mi vida, my life

some recent pics

2008-09-22T13:49:00.002-05:00

Mom's visit

Holiday in the "Oriente" (the jungle)

June/July Update

2008-08-11T12:24:00.001-05:00

Hello!
Well, life is back to "normal" after a nice visit with my mom. She was here for two weeks and we went traveling to the beach for a few days. If you ever get the chance to come to Ecuador, make sure you check out Ayampe---absolutely beautiful! We stayed in an eco-lodge there--it was up in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by the trees, with sounds of the ocean in the distance. A great place to relax! While there, we also went to the city of Puerto Lopez, where we did some whale watching. Life is rather crazy right now (and the internet connection isn't great), so I can't post pics yet, but no worries, I will!

After the beach, we headed back to Cuenca-area. Went to see some Incan ruins, a bunch of orchards and walked and walked and walked around Cuenca! It was most special for me that she could meet the friends that I've made here, though.

Other than that, here's what I've been up to:
Mid June I had some time off, so I headed down to Guayaquil for a week. My "little brother", Steven, who is normally the clown of the family, was sick, though. His eyes and mouth were swollen and he was developing lesions all over his arms and legs. He ended up going to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with Stevens-Johnsons' syndrome--basically his body reacted negatively to some meds he was taking for an infection. Looking at the pics of more advanced stages of this syndrome, it's really horrible and painful--thankfully Steven's hadn't progressed that much. So anyways, that week was spent helping out the family, as the mom had to basically live at the hospital. He's doing better now (was in the hospital for a week) but he's had some flare ups (he went for allergy tests this week--not sure what the results are yet, though).

Two weeks after I got back to Cuenca, my friend Eli's mom, who had had cancer for a little over a year, died. Thankfully Monica and I were able to head down for the funeral. Hard to see a friend suffer, though......

I tried Cui (guinea pig)! My old students took me out to try it.....and it wasn't bad! Of course, we went to a ritzy place that's famous for their cui, so I'm still wary of it (not planning on buying "cui on a stick" in the market)....but it actually....well, tasted like chicken :) And I didn't look at the head until after I ate it (the restaurant served the cui chopped up, not whole with the twisted scowl like you see in the tour guide books).

What's up for this month: work, work, work....and then the jungle in September!

Waterfall pics

2008-06-09T13:14:00.000-05:00

El Choro

june already?

2008-06-09T12:48:00.002-05:00

Well, my second cycle at CEDEI ended last week. It was a great cycle--I really ended up enjoying my children's classes, especially the opportunities to get my creative juices flowing. So, I started two weeks of holidays today--not going to do much, though--just go to Guayaquil for a week. My mom is coming to visit me (!) in July, so I'll save up my traveling for when she comes.

I was planning on returning back to Canada in the end of June....but I've been feeling for awhile that it would have just been too soon. Soooo, I've decided to stay longer, most likely until mid-December. It was a bit of a hard decision to make, but I feel at peace now that I've made it.

Some highlights/happenings in the last little while:
El Choro: My old students (from the first cycle) took me and their present teacher to go hiking up to some waterfalls, about an hour outside of Cuenca.
Girls' Night: Monica and I hosted two girls nights in our house for the girls from church. First, a fondue, and this past Friday a curry night (sitting on the floor, eating with the fingers and everything!)
Worship team: I got to play last Sunday night in church with some of the regulars from my team, but also with some more experienced players (gave the rest of us a lot more confidence, too).
Corpus Cristi: This is a week-long festival in Cuenca where they sell a lot of sweets and baking....a little hard to resist!

March 28

2008-04-15T13:51:00.000-05:00

Birthday pics

these past couple of months....

2008-04-15T13:50:00.000-05:00

Well, where do I begin? My first cycle of teaching ended in the beginning of March. A highlight for me was cooking an East-Indian meal for my Comparing Cultures class--we sat on the floor and ate with our fingers and everything!

In the middle of March, I had two weeks of vacation. Monica and I took a few days to travel up north to the volcanoe Cotopaxi, which we climbed part way, and to Lake Quilotoa, a GORGEOUS lake in a volcanoe crater. It was so nice just to get away into nature--and also to hang out with my roomie (our schedules sometimes keep us from seeing much of each other in the day).

April has brought a lot of new things:
I started my new teaching cycle. I had been hoping to continue on with my students from my evening class--didn't happen, though, which was pretty disappointing. I am, however, teaching Comparing Cultures again, which cuts down on the prep time A LOT--life has gotten very busy for me, so God knew what he was doing. Two of my classes are children's classes as well, so that's pretty new--never taught English to children before. So far I'm really enjoying it--just need to have a lot of energy every afternoon!

I started giving English help/classes to interested youths at church Sat. afternoons. I've been going to the youth services, but I like the one-on-one connections with people, so that'll be neat to be able to build those through these classes.

I started playing piano for the worship band in the young adult service. This is something that I've always wanted but have been too afraid to do. So, they were looking and looking for someone....and I said, "Ok, God, maybe now's the time!" We played for the first time together this past Saturday and it went pretty well. I'm really enjoying the chance to get back into music!

There's been a few lessons on trust in the past few weeks, as well. For one, Monica's brother showed up one day to stay with us. He's been living in Guayaquil, in a psychiatric hospital, but ran away because he was being mistreated there. It was really hard on both Monica and I: she couldn't turn her brother away (all of the rest of her immediate family is either in Spain or the States) and I really did not want him there. I had finally felt like the apartment was my HOME--and now I felt like a visitor who had to tip toe around a stranger. I was praying a lot for compassion, patience and wisdom and was starting to accept the situation. He ended up taking off after about 5 days, though, to go back to the hospital, which was fine with me.

So, anyways, that's what's been happening in a nut shell these past couple of months.

March Vacation Pics

2008-03-21T15:43:00.001-05:00

Quilotoa and Cotopaxi

Pictures....sorry about the last links!

2008-03-05T12:47:00.002-06:00

Carnaval
A big holiday in South America that happens just before Lent

Youth Outing
Went out for a Saturday with the young adults from the church I'm attending

Cuenca
Some more pics in this album

My students
My evening class took me out to a nearby town this past Saturday to eat roasted pig.

And in the weather forcast.....RAIN!

2008-02-21T07:57:00.001-06:00

It seems we have entered the rainy season--Cuencanos actually say that this year has brought a lot more rain than normal so far. In other parts of the country there's been quite a bit of flooding. I'm hoping to go to Guayaquil this weekend but last weekend my friend's bus en route to Guayaquil had to turn back because of the amount of mud on the road. So, we'll see....

The thunder storms here are really intense, too. Yesterday we had a storm for about an hour--and after a lot of the lightning you couldn't even say "one mississippi" before the thunder cracked.

School is going fine--only got about three weeks of class left before the first cycle ends. My evening class has asked for me to be their teacher next cycle...so that makes me feel pretty good!

Pictures: carnaval and youth outing

2008-02-18T08:28:00.002-06:00

Some pics from Carnaval weekend:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39632&l=eb198&id=641641205

Some pics from the outing I went on with the young adults from the church this past Saturday:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=40056&l=7e79c&id=641641205

Carnaval

2008-02-06T16:42:00.001-06:00

Well, I suppose it's high time for another update! I just got my 3rd cold in 4 weeks today. Argh! I'm not prone to catching colds or feeling under the weather, but the weather here hasn't been too helpful--and with Carnaval this past weekend, I was walking around soaking wet for a few hours. Anyways, other than that, things have been going really well.

Friday I didn't have to work--instead I spent all day baking cookies! It was nice to have a total break from "English." In the evening, the young people at the church had an all-night vigil. There was stuff like worship music, a neat Christian video, some time for prayer, as well as some get-to-know-you kind of group activities. For one of those, each group had to act out a section of the book of Acts--with improvisation as we so desired.

I was with a bunch of guys (before you start to get too excited, all of the ones even close to my age are happily dating girls from the church!). Our drama (the conversion of Saul) ended up being pretty hilarious--think bad-boy James Bond meets Jesus.

On Sunday, I headed off to Loja, a bit further south, with my roommate Monica. She knows some friends of the family there, so they let us stay with them. Talk about hospitable! We just phoned them on Sat. evening, arrived the next day, then all Monday they acted as our tour guides.

There's a park in Loja with a zoo--and the only giraffe in Ecuador (his name is Chelito) so we went there--and I got to feed him :) Loja is a very beautiful city--and surprisingly clean (in general, not littering does not seem to be something that's emphasized here). On Monday afternoon, we went to the nearby village of Vilcabamba, which is known for it's abundance of people who live to a healthy, old age. Supposedly there's something in the water of the two rivers that run through it. I stuck my hand in one of them....we'll see how it ages! :)

Normally Vilcabamba is a quiet town, but it seemed like every adolescent from Loja was there, taking in the Carnaval festivities. For those of you who don't know, Carnaval is a big Latin American holiday, usually the first weekend of February. I think it's their equivalent of Mardi Gras. Anyways, the big thing is to throw water at other people--why, exactly, I don't know (and I don't think the majority of the people here do, either).

