Life, as I know it

Can't believe it's almost 2010

2009-11-06T10:34:00.000-08:00

So, can't really say the year has improved. My uncle has cancer, another friend has cancer. A second friend's wife died of cancer in July. So, this is the year of cancer. And I'm getting very tired of it. Oh, and another friend, his father had surgery this week to remove a tumor. Sigh.

Bright spot: I did go on two Compassion trips this year, to the Philippines in June and Brazil in October. My neice went with me to the Philippines and I very much enjoyed spending time with her. I loved both trips!

God bless.

So much for the year improving :(

2009-01-23T09:18:00.000-08:00

So this year is truly going to be terrible. And we are only on day 23. One of my close friends put in to be a judge. He would have made an awesome judge. It was announced today that the other guy who put in got it. He's a civil atty who won't be much help to an over burdened criminal calendar. In fact, 5 of the last 6 judges we got in were civil and not criminal. Sigh. My friend had both criminal and civil experience. He would have been the better choice.

Life just sucks right now.

God bless.

09 off to a bad start

2009-01-09T11:45:00.000-08:00

I came back from Florida on the 4th of January. I went to work on the 5th. A friend of mine begain IMing me first thing that morning. She told me that a mutual friend of ours, Donna, had passed away on the 2nd. She went to Stanford hospital on Dec. 24th (while I was in Florida) and was diagnosed with cancer....a very rare and agressive cancer. She and her husband prayed that she wouldn't suffer, and she died shortly after that prayer. The good news, her husband felt that his faith in God was justified, because He answered such and important prayer, the bad...a light has gone out of this world. Donna was vibrant, joyous, happy, and always busy with work, family and volunteering at our church and for other worthy causes. She would have turned 39 today and had her 3rd year anniversary on the 21st of this month.

I have been given a small honor. I had made a cross stitch wreath for their wedding, with their names, a Bible verse, the date and at the top it said a fairy tale romance (the words they put on their wedding invites) and had it framed. They are going to display it at the viewing (which is today) I was very touched that it meant that much to Donna and her husband. The funeral is tomorrow.

I have been told that she was the same right up until she went home to God, happy, full of life and her request was that tomorrow be a celebration and a party (there is one scheduled for after the funeral) and no black was to be worn.

I spoke w/ her husband on the phone for several hours Monday night, and went over to his house last night with other friends. He is glad she isn't suffering, but he misses her terribly.

I just can't believe she is gone. I can't believe this year started with the death of someone I loved.

She will be greatly missed.

(this portion posted 90 minutes later)
I just learned that the wife of a coworker had an ultrasound yesterday. It was not good. The baby's (Clara) 18th chromosome didn't split. That means very bad things. Most notable of which is that she will carry the baby to term (due in May) and the baby will die within a few days. Her heart is messed up, she has larges cysts in the brain, and no bones in her arms. I can't even imagine the pain the mother will experience every day for the next 5 mths as she feels her daughter move and kick, knowing that she will never grow up.

I really don't like the way this year is starting.

God bless.

New kids!

2008-10-29T11:15:00.000-07:00

On Monday, I felt one of those urges/need to look at photos of kids on the Compassion website. I know that feeling, and it's God telling me that I need another child! I always search by longest waiting. If you do that you get photo's of children that have been waiting more than 6 months for a sponsor. I know, from talking to Compassion staff that sometimes kids drop out of the program because they don't have a sponsor!

Two photos tugged at my heart. Juan from Columbia and Kaio from Brazil. I couldn't decide which one to sponsor. So I thought I'll sleep on it, check the website tomorrow and if only one is left (the other having been sponsored) then that is the one God means for me to have.

On Tuesday, I checked again. Both were still there! Hmm.....I decided to go with Juan and clicked on his picture, which gives you a web page with some information about him and the link to start sponsoring him. But I hestitated. I asked God which child? And the immediate answer was BOTH. Still thinking that 2 was alot to add to my budget, I asked again, and got the same answer. So, I clicked on Juan's sponsor link and was told that another sponsor had signed up for him and I couldn't! I went back to the outer page and his photo was gone! And I felt real loss. I was sad. Not the disappointed you get when an album you wanted is sold out so you buy a different one. But real loss. I went ahead and signed up Kaio and spent some time praying for Juan's new sponsor that it would be a great relationship.

