20 Random Facts

About ME:

1. I collect bi-centennial quarters. My dad started this for me, and I've taken over the collection.

2. I write snail mail and send postcards as often as possible.

3. Completely disregard at least 50% of everything that comes out of my mouth. I joke around a lot.

4. I had to grow up really fast, so I take a lot of time to play now. I am not immature, just silly.

5. I am not competitive.

6. I love to sing and dance, but in my element. When I'm intimidated, I can't function.

7. I am scared of balls flying at me, but I can actually serve a volleyball over a net

8. I know all but 2 of my almost 500 friends on facebook. Those 2 are close to people I know already.

9. I love reggae and hip hop. Reggae has been one of my favorites since I was little and visited the Florida Keys.

10. I don't sweat. If I look sweaty, it's from the humidity.

11. I love acupuncture, not the pain that it may cause, but the results. When I was receiving it, I did sweat.

12. Bartending was my least favorite and least rewarding job.

13. I think I am called to a completely different life than what my parents may expect of me, and I think we'll all be ok with it.

14. My heart is still in Thailand.

15. I love solo and partner sports like yoga and rock climbing.

16. I would rather not shower often unless it's necessary. I believe this stems back to living in CT in the really cold winters. Showers meant freezing afterward.

17. If I don't do something outside at least once a week, I'll become emotionally unstable. I am not at my best if my diet isn't strictly meat and veggies.

18. Peanut and regular M&M's have a huge place in my heart. I'm also addicted to sugar, but at times I manage really well.

19. My favorite place in the world is (are) the Florida Keys. Keep Florida, give me the Keys.

20. I love to paint.

Inarajan Trip

Our English class took yesterday afternoon to drive down to the historic village (about 30 minutes south) of Inarajan to explore St. Joseph's chapel, where Father Duenas was buried under around 70 years ago.


Father Duenas was beheaded by the Japanese during WW2 in Mangilao (near our campus) and then buried under his home church, St. Joseph's. His captors accused him of hiding a man by the name of Tweed, which he supposedly was not. He would not admit to this, and so they tortured him in the village before killing him along with other men thought to be involved. Father Duenas was the second Chamorro priest and is highly regarded by the community. We don't have a lot of information on him yet, but maybe evidence will prove otherwise. I found an interesting blog on him here.


The reason for our trip was to study a local well-known Christian in local history. We studied St. Patrick, St. Augustine, Wycliffe, and others who had a huge impact on Christianity. These were people who stood up for their faith and answered the call of God in their lives. Not too long ago, Fr. Duenas answered God's call to the priesthood. He went to school in Manila, PI, and came back to minister to the local people in a small rural village.



The village probably still looks as though it did back in his time. Having the opportunity to write and reflect in his church, wander through the streets of historic and abandoned houses, and spend time by the ocean was just what we needed to make first hand connections and to experience history. I've been spoiled growing up in places with well known, rich history. Hearing about a person's life and work is one thing, but seeing where their life took place adds dimensions to our knowledge. It brings in visual aid, tangible tools from the time period, and plays with matters of the heart. Imaging Fr. Duenas giving his sermon in the sanctuary with a gun to his head ties us in emotionally.




Walking down the streets of his village gives us insight to what his daily life might have been like. It's as though I had left Guam, and my family from California came through and went to all of the places I had spoke of. It's different than hearing about it, and I am blessed that our students, our friend Tonya who was visiting from Japan, Daisy, and I got to share in that experience of a person who's life we read about in the classroom.

Ant-what?

We're trying to get an Anthology together of student work! Please pray for us, for submissions, and for this to be used to benefit our students and PIU. More details to come.

Pagat Cave

This past Saturday, my community group took a hike to Pagat Cave. (If you're on facebook, you've seen many pictures of rocky cliffs with gorgeous blue swirling water below and a dark cave lit by candlelight. You've probably seen them from the last two, amazing times I've gone.)

This time, a few people from group 2 and other friends from PIU hit the trail for a 3.5 hour hike that consisted of about an hour spent in awe of the ocean, and almost an hour spent inside the cave swimming around and goofing off. We had an incredible time in fellowship, joking around and laughing with each other (or, laughing at each other, depending on who tripped on what or scared who out of the bushes). Only Leeman and I have been there before, so we took turns leading, though some adventurous girls like Sophia and S-me took over once they figured out the trail. I can't wait to go back and do it again. This hike is not only breathtaking, it just so happens to be close by and obviously, free. I couldn't think of a better way for a group of college students and missionaries to spend a Saturday. For all of you off Guam who love getting outside, I truly wish you were here.

PIU Women's Night

Our Assistant Dean of Women, Daisy, planned a women's night for the women of PIU, where we got together with students, staff, and friends for foot soaks, massages, facials, makeup, and nails to name a few.


Here, Marisol and Jonie are making a homemade facial mask. Ingredients can include stuff like olive oil and plain yogurt, but we used things the girls usually have in the dorms: bananas and egg whites (and some oatmeal). After mixing all the stuff together, apply to your face for about ten minutes until it dries and tightens, and then steam off with a hot wash cloth. It was awesome, the girls looked so fresh after!




Sophie is loving her results!