Some pics from Cuenca

2008-01-22T07:45:00.000-06:00

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=37134&l=3b206&id=641641205

If you were in Cuenca

2008-01-15T11:07:00.000-06:00

...you would see numerous parades/processionals every weekend with children dressed up, depicting the wise men coming to adore Baby Jesus (I'm told there's parades every weekend in December and January--the common belief is that if your child is in such a parade, they will be blessed for that year)
...you would be surrounded Spanish that sounds like it's being sung (a VERY different accent than Guayaquil!)
...you would be hot one minute, then needing a jacket the next when the sun goes behind the clouds
...you would be able to try koi (sp?)--or guinea pig (it is my goal to try it while I'm here, although my stomach recoils at the thought of it!)
...you would bounce along in the buses as they drive down the cobblestone streets
...you would see the brightly coloured clothing of the Indigenous women everywhere--especially the pleated skirts: bright pinks, blues, purples, oranges, reds
...you would see the mountains in the background
...you would notice the lack of (and almost miss???!!!!) the sounds of horns honking on the street
...you would hope that the electricity doesn't go out--because that would mean a cold shower (and we're talking freezing!)
...you would be in grave danger of getting pelted by a water balloon (I've narrowly escaped twice!). Here, after Christmas, it's open season for that sort of thing up until Carnaval, a festival at the beginning of February.
...you would grumble about paying 30 cents for 4 bananas (it's only 10 cents for 3 in Guayaquil!)

ONLY 6 days in Cuenca?!?!?!?!

2008-01-09T15:57:00.000-06:00

Wow, I´m tired! We got our classes Sunday morning and classes started Monday. I was given two advanced classes (thankfully, the same ones) called "Comparing Cultures." Basically we get to explore all sorts of different aspects of cultures from around the world--fascinating, but also a TONNE of work for me, as there is no book to follow--I get to put together the curriculum. There´s a lot of material here at the school, but I have this tendency to overdo things at times....

One of those classes also just ended up having one student and when that happens, it becomes a "tutorial"--which means less hours with the same amount of material. Added to that, he wants 2 hours a day (my other class is an hour and fifteen minutes), so I´ve got to put together my material extra fast. I was QUITE stressed out on Monday, but things are looking a lot better now. I also have a 7 am class from Monday-Friday, plus a 4 hour Saturday morning class (haven´t met those students yet).

So, the past three days, it's felt like I've been living here at the school. On the weekend, though, I got out to do some exploring of Cuenca. It really is a beaufitul city--very colonial, with cobblestone streets everywhere.

I´m living in a quiet neighbourhood with my friend Monica. We've been getting along really great. Her brother was visiting for a week, but he went back to Guayaquil today, so I'll be able to get my own room. It really is amazing how everything worked out with my living arrangements!

This past weekend was the "day of the magi" and I stumbled upon a parade in celebration of the "Christ Child." I actually didn't have my camera with me but, in good old Ecuadorian fashion, the parade got stalled for about half an hour, so I had time to grab a cab to my apartment, grab my camera and head back to get some pics of the tail end of the procession. I'll post some pics when I get the chance.

On Sunday I went with Monica to her church. She's attending the a HUGE church--has 4000 members that meet over 5 different services. I must admit at first I felt rather alone in the church--I'm so used to the friendly outgoingness of my church in Guayaquil. People in Cuenca are a lot more reserved so it will take some getting used to.

Well, that's been my life here in Cuenca up until now. It really does feel like I've been here for ages already--I'm looking forward to getting into the swing of things.

Oh, one more thing: I've got a nasty cold, so that's really been draining my strength. I'd appreciate your prayers for a speedy recovery!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T11:30:00.000-06:00

Well, tomorrow I´m off to Cuenca. I have my orientation on Friday and start teaching on Monday.

The last week has been FULL of celebrations and what-not. Christmas Eve there was a program at the church, then we had a big turkey dinner at the house. A bunch of the extended family came over and we exchanged gifts and set off firecrackers. Christmas Day, the tradition is to go swimmng, so I headed off to a river and pool in a nearby town. It was actually cloudy and COOL, so we got pretty chilled, but it was still fun.

New Year´s Eve, we went to the Grandparents´house where we brought in the New Year by blowing up the old one. That´s the tradition here--they make paper-mache characters (año viejos) to represent the previous year, then, at midnight they set them on fire in the middle of the street. In the afternoon we went around the city to look at some of the año viejos--some of them are HUGE, more than 3 stories high! Actually, in the hours leading up to midnight, they set off a ton of firecrackers, so by the end your ears are ringing from all the noise.

Feliz Navidad

2007-12-23T14:15:00.000-06:00

A few years ago, as I was finishing up my BA, I took a Hermeneutics course (course on interpreting the Bible). One of the books I had to read was on Anabaptist Hermeneutics, but it also talked about some of the ¨hermeneutical trends¨in the world and throughout history. One that particularly caught my attention was how the Catholic church started early on to focus on the DEITY of Christ, as well as the Christ CHILD.

I can definitely see this, being here in Ecuador, which is seeped in cultural Catholicism. If you go on to a bus, you will often see the words ¨Niño Divino¨(Divine Child) or there will be a representative picture. People have ¨Niño Divino¨written on their trucks and store fronts or carry around pictures in their pockets.

I remember my frist Christmas in Ecuador I was going to buy little figurines for a Nativity set for a family from the church that had hosted me for a couple of weeks. My Ecuadorian friend who was with me advised against it, however. A lot of Evangelicals here, it seems, frown upon that sort of thing because of the strong Catholic influence and, as my friend said, ¨Jesus didn´t stay a baby.¨

The danger of the emphasis on the Divine Child, the book on hermeneutics that I was reading argues, is that if I believe in the Divine Child, I will most likely be drawn to worship, revere and exonerate Him--but will I FOLLOW Him? How can a mere human be expected to follow in the footsteps of one who is divine? The divide seems to great. And how many adults look to a child to show them how to live?

I think that Evangelicals also fall into a similar trap when we focus on Jesus ¨our Saviour¨but forget that He´s also to be ¨our Lord.¨

So, as we celebrate Christmas, may we remember that we celebrate the birth of our LORD and Saviour, Jesus, who came in the flesh, showed us how to live, and calls people to follow Him. And may we remember that the manger is nothing without the cross and empty tomb.

Merry Christmas!

some pictures...

2007-12-21T13:45:00.000-06:00

Here´s a little bit of my first week in pictures...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=33448&l=b0ee8&id=641641205

Bienvenidos a Ecuador!

2007-12-14T14:29:00.000-06:00

So I arrived safely in Ecuador late Tuesday night. Honestly, I wasn´t prepared for the emotional rollercoaster I´ve been experiencing--one minute glad to be here, the next missing everyone back home horribly! I´m slowly getting adjusted, though, and, especially as I´ve only got a few weeks here in Guayaquil with my friends, I want to be able to enjoy it.

I received some really good news today--I´m not going to be living on the street when I get to Cuenca! There´s a girl who lives there who used to live here in Guayaquil and we went to church together for a little while. Anyways, I got her contact info and she invited me to live with her (she´s alone in a 2-bedroom apartment that´s actually close to where I´ll be working). Thank you God!

Something that you could pray for is my friend Elizabeth´s mom. She was diagnosed with canced a few months ago and, while they did an operation and I think things are improving, it´s (obviously) been really heavy on the whole family.

I was thinking today about how I could share what I´m experiencing for you here in Guayaquil and this is what I came up with:

Smells: dust mixed with oil mixed with the odours of grilled chicken being sold on the side of the street, waftes of pan de yucca (yucca bread) floating by as a vendor tries to sell them on the bus

Sounds: horns honking and motors running at all hours of the day, water running outside as the neighbour handwashes her clothes, the dogs barking up a storm 5 doors down, random firecrackers going off in the middle of the night (in preparation for New Year´s), "TSS TSS" as you walk by a group of men (argh!), "UNIVEEEEERSO!" being called over and over again in the morning as the vendor walks down the street to sell the daily newspaper

Feel: humidity covering you like a blanket, the deliciousness of a cold shower after being out in the heat, the feel of tiny ants crawling all over your skin (at least they don´t bite!), rubbery cheese squeaking between your teeth (I didn´t like it my first year, but now I love it!), banging my head on the top of the bus (some of them are so small that not even I can stand up straight)

Taste: fresh pineapple juice, fresh lemonade, fresh watermelon juice (I love fresh fruit juice, in case you can´t tell!), chussos that you by on the side of the street (skewers with grilled bananas and chicken)

Sights: 3.5 bottles of pop (they´re HUGE!), patches of flowers brightening up the drab dirt, hills off in the distance covered with decrepit shacks that people call home, in contrast the latest mall that could easily compete in North America for its lavishness and extravegance, sun so bright your eyes hurt, going to sleep surrounded in the blue gauze of the mosquito net, the back of my calves COVERED in mosquito bites (I was the unwitting host of a dinner party last night!)

That´s just a hint of what you might experience if you were here.

planes&cars; doors&windows

2007-10-16T20:21:00.000-05:00

You know those planes that drag those banners behind them? You see them in cartoons, anyways. Sometimes I wish that God would send one: "Sharon! I want you to... because...this is how you're going to do it...this is when you should do it..."

This past month and a half has been a time of what seemed to be messed up plans and waiting for direction. I was hoping to be in Ecuador already, but there had some been some misinformation given to me about the visa. I had been told I could go to Ecuador, get a work contract, then cross over into Columbia/Peru to get the work visa. Then the consulate here told me--ABSOLUTELY NOT! The visa has to be arranged in Canada. I know that people have done it the way I was originally planning, but it's taking a chance and I just don't have the money to make two trips between Canada and Ecuador. So, I started trying to secure work in the city of Guayaquil (where I had been before) but there were no openings, or no one would get back to me. It was actually a really hard and frusterating process--just the not knowing of it all.