This morning, I felt that tug to look at the photos again. And guess what I saw? Juan's photo!!! I got tears in my eyes that I had a second chance! I don't know what happened with the other person who was trying to sponsor him, and I hope and pray that other sponsor picked another child, but I was so happy, I had my child back. I love that God gives us all second chances in so many different ways!

Oh, and here's the kicker. Juan turned 6 years old today, not yesterday or Monday, today the 29th. And for his birthday, he got a sponsor who will love him and treasure each letter he writes! Happy Birthday!

And on the subject of Compassion, they have a blog with wonderful stories on it, and one story they had awhile back was about a man who rented a bicycle van to transport people around, but most of his earnings went to pay the rent on it. His dream was to own a bicycle van (such a simple dream!) and the folks reading the blog chipped in and today they had a story about him receiving his bicycle van (which is a bike attached to a flatbed cart that people sit on while he pedals and takes them where they want to go!) Here's the link to the story.

God bless!

Compassion International and poverty

2008-10-17T11:39:00.000-07:00

I got a widget! Compassion made it easy, all I had to do was copy all the code and then figure out where to put it in the blog code for my page. The first place I put it kind of messed up some of my links, although I don't know why, I didn't put it in the middle of the links! So I moved it. And it looks better now. It's pretty cool.

It's not for sponsoring a child thru Compassion, but I'm sure clicking on the widget would get you there eventually. It's for something related. See, I have been listening to people complain about our gas prices and economy and what folks can't buy, and I've complained too. But I still have a car, a safe place to live, a heating unit in my apartment. I still buy books and go see my friends. I still eat out when I want too. Sometimes I don't go to the movies or the beach or something to save money, but really it's not hitting me hard. For those with kids, it's probably hitting them harder. My brother has 8 kids, and they still seem to be getting everything they need. None of them go hungry. But in Haiti and other countries where Compassion works, kids are going hungry. Milk here may have gone up 10 or 15 cents. And we gripe, and pay it. In Haiti, they can no longer afford it. The income made by most folks in third world countries barely kept the family feed before, and now....it's impossible. Compassion Country Offices (each country that has a program has a local office) have requested help feeding the kids and their families and Compassion in Colorado (the headquarters) has a fund to help. And they are trying to raise money. But it seems people here are so afraid of our market and that Christmas will be leaner this year that they are afraid to send the money. We all need to remember that God is in charge and help those who are literally starving. The Compassion blog explains the situation better. Please trust God and click on the Compassion widget!

The opposite of poverty is enough.

God bless

Compassion Advocate

2008-10-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

Compassion has a program that people can join and become a Compassion Adovcate. You get training discs and some dvd's and a binder with instructions. Friends, and even an employee from Compassion, have said that I should become an advocate for years because of how passionate I am about Compassion and it's ministry. And I have passed for years. Not because I don't believe in Compassion, but because I am afraid I would fail. You make a commitment to get at least 4 kids sponsored, by other people, every year. Part of why I thought I would fail is that my church is a "world vision" church. They want to support a ministry as a body and they have chosen World Vision. So I can't have a Compassion Sunday, where a booth is set up at your church and you have child packets and get sponsors! I've asked, and my request has been denied. Sigh.

However, I felt that I should become an advocate anyway. I got all the materials late last month including a child packet and I was very nervous and scared. Each child packet is dated. Mine was dated Nov. 7th. So I had a month to find her a sponsor. And the other reason I was afraid I would fail is that I can talk about how awesome Compassion is and how much you as a sponsor get out of it, but showing them a packet and saying please take her, well that part is hard. I'm not good at asking for money for any type of cause, not that directly.

So I just kept praying...please let me find someone and let them approach me! I carried the packet around, hoping someone would see the girl's picture and ask me, but no one did. But last Saturday, after church, I started talking to a woman from a past Bible study group I was in and I just blurted out "so after listening me talk about Compassion, did it ever make you want to sponsor a child?" She said that she had sponsored a child, thru World Vision, and my heart sank. Then she said that the child had graduated and she didn't have one right now and it was good that I caught her before she signed up another kid! I felt such relief.....until I get the next packet and wonder who will I find for that child?

God bless!

Longer than I thought

2008-09-10T13:13:00.001-07:00

Wow, I didn't realize that 3 1/2 months had passed without a post!

Mom is fine. My shoulder is back to normal and I am no longer taking the ibuprofin. Indonesia was awesome!

