Haiti

I'm leaving for Haiti tomorrow. I'm almost all packed up. I'll be back August 8th. Please pray, pray, pray. Pray for the health and safety of my two teams and the orphan children, for God to be glorified in all things, and for everyone to be impacted for God's glory.

Love in Christ, Bethanyyyyyy :D

I wish I had a million dollars... HOT DOG

Graham was just fine to and from school. Besides his waffle craving, he was a gem all day. I finished my last tutoring session with Alex. He is now a free little man on summer vacay. Goodie for him :)

Mom and I went to Vans and I got the honcho I've had my eye on. Isn't it funny? We went on a backpack errand and completely failed at the gatorade powder packets errand. There was propel but no gatorade? Monopoly.

SURPRISE. *Despite the fact that I was called 3 billion times (their words), it took me a while to get to Nick's where the surprise (ZACK VISITING HELLEW) was revealed. We proclaimed our fun with nighttime sardines (in which Zack literally became a wall and I almost suffocated in an old chinese chest) AND nerts. I only wish we had taken the time to do a devotion of some sort. I thought of it as I got in the car. Next time. I really am honestly seriously so thankful for my friends. God has given them to me so graciously, and hopefully me to them as well.

I've been moving since 6 today - watching Graham, driving Graham, and tutoring Alex. I crashed until a phone call moved me to Shelty's, where I watched great friends eat curry, helped make scripture posters for Shelty (sorority chaplain), and played Nerts.

provision

I put $21 in the offering (all I had with me) this morning and prayed that God would multiply it for my Haiti trip. If I wanted to pay the full amount, I needed $220. As soon as I climbed down from the balcony (I was operating powerpoint), Alex Dupree handed me a thank you card with a check for $350. God has provided! I gave Him all I had; I "tested" His faithfulness, and He gave me more than what I needed. Now I have some money to put back into my little broken piggy bank. :) The sermon, by the way, was Jesus feeding the 5000. Hellew.

On a smaller note, I taught mom and dad how to play nerts and spicey uno today. Dad got really into the former and he ended up smoking mom and me.

I watched Persons Unknown today. That's right. I did. I would give it a 6/10. We learned nothing new. The characters got to know stuff we were already in on. That's not a progressive episode. Silly writers.

a list

-Donut, teach mom how to skype, devos

-Read Medea

-Family church, say guh-bye to Haiti-bound Matt and Kim

-Settlers of Catan and Nerts at Spencer's with Chelsea... Nick, and Brittany

Nick and I discussed details of creating a secret society. Which we may or may not form around some or not some type of activity with a couple or no people. Speculation is fun.

Inception

After tutoring, I went to see Inception with Nick, Spencer, and Matt.

My expectations were high and met. The elevator motif, the dream within a dream (etc) concept, the physical affect of the outside on the dreams (scenes of pure, floating eye candy - so well done), the under layer of a dark "idea virus," the innovative novelty of a totem, the intricately woven plot... if you're anything like me and you appreciate story, you will definitely enjoy this movie. Just go. Stand up and go see it. Thank me later.

Nick, Spencer, Matt, and I played Nerts and ate gluten free/sugar free foods. What a cherry on top. Now we have to figure out what our totems would be.

great day

The first thing I remember is "Fidelity" by Regina Spektor slowly getting louder. The last thing I remember is "Fidelity" by Regina Spektor being executed by my REM-drunk palm.

The first thing I remember is dad saying, "Are you leaving soon...?" And with the realization that some FIEND had turned off my alarm, I leapt out of bed and began a wonderful day.

Tutoring with Alex is great because I have officially solidified the different kinds of pronouns in my brain. "She and Him," therefore, is a grammatically incorrect band name. But they're good, so we'll leave that sitting on the shelf.

Spencer was told a while ago (thanks, Nick) that if he wants to get ahold of me, he should call repeatedly at 15 minute intervals. I feel like I'm in Pavlov's lab, because I really am starting to just pick up the phone whenever it rings, in fear that I'll get another call if I don't. Paranoia aside, Spencer and I (haHAW!) watched the most amazing Life episode, Plants. Watch it; it's so legit.

