Time Change

There is a 10 hour time difference between here (Tacoma, WA) and Windhoek, Namibia. This is a chart to help myself be able to see the time change more tangibly and help plan when I will attempt to make skype calls to my loved ones while I am away.

Tacoma = Namibia
Noon = 10 pm
1 pm = 11 pm
2 pm = Midnight
3 pm = 1 am
4 pm = 2 am
5 pm = 3 am
6 pm = 4 am
7 pm = 5 am
8 pm = 6 am
9 pm = 7 am
10pm = 8 am
11pm = 9 am
Midnight = 10 am
1 am = 11 am
2 am = Noon
3 am = 1 pm
4 am = 2 pm
5 am = 3 pm
6 am = 4 pm
7 am = 5 pm
8 am = 6 pm
9 am = 7 pm
10am = 8 pm
11am = 9 pm

The Trek

I have done quite a bit of traveling around the United States in my lifetime. The craziest transition I think I made was back in high school. I went from being in Orlando, Florida to Spokane for about 5 hours in the middle of the night where my mom washed the entire contents of my suitcase and repacked it while I slept and then ran me back to the airport to fly to Juneau, Alaska. I have traveled to Canada a few times and once to Mexico, but have never traveled outside of the continent of North America. I am excited to extend my travels and explore more of the world. With the travel plans being what they are for this trip, the group I am traveling with will first fly from Seattle, WA to Frankfurt, Germany. We then have a 12 hour lay over in Frankfurt. My professor says we will be able to exit the airport and spend most of the day exploring and taking in sights in Germany. This is an exciting bonus to this trip. We will then travel that night from Frankfurt (weather permitting) to Windhoek, Namibia. Our return trip goes through Frankfurt as well, but we only have a 4 hour lay over which will be nice because I am sure we will be tired and ready to be home at that point.


First Flight: 10hrs from Seattle, WA to Frankfurt, Germany



Second Flight: 10 hours from Frankfurt, Germany to Windhoek, Namibia


Overall Map with Final Location: Windhoek, Namibia

AI Steenkamp Primary School

I found out from my professor that I will be teaching at AI Steenkamp Primary School. I will not be finding out what grade or what subject I am teaching until after I arrive in Namibia. I don't know that much about AI Steenkamp yet. Everything I do know has been told to me by friends of mine who went with this program to teach there last year. The following pictures are ones they took from their experiences. I am excited to update you all with pictures of my own experience once I am there. As for now, this is a little glimpse into the educational world in Namibia.

Time and Weather in Windhoek

This is the best website I have found that gives information about the current time and weather where I will be in Namibia. If you click on this link and refresh the page, it will give you most all of the information you would want to know about the current local time and weather forecasts.

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=266


Here is what the site looked like when I posted this:

Home Sweet Home-Casa Blanca Hotel

During my stay in Namibia, I will be living with the 8 other gals from Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) at the Casa Blanca Hotel in Windhoek Namibia. This hotel has been used for three years now by PLU for this trip to Namibia and one of the professors I am traveling with has a great friendship with the owners and operators of this establishment.

The history of this great place as copied from the Casa Blanca website is:

History of Casa Blanca boutique hotel
The original house was built in 1970 by pioneer game ranger Mr Schultz in the style of Fort Namutoni, one of Namibia´s historic monuments located in Etosha National Park. He also lovingly created the indigenous garden, where beautiful old trees today spend welcoming shade.
The house changed hands several times and in 1999 Elke & Peter Young became the proud owners of a decrepit old castle. Peter immediately saw what needed to be done, whilst Elke fell in love with the incredible potential of the property and house. They set out to extensively renovate the building and a year later a new old castle with white walls, Spanish style wrought iron, balustrades, arched windows and terracotta tiles opened its gates for guests.
Today Casa Blanca Hotel is well known for its elegant and relaxed atmosphere - complemented by excellent service. Sumptuous breakfasts and patio dinners at sunset.
After running Etambi and Casa Blanca for 15 years, Peter and Elke are handing over the business to their son Frank who will keep up the service, style and excellence. Prior to taking over the hotel, Frank spent 10 years working for Microsoft as an engineer and at Accenture as a business consultant.