There was a 77 year old lady on the tour. She had a few minor difficulties, but all in all she got around great! Even to the home visits! I think she must have had a stroke because one side of her face was a bit droopy, but she was amazing and I loved getting to know her. And she was inspirational. I hope that when I am 77 I am still going on tours to visit my kids.

I got the best letter ever from one of my kids, Brayan in Ecuador. He wrote that he thought of me as a mom and hoped that I thought of him as my son! I wrote back and said that it was the best thing I ever read in my life and that he was blessed by God because he had two mom's who loved him and that of course I thought of him as my son. Just writing this brings tears to my eyes!

Meeting Arlita in Indonesia was great! She was a bit serious, and a bit overwhelmed when I gave her the gifts, but I told her that I thought of her as my daughter and wanted to give her everything! And she gave me a dress that they bought and a banner she sewed with my name on it. I wrote her when I got back that it made me think of the Bible story of the widow and her pennies. That Arlita gave from her need and I gave from my plenty and all in all, her gift meant more!

It's been a weird mom related summer. First, my mom was ill, then a girl I have been mentoring since 8th grade (she's almost 21) her mom died (I was at the hospital when they took the mom off the respirator...and I had been friends with the mom at one point) on June 27th, three days before my trip to Indonesia. I also learned that another friend's mom had been diagnosed with cancer and she passed away August 19. I have another friend whose mom fell and broke her hip, and sometime this spring/summer had a replacement surgery, where they accidentally broke her pelvic bone! and now she has a blood clot, and is still not allowed to leave her bed. And a fourth friend whose mom was in the hospital. It seems too much to be a coincidence that all these mom's are having issues at the same time. I know my mom is fine, but I have to wonder what God might be telling me.

I have joined a new bible study on Daniel, by Beth Moore, it's part video part workbook. I like it. The drawback......it meets thursday 5:30 AM til 7 am. I have to leave at 6:55 to make it home in time to get ready for work. but to go to the study I have to get up two hours earlier than normal! (1 hour if I go to the gym like I should---but that's too early too!) So pray that God gives me energy! Because Wednesday night is the only night of the week I can't go to bed early, it's my bowling night.

I think there is more, but that will update for now!
God bless.

shoulder...mom...and Indonesia

2008-05-22T11:36:00.000-07:00

So, further update on my shoulder. I saw the surgeon guy yesterday. He said something even different!!! Sigh. So, it's not a bone spur, at least not the way I was thinking of it. It is in the fact that my shoulder bone is just a bit deformed...as the dr. said "it was made that way" I was thinking that it was a kind of a growth...as I have heard from others who had a bone spur! As to surgery, the Dr. didn't seem to think that it was necessary, so long as I don't do things that inflame the area. He basically said take ibuprofin, and cortisone shots if you want, and you should be fine, but if it's not the the level it was before I made it all worse (in Jan.) then I could reconsider. Interesting. So, I guess for now, I won't have the surgery. He said if I did, I would have a sling for about a week and then some P.T. He gave me a prescription for strong ibuprofin and I'll take that and see what happens. I'll give it a few months and if it's not back to my version of normal (pre jan.) Then I'll go back to the surgeon!

Mom was in the hospital. She's going to be fine, but I was very worried, and it wasn't even a "she's getting older" kind of thing. She got bit by a poisonous caterpillar and the dr. gave her the wrong medicine which lowered her immune system and she got a massively bad bowel infection! Sigh. I went to Florida while she was in the hospital to help out. I am so grateful to God that she is getting better! I'm not ready to lose her.

And it's only 39 days til I go to Indonesia with Compassion!

God bless

Update on my shoulder

2008-03-31T08:31:00.000-07:00

Ok. So either the doctor was being oblique, or I misunderstood...or a combo! Maybe he didn't want to scare me? Anyway, I normally see the P.A.C. but for this I apparently had to see the dr. And I don't think he explains things well. I have been going to physical therapy for the past month. My last session is today. The therapist got a copy of my MRI report and he explained it to me much better than the dr. did, this happened last Friday. I have a couple of bone spurs. And strengthening my rotater cuff is supposed to stop them from scraping the other bone and stop the pain. But what happens as I get older, and can't keep the cuff strong? My body can handle surgery to remove the spurs much better now then later, right? So, I am concerned that this is not the best way to go. I am not a fan of the idea of surgery, but it seems like I am delaying the inevitable, because bone spurs don't shrink!

92 days til Indonesia!

