My family :)

Well, the past 2 weeks have been soo much fun! My family from California and Tennesee came up to Washington to help celebrate my Grandma's 80th birthday!! :) She nearly had a heart-attack when she saw them- it was a surprise :)

We had lots of BBQ's and swimming time in our pool. But even after 2 weeks of spending time with them, you always wish that you could go back with them to their own houses or spend more time with them.

Well, i got to babysit 5 kids tomorow from 8 to 3, im pretty tired already.

*wish me good luck*
Sweet dreams :)

Red Asphalt,.....a new classic?

Well, today at Drivers Ed we watched the graphic and very real movie called "Red Asphalt". We learned about how drivers cars and getting in an accident was a huge thing, and that it would happen to us sooner or later.

In the movie, there were clips of police men driving up and seeing the once recognisable cars as pieces and bits of rubble and metal. Inside were the bodies of people, people like us, but they certainly didn't look like us. Some of them were missing limbs, covered in blood, or simply just dead. But either way, it was very life-changing to see people in a car, dead, because they simply did not follow the law and got in a crash.

Some of the people we saw were kids, children, and even a baby. This made me sad to see the lives lost because of a simple mistake by the driver or other cars on the road.

I was relieved to hear that most crashes like those are caused by drunk drivers at the wheel or racing, usually at night. I know that I'm not the type of person to do some heavy-drinking, so I feel a little bit safer on the road :)

Rwanda: opening yourself and taking a look

Well, this morning, and frankly, this day, has been a life-changing and perspective-twisting day.

My church, Liberty Bible Church of the Nazarene, took a trip to Rwanda this summer for 18 days with a small group of doctors, kids, pastors, and friends which made up a group of 30 or so.

The history of Rwanda is very graphic and heartbreaking. There was a genocide in Rwanda in which 1 million people where killed in a period of 90 days. It was because there were two different types of people, the Hutu and Tutsi people. They Tutsi people slowly started filing into the land that the Hutu where living, and that's when it all began. People where brutally murdered just because of the way they looked. If your nose was to big and like a Hutu's nose, you were taken aside and killed by 3 methods: either a club (it was free, beaten to death), a hammer (it was free, pounded to death), or a gun (you had to pay a lot of money for a gun, which only few people had, and you would be shot to death). I could not believe this.

The team from my church helped build a school for kids of all ages, they built a clinic and helped start a team of doctors down there and supplied them with plenty of medicine to last. They also brought food. They have a feeding program called " G.R.O.W.", which feeds families, and also orphaned kids. Seeing pictures of the kids as they received woven baskets full of salt, and corn, and potatoes, and seeds to start a garden, it made me realize how much I take for granted.

Watching these little kids smile, made my heart jump for joy, yet become torn in two. They were so happy and so joyful for little bits of food, or new shoes, or even just a wave hello,......this really struck me. I was happy because they were getting help, which they needed really badly because of the conditions they live in. It was also sad, to see what a state they were in, but also, only staying there for 18 days, when you wanted to stay there all your life.

I'm hoping to go there next summer, and join the amazing adventure and journey that this mission trip brings. I'm waiting, and I'm ready for my eyes to be opened. :)

Summertime,.....is it really a break?

Well, we all know that summer starts in June and ends in August, but it feels like this summer has gone by too fast. Usually, I would sleep away the days, waking up at 11 and watching tv\ eating snacks for most of the day. Occasionally I would get out and play on the trampoline and smell the sweet grass and feel the lovely, warm sun on my back :) Well, now, that has completely changed. I am now constantly doing something either involving volleyball, drivers ed, cleaning the house, or doing summer projects for my sophomore year this Fall.
I feel like I have a completely different life,....or better yet, that I am a completely different person. I am now growing up and taking on new responsibilities. Which is fun,..... but sometimes I wish I could go back to those days where I didnt have a thought in the world,
....
....
...
...nahhhhhh :) I love my life

Well, I'm gonna go to bed, this past week was fun with Kathryn taking care of me and my sister, Julia, while my parents where in Maui. Man, we loved to stay up late talking, but I didnt realized how much the lack of sleep catchesup to you *yawn* again,

buenos noches amigos :)