Lots of Happenings

Since the beginning of December life has been busy. I always have good intentions of blogging and then get caught up in other stuff.
So let's see what I have been up to since December 3.
1) I got all my Christmas presents bought and wrapped by the 13th. Yeah! That was a great accomplishment.
2) I went Midnight bowling with the Murj group from the Chapel. What an evening it was! 25 singles came to the Transit lanes to bowl. It did not matter if you were good or not, just that you had an attitude to have a great time. Plus you needed to be awake, if you were not you were by the time the bowling started because of the loud music that was being played. A new friend of mine, Mike Soliman, challenged me. He was insistent upon the fact that he was going to bowl better than I was. Well, the first game I did beat him and then everything went down hill from there. It was a fun evening. I cannot believe I was bowling until 2am. It is too late for me. When I left the alleys there was about four inches of snow covering all the vehicles. It did not make traveling home easy. Ugh!
3) I saw the Living Singing Christmas Tree at the Chapel. The premise was based around the game of Life. It was a good performance. Not as good as I have previously seen, but good. It was nice to be with friends and to support friends who were either in the choir or part of the cast.
4) I started playing volleyball again on Wednesday nights at the First Trinity Lutheran Church in Amherst. It was good to be back. I have played okay for not having played in a couple of months. It was nice to be welcomed back and to know that I was missed. I hope to be able to play more often in the next couple of months.
5) I never got the x-ray results back from the doctor. He said if there was anything wrong the techs would have contacted him right away. I did have to get antibiotics for a cold. I was in bed at 7:30 every night for a week. The cold took all my energy. Thank God I am feeling a lot better. As for my chest, I just have to be careful about how I exercise.
6) Jeff's birthday: On Friday December 12, a group of got together to celebrate Jeff Chiacchia's 37th birthday. Patrick and I tried to get party hats for the party, but Jeff would have none of it. He said "He would feel silly and self concious in a party hat." We tried and tried. Patrick finally made one out of aluminum foil and placed it on his head as Jeff got his cake. He is smiling in the photo and I do not think he looks silly. What are we going to do with the boy? :-)
7) I went to my good friend, Kisha's, annual Christmas party. She had close to 40 people in attendance. There was good food and good fellowship. We also did an ornament exchange. I brought an ornament that I hoped would be one that got passed around. It did and I was excited about it. It was a cute little hedgehog. Everyone loved it! I even bought one for myself.
8) I went Christmas caroling with friends from MOSAIC. We went to a local nursing home and sang Christmas carols to the residents. What a blessing it was to walk the hallways and sing about the birth of Jesus! When we got back to the Chapel, we had hot cocoa and cookies.
9) Secret Santa with friends! Well, actually everyone else did Secret Santa, I did not because I had gifts for everyone. The gift exchange was a lot of fun to watch. The gifts that were exchanged were perfect for each individual. The giver was just as excited as the receiver. I was glad to be a part of it.
10) Party at Jackies: My friend, Jackie, invited a group of friends over to her house for dinner, movies and the opportunity to make a gingerbread house. Each person brought either a dinner item or an appetizer. There was a lot of good food. Some of us watched the movie Elf, while some of us created a gingerbread house. The whole evening was relaxing and just nice to be with people who love you.
11) Family Open house: Last night my family hosted their annual Christmas open house. There were a lot of people in the house. Some people I did not know, while others are really good friends. My mom prepared turkey, ham and roast beef, plus potatoes and a seven layer salad. Everyone else brought their favorite dish to pass. We had a lot of cheese and crackers! LOL
At about 9pm the Wii was turned on and the challenges began. There was a lot of smack talk between Bill and Kim about who was better at bowling. When all was said and done, Bill had to concede that Kim was the better bowler. Maybe next time Bill will win.
Well, I hope that has brought you up to date a little bit.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~~

It's me again

Yes, I am posting again. Tonight I want to get x-rays done of my right clavicle. My chest has been bothering me these past couple of weeks. I am not sure if it is related to my heart or just a pulled muscle. All I can say is that I do not like hurting. It is an awful feeling.
After the x-rays, my mom and I went to the mall and then to Walmart. She picked up a couple of Christmas gifts and I did some weekly shopping. I also picked up the new Narnia DVD Prince Caspian for $14.97. I was thrilled with the great deal on a new release. I had to call my sister, Cassandra, to ask her if she wanted the movie. I am glad I did because she did want the movie. I'm sure she would have had my head if I would not have called about the movie.
Well, I am going to go now. I need rest in order to recuperate from a cold that has tried to come on me. Today I was never without a kleenex.
Until next time,
Blessings to you~~

What can I say!

