Welp, I cooked

Sorta. I started out very simple - a twenty minute recipe from that Betty Crocker cookbook. But, it tasted wonderful! Pita bread spread with hummus and topped with fetta cheese. Put that in the oven for about ten minutes to let the cheese melt, then top it with diced tomatoes and spinach (the recipe called for olives and onions, both of which I'm not a huge fan)...and you have dinner! I'm excited to start trying more new things! Maybe I'll make some homemade Pad Thai next!

Also, I start working tomorrow at Lighthouse Espresso! Well, actually I'm just going in to figure out my schedule and sign up for times to work. I'm pretty excited, though...this is my first actual job so I hope it goes well!

My Resolve

Okay, so first of all I'd better tell you about my crazy week. So, it was Kylie's birthday last Thursday, and her wonderful husband, Jesse, wanted to give her a multitude of surprises. My mom and I were her first surprise. We got to meet her for coffee and then go and pick up her second "surprise" (she knew about it), my sister Beth and niece Ty. We went to Ky's house for a picnic lunch then met Kay Valentine at the mall (a surprise to us all) then had a Mexican fiesta for Cinco de Maio. That's right...Kylie's birthday was on Thursday, but this was all on Wednesday. The fun was yet to begin. Thursday morning we woke up with the kids, had lattes, and gave Kylie her biggest surprise yet...a massage and pedicure scheduled for later in the afternoon. After lunch with my mom, Amanda, Beth and I, Kylie went to get pampered. But we also surprised Beth, who got to get a massage at the same time. It was fun!

Now, Thursday evening is when the fun truly began. Kylie's parents both got sick with the flu, and we had planned to go to their house for dinner. Her mom had cooked the whole meal, but wasn't feeling well enough to eat it, so we went and got it and brought it to our house. It was delicious curry chicken and the most beautiful multi-sized cupcakes I've ever seen! After dinner I went over to Kylie and Jesse's house and was going to spend the night. But, low and behold, as I lay next to Beth on Kylie's bed, while Kylie was answering her seventy-something birthday wishes on facebook, I got that feeling. You know, the one where you're about to throw up... and I lost it. Dinner, dessert, and all. I decided to go home and I'm glad I did. The routine that night was throw up in the bowl, go wash it out, try to rest a little, then repeat half an hour later. I lost count after about 12 times. When morning came, the time gap was a little longer, which was nice. So this nasty bug sorta ruined the rest of our plans for Kylie. Beth didn't feel well the next day either, so poor Kylie had to take care of Ty and her kids (I say poor because she was so exhausted...I bet she loved being with Ty!) But, at least we got through her birthday! I am feeling much better now, thankfully.

And this next part has absolutely nothing to do with all of that...my resolve:

I have resolved to learn how to cook. Not to become a cook or anything super fancy. I just want to learn how to cook. I think it is a very valuable art, not to mention, fun! Therefore, I will be cooking a meal each Tuesday for my family, starting tomorrow. Well, for now it's each Tuesday..that's flexible.

Tomorrow I will make Middle Eastern Pita Pizzas, a recipe from the Betty Crocker Cookbook, 10th edition. I'm really looking forward to this new little adventure! There was something else that I resolved to do, but I just can't remember right now. Maybe I was being ambitious...oh well! Anyways, I will let you know how it goes!

And this chapter has ended...

Although it has gone by so fast, I wouldn't trade my choice to spend my freshman year of college at George Fox University for anything. I have made some amazing friends. I have met some awesome people. I have been challenged to think for myself. I will truly miss this place. Tomorrow I will be leaving Newberg, OR. I will spend a weekend at the beach with my mom. I will spend the summer in Missoula, MT working at Lighthouse Espresso. And then I will move to Colorado Springs for an internship. And after that, who knows? I am so thankful that my life is in the Lord's hands and that I can trust in His plan. He is such a good Father. So, I thought for this post, I would put some pictures up from my time here at Fox. I thank God for these amazing people that He has put into my life!

At Macaroni Grill on my birthday

Valentine's Day with Lauren and Megan

We got all dressed up and went out to dessert for Megan's birthday

An adventure to Washington Square

We went to Jimmy Mak's, a jazz club in Portland, for my Understanding Jazz class

Our first adventure together...to the creepy pet cemetery. Not really sure why we went there!

Serve Day with my RA, Anika :)

All of the girls on my floor on serve day. We served at a local ministry called Love Inc.

Our last weekend together, we went to the Seaside beach and took over 600 pictures!

One of my favorite pictures from our beach adventure of me and Megan!

