The Traveling Banana

It's About Time

2012-01-18T19:49:00.000-05:00

I should probably write something about our time in Zambia, but at the moment it all feels so long ago, and there is so much to tell that I don't even know where to begin. Most everyone who knew we went to Zambia for Christmas has asked both Damarise and I (and I quote), "How was Africa?!" Wow. What a broad question to answer. I don't know where to begin with that question and tend to just say, "Great!" And I'm right back in that place for blogging. There's too much to tell. Maybe over the months I'll sporadically throw in a fun story from Zambia, but until then I'll leave it with this: Going to Zambia this December/January was one of the biggest blessings of the year. I thank God for providing the funds for Damarise and me to go see our family. I'm thankful for the change to see a different Africa. I'm thankful for my family and the time spent with them. It was long anticipated and definitely enjoyed.

In more recent news, I am now a second semester Junior. When and how that happened, I still don't know. Time has flown by. The majority of my classes this semester are education classes, and though I'm feeling overwhelmed when shown examples of perfect teachers, all my professors assure us that one day we too will be able to teach like them. Currently, I'm not so sure about that, but I'm sure with more teaching and some first-hand experience we might get there. In the meantime I'm studying lots and definitely seeking help from God and praying for wisdom and guidance.

One more thought before I end and get back to studying – today is January 18th. I realized that while writing in my journal today and was reminded of God's never-ending grace and faithfulness. It's been three years since Ian was in a malaria induced coma and on the verge of death. It's been three years since we saw God work a miracle in Ian and bring him back – alive, healthy, and well! I love the reminder that this serves every year. Every year I'm reminded of what a powerful God we serve. Not only is He all-powerful, but He also hears every prayer. He cares for His children and He gives grace. He is faithful even in the midst of pain and suffering. He is God and there is none like Him. This is the reminder I was given today, and I'm sitting here praising God for His faithfulness and for the fact that Ian is still with us today. I am thankful!

Back in the USA

2012-01-08T20:06:00.000-05:00

Five wonderful family members to hug goodbye, Three flights, Four airports, Thirty-four hours traveling, Forty-one hours without sleep, and we made it back to the USA where the Schreiners welcomed us into their home before school started. I'll write a longer update of sorts about our time with the family when I'm not on the verge of falling asleep (ah, jet lag). Until then here is a picture of my wonderful family. I miss them!

Looking Back on 2011

2011-12-31T14:34:00.000-05:00

2011 has come and gone! It doesn't seem like it's time for a new year, but it is! Looking back over 2011 I realized how blessed I am! God has blessed me abundantly with friends, safety, food, education, church, etc, and I am so thankful!
Here are 11 highlights of the year 2011:

1). I got my braces off right at the beginning of January! I was thrilled to be able to chew and talk normally again, and SO thankful to Grandma for paying for my braces. They were definitely a blessing and it has been nice to have straight teeth.

2). God's protection and power seen in the frenzy of storms that hit Covenant College this year. We tried to start off Spring semester on time, but ended up delayed a week because of the snow storms. I'm not complaining though. The snow was stunning and it was great to be at school with no work to do and just get to hang out with friends. (It was also fun to see how southerners responded to snow… we saw one man with a leaf blower trying to blow away the snow!)
We ended the semester with another storm. A day of tornado warnings kept us huddled down in basements across campus. It was scary and I'm thankful that God protected us. (it was nice to have no exams to end the school year with!)

3). The family left in early march. That was definitely something that I was not looking forward to in 2011. But God has been faithful! Damarise, Micah, and I went up to Missouri in late February to say goodbye to the family. It was great to be there as the church said their goodbyes to our family as well. It's always encouraging to know that many people and churches are praying for them. It was also fun for Micah to come along, and help us on the long drive back to Georgia.

4). The first week after the family went to Africa. I thought it would be rough, and don't get me wrong it definitely was hard! It was hard to know that I couldn't pick up the phone and call them at any time since we were both in the States. But God has abundantly blessed Damarise and me! So many people emailed, wrote, or told us face to face that they were praying for us – even people who we didn't know were telling us that they were praying for us! The Schreiner family welcomed us into their home many times that first week. Everything was just a huge blessing and such a great reminder that God has placed wonderful people in our lives!

5). Budapest! It's crazy to think that that happened this year– it seems so long ago! God provided the funds for me to be able to go on a college trip to student teach in a missionary school in Budapest, Hungary. To be honest, I have always been scared out of my wits to get up in front of a classroom and teach. I feel like there are billion other people who are much better suited to do this. But God used that month at ICSB to show me that this is what He has called me to. The teacher that I was placed with was so encouraging and let me teach her class as often as I could. It was such a blessing! I learned SO much and loved being back in a missionary community.

6). B.E.S.T! No one knows what those initials stand for, but that is the name of the cleaning facilities at Covenant College and my job for the Summer. Again, I am blessed! This job, though disgusting at times, was wonderful! I worked eight hours a day 5 days a week with fellow students. We talked, laughed, worked, and just had a great time. I loved living in an apartment, cooking meals and shopping for food with Damarise and Micah, and hanging out with friends who were also working at Covenant over the Summer. It was definitely one of the best summers of my life!

7). The infamous road trip. The one where we lost two transmissions in one day and had to be rescued by the Schreiners… yah. That one will forever be a memorable road trip. It made and still makes quite the tale!

8). Changing my major. That sounds drastic, but it isn't as drastic as it sounds. I changed my major from Middle Grades Education to Early Childhood Education. It's a few extra classes, but definitely an age group that I want to work with. I'm still not sure where I want to teach or what I want to do when I graduate, but I'm praying about it and trusting God… changing my major to early childhood is just one step to whatever God has for me.

9). Driving! I'd like to have posted that in 2011 I got my driver's license, but alas that may come in the 2012 update. I did however get my driver's permit and become a resident of a state! It was exciting! I had a lot of help getting my driver's permit (Thank you Damarise and Micah). And I have been practicing driving. Damarise is a good teacher and I'm blessed with her patience in letting me drive (even when I drive terribly sometimes).

10). Seeing old friends, meeting new ones. It was great to catch up with old friends like the Woodrows and Ruth this year! They are wonderful friends and it was nice to see them and hear what is going on in their lives. It was also nice to meet Janessa's family, meet some people at church, and meet some new friends on our plane trip to Zambia. …Which brings me to my last point…

11). Family! Zambia! Christmas! New Years! God provided the money for Damarise and me to fly over the ocean to Zambia! And I am praising God for His provision! He knew that it was hard knowing we wouldn't be seeing the family 'til 2013 and He allowed Damarise and me to see the family in their new home. It has been wonderful! Zambia is a beautiful country with friendly people and it has been good to meet Dad, Mom, Sarah, Ian, and Andrew's friends. It has been an encouraging and fun visit! I'm just SO thankful!

I am blessed and thankful! I'm thankful for all God has done in 2011 and can't wait to see what He has in store for 2012!

Happy New Year!

"I had Christmas down in Africa..."

2011-12-25T15:46:00.000-05:00

A South African missionary family here in Zambia invited our family and a Zambian family over to sing carols together on Christmas Eve. This South African family's grandparents from Holland were also visiting. Four different nationalities were represented last night – Dutch, Afrikaans, American, and Zambian. But this diverse group was gathered together to sing and read about the birth of our Saviour. Not a different Saviour for each nationality, but one Saviour of all!

We sang carols – some familiar, some to different tunes, and some new – and as I sat there looking around the room I couldn't help but get excited for heaven! I cannot wait to be gathered with thousands of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation praising our God – falling before His throne in worship and admiration because He alone is worthy!

This also made me thankful for Christmas. That God became flesh and dwelt among us. He came to save that which was lost, not one particular people group, but all those who He had chosen before the foundation of the world.

This Christmas I am thankful that God sent His only begotten Son into the world to save us. I'm thankful that we got to celebrate Christmas and worship Christ this morning with hundreds of believers at Lusaka Baptist Church in Zambia. And I'm thankful that one day, believers from around the world will be singing praises before the throne of God! I can't wait!

Small World

2011-12-19T11:28:00.000-05:00

I changed my shirt.

It was 2:30am. I had planned out the night before what I was going to wear on the plane and I had opted for looking more dressy rather than throwing on a t-shirt and jeans. But, when I woke at 2:30am the last thing I wanted to do was look nice. I just wanted to crawl back into bed and sleep until a reasonable hour. Since that wasn't going to happen (seeing as I actually wanted to catch the plane to Africa and finally see my family) I decided to throw my nice clothes back in a suitcase and grab the nearest t-shirt, jeans, and fleece. The only t-shirt I hadn't packed was a Covenant College t-shirt, so I threw it on and we left.

We got to the airport right on time, thanks to Micah driving us (really! a huge thank you to him! driving anywhere at 3:00am isn't fun, so thank you!). After goodbyes were said we flew to Dulles. From there we caught our flight to Ethiopia – thirteen hours long. Phew! Our TVs didn't work and we slept about a total of two hours, but we landed in Ethiopia safe and sound!

We stood up after we landed and got ready to leave the plane. A young guy and girl (Peter and Gabi) who had been sitting in front of us the whole trip turned around to look at all the people waiting. Peter saw my shirt and asked, "Do you go to Covenant College?!" Here is the conversation that followed:

Me: Yes!!
Peter: What?! No way! Gabi and I know so-and-so. Do you?
Me: Yess!!
Peter: That's CRAZY!! We visited Covenant College a lot! We got to school in Maryland... wow! Small world! So are you stopping in Ethiopia or heading elsewhere in Africa.
Me: To Zambia.
Peter: Are. You. Kidding. ME?! That's where WE'RE headed TOO! Gabi's family lives there and I've been to Zambia a few times and just love it so I'm visiting her family this time. Are you on the flight that leaves in 20 minutes?
Me: WOAH!!... and YES!
Peter: So are we... and since you've never made this trip before stick with us and we'll make sure the plane won't leave without us all! Alright?
Damarise and me: THANK YOU!

We were feeling overwhelmed at how we would catch our plane on time and then God sent Peter and Gabi along to help us out. We made it to the plane on time and then realized we all were sitting together in the same row. We got pretty excited. We ended up chatting and playing games the entire four hour flight which we all needed. We were going insane from that long flight and needed something to keep us busy. It was wonderful! They also helped us through customs and getting our visa in Zambia.

And I, I just thanked God that He made me feel uncomfortable so early in the morning and that the only t-shirt I had handy was my Covenant College t-shirt. Without wearing that we probably wouldn't have met Peter and Gabi and definitely would have been a lot more stressed about going through Addis Ababa and customs.

Long story short. We made new friends. Our flight was good. And...

We are in Zambia!! We are with our FAMILY! Ah! I have never been SO excited to see them! It has been wonderful to be back with them. Laughing all the time. Hanging out around the table just chatting about anything and everything. I'm so thankful that God provided for Damarise and I to be here. It is wonderful!!

At the Airport...

2011-12-16T10:50:00.000-05:00

We woke up at two in the morning.... it's gonna be a looong day, but I can't wait for the end :) Family!

On My Way to...

2011-12-15T21:46:00.000-05:00

Family, Zambia, Family, Zambia.... Ahhh!
I. Am. So. Excited!
I cannot wait to see the family!

So Close!

2011-12-14T23:55:00.000-05:00

Exams are done!! That means that seeing the family is next in my planner! Yes!

Twenty

2011-12-10T22:19:00.000-05:00

Today I left the teen years... I'm now a 20 year old.

Let the Studying Begin!

2011-12-09T12:49:00.002-05:00

We're already going crazy....

It's Coming Up!

2011-12-04T20:18:00.000-05:00

Yesterday in the elevator:

Damarise and I had bought two huge suitcases at Walmart to take with us Africa, and we had those in the elevator with us. Two girls who were in the elevator asked us what we were doing with suitcases.

Girls: Wow. Why do you have those suitcases?

Damarise and me: It's to bring stuff to Africa with us over Christmas Break.

Girls: Hahaha. But really...

Damarise and me: ... Uh, we really are going to Africa!

We really are going to Africa!

I can hardly concentrate on studying for the finals that are coming up this next week... scratch that, hardly is an understatement! If I could concentrate on studying for finals, it'd be a miracle! I am way too excited to see the family for Christmas!

I can hardly believe it is coming up so soon!

I can hardly believe we actually get to go there and see the family! Ah! I am ecstatic!

Health (Thankful: Day 30)

2011-11-30T21:01:00.000-05:00

Today is the last day of November! Craziness! Finals, Christmas festivities, my birthday, traveling, and wrapping up the semester are all about to ensue. Can't believe it, but so ready for it!

Today I am especially thankful for health. I never realize how grateful I am for good health (or how much I take it for granted) until I get sick. Today was one of those days. I had an awful migraine all night through about 4 this afternoon. I had to skip class and work because I couldn't focus on anything and just felt crummy. But it made me thankful that the majority of days I am blessed with good health. This semester I have hardly gotten sick at all and have only had one other bad headache. I'm thankful that God has blessed me with health, with the ability to go to classes and to concentrate. It's funny how you don't realize how thankful you are for something until it is taken from you. I'm thankful that my head is back to normal!

Today (Thankful: Day 29)

2011-11-29T18:28:00.001-05:00

Today I'm thankful for... today.

I woke up at 7:33am to snow falling out the window. Ah, nothing like waking up to a beautiful snowy morning. I loved it! I was hoping that Damarise and I would get to see a snowfall before going to Africa for Christmas, and God sent an unusually early snow storm to the south. I'm grateful!

Classes weren't canceled because the snow wasn't sticking to the road. So, after a good breakfast with Micah and Davey, I was off to work. Work went well. Leslie had Christmas music playing and the room was nice and cozy with the snow still falling outside.

I then had class, which was... class. Nothing too spectacular. Another hour of work. And then lunch with the Woodrow family. It's so great to have them visiting and catch up on their lives.

After lunch was my afternoon of work (noon-5pm). But I love working Tuesday afternoons because all of us work study students are in the office, which is always fun, and we have our weekly meeting and prayer time. I love it! Always funny stories shared, prayer requests, and just things we need to know. It's my favourite work time of the week.

Now I'm off to dinner with Damarise, Kristin, and Alicia (our weekly little Tuesday dinner group). And then Damarise and I are decorating our room for Christmas tonight.

I'm thankful for today!

Edit: Later tonight with the decorated Christmas tree :)

101 Things to do When the Unexpected Happens on your Road Trip

2011-11-28T21:39:00.001-05:00

I'm pretty sure Damarise and I need to publish a book titled, 101 Things to do When the Unexpected Happens on your Road Trip, because we have had our share of the unexpected happening on our road trips.

