Summer of Silence

     For two years, I've been keeping this blog, and every entry I have successfully titled with song lyrics. Representative of the music that I'm so often listening to, singing, or imagining the beat in my head. This entry has no lyrics. It has no theme song, no background music. Trying to cover the events of the past 4 months since my last entry could never be captured in one short line, or one poetic chorus. My head, my heart, my emotions tried all summer long to create a song that would encompass all of the emotions that I felt and the activities that I did, but each valiant effort was met with nothing. No sound, no melody, not even a faint drum beat. This summer was met with silence.

    I'm going to be skimming over a lot of details as I write this entry, and that's intentional. I don't want to share everything that happened with the world. Some things are just meant to be kept in the recesses of my brain, especially as I continue to sort them out. Really, this entry is for the sake of my future self - when 10 years down the road, I ask "what did I do May-August 2012?".

    May can be condensed into one word. Haiti. Some of the best days of my life, without a doubt. The chance to build friendships with some amazing people, friends that I may not see again until heaven, was priceless and powerful. And all of those people who, for the past 5 years, have asked at one time or another  "French? Why don't you take Spanish? Everyone speaks Spanish these days." were proven wrong. Haitians speak French. I thanked God every day I was in Haiti for the ability to understand them. Having conversations with teenagers about real life, and God, and even things like boys, all in French? Amazing. God encouraged my spirit in Haiti. I saw how people in other countries are above all else, still people. I learned how little I need to be happy. Returning to the United States was hard. I wasn't ready to leave, and I wasn't extremely thrilled to be home. It's impossible to explain the feelings and events to someone who hasn't been there...and I realized why people often come back from mission trips and aren't able to just talk about what happened. It would take me hours, and even then I would forget something. Amazing is really the best descriptor there is.

   post-Haiti through June hit every possible emotional button that I have. Watching my roommate struggle through a lot of family drama and health problems, all the while having no way to help. Re-living my senior year in high school as my brother graduated from high school and made his preparation for college. Catching up with friends from home. Searching every day for a job, sending out dozens of applications, having four interviews, and every time being turned down. Watching my "sister" slowly lose her battle with cancer, and having to be put down. Mom lost her job (but eventually the funding came in for her to get it back). Needless to say, I was ready to go back to Pullman by the end of June.

    July and August were slower as far as "big events" go, but they were still just emotionally frustrating. I've felt so displaced. I want to be connected with those at home, but as I try more, I seem to fail. Oh, and this was also the summer of babies and engagements. Yes, sometimes in that order. I know of at least 6 people who were posting 'hey, I'm pregnant' pictures on facebook on a regular (often too regular) basis. I think only 2 of them are actually married. Add that to the 4 engagement announcements and 1 or 2 new "relationship statuses"...it makes me nervous to log on every day and see what next. I just can't wrap my head around the fact that I'm old enough for all of this to be happening. It's a weird balance between feeling left behind/out since that's not where I'm at in life right now, and disconnected for the same reason. I'm just in college. Goin' to school. I'm not working a full-time job like some people. I'm not married, or even close to it. Definitely not pregnant. I'm just going to school. Living in the college world where time stands still, and our only major life events revolve around final exams and frat parties. Because this life is so different from what other people are doing, I yearned to get back to it. To feel validated in what I was doing. Moving back in was an eagerly anticipated event.
   
     Of course, as fate would have it, the last week of my summer was probably the most fun that I had (excepting Haiti), and the old feeling of "I don't wanna leave yet" returned just in time for me to actually have to leave.

    Where was God in all of this? He was both evident constantly, and yet elusive. I learned about trusting for His provision, and about letting Him comfort and take my cares. Primarily though, I was hearing over and over, new ways to explain how God loves. It's a crazy contrast, because even as I came out of summer understanding God's love in a new way, I also felt that for a majority of the summer, God was very silent. I had to seek Him out - track Him down when I needed to hear His voice. I did a lot of waiting. Which, in my lifestyle that is often motivated to never stop, having my schedule come to a grinding halt for 8+ weeks... was really hard. I didn't enjoy those times, but I did learn to appreciate their importance.  Realizing that everything in every aspect of my life was out of my control, and being forced to wait on God as the only stability.

   I have no doubt that this was my lesson. In the storm, be still. And know that He is God.

"But when you smile at the ground, it ain't hard to tell...You don't know...You don't know you're beautiful"

Yep! It's me again, guys. Time for an update on life, and since I'm procrastinating getting any 'real' work done this evening, it's the perfect opportunity!

