Prideful Servant

Today we went on another hike up past rock creek, and spent some time by this beautiful lake tucked away in the mountains. We each wrote a letter to God and put it in the "sacred tube," where they will remain hidden until May. I'm looking forward to reading my letter again, and being able to look back on answered prayer. It was such an enjoyable experience for me as I sat on the grass alone by the water to compose my letter. I let my hair down to just blow in the breeze, and soaked up the warmth of the sunshine. The view was amazing - snowcaped mountains, glittering lake, the day warm and sunny. The times I've had with the Lord lately have been bliss. I feel like He has pulled me in somehow to a deeper place of intimacy.
This will be my third night in the lodge, and it has been fun being here. Not the hard transition I thought it was going to be. No, but it has been a blessing. Each day has been unique and enjoyable. We did some cleaning at the church yesterday - cleaned out a shed, and cleaned up the path out back by Eric's office. I love getting to work with my hands. There is something so rewarding about working hard. Though sometimes I feel at a loss as to what to do, because I may not have the necessary knowledge about the needed task, and I find it frustrating because I do not want to watch others "do," I want to be right in the middle, working hard. I find this to be a work of humility in me also. Raphael and Jennifer each have such an authentic love for the Lord, and a heart to serve. It gets my pride when I find them doing more than me, or serving me. I guess we can be prideful even in trying to be "least." What a way though for me to grow as a leader, to be challenged even by those who are supposed to be "following." I guess I am finding it difficult to be served. But I just remind myself that I shouldn't shun them practicing service, just because it stirs my pride. They are God's blessing in my life to challenge me to take something like service to a new level. Where would the challenge be in setting an example, of lets say service (since we're on the topic), for someone who didn't serve at all? That's not much of a challenge. How much more will it stretch me to set an example for two who are already such servants? Isn't it exciting to be pushed and stretched? Yeah. Ok. Easier said than done!
Each day is a living mystery - we're never quite sure what we're gonna do next, but things keep unfolding with blessing. Tomorrow is our first meeting up in Mammoth with a group, and we will be having a time to just minister to the Lord in intercession and the word for a couple of hours. I'm totally stoked. Oh, and we started our classes yesterday. We are doing a class kind of like New Testament survey, starting in Matthew, and it is great. I'm totally loving getting into all the little details. You know me, I was the weird one in ENLI who actually loved the church history, OT and NT survey, and all those crazy fun little details. I love getting down to the nitty-gritty of the word, and studying all its facets. This is totally up my alley. Man, life is good!

Pirates and Ninjas

Hey ya'll! I just want to say that if you are reading this it is probably because you're a wonderfully dear person in my life. I love and appreciate you each more and more, as time and distance seems to make people more dear and precious. So thank you to each of you, and how you have been such a blessing in my life!
God has been doing such an amazing work in my life, and I can see the transformation in what has been a month already. Wow. This last week has been full of fun fellowship. Such a blast. Seriously, I had to get away today because I couldn't take being around people anymore! Today has been an amazing day of much needed rest. I recharged my batteries and I'm ready to go for another crazy round of life!
The last few days have been a blast. Wednesday we cleaned up the lodge before we left for Palm Desert (well, the mountains near there anyways) in preparation for a group of 60 who is staying in the lodge this weekend. I asked one of the guys how their side looked and he was like, "seriously, I was just over there and it is looking good. Go look for yourself!" Ha ha, I did and it was NOT clean! I filled an entire sheet of paper with a list of things to clean, and man you should have heard the groans! I totally felt like a mom, and I thought for sure they would hate me. But I was put in charge of making sure it was clean and by golly I didn't let anything slide! I put down an iron fist of cleanliness; they hated it, and I loved every minute. Seriously, it was hilarious.
The ride down was fun. I rode with Brent and Hannah (Tommy Ho's students). Hannah got me started on a kind of game - basically you have to find out if you are a pirate or ninja. There aren't really any rules. We kind of came up with our own definition of what we thought each one was based on character traits, and developed hysterical conversation over about three hours. Hannah is a pirate. Pirates wear distinctive things sometimes, or their always bumping into things, or saying senseless things. Or their tuff and super go-getters. I'm a ninja - we're stealth. We sneak up on you and take you by surprise. We're sly and witty. It was the funniest thing we just couldn't stop all night. Every few minutes one of us would be like, "oh my gosh, that was so pirate." Or I would say something super savvy, and be like, "duh, that's cause I'm ninja." What was really funny is that we got everyone into it that night. It was one of the funniest nights ever! We stayed up almost till 1am playing this mafia card game called Family Business, which is my new favorite game. We were all so tired and had a million verbal slips that made no sense, and my stomach hurt from laughing so much. I was so wired and over tired that I couldn't fall asleep till after 2:30am, and I had to get up at 6:30 to pull weeds! Oh yeah, that's why we were there, by the way, to pull weeds on this ranch which was GORGEOUS, as a fundraiser for MC.
We worked hard all day, and played and laughed while we worked. By the end of the day my back and my hands hurt, and my legs were sore from our hike. But I loved the fact that I hurt because I climbed a mountain, and I worked hard all day. I was very sad to have to say goodbye to Hannah (she and Brent had to leave that afternoon). It was just like Mazatlan - I met an instantly great friend, and had to say goodbye only days later. But what a blessing she was to have for a time, even if it was only a few days. Seriously, without her I would I been left to those crazy boys all by myself!
I got home yesterday afternoon, after spending 6 hours smashed in a car with four guys. Yep, I was stuck in a manwich for 6 hours! To make it worse Christian was in the back seat, and he is a big guy (like CB). I seriously thought I was going to kill them that last hour! But it was still fun. Matt and Raf knew a bunch of riddles, and Christian too, so that distracted us for hours. We even played a game of Family Business, driver and all! At one point Joel thought he was going to pull a ninja move and be sly and show Matt his cards in the rear view mirror, totally forgetting that I was sitting in the middle and saw them all. Yeah, we had plenty of moments where we died laughing. All in all I was happy to be back, and so happy to get my cramped legs out of that stinky car (enough said)! We returned to a very cold Crowley. I guess the mountain got like three inches of snow. Even today has been rainy and snowy, and unusually cold. Fluke or not, this cold front has sent the leaves changing, and already there are bits of yellow here and there. Just watch my first winter will be a fierce one!
Wow this was a long one, but I had a lot to catch up on! I am so blessed. Our morning times of prayer and the word have been amazingly refreshing. I just stared out the window this morning and watched the stormy clouds hang over the beautiful mountains, and it ministered peace to my soul. God is amazing, and life's journey is amazing if we can have the courage to trust Him and just go for it...
P.S. I've got a bunch of pictures I'll be posting soon!