I will post my own pictures sometime after I arrive, as for now I have the following pictures from the website that give me an idea of where I will be living.



Outside the Rooms


The Dinning Room


The Patio


The Pool

24 Days and Counting Down

24 days from now I will board a plane in Seattle, WA with a travel plan bound for Windhoek Namibia in Africa. I know these 24 days will go by quickly and that excites me. I am looking forward to learning new things and getting to experience an entirely different culture and school life. I am told that anything I expect to happen will not and that I can not truly prepare myself for the experience I am about to have. As for now, I must finish all requirements I have left for school here at PLU and figure out what exactly I am going pack for my long two month adventure.

Trust...

As time is winding down for the semester, my heart is all over the place. I don't know what to think about what is going on in my life. I don't know sometimes how to control my emotions as my head spins out of control of what is next to come and what will happen in the next few weeks. I find myself just wanting to yell at the top of my lungs AAAAAAHHHHHHH! Not sure what good will come of that, but it's an impulse I seem to have. There are so many question marks that come at the end of one's college career. Where has all this time gone? Did four and a half years already go by? What have I learned from all this? Was it worth it? Am I better now than when I began? What is the next step in my journey after I walk across the stage at graduation? Will I get a "real" job? Will I like being in the "real" world? Is being a "capital A" Adult really all it's cracked up to be? What is God's plan for my life? Where I am I called? How will He use me? How can I show His love to everyone I meet in the "real" world? Am I ready to be done being a college student? I find these questions and countless more spinning through my head each day. The only answer I have found to them is TRUST. Trust the Lord for He is the only one who can truly answer all these questions I have. I found myself a few weeks ago having difficulty doing just that and tears welled my eyes. I cried harder than I had in weeks and cried out to the Lord for His help. A few days later, I found a guitar and played it for the first time since camp. It brought so much peace to my spirit and I wrote this song.


Lord I TRUST You

Lord you know your will, for my life so frail, I must trust in you alone.
You oh Lord are great, you will guide my fate, I must trust in you alone.

Chorus: Trust you, Lord I trust you
Trust you, Lord I trust you

You will guide my steps, I can not regret all that you have done in me. 2x
Chorus

Your love for me is, greater than I know, Jesus be with me now. 2x
Chorus


Yesterday I received a card in the mail from a dear friend that held some very encouraging words. It was one of those things that you just thank the Lord for His perfect timing in. Those words hit my heart at the exact right time and gave me so much peace. At the ending of her letter, my friend put several verses for me to look up. The last one, the one that hit me the most was Matthew 6:33-34 which says, But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. In the moment that I read it, it felt like the Lord was tapping me on the shoulder and saying, "This is for you my child, don't worry, do what you need to do today and let me worry about the rest. Trust me daughter" So much peace came from this moment. Thank you Lord!

Friendship Reconciled

Two Friday nights ago, I got to spend the evening with my good friend Alyssa. So fun to hang out with Alyssa. Our friendship has gone through such reconciliation. It's been a bumpy road at times with us, but what a learning and growing experience it has been. I am just glad that we made it out on the other side and enjoy spending time with one another. Because our schedules are as crazy as they are, it can be difficult to find time to get to hang out, but this Friday night was perfect. I went over to Alyssa's after stopping at QFC for salad ingredients. We made delicious chicken fettuccine with a homemade sauce and delicious green salad. It was a simply yet very yummy meal made in great company. It was fun to just laugh and share life together. After dinner we headed to the PLU volleyball game where our girls kicked some bootay! I love sporting events and it's always a plus when our team wins. Afterwards we heard there was an all campus event going on in one of the resident halls so we went and checked it out. We got some free candy out of the deal, but mostly just felt old. We remembered back to our "younger" years in college and laughed at ourselves as we watched all the new freshmen run around. On our way back to the car Alyssa got really excited at all the puddles that were formed by the massive rain downpour that night. She very badly wanted me to puddle jump with her, but I just wasn't down with getting all wet, so I played photographer while she enjoyed the splashes. We ended the evening back at her apartment with a movie about firemen and the excitement of the fireman in her life. A great night overall that I hope to repeat. :)

The dinner we made was so delicious!




