Longhorns beat Aggies and life gets better

Today was a melancholy day. Amy left for good yesterday and there is still a lot of uncertainty about my brother. People kept making sad faces at me and asking me how I was doing. It's a lot easier to just say that I am fine instead of trying to explain how weird and scattered I feel. It's not that I want to lie but if I voice that I am not doing so good, I usually cry. That is disconcerting to people. It doesn't help that I am super-busy at work right now. That should pass, though when the Fall team goes home this weekend.

It was a long day with testimony night in addition to our normal workday. This is when the teams who just got back from outreach tell about their awesome adventures. Hearing what the Lord is doing couldn't help but boost my spirits. Then when I got home, I discovered that the University of Texas Longhorns had beat the Texas A&M Aggies at basketball. Unfortunately I missed the actual game but I read the recap on the internet and saw the highlights. It was quite the game! I still have a hard time believing that the Aggies are ranked in the top ten but I have seen them and they are good. It's still weird. I won't be home this year for March madness but at least I live in a house with TIVO. No commercials for me! PS- Did I mention that the Longhorns beat the Aggies? Just checking!

Good bye my friend!

Life seems chaotic these days. My YWAM best friend, Amy left today to return to Toronto. It's weird to think I won't be seeing her everyday anymore. She is my default friend here. Thankfully I have several other really close friends here but Amy is the one I spent 90% of my free time with. We had lots of crazy adventures and I will miss her a lot. I have already decided I will go visit her in Toronto in July. Her family has a cottage on the lake. I don't know much about cottages being from Texas. But Canadians all seem to have access to these things. Apparently they are places to relax and be lazy and play on a lake. This sounds splendid. It is also important for my own sanity that I have a tentative date I will see her again. It makes leaving easier. Today I dropped her off at the airport but then her flight got canceled. So, a few hours later I picked her up and we went to Jamba Juice. I guess that means our first goodbye was a practice one.

Amy leaving makes it more real that I too, will be leaving. So strange. I can't deal with this fact yet. Also the Andrew situation is still a bit stressful. It looks like he should be heading back to the U.S. by the end of the week. News changes a lot so I am not sure if it will actually happen. He should be going to D.C. and then San Antonio. It sounds like he will be sent back to Iraq once he recovers. I really hope he will be in Texas at least until I get back home at the end of March. If he goes back to Iraq before I am scheduled to come back to Texas, I will probably have to fly back home early. I don't want to do that but I will if it's the only chance for me to see him. I know I'd regret it if I didn't. I like to be in control but this is a situation I have no control over. I need to stop worrying about things that may or may not happen.

During this stressful time, I have tried to find constructive ways to deal with my angst at the many uncertain situations. I keep trying to give my burdens to the Lord and spend more time with Him. In addition to this, I have been watching an abnormal amount of the tv show, The Office. I am not sure why. Andrew and I watched an excessive amount of tv growing up and I think this has resulted in the function of television as a relaxation/stress reducing tool. There is something so nice about forgetting some of the craziness as I watch people's fake lives. And the show is stinkin' hilarious. I am fully addicted. TV on DVD has revolutionized my life.

I have been impressed about how many people have expressed their prayers and support of Andrew. It means so much to me and my family. It is hard to be away from them right now and knowing that so many people are praying, gives me peace. Thanks a lot.

Andrew

This has been a rough weekend. The Fall DTS teams are back in town so there are tons of logistical things for me to do. The old students are living in Paia and the current students live at our base in Haiku. This means that the Fall students have to be driven to Haiku for worship and meals. We have to fully utilize our four vans. Last week one of our vans had a bit of an accident. Rebekah was driving when the hood flew up and broke the windshield. Apparently bungee cords are not a long-term solution to a loose hood problem. Rebekah thought quickly and pulled over without incident. I am glad I wasn't driving. I don't know if I would have handled it so well. Luckily, the van got fixed before the students arrived.