Poptart

Yummy yummy I'm eating a poptart before bed! Just got back from Wild Willie's hotcreek - you go down this dirt road out in the middle of nowhere, and then walk down a long path to the creek. It was awesome. The night was chilly, the creek toasty, and a million stars were out. On our way back Joel got a little happy driving down the dirt road and went over two bumps in the road (one right after the other) full speed - we caught air over our seats and I think one of the guys hit his head on the roof. Hannah (A girl visiting from Tommy Hovsepian's school) and I all of a sudden looked at eachother and realized we had grabbed hands at some point when we were bounced off our seats. We laughed so hard. Good times. It was a great end to a very long day.
We hiked up the mountain behind Crowley to a cross up on top (maybe 2,000 feet up or so). It was a killer hike - my poor legs (we were all in shorts) are so scratched and beat up! All the way up there were oodles of bushes and dead branches, and there isn't really a trail. You just hike straight up as best you can. By the end we were all cut up. But it was fun, and the view up there was amazing!
I started moving into the lodge today. I'm excited to be in, and I can't wait to be settled. Everything else is great. Morning prayer has been a blessing - its awesome to have that time set aside. We also started reading through the Bible, which we will finish in the 9 months of the program.
Tomorrow we are heading out to some property in the mountains somewhere near palm desert to pull weeds for two days. Yep. Pull weeds. But its a fundraiser so its all worth it. Probably be back late Thursday or Friday, so don't freak out if I don't promptly post every two days ;) Well, morning prayer comes early at 7:30am...so much for getting to bed early! I just seem to keep getting pulled into fun things. Thank you Lord for all the good times of fellowship you have given me!
Ok. Poptart is gone, and its time for bed...

