I'm not really sure if anyone will read this, but I did promise one more post.. I've been home for just over a day now, and it has been so wonderful :) Apart from serious jet lag, i'm SO happy to be home!! I was greeted at the airport by my family and their homemade signs- gotta love them! My flights were all good, apart from almost having souvenirs confescated at customs in Auckland, they went well. I didn't sleep a whole lot, but the onflight gaming system and movie choices kept me occupied for most of the flight! I arrived home around the same time on tuesday that i left auckland so it's a 8 day week for me :) I've already gotten to see a lot of family and Jaci and hopefully I'll see the rest of my friends this weekend!
It is definitely a weird feeling being at home again after being in another country for so long, and i can't even being to start typing all my feelings here, but Auckland is definitely a place i'm going to miss but i'm definitely looking to my future and what's in store for me next! Graduating and grad school (gasp!) i know, i'm growing up..
it's been quite the journey. i couldn't have asked for a better 4.5 months! i've been so blessed and God is faithful. i can't wait to spend the next few months at home speding time with family and friends and working in the bakery again :) until my next adventure....
kia ora!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
3 down, 1 to go
I'm now finished with three of my four finals.. last on is this coming Friday! It will be nice to stretch out the studying during my last, LAST?.. week here. This past week was a long week of studying and being sick. When I wasn't studying, I was sleeping but I'm feeling much better now! It could be one miserable flight home with a sinus infection! Mariel's dad is here visiting so we did go out for dinner a few times which was nice considering we're down to pasta and peanut butter :) Today is my friend Meredith's birthday so we're going to celebrate tonight with new york style pizza- we'll see if it's going to live up to it's standard! Other than that this week will be our final chance to do things around the city and say our goodbyes.
I have mixed emotions about leaving this place. I've called it home for the past 5ish months and it will be very hard to leave knowing very well that it will be a long time before I can come back again! I've met some great people with whom I will most definitely keep in touch with! I've cried twice already thinking about leaving (surprise, surprise right?) But I will leave this place with only good memories, GREAT memories, and an experience that I will carry with me for a very long time. I am just so blessed to have been here and can't thank you all enough for your love and support. As sad as I am to leave, I am absolutely thrilled to come home! I miss my family and my friends very much, and yes, even Walt's :) I can't wait to sleep in my own bed, eat dad's hamburgers and go to my own church on Sundays. I'll try to post some final final thoughts and photos again next weekend but if not, most definitely when I get home in 9 days. Thank you for "coming along" on all my travels and following my life here in Auckland!
Bec
I have mixed emotions about leaving this place. I've called it home for the past 5ish months and it will be very hard to leave knowing very well that it will be a long time before I can come back again! I've met some great people with whom I will most definitely keep in touch with! I've cried twice already thinking about leaving (surprise, surprise right?) But I will leave this place with only good memories, GREAT memories, and an experience that I will carry with me for a very long time. I am just so blessed to have been here and can't thank you all enough for your love and support. As sad as I am to leave, I am absolutely thrilled to come home! I miss my family and my friends very much, and yes, even Walt's :) I can't wait to sleep in my own bed, eat dad's hamburgers and go to my own church on Sundays. I'll try to post some final final thoughts and photos again next weekend but if not, most definitely when I get home in 9 days. Thank you for "coming along" on all my travels and following my life here in Auckland!