On Saturday morning, I found out Andrew, my younger brother, got injured in Iraq. He and several of his men were hit by shrapnel as an explosive device went off behind a wall. My brother was hit in his left thigh and leg and in his right foot. He already had surgery in Kuwait. He has been moved to Germany and is in the hospital there. One of his good friends is in Germany with his wife and they were able to go visit Andrew. This is such a blessing since I was so sad at the thought of him being all alone and hurt. He is likely being transferred back to the United States for his recovery, which could take a few months. He will probably go to a hospital in Washington D.C and we hope he could get transfered to one in San Antonio. It's hard to know what exactly is happening with the army.

At first I was kind of numb when I found out. Then the big sister in me kicked in. I have made it my job to take care of my brother since the day he was born. Even though he is a married 24 year-old Army Lieutenant, I still want to protect him. My friend, Holly, works at the nicest hotel on the island. She and some other friends stayed there this weekend and invited me and Amy to join them. I had fun going down the crazy water slides and riding on the water elevator. Who knew there was such a thing? The Grand Wailea has the coolest pool I had ever seen. After experiencing the pools, I sat down and talked with my friend, Maria. I was telling her about Andrew and I just started bawling. It seems like so many bad things are happening at one time. I feel a lot better today after getting an update from his wife, Shella on how he is doing.

I am realizing that I need to be better at giving my burdens up to the Lord. I need to learn how to pray for things but not let the weight of them overwhelm me. The Lord tells us He will carry our burdens and I need to take Him up on His offer.

Please keep praying for Andrew and our family.

Kona Part 2: Love was in the air

Our students aren't allowed to date. When they first arrive, we tell them to "put their periscopes up" and check out all the hotties in their class. Then we tell them to put their periscopes away and that they will stay hidden until graduation. Staff are allowed to date. As staff, we all joked that we'd all have our periscopes up when we went to Kona. It's hard not to check people out at these big events full of single, passionate Christians. I definitely noticed the good-looking men but nothing happened. I was sick at the beginning of the week and sounded very much like a young guy going through puberty. This is not really the right condition to meet the love of your life. I'm not really on the prowl anyway. It's just fun to joke about.

Love was in the air for some people. My friends, Bethany and Matt officially became a couple while we were in Maui. Matt is one of my closest guy friends and like a brother to me. It is a little weird but very fun to see him so excited about a girl. Bethany is my friend as well so it is all good. Some people long to make a serious commitment and plunge head into a serious relationship from Day one. Others take things very slow and ease into commitment talk. Bethany and Matt definitely fall into the first category and are already talking kids' names. As much as I am wary about people moving too fast, I think I long for a quick deep relationship rather than a long meandering one. I also think if you are over 25, you are more likely to know what you want anyway.

I had a very unromantic but fun Valentine's Day. I have never been one to get sad on Valentine's Day like some girls. I have only had a boyfriend on one Valentine's Day and we had a contest to see who could give the cheesiest gift. It wasn't the most romantic thing ever but fun times. I like free candy and Valentine's Day provides this. How can I not enjoy it? I spent my Valentine's with some friends. We had dessert at the Hard Rock Cafe. Good times! There are pics on my website.

Kona Part 1

My time in Kona was good but I am glad to be back in Maui. It was pretty crazy trying to organize a trip for 38 people. We got to the airport with plenty of time but the power was out. This meant an incredibly long line. It turned on again while we were waiting but that didn’t make the 100 people in line in front of us disappear. Because we made up such a large percentage of the plane, they made the plane wait for us. They tried to let us skip the security line but then the TSA people started throwing a fit. It was pretty funny.

On the way back, we had some travel troubles as well. The Kona base only had two vans to take us to the airport. We had too many people for two vans so we had to make two trips. I was with the second group and we didn’t get to the airport until 30 minutes before our flight was supposed to leave. I freaked out when I saw the very long security line. I was so nervous about making our flight but when I finally got through security, I saw that our plane hadn’t even started boarding yet. My prayers were answered. Unfortunately three of our guys had to stay and go on a later flight because their seats had already been given away. One of our students almost missed the flight because he wasn’t wearing shoes. Luckily someone had an extra pair in their carry-on. I didn’t know that you have to wear shoes to get on a plane. I have never desired to walk barefoot onto a plane but I guess now I know I won’t work.