I had peace about going to Ecuador. But then I realized: maybe I was trying to limit God and not be open to going whereever in Ecuador he wanted me to go. I had always wanted to go and live with my friends again, but maybe God had other plans. Seeing as not a single door opened in Guayaquil, I started to pursue other cities and really felt peace about a teaching position in the city of Cuenca (four hours away from Guayaquil, up in the Andes mountains). I ended up getting the position (after a few other faith-stretching events that I won't get into). So, yay!

I'm planning to head down to Ecuador in December and the position starts in January. I've committed to 6 months for now. (Although, until I get the papers needed for my visa, I'm not booking any flights--so it still doesn't seem quite real yet).

It's neat to see how God's been changing me. This summer, when I was travelling in England, France and Italy, I realized: Wow--there really ARE countries out there other than Ecuador! There really ARE other people that I could get to know and love.

At the same time, I don't feel done with Ecuador--now if my going back in January is to say good-bye or to show me how I still have a place there, I guess I'll find out. But it's so freeing to finally be able to say to God "Ok, I'll go whereever you want." (....well and actually quite terrifying, too!) And, yes, maybe I'll end up permanently back in Canada after all! Through the past two years of working in an inner-city school, I've seen a little of the needs of the refugee/immigrant community here in my city. And I can see how I might be able to play a part in helping. Who knows? Eastern Europe has also been popping up a lot. Really, I have no idea.

A wise woman who used to go to my church told me the other day: "The headlights of a car only show you as far as you need to see to drive the next little bit--they don't light up the whole way." So, I guess I'll just have to keep driving.

fotos de mi viaje/pictures of my trip

2007-08-20T03:12:00.000-05:00

Here's a little taste of my trip for you...
Aqui es un sabor de mi viaje...

England: Here's my friend Naomi, her husband James and I

Inglaterra: Aqui es mi amiga Naomi, su esposo James y yo (quede con ellos por 3 semanas en total)

Me in front of Buckingham Palace

Yo en frente del palacio Buckingham

Stonehenge (yep, that's about as close as you get!)

(no pude ir mas cerca....bueno, asi es!)

France: Vanessa (a friend from church) and I in front of the Sacre Coeur.

La Francia: Viaje con Vanessa, una amiga de mi iglesia, por una semana aqui. Aqui estamos en frente del Sacre Coeur en Paris.

Ha, ha!

Ja, ja!

Italy: the coast of Cinque Terre--absolutely

beautiful!

Italia: Fuimos

a Cinque Terre--es absolutemente hermosa!

More Cinque Terre....There are five villages joined by footpaths that we went hiking on--definitely one of the highlights of my trip!

Mas Cinque Terre--es cinqo pueblitos y caminamos entre los cinqo. Fue uno de los mejores partes de mi viaje!

Enjoying the sights of Venice--I loved it here!

Disfrutando Venezia--me encanta este cuidad!

And of course, one has to eat gelati when in Italy!

Y claro que tuve que comer el helado de Italia! Que ricooooooo!

a looooong over due update

2007-08-14T04:35:00.000-05:00

Sorry it's taken me so long to post about my trip! I'm not really sure where the past four weeks have gone....
Anyways, my trip has been going great so far! Naomi and James took a week off work to show me around England. We hit Cambridge, London, southern England (Bournemouth area), a little town in Wales called Hay-on-Wye and some other local areas. You've probably heard that this summer has been England's wettest summer in about a century so we'd sit down every evening to find out where it was supposed to be sunny the next day (or at least, not pouring!) and then head there.

Other than the rain, I really have been enjoying England. It's neat to see the mixture of history and modern. We went to Nottingham for a day and had lunch at a pub that's been around since the turn of the first century--kind of crazy to think that people have been eating there for a thousand years!

Another part of my trip has been the whole fiasco with my luggage. It got lost in Toronto, but I was told to sort it out once I got to England. Fine, no problem--these things happen and I had a couple of sets of clothes in my carry on. Well, my one bag arrived the next day but the other one still couldn't be located. On the Saturday after I arrived, we got a call from some person up in northern England. His friend, who is dying of cancer and had headed up to northern England to put things in order, had accidentally picked up my suitcase at the railway station in Manchester. What it was doing at a railway station will forever be a mystery, I guess, but the long and short of it is: US Airways says that they're not liable because it was taken out of the airport (although they did say I might be able to be reimbursed for some of the things I had to buy--we'll see if that actually happens) and I still haven't gotten my luggage back because the lady who is bringing it to me won't arrive in this part of the country until Aug. 15. My mom was able to send some stuff with my friend who came to meet up with me, so that worked out, but I shall be QUITE happy to see my stuff again!

A friend from church, Vanessa, came out to meet me here as well and then we went backpacking through France and Italy. We went to Paris first, which I actually wasn't as impressed with as I thought I'd be--maybe it was because we were there in high season and there were just too many people. Still, I saw the sights and got my pictures. I did find the people to be quite friendly, though--contrary to what you hear. Vanessa speaks French, though, so that might have had something to do with it.

Next we headed to Lyon and stayed in a hostel in the old part of town--absolutely beautiful! We had to hike up a VERY steep hill to get to the hostel and the bathrooms were a little sketchy, but the view from the hostel was amazing! Unfortunately, we didn't get a whole lot of time in Lyon because we got stuck in Paris train station for 6 hours with ticket problems (we should have booked in advance)--but you live and you learn, eh?

From there we headed off to Arles in southern France. I loved it here and would love to come back for a longer stretch of time. I really enjoyed meeting up with all sorts of people at the hostels. At Arles in particular, we met up with Paula, a 50-ish year old American lady who's lived in Sweden for the past 20 years. We went around the market with her and had a picnic by the river. It was nice to be mothered a little bit for a few hours! We also went to a Bull Run in Fontveille, a small town just outside of Arles. It's the French style of the bull fight, I guess, where they don't actually kill the bull. There were 5 guys in the middle who were trying to get a ribbon off of the top of the bull's head.

Then it was off to Cinque Terre in Italy. If you ever go to Italy, go there! It was absolutely beautiful! Cinque Terre is five little towns along the northwest shore of Italy that are joined by pathways. We spent one day hiking them (and of course, at each village, we HAD to stop for gelati!) and the next day we went to explore the different towns. Our hostel was in Manarola--the fourth village down, and one of the smaller ones. It was great!

From there we went to Verona. There's a huge Roman arena in the middle of the town and they have operas in the evenings. We went to see the Barber of Seville and it was great--until the thunder storm started! They postponed it for about an hour, then started it back up. After 20 minutes, though, it started to drizzle again, so they stopped it again so as to not damage the instruments. By then it was almost midnight and the opera wasn't even half done--and we had to get up early to head to Venice, so we just ended up leaving. It was too bad, but at least we got a bit of the experience.

Venice was sooo neat! It didn't start out the greatest because our accommodations got messed up. Because I complained about that, though, we ended up meeting a fellow Canadian (who was also having accommodation problems) and ended up exploring Venice with him. It's neat to look back and see how things that we might see as annoyances, frustrations or disruptions God actually uses to bring greater blessings than we would have received if everything had gone as WE'D have planned.

And that, in a nutshell, is my trip thus far. On Friday James and Naomi are going to take me up to northern England, to the Lake District and from there I'll be heading home. It's been a bit of a whirlwind but I think I've been bitten by the travel bug! Meeting people in the hostels from eastern Europe, especially, has got me thinking about more places I'd like to see.....:)

3 graduations and a funeral

2007-07-01T23:42:00.000-05:00

This past week has been a bit of a whirlwind for me. There were 6 graduating students from my church, so we had a wind-up for them and I also got to attend their grad ceremonies. Then, as I work in a high school, I also went to that ceremony. It was all good--and I'm so proud of all of them! It's hard to believe that next year's going to be my 10 year reunion--time flies!

This week also brought an end for now to my time as a youth leader and to my job. My plan in the fall is to head off to Ecuador again and get a job teaching English. It was really hard to leave both of those things, though--they've both played such huge parts in my life. Over the May long weekend, I got to go to Minneapolis with the youth from church--there's something about those kinds of trips that just bonds you to those you're with! And, with my job, I have really loved the people I've been blessed to work with. So, yeah, I'm going on to some exciting things, but I'm going to miss what I'm leaving behind. I'm thankful for the way God has blessed me these past two years, but transitions are never easy.

My uncle also died this week. I was never close to him but it was hard to see my Grandma have to bury her son and my cousin bury her father. He had married into an Aboriginal family so a lot of his adopted family was at the funeral. It was so neat to hear how he had impacted them and made such a huge difference in their family's life (and a little sad that I hadn't known that much about him before). It was also neat to see two cultures combine forces to organize a funeral service that was true to each one.

Right now I'm busy planning another trip--I'm off to England in just over 2 weeks! :)
I'm going to visit my friend, Naomi--plus a friend from church is going to come and meet me while I'm out there so we can make a little jaunt over to France and Italy.
Good times!

En el mes de junio estuve muy muy muy occupada por causa de los graduaciones de colegio. Soy lidera de los adolescentes en mi iglesia y hubo 6 chicos graduando (plus yo trabajo en un colegio), entonces fui a 3 graduaciones. Fueron bonitos--pero es dificil creer que ya ha estado NUEVE anos desde MI graduacion! El tiempo vuele!

La semana pasada tambien termine mi trabajo y mi posicion de lidera de adolescentes. Es porque en septiembre/octubre, si es la voluntad de Dios, me gustaria regresar a Ecuador por 10 meses mas o menos para encontrar trabajo (como maestra de ingles). Ahora estoy buscando trabajo y veremos como Dios me guia. Estoy emocionante por este--pero tambien fue dificil dejar mi trabajo en Canada y los adolescentes. Los cambios son dificiles--pero puedo estar agradecido con Dios por los oportunidades que El me ha dado!

