Ugly, Ugly Gaps

So! How does everyone like my new layout and design??? I think its rather pretty :)

Our youth pastor preached last night to the entire congregation about prayer in an unconventional manner.
He began showing pictures of young children missing teeth, then hockey players missing teeth the old men and women in third world countries with gaps and decay.
He looked up the word "cease" in his Bible dictionary and one of the definitions is "a space or a gap." So, he determined that we should be "praying without gaps." Praying once a day is like missing your front teeth. Looking at those pictures made me assess my prayer life.

I used to have conversations with God every time I was in the car alone. Now, I keep hitting the power button on the radio and singing away.
I used to write in my prayer journal daily, I almost couldn't sleep without filling a page of thoughts and concerns. Now, I just set my alarm- and sleep; never thinking twice about it.
Lately, I have often found myself saying "I'll keep you in my prayer" knowing my conscience is saying- "Fat Chance!"

My prayer life is missing its front teeth. WE HAVE A GAP! I'll be working on that.

Now, How ugly is your prayer life???

Love to all!
Lizzi

Memories

A year and a half ago my best friend, with whom I shared a tiny apartment in Santiago, Chile; and I would get up on Saturday mornings and make banana pancakes. Whether at 8am or noon (she preferred noon and I, eight) we had banana pancakes to celebrate our one morning off.

Now we live in different houses in different states doing different jobs. We planned to relive an old memory and once again meet for breakfast and make banana pancakes.

I arrived at her house hungry enough to eat a dozen banana flecked pancakes only to find that she did not have bananas. We had strawberry and chocolate chip pancakes (which I enjoyed much more), made with bisquick (which we definitely did not use in Chile.) We also used Aunt Jemima syrup which has to be imported in the grocery stores in Santiago and costs about $8 a bottle.

After pancakes we baked a cake, a beautiful, four layer whipped filling and strawberry masterpiece; another thing we did not find possible in Chile as their cocoa made chocolate cake taste more like brown bread. Finally we looked at wedding books (she is hoping to have a wedding sometime soon) and chatted about jobs and boyfriends and such.


So, In short, We planned to relive a memory, but, instead- We Made a New One!
Which makes me realize traipsing about the world isn't essential in making unforgettable moments.

Love to all!
Lizzi

Sariya

I have several duties to perform at church between teen leader, choir member, nursery worker, cantata director, but there is none that I enjoy so much or esteem as highly as Sariya's "mom."
I arrive at church, be friendly, smile, greet, shake hands, make all non-nursery children leave the nursery then- the bus arrives. The bus goes into Paulsboro, full of children active, crazy, loud, and not so ready to sit still in church. Amidst all of the noise and the runing and frantic bus workers there is a little girl named Sariya.
Ten years old, head full of braids and beads and for some reason she has chosen me. She needs at least two hugs and a kiss on the head before she will pry her arms off me and go to Sunday school. Sariya doesn't leave until she's certain I will be upstairs to sit with her until Junior church begins.
Why am I so important in her life? Why does she call me of all people, "mom"? I don't even know her last name! I've never been to her house. But she needs to hug me and she needs to talk to me every Sunday and every Wednesday.
Maybe God is reminding me that this world is alot bigger than my personal bubble? Am I just peeping in the mail slot of the door to a beautiful child and a life that needs touching?
How many times to we get the glimpse in someone's "mail slot" but leave it at that and never truly affect the life begging for our godly influence?
How often do we let our personal bubbles be more like concrete walls? Are we letting them know we care?

a catch up

So, I've been home from Chile for almost 3 months. This is going to be a catch up post. Chile was wonderful. Came home with only part of my heart. I left part of it in Chile with a guy named Jonathan. Hopefully some day I can put my heart back together when he comes up here to meet my family. Speaking of Jonathan, he'd better get online so we can talk or I'll smack him!!

Today is memorial day. I am working at the Elmer Twist all day, scooping ice cream, making milkshakes. Nothing like making some extra money. I think I will make myself a sundae.

My friend Alexis got married last weekend. Sarah and I were in her wedding. She is moving to Alaska with her new hubby who is in the air force. We will definitely miss that crazy girl.

