Some Ketchup

Wow, I have been slacking on keeping up here! Too often I guess I'm just too tired in the evenings to actually take the energy to type anything intellectual, or the computer is taken or something - our wireless isn't working anymore so I can't just hop on my laptop.
This last week has been busy - we had another day of pulling weeds and hauling rocks off the church property. The weather is crazy. Its so cold in the mornings - I'm usually bundled in a jacket and a beanie. Then by the afternoons its pretty hot, and we're in short sleeved t's. Except for this morning - it is so COLD and has been snowing!
Last Thursday we began our once a week Worship Watch with an awesome lady in our church, Leyla. Its an awesome, out-of-the-box, two hour session we spend in worship, prayer, and intercession. We shout, sing "new songs," sing scripture, pray scripture...its been awesome and we've had some great times in the presence of the Lord. Yesterday we celebrated the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles before our worship watch, and had an awesome lunch together over a teaching about the feast. So cool.
I have also started giving one of the high school girls, Elizabeth Haakana, piano lessons. I'm excited to get to spend time with her - she's so precious! Plus its a great opportunity for me to continue learning how to teach.
Speaking (well, writing really) of music, I had coffee on Sunday afternoon with our church worship leader, Bethany Hicks. She had called me that morning before church and had me sing with the worship team at church - I had so much fun! So we went to coffee that afternoon and had such an awesome time together, and basically she is going to be mentoring me in worship, and possibly as a future worship leader. She is also going to help me do keyboard on Sunday mornings, which I am totally excited about because that is something I have really been wanting to learn. And I am officially on the worship team schedule! Hurray! I'm just so excited to be spending time with her, and finding a mentoring relationship in her, because she's just so awesome, and in a lot of ways someone I would love to aspire to.
This is just one of many ways I feel like God has just been showering blessings on me. Through all the struggle and dryness of the last year and a half, of walking alone and feeding myself, it is so very very refreshing to find a river of refreshment pouring into my life.
We also started Kidz Club this week (it is like an after-school program we do once a week for K-5th grade) - we had a great kick-off with about 25 kids. Raf brought his waterballoon launcher (its like a giant slingshot), which was a BIG hit. I have to admit, we almost had more fun with it than the kids did!
I've had my struggles this week too. One morning I was so frustrated, I felt like Jacob wrestling with God. I'm still uncertain as to what that was all about (I know what subject, but as to why the great struggle). It was just so intense! I couldn't make sense in my mind, couldn't wrap my brain around it. But in the end, whether it made sense or not, I just had to let it go. I guess I'm learning too, another aspect of prevailing prayer. I just didn't want to let go. Didn't feel like was supposed to. I wanted to attain that promise, and I wasn't going to let go until He gave it!
The staff had breakfast this morning with our associate pastor, Kyle, and another of our teachers, Keven. It was so good - I totally love the maturity, and intellectual conversation. Kyle is going start Joel and I on an awesome, seminary level, book. I'm excited about the mentoring that will be coming from them too, and I am excited for a higher level of challenge.
I finally got a hold of Raf's pictures (more from our hike to the cross, our time pulling weeds in Palm Desert, and our hike up rock creek), and got them on my computer, so I'll be posting them soon!