5k

I woke up super early to do a 5k for the Army National Guard with (left to right) Jeff, JJ, Scott, and Sarah) and had an awesome time! I can't wait to do it again- Guam has them all the time, and I'd be up for frequenting them and probably running one sometime in the next few months. I try to run but I'm just not there yet. I feel like I've done so much with my day already, and supported a good cause in the process.

and since we're on the subject

I came up with a yummy hash brown recipe in which half of the ingredients aren't even potatoes!

 

Here's my seriously delicious hash brown recipe, which you'll be thankful you tried. Or, if you're near me, I can make it for you.

Ingredients:

-One russet potato

-One half of a spaghetti squash, cut lengthwise and seeded (you can store the other half in the fridge for a while and use for the same recipe, cook & mix with veggies, add to pasta, whatever you want)

-one half of an onion (at least, a full onion is good)

-olive oil

-Pam spray or some butter

-S&P, and garlic powder, oregano, any other spice you think would work.

Here's what you do:

1. Slice up your onion and caramelize the slices in a large frying pan over medium (lower medium) heat in about 1/4 c olive oil. This will take about 15-20 minutes at least if you do it right, so lower heat is fine and you can just stir it around as you prep other stuff.

2. Scrub and microwave your potato for about 3-4 minutes, wrapped in a paper towel. 

3. Then, place your spaghetti squash face down in a microwave safe dish with about 1 inch of water in it. Make sure you poke holes in the outside of the squash so it can vent. Microwave this for about 7-9 minutes, 9 to be safe. 

4. As the squash is microwaving and the onions are caramelizing,  slice up your potato. I like to cut thin rounds and then the rounds in half. You may just want to do chunks- whatever, it's up to you. 

5. As the onions are starting to turn a golden color, add the potatoes to the frying pan. Before you add the potatoes, though, spray them and/or the pan with some Pam or add about 2 T butter to it. 

6. Frequently stir the potatoes, making sure all sides are being browned. Season your stuff with whatever you've got, but definitely S&P

7. As the potato is browning, carefully use a fork to scoop out the inside of the spaghetti squash. If you've never cooked with one, it will come out looking like "spaghetti" or actually, shredded potatoes (hence hash browns...)

8. When the potato is browned enough, add the spaghetti squash and a little more olive oil. I don't really use measurements when cooking, so you'll have to do this all to your taste. Olive oil is good for you so it's ok to use a little more if you think it needs it.

I think your whole cooking time is around 30 minutes. Microwaving your potato and squash will save you so much time, and the recipe turns out the same if not better than doing it all using the stove or oven. I've tried these and will go with the microwave.

If you get to make these, let me know how they turn out. If you want me to make them, I'd love to!

Cooking

 

My friend Teisy has been spending more time with me at the house and running errands, which has been really cool this summer. We made soup the other night using half of a recipe that I learned while living with my step sister, and I absolutely love it! We made a veggie soup with a little bit of butter, lots of onions, carrots, celery, and chopped cabbage, chicken stock, and then ate it all with toasted sourdough bread compliments of Jeff and Matt. In Chuuk, where Teisy is from, fresh veggies aren't really a staple. To cook with them here was fun and our soup came out great! We'll make the full recipe this weekend. Maybe I'll blog about it.

Some mornings...

I get to see this or something like it before I do anything else in my day (even if I have to hike down hundreds of steps to get to it).

If I don't make time for being outside, I start feeling a little off and crazy. I'm thankful for living in a beautiful place.

Pray for my friends (who also see beauty in ugly things)

A friend to many of us, Ben Boedecker, wrote an email update last month that I want to share part of with you. He is serving in Afghanistan and has a few more months to go. Please pray for him and his safety, along with his wife Cristel who is here in Guam. I don't know how Cristel and other military wives do it but she is one strong woman. Oh yeah, God is using them both as missionaries. I can't wait to see what their future holds. Read on:

"Afghanistan is a poor and war torn land. Each new day brings ever-increasing pain, sorrow, loss, and death. In a place as bleak as this, can any good be found? Throughout the week, I was reminded of Psalm 19:1 time and time again. As I drove to work each morning, I could not help but notice the magnificence of the rising sun. Moreover, when I drove to my room each evening, I was greeted by an equally magnificent sunset. In this place riddled with humanity’s uglier nature, God, in an act of wondrous grace, provides such a beautiful beginning and end to each day."

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. ~Psalm 19:1 (ESV)

Ben's prayer requests from this update:

- That God help me to effectively witness to those around me

- … keep all of the people deployed here and elsewhere safe

- … help us to bring peace and justice to the Afghan people

Thank you Ben for serving our country and serving those around you. Thank you for seeing God's beauty in otherwise ugly things.