Bec
Friday, October 30, 2009
Fiji Vacation
Bula!! (Fijian greeting)
We could not have asked for a better week in Fiji. Our trip started off a little rough.. something was wrong with the plane's radar something or other, so we ended up being delayed about 4 hours. We did, however get 2 free meals out of it, so in the end it was good :) We arrived in Fiji and were greeted by our hostel's shuttle service. We spent our first and last nights on the main island in Nadi (pronounced Nandi). The morning of the second day we were shuttled from our hostel to catch the Amberley(boat taxi) from Lautoka about 30 minutes from our hostel. We had a 1.5 hour ride to Waya Island--apart from being a little choppy, the views were incredible! We arrived to Octopus resort and were greeted by the staff there with a welcome song and a refreshing glass of some sort of tropical fruit juice :) Each day the resort had different activities that we were welcome to take part of, some were free, others were not.. we stuck to the free ones (: Saturday we mostly just sat on the beach, and in the afternoon we learned how to weave bracelets out of pandanus leaves. Sunday, Mariel and I went to the local village to attend the church service. It was completely in Fijian, but it was still interesting and a good reminder that we all are worshipping the same exact God, just in different ways. The rest of the day we spent on the beach. Monday we rented snorkle gear for 5 fijian dollars and spent a lot of time in the water. There was a reef literally right off the shore- i felt like i was on finding nemo :) Tuesday we went to the village- went on a "tour" participated in a Kava ceremony, and visited the "craft market" the women all come to put out blankets and cover them with things they've made to sell. Great souvenirs! They offered jewelry making in the afternoon but i chose to keep reading. I managed to read 3 books in 4 days. ahhh.. I LOVE VACATION! The final morning we spent soaking up our last bit of sun, before our boat taxi left at 2pm. This was an all inclusive deal, so each day breakfast, lunch and dinner were served at certain times. Sometimes it was buffet and sometimes it was a sit down meal. The food was exceptional and the people there were just SO friendly. About 1/3 of the 340 or so people who live in the nearby village are employed by Octopus resort. The children on the Island go to a boarding school nearby so each Sunday they all pile in to one of the resorts boats and are taken over for the week. We had fresh flowers on our beds each day after the ladies came in to make them. Time really did seem to stand still while we were there. I can't put into words how beautiful it really was an how relaxe we were when we left...
Sidenote-- I'm consiering joining the Amish in light of my camera screen breaking on me while we were there. It seems to me that every piece of technology I have has now broken, so maybe God's trying to tell me something.. :) I was still able to get some good pictures tho! I wish i could share them here, I will try my best.
But for now, let the studying continute!! I already had one final and I have 3 more to go! I have one on Monday, Friday, and the following Thursday--prayers are appreciated! There is a cold front goign through the area right now, so it's back to sweatshirts and mittens, but hopefully our last weeks here will be warm before coming home to the cold! I hope you all have a great week!
We could not have asked for a better week in Fiji. Our trip started off a little rough.. something was wrong with the plane's radar something or other, so we ended up being delayed about 4 hours. We did, however get 2 free meals out of it, so in the end it was good :) We arrived in Fiji and were greeted by our hostel's shuttle service. We spent our first and last nights on the main island in Nadi (pronounced Nandi). The morning of the second day we were shuttled from our hostel to catch the Amberley(boat taxi) from Lautoka about 30 minutes from our hostel. We had a 1.5 hour ride to Waya Island--apart from being a little choppy, the views were incredible! We arrived to Octopus resort and were greeted by the staff there with a welcome song and a refreshing glass of some sort of tropical fruit juice :) Each day the resort had different activities that we were welcome to take part of, some were free, others were not.. we stuck to the free ones (: Saturday we mostly just sat on the beach, and in the afternoon we learned how to weave bracelets out of pandanus leaves. Sunday, Mariel and I went to the local village to attend the church service. It was completely in Fijian, but it was still interesting and a good reminder that we all are worshipping the same exact God, just in different ways. The rest of the day we spent on the beach. Monday we rented snorkle gear for 5 fijian dollars and spent a lot of time in the water. There was a reef literally right off the shore- i felt like i was on finding nemo :) Tuesday we went to the village- went on a "tour" participated in a Kava ceremony, and visited the "craft market" the women all come to put out blankets and cover them with things they've made to sell. Great souvenirs! They offered jewelry making in the afternoon but i chose to keep reading. I managed to read 3 books in 4 days. ahhh.. I LOVE VACATION! The final morning we spent soaking up our last bit of sun, before our boat taxi left at 2pm. This was an all inclusive deal, so each day breakfast, lunch and dinner were served at certain times. Sometimes it was buffet and sometimes it was a sit down meal. The food was exceptional and the people there were just SO friendly. About 1/3 of the 340 or so people who live in the nearby village are employed by Octopus resort. The children on the Island go to a boarding school nearby so each Sunday they all pile in to one of the resorts boats and are taken over for the week. We had fresh flowers on our beds each day after the ladies came in to make them. Time really did seem to stand still while we were there. I can't put into words how beautiful it really was an how relaxe we were when we left...