La semana pasada mi tio se murio tambien. No lo conoci muy bien pero fue dificil ver mi abuelita y la hija de mi tio llorar por el.

Bueno, ahora estoy preparando por una viaje--en 2 semanitas me voy a inglaterra!!!! Una de mis mejores amigas vive alla entonces la voy a visitar!

What would YOU do with $22 million?

2007-03-31T21:27:00.000-05:00

One of the guidance counsellors I work with gave me a lottery ticket as a birthday gift and I was rather quite enjoying thinking up all that I could do with my winnings..... Unfortunately, no such luck. Maybe if I rrrrrrolled up the rrrrrim a little more I could at least win SOMETHING (haven't even got a coffee out of the deal). sigh. (not that I drink real coffee--although in the fall I discovered that I like the french vanilla/irish cream ones) .

One gift I got for my birthday was a Jill Paquette CD. LOVE her! For you Bethany people, she wrote the song "Free (Take my Life)" that we sang as a theme song one year at Youth Advance.

I also went to go and see a movie with my sister and some friends: Music and Lyrics (yes, it's a little old--we went to the cheap theater, of course!). SUCH a good movie! And I loved it that Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore did their own singing.

Anyways, I had a lovely birthday. I just really felt loved and affirmed by a lot of different people. So thanks, guys.

Alguien me dio una targeta (como el Pozo millionario) por mi cumpleanos. Pero, claro que no gane nada :(. Bueno, asi es la vida.

Pero pase un cumpleanos MUY bonito--senti muy amado. Fui con mi hermana y algunas amigas a comer y a ver una pelicula. Tambien fui a la casa de mi hermano por almuerzo.

ready for spring

2007-03-19T21:56:00.000-05:00

So tomorrow the temperature in the morning (with windchill) is supposed to be -22, then by the afternoon, it's supposed to be +4. ??????????? I've always considered myself a true 'Peger (can handle the cold winters and all) but this year I'm just ready for spring to come (the warm part, not the slushy part).

The other day (when it was warm) and I was walking home, I smelled my first BBQ of the year. Mmmmmmmm.........

Manana en la manana, la temperatura estara -22 (con el viento)--pero en la tarde, estare +4!? De verdad, no entiendo la clima de mi ciudad! Estoy lista para primavera!! El otro dia (cuando era mas templado), camine por mi casa y ole mi primero parillada del ano (aqui, solo pasa en la primavera/el verano). Que ricoooooooo......!

hola mis amigos....

2007-03-19T21:51:00.000-05:00

Just a little update for my spanish friends...

Disculpe que no he escrito en espanol por mucho tiempo. Bueno, por fin casi es la primavera aqui. Tuvimos un invierno con bastante frio, pero parece que la nieva se va pronto!

Hoy comenze estar tutora...de espanol! La hija de una amiga de mi mama se va a Honduras en septiembre y no sabe nada de espanol. Entonces, ellos me pidieron ensenarla...y me van a pagar :) Fue un tiempo muy divertido--y va a ayudar mi espanol bastante (porque he olvidado algunas cosas basicos--pero ahora tengo que estudiar para preparar!)

Bueno, queridos hermanos, les quiero mucho!

for all you lovers of travel and photography

2007-03-08T08:58:00.000-06:00

Naomi and Cordella, that means you!

Here's a really neat blog that I discovered yesterday:

www.quitodailyphoto.blogspot.com

Quito is a city in Ecuador, and everyday the host of this blog posts a new picture, depicting life there.

There are also links to other similar blogs from all over the world.

Enjoy!

Here she is!

2007-02-26T18:47:00.000-06:00

The little cutie and her proud parents.

Congrats Andrew and Sara!

2007-02-17T10:26:00.000-06:00

It's a girl! Elizabeth Gabriella Dawn born at 1:42 this morning. 8 lbs, 15 oz.

wow--2 posts in 1 day!

2007-02-04T21:36:00.000-06:00

I read this on the internet and it just made me so sad.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-suicides28jan28,0,3590996.story?page=1&coll=la-home-headlines

(sorry--I couldn't get that "insert link" thing to work)

When I was in Ecuador, an issue that I had was exactly this: that parents would leave their kids with uncles/aunts/grandparents/friends while they went to work in a different country to make more money.

At the same time, who am I to judge? Do I know what it is to experience poverty and to want a "better life" for my loved ones? No. Still, the cost has been high. Too high. I pray that the Ecuadorian economy improves so that children will stop being abandoned.

Estoy congelada!

2007-02-04T21:05:00.000-06:00

Well, we're in the middle of a deep freeze right now. Still, I managed to walk to church today (I think it was -35 in the morning when I left). Only a half hour walk--nothing, really :)

Bueno, ahora en mi ciudad hace mucho, mucho frio--mas que normal! Hoy en la manana estaba -35. Pero, igual camine a mi iglesia (duro 30 minutos--nada! ;) Ok, talvez estoy loca....

Happy 482nd Birthday!

2007-01-20T15:13:00.000-06:00

That's for all you Anabaptists out there. On Jan. 21, 1525, Georg Blaurock asked Felix Manz to baptize him and thus began the Anabaptist (and eventually Mennonite) movement.
I teach Senior High Sunday School and we're studying Anabaptism right now--it's been good to get back into my bible school books and do some research. There's so many books that I want to get back to, now that I don't have 20 different assignments to rush through in a week!

Well, I've been admonished to update this blog, so update I shall. Life has been busy.

I've had a pretty good past couple of months. My sister moved back home from the States. Work has been going really, really well, too. I was helping a student from Eritrea with her resume on Friday and it was just SO interesting to hear her different life experiences. I love the different people that I get to meet through my work.

Now that it's 2007, I'm feeling a bit of pressure to get my plans for the summer/fall together. I'm planning to leave to travel/teach for about a year, but I'm just not sure about the timing of everything. We'll see what this year brings....

Well, blessings to you all!

a thought

2006-10-23T20:08:00.000-05:00

some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. delicious ambiguity...
~gilda radner

sometimes it's too easy to keep looking ahead, wanting to know what's going to happen, wanting security--but then you miss out on the joy and the freedom of the moment

aveces es tan facil buscar adelante, querer cosas que todavia no tengo--la seguridad por ejemplo. pero si estoy asi, no puedo disfrutar el gozo y la libertad del momento

canadian geese, fall leaves, and northern lights

2006-10-07T23:25:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I got to hang out with a Japanese student I had in the summer. We went to Fort Whyte Centre, which is a wildlife conservation place and watched all of the Canadian Geese come in for the night. Wow--how beautiful! There were tonnes--it was so neat to see the lake, over the span of 45 minutes just FILL up with them. I also just love seeing all of the beautiful colours of the leaves.

La fin de semana pasada, fui con una de mis estudiantes de japon a un lugar cerca de mi cuidad donde hay muchos lagos y arboles. Fuimos a ver los gansos porque ellos vienen a este lugar a dormir (en este tiempo, estan viajando al sur por el invierno). Fue cheverissimo ver bastante gansos llenan el lago. Tambien, me encanta los colores de las hojas en este tiempo.

There were also some other neat stuff there, like tipis.

Tambien en este lugar hubo otras cosas, como los "tipis." Eran las casas mobil de los indigenous muchos anos atras.

My friend had also REALLY wanted to see the Northern Lights. A lot of my students have come here, hoping to see them. I tried to tell her that, well, you know, we are still a little south to see them really well and one can never know when they'll appear. But I did ask my small group bible study to pray that God would send them on that day and someone in my group said, "Well, let's pray that she sees a shooting star, too!" Well, guess what? We DID see the Northern Lights AND a shooting star! God is good. And it was so great to see her reaction, she was sooooo excited! It's unfortunate how when we've seen God's beautiful creation a few times, it can be easy to lose that sense of awe. My friend definitely helped bring that back.

Tambien, mi amiga quiso ver los aurora borealis ("northern lights" o "luzes del norde"). Aveces les podemos ver cerca de mi cuidad pero es mucho mejor si vayas mas norde. Tambien, nunca sabemos cuando appreceran, entonces la dije que "probablemente no les vamos a ver." Pero igual, pide a mi grupo de estudio biblica que oremos que Dios nos muestra los northern lights--y uno de mis amigos dijo "Y oramos tambien que ustedes veran una estrella que caen"(no se la palabra correcta). Y en la noche cuando sali con este amiga, vimos los Nothern Lights Y este estrella!!! Gloria a Dios! Mi amiga no es cristiana pero ese me dio la oportunidad decirla: "Mira que Dios te envio! Esta deciendote que te ama." Que maravilla!

Sparky, 1991-2006

2006-10-03T20:15:00.000-05:00

My dog, Sparky, got put down while I was in Ecuador. I knew it would happen because she'd been pretty sick all summer, but it's still pretty sad--we'd had her for 15 years. I'm just glad that I didn't have to be there the day that she died. You were a good dog, Sparks--miss you.

Mi perra, Sparky, se murio mientras estaba en Ecuador. Supe que pasaria porque estuvo enferma por algunas meses, pero igual es triste para mi. Era una parte de mi familia por 15 anos. Solo estoy agradecido que no estuve alla la dia que se murio. Era una buena perra, Sparks--te extrano.

The little cutie shortly after we brought her home from the Humane Society.