I liked some of the lectures in Kona but some things they had us do were weird or juvenile. There was an altar-call type thing at every lecture. They would say something like- “Who wants to experience more of the Lord?” or “Who wants God’s heart for the nations?” Then they would tell everyone who wanted what they were saying to come up to the front. It seemed pretty pointless because everyone went up to the front. I stubbornly refused to give in to the peer pressure. The funniest thing they did was some activity where we hit beach balls and were supposed to say an attribute of God when we hit it. I really didn’t understand the correlation. I just laughed and tried to peg my friends. One time I hit the cross in the center of the room. What is that supposed to symbolize?

Overall I enjoyed praying for the nations of the world and finding out what God’s doing in other countries. Our group was very international and probably represented more than 50 countries. It made me wish I was from somewhere more remote like Myanmar or Azerbaijan. I did display my Texas pride with a lovely “Don’t Mess With Texas” t-shirt.

MySpace Indications

It has been too long since I blogged. I am getting lazy now that I am 26. I guess that is just a consequence of old age. I got to go to Oahu this weekend. It was fun times. Amy and I saw Mormons, prostitutes, Polynesian dancers, more Japanese people than I could count, old men in Speedos and big wave surfers. I got to go to a big mall and P.F. Chang's. Mmmm... Mongolian beef! I want to give a special shout-out to Amy's mom and my parents, who made the trip more fun with their monetary contributions. Also the rental car guy who upgraded our little economy car to a Ford Escape with leather seats and sun roof. And next week, I get to go to Kona for the week. Life is pretty sweet, I must say.

I would like to make an observation on my generation's culture. There is an episode of Seinfeld where Jerry can gauge the status of his dating relationship by seeing where his name is located on his girlfriend's speed dial. She moves his name up and down based on how they are doing. Most people I know rely on cell phones and with numbers already stored in our phones, we don't use speed dial buttons very often. The modern-day equivilent of the speed dial rating system is the MySpace top friends list. Some people don't think too much about their top friends list and may list their boyfriend or girlfriend somewhere in the middle of the list. Others take the ranking more seriously and are sure to put their main squeeze in the number one spot.

I have a guy friend that I am pretty close to. I have been his top friend for awhile as he had no romatic interests. Now, he is beginning to pursue a mutual friend of ours. I am super excited for them as he is like a brother to me and she is awesome. Today I noticed that I have been bumped from number 1 friend to number 2. I understand this change of ranking but it is pretty amusing, nevertheless. I am okay with being number 2. And I am rooting him and number 1 along!

I get really sad about leaving here if I think about it too much. It is just such an amazing place. I am not even really talking about the beautiful Maui part but the amazing friends and co-workers I have here. We get to have prayer and worship together several times a week. We have laughed and cried with each other. I don't know if I could ever be as close to a group of people again in my life. I am trying to make the most of my time here but it seems to be slipping away. I am excited about going back to Houston and reconnecting with all my great Texas friends, but I will certainly mourn the end of my time as a missionary in Maui. I know God has a lot in store for me in Houston and I have a feeling He has better stuff in store for me than I can even imagine now.

Swimming in Smoothie and Wild Winds

This weekend, Amy and I visited her friend's sister, who was staying at one of the nice hotels on the other side of the island. We love the chance to play tourists so we jumped at the chance to lounge by their pool. The husband bought me and Amy smoothies. They were fancy and good. When the waitress delivered them, she gave a semi-stern warning about not bringing the drinks in the pool. We complied and left our drinks on the side of the pool as we sipped them. I had only taken a few sips when extreme clumsiness struck. I was animatedly talking about something and as gestured with my hand, I knocked my smoothie over, spilling most of it into the pool. So, in a matter of seconds, we were surrounded by a milky smoothie cloud. We went to work trying to move the cloud around and get rid of the evidence. Luckily the waitress/smoothie nazi was not there when it all went down. The smoothie cloud dissapated fairly quickly causing one to wonder what else had been dumped in the pool that we could no longer see. After the crisis was over, I tried to make the two tablespoons of smoothie I had left last as long as possible. Good times!