Definitely had a test like this
a few weeks ago....

Man, where do I even start? There's just so much swirling through my brain lately, and so I will do my best to spit out some organized thoughts. Let's just start with the usual. School. Only 13 days of the semester left! Where did this year go? I have no idea! I'm 20, and have been out of high school for nearly 2 years. It doesn't feel possible, but at the same time, 2 years ago feels so far away, it must have been at 'least' that long. I was going through some old pictures tonight, and memories just come flooding back! It's true that a picture really is worth 1000 words. All of the stories of those days are still there as soon as I see the photo. Makes me remember that i need to keep taking pictures while I'm here at WSU. Soon, I'm sure, these days will also feel very distant.

Classes are going well, but I'm just about burnt out. It's that point where my brain is saying, "It doesn't matter what score you get, it will all be over soon!" Which is a lie....I do need to still focus on my grades, and study. For some reason, April just gets busier and busier though! I feel so overwhelmed with my responsibilities outside of classes, that simply getting my required homework done is a major achievement. I will survive. And summer will get here, Lord willing.

Me, Herman Boone (Remember the Titans),
and Grace.  :D  Loved getting to hear
this guy speak. 

But something I'm beginning to realize more and more, is how much God has blessed me with amazing people in my life here. Seriously, I can't imagine not knowing these guys and girls! And a mere 24 months ago, I had no clue that they even existed. No concept of what awesome friends were waiting for me! It's so much fun, because as I mature and grow in my faith and in my confidence of who I am, it's getting easier and easier to "make" friends. I honestly wasn't sure if I could do it, but I can! Epic win! To any of you who read this, thank you for being willing to let me into your life. Thank you for showing me what deep friendships can be - and that they can exist with people that I haven't known for 15 years!

Front of Honors Hall -
my home next semester!

Next semester looks a little bit lighter school-wise. I'm forcing myself to take less credits. Yes, you read that correctly. Forcing to take LESS. I just don't want to kill myself with overcommitments. I'm a chronic "yes-man" when it comes to doing things, and I love to think I can be superwoman - friend, leader, full time student, volunteer, dutiful granddaughter, roommate, outreach coordinator...insert other title here. But let's be real. I can't do it all if I want to do it well. And in my discussions with God, I have been challenged to learn how to rest, and find his presence in those times. Next year, I'm only taking 5 classes, one of which is band. I'm still going to lead a small group, and I think I need to either join a non-Christian club or work part time, but that should feel a lot easier to manage with only 14 credits. Living in Honors will give me some chances to be domestic and make new and (hopefully) intentional missional friendships with the girls in my & Brianna's suite. I'm so stoked!  :)

As far as summer goes, I have been applying for jobs like nobody's business. Seriously. I've sent out at least 15 applications in the last 3 weeks, with cold calls to another 5 or so places outside of those. Macy's wants me to interview again, so I think I can definitely get back on there, but I need more hours than last summer. So I'm preparing for the possibility of working 2 part-time jobs to make a bunch of $$ over the summer. Life is just expensive! And I've overspent a little this semester, with XA stuff and preparing for Haiti especially. If I can work 40 or more hours a week, I'm pretty okay with that. I won't be taking any LCC classes, so the time should be there.

Such beautiful faces!
Praying for God to truly use and grow
me while our team is there.

Only 2.5 weeks until the Haiti trip!! God has been so faithful in bringing in all of the funds that I need and then some. It's a testimony and an answer to prayer all in one. Our team is fantastic, and we have a great sense of camaraderie! Really looking forward to getting there, working with the kids, and hopefully using my French skills to build connections with the people. What is strange? I'm almost expecting God to call me to something while we are there. I just have this sense of anticipation about my future surrounding this trip to Haiti. And it might not be a call to Haiti or anything, but I just have a feeling. Should be interesting to see. I don't know if I'll blog or not again before departure, but I will have a blog or two for sure after returning. Hopefully a TON of pictures as well!

Okay, I should really sign off for tonight. The lyrics titling today's post just make me happy. Nothing related to the subject of the entry, but I love the song.

*What Makes You Beautiful, One Direction

"It's the moment when humanity...is overcome by majesty..."

Soul Collisions

It’s on nights like these

Nights when I’ve been up too late, worked too hard

Or not hard enough

It’s those times when the week has been almost too good

When I’m almost able to imagine what Earth was supposed to be like

Harmony, honesty, love…..communion with You

That’s when the doubts start to creep in

And the questions

It’s the questions that are the worst. Because they don’t have any answers

There’s no clear-cut yes, or no.