More change

The last few days have been a continuum of change, awful challenging, and just plain fun. Been spending quite a bit of time with Michelle, a much needed friendship on both our parts. It also has been fun getting to know our two new students, Raf (Rafael) who is from Switzerland, and Jennifer. We've been hanging out, having tea parties, watching movies, going for walks, driving to town, gettin' to know eachother.
Saturday night we officially commenced M2C (Mammoth Master's Commission - get used to that!) over dinner with a great group. It is amazing how much has changed in the last two days, and how things just keep changing. We really only have about three students total now. Raf, and Jen are for sure. Mel, from Australia, is coming late November. Thats about all that is certain, besides the fact that we are completely trusting God's control. Joel and I were cracking up at the Lighthouse tonight over people's reactions to our size this year "ooooh, thats great." "Well, you can all fit in one car!" "You'll be really free to come and go!" A lot of well meaning, economical comments. I suppose you'd need me to impersonate for the full affect. Anyways, it is way too funny, and we don't find it discouraging but humorous!
Jennifer is SO precious! She has some handicap, but she is very vibrant, talkative, and excited to be a part of what we are doing. Due to the current sittuation, I will be moving out of my wonderful haven here at the Rianda's and moving to the more self-giving, and probably growth-promoting, lodge. Not exactly an idea I was pleased about earlier today, but there has been pleanty of change in me just over the last few hours. I'm not looking forward to moving again, BUT, if thats where God wants me then thats where I want to be. Besides, I'm getting tired of all this back and forth business between here and the lodge, and I'm over there all the time anyways. Please pray for me for yet another transition! I'm very excited to get to be a close part of Jennifer's life - to be right there getting to see the change happening in her, and changing right there with her. I know it'll be great once I get settled in, I just need the grace to transition with joy! You know me, I hate change. But the fun moments make it so worth it. I had such a great time connecting with Jennifer and her mom on Saturday night, and the dinner was just such a great chance to all be together. Afterwards I went bowling with the guys. Yep. Me, an Aussie, a Swiss dude, and a Mexican (he's visiting from Mazatlan - not a student). What a group we were. Only two of us spoke English as a first language, and all of them have great accents. I bowled probably the worst games of my life with like a 40 something and a 52! But it was so much fun. Its those times that make it all worth it, and there are so many more to come. I am chosing to say yes to God despite what I feel and see. To say yes to God and what He has spoken over my life. His purpose. His plan. So, bring on the change, I am moving forward with JOY!

Change

Everything changes, and life is seldom what it seems. Things turn out differently. People disappoint you. And things you thought would disappoint you sometimes surprise you.
My life has been an ebb & flow of change, and I have my own battles of frustration to deal with on a daily basis. But I am trying to see past these petty things to the hand of God - annoyances can be as much a hardship as anything, and there isn't anything quite like them that will quickly show one's lack of character.
Yesterday was more planning - it is hilarious to be on a team with two Aussies. They are constantly chatting on things that just go over my head. Its kind of like living with a nonstop geico commercial.
I hung out with Michelle again last night - she made the playdough while Christian (a returning MC student) and I tinkered on the piano. Later Michelle and I watched Love Comes Softly, and we made a date to watch the second one tonight. Good times.
We also have a new girl, Jennifer, who is coming on Saturday - yippee! So by November we will have three guys and three girls. We officially start tomorrow - how crazy is that!?
Here are some pics from my adventure in Mazatlan...

The girls at church


Kristen, Monica & I


Joel & I on the scooter


Kristen & I






Monica & I at the lighthouse




Joel & Matt


City Lights


Taking in the view




My fav. - yeah baby I took this!

Quicky...

Ok, I've got to get to bed, but because I am so OCD and I HAVE TO update every two days, so...Today was a much better day. I don't even want to waste time on yesterday, but today was great. Joel and I tagged along with Mat on a fieldtrip for the Crowley jr high to the Mammoth Library (Mat is one of the few people who can drive the van). It was so fun to be with the girls - their so stinken cute! We got a few errands done, and it was just fun to get out. Later in the afternoon Joel and I went on some more errands in town, and stocked up on groceries for the lodge. Came home, unloaded, and organized the kitchen. By that time I only had an hour before the girls' Bible study. I hung out with Michelle, made pizza, and went over to E&P's. It was great to be with the girls again. Michelle does the after school program for the Crowley school, and she's is making edible playdough tomorrow. I'm gonna go help her if I have some time. So today was pretty non-stop social. Thank you Jesus. I'll blog about something deep sooner or later. At this point I'm still trying to catch up on sleep from our late arrival on Monday!

On the road again...

Well, its been an awesome week here in Mazatlan, but I am looking forward to being home today.
Our staff group went to breakfast before church yesterday at this awesome restaurant right on the beach. The food was great and the view was beautiful. After church a bunch of people came over and we just hung out, had lunch, and me and the girls enjoyed a well-needed siesta - Monica, Kristin (she is living here with the Lonsdales) and I had stayed up past 2am watching a movie Saturday night. It was so funny because I was so tired I just cried and cried during the movie (we watched The Notebook). Yesterday evening we hiked up this huge hill to a lighthouse as the sun was setting. It was so beautiful to watch it set over the ocean, and watch the lights come out over the shoreline. It took us some time to get back down because we kept getting distracted by all the glow-worms along the path. What good fun. I am so gonna miss the beach!
So many things are changing.

"Its a mosquito bite..."