Enjoying being friends




We wanted to be silly








Alyssa jumping for joy into a puddle




Alyssa is all wet and I am totally dry :)

A Sunrise Hike

On Sunday, September 12, 2010 I went on a hike....Oh I was taking a hike, looking for something that I like, when a voice came from the woods, and looking at me was a hippo! :D Well not exactly like that, but I did take a hike, a sunrise hike actually. Lindsay and I had planned to meet at like 8 am to go on a hike to Tiger Mountain. She texted me the night before and asked me if I would like to make it a sunrise hike at Mt. Rainier instead. At first I thought she was joking, but then I realized she was serious. She really meant we should get up super early and watch the sunrise from the mountain. I figured, this is the best time of my life to do such things so I said sure why not. On Saturday night I went to bed at midnight with an alarm set for 3:45 am. When I woke up, I was surprised at how rested I felt. It took us till almost 6 am to get up to the mountain and the sun began to rise as we began our hike. Sadly we did not see the sun rise from the highest point in our hike, but it was still beautiful to watch the sun change colors as it made its early morning appearance. We hiked 6 miles in 3 hours which is more than I have moved my body in a long time. I was feeling it the next day when I could barely move my legs without sore pains, but it was worth it all. The beauty of God's majesty from thousands of feet up took my breath away. I want to do that hike again with a drawing pad and a notebook where i can take the time to hike a little and then pause and contemplate and reflect through drawings and writings the glory of the Lord in His creation.

Never seen a more glorious sunrise!



Fun early morning adventure with Lindsa




Glory!



Oh to gaze upon the Beauty of the Lord's creation!



I made it to the top! I love hiking, but I am not the best hiker ever. Do with passion and perseverance will come!

Beth Anne's Visit! :D

So, Beth Anne had to come home to Olympia for Labor Day weekend to do some family stuff and because Olympia is just a short distance from Parkland, I got the joy of seeing her pretty little face for a few hours. It was so fun to just get to see her. It has been a huge blessing that I have gotten to see Jenny, Skye, Kati, and Beth Anne all since camp got out. This summer was incredible and it wouldn't have been the same without these ladies. I look forward to seeing more what the Lord has in store for our friendships as the days go by.


Yay to see Beth Anne, what a blessing!




We surprised Emma at work



Skye joined us in our adventure




We got Baskin Robins and then drove around trying to find the park I wanted to take them to, but I couldn't find it so we just ended up driving in a big circle :)

Adventures in Portland, Round #1

So I meant to write this post more quickly once I returned from Portland, but that didn't happen, so I am writing it now. On August 27th I found myself laying on my bed in Tacoma surfing facebook for some time wondering what I was going to do with the weekend ahead of me. I didn't have any plans for Friday night or Saturday and it seemed like everyone I asked was either not back in town yet or had to work. As I lay there bored, a grand idea came to my mind, why don't I go to Portland for the weekend!? I missed Kati dearly already and thought it was the perfect timing before school really got started so I said why not and texted Kati to see if it was ok. She thought it was a grand idea as well and so I was off and on my way in less than an hour. It was so great to see Kati and get to meet many of her friends including the main ones she had told me about throughout the summer. We didn't do anything major over the weekend, but it was fun to just get to hang out with one another and share life outside of camp.

Celebrating Kati's Birthday at the Kennedy School (such a cool restaurant)


The Most Camp Besties (not looking campy)





Being Silly

Three Little Faces

Coming back from camp to life in Tacoma has been a big adjustment for me. Life is so different when you are not around the same 60 or so people every day of the week. Going back to being depended on by very little people for their needs was an adjustment too. It helps though when those very little people can soften your heart to melted butter with just a small glance of their perfect smiles. I missed Eva, Alexis, and Charlotte so much while I was gone at camp and it's so great to be back in the act with them now that I have adjusted. Charlotte has changed the most since I was gone though, it's crazy. When I left she was still a tiny baby it seems. She could only crawl around and say a few words like Mama and Bye. Then I come back and she's not only walking, but running around and saying words left and right. She knows how to follow instructions, though she doesn't always choose to, and she truly has a mind of her own. She knows what she wants, but has some difficulty relaying the message to you. All in all it's been fun to be back and see the new tricks the girls have come up with.



