Spring Break 2009 Part 1

This spring break was one of constant moving and alot of riding in cars.

For the first part of it, I was apart of a group that went down to

Baja Bible School in Tijuana, Mexico and worked there for about a week.

It was a wonderful experience for me, very different from the previous

two times that I had been down there. We built houses (or rather you would

call them shacks here in the U.S.) for families that were in need and it was an 

amazing and heartfelt project to work on. They were all very gracious and cooked

us lunch and tried to help in any way they could. I loved seeing the students interact

with the families and try to connect with them, even if they couldn't understand their 

language. 

*So if you ever need a house built, you know who to call.....* :)

Another work project that we helped out with was at a woman's shelter

called the Deborah House. It was a very hard and emotional place to be but

amazing at the same time. It is a safe shelter for woman who suffer from domestic

violence and they bring their children there with them. The director is a very welcoming

and wonderful with the kids and absolutely lavishes affection on those children who have

seen the hard parts of life at their young age. We did alot of numerous projects there, but 

one thing I really enjoyed was working with a power tool! :) Yessss thats right folks,

Diana is getting down and dirty with work...building houses and everything! haha

But yes, a very interesting and hard experience but worth every minute.

Another activity that we helped with was getting the school, Baja Bible, ready for students

to come this fall semester. They were blessed with a beautiful building or castillo (spanish 

for castle) that they are using as the main part of their campus. We helped out finishing up the dorms that will house the students. Mudding was the area I helped out in and needless to say, I don't believe that will be my calling in life! :)

The staff at Baja is wonderful and I really enjoyed getting to know them all. The founders

were previous students and staff of Ecola and therefore can relate with what kind of

an environment we live in and the constant teaching we receive!

Something that blessed me on this trip was watching the students get out of their

comfort zones and actually interact with the Mexican people. We went to church on Sunday

and they jumped right in by trying to sing in Spanish and play sports after the service with

the kids. They never missed a chance to hand out Bibles when we were out and about in Tijuana and were just overall, very bold with their faith. I was greatly encouraged and very proud! :)

One fun memory that I will take from this particular mission trip was getting told

by the mexican market sellers, that i needed to get something for my ex-boyfriend.

Apparently this is a compliment by saying that I was a heart breaker. It just amused me that someone would actually say that and it be the FIRST thing they say.

Another thing I really enjoyed this trip, was the FOOD. Oh man, no more Taco Bell

for me!! I had the best taco de asada on Sunday and just thinking about it

makes my mouth water! :) haha

Overall, God provided safety and blessed us all in many different ways. 

Praise the Lord!!!

Heidi and I having a blast with power tools!

Meagan and I 

Single's Awareness Day (a.k.a. Valentine's Day)

So because none of us have "special" people in our life, we decided to celebrate

this special day by dressing up and going out for some amazing deserts!

We originally decided to try and go to "Taste of Tuscany"...unfortunately they were

completely booked and we went walking in downtown Seaside looking for an alternative.

We ended up being able to walk into an awesome little restaurant called "Pugys" and had some

pretty yummy foods. *plus shirley temples, so honestly, who could as for more*? 

Afterwards we went to a local pizza parlor/arcade and had a TON of fun running in and out

of the photo booth! We certainly created a stir! :) Overall, it was so fun

and I am blessed to have such good friends!

Me and my delicious cheesecake

Richell and I

Meagan and Julie

Megs and me!

Office Girl Photo Shoot

Here are a couple of pictures from a photo shoot that we had

with all the ladies in the office.

Office Girls Of Ecola

I have been so blessed to be here at Ecola for one more year. These woman that you see 

in the picture above all work in the office with me and they make my day joyful!

BRITTANY is on the top and she is the "clown" of the office. 

If you ever need a good laugh, she is the one to look to or talk to...haha 

But she is also an amazing woman of God who I have loved getting to know. She was the

girl who was always outside doing something last year, so I didn't really get to know her all that well.

BUT she has a wonderful heart and a listening ear.

TINA is on the left of the second layer of the pyramid and she is simply amazing. 

She is the "mom" of the school and has so much amazing. We lovingly refer to her as "Mamma T" 

and she lives up to that name...haha I have been so blessed to have gotten to know Tina,

and I look forward to knowing her for a long while longer.