You don’t provide us with an agenda of our lives upon birth.

You don’t give us to-do lists, or calendars.

People say that the Bible is a road map, but honestly, Lord,

Sometimes I don’t even know what highway I’m on.

So here I am. Hoping and praying that the road I’m trying to follow

is actually the one that I am on.

You told me that You’d be with me.

Time and time again, You prove Your faithfulness

And, God! You always show up!

You never fail to provide. You never fail to overwhelm me.

I look behind me and see all of the places where You were.

Places that I didn’t think you had plans for? Surprise!

They say hindsight is 20/20. My hindsight shows that Your timing is always best.

Why then are you so full of distrust, oh, soul?

Why do you fill up with these desires, these thoughts, these attitudes

That are not from God?

Why do you continue to run to the safe place of your sin?

Your Father is there! He has proven Himself to you.

And still, this heart struggles to believe.

It fights away the feelings of doubt. Of worry.

That maybe this time You forgot about me.

After all, I am so small. So insignificant. So unworthy of notice.

There are places inside that ache. There are holes that aren’t filled.

All the temporary band-aids that I slap over them never last.

I want to cut this darkness out!

 I long for the day when this flesh no longer holds me back.

Seek strength in Me, You say. Find your identity in who I say you are!

Father, I long to be at that place.

That place where my worries of what, and when, and how all disappear.

That place where I can sit at your feet and find complete satisfaction.

That place where inside me burns a constant desire to know you more

That place where I am willing to bare my life before you

And have you know me.

Lord, be the strength for this battle.

I am so weak. So frail. So filthy compared to Your holiness.

I can’t do anything without you.

I can’t find answers to the questions that haunt me.

I am not satisfied by the solutions the world gives.

But Jesus, eventually, I just want to stop looking for solutions.

Help me not to give up.

Let your faithfulness override my foolishness.

Speak into my spirit. As my Counselor, my Friend, my King, my Lover

Stand by my side.

For I thirst for your companionship. I desperately crave your presence.

And nothing else can satisfy this soul.

*The Hurt and the Healer, Mercy  Me

"And I lift my hands and pray... to be only yours, I pray..."

Hello again, world! :) It's March!! I'm just flabbergasted how fast this year has gone. It seems like a long time - 8 more weeks until summer, but at the same time, 8 weeks is nothing! Home right now for Spring Break, it's great. Enjoying some serious down time, and got to spend a couple days in Seattle with some really good friends, which was very much needed.

I know I'll blink and it will be May, and I'll be taking finals again. I'm amazed at my own improvement in time management skills -- I was worried that this semester I'd taken on too much and would have to drop a class. Good news is, I won't have to drop anything! Did I take on too much? Probably. I'm recognizing that I overcommit myself as a way to prove myself. Next semester, the goal is to back off in that regard. I need time to invest more in my relationships, and maybe maintain a part-time job. We'll see -- it's still going to be challenging to make myself do that.

I'm going to be living in a suite next year! Honors 435D. It's going to be so great to share 2 showers with only 5 other people, instead of 4 showers with 50 people. We also have a mini-living room and a "kitchenette" which is basically a microwave, prep sink, mini fridge, and a big countertop/built in cupboards. But I can't wait! I'm not going to have a meal plan, so I'll be cooking for myself most of the time. I figured that saving over $1000 per semester is going to be worth the extra time it will take me to experiment and plan meals. I've been letting someone cook my meals for 20 years now, it's probably time to grow up and do it myself. ;) I'll have my same roommate for my bedroom/study space, but we'll share the rest of the suite with 4 other girls. And no, we don't know who they are. I like the mystery of it!

What else has happened... Hm... I guess I can give an update on the mission trip! I got my passport in the mail this week! The United States government has officially given me permission to flee the country. Lol. Which I plan on doing in.... wow, less than 2 months. Preparations for the trip to Haiti are going really well. I've been overwhelmed and blessed by God's provision in the fundraising department -- that was my biggest worry, and so far I am about 80% of the way there! We have our flight itinerary and packing list and everything, just need to get all of my skirts and sandals gathered up! Haha. And buy a one piece swimsuit. :P   Blech...I hate suit shopping.

