5/19/2013

    I've decided to do something a little different with this blog. Here's a list of 49 fun facts about me that you may, or may not have known. 

1. My middle name is Alice.
2. I used to think I was named after Alice, from Alice in Wonderland. 
3. I love to play my ukulele.
4. I'm crazy about Disneyland.
5. I ran in the Disneyland Half Marathon last year and will be running in this years a month after I get back from Kenya.
6. I might have broken my nose by hitting myself with my knee.... (I'm really uncoordinated).
7. My two top love languages are Words of Affirmation and Quality Time.
8. I secretly love to rap when I'm alone in my car, but I'm pretty bad.
9. I'm terrified of spiders.
10. I now embrace how awkward I can be at times.
11. I have had two knee surgeries on my right knee due to a torn meniscus.
12. My elbows are double jointed.
13. Driving is my quiet time. I use that time to talk to God about anything on my heart at that time.
14. I'm terrible at public speaking. I'm really trying to get better, but I still get way nervous and forget everything I was supposed to say.
15. I love the water, I love to swim, play water polo, play in a pool, you name it. 
16. I nanny an eight month old little girl, 5 days a week, and love it!
17. Most of the time I act before I think, and then I wish I didn't do or say the thing I just did. 
18. I like to say I am a pretty strong person, but there are times when I know I am not as strong as I seem and I need to lean on God for support.
19. The first song I learned how to play on my ukulele was Somewhere over the Rainbow by Iz Kamakawiwo'ole.
20. That is still my favorite song to play on my uke.
21. I listen to all kinds of music. (Hence the secret love of rapping in my car.)
22. Going back to #11: when I say "quiet" I really mean "alone" because I like to listen to my music kind of loud.
23. I sing and dance in my car, and I love the looks I get from the people in their cars next to me who have to listen to me. 
24. My favorite color is sunset orange (that would be an orange-y pinkish color).
25. I love cats, but they make my eyes itch and make me sneezy.
26. Since I'm on the area of animals, in our house we have 1 (3-legged) cat, 3 dogs (a chihuahua and two black and tan coonhounds) and 2 finches.
27. I say the cheesiest jokes, and most people give me the "I don't get it" look, and that makes me laugh even harder.
28. I laugh a whole lot.
29. I love making others laugh.
30. I'm an awful storyteller. I get distracted, and can't really remember where I was at. It takes me 30 minutes to tell a 5 minute story. 
31. When I speak to someone, I can't think of certain words, and it's really frustrating. 
32. I have a duct tape wallet, but it's unfortunately falling apart. 
33. I would rather use a macbook than a pc.
34. I am right handed, but wear my watch on my right hand. (apparently that's an odd thing for right handed people to do, I had no idea.)
35. I love to read, but haven't really read any books recently.
36. I love the show Survivor, one day you will see me on that show. 
37. I don't drink caffeinated beverages because I have really bad migraines, and my migraines get worse with caffeine.
38. My favorite song changes frequently, but right now its Build Your Kingdom Here by Rend Collective Experiment.
39. Before I publish my blog posts, I go over them and re-read them about 50-60 times.
40. Just like everyone else, I care too much about what others think about me, which is why I re-read my posts over and over again before putting them on my blog. 
41. I don't really have any sense of style. I'm more of a t-shirt and jeans, or shorts if it's hot, kinda girl. 
42. The only flippy floppys I wear are my rainbows that I've had for 3 years now (I need a new pair, I know).
43. My mom and I have matching turtle tattoos, mine is on my shoulder, hers on her wrist.
44. My mom is my best friend, I am so thankful for her and everything she's done for me, and I love her so much!
45. In high school, my car got the name Red Velvet (the interior is completely red), but within the past year its name has been changed to Roi, because it says that on the back bumper where it's supposed to say Chevrolet. 
46. I was in 4-H for several years and have raised sheep, pigs, and chickens throughout the years. 
47. I love to quote movies.
48. Writing 49 things about myself has been a lot harder than I thought it would be.
49. Today I began a new life in Christ

    This morning I was baptized. My grandpa baptized me at the church that I'm going to Kenya through. My old self died when I was beneath the water, and as I rose out of the water, my new life in Christ began. I'm so glad that my grandpa was able to baptize me, and I'm so blessed to have had so many friends and family come out to see my baptism. It was really incredible how many people were there to witness me taking the next step in my walk with Christ. The church's sanctuary was filled with people. I didn't realize how many people there were in the audience until I came out of the water and heard the cheering. It was AWESOME! 

    I know I'm the same person, but I feel just a little different today. I feel a little more at peace, not so much worry as I normally do. I've been struggling with not knowing what I'm going to do with my life, and what God wants to do through me after I get back from Kenya, and what I should do with schooling. But right now, I feel at peace, I know everything will work out. He has a plan for me, and what needs to happen, will happen in due time. He knows my heart and He knows what is best for me.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

5/12/2013

    I can't even begin to write how thankful I am for this opportunity to go to Kenya. This trip has already changed me, and I haven't left the country yet. When I fist saw the flyer in the bulletin at church, I knew I was going to Kenya, but I didn't know how much it was going to mean to me. I was so excited to be able to travel to a new country and see a new culture. I was excited about helping others in need, but it didn't have as much pull as traveling did on me. This was back in September. 

    Nothing really changed until February. That's when I felt things happening. God came into my heart and started working on it, and He still is. He's preparing me for Africa, softening my heart so that when I go to Kenya, I will be ready to God to mold my heart into something new. He will be changing me through Kenya and the people of Kenya. Now when I think about going on my trip, I'm so excited to see what God is going to do through my team and I, and how He is going to change us. Yes, I'm still really looking forward to traveling out of the country, but now that doesn't compare to the fact that God has BIG plans for my team and I, and that excites me more than anything. 

    Yesterday, my team and I met up to talk about our trip and to go over some other details. We are 98% sure of our tickets, we just have to get them booked tomorrow. We should be leaving on July 2nd and coming home on July 28th. Everything is getting so real, and I'm getting so excited. During our meeting , everyone who has been to Kenya before told us everything they wish they had been told before they went over there. It was so great to hear everything they had to say, to get some insight into what it will be like over there. 

    We were talking about some of the things we were bringing over there with us. We aren't super sure how many bags we will be able to take on the plane, but we're hoping to be able to take two suitcases and a carry-on. One suitcase will be for our clothes and personal items. The other suitcase will be used to take over stuff from the church, like bibles, and toys, and shirts. We were also talking about other little things that we could take over, such as stickers, or little bracelets. Apparently the kids love stickers, so I am thinking about bringing some sheets of small stickers to hand out. 

    I'm so thankful for each person going on this trip. Every single person has something special to bring to the team and will be able to use that over in Africa, and that's going to make for a fantastic trip. 

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 

Ephesians 3:20

5/3/2013

    As I said in my last blog, here is the link to my team's website:

Honor : A Heart for Africa

    There's lots of cool stuff about this website. Under the "ways you can help" tab, you can buy a bible to donate to the Masii Christian Chapel, you can buy a t-shirt, we don't ship =[ , and you can donate straight through the internet. It's pretty cool. It will also have biographies and pictures of every team member going over to Kenya with us. Everyone did a fantastic job on this website. It turned out phenomenal. =]