Fun Friday Test

Your Linguistic Profile:

60% General American English

25% Dixie

10% Yankee

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Ouch!

When I got to work this morning I put my lunch in the refrigerator. Then I proceeded to put the bag in the closet. As it is, I’m wearing a sash belt today; it became untied and dragged the floor. However, I didn’t notice this at the time. When I went to put the bag in the closet I saw the sash out of the corner of my eye and thought it was a mouse. I jumped back because I DO NOT heart mice. When I did this, I hit my hand on the door and took a piece of skin out of my hand. Now it’s swollen and red. Since this isn’t a good enough excuse to take the day off, I’ll have to suffer through it.

What Happened

I received an inquiry as to what happened to the “Candy Store Theory” post. I deleted it. I didn’t realize when I wrote it that people would get offended and possibly get their feelings hurt. I meant it as a joke, and I’m sorry for anyone that didn’t see it that way. I could tell by some of the comments that it hit a sour note and I didn’t want to wage war from the opposing views readers had. After the last comment Tuesday morning, I decided to end it before it got ugly. I hope there's no hard feelings.

One of Those Days

Have you ever had one of those days where you just wake up sad and down on yourself? Well this was one of those days for me. I didn't tell any of my friends this, but I think God prompted a few of them to say something to me. This morning, a friend emailed me sweet encouraging words. Then, early this afternoon another friend left a text that said, "You're cool." And I just got off the phone with yet another friend that made me smile. So through three friends and email, text messaging, and a phone call, God used them to tell me I'm cool and loved even if I feel like a mess some days. Thank-you Lord.

Boquete Coffee

Thursday, when we got back from the islands, we drove to Boquete in Panama. While we were there we went to a coffee factory. Boquete is one of the biggest producers of coffee in the world. It smelt so good in that place; I so wished I liked coffee! Anyway, I found out lots of good advice and things to look for when buying coffee. I forget most of it, but I did find out that the little circle with a hole in it on the bag isn't there to smell the coffee (although you can smell it through there). It's to press when you close the bag to get the air out, so it stays fresher longer. I also found out that some cheap coffee (like Folgers) grinds up corn with the beans. But the most disgusting thing they told us was about Costa Rica's coffee. They use dried cow's blood to make the coffee appear stronger (because it turns the coffee darker). My advice to you avid coffee drinkers - don't buy coffee from Costa Rica - yuk! BTW: Starbucks buys their coffee beans from Boquete before they're roasted. It may be worth the price not to drink cow's blood!

On a side note: I'm going out of town again tonight for my nephew's 1st Birthday, so there will be a lull time in my blogging. See you all when I get back!

Simple Pleasures

Sometimes it's the little things in life that make me smile. On the islands I enjoyed some simple pleasures:

1. Making balloon swords and watching the kids fight
2. "Magic Tricks" with a rock
3. The sweetest pineapple in the world
4. Children's laughter
5. Flushing toliet on the islands
6. Cake
7. Chill bumps in the middle of the day
8. French braiding little girls' hair
9. Taking photos of people that have never had their pictures made
10. Hearing children singing songs about Jesus
11. Blowing bubbles
12. Trying to sing songs in Tule

Simple Pleasures in Panama City/Boquete/Colon

1. Icecream at the Crepe and Waffle place
2. Popcorn (by Hot Butter), American Pie, and Pata Pata
3. Listening to stories about my dad's youth
4. NOT going to the Panama Canal for the 100th time
5. Filet Mignon for $7
6. Watching a movie for $2.75
7. Massage by a real massage therapist
8. Bible study outside in God's beautiful creation
9. Meeting people from Germany, Ireland, England, New York, Arizona, Reno, and other places that spoke English to us
10. Shoe shopping
11. Mr. Darcy and Lizzy

Simple Pleasures when I got home:

1. Seeing Family
2. Friends calling me
3. My Bed and clean sheets
4. Exercising
5. Hair Dryer
6. Hot Iron for my hair
7. Driving in America in my car
8. Going to the movie for $6
9. Astros
10. Washcloths
11. Espresso eye liner

I love life!

I'm Back

I tried to blog at work today about my trip, but the internet service was down - how do they expect me to get any personal work done? Anyway, the trip was wonderful. I'll give a short rendition of the trip and through out the rest of the week (if the internet starts working) I'll expound on some highlights.

We got to the islands on Friday, and we stayed on the island of Playon Chico. The group got there safely, but some of the luggage lagged behind - the bag with all the construction tools, and my dad's and my clothes. Not to mention that fifteen of the bags from Continental didn't make it to Panama. We worked with what we had, and everyone shared clothes for a few days. Fortunately, I put a change of clothes in my carry-on. We got some bags Sunday and the rest came Monday.

Sunday, my dad, Yanira, Igua (he's a Kuna that helped us) and I took a canoe over to Irigandi. It's a very poor village that most people don't go to. Dad started on putting a roof on the church; many of the Kunas helped, so that was a blessing. By the end of the week they finished everything they could get done. Some of the roofing material broke during shipping, so we had to order more. They'll be able to finish it themselves.