The weather has been super weird the last few days. The wind is crazy and there are tree limbs and coconuts all over the roads. It feels like being in the middle of a hurricane. The wind catches doors and slams them. It blows away anything not weighted down. It is so weird. The waves are huge too. I don't understand what's up but I guess it's exciting. There is also a big fire burning on the volcano. The wind has made it hard to get a handle on. Supposedly, it is still burning now but contained. It seems crazy to me that they can't put it out right away. That's Maui for you, I guess.

An Abundance of Blessings

There's some fun stuff happening in my life these days. In January, I got an email advertising $20 each way inter-island flights. I have never been to Oahu for more than an overnight lay-over. I simply couldn't pass this chance to go to Oahu for such a small price. To fly there after I return to the mainland would be hundreds of dollars. I convinced my YWAM best friend, Amy to come along on my adventure. We managed to find a super-cheap rental car as well. We tried a few connections to find a free place to stay. We didn't have any luck and it looked like we'd be sleeping in our economy-sized rental car. It wouldn' t have been too bad despite the potential for back spasms from contorted sleeping and the possiblity of being hassled by random hobos.

We sent an email to Amy's mom about our lack of accomodations and she generously offered to pay for most of the cost of a really fancy hotel in Waikiki. So cool! This is going to be such a fun trip and very low-budget. Amy leaves at the end of February so it will be really awesome to get to spend a fun-filled weekend together.

We are trying to plan what we'll do there. I wanted to go to the Polynesian cultural center but even the ticket prices for locals are a bit steep. My dad told me that it's really interesting. The part that intrigues me the most is that it is apparently run by the Mormon church. At the end, they try to get you to go on a tour of BYU's Hawaii campus. I think that sounds fantastic! I have an abnormal fascination/love for the Mormons. We'll just have to see if anyone else makes a donation to our trip. We'll be gone the first weekend of February.

Also I get to go to the Big Island in the month of February as well. There is a big YWAM Hawaii conference called "The Gathering." A bunch of people from the various Hawaii YWAM bases will get together at our really big base in Kona. I was having trouble deciding if I wanted to go because it means being away from Maui for a week and I wasn't sure if I could afford the airfare now that the $20 special is over. I prayed and felt like I was supposed to go. After I already decided, I found out that the base would pay for my airfare since I was working directly with the DTS and all the DTS students and leaders would be going. So cool! Now I am really excited! It will be awesome to gather with so many other YWAMers, especially since I will be leaving YWAM at the end of March. So, in case you can't tell, I am pretty stoked about February!

I love prayer!

I have been worrying more than usual about a few things in my life. I posted two of the big ones as prayer requests so other people could pray about them. I have some other stuff in my life that I feel anxious about but the big two are my brother in Iraq and my student who is not doing well. I am usually not a big worrier but this stuff is tough. After letting people know of my prayer requests, I have felt so much peace about these situations. Of course, if I let myself really dwell on them for a long time, then I can make myself worry. But I no longer feel like throwing up when I think about it. So, the moral of the story is that prayer really works. I need to be better about letting people know of all my needs because having others lift you up in prayer really takes the burden off your shoulders.

So, thanks to everyone who has been praying for me. Keep up the good work!

I am so old!

Yesterday was my birthday. I am now the big 2-6, which sounds super old to me. 25 is cool because you are a quarter of a century old. 26 just means that you have officially begun the slippery slide to 30. Eek! Luckily there were people at my birthday party from ages 21-36 so I was in the middle of the age bracket. I have now joined Matt Laskey and Rachel Cordy in the 26 club. Last year on base, four people turned 25 in little over a week. This year only Rachel and I were on base but it is still a good club.