Sparky, cuando era perrita--que linda, no?

ecuador pictures/fotos

2006-09-26T22:06:00.000-05:00

I've posted my pictures from my trip (check out the link under My Pictures, which is after the links for my friends' blogs). It sure was hard to leave, but now I'm back an into the FULL swing of things.

Tengo mis fotos de mi tiempo en Ecuador, si quieren verlos. Vayanse a "My Pictures" (al lado derecho, mas bajo en mi pagina) y asi estan. De verdad, tuve un tiempo cheverissimo con ustedes. Les extrano y quiero mucho!

colds in summer...

2006-09-11T18:32:00.000-05:00

they just should not be! Especially when it´s 30+ outside! I guess I had it coming--for the past week and a half or so, I´ve been crazy busy and just ran myself down.

Right now I´m in the city of Cuenca. It´s in the mountainous region and has a cooler climate. It´s one of these neat colonial-style towns with narrow, cobblestone roads and cathedrals everywhere. I´m here with an American missionary who´s working at the church. Tomorrow we´re off to Ingapirca, an Incan ruin.

fruit juice, ice cream and ceviche

2006-09-05T18:44:00.000-05:00

I think that I´ve been walking enough so that I won´t have gained much weight--´cause man is the food good here! I went to the beach on Sunday and got to eat ceviche (shrimp cocktail)......SO GOOD! And of course, there´s nothing like fresh watermelon or pineapple juice!

Time is flying by--in many ways it still is like a dream that I´m actually here. I definitely regret only giving myself 3 weeks here...still, I´ve been able to catch up with a lot of people.

I was talking with Ludy, my ¨Ecuadorian mom¨, and I was just blown away by her positive attitude. Life hasn´t been easy for her--but she has such faith and joy!

My time here has managed to make me more uncertain about my future, though. I had planned on coming back to Ecuador to work--but this summer I had started to explore other options. Being here, though....I love this place (and at the same time am sometimes incredibly frustrated by it!) I feel like my heart is in two places and that whatever decision I make, there will be both joy and pain. I know that God is leading me but right now there´s so many things/ideas/desires going around in my head and my heart that don´t quite make sense or fit together. Waiting periods can be a little frustrating (especially when every one´s asking what my plans are!)

all-night dance party in my room

2006-08-27T14:34:00.000-05:00

Well, I could have had one, anyways! The house right beside where I'm staying was blaring the music into my room (ah, Ecuador!). I was sure I'd be up all night--but I was so tired, I fell asleep in a few minutes (thank God!)

So, yup, I'm in Ecuador--arrived yesterday afternoon. It's weird--in some ways it feels like I never left. Even my Spanish is pretty much the same level (some think it's better). But it sure has been good to see everyone again.

Yesterday I actually got to go to a wedding for a girl from the church. I don't know her that well but I was Ludy's (the mom of the family that I'm staying with) date. It was neat (although I was super tired because I didn't get much sleep on my trip--the floor at Miami airport isn't that comfortable!) Anyways, there were mariachi and everything. Pretty neat! I'll be able to post the pictures when I'm back in Canada.

It's so neat to be in a different country--one's senses are more awake--you notice all of the different smells, sights, sounds, tastes, etc. The smell of dust mixed with diesel. The horns honking in the street. The vendors shouting their wares as they go down the road. The fresh watermelon juice. The brightly painted houses (orange, purple, green, and blue). Even the taste of water on such a hot day (although I've been forturnate that the yesterday and today have been cloudy and a bit cooler!).

Anyways, I'd better go but I'll keep you posted!

Bendiciones (blessings)

in a week...

2006-08-21T22:07:00.000-05:00

I'll be in Ecuador!!! I leave Friday afternoon. Crazy!!! It's finally starting to feel real. Now let's just hope I survive this week of lesson planning, teaching, gift buying, and packing..... I'm really, really looking forward to the break!

for all you pride and prejudice fans...

2006-08-08T18:40:00.000-05:00

did you know that the new Pride and Prejudice movie has both American and British endings? I was talking with a friend from England and mentioned that I liked the ending of the new movie. She kind of had a knowing look in her eyes and asked "Which one?" Turns out the British version ends with Mr. Darcy and Lizzy in the field, although the "optional American ending" can be found in the extras. My friend found the American ending a little "cheesy"....ok maybe it is, but hey--I love cheese! And the producers guessed (rightly so) that so do the majority of North Americans.

I love Jane Austen, but I guess I can't properly call myself a purist......

congrats naomi and james!

2006-07-31T19:59:00.000-05:00

Well, my really good friend, Naomi, from bible school got married on Saturday. I had the privelege of being one of her bridesmaids and it was so beautiful and soooo much fun!!! (it reflected you perfectly, Naomi!) James, her husband, is from England and they'll be moving there shortly :( :( :( --I guess I'll finally get to see Europe!
Here are some pictures:

La semana pasada, mi amiga Naomi (de mi escuela biblica) se caso y estuve una de sus madrinas. Fue un ocasion muy, muy divertido y especial. Su esposo es de Ingleterra, entonces ellos van a vivir alla :( :( :( Bueno, ahora tengo que visitar a Europa!
Aqui son algunas fotos:

the beautiful bride

the wedding party

some pleasant surprises

2006-07-23T09:09:00.000-05:00

You know those days where a bunch of little things just go right? In the grand scheme of things they don't make that much of a difference, but at the time they're so encouraging.

On Friday I went rollerskating with my English school--and I ACTUALLY SKATED!!!!! For those who don't know, I have always been very, very, very incompetent at any kind of sport/activity requiring movement and balance (well, except for riding a bike). But skiing, skating, and rollerskating have always been things I never thought I could do. One of my students took me around the rink a couple of times and it just finally clicked (and maybe after falling enough times, I lost that fear!)

Then, after work I had gone to a mall to do some shopping and was just grabbing a quick bit to eat before I headed back home. As I was getting up to leave, an elderly lady sitting close to me started talking to me. I was standing there for about 5 minutes, then decided to sit down and we had a good half-hour conversation. She was a little opinionated but really sweet and we talked about everything from religion (she's Anglican) to senior citizen tours. It was just one of those things you don't expect to happen but are glad it did.

potpourri

2006-06-14T21:09:00.000-05:00

I haven't done a personal entry for awhile, so I guess it's about time..... Life for me has been really busy lately. Work is going well at the high school--and I only have just over a week left till summer holidays. I've decided to go back to the same job in the fall. I'm looking forward to having some continuity (yay! a job that I've had for more than a year!) and building on what I've started this year.

In the meantime, for the summer, I'm teaching English at the same school here in Winnipeg where I taught last year. I'm super excited about that!!! It'll be a lot of work, doing prep work for 5 hours of teaching a day, but I need the practice and development. And I love working with international students!

Then......I'm going to visit Ecuador!!!!!!!! That'll be for three weeks, from the end of August to mid September. VERY excited about that! (bought my plane ticket yesterday!)

So, a lot of my plans (short-term, anyways) are falling into place even though it didn't look like they would at first.

Other than that, these past couple of months have been a little hard personally. You know what it's like when you discover (or rediscover) things about yourself that you really don't like....and I have the tendency to be hard on myself, so, instead of coming to God and asking Him to change me, I just beat myself up. Ok, Sharon, who's the judge? You or God? It's amazing how pride disguises itself!

Here's a quote I found in a book (that my friend, Christi Flagg, wrote the manuscript for!) which really spoke to me:

"O Lord! All our trouble comes to us from not having our eyes fixed upon You. If we only looked at the path that we are walking, we should soon arrive; but we stumble and fall a thousand times and stray from the way because we do not fix our eyes on You." -Teresa of Avila

"Fix your eyes on Jesus"--that's something that I kept hearing EVERYWHERE and clung to when I was deciding to come back to Ecuador the second time and I felt like Peter, stepping out of the boat. But when it's not a "big" thing--when it's just a "little" thing, it's easy to forget to look up.

I heard a story a long time ago about a shepherd who had an ewe that kept wandering off. Well, she gave birth to a lamb and, since the lamb would follow its mother, it also began wandering away, into possible danger. Well, in order to protect the lamb, the shepherd took it and broke its legs. Of course the lamb could not understand why the shepherd would do this to him--why the shepherd would cause him so much pain. But, while the lamb's legs were healing, the shepherd carried the lamb because he obviously couldn't walk. Everyday the shepherd would carry him and the lamb began to know and love the shepherd's voice. By the time the lamb's legs were healed, he knew the shepherd's voice so well that he stayed close to the shepherd instead of going out into danger.

Sometimes it's so easy to focus on pain and hard things. There's one instance I can remember in particular from a couple years ago--it was so hard to understand why God would allow that and I really withdrew from Him. About a year later, though, He brought the above story to mind--and I saw that instead of letting Him hold me and allowing healing, I kept trying to get away from Him, kept trying to walk on my own, thus reinjuring myself.

I love the picture the Bible gives of God being like a mother hen who guards her chicks with her wings. There's a song in Spanish that says, "Protected beneath your wings, I will give you my love, oh Lord. And with joy, I will raise up a new song and you will transform my being."

that's what I'm talking about!!!!!

2006-06-11T21:01:00.000-05:00

Ecuador 2 Poland 0
And everyone said Ecuador would lose...... (World Cup Soccer, in case I've lost you)

Felicitaciones Ecuador!!!! En el colegio donde trabajo, vi el match el viernes--padrissimo!!!!!!! Puse mi camisetta de Ecuador tambien--gracias por el regalo, Fabrizzio!

calgary

2006-05-18T23:00:00.000-05:00

Well the other weekend I got the chance to fly out to Calgary for the weekend--soooo much fun! I stayed with Naomi for a couple of days--here she is with our Superstore sushi on our way to Canmore....

