. The conference will be in Chicago at a hotel in Greek town and I can't wait to go!!!

Memorial Day weekend

2009-05-31T20:31:00.000-07:00

I had plans to visit my good friend from Guatemala who is visiting Warsaw, IN with her daughter on Sat. of Memorial Day weekend. Before I left that morning I decided that since I didn't have to go to work until the following Wed. that I would continue on to visit some friends in Chicago as well. Below is my friend Anel and her beautiful daugher Annika. We had fun at McDonalds so that we could chat while Annika played on the indoor playground.
I love how she was laughing hysterically like in the above photo, until we went to take the below photo and she wouldn't even look at the camera let alone smile!

Then I went to Lowell to spend the night at my mom's house before heading up to Chicago Sunday morning. I was able to go to Armitage en Espanol - it was so great to see my chicago church family and be welcomed back with open arms by the spanish congregation. I even got to meet a couple who are still missionaries in Guatemala after 59 years . . . they are well into their 80's and continue to minister there. What a testimony! Sunday was a rushed day as I got in a quick visit to the old apartment and got to see one of my housemates that still lives there. Then off to lunch with another friend. And then, probably the whole reason I needed to get to Chicago to visit: to see Jeanette and her baby Shayne!!! They are below - he is such a beautiful little angel!!! I was so excited to finally see her again and meet her baby! As we were walking in the park we had fun running into a former co-worker from Children's who was 40+ weeks pregnant and trying to walk the baby out =) It was nice to catch up with her unexpectedly (and thankfully she has since had the baby)!!!

After my visit with Jeanette I was able to see Jackie - another former housemate from the Nottingham house. Monday morning was spent playing with her niece and nephew and then going to brunch with some of her family. Then back to Lowell to see mom before having to get back to Indy for work on Wed.

It was a fun spontaneous trip, although I never get to see everybody that I want in such a quick visit to Chicago. There were so many good friends that I would have loved to see, but time just didn't allow!

mexico . . . summer . . .baby . . .

2009-05-11T20:06:00.000-07:00

This semester was a busy one - but all final exams have been taken and all final projects and assignments completed. I never thought I would get through last semester and still be sane, but alas God's grace is sufficient and I can look back and say that I learned a lot and I'm happy with the outcomes of my courses. However, there were a few surprises in these past few weeks!!! Everything was falling wonderfully into place for my internship in Mexico, including the submission of a grant that would cover the costs of my internship and related expenses, as well as funding for the future project I would be starting to do the groundwork for. Then the H1N1 (aka. the swine flu) hit! The university finally decided that in keeping with the advised travel restrictions they would cancel all student and faculty related study trips to Mexico for the summer. I can't say I was surprised, although it was a bit of a relief as I didn't have to make the decision. Also, I was really stretching myself to leave on the planned day after finishing up the semester, and didn't expect to be sick on top of that, so it's kinda nice not to be having to leave in about 48 hours from right now! But, that means a lot of rearranging of my schedule for the summer. Work had already granted me the leave of absence, so I had to be put back on the schedule and will have to re-apply for another one if needed. Our hopes are that I will be able to go to Mexico possibly in the fall to complete the planned internship!
In place of Mexico I will still be working on internship hours here in Indy, the plan is that those hours will cont. to prep me for the trip to Mexico!
And have no fear, June will keep me plenty busy with a conference in Chicago, my sister-in-law's baby shower, and my mom's bilateral kneed replacement surgery!
Yes, I did say my sister-in law's baby shower . . . I'm going to be an Auntie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My mom found this adorable little outfit for my niece and I can't wait to see it on her, although I have to wait until september!!!!!!!!!!

More updates to come and some photos from this spring, but those can wait until another day!

Indianapolis Fire

2009-03-12T10:39:00.001-07:00

Last night, well this morning, I got off work around 3:30am and started heading home as usual. I didn't get far from the hospital and realized that something was wrong up ahead - an orange glow and some smoke and glowing particles drifting from the glow and what looked like spraying water. I continued on my way home, but trying to get a better look at what was actually burning. Within seconds flames were shooting up into the air above the surrounding 3-4 story buildings with huge thick black smoke billowing from the blaze. It must have started around 3AM or a bit earlier - emergency vehicles were already on the scene and more arriving by the second. I was having a hard time differentiating where the fire was at due to the density of structures in the area surrounding the fire. All I could tell was that it was huge!!! I called back to work to see if they had gotten any notice for a disaster response . . . if the fire was in one of the 4-5 large apartment/condo buildings then the hospital would need extra help and being only a couple blocks away I could have gone back in . . . but they had not heard about anything at that point. As I was driving about 2-3 blocks away there were smoldering pieces of debris falling on the road. Here are the photos that I tried to take with my phone - they aren't very good, but give you an idea of the enormity of the fire!

Reports are that nobody was hurt, the fire was in a new construction site and they were able to keep it contained to only that site. That I must say is the amazing work done my the fire men and women who were working through the night, after more than 9 hours they were able to get the fire down and just dealing with the remaining hot spots and smoldering areas!!!

missing guatemala

2009-03-10T15:57:00.000-07:00

today is just one of those days that i'm really missing guatemala. i don't understand it and i don't know why - all i know is that i was brought to tears last night thinking about those precious faces, and wondering what i can even do to make a difference . . . the difference and the hope they are looking for is only found in Jesus! anything that i have to offer can't even begin to touch the deep needs that are in their hearts and that they face on a daily basis. and isn't it so american to even think that they have something that needs to be fixed? sometimes going back there seems so far away, and then i see a photo or a memory flashes into my mind and i feel like i'm just away from home for a little while, waiting to go back. i don't know what it all means, but today, as much as i'm missing guatemala, i have a peace that i'm right where i'm suppose to be.
on a lighter note, i ran out of my guatemalan coffee =( horrible, i know! thankfully i have a contact who is currently in guate and will be bringing me back some of the good stuff soon! but, until then i have to survive on something - so i decided that i would buy "Casi Ciello" which is a guatemalan coffee that starbucks sells. i've never had it, but have always wanted to try it. normally i wouldn't spend that much on coffee, but i had a gift card and it would cover basically the whole amount, so i thought it would be ok. problem - i went to 3 different starbucks and they were out of it, apparently it's seasonal and they won't be getting anymore, i called around to about 3 or 4 more stores and gave up when they all said they were out as well. still needed more coffee though . . . so i went ahead and walked down to the starbucks and used my giftcard to buy the regular coffee from antigua, guatemala =) i can't wait until tom. morning when i get to see if it's any good!!! i was so happy on my walk back to my house, funny how such a little thing can make me so happy!!!

March is here . . .

2009-03-07T17:32:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited about the warm weather that we have seen a few days here and there here in Indy! It's given me an excuse to get out of the house for a few minutes here and there to go for quick walks or jogs! Let me just say that I love love love my apartment and it's close location to work and school!
March is going to be full of continued assignments and course work for all 12 credit hours that I'm taking at IUPUI, assisting 2 professors as a TA, work, days of orientation and classes for the emergency room, and planning for my summer internship. Work allowed me to go down to part time, not sure if that will go into effect during the month of March or not until April. Regardless I will be thankful for the little bit of extra time that working less hours will give me . . . hopefully no more late assignments!!!
The summer internship is still in the planning and approval stage, but looks like it is coming together in ways that only God can do! IUPUI has a partner university in Mexico and they have talked about different diabetes prevention programs. A group of us are putting together a grant proposal for a diabetes prevention program focused on 4th graders that can be implemented both in the United States as well as in Mexico. My internship would be a "feasibility study", which means going to Mexico and working with the faculty to on this program. The grant will cover my travel expenses as well as other aspects of the program, so I'm praying we get the grant!!!
I wanted to post photos and don't have too many new ones, but there are some I realized that I haven't posted that are kinda fun . . .

These first 3 photos are from my quick visit to Chicago in January:
The new PGM building

This was taken at my friend's baby shower

Enjoying fondue with the Nottingham Girls (minus 1)

I was recently able to see some photos that somebody else took in Guatemala this summer,
this is some of the team that I worked with:

and this brings back a fun memory of helping to translate some truths from the Bible to this mother of one of the VBS children.

Where in the world to go????

2009-02-10T06:33:00.000-08:00

My Community Health Nursing Master's Program requires that I do a practicum. The professors are pretty open to a variety of experiences so that we each are able to find opportunities that will provide up with experiences that are applicable to our future interests. I started out thinking about going to Uganda and was excited about the prospect of being able to go to this country. However, the pieces weren't really fitting together just right, so I had to start embracing the idea that I would have to go somewhere else. There are lots of places that I would love to travel to and see and explore, however I knew that I would have to be pretty particular about where I go so that I can get a good practicum experience. I started thinking about ways to go back to Guatemala. My heart is there, however, I just wasn't sure about organizing the details of an internship. This semester is quite busy and I'm not sure that I'm going to survive it, so the thought of trying to organize my own internship just seems impossible. So, another option that was presented to me was going to Mexico and working with a partner university to Indiana University. One of my professors is working on a community based program that they are trying to implement. So, I am going to start incorporating research on the program and program implementation into this semesters assignments and then follow through with a potential 4 week internship with this mexican university. I'm still a little torn by not going back to Guatemala. However, God is giving me peace that I am making the right decision. The best thing is that I'll still get to use my spanish. I feel like I hardly get to speak spanish anymore these days. I am taking a spanish class this semester but it's online so I still don't get much of the conversation part. Anyway, that's the projected plan. Still have to make sure that I will be able to get the time off work but I will start working on that soon! And, I'm going to look into some scholarships and grants through the university as well. There are still some other countries where some of my friends are living that I really need to go visit, unfortunately now is just not the time . . . hopefully one day soon!!!! But for now I have the prospect of going to Mexico, and really I haven't seen much of Mexico so this could be very interesting!!!

