Happy New Year!!

Wow I really can't believe it's almost 2009. I remember when I was little thinking about how far away 2012 seemed (the year I'm graduating in) and now it seems so close!!

2008 was not too bad I would say, I met a lot of really cool people, had a lot of fun times, starting reading my bible every day, realized how much I love language and photography, and lots of other stuff too.

I want to know what your favorite part of 2008 was. In 5 words or less :)

Here's mine: Everything I did involving Haiti.

(that includes both the Febuary and July trips, Isaiah project, going to the Haitian church, learning more Creole...) :)

Forecasting Stone

I think I've seen this before, but I found this picture online a while ago.

Happy Day

Merry Christmas!!

I love Christmas lights =]

A New Face For Marlie

This morning I didn't really feel like doing much of anything, so I turned on the t.v. while I was eating lunch. I pulled up the guide on the screen and started looking at what was on. Nothing really caught my eye, so I kept looking until I got to TLC. The show that was on at the time didn't really interest me, it was about this lady that was living with half a body because of some disease she had. The show that was going to be on after it, on the other hand... one o'clock could not come fast enough for me. I amused myself with Full House for an hour waiting for this show to come on. And the reason the show looked so good to me... the girl in it was from Haiti!!! She had a birth defect, and I can't remember what it's called, but it was the worst case of it in medical history. The bones in her face were extremely distorted and caused a 16-pound growth to form on her face. She couldn't hold her head up without her hands. She couldn't breathe easily at all. She couldn't eat. Her family thought she was going to die. The girl, Marlie, locked herself in another room so no one could see her. She tried commiting suicide once, but her dad caught her before she slit her throat. She was 13 years old at the time.

This is the story.

Her dad never watched the news, but one time he did, and there were these twins from Haiti on it who were nurses and had dedicated their lives to saving people from their country. He contacted them somehow and the nurses came to the house to look at Marlie. They both said that at first they wondered how she could be human and didn't think there was anything that could be done for her. But then they both thought about their own kids and decided they had to do something for her. So they worked at getting money for her to come to the United States on a medical visa to have emergency surgery. It happened, and the two nurses, Marlie, and Marlie's mom all came to the U.S. for about 6 months. In this time, the doctors performed two surgeries on her face, one on the midsection and the other on her jaw area. They did not think she would be able to have a nose again, but during the first surgery they built one for her. In the second surgery, they took out the rest of the growth and put in a metal jaw. By the end, she was dancing and smiling. Before she could hardly open her eyes and couldn't move her face at all. Her dad and two sisters came to visit her in America at the end of her surgeries, and then the whole family flew back to Haiti. She was going to come back some other time to have the finishing surgeries on her face, and the doctors said that when they are all done, she will be able to walk around without anyone looking at her different, she is going to look like everyone else.

Part of it was filmed in Haiti, and the two nurses, and the family were speaking in Creole. Most of it was translated over so you couldn't hear it, but there were a couple of parts where you could hear them talking. They showed some in Port au Prince and some in the city where Marlie was from... I can't remember what it's called though. There were tap-taps, market, the airport, roads, houses, everything.

Anyone up for a quick trip?? ;]

As I watch myself fall into a little thing I like to call "Calorie Overload" time after time, I start to wonder about all the starving people in the world. They probably will never experience this version of a stomach ache resulting from eating too much junk food. They get their own kind of stomach ache, if you can call it that. Starving, empty bellies for all these people. All the young, younger than me. All the old who have never known everything different. This is life.

I've tried it before, to see what it felt like. I did a minor fast, 49 hours. Then after that, I went to one of the many cupboards in my house, stocked with food. I never doubted that. I never in my life have had to wonder if there was going to be food when I got home. I never worried that I wouldn't get to eat the next day, or the next week. Everyday life for these people all over the world is nothing like mine. I can't understand the pain they feel. Even if I try, just a fraction of the time that they go without eating, I don't have to worry about where my next meal is going to come from. And yes, it hurts after a while not having anything in your stomach. The difference is that for me, at any time, I could have said "Okay, I'm done. Time to eat," walked over to the kitchen and gotten myself something.

Now I have a different pain. One in my heart. I want to help. I want to do something. And that pain grows stronger every time I realize that the majority of my time is spent focused on myself.

So I need to make some changes. I wish it was as easy for all the hungry people out there to change as it is for me. And I don't think it's going to be that easy for me to change, but I have the option to. These people don't.

I am change.

Pool Sign

Welcome to our

OOL

Notice there is no P in it

Let's keep it that way

Trying to wait patiently

To get out of this place

This place I don't want to be

Pleading a case

I'm never going to win

Trying to get out

To get out of this sin

My mind wants to doubt

My heart wants to trust

To trust His perfect plan

I know that I must

Let Him be God, let me be man

But it hurts and I'm breaking

I need to move, need to go

My heart is aching

Time passes so slow

Just gotta believe

Believe in His plan for me

I just gotta leave

I just gotta be

-written today when I got bored during art :)

Thoughts

Have you ever heard the saying "If you have a penny for your thoughts, and you put your two-cents in, what happens to the other penny?" I heard that a while ago, and thought of it today. So folks... a penny for your thoughts??

Christmas Socks

This adorable little boy is my cousin Caden. While we were in Wisconson this week, we celebrated Christmas with my dad's side of the family since my aunt and uncle that live in Minnesota will not be here for Christmas. My mom gave all the kids a little stocking with candy in it along with their presents. Caden was eating the candy out of his (well okay, dumping it all on the floor and leaving it there for me to put back, and then when I did put it back, dumping it out again. I think he ate one piece that whole time). Me and my aunts and my mom and dad and a couple of my cousins were going "for a walk" to the arcade. We said for a walk so that not all the little kids would want to come. :) Caden was going to come, and was waiting with us out in the hallway, but then he ran over by his room door and said "I'm going to eat some candy out of my sock!" then he looked down and pointed at his socks, and completely seriously added "But not these socks." Just to clarify. Thanks buddy :D

Random Question

If you died today, what do you think people would remember the most about you? And what would you want them to remember?