Sidenote-- I'm consiering joining the Amish in light of my camera screen breaking on me while we were there. It seems to me that every piece of technology I have has now broken, so maybe God's trying to tell me something.. :) I was still able to get some good pictures tho! I wish i could share them here, I will try my best.
But for now, let the studying continute!! I already had one final and I have 3 more to go! I have one on Monday, Friday, and the following Thursday--prayers are appreciated! There is a cold front goign through the area right now, so it's back to sweatshirts and mittens, but hopefully our last weeks here will be warm before coming home to the cold! I hope you all have a great week!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Leavin' on a jetplane... TO FIJI!!
Oh, look! Another week is gone! This week was again filled with homework, and trying not to get wet in all the rain! We have had off and on patches of nice weather, but it still rained quite a bit! I was able to spend about an hour at Albert park ( right next to campus) laying in the grass under the sun on Thursday afternoon..There was a guy playing his guitar and singing about 20 feet from me.. I can't think of a better way I could have spent that hour!! :)
The city buses were on strike for just over a week, but the strike ended this week so we were able to take the bus to the Otara Markets, about 40 minutes away. It was a fun way to spend the morning buying souvenirs and experiencing a different part of the culture here in Auckland.
I'm finishing up my final paper of the semester right now and it feels great! I can spend the rest of my free time this week starting to study for finals! Hopefully the weather will be nice so I can spend more time at the park this week!
Friday we leave for Fiji. I thought this day would never come! We've been talking about it and looking forward to it since we got back from our south island trip! We are staying 2 nights in Nadi (on the main Island) and 4 nights on Waya Island on Likuliku Bay. Here's a map of where i'll be and a picture of the beach we're staying at for you to be jealous of... :o)
We leave Friday after classes ( which is Thursday night for you all ) Please pray for safety as we travel! We will have limited internet access while we are there however I do not think we will have cell reception except for when we're on the main island. Our "to do" list consists of: laying on the beach while reading and studying for finals. There is a lot to do at the place we're staying if you want to check it out here's the link! www.octopusresort.com
I also want to thank you all for the mail that you send. :) It really has made me feel loved and missed back home! I have consistently received mail while I've been here and it always makes my day when I open up our mailbox and find envelopes inside :) I love you all and can't wait to post again when we get back!
The countdown has reached 29 days...
Blessings to you all!
"The LORD is compassionate and gracious,slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 103:8-12
The city buses were on strike for just over a week, but the strike ended this week so we were able to take the bus to the Otara Markets, about 40 minutes away. It was a fun way to spend the morning buying souvenirs and experiencing a different part of the culture here in Auckland.
I'm finishing up my final paper of the semester right now and it feels great! I can spend the rest of my free time this week starting to study for finals! Hopefully the weather will be nice so I can spend more time at the park this week!
Friday we leave for Fiji. I thought this day would never come! We've been talking about it and looking forward to it since we got back from our south island trip! We are staying 2 nights in Nadi (on the main Island) and 4 nights on Waya Island on Likuliku Bay. Here's a map of where i'll be and a picture of the beach we're staying at for you to be jealous of... :o)
We leave Friday after classes ( which is Thursday night for you all ) Please pray for safety as we travel! We will have limited internet access while we are there however I do not think we will have cell reception except for when we're on the main island. Our "to do" list consists of: laying on the beach while reading and studying for finals. There is a lot to do at the place we're staying if you want to check it out here's the link! www.octopusresort.com
I also want to thank you all for the mail that you send. :) It really has made me feel loved and missed back home! I have consistently received mail while I've been here and it always makes my day when I open up our mailbox and find envelopes inside :) I love you all and can't wait to post again when we get back!