The opening chapter could be The Tale of Two Transmissions (or Lack Thereof) telling about our infamous road trip this summer that ended in the loss of not one, but two transmissions. From there we could have chapters 2, 3, and 4 The Rainstorm that Couldn't Stay Away, three edge-of-your-seat chapters on the rainstorms that have plagued the past three road trips we have taken. The windshield wipers frantically wiping, vision obstructed by the massive amounts of water pouring down upon us, and cars sliding around us – oh, it'd be an exciting chapter for sure.

The last ten chapters would be titled Breaking Records: How we were Part of the World's Worse Thanksgiving Traffic Ever. This would cover ten chapters because it represents the amount of time we were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic coming back from Thanksgiving Break. Yes, that's right, 10 solid hours of traffic in the rain (because as I said before, the rainstorm just couldn't stay away) stop and go, bumper to bumper traffic.

That was our road trip home yesterday. We decided to leave at 8:00am because we knew that there was rain in the forecast. And the weather forecast was not wrong, we had rain the entire trip. When we left yesterday morning (exactly at 8:00am) our GPS said we would arrive home at 6:15pm. This was perfect, early enough to unpack and get to bed at a decent hour.

And then we hit Indianapolis and traffic. We were in a constant traffic jam from Indianapolis to Chattanooga! It was unbelievable! We blared music, talked loudly, saw some friendly faces in the traffic, opened doors and waved feet out them, called friends, yelled, laughed, and watched as our estimated time of arrival continued to go up.

We eventually made it home at 11:30pm. Fifteen hours in the car was definitely the unexpected. But God kept us safe through the sudden traffic and the rain, and for that I am thankful! We also found many things to keep us sane while being stuck.

... Maybe Damarise and I won't publish a book, but if you ever need tips on what to do when the unexpected happens on your road trip. We might have some helpful tips! Because we've been there when the unexpected happens.

Favourite Things (Thankful: Day 28)

2011-11-28T11:00:00.007-05:00

Today I am thankful for:

Christmas music being played all day at work.
A test and a paper back with grades that I am happy with.
Dewey paper is being handed in tomorrow!
Getting to hang out and eat dinner down the mountain with all the Woodrow family!!
Having the first snow of the season falling right now!

It's been a good day!

Safety! (Thankful: Day 27)

2011-11-27T16:36:00.000-05:00

I am so thankful for safety on the road today! 15 hours and a rainstorm later, we are safely back at school!

Catch-Up (Thankful: Day 26)

2011-11-26T16:35:00.000-05:00

Today I'm thankful to Skype with Victoria and catch up on her life. I'm also thankful for more time spent with the Chupp family. It's been great!

Ruth (Thankful: Day 25)

2011-11-25T16:33:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Damarise and I got to see Ruth while she was also in Michigan! It was great to catch up with her and hear all about her life. She is a wonderful friend and I'm so thankful for her and that we got to see her after 3 years!

Happy Thanksgiving! (Thankful: Day 24)

2011-11-24T23:20:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I am especially thankful for Janessa and the Chupp family. They've welcomed Damarise and me in for thanksgiving and are wonderful :)

I'm thankful for Janessa's friendship and that God has kept us friends the past three years.

Today's thanksgiving was great!

Life (Thankful: Day 23)

2011-11-23T21:51:00.000-05:00

Tonight we went to the Thanksgiving service at the Chupp's church. One man stood up to thank God that his nephew is still alive after they thought for sure he was going to die last year.

It reminded me of Ian, and today I am so very thankful that I still have my 15 year old brother. I'm thankful that God is the giver and sustainer of life.

Roadtrip! (Thankful: Day 22)

2011-11-22T13:52:00.000-05:00

Today I'm thankful for safe travels to Michigan. It rained the entire time, but God kept us safe.
I'm thankful that we're now here at the Chupps :) They're great!

"Say Yes! To M!Ch!Gan!"

2011-11-22T10:25:00.000-05:00

Michigan.

Thanksgiving Break.

Chupp Family.

Ruth.

Friends.

Roadtrip.

YES!

SO much!! (Thankful: Day 21)

2011-11-21T15:18:00.000-05:00

Today I am immensly thankful! There is SO much to be thankful for!

I am thankful that I am DONE with my John Dewey Seminar! Now to turn in the paper, and then I will be done with Dewey forever! Yes! The seminar just ended and I am on cloud nine!

I am thankful that tonight we get to go to Rock City to see the Christmas lights with Diversity Club (and Janessa!).

I am thankful that we are going to get to see Ruth over Thanksgiving Break! I haven't seen her in over 2 years! It will be SO good to catch up!

I am thankful that tomorrow we leave for Michigan!

Ah, there is just so much to be thankful for today!

Skype (Thankful: Day 20)

2011-11-20T22:17:00.000-05:00

Today I'm thankful for Skype. I'm thankful that even with the family an ocean away we can still talk to them every Sunday.

Rest (Thankful: Day 19)

2011-11-19T11:24:00.025-05:00

I'm thankful for Saturdays! They are always restful, sometimes productive, and normally spent with friends. Today I'm thankful:

For sleep!
That I'm almost done with my paper... 43 more words!
For a clean room.
That we got to play games with Courtney and Will.
For homemade chocolate chip pancakes.
For Virginia! And playing games in her room.
For friends on the hall and lots of laughter!
That in exactly one month Damarise and I will be in Zambia celebrating Dad's birthday with the family!
That Damarise trimmed my hair... really well too!
For friends from the summer that randomly pop into our room.
For curling up in a warm bed and listening to Harry Potter until we're too tired to stay awake.

Thank you God for Saturdays and for all your blessings!

Movie Night (Thankful: Day 18)

2011-11-18T14:00:00.007-05:00

Today I'm thankful that The Help was in the dollar theatre so that some friends and I could watch it. Such a good movie! If you haven't seen it, I definitely recommend it!

Numbers (Thankful: Day 17)

2011-11-17T15:19:00.001-05:00

Thankful that:

• Lab only took 10 minutes today.
• I currently have 2,568 words on my Dewey paper.
• Damarise and I will see the family in 29 days!
• It finally feels like November at 28ºF.
• In 5 days we will be on the road headed to Janessa's!

So thankful!

No Tornadoes (Thankful: Day 16)

2011-11-16T15:44:00.000-05:00

Today I'm thankful that the tornado watch for our area has been cancelled. Going through tornadoes again was not something I was excited about. I'm also thankful for God's protection and the power and glory He displays through the rain and fog we have had all day.

If I Ran the Library (Thankful: Day 15)

2011-11-15T11:23:00.000-05:00

Recently, I have been spending hours on end in the library. I sit there at a table writing, reading, researching, and thinking of all the ways I would change the library if I were in charge.

1. If I ran the library, the heat would be turned on. Yesterday, I felt like I was in an arctic tundra trying to survive without freezing to death. I was waiting for snow to start falling from the ceiling and icicles to begin coming out of the water fountain. Okay, okay, maybe it wasn't that cold, but it was colder than outside. Brrr.

2. If I ran the library, I would hire someone to give out hugs. Studying in the library for multiple hours a day can be overwhelming and stressful. A hug just makes everything better. If I ran the library, there would be a hug-giver giving hugs to stressed people.

I posted on my Facebook yesterday, the latter idea and this is where my thankfulness for today comes in. (I know, it was technically yesterday, but I am so thankful for it even today!!).

Damarise wasn't feeling to well and was in our room resting. I was in the library feeling overwhelmed with my John Dewey research paper/presentation that is due this coming week. (I'm continually questioning, "Why Dewey have to write this paper?" ha. ha. yah... I've been working on it too long.) So, I posted my idea about free hugs in the library on Facebook and Damarise happened to read it.

Damarise text me to say that she was sending me a hug and if she felt better would come up to give me one. So sweet! But apparently that's not the end of it. She also called Micah and Janessa to ask them if they were anywhere near the library if they could come give me a hug.

I felt overwhelmed with my paper. I don't think any school work has ever stressed me out more. Then came Micah who said he heard I needed a hug and gave me a big one and told me he'd be praying for me. A few minutes later Janessa and Leah came and smothered me in huge hugs. I gotta admit I was on the verge of tears with frustration from my paper and those hugs, well they were the best thing for me right then.

I am blessed.

I'm thankful, so very, very thankful! God has blessed me with some of the greatest friends (and sister!). Friends who come and encourage me when I am at my wits end, who pray for me, and who give some of the greatest hugs. I don't even have words to say how much it meant to me and how grateful I am for them!

Today, I am thankful for friends!

Today I'm thankful for...

2011-11-14T16:12:00.000-05:00

Several of my friends on Facebook have been posting one thing they are thankful for each day since the beginning of November. I think it's a good habit to have every day, and it has been encouraging to read what my friends have been thankful for. That being said, I am fourteen days behind, but I am going to begin blogging each day about one thing I am thankful for that day. Here are the past fourteen:

November 1st was a Tuesday. Every Tuesday the Chapel Department workers (ie: my work study job) get together and pray for each other and Covenant College. It's always an encouraging time and something I am so thankful for.
Beautiful sunrises.
Fall leaves and the beauty that God clothes the trees in.
God's abounding and unchanging love.
The book Crazy Love. If you haven't read it, I definitely recommend it!
My family! Today marks 33 days until I get to see them!
Friends. God has blessed me. Day after day I am so grateful for the friends God has put in my life.
Pasha's coffee. Good coffee. Great baristas.
Damarise's patience in letting me practice driving.
School, even when it is immensely overwhelming.
Hugs. Probably one of the best ways to get/give encouragement.
Mornings – seeing God's beauty displayed in the stillness of mornings, getting to read God's Word and spend time with Him.
Running.
Good chapel talks!

Would You Be Satisfied?

2011-11-05T22:27:00.000-04:00

“The critical question for our generation—and for every generation— is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?”― John Piper

Fall is in the Air

2011-10-25T13:22:00.000-04:00

I'm thankful God created seasons. Fall is here now and it is lovely. I love how Fall affects each of our senses.

The sights: Colouful leaves on every tree, the sunsets that light up the trees on the surrounding mountains making it look like a pallet of vivid paints all around us, and the colourful leaves that cover the ground.

The smells: Campfires, chimney smoke, and fresh air.

The tastes: Pumpkin, apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, and caramel.

The sounds: Wind, leaves rustling, and the crunching of leaves.

The feel: Cool breezes, stepping on crunchy leaves, and breathing in refreshing air.

This Saturday we were outdoors for most the day enjoying the beautiful Fall weather that God has blessed us with. Here are a few snapshots of our day... and Fall.

Got to start the day off with a good cup of coffee. Thank you, Pasha's!

We went to a nearby park to hang out...

I love the crunchy leaves on the ground!

Micah took a nap...

Damarise read.

"Punch Buggy... I loves you!"

We love punch buggies...

I'm weird.

Love stepping on crunchy leaves!

Fall on the mountain – beautiful!

55 days

2011-10-22T21:24:00.002-04:00

Christmas break can't come soon enough. I can't wait to see the family! It's been TOO long!

Fall Break

2011-10-20T15:24:00.000-04:00

Fall Break.

Wonderful. Too short. Restful. Family. Friends. Fun. Laughing. Autumn. Productive. Sleep. Talking. Church. Adventure. Perfect!

Cannot Wait.

2011-10-13T10:36:00.000-04:00

0- Midterms left until Fall Break.

1- Day before we leave for Fall Break.

2- Words: Kansas City.

3- Friends going on Fall Break together.

Cannot wait for tomorrow!

Brainwave...

2011-10-10T15:28:00.001-04:00

I think that colleges should have a scheduled nap time...
Yep, that'd be nice.

I. Am. Blessed.

2011-09-30T11:15:00.000-04:00

Last night I was reminded how blessed I am.

It was 7:00pm on Thursday night. Which meant that it was time for my favourite class of the semester, "Art, Music, and PE in the Early Grades". Not only do I love the content of the class, but I love my fellow students and the professor of the class.

After piling into our seats we began to learn about the different ways we could integrate art with other subjects in school. Learning about all the different ways I, as a teacher, could integrate art with math, science, geography, and every other school subject inthralls me almost as much as it overwhelms me. I am learning through many of my education classes that the only way I will become a creative, caring, and competent teacher is by absolute reliance on God. I'm learning more and more how truly weak I am and how I am in utter need of God every moment of every day. It's humbling.

After discussing the integration of art in every aspect of school, we were told to pick out our favourite drawing that we had done throughout the past four weeks and "frame" it on black paper.

We were going to have an art show.

Side note: I have never been in an art show. In fact, the only time I remember showing off something I had done in school was when I wrote a research paper in 6th grade about dolphins. I couldn't tell you what I learned about dolphins, but I do remember Mom and Dad being there when I displayed it, congratulating and encouraging me on all my hard work. That was, by far, my favourite part about the research paper. (That and getting to use google, which was still fairly new to me at the time).

Our class of seventeen elementary education girls were going to have an art show! I was excited. At 9:00pm our professor hung up our art work on the wall, and brought out some cheese, crackers, and sparkling grape juice to celebrate. We hung out together enjoying one another's art work.

And then, in walked Damarise and Micah. We were told that we could invite friends to come to our art show and I did, semi-half expecting them not to come, I mean it really wasn't a huge event. But in they walked, coming to see my art, encouraging me in my work, and congratulating me. It made my night!

Right then I was reminded how blessed I am. God has truly blessed me with incredible friends. Damarise and Micah are just two of them. Seeing them come into my art show and take precious time away from their studying just to encourage me in my rather childish art show meant so much.

It's the little things like that which make me praise God for His abundant blessings. I'm thankful for friends who show Christ's love. I'm thankful that God has me here. I'm thankful that God has blessed me with friends like Damarise and Micah.

I am blessed. And all praise goes to our Heavenly Father from whom all blessings flow.

Cloudland Canyon

2011-09-22T16:52:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was Day of Prayer here at Covenant. Our hall, Imani, joined our brother hall, Ithaca, for an afternoon at Cloudland Canyon where we sang, prayed, and worshipped God together. God blessed us with amazing weather. It was great to stand at the edge of the canyon and praise God, our Creator!

Here are some snapshots from the afternoon:

Some of Imani: Damarise, me, Sarah, Emily, Sarah, Katie, and in the back is Megan.

Kevin and Virginia...Ithaca's RA and Imani's RA... oh, and they're dating!

Praising God together.

The group of us.

Our halls did the same Day of Prayer at Cloudland Canyon together last year... And last year as we were getting ready to go, Davey sang us his eagle song, which, in my opinion, is one of the funniest songs ever! As we were packing up to leave this year Damarise and I asked him to play his Eagle Song for us again. Kevin, Virginia, Damarise, and I died laughing as Davey sang it to us.

I am SO thankful for these two wonderful suitemates that God has blessed Damarise and me with. Rebecca and Emily are such a blessing!

