Week 7: We're Soaring, Flying!

Starting to get a little bit of cabin fever. We've been in the building for almost 4 weeks straight!

Thursday was Pause family day! Our pause family went head to head with another group in a photo scavenger hunt! We learn the moonwalk, hula danced, and played duck duck goose with different families. One thing on the list was have someone go off Noah’s Nightmare with our pause dad, which is like a rope swing into the pond… at night. Morgan went of it with Scott, and I guess Morgan’s pants were a bit too big so he had to swim with one arm, using the other to hold up his pants! Unfortunately, we lost but it was still tons of fun. We had root beer floats and pumpkin cake for dessert, yum!

Friday for Life Skills, we had Kip’s wife teach us how to make paper, which was really cool, and surprisingly cheap.

Saturday was one of the most fun days I’ve had here at Joshua. I spent the day in Fresno with Sara, Megan, Shelby, and Stephen. We headed down to my car about 7, planning to leave right away, but when we got to my car the windows were covered in ice. So we spent a good 15mins de-icing my car with old Starbucks cards (I didn’t have a window scraper)! We got to Fresno and had breakfast with Sara’s parents at Batter Up Pancakes. So delicious! Sara’s parents were so nice and bought our breakfast. Then we headed off to the thrift stores. We started at Little Orphan Annie’s which was cool, but expensive. Plus it was all women’s clothing, so Stephen didn’t really know what to do. We stopped in a book store then went to both of the Goodwill’s. Sara and I played mom with Stephen & picked out a bunch of clothes for him to try on. The three of us got semi-matching blue sweaters. I found an awesome Star Wars shirt of the Millennium Falcon, the same one my pause dad, Scott, wears. I also got wand shaped salt and pepper shakers, harry potter glasses, and an Elvis CD (that I can’t listen to until next year…). We hit Plato’s Closet and got some flannels and went to Great Harvest Bread to get cinnamon chip bread. Later, we headed to RiverPark and went to Kwirkworld, where I got a Big Bang Theory shirt, went to Teazer for an iced Honolulu, and visited the Spirit Halloween store. We met Sara’s parents at Elephant bar for dinner, one of my FAVORITE restaurants. Then we headed to SkyWalk, and indoor trampoline arena. Getting there was fun because we kept getting lost! But it was a ton of fun. Jumping into the foam pit was probably the most fun. We dropped Sara off at her parents hotel and we got gas, where I gave a homeless man $2 & prayed for him. Megan drove us home. It was such an awesome day, but now I’m super sore!

I loved spending time with some of my closest Joshua sisters and brother! <3

Sunday was good, sleeping in, studying, going to church. It was a nice relaxing day, especially being so sore. Tomorrow is our first Israel Prep test, so that should be…. Fun? Then next week in Philippians chapter 1 test, I only have 4 more verses to go!

Week 6: Girl's Just Want to Have Fun

This week our speaker was Mike Bogart. He’s a professor of world religions so his talks every day were on Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. What we learned from him will really apply when we’re out street evangelizing in LA.

Monday to Wednesday were all pretty normal days. Not a ton happened. I had SWEEPS in the Joshua kitchen again on Tuesday. We had book discussion on book 2 of Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, which I love by the way!

Thursday, after lunch I headed over to my pause family’s house and made cake pops. They were so nice & let me use their kitchen. I made yellow cake with vanilla frosting pops. I dipped half of them in confetti candy melts and the other half in purple candy melts with orange and blue sprinkles. They tasted really good and everyone else thought so too when I got back to Joshua.

That night was our very first theme dinner! It was 80’s Skate Night, so everyone was dressed up, from leg warmers and neon shorts to grunge and teased hair. We looked so awesome! I wore black tights, blue leopard print jean shorts, leg warmers, a pink off the shoulder shirt, and a LOT of jewelry. Since the 80’s was the age of convenience, we had sloppy joes, pizza, french fries, pudding and rice crispy treats for dinner. We even got glass bottle Coca-Cola! We also got to listen to music during it all, and a one point the whole room was singing “Don’t you want me baby! Don’t you want me Ooohhh!” After dinner, we all met in the Great Room and we danced to 80’s music for a bit. I taught everyone a little bit of Thriller. Then we did a Paula Adule work out video, which was hilarious! Later, we did a little bit of 80’s Trivia before walking down to the Ark where we went roller skating. It was tons of fun (even though I’m really bad at skating). We got a ride back up the hill afterwards, and had sherbet and 7-up floats in the Dining Hall. It was one of the best nights ever.