God bless

My shoulder

2008-03-05T08:34:00.000-08:00

So right after the MRI, I was going to spend the 3 day weekend at a friends house by a lake 3 hours away. I was actually helping her move, and then we (and another friends) were going to a Singles dance at a church nearby. I was to drive home on Monday. I couldn't help much, because of my shoulder, but she needed my car to load stuff into! and it was supposed to be a fun gals weekend. Sigh. I got that truly horrible version of the flu! I couldn't drive home until Thursday! Then I only worked 4 hours on Friday and went home and back to bed. Crazy. The dr. called me Wednesday to tell me the MRI results, but I was too sick to understand, and when I finally made it home, the illness lingered on (actually still lingering) but I went to see the dr. on Monday. Basically, I have a bit of arthritis and no muscle between the two bones, so they hit. And the other muscle up there worked double time to compensate and got very inflamed. So he gave me a cortizone shot, told me to take advil twice a day and go to Physical therapy three times a week for a month, to start! Yikes, that's a lot of sick time, especially after I used 28 hours for the flu! Luckily (ok thanks to God really) I have 380 sick hours built up and I can do the PT at 4:30 to 5:30 so I won't miss too much work (or have to come back to work after PT)

117 days til Indonesia!

God bless

MRI

2008-02-14T11:32:00.000-08:00

So, I had my first MRI today. And let me say, I never want to do that again. Those 15-20 minutes were horrible! The first time the guy put me in the machine, I had my eyes open and I FREAKED! I yelled get me out, get me out. I sat on the table, outside the machine while the guy explained other options to me. I decided to try again, I really didn't want a delay in the diagnosis. This time I went in with my eyes closed and didn't open them. I had my right arm positioned so I couldn't feel the wall. And I prayed. The headphones the guy gave me played christian music, I was so happy they had that selection available! I prayed for my friends and parents and compassion kids, and was still tense the whole time. My brain would scream get me out, or just the word out. But I kept my mouth closed. This had to be done, and God would get me thru it.

For years, I have had minor issues with my left shoulder, but sometime at the beginning of the month, those issues blossomed into lasting pain. There has been pain in my shoulder, nonstop for over 10 days now. I can hear the crack when I move that arm to high or to far out, or just move it to close the car door! The pain, at times, radiates down to my fingers. So I went to my Dr. on the 11th and had x-rays that day. My dr. said she could feel things grinding against each other in there! Yuck. The MRI today. The MRI people gave me the film! Odd. They will send the report to my dr. and she's supposed to call me on Tuesday with the results and perhaps a referral to an orthopedic surgeon. Luckily for me, a co-worker had surgery on his shoulder a few years back and said his guy was awesome, so I hope to go to him too.

I am a bit scared. I have never had anything majorly wrong with me, never had surgery, not even for tonsils or appendix! But God got me thru the MRI, I'm sure he'll be there while I am in surgery too.

God bless

January

2008-01-08T16:29:00.000-08:00

Christmas in Florida was very nice. Perfect weather, almost no rain, and 3 beach days!!! A cold front moved in the day after I left. I found three new suits at the second hand stores and just enjoyed spending time with my mom. My dad too, when he wasn't watching football.

January where I live is pretty miserable....cold, wet just icky. I long for summer!

No more trips for what seems like a very long time....July 1st to Indonesia. (174 days) I have gotten used to going somewhere more often than that! ah well. Gives me plenty of time to shop for stuff for Arlita and her family. That's fun too.

God bless.

Back from thailand

2007-11-28T09:00:00.000-08:00

The trip was amazing. My nephew seemed to be loving every minute of it. I was right the flights were a drag, although the way back seemed worse...and then the 5 hour drive home!! ick.

We went to an elephant park. Later we rode the elephants in a seat strapped to their backs. I was actually picked up by the truck of an elephand and sat on it's trunk!

I think, so far, Thailand was my favorite country to visit. It's so beautiful there and I love the food! I had no problems eating there. It's a tourist type country so they had night markets with artists and other types of stuff to buy. And you could bargin. I had a blast doing that. There was a 17 year old girl on the trip, Kirstin and she and and my nephew bonded quite well. I had an honorary neice for the trip. She was a very nice gal and I didn't mind sharing my nephew with her.

The Thai people are a bit reserved. We were told to ask our sponsored child if it was ok to hug them! Very different from Central and South America. Pui was beautiful and she wants to be a tour guide.