Approaching a Year

Has it really been . . .? 

I've been in Guam for almost a full year.

Looking back at everything leading up to this. I was starting to forget what the voice of the Holy Spirit sounded like when it moved me to make huge changes in my lifestyle, give up possessions, move around, work my butt off for a little here and there, be forgotten by major players in my life, meet people who would become huge parts of my life, and actually make it through a whole year on this island. 

I know that I did everything that I did and didn't do everything that I could have to be prepared. I only raised 1/3 of what I needed to come out here, but our president still got me a one way ticket. I was under supported enough to where there would have been no way I would have been able to spend any of my funds on the vehicle I was supposed to get, or rent, or major bills, but God provided me not one, but two cars (one in which another missionary was able to use- the other was the kind I prayed for), a place to stay rent-free, and made all of my ends meet. God provided. I should have been able to do so much more than what I did before I came here but God used what I had and used it for great things.

Now, a year has passed, and I'm looking to the next steps. God is showing me these things that I need to do to become prepared in no particular order.

1. Take classes.

2. Get my financial situation in order.

3. Fund raise with a stronger and clearer purpose.

4. Have a more defined and intentional ministry, with more defined boundaries.

5. Learn a language. 

6. Model my life after Christ.

I think that I am finally at the place in my life where Christ has kneaded me like clay into a ball of something that He can really work with. I'm so excited to be shaped and refined. I know it's a lifelong process but I also know that I've come a long way so far, and I've seen others come a long way as well in their own calling. It's amazing to see God work in people's lives and it encourages me to continue to let the work happen in my life. 

Oh yeah, the whole voice of the Holy Spirit thing? I am hearing it again and it's calling me to make some big life changes, but I think I just got another head's up for a year or so of prep. Pray for me to be open to what I'm being called to do, whatever that really, and that I will have the support and encouragement of people around me. Pray for my family, friends and PIU family-friends who have to put up with me :)

For right now...like this very moment? This month? Pray for me to get the funds to come back to share everything with you all. I know I will, and thanks to some great people, I'm halfway there, and I know this too will be taken care of. I'm working on buying my standby ticket, and I'm going to see what I can do about my intercontinental jumping around.  I am totally at peace with my upcoming travel plans (which have to include So Cal, Connecticut/New Jersey/ NYC, Seattle, and Nor Cal) for the month I get to come back.

I'm so excited to see what's next in the short and long term of it all. Thank you for being part of it...and I say "it" as if it means so many things.

My Dad

Today was Father's Day in the states, and I thankfully was able to talk to my dad before the day ended in California. Here in Guam, we have windows of opportunities to talk to loved ones in the states and by mid day here, they are all closed. Anyway, my dad called me back a little before bedtime and I'm so glad I got to talk to him. I want to call him again tomorrow.

My sister drove up to visit and they went to church, breakfast, wine tasting at some of our favorite local vineyards (in nor. cal), to lunch at a great local restaurant in Gold Country (where they discovered gold), and then somehow ended up in at an amazing dinner. My dad loves to cook, and from a family of foodies, an amazing dinner at a restaurant has to be pretty amazing. See the picture above with him and Delight? I can only imagine what they are grilling. One of the many things I love about my dad is that he is an incredible cook. Just ask our traveling team who feasted at the house this past week!

Anyway, there were many touching things about our conversation. My sister brought him a bag of cheddar goldfish as a gift from me, and he was definitely excited. At Christmas, we put a bag in his stocking and in the midst of opening presents, he started eating his goldfish. He calls it "seafood," so that's what I sent him from Guam. Today, he thanked me for the seafood. I can't wait to enjoy it with my dad when I get back.

During our conversation, he asked me about Chuuk and whether or not it would be safe to work there at the latter end of this year. We talked about his concerns, and although he seems a little uneasy, he was really supportive. My dad has always been so supportive of me. He has always been so supportive even when I've probably seemed crazy. Now, even though I'm not on the path of a retirement plan and house payment, my Dad supports me fully.

I could go on and on about the many things that amaze me about my dad and what an amazing person my dad is to me and to those who know him, but I want to really focus on what a blessing he is to me, and well, my sister too. My dad and mom adopted us. I don't know who my biological father is, but God gave me an incredible father who allows me to pretty much not care about who my bio. father is. I have a perfect father in heaven and a perfect (for me) father here on earth. Happy father's day, Dad. I'm so glad that you were chosen to be mine, and I was chosen to be yours.