Day of Prayer was a great day... I'm thankful to go to a school where we specifically take off days to spend in prayer. What a blessing!

Karnival Kilter

2011-09-18T15:40:00.000-04:00

Kilter |ˈkiltər| n. - a fun dance that Covenant puts on where the girls ask the guys. Every year Kilter has a different theme that people dress up to. Also, it is usually required that the girls as the guys in a creative way.

This year for Kilter I decided to ask Grant. ... After asking him in a very uncreative way, I redid my asking and made him muffins, a card, and gave him a balloon. I dropped it by his window last Saturday afternoon.

After reading the card...

Grant thought about it... and said YES! :)

The night of Kilter arrived.... Grant decided to go as a gypsy/fortune teller and I went as a mime :)

Virginia helped out a ton by curling my hair for me.

Mime!(In training... that way I could talk.)

Damarise (Timothy from Dumbo), Virginia, and me (Mime)

Damarise and I were excited!

This is the group of us that went to Kilter together:

Grant (fortune teller), Me (mime), Janessa (girl from Despicable Me), Davey (the fluffy unicorn that the girl won), Jamie (Dumbo), Damarise (Timothy the mouse).

Davey and Janessa. Davey's costume was AMAZING!

Grant and me. So fun!

Damarise and Jamie. So great!

At Kilter we found some friends:

Us with Karly!

Riding the carousel.

Us with Micah.

Bonnie and me.

Sisters!

It was a FUN night filled with lots of laugh, lots of costumes, and lots of friends!

Karnival Kilter = Best Kilter Yet.

The Letter "P" and the number "2".

2011-09-16T15:13:00.000-04:00

In today's post I would like to focus on the letter "P". "P" is the first letter of many words: prayer, people, peaches, pumpkins... the list goes on and on. But today I would like to focus on two "P" words that have taken place this week. Let's go in alphabetical order.

1). Permit! This is something that I am very excited about! Some nineteen year olds, okay who am I kidding, most nineteen year olds have been driving for several years, but alas I have not. In fact, I haven't driven all that much. This Summer I officially made it out of the parking lot stage and have slowly been working my way up towards the highway. But, I needed to renew my permit and that was done last Friday! I am thrilled! This permit didn't come simply though, oh no, there is a tale involved as well. It goes like this:
Once upon a time Hannah got very excited to get her permit renewed and to finally be a resident of a state. She couldn't wait. Along came a day, Thursday, when both Damarise and Hannah were off work. This was great because it meant that Damarise could drive Hannah to the DMV. (Which Damarise willing did!) Excitement was everywhere. Janessa came along to witness the exciting occasion. Unfortunately, after the 45 minute drive, filling out paper work, and waiting in line, the DMV lady told Hannah that she did not have the correct proof of residency. And with sadden hearts the three friends left the DMV. Damarise was busy the next day, so she could not take Hannah.
But along came another great friend, Micah, who said he would be willing to take Hannah to the DMV. Hannah was very grateful! And so, another 45 minute drive, lots of paperwork, waiting in line, and correct proof of registration and Hannah was given her permit! Excitement was back!
... Hopefully it won't be too long until that permit is traded in for a license!

A HUGE thank you to Damarise and Micah for making this happen! You guys are AMAZING!

2). Puppet! Elementary Education is so great! Last night I made this puppet in class. It was so fun! And along with the fun, I learned a lot about including students in art, encouraging students in their artistic endeavors, and how to teach art. This class is great!

There we have it, two P words. Puppet and Permit. Exciting!

I.Am.Weak.

2011-09-15T22:54:00.000-04:00

This week in chapel we have had Rev. Kevin Smith speaking to us about The Lord's Prayer. I have heard the Lord's Prayer read several times, I've recited it myself, but I have to admit I have never intentionally dug into the Lord's Prayer and studied it.

Rev. Smith has been unpacking it in chapel and I have been both enormously encouraged and convicted by what he has been sharing. I thought I'd highlight a few of the major points that have been encouraging or convicting to me.

1). Our Father. Simple phrase, but a phrase packed with meaning. Our Father. Those of us who are saved through Jesus Christ are God's children – adopted into His family! He is our Dad. I have an amazing Dad. One who loves me, cares for me, provides for me, and much more, but, as Rev. Smith said, no matter how great our earthly dad is our heavenly Dad is SO much more. He is the King of the universe! He loves us with an unfailing love. He cares for the sparrows, how much more does He care for us?! He provides in unimaginable ways. He is our Father! Rev. Smith pointed out how appropriate it is to begin a prayer like that. It shows us our relationship with God. He is our Father; we are His children. We are totally dependent on Him. Wow! Praise the Lord for His redeeming grace!

2). Hallowed be Thy name. Hallowed literally means holy. Holy. God's name is holy, it is set apart. Rev. Smith pointed out that this is the only attribute of God listed three times in a row. You never hear, "God is love, love, love." or "God is true, true, true." And yet He is all those. Isaiah and Revelation both say God is holy, holy, holy. His very nature is holy! His love is holy, His power is holy, everything about Him is holy.

And then came the convicting part. "Hallowed be Thy name." God's name is holy. His name is set apart. Yet, how many times do people, sometimes even Christians, use God's name – a holy, set apart name – in vain? I sat in my seat thinking, "Well, that's not me." And then Rev. Smith said, "We all have taken the Lord's name in vain at some point. We call ourselves Christians and yet, how often do we not live like it?" We bear the Lord's name and yet sometimes we are not living a holy life... not glorifying His holy name, taking His holy name in vain. ... Ouch.

3). The last thing was today at a luncheon with Rev. Smith. He was telling us about how the major prayer warriors in his church are the ones who realize they are weak. They are the ones who realize how dependent they are on Christ. He looked at us and told us that we are at the point in our lives where we think we can conquer anything, all we need to do is study more, or be active, or this and that. But he told us, "YOU. ARE. WEAK!" Our lives need to be consumed in prayer. We need to be so dependent on Christ so prayerful in everything that everything we do is done through prayer. It was a good reminder.

I am weak. He is strong. I am dependent on Him. Please God, help me to believe this.

Pause and Hear the Melody

2011-09-13T20:20:00.001-04:00

"How often do we read our Bibles with all of our senses alert? With the conviction that these words have come to us from the very throne room of God? That they are shot through with a radiant glory beyond all our imagining? I confess I do not do this often. The words are often so familiar to me, I read them or hear them read in such familiar settings, I’m distracted by a thousand other thoughts and worries…
I’m not captivated as I should be by the truth that is singing from the pages if I would only pause and hear the melody."

-Dr. Gwen Macallister

"Interestings" of the past few days...

2011-09-06T19:18:00.000-04:00

1. We are breaking records! We survived Chattanooga's driest month ever. And we are now experiencing Chattanooga's wettest day ever. Hurricane Lee decided to come pour water on us for a few days. It has been raining non-stop since Sunday night. Monday we got over 11 inches of rain. Craziness!

2. I got this in my mailbox yesterday. My application to student teach! Ah! Senior year is approaching faster than I'd like.

3. Damarise is amazing! I came home out of the rain tonight to find a hot cup of decaf coffee waiting for me. She's great!

Hypocrisy-less Love

2011-09-05T16:31:00.000-04:00

“Let love be without hypocrisy…” (Romans 12:9a)

It’s a short verse. In fact it’s only part of a verse, but God’s Word is powerful, and awfully convicting.

I read this verse earlier this summer and have been thinking about it a lot since then. It has been convicting me of the way I love others.

When I hear the word hypocrisy I think of Jesus confronting the Pharisees in Matthew 23:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

How often is my love for others full of hypocrisy? How often does it appear beautiful and genuine, but in reality is disgusting and smothered in self-promotion and pride? How often is my love fake?

To let my love be without hypocrisy, that has been my prayer! To love like Jesus loved. He ate with the despised people in the communities (Matthew 9:10) not to get something from it and gain public approval (which didn't happen), but because He genuinely cared for the lost. He loved purely. He loved without hypocrisy.

It’s interesting that this verse is the first of twenty-seven commands from Paul on how to treat believers in the Body. He begins with true, pure love.

I’m no where close to that. I’m still finding that my love is tainted with hypocrisy. I’m finding that selfishness and pride are intertwined with love. But there is One who does love purely. There is One who has redeemed me and is sanctifying me day by day. And it is in Him, the one true God, that I am seeking to help me love without hypocrisy.

To love brothers and sisters in Christ, to love friends and family, to love without hypocrisy, that is my prayer.

Little Highlights of the Week

2011-09-02T15:12:00.000-04:00

1. My aloe plant is still alive! Yeah!

2. Mom and Dad sent us some Zambian coffee! First of all, the bag looks cool, but the coffee also tastes great! (Thanks Mom and Dad!)

3. Along with the coffee came LETTERS! I love getting mail. And getting mail from the family... what could be better?! :)

4. Art, Music, and PE for Elementary Teachers is my favourite class this semester. There are about 17 of us in the class. (All girls). We've all been in the same education classes since freshman year, so this class is full of friends and it's great. We come into class and just talk and laugh with each other until class starts. Not only are the people great, but the content is SO fun! Last night we were under our desks drawing hands, like Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel. It's been fun and I'm learning a lot. (Two great combinations!)

Blessings.

2011-08-29T16:12:00.000-04:00

Yesterday in church Pastor Hutchinson asked how often we take the time to thank God for all the blessings He has put in our lives. And it made me think that all too often I just take the blessing without giving thanks to the Giver of all blessings. So, with the school year just beginning I thought I would take a few moments to post on my blog some of the blessings of just these first few weeks of being back at school.

1). An amazing RA (Resident Assistant). Virginia is one of the biggest blessings so far this year. She has been a great leader of our hall, but also a caring friend who takes the time to listen and gives sound advice.

2). New friends and old friends. This summer was filled with new friends and these past few weeks have been filled with old friends coming back. It's great to have them all here together. Damarise and I were just talking about how blessed we are with the friends God has given us. (here and elsewhere). God has continued to bless me with deep friendships that focus on Him. I'm so thankful for my friends!

3). New classes. I wasn't too excited about my class schedule for this fall, but so far the classes have been good. I'm excited to see what I learn in these classes, and am thanking God for the blessing of attending classes here at Covenant College.

4). Time in the Word. It's such a great blessing to be able to pull out God's Word and read it whenever and talk to God whenever. I'm SO thankful!

5). Change. There are some parts of it that are rough and are taking a while to adjust to, but it's also drawing me closer to God. And He's using it in several ways in my life.

So there you have it. Just 5 blessings for now, but 5 huge blessings in my life right now. I'm so thankful!

The Love of God

2011-08-22T15:44:00.002-04:00

Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade;

To write the love of God above

Would drain the ocean dry;

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Though stretched from sky to sky.

Orientation Team

2011-08-20T22:39:00.000-04:00

I don't have much time for an update. But I can say that welcoming in new students to Covenant College is fantastic. This is group #7. The wonderful group of people that I get to hang out with this semester. They are amazing!

Goodbye Summer, You will be missed!

2011-08-12T20:20:00.000-04:00

The blank walls and packed totes lying around the room are screaming change.

Tomorrow at 4:30pm, my Summer is over. Work is done, Summer is over, and adjusting back to academic life begins. Part of me just wants to stop time, to hold onto this Summer forever. It has been a wonderful one. I'm so thankful to God for all He has done this Summer. I thought a fitting post about the end of Summer would be one that reflected on some of the major points of the Summer – some deep, some random, but all memorable.

1). My trip to Budapest. I still can't believe I got to go there and be part of ICSB for a month. It was one of the greatest hands-on experiences I've ever been a part of. It confirmed my calling to education, and was just a wonderful time!

2). A job! This is the first time that I have had a summer job. Most summers are filled with traveling around with the family, visiting various churches and supporters, but this Summer, with the family over in Zambia, Damarise and I stayed here at Covenant College and worked for Facility Services. It may not have been the coolest and most fun job ever, but it was one that I loved and am SO thankful for. The people who I worked with were phenomenal. My bosses were wonderful and always encouraging. All in all, my Summer job was excellent.

3). Living on my own...ish. Damarise and I lived on our own this Summer. We had to fend for ourselves with making meals and the like. It was great. We loved planning out what we would make for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and trying to make it in the cheapest way possible. Micah helped us make meals and pitched in money for buying the food. We all had a blast being in the kitchen together and making meals.

4). Our trip to ~~Maryland~~ Virginia. Ah, the most memorable road trip of all time. The one where we lost a transmission, got another car, and lost that transmission. All in less that 24 hours. Memorable... that's the bets word I can use. We all learned a lot about trusting and relying on God. We also learned that that kind of thing makes for a crazy story that some people just can't believe. Even though we never made it to our final destination, God used that trip to help all of us become better friends. :) Transmission "jokes" tend to come up whenever the four of us drive together.

5). My Fraiser Fir trees. Yes, Twig One and Twig Two are now dead, but they were great trees while they were alive. I loved watering them outside every morning and enjoying the peacefulness of the morning while doing it... It's something I'll miss.

6). Learning how to drive... almost. Within the last few weeks I have had Damarise, Micah, and a friend from Pasha's Coffee (Matt) helping me learn how to drive. It's been wonderful to have all this help and encouragement in driving. Maybe I'll actually get my license!

7). Random Walks. I've finally figured my way around some of the trails around these parts. It's been great to go out on random walks, or sit on a rock and watch the sun set while reading my Bible and talking to God. That has definitely been a huge thing I am thankful for this Summer. God has been teaching me a lot through His Word. It's been great. I've also loved watching rainstorms with Damarise and Micah, and picking blackberries on one of our hikes through the woods. It's been great to just enjoy God's creation!

8). The friends that I've gotten to hang out with this Summer. I love all the time that we have to just hang out with people and get to know good friends even better and also make new friends. It's been such a blessing.

To wrap up the Summer, I just want to thank God for it. It has been one of the best Summers of my life, and I am SO thankful for it! The blank walls are still staring at me, and the filled totes are still on the floor waiting to be moved to a new location. Summer is ending and change is imminent. But I am trusting in the God who is unchangeable. It is He who will help me as I adjust back to academic life and I can't wait to see all that He has in store for this coming semester. It'll be exciting!

Because Pictures are Worth a Thousand Words...

2011-08-02T17:57:00.000-04:00

Because they say that pictures are worth a thousand words, I thought I'd post some pictures of the past weekend.

Friday night Damarise, Annie, and I went to watch Kung Fu Panda 2 in the dollar theater. It was a blast. Afterwards we ate some Japanese food just to fit in with the theme of the night.

So, it's decided. I cannot keep plants alive. Twig One died earlier this Summer and I'm pretty sure Twig Two is following in the same manner. I bought an aloe vera plant the other day and I'm hoping it will survive! If not I may just have to read this book.