January 2009

2009-01-29T18:37:00.000-08:00

So, I'm feeling very behind in blogging . . . so much is happening, it's just hard to find the time to write about it all!!! Maybe a monthly blog update seems pretty reasonable??? I enjoyed a nice Christmas break from classes, and although I was still working at the hospital I had a great schedule over the holidays thanks to being on orientation. My mom was able to spend some time in Indianapolis and was an amazing help to me as I unpacked and settled in to my new apartment. I had the last minute opportunity to get up to Chicago for a visit just after New Years. My friend was having a baby shower which I was able to go to. I also got into town on Friday and spent some time at Pacific Garden Mission where I use to work - what a wonderful blessing it was to reconnect with former friends and co-workers!!! I was also able to see a few other friends, have dinner with my old housemates, visit my spanish church (which I miss so so so much!!!), and have lunch with some friends. I couldn't believe how many people I was able to visit with - it was definitely a huge encouragement!!!
Classes have started back up and I was feeling behind the first week of classes and still not sure i'm feeling as though it will be possible to catch up. Especially if I keep procrastinating by blogging =) I decided to accept another teaching assistant position which should only be about a 4 hour a week commitment, but I have a feeling it could easily be more! Work at the hospital is going well, I'm feeling more comfortable in my new position and am in an off orientation phase before going back onto orientation in March. There have been lots of classes and trainings as I'm new to this hospital, and some of my certifications had expired.
Here is a photos on Mass Ave., which is a fun street a about 2 blocks from me, looking toward downtown:

Here is my street under a foot of snow during the recent snow storm:

until next month . . . maybe =)!!!

2008-12-19T17:12:00.000-08:00

I'm a little less stressed than the last update, however a lot has been going on!
I've finished up the fall semester - projects completed, tests finished, and TA position ended. I'm still trying to figure out the best classes to take for the spring semester which starts back up in January. Along with that I'm trying to decide whether or not to accept another TA position along with a heavier class load and my full time job???
There is a good chance that I'll be taking a medical Spanish class which I'm super excited about!
I'm enjoying my Emergency Room job - it's fun to be working with children again!!! I haven't decided yet whether I think that I'm a good fit for the ER, but I've been learning a ton!
Thankfully some things with the identity theft problems have been worked out and money credited back to my account, although there are still some loose ends to figure out.
I'm also officially moved into my own apartment - thanks to help from my grandpa, mom, brother and sister-in-law, and a few friends on a very cold December weekend!!! Still have some unpacking, organizing, and decorating to do, but it's quite livable and even has some Christmas decorations up - and lots of room for visitors!!!
I'm also very thankful for having some time off around Christmas - it helps to be on orientation during this time of year because I'm not obligated to work anytime holiday pay is offered!!!
I'll try to get some photos posted soon!
May your Christmas be focused on our amazing Lord and Savior . . .
And may your New Years be one of seeking God's will for each new day!!!

Lessons to be learned

2008-11-16T20:34:00.000-08:00

Things continue to be crazy - bank account is still a mess, car is back in the shop, homework is endless, and starting a new job is never easy. However, I'm really just constantly amazed at God in the midst of it all!!!
I can tell you though, I've learned some very practical things through all this. For example, the feeling of only having a certain amount of available cash and no other access to money . . .and still needing to get groceries and figure out how to go to the store to pay a bill because checks are not an option. I have a student bus pass that allows me to ride all bus lines for free, but I can tell you how thankful I am for this pass - because even though it's a small price to ride the bus, I would be stressed to have to use that amount of cash daily. It really has given me a new perspective on some peoples lives . . . certain conveniences that I take for granted!
And I've been quite ashamed when I begin to grumble about having to ride the bus and yet there are some people in wheelchairs or who are blind that regularly ride the bus and have to deal with more difficulites and inconveniences that I could ever even begin to imagine!!!

I've also been reminded to be thankful . . . because no matter what is happening there is still always more to be thankful for!

Back a couple weekends I did get to take a fun little break and Maranatha and I drove over to Stacie's baby shower. Unfortunately it was on the same day that I had my sunday class until 1pm in Indianapolis and the baby shower started at something like 2pm in Dayton, OH. We thought we would make it before the shower ended, but with my class running over by about 15 min. for the first time and a few wrong turns we missed the whole shower. Not so bad though because that just meant that Maranatha and I had a couple hours to spend just with Stacie =) It was a fun, quick evening and I'm glad that we had a chance to get over and see her (and "little nugget")!!!
How thankful I am for these dear friends!!!!!!!!

Praying for a safe delivery Stacie!!!!!

Recent craziness!

2008-11-04T18:24:00.000-08:00

For some reason life has recently become very overwhelming and difficult to figure out. However, amongst the difficulties I've seen God do the most amazing things! It took me forever and ever to find an apartment that I liked, but after much waiting I've found a great one and will move in sometime in Dec.!!! Over a week ago I found out that my identity was stolen and they were able to gain access to my bank accounts, they stole thousands before I realized it and was able to freeze the accounts. The bank is in the midst of an investigation, so currently everything in my accounts is still frozen. After the investigation I'll know whether or not all the money will be refunded. The bigger problem however is the lack of security that I feel. So much is at risk when somebody has your identity, so I've been trying to sort through how to deal with that and put up safeguards so that more things don't happen. I've also started working at Riley Children's Hospital in the Emergency Department. I've mostly had orientation classes and one day in the hospital. Classes at the University continue to go well, although I've recently been having trouble keeping up with all of the assignments. My TA position at the University has been great and I just found out last week that I actually have health insurance because of working there. Thankfully they refunded me for the student health insurance I signed up for at the begining of the semester because of the insurance they provided me with. Add to all this the car problems I mentioned in the previous post and I've been a little (a lot) stressed. Trying not to be, but I have been! Right now it's just a matter of trying to take things one day at a time and praying that I can honor God through each and every day!

Here is a photos of downtown Indianapolis . . .

modes of transportation

2008-11-04T17:54:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago my car began leaking anti-freeze . . . not good! I took it to the shop and it's a costly repair, so I decided to wait to get it fixed to see if I could find a better used car. In the mean time I've had to depend on other forms of transportation - mostly the city bus. Thankfully I have a student bus pass, so all my rides on the city bus have been free. Other ways I've found to get around - walking, bike, train, taxi, and begging for rides with my brother or sister-in-law . . .or any combination of them! I can't complain too much because i'm so thankful that I had other ways to get around without my car . . . but if you miss a bus there usually isn't another one coming for a long time and you usually can't catch up to the bus by running after it (i've tried!) =( , and some bus stops are not so great to wait at, especially in the dark! I finally decided that being carless just wasn't for me and will be getting my car fixed this week! However, I hope to continue to use city transportation if possible to cut down on so much wear and tear on my car and gas money!

more fun fall festivals

2008-10-05T19:27:00.000-07:00

There were a few other festivals here in Indianapolis that I got to enjoy. Fiesta Indianapolis celebrated the hispanic culture. I only saw one sign of Guatemala which was somebody wearing a soccer jersey from Guatemala. We had some good food and listened to some music - it was a good time!

The other one was the Irish Fest. Chicago hosts the Celtic Fest which is a free event, here in Indy it costs $13 to go to the Irish Fest. Not so sure it's worth the cost, plus I had my weekend course during the weekend of the festival which means I only had a couple hours here and there anyway. So, I waited until Sunday afternoon close to time for the festival to close up and got to go in for free. Some stuff was closing up, but there was still some booths and music. So, I was satisfied just to get in for free =)

Not sure if there are any other fall festivals coming up, but if you know of any and want to go let me know!!! Or, any fall hikes or drives to see the changing leaves would be great as well!

Fiest of the Hunters Moon

2008-10-05T18:40:00.000-07:00

Fiest of the Hunter's Moon is a festival in Lafayette, IN that everybody should experience at least once in their lifetime!!! Way back when it became a annual tradition for my family to go with another family - at the time our parents would volunteer and we would get dressed up in costume and camp out for the weekend. Since then it's become a time for my mom's friend to sell some of her crafts and so my mom continues to go with them to help.

Here is mom:

I've missed quite a few years since going off to college, but in the last couple years I've been able to go here and there. This was one of those years since I'm living only about 1 hour from there. The smell of woodburning fires are everywhere, people in costume, music drifting through the air, soldiers marching around, men in kilts, and so much more!

Here is a morning flag raising ceremony:
And one of the bands:

I arrived Sat. evening as it was closing up for the tourists. Since my mom's friends have a booth they are considered to be part of what we will call "fiesters". These are people that are registered to do something for the weekend - sell things like crafts or food, or do some kind of performance or things like that. Some of the "fiesters" are on site and everything they have must be time period appropriate. Some people really get into character and stay in it for the entire weekend (maybe their entire lives???)! But my mom and her friends are not that dedicated - so they have the motor home and set up camp in the parking lot! So, as the visitors are leaving the "fiesters" are closing up their booths and begin to cook their dinner.

Here is the fire we cooked our dinner over. We had cheeseburgers, sausages, cheesy potatoes and lots of other snack and munchies - most of the food credit goes to Ginger and Curtis!

Then as the sun goes down the music begins and there is a dance for all the "fiesters". I'm not sure what it's called - but it would be from the 1700's i'm assuming! Something like square-dancing, but different. Not everybody stays in costume, but lots of people do, so it's very fun and feels like you've stepped back in time! I took a video clip of the dancing and music on my camera, but it was taking to long to load onto the blog!

So, let me know if you are ever interested in going, it will happen again next year!!!!!!!!!!!!

decisions . . .

2008-09-16T20:46:00.000-07:00

There are certain times in life when decisions are made without much thought, the answers are obvious. Then there are other times when a decision is much more complicated and hard to figure out . . . and right now is one of those times for me!
I've been so blessed to have some time to settle into life here in Indianapolis without having to make spur of the moment decisions. But there comes a point when eventually I have to decide where I will work and where I will live and how long I will study for. All of these decisions seems like they will have such long lasting consequences that it seems to paralyze me and I just can't make any decisions at all. For example, apartments - what kind to get? where to live? high-rise or house? how much to pay? etc. . . .yikes, i don't know!
so, i just keep looking and looking and not wanting to pay any of the prices =(
i do interview with a couple hospitals this week, so then i will need to make some decisions about the job . . . to take one of them or hold out for more interviews?
then I talked with a professor who mentioned that maybe I should study a whole different master's program altogether . . . what??? (and it's one that isn't offered at IUPUI).
just trying to figure out how to make these decisions while waiting and trusting in the Lord's perfect timing. I know that it will all fall into place . . . just not sure how or when =)
guess it doesn't help that my mind and heart often wander to Guatemala . . . or I compare everything to Chicago because I miss the city and my friends!
i think that there is a cleansing factor in giving up the comfortable and the familiar . . . but it's a process of adjustment that isn't always fun or easy. just means that life takes on a new perspective and ultimately the decision is mine on how I will deal with the changes and what i choose to do with everything God has given to me!