I had to work during the day but the hospitality people made me wear a birthday poncho/cape thing. It was pretty frightening but everyone knew it was my birthday. This saves us all from the awkwardness of people forgetting and then remembering later and feeling bad. I got a cake with the phrase- "Hot Stuff" on it. Not too shabby. I also got some desk supplies. My friend, Amy gave me a mousepad with our picture in it and a name plate type-thing with interchangeable phrases. It currently says: "Looking for Love." It can also say, "I love drama", "Obsessive Compulsive" and for some unknown reason- "It's just baby fat." I think I will stick with "Looking for Love."

I got phone calls from most of my favorite people, although there were a couple noteable people who were prevented from calling on account of being in Nepal or Iraq or for other reasons. I thought my parents had forgot me but they came through in the end. It was sad not to talk to Andrew but the war doesn't stop because it is your sister's birthday. Last year, Marti Harnly won the contest to see who could send me a card or gift so it came on my actual birthday. This year I guess Newsweek magazine technically won. Oh well, this means that my birthday will just keep going as I get belated cards and packages. Feel free to send them now. You know I love packages.

At night I went to eat Mexican food with friends and then came back to my house for a little party. Amy and Holly got some Strawberry Shortcake-themed party supplies. We had some blower-things, strawberry sunglasses and even little strawberry-shaped gift bags with candy and little girl make-up. Josh Cordy looked especially nice in the blue eyeshadow. We had lots of chocolate chip cookies and played my favorite game, Loaded Questions. It was really fun and we laughed so much. Our answers verged on inappropriate, which is my favorite way to play the game.

Eric, one of my students from this summer was in town for the day on his way to Oahu. I pretended it was because it was my birthday. It was cool that he could come to my birthday festivities. The guest list was: Ashley, Josh, Eric, Matt, Holly, Amy, Bethany, Rachel, Kieva, Maria and Esther. It was a really good birthday and way better than the one when my Grandma died and I had to go to the viewing on my birthday. Way better!

Hippies, Tsunamis, Naked People and Celebrities... Must be Maui!

I have a lot of things on my mind but rather than write about those things, I will give you some insight into life on Maui. Here are a few things I experienced this weekend.

On Friday night there was a tsunami warning. Apparently there was an earthquake in Japan and there was a chance it would cause a tsunami to hit Hawaii. There was a lot of gossip and suspense about our possible impending doom. At about 8pm, the news station said that if a tsunami was coming, we'd hear the tsunami sirens at 9pm and that would give us 3 hours to head up the volcano before the big wave hit. I was watching updates on my tv but the people on our base don't have tv access so they were really out the loop. I got a call to "inform" me that an earthquake happened in Alaska and there would be a tsunami warning at midnight, if it was coming. It was like playing a game of telephone. Thankfully it was a false alarm. The transmission on my borrowed car isn't very reliable so I was glad to not have to test it as I fleed from a giant wave.

I am still trying to train for a triathlon. I am doing pretty good with biking and running but I haven't done enough swimming. I tried to rectify this situation by swimming in the ocean on Saturday morning. In case you were wondering, it is not a good idea to swim in the ocean after a tsunami warning. The sea was angry for sure. I put on my goggles and swam out a few yards. Then I just got repeatedly pummeled by the rocky seas for about 10 minutes til I feared drowning and swam to shore. I am sure I looked really funny. I was exhausted. I had gone for a run earlier that morning. I now understand why the swimming is the first part of the triathlon. They don't want people to get exhausted and drown.

On my way to and from Baldwin Beach, I passed by an unofficial nude beach. It is a common hippie hang-out. Often there are no nudes there but this time, unfortunately, there were. There was a family with two small kids and one very naked dad. Talk about awkward family time! I am so glad my dad is not so "open." Then I saw this guy we call "Paia Dave." Paia Dave is a an old homeless guy with a scruffy wit beard, who inexplicably wears a top hat all the time. Well, he was certainly not wearing the top hat when I saw him at the beach. Thankfully, he was in waist-deep water when I made the mistake of glancing towards the ocean.

I heard through the grapevine that Owen, Luke Wilson and their unfamous brother, Andrew will be coming to Paia at the end of the month. I love a good celebrity sighting! I can't wait to try my "keeping it cool celebrity sighting" tactic. My goal would be to see one of them on the streets and just say, "Hey Luke." Then they know I know but I am not making a big scene. We'll see. I lost my nerve when I saw Kelly Osborne. I won't make that mistake again.

