Daze...

The past 8 days has been quite the daze...

Last week I had my first official Graduate school breakdown that resulted in my walking out of class half hour early! Ebay and I had many overwhelming days where we felt constantly confronted and reminded of the brokenness that exists in our own backyard. It seems that we couldn't go anywhere without feeling depressed about the things we were seeing. Whether experiences with our families in West Central, issues with our students at school or simply making a trip to WinCo, I feel like I am intentionally searching for any bit of hope that exists for these people...

God of course came through and at church we received an important reminder that while all of this brokenness does exist, there are many people out there helping. Joe began the new lifecenter series called "Filling the Hole in Our Gospel"...he reminded us last Fall that as a church we sponsored 1,500 kids in ONE day! He also explained that our giving went up 7% and therefore, 20% of finances went directly to local and global ministries. They introduced a new program call Love 360 that focuses on local and global service. He encourages everyone in the church to get involved with SOMETHING! So it was good to be reminded that many people are giving time to serve and help alleviate the brokenness we are confronted with.

School is busy and stressful...I feel like I am going going going. Grammy had a set back that put her back in the hospital. All I can know is that God is taking care of her. This week has been hard but a song that has helped rejuvenate my hope is Jesus Saves by Jeremy Camp. Listen to it!

It was also so wonderful to see Lindsay this weekend! Linz, thanks for sleeping with me :) Nothing makes me happier then the times I get to spend with such wonderful friends. Looking forward to seeing Ande and Claire this weekend :)

Peace and love,

Analisa

A weird half hour

Tonight I had a weird experience. I was studying and doing homework at the Service Station like I typically do. There was a YoungLife event going on so I saw a ton of Whitworth people I knew. It was wonderful to catch up and be immersed into the community. Looking around @ the coffee shop I observed many different bible studies going on, students studying and others simply hanging out. All of this is pretty typical for a night at the Service Station.

After studying, I had to make a stop at the grocery store for a few things so as I normally do, I crossed the street and headed to WinCo. Now Ebay and I go to WinCo probably 3 times a week and it is no surprise to us that the culture of WinCo is one of its own. Unfortunately, many people in the community resort to WinCo because of the cheap prices of things. Therefore, there is an expectational diverse population. Tonight when I walked in I felt as if I were walking into a grocery store in a third world country. I'm not sure if it was just the night or the contrast between the Service Station and WinCo but I felt my heart breaking. I am definitely not trying to place judgment or assumptions on the outward appearance of people because that is not my place. It was however apparent that there are so many people struggling simply to afford groceries.

Feeling in a bit of a daze I waited in line at the checkout. The nice lady at the register noticed my Willard Elementary badge and asked if I was a substitute teacher. I told her no and explained to her that I was student teaching. She proceeded to tell me that she is a substitute in district 81 and has been for the past four years. However, she then explained to me that she holds a Bachelors and Masters in teaching but has not been able to get a job since arriving in the United States from the Philippines four years ago. She explained that she is completely qualified to teach but her heavy accent turns people off for hiring her. Therefore, on her nights she works at WinCo to pay the bills. Here I am, 22 years old working on my Master's Degree. In less than a year I will probably not have a problem getting a job because of my race or language...but here is this women completely qualified for a teaching job (probably more experience then most) but can't get a job because of her accent...

WinCo has not just been a place to buy my groceries but has been a place that reminds me about the small blessings I have in my life. "Lord, break my heart for the things that break yours".

Welcome Fall :)

We are matching in our dresses and black sweaters!

It's 7:30pm and pitch dark as I sit at the service station on a Monday night! With an iced mocha in hand I am attempting to be productive at homework, completing to-do lists, working on Tanzania TA stuff, lesson plan reviewing and of course updating my blog! However, after a yoga class at OZ fitness (Ebay and my new home), I feel simply NAMASTE :)

This past weekend I had a spontaneous visit from best friend JACKIE! After missing her last weekend while I was home (she was in New York!!!) she decided to hop over the mountains for a weekend in Spokane. She arrived Friday night and we wasted no time and headed out to get some THAI FOOD! Shortly after, we enjoyed a bottle of red wine and a movie. Saturday was quite busy! We stopped by OZ fitness where Drew gave us a tour and a free week trial! We then headed to Nordstrom Rack, Value Village, the boys house to say by to Zach :(, Praire to sunbathe until the sprinklers got us, WinCo for groceries...then we cooked a yummy dinner, got some bulk candy at the store, picked up Jimmy and Bill for our movie date and saw Despicable Me @ the Garland and then headed home! What a fabulous day!

Sunday was glorious! Church was wondrous and appropriate. The message was all about not getting burned out, tired out and stressed out! I'd say this is a great time for each one of us to prioritize our lives and make sure we are taking care of our bodies (hence joining a gym and doing some yoga). Jackie took off and I did some homework! Ebay and I had our first workout session at the gym which was good. I had a soccer game with the good ole' Ninjas in the pouring rain and then we had a blessed evening down in West Central.

There is an update friends! Looking forward to many things this week. Missing Liana and the rest of the family but g-ma is still hanging in there! Love you all and keeping everyone in my prayers!

"We are only special because we belong to God"

As I sat with my grammy this morning on the couch of her home, she shared with me this wonderful quote. She told me the story of how when she left the hospital on Friday, one of the nurses wanted to walk her out even though it was against the hospital policy. The nurse told my grandma that she was special...something that many people believe about my grandma. Anyways, my grandma looked at the nurse and said, "I am only special because I belong to God." One of the many selfless things my grandma told me.