THEN we swam at Christine's community pool, avoiding "Snorlax," the picky woman who was reinforcing the only-two-guests-per-community-member rule. Spencer's comment about her "body slam move" followed by a "rest" was hilarious, my lack of pokemon knowledge aside.

THEN Top Thai. 'Nuff said. Except Spencer. Who bought Chinese somewhere else because he has too much thai in Sandy. Cra-zazy asian.

THEN Settler's of Catan at my house with Bentie's Peanut Butter Cups. I'm always white, get it? Nick's numbers were 2 and 12. Nick lost. Shelty's development cards reigned as high as her squeaky hyperness. She won.

THEN Nerts. Christine (girl face) caught on fast. But "Lehh..." (Spencer) won by far. One of the most stressful games, by far. But also one of the most addictive. Unless you're terrible. Then it's more like trying to dig your way out of a shark pit with a spoon.

Final thought: I'm glad Shelty and Nick had a good talk. God answers prayers. God has blessed me with great friends. I hope I never forget that.

Fix it

Today we talked a lot about God being in charge, love reigning supreme, and viewing others through that lens. In all truth, I'm absolutely exhausted. It's excellent that my friends are comfortable sharing what God has been teaching them, why they love one another, what songs they're learning on guitar, and how we should treat one another... it's great. However, I think that sometimes we have to wade through a lot of gunk before we get down to the heart of the issue - that God is in charge and our only "job" is to accept His love and allow Him to emulate through us.

Father, I give you all my gunk and all my problems and worries. I definitely give you all of my friends' gunk and problems and worries. Take the reigns, take the wheel, take the rudder - just take it. You're awesome. You're in charge. I'm just going to look to you. And if someone ever looks to me, I'm going to point to You. It's so much simpler that way. Thank You for Your bigness. In Christ's name, amen.

look what i found

worth it?

I wonder if a blog is worth that five minutes at the end of my day? Is this an act of vanity or selfishness? Something to think about...

Nick, Jessica, Christine, and I made 3D letters that spelled out "Hellurrr" to welcome home Spencer, surprise style. Or it would've been surprise style if Spencer hadn't gone down another street and seen Nick's toaster (car). So Nick gets a point for coming up with a three dimensional welcome sign -- he loses a point for having a conspicuous car. He comes out even.

We played psychiatrist, ate many good foods, took pictures, played spicey uno (I've been spelling it with an "e" all this time... it just looks right misspelled), and watched Spencer's hume video. It was good to see things he'd been so intimately involved in the past month.

haircut

I taught Sunday School this morning. I knew Jeanette was autistic, but the parents of another child didn't tell me he was autistic. They let me figure it out by myself. Like a game. Even though the kids were 4-8 (kind of a weird age range), it was fun. It's one of those things that you don't really look forward to, but you muster the energy and it ends up being worth it.

I've been meticulously hemming a top I got from H&M. I'm 1/3 of the way through. It's not interesting, but it took up a piece of my day. So here the deed sits. On my blog.

Ben couldn't find the right pokey end thingy for the buzzer to shave his head, so I volunteered to cut his hair. It took some convincing. But as I convinced, I set up a sheet, a chair, a movie, some water, and scissors. Grant it (granted?), it was midnight... but we were both up and Ben wanted to watch You've Got Mail. It took a long time because, frankly, short hair is hard to cut and Ben was giving very vague opinions. You should see it in person, it's actually pretty legit.

I requested an after picture and this is what I got in my response to, "Look suave."

Among other things, a mushroom lamp

The backyard camping ended with cocoa puffs and I went shopping with Christine and Jessica. Christine used her superhuman powers of perfectionism in order to help me tailor my clothes. She's cool that way. Jessica watched and sipped bubble tea. As is her way :) When I smell Panera bread, I think of those two.

Church tonight was on Malachi, and I definitely felt convicted. Writing things down is kind of a two sided coin. On one hand (side?), I'm able to write down quotes, application ideas, etc. On the other... I doodle. I have to keep my hands moving. I stopped when Shelty head-tilted at my scribbles that were covering the page.

Here are two poorly taken photos of my mushroom lamp. Please forgive their lack of aesthetic appeal. It's made out of a ceiling light fixture, an old candle holder, the innards of a solar light that you would normally put in your yard, and some glass spray paint. I need to put a light in the stump part. Visit me in my NHCE 3rd floor room next year and take a look at it for yourself. :) There'll be a plaque with my name and RA title. Legit.

fort!