The countdown has reached 29 days...
Blessings to you all!
"The LORD is compassionate and gracious,slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 103:8-12
Monday, October 12, 2009
approaching the finish line
The end of classes is almost here.. we have the remainder of this week and all of next week and that's it! I have one assignment and one paper to write and then it's time to study for finals! Next friday we leave for Fiji until the following Thursday, and since it is still rainy and cold here in Auckland, we are VERY MUCH ready to leave :)
I probably shouldn't be counting the days.. but only 36 left... :( Apart from the one week of travelling we have left, we're pretty much staying in Auckland. The final exam period lasts for about 4 weeks, and from what we've heard, we're going to need all that time for studying!!
This past week was extremely busy for me, I had 2 rather large papers due and a long weekend of working on stats. they keep trying to tell us we'll use this knowledge in statistics in our everyday lives, but i don't believe them! :) i'm the only person i know that has taken this long to complete the assignment, but the good news is that i'm nearly finished :) the bad news is that my saturday this week will be spent at an 8 hour workshop in preparation for the final :(
I got my laptop back but they were not able to revive it. On the upside, they were able to back up my pictures for me :)
That's about it. Prayers are always appreciated :) We're still trying to enjoy every moment we're here:) I love you and miss you all and I can't wait to see you all soon!
"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." --Acts 20:24
I probably shouldn't be counting the days.. but only 36 left... :( Apart from the one week of travelling we have left, we're pretty much staying in Auckland. The final exam period lasts for about 4 weeks, and from what we've heard, we're going to need all that time for studying!!
This past week was extremely busy for me, I had 2 rather large papers due and a long weekend of working on stats. they keep trying to tell us we'll use this knowledge in statistics in our everyday lives, but i don't believe them! :) i'm the only person i know that has taken this long to complete the assignment, but the good news is that i'm nearly finished :) the bad news is that my saturday this week will be spent at an 8 hour workshop in preparation for the final :(
I got my laptop back but they were not able to revive it. On the upside, they were able to back up my pictures for me :)
That's about it. Prayers are always appreciated :) We're still trying to enjoy every moment we're here:) I love you and miss you all and I can't wait to see you all soon!
"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." --Acts 20:24
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Rain, Rain GO AWAY.
Well to be completely honest it's been a pretty crappy week. The weather has been nasty-probably due to the Tsunami that hit Samoa and American Samoa and Tonga- while i'm thinking about it, remember all those people in your prayers! New Zealand lives were lost in the tragedy as well as a lot of relatives and friends of many people from our University! but the weather just doesn't seem to want to let up, and I could use some sunshine in my life :)
Mariel and I opted out of a fun weekend staying on Rakino (an Island about 40 minutes away by boat) We both have a lot of work due this week and I had a workshop on Saturday that i needed to go to for Stats.
We did, however, spend a fun night out in Auckland this week while Jillian was still here! We went to see Mama Mia!! Tickets were ridiculously cheap- under $40USD and we had decent seats! Following that we got giapo ice cream and walked back to our apartment in the rain... i will now be singing those songs in my head for a good month most likely....
anyways, I'm sorry i don't have much exciting news to report this week, but the next weekends are going to be spent here in Auckland preparing for exams. We booked one last trip at the end of classes before the exam period begins.... TO FIJI!! The mere thought of lying on a beach in the warm sun with a good book in hand is what is keeping me motivated in my school work.. SO, that's that. 3 more weeks of hard work will pay off in the end! 12 more days of classes, 19 days til Fiji, and 43 short days til I'll be flying home :)
oh, and I havne't heard from the computer place yet, so hopefully this week i'll have it back. even tho it's broken for good, i'm hoping and praying they were able to remove the pictures from my hard drive!!
blessings! have a great week!