I think almost all of the girls got a facial and had their makeup done. Some, subtly, some really stood out. Celia is our office manager and Avon representative, and she volunteered her time to come in and do make up. What I love about our girls is that they are naturally beautiful. It was cool to see many of them doing this for the first time. It reminded me of myself and a lot of my friends back home who don't take priority in this either, but have fun doing it once in a while.

Xyanne was one of the first with her makeup done.



Laura came in with her massage chair, and Lisa had more than one foot baths. I don't have pictures of them, but knowing both of them, I'm not sure if they'd want me to post them. We all had an awesome time hanging out with the girls, even so late at night. I had a great time doing amateur facials. I couldn't have done that without the help of Joyce, who changed out our water many times (and heated it, and...so many more things), Stephanie, and Lucy who learned how to apply face masks quickly. Hmm...do you think PIU should have a vocational school for this kind of stuff? Our girls are great at taking care of each other, and this kind of stuff is in high demand in the tourism industry. Well, we'll see. Maybe one day down the road. For now, we get to have fun and bond with each other over edible beauty products.

Del Taco

Someone awesome told me about there being a Del Taco on the navy base, so when we planned a last minute hike to Spanish Steps, we stopped off at the food court and got a fix of fish tacos and other good stuff. I MISS Del Taco! I miss the 24 hour convenience factor, taco Tuesday, fish tacos any time,and having a bottle of Tapatio in the car for such occasions. My friend sent me a bottle of my fave hot sauce, and our new friend Ben and I had a killer lunch. This is definitely blog worthy.

12 StEp

12 Steps of AlAnon, a little rewritten for me (but I think these should be for everyone).


1. We admitted we were powerless over the things that consume our thoughts (conpulsive behaviors)-- that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to
sanity. Christ is greater than all of these things.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we
understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. Still working on this.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature
of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make
amends to them all. Again, still working on this.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do
so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly
admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with
God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us
and the power to carry that out. Amen...
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to
carry this message to everyone, and to practice these principles in all our
lives each and every day.

as found and used from this site

And, this one incorporates scriptural references


I have been trying to write my own commentary on this for over an hour and a half. It's not going to happen tonight; it's kind of difficult. 12 Steps have always been appealing to me as a form of therapy and life "support". They are more than for recovering from substance abuse problems- they are for recovering from whatever consumes you in everyday life.I don't want to make light of this for people who use 12 Steps to make huge life changes, turn their life around, and are in major recovery. I am thinking on a basis of where we are at in our own lives. This is a serious program for making huge life changes. I do, however, think that we all have our thing, and none of us can be healthy mentally or physically on our own. We are powerless, and we need Christ. (Philippians 4:13)

What consumes your thoughts more than the important things in your life? What do you base your self-worth on? I wish we would talk about these things more. I know I'm not the only one, and I feel relatively normal. What do we let determine who we are?

Beautiful Discoveries

Youtube is a great site. I found some videos from a Paul Simon and Ladysmith Black Mambazo concert in Africa from way back in 1987. This concert was in Zimbabwe, which borders South Africa. I know my grandpa was visiting my uncle in South Africa at the time, so I'm not sure if they caught part of the tour in their area or went to Zimbabwe. Nonetheless, this is amazing footage...from over twenty years ago!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OafqYNCzq5U

Harvest Crusade

This is where I met Christ when I was 19. I know I knew Him when I was little, but I sure could have used Him as a teenager. I wish I kept my child-like faith, where Jesus really was my best friend. It would have gotten me through so much. However, I fully believe that He was with me every step of the way, even if I didn't always know it.

As an adult, This is where I dedicated my life to Him at Sandals Church in 2007 after I returned from Thailand. They got me into a small group, gave me great volunteer opportunities, and became so much more than just a Sunday activity. Now, I'm here, and exactly where I know I am supposed to be. In the first link, Greg Laurie says "you will never regret choosing Jesus" and I couldn't agree more.

Joyce caught a really long brown tree snake, and I got to hold it. The head is in between my fingertips, and the tail is out of the picture. That snake was probably around 5 feet long. Cool!

leftovers

I had some time to kill today going from "point A" to "point B" and some leftovers from an amazing Thai restaurant, so I decided to pull over to the side of the road to enjoy the rest of my lunch. I took this picture with a veggie spring roll in one hand, my camera in the other (obviously?) and my feet hanging out the passenger side of the Jeep.

Most people out here get to drive past miles of this on our main road (Marine Corps Dr.) between the tourist district and downtown. I usually pass this on my way to go swimming or to go to church. This water never ceases to amaze me, and half the time it makes me a little emotional.

I. Love. You.

Someone wrote "I love you" in a few different languages on the board in the faculty room. I added French and internet (143) to the list. It reminded me of the time my friend Lynn and S-me wandered through the mall bookstore before Valentine's Day. Lynn, from Taiwan, thought it was "Volunteer's Day," which resulted in us all trying to figure out who would volunteer to be our Valentine. We're really cheesy. Anyway, there were paper hearts hanging from the ceiling with "I love you" in all these different languages. We each knew how to say it a few different ways, too, which led to a pretty cool discussion. All three of us have different native languages, but could relate to the words we were using. Do you know how to say "I love you" in a different language?