Yesterday morning I woke up with a plethora of new mosquito bites on my poor legs...they've come to a whopping total of 37 now! Y'all know how white I am too - my poor bites are so red and puffy! Been doing a lot of swimming. It is so great to come back from a walk to the store or something feeling totally grose and sweaty and being able to just go jump in the pool...ah...yeah. Just got back (like minutes ago) from a get-together with the church youth at the beach and had my second day of surfing - yehaw! Surprisingly for a beginner I caught a wave pretty good today, and I ate the last one pretty hard (hence why it was my last one!). I timed it horribly - before I could get any breath the wave broke on me and took me under in a tumble mass of furry. It freaked me out but I was fine. It is awesome though when the wave picks you up just right and you stand up right on top of it. I only held it a second, but it was a sweet second.
Joel (our other staff member, from Australia) finally made it in yesterday. He was only able to get a 90 day visa, but at least he will be with us for that time. Please pray that he doesn't have any trouble getting into the states when we fly back in together this Monday!
Love and miss you all...I gotta go, we're having breakfast for dinner =)

Rats!

After church last night I went with a group of people to see a movie (License to Wed). Most of the movies they have here are in English with Spanish subtitles. So we're sittin there watching the movie when this guy across the aisle jumps up and panics something about a rat. Myself and the girls on either side of me naturally freaked out, tucked our legs up, and sat that way for the rest of the movie. Some minutes later, like 4 rows down, there was a wave of people jumping up and screaming as the rat apparently ran down the row. Man like the whole theater was laughing so hard and screaming, it was SO funny! Much more entertaining than the movie. So next time you go to the movies in Mexico, make sure to keep your feet up ;)

El Humido!

Hello from Mazatlan! Wow what a journey it was just to get here. I had a blast Sunday night watching the demolition derby at the fair, and then we had quite the clean-up job, but God totally blessed us with some great help. Got to bed around 1am, got up at 2:30am, slept in the car for a few hours on our way to LA. Around 3 in the afternoon three zombies named Matt, Abby, & Lacy, and an amazingly happy baby named Nissi, arrived in Mazatlan. We were so out of it it was hilarious. The weather is overcast and a little rainy, but I'm being told its a complete blessing because it makes it cooler. What? If this is cooler I don't want to know what hot is! Gotta love the humidity too - I feel wet all over all the time, and my hair is insane - its awesome! And forget makeup. None of it. Anyways, the Lonsdale's house (where we are staying) is awesome, and it is fun just relaxing and being together. I already met this really nice chick named Monica, who is a dancer, and we're already planning a girls night, and she is going to take me dancing! Anyways, the fresh tortilla's are about to be eaten so I gotta get to the kitchen! Chau Pues...

Ve're bonding here, aren't we George?

So I was riding my bike over to the lodge yesterday to begin the long process of cleaning that place up (man it was crazy! It took us like 4 hours just to do one half!). Half of the way to the lodge is a not-too-steep, but nice size hill. I was feeling more tired than usual chucking up the hill on my bike. It was pretty hot yesterday too. So I'm almost to the top and my legs feel like jelly, and I just keep telling myself that I'm almost there, and once I get there the rest is downhill. I made it. Whew. As I turned onto Aspen Terrace, which loops around to the lodge, Lori McDonald shouted hello, so I turned about to stop and say hi. Thank God I did! We chatted a few moments, when all of a sudden I started to feel woozy. By the time I got into the house I could hardly stand, thought I was going to barf, and started seeing spots. For about ten minutes I sat at the kitchen table unable to move, and the window in front of me looked like a fuzzy tv screen. I broke into a sweat, and apparently turned very pale, and then green. Lori was like, "do you have asthma?" I guess I stared wheezing too. It was pretty crazy. After about 15 min. my throat opened up, and my vision cleared. Lori saw me the rest of the way to the lodge. I was supposed to meet Abby there, but when we got there she was no where to be found. All I could think to myself was, "oh my gosh, what if I hadn't stopped? I would have gotten to the lodge and probably passed out with no one there!" Anyways, it was a pretty funny bonding experience for us, and now I call her Lori my Lifesaver.
Note to self - don't push yourself until you're completely acclimated (hurray for living at high altitude), and drink LOTS of water. Needless to say I had quite the day. After that episode I spent the rest of the day cleaning the lodge. Had a couple hours off, and then went to the fair to do the grandstand clean-up. Yeah. I'm tired today. Tonight is our last night of clean-up - we'll get back around 12:30am or so, then we'll drive to LA around 2:30am, and fly out to Mazatlan at 9:45am. I'm stoked. So this'll probably be my last post until next week! Have a good one y'all and I'll catch ya on the flip side...