I learned something new on this trip. Compassion is evangalistic. I thought all the kids in the projects belonged to the church...or at least were not attached to any other religion. Well, Compassion requires a certain percentage of the spots at any project be given to non-christian kids...to reach them, and their families, for Christ. I found this out when Pui told me she was Buddhist! It makes sense. But now I have even more reason to pray for her. Also, since Thailand is so heavily Buddhist, sometimes kids accept Christ but never tell anyone, especially their families who might disapprove-rather strongly.
Two of the projects we visited weren't technically Thai. One was a tribe called Yellow Lahu and they came from Burma about 50 years ago and were pretty insulated. They were more like the kids in South America...huggy sorts! And the other were Hmong, also huggy sorts.

It was such an amazing trip! I am so blessed by God to be able to do these trips and see the world safely. And Compassion is such an amazing Christ centered organization!

215 days til I go to Indonesia!
God bless

7 days to Thailand

2007-10-26T15:09:00.001-07:00

One week from today, at this time, I will be driving down to L.A. so that I can catch a flight to Thailand. As excited as I am...I am also dreading the flight. We leave just after midnight Friday (so, technically sat morn) we go to Hong Kong, change planes, go to Bangkok, change plans, and go to Chiang Rei (it might be Chiang Mai) That is a heck of alot of flying, and we cross the dateline! My nephew meets me in L.A.

It's been a crazy few months. I am no longer prosecuting kids, but prosecute the welfare fraud cases and assist on the general felony calendars. I have switched offices twice in the past 2 months! My parents are also in a bit of a crisis and I am very worried about them. Things keep slipping my mind, my memory seems to be fading daily. Sigh. I'll try to post when I get back from Thailand!
God bless

Prayer for Peru

2007-08-16T07:16:00.000-07:00

Hi all. ( or to cyberjazzdaddy!) There was a massive earthquake in Peru last night and places I went to are in a lot of trouble. Ica was hit hard (we stayed overnight there) The highway to Ica is ruined with big cracks and impassible to the relief drivers. Chincha, a town that held a project that we visited was hit hard, and I am so worried about all the Compassion kids and their families, everyone else in Peru too, but the kids and their families have so little already and now that little bit (their dirt floor, thin wall 2 room house) is likely gone now. Please pray for them!

God bless.

long time no post

2007-07-30T18:18:00.000-07:00

Over a month. Well, to update, the dress that was backordered arrived 2 days before I left and I tried it on for a friend of mine and it fit fine!! I wasn't quite sure, but I think that's because it's fancier than I would normally wear. The flight to Nebraska was a disaster, I got stuck overnight in Dallas with no promises of when I'd get out of there! I did manage to be one of the lucky ones who made the stand by flight.

My neices and nephews are all awesome, the baby is such a sweetheart, he laughs so hard and is just a very happy baby.

The wedding was beautiful and the groom watched his bride walk down the aisle with such love on his face that I knew they would have an awesome marriage! It was great to see family.

Thailand is only 95 days away and the idea that the next trip wouldn't be til may of 2009 is kind of making me sad. So I might go to Nicaragua in June of 08 or maybe El Salvador in Nov 08. Nahum, in El Salvador, mentioned that he was hoping to see me again. He's such a sweet, and serious, kid.

This month is full of tough cases for me and I am dreading the entire month so pray for me!!

God bless.

still no dress

2007-06-21T10:56:00.000-07:00

Well, the dress I ordered looks HORRIBLE on me! So this weekend I will go to the outlets (about an hour and 1/2 away) and try again. I am running out of time, and options.

Part of the problem was that I ordered 2 dresses and the company only sent one! The other was backordered (although it didn't show that when I ordered it) so it should arrive while I am in Nebraska. Sigh. It might have fit! So not fair.

Speaking of not fair, The House has passed a bill (actually I think it's 2) and basically, if I read them right, people in public service, like me, can have their student loans forgiven after 10 years of service and payment. A very exciting idea for someone who still has over 100,000 in loans and 8 years of service!!!!!!!!! However, as I read it, the bill applies to new borrowers, which is defined as someone who borrows AFTER the bill date!!! UNBELIEVABLE. So many people are getting screwed by that wording! How unfair is that, millions of people working public service, not getting that benefit, but some kid will get hired by their company and after 10 years have their loans forgiven and the folks who have been there 18 years will still be paying!!!!!!!!! That's just wrong. wrong. wrong.

