One down eight to go

So today marks a week I have been here in Jamaica which means we will be here for eight more. There is a mixture of excitement, dread, and hope in these next eight weeks. Excitement to see what God is going to do and to see what else i can learn and can teach others about thier culture as well as my own. Dread because a small part of me is missing home but i know that this journey will be well worth it and I will be home soon enough and of course hope because I know this is going to be one of the most importanat and meaningful experiences of my life.

I must admit these last few days have been quite entertaining I have learned a few things from my little seven year old friend Shanel and her six year old brother Roy so I thought I would share them with you.
first you must know that it is not a computer it is a laptop
secondly please know that shirts are not shirts they are blouses
oo yes and you do not say liTTle you say liKKLE lol

I get to go with the youth tonight to Juan de Bolas which is up on a mountian lol other than that not realliy sure what all that entails but it should be alot of fun none the less

OO The things I have done

So thus far while in Jamaica I have tried several dishes that I would not normally even imagine eating two inparticulair stick out, Swordfish and Pig Tail. Yes yes I definitiely ate the tail of a pig!!! It kinda just tastes like fat off of any animal so its not that great but it could be worse whereas the swordfish was just gross. I sit here and wonder if I were in the US would I have tried these things and the answer is pretty much NO WAY JOSE I want normal food but since I am in another culture I will try and do things as they do and experience things I wouldnt typically experience and who knows I may actually like something LOL

Give Me Your Eyes

Well the adventure continues.... We experienced a few new dishes yesterday including swordfish which I could either give or take. However Yesterday we also met with the pastor for the second time to discuss what our plans/goals were for the summer and gained alot of insight as to what exactly he wanted to see happen. After this meeting Ihave simply had one prayer that just happens to be the lyrics to a pretty great song as well.
"Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see"

This is my simple prayer as we continue on our journey here for there are many hurting souls and people who just simply need to know that they are not forgotten and are loved by someone.

Its day five and you can just call me Auntie Anna

Well it is officially day five and this is the first chance I have had to get onto the internet so I felt I should give everyone a bit of an update. These last five days have been absolutely crazy. We arrived on Friday morning and met the pastor and a few others fromt he church and we have pretty much been going none stop since then. We have hung out with the children's church, went to a youth fellowship, attended a church service as well as a wedding and been to see lots of Jamacia it has been an incredible journey so far! However I must admit there are a few things from home I do miss such as warm sowers, a washing machine and ooo yesssss TRAFFIC LAWS peopel here drive insainely and others just walk the streets as if it were a sidewalk and thier weren't cars going up and down it. LOL despite all that it has been amazing the kids here are incredibly sweet after spending all day saturday with them I am now known as Auntie Anna to about 70 children. I am really looking forward to learning more about this culture and will contiue to post as i get the chance.

Today is the day.... well actually tomorrow is

So I officially leave for Jamaica today!!! I am incredibly excited about getting there and seeing how this awesome opprotunity is going to unfold however getting there is the part I never look forward to. You see in order to get the cheapest flights possible me and my partner in crime on this journey, Ericka, will have a lovely seven thats right SEVEN hour layover in Florida this evening. So I suppose I technically won't be starting this adventrue til approximately 7:30 tomorrow morning. Not sure what type of internet access I will have once I arrive but will definitely post as much as possible.
Peace Loves

Letter to GOD

This morning I woke up with a very heavy heart when I came to the conclusion that in less than a week I would be leaving the comfort of my home to go to a country I have never been to and still had no clue really what I was going so I thought who better to ask than God which prompted me to write him as I sometimes do and I thought I would share it so maybe yall could join in prayer efforts as well.

Alright GOD just so you know( as if you didn't already) I only have four more days left til I leave for Jamaica and guess what? I still have NO clue what i am doing there or why I am even going. I feel like I have been incredibly patient seeing as how I have known about this trip for almost five months. I understand it is about YOU and what YOU are going to do and not me. However, it is a bit unsettling to know that in a few short days i will be going to a foreign country to work with teenagers when I have no clue where to even begin. Just please please please give me the boldness I am so badly going to need and let me know the words to say but GOD mostly PLEASE let me hear your voice. I need to know that your going to be right there with me the entire time because I CAN NOT do this on my own.