The Lowell Labor Day Parade

2008-09-04T18:26:00.000-07:00

The town of Lowell, where my mom lives and where I grew up, celebrates Labor day with Fireworks and a Parade. My mom lives only 2 houses down from the main Parade route, so we had coffee and snacks for those who wanted them before, during, and/or after the parade!
Chairs started being put out along the street days before the parade - however our section is kinda reserved because it's in front of the neighbor's house, so we didn't need to put our chairs out until the night before =)
The parade starts out with the firetrucks . . .

Followed by the men and women who serve(d) our country:

And no Lowell Labor Day Parade would be complete with out the guys in these little cars:

Or the Mi Ranchito contribution of beautifully dressed Mexicans, dancing horses, and a man standing on the horse while doing tricks with his lasso

And can't forget the tractor . . .

Fun times in Lowell =) If you want to experience this tradition next year let me know - there's always plenty of room!!!

INDY

2008-08-28T16:41:00.000-07:00

I guess it would help if I gave you a better idea of what I'm doing! So, here's what's going on. Right now all of my stuff is in boxes at my mom's house in Lowell, IN. But, I'm taking classes in Indianapolis, Indiana and the plan is to find a job and apartment there in Indy while taking classes.
So far no apartment, thankfully my brother and sister-in-law are letting me live with them when I need to. And as far as the job, well, I haven't been so diligent with that because I'm still trying to decide between working at a hospital or clinic.
My master's program is in Community Health Nursing with a focus in Primary Care. In the back of my mind I'm wondering about just finishing my Family Nurse Practitioner while I'm at it because I'll be pretty close. In my current program I"ll graduate in Dec. 2009 - so just another year and a half to go!!!
The class structure for this program is a little different than normal and we only meet for one very intense weekend once a month, and then there is lots of homework to do in between classes. I'm also taking a online Pharmacology class which requires weekly assignments, reading, and quizzes. I did take a job as a Teaching Assistant for an undergrad Research Class taught by the Dean of Nursing at IUPUI. I will have to be on campus every Tues. afternoon to help out with that class - but it only ends up being about 4 hours a week.
So, for example this past week I went to Indy on Thurs. and stayed there until Wed. and then came back to Lowell and will be here for a couple days, and then will be back in Indy on Tues. I guess instead of paying rent I'll be paying that in gas for my car =(
So, some fun things about Indy:
-campus is only blocks away from Downtown
-there is a beautiful canal running between Downtown and the campus
-there are at least 3 large hospitals across the street from campus
-there is lots of green space, trees, and parks
-no Chicago traffic
-I have family and some good friends from college that live there
-cost of living is cheaper than Chicago
I'm looking forward to learning more about the city and starting to get settled there!
Once I have a place to live you are invited to come visit me =)

Here is a photo from a section of the canal looking toward Downtown:

and a pretty fountain on the canal:

Where am I???

2008-08-28T16:26:00.000-07:00

So, I've lived in Chicago for the past 7 years, right. When I would talk about going to my mom's house I would say that "I'm going to Indiana". Well, now I'm in the process of moving to Indianapolis (Indy), Indiana. The other day while talking to a friend in Indy I said that the next day I was going back to Indiana. "What?" she asked. Oh, ya, I'm in Indiana, just going to a different part of Indiana =) And the other day while searching for something in Indy I automatically typed in Chicago, IL and couldn't figure out why it wasn't bringing up things from Indy =) . . . oops, might take awhile to make the switch!
I do miss Chicago . . . but Indy is nice . . . just not sure it's sunk in yet that I'm actually making the move!

More about my family

2008-08-25T11:14:00.001-07:00

My host family was wonderful and so hospitable! It was a pleasure to live with them for the entire 4 weeks of my stay there! There are already quite a few photos of them in previous posts , especially with all of the birthday celebrations for their daughter Lucy. But, here are some more and some of their house:

The whole family

Lucy sleeping on her chair
My roommate, Mary, and JuanPa playing

JuanPa's school play in which he was a lion!

A photo with YaYa after she gave me this delicate little crocheted vase that she made for me during my time there

The street/neighborhood around the house

The little grassy courtyard - one of those widows is my bedroom!

Good question . . .

2008-08-20T12:34:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in an e-mail that lots of people are asking me this question, "When are you going back to Guatemala?". I too have thought about that question, but the honest answer is that I have no idea, none at all. Last year coming back to the states after living in Antigua and studying at language school I was very upset by the fact that I didn't know when I'd be going back to Guatemala. This year however I feel differently. I suppose a lot of it is because God taught me so much in my time there. I'm learning about being content with each and every moment and opportunity that God gives me along the way. I tend to look ahead at what is around the next corner and if there is something there to look forward to I'm doing ok, but if there is nothing there and life just goes on as normal I tend to get a little anxious. I need to find the balance between being content in today and yet figuring out how to plan for the future. But God tells us "don't worry about tomorrow" or to make plans to "go to this city or that city.
So, for now I just need to rest in the fact that God has a plan and He will show me what to do one step at a time. And along the way I want to be content and happy with the journey and not just seeking out a destination.
So, maybe I'll be back in 6 months . . . a year . . . 2 years . . . maybe never?
In the meantime I'm realizing that I have a lot to learn. I was challenged a lot about what it looks like to be involved in missions and what it means to do medical missions . . . and what is my role in all of that??? Not to mention the personal weaknesses that need to be worked on!
My heart is still in Guatemala - I'm not sure why? Why there, why those people? I still wonder if I'll ever live there and if I do how I will do that or who I will work with and where I would live. But those are the questions that I can't answer now and don't need to. There is a gap between where I am now and actually moving to Guatemala. So, if God desires for me to return, he will begin to fill that gap. And if not, then I will never regret every moment that I spent in that country and every person that I interacted with and every friend that I got to know! The best thing that I can do right now is leave it all in God's hands and let Him lead me step by step!

America Latina School and Clinic

2008-08-20T12:33:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of the America Latina school campus in Guatemala City - they actually have 2 other locations, in Palencia and Chimaltenango - which is where we held some clinics, and there are some general photos of our time there in another post.

This is the street outside of the school and the wall of red/cream is the wall of the school and main entrance:

Here is the clinic and there is an entrance to the side that goes to the dental office, business offices and the pharmacy/storeroom - those are the areas that I spent a lot of time!
and this is inside the clinic

Here is the courtyard, gym, administrative building and some classrooms at the school:

This photos was taken from the campus water tower thing towards some of the downtown buildings

Clinics and other ministries

2008-08-20T12:32:00.000-07:00

Here is a look at some of what was happening around the clinics. There was more than just medical stuff going on - there were ministries for children, youth and adults as well as painting. When we were running medical clinics we had 2-3 doctors seeing patients, 3 dentists, help finding the correct prescription eyeglasses, and a pharmacy to hand out medications. In the clinic the first week I was able to check patients in by getting their main complaints. The second week I worked more in the pharmacy.

This first set of photos is from the clinic in Palencia - about 45 min. drive from the city where I was living.

This very colorful wall was painted by the team

The kids in a "VBS" type program

Craft time with the women - they loved it!!!

"Doctor's offices" and pharmacy

This next set of photos from Chimaltenango during my second week- about another 45 min. drive from the city in a different direction as the other clinic!

The is my friend Chris who is a missionary in Chimaltenango, so I spent some time with her . . . and tried some natural healing techniques for her finger - well as natural as duct tape can be =)

Dental
Eyeglasses

VBS

Team members and building used for clinics

Painting

Hope this gives you a glimpse of what was happening during my time in Guatemala!

The beauty of Guatemala

2008-08-20T12:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of some of the beautiful areas of Guatemala - the mountains, the flowers, it's amazing! One thing about Guatemala that intrigues me are the volcanoes . . . on this trip I got to see them from a distance, but sadly not really any new fun photos of them.

Some amazing flowers:

Some photos of a monastery ruined by an earthquake back in the 1700's, now still sits in ruins but has become a beautiful hotel and restaurant:

and one of the parrot's at the hotel:

Mountain scenes:

Week 4 in Guatemala

2008-08-20T12:10:00.000-07:00

All the last week was spent in the clinic in Guatemala City. There were more things I would have liked to organize in the pharmacy/storeroom, but I was busy working on powerpoint teaching modules for some health promoters in some of the villages. That project pretty much took up all my time at the clinic during this last week. Maybe one day I'll get to go with them and help with the teaching???

In the pharmacy with Dr. Oswaldo and Dr. Oliver

Jorge overwhelmed by donations in the pharmacy

Tuesday evening was a chance to show appreciation to our host family, so we took Makko and Alejandra out to dinner. It was a fun evening to just be able to talk and laugh over good food! Afterwards we went to see the "central park" area of the city. That is were there is a large cathedral, fountain, and Government buildings.
Wednesday afternoon after a nice walk around the neighborhood I was able to meet up with a friend for dinner. It was nice to see her and catch up from the last time I saw her a year ago!
Thursday was the other interns last day at the clinic and so they had a lunch planned to say goodbye. We went to TGIFridays and both of us were officially said goodbye to and they gave us some little gifts from the clinic and school. The whole staff was there and so it was a nice way to end the week.
Friday was a holiday in Guatemala City and so there was no work. I was able to meet some friends for lunch - Anel and her husband Leonel and their baby Anika. I also got to do some quick shopping to pick up some little gifts for my host family. As we were leaving the shopping center it started raining, hard and it was really windy. Within 10 minutes the streets were flooded with water coming up to the bottom of the car - it looked like we were driving through rivers! Finally we made it to the house and I got soaked trying to get inside. Thankfully it didn't rain for long. In the evening I was able to meet up with some friends, Ana and Sylvia, that stayed with me in Chicago about a year ago while they were trying to get from Guatemala to Indiana. It was fun to see them again, and I got to meet Ana's little boy as well. It was a blessing to see how my spanish has improved over this past year because we were able to communicate much easier than a year ago!
After dinner Ana took me on a driving tour of the city - I don't know how many of the 25 different zones we were in, but lots of them!!! It was fun to see some new parts of the city and to see the differences from zone to zone.