Mariel and I opted out of a fun weekend staying on Rakino (an Island about 40 minutes away by boat) We both have a lot of work due this week and I had a workshop on Saturday that i needed to go to for Stats.
We did, however, spend a fun night out in Auckland this week while Jillian was still here! We went to see Mama Mia!! Tickets were ridiculously cheap- under $40USD and we had decent seats! Following that we got giapo ice cream and walked back to our apartment in the rain... i will now be singing those songs in my head for a good month most likely....
anyways, I'm sorry i don't have much exciting news to report this week, but the next weekends are going to be spent here in Auckland preparing for exams. We booked one last trip at the end of classes before the exam period begins.... TO FIJI!! The mere thought of lying on a beach in the warm sun with a good book in hand is what is keeping me motivated in my school work.. SO, that's that. 3 more weeks of hard work will pay off in the end! 12 more days of classes, 19 days til Fiji, and 43 short days til I'll be flying home :)
oh, and I havne't heard from the computer place yet, so hopefully this week i'll have it back. even tho it's broken for good, i'm hoping and praying they were able to remove the pictures from my hard drive!!
blessings! have a great week!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Loooong Overdue...
Each day passes me by more quickly. I’m sure I sound like a broken record but the thought goes through my head each day that I’ve been here. I’ve done so many great things, and by the end of each week I always ask myself, “Where did the time go this week?” If there were a way to slow down time, believe me, I would. It has been nice staying around Auckland the past few weeks after travelling for so long. It gave us all a chance to plan the rest of our semester and catch up/begin our work for the remainder of the semester.
Last week was the “Air New Zealand Fashion Week” her e in Auckland and I found myself with a front row ticket to a runway fashion show. Now I’m sure most of you already starting laughing because the thought of me at a fashion show is quite comical. I never thought I’d be stressed over what to wear, but even I didn’t want to show up to a fashion show looking like an idiot, so the girls and I went shopping and I bought some “ cute wedges” to go with the outfit we salvaged from the clothes I brought with me. I did, however, walk there in my flip flops while carrying the ‘shoes of death’ in my bag :o) I wasn’t about to injure myself walking in heels…that phone call home would have been all too humiliating… All in all it was a fun day out with the girls—and now I can say 2 things.. 1. I really know nothing about fashion. And 2. I’ve done it once; I don’t need to do it again!
Last week Sunday was my beautiful roommate Sarah’s 21st birthday! Being the party animals that we are, we all made some food or dessert and sat around and talked all night. The night before we made our big trip to Foodtown to get all the food we needed –always a good time. Other than that the weekend was just filled with homework and relaxing- the weather wasn’t so great!
Tuesday evening Kate took all of us Arcadia students to see a play on campus called “The Pohutukawa Tree.” It was long and a little slow at times, but I still enjoyed it. It was good to see the other members of our group and as always, it was great to see Kate and get a “mom hug.” Plus a free night out beats out staying in and studying any day….
Mariel’s friend, Jillian (who we stayed with in Australia) is here visiting for a week! We’ve had a fun time hosting someone and have had some pretty legit dinners, too Saturday we rented our sweet 8 passenger van, and after a few problems with the rental company, we were on the road to Coromandel Peninsula to go to Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach! It’s about 2.5 hours away and of course, we had to stop because I got sick.. (NO more road trips for me) It rained on and off the whole day, but we still saw some sunshine. First we had lunch and a café and then headed over to hike about 35 minutes down to Cathedral Cove. We hung out down there for about an hour and hiked back up and drove over to Hot Water Beach. We rented a few shovels and headed over to the area where you’re allowed to dig! There are natural hot springs under the sand on some areas of the beach so when the tide is out, you can dig a hold and presto!..you’re own natural spa! Unfortunately we were extremely early for low tide so we didn’t end up actually digging a real hole, but I went in the freezing cold ocean and we dug our feet in the sand to feel the hot springs.. Very cool. We left about 6:30 pm and stopped in a little town for takeaways and headed back to Auckland. We took advantage of having the van and stopped at Foodtown to buy groceries! It was a long day and a late night, but it was a fun time!