Pasha's Coffee! We haven't been there as much this summer, but it is the best coffee shop around. Micah, Damarise, and I will spend Saturday mornings there visiting with each other and chatting about life with the baristas working. We always have a blast laughing, chatting, and hearing about what the baristas have been up to throughout their week. Also a plus, Pasha's has some of the best coffee ever!

Today we took Grant to Knoxville to catch a bus home. We toured around the city for a bit while waiting for his bus. We had fun taking pictures of the most random things.

A Visit to Savannah

2011-07-28T21:32:00.000-04:00

A few weekends ago Damarise and I attempted roadtripping again. This time we made it to our destination without any problems! Yeah! Our destination was Savannah, GA to visit a wonderful friend from school, Bethany.

Bethany toured us around her home for the summer. It was a very relaxing weekend and it was wonderful to catch up with Bethany again.

Here are just a few pictures of our time with Bethany in Savannah.

The three of us in one of the many squares throughout Savannah.

We found a Bull Street... and yes, we turned. ( ;) )

We stopped into many different shops. This one had lots of delicious treats.

A Dot Stop :)

The weekend didn't last long enough, and before we knew it we were headed home again. But, it was great to get away for a bit and visit with a great friend! Thanks Bethany!

Rest

2011-07-24T18:32:00.000-04:00

A wonderful church service.

Rainy and overcast day.

Playing the piano.

Skyping with the family and Grandma.

Resting, relaxing, and thankful for a day of rest.

Ouch.

2011-07-20T17:35:00.000-04:00

This weekend I got sunburned. Ouch. Maybe next time I'll remember the sunscreen.

25 Years

2011-07-19T00:01:00.000-04:00

It was like a holiday in our house. Whenever the 19th of July dawned upon the Turnbull house you could always count on a delicious breakfast being on the table. Cards would be shared. And, my, along with my two sisters, personal favourite – the video.

I couldn't wait for July 19th because that meant digging the video out from the cabinet and sitting around ooing and awwing as it played. Damarise, Sarah, and I would comment on the dresses, laugh at the goofy glasses "from the old days", and dance as 'Canon in D' was played by violinists.

The video was Mom and Dad's wedding day. And the 19th of July celebrates their wedding anniversary.

As the years went by, I realized that this special day had a lot more significance than getting to watch one of my favourite movies. It was a day to signify and celebrate another year of my parents' marriage and to thank God for all that He had done in the past years of their marriage.

Today they celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. The wedding video is buried in a box somewhere in Missouri, but this day is special even without the video. 25 years of marriage!

Today I'm thanking God for my parents' marriage. Their marriage has been such a wonderful example to me and my siblings of what a godly marriage should be. I remember when I was young watching my parents have "couch time". After dinner Dad and Mom would just sit on the couch and talk about their days with each other. It was nothing grand and spectacular, but it was wonderful to see how much my parents loved to spend time with each other and listen to each other.

I remember one anniversary when Dad called all of us into the living room. We sat down on our wicker furniture all gathered around Dad. I was sitting on a chair with my white Fisher-Price tape recorder on my lap and stared at Dad wondering what he was going to do. He pulled out his guitar and started to sing a song to Mom. I remember looking between Mom and Dad and seeing such love between them. It was one of the coolest things, and I remember telling Damarise afterwards that when I got married I wanted my marriage to resemble Mom and Dad's.

As the years have gone on I've gotten to see lots of those little moments. Like Dad and Mom packing up all of us up from our home in Arkansas and moving out to our little travel trailer. I had no clue what we were doing except that Dad and Mom trusted God and that this is what He wanted us to do. They both made the whole adventure fun and always included us in on what direction God was leading us.

I remember them both learning a language together. I still remember coming out into the living room in Mozambique one night and seeing them sharing earphones, the hand-cranked radio nestled between them, both of them trying to pick up some Portuguese words that they recognized. Every so often they would look at each other and smile. It was great to see the little ways in which they constantly encouraged one another to keep learning Portuguese.

And so, on this day I thank God. I thank God for the wonderful parents He has blessed me with and for the awesome example they have shown me of what a Christ centered marriage should be. I'm thankful for the love and care they show to one another. I'm thankful that together they have followed God with all their hearts. I'm thankful that they pray together. I'm thankful for the way they make anything fun, even long road trips. I'm thankful for the hospitality they show to strangers. I'm thankful for the way they welcome in my friends. I'm thankful for the way God has blessed their marriage.

So, Mom and Dad, Happy 25th Anniversary. I pray that God blesses you with 25+ more years!

Explosions in the Sky

2011-07-04T21:58:00.000-04:00

Pops in the Park.

The Schreiner Family.

Bluegrass Music.

Fireworks.

Oooing and Ahhing.

Skyping with the Family.

A Day off Work.

Pasha's.

Reading.

Watching a storm come in.

Definitely a great 4th of July weekend!

Happy Independence Day!

O Canada!

2011-07-01T20:38:00.000-04:00

Happy Canada Day!!

I know I'm not from Canada, but having lived there for two years I feel like I too should get the privilege of celebrating this great day with all other Canadians. Maybe that's just my thinking...

Regardless of whether or not I can celebrate Canada Day, I thought I would share a few fun things about how Canada relates to me...

1). The first time I celebrated Canada Day was July 1st, 2003. We were in Jungle Camp (missionary training had us build a house out of duct tape, screen, and plastic, and live in it for 30 days...Jungle Camp...) and because Jungle Camp took place in Canada we celebrated Canada Day with fireworks, strawberries, and ice cream. Yum!

2). I knew the Canadian anthem word for word before I knew the American anthem word for word.

3). Canada is probably the cleanest country I've ever lived in. I don't remember ever seeing litter there...

4). I love the way Canadians say "about".

5). I would not mind living in Canada again!

Happy Canada Day!

Road Trip = No Go

2011-06-25T20:15:00.001-04:00

You know those stories that seem almost too ridiculous to be true. The ones where you hear it and think, "No way! That couldn't have happened.", only it definitely did happen. Well, I have a story for you...

It begins Sunday. Damarise and I were on our way home from church when the engine light on our van turned on. Bummer, we both thought, we were planning to go to Washington D.C. on Wednesday and we didn't want anything to happen during the trip. We called a mechanic and got our car in to be checked on Monday. Tuesday afternoon the mechanic returned it to us saying that the only problem was that we may need a timing belt in the future, but we could definitely make it to D.C.. Perfect! Just what we wanted to hear.

Skip ahead to 4:00am Wednesday morning. Micah, Damarise, Grant, and I piled into our mini-van. Even though it was 4:00 in the morning and the sun wasn't even about to rise yet, we were too excited to care about the time. Summer vacation time was here!

The engine sounded a little funny when we started the car that morning, but the mechanic said it was fine and we were taking that to heart, nothing would stop this vacation.

We began our drive down the mountain.

About half way down the mountain our RPMs spiked ridiculously. All acceleration was lost and gravity was helping us get down the mountain.

The acceleration still wasn't working once we were on flat ground.

We didn't know what to think – not something wrong, not now, not on vacation! We pulled off into a gas station, filled up with gas, and took a peek at the engine to see if anything was noticeably wrong.

Nothing.

We were on our way to the Schreiner's house to pick up Micah's little brother, Andrew, so we decided to continue there and see if the car acted strange on the way.

We drove fifteen minutes to Micah's house with no problems. Wonderful! Maybe it was just the van having a little issue earlier. But just to make sure we googled about the problem and both the Schreiner parents took the car out for a run to see if they felt anything weird.

Nothing. Perfect!

Around 6:00am we finally hit the road headed for Washington D.C. We got to watch the sun rise over some parts of the Smoky Mountains. Ah, God's creation is astounding.

God's beautiful creation...

And then it happened.

About 20 minutes outside of Knoxville (two hours away from home) our RPMs spiked twice and we lost acceleration. God kept us completely unharmed as we pulled off onto an exit ramp and put the car in park.

We couldn't believe it. We all sat there for a few minutes wondering what had just happened. We tried to start the car again to see if it would work like last time, but we got nothing.

It was now 8:00am and the mechanic in Chattanooga would be open, so we called him to see if he knew what the trouble could be. He said worse case scenario would be the transmission, but he honestly didn't know what was wrong. He said to get to a mechanic and check it out.

We looked on the GPS to see where the nearest mechanic was. It was about a mile down the road. We turned on the car again praying that we would have a least a little acceleration to get us to where we needed to go. God answered our prayers!

We were about 100 yards away from the mechanic when our car completely lost acceleration. We pulled into a parking lot and Damarise and Micah went to talk to the mechanic to see what he could do.

Turns out, the mechanic had been closed for 5+ years!

Some kind people around there told us about another mechanic located 2 miles down the road. We got back in the car praying that we would have some acceleration. God gave us a little acceleration to make it to the top of the hill we were at the bottom of, and then we lost all acceleration again.

We still had over a mile to go, but yet again, God is amazing. The mechanic's shop just happened to be located at the bottom of a hill, a hill that lasted all 2 miles. We were praising the Lord!

We got to the mechanic and he looked at our van for about 20 minutes. We anxiously waited inside to see what he would say.

The first mechanic shop.

And then the verdict came.

Remember what the mechanic on the phone said the worse case scenario would be?

"Your transmission is shot!" We looked at each other, speechless. Worse case scenario just happened to be the scenario we were in now. What now? This was so out of the blue, so unplanned, so not the summer vacation we had planned.

We asked him how long it would take him to fix it. He said he could have it done by Monday.

Monday!? Monday?! Our vacation would be over by Monday! We were planning on leaving Washington D.C. on Sunday. Monday just wouldn't work.

He told us about another mechanic who could work on our transmission, but we would have to be towed there.

So, two hours later we were all piled in our van again cruising down the highway... on top of a tow truck.

On top of the tow truck... weirdest feeling ever.

When we arrived at the mechanic's, the mechanic ran a few tests on the van while we waited once again. Sure enough, our transmission was shot and would have to be rebuilt – costing a lot of money and not being finished until Friday afternoon.

And so we sat there, not knowing quite what to do, and wondering what in the world was going on.

Micah called his parents to tell them the verdict, and through talking with his parents and talking with us we came up with another plan to get to Washington D.C.

Since our van would be in the shop until Friday afternoon, Mrs. Schreiner and the Schreiner grandparents drove up two cars to Knoxville and gave us one car so that we could continue our journey to D.C.!

We were so thankful! This meant that our trip wasn't over, this was just a little and very costly glitch, but Summer Vacation: D.C. was still happening!

After three hours of wandering around the little mall area we were next to, the Schreiners showed up. We talked for a bit and commented on how crazy the day had been, and then decided to hit the road before it got too late.

Spirits high, thankful that our plans were continuing on, and praising the Lord for a working car we hit the road at 6:00pm. There was a little bit of traffic, but we didn't care. We were on our way to D.C.! Summer vacation was still taking place!

Excitement, relief, and joy is evident in this picture!

And then it happened.

9:00pm we were on the highway headed north – music playing, car running smoothly, and the sky darkening.

Then suddenly the RPMs skyrocketed.

We all froze.

It was like a cruel deja vu. This couldn't be happening again. It had to have been something else.

10 seconds later it happened again and within one second we had no acceleration at all.

Once again we were on the side of the highway sitting in a car that would not accelerate.

I can't even describe the thoughts that went running through our minds. I think we were all in shock. To have a transmission die once on a trip is one thing, but twice in the same day, that is quite another. The five of us simply sat there, too shocked to speak.

The Schreiner parents were once again called. (They were a huge help!) Mr. Schreiner called highway patrol to come sit with us until a tow truck came.

About an hour later the five of us stood in the falling rain watching again as a tow truck came to our rescue. We couldn't believe it.

We got up into the tow truck and the driver/Mechanic (whose name was Jim Dandy...) dropped us off at a hotel to spend the night. He said that he would get a chance to look at the car around 10:00am tomorrow. Since that was the only option we had, we agreed to it.

God blessed us with a good, long night's rest. We were rested and energized the next morning.

Then the mechanic called.

The verdict? Transmission on vehicle number two: dead.

We had no way of getting anywhere, we had just lost two car transmissions, and it was now time to check out of our hotel room.

Outside the hotel.

We felt a little dazed and confused. It all felt like a bad nightmare. Surely we weren't stranded in Virginia. Surely we hadn't just lost two transmissions. Surely, surely, surely...

Mr. and Mrs. Schreiner graciously said they would come up to Virginia (a 5 hour drive) to rescue us and bring us back down to Chattanooga.

And so, we spent Thursday hanging out in Shoney's for a few hours and a nearby visitor center for the rest of the day. Everyone was very nice to us. They all let us keep our luggage nearby and were very sympathetic to our situation.

Eating breakfast at Shoney's

Hanging out in the visitor center for several hours. We played chess, talked, and read.

Damarise and me trying to put our thoughts into expressions: i.e. What is going on?!

Around 7pm the Schreiners showed up to rescue us...again. (We figured out that they ended up doing more driving than we did the entire trip.) We towed the car back down to Chattanooga and arrived at our home at 2am Friday. The entire trip back we were all almost expecting the transmission to go out, and when it didn't we were amazed.

46 hours after our departure for Washington D.C. we were arriving back in Chattanooga – without a car, without having vacationed, but thankful to be safe and alive.

And so, we are back in Chattanooga. Back to working facility services. Wishing we could go on vacation to relax after this vacation, and knowing that God has a purpose for us not making it to Washington D.C. Even though it's tough we are all trusting in Him and knowing that He knows what is best for our lives. We're thankful that we are all alive and that the damage that was done was done to the cars and not to any of us.

It's a crazy tale, and even though we've told it multiple times, it's still crazy to us. People look at us like it's the most ridiculous story, but, well, I told you, it's just one of those stories.

Road Trip!

2011-06-21T22:42:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow.

4:00am.

One Minivan.

Five tired, but excited people.

About 800 miles.

Summer Vacation.

Destination?

Washington D.C.

YES!

2011-06-20T22:54:00.000-04:00

"Meditating on the self-sufficient power and plentitude of God should shut our mouths whenever we're tempted to think that God owes us, or that we can add to Him."

- Jonathan Leeman

Father's Day

2011-06-19T13:14:00.000-04:00

Today I'm thankful for my dad. God has blessed me with an amazing and godly dad! I'm thankful for the example that Dad has been in my life. He has showed me through his actions how to love others, how giving is much better than receiving, and how to show hospitality to all. He has taught all of us kids the truth of Scripture. He instructed us in how to discern between right and wrong. He has shown what it means to step out in faith not knowing where God will lead us. He is loving, encouraging, and caring. He can make anyone laugh. He is the most amazing Dad ever and I am SO thankful for him.