My Life

be like ooh ahhhh oooh ahh ;) Just kidding.

This is going to be a completely random and totally boring update about my life. Here we go.

1. I have 27 days until my birthday.
2. 27 days left of being 14 that means.
3. I am approximately 1/12 of the way done with high school.
4. After tomorrow, I have 55 exams left in my high school career. (Unless I don't take 5 classes every trimester)
5. Saturday I am going shopping with my mom.
6. I want to talk in Creole to someone.
7. I have no one to talk to because all the Haitian-Americans I know would make me feel embarassed to try speaking it with them.
8. My friends are amazing :)
9. I don't feel good.
10. I never want to eat junk food again.
11. But I probably will by the middle of next week. Probably before.
12. I think that's everything random I had to say.
13. Told you it was going to be boring.
14. Oh yeah, and I wish I could drive.
15. But I can't.
16. And I watched Juno for the first time today.
17. It's pretty funny, and it's good.
18. Ok now that's everything.
19. Still boring though.

Au revoir cheries :)

Skittles Project

I am taking 2-dimensional design in school right now, and our most recent project was to draw candy 5 times, each time moving the picture on the plate and using different things to color it in for lack of better words... the first time was just pencil, second was traced over with sharpie, third was painted with water colors, fourth was colored pencil, and fifth was cut out of construction paper. I finished this yesterday, and took it home so I could scan them and show my mom :) Here they are:

Canned Food Hockey

I just remembered that I hadn't posted this video yet. This is at the Harvest Festival we went to at the Haitian Church last Friday. They had an air hockey table in one of the rooms, but only one handle-thing-whatever-those-are-called... but there was a lot of cans of cranberries on a shelf next to the table, so we started using those. Me and Brenda had a lot of laughs with this thing... :) Sorry the video is not very good, I was trying to hold it above the table and play at the same time, so I couldn't see anything I was videoing.

"The happiest people don't necessairily have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything."

-Anonymous

Random Video

This is Dani. She is going to kill me for this. Unless she doesn't find out so shh... ;) Kidding. You may tell her, I don't care. :)

Other Dani quotes:

"I put 'white/caucasian' for this, but I'm Italian, so what else do I put? Am I Middle Eastern??"

(To which I laughed really hard and she said "What? Wait what's a Middle Eastern person?" And I laughed more and told her "Like an Iraqi" And then she laughed with me... and then wondered if she was Latino...)

Lots of Venting...

**I am seriously venting right now. School was crazy today. Everyone was arguing since we had a mock election and because of the real election today. These are all based on arguments that people used on me today when I tried to talk to them. If you are easily offended, I wouldn't read this. You can't say I didn't warn you :)**

1) Saying that we aren't old enough to vote anyways so who cares isn't a good comeback.
2) I am old enough to care.
3) We can vote in the next election so if you don't care, you should start.
4) What happens in this elections is going to effect you whether you think so or not.
5) Abortion is murder any way you put it.
6) If God did not have a purpose for the baby, the woman would not have gotten pregnant in the first place. Yes He has that power.
7) I believe that woman have a choice.
8) That choice is made when they get pregnant.
9) And the choice is to take that chance of getting pregnant or not risking it.
10) After that it is up to God.
11) You can't say there is no other option for women either.
12) Even if they are teenagers.
13) They were responsible enough to get pregnant, they can be responsible enough to go through with the consequences.
14) Once they have the baby, there is a wonderful thing called adoption.
15) If you don't want your baby, someone else does.
16) If a woman has an abortion or if her baby is put up for adoption, she is still going to think about that child for the rest of her life.
17) Personally, I would rather think about a child that is still alive.
18) You also cannot say that men shouldn't worry about abortion because they don't have to go through it anyways.
19) Someone has to get the girl pregnant.
20) Not all men leave if a woman gets pregnant either.
21) And if he does, the woman should not have been messing around with him in the first place.
22) You can not be born gay.
23) It is a choice.
24) There is no other way around it, none, plain and simple - a choice.
25) God did not create us to be man and man or woman and woman.
26) We were created to be man and woman.
27) I do like basing my arguments on faith and religion.
28) The government should be involved in whether or not women can have abortions, and whether or not gay people can get married.
29) Our country was founded on Christian faith.
30) Our country should still be run on Christian faith.
31) The Bible is not manipulated to say that being gay is wrong.
32) It is wrong. The Bible says so. Not manipulated.
33) I am okay with people having different opinions.
34) God did not make us all to think exactly alike and be robotic.
35) But if you say you are a Christian, you better not be going against what the Bible says.

Would do you think Jesus would vote for? Who do you think He IS voting for? And would you tell him these arguments and expect him to go with them??

Blogiversary Answers...

Mari said - Happy Blogiversary! My question is probably one you get asked frequently considering your age, but - I really want to know! What are you plans when you get out of school?

My answer - When I graduate from high school, I want to go to college. Hopefully I will have my freshman year done from doing Dual Enrollment. I'm not exactly sure what I want to do with my life as far as a career goes, but there are a few things I'm thinking about. (missionary, photographer, mission photographer, ESL teacher, elementary language teacher, adult literacy teacher, inner-city teacher... that kind of stuff) After college, if it works out with everything, I want to go to Haiti for 3 months. But farther on than that, I really have no idea!! :)

Mom said - Happy blogiversary! I didn't even celebrate mine so you're one up on me! Hmmm... what question to ask...If you could solve or fix one of the world's greatest problems, what would that be?

