Indianapolis Fire

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

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 . . .

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????

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

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 =)!!!

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

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!!!!!