Here's a photo of us at dinner

The only photo I have from our driving tour - this is one of the streets leading to central park
Saturday I was able to see some missionary friends that I met last year at language school. They are now working full time about 3 hours outside of Guatemala City, but because they were in the city and close by we were able to meet up for lunch. After lunch they had a little shopping to do so I just went with them. We ended up by a large mall and I was looking for thank you cards . . . now, this was a large mall - and I never did find those thank you cards! However, I knew somebody that lived close by so we met up for coffee and then hung out with some other friends and went to see a movie. Thankfully one of them is friends with the owner so we even got free tickets!
Sunday I was able to go to my friend Argentina's church and see her one last time before leaving. Actually, she took me to a store that had thank you cards =), and then we were trying to find our way back to my house. We were close, but missed the one turn. Then we were in familiar territory and finally got close to the school and from there I was able to get her to the house. Maybe with a little bit more time I could figure that city out?

Argentina and I

Sunday afternoon was the big family birthday celebration for 2 year old Lucy. When I got home from church everything was decorated in pink and princesses! We had lunch and then there was the piñata and then cake and then opening presents. In the evening I had to get everything packed up and ready to go for Monday morning.

The birthday girl at her pink princess party!

Even YaYa was celebrating and wearing a birthday hat =)

The piñata

Lucy had just woken up for the piñata so she didn't participate much

Monday I still went to the clinic in the morning and was only there for a couple hours. There was a large amount of donations that were received on Thursday afternoon and so we hadn't had a chance to clean those up. So, the whole morning was spent organizing and finding a place for the donations. Then off to the airport . . . and back to Indiana.

Photos

2008-08-11T20:05:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting a chance to post some photos:

This picture was taken the first weekend I arrived. I'm in Antigua with my friend Anel and her daughter Anika - her husband and brother are with as well, just not in the photo!!!

This picture was taen with some of the patiens waiting in the pharmacy for their meds. This was during week 2 when we were in Chimaltenango.

This is my host family: Marko and Alejandra, their children Juan Pablo (JuanPa) and Lucy, and the children's great grandma YaYa.

This was taken at Lucy's party: Las Princessas!!!

This is also from Lucy's party: she got to take the first swings at the pinata!

And I got my few swings in as well - it was actually quite fun =)!!!

There are lots of other photos to be shown - but those will have to wait for another time!!!

Guatemala City versus Antigua

2008-08-06T18:19:00.000-07:00

The last two times that I've lived in Guatemala for language school I lived in Antigua. This summer, I'm living in the capital city, Guatemala City. I could never have imagined the differences between the two.

Here are a few of them:

City:
Not a lot of tourist or Americans seen
Not very safe to walk around
A random glimpse at the volcanoes
Always waiting for clothes to line dry and then be ironed (may take a week)
Difficult to connect with people due to the size of the city and transportation
Huge - the history is hidden somewhere here

Antigua:
Tourist around every corner
Walking everywhere
Beautiful scenery
Access to luxeries like laundry where they can put your clothes in a dryer instead of on the line Easy to meet friends for coffee Small and quaint with lots of history and ruins of times past

Regardless of the differences, the people are the what is most important and they are wonderful here just as they were wonderful in Antigua. It has been a bit of a shock to my system to be living in the city and some of the differences that I never would have imaged would make this such a different experience. I'm trying to learn through these experiences what it is that God is trying to teach me so even the difficulties become worthwhile!

Past Experiences

2008-07-30T06:51:00.000-07:00

It's always so neat to see how God orchastrates our lives and uses our past experiences to enable us to certain things at certain times. I worked at Pacific Garden Mission Homeless Shelter for about 2 years in 2004-2006. There I began learning about stewardship and what it means to handle large amounts of donations and being a good steward of those donations. Here in the clinic that I am working with they also receive a large amount of donations, mostly from teams traveling from the states. And, like most places have limited storage space. I've been helping some to condense packaging, organize and make room for new donations. What I did at the homeless shelter definately prepared me to be able to do it more efficiently now because of having the past experience. We never know how God is going to use different things that we are going through for us in the future!!!

Guatemala first week!

2008-07-27T16:30:00.000-07:00

Let me try to give you an idea of my first week here in Guatemala (I'll try to keep it short!).
I'm working with America Latina Clinics. They are a large organization that has was started by Guatemalans some 50 years ago and has 3 Christian schools with over 2000 students in 3 different locations and they have a medical ministry as well in the schools providing medical, dental, and vision care as well as traveling to other locations to offer medical, dental, and vision care within needy communities. They are also able to work with medical training and education within the communities at times. There are a few very dedicated Guatemalan medical staff that work with the clinics: Dr. Tito who is the head and director, Dr. Oswaldo, Dr. Oscar, Dentist: Victor, Jorge helps with organizing medications and donations, Rolando and Makko help with everything else from organizing teams and transportation to helping run the pharmacy and eye clinic . . . they do a ton! Oh, and I can't forget Coky, not sure if that's how to spell his name, but he helps with driving and then when at the clinic he is out working hard alongside of the team. The other day he was teaching me about driving the stick shift in the van while in the mountains, he did ask (jokingly) if I wanted to drive, but I had to turn down the offer telling him that I would but we would be off the side of the mountain!!! It's so fun to see them so dedicated to the work they are doing and never complain even when there are long days and so much to get done! They all have wonderful families and children who are behind then and very supportive and dedicated to their work as well!
I'm staying with a host family. They are great - there is the husband and wife, Makko and Alejandra and their 2 kids, Juan Pablo known as JuanPa, 4, and Lucy, 2. YaYa is the children's 91 year old great grandma who also lives with them to help take care of the kids and chores around the house. Makko works with America Latina Clinics and Alejandra works with America Latina Schools.
So, what did I do this last week?
There was a team here from Texas to help out, so they went to the school in Palencia - about a 45 min. beautiful drive to a little mountain town. The school in Palencia is the smallest and the one is most need of help. The team worked hard painting to make it more cheerful for the children. The second story of the school is still under construction, but little by little it is getting finished. They also had programs for the children, the women, the men and the teenagers - all were very well received and everybody had a great time! I helped them on Mon. and Tues., we did not do clinics these days, but I was able to help with some communication because there were very few spanish speakers with the team.
Wed. I stayed at the clinic in the school. It's basically a school nurse role as the kids come in for headaches or upset stomachs. I was by myself for a couple hours and of course a kid came in with an injured thumb. Thankfully Dr. Oscar came a few minutes later and got him sent for XRays. I also helped to get some organization to different lists of medicines that they take with them to the clinics. It was a nice day to get oriented to the clinic and some of the staff.
Thursday, Friday and Saturday were the clinic days in Palencia. They are very oraganized, 80 people can sign up for each day (although Sat. was not a full day) and the cost is 5Q, which is less than a US dollar. I actually like that they have to pay after some things I learned from working at the community health clinic that i worked at this past year. That small amount gives them a sense of ownership in their healthcare and provides them with anything they need from the clinic day. It is not a money making thing and would hardly begin to cover the cost of the clinics and medicines.
In the clinics I was the check in person, so I took their history and then passed them on to see the doctor. It was the perfect role for me as I was able to use my nursing skills in taking their history and my Spanish in communicating with them. As I finished with check in I helped some in the pharmacy trying to learn where they keep different medications - this will definitely take more time!!!
I wish that I could add photos - but I am not able to upload them right now . . . maybe later?
Today, Sunday, was a blessing as I was able to go to church with my friend Argentina. She is Guatemalan and I met her at my church in Chicago, she goes back and forth between Chicago and Guatemala and thankfully she is here in Guatemala right now. At this church I also ran into somebody that I was studying spanish with last year in Antigua - he is here permanently working in missions.
Living in the capital city is so different than any of my other experiences that I've had. Because we've been driving a lot we see a lot of different things - sometimes it is just so heartbreaking that I'm not really sure how to process it. Like the man who was stumbling around and falling in the median of a busy road, or the man who was sleeping in a turn lane on a fairly busy road . . . the houses of tin, the children playing steps away from cars flying by, etc . . . There are so many needs, and we can only do so much. There are some other challenges, like not being able to just pick up and go because traffic in the city is horrible and for me transportation is so limited, we also can't walk around much for safety reasons so i'm craving exercise! But, the blessings far out-way the challenges in everyway possible!!!
Another busy week is coming as a team arrives from Texas on Tuesday!!!

Electronics . . .

2008-07-23T16:37:00.000-07:00

Wow am I thankful for the electronics that we have!!! I didn't have a cell phone when I first got here, so many people were so kind to let me use theirs. But then, the day that I really needed one I didn't have it . . . well, by then I had one but couldn't find a store that sold minutes. Thanks to running into people that I know in a bookstore/cafe I was able to borrow theirs and met my group. Now I have one and it has lots of minutes!!! The other thing I miss is my computer, especially since I've lived on it the last year because of my online classes. I have been able to get online here and there, but not a lot. Then today I was working on some office stuff and not only had a chance to use the internet, but had the fun of figuring out Excel in spanish! Little things can be more challenging when in a different country . . .even the microwave is in spanish. It's pretty self-explanatory, but just give everything a different twist!
It's been fun to re-connect with different friends that live here, or are traveling through. I feel like God has blessed me with a fun little community here in Guatemala and look forward to re-connecting with more people as time goes on!