My answer - I wish I could fix it so that everyone would be Christians and would go to Heaven and would think like any person in their right mind would, but I can't do that... so I guess I would fix the problem of people being unhealthy. That covers a lot actually haha. That would mean good diets, enough sleep, minimal alcohol, enough exercise... stuff like that. It bothers me that people don't care about how they treat their bodies. I also think that if everyone was healthier, they would be happier and more reasonable, which would end up solving other problems in the world too.

"Blogiversary"

I guess people are celebrating their "blogiversaries" now? So I decided I should join in on the fun, and celebrate mine too :) This is the first blogiversary for this blog and for me, so I don't really know what to do for it... I guess I'll take Kim's idea and say that you can ask me anything you want and I'll answer the questions in a later post! Have fun :)

Simplicity

"It is God's business, not ours, to care for what we have. God is able to protect what we possess. We can trust him. The lock on the door is not what protects the house. Simplicity means the freedom to trust God for these and all things."

-Richard Foster

Mean Girls

My mom bought me a book in like 5th grade from Family Christian Stores, and I started to read it... well since then I have read less than 50 pages of it :) oops... but I wanted to read it finally. So I started yesterday, at the beginning, I don't remember the part that I read over the course of 5 years (shocking I know... everyone should be able to remember that kind of thing) ;)

Anyways, the book is called "Mean Girls: Facing Your Inner Beauty Turned Beast". I read a part during seminar today that I wanted to put on here for you guys... and it is relatable to everyone, not just people with "mean girls".

"No matter what people call you, they can't change who you are. Only you and Christ can do that. If you choose to let others make you into their image, you lose - and you deny Christ, because He calls you to be made into His image, to 'put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator' (the apostale Paul's letter to the Colossions, chapter 3, verse 10). Christ died to set you free - free from the enemy, free from yourself and free from the Mean Girl. You might not be feeling it right now, but it's true: You are a child of the King, not the punch line of a bad joke. Don't let anyone convince you by the means things they say that you are less than a princess. If you want to know how to turn it around and be the girl you were made to be, find out what pleases your Father. Find out how he wants you to react."

My Adorable Cousins :)

These are my cousins that live in Minnesota, I took these pictues when my mom and I went to visit their family out there this summer, and I just haven't gotten to posting them yet :) So here they are. Sorry I don't have a very good picture of Niko, he wouldn't let me take pictures of him when he was looking, so I have a lot of shots of his back ;)

Natalie

Neve

Niko

Do Not Worry (Luke 12:22-34)

22Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

27"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothes you, O you of little faith! 29And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

32Do not be afraid, little flock, for you Father has been please to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

*Study Bible notes*
-Does Jesus command us not to worry? (12:22)
Jesus does not give a command so much as an invitation to rest in the arms of a loving Father. As humans, we will at times cross the line and fret when we should trust. But only when we allow ourselves to constantly focus on ourselves instead of God do we violate Jesus' principle. He gave it to us as a liberating principle, not as another law to worry about.

-Does Christ really want us to sell all our possessions? (12:33-34)
Jesus' concern is that our possessions do not possess us. Some have felt that God wanted them to take a vow of poverty, learning to trust him by giving away everything they owned to help the poor. Others look to other verses in the Bible to help interpret this one. They believe the point here is that all we have belongs to God. But he gives us the responsibility to manage those possessions in ways that will honor him and accomplish his will.

Free Rice

I don't know if any of you have heard of this game before, but it is really cool. It's called Free Rice. There are a bunch of different subjects you can choose to play from (like multiplication, English vocabulary, English grammar, learning Spanish, learning French, learning German, learning Italian, world capitals, world country locations, famous paintings, and chemical symbols) I didn't know that there were different subjects until tonight when I was playing it. I guess I should tell you why it's so cool.

For every question you get right, they donate 20 grains of rice through the UN World Food Program to help end world hunger. It has a little wooden bowl on the side of the screen that shows how much rice you donated.

Tonight Iwas really bored, and I tried all the subjects except learning German and Italian and the full version of chemical symbols. I ended up donating 10,000 grains of rice.

Also, I realized that if I was to have a test on one of the subjects on there at school, this would be the best way to study EVER. I did the Spanish one because I am taking Spanish 2 right now, and I did the French one to see how much I actually would know.

So if you get bored sometime, you can try this game :) I know world hunger is never going to end, doesn't it say that in the Bible? But the Bible also says to feed the hungry, so go forth and learn :)

Why are there hard times?
Why are their lives harder than mine?
Why are they dying
with nobody trying
to tell them it gets better?

And if they've heard,
why didn't they learn?
They're hungry and poor,
maybe tired and sore,
but chose to ignore hope.

The weight of the world on my shoulders.
Only God can move these boulders.
I don't even know
where else to go.
But I know where I'm headed.

I want them all to come.
I want them to know love.
They could be free
if only they could see
this light in the dark.

Show them how to open their eyes.
Tell them to look to the skies.
And when they pray,
they can't see the gray.
Only God can make the storms pass.

With Him or without,
there's rain and there's drought.
You know why it comes
and Who it's from
when you have that faith.

I just don't understand
why you wouldn't if you can?
I wish I knew
what to do
and why they didn't listen.

God has everything worked out,
but I want to know what it's about.
How long is the wait
until that planned date,
and what do I do until then?

Father, show me my part.
Show me, where do I start?
Why don't people care?
What do I share?
Lord - Here am I, send me.

Heart and Mind

How would you describe the difference between having something on your heart and having something on your mind?