Saturday night was also daylight savings here, so we “sprung ahead” an hour. Of course we all had it written down in our calendars but that doesn’t mean we were going to remember about it…so Mariel and I were a few minutes late in returning the rental van Sunday morning—and if we would have been on time we probably wouldn’t have had to walk back in the rain… We got back, made some coffee and changed for church! The Watomo Children’s Choir from Uganda, Africa was there to lead the service! We definitely enjoyed their ministry!
I do have a bit of bad news to share with you all. You know that delicious cup of coffee I mentioned earlier? Well, I was unable to enjoy most of it because it had an unfortunate run in with my laptop…..needless to say, I’ve switched to chai tea lattes for the time being.. I’m took up all the liquid as best I could, got some advice on how to save it, so now we’ll see if the repair people can do anything for me. At this point I’d just like the pictures from my hard drive. I can live without a computer, but those pictures are special Everything I’ve taken is backed up online—at least most of them! I’m staying positive about it tho—just means spending more time at the library and on campus using those computers! I’m finding it hard to freak out a ton over it because 1. It happened and I can’t make it un- happen and 2. I’m just so lucky to be here having this experience, I’m finding it hard to complain about the bad things. .. God has provided all my needs and then some, so I’m not worried! This same lap top survived the great candle wax incident of '07 so maybe I'll be just as fortunate this time :)
I continue to ask for your prayers as we finish up! Our coursework overall has proved to be a bit more of a challenge than we first anticipated and most of our classes have a final exam worth about 50% or more of our semester grades! Right now I feel great about all my classes besides stats. It’s just not clicking and I have to spend a ton of extra time on it.. So prayers for clarity and focus would be much appreciated!
Also, a prayer request from home.. My cousins Mike and Jenna Sluiter’s little guy, Jake is being hospitalized right now for a possible shunt infection. I haven’t heard any details or updates yet (some of you might know more than I do at this point) but if you could remember them and the doctors in your prayers, that would be great too!!
Well, I thin that’s about enough for now.. sorry (CORINNA) that it took me so long to update! Hopefully I can use a friend’s computer to put up some pictures and liven up this post and hopefully I’ll have another post after this coming weekend! Because I don’t have a computer accessible to me at all times anymore, communication might be down.. the best way to reach me might be via post or carrier pigeon.. Whichever you prefer I’ll try to stay as connected as possible with everyone back home! Have a great week! Until next time….
Last week was the “Air New Zealand Fashion Week” her e in Auckland and I found myself with a front row ticket to a runway fashion show. Now I’m sure most of you already starting laughing because the thought of me at a fashion show is quite comical. I never thought I’d be stressed over what to wear, but even I didn’t want to show up to a fashion show looking like an idiot, so the girls and I went shopping and I bought some “ cute wedges” to go with the outfit we salvaged from the clothes I brought with me. I did, however, walk there in my flip flops while carrying the ‘shoes of death’ in my bag :o) I wasn’t about to injure myself walking in heels…that phone call home would have been all too humiliating… All in all it was a fun day out with the girls—and now I can say 2 things.. 1. I really know nothing about fashion. And 2. I’ve done it once; I don’t need to do it again!
Last week Sunday was my beautiful roommate Sarah’s 21st birthday! Being the party animals that we are, we all made some food or dessert and sat around and talked all night. The night before we made our big trip to Foodtown to get all the food we needed –always a good time. Other than that the weekend was just filled with homework and relaxing- the weather wasn’t so great!