Yes, I know it has been a while since I have posted anything. Sorry about that. It has been a tiring couple of weeks.
Today I went to the doctor because I have had some pains in my chest over the last couple of weeks. I am not sure if it is just muscles or something more. He gave me a script for an anti-inflammatory and is sending me for x-rays of my right clavicle. I am praying that it is only muscles. I wish it did not hurt so much.
Sunday I went to a Buffalo Bills game with some friends. It was a cold day and the Bill's lost a game that they should have won by all the stats. My sister, Cassandra, came with me and we did have a great time. However, I was glad to get home and finally be warm.
Saturday night, I went to a friends for dinner and had a great time playing Wii. What a neat video game system! Some of us bowled, did Dance, Dance Revolution and tennis. Even in video gaming I am much too competitive.
Right now I am tired and will be going up to my room to possibly watch a video and then go to bed. I know it is early but I am not feeling the greatest and my body is saying I need to rest. So off I go.
Until next time~
Blessings to you~

Sore Muscles

Sore muscles is what you get when you go bowling, play tennis, throw & catch a football, play racquet ball, work with a personal trainer on weight machines and play volleyball all within a five day period of time. Yes, that was me last week. Then to top it all off on Wednesday I had my #1 wisdom tooth pulled. Talk about being sore. Thankfully as the week progressed the soreness diminished and I felt better only to start all over again yesterday morning with tennis.
Yes, it has been a while since I have written. Not that I haven't thought about it I have just gotten caught up in the everyday living of my life. Since my Mexico trip, I have gone to a couple house parties, played tennis, worked, gone Christmas shopping and wrapped presents. Plus now I am on facebook and that can be addicting at times. It is kind of funny what we let take our attention.
Last night I was able to go to dinner with some wonderful friends. We met at Panera Bread and were able to enjoy each other's company. I am so blessed by the friends that God has placed in my life. After dinner we headed over to a coffee house at the Lockport Alliance church to hear Orchard Drive. After the concert, a group of us headed over to Karin's house to play Settlers of Catan. I did not play but is is always interesting to watch the others play.
Today after church a group of friends went to brunch at Banchetti's to celebrate Charles' birthday. Karen set up a surprise party and he was surprised. Yeah!!! There were about 18 of his friends in attendance. What a party!
Now I am sore once again. After brunch I headed over to the gym to work out and play racket ball. My body wants to just go to sleep but I have stuff to do tonight.
Well, I am glad I was able to update you a little about the happenings in my life. Hope all is well.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~~~

Mexico - Journal Entry #8

On Saturday, some of the group traveled 3 hours north of Juarez, Mexico to Carlsbad, New Mexico to go on a little bit of a sight seeing trip. Since we were so close to Carlsbad, Ted thought it would be a nice side trip to end our week in Mexico. It took us about three and a half hours to get there. On the way there we stopped to take pictures of the Guadalupe Mountains.
When we arrived in Carlsbad, we got right into the caverns. It took us a little over an hour to walk all the way down to the bottom. I found it hard to believe I was over 700 feet underground. My brother, Jeff and I were the first of the group to make it back to the top. We took some time to look through the gift shop. I am glad we were able to see some of God's awesome creation.

Mexico - Journal entry #7

Friday, October 10, 2008
Today was more of a relaxed day for most of us. I did not sleep well the night before so after breakfast I came back to the room and laid down for about a half an hour. When I got up, I helped Jim, Deone, Mike & Linda move misc. stuff from a back room of the dorm to the new dorm. I also helped clean out the tool supply room. That room was a bit of a chore.
After helping clean out the supply room, I tried to get some individual photos of the team members. Kerry Hise will be putting together a power point presentation of the trip. I hope it turns out nice.
We ate around noon. Shelly & Lisa prepared grilled cheese sandwiches. It was good. I still did not feel well, so I went back to the dorm and took a 2 hour nap. It felt good to rest but I felt like I was being lazy. At about 3pm I got up and helped Jim, Lisa and Nicole put tarps on some of the supplies that would be outside. Once we were finished there I walked outside the compound and talked with my brother, Jeff. He was shoveling dirt against the wall. After a little while I went over to where Charles was working with Gaspar, Martin, Jonathan, & John laying bricks on the new wall. Charles wanted to quit but Gaspar would not let him until 5pm. It was fun to watch the interaction Charles and Jonathan had with Gaspar and Martin. After a little while it got too hot for me to sit out in the sun. I went back to the dorm where I hung out with Gail, Lisa, Deb & Pam. We did some girl stuff and just had a great time.