It's been about 2 weeks now, but I actually got to host Longview friends in Pullman! :D I was so happy to have Brady, Josh, Catherine and Sean over for the long weekend. Like, I've never had anyone but family visit me before, since Pullman is definitely NOT on the way to anywhere. They came over for the last bball game of the season, and then we just did the rest of the college life thing. Idk if they had as good of a time as I did, but it was so fun! I think it's because it's like both of my "lives" meeting in the space-time continuum, you know? This weird place where the past and present meet, and you can imagine what it would be like if they were both in the same place all the time. Yeah... twas awesome. And completely worth the craziness before and after.

The "gang" at the  basketball game

Went to The Vine tonight for the first time since the summer. I've been home on Tuesday nights over Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks, but for some reason other things had come up that weren't skippable. It was good to see that the group was doing really well. We did a small group style discussion tonight instead of a sermon, and talked partly about sin vs backsliding/relationship vs legalism and then vision from God (as in, the "Go to Africa" type callings). Really interesting discussion, and gave me plenty to think about. I really enjoyed the passage from Oswald Chambers that we read and talked about. It was similar to another passage I've got on my wall that talks about how God calls and convicts us each individually about different things, and we can't expect everyone to share the same calling and convictions that we have. Good stuff.

Worshipping crowds at the
Rock and Worship Roadshow

I don't know if I can think of anything else super exciting to blog about right now. I'm cuddled under a nice, heavy blanket on the couch, and everyone else has gone to bed. Pandora is playing worship music, and I'm having a really good conversation with a good friend. I'm pretty happy with where everything is at.

*Only Hope, Switchfoot

"Oh you think that you know me....Baby you don't know a thing about me...."

Enjoying my $2 drink on THam's
student promotion day

That's right people... it's February! Month of Super Bowl Sunday, Single's Awareness Day, red & white hearts, Presidents' Day weekend, and only 29 days (because it IS a leap year, after all!). Basketball season is on the downhill slide, and baseball will just barely be getting started. Guess that means that enough has gone by for a new blog post.  :)

Where to start? Sheesh.... My life has been all over the place emotionally in the last couple of weeks. I don't even know how much of it I should be posting here, and how much of it is just my own personal stuff to mull over. So if I give you too much information, well, I'm sorry. I tried to consolidate, I really did.

Add caption

I suppose the best thing to do first is to get the sappy unnecessary girl stuff out of the way. 2 decades of singlehood! *fist pump here* Well...okay, that won't be official for 9 more days, but let's be realistic. No one in their right mind starts a relationship the week before Valentine's Day. So I will, once again, be celebrating Single's Awareness Day. It's ok. Not knowing any differently means that I rather enjoy my ice cream and chick flick traditions.  When I'm not thinking too hard about it, I find that wayyy less stressful than trying to get all cute and come up with some romantic gift. So no worries there! Plus, after a few things that happened at winter camp this year, the wistfulness that has plagued my heart the last year is gone. Hallelujah! Knowing that you're committing the sin of coveting  and feeling powerless to stop it? Well, that just sucks.

That comment then transitions perfectly into my update about winter camp, I think. See what I did there? ;)  Let me see... winter camp....
It was pretty great. The topic this year was Gideon and his life in the book of Judges. The speakers did an awesome job pulling out a lot of different points: listening to God, humility, being powerless in ourselves, repentance.... I mean, just good stuff. I learned a lot about how much our pride gets in our way. As someone quoted, "Christians need to stop trying to put up a dam in the river of God's will, as if to say 'this work of God passed through me first'." Ain't that the truth! In the long run, it doesn't matter if God worked through ME, all that matters is that God WORKED. Especially as a Corefa this year, I'm trying to be cautious of taking credit for anything that goes on in another person's life. In the reality of it, I did nothing. Saturday night was talking a lot about our own shortcomings. I don't know what came across to other people, but I just felt this need to repent for, well, everything. I remember just walking out  into the side aisle and sitting down. I wanted to have some privacy to just pray and sing in whatever language I needed to, and I don't want my interactions in the Spirit to distract other people around me. So I did. I sat down and just started talking to God. I repented for anything that I could think of, and as I did, the Holy Spirit continued to surround me - stronger than I've felt in a while, actually. As this was going on, I was also asking God about my recent struggles with blessing. I mean, why? I'm overwhelmed with the smooth pathway my life has been on for 20 years now, and have been waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop lately. It even caused me to question how much of a "Christian" I am, not having gone through a lot of trials to prove my faith, you know? I got this vision in my mind of Moses, holding his staff up over the battlefield of the Israelites, and Aaron and Joshua standing next to him, holding his arms up. I felt like God was calling me to hold up the arms of Moses. That's what he wants me to do, at least in this season. How I interpret that? Be there for the other leaders on the front lines. Be steadfast, encouraging, and available to support them. And seek no credit for yourself.  For to whom much is given, much will be required. So I'm going to make that a focus of my ministry within the body -- encouraging and supporting those who are fighting the battle as leaders. That wasn't the only word I received...but the second one, I think I'm going to keep to myself for a while. It's not one that the whole cyber space really needs to hear my interpretation of, at least not yet.