I thought about that when I was out shopping with my mom today, and she told me what she thought, but I wanted to know what everyone else had to say about it. :)

Dude Math

I thought this was funny even though I don't agree with it :)

Convo #2 of Babysitting... :)

Caden: Hchhhhh!! (pretending to be a jaguar)
...silence...
Me: Ooh the mad beast fell asleep...
Caden: What?
...more silence...
Caden: Hchhhh!!

Convo #1 of Babysitting... :)

In the car on the way to my cousins house tonight:

Kayla: Mom, you're showing off again.
Aunt Michelle: Oh I am huh?
Kayla: Yeah, because Tori's here.
Aunt Michelle: Oh really...
Kayla: Yeah... oh and try not to talk to any old people tonight ok?
Aunt Michelle: Why?
Kayla: Like people that are 80 or something.
Aunt Michelle: Why can't I talk to them? Don't you think they'll be sad if no one talks to them?
Kayla: No! They might fall asleep!!
Aunt Michelle: Because I'm so boring??
Kayla: NO because they're so OLD.

In His Eyes

Why don't people understand?

Everyone is the same.
It doesn't matter your race, gender, or shoe size.

Everyone is the same.

If you're tall or short,

Fat or thin,

Boy or girl,

Adult or kid,

Everyone is the same.

You could be fast as a cheetah,

Or slow as a turtle.

You could be a lion, who roars with power,

Or a small, little mouse, who squeaks in fear,

Everyone is the same.

Even when we all forget

And sometimes judge ourselves,

Someone remembers.

In His eyes,

Everyone is the same.

-written in 7th grade for English class

Haircut

I am going to get a haircut soon, and this is how I think I'm going to get it done. What do you think? The highlights would probably be right because I'm probably getting those too, and red ones. :)

One Step At A Time

This is not technically a Christian song, but I think she is, and it fits what I'm feeling right now :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzyys6kW8yg

A New Direction

Taken from Brio Magazine...

"In just a bit, I'll be driving three hours north to the town where I grew up. My clothes are crammed (uh, packed, I mean), my cell phone is charged, and my iPod is in my purse. I wish you were here, too, so we could load up on junk food, sing along with my (very random) travel mix and talk about what's going on in your world. Road trips are always fun, and this one is especially interesting, because I'm headed 'home.'

"Ironically, when I lived in that 'home,' I spent a lot of time thinking about leaving.

"I loved my parents and friends, but I was desperate to see the rest of the world. I pored over my mom's old copies of National Geographic, memorizing the faces and countries profiled there. Those people with beautiful dark eyes and strange customs seemed so interesting to me. I wanted to see their worlds. I wanted to hear languages I didn't understand, see the sun set over flatlands instead of mountains and be captivated by some dreamy European city.

"I wanted to go somewhere different. I wanted something new. I felt like my heart would explode if I didn't get to touch, taste and see the world past my mountains.

"The longing erupted in high school. I don't know what was stronger - my desire to see a new place or my desire to be seen as a new girl. I wanted to go somewhere I could be undefined. I felt people already knew everything about me there was to know in that place.

"I knew everything about me too. I needed to go somewhere I could reinvent myself. Take some risks. Becoming is so awkward, isn't it?

"And so I wasn't suprised today, when I'm about to drive back into all those memories, the words in my time with God echoed my heart's cry at 18:

"'Sing a new song to the Lord,' Psalm 96:1 says.

"That's what I wanted: a new song. What I didn't realize is that a new song didn't come with a continent change. Sometimes the most beautiful new songs in my life have a way of finding me exactly where I am.

"ADVENTURE REDEFINED
When I find myself in a season where I feel stuck or a place where I feel restless, I know a couple of things could be brewing in my heart. Sometimes, I think God gives us a gentle prompter to get out in the world and love His people.

"If you experienced missions in any form, whether in your hometown or another world away, the gentle prompter probably started to feel like a swift kick in the pants after a while. Every sermon you heard seemed to be confirming a calling in your heart to missions. Everything you read connected your mind to something you've been praying for.

"Suddenly the $2,000 that seemed impossible to imagine is almost together, your parents have a peace about the whole thing, and your friends and excited for you. The fear of the unknown gives way to the joy of carrying the love of Christ into the world. And you go.

"I've learned so much about God by getting out into the world and seeing Him working there.

"But I've also learned so much about God and experienced His love, when He breathes life back into dreams, responsibilities and goals I have exactly where I am. The restlessness in my heart can also point me back to an adventure I'm missing that's already happening around me.

"When the psalmist tells us to sing a new song to the Lord, he follows it with this proclamation: Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!

"And whether I'm running through the rainy streets of some European supercity or sitting at the boat dock on my sister's farm, I can still sing a new song to God. I can still feel that rush of excitement and adventure that comes with taking Him up on something new.

"Restlessness stirs in my heart for a reason. Sometimes I need to change my environment, but more often than not, I just need to change the song in my heart.

"I need to remember that my purpose is exactly where I am. I need to remember what I love and why. I need to find somewhere to be alone and worship God in a way I haven't worshipped Him in a while. Sometimes when I worship Him in a new way I feel closer to Him. As long as we worship God in spirit and truth (as Jesus tells us to do in John 4), I don't think one method of worship trumps all the rest.

"But worshiping God in a new way pulls me out of rote formality. I may not know the words by heart. I may not know what I'm doing. I'm just giving Him a moment of spontaneous love. I have a feeling those moments are precious to him.

"IF LIFE HAD A SOUNDTRACK
There was a longing in my heart at 18 much stronger than seeing the world or falling in love or finding the perfect college. I wanted to know God fully. I wanted to fall deeper and deeper in love with Him in that season of my life. I wanted to experience Him on different continents and with different people, and I did. But some of the sweetest times in my walk with Him so far are moments He bacame real to me in my hometown.

