it's a college life for me!

on april 1st, 2013, i started classes at oregon state university. being april fools day, i was hoping it was some sort of joke, however it was not. after almost 3 years of being out of school, i was back. back to homework and taking notes, heavy backpacks and long walks from my car to class. i am majoring in computer science and was quite nervous about programming. while, yes i am good with technology and i enjoy learning, i have never programmed in my life. i didn't even know the different programming languages. honestly, i had no idea there was more than one! why doesn't every use the same one? wouldn't it make life so much easier? but i won't get into that.

why computer science, you ask? honestly, i don't know. being the logical person i am, i had a list of qualifications that my major/future career had to have. things like a good job market, able to do full and part time, and something that i am interested in. after much research, computer science it was! what do i want to do with it? who knows. i have some ideas, but really, i don't want to be a career woman. so i'm just taking it one day at a time. we'll just have to see what happens!

so there i am, in a class of about 150, with maybe 10 other females. woof. talk about a man's world! but it's honestly not so bad, and i can always find someone who is willing to help me! it was good to get back into a routine. i've always liked school, well i've been good at school which is about as close to liking it as i think i'll ever get. computer science has been ridiculous, trying to figure all that out. it really IS a whole other language. but i cannot describe the sense of accomplishment that comes with figuring out how to make my program work! and boy, can i do some cool stuff. i can guess a number that you are thinking within 5 guesses. and i know that is going to come in VERY handy in my future. (sarcasm intended)

i took a speech class spring term. i had taken one before, but it didn't count for a computer science degree, so i "got" to take another. actually, i wasn't worried about speech at all. i've always liked to talk. (for one, i'm a girl, and for two, i get it from my dad) i became especially comfortable with sharing my thoughts during my DTS. i was actually excited to maybe share some of my passions and beliefs during my speeches! i did learn one thing, i say "umm" ALL THE TIME. especially when i am not sure on what i am talking about. so i had to learn to correct that, and correct it fast! i was able to talk about my time in colombia, as well as homeschooling. it was cool to share some things that ordinarily don't just jump up in conversation!

i did have to take summer classes. (insert sad face) i was very upset to find that i would have to spend 5 hours a day in class and at least another 3 doing homework! but i got through it. my dad helped me see that it was really only 8 weeks, and that in the scope of like, 8 weeks is really nothing. and one thing is for sure, i learned a lot in that short amount of time! plus, if there was any summer to have to take classes, it would be one where i was recovering from a broken ankle! yes, i did brake my ankle at the end of april, but that's another story for another post.

so now i'm on "summer break" which is a whole six weeks! i plan on living it up, and soaking in every second! classes start again on september 30th, but let's not even talk about that yet...

i am alive!

well hey there everyone! i know what you are thinking. and yes, it has been a very very long time since i have written anything. see, i was in colombia for two months with only access to an ipod. DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO TYPE A BLOG POST ON AN IPOD? trust me, i tried. then i gave up. and when i got back, it was all to emotional and stuff and i told myself "i need to process." then life picked up speed and honestly? i forgot. whoops. but guess what? i remembered! so here's a little bit about the past three months. some things i may go into great detail and others i might barely mention. it's just what my brain deems important for today. :)

i left for colombia with a team of 14. we came back with 9.... and a half......

JUST KIDDING. it was really safe. but i do think we all left a little bit of our hearts in colombia. the people are the nicest. the kids are the cutest. the weather is the most humid. the oranges are the sweetest. the language is the most spanish. ok, enough of that.

we were first in a city called pereira. we stayed at the ywam base there, and got really close to those who live there. the base just started up and they only have a few on staff. yury, the director. her sister, paula and paula's 10 year old son, andres. and a guy on staff named sebastian. oh, and of course, our translator, steve. they were all so nice. even though we didn't speak the same language, i really do consider those people family. here's a picture of our main "living room" at the base.

we did a lot of street ministry in pereira. we would just go to a park and start doing some dramas and testimonies and people would start to gather. we ended every time with a prayer time, and we SAW God move every time. sometimes it was hard because we didn't speak spanish well enough to talk to people and we only had 2 translators for our entire team. but one thing we learned, is that if you are faithful to step out, God is faithful to reward you. there were so many times on this trip where we would look at each other in shock that we actually talked to this person, or prayed with this person when we speak two different languages! i was able to pray with this girl to accept Christ on Christmas Eve of all days! it was incredible.

while we were in pereira we also did a lot of other things. we did some prison ministry. we played with orphans. we went to a drug rehab center, and a home for abused girls. we did lots of prayer walks and went to a lot of youth groups. it was an amazing time of MINISTRY every day. we learned the importance of constantly filling up on God, because you can't pour out if you are on empty!

after 3 and a half weeks, we flew down to leticia. it's on the amazon river, literally a 5 minute walk form where we were staying to dip our toes in the amazon. not that we dipped our toes in. we wanted to keep them. :) it was also a 10 minute walk to brazil and a 10 minute boat ride to peru. it was fun to be in and out of all three countries in one day, like it was no big deal. our time here was a big character developing time for ALL of us. we stayed at the ywam base again, and were working with an organization called MMI. (medical ministries international) they were putting on an eye brigade, where people would come and get their eyes checked and even get different surgeries for dirt cheap. it was a really cool thing and we were anticipating running a kids program! they told us they expected 100 kids every day, for two weeks. this was going to be our time. we all love kids and couldn't wait to just play with them. well, it so happened that the turnout was much less than they expected. we didn't have very many kids, and most of them would be gone by noon. we got discouraged fast, but like i said, we built character. we were able to put into practice things we learned in lecture phase. things like "spend quality time with God" and "you can choose your attitude." that was our theme. "I CHOOSE TO HAVE A GOD MOOD!" the opportunities that God provided us with were amazing. we were able to go to the island 4 times, and we really got close with the kids and this one family there. it was a time of just loving on them. not needing to see them ALL get saved, but just showing them that we care. this is a picture of two girls on my team playing games with the younger kids. we played a LOT of pato, pato, gonso. a.k.a. duck, duck, goose.

later we went for a three hour boat ride down the amazon river to a village. we stayed there a week and did all sorts of things. we played with the kids a lot, did some prayer ministry at houses, painted a medical clinic that MMI is trying to set up there. we also bathed in the amazon river. AND WE DIDN'T EVEN DIE! it was delightful. but it was so cool to live with the natives and just live so simply. here's a picture of me with a bunch of village children.


overall, my time in colombia was amazing. i learned so much about who God made me to be. i was able to step out and take a leadership role. i was the "official" photographer and i led worship. but more than that, our leaders wanted us to take charge of our own trip. they said we were only going to get out of it, as much as we put in. and i didn't want to come away with regret. God was able to use me to motivate and encourage the team, and i love that He grew in me discernment for when to say things and when to not.

it is so hard to be away from my team. i grew to love them so much. but i know that God has a new exciting adventure for all of us!

i start full time at Oregon State on april 1st. i'm excited to start doing something. i'm praying that God will give me a huge heart for the campus and everyone on it! it's a wide open mission field that i have the chance to impact for God's kingdom!

isn't that what life is all about? living THIS day, for THAT day? that day when we'll finally get to see God face to face? and that's one incredible adventure, if you ask me.