Happy Father's Day, Dad! I love you SO much!

Summer Things...

2011-06-19T00:00:00.001-04:00

1. Hanging out with these two amazing people! (pictured above)

2. Working with some great folks and having lots to laugh about.

3. Cooking meals and cookies together with Damarise and Micah.

4. Going to random parks, playing frisbee, walking around...

5. $1 movie night!

6. Spur of the moment plans.

7. Reading Harry Potter out loud.

8. Pasha's.

9. Listening to records late at night with coffee cookies.

10. Naps.

11. Running through the rain after work.

12. Don't Call It a Comeback by Kevin DeYoung (and others). Great book!

13. Learning new things.

14. Jokes, laughter, stories, riddles.

15. Music: Bright Eyes, Freelance Whales, Mumford and Sons...

16. I love Summer!!

Blue and Khaki

2011-06-11T20:35:00.001-04:00

Two weeks of work are behind me. And only... all summer left to go.

Work begins at 8am. Blue and Khaki is the colour for the summer. In other words, we wear blue Covenant t-shirts and khakis every work day. It's easy to spot all the Covenant workers; we're like little smurfs roaming the campus cleaning up anything that is dirty.

For those of you who don't know about my summer job, I am working at Covenant College with Facility Services. Yes, that means cleaning. Many camps use Covenant's campus throughout the summer to host their camps and we, on Facility Services, get the privilege of keeping the campus presentable and cleaning rooms between camps.

So far, it's been good – lots of handprints washed off of glass doors, toilets scrubbed, and gum scraped off the bottom of classroom chairs.

The group of students who are here working for the summer are great! It has been wonderful to get to know them better. Some people who I otherwise would have never met, I now know well. I love it. The supervisors also are amazing and keep us on task. Living here over the summer is great too! I feel like we are almost back in Jungle Camp again (only with running water :) ).

So, let me rephrase the opening sentence.

Two wonderful weeks of work are behind me. And sadly, summer will end too quickly, but while it is here I am loving every minute of it!

One Word: Amazing.

2011-06-08T11:21:00.001-04:00

Sorting through papers...

"How was your time in Budapest?" This is the question that so many people have been asking and one which I find tough to answer. To sum up my time in Budapest in one sitting seems impossible. So instead of summing it all up and giving a play by play of every day, I smile and answer with one simple word: amazing. Amazing.

Every morning I wake up and glance to the left of my bed where many "Thank you for teaching me, Ms. Turnbull" cards are hanging. Even when I'm staring at them I find it hard to believe I was actually there in Hungary teaching the children who wrote those cards! It's like a wonderful dream.

When the whole adventure began, Dr. Drexler had picked me and another girl up from Covenant College to drive us to the airport. We stopped by a local Christian school to pick up his wife, and as we were sitting in the car Dr. Drexler turned to look at both of us, "This is it you guys. This is the last chance. If you absolutely don't want to come on this trip say so now and I'll drop you back off." The other girl and I chuckled and said that of course we didn't want to not go on this trip. (Double negative, I know I'm sorry). But inside I was doing all I could to restrain myself from begging to go back to Covenant. What was I doing sitting in a car waiting to head on a plane to Hungary!? This was going way outside my comfort zone. No family moving to a new country with me, going into a school and teaching, and being away from all I knew for 3 weeks... ah!

But, before I knew it the plane was touching down in Budapest and I was sitting on it, wondering what in the world I was doing.

And now, now the adventure is over. The fear of going outside my comfort zone is past, and I just sit here writing this blog post and thanking God for providing for me to go overseas and for allowing me that amazing opportunity to be in the International Christian School of Budapest. Through my time in ICSB God confirmed something that I have been praying about for a long time.

I have wondered, ever since I declared that education would be my major, if I was actually in the right major. I've prayed for clarification and though God has continually shown me through little things that I should continue in that major, I have still constantly wondered if I would even make a good teacher or if I was simply in this major because I love kids and I had no idea what else I would do with my life.

And then one morning the Third Grade teacher at ICSB gave me complete control of her classroom while she went to the high school chapel. I stood there wondering what the Third Grade teacher was thinking leaving me in charge of her classroom. (I'm not a real teacher!) But, the morning ran smoothly and when the teacher came back and took over her classroom once more, I sat there thanking God for helping me through the morning, and for showing me that I can do all things through HIM who gives me strength, and that teaching is what He has called me to.

Also during our time at ICSB the Kindergarten teacher had to suddenly leave to go back to the US due to her mom passing away. No substitutes were available for the afternoons and the teachers at ICSB asked me and another girl, Georgia, if we would sub every afternoon in Kindergarten. I wanted to yell from the hallway, "Wait! Stop! What are you thinking?! We're not real teachers!!" But we were all they had. You know, God's plans are a lot better than my plans. I'm reminded of 1 Thessalonians 5:24, "Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass." God called me to Budapest for the month of May, and He knew what I would be doing at ICSB and even though every little thing came as a surprise to me, He knew it all, and His plans are a lot better than mine would or will ever be.

Our first day in Kindergarten was consumed with getting to know the kids. And by the end of the week I was alone with 10 kindergartners because Georgia was on a field trip. Once again God used that day to show me that teaching is where He wanted me. I walked into the classroom that afternoon wondering who would be subbing with me when I quickly found out that I would be subbing alone. Alone? Alone with 10 kindergartners! What were people thinking? I couldn't be in charge of 10 little people! I sat down quickly and prayed for God's help. And help He gave. That afternoon was the best day of Kindergarten by far. The students listened and God just blessed my time in that classroom.

Oh! The stories I could tell... the fun, the errors, the learning... like when I taught a science lesson about the ear and seeing that the kids were not comprehending any of it (sometimes blank stares are very useful) I became a tour guide and we toured around the classroom pretending it was an ear, learning every part of the ear along the way.
Or when one of the students exploded his yogurt container during snack time sending yogurt everywhere, the uncontrollable laughter that followed, and his quick realization that that wasn't a good idea made for a great lesson later on that day.
Or blanking on how to tie a slip knot while in the middle of doing a science experiment with my professor watching me and quickly turning to the class asking for class participation if anyone wanted to tie the slip knot. I was thanking God when one of the students stepped up and tied a slip knot! Class participation... sure (?)... Hannah not knowing how to tie a slip knot, definitely! (But the class never knew that part... :) ).

The stories could continue to be told, and each one would end with the same line, "My time in Budapest was amazing, and God is awesome because it is only by His grace and provision that I could even experience all that I did."

Thank you to all of you who prayed for me while over in Budapest. God definitely used my time at ICSB to confirm that I am in the right major, He also used that time to show me that His plans are perfect, and I should never doubt that. I cannot wait until I am in a classroom everyday for my job. I can't wait to be called Ms. Turnbull again. I can't wait to be surrounded by energetic, wonderful children again.

But, while I am waiting I will continue studying education, thanking God that He has called me to study that and that it is only by His grace that I am in that major and loving every minute of it. All praise belongs to God, the One whose plans are perfect.

Because...

2011-06-03T17:14:00.000-04:00

Because I don't have time to update...
Because work is basically all I have time to do...
Because I know I should write an update about my time in Budapest...
And because pictures are worth a thousand words (or so they say)...
...Here are some links to the pictures of my time in Europe. Hope they suffice until I have time to write.

Week One Photos

Week Two Photos

Week Three Photos

And just one photo to post on here: my favourite photo of the Budapest group :) Love these guys!

Ah! I'm in Europe!

2011-05-12T11:38:00.000-04:00

I think it's about time for an update that is more than pictures. I know, pictures are worth a thousand words, but sometimes a picture just doesn't do justice to all that is taking place.

As you know, I (along with a group of 3 girls and a professor from Covenant College) arrived in Budapest Tuesday afternoon after two plane trips. The first was long, although not nearly as long as a plane trip to Africa. I know some people aren't fans of long plane trips, but for me, I just love them. It gives me a chance to sit down and process everything before I get to my destination. I'm pretty sure the whole flight over I was saying to myself, "AH! I'm going to EUROPE! AH! I'm going to Europe!!" So, processing or getting very excited, one of those things take place on a long plane trip.

The second leg of the journey our group was split up on the flight. I ended up sitting next to a Hungarian woman, and a man who has been living in Hungary. They were like tour guides. They told me places to see, food to try, and history of their country. It was great! Of course, being semi-jetlagged I'm not sure how much of that good info I retained. Oh well, it made for a great second leg of the journey.

When we arrived we were met by some folks who work at the school. They took us grocery shopping, got us our bus passes and student IDs, got us dinner, and took us to our home for the next few weeks. I think I was in a daze because the moment my head hit the pillow I was out.

The next morning we went to the International Christian School of Budapest. We were put into our classrooms and I am with Mrs. M. She is amazing! She teaches third grade and does an amazing job. I am SO blessed to be able to intern under her. Everything she does is so smart and so well planned. I'm amazed! And from the git go she let me jump in and do stuff.

Within minutes I had met all the kids (there's 8 of them) and was warmly welcomed in. They had each made a card for me with information about themselves. I also got to do one-on-one tutoring with a boy and walked around the classroom helping wherever I could. I got to grade many papers, read books, and just talk with students. It was amazing! And really the first chance I've had to DO stuff in a classroom.

After we got a tour of the school we left and walked around the area a bit. Hungary isn't quite like Portugal, which is what I was expecting. There's not many cobblestone roads around or big cathedrals. But it is beautiful nonetheless. We came back to our "home" and took an hour nap. (Which is also what is taking place right now. I think it is tradition... go to school, come home, take a nap, then out to the city for dinner.)

After nap time we decided to take a bus to a local mall to grab a bite to eat. Well, Hungarian is a HARD language! I thought my Portuguese would help me some, but it doesn't. (Although I SO want to speak it to everyone!!) And we miss read signs or something. Anyways, we ended up at the wrong mall and didn't want to eat there. So, we asked a local man where we could go to get some dinner. He told us to get on a tram and go down 5 stops and we'd reach some fantastic restaurants.

He wasn't lying! One tram, a trip across the bridge over the Danube River, and 5 stops later we arrived at Restaurant Road. Picture Europe and that is the road! It was amazing! Here are a few pictures just to paint that in your mind.

One of six bridges across the Danube River in Budapest.

A random building we drove past in the tram.

Restaurant Road. ie: EUROPE!

Looking at the menu trying to figure out what was cheap but also sounded good.

The four of us. L to R: Me, Lynn, Georgia, and Dasom.

The restaurant where we ate.

Hungarian Menu.

YUM! Garlic cream soup in a cheese bread bowl! SO GOOD!

And glass water bottles!

The tram.

Budapest.

We stopped off at this hotel just for fun.

Dasom and me at the tram stop waiting for our tram.

So, as you can see we had a delicious dinner complete with beautiful Budapest sights all around us. It was a fun night.

This morning we were in school once again and again I got to do even more hands-on stuff. I am loving it! Mrs. M is encouraging about the littlest things I do which is so helpful, and the kids are so loving and kind. I'm also going to be teaching a science lesson/experiment on Monday, so for those of you who read this and are praying for me, please pray that that goes well... science isn't really my strong suit. ( :) )

Anyways, nap time is over and it is time to go exploring and see where we'll end up for dinner tonight. Sorry for the haphazard/sporadic update. Hopefully the next one will be a little more interesting and coherent. Until then, ciya from Hungary! :)

PIcture of the Day #2

2011-05-11T16:31:00.000-04:00

On our way to dinner. We crossed the Danube River, took a bus and a tram, walked down "restaurant lane" and I had a delicious bowl of garlic cream soup in a bread bowl. Wonderful day in school, wonderful day in Budapest.

Arriving in Budapest

2011-05-10T13:54:00.000-04:00

After plane, bus, and car, I am finally here in Budapest. It's a little strange for me to be half way across the world without any family around. Usually I get to experience a new culture with the family nearby, trying to speak the language, laughing with each other at our mistakes, and soaking it all in.

But today as we stepped off the plane into Budapest it was just me and the group from Covenant there, soaking in everything. Some things were weird for me to see again (having lived in Portugal) like a little grocery store we used to go to - Lidl. Also things like coloured toilet paper, European sockets, and the clay shingles on all houses.

It's going to be an exciting adventure. And with that being said, I'm off to get some sleep! Sleeping in planes just doesn't always work. Also, tomorrow we begin interning in the school! Cannot wait.

Oh, one more thing, Damarise wanted me to be taking a picture a day (or more) while overseas. So, for her sake, even though I look like I haven't showered or slept in a while (I haven't) here is the picture for today. Me with all my travel documents.

Leavin' On a Jet Plane

2011-05-09T22:30:00.002-04:00

The bags are packed. Goodbyes have been said. Budapest, here I come.

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T19:47:00.000-04:00

I'm thankful for my mom. I know, everyone says that. If you were on Facebook at all today, every status had something to do about thanking God for Mom, and rightly so, it is Mother's Day after all. And so, I, along with many other people wishing their mom a happy mother's day, wish my Mom a Happy Mother's Day.

I am so grateful for Mom! I think it struck me this past week just how much Mom did (and does) for us. This past week Damarise and I were cooking meals for ourselves. Wow! It takes work, time, and effort. I was in awe of how well Mom handles all that.

I'm also thankful for the way she makes every new house a home. No matter where we live she makes it easy to adjust there because she quickly makes it home. She fun to be around. She's great at learning languages and laughing at her language mistakes. She is so hospitable! She is just... well, the most amazing Mom ever!

Mom, I love you SO much and am SO thankful for you!

A Floating Head

2011-05-05T22:38:00.000-04:00

Right now I am going through the last minute things before my trip to Budapest! Ahk! I cannot believe it is coming up so fast! Yesterday I had my passport picture taken for a bus and train pass in Europe. For those of you needing a few words of advice from Hannah, here are some wise words of wisdom. I would advise you to not, I repeat not, wear a white shirt while having your passport picture taken. It blends in with the white background making you look like a head floating in space. Yes, I learned this truth after I wore a white shirt yesterday. Oh well, such is life. The adventures of prepping for going overseas are always exciting.

A Tornado Changes Things

2011-04-30T11:57:00.001-04:00

Traveling 717 miles to Missouri was not scheduled in my planner for this week, and yet here I am – 717 miles away from everything I had planned. Looking at my planner with the next week scratched out brings to mind Isaiah 55:8. My thoughts and plans are not the Lord's.

"'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' declares the LORD." -Isaiah 55:8

It began as a normal week. Easter was on Sunday and finals were to begin on Friday. Monday through Thursday were to be busy days – tests to study for, papers to finish, and cleaning and packing to top it all off. But, as I have been reminded multiple times in the past three days, my thoughts are not God's thoughts, nor are my ways His ways.