Well, now, I don't feel like writing this anymore. I've given up writing anything(besides in my journal) for quite some. That isn't a good thing seeing how I am locked into that correspondence writing course for $2,000. I haven't sent anything in for.... 6 months... wow that's bad. I've got to get on that.

so- I'm warming up. Maybe the next time I blog it will actually be organized, productive thoughts and not a bunch of miscellaneous things.

Love to all
Lizzi

Spiders, Worlds, Chef hats, the Letter ¨R¨

So, it has been a while since I´ve posted. I just can´t seem to find time to sit down and type for a while. I share a computer with 6 other people who need to answer emails and facebook stuff and etc.

Here is a brief overview of what has been going on, off the top of my head.

There are spiders as big as my palm living in the basement with me and my friends.

I made a big globe that is super cool and if you go to my facebook pictures you´ll see it and pictures of my friends down here.

Now I am making chef hats for the kitchen staff, I already made their aprons. This is a mental adventure because I don´t have a pattern or even an example of one. I am kind of figuring things out as I go along.

I cannot roll my R´s which sad because Spanish is full of R´s. They laugh and I try but, oh well. In this I am praying for a miracle.

I am on a diet of mainly fruit. I fainted and threw up a few weeks ago and they figured that I am anemic so I try to eat meat and lots of fruit and vegetables. I´ve lost a little weight so my shorts all fall a bit as I walk. I had to borrow a belt from one of my friends.

I get back home in three weeks. I have one week of camp, I am going down south, then I have a couple days here in Santiago. THEN I GO HOME!!!

Love to all!

Bienvenidos!

Hola from a ¨siempre¨ sunny Santiago, Chile!

I haven´t posted anthing in over a month, for this, I apologize.

The month of December is busy for most people, I believe. I had a couple extra things to keep me occupied this year.

One of them being this trip. Two months in Chile working at a Word of Life Summer Camp. The camp is on the side of a mountain in Santiago, the capital city (which is in South America, not Africa an they speak Spanish) I will have the internet on the weekends so I hope to update often.


This summer I find myself with a bit more free time than last summer. Last summer I was always running somewhere. This summer I am writing and reading and taking naps. I can´t complain but I wish that I could be of more help somehow.

I am moving to a different room again, only the 4th time since I arrived a week ago. While moving down in the subterrano (basement) of my cabin I stepped over a black thing on the floor. On my way back out I stopped to take closer look at the ¨thing¨. It was dead, slightly crumpled. It´s tail which would normally curl up a bit was flat making it´s length about two and half inches long. I looked and looked and yes... it was as I feared, a scorpion. There is dead scorpion in my oom. It was once alive. There was a live scorpion in my room! Ah!!!

Later on today I will cover a giant circular metal structure with fabric to make a globe. Then I will make costumes typical of other countries. Fun junk' eh!

Love to all!
Lizzi

Omnibus

Definition: pertaining to, including, or dealing with numerous objects or items at once

1. My neice, Avery (2) calls her snow pants- "Snowman panties"

2. A quote from Kiterunner: "Children are not coloring books. You cannot fill them with all your favorite colors."

3. I leave for Chile in 28 days!

4. My Aunt Judy at Thanksgiving dinner: "So, Jim, it'll be colder this winter."
My Uncle Jim: "Yeah, and it sucks! I want global warming back."

5. When Joseph was in the stable with Mary and the newborn Jesus did he wrestle with himself on whether he had missed God's direction somehow and that why they had just given birth in an animal cave. "Oh Crud! I just made God's Son be born in a donkey stall"- as he watches for lightening bolts divinely directed to his head.
(Even when it doesn't seem like it... it just might be God's plan after all- try asking just to make sure.)

6. My mom: "Well, I tried to put blueberry yogurt in my tea because we ran out of milk. Yeah, it was pretty yucky."

7. If you are looking for an interesting book to read (and are old enough to handle its contents) I suggest the Freedom Writer's Diary. It is hard to believe (and sad to know) that the things revealed in that book happen everyday in America.

8. Reflex tears (those shed while cutting onions or cleaning foreign objects from eyes) and emotional tears (sad or happy tears) are chemically different.

9. The World's smallest country is the Vatican city with .2 square miles. Montenegro is the world's newest country- officially on June 28th 2006.

10. Just one cow gives off enough harmful methane gas in a single day to fill around 400 liter bottles.

Love to all!
Lizzi