And here's my Mom's favourite part of Canmore: The Three Sisters.

My life's felt pretty crazy lately (I'm sure many can relate!) so it was just so nice to get away from it all for awhile.

Anyways, then I headed over to Keith and Amy's for a day. And I got to be there when they adopted Levi, their cat, from the Humane Society. What a cutie! Here he is with his new "mom"!

Thanks for the good times, ladies! Love you both!

La otra semana tuve la oportunidad ir a visitar dos amigas en la cuidad de Calgary (es 2 horas por avion). Es cerca de los montanas, entonces fui a verlos tambien--cuan hermosa! El tiempo fue muy, muy divertido! He estado un pocquito estressada y occupada con vida, entonces fue muy bonita salir de mi vida normal y tener un vacacionito. La primera amiga, Naomi, es una amiga de mi escuela biblica y va a casarla en julio (soy una de las damas!). Y la otra, Amy, ha estado una amigo por casi todo mi vida.

youth sunday

2006-05-18T22:10:00.000-05:00

Well, a few week ago the youth that I work with in church were in charge of the service. They decided that they wanted to make up their own worship team--so two months beforehand they started practicing. They did SOOOOOOOO amazing!!!! When you consider that a couple of them had never even picked up their instruments before Christmas and that most of them had never played as a band, it's even more amazing!!! I was (and am) so proud of you guys!
Here are some pics that I was finally able to download:

Lauren was the worship leader, Victoria did back ups, Kayla was on keyboard, Matt was on guitar

Clara was on piano, Vanessa was on drums

Here's Bethany, the bass guitarist

And for moral support....Arlyn and Sara...

and Devon, Shawna, and Jon

El mes pasado, los adolescentes en mi iglesia (soy uno de los lideres) hicieron el culto. Ellos quisieron hacer su proprio equipo de alabanza (en mi iglesia hay algunas adolescentes en los equipos de alabanzas, pero no es como en Ecuador--la majoridad nunca han tocado en un equipo--y algunas solamente han estado tocando sus instrumentos desde enero!). Bueno, practicaron y practicaron por 2 meses y en el domingo hicieron muy, muy bien. Estoy muy, muy orgulloso de ellos. Fue un bendicion grande a la iglesia y a ellos tambien.

isfj

2006-04-23T23:11:00.000-05:00

I came across a Myers-Briggs personality test on the internet as I was doing some research for my work. I took it again to see if the results would be different from when I took it in Bible school. Well, I'm still an ISFJ, but the "I" is definitely lower. I remember in Bethany, I was an "I 57" (in other words, strongly introverted, according to the test). That was strongly influenced by my being incredibly shy that first year, though--not just because I get my energy by being alone.
I think sometimes it was (and is) easy to put each other into boxes with these types of tests--at the same time they're pretty useful in understanding others (for me, especially, in the context of teaching and relating to students).

Anways, if you want to take it yourselves, here it is:
Myers Briggs Personality Test

road trip!

2006-04-08T23:00:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, I went on a mini-road trip with Cordella to the States (Fargo, to be exact). Usually I don't like driving in strange areas, when I don't know where I'm going, but Fargo's super easy to get around. We were a little unsure of the drivers there, though--we counted at LEAST 8 vehicles that were pretty badly banged up (makes you feel safe on the road, not to mention all the red light-runners...and they say Winnipeg is bad!) And then there were huge white bill boards with the messages: "Have a Good Attitude", "Be Nice", and "Be Polite" along the roads(if I wasn't such a lazy photographer, I'd have pictures for you). Made this "Friendly Manitoban" wonder about the road rage level south of the 49th parrallel...... Anyways, a good time was had by all.

almost 30...

2006-03-28T00:04:00.000-06:00

Well, it's that time of year again..... Yup, today's my birthday. 26. Now that one's starting to sound old and I'm not sure how I feel about that. Sometimes I look at my life and I think: "hmmm, I'm in my (now) later twenties but I still live with my parents, don't have a 'career'-type job yet, and don't own anything big like a car". But then other people tell me "But we've never travelled half-way across the world by ourselves." Good point. So I guess we all show our "grown-up-ness" in different ways.
I'm kind of caught in the middle of wanting to be "mature and grown-up" and wanting to stay young and sheltered at the same time.

It's funny because I work in a high school and everyone there thinks I'm really young. A bunch of the students even think (or at least thought at first) that I'm a student, too. I just tell myself that looking 8 years younger than I am will be a very good thing when I'm 50!

So, there are a few pessimistic thoughts, but I am looking forward to today. I'm having some friends and family over for supper tonight. Yesterday, a bunch of the Sr. High from church came over and surprised me with a cake (thanks, guys!). And this morning I'm going bowling with my Grandma! Good times (she always whips my butt, though!) And, of course, as I work in a school in Manitoba, this week there's NO SCHOOL! A day off of work is always good.

And, of course, I'm expecting a phone call from Ecuador.... Here's a picture of my friends Elizabeth and Ximena at the birthday party they threw for me when I turned 24. My mom had arrived to visit the day before and Ximena had secretly arranged for her to bring a bunch of my baby pictures, of which they made a collage. Sweet, eh? Yeah, I was pretty cute...and still am! ;)

Bueno, hoy es mi cumpleanos--tengo 26 anos! Wow, soy viejita!! De verdad, hay un parte de mi que siente muy immadura, todavia muy dependente. Aqui en Canada es un pocquito raro tener 26 anos y todavia vivir con tus padres (si no eres estudiante). Tengo muchos amigos quien ya tiene carreras "reales", tienen su proprio casas (al menos estan alquilando), tienen su proprio carros, etc. Aveces es dificil no pensar que todavia no soy "adulte." Pero luego, mis amigos me dicen que ellos no han viajado al otro lado del mundo solos.... Bueno punto. Talvez hay mas de una manera ser "adulto."
Hay una parte de mi que quiere ser mas madura, pero hay una otra parte que todavia quiere ser nina.
Es chistoso porque en el colegio donde trabajo, muchos de los estudiantes han pensando que soy estudiante tambien. Bueno, me digo, cuando tengo 50 anos, voy a querer mirar 8 anos menos que soy!!

Mas de estos pensamientos pessimistas, creo que voy a tener un dia linda. Voy a salir con mi abuelita (jugamos bowling) y luego voy a cenar con mi familia y una amiga.

Siempre me acuerdo de mi cumpleanos en Ecuador. Gracias a todos por hacerlo un dia muy especial!

taste the thunder

2006-03-19T22:06:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a very exciting day. I went out for East Indian food with my friend Brigitte and guess what I found? Thums Up and Limca!!!! Those are two drinks (pop) that I had all the time in India when I was there with my class from Bethany! It's amazing how taste (and smell, for that matter) can bring back so many memories.... Good times.

I specifically recall being in a village on the second day, being sooooooo tired and stressed out and wanting to head back to where we were staying (and we had 2 hours of driving on bumpy road ahead of us). But then the villagers, being hospitable of course, brought us drinks before the ride home--Thums Up to be exact. Well, I liked Thums Up, so it was no issue to swig it back. But Cordella was having a lot of difficulty--especially because she normally didn't drink much pop (and she didn't particularly like the taste, either). But her finishing that bottle was our ticket home so all I could say was "Drink it and smile, Cordella!" Not very compassionate--sorry, Cordella! But I did do the ol' switcheroo under the table with her, so suddenly she had an almost empty bottle and mine was full. I wonder if anyone noticed....

Ayer fui a comer en un restaurante de la India--y tome algunas bebidas que tome cuando estuve en India! Estuve muy emocionante! Los sabores pueden hacerme recordar los tiempos pasados.

Me acuerdo de un dia, cuando estuve cansadissimo y muy estressada y solo quise regresar a mi casa (estuvimos en un pueblo muy, muy lejo de nuestra casa). Y los personnes en el pueblo no dieron "Thums Up" (una bebida que me encanta) porque son muy gracioso. Pero a mi grupo, solamente quisimos ir, entonces yo tome ese bebida rapidissimo. Pero mi amiga, Cordella, a ella no le gusta este bebido y fue una lucha tomarlo y le dije "tomalo y sonreia, Cordella!" (bueno, no estuve muy compassionate). Despues cambio mi bouteille (casi vacia) con suyo (casi llena) abajo de la mesa. Espero que nadie lo vio..... Bueno, este historia no es muy chistoso en espanol.....oh well :)

que vive la quincinera!!!

2006-03-16T17:35:00.000-06:00

Feliz Cumpleanos, Luli! Estoy muy agradecido con Dios por ti. Oro que creces mas y mas en el imagen de Dios este ano. Dios te guarda y protega y bendiga. Te quiero, mi hija!

Today is Luli's 15th birthday (I lived with her and her family in Ecuador). In South America, 15 is the big birthday. People would always think she was my daughter (hija) or younger sister because she has blue eyes and fairer skin and hair. A real sweetie.

a day without a mexican

2006-03-14T21:51:00.000-06:00

Have you guys seen this movie? I saw it this evening--very interesting. It's kind of a "mockumentary" about what happens in California when all of the Latinos suddenly disappear (although, of course, ALL Latinos are Mexican, right?)--there's no one to do the menial tasks or agricultural work and pretty much society just falls apart.
We might not have the same number of immigrant Mexican workers here in Canada (although I watched a documentary about Mexican migrant workers who come up to Leamington, ON, to work in the tomatoe greenhouses--our hands are not so clean, either), but this film definitely pushes one to think about one's own stereotypes about other cultures and North American ethnocentricity. Definitely recommend it.