And one of my favorite pictures of me and my roommate, Dana

We did some very random things together! There were many times when we were stressed out about tests or papers, and times when we were unmotivated to do anything. We would get inspired and write random songs, or we would feel down and have an evening of worship and prayer. I've gotten so close to these girls! They both love the Lord so much, and I'm so excited to see where God takes them. Megan is going into the nursing program next year and Dana is going to Music Therapy school in Lake Oswego. We have done pretty much everything together this year, and I'm really going to miss them.

Rotic with Courtney, who lives across the hall

Penn 2 girls floor retreat to the beach. What a nice relaxing place to study for 3 tests and write a paper!

My cross country team. These were the first people I met at Fox, and I love each one of them. We had some great times running together! This picture is from our cross country camp the week before classes started.

And this is from a fun weekend that I went to see Lauren. I'm so thankful that Lauren lives so close to me. It was so good to get to visit her every once in a while and see her play basketball and run in track. The girls that she has gotten to know are really awesome! God has huge plans for Lauren's life, and it's going to be hard to live so far away from her.

Invisible Children

In 1986 in Uganda, the longest war in Uganda started, and it is still going today. Joseph Kony is the leader of the "Lord's Resistance Army", the rebel army that is trying to overthrow the government. He claims to have spiritual powers and acts like he has the same authority as Jesus. Apart from ordering the death of hundreds of thousands of Ugandans, Kony gets the majority of his army by abducting children, generally under the age of 20. Ugandan children are always at risk of being kidnapped in their sleep and forced to become child soldiers for this evil man's army.

Tonight, I about Invisible Children, an organization that is working to put an end to this injustice. A few years ago, three young men went to Uganda, on their way to Sudan to do a documentary. But, God had different plans. They stopped in Uganda because they found that thousands of kids were all sleeping in the streets in an area protected by the government, in order not to be abducted. They talked to a young man named Jacob, who was abducted when he was 12 and escaped. The decided that they had to do something, so they worked to raise awareness in the states and in the Senate by making a documentary and organizing rallies.

Tonight, they showed a documentary they made of their journey, and it broke my heart. Also, we got to hear the young man, Jacob, speak. Because of "Invisible Children", he is on his way to fulfilling his dream of becoming a lawyer. He is currently a freshman in college. "Invisible Children" started a program to sponsor children so that they can get an education and grow up to be the leaders of the country and hopefully bring peace. Right now, they are sponsoring 800 children.

The thing that really got me is that this war has been going on for the past 24 years, and I knew nothing about it, at least very little. I've heard of child soldiers before, but never to this extent. It is also weird for me to think about what I was doing when I was 12 and comparing it to Jacob. Jacob is the same age as me, and I have never had to worry about any of the terrors he has experienced. God is using his voice to bring hope to a nation, just like he used St. Patrick to bring hope to Ireland. St. Patrick had been taken captive and escaped just like Jacob. (I refer to St. Patrick because today is St. Patrick's day:)

This issue is very important. Hundreds of people are affected each day by the war in Uganda. I think the best thing I can do right now is to pray for God's mercy on that nation and on those children, who are unknown, who vanish in the night. Pray that God disarms the power Joseph Kony holds on the nation. Pray that the people find hope in the Lord. I can't imagine the terror those kids and their families experience every day, and I don't think it is right that they have to experience that.

So, in the midst of all the chaos of upcoming tests and plans for spring break and my future, I can remember that this world is bigger than just the issues I face personally. I need to remember these children and keep a wider perspective. God's grace is sufficient, and I believe He can and will save those children.

Birthday Fun

Friday was my birthday, and although it was sad not to celebrate it in Missoula with my family like usual, my friends here made it such a special day! My mom had sent me a "party package" with balloons, blowouts, a happy birthday banner, candy, and lots more fun stuff! On Thursday night after Bible, my friend Megan and I returned to my room to find that Dana had put the balloons up all around the door frame and printed off some birthday signs. We had to go in armed with the big punching balloons that had also come in the package. When we walked in Dana and another friend from my floor attacked us with the balloons and we had a big fight! Then, at 12:00 am, Dana, Megan and I had some of the ice cream cake that Dana had made for me. On my birthday, we got free coffee from Dutch Bros. and had dinner at the Macaroni Grill. At dinner, I got a free piece of cake and one of the waiters sang happy birthday to me in Italian! He stared at me the whole time, so it was really awkward, but fun :) After dinner, I got to open the presents my mom had sent...I got a GPS! It was really exciting, because I get lost all of the time, and this is going to SAVE me time and stress. That evening we watched Pride and Prejudice with a couple other girls on our floor.

Then, on Saturday, I got to go see Lauren's track meet which was so fun! She's amazing. We went to Red Robin for dinner then church, and on Sunday we went for a nice run and got some homework done. It was a very enjoyable birthday!

At Macaroni Grill!

A fun Life is Good mug from my mom (it says, "Gotta run")

My new GPS!

Dana's lovely door decorations

Free chocolate cake!