Deep Thinking with a side of Puking

I have been doing a lot of deep thinking lately. This is a good thing, though sometimes not so fun. For those of you who read this for the humor, I will begin with a short story before I get to the deep thinking, less humorous stuff.

I have moved into my new place. It is pretty sweet and I like it though I haven't spent a whole lot of time there yet. My roommate, Holly, has a cat named Sushi. Sushi's tail got run over by a car and Holly's sympathetic co-workers gave her some raw ahi (which I believe qualifies as sushi) to boost her spirits. So, Holly has been serving Sushi the cat, sushi the food. This seems borderline cannabilistic. Anyway, last night after Holly fed Sushi his sushi, he got a peculiar look on his face. Yes, cats do make facial expressions. And it was too late to stop anything when I realized that the facial expression meant, "Hey new roomie, I am about to barf on your sandals. So, Sushi puked sushi onto my sandals. Sick! Sushi definitely did not make a good first impression.

Yesterday was our last day of staff development. Tom, our amazing base director, was talking about sometimes sins we constantly struggle with are rooted in deeper issues. We try to keep treating the symptoms but they never fully go away because the root of the sinful behavior is still there. His example was how in college he used to tell lots of white lies when someone asked him something he did not know. He kept trying to stop but could not. He finally realized it was a pride issue that most people would never have guessed. He is probably the most humble man I know. Once he started praying about and dealing with the pride issue, he was able to overcome the temptations to make up stuff instead of admitting when he didn't know something.

After Tom shared, he gave us time to pray and contemplate how this applies to our own lives. It was really good for me. I realized that a deep root of bitterness is causing me to respond negatively to some important people in my life. I have to let go of old grievances whether they are valid or not. I will continue to work through this but this principle is so important when trying to figure out why we struggle so much with certain sins. I encourage all of you to try to find the root of those pesky perpetual sins in your life. In general, I have been having really good times with the Lord since I have been back. Such a blessing!

Today I found out more worrisome news. I got an email about a soldier dying and it looks like he was in my brother's company. That's hard to think about. And I got another update about the girl I mentored who is doing poorly. I wish I could write what I found out but that's not fair to her. Needless to say, the latest news is pretty bad and life changing. I wish I could just steal her and lock her into a room until she is strong enough to resist these temptations that are so harmful to her. I love her so much and it is hard to hear of her stumbling. I know that God is in control but it is still hard to hear about what she's doing since some of her actions have very serious consequences. Please pray for her.

On a lighter note, the students for the Winter school have begun arriving today. The chaos is begining and it is a lot of fun. I am looking forward to getting to know these new students, especially since this is the last school I will be here for.

Back in Maui

I have been back in Maui for two days now. It was so good to see all of my friends again. Most people had left to go home for Christmas before I left. This meant the base was pretty empty. Most people got back before me so I came home to all my friends. It was really nice to see them. It feels like I haven't even left. I think this is because I was only gone for two and a half weeks and before that I was gone for three months.

I want to make the most of my time here and I know it will fly by. Today I started as the DTS administrator and I think it will be a good fit for me. I will get to work closely with Matt, who was my co-leader to Bangladesh. He feels like a big brother to me. My friend, Rachel turned 26 today and joined Matt in the 26 club. I am way younger since I don't join the club until the 17th. My time as a 25 year old is definitely dwindling. I am getting old. Oh well, at least Matt and Rachel joined the club first. We tried to go to a Mexican restaurant with cheap tacos but we had to wait for two hours. I actually just hung out with them outside for an hour and then went to the gym. We all had our share of socially awkward moments.

Ashley smashed her forehead into a sign as we all looked on. I flicked a bug off of Ashley and into some woman who screamed and jumped up. But the worst was when Kristy smacked the butt of a woman she thought was our friend but certainly was not. The girl was not mad but Kristy's face was bright red. I try to believe that we are not your average dorky missionaries but these type of moments don't help my plight much.