Mexico - Journal Entry #6

Thursday October 9, 2008
Today was a non-hardworking day. I was up early to help make breakfast with Jim Dean and my brother, Jeff. We made scrambled eggs, sausage, french toast (from two days before) & cereal. It was a lot of fun working with the two of them.
After breakfast the dispensia bags were brought out from the storage room to be put into the vans. We were expecting Garry to arrive with the translators around 9:45. Today was the day we would be going into the Colonia to distribute the dispensia bags that were filled with rice, beans and flour. Once Garry arrived with the translators, he gave us a brief orientation about what was expected of us when we went into the Colonia. He wanted to make sure we knew not to force anyone to accept Jesus just because we were giving them food. We were also told the translators were there to just translate. We were to try to be relational in our conversations. At around 10:45am we headed into the Colonia. The first house we stopped at we were able to give food to two sisters and a young infant. Before we left the one sister did accept Jesus as her personal savior. After the first house we divided into two teams. Each team taking one side of the street. Since it was the middle of the day we passed by many living areas where no one was home. My team, which consisted of Jeff, Ted, Joe (our translator) and myself only were able to get to a few houses. Our interpreter spent a lot of time with each family to make sure they knew who Jesus was and who He could be to them. I pray that God uses that time we had to draw each person closer to Him. Our van was the last back to the compound for lunch. After lunch we headed into the city of Juarez to go to the market place (where they sell a lot of souvenirs). it took us about an hour to get there. When we got there we only had an hour to shop, so I felt a bit rushed. The first shop we made purchase at was one where Ted frequents each year he comes to Mexico. It was interesting just walking through the market place. Each vendor was trying to sell their wares whether it was jewelry, blankets or other trinkets. At Ted's vendor, I bought several bracelets for friends back home. I did makes purchases at other shops and I even bartered for some of my purchases.
After the market experience, we headed to dinner at a local supermarket called S-mart. It had a small cash & carry restaurant at the front of the store. Garry picked out our food and we had a smorgasbord of food to choose from to eat. After dinner some of us went through the store and made some purchases. I bought candy to bring back to my coworkers.
We headed back to the Resplandor De Vida and all gathered in the dining hall to give Garry a testimony of how the week touched each of our lives. It was neat to hear how God ministered to each individual in a different way over the course of the week.

Mexico - Journal Entry #5

Wednesday October 8, 2008
Today I got out of bed around 6:15am. I had kitchen duty with Deone and Kerry, who made it to the kitchen before I did and waited until I got there to start. Breakfast consisted of egg burritos, cereal & fruit. We decided to add a little bit of ham and bacon. Kerry did the cooking while I shredded the cheese and Deone prepared the scrambled eggs for the burritos. Breakfast was delicious and we were complimented on our cooking.
After breakfast Lisa, Nicole and I came back to the dorm to journal. My brother Jeff joined us and we ended up talking until it was time for the woman's meeting. What an amazing morning! There were more women today than on Monday, plus a lot more children. Cindy had prepared a lot of pancakes before everyone arrived but had to continue making them to get everyone fed. She did an awesome job. After the women ate, we sent the children outside with Lisa, Nicole, Jeff, Ted and Noel. Pam showed the women some exercises they could do to improve their health, while Lisa had the children entertained outside with chalk, coloring books and crayons, hoola hoops & jump ropes. Today was warmer than the previous two days, so it was a bit of a challenge to have the children outside in the sun. I helped Lisa for a little while before heading back inside to take photos of the women making their bead necklaces. I was able to help the women tie the necklaces. Thankfully God gave me strength to the them because my hand was still sore from the day before. After the craft, Pam got up and spoke from Matthew 6:19 about not storing up treasures on earth. She told a personal story to tie into the Bible teaching. Once Pam was finished Deb got up and gave her testimony. She gave an invitation for the women to accept Jesus into their lives. Five women accepted Jesus this day. Praise the Lord!!! There was a time of prayer for women who had prayer requests. It was an amazing morning to see God at work. After the meeting was over we had all the women head outside for a group photo.
Now we had to eat lunch and prepare for the children to come. Boy, did they come. Since the van broke down on Monday, a couple of the men drove the 3 vans and 2 trucks to the Colonia to get the children. We had close to 200 children for VBS. Rachel, our translator, tried to get the children to settle down, but to no avail. Finally, Pastor Nachos, came and he was able to settle them down. Lisa started the lesson on prayer with Gail & Tracy performing a skit about prayer. It was interesting to perform, because we had to pause to let the translators interpret in Spanish what we just said in English. After the lesson we had a craft for the children. They were making cross & bead necklaces to help them remember the "Our Father" prayer. As we were handing out the necklaces it became very chaotic. I had a headache and was not very patient with the children. After five minutes of the chaos, I had to leave. I came back to the dorm and rested. Later in the afternoon I came back to the commodore to help put together the dispensia bags . We put together 210 bags. Once the bags were completed, we headed back to the dorm. Lisa, Nicole & I started taking about an author we liked to read. Some of the guys, Jim, Ted, Jeff & Garry all stopped by the room to talk. It made our room a community room. It was a wonderful time of fellowship.
Later in the evening, Jim Dean gave the evening devotion using Ephesians 2:8-9 & Matthew 5:16 as his references. He encouraged us not only to be servants in Mexico but back in our church and community in Buffalo.

