pics and thoughts

La Canoa playground (part of)





this was amazing! in the midst of "depression" this hope was so radiant!




the river. BEAUTIFUL!!



the road to the river.



David spinnin some kids











our bus!! :D La Canoa and half of Presidio





me and some chicas from Amando Lopez



painting murals... the better part of them.... with older kids


the La Canoa team. LOVE them all!!






Jose y yo.... hes a cutie pie!!








our inside murals.... and yes.... that is a boat in the middle of the sky. this was disasterous. the pic makes it look better... trust me. the little kids did this.








our time with the kids







HENRY!!! he is a monkey... seriously!! love him!!




these are random thoughts in no sequence or order.

i think that this thanksgiving was the first one that i can truly say that i am thankful and feel thankful in my heart. its something to say it and think it for a day, but this year it has been so much more to me. the simple things in life that we often pass by... for example... putting toilet paper in the toilet after you have used it. most of the time we think, oh.. poor countries have holes as toilets, but to me the the thing that stood out was the people who had flush toilets and yet still couldnt use them how we do.

still on the topic of thanksgiving, i had a convo with someone the other day. this person also went to el salvador. they explained how hard it was for them to eat at thanksgiving. my experience wasnt quite like that. i ate a plate of food and i was thankful for every bite i had. then people kept telling me to get more... i totally could have eaten more but i couldnt justify it to myself. i wish everyone there could have gone to el salvador and experiences what i did. i am not saying that they should have gone and seen how poor the people were or how little the el salvadorian people ate because they couldnt afford it, i wish they (the people at thanksgiving) could have seen what little they need to survive. we are in a culture where people indulge in everything and i think it is pointless... we pretty much dont need anything to survive.

i find it so hard to explain my experience to people. God really changed my heart and that is something that other people who have not experienced what i have, can not see. i wish that they could. el salvador changed my life and i really want that to be something other people can experience too.

el salvador

before we left el salvador, people talked about being depressed when they got home. i was like, yeah whatever. but now... i can totally see what they were talking about. i miss it SO much! words can not describe my experience there. la canoa is something i will never forget.

i had so much fun there! a lot of bonding went on! when you use a bathroom with someone else standing in it too, there is just something that forms between you. :D the bathroom situation was definitely interesting!

my team constisted of the following people: Cassie Cecil, Beverly Bultsma, Carissa Burch, Katie Fronke, Lindsey Miller, Arielle Briscoe, Sam Aparacio, David Romberg, and Mr Westrup along with two other ladies who made up our leadership team.

the communities were definitely the best part of the trip, i wish we could have spent more time there. the teachers are such an inspiration to me! they are amazing! the kids are so adorable, and love to be loved. their happiness is something that i need to reflect.

coming back right before thanksgiving is definitely a good thing. i am SO thankful for everything that God had blessed me with. i never really fully understood that before now. i am definitely going to use what i have in more useful and productive ways. God has blessed me, i need to bless others.

we spent a couple of days in the capital. we went to a coffee farm and went on a hike. i almost got pushed off a cliff by mr hernandez... which was interesting. we got to go inside a bat cave! one bat actually touched me! exciting! that was a fun day.

so overall, El Salvador was amazing!

viva la vida

My weekend was pretty relaxing. On saturday I got a replacement phone! now i actually have a keypad that WORKS!! WHOOHOO!! that took FOREVER because apparently i have like 400 pics on my phone that they had to transfer to the new one. So we went ti Mimis and ate while we were waiting. l0l. So then we came home and I did homework. Then my family and August went to a fundraiser thing/dinner. which was alright.

On sunday, i chilled.... i think. Oh yeah, and i packed for El Salvador.

I cannot beleive that we leave on wednesday!! It is so soon! I am mostly doen with packing... i just have to add a couple of items.

i am nervous about all the homeowork i will have to do when i get back!!! ahhh....not good!! oh well, its life, right!!

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY I WILL BE 16!! YAYAY!!!!!!!

YAY!!

so... i did REALLY well on my AP gov test! i thought i just did okay... but i was so happy to see that it raised my grade a whole percent!!! WHOOPEE!

because when...

...I arrive
I bring the fire
Make you come alive
I can take you higher
What is this, forgot?
I must now remind you
Let It Rock
Let It Rock
Let It Rock
-------------------

bum bum be duh bum bum be dum.... DISTURBIA!

-------------------

these songs have been stuck in my head today. so yah.

but anyway.... my week has been pretty good. i am extremely tired! which is weird considering we have only had 2 days of school this week. today we had a earthquake drill... it was interesting. not super fun, but hey... thats 30 mins outta class! i cannot wait until the weekend! i am so over school!

only 6 days until i leave for el salvador!! im really excited but nervous too!! i dont really know what to expect which is scary but i know that it will be fun.

deserted

i feel like i have deserted my blog. but it WILL NOT DIE!!! hehe.

so formal on saturday was a lot of fun! we went and ate at in-n-out before the dance.... hahaha.... that was amazing!

today 10-12 of us went to the rock gym to do our 2 hours for wilderness challenge. it was fun! we didnt do a lot of climbing but we bouldered a bit and then just hung around and talked. i enjoyed it!

sorry this post isnt very informative. ill try harder next time!

random?

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."
1 Timothy 4:12 NIV

i spent a lot of today talking to one of my friends. one of the things that came up was christianity and how some people just dont understand the concept of God or the Bible. its hard to help them when satan has gotten in the way and made them be completely hardened, or confused about it. i think this verse definitely applies to situations like that. setting an example is often the only way that will get through to people. it is reassuring that even if we cant bluntly talk about God to someone, that God accepts our efforts when we try to set an example. so yah

i had so much fun today! tried to get into a rated R movie, didnt work. ate a really good sandwich from quiznos. sat in a park and talked. went to church. chilled with some people. home. im pretty stoked that this weekend is a FOUR day weekend! whoopieee!

AMAZING DAY!

i had SO much fun today at the rock gym! i conquered the wall that i got stuck on last time, AND i got to the top of another one! it felt so amazing to hit that bell! :] it was fun hanging out with some different people for a change! but yes, my day was definately amazing! now i am off to the POTUS party. whoohoo! haha... not. but its EC for my hardest class... so it'll be worth it!



so i just gpt back frm the POTUS party. yah made my day go down. i am not feelin obama bein our president. i wish i was sone with college so i could pack my bags and GET OUT of this country!!!! gahhh

so ready...

to be OUT of high school. i am SO over it. i need a change. i have had enough of the people (except my amigos of course!). i am SO ready to leave and start fresh!

rain

IT RAINED TODAYY!!!!! i went outside and ran around for a few seconds... then mom wanted me to do something outside, i was SOAKING!! i absolutely loved it! i am so ready for Oregon!! :D

so yeah, i spent almost the whole day doing homework which was annoying but im glad its done!!

life is goooood.