In Life Skills on Friday, we learned the keys to storytelling. After lunch, I started work in SS (Support Services). I spent most of my day cleaning toilets and vacuuming carpets. I did the same on Saturday. On Sunday, I was on Laundry duty, so I spent all morning cleaning and drying rags for housekeeping and the Pondy Kitchen. It was nice and I was able to get some homework done. I got to drive the SS truck all around, which was awesome! I miss driving so much. Later, I helped out the others cleaning the lodges that the guys from the Men’s Conference stayed in. I made beds and dried bathrooms and vacuumed, so I didn’t have to you any chemicals. Although I don’t really mind doing the work, I think the chemicals make me a little sick to my stomach and affect my asthma.

After church, we came back to the building. I got to spend a couple hours talking with Kelly and Stephen, getting to know them. It was really awesome. They are two really great, wonderful people and I’m so glad I can call them my brother and sister here!

Week 5: This Little Piggy Went to the Market...

This week was pretty normal. I turn my Observations paper in on Tuesday, all my classes were pretty normal. I rained/hailed this week and we’ve had up to 52% chance of snow (but it hasn’t yet). Trent Lewis was our speaker this week and Joey and Becky Webb where here as our Catalysis parents. They made the most amazing bacon ever, with brown sugar and chili powder!

Thursday night we went over to our pause parents’ (Lenny & Becky) house. It was Michelle’s night, so we had her favorite dinner (pasta alfredo), dessert (cheesecake, peanut butter chocolate ice cream, and choco chip cookies), and we carved pumpkins! (She had never carved a pumpkin before!) After that, we had a contest to see who could slide the farthest on the wood floors. It got pretty crazy and I’m glad no one got hurt! The guys were doing crazy awesome tricks! Then we played Charades for like 3 hours! It was so hilarious, especially when Morgan got T-rex fairy princess! It was such a fun night.

This weekend was so much fun, too! After lunch on Friday, my dad came to pick Shelby and me up. I strained my ankle running to see my dad when he got here, I missed him so much. We loaded up the car and I drove us to Fresno. The way down the mountain was really foggy and scary since I’ve never driven down the mountain before. Before we went to my friend Kelsey’s house house where we were staying, we went to her younger brother’s JV football game. It was fun but cold, especially for Fresno. After the game, we went to the house where Kelsey met us and we hung out for a bit before she went back to her dorm at Fresno State.

The next day, we went to Target to get some stuff we needed and then met Kelsey at In-n-Out (which was delicious!) before catching the bus to the Fresno County Fair. We walked around looking at all the livestock and baby animals. There was a stage where they had dogs jumping into a pool to catch toys. We also got to walk through a tent filled with exotic animals and instruments. Shelby and I even got to hold a Boa Constrictor! It was pretty heavy. Outside the tent was a mutton bustin’ arena, where kids ages 4-7 where riding sheep like bucking broncos. It was really funny to watch. Some of those kids wouldn’t let go of the sheep once it was over.

After that, we made our way over to the Alaskan Pig Races, where we watched pigs race around a track and jump over hurdles to the finish line. Our pig, Natalie PORKman won the championship! (Justin BieBOAR came in last!) When the races were over, we walked over to the rides. Shelby & I didn’t go on any rides but we did win stuffed animals from the carnival games. Before we left the fair, Kelsey HAD to get deep fried Oreos. The sound of that alone was giving me a heart attack.

When we got back to the house, we had dinner (pork chops) and then went out to River Park to shop a bit. We ended up going to Bath and Body Works where( I got some body sprays and scrubs), Claire’s (a moustache mug,  straws, and earings), and Kwirkworld (a rainbow bow tie and an “I Love Jesus” lanyard). We walked around the Halloween store a bit, too. At the house, we played Settlers of Catan for over 2 hours! We were getting really tired, so at 11:30 we decided whoever had the most points at the time won (me, of course!)

