Spring '12 Recital

Here are the results of my work this quarter at school. God's been so good to me in so many ways and I've enjoyed learning all these new things!

The Weekend

I'm just now getting around to writing about last weekend due to a pretty crazy week, but it was so great that I couldn't just leave it unsaid!

First, let's start with Saturday.  It was mostly sunny and just plain beautiful. I love how the Lord has been blessing us with beautiful weekends. The morning started off with outreach and I had the privilege of partnering up with one of the teen girls. I love our teens so much and I am excited to get to know them even better as we prepare to go to Mexico together at the end of the summer.

In the afternoon I played wallyball with some friends. It's been so long! First, a little background. Bro. Benjamin Hall is here from Lehigh Valley Baptist Church to do some training in our church for the month of May.  We got a group together and headed off to the gym to play a game (or four) of wallyball and I hope we haven't scared him off! :-) But it was great fun. Wouldn't you know, at the start I was the only one who knew how to play but by the end I was the only one who hadn't won a game!! Haha.....I think round two is on the way so that can change. :-)

Sunday morning arrived, and with it, the ordination of a new pastor.  BBC Oak Harbor now has the privilege of calling two men "Pastor".  The Lord has blessed us tremendously with wise leaders who take their responsibility before God seriously.  Men who consult the Word above any of man's opinions and are not afraid to stand strong for its doctrines and teachings.  I hope we'll never take it for granted!  Even though we were exhausted by the end of the day, it was SUCH a joyous time for the entire church. One of those sink-into-the-chair-with-a-huge-smile-on-your-face moments. :-D  After the afternoon service we headed to Rebecca's recital.  Video coming soon......

(Pictures by Linnea Rawls)

A Beauty To Behold

This afternoon was spent with friends at Deception Pass with Whidbey Coffee in hand. That's the way to go! Although...it makes climbing on rocks rather difficult when you only have one hand free. I only nearly fell to my death once....Not too bad. ;-)

It was absolutely spectacular!  Words cannot even express the beauty. I praise God for allowing me to behold His wondrous creation this afternoon.

Gen 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

What A Year!

2011 has truly been a year to remember.  In all honestly, I feel like I was just sitting here recapping 2010!  This year has flown by, but has not been without event.  I have to say that it has been one of the most growing years for me spiritually.  God has grown me through the valleys as well as on top of the many mountains of 2011.  Looking back, I had no idea that this year would hold so much for me.  We never do predict these things well. :-) 

~Major Events of 2011~

**Started school at Skagit Valley College.  Big change for me after taking several years off after highschool.  I am thoroughly enjoying the challenge musically and academically. 

**Began new ministries, primarily that of working in our church print shop.  I absolutely LOVE this ministry! 

**Embarked on my first missions trip.  Staying in Thailand for three months was an experience I'll never forget.  I learned so much in that little amount of time. God opened my eyes to so many needs!  It didn't take long after being there for me to fall in love with the people and the culture.

**Saw a dear friend married and another close friend join the military.  Miss you guys!!! :-)  Meanwhile, God has provided given me new friends throughout the year and I'm so grateful for them. God is so good to me.

This really just scratches the surface.  Knowing what I do now about this past year makes me so curious about 2012.  What changes will ensue?  I know that whatever happens, God's plan is perfect. 

May your 2012 be filled with God's blessings!

Blessings ~ Friends

Can I just say that God is so good to me?! As I said in my last post, I've been a little lean with my blogging.  Part of it is just not feeling inspired to write.  But the truth is, I've been blessed with SO much!  I really do have a lot to write about. 

God has really blessed me in the area of friends.  Lately I've had several friends leave for various reasons (moving away, military, etc.) yet I still find myself surrounded by a group of Godly people with the same desire to serve Him.  There is nothing like a friendship that is grounded in God's Word and service to Him.  I feel abundantly blessed in this area with those who are close and those who are thousands of miles away. 

It's very easy to get our eyes focused on what we have lost or what we don't have.  Why not open our eyes to what's right in front of us?!  How has God blessed you today?

A Day of Thanks

Today is one of my favorite days out of the year.  Not because school is on break.  Not because we can stuff ourselves in addition to the turkey and eat shameful amounts of pie. I L.O.V.E. this day because it is a time that is dedicated to giving thanks to our God.  And what an amazing God He is!  Granted, giving thanks is to be done daily.  But I love having it as a main focus. 

Now, can I just tell you that I serve a God who deserves more thanks than we give Him?!  How many of us sit down on a regular basis and give thanks to God for creating us. For even giving us existance.  And how often do we thank Him for giving us spiritual existance?  The opportunity to have a relationship with Him.  When I think of all that God is and what He does, it still baffles my mind that He would want to have a relationship with me.  I am soo grateful for it.

Because we don't have extended family living anywhere close by, we chose to spend Thanksgiving with our church family.  The house was packed and we had way more food than we knew what to do with.  The time was spent laughing and encouraging each other.  I love my church family SO much and nothing beats that bond we have in Christ.  Giving of thanks is not over.  It will continue through the rest of the night and throughout the rest of my days.