Mexico- Journal Entry #4

Tuesday October 7, 2008
It was a full day. In the morning the ladies started separating the beans, rice and flour into 3 pound bags. We had two groups, one inside measuring the rice and beans and the other outside measuring the flour. Joaquin Sr helped the women outside. he would open the plastic bags and then tied them for us. We went through seven 100 pound bags of flour quickly. However, when we were all finished the bags were less than 3 lbs each. I took all the bags apart to make sure each bag did have 3lbs in it. What a process!
While we were measuring out the flour, Charles came over to let us know that Jonathan had stepped on a nail and he would need medical attention. He brought Jonathan back to the commodore. Gail brought out a bowl filled with water for him to soak his foot. I had neosporin and a medical kit that had antiseptic pads and bandages to clean out the cut. Thankfully the bleeding stopped. We called Garry, who was back in New Mexico, to find out when Jonathan had his last tetanus shot. Thankfully it was in the past two years.
Once we finished packaging up the bags of beans, rice and flour some of us went back to the dorms to rest before dinner. I was glad because I had hurt my thumb from reopening all the flour bags. Dinner consisted of stuffed peppers with either cheese or ground beef, spaghetti with a white sauce, salad and tortillas filled with cheese. Everything was delicious. I only had a half of a stuffed pepper because I wasn't sure if #1 if I would like it and #2 it was fried my stomach might not handle it. Thankfully my stomach was okay. Praise the Lord! After dinner a lot of us waited for the brownies that Noel was baking. The brownies took longer than expected so we all headed over to the dorm for our nightly devotion.
Dan, from the Lockport church, gave the devotion about living a selfless life. he used Galatians 5:15-16 as his reference. After the devotion, some of us gave testimonies of what God did in our lives that day. It is awesome to see how we all work together to get a job done. Just like a body has different parts and they each have their own function yet they all work together to accomplish a specific task.
When the testimonies were finally finished, we headed back to the commodore for ice cream and brownies. They were delicious and since I had been craving chocolate all day, the brownies satisfied the craving.

Mexico - Journal entry #3

Monday October 6, 2008
Today was a day full of activity. We had a women's Bible study (VBS) at 10am. About 20 women, some with their children, came to the Bible study. Before the Bible study began, we served the women and their children breakfast. Cindy was in the kitchen making pancakes. After serving breakfast, Gail, Pam & Deb did a great job with the devotions, a craft and a lesson about diabetes. The women in attendance seemed to enjoy themselves.
Lisa & Nicole took the children outside to play, while the women were in the dining area with Gail, Pam & Deb. This was done to cause less of a distraction to the moms. I helped out where I could, but I also took photos of the activities happening both inside and outside. Some of the guys were working on the outer wall, while Kerry & Deone were power washing the floors on the inside of Dorm #1. It seemed like they were having a blast.
After the team's lunch, children from the Colonia came for VBS. We served them lunch and then Lisa gave a small devotion. We had so many children in attendance that we had to separate the boys from the girls for the craft. What an experience! We were thankful for Pastor Nachos & Rachel, who helped translate the lesson. It was a bit overwhelming and somewhat exhausting. When everything was done, Lisa, Nicole and I came back to the dorm to rest. Some of the guys were in the dorm putting together the shower stalls in the boy's (men's) bathroom. I am surprise that Lisa & Nicole were able to rest. I tried but it was too loud.
Hortencia & a couple other women prepared dinner for us. We had steak fajitas with cucumbers, cabbage, tomatoes & guacamole along with rice and corn. Everything was delicious. After dinner, we had devotions in the common room. Fran Keem lead the devotion titled "Continuous Improvement" (Hebrews 5:15-6:8) How we all have choices to make concerning our growth in Christ? There was some good discussion. After the devotion Charles, Jeff & I emptied all the garbage's throughout the dorms. What an experience.
When I got back to my room, I was able to discuss some scriptures with the other women in the room. It was a nice time to get to know the others a little bit better.