GUATEMALA

2008-07-19T10:43:00.000-07:00

Hello from Guatemala - just fyi there will be a lack of punctuation because the keyboard is different and I can not figure some things out.
I got off ok, although not everything on my To-Do list got done.
I was able to meet up with my friend Lesbia from my church in Chicago at the airport before getting to the gate. We had the same flight all the way, so it was nice to be able to travel with her.
I will be staying in Guatemala City with a host family. There is the couple and their 2 children, and soon I will meet Yaya (the 90 year old grandma). There is another american college student doing and internship with the organization, and she is also staying in the house. It has been fun to start to get to know everybody. I have already started making contact with friends here, it really is great to be back
Today and tom. are more kinda rest days because the organization has been having lots of groups, coming from the states. In fact one is leaving today and another one is coming about 30 min. later. Monday will be the first day that I really start to work with the groups.
I do not know how to answer the question about how I feel to be here. I am excited for sure, but there are so many unknowns and so many questions in my mind about lots of things beyond this summer. Maybe I am feeling curious as to how this summer will impact or change my life. Otherwise, it feels normal to be here, I am not worried or nervous or anxious about anything.
I may not know the plan or the schedule, but I serve a God who does and He is taking care of everything for me. I am just here to be used by Him however He chooses to use me.

I'M LEAVING!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-07-18T03:33:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving to go to the airport and head to GUATEMALA in about 3 hours . . . ask me if i'm ready? . . . NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
AHHHHHHHH, HOW DID THINGS GET SO CRAZY????????
But ask me if I got my paper done? . . . YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!
and for that i'm relieved.
However, in order for me to get that done and pack and get ready for the trip I've now been up for something like 43 hours straight and waiting for my next burst of energy to finish packing and get ready to go. Wed. I had worked on the paper for a long time in the library and then after dinner started again and by the time 5am was rolling around there was so many other things to get done i just started doing all of those things. Then I had to get back to the paper. By about 9pm last night I knew that once again i'd have to keep working through the night to get it completed. Thankfully I learned today that Lowell's McDonalds Drive through is open 24 hours . . . so that 2am coffee was wonderful!!!
Speaking of Lowell . . . here's a few random photos - well, the watertower . . .

and my mom's house =)

and this is my very fat cat =), sebastian. he knows somethings up with all the packing, so he keeps getting into the suitcase . . .

or laying on top of them . . . crazy cat - i really want to get away from cat hair not take it with me!

Well, blessing to you all, I don't know if I'll be able to blog or not while I'm down there . . . but I'll try to get some e-mails out!

Indiana-Illinois-Wisconsin

2008-07-14T22:28:00.000-07:00

I've been doing way to much traveling between states these days!!! Especially when I have some looming deadlines with packing for Guatemala and writing a paper (which I should probably be doing instead of this blog as well!) However, I had a lot of fun making all these trips. So, this was last week for me - Tuesday I drove up to Chicago to go out to dinner with some co-workers from the clinic. We went to Mi Tierra in La Villita, mmmm good!

Jeannie and I

Marissa and I

Eva and I - they made me wear this sombrero, and they brought out this cool sparkler in a muffin that was huge, but we didn't get a good photo of it!

Then Wed. morning I headed to Wisconsin to visit a friend from college. I had a great drive up there, with things kinda crazy and up in the air right now it was nice to have some time to think and talk to God about some thing that are happening! Had a nice visit with Mary, got to meet her husband, see her house, and just catch up! We took a walk on this long bridge over this lake - it was great!

Then I headed back that same night and stayed overnight in Chicago. Plan was to wake up, finish my part of a group paper that was due and then head home early afternoon. Well, no such luck since I ended up having to do more on the paper than expected - by the time I was done there was a thunderstorm and heavy traffic, so I stayed one more night in Chicago. Thankfully I still had my other homework with me, so I got some reading in . . . as well as visiting some more with my good friend Jackie!
Finally Friday morning I was headed back to Lowell, Indiana. Originally I was planning on heading down to Indianapolis Friday afternoon to visit with my brother and sister-in-law and then go to a wedding on Saturday. However, once I got home Friday morning I was just too tired to even think about re-packing and getting back in the car and driving some more. Plus the stress of packing and getting all of my homework done was just too much, so I stayed put in Lowell for the weekend getting some work done. Well, at least until Sunday morning when I decided to head back up to Chicago for one last Sunday at my church, Armitage, for awhile. I was so glad I did go up there because I got to have breakfast with a dear friend and spend lunch with some friends. And of course, I got to briefly see many others in the short time that I was there!!!

Now it's Monday night and I finished my Nursing Research Final Exam today which was the last thing that I had to do for that class!!! I thought I would get a higher grade, but no worries because I'll still pass the class =) I also finished up all the reading/weekly assignments for my Nursing Theory class, so the last (and biggest) assignment is the 15 page paper . . . uggggggh, that paper - can't wait till it's done!
I decided to try out my new bike that I won while I was living in Chicago as well. I figured I need some fresh air every now and then in between typing and reading! So, I put air in the tires and tested it out today! The bike isn't fancy or expensive, but it's fun to ride!

Where are the keys???

2008-07-06T22:07:00.000-07:00

This morning I wanted to go to my church in Chicago at least one more time before leaving for Guatemala. So, that meant getting up early and driving up to Chicago this morning after just moving from there yesterday. I, of course, was running late and realized I still had to stop for gas just to be on the safe side. So I rush to the gas station and when I turned off the car I went to take the keys with me, a habit that I formed while living in Chicago. But after hesitating I thought, well, i'm in Lowell and can just leave the keys in the ignition. So, I get out and pump the gas using my credit card to pay at the pump and go to get back in my car . . . door locked!!!!!!!!!!!! Wait, I remember leaving the keys in the ignition, and sure enough I could see them through the window, I could also see my purse and cell phone! I had forgotten about the other habit that I have formed in while living in Chicago which is to always lock my car doors when I get out, always - even at gas stations. So now it's Sunday morning, I'm already late, and no keys and no cell phone (and the only phone number I know by heart is my mom's . . . but she's in Africa!). The only other person at the gas station was a man getting into his minivan. I told him my keys were locked in my car and asked if he had any suggestions. He went to the back of his minivan and pulled out a couple tools to try and pry the door open enough to stick something else through in order to push the unlock button. He tried for a while and couldn't get the door pried open enough, so he went back to his minivan for another tool. With this he was able to get it unlocked!!!
What a relief!!!!!!!!! It set me back about 20 min., so not too bad, still made it on time for church because I was headed back early enough to go to sunday school, but definitely missed that!

Moving - phase 1

2008-07-05T18:40:00.000-07:00

My room in the house on Albany with the red door is empty. This signifies the end of a chapter of my life in Chicago, some moments i'm ready for this, and other moments I wonder what in the world I have done. The doubtful moments come even stronger after spending time with a friend and her children on Friday - the day before my move . . . why? why didn't this happen a year ago or 6 months ago??? I know that I can trust God's timing, but i don't always understand it! Nonetheless, I'm thankful for each moment that God gives us and realize that there is a lesson to be learned in every situation!
As far as the move itself - it went better than I could have ever hoped. My grandpa and I left Lowell, Indiana at 7:20am in his big pick-up truck and stopped by the UHAUL place to hook up the biggest trailer they had. Then we drove up into Chicago with hardly traffic which made it a nice quick drive! We were there a little before 9:30am and we started getting things together and organized. Grandpa then took the top off of my dining room table and wanted to get it down to the trailer. I tried to stall because I didn't want to carry it - it's heavy!!! - and I knew that there were strong guys on there way. After asking if he wanted to wait for more guys and no more opportunities to stall, down the stairs we went. We got down the stairs in the house and out to the porch steps when 2 guys showed up that were helping with the move =) They immediately took my end of the table and I was off the hook for any other heavy awkward furniture =) More helpers continued to trickle in and there were at least 8-10 people there. They did such a wonderful job, everything was in and loaded by 10:30am. After some quick cleaning we were on the road back to Indiana and stopped for a quick bite to eat on the way home. When we got to my mom's house there were 4 people there to help us and all the boxes and suitcases were unloaded there. Then grandpa, myself and one other person headed out to "the farm". That's were my grandparents live and they have a trailer that my grandpa didn't want to pull into the city, but that could hold my big furniture until fall. Because that was just a quick transfer of my bigger furniture it did not take long. We were done, took a quick break for some ice cold drinks and then we were on the road again to return the trailer to the UHAUL place before 7pm so that we didn't get charged for 2 days. Interesting fact: UHAUL furniture pads are made out of recycled jeans!
With the trailer returned and an empty truck, what else was there to do but stop for a treat at Dairy Queen? It was a yummy end to a hard days work!
I am so thankful for each and every person that took time out of their day to help me get through this first phase of moving.
There are many unknowns as to the next phase of the move that will take place in the fall, but what else can I do but trust God's plans and timing and know that it's all in His hands!

The Good-Byes Start

2008-07-01T22:02:00.000-07:00

Everything is happening so fast these days, packing to move, finishing grad school classes, saying good-byes, and preparing for Guatemala. On thursday I realized that I was just overbooking myself when I drove from Indiana to Chicago and stopped by Pacific Garden Mission to visit friends and say good-byes, then I was headed to a 3:15pm dental appointment at 3:15pm. Needless to say, I missed my appointment, but thankfully they let me reschedule for this week!!!
Below: Photo with previous co-worker on PGM's roof top garden. They weren't growing anything in this section, but other parts had tomatos!

Sunday I had planned to spend the afternoon with the famous Nottingham Girls. It was nice to get together with them one more time and to celebrate the friendships that we have! Afterwards Lynnette offered to help me pack - and of course I said yes!!! She was a huge help to at least get me started, so now I have a living room full of boxes that are filled and have started on other parts of the house!

Monday was my last day as an employee of Lawndale Christian Health Center. Below is a photo of the ladies at the registration desk that I pass by every morning. Without fail they always have a smile and a sweet word to say!!!