Monday and Tuesday came and went. The week was looking normal. Diligently I wrote out my finals in my planner. Two on Friday, two on Monday, one on Tuesday and then SUMMER!

And then came Wednesday. I woke up Wednesday morning to Damarise looking at her computer screen, "Uh. There is a tornado warning for our area." Ugh I thought. Really, a tornado warning? What a way to start off the day. I'd just woken up, and all I wanted to do was get ready, eat breakfast, and go to class. Little did I know that almost none of those things would be happening. Within 30 seconds the tornado siren was blaring throughout campus. I threw on some clothes, grabbed my backpack, and flocked down the stairs with the rest of our resident hall.

We all nestled down in the basement. Good mornings were said and information began to be shared. A tornado was close by. 8:30am. Yawn. Just get through an hour of this, get ready, and go to class. Those were my thoughts. But again, my thoughts are not God's thoughts. At 9:30am the all clear was issued. We climbed back up the stairs to our hall only to find that all electricity was out. We got ready in the little sunlight streaming through the windows and went to class. Our class met, even though we had no electricity. And again, with the little bit of sunlight streaming through the windows we took notes and listened. Our professor ended class saying that he would see us Monday for our final exam. But, his thoughts were not God's thoughts either.

We came back to our resident building, Andreas. Electricity was still out throughout campus and rumor had it that another tornado was on its way. We headed up to get some food since we still had not eaten breakfast. We went to the Great Hall (our cafeteria) and grabbed some lunch.

Around noon we walked back to Andreas under a bright blue sky. Another tornado? Ha. Couldn't be. It was way too pretty outside. But classes for the rest of the day had been canceled, and rumor still had it that more tornadoes were coming. We were trusting these rumors since our internet was down and most of us had no idea what was going on.

When we arrived back at Andreas, our RA told us that we were now running low on water. No showers were to be taken. No showers? No big deal. It would all be over tomorrow, right? But again, my ways are not God's way.

We all gathered our stuff just in case the second tornado changed from rumor to fact. And by 2:30 the tornado alarm sounded again. With stuff in hand we headed back down the stairs.

Joel, Andreas' Resident Director (RD), came down with his megaphone in hand. "Welcome to your new home." he said. New home? Well, it was beginning to feel a bit familiar, but new home was stretching it, or so I thought.

We were down there for another hour. People were playing games, talking with each other, and trying to study for finals that were on Friday. Finally, after about an hour, the all clear was sounded. Two tornado warnings in one day? New record for me.

We came back upstairs and rumors began to spread that more tornadoes were coming. More? Couldn't be! This seemed impossible. In fact, looking back on it now I still can't believe everything that happened.

We heard that the next tornado was supposed to come at 7pm. Alright, 4 hours to wait out. Damarise and I decided to start packing. Two weeks early? Weird, I know. But we couldn't study because our study guides were on our computers which had no battery due to no electricity. We sorted through drawers and then decided to head up to dinner at 5pm. We wanted to grab dinner before the next tornado. We did not want the tornado warning to go off while we were up getting food. Why? Because the building, Carter, where the Great Hall is located, is an old building and seemed like the worst building to be stuck in for a tornado warning.

Up at dinner we were met with a long line. The electricity was still off, but generators were powering the kitchen and we were able to have food. After about 15 minutes of waiting in line we were right by the food. Ah! Food! We were hungry! And then right as we were about to put food on our plates... the tornado sirens rang out. Noooo! We dropped our plates and walked with the rest of the crowd to the basement.

Huddled up against the walls of a building that did not feel safe in any way, shape, or form, the RD of that building informed us that the tornado was headed right for us. This one, she said, was worse than the previous two. It was 12 minutes away and we were the target. My heart dropped. We were in the most unsafe building on campus and the tornado was headed right for us. I looked around me, some people looked nonchalant, while others sat tensely. I sat there praying – praying that somehow we would not be the target.

The RD kept us informed of the ETA of the tornado. 4 minutes. 4 minutes! People who were seated near the windows were told to huddle in the hallway with us. Everyone was tense. 3 minutes. The tornado was coming. It had touched down a few miles from us and was still headed straight for us.

And then, suddenly, we were no longer the target. The all clear sounded several minutes later. We were safe. No tornado had come. I thought that maybe the information regarding us being the tornado's target was wrong and we had just heard an exaggerated version of it, but today I found out that that tornado was indeed headed straight for Covenant College. It's only by the grace of God that the tornado missed us. Apparently, it was about a mile from us and then suddenly switched directions, bypassed us, and then swung back on its course. It truly is only God who kept us from getting hit.

With the all clear being issued we headed back to Andreas. We were warned that more tornadoes were coming in 45 minutes. More? I couldn't believe it. This day wasn't going at all the way I thought it was going to.

Back in Andreas we waited for the next tornado warning, knowing that it would be coming any time. And within 45 minutes we were once again back in the Andreas basement. This time it did feel more like home. We nestled back in our little corner. We talked and watched people play games. We gave up studying. This day had just been to bizarre to get anything done. We shared what random food we had since we never got dinner. And we stayed comfortably in the basement for about an hour. Once again the all clear was given. Joel said he would see us later since more tornadoes were coming.

Sure enough, less than an hour later we were in the basement again. Home safe home. We played Uno and talked about how bizarre this day had been. Little did we know it was about to get a lot weirder. We stayed down there for a few hours. We had a 20 minute break in between tornado warnings, but we all just stayed in the basement.

Finally at 11pm we were given the ALL all clear. No more tornadoes were supposed to come. We slept soundly through the night and when we woke the next morning we were still without electricity and our water was still being reserved. No showers. Ew.

With finals coming the next day, I was feeling frazzled. I couldn't study without my laptop charged. And since we had no electricity I decided I'd just not study for them right then. Instead we went down the mountain to see where we could help out.

Chattanooga and the surrounding towns had been hit bad. 20+ tornadoes had swept through on Wednesday. The death toll was rising and people were without homes, electricity, and water. We were about to help someone clean up their yard of trees when we got a message that we needed to be back at Covenant College for an all campus meeting.

All campus meeting? Wow! We came back up to campus and were met with shocking news.

Georgia had declared a state of emergency. We were about out of water, electricity probably wouldn't be on for weeks, and food was running low. And then came one word that I never thought I would hear at a college in Georgia. Maybe on the mission field, but Georgia, really?!

Evacuation.

One little word, yet so much meaning packed into it. The campus was to be evacuated by 3pm Friday. My mind whirred. I wanted to cry, I wanted to ask questions, I wanted to rewind time and have everything go according to how I had planned this week out in my planner. But, that wasn't going to happen.

Damarise and I headed up to our room. By this time we were out of water and electricity was still not working. We packed and cleaned as much as we could before the sun set. Friends were leaving and goodbyes were being said. Goodbyes that we thought would come in two weeks suddenly came in two hours.

As for finals, all of them were canceled. Studying, which had previously occupied everyone's mind, suddenly became the last thing people were thinking about. Everyone was in "clean, pack, and get off campus" mode.

Friday morning, one of the staff who lives on the mountain let Damarise and I come to her house to shower (seeing as we hadn't showered in two days we were definitely feeling grimy!). After a wonderful shower (I don't think I have ever felt so grateful for a shower!), we headed back to campus to pack and clean. We finished by noon, said our goodbyes, and hit the road headed for Missouri.

As we sat in the car traveling 717 miles away from a place we were supposed to be in for another two weeks we began to talk about the past 48 hours. We couldn't believe we did't have finals. We couldn't believe Sophomore year ended just like that. We couldn't believe we were evacuated from Covenant College. We couldn't believe that tornado didn't hit us. But we could and can believe that God's plans are perfect and that He has a plan for all of this, even if traveling 717 miles away wasn't written in my planner.

"'For My thoughts are not your thoughts,nor are your ways My ways,' declares the LORD." -Isaiah 55:8

Please keep Chattanooga and the surrounding cities in your prayers. The death toll keeps rising and electricity and water are still not off. Thank you!

Evacuation

2011-04-29T07:45:00.000-04:00

Wednesday we were in the basement most of the day with tornadoes coming every 45 minutes. Wednesday night we were given the all clear.We were without electricity and running low on water. Thursday (the day before finals) we were told that we had to be out of campus by 3pm on Friday due to no water and no electricity. So, our room is basically packed, we haven't showered in a few days, and we have no finals to take because school is over. Weird, strange, and, I just don't even know what to think. We're headed back to Missouri today, due to us having to be evacuated.

I'l give a more detailed update later, but if you all could keep us in your prayer that'd be greatly appreciated. Please also keep the people of Chattanooga and the surrounding areas in your prayers too. They were hit pretty badly and the death toll keeps rising.

Thank you!

Free Tree

2011-04-25T12:59:00.001-04:00

I can't say I have ever celebrated Earth Day before. Actually, I know I haven't. But, this year when Earth Day rolled around, I realized that there are a lot of places that give away free stuff on Earth Day! (Ahh! Yes! Free things are great!)

For example, on our road trip to Unclaimed Baggage we stopped by Starbucks first to pick up a free mug of coffee! Yes, free! And because I found out Starbucks gave out free coffee, I decided to search and see what other free things I could find.

And so begins this little tale – the tale of how Damarise and I now have two small Frasier Fir trees growing in our room. It all began Friday morning. I was sitting down with my laptop Googling "free things for earth day". Up popped a website with several free things for Earth Day. One thing stood out – Lowe's is giving away a free tree. Free tree? Free tree?! How could we pass up an opportunity to get a free tree? Answer: We couldn't.

Saturday, Damarise and I traveled down to Lowe's to pick up our free tree. With excitement bubbling in us, (ok, maybe it was just me) we walked into Lowe's. Someone pointed us in the direction of the free trees and within minutes we were holding it in our hands. Our very own tree.

Now, as you can see in the picture above, it is a pretty tiny tree. And not only that, it also came in a paper sack with no pot, no dirt, and no food. No big deal though. Planting can't be too hard. And for those of you who may think differently, perhaps you are right. But, this is how our little Frasier Fir was planted.

*If you have never planted a tree before, this may help you learn! Of course, I've never planted a tree before either, so I may have done it the wrong way, and if you follow my steps, you may be doing it wrong too. Phew! All that said...

How to Plant a Tree

Step One: Grab a pot (or bucket) with holes in the bottom so that water will not be stuck in the pot. Once you have your pot, go on a hunt for some nearby dirt.

Step Two: Give the little tree-ling a pep talk. "One day you, yes you little tree-ling, will grow to be big and tall like this tree. Well, almost like it... you're actually going to be a fir tree..."

Step Three: Sing to the tree. "You're one in a million!" The bag said so. Also, singing to a tree helps it grow big and strong.

Step Four: Put dirt in the bucket. If you don't have a shovel at hand, a spoon or measuring cup will work.

Step Five: Take a picture of Twig One and Twig Two in their new home. Awww.

And that is how you plant a tree. Our little saplings are sitting in our room now being watered every day, and basking in the sunlight. Also, "plant a tree" is now checked on our Summer Bucketlist. One bucketlist item down, several more to go.

He Arose

2011-04-24T22:24:00.001-04:00

He arose, He arose, Alleluia Christ arose!

What Wondrous Love

2011-04-22T08:53:00.000-04:00

"What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!

What wondrous love is this, O my soul!

What wondrous love is this

That caused the Lord of bliss

To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,

To bear the dreadful curse for my soul!"

This morning, as I was reading through the Good Friday account, I was struck by the love of Jesus. What wondrous love. He left all His heavenly riches to come down to earth, so that through His poverty, through Him emptying Himself, we may become rich in Christ. (2 Corinthians 8:9). During the Last Supper with His disciples when He knew His death was coming, He showed love. He humbled himself, (Philippians 2:7) He, the King of the world, became a servant to His disciples. He washed their feet. He showed love in a sacrificial way. And later He showed sacrificial love in a way that is remembered today.

Today, on Good Friday, we remember the death of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. "But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5). For God so loved, He gave His Son to redeem us to Himself. What wondrous love this is. "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)

What wondrous love Christ showed for us! "Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all!"

Ian

2011-04-21T12:29:00.000-04:00

Today my not-so-little brother is 15! Hard to believe! He has a deep voice, growing facial hair, and is 6' tall. Oh me, oh my!

It makes me feel old. I still remember when Mom was pregnant with him and the night of his birth. There was a horrible hail storm, complete with tornado warnings and all, but God kept him safe.

I think that's been one of the constant themes throughout Ian's life – God keeping him safe. Whether it be crashing his little bike on our driveway and surviving with stitches or falling out of a 40' tree without a scratch. Whatever it has been God has always kept him and healed him. And that was hugely evident when Ian got malaria and almost died.

I thank God that Ian is still with us and that we can celebrate his 15th birthday! Ian is such a joy to be around. Always willing to help anyone with anything, no matter how physically demanding the job is. He's always got a smile on his face. He's a great little brother and I'm so blessed to have him as a sibling.

Ian, I love you! Happy 15th Birthday!

Paper Man

2011-04-19T13:43:00.000-04:00

Some of Covenant's art is just too cool not to post somewhere. And this is proof of that. This paper trash man was down by my office where I work. I'm not sure who made it, but I'm amazed at their creativity. Also, to whoever made this, thanks for the laugh and a great welcome down to work today.

Never Have I Ever

2011-04-18T13:38:00.000-04:00

Never have I ever cut hair.

Wait. Sorry. I take that back. Never have I ever cut hair well. I'm sure my mom could tell you about the time I felt ambitious. Cutting hair? No big deal, right? Wrong. Mom let me practice on my little brother, Ian, because if worse came to worse he could just get a buzz. Let's just say that worse came to worse. I cut his hair alright. And Ian got a buzz. His hair was unfixable.

But that was at least four years ago. Let's move ahead to the present – Saturday night. Janessa and I were bored. So bored in fact that we borrowed hair cutting scissors. Janessa wanted to try cutting her hair and I said I was more than willing to help. Surely four years changes my hair cutting abilities, or lack there of. Then again, maybe it doesn't.

Janessa cut the front of her hair and it didn't look bad. In fact it looked great. She got the side swept bangs looking perfect and I was impressed. And that impressed feeling turned to me feeling like I could do it too! And so came time for the back of her hair to be cut. She turned to me and placed the scissors in my hands. Ah! The power.

Layers. That's what she wanted. Layers? Oh! I can do layers! Not hard at all, right? Pull the hair out, snip, snip, layer one – done! And after I was done hacking away, her hair definitely had layers.

For those who want a picture painted in your mind of what her hair looked like, imagine rice fields in China. Or a staircase. Or strip mining. Either of the images would give you a good idea of what the back of her head looked like.

Whoops.