Charlotte age 18 months






Alexis age 3





Eva age 4.5

Summer Wordle

Student Teacher in Training

So, Thursday was my first day in my life as a Student Teacher. It began with a day full of meetings. In the morning I met with all the teachers of the University Place School District at the Jr. High. We listened to important people from the district talk about new hires, accomplishments from last year, fun things staff did this summer, and heard a message from the superintendent. Once that was finished, we made our way back to Drum Intermediate for a school wide staff meeting where details about the coming year were covered and discussed. Not much of the information covered pertained to me, but it was still good for me to be there so that I could get exposed to how things work at the beginning of a school year.

When introducing me to the staff at the beginning of the school wide meeting, my teacher told the staff that I went to PLU therefore I knew how to make good decisions. I like the teacher I am working with a lot. She is really chill and is a very good teacher from what I hear from her colleagues. She got me my own desk and decorated it for me with Lute colors. It is going to be so great to have my own space to work and my own drawers to keep stuff in. She also is a texter which is so great. She texts her kids and sisters all the time and understands texting. At one point in the day during a transition time, she handed me the keys to the classroom and told me to go check my phone while she talked to someone and then we would work on something else.

I think it's going to be a good semester and a positive student teaching experience.

This is me on my first day :)

IMAGINE a Summer where God works POWERFULLY!

OH, what a summer I have had. I was just reading back on my last blog post and laughing a little at myself. I knew when I decided to go back to camp for the summer that I was following the Lord's will, but once I was there, in the midst of it all, I questioned it. I questioned it for almost half the summer. Countless prayer sessions and journal writings to God, I told Him over and over again that I knew there was a purpose for me being at camp, but I needed Him to show it to me. That I needed greater revelation from Him on what I was there for. I asked and I asked, at times becoming discouraged, frustrated, and upset. It even got to the point one night in mid July where I sat in my favorite spot on camp balling, crying harder than I had in months ready to throw the towel in and leave but at the same time everything inside me said I could not. God said I could not. That was the turning point in my summer I believe. I began doing everything with a greater purpose. The mundane of my job became worship unto God. I served His people as though I was serving Him. I allowed Him to come in and transform my friendships. I began to be used greatly by Him in different ways in particular staff's lives. I watched God transform the summer I was having and it was incredible. I didn't forget about Tacoma, but my heart got so much peace about being away from there. For the last halfish of the summer, my heart stopped aching to be in two places at once and I was able to just be where I was when I was there. That's something I am rarely able to do. Something I hope God began teaching me about this summer and will continue to help me grow in. One of the biggest joys of my camp summer and one of the greatest purposes I feel I had at camp is difficult for me to put into words, but it has to do with friendship. God used me in friendship with different people, to help do His work in their lives this summer. No more joy did I have then when I got to sit down with one of my sisters and listen to them and help them and most of all pray for them. I wish I had gotten to the point where I was doing this much earlier in the summer as I feel I wasted a lot of time, but as one of them reminded me as I said that on her last night, God had a perfect plan and He used me when He did for a reason. Such peace I gained from those words. I know they are true too, as during one of the last worship songs we shared as a staff, I began to weep. It appeared to others that I was crying because summer was coming to an end, but truly I was crying instead because God spoke to me in that moment. He said to me, you my child, you made the right decision, you were here for a purpose, and I used you, you did exactly as I knew you would, and I blessed each moment of your obedience to me. I ended the summer in a peace and love. I see so much good God has done and I praise Him and I see the potential for Him to continue to work and that really makes me excited.

My summer would truly have ended up different if it weren't for these 5 gals. God used them in my life just as much if not more than He used me in theirs. I am truly grateful for all the fun times we got to share, the joys, the sorrows, the good times and the tough. I watched the Lord challenge and shape them this summer. Come August 15th they were not the same women I met on May 30th and that is the beauty of God's work. I love each one of them dearly and love watching the Lord's continued work in their lives as they have transitioned away from camp, though it's been tough, He is fully there.