I didn't get many photos because it was a busy day, but I did get one with these wonderful MA's that I've been working with all year. I will have one more chance to get together with many coworkers next week. It's been hard to say all my goodbyes because there are so many employees (over 300) and 3 clinic sites. Often I don't get to see people on a regular basis. I've really felt blessed to work at this clinic and to have the opportunity to work with so many amazing people over this last year!!!

Update on Guatemala . . .

2008-06-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

This is a photo of Guatemala City, Guatemala - the capital of Guatemala. Can you believe that in just 3 weeks or so I'll be heading back to this beautiful country? It's been a year now since I was last there - and what a year it has been!!! As I think back over this past year I'm not sure how God pulled me through each day and how I could be so blessed to be at the point that I'm currently at. It's been a year of change (which isnt' stopping anytime soon!), growth, and lots and lots of homework!!!
The hugest answer to prayer came the other day when I heard from the mission board that all the money that I needed for the cost of the trip had been donated . . . wow, that was an overwhelming blessing to have been supported financially by dear friends and family!
Another exciting thing that happened was the chance to present my trip to the Hispanic Congregation at my church. I've been going to the spanish services this past year and on and off for the year or so before that. I was so nervous about the presentation since I had to do it in spanish, but it went better that I expected - and people said that they could understood me! I met some more Guatemalans - and they were so excited to see photos of their country!
I don't let myself stop to think too much about Guatemala these days because it's hard to stop thinking about it once I start!!! I'm excited for the things that God has in store for me during my time there this summer. It will be completely different than any other time that I've ever been in Guatemala. I still don't know a lot of details . . . I do know that I'll be doing medical work and staying with a host family. I will be spending more time in the capital city which will be good because I think it's time that I get to know new places in Guatemala!
However, before I leave I have to finish up my two summer classes which means continued weekly readings and assignments along with finishing up a group project and paper for one class as well as a 15 page paper for the other class. Along with that I'm working a couple more days between now and the time I leave. I have to pack, go to the dentist, and get things prepared for fall classes which will start 4 days after I return in August. I will also be working on saying good-byes - I will stop by Pacific Garden Mission to see my past
co-workers again as well as make a very quick trip to Wisconsin to visit a college friend I haven't seen in years. There are a few things that I would like to do around Chicago before I leave, but it's looking like i'm running out of time, guess I'll just have to save those things for when I come back to visit!!!

There is a wedding around Indianapolis the weekend before I leave so I'll probably go to that since I would like to stop by the campus because it could potentially save me lots of money to check into used books (one class alone is requiring 9 books) that are available on campus instead of buying all brand new ones.
I've had a hard time making commitment and decisions these last few weeks (months?), maybe this helps you understand why. I feel like there are so many things swimming around in my head and finally in these last few days I'm starting to feel like things are getting planned and finalized.
I've been working so hard on my class work, but now that it's getting close to the trip I'm finding it harder and harder to keep focused!

Movie Shoot

2008-06-23T04:57:00.000-07:00

So, one night I met some friends for dinner near Children's Memorial Hospital (that's where I use to work!!!). Afterwards I was driving down Fullerton and at the intersection of Fullerton/Lincoln/Halsted there was extra crazy traffic and confusion and Lincoln was blocked off. My friend told me it was because they were filming for the Dillinger movie with Johnny Depp. I remembered coming upon an internet article that talked about the filming of this movie on Lincoln Ave. and how they had changed many of the store fronts and store windows to reflect the time period of the movie. I had thought it was interesting when I read the article, but now even more interested since it was right near where I use to work - I knew that block well! The other interesting thing about the filming of the movie was that part of it was also filmed at the old Court House in Crown Point, IN - that's about 10 min. from where I grew up. I dropped my friend off at the Red Line and then I was debating on whether or not to try and get a closer look at the action and what they had done on the street. I turned onto Sheffield still wondering if it was worth the time since I have to constantly consider the fact that homework always is waiting for me! As I was driving I passed by a horse and buggy taxi thing, definately not one that is usually around Chicago . . . my curiosity got the best of me and I found a place to park and walked down to the block. As I was walking this is what I see . . . there was a huge line of these old cars! This was as close as I could get from this end, so no fun store fronts here.

I walked around to the other end of the block - this being closest to the hospital, and it looked so neat! The cobblestone in the middle of the road is for the trolley - just a rubber sheet of cobblestone that got rolled out! The stores all had new signs and awnings hanging over the existing ones. Johnny wasn't here at the time, but it was fun to see actors arriving in period dress and the drivers of the cars as well!

These first two pictures were actually taken with my phone. Remeber, I wasn't planning on being here so I didn't have my camera. Although I was quite impressed with my camera phone! But what I really wanted was to see these storefronts that they re-did for the movie. There was no way anybody could get close enough while the filming was going on. So, I decided that a quick trip down the next day would be worthwhile! And that's what I did! I actually met a friend working at Children's for lunch while she was on her lunch break then took some photos on the block where they were filming the night before. They weren't filming that next day, although there were crew people everywhere - it actually looked like they might have been starting to take down some signs and stuff.

This is a complete false front. If you look closely at the second story windows you can see brick through them =)

This is right outside the CVS . . . perfect for a pharmacy! Some of the others were hat stores, bakeries, clothing stores and a barber shop . . .

And of course the movie theater . . . I heard it's a big part of the story - so you might see this if you see the movie!
And then as I was leaving I saw this taxi . . . definitely not the going rate for a taxi in Chicago!

What would have been ideal is to get a photo of the storefronts with the old cars and people in time period dress, however that was impossible . . . guess i'll just have to wait and see the movie to have it all put together! Regardless it was a lot of fun to stumble upon this. Actually the night of the filming it was fun to wander around - people were so friendly and chatty since everybody was just standing around waiting for something - maybe to see johnny??? There were families, people with their dogs, people just walking by who stopped by and had to find out what was going on.

Homework by candle light!!!

2008-06-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

So, lately pretty much i've been doing homework in almost every spare moment. Last week was great as I got to spend some time with family and help mom pack and get her off to Africa. But, I was so behind on homework by the time I dropped her off saturday at the airport that I had to make up for lost time. Then, of course Sunday was my birthday - 30 years old, can you believe it? Well, it was a great day(more photos to come), but needless to say I didn't get much homework done! Then Monday I had to work, and Tuesday assignments, group project, reading, and work on research paper still needed to be done and were due that day. I ended up getting permission to finish up one project the next day. So I was working hard all day to get everything done, still one more posting to get online before the 11pm deadline, and would you believe that around 9:30p the lights go off. No storm, just off goes the electricity. So, I figured if it was because of an accident or some other rare cause and it would take awhile to come back on. I make my rounds through the house lighting candles, and normally would love the excuse to go to bed early, but not that night! I still had to finish reading some articles and summarize them. So, I continue reading by candle light until the lights came back on around 11pm or 12am, I don't remember. My assignment was a few hours late since I couldn't get online without electricity, but the professor had mercy and there was no penalty =) So, with tuesdays due date past I have a whole new set of deadlines for this next tuesday . . . and much work to be done on the group project, and well, the 15 page research paper - let's just say I better get started soon!!!

Indianapolis and My favorite Guatemalan bebé!!!

2008-05-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

I had a chance to go down to Indianapolis a couple weekends ago to talk with the professor helping me get organized and ready to start my Community Health Nursing Masters Program. It was great to talk with her and get some more details about the program and know what I need to start doing now to prepare for classes this fall. On the other hand it was bitter sweet thinking about moving down there because that means I'll be moving out of Chicago. I know it's time, but I will miss my dear friends that are hear and it will be hard to say goodbye! I also realize how bad I am at saying goodbyes, so I need to start preparing now so that I can get a chance to see everybody at least one more time before I leave!!! Thankfully Indianapolis isn't so far away and my mom lives fairly close to Chicago, so I'm sure that I'll back . . .it just won't be the same. While it seems like there are a million and one details to figure out between now and August things seem to be falling into place one by one, so it's fun to see little things coming together!

Besides meeting with the professor I got to spend time with my brother and sister-in-law and two dear friends that live there. It will be fun to live in the same city as family . . . although not sure if my brother is thinking the same thing =)

My one friend Maranatha and her husband Travis have recently brought home their new adopted baby from Guatemala! He has to be the most handsome Guatemalan bebé I have ever seen!!! (seen in photo)
I also got to go to the zoo with my friend Holly and her two boys. It's fun to know that they all will be down there when I move and that I'll be able to see then more often.

So, ready or not . . . Indianapolis, here I come!!!

peace

2008-04-20T21:47:00.000-07:00

to me, this is a peaceful scene. the water, the beautiful fall colors, some rollling hills (even though in indiana) . . . it's like automatic feelings of peace come over me when i'm in places like this.

but the most amazing thing is that i don't have to be in a particular situation or setting to be at peace, because the Prince of Peace is my God and Saviour, and He is the only one who can bring perfect peace! so if i choose to trust Him and let Him be in control then i can be at peace even though in the midst of . . .

looking towards the city from the clinic where i work

. . . a view of the city from the hancock building

living in Chicago where just driving to work every day brings new challenges wondering if people are going to run one of the 30-some stop lights or stops signs I go through twice a day, wondering if i'll hit a pedestrian that darts out in front of my car, or be hit by a car trying to turn out onto the street and then working in a crazy busy clinic where the work never seems to get done and the needs and challenges that our patients face are greater than I can ever even imagine. Then add in grad school, preparing for a missions trip, making decisions about a move out of Chicago, new job, new living situation, thinking about goodbyes to good friends, packing . . . all these things swirl around in my head constantly. I wonder if I'm doing the right thing and making the right decisions. Once I've made a decision I wonder if I made the right one or if I should go back and change something (which I've done occasionally!). But I sit here and wonder if I've really let God be the one to give me peace. Life will always be busy and hectic, situations and circumstances will change, but the craziness will never go away . . . the only thing that will never change is my need to follow Jesus step by step trusting Him completely along the way and allowing His Peace to permeate everything that I do.

one of those days . . .