Vi una pelicula que se llama "Un dia sin un Mexicano"--es muy chevere. Se cuenta de un dia en California cuando subidamente no hay ningun mexicano o latino--se desapariaron! Es una pelicula chistosa--pero tambien tiene una mensage importante de como pensamos de otras culturas--todo somos personnes, iguales. Entonces, estamos tratando el otro como alguien igual a nosotros?

i love the olympics!

2006-02-26T18:55:00.000-06:00

Well, it's done--can't wait for Vancouver 2010! Growing up, I always wanted to be a figure skater (of course, I can't really skate....ok, minor detail!)
I was just so impressed by the Canadian team this year--the way that they presented themselves both in and out of their sports--especially the speed skaters. I especially loved Cindy's humility and team-player-ness. That, and Clara's reaction to winning! Ya did us proud, ladies!

Bueno, los Olympics del invierno ya estan cumplido por este ano. Y los proximos estaran en Canada!!! Cuando era mas joven, siempre quise estar en los olympics--especialmente patinar al bailar. (bueno, no se patinar...pero solo es una detalle pequena ;)!)
Este ano, he estado muy, muy orgullosa del equipo canadiense. Sus acciones en su esportes (y en sus maneras de vivir) fueron ejemplos a todos--especialmente el equipo de "patinar rapido" (lo siento, no tengo ni idea cual es el termo correcto!). Hay dos mujere, Cindy Klassen y Clara Hughes (de mi linda cuidad de Winnipeg!) quien hicieron muy, muy bien. Cindy Klassen gano CINCO "medals"--pero cuan humilde es este mujer!!! Es chevere, porque es cristiana tambien y tuvo la oportunidad compartir su fe con otros a traves de su sports. Y Clara Hughes--fue cheverissimo ver su gozo cuando gano.
Bueno, a mi me encanta estes juegos!

Youth Advance 2006

2006-02-12T15:03:00.000-06:00

Well, this past week has been spent trying to catch up on the sleep I missed last weekend at YA. I went there with Sara and Andrew and another youth leader with 10 of our youth--and it was SOOOOO much fun! It was interesting to see the event from a leader's perspective (I had done the youth advancer and student thing). I think I prefer it, being a leader.
And I'm so proud of the way that my youth's actions and attitudes all weekend. They just tried to make the most of every opportunity (even though we were all dead tired by the time we got there, after leaving Winnipeg at 6am!). And it was awesome to see God working in their hearts.
As there were 14 of us in a 15 passenger van, I was a liiittttle leary of how the road trip would go, especially on the way back. But God blessed us with an amazing sharing time the last 3 hours of the trip! Dan King (the prayer guy) talked about Jesus' "theology of road trips"--and I can totally see the truth in that. Those "together" (and somewhat confined) experiences just open up doors that might not otherwise be open.

a scrabbler--and proud of it!

2006-01-28T22:33:00.000-06:00

I just came back from an evening of playing games with Cordella--wow, what a lot of fun! It's something that I definitely don't do enough of. Of course, my competitive nature does tend to rise up occasionally (Dutch Blitz, anyone?...Karis? ;))but I think I kept myself in check today.

And it was nice to be able to find someone (outside my family) who actually appreciates the game of Scrabble! Actually, on New Years I met someone who is a Scrabble fanatic--whose passion quite surpasses my like for the game. He owns something like 7 scrabble games (although, I might add, he doesn't own the lazy Susan turntable one that my family does ;b). He even knew his best word score ever(something like 230 points!). Ok, so my love doesn't go quite that far but it IS a vonderful gut game (to steal a line).

Anyways, thanks for the support over my grade 7 class scenario--I'm all done (phew!) and it did end up going better by the end (the teacher took out the troublemakers). Some of the kids were actually kind of sweet...in a lippy sort of way!

Tuve una noche muy chevere con mi amiga, Cordella. Solamente jugemos juegos (yo se que no debo decirlo asi, pero no me acuerdo como decirlo differente!) Bueno, aveces es los tiempos muy sencillo que son los mas especiales. Es algo que necesito hacer mas (y necesito ver MENOS television!)

Y ya estoy terminado, dando presentaciones a los classes en el 7 grado. Al fin, fue mejor (el maestro tomo algunas estudiantes afuera de la classe) y de verdad, hay algunas ninos muy cheveres alla.

Why I'm not a Grade 7 teacher

2006-01-14T15:32:00.000-06:00

So, for my work, I sometimes do classroom presentations on topics such as career exploration, resumes, etc.
Well, on Thursday I started a series of presentations in one of the grade 7 classes. Oh my. Were we ever like that? There were 15 kids to start off with--by the middle of the class, half of them had gotten kicked out (well, some left on their own). And I ended up being left with a bunch of little boys very interested in the topic of bodily functions.
They probably were largely just testing me (thankfully, the teacher was still in the room--substitute teachers, I have a tremendous amount of respect for you!)so hopefully it'll go better next week--cause I have 5 more classes with them!
I've had experience teaching older students and adults but this was my first stint teaching adolescents. Definitely a learning experience for me. Hopefully I can get something together for Monday that will suit this class (games, games, and more games).

Por mi trabajo, aveces voy a los classes para hacer lecturas sobre careras, encontrand trabajo, etc.
Bueno, el jueves fui a una classe en el 7 grado. Wow--era asi cuando tenia sus edades? Hubo 15 estudiantes al principio--y al fin, solo hubo 8 porque los otros estuvieron muy malo. Y al fin, solo hubo ninos, hablando de los funciones del cuerpo.
Probablemente estuvieron asi porque estoy nuevo (gracias a Dios, el maestro se quedo en las classe--tengo mucho respecto por los substitutos!). Espero que se van mejor en la proxima semana--porque tengo 5 classes mas con este classe!
He tenido experiencia enseniendo personnes sobre la edad de 15 pero nunca de este edad. Definitivamente, voy a apprender mucho. Ojala puedo prepara una clase por lunes que es interesante y divertido por ellos (juegos, juegos, y juegos!)

I'm tagged, too

2006-01-07T00:26:00.000-06:00

Well, Cordella tagged me and, since this seems to be the thing to do, here goes...

7 Things I would like to do before I die (cosas que quiero hacer en mi vida):
1. go back to South America (regresa a Sud America)
2. have fun with my grandchildren (divertirme con mis nietos)
3. travel across Canada (viajar en todos los partes de Canada)
4. get my Masters (in TESOL)(recibir mis...no se la palabra en espanol:)
5. keep my room clean for over a week (tener un cuarto muy limpia por mas de una semana)
6. be on a worship team (estar en un equipo de alabanza)
7. decorate my own house (decorar mi propia casa)

7 things I can’t do (yet) (cosas que no puedo hacer todavia):
1. drive standard (manejar los carros que no son automaticos)
2. fillet fish (prepara pescado)
3. salsa (bailar salsa)
4. watch horror films (I'm with you on that, Cordella--and I won't ever be able to do that) (ver las peliculas de horror)
5. wear high heels (Stacey and Clinton, what are you thinking?!)(no se como decirlo)
6. tread water (well, not for long, anyways)(nadar por mucho tiempo)
7. eat the outer parts of an animal (feet, head, etc.)or organs (comer los partes del animales que son afueras--pies, cabezas, etc)

7 things that attract me to blogging (porque tengo este pagina):
1. reconnecting with people (connectarme otra vez con mis amigos a distancia)
2. staying in contact with friends who are far away (estar en contacto con mis amigos lejos)
3. learning through other's experiences (apprender de las experiencias de los otros)
4. it's something to do (es algo que hacer)
5. sharing my pictures and experiences (compartir mis fotos y experiencias)
6. randomely looking at people's blogs who I don't know (mira a los blos de los peronnes que no conozco)
7. express myself (expresar yo mismo)

7 things I say most often (cosas que siempre digo):
1. "Place name here" (in a very motherly tone and look)
2. No problem.
3. I know, eh?
4. I don't know! (when asked about future plans)
5. Aja.... (said to show you understand someone)
6. Chevere! ("cool")
7. Oh my word!!

7 books I love (libros que me gusta):
1. The Last Sin Eater
2. The City of Joy
3. The Poisonwood Bible
4. Blue Castle
5. The Zion Covenant series
6. The Mark of the Lion series
7. Bruchko (and other missionary auto/biographies)

7 movies I watch over and over (peliculas que me gusta):
1. Pride and Prejudice
2. You've Got Mail
3. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants
4. Runaway Bride
5. The Terminal
6. Zorro movies
7. Life is Beautiful

7 people I want to join in too (you been tagged!)
Well, I don't know that many bloggers, so there's some repeats here...oh, well
1. Christi
2. Karis
3. Naomi
4. Rachel
5. Andrea
6. Tam
7. Janelle H.

goodbyes...

2006-01-04T12:51:00.000-06:00

Well, yesterday I had to say goodbye to my last friend from Heartland English School where I taught in the summer. I've had a number of friends leave in the past month :( I love you guys a lot! Thanks so much for all the good times--I really treasure your friendships and the times we could spend together.

Ayer, tuve que despedir mi ultima amiga de Heartland English School, donde ensene en el verano. Algunas de mis amigas de alla han salido en el mes pasado :(. Les quiero mucho, amigas! Gracias por los tiempos buenos--sus amistades y los tiempos que compartimos son por mi un tesoro.