Sunday, Kelsey and I went to breakfast at Batter-Up Pancakes. She got banana bread French toast and I got Oreo pancakes (Oreos baked into the pancake!). Afterwards, we picked up Shelby and went shopping. We hit Goodwill and Michael’s before heading to Fashion Faire to shop at Forever 21. On the way home, we stopped to get Iced Honolulu’s  from Teazer’s. It’s like paradise in a cup! As soon as we got home, we packed up my car and Shelby & I drove back to Joshua. It was really awesome weekend, but I did miss my Joshua family while I was away.

Week 4: It Comes from the Hart Pt 1

HARTLAND PART ONE! This week was insane! I spent Monday through Thursday at Hartland Christian Camp, just down the hill from Hume. It was a really physically challenging week. We were there to help out with any projects they needed down around camp. I spent a majority of my time with a rake and raked everything from dirt to piles of wood and don’t even get me started on the plants in the forest! It’s not called “mountain misery” for nothing! The first day I started out cleaning up some trails by raking debris and such off them. The next day I spent half the day pulling logs out of the creek and picking up branches from the side of the road. The second half of Tuesday and all of Thursday I got to spend actually building a trail, which was super neat! Friday I was stacking wood in the wood pits and then cleaning up all the girls’ dorms and the gym before we went home.

Although it was really hard work, building the trail was really fun with Kelsey and Stephen around. They are just such hilarious people and being around then made the time fly by. I remember at one point I was between two groups on the trail so I was all by myself for about an hour and I kept thinking “Why am I doing this? This is stupid. I don’t want to be here…” But as soon as I caught up with Stephen & Kelsey, my attitude totally changed. I realized it wasn’t so bad and the hard work was doing me some good. Also, that morning I was just in a funk and not in a great mood but when we went to work, Matt P. said something hilarious (I can’t remember what exactly he said) but it made me laugh and I realized that was the first time I had smiled all day. Such little things can totally change your attitude towards the day. God really was testing me with some of the people I had to work with, though. It’s so hard to stay calm when someone is being stubborn and I found myself getting so frustrated with them. I think that was my challenge this week, working with people who just don’t click with me. I’m still working on it.

I think one of the coolest parts about Hartland was when we finished our work on Wednesday and were walking back on the trail we had built. I kept thinking “when does this trail end?!” We had created about a half mile of trail in only 1 and a half days! It felt so good to see all our hard work. Erik (our boss) said that we get to be a part of people’s walk with God when they’re reflecting on that trail. It’s an awesome feeling.

This weekend I was in Dinning Staff in Ponderosa. Four weeks straight in the kitchen! I really like being in Pondy, although I think I prefer being in the kitchen as a cook than serving as a hostess. It was another women’s conference this week but everything went way smoother than last week. I did pancake breakfast Saturday which meant getting up at 5am and walking in the dark down to the kitchen. I did get to drive the van though, which was fun! Stephen thought I was going to kill him. There was an older lady at breakfast who I helped get up on a step so she could take a picture of us making the food. I helped her down which was awkward and funny and we started dancing together! She was so cute and funny. I saw her again at breakfast on Sunday and she said “When I see you, I am blessed.” And that made me feel so great! Another lady really appreciated my service and gave me a necklace pendent on Saturday at lunch and I wore it all day Sunday. I was really surprised at how thankful these women were for all of us dinning staff. It made me feel incredible, even though my job mostly consisted of collecting dirty dishes! I also got to serve for the band that was up here for the weekend. They were super cool and even gave me a round of a applause and cheered my name on Sunday! It was funny and there were awesome guys. Everyone agreed that the drummer totally looked like Julian in a few years (except with a less impressive mustache)!

I worked about 26 hours this weekend and boy was I tired when I got off of work on Sunday at 3. I was going to go back to the building and take a nap but I decided to stop by my pause parent’s house first and ended up spending the rest of the day with them. They totally welcomed me into their home and I felt so comfortable being there. We talked and I helped Dayton with his homework a bit and Dylan showed me his awesome drawings of animals. They took me down to dinner at Pondy and it was Ballpark night so we had hot dogs with nacho cheese and chili. It was so good! I sat with them in church and they kindly gave me a ride back to the building. They are such a neat family and I’m so fortunate to have them as part of my pause family. I also got to meet the Webbs who are our new catalysis family, so I’m really looking forward to getting to know them. I also get to see my family and my best friend next weekend, so looking forward to that!!