Love

Your Daughter

now off to do a bit of bible study

Moral Dilemas

I sometimes find myself in the position of having to make hard decissions, as I am sure everyon is. Tonight was one of those nights. It was my cousins prom night and him and his girlfriend were going to come home after and have a little bit of alcohol and just hang out. I myself originally planned to not partake because I just dont feel its right for me. However, tonight the temptation was stronger than ever as I watched pretty much my entire family drink. I personally do not see a problem with having a little to drink every now and then I simply have a problem with people who get drunk All things in moderation. I ultimately decided not to drink after debating in my head for nearly an hour of being asked repeatedly if I wanted a drink. Although I do not feel it would have been wrong for me to have had one I did come to the realization thanks to a friend of mine that I am constantly being watched and me being the only christian in my household has a reputation/example to live up to and I didnt want to take the risk of messing up any thing I had been working to build up. I look back now on something that happened just a couple hours ago and I don't regret it. I had just as much fun as they did and stayed sober. The greatest part of the evening that made it all worth it was when my cousins girlfriend looked over to me and said I respect your decission and realize your the real deal. That was more than enough for me.

A little more about me....

So I know there is an actual about me section on the blog however it has very little abourt me on there mostly because I was lazy when I was working on that part. So here are a few things you should know aobut me if you plan to read any of my posts.

-First and foremost I am a sold out Christian God is and will always be the center of all that I do . I am nineteen and still have no clue what I am doing with my life for awhile I thought I had a plan burt then God came on the scene. I live with a vision disabiltiy due to a condition called Albinism (more later ) that has hindered me at times but has strengthened me more I have a grand total of 13 siblings (crazy I know) I will try to explain if you think you can follow..... up for the task???? Alright here goes nothing. My mother and my dad (dad and father are two different people) thought seperated have raised me and my three brothers til I was about 11 when he moved back to New York and met a woman and they have since had three children two boys and a little girl. My dad also has another son from a previous relationship. Ok easy enough right?? However, when I was 15 my world was turned upside down when I met my biological father who lives in Iowa he has a wife of 17 years and they had 6 kids of their own three boys and three girls.... which equals a grand totaly of 13!!! I am sure there will be more about the whole dad/father thing later on.
Anyways I am now officially a sophmore in college and this last year has proven to be one of the greatest years of my life! It has held its challenges but has also held so many rewards. I had an amazing opprotunity to meet some amazing people who had more faith than I could even begin to imagine. The greatest part however rests in one major part of my life this past year. I was blessed with a huge opprotunity to serve in a ministry that ministers to young girls and that has completely changed my life. Knowing that you have helped a child (or teenager in this case) is so rewarding. I met some amazing young girls who have been through more in their short 12 years of age than I will ever have to experience. this ministry has given me more than I ever could have given it.... it gave me a chance to find what I loved to do....serve young people. Aside from this ministry and its official workings I have met a group of young women my age that have made such an impact on my life and I can never begin to thank them enough for the role they have played in my freshman year of college. I love you all!!!
Ok well if ya cant tell college has been major for me however aside from that . I tend to say what I think (sometiems good sometimes it gets me in trouble) I want so badly to follow God's will even though I often am unsure of what that may be. Aside from God family is number one and my friends are family. I guess the bottom line is I am who I am I know what I believe and I live the best I know how. After all I have more respect for someone who is willing to stand and fight for thier beleifs right or wrong, then someone who isn't willing to fight for anything.

Pictonary or Xbox anyone???

Well it is official.. I absolutely have no life whatsoever. You see for the last ooo i dont know couple nights or i dont know WEEK I have been doing absoutley nothing exciting with my life. I have had countless games of pictionary with my brothers and my sister in law not to mention the occasional monopoly or phase ten or the ever so popular Xbox. Now you must understand I am not much for just sitting around all day however when you have just completed your first year of collge and your not used to having free time on your hands ya gotta do what ya gotta do.....right? I will simply count down the days til I leave for an aweosme missions trip to Jamaica and if you care to know there are exactly 6 days left!!!