Sitting on the couch and looking at her just brought tears to my eyes. We began talking about prayer and she said that when she was in the hospital it was so difficult to pray because people were always in and out of her room. Finally, now that she has been home, she has been able to resume her daily meditation. She shared with me that when she is finished praying, she feels a sense of peace and a readiness to go home to God. I asked her if that is what she wanted...to be home in Heaven instead of experiencing the chronic pain and suffering. She told me that sometimes she wants to be home with God but that he continues to keep her around for a reason and that there are still so many people she feels like she can help. 27 years after her first stroke, chronic/daily pain, a brain hemorrhage and surgery in which she experienced near death, yet she still wants to help others and make a difference...

I also asked her if she is ever upset with God because of all the suffering she has had to endure. She is the LAST person who should deserve this to happen simply because she is one of God's angels here on earth. My grandma of course believes that it is not God who causes suffering and that he is responsible for the healing...and that she thanks him every day for blessing her with more time here on earth. Wow.

Love and Blessings: according to Grammy this is what life is all about. Loving everyone around us and being thankful for all the blessings in our life. Life is about being connected to God and being connected to others. Besides God, my grandma's relationships with people are the most important thing in her life. She has touched so many lives by simply showing each and every person unconditional love. My grandma has been a blessing in my life and many others. There is no doubt that she is the most special and amazing role model in my life. The world definitely needs more people like her. Having her home is such a miracle and blessing and I hope to live each day in her honor but most importantly, God's honor.

PRAISE!

Tomorrow I am flying home to Tumwater...

I am celebrating my grandma's homecoming with my family!

After seven weeks in the hospital, she finally gets to come home!

Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers...

God worked a miracle :)

Back home to Life Center

Sunday morning started off just right with a nice 2 hour hike on Beacon Hill. Yesterday I had a craving for hiking so I had my mind set on waking up early and getting some trails in before church. Just my luck I woke up to pouring rain but decided I would still set off on the adventure. Getting drenched as well worth it though and I enjoyed being out of the city a big in the silence of nature. Maybe I will make this an every Sunday routine!?

With all the weekends spent back in Tumwater, I have not been to Life Center since July 25th. And boy have I missed it! Never have I felt so connected to a church! So it is safe to say that I was absolutely in Heaven this morning when I finally made it to a service. I was lucky enough to go with Jimmy this morning and meet up with Phil when we got there. As usual we sat in the 3rd row so we could be up close! The worship was amazing and I felt like I could not focus on anything other than praising and worshiping God. The song that reached me most this morning was, "Nothing But The Blood of Jesus"...What can wash away my sins, nothing but the blood of Jesus. No matter how many times I mess up and sin, I know that God will forgive me -- just one of the few things that makes him amazing.

In this chaotic period of my life, it was appropriate that Joe's sermon was on Balancing Work, Family, Self and God. While technically I am not working, I consider Graduate School my full time job. Joe referenced Exodus 20:3 "You shall have no other Gods before me" to explain that work may be worship, but we cannot worship our work. He explained that when work because the most important thing in our life, that is idolatry. Secondly, he taught that we are to "Love our families, but not more than God". This seems like a difficult concept to agree with but says that our family cannot be our God. If we love God more, then we will love our family better. The third point he made was to "Take care of yourself but don't be selfish". We are responsible for taking care of ourselves physically, emotionally and spiritually but we can't get wrapped up in it or it will become selfishness. Lastly, Joe said to LOVE GOD WITH ALL YOU'VE GOT...and there are not buts. Living a balanced life means putting God first. If we let Jesus lead, our life will be more abundant.

I felt right back at home at LifeCenter and am so blessed to have a church I feel so connected to. The rest of Sunday was nice and relaxing as well. I had lunch with Jimmy and then took him to the airport for his first MedSchool interview. I came home and spent the afternoon doing homework, catching up on the phone, staining chairs, watching FRIENDS and cleaning with Ebay. I am looking forward to two days @ Willard with the 2nd graders and then 3 days of classes @ Whitworth!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week. GOD IS LOVE :)))

Weekend in Spokane

It has been almost 6 weeks since I have spent a weekend in Spokane. It felt a little strange not to be packing up my car or suitcase to drive or fly to the westside. As much as I miss my family and wish I could have seen them and my grandma, it was a little refreshing stay around town. I guess I didn't have much of a choice since I had to take the last of the West E (hopefully). Therefore, Friday night after a long day at school, Eric (an MIT friend) and I camped out at the Service Station till 10 pm, cramming in some studying! Saturday morning I set 3 alarm clocks for 6:00, 6:15 and 6:30 am. This was to avoid the slight possibility of me sleeping in an hour and showing up late to the test...Anyways, the test went well, I hope!

Saturday was spent doing some good ole' garage saling. Ebay and I scored 2 chairs for our new dining room table and I purchased two collector item Olympia Beer glasses. I still don't know why they were for sale and why they only cost 25 cents! After hitting up most of Spokane, we treated ourselves to Subway and successfully watched a whole disk of One Tree Hill. The whole day we were anticipating the arrival of Team Baylis (Tom and Linda). They finally arrived at about 5:30...and a couple hours later we rolled into Outback Steakhouse for a lovely meal. Not surprisingly, we made quite the scene. After getting kicked out for being too loud (just kidding), we stopped at Albertsons for a nice bottle of Bella Wine. Then Ebay and I accompanied Jimmy to his hour long shopping trip at Winco and ended the night watching Ratatouille.

Sunday was just as wonderful! I made a batch of bran muffins in the morning (my new, weekend routine), attended a wedding, hiked around Riverside State Park and even saw two porcupines, watched the OC...and of course...did HOMEWORK!

While I missed Tumwater...it was very nice getting to spend a weekend in Spokane.