2008-04-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

so, have you ever had one of those days . . . one of those days that starts out great and ends horribly??? it's like crying over spilled milk . . . except it's coffee. there's no reason for it . . . but somehow such insignificant things can have such a great impact. i guess i could be all philosophical and say that the events of life, big or small, can only impact us as strongly as we allow them to. and i totally agree, and yet at the same time here i am at the end of a day that started out to be a wonderful day and ended as a terrible day and what really happened that was so terrible? if i told you, you'd think that i was just being silly and that i have no excuse for having a bad day. the spilled coffee did have something to do with it . . . but there was so much more. i sure hope that somebody else has ever felt like this before. well, i guess the greatest thing is that tomorrow is a new day - another chance to have a great day . . . or as someone i know says, "make it a great day". ya, guess it really is my choice after all . . .

Semana Santa

2008-03-20T20:34:00.000-07:00

This time last year I was finishing up my 3 months time of living in Guatemala. I was suppose to leave before Easter but once I realized the celebrations that were taking place I changed my ticket - and oh how thankful I was to be there during the entire Easter celebrations. I learned so much and was challenged a lot in my own faith.

The streets fill with "processions and alfombras", basically parades and elaborate handmade carpets of flowers, colored sawdust, fruit, etc . . . which are sacrifices to the Christ who is carried through the streets during Holy Week almost 24 hours every day until Good Friday. I felt like I was swept back into the past as the life-like drama was happening all around me.
It was an incredible experience that I'll never forget.

I'll also never forget how it felt to see the empty streets on Easter morning and the small, simple celebrations that were taking place. It was Resurrection morning and it seemed like they forgot about the best part.
The other day I heard someone say how happy they were to not have to be bothered with Easter this year. I was assuming that she meant that she didn't have to arrange an Easter Egg Hunt or some other type of event.
But her statement made me think, is Easter a bother?
What about the Ressurrection that we are celebrating, what if Jesus hadn't bothered with us? Do I act like it is a bother to celebrate my Jesus and His incredible sacrifice, suffering, and resurrection that gives me eternal life?
Do I give Jesus only part of the credit He deserves, but not bother to give Him all the glory and honor?

Thankfully God did bother to send Jesus in our place!
Thankfully God's love is unconditional, no matter how underserving I am of receiving it!
Thankfully I can put all my hope in the only One who can give me hope and know that I am never a bother to Him!!!

What's all this about Mary Kay???

2008-01-25T22:04:00.000-08:00

Don't worry, I'm not starting to sell Mary Kay, but my friend Anna is! And she has been so great and offered to donate a percentage of sales I bring to her toward my next Guatemala trip! So back in Dec. I had a Christmas Mary Kay party, and have had a couple times of spending time with the girls and doing makeovers. If you are interested in purchasing any Mary Kay products from Anna you can check out her website and just mention my name and i'll still get a portion of the money for Guatemala! Anytime you or any friends want a makeover Anna would be more than happy to do it for you!

Anna giving some makeup tips to Jeannie and Marissa

Sandy

(former housemate)

Alyssa and Marissa

(new Lawndale co-workers)

Freeeeeeeeezing!!!!!!!!!!

2008-01-25T21:30:00.000-08:00

So, I guess there are much colder places in the world than Chicago . . . but my apartment is soooooooo cold . . . there is frost covering the inside of one of the windows, artic air blowing in around the other windows, and not enough blankets to cover up with. I guess it just makes me all the more grateful for the sunshine and warm weather that will soon be coming. Until then there will be plastic and blankets and towels and whatever else we can find to keep out the cold and try to maintain some heat in this place. Another problem that comes along with the freezing temperatures and snow is a very, very, very dirty car, but no way to wash it! Don't get me wrong, the snow is pretty, but when it's white, not black and not dried onto my car! The fun thing is that I do have a beautiful flower that is growing and withstanding the frigid temperatures, it's a bright red amarylis (hopefully I spelled it right) and brings a little cheer into the apartment. I quess that i'm just getting a bit of cabin fever . . . spring will be here soon and I can't wait!!!!!!!!

Ready or not . . . here it comes . . .

2008-01-06T21:12:00.000-08:00

Wow, 2008 is here! I can't believe it, but what a great year 2007 was. A co-worker has been asking many people about their new years resolutions, actually most people don't have any. And that's fine, but I think that it is important to reflect and set goals. We all have things that we need to change or improve upon, well, I know I do. The challenge is spending the time and energy to make the changes and improvements. But I do think that it's something important that we should all make at least an attempt at leaving behind something from the past year and looking forward to changing something in the new year! If you want to ask me about mine, you are welcome to, just know that I'll ask you about yours!!! Happy New Years!!!

The Thomas Family

2007-09-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

Just thinking about and praying for the Thomas Family . . . Jon, Tina, Andrew, Kaleb, Kolby, and princess Sarah. . . wow do I miss them!!! They are serving in a country oh so far away, but right where they need to be!

July in Guatemala

2007-09-06T19:26:00.000-07:00

In July 2006 I spent a whole month in the city of Antigua, Guatemala studying the spanish language. Starting in January - April 2007 I was there again . . . Then in July 2007 I had another chance to return for a short 9 days. What happened in those 9 days? 5 clinics, 5 different villages, 1 orphanage, 3 round trip boat rides on a mezmorizing lake, 850 people given medical care, 115 salvations, saying "take this vitamin once a day" over 500 times in spanish, and a million smiles and thanks. Why do I keep going back??? If photos can speak a thousand words than you will understand by the faces in the photos below. Not a day goes by that my thoughts don't see those faces and remember the laughter of the children. They have captured my heart and I pray that I never have to let go - and that one day soon I will be able to be there again.

Guatemala

2007-09-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my friends from Guatemala that I got to visit with on my trip in July. There are also photos of some of my favorite places and volcanos. Such amazaing memories . . . such amazing people . . . such an amazing country!!!

Kayaking Part 1: Our group

2007-07-15T17:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, I've wanted to go kayaking for sooo long and I finally had the chance!!! We started out on the gravel for our brief lesson but don't worry we didn't stay there for long! It was an evening trip so we started around 8:30 and got back just before midnight. Halfway through we had a fun treat . . . but you'll have to read about that in part 2!

This is my housemate Jeannie in the front and another friend Rocio in the back. They tried the double kayak - but not me, I did all by myself and it was so great!

Here's Jen. We were waiting for all the members of the group to catch up. Most of the time the kayak's weren't so close together, but it wasn't unusual to be running into other kayaks. Thankfully I never tipped over!!! I was a bit concerned about that, mostly because the Chicago river wasn't know for it's cleanliness =) But I still got quite wet from water dripping off the oars - not sure if that meant I was paddleing wrong or not?

And Alicia.

Phil, Dan and Tara were also part of our group but I didn't get any photos of them. What a fun group. Yeah for Jen and Alicia going on this adventure, I never would have known about it without them!!!

Kayaking Part 2: On the water

2007-07-15T17:02:00.000-07:00

So, here is where we started on the Chicago River - nice an peaceful, not too many other boats out on the water - but we still tried to follow the rules of the water and stay to the right!!!

Then we get into downtown - it was amazing to be kayaking through downtown, the best view i've ever had!!! I wanted to take so many photos, but it was hard to get the camera out of the plastic bag, keep my oar from falling into the water, keep my camera dry, keep my boat from drifting, get the right setting on the camera, stay still enough to not tip the kayak and then get the camera back in the plastic bag.

So, once we got close to Navy Pier the water traffic picked up and we were in a traffic jam with boats that were much bigger than our little kayaks!!! Our rule of staying to the right didn't help us when the other boat was trying to dock on the right where we were sitting! But we made it through and reached our destination - here near Navy Pier!

And we made it just in time for fireworks!!! Our group connected kayaks and enjoyed sitting on the river watching the fireworks! Definately an unforgettable kayak trip - probably my favorite Chicago memory!!!

Happy 4th!!!

2007-07-04T21:35:00.000-07:00

Celebrating the 4th in Chicago can be so much fun!!! Well, technically this was the 3rd - but close enough and the meaning is the same =) I was able to go downtown to meet up with some friends and watch the fireworks from the lakefront. What a view and what a great fireworks show! But wow, the crowds of people are unbelievable! Here is the view in the daylight from our spot on the lawn - Navy Pier is there but hard to see in this photo.

This is my friend Regina - we're just chillin' and waiting for fireworks to start.

Here is the rest of the gang - Maria, Regina, Angela, Renee and Lawrence was there but wasn't around when I took the photo.

While we were waiting there were a few surprises. One was these globes that are all along the sidewalk that encourage environmentally friendly habits - very educational! Then, we were attacked by bugs. They weren't mosquitoes, but very annoying - people were doing anything possible to keep them away - jumping jacks, running, screaming, fire, hiding under blankets, waving things in the air, and still the bugs covered the blanket that we were sitting on, covered us, felt like they were in your mouth if you talked . . . very unwelcome guests to our celebration!!! The photo below was taken during this bug attack - and as a bonus there is a globe and the Sears Tower in the background. Nevertheless we survived and they lessened slightly just before the fireworks show started, so that we could at least enjoy that!

Happy 4th Cont.

2007-07-04T21:23:00.000-07:00

For some reason I couldn't get all the photos into one blog . . . so here is the best part, the fireworks!!! They were beautiful and choreographed with the Grant Park Orchestra playing in Grant Park. From where we were we could just hear the music over the speakers, but it was beautiful!!!

Here is a downtown before we met the sea of pedestrians trying to get home after the show . . .

This is just a glimpse of the millions of people rushing for the "El" trains. Every street was packed with people - you can see them in beteen the 2 rows of lights, it's unbelievable to be in a crowd that large and see so many people in one place.

On the actual 4th I was able to spend time with a friend and her family and friends at a cookout and swimming in the pool. As we were driving back to my apartment on the express way, there were fireworks going off in every direction all around the city - that was actually quite spectacular as well. Then we continued to see great fireworks from our back deck as people set them off all around the neighborhood and nearby parks, we had such a great view!!! Amidst all the celebrating it's easy to forget the reason for it - how thankful I am for my country and the many sacrifices that have been made for our this country's Independence!

Happy Independence Day!!!