Food preparations last night started out right with Whidbey Coffeeeeeeeee :-)

Getting started on the pies. Pumpkin Pies...YES!

Dad was the Turkey Guardian

Awaiting guests

Trying to squeeze in for a group picture

I love these crazy girls. :-D

Food lined the whole kitchen!!

A Beautiful Day

Today I had the honor of playing the piano and singing at the wedding of my two friends.  What a blessing to see the Lord work in their lives over the last few years and to finally see them united in marriage.  We certainly serve a mighty God who knows just what He's doing when he chooses life partners.  The weatherman forcasted a typical Whidbey day.  Rainy and gray.  But, praise God, the sun was out and it was even slightly warm.  You couldn't have asked for a more beautiful fall day for a wedding!  As far as the ceremony goes, it went smooth as silk. I love things that are simple and stress-free.  This fit the bill for sure!  While I am sad to see my good friend Anna move away, I am SO happy for the new stage of her life that she is moving into.  Now I have an excuse to go to the midwest. :-)

If you wish to see more pictures, let me know and I will email them to you.

Maesa Elephant Camp

Today I went with Pookie and Klo to visit Maesa Elephant Camp here in Chiang Mai.  Before I left I was told my someone.....ahem.....that I have to show a picture of me riding an elephant. So you know....I was just being the obedient daughter.  (Oops did I let the cat out of the bag?)

It was SUCH a fun time.  We weren't sure how things would go (or how the pictures would turn out) because it was raining.  Not pouring necessarily, just a steady drizzle.  Similar to what we get on Whidbey.  When we got there we still had about 45 minutes before the show started.  So we approached the pen of elephants after buying some sugar cane and bananas to feed. It was nice because people hadn't started gathering so we had them all to ourselves so to speak.  After a while the trainers mounted their rides (The elephants) and led them to the water to bathe before their big show.  It was hilarious to watch them roll around in the water and spray themselves (And us!). We hustled to the show so we could get front row seats. I'm so glad we did!! It was great to watch these intelligent creatures march in the elephant parade (some were playing harmonicas!!!), play soccer, play darts, play basketball, paint pictures, and do more tricks. Of course, they had to come greet all their fans after the show.  We were able to get pictures sitting on their knee. Nothing like having an elephant trunk draping over your shoulder!! :-D

Then Klo and I mounted our mighty steed and took a trek through the rainforest.  That sounds pretty dramatic, but hey, it was so fun! It was a rather bumpy ride and more than once I was clutching the bar in front of me.  It was so cool to be atop such a large creature!  All in all, I think it was a pretty memorable day and I'm glad I could share it with friends.  Here are a few pictures, but it would take so much space to put them all on here.  So at the bottom you will see a link to view more pictures.


Feeding the little guy.

Klo, myself and Pookie

Riding the elephant!!

Ahhh!!!! They are so strong!

Hahaha...cute.

A little basketball?

This painting went for 6,000 baht.  That's roughly $200!

Sitting on the elephant's lap. :-)

Riding....

For more pictures go to

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.144762372277124.38786.100002300866566&l=e255f567d0&type=1

Friends and Bugs

You might be wondering how those two things can mix.  Me too. Well....here's how it goes. :-)

Monday night we had a celebration at mine and Pookie's house.  Technically it was to celebrate the 4th of July but being such a multi-cultural group we had a pretty multi-cultural evening. Wonderful food from several different countries and SO many fun games! We played the longest Jenga game ever. I think it neared an hour. Whew! Then switched to Rummikub. Then...(drum roll please) we switched to Spoons! Almost no one had played before and once we started no one wanted to stop!  We played for about three hours then had to call it quits due to working the next day. My side was hurting so much from laughing. Good times!

Onto the bugs...you knew this was coming. I think it was the very next day that Ahn Ahn gladly took himself off to the market and brought back (With a smile!) a bag full of bugs. Varieties of bugs. Big bugs. Small bugs. Black Bugs. Brown bugs. ICK! It took a while to convince me to eat any. To be honest, I knew I wasn't getting out of there that day without eating at least one. So.....I did it. I ate them. I only ate two....and a half if you count the big grasshopper legs. I just had to laugh as everyone stood around the plates eating them like candy. ICK!  Well, I hope you enjoy the pictures. And don't worry....I will NOT be bringing back bugs as souvenirs. :-)


My homemade Chocolate cake. I baked for the first time in a toaster oven and I was so surprised at the results!

The evening's spread.

Pookie making her famous KFC (Khemjira Fried Chicken). :-)

JENGA!

Some awesome background music. :-)

Love that concentrated look....

Enjoying a game of spoons.

One of many....

The rule was if you lost a round you had to drink a cup of water.  Needless to say, Bro. Jeng Lang lost this round... :-D

And....Bro. Somsak lost THIS round. haha

Here goes nothin....

Nooooo!!!!

Nasty....

Even worse!

"Kaw....don't do it!"

Yeah....I ate that little guy.

Kinda chewy...not expecting that.

Pookie....that's sick.

Aaaiieee!!!

Eating it like candy!

Working. Yes....I do that sometimes. :-)

About as close as I can get to Mt. Dew over here. :-(