God bless

I wish I didn't have to think up titles

2007-06-14T13:19:00.000-07:00

That does get a bit annoying. Sometimes, I just want to post an update and have no title in mind!

The photo is from Peru, the first project we visited. I fell in love with her! Her name is Yarumi and she is 8 years old. And from the moment I picked her up, I carried her until we left, about 40 minutes later. This is from about 5 minutes after I picked her up. I asked someone to take a picture and Yarumi decided to give me a big kiss on the cheek just as the lady snapped the photo. The green thing in my hand is a pear, made of some rubber type material, with the project name on it. A staff person was making them and she gave it to Yarumi to give to me, and I had Yarumi put her name on the back of it. I will definately be saving that! Later that day, another staff person gave her a necklace to give me, right before we left. It was so very sweet!

13 days til Nebraska. My mom gets there about 3 in the afternoon, I don't get there til 10 at night, except it would be 8 my time, so I lose 2 hours. We leave NE on the 5th to go to Massachusetts for my cousins wedding. I ordered a dress online and it should arrive at my house next Monday. It better fit, or I have no clue what I will wear at the wedding. The reception is in a Castle in New Hampshire!

She asked my mom to read a prayer at the wedding. I was so happy to hear that. I like that she is involving my mom. They have gotten a bit closer since mom got email.

143 days til Thailand. The kind of sad part about that trip, is that because I am doing 2 trips this year, I won't be going on any in 2008! The next one would be June of 2009. To long to count down. The 2009 trip will be to Indonesia, and my intent is to take my oldest neice, who will be 17 by then.

God bless

life

2007-05-25T16:17:00.000-07:00

So, in a short 33 days, I will be on vacation again! amazing huh? It's to Nebraska to see my brother and his family (and hopefully college friends!) and then to Boston for my cousin's wedding. My mom will be going with me too.

And, is it too early to start counting down for my next compassion trip? To Thailand, with my oldest nephew (he will turn 18 while in Thailand...but will be a senior in High School still) The trip is in November. It's 162 days, just over 5 mths away. I really can't wait for that trip either. The girl I have there is above average in school, loves music, and is 16. She asked me to come visit in her very first letter!! Very brave of her. But, in every letter she writes me she introduces herself, like it's the first letter she ever sent. I just got one from her yesterday. My day with her (at an elephant park I think--we get to ride them!) will hopefully show her that her name is written on my heart and soul and that I love her!! And would never forget her.

The picture is of Jose, he's 15. I met him in Peru. He's a compassion kid. He was sweet and followed me around for awhile. I asked him the few questions I knew in spanish, and I told him my name and how old I was. That will be so different about Thailand. I don't know even the basics of that language!!!

God bless.

To Peru and back

2007-05-09T14:33:00.000-07:00

First, lets start with how after all the planning and waiting and excitement, the trip almost got cancelled!! My dad went into the hospital on April 12th, just 9 days before we were scheduled to leave! and thru miscommunications between the 2 hospitals he was in, he didn't get transferred til the 16th and the angio test wasn't done til the 17th! He finally was released on the 18th, just 3 short days before mom and I get on a plane for Peru!! He went in because the defibulater worked again. It shocked him. Apparently, he is one of minority of people who will have arrythemea (sp?) the rest of his life, which terrifies him, because the defib going off is very very painful. But I had so many people praying that mom and I would still be able to go to Peru and that dad would be find and God is great and merciful, and let us have that special trip together. My dad is still scared, but is otherwise fine.

Mom keeps telling people it wasn't a vacation, but an adventure! They are so poor there, and so connected to God there, sometimes I wish we had simplicity in our lives, no ipods, computers, tvs, nintendos and the 1,000's of THINGS that drown out God's voice.

The girl I sponsor there, Jenifer, had one real possession, her pet dove. Her pet, that she loved. And she wanted to give it to me!! how amazingly sweet and generous of her. Of course, I was relieved that the compassion staff explained to her that she couldn't do that and that she left the bird at home!! She is an awesome big sister and helped her mom all day long with her baby sister Sarai. She's 10 mths old. The family left the mountains when Jenifer was 15 days old because in the middle of the guerilla warfare, soldiers beat up her father and stabbed him (he's fine, he has an ice cream cart) They live on the side of a sand hill in a small house (2-3 rooms) with dirt floors and plywood walls. No electricity, no water. She is 9 now, and has never lived in a house with electricity!! The community is almost 10 years old, when that happens, they can work on getting the gov't to run water and electric lines to the "town" and after 10 years of squatting they can own the land. There are 4 kids and 2 adults living there, in that tiny place. Some of the visit was so sad, like the woman who has flimsy walls and gang members knocking them down all the time to try to get at her daughters. Some was amazing like the 15 year old kid who is in the leadership development program that Compassion has who was in his second year of college and spoke awesome English, a mind that would have been lost if not for Compassion!!