And so I found out, yet again, hair cutting may not be the profession for me. Unless of course people want the strip mining look, cause I can do that pretty well.

For those of you wanting a good ending to this story. There is one. After much laughing, we went down the hall to Katie. Katie cuts hair. She has all the supplies. She's done it for years. And she's good at it. She fixed Janessa's hair, after looking at it in shock, and Janessa now has a very cute hair cut.

As for me, I'm laying down the scissors for now, and will instead admire the people who cut hair. Because it is not an easy job, no matter how easy it may look.

Also, a few words of advice, if you are bored, I'd recommend not cutting someone's hair unless a good hair cutter is nearby to fix what you have done. It's just a good idea, cause you never know if you'll end up with the staircase look.

Because on Rainy Days...

2011-04-15T21:39:00.001-04:00

I just feel like writing.

The rain is pounding on my window. Lightning is flashing. And supposedly bad weather is headed our direction. Bad weather complete with strong winds, hail, and a possibility of a tornado. What a perfect weekend to do it on too. This weekend is Campus Preview Weekend, and how fun would it be to be down in a basement with an additional 200+ high school students? Hm, yes, well... maybe not.

Besides the excitement of possible storms, I'm excited that it is the weekend! Ah, yes. And today was the last day of Friday classes. Only Good Friday and an exams Friday is left. Wow. Where oh where has this semester gone to?

In other news, today I found out I get to go to an opera while in Europe. One word: excitement! Seeing an opera is on my bucket list, and getting to see one in Europe, let's just say I'm excited. It'll be great.

And, because I'm just going to keep going off on random tangents if I don't close, I'm going to go and watch "Megamind" with Bethany, Damarise, and Janessa. Who knows, maybe that tornado they're predicting will end up coming and we'll be watching the movie from the comfort of the basement. Either way, this is the perfect ending to a rainy day.

Thoughts of Summer

2011-04-13T21:05:00.000-04:00

The countdown is on. Facebook statuses have it. Hall white boards boast it. And everybody knows it. Summer is coming! On May 4th exams will be over and students will be free to go on Summer Break! Excitement is everywhere!

Right now I am on the verge of being done with all my assignments until finals. Today I turned in two 5 page papers, one notebook and gave one presentation. One paper to go, and I am free (until finals that is). And the timing is perfect. With the weather being absolutely gorgeous, it has just been hard to set aside time to study or write papers. Especially as I repeat to myself, "21 days, 21 days, 21 days!" (In case you were wondering, I haven't actually done that...)

For me Summer break comes after my trip to Budapest. Things are shaping up for the trip there and I am so excited to head back to Europe and especially to a new country and a missionary-kid school! (Ah! I can hardly contain my excitement!) I can't wait for the long flight, plane food, figuring out exchange rates, and not being able to understand the language around me. As weird as that sounds, it is strangely familiar and I've missed that in my life the past two years. (Sometimes I feel weird understanding everything people say around me, and not having to figure out the exchange rate in my mind before buying something... I know, weird.)

I also can't wait to be in the third grade class I was placed in. I got in touch with the teacher and she showed me a picture of the class. They look so great! I'm excited to have the privilege of being involved in their lives next month.

And then, then Summer will come. I'll have my first ever summer job. And Damarise and I will be enjoying every minute of summer. Today we talked about making a Summer Bucket List – all the things we would love to do this summer. If you all have any ideas I'd love to hear them! So far we have canoeing down some river, me learning how to drive and Damarise teaching me (it'll be an adventure), and cooking some new food. Maybe we'll plant a garden too. Who knows?

Now, with thoughts of Summer running through my head and more ideas for our Summer Bucket List, I will close. Enjoy the beautiful sunshine, the colourful flowers, and the chirping birds. And thank God for His wonderful creation all around us.

Photo Scavenger Hunt

2011-04-11T22:34:00.002-04:00

You never know what type of hall event will take place on Imani. I've experience everything from watching "Planet Earth" to going to Swingfest with our brother hall. But this Sunday our hall did a hall event that may just be my favourite event yet – a photo scavenger hunt.

If you have never done a photo scavenger hunt:
a). You are missing out.
b). We should do one sometime!

Photo Scavenger Hunts are amazing! Teams are divided up and given a piece of paper with multiple "things to find or do" on it. Teams are given a time limit to complete the tasks given and the winner is the team who got the most accomplished.

Now enter Sunday. Sunday afternoon our hall teamed up with a guys' hall to go on a Photo Scavenger Hunt downtown. It was a sunny and beautiful Sunday afternoon, we had a great team, and lots of laughing took place (which is always great!).

Here's just a few of the crazy (and fun) things our team had to accomplish:

Roll down a grass hill.

Throw a paper plane off a bridge (don't worry we picked it back up).

Do a model pose... Lovin' Janessa.

Ask a stranger to serenade your team. Well, she didn't sing for us, instead she performed with these sock type things.

Take a picture with people from Covenant who aren't involved in the scavenger hunt.

Pose like a statue.

Take a picture with people in uniform. (Also, please notice how the park ranger is giving Jamila bunny ears. Haha.)

Do the Hokey Pokey in a public place. (This was so fun!)

Give a flower to a stranger.

Duck walk across the street.

Dance on the dancing sidewalk.

Kiss a mannequin.

Walk a stranger's dog.

A picture of your team on the glass bridge. (Yay! Team!)

A picture of your team on one chair.

A picture of your team looking relaxed.

A picture of something from Covenant (This shop is owned by Covenant grads).

Our team won! (Yeah!) And we had a great time, complete with sunburn and all.

Great time - check.

Fun pictures - check.

Sunburn - check.

Aloe Vera - hoping to buy some.

Awesome memories - indeed!

So Far, So Great!

2011-04-07T12:54:00.000-04:00

This week has been wonderful – marvelously, wonderful!

Monday: Woke up to a humid day. Sun shining, clouds coming,

and that icky-sticky air. (ew) But a thunderstorm was coming and I love thunderstorms. The hours passed, classes passed by, and still no thunderstorm. Then came time for my night class. It is usually a three hour class, but as soon as class started the thunderstorm arrived. Ah, nothing beats a good rainstorm complete with lightning, thunder, hail, and tornado watches. Our teacher didn't want to teach very long because of the storm, so our class lasted an hour and fifteen minutes. That was Monday's marvelous marvel.

Tuesday: Woke up to a cool, brisk, sunny day. It was Assessment Day! It's like a holiday, basically. The college selects random students to be assessed on various things, while everyone else has a day free of classes. To celebrate this special day, Virginia (my amazing RA) and I went to breakfast together at Niedlov's. I had never been to Niedlov's before, and let me just say, it was amazing. They bake their own bread and yum! Virginia and I settled down with cinnamon rolls and piping hot coffee and talked for a few hours. Great way to start the day! The rest of my day was filled with work. And I learned, from my boss, that cleave is the only word that has itself as an antonym. (No, that didn't have anything to do with anything, but yes, that is a really cool fact!) To finish off the day a group of us went down the mountain to enjoy some icecream and each others' company.

Wednesday: Beautiful weather! Just beautiful! It would have been the perfect day for Summer Salad. (As I realized yesterday when saying this to Janessa, not everyone knows what Summer Salad is. So, if you are one of these people, Summer Salad is basically Chef Salad, but we would have this salad in Arkansas as soon as the weather turned warm.) Anyways, Wednesday I found out who my O-Team partners were. And I am very excited! Also, one of my classes was canceled for the day due to a DVD not being available. So, I got to hang out with some friends, do homework, work out, and just have a relaxing day.

Today: Today, oh! Just beautiful (again)! Sun shining, flowers blooming, ah, April is great! Today isn't even close to being over, but it has already been great. Why is that? Why, because I found out I have a Summer job! Woo hoo! I am very excited! Damarise and I will be working on Facility Services over the Summer, but it will be great, and we will have a job! I am definitely praising God for that!

This week has been so far, so ~~good~~ great!

Saturday

2011-04-02T21:43:00.008-04:00

Sun shining.

Windows rolled down.

Music playing.

Wonderful friends.

Coffee at Pasha's.

Friendly baristas.

Walking through neighborhoods.

Flowers blooming.

Skyping with the family.

Thrift store shopping.

Today was a good Saturday.

Student Appreciation Day

2011-03-31T12:36:00.004-04:00

Faculty and staff wearing t-shirts that say, "I love Covenant students". Free ice cream. Delicious meals. Giveaways. Free Starbucks coffee in all lobbies in the morning. Happy Student Appreciation Day.

Once a year, Covenant College celebrates Student Appreciation Day. A day when all the faculty and staff go out of their way to show us how much they love us. It is great.

One of my professors began class by reading from 1 Thessalonians. He said that just like Paul begins almost every letter with, "We remember you in our prayers and thank God for you", all our professors pray for us and thank God for us as well. It was a neat reminder of how thankful I am to be at a Christian college with professors who do pray for us.

When the day ended I was full of good food, content, and filled with thankfulness for my professors, the staff, and God's provision.

Photo Credit: Covenant College

Resting in Him

2011-03-29T12:32:00.005-04:00

You know those days when it just feels like everything overwhelming suddenly hits you? Well, that was my Monday. I think it finally sank in on Sunday that my family is far, far away. Damarise and I had our weekly Skype call with them on Sunday. After multiple delays, fuzzy internet connection, and the “Hello? Can you hear me now?”’s, we got to talk for a bit.

I realized that it’s been hard to not be able to pick up the phone at random moments of the day to talk to them and tell them the little details of my life. They are no longer close to the same time zone, and we can’t contact them via phone. All of that, plus two tests and a paper conveniently due on Monday, just hit me and felt overwhelming.

So, Monday afternoon, in between tests, I sat down and wrote out my thoughts in a poem. Not sure if that came about because we are studying poetry in class or just cause. But, either way that is the way my thoughts came out, and I thought I'd share it with you all.

The tears at bay,
The heart calm.
One phone call melted it all.

Seeing their faces,
Hearing them laugh,
My heart hurt, the dam burst.

The tears fell.
My voice choked up.
Will it get easier, pain subside?

Peace He promised.
Peace He gives.
And I am resting solely in Him.

An ocean away,
Or merely a street,
God is faithful, them will He keep.

Resting, Resting,
In His strong arms.
He is my strength, the Lord my God.

And oh! It has been wonderful to rest in the peace of God. Monday ended, two tests and a paper were behind me, and God was, is, and always will remain faithful. By the end of Monday God had given me a peace and joy that only He can give. A peace that I can trust in Him, and He has my family where He wants them. (What better place to be in?) And a joy that I can rest in Him even when life seems overwhelming because He is so much bigger than life itself. He is the one who created the universe. He is the one who controls the lighting and the rain. And oh! What a joy to trust in Him!

And so I end this post, not in sorrow or overwhelming worry, but in joy and peace, praising God from whom all blessings flow.

"Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable." –Psalm 145:3

Daffodils.

2011-03-26T18:49:00.004-04:00

Two things are involved in this blog post. One: Daffodils = Spring. Two: Damarise is an amazing sister!

Once upon a time, we used to live in a red, flat roofed house in Arkansas. We moved into this house in the fall. Leaves covered the yard, and the trees were bare. Winter followed and our grass turned brown. But, come Spring the grass turned green and our yard was covered in beautiful flowers. Daffodils and tulips came up from nowhere. It was amazing! After living there for over seven years, daffodils and tulips blooming defined Spring for me – the beauty of their colourful buds sticking up from the ground, and the flowery scent all over the yard. Ah. I love it!

Since Spring is now here, I have been talking to Damarise about maybe getting some tulips to plant in a pot in our room or picking daffodils or something. Spring just doesn't feel like Spring without some fresh tulips or daffodils around.

And here's where the second part of my story comes in. I have an amazing sister. Damarise is so caring and knows just what to say or do to make me feel better. Friday afternoon she was down the mountain doing an observation for class. I had gone to a leadership retreat and when I came back home later that night I found a vase full of bright yellow daffodils sitting on my desk. Damarise had bought me daffodils because she knew just how much I loved them.

Ah! I could just gush about what a sweet sister God has blessed me with. I just love her!

The flowers are perfect, my sister is amazing, and Spring is here... officially now. :)

Budapest

2011-03-24T11:20:00.000-04:00

Budapest – the capital city of Hungary, cited as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe (according to Wikipedia), and my future home for the month of May.

Yes, home - May - Budapest. You read that right.

I still can't quite believe it myself, but it is true. Budapest is where I will be spending my May this year. God has opened up the doors to allow me to go to Budapest this May with a small group of education students from Covenant College. We are going to intern at a local Christian school – International Christian School of Budapest. It will be an amazing opportunity to get hands-on experience in teaching missionary kids and others overseas, which is what I would love to do when I graduate.

So, the Traveling Banana will once again have bags packed and passport in hand, living up to the Traveling Banana name. Only this time I won't be heading a state away, but rather an entire ocean away. I cannot wait to be back in Europe. I love Europe in the Spring!

As of now, I'm a little hazy on all the details of the trip, so I'm sorry for the lack of information. But if you all think of it, could you please start praying for me now? This is taking me way outside of my comfort zone. Being an ocean away from everything and everyone I know will definitely be hard, but I cannot wait to see all that God has in store for me! It will be a great experience and I am trusting in Him.

"It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood!"

2011-03-22T11:07:00.008-04:00

The birds are singing, my windows are open, the sun is shining. And oh! what a beautiful day it is in the neighbourhood!

I. love. springtime.

The trees budding, daffodils bursting into bloom, and the perfect warm weather with a slight breeze. Ah, what a perfect season to come after winter.

This weekend brought in the first day of Spring and we spent every moment we could outdoors enjoying the Spring weather. (And yes, the first line of Mr. Roger's famous song may have possible been sung by me every time I stepped outside ;).)

We started off the weekend by eating outside at a BBQ restaurant.

We also went to a nearby park...

And "played" football. I realized, again, that I cannot throw a football for the life of me. A little boy joined us and could throw the football a lot better than me. Hm. I'm pretty sure he laughed at me every time I threw it.

The river was still a bit chilly...

But the city was beautiful. "A beautiful day in the neighbourhood" may be an understatement, because downtown Chattanooga was overly beautiful!

Sunday afternoon we had a wonderful time of worship and fellowship at church. After church, we got to Skype with our family. (A smiley face doesn't do justice to how we really looked... picture me and Damarise with the most ridiculous cheesy grins on our faces... we were pretty excited!) With the time change and Damarise and I in class or at work all day, the only time we get a chance to talk with the family is on the weekend. It was wonderful to catch up on their lives and hear about what is going on with them in Africa.

After skyping, we went to Cloudland Canyon to study outdoors in the, once again, beautiful weather.

Damarise and I found a katydid shell :)

The weather was great and the company was just as great.