"He isn't just the God of my amazing, blow-my-mind-and-see-the-world days. He's also the God of my faded-jeans-and-flip-flops days. Sometimes my soul is just longing to sing a new song. When I do, that song has a way of becoming the soundtrack for an adventure I never saw coming. I don't want to miss that for anything"

-Natalie Lloyd

Homecoming!!

The homecoming game is tonight, should be lots of fun :) And the dance is tomorrow night!! YAY I will probably post pictures of it sometime, but I bet my mom will be too. I'm going over to my friends house tomorrow afternoon, and we're going to go out for dinner, and then take some pictures and go to the dance later. My dress is black and comes to a little below my knee. I have blue and black bangles to go with it, and blue flip-flops (thanks Tiffany) :) And I'm wearing a necklace/earrings that I already had. I'm actually getting a little excited now :)

Oh and I'm proud to say that yesterday during Career Readiness, I typed 108 WPM, and didn't make any errors. I was in shock for about a minute straight. Dani sits next to me, and she couldn't believe it either. That is a personal record.

White Roses

**I found this on myspace, the "I's" in this story are not about me :)

I was walking around in a Target store, when I saw a Cashier hand this little boy some money back. The boy couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old.

The Cashier said, 'I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money to buy this doll.’

Then the little boy turned to the old woman next to him: ''Granny, are you sure I don't have enough money?''

The old lady replied: ''You know that you don't have enough money to buy this doll, my dear.'' Then she asked him to stay there for just 5 minutes while she went to look around. She left quickly. The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand. Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to.

'It's the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for Christmas. She was sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her.'

I replied to him that maybe Santa Claus would bring it to her after all, and not to worry.

But he replied to me sadly. 'No, Santa Claus can't bring it to her where she is now. I have to give the doll to my Mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there.'

His eyes were so sad while saying this. 'My Sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister.' My heart nearly stopped.

The little boy looked up at me and said: 'I told daddy to tell Mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall.'

Then he showed me a very nice photo of himself. He was laughing. He then told me 'I want Mommy to take my picture with her so she won't forget me. I love my Mommy and I wish she didn't have to leave me, but Daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister.' Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly.

I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. 'Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll!'

'OK' he said, 'I hope I do have enough. I added some of my money to his without him seeing and we started to count it.

There was enough for the doll and even some spare money.

The little boy said: 'Thank you God for giving me enough money!' Then he looked at me and added, 'I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that Mommy could give it to my sister. He heard me! I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my Mommy, but I didn't dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose. My Mommy loves white roses.'

A few minute later, the old lady returned and I left with my basket.

I finished my shopping in a totally different state of mind from when I started. I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind.

Then I remembered a local newspaper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl. The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining machine, because the young woman would not be able to recover from the coma. Was this the family of the little boy?

Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the newspaper that the young woman had passed away. I couldn't stop myself as I bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was for people to see and make last wishes before her burial. She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest. I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed forever. The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine. And in a fraction of a second, a drunk driver had taken all this away from him.

The quote of the month is by Jay Leno: 'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'

'May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit' Romans 15:13

Answers

Finally - here are my answers to the second chance survey...

Mom: I know you are pretty sure you'll be doing something in missions with your life... are you thinking anything specifically yet as far as your interests go? Would it definitely be in Haiti? I know that you are waiting on God and where He leads you but I just wondered about your thoughts at this point.

Answer: I'm not sure exactly the specifics yet... I really don't want to expect anything so I won't be disappointed in where God puts me. I know for sure I want to spend at least 3 months in Haiti sometime, but not necessarily move there. I also don't think I'm ever going to stop going there completely, because I love it so much. One thing that I think would be really fun to do is travel to every country in the world. I figured out that if I spent 2 weeks in every country, it would take me about 6 years. And if I get my freshman year of college done in highschool, then I should graduate when I'm 21... then I could do the traveling thing and be done by the time I was 27. But who knows? That's a long way off...

Amy: I am not a "blog commenter", but I couldn't resist asking questions.1. What Christ-like trait amazed you most in the believers in Haiti? 2. What Christ-like trait seems to be showing more in you since being in Haiti? 3. What do you most want your Michigan friends to understand about the changes and passion in your life since being in Haiti?

Answer: 1. It always amazes me how real the people are. They aren't afraid to sing loudly and dance in church and just be happy. They move. They get animated. They're excited about God. I wish America was more like that, most people look like statues in church. 2. I don't know if this counts as a Christ-like trait, but I feel like I wait for God to tell me what to do now more than I did before Haiti. 3. I want people in Michigan to understand that this is a big part of my life and even if I try not to talk about it or think about it, I can't help it. And I also can't explain to people that haven't been there why I like it so much. It's something you have to experience, and if I try to explain it, people give me blank stares or they just pretend to understand. I want people to understand that I don't go down there just for my friends. Sure, I like hanging out with them when I'm there, but if they weren't there, I would still go back. They aren't my whole reason, and who doesn't like hanging out with their friends? Especially those they don't see except for one or two weeks out of the year.

I'm not going to base another post on Haiti questions probably, but if you have a question, even if it has nothing to do with the post, feel free to ask me. :)

100th Post :)

Finally - I made it to the 100th post!! Woo-hoo! So here is 100 things about me that you may not have known before but you do now :) Have fun learning! ;)

1. I was born on December 17, 1993.

2. My brother Logan was 22 months old I think.

3. I weighed 7 lbs. 13 oz. and was 21.5 inches long.

4. I was born at 3:04 AM.

5. We moved to Allendale when I was 3 years old.

6. When we got our dog Smokey, I was deathly scared of her and would run away (like I did when we first got her... I remember jumping on a chair and not coming off for a while) :)

7. Smokey was born the day we moved into our Allendale house.

8. Logan obviously got to go to school before I did and I was always jealous.

9. I remember going to the bus stop when school was over so I could walk with him home.

10. There was a family down the street that we always played with.

11. The girl in that family was 4 years older than me.

12. I have a class with her this year.

13. They moved away when I was probably 6 or 7 and I haven't really talked to her since.

14. Last year my band teacher told me that I reminded him of her... he had no idea she was basically my best friend way back when.