Yanira and I held Vacation Bible School for the kids. They had so much fun! We started VBS at 2 every day. A few minutes before 2, the kids would come to our hut and wait for us. One of the days after VBS, we made balloon animals for the kids. Three of us made over 200 balloon animals; it was so fun to see the smiles on their faces. By the end of our stay, the kids were starting to learn the meanings of the colors from the salvation bracelets and they were correctly answering all the questions we asked them. Praise the Lord that it sinked in!

Every night at Irigandi, the chiefs (they're like a "governor" of the island) wanted my dad to preach. One night they only gave him fifteen minutes notice - good thing he's been a preacher for a while! They wanted to know more about Jesus and why we were there. None of them accepted the Lord, but they heard the truth, so we pray it will take root. Some people came forward to accept Christ, so praise HIM for that!

We met back up with the basketball group Wednesday and left the islands Thursday morning. From what we heard from the basketball group, things went well with them. The Kunas enjoyed playing ball with them, and they were able to share testimonies and witness.

God was so faithful on the trip (as always) and I could see Him answer your prayers. Thank-you so much for praying; I know satan was fighting, but the Lord helped us stay strong.

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." ~ 1 Corintians 15:58

Bane Malo

Otherwise known as “see you later” in English. I’m leaving in the morning for a two week long mission trip to Panama. For those of you that don’t know, I go to the San Blas Islands off the Atlantic Coast of Panama to work with an indigenous people group called the Kuna Indians several times a year. I’m super excited to be going back. It feels like forever since last I’ve been; it’s almost like going to my home away from home. Some of the people are like my second family.

This particular trip, we are taking a basketball group with us. The Kunas live on small coral reef islands, but almost every island has some sort of basketball court – most are dirt courts with b-ball rims without nets. When the Americans come down to play it’s the high-light of their year! We get a group of mostly college players once a year to go with us to play ball. Afterward, they share their testimonies about what Christ has done in their life. This has opened up many doors for sharing the Gospel.

In case you were wondering, no, I’m not playing basketball ;). I will be working in a Vacation Bible School with the children on two villages (we’ll be having it at least five days maybe more). At night our group will be traveling with the b-ball group to have a mini one day VBS with the kids. We will be telling the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Then, for a craft we’re going to make Salvation bracelets. If you don’t know what they are, each colored bead represents something different: black-sin, red-Jesus’ blood, white-forgiveness, blue-baptism, green-Spiritual growth, and yellow-heaven. Then, in our spare time, we are going to have a small little medical clinic. We’re bringing skin medicine because the children have a lot of skin problems due to the sun and harsh environment.

The third group is going to replace the roof on the church. They have to replace truces and all; the roof is completely gone. I know the church is going to be blessed by their hard work.

Please be praying for us all. We Americans are very spoiled and we aren’t used to not having running water, electricity or air-conditioner. We’ll be staying in grass huts and sleeping in hammocks (very comfortable by the way). The weather is extremely hot and humid, so please pray for our health so we can minister more effectively. We will also be traveling by canoe from island to island, so pray for traveling safety and calm water – I get sea sick.

I ask that you would pray 1 Peter 4:11 over us – “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

And Ephesians 6:7 and 19 – “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men… Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the Gospel.”

And last one Colossians 3:17 and 4:2-6 – “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him… Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for our message, so that we may proclaim it clearly, as we should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

And any other verses you want to pray over us are welcome ;). Most of all please join me in prayer that God will be glorified by people trusting Christ as their Savior. May God make His grace so irresistible that they can not refuse Him!

I look forward to telling you all about what God did on the trip when I get back on the 6th. I’ll miss all of you! Oh, by the way, if any of you want to check out the Mission Alliance website (where I work and the organization that I'm going with), then feel free. It's still being worked on, but it'll give you some information about the Kunas.

My Car at 16

Okay, so this really wasn't my car when I was sixteen. This is a picture from the art car parade that I went to Saturday. (Thanks Tim for putting it together.) This car is dear to my heart because of the following story:

One of my friends nicknamed me Cher (from Clueless) because I was always hitting curbs. One day I was pulling into school, and I hit the curb - again. But this time, my hubcap flew across the parking lot. My friend jump out of my car after I parked and acted like he didn't know me. Some friend he was...When I was in drivers ed I was driving in the rain, and my teacher asked me to do a u-turn. When I did, half the car went up on the median. A lady drove by, and you should have seen her face! "Student Driver" was plastered all over the car. She still probably tells the story... I must say that I'm a better driver now. But for some reason, people always wave at me with their middle finger. So I wave back (with my whole hand) and smile. They get really angry when I do that; I don't know why. I'm just being friendly.

I Know He Means Well, But...

Gunnar Peterson makes me want to use profanity sometimes. I've been using Core Secrets work-out videos for the past year, and I get two new videos every other month. This month I got "A Leg Up on the Competition" and "Killer Legs: Glutes, Hams, and Quads". Each video gets progressively harder, and this one is no exception. Every time he makes me do the sitting holding squat for what seems like hours, I start thinking bad thoughts in my head. I even tried smiling through the whole thing like the girls in the video do, but as soon as that exercise comes up, a stern frown creeps across my face. But I must say, smiling through the video did made me laugh. I don't know how those girls can smile so long - my mouth started hurting! Oh well, maybe in a few weeks I'll enjoy the sitting holding squat, but I doubt it.