Tuesday evening Kate took all of us Arcadia students to see a play on campus called “The Pohutukawa Tree.” It was long and a little slow at times, but I still enjoyed it. It was good to see the other members of our group and as always, it was great to see Kate and get a “mom hug.” Plus a free night out beats out staying in and studying any day….
Mariel’s friend, Jillian (who we stayed with in Australia) is here visiting for a week! We’ve had a fun time hosting someone and have had some pretty legit dinners, too Saturday we rented our sweet 8 passenger van, and after a few problems with the rental company, we were on the road to Coromandel Peninsula to go to Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach! It’s about 2.5 hours away and of course, we had to stop because I got sick.. (NO more road trips for me) It rained on and off the whole day, but we still saw some sunshine. First we had lunch and a café and then headed over to hike about 35 minutes down to Cathedral Cove. We hung out down there for about an hour and hiked back up and drove over to Hot Water Beach. We rented a few shovels and headed over to the area where you’re allowed to dig! There are natural hot springs under the sand on some areas of the beach so when the tide is out, you can dig a hold and presto!..you’re own natural spa! Unfortunately we were extremely early for low tide so we didn’t end up actually digging a real hole, but I went in the freezing cold ocean and we dug our feet in the sand to feel the hot springs.. Very cool. We left about 6:30 pm and stopped in a little town for takeaways and headed back to Auckland. We took advantage of having the van and stopped at Foodtown to buy groceries! It was a long day and a late night, but it was a fun time!
Saturday night was also daylight savings here, so we “sprung ahead” an hour. Of course we all had it written down in our calendars but that doesn’t mean we were going to remember about it…so Mariel and I were a few minutes late in returning the rental van Sunday morning—and if we would have been on time we probably wouldn’t have had to walk back in the rain… We got back, made some coffee and changed for church! The Watomo Children’s Choir from Uganda, Africa was there to lead the service! We definitely enjoyed their ministry!
I do have a bit of bad news to share with you all. You know that delicious cup of coffee I mentioned earlier? Well, I was unable to enjoy most of it because it had an unfortunate run in with my laptop…..needless to say, I’ve switched to chai tea lattes for the time being.. I’m took up all the liquid as best I could, got some advice on how to save it, so now we’ll see if the repair people can do anything for me. At this point I’d just like the pictures from my hard drive. I can live without a computer, but those pictures are special Everything I’ve taken is backed up online—at least most of them! I’m staying positive about it tho—just means spending more time at the library and on campus using those computers! I’m finding it hard to freak out a ton over it because 1. It happened and I can’t make it un- happen and 2. I’m just so lucky to be here having this experience, I’m finding it hard to complain about the bad things. .. God has provided all my needs and then some, so I’m not worried! This same lap top survived the great candle wax incident of '07 so maybe I'll be just as fortunate this time :)
I continue to ask for your prayers as we finish up! Our coursework overall has proved to be a bit more of a challenge than we first anticipated and most of our classes have a final exam worth about 50% or more of our semester grades! Right now I feel great about all my classes besides stats. It’s just not clicking and I have to spend a ton of extra time on it.. So prayers for clarity and focus would be much appreciated!
Also, a prayer request from home.. My cousins Mike and Jenna Sluiter’s little guy, Jake is being hospitalized right now for a possible shunt infection. I haven’t heard any details or updates yet (some of you might know more than I do at this point) but if you could remember them and the doctors in your prayers, that would be great too!!
Well, I thin that’s about enough for now.. sorry (CORINNA) that it took me so long to update! Hopefully I can use a friend’s computer to put up some pictures and liven up this post and hopefully I’ll have another post after this coming weekend! Because I don’t have a computer accessible to me at all times anymore, communication might be down.. the best way to reach me might be via post or carrier pigeon.. Whichever you prefer I’ll try to stay as connected as possible with everyone back home! Have a great week! Until next time….
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