Watch What You Write

I heard on AM 740 this morning that anything you blog about can be used against you in a court of law. I wonder if I need to delete any of my previous posts? ;)

Happy Day

Several things made me smile yesterday. Just to name a few of many:

1. Astros won again
2. Cards lost again
3. I tried asparagus and zucchini for the first time, and I didn't throw up
4. I wore my cowboy boots for the first time this season

Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris has nothing to do with my post. I had no idea what to title it, and for some reason his name came to mind. Don't ask me why.

I was at Kroger the other day and I had to visit the ladies room. I was washing my hands when a Kroger deli employee came out of the stall. She combed her hands through her hair and looked at herself for a while. In the mean time, I was doing all the hand washing procedures: wash hands, scrub for a while, rinse, grab a paper towel, turn off the facet with the towel, open the door with the towel, etc. The deli lady DID NOT wash her hands and slid out the door when I opened it. That is SO NOT RIGHT!!! I'll try to give her the benefit of the doubt and say there's a possibility that she washed her hands at her work station. However, to keep the guests coming back, employees should wash their hands in the restroom. Seriously!

Barbara's Friend

I went to Taylor and Joel's wedding Saturday night - beautiful! I was sitting by a group of friends when a random guy we'd never seen sat by Alison. We'll call him "BF". BF was telling Alison that he thought the wedding was at 2:00. He got to church at that time and didn't see anyone, so he left and came back at 5:00. Sweet Alison felt sorry for him and continued the conversation by asking him which one he was friends with, Taylor or Joel?

"I'm friends with Barbara," BF replied.

"Barbara?" Alison asked, a little perplexed.

"This isn't Barbara's wedding?" BF was confused.

"No." Alison said sympathetically.

"Oh," and with this he left.

Poor guy was at the wrong wedding! Barbara's friend (AKA BF) completely missed her wedding!

#1, #2 and #8 The River

As per my sister's request, I'll continue with my stories about Panama starting with what happened to the river. Do you see one in this picture? Me either. We were boating about when all of a sudden large plants (I don't know what they were) took over the river. The bottom of the river was over ten feet deep, and these plant things were as far as the eye could see. Our boat motor kept getting caught, so it took forever to get through! And there were lots of yucky bugs flying around. I guess that's part of being in the jungle. I felt adventurous. I admit I got a little nervous when the boat motor went out on the boat that was carrying our luggage. We had to tow the boat behind us. You can barely see the boat behind ours.

So that's the first story. The second one is bathing. We didn't have fresh water to bathe with so we went to the river every day to wash up. The water was so cold I got chill bumps, but it felt good after a hot day. There were little fish biting us, so every once in a while we'd get a surprise!

Third story: Angry River. We ran out of gravel and sand for the concret mix, so we asked the chiefs if we could pay the members of the village to get it from the river. The chiefs told us that last time they got gravel from the river, the river got angry and made the people in the village sick. They really believe this. I am so humbled that God uses ordinary people like us to share the Gospel with unbelievers. One of the chiefs told us he was a Christian (he accepted Christ last year when we went to Tabardi for a day), but as you can see he's having a hard time leaving behind his past beliefs. Please pray for him and the other new believers.

Mean People

Mean people are not my favorite. I didn't have a good morning. I went to Wal-mart (I really DON'T like that place) to cash a money gram. I've been going there, much to my dismay, for the past year cashing money grams every month. Today the lady (I use the term lightly) told me she couldn't cash it because it didn't have Wal-mart printed on it. I argued with her for a while but she didn't back down. So I finally left and she yelled after me, "Have a nice day." I think she was taunting me. Good thing she was old or I might have been disrespectful. So I found another place to cash the check. The guy behind the counter was in a tacky mood too. He didn't say one word to me. Then, when he threw money at me, I noticed I was missing $10. He said they charge to cash money grams, but neglected to tell me. I couldn't do anything about it because he already stamped the back of the it with the place's bank information. No one else would take it after that. I admit, when I got to my car I was boiling. I didn't know if I wanted to scream or cry. I think I was wearing a sign this morning that said, "Be mean to me, I'm emotional today."

Project Runway Blog

I have exciting news for Project Runway fans! I found a blog that gives behind the scenes information on the show. It has a link to the Olympus Fashion Week pictures of the final four. I'm way excited to see the collections before it airs on television!

#3 Two Eggs

Nixiana, the girl in the blue, gave me two eggs. No one has ever given me fresh eggs before. I smiled and told her thank-you all the while wondering why in the world she gave me eggs. Jeannie and I asked the pastor (some girl gave Jeannie an egg too) what the meaning of it was. It means she wants to be my life-long friend. I have a life-long friend in the middle of the jungle in a village named Tabarde. How cool is that ;)? I bet you're wondering what I did with the eggs. Craig ate them. Yep, he cracked it open and swallowed it raw - ewwwe! He didn't die, so I guess it's okay.

On a side note. The older boy in the picture is Otillio. He's my friend too. All week he answered all the questions correctly in VBS and he has the sweetest smile ever (I wish he smiled in the picture). I told Celia I think he's going to be a pastor when he grows up. She asked him one night what he wanted to be. He said a pastor. I was right ;). The pastor of the church in Tabarde disciples him. I pray he sticks with it.

Just in case you were wondering. You don't have to give me an egg to be your friend. But if you must, please boil it. Thanks.

#5 You don't see that every day in church

At church yesterday I was thinking how much different last week's service was to this one. Last Sunday we had service in a grass hut with a dirt floor and wooden benches. We had service in the morning with the children. Jeannie told the story of David and Goliath. As she was telling the story a little girl stood up and did the "tee-tee dance". Her older sister pulled off her shorts and the little girl let it all out on the floor. After she was done she politely sat back down on the bench. (Yes, this is why we must wear shoes at all times.) I tried not to laugh, gained composure, and drew my attention back to the story. Praise the Lord we don't have to have a fancy building, nice clothes, and manners for God to show up at Sunday service!

Back Home

I'm back home ;). It's always weird coming home after being with the Kunas. Their lifestyle is so much different than ours. They're more laid back and they don't seem to worry about the superficial stuff that I think about sometimes (ie. does this shirt look right with these pants? etc.). Okay that's not all I think about but you know what I mean - I hope. I've found myself driving a lot slower (only 5 miles over the limit) and not rushing around as much. It's a nice feeling, and I'm sad when I go back to the "old way". I think I won't, but sadly, eventually I do. I think I'm just rambling; I have a lot of thoughts swimming in my head...

Anyway, the trip went wonderful and I have lots of stories to tell. I'll give you a tidbit of what's to come in further blog entries:

1. What happened to the River?
2. Bathing with 26 other men and women.
3. Here's two eggs, let's be friends.
4. Street Dancing
5. You don't see that everyday in church
6. Pork Chop didn't have an egg to give
7. Should the baby be playing with THAT?
8. The River will get angry
9. Tabarde Welcoming Team
10. I sinned! I sinned!!!
11. Neapolitan ice-cream
12. Jungle Monkeys
13. And maybe others, I don't know

Thank-you all for your prayers. God is good!