Dumpster Diving and New Housemates

2007-07-01T18:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, so dumpster diving in Chicago can pay off from time to time, but how often do you really find something that you need and something in good condition in a dumpster???
Well, this couch was in an alley near our apartment, somebody was throwing it away - and there is NOTHING wrong with it. And better yet, we needed a couch! The catch was getting it down the street, through the entrance way and up the flight of stairs into the apartment. I'm sure we could have won something on Funniest Home Videos because it was sure quite a site to see my roommate Becca and I trying to manage this . . . but all in all, it was worth it!!!

Here are my new housemates - Becca and Jeannie. They are great - we were out celebrating Jeannie's B-day

The Nottingham Girls Reunion

2007-06-24T18:28:00.000-07:00

So, many of you know of the Nottingham Girls - you might have even had a Christmas photo of us on your fridge the last couple years! Well, we've all moved out of that great house on Nottingham Ave., but of course our friendships continue on! The other night it was practically a miracle that we could all get together for a brief time to reconnect during this time of change and transition for all of us! Ya, these girls have been such a huge blessing in my life and I am so thankful for each of them!

the house with the red door

2007-06-12T18:15:00.000-07:00

Well, here is my new apartment . . . and yes, it's often referred to as the house with the red door - and you can see why from the below photo =) It's such a great Chicago apartment!!! It's so crazy to look out windows and see the neighbors houses just a few feet away, to look out the back door into an alley and have to always wonder if i'll have a parking space. But the apartment is great - wood floors and beautiful woodwork, a fireplace, stainglass, large windows, a pretty street with lots of trees, a great deck over the garage . . .and a newly painted room!!! Most of all I'm thankful for my 2 new roommates - they are so great! Don't have a photo with them yet . . . I'll have to get one soon!

This is a photos to show the door that I spent hours upon hours taking the paint off of . . .can you tell which one? of course, the one on the left that still looks unfinished =) i wish that i had a before and after photo - it looks sooooooo much better than it did before!

A photo of the living room. What a fun place! Brick-exposed walls just add such a fun feeling . . . now if i can just get all my boxes unpacked that are in the living room it will look so much better!

Well, that's a glimpse into my new place. It's been a blessing to be living here!

Transitions . . .

2007-06-05T18:18:00.000-07:00

So, I moved my stuff up to Chicago and into my new apartment on Thurs. I thought I was getting settled and was happy with the progress. Then, I realized how much I hated the color of my bedroom. I don't get it because this apartment is beautiful with great painting throughout the entire place . . .except my room. So, Friday I undo all the unpacking I had done the day before and get things ready to paint. That's when I realized that the beautiful wooden door and very antique door knob was painted over in this hideous color. Ya, that's when I got the horrible idea of stripping off the paint from this door. I thought it would be a quick, easy task. well, it wasn't, but i had to persevere once i got started because I only had 2 days to get this all done - so, 1 day for removing paint, the next for painting the walls. After many long hours I finally finished and still had a day to do the unpacking once again. Although, it's still not completed I got enough done to feel ready to start work on Monday. Well, kinda ready considering that I was completely exhausted!!!
So, that was my transition into the new apartment.
Now for the transition to this new clinic job.
How can I describe this job in one word? . . . OVERWHELMING =)
But it's that just how all new jobs go. You have to learn everything about their system, learn other peoples roles and everything! For me this is a double challenge because I'm learning a lot about prenatal care - and don't know much about this area of nursing. And any Spanish that I thought I knew seems totally inadequate to begin teaching prenatal care to the Spanish speaking patients. But the staff is great, of course they are the best in my department =) But throughout the whole clinic everybody has been wonderful to meet!
As far as I'm concerned I can do without any more big transitions for quite some time!!!

Coffee

2007-05-30T06:05:00.000-07:00

So, everybody knows that Guatemala has the best coffee, right?!? Well, they do =) And after living in Antigua, Guatemala for just
2 1/2 short months and drinking multiple cups of coffee every day, I now continue to start every morning with a cup of Guatemalan coffee. Maybe that will change once I'm rushing off to work every morning, but for now I will savor each and every yummy cup! While I never toured any of the coffee farms around Antigua, I took a tour of a village called San Antonio Aguas Calientes where a group of ladies showed us some of their customs and traditions like weaving, marriage rituals, coffe-making, religous customs, and cooking.

This is a photo of coffee, it's all picked by hand. The coffee pickers are paid per pound that they pick, it gives lots of people jobs but doesn't pay good, and just imagine how much work would go into picking off every one of those coffee seeds.

Then, ladies like this woman from San Antonio Aguas Calientes have to de-shell the coffee bean after it's been dried and get it out of the shell. After that they use the same device as in the photo below to crush the coffee bean in order to have coffee grounds. Now, it looked easy, but believe me I made some coffee grounds and it is hard work!!! I'm so thankful that I don't have to do that in order to make my cup of coffee =)

Once there are coffee grounds the coffee is ready, but there weren't any coffee makers in this village . . . well, a pot, water, and a fire - that's all they needed! So, the little black pot kinda in the middle of the below photo has the coffee in it! These ladies also made chicken pepian, a traditional Guatemala dish and tortillas for our group from the language school. I did get to make a tortilla also . . . and it got cooked and I ate it, but let's just say that my tortilla didn't look like theirs!!

Life in a Guatemalan village isn't easy. These ladies aren't in costum, this is the clothing that they wear everyday. Making coffee or tortillas this way isn't a thing of the past, it's just part of their daily life. It is always a reminder of the luxuries that I enjoy daily and usually just take for granted! So, if you've never had a cup of Guatemalan coffee I highly recommend that you buy some and try it . . . I think that you'll love it! And you can support the coffee industry of Guatemala while your at it =) Enjoy!!!

Memorial Day weekend . . .

2007-05-29T09:31:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day weekend was quite fun this year! Saturday was a friend's wedding. Then Sunday, well, first I have to go back many years. While I was in youth group we would go to the Dunes every Memorial Day weekend to do the Sunday morning campground service. For those of you who don't know what the Dunes is, it's a State Park on Lake Michigan. It's huge and beautiful with lots of beach area and lots and lots of sand dunes. So, some of these years of going there with the youth group we'd camp and go to the beach, mostly depended on the weather. Sunday morning we'd have a short church service, usually a skit, we'd play a couple bell songs and somebody would give a testimony and talk about Jesus. Well, this year the youth group was going, and I was in the area so I decided to go with them. We didn't camp, just went up on Sunday morning, but the service hasn't changed much - just different people! Then we played football on the beach and enjoyed the beauty of the sand and the lake, took some walks, and then made a campfire and roasted hot dogs, made "pudgie pies" and just had a nice time. It sure brought back many memories of all those years of spending Memorial Day weekend at the Dunes! Sometime that afternoon my mom and I left and drove down to Indianapolis to visit my brother Mark and his wife Jen. Monday we spent some time doing yard work, pulling out a fence, and a little shopping. It's always good to spend time with the whole family!

This photo is of Mark, Jen, Mom, and me! It was taken on the beach in Florida last thanksgiving.

Interview

2007-05-22T17:43:00.000-07:00

I had an interview today at Lawndale Christian Health Center. I met so many amazing people and was very impressed by the variety of services offered at this clinic! They offered me a job working as a Maternal Health Nurse. It will involve a lot of teaching and coordinating of services for women who are pregnant. Now, it is just a matter of figuring out a start date and dates for orientation. I could start tomorrow, but with my car still in the shop that won't work out. This will give me time to pray about this decision and make sure that this really is the right place for me to begin working. If I take this job I can definately stop worrying about forgetting all the spanish that I learned in Guatemala . . . half of the staff is bilingual and half of the patients are spanish speaking. God knows, I just am trying to be open to His leading and guiding right now!

Car Angels

2007-05-21T17:24:00.000-07:00

Wow were my car angels working overtime today!!! I was driving in the center lane of a busy 4 lane road and all of the sudden it feels like i can't accelerate anymore. So I quickly get into the outside lane thinking it would be safer, but then I can't accelerate at all . . . i see an entrance to a restaurant and quickly pull in but it was difficult because my car died and the power steering locked up. I was able to coast out of the entrance and to a safe part of the parking lot. I tried to restart it, it starts then dies, and this happens over and over again but I can't seem to keep it running. So of course I call grandpa! He comes to try and rescue me, but he can't fix it - the car has to get to the shop, but I'm not about 20 min. from home. Thankfully I was able to use my roadside assistance to get a tow-truck to take my car to the mechanics. And, my grandpa is so great, he stayed with me so that i didn't have to ride with the towtruck driver, and he even took me to the store to run my errand while we were waiting! It should just be a couple days and couple hundred dollars before I get my car back. But I have so many things to be thankful for, including getting safely off the road before my car died, and that it was today and not tomorrow when I'll be on the expressway in Chicago headed to my interview!!!

Mountains in Indiana?

2007-05-04T19:26:00.000-07:00

Mountains near Guatemala City

The other morning I was especially missing the mountains of Guatemala . . .well, later that day as I was driving in Crown Point, Indiana I had to do a double-take as I saw what appeared to be mountains. Of course there really wasn't any (no, none anywhere close to Indina), but how thankful I was to see God's artistry as He had painted the clouds to look like there were mountains right here in Indiana. Not only did it make me smile and remember the beauty of the mountains in Guatemala, but I was also humbled that God loves me enough to give me even the smallest desires of my heart! Here are a few photos from Guatemala, I realized that I have lots of volcano photos . . . which don't technically fall under the category of mountains, so photos of those will have to wait until another day!

Mountains around Antigua

Mountains around Panajachel

Mountains around Lago Atitlán

believe it or not . . .

2007-05-02T19:56:00.000-07:00

So, with a little bit of time off work right now I decided to set up a blog page. For this first post I'll tell you the meaning of the title, "In the Sand?". A few years ago I heard this saying, "We often write our complaints in concrete and our blessings in the sand". I want to be a person that writes my blessings in concrete so as to always remember them and my complaints in the sand so that they quickly disappear. God's blessings surround us daily, we have so much to be thankful for! What are you writing in the sand???