One of these days, I'm supposed to be hosting some peeps from Longview up here for the weekend! And frankly, I am so excited! :) We only have 2 more home basketball weekends, and the idea would be for them to come up here for a game, Resonate, and touring of Pullman/WSU. I'm trying to plan everything out in my mind. Lol. The sooner the better, if you ask me! The downside is, it means I have to constantly be on top of my homework because there won't be much advance notice as to when they'll be here. The upside is, I'll always be caught up on homework! Haha.

Another fun fact...I won the "guess the final game score" for the Super Bowl today! 21-17. Giants. That's right. And they think I don't know my sports! Okay...yes, some of it was just dumb luck.

Well, it's almost midnight and I still have some math homework to get done before tomorrow morning. *sigh* Why can't we have Mondays off every week? That'd be perfect.

G'night!

*Mr. Know It All, Kelly Clarkson

"He will not delay...my refuge and strength always...I will not fear, His promise is true..."

Our tree this year

Welcome, 2012!

It's supposedly the last year of the world according to Mayans. Not like I agree with any of that hype, but still kinda cool to think that I'm living in that year. Man, 2012. I've been alive for parts of 3 different decades! Life goes so fast.

The ladies who went to
the bachelorette party

I've had an awesome time at home for Christmas and New Year's. Leaving tomorrow morning (well, technically this morning) to go back to Pullman and start off the new semester. I'll be at the first 3 days of classes and then it's back on a plane for Alison's wedding!  Craay-zee! I'm looking forward to it a lot though, and hopefully by my next blog will have some pictures to post. I get to pick up their wedding present from me on Thursday. I won't say anything spoiler-ish...but I hope it works out like I planned it. It's funny the social events you don't quite know the etiquette for until you're there. Being in the wedding has been one of those, but I'm learning! And did I mention excited? And amazed? :)

Family Cmas Card Pic

Christmas was really cool this year. Very chill (except for the part where Bubba picked up the wrong suitcase at the airport... :P ) and a lot of quality family time. The older I get, the more you realize how expensive Christmas is! After buying gifts for as many people as I did, and not a lot of expensive gifts at that, I am overwhelmed by the generosity of friends and family who buy things for me. You know...I'm just overwhelmed by generosity in general. I'm struggling with that lately, with how to accept all of the free gifts that God has given me.  It's so hard to think about how easy my life is compared to people everywhere! From across the world to my brothers and sisters in Pullman, there are those who have had so many struggles and challenges. I don't understand why God hasn't asked me to walk through those, and I don't feel worthy of the "free ride" that I think I have had. Everyone's different, yes, and has a different story to live, but that seems like such a cop-out answer to what I'm thinking. And then, when struggles DO come, is that because I'm in trouble?? Or because it's finally "my turn" to suffer? I don't know how I'll rectify that in my head. God's been so good...and I just can't fathom it. My natural reaction to that is to feel guilty! But I'm not called to a life of guilt and shame! *sigh* Issues...

Brady in his snazzy new car

This coming semester is going to be hard. Not gonna lie. I'm looking forward to the next chapter, but I also forsee a lot of stress. I'm going to have to be a better time manager and studier than I ever have before. My friends and family need me, my school work needs me, the world needs me, I need to have time with just me and Jesus... And I'm also feeling convicted about being "too busy". I'm a chronic over-committer. If I'm asked, I can't say no, so I just make a litttle more room on my plate. Even God took a Sabbath, though! I'm wondering about doing that this semester, or at least trying to. Working super hard all week, and then having everything done by Saturday night so I can spend Sunday doing nothing "work" related. Still praying about that, but it sounds really awesome as of right now. It's going to require some habit changes though. And those are always hard.

I know this is a short entry, but it's late and I have to get up early in the morning to catch my flight. I'll try and update again soon to make up for it. Thanks for being there, blog-o-sphere!