Anna Carolina and I at the Nutcracker Ballet a couple of days before she went back to Mexico. Oye, amiga te quiero mucho--esparame en Mexico!

Hilda and I at her going away party before she headed back to Mexico. Te quiero tambien--no te olvides nuestro viaje a Machu Pichu!

Mandy, my friend from Taiwan, and I. You're a sweetheart and I'll miss you!

One of my classes and I, trying our hand at the good ol' game of mini golf

Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad!

2005-12-25T23:37:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to take the opportunity to wish everyone a very merry Christmas!
We've made Christmas a big huge celebration, but I was reminded today that when Christ came, he came into the everyday happenings of life. He was Emmanuel, "God with us," present where the people were at.
I'm just so thankful that He was present with my cousin, Rebekah, last night. She's teaching in Belize and was walking with some friends when they were hit by a motorcyclist. She's got some broken bones and stitches--but it could have been so much worse! Please pray for healing for her--and that she'd be able to feel and know Jesus' presence as she's in a lot of pain, so far away from home....thanks.

Here's a picture of my cousin, Rebekah. Aqui es un foto de mi prima, Rebekah.

Solo quise decir "Feliz Navidad!" a todos. Hemos hecho Navidad una celebracion muy grande, pero hoy pense en el facto de cuando Cristo vino, entro en la "vida normal." Era "Emanuel," "Dios con nosotros." Esta con nosotros en los celebraciones y en la vida normal.
Estoy tan agradecido que El estuvo presente con mi prima, Rebekah, anoche. Ella esta ensendiendo en Belize y anoche estuvo caminando con algunas amigas cuando una motocycleta les choco. Se quebro algunas huesos--pero gracias a Dios que no era peor! Por favor, oren por ella--especialmente que podria sentir tan cerca la presencia de Jesus en su dolor, tan lejos de casa....gracias.

thoughts...

2005-12-23T12:05:00.000-06:00

I recently read the book "The Yadda Yadda Prayer Group." It was very interesting--recommend it. I liked the way it pushed me to think about cultural and demoninational walls that we sometimes put up in the church.
Something that impacted me was the way the book illustrated how easy it is to forget our need for grace--especially when we start comparing ourselves to other people who have "bigger" issues than us. And, then, like in the book, a situation is sent (or arises out of our own actions/decisions) that shoves our need for grace right in our faces.
I had one of those experiences this week--it was really difficult but it was good because I was reminded once again of my daily (minutely!) need for Jesus. I'm always blown away by his patience with me!

Recien, lei el libro "The Yadda Yadda Prayer Group." Es muy, muy interessante. Me gusta como habla de los pareds (cultural o demonincacional) que aveces construimos en la iglesia.
Algo que me impacto fue como el libro illustro cuan facil es olivdar nuestro necesidad por la gracia--especialmente cuando hagamos un comparison entre nosotros y otros con pecados "mas grande" que nuestros. Y despues, como en el libro, una situacion viene (muchas veces a cause de nuestros acciones/decisiones) que nos muestra muy, muy claramente nuestra necesidad por gracia.
Tuve una de estes experiencias este semana--fue dificil pero tambien bueno porque pude recordar otra vez mi necesidad cada dia (cada minuto!) por Jesus y su gracia. Siempre estoy tan agradecido por su paciencia conmigo!

come rain or shine

2005-12-08T17:09:00.000-06:00

As I was walking to the bus stop this morning, I had the song "Blessed be Your Name" in my head:

"...Blessed be your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's all as it should be
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be your name

Every blessing you pour out,
I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say...
Blessed be the name of the Lord..."

It made me think of how UNTRUE this is for me.
Sure, I was praising God this morning--because "the world's all as it should be." But where was my praise when I was struggling with some friendship problems last week? Or where was it when God slammed a door shut last year? I wasn't thinking of praising God very much in the midst of my pity parties.

It's so easy to focus on ME and MY situations that I forget just who is this God I'm serving. Hello, Sharon, He's the one who created the universe, who created YOU, who is in control of all, who gave His life for you, who is deeply in love with you even though you don't deserve it at all, who is faithful and will never desert you! So praise Him!

God--help me to get it!

EN LA LLUVIA O EL SOL
Mientras caminando al bus este manana, tuve una cancion en mi mente: "Bendito Sea Tu Nombre."
Sigue algo asi:
...Bendito sea Tu nombre
Cuando hay sol
Cuando todo en el mundo esta correcto
Bendito sea Tu nombre

Bendito sea Tu nombre
En el camino de dolencia
Cuando me duele dar el ofrecimiento
Bendito sea Tu nombre

Cada bendicion que Tu me das,
Te dare la alabanza
Y cuando todo es oscuro,
Todavia dire,
Bendito sea el nombre del Senor..."

Me puso a pensar--mi vida no ha demonstrado que creo las palabras de este cancion.
Bueno, si, alabe al Senor este manana, cuando todo en el mundo estuvo correcto--pero donde estuvo mi alabanza cuando estuve luchando con un amistad? O cuando Dios cerro una puerta muy fuerta el ano pasado? No estaba pensando en alabando a Dios en estos momentos.

Tan facil es pensar en YO y en MIS circunstancias--y se me olvida quien es este Dios que sirvo. Hola, Sharon--El es lo quien creo el universo, El TE creo, El tiene el control de todo, El dio su vida para ti, El te ama tan fuerte--aunque no lo mereces. El es tan fiel--y nunca te abandonara! Entonces...alabar al Senor!

Dios--ayudame entenderlo!

an auntie's bragging rights

2005-11-27T15:02:00.000-06:00

These are my nieces: Elizabeth, Abigail, and Keziah. Aren't they sweet? :)

Esas son mis sobrinas: Elizabeth, Abigail, y Keziah. Preciosas, no? :)

NUT (what I've been up to) SHELL

2005-11-20T22:03:00.000-06:00

Well, for those of you who don't know, I went to Ecuador on a TREK team about three years ago. Such a good experience! My team and I worked in a daycare at a church and taught English there, too. Well, I ended up going back by myself for another 9 months the following year, teaching more English. I never saw myself as a teacher because I didn't used to like being in front of people. I really had no choice when I was on TREK, though, so I did it...and I LOVED it! It's neat how God shapes us.

So, anyways, came back to Canada last July and (finally) got some official training for teaching English as a Second Language, also finished up my Bethany BA. Then, this past summer I got a sweet job teaching ESL at a school here in Winnipeg. I just love being around and getting to know international students! (I know that will surprise you, Cordella ;) God really blessed me with some neat friendships.

Right now I'm working at an inner city high school, in the guidance office. Basically I help students prepare resumes, find jobs, get hooked up with volunteer ops, and figure out (or at least get a sense of) what they want to do after high school and how to get there. I started in October so it's still pretty new but I'm liking it so far. It's only a position until the end of the school year so we'll see what happens next....who knows? I do know that I love Latin America and I love teaching English....I'll have to see God's timing.

QUE HE ESTADO HACIENDO...
Bueno, despues de mi tiempo cheverissimo en Ecuador, tome un curso formal para apprender mejor como ensenar ingles. Es interessante por que antes que fui a Ecuador no tenia ningun deseo ser "teacher"--a mi no me gustaba estar en frente de otros persones. Pero no tenia un otro opcion, entonces lo hize--y descubri que me encanta hacerlo bastante! Es interessante como Dios nos forma.

Tambien cumpli mis estudios por mi titulo y este verano (julio y agosto) ensene ingles a una escuelita de ingles muy chevere aqui en Winnipeg. A mi me encanta estar con estudiantes internacional! Dios me bendigo con algunas amistades muy especial.

Ahora estoy trabajando en un colegio en el centro de mi ciudad, en la oficina. Basicamente ayudo los estudiantes encontrar trabajo y oportunidades donde pueden estar volunatrios, tambien discubrir que quieren hacer despues de colegio. Solamente he estado haciendolo desde octubre pero aun me gusta. Este trabajo solo se dura hasta junio...y quien sabe que pasara despues? Yo se que a mi me encanta L. America y me encanta ensenar ingles....tengo que esperar en Dios y en Su tiempo.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

2005-11-14T21:39:00.000-06:00

It's finally snowing! People probably think I'm crazy, but I LOVE snow! (well, ok, I don't particularly like clearing the snow off my car, but you gotta take the bad with the good) I guess I love the way the it transforms the world around me. Everything seems so pure and new (after a fresh snowfall, anyway). I love walking at night, especially when everything is calm and quiet. It's like I'm walking through a blanket of diamonds, with the way the light glimmers off the snow. It's amazing how intricate and beautiful God's creation is!

Por fin, esta nevando! Probablemente, persones piensan que estoy loca, pero a mi, me ENCANTA la nieve! (bueno, no me gusta mucho cuando tengo que limpiar la nieva de sobre mi carro, pero, asi es--tiene que tomar el malo con el bueno, no?) A mi me gusta como la nieve se transforma el mundo al redador de mi. Todo es puro y nuevo. Me encanta caminando en la noche, especialmente cuando todo es calme y quieto. Cuando el luz se reflega sobre la nieve, es como estoy caminando a traves de milliones de diamantes. Cuan intricado y hermoso es lo que Dios ha hecho!

My First Blog

2005-11-11T20:05:00.000-06:00

This is my first blog entry ever! Thanks, Cordella for helping me set it up.

Aqui es mi primero "blog." Gracias a mi amiga, Cordella, quien me ayudo hacerlo.