Kati




Jenny




Beth Anne




Skye and Cecilee

Tacomasickness

It has been an interesting and difficult week this week. IDFY week at camp is always crazy and has never been a week I am a fan of. This week tested me a lot. Many projects to be done and tons of people around. Problem is however that I don't have the people closest to me around. I have gotten to the point where I totally miss my friends, the ones who know me at least a little bit. The ones who embrace me at each meeting. I miss those who offer to pray for me and then really talk to God and seek Him on my behalf. I want to jump around and raise my hands to the Lord in worship with my friends. I need the Lord to give me more clarity on what the purpose of my being here this summer is. There must be some otherwise I wouldn't be here. I want my purpose this summer to be more than just to have a job and make a summer salary....

School has ended...Summer has begun

The turn around from school to camp was so fast. I left Tacoma, WA at about 2pm and was in camp mode by 7am the next morning. This was an emotional process to say the least. Switching gears without any middle time to process things was very difficult. I am doing well now though. I have been tracking with camp stuff for two weeks now and things are great. The camp staff I get to work with this summer is dedicated, excited, and talented. I can't wait to see them with campers this summer, the Lord is going to do mighty things through them for sure.

I got my grades for the semester back a few days ago and I am very pleased with how they ended up. I achieved a 4.0, which I think is the first time I have done that in a semester at PLU. It feels so good to know that all the long hours I spent in the library and the diligence I put into my work has paid off. This semester was unlike any other, I can't fully put my finger on why, but it had many unique challenges. Living in a house where I was the only one in school was one of the biggest. It was challenging night after night to be off to my room or the library to finish some big homework assignment while everyone else got to play with the baby or watch a movie together. The Lord's grace was truly upon me though, He covered every minute I spent with His people that I should have been studying. He taught me a lot about juggling and balance. I still don't have it all figured out, but I definitively got a little farther on the journey this semester. Next semester I am sure the journey will continue as I embark on my student teaching adventure.

That's all for now, I will try to post more regularly about camp happenings once training is over this week and I have some more down time.

A Heart Pulled in Two Directions

I love Coeur d' Alene, Idaho so much and at the same time I love Tacoma, WA so much. How is this possible? I don't know, but it is. In Coeur d' Alene I have my family and camp. In Tacoma I have my friends and my ministry community. Both feel like home base to me in different ways. I feel like I should be glad that I have two places that I love so much and enjoy being in. This is good, the trouble comes however when the pull from other place interferes with the love of the place I am in. Because of this I feel like I will not be completely content until I can be fully in both places at the same time, but this is physically impossible. Thus, the fightable battle becomes figuring out how to be content where I am at when I am there and just counting the other place as a blessing of love far away that I can enjoy when I am there. This is a big challenge, but I pray this is part of what the Lord will teach me this summer.

WEST-E Conquered!

I just got the scores of my WEST-E back via e-mail. I am in utter disbelief of the results I have been given. The day of the test I was so discouraged as I thought it would be a miracle if I were to pass more than one of the tests. This is because I am a slow test taker and I didn't know you were only given five hours to test regardless of how many tests you were taking. Because I didn't know this, I signed up to take three tests in one day. I didn't end up finishing any of them completely and spent the last five minutes marking in C for the answer of the remainder of the empty bubbles on all the tests. Apparently I did better than I thought because according the unofficial scores I received in my e-mail today, I passed not one but ALL THREE tests! Praise the living God. This means no making arrangements to re-take the tests this summer during camp and no paying $300 more dollars to do so! I am beyond ecstatic with this news.