God bless

Almost

2007-04-10T08:24:00.000-07:00

It's almost here!! just 10 days til Peru! I am already 3/4 packed. I have to do laundry one more time on the 16th, I have a ton of court trials on the 18th and I have to touch up the roots of my hair on the 15th. Finish packing on the 19th. buy a few remaining items this sunday, and take a nine mile hike with folks from my church on the 14th.

Speaking of church, There have been some changes! Did I mention this already? The leader of my ministry is leaving and the worship leader and his wife (who is the leader of kids ministries) are leaving! Sigh. Also, are bass player is gone, and his wife who set up the candles every sat night. I was asked to do it instead. that's pretty cool!

God bless

Cold again

2007-03-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

So, it's cooled back down outside. I went from needing an air conditioner for the sunny afternoon hours on the 11th to needing the heater this morning!! Sigh. I want warm again.

Things are slightly better with my friends, in some ways, and slightly worse in others. I see criminals in my every day job, but have rarely had true evil in my life. Now, there is. And I liked it better from a distance.

24 days til Peru, and boy do I need this Compassion tour trip!!

God bless

life sucks

2007-03-20T16:29:00.000-07:00

There are times that I feel evil is winning. And I wonder why God is waiting to end it all and take the believers home. This is one of those times.

I have mentioned some friends of mine having problems before. I thought they were horrible problems (and honestly, they were--and still on going) I thought there was no way things could be worse. I was wrong. And now they could lose everything. The husband could lose his job, his pension, his ability to get a job in any area for which he has training, literally everything. And all of the other issues are still there in his life (and the family's) this is just extra, and almost all of it is due to an evil rotten horrible person who seems determined to ruin their lives.

please pray for my friends.

God bless

Bowling !!!

2007-03-01T16:52:00.000-08:00

Last night I finally did it. I hit a 200 game for the first time! very cool!

The first game I bowled a 110, my average being a 130. So I was thinking it would be a bad night! Then the second game, I got 2 strikes, a spare, 2 strikes and an open in the 6th frame. My score was 126. And I starting singing christian songs to myself. Paul, a teammate, started to mention the ability I had to get a 200, and I said don't talk to me, I don't want to know, I don't want to think about it. Every time I think in bowling, I mess it up big time. I didn't look at my score for the rest of the game and I starting singing christian songs to myself, so i wouldn't think about it. In the 7th I got a spare, 8th and 9th were strikes, the first ball in the 10th was a strike, then I got 9 pins on the extra ball. for a grand total of 224!!! Which, as an added bonus, was the high score for women in the league for the season (so far) Also, I was using a lane ball, and I looked at the number on it, the last 3 numbers were 777!!

I was so excited.

51 days til Peru.

God bless

a long time

2007-02-23T13:45:00.000-08:00

It's been forever since I have posted. I have been very busy. I have started training the attorney that will come into juvy court this week. I am very happy about that, although, it's still going to be a few more weeks of going to court with him, which means just about every day in court!!!

It's only 56 days til I go to Peru!! But Compassion hasn't even posted the schedule on the web site yet!! Trips the months after April have schedules, but not Peru! This makes me a bit anxious. I like to know and plan and have it all laid out! All I have left to buy is candy and some paints for the kids. And to pack of course.

I had a blast the weekend of the 10th. I went for a 4 day trip to Nebraska, which is mildly crazy in the winter. Totally worth it tho. I felt better when I got back. I saw my baby nephew for the first time and he's a sweetie. He has my brother's mouth, which means a big lower lip. He liked me, he let me hold him alot without crying and fell asleep in my arms.

I also went to a party for a college friend of mine. Another friend who lives in California came too. We were a suprise to her, she had no idea we were coming! It was way cool! I see her (and her hubby and kids) about once a year since they live close to my brother. The other friend hadn't seen them in 16 years, which is when we graduated, 16 years ago. (which is an incredibly scary thought.) It was really cool for us to be together and stay up and talk.

God bless!