15. I started playing soccer when I was about 6 years old.

16. I have played ever since.

17. Last year I played volleyball for school.

18. I am never playing again ;)

19. I don't remember the name of my preschool teacher.

20. For Kindergarten I had Mrs. Lutke.

21. First grade - Mrs. Czechojwski or something like that (a.k.a. Mrs. C)

22. Second grade - Mrs. Segall

23. Third grade - Mrs. Mumy

24. Fourth grade - Mrs. Kwekel

25. Fifth grade - Mrs. Hastings

26. In Kindergarten my best friend was Hollie Rogers.

27. On the first day of first grade, I met Kasie Pleiness.

28. She was my best friend until 3rd grade when we got put in different classes.

29. In 3rd grade I had no best friend, the group I hung out with was pretty interesting... yeah don't go there... lol.

30. In 4th - 6th grade, Hollie was my best friend again.

31. At the end of 6th grade, I started hanging out with Camryn DeLooff.

32. We were best friends in 7th grade.

33. Our other best friends were Mallory Soule and Kaley Moskalewski.

34. My mom loves Kaley's name. :)

35. About halfway through the summer before 8th grade, I realized how rich and selfish Camryn was and stopped hanging out with her.

36. Then I started hanging out with Anna Hill and Dani Snyder and some other people.

37. Even though I now don't like the term "best friend", they would be considered mine.

38. In 4th grade, I got the chicken pox.

39. They itch really bad.

40. I hadn't been able to catch them before... my cousin had them when I was about 6 and I was hugging him and whatever - never got them. A kid in my class in 4th grade got them and left as soon as he realized it - I caught them.

41. I also broke my arm in 4th grade.

42. I had a purple cast.

43. It had to be taken off and redone because my thumb was numb.

44. It didn't do anything changing it, my thumb was numb for the full 6 or 8 weeks or whatever it was.

45. When we moved into the house we live in now, I found a lady bug ring in my room.

46. I still have it.

47. But it doesn't fit.

48. My mind works interestingly...

49. I say very random things a lot of times if you haven't noticed that yet.

50. I also point out the obvious a lot :)

51. I got a cell phone at the beginning of last school year.

52. It's white.

53. I still have it - I don't understand how people can go through like 4 phones a year...

54. That could have something to do with having been to Haiti 3 times... :)

55. I went to Haiti for the first time last summer with a team of 16 to do a VBS.

56. I went again in Febuary this year for a work trip.

57. Then I went again in July this summer for another VBS.

58. It is my favorite place in the whole wide world.

59. I like the work trips and VBS trips pretty equally.

60. On the work trips there is a lot more extra time, so I get to hang out with friends or go into the village more. (Or swim in the dam) :) And on the VBS trips I get to see all the different kids all day :)

61. I have quite a few friends in Haiti, considering I don't speak Creole.

62. Last summer I met Tipap, Jeanbeauvis, Makarie, Joelle, Merillean, Jeronne, and Sefanya.

63. We (me, Tiffany, Paige, Aaron) hung out with Tipap and Jeanbeauvis and sometimes Joelle.

64. In Febuary I met Fransle, Mickenson, Misslen (Tipap's sister), Makarie's brother (can't remember his name), and a few other kids that I can't remember their names.

65. We (me, Tiffany, Paige, sometimes Aaron) hung out with Tipap, Jeanbeauvis, and sometimes Joelle... he hung out with us more this trip than last summer but still not as much as the other guys.

66. In July I met Esaie, Sano (Tipap's cousin), Kerline, Akeem, "Jim" (that's what he told us his name was... Paige told us his real name, it starts with a T but I can't remember it) and some other guys that never really introduced themselves. :)

67. We (me, Tiffany, and Paige) hung out with Tipap, Mickenson, Esaie, and usually Joelle. Joelle was there mostly every night, but a lot of times he left early.

68. Jeanbeauvis was in the mountains for most of this trip... we saw him once.

69. In 6th grade, we had to do a term of typing class.

70. I was the fastest typer in my class with about 20 words per minute (WPM)

71. Last Friday I got 100 WPM in my computer readiness class.

72. I didn't make any errors either.

73. I thought I was going to faint. :)

74. I can't get that high any more... I get like 80's now.

75. I hate bellybuttons.

76. We had to learn how to say "bellybutton" in Spanish last week.

77. The teacher asked me why I made such a funny face every time she said "ombligo" (bellybutton in Spanish... look what you learned) :)

78. Basically the whole class laughed at me when I said I hate bellybuttons and I don't know why, they just creep me out.

79. Yesterday a girl in my class freaked out on me for saying "ew" really quietly when my teacher said "bellybutton".

80. I thought it was highly comical :)

81. She turned around as was like "Would you quit with the bellybutton thing!?! If you don't like it, tear it out or something!!" This guy in my class was like "I can't do that..." HA good stuff.