We are having staff meetings this week to get ready for the students who arrive on Thursday. It has been really good and the staff seems to be doing much better after the break. I think we all needed some time away. I know I did. We discussed 1 Peter today which may be my favorite book of the Bible. There is just so much in it that applies to my life. It got me excited to spend more time with the Lord, which is always good.

Hard Stuff

It's hard to love and care about people sometimes. My heart hurts right now because I have found out that a girl I mentored, discipled and poured my heart into, is making some harmful decisions. It hurts me because I love her. It makes me not want to love anyone so I can't get hurt but I know that is neither healthy nor realistic. I feel like this post is already leaning towards philisophical but I suppose that's the mood I should go with and not fight it.

I just hurt so much when my friends are suffering. I read in a book called Red Moon Rising about a guy who was part of a big 24 hour a day prayer movement. His sister had anorexia and he didn't want to pray for her. He couldn't figure it out since he was part of this prayer ministry. But he realized that he didn't want to have to really feel her pain. When we really care about people and pray for them, we do feel their pain and it is difficult. I have prayed for the girl I mentioned above so much and I am sure that is part of why this is so painful. I know that she makes her own choices and even these bad decisions now don't negate all the progress she made but it still hurts. I am not going to give up on loving and caring about people but this is definitely the part of it I hate. Please pray for my friend.

Asbestos 'Arama

Yesterday I got to go to lovely Orange, Texas (yes it is part of Orange County.) This Orange County is a very different OC. I had been back on Maui about one month when Hurricane Katrina hit. I felt torn, wanting to go back and help this area of the country I loved and knowing how far away I was from it. Yesterday, I got the chance to help with some hurricane relief in Orange. I had no idea that so many people's houses were still in shambles after over a year. I think Orange was really impacted by the second hurricane, Rita.

I helped with students from the Wesley Foundation, which I was involved in when I was in college. Rusty, my college pastor, asked me to come speak to the students. So, Katie H and I drove out to Orange. Actually we accidentally ended up in Lousiana. We weren't paying attention to the signs and passed Orange. Luckily we only went about ten miles or so before we figured it out. It was the "Welcome to Louisiana" sign that clued us in that we'd gone too far.

We got to help clean up the pieces of a battered roof. Some of the house had been made with asbestos. We had to collect all the asbestos and set it aside for disposal. No one knew much about asbestos other than that it can cause some crazy health problems. Some people were so paranoid that it seemed they thought they would get cancer after even looking at the asbestos. There were masks for people to wear but not enough to go around. I am not too scared. After Bangladesh, very little scares me. I have had dengue fever, after all.

Hot and Cold in Houston

I know I am back in Houston because it is December and in the last week I have worn everything from shorts and a t-shirt to a sweater and wool coat. Almost everyday I use both the heater and the air conditioner in the Saturn. I like the cold weather sometimes but it will be nice to get back to Maui. I saw today that MTV has a new show that comes out on my birthday. It is some sort of Maui reality show. What a perfect birthday gift to me! A reality show about a place I love. Hopefully it will be a Temptation Island 3, but I doubt it.

College football is so much fun! The good bowl games are about to begin and I am excited. My dad has a big tv with cable and HD tv so the set-up is pretty sweet. I have also recently become a Tennessee Titans fan. I have always loved Vince Young and I figure he is a good enough reason to love a whole team. A lot of Houstonians like the Texans but I am not into them. I think their name is stupid and so are they for passing on my man, Vince.

I have decided to train for a triathlon. It is a shortened version- 3 miles running, 15 miles biking, and 1/3 mile swimming. It seems hard but not too hard and I will have 3 months to train. I like to have an athletic goal to work towards. I can practice swimming in the ocean in Maui. Pretty sweet.

I have been able to see a lot of quality people although most visits have been painfully short. I got to see: Sarah Musselman and baby Madeline, Erin and Zach Morrow and baby Joe, Sarah Morgan and Devin O'Bryan, Katie H, Emily and Van HArdin, David and Suzie Ray, Mike and Susie Ray, Jane Kim and James Chastant, Sarah McGregor and more. I still have a lot more people to see. Tomorrow I am going to Orange, TX to help my college pastor, Rusty and his students do hurricane relief. Rusty wants me to speak to his students and get them pumped about missions. It should be cool.