So, I didn't pass them by much, but I don't think anyone ever sees your actual score, just that you passed or not.
Here is the information from the e-mail:

Test: 005 Elementary Education Subtest 1
Your Status: Passed
Scaled Minimum Passing Score: 240
Your Scaled Total Test Score: 263

Test: 006 Elementary Education Subtest 2
Your Status: Passed
Scaled Minimum Passing Score: 240
Your Scaled Total Test Score: 248

Test: 012 Middle Level Mathematics
Your Status: Passed
Scaled Minimum Passing Score: 240
Your Scaled Total Test Score: 248

And, this is me in utter disbelief but at the same time ecstatic:

Tacoma's Jr. Daffodil Parade

Well it is Spring Break now praise the Lord. I still have a lot to do before it's over, but for right now I am just enjoying some time to not think about school or homework. So today, my body woke me up at 7:30 am because it is used to waking up early everyday. Since I was already up, I decided to take Andrea up on her offer of going to the Jr. Daffodil Parade with her and the girls. She said I should bring Nina along too if she wanted to come. Nina is always up for an adventure and her parents agreed, so off we went. The parade was so fun and Nina loved all the doggies and flowers. After the two hour parade, we had lunch at a local eatery where they had no high chairs. This was exciting for Nina cause she got to sit in the big girl booth and eat. She thought it was really fun and liked standing up and looking around in between bites. On the way back to our car, we stopped at a local elementary school to play on the playground. Nina loved climbing up the mountain side on the playground, going down the big yellow slides, swinging on the swing, seeing her reflection in the old metal slide, and watching the older kids play basketball. Eva, Alexis, and Charlotte loved having their new friend Nina on their adventure. Alexis even cried when Nina had to go home.

When a car stopped for us to cross the street Eva yelled at the car when we walked past it. She said, "Hi Car! You can't roll over me." -Eva age 4

Nina with her cheesy smile at the parade

To P/F or not to P/F that is the Question

So, I have to decide by March 26th which class I am going to take a Pass/Fail in. Taking a Pass/Fail grade status for a class makes it so I just have to get a 70% or higher in the class and I will get a Pass. Getting a Passing grade doesn't affect my GPA on my transcript at all, it just says that I have fulfilled the requirement of the given class. So, I am trying to decide which class is going to be most difficult for me for the duration of the semester. I have narrowed my decision down to two classes: English Literature and Mathematic Geometry. On my first big paper for English I got a B+ and on my Geometry exam I got a 80%. Because of these results, I am leaning towards the P/F in Geometry, but the final exam for English makes me really nervous as I am not a literary scholar by any means. Hmmm.....what to do.....? 11 days left till I have to know for sure....

Cute Moments That Make Me Smile

I love my job because I get to work with three of the cutest little girls ever. A great charm of their cuteness is that they say and do the funniest, cutest little things every day. Sometimes when I am lucky, I remember them long enough to write them down. Now I am going to share them with you and write them down on the web to never be lost.

Alexis in the play room hears someone coming through the house and says.
"I smell somebody walking". -Alexis age 2.5

Alexis took a shower with baby sunglasses strapped to her face like swimming goggles to,
"Keept the water out of mys eyes." -Alexis age 2.5

Riding down the street in the big car, Eva randomly just chuckles and says,
"When things are funny funny, you just have to laugh...ha, ha." -Eva age 4

After bath time, Eva, Alexis, and I play "spa" (I talk like a funny customer service person and get them ready for bed). It is funny and helps the time go smoothly. When I forget to talk in character they always say,
"Talk that funny way that you do." -Eva age 4 and Alexis age 2.5

Alexis is being potty trained, but doesn't quite get how to make the potty come out sometimes. One time when she was on the potty I said, "Alexis, are you going poopy?" She replied very strongly, "I am trying, but it's not showing up!" -Alexis age 2.5 A few days later when she was with mommy and went poopy on the potty she said with glee, "It finally showed up!" -Alexis age 2.5

On a rainy day, the girls and I spent 2.5 hours eating and playing at the local McDonalds. Eva and Alexis ran around and slid down all over the play place while I slowly helped Charlotte make her way around the gigantic contraption. I discovered that there was a loop of tubes near the top that were mostly flat but with small declines in places and I let Charlotte (age 12 months) go on a crawling adventure by herself. She thought this was the greatest thing ever and crawled around in the tubes for a good half hour. When Eva and Alexis came to say hi to us, I told them all that Charlotte had done on her own. To that Eva replied, "I love Charlotte cause she did all those tricks." -Eva age 4

There are many more fun moments that I can remember off hand, but in the coming days, I will try to remember to write more down to share.

Here's a picture of Charlotte excited about her McDonalds tube crawling adventure