Friends & Thankfulness

What a blessing it is to have friends who pour out into my life! I thank God.
Tonight I visited with a long time friend and God used her to speak life into my being. She encouraged me to continually seek God's face and trust Him and His Word. She has had her share of heartache but through it all she found joy in the only place she could find it, in her Heavenly Father! How AWESOME is that!!!!!
He is a Father who desires for His children to be filled with joy even amidst daily struggles. He desires good things for His children. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek HIM. He will be found when we search for Him with all our heart. He loves me with an amazing love that nothing can compare to it.
I am thankful!!!
Blessings to you~~

Mexico - Journal entry #2

10/6/08
Yesterday was an unusual Sunday for me. Instead of getting up early for church I got up early and prepared for the day. The group would not be leaving for church until about 12:15pm because service started at 1pm.
In the morning, I was able to write in my journal and have a good quiet time with the Lord (see previous blog). He spoke to my heart and that is what I desperately needed. I reread Jeremiah 29:11-14 and it ministered to my crying heart. I was in the community room doing my devotion sitting on the couch. Several people came by. I felt a little foolish because I had been crying but I should not have felt that way because it was only God speaking to me and I was listening.
After breakfast some of the women came together to prepare for the VBS. We sorted through beads and punched out foam stickers. The men were outside discussing the construction plans for the week. Lisa Mufford was thankful that we had taken the time to prepare in the morning.
Once we finished the VBS preparation we had a couple hours to relax. I started to read the book "Sunset" by Karen Kingsbury. It has been a story about God's faithfulness and redemption.
Around 12:15 everyone was seated in the vans and we headed to church. On the way to church we had to go through another military check point. It was a little nerve wrecking. Thankfully this time we did not have to pull over and get out of the van.
The trip to the church was interesting. There are junk yards just about every 100 feet. It makes one wonder where all the cars come from. At one point, we say several pigs waling along the road. Quite humorous if you ask me.
We arrived at the church around 1pm. We were instucted to give the response of "Amen" any time a church member spoke to us. The service started and there were a lot of praise & worship. It was nice because the words on the overhead were in both Spanish and English. The songs were all familiar to us, so it made worship more enjoyable. Whe the Pastor would speak, he did translate into English. It was a bit funny, because there were times when I didn't catch the fact that he was speaking in English.
During praise & worship a coupld of women got up to sing solos. The first woman sang "How Great Thou Art." Even in Spanish the song was beautiful. The woman had an amazing voice. The second woman sang a song I did not recognize. She sang to the Lord and in her willingness to sing, even when she was unsure of herself, it was beautiful. The worship lasted for about an hour. Once the music part of worship ended, the Pastor introduced Pastor Deone. Pastor Deone got up on the platform with Gary translating. He spoke about how God is Good and why he knows God is Good. The message was short and simple. When Pastor Deone finished, the Pastor got back up and let the congregation in more prayer and worship. He seemed determine to have the service last until 3pm. After the service ended they had a meal of forditas and rice. Plus some of the children were selling donuts and coffee. The dinner was good and very filling. Whe everyone finished we walked across the street to a bakery. It was not a normal bakery. (At least not like you would see in America). We walked right past the bakers who were preparing the different pastries. Some of the group bought the pastries at 5 for $1.00.
After the bakery we headed back home with a stop @ the ice cream place. I got a strawberry & cream dessert. Some of the others got ice cream conces or frozen fruit bars. Everything looked delicious.
We also stopped in the Colonia to invite the children to VBS. We did stop @ one home where the family had a ninfant that was malnourished. When we got back to Resplandor la Vida, Gary asked if we could help provide some basic necessities for the child and the family in general. Many of the group gave money and then went to the market with Gary to get food and supplies for the infant and family.
Some of us stayed back at the dorms and rested. We did prepare a dinner of Tuna fish and salad. Lisa & I ate and came back to the dorm because we were exhausted from the whole day. We talked about how I experienced the first day. It was nice talking with her. Nicole (our other roommate) came into the room & joined our conversation for a few minutes. We were all tired so went to bed before everyone else.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~~