* Always, Kristian Stanfill

"Look now for glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wing....oh, rest beside the weary road, and hear the angels sing"

Home-made Christmas cards!

And here we are again....it's "Dead Week". *cue ominous music here* Thankfully, I seem to still be very much alive! ;) My first final isn't until Wednesday night, which means I'm tricking myself into believing that I have more study time than I probably do. Oh well, what's college without a few all-night cram sessions, right? Jk. I have yet to pull an all-nighter in college, and frankly, have no plans to do so in the near future. I have 5 finals, but 2 of them are take homes, so basically I only have 3 to worry about. Good stuff.

So much has happened in the last month, it's a little hard to know where to begin and what to write about!
I'll start by saying that the Chi Alpha Christmas service last night was awesome! :D I'm not even sure what it was - the acappella guys version of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch", Steve's reading of the Dr. Seuss story, Danica's gorgeous painting, or all of my brothers and sisters circled around Kimbrough 101 singing Christmas carols. Some combination of those just moved me. I honestly just couldn't stop smiling the entire night...almost got to the point of tears. Weird how a room filled with God's presence just makes you want to shout with excitement and fall to the ground at the same time. Last night was one of those moments. I suppose it's partially because I've been processing the concept of God's blessing for awhile now. Why on earth do I have so much? I look at all of these fantastic people that I am surrounded by, who at the same time have gone through so many struggles, and wonder why I have been lucky enough to avoid them. What's God's reason for putting me in this "bubble"? I know it's not like I am waiting for the shoe of judgment to drop, but sometimes I feel like I should be. At some point, shouldn't I have trial? And there we were last night, with all of our different walks of life, just singing about the miracle of Christmas and the reason that Christ was born in the first place, and the room was full of such joy I wanted to explode! *shakes head* I know I'll be working through those questions for a while.

Goin to camp...8th grade, maybe?

In other news, I hit 20, and I'm officially all grown up now, I guess. I've been asked to be in a wedding in January! I can't believe I'm old enough to have "married friends"...but I suppose I am. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited! She's probably one of my oldest friends, and I was so honored when she asked me to be involved.  :)  And yes, I got to meet him over Thanksgiving Break. I don't know him super well, but I like what I've seen, I like what other people have said, and I know that it would take a special guy to catch her attention. So yes, even though my approval is not required, I approve.  ;)  Hopefully I'll have more details and pictures for a future blog entry. Right now, I'm still working to finish the semester, and then I'll have more time to think about and process the whole thing. But it's new news, so, hey! Gotta blog it, right? Okay, weird tangent -- right now I'm listening to Pandora radio, and that song "King of Majesty" by Hillsong is on. It always reminds me of summer camp...with aforementioned friend. Heehee. There's a life-comes-full-circle moment right there.

Last blog entry I mentioned some exciting news that I couldn't talk about at the time. Well, details have all fallen into place, and so now I can! *drumroll* I'm going to HAITI!  :D  It'll be my first mission trip, and I'll be going with a team of other XA members for 2 weeks this May. Haiti is also one of the few not-France French-speaking countries, and I'm thrilled that 4 years of foreign language study will get a chance to be used. My next French class is called 'Speaking and Listening', and so hopefully that will prepare me to have some sort of usefulness while we're there. Aside from the fact that they speak French,  our family has also sponsored a girl in Haiti for several years now. She's my age, and so it's almost like we have "family" down there. The odds are still slim, but I could possibly arrange to meet her! All those "selfish" details aside, I am so thrilled to be going. It's a major step of faith -- we have to fundraise our trip costs, and I know that unless God brings the money in, it won't happen. So I'm trusting good things to happen, and expecting that I'll have a testimony once that process itself is over. Anyone who feels led to support me financially... let me know and I will gladly get the information to you! And of course, I would appreciate all the prayers that you can send. Both for myself, the team, and the people that we will be working with in Haiti.

Almost Christmas... :)

So yeah. That'll be the first part of my summer, followed shortly after by my little brother's high school graduation. Crazy stuff, man! Only ten more days until I'm home for Christmas! I just have to finish strong....four exams, a presentation, and a smattering of homework assignments to go. *sigh* "I think I can, I think I can..." Looking forward to getting home and taking some down time. I'm not taking any classes over break this year, which should be nice. Breathers are good.  :)

Okay....time to stop the procrastination and go do work now. Peace out, blog-o-sphere!

*It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, traditional