Missing Andrew

I miss my brother. It is very weird not to have him here at X-Mas. I have been visiting some very quality friends but I usually have my brother to hang out with whenever I am not hanging out with other people. I am happy that next year he will be back. It is just not the same without him at all.

He called his wife so we heard a bit of how he's doing. He apparently got 24 packages when he came back. Way more than anyone else. I don't think I have gotten 24 packages in the last year. I guess Iraq seems a bit more package-worthy than Maui. I can't complain. Afterall, they don't have Wal-Mart in Iraq.

Please continue to pray for my brother.

Back in the Lone Star State

I have been on the mainland for almost two days now. Today was cold and there was even hail. I definitely know I am not in Maui anymore. It is nice to rediscover my winter clothes and watch cable television. I am trying to figure out how to schedule my time in such a way that I get to see all my favorite people and get some restful alone time. I thought three weeks would be a long time at home but my schedule is filling up rather quickly. I am excited about all the people who are around at Christmas time. I am going on a bit of a baby-seeing tour. I have already seen Madeline Musselman and I get to see Joe Morrow this weekend. In Maui, I have been spending a lot of time with my friend, Maria and her baby, Kieva so I am more comfortable around the little guys than I used to be. It is really fun to see how God combines my friends' features to make a new person that looks like both of them.

I am officially going to have a different job when I go back to Maui. I am glad. I am sure the other YWAMers will be happy as well since I am really not very gifted in culinary exploits. I have always planned to really get into cooking after I get married. That will be a lot different than working in the kitchen and trying to feed 100 people for $.60. I went to the grocery store and it was amazing! There were so many fun things to choose from and it is all so much less expensive than Maui.

Overall it is really nice to be home, though I do miss some of my Maui friends. If only I were rich and famous and could afford to pay my favorite people to travel around with me as my entourage....Wouldn't that be nice?

Reindeer games

Tomorrow I leave for home. The flight is not too bad since I only have to fly to Honolulu and then straight to Houston. It is an overnight flight so I am praying that I can sleep on the plane. I am also praying for empty seats next to me. We'll see. I am a bit nervous about going home and how I am going to juggle my time. I have been wary of making firm plans but I think that might cause problems. As of now, I have written down all the various windows of hangout opportunities with various friends but I haven't gotten firm dates. I think I want the hanging out to happen naturally, which seems virtually impossible given the time constraints. We'll see. I am sure it will all work out.

Christmas will be strange without my brother around. I have been away from my family at Christmas twice but I have never been with my family minus my brother. I will definitely miss him. My favorite game at Christmas is something we call reindeer games. This game involves repositioning those white, metal, lighted reindeer lawn ornaments into sexual positions. It is not gross just hilarious! There is also the element of suspense as you try not to get caught. My brother, Andrew, has some sort of God-given gift for it. He can look at a lawn and know exactly how to position the deer for maximum laughs. He once made a train with four. It was incredible. So, I don't know if I will play this year. It's just not the same without Andrew. I wonder if they have these fake reindeer in Iraq. I sure hope so.

I get to come back to Texas soon! I am excited but I feel like I have so much to get done before I leave. I only work in the kitchen about four hours a day but I have been trying to make the most of my time in Maui by spending time at the beaches. My YWAM best friend, Amy is in town with the guys she has been traveling the world with. They are from Canada so it is even more important for them to look tan when they go home. I too want to look bronzed to dazzle my friends. Bangladesh made me pretty white so I have some work to do.

Tanning aside, things are going pretty well. Amy is back and I have a car to use. There are not very many people on base so working in the kitchen is not as much work. There are a lot less dishes to do. I finally feel pretty at home being back in Maui. It is comforting to know that I will being living in a fun house in Paia when I get back and not a crowded sunroom in Haiku. I am going to try to be at the base a lot, though so I don't lose that community feel.