People: Matt, Nick, Shelty, Myself

Place: My backyard inside a tent attached to a giant tree, bungie corded, and sheeted up into a giant fort. It's lit up with lanterns and blue mushroom lamps (singular).

We've done the Watch-Persons-Unknown-with-Laptop, we've talked under the stars, eaten so much odd food, and laughed. Not so surprising.

Everyone's highlight of the night:

Matt: "It's not been very fun."

Nick: "My highlight of the night has been you saying you'd lick your cooter."

Shelty: "My favorite is when I got to pick which countries I would live in."

Nick is being ridiculous and facetious. The night goes on. WiFi in the backyard. Hard core campin'

speak of the devil

I was thinking about Kayla when she called today. Beautiful! :)

Nick had me run errands with him today. Errands that benefitted me, but errands nonetheless. I got some clothes at thrift town, bought spray glass paint for my mushroom lamp, and picked up Nick's stuff from Jessica's house.

Now we're watching the protests in Oakland on the news. It's kinda intense. People are being arrested, chanting, looting, breaking windows... shoot, I go to church in Oakland.

I am the very model of...

What should I jot today? Hmm...

Animal. My favorite names used to be things like Aubrey, Audrey, Autumn, William... now they're more like Liam, Peter, Wendy, Wednesday (odd, I know), and Aryll.

Vegetable. Nick can't eat gluten or anything fun on his new diet. Luckily Chipotle fits in that mold somehow. Me, Matt, and Nick ran errands today before watching Demetri Martin and Friends.

Mineral. I just took my last typhoid vaccine pill and am watching the clock until I can eat again. Double stuff oreos? Nutella? Or more appropriately, a salad?

Avatar: The Last Movie I Would Ever Watch Again

The potential in the movie was completely lost in the writing. So unfortunate, since I'd enjoyed the TV series so much. If only there had been less flailing and more bending... if only the important information hadn't been repeatedly crammed into my body like some awkward middle school chubby bunny game... if only the epic-ness could've sprung from the bending itself, instead of forced into lines that so desperately needed to form characters and create a little bit of humor. I would've walked out if Nick hadn't held me back and Matt wasn't blocking the way. I could've delivered my Haiti money to Cornerstone.

But you know what? I didn't go for the movie. I went for the friends. Such good friends, to forcibly contain me in a movie theatre, laugh with me during the dead-fish scene, and attempt to get me to come over afterwards. Nick, Shelty, Matt... you are gems. Thank you for not watching Persons Unknown without me.

Me and dad have been battling out each other on Jeopardy. Dad was into it, and then he pulled me into it, and now we're too far gone for anything but direct Jeopardy amputation. That won't be happening until I leave for Indiana, though.

I'm in California because I live here

Shara McClanahan is in California (SF) because she's in a wedding. She's an Iowan.

Emilie Schrock is in California (SJ) because she's internshipping. She's a Hoosier.

I picked up these two delightful ladies who go to IWU and we trekked out to Monterey, where we enjoyed the scenic 17 mile drive, tide pooling, seal-seeing, otter-watching, and big-house-gawking. All new experiences for the two of them, which was exciting to me :)

We were then spat out directly onto Carmel Beach. After some a-walkin' there, we got extremely lost in a nigh hopeless attempt to get to a tiny Mexican restaurant that Emilie had been taken to before. Needless to say, we found it, and I have a second meal waiting for me in the fridge right now.

After a quick Fro Yo stop for the fro-yo obsessed Emilie, everyone was dropped off at home. I think my legs might fall off. They're as numb as my dad's bee-stung "pointer toe."

Favorite conversation topics of the day: Emilie's "shabby cheek" wedding and the battle of materialism. What excellent people.

On that beautiful note, goodnight.

I'm the point at the front of a growing, moving cylinder

Shelt, Matt, Nick, and I discussed things under the stars tonight: how we view ourselves, our futures, others, etc. Today's title stems from the picture I used to describe myself. Ask sometime and I'd gladly explain :) Also, if I were an instrument, I'd be a harp; if I were a letter, I'd be "Y"; and if I were a color, I think I might be some shade of green -- a mix between blue and yellow.