82. Apparently I have the ability to pick up on languages really fast.

83. That's what people tell me anyways :)

84. Right now, I am trying to learn Creole and Spanish.

85. It's hard.

86. My Aunt Julie and Uncle Ron have their own photography business, and they asked me to model some senior pics for them :)

87. It was a lot of fun, we went all around downtown Holland.

88. I had to pretend to pet a dog and talk to a guy that were part of a mural on the wall.

89. It was SO much fun! They took like 600 pics total I think.

90. I love taking pictures and want to be a mission photographer someday.

91. I have 31 cousins, including marriages and their kids.

92. I have 6 uncles and 6 aunts.

93. I have one living Grandma.

94. My mom's mom died one year, the next year my dad's dad died, and the year after that my mom's dad died.

95. I saw my Grandma yesterday - she dropped off some cookies for my dad :) They are yummy.

96. During the summer, I babysit a few days a week for the Sall's.

97. I am saving up to buy a car when I get my liscense.

98. Cookies 'n' Cream and Peanut Butter M & M's are my weaknesses :)

99. I think I got food poisoning from bad Strawberry Milk driving home from Minnesota a few weeks ago. :(

100. I don't think my life is very interesting so far. :)

Wow. That was fun! And kind of hard... well some parts were, once I thought of something, I got quite a few. Now I have to do some exercises before my brother gets home and I have to study for a World History test tomorrow!! Eek.

Love Love Love

♥Tori♥

Too Much For a Title

There are a few short things I need to mention :)

1. The Isaiah Project was AMAZING... I loved every second of it and I'm so thankful God chose me to go!!

2. High school is more fun then middle school but it's still school and I don't like it.

3. This is my 99th post... YAY so the next post should be 100 random things about mwen mem :)

4. I decided to cut out watching T.V. as much as possible... so basically the only time I watch T.V. now is at school if I have to.

5. I haven't forgotten about the questions from mom and Amy K... I need time to really sit down and think about answers for those, which I don't have right now. So when I get a chance, that will be the post :)

6. Minnesota was fun. My cousins are adorable (What can I say, I'm biased ;P) I think I got food poisoning or something on the way home from bad milk :( Ouch. I don't recommend that by the way.

7. I am going to add some pictures that I took of my cousins sometime too, I have to get them off of my camera. They probably got really sick of me taking pics, but I got some super cute ones, so I think it's worth it. When I add the pictures, I will have to add some funny stuff they said too :)

8. I finally made it into this century and got a Google Reader. Lol. You all should be so proud. ;)

9. Troy was here this weekend for the Isaiah Project. We spent quite a bit of time with him I would say. He told me a couple of times that I looked like Paige :) Haha. Yay! Lol.

I think that's everything I had to mention. I will try to update as soon as I can the 100 random things and then after that I will answer the questions and then after that I will add the pics/quotes of the kids!! Oh wow I have a lot to do. Hehe... yikes. I will do my best.

Stolen From Facebook

I took this test from something Anna posted on Facebook, you are supposed to do it on there, but I broke the rules and put it on here instead :) You don't have to do this, but I thought it looked like fun... so here it is.

A
- Available: like as in single or not? single
- Age: 14 (almost 15 though)
- Annoyance: changes with the day :)
- Animal: Pigs
B
- Beer: underage, so no
- Birthday: Dec. 17
- Best Friends: I don't like that term... but I have a few that would be considered that
- Body Part on opposite sex: Eyes, smile
- Best feeling in the world: landing in Haiti
- Blind or Deaf: neither, but if I had to choose, deaf
- Best weather: any temp above 60's and any kind except deadly stuff... :)
- Been in Love: not yet
- Been on stage?: unfortunately
- Believe in Magic: no
- Believe in God: with all my heart
- Believe in Santa: when I was little I did
C
- Candy: snickers, reese's, twix, skittles, starburst... all of them ;)
- Color: orange, pink, black
- Chocolate/Vanilla: Vanilla
- Chinese/Mexican: depends
- Cake or pie: neither
- Continent to visit: I can't choose, all of them sound amazing
D
- Day or Night: night
- Dance in the rain?: yeah, anything in the rain. I love rain :)
- Do the splits?: haha no
E
- Eggs: are white like me
- Eyes: mine are brown, but I like green eyes
- Everyone has a: Creator
- Ever failed a class?: no
F
- Full name: Victoria Lynne Westrick
- First thoughts waking up: yuck morning...
- Food: I'll try anything once, probably... except that lobster in Haiti. NOT happening. It was practically still alive. Gross.
G
- Greatest Fear: Plane crashing in Lake Michigan, failing, making people mad
- Goals: Learn Creole, graduate college, listen to what God tells me to do with my life, get better at soccer, build up to run 5 miles next summer
- Gum: is addictive
- Get along with your parents?: usually
- Good luck charm: I don't believe in luck
H
- Hair Color: brown
- Height: 5' 5"ish
- Happy: is the dog on 7th Heaven :)
- Holiday: Christmas to remember Jesus
- How do you want to die: running towards God, and unknowing
I
- Ice Cream: is my weakness
- Instrument: trumpet kind of, french horn
J
- Jewelry: silver is better... :)
- Job: babysitting, chores
K
- Kids: hopefully someday
- Kickboxing or karate: Karate
- Keep a journal?: in Haiti (just finished for the July trip if anyone wants to read it) :)
L
- Longest Car Ride: I don't remember... probably to Florida but I don't know how long that was.
- Love: is beautiful
- Letter: I love getting letters!
- Laughed so hard you cried: haha oh yeah. How many toes do I have Anna?? :D
M
- Milk flavor: Strawberry or regular
- Movies: any kind
- Motion sickness?: not really
- McD’s or BK: neither
N
- Number of Siblings: one
- Number of Piercings: two on each ear
- Number: 8 and 12
O
- One wish: I have lots of wishes...
P
- Perfect Pizza: Cheese
- Pepsi/Coke: neither
Q
- Quail: never tried it...
R
- Reason to cry: sad, laughing too hard :)
- Reality T.V.: america's got talent, america's next top model
- Radio Station: 104.5, 105.3, 99.3, 89.9
- Roll your tongue in a circle?: I can
S
- Song: oh lots of them
- Shoe size: depends... 7-8
- Salad Dressing: ranch or french
- Sushi: never tried it...
- Skipped school: yeah
- Slept outside: haha yep
- Smoked?: no
- Skinny dipped?: no
- Shower daily?: usually
- Sing well?: hmm I'm not sure
- In the shower?: I always sing in the shower
- Swear?: try not to
- Strawberries/Blueberries: I like the little kinds of both better
T
- Time for bed: when I'm tired
- Thunderstorms: best in Haiti when you're at the cross
U
- Unpredictable: life
V
- Vacation spot: that I've been? Florida. that I want to go to? Brazil
W
- Weakness: many, but ice cream and junk food
- Which one of your friends acts the most like you: probably Paige or Tiffany or ... hmm all of them in a way I guess
- Who makes you laugh the most: I'm just going to say all my friends because all of them make me laugh a lot and I don't want to forget anyone :)
- Worst feeling: my stupid conscience or however you spell that. Noah Livesay is a lucky little boy. I wish I didn't have a conscience...
- Wanted to be a model?: Yeah
- Where do we go when we die?: I'm going to Heaven... but some people are going to Hell.
- Worst Weather?: hurricanes and tornadoes
X
- X-Rays: on my arm in 4th grade and on my teeth at the dentist's
Y
-Year it is now: 2008
-Yellow: love it
Z
- Zoo animal: Elephants and cheetahs