LISA is on the right side of the second layer of pyramid and she is the "aunt" of Ecola!!

Lisa has such a sweet heart and a loving spirit. I love not being afraid of her anymore...haha

RICHELL is in the middle of the bottom layer of the pyramid and she is my roommate 

and I would consider her one of closest friends here. 

I wasn't quite sure how it was going to work with us especially considering we weren't close AT ALL

last year...but the Lord is faithful and we are now really close. Richell has a laugh that is very contagious

and an awesome sense of humor!!!

KIM is the farthest right on the bottom and I love her!! She is an amazing cook and has such a

generous spirit!! Her heart shines through her actions and I have loved getting closer to her.

Well, these are my fellow office girls and I love them all!!!

Pictures

Here are a couple of random pictures from my break!

I also got to see my kids that I nannied this past summer! It was SO good seeing them. I have missed my munchkins. :)

My Christmas Break

So this Christmas break has been filled with lots of good memories and I have been so blessed to be here with my family and friends. I started off this break with news from my dad that my church was burnt by an arsonists and that was hard but the first Sunday we had after the incident was absolutely amazing! We were all piled into Wasilla Middle School (graciously provided by a member of our church family) and the atmosphere was spectacular...everyone was so joyful. Definitely a blessing from the Lord and proof that the church cannot be contained by a building.

So all in all, it has been a blessed experience for my church family.

The Lord has once again been providing for me in the area of finances. I was able to housesit for a couple who was going out of town for Christmas and that was great!!  Able to have my own house to where I could get away if I needed some quiet time!! :) *Very important for me..haha*

I had some awesome time with the weather here...I joke of course. It was definitely -5 when I first got here and it never changed. Let me tell you something if you don't live in alaska, we have a saying here..."If it snows...then it blows!" Which is very true....no joke, got stuck at my housesitting house because of the snow drift in the driveway!

Christmas morning was an early one...the little siblings couldn't wait to get down to that tree! :)

We had our traditional cheese grits, sausage egg casserole, and I made monkey bread. SO GOOD!  We spent the day being lazy around the house and it was great. For dinner we went over to my sister Kelly's and her husband Will's house. It was great and I love spending time with them. Another awesome thing that happened during my break was my best friend got engaged!!! Emily and Mitchel's tentative date for the wedding is July 25th and I have the honor and privilege of standing up by her side as her maid of honor. I am so happy for my best friend and wish her and her fiancee the best! We went wedding dress shopping and had immediate success. I am so excited to see her on their special day, she is going to be a stunning bride!

I go back to Oregon on the 10th and I am pretty ready to get back to Ecola...I am going to miss my family and friends though! Thankyou Jesus for an amazing time back at home. I am going to miss my mountains!

My Besties

These pictures are of me and my best friends this past summer when we went on a little mini road trip to stay at a bed and breakfeast for one night. We had such a good time together, laughing and dancing in the car the entire way there. These girls are amazing and as we get older and older I realize just how much I have been blessed by their friendship through the years. Mayerly is the one on the bottom picture, bottom left and she is getting married this upcoming June. I am so happy for her and her fiance Luke. They are both truly incredible but I can't help but feel a sense of sadness as she is the first to "go". Natalie, the bottom picture, top right, moved to Texas with her family right after senior year and it has been hard with the distance between us. But the awesome and amazing thing is that I know we will always be the best of friends through out our lifetime. I love my natabee...and last but certainly not least, there is Emily, the bottom picture, top right. She and mine's friendship started freshman year of high school. We were not alike at all, she was very sporty and athletic...I don't play sports! She comes from a smaller family...I have 6 siblings. She is the only girl...I have 4 sisters. But even though we are unalike in alot of ways, we are still the best of friends and I am so incredible blessed to have her in my life.

So this is a shout out kind of blog to my besties. I miss you all and love you so so much. You have all been such a blessing in my life and I am very thankful for each and every one of you!! Thank you for always being there for me when I made the stupid mistakes and rejoicing with me when we saw a victory!!! I'll see you guys, Mayerly and Emily, in 2 weeks and I can't wait!!!