When people talk about things like dream houses, I get a little bit muddled inside. I'm really on the fence about what materialism is, what selfless living is, what giving means... definitely something to think about.

Enough of that tomfoolery. Tomfoolery, haberdashery, quintessential, plethora -- all words I like to say. Or rather, I'd like to say. Rare are the occasions that I can use "haberdashery" in a sentences unless I'm saying "I like to say the word 'haberdashery.'"

Nick's blog says what happened today in a few words.

card games and family church

Today during "family" (Matty, Nick, Shelty, me) church, the sermon was on waiting for God. Becoming familiar with his voice and being still in the right ways. This is something that God has really been teaching me, and despite the fact that I've given Him timing control over my family, my job, and things like money issues, it's humbling to admit that patience is still hard sometimes.

I'm watching You've Got Mail. The writing is delightful and the concept is amusing. :)

I'd be Kathleen Kelly

Alex and I worked really hard on grammar and algebra today. We put in a good effort and Alex earned an early leave. He was happy; I was happy.

Shelty, Tatti, Bentie, Nipper time today. We took a walk, watched Persons Unknown and The Last Airbender, played spicey uno, made peanut butter cups, and talked in the dark. Shelty talked about why she liked all of our voices, which I found very encouraging. She's just a natural encourager. Everyone agreed that my voice is a "story telling" voice, and that made me real happy inside :) We also talked about what movie characters we'd be and what movies have made us cry. I am so thankful for my good, good friends here in California. They love me for just who I am, and I love them likewise. One day, Matty will let me pat him on the head.

19 movies make me an 86.68%

After I tutored Alex, dad and I went out. We thrifted for some Haiti shorts, ate In 'N' Out, Haiti errand-ed, and found a special edition DVD set of Casablanca at Rasputins! We then came home and ate ice cream and candy while watching The African Queen. Classic.

I got a call about needing to turn in money for Haiti and assured the woman that I would turn in the majority of my funds tomorrow. She said she'd keep me on the list. Of course she'll keep me on the list! I got a passport and shots! Lycosa hellew.

I just went through and looked at all the ratings of my favorite movies on rotten tomatoes and found out that the only movie that pulled down my average was The Day After Tomorrow. Haters. I'm listing them here just for the fun of it. If you don't want to be my friend anymore, I would understand.

Rear Window 100%

Finding Nemo 98%

UP 98%

Casablanca 97%

The Iron Giant 97%

Apollo 13 96%

It's a Wonderful Life 94%

Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark 94%

Lord of the Rings 94%

That Thing You Do 91%

The Trouble with Harry 89%

The Emperor's New Groove 85%

Peter Pan 83%

Ocean's Eleven 81%

Alice in Wonderland (1951) 81%

Pirates of the Caribbean 78%

Big Fish 76%

Remember the Titans 72%

The Day After Tomorrow 45% ... poor Jake Gyllenhaal.

I tutored Alex today. It's really easy and really challenging.

I've been reading Crazy Love and ended up watching a series I found accidentally by Francis Chan on Christ centered relationships.

I talked to dad about God and things we're going through right now. Those are conversations that I don't want to have ever, but I think need to happen. Every time I allow God to prompt me and obey, hard conversations get easier. I used to be the opposite of confrontation, but God has been giving me a little bit of... I don't know. Boldness. Or maybe just humility. It's not about me or how I feel.

Dad and I watched 3 episodes of Jeopardy and then he fell asleep as I read Harry Potter to him. When he starts to snore, I leave.

impromptu "psalm"

i was living this life on the sidelines.

i could get out.

others had gotten out, but hey --

i'm doomed.

bam, You opened my eyes.

and i realized you were so close to me --

creepy close. but not creepy. beautifully close. beautifully.

and i look down and there are Your arms around me.

all this time? You've been here all this time?

i'm yours? i've always been Yours?

You opened my eyes.

You, You, You, You, You.

i blink, but they always open again.

i asked, doubtfully. i asked, hopefully. i asked, fervently. i asked, desperately. i asked, humbly -

and it wasn't until the last time that i heard it clearly.

and then i realized... You had said, yes. yes. yes. yes. ... yes.

all that time?

You opened my eyes!

i'm saved! You LOVE me! praise the Lord! praise the Lord!