The weekend ended, and Covenant College beckoned us back for another week of classes, papers, work, tests, and life.

But, it was a perfect weekend full of beautiful days in the neighbourhood.

Spring

2011-03-20T00:01:00.000-04:00

Birds chirping.

Sun shining.

Flowers blooming.

Windows open.

Cheerful voices.

Barefoot feet.

I do believe Spring is in the air.

Happy first day of Spring.

Japan

2011-03-18T14:28:00.003-04:00

It's easy read the news, see what is happening, pray, put the news away, and forget. Sometimes the little things that happen in our lives seem a whole lot more important than something that is happening a world away. But, as we were reminded yesterday to continue in prayer for Japan, I also want to remind you all to keep praying for Japan.

It's been a week since the earthquake and tsunami and the Japanese are still hurting – whether through the death of friends, the destruction of homes, or the fear of nuclear plants melting down. Remember to continue in prayer for Japan.

Familiar Faces

2011-03-14T21:55:00.004-04:00

One of the coolest things about being a missionary kid is living all over the world and being blessed with amazing friends from every place. What is even neater is when you get the chance to reunite with old friends from one of those many places.

That neat opportunity happened this week. The Woodrow family (minus one) came for a visit. It was wonderful to catch up with them again – talking, laughing, and goofing off just like old times.

Sunday afternoon Damarise and I hung out with the three younger Woodrows. We showed them around the beautiful city we live in, took crazy pictures, laughed, talked, and had a grand ol' time.

We also ran into a man on the walking bridge who was giving free hugs. (Don't worry, we made sure he wasn't some creepy guy before Gracie and I gave him a hug. ;) )

We posed by random statues...

Took the traditional feet picture....

Found cool sights...

And had an amazing time reconnecting!

I thank God for the friends He has so abundantly blessed me with throughout the years. And I thank Him for the opportunity to reconnect with those wonderful friends. It doesn't happen to often, but when it does, it is an absolute blessing.

Atlanta, Georgia

2011-03-12T15:24:00.011-05:00

Damarise and I have now lived in Georgia for about two years, but never have we visited the capital of our "home" state. With Spring Break coming to an end, and Damarise and I both itching to travel anywhere, we decided to hit the road and go tour Atlanta for a day.

Friday morning our Atlanta adventure began. We woke to the sun shining, clear skies, and an entire day freed up for travel and excitement.

We drove down the mountain and went to pick Micah up at his house. The sky was just beginning to clear up from the rain the day before. Having the sun shine through random openings in the clouds was a gorgeous way to start the day.

After the drive to Atlanta we arrived at our first stop – Ikea. Damarise and I love Ikea. And within minutes of walking into the store, Micah loved Ikea too. We didn't buy anything, but we had a blast walking through all the display rooms and taking pictures.

A map on the wall at Ikea.

Mirrors.

Another mirror picture.

After spending a few hours roaming through Ikea we hit the road once more headed for downtown Atlanta. Damarise was an amazing driver and got us to a cheap parking lot safely.

We parked the car and then headed out into Atlanta to see what we could see.

First sight: An old brick building. I'm not sure if you can see it, but at the top it has a very faded Salvation Army sign. Also, these budding trees are gorgeous!

Second sight: The Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel. The tallest hotel in the Western Hemisphere.

We went into the hotel and climbed up a few flights of stairs...

And then took the elevator all the way to the 72nd floor. The Westin is a round hotel with glass windows all around, which means that we saw a 360º view of Atlanta from way up above. It was amazing!

We were excited to be up there.

The view was incredible all the way around.

We then hopped back in the elevator and rode it back to the bottom. It went fast and was definitely an experience.

Third sight: Random statue along the road.

Fourth sight: Centennial Park

Damarise and I with a statue of Pierre de Coubertin, the father of modern olympics.

Underneath the Olympic Rings.

Fifth sight: The Coca-Cola Factory.

We didn't want to pay to go into the Coca-Cola factory, so we just visited the gift shop instead.

We went back to Centennial Park and walked around looking at the random names written on bricks throughout the park.

Sixth sight: CNN Center

We didn't go on the CNN center tour, but we did get to see inside the building, and enjoy lunch from the food court inside.

After several hours, lots of laughs, and many miles walked, we headed back to the car to head home.

Until we hit rush hour traffic. Instead of waiting in the traffic, we went back into Atlanta and drove around to see more of the many sights that Atlanta has to offer.

When the sun had set, and the traffic had died down, we drove a little ways, rested a bit in a Starbucks and then left the bustling city of Atlanta and moseyed on home.

Touring Atlanta = Wonderful.

Sights seen = Incredible.

The people involved = Amazing.

Traveling Itch Satisfied = For now... :]

A Good Reminder

2011-03-08T23:11:00.003-05:00

Damarise and I were sitting in Starbucks. Studying is what we claimed we were doing, but in reality we were just spending time with each other doing homework amidst the giggling and talking. We were sitting at a table with our laptops out in front of us when we looked up and saw a familiar face.

One of the Resident Directors at Covenant College walked over to the counter to order her drink. She then came over and said hello to Damarise and me. We introduced ourselves and as we talked she mentioned that she heard our family had just moved to Africa. She continued to say that she'd been praying for Damarise and me the night before and would continue to pray for us.

Wow. It's during times like this that I realize just how powerful the body of Christ is. Even though this person had never met us, and didn't know our family, she was praying for us and our family during this new time of our lives. She was praying to the God of peace and comfort.

And right then, sitting in Starbucks, having a "stranger" come up to us just to say she was praying for us, that was immensely comforting.

We hadn't heard from the family yet since their flight took off from Atlanta. And I was beginning to feel anxious not knowing whether or not they made it to Africa safely. But this was yet another reminder that God is in control, and everything is in His hands. How awesome it is to pray to and trust in the God who leads, provides, and cares.

Thank you to all of you who have come around our family during this time. Whether through prayers, encouragement, or even the offer of meals, places to stay for the summer, or just someone to talk to. It has been a huge blessing, and has meant so much to me. I am so thankful for the family of believers God has placed in my life.

(Also, in case you were wondering, we did hear from the family this morning, and they are safely in South Africa.)

Starbucks Studying?

2011-03-07T15:48:00.005-05:00

On the first day of Spring Break, Damarise and I decided to settle down into a local Starbucks and study. Or so we told ourselves. After finally finding a Starbucks that we could park at, we ambled inside to use Damarise's free birthday Starbucks drink. Then we sat down to study. Damarise has read a bit of her paper, and I have written a bit of my paper. But for the most part we've just been sitting here laughing, talking, and enjoying each other's company. I love my older sis.

As for the studying, hey, it's Spring Break...we have time to do homework :)

They're Off

2011-03-05T16:27:00.004-05:00

Spring Break has arrived at Covenant College. And as others head home to their families, Damarise and I stay put as our family moves to their new home in Africa.

Please continue to pray for them and for Damarise and me. Thank you!

"I took you from the ends of the earth,
from its farthest corners I called you.
I said, ‘You are my servant’;
I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

-Isaiah 41:9-10

O Be With Them

2011-03-02T17:00:00.000-05:00

"Friends, and home, and all forsaking,

Lord they go at Thy command,

As their stay Thy promise taking,

While they traverse sea and land:

O be with them; O be with them;

Lead them safely by the hand.

O be with them; O be with them;

Lead them safely by the hand."

The church continued to sing as I looked up from my copy of the hymn. I looked to my right and saw my family sitting up against the side wall. Andrew, Ian, Dad, Mom, and Sarah. They sat there, some singing along with the church, others trying to hold back the tears.

The church was singing this hymn as a way to send them off to Zambia. For the past nine years every church we have attended has, at some point, sent us off to the next place God has for us. Only this time the sending off was slightly different.

I looked to my left and saw Damarise. We were both feeling the same way. Neither of us were singing but rather listening to the words while trying to hold back the flow of tears that threatened to come. It was the first time in nine years that Damarise and I weren't being sent off with the family. We were on the opposite end of the spectrum, the end doing the action, not receiving it.

I looked around at the rest of the faces singing. Our church family. They loved us, prayed for us, and encouraged us. These were the people sending Dad, Mom, Sarah, Ian, and Andrew out with prayers.

I joined in on the last verse. My eyes watery and my voice hardly audible.

"There to reap in joy forever,

Fruit that grows from seed here sown;

There to be with Him, who never

Ceases to preserve His own;

And with gladness, and with gladness,

Give the praise to Him alone.

And with gladness, and with gladness,

Give the praise to Him alone."

"And with gladness." Right then, sitting in the metal folding chair looking at my family, sorrow seemed a more eminent emotion. "And with gladness, give the praise to Him alone." Gladness? My family is moving an ocean away, how could gladness be felt right now?

The church ended the service in prayer for our family. And as the prayers poured out to God, I realized there was reason for gladness.

God has blessed me with an amazing family. This weekend was a strong reminder of that. We love each other, we laugh with each other, and we enjoy being with each other. There are not too many families who are blessed with that. And, on top of that, my family follows the Lord no matter where He chooses to lead them.

As people continued to pray, I was reminded of God's faithfulness to our family. He has led us every step of the way. He led us away from Arkansas into the life of missions nine years ago, and He has been faithfully leading every step of the way. He saved Ian's life, and protected all of us multiple times. He was with us through the rough times, and through the times where life was grand. Always, always, God is faithful.

The prayers ended, and with gladness I gave the praise to God alone.

I thank God that He has chosen my family to serve Him in Zambia. I'm thankful that they listen to His direction and follow Him no matter where it takes them. I'm thankful that even though we may be separated by miles of ocean and land, nothing can ever separate us from the love of Christ and the unity we have in Him. I'm thankful that even though most of my family will be in Zambia, God has blessed me with my wonderful older sister, Damarise, and with wonderful brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Even though the tears did flow, and the goodbyes still hurt, God was, is, and always will be faithful. And what a wondrous promise that is to hold onto.

Snapshots of the Weekend

2011-03-02T16:22:00.009-05:00

This weekend Damarise and I flew back to Missouri to say goodbye to our family before they head to Zambia. Micah got to join us on our trip (so that'd we have a guy driving back with us) We had a blast with him and our family!

(Also, this is a post for pictures... another post will be coming soon :) )

We got to the airport a little early, so we had some fun exploring the airport.

We got to Missouri at 9pm. We had a delicious dinner and then went to bed. The next morning we went outside to enjoy the beautiful snow that Missouri had.

Even though half of us look miserable, it was a ton of fun!

We had snowball fights...

Hung out in forts...

Looked cool...

Went sledding/snowboarding...

And had a wonderful, cold time!

We also celebrated Damarise's 21st birthday :)

And Sarah drew Damarise this amazing panda! Yes, again, I've got to say that Sarah is an amazing artist! I am just astounded by her drawings!

Grandma also treated us to a birthday meal for Damarise. :)

Sunday we took family pictures... well... after the boys goofed off with the camera.

Trying to touch their tongue to their nose...

Smile! :)

I love my family!

I don't even know what was going on.

This was our shocked expression.

The "look-at-Andrew-normal" expression.

Pants! Our family's sign.

Thinking.

They are the best!

"Attack the camera man!"

The homeschool family.

Homeschool choir ;)

Siblings!

Andrew traded places with Micah.

The weekend ended way to soon, and Monday morning we were on our way out.

This picture basically captures all the fun we had.

Mom and Dad left the mini-van to us, so Damarise and I now have transportation, which we are SO thankful for.

Goodbye until 2013.

On our way back to Covenant, we stopped to see the St. Louis Arch.

We had a wonderful trip back, and God gave us great weather for the trip!

I'm SO thankful for the weekend we got to spend with our family and Micah. God showed me once again what an amazing family I have and how blessed I am. I'm thankful for Micah too and his willingness to travel there and back with Damarise and me. I'm thankful for the church and the love they showed us and our family. And I'm thankful that one day our whole family will be reunited :)

Preview

2011-03-01T15:53:00.002-05:00

Here is a sneak peek at all that my last weekend with the family involved. Fun? YES! An update will be on its way as soon as I'm done with my papers that are due.

Learning Lessons

2011-02-23T16:21:00.003-05:00

Some lessons are learned from study and practice. Other lessons are learned from trial and error.

Hannah's lesson of the day was learned by, you guessed it, trial and error.

This afternoon I was in another Middle School doing another observation. I was in an 8th grade math classroom and for those of you who know me well, you will know that math and I are not the best of friends. It takes me a while to understand it and when I do, it will take me twice as long to explain it.

Now that you've got the setting let's move ahead to my lesson that was learned.

The teacher introduced me as Ms. Turnbull to the class of 8th graders and they responded with hellos. The teacher proceeded to ask me what year I was in college and what I wanted to teach when I graduated. I answered that I wanted to teach middle grades and my concentrations are in history and language arts. "Oh", she responded, "You're in a math classroom but you aren't studying math?"

And here is where I learned my lesson. My response to her question was this. "Oh! I could not teach math. I'm just not that great at it, and it is so confusing."

Whoops. All the kids latched on to that idea, "See! I knew this was confusing and hard! Yah! It is SO tough!" The teacher looked at me, smiled, and said, "Oh no! That was not the encouragement these kids needed." I tried to recover by saying it was probably just confusing to me, but that didn't help much.

Lesson learned: Never, ever say something is confusing in front of a classroom of kids trying to learn that something. Always be encouraging letting them know that all of this schooling is necessary and that they will eventually get it.

Goodbyes are Coming

2011-02-22T17:20:00.010-05:00

It was brought up when I told my professors why I would be missing class on Monday.

It was brought up when Damarise got the confirmation email on our plane tickets.

It was brought up in the Chapel Department meeting today when I was asked if I had any prayer requests.

It was brought up at Starbucks when the cashier asked about my Africa necklace and if my family was there.

It's something that we both knew would be coming. Yet, it still seems a little surreal that it is actually here. When we call the family and hear them talk about packing, saying good-byes, and taking immunizations, we feel as if we are missing out on our life.

Only, this isn't our life anymore. This time the Traveling Banana isn't the one going to another country. This time Damarise and I are the ones staying behind. It's weird to talk about, because it's weird that this is actually happening.

This is the week where Damarise and I head back to Missouri to say good-bye to our wonderful family. This is the week where we drive away from Missouri and they fly away to Africa. This is a week where God's peace and faithfulness is covering us and we can truly say that it is well with our souls.

I may update before this weekend comes, but if I don't, would you mind praying for our family this week? It will be tough to say good-bye knowing that this good-bye isn't for a few months at school but rather a few years.

We are resting in God's faithfulness and peace, knowing that He is the planner of our lives, and He is with us even if we are spread throughout the globe. What a wonderful peace to rest in. And thank you for your prayers.