LAST PERSON WHO…
1. Slept in a bed beside you? Paige slept on the couch across from me in Haiti... does that count? (sorry Mrs. Hill... Tiffany slept in a bed next to me in Miami on the way home from Haiti) :)
2. You went to the mall with? don't remember
3. You went to dinner with? besdies family? Tiffany and Sara and Darrick and Ryan
4. You talked to on the phone? Uncle Greg
5. Made you laugh? Tiffany

Second Chance Survey

Some people (a.k.a. mom) have told me that they "missed" the last Haiti question opportunity. So here is your second chance. Ask me anything you would like :)

Driving from the airport in Port au Prince

Little boy in La Digue on Sunday

View from Petit Bois

You've got questions,
I've got answers. :)
The polls are open, ask away.

And Survey Saaaays...

Here are the questions/answers that you asked for :) I feel like there is more you want to know though, so keep asking... don't be afraid, there is no dumb question you can ask me about Haiti except "What's it called?" and "Is it hot there?"... just kidding I would answer those questions gladly too. :D

MARI - I've read the other blogs, but you know they are all old people so I want to hear about things from your perspective! (1.) What impacted you most on this trip and (2.) how was it different from the other times you went?

(1.) There was a lot that impacted me on this trip. I'm not sure what impacted me the most, but I think one of them that was one of the major ones is also what was the hardest part emotionally. (In the answer to the question below this) Another thing that impacted me is that I need to enjoy what I'm doing while I'm doing it. Usually if I'm looking forward to something or not wanting something to end (like Haiti trips) I don't enjoy it as much as I should. So this trip, I made sure to make the most out of it as best as I could. I think it made a difference too, this trip felt a little longer then previous ones. I also realized that I love going down with teams, I love the relationships you build with the people and how close you feel to them when you get back, but I don't think that's how I'm going to continue going to Haiti forever. Right now, I feel that is how I'm supposed to go down there, but I really don't think that being part of a team is how I'm going to be there someday. Body of Christ, I know, I know. Like I said, I love being part of the team but I just feel that someday I may end up going there with one or two people or just by myself.

(2.) This trip was different from the other ones because I wasn't sure when I was going back. I don't know where I'll go if/when I go back either. (I added the "if" because I don't want to get in the way of God, if I'm not supposed to go, I'm not going.) Having that in mind the whole week made me enjoy the time in La Digue even more then I did before. Even if kids were annoying me... **cough cough makarie cough cough... I made the best of it and allowed myself to still have fun talking to "them" and hanging out with "them". Also, every trip is different. The team is different, the projects are different, the results are different, the people we meet are different... the only thing not different is God, but His plans for us that week most definitely are.

JEN (AKA 2 MOM :D) - What was the hardest part of the trip emotionally?

I think the hardest part of the trip emotionally was realizing that Haitians are Haitians... one of my friends from down there made me realize that, which made it even worse since it was one of my closest friends from Haiti. Otherwise the hardest part was what it always is... coming back. But this was different since I didn't know when I was going back or to where.

NATE - what was your favorite thing about your fearless, no, brave, no, intellegent leader ('s wife)? No really, how did you feel God impact you during the week?

My favorite thing about him was the hat he wore at the resort :D (P.S. you spelled intelligent wrong... :P)

No really, I felt God impact me a lot through showing me how beautiful something could be in such a poverty filled place. In the mountains, every time I looked over it was a different view and every time it was amazing and beautiful. During the whole week, the sky looked different (but always beautiful) every time I looked up. There were a lot of storms coming in through the week, but we only got rained on a few times. One time coming back from Caanan, the sun was reflecting off the ocean and there was rays coming through the clouds. Then on the other side of me was mountains with dark clouds over. Beautiful. And the people's singing and their worship is beautiful too. They give their whole heart into what they sing, and they aren't afraid to dance and show how much they love God. If America was like that... wow... I wouldn't even know what to say. And if you know me, that's a huge statement ;)

Haiti

I don't really know what to write about what happened in Haiti this trip, because there was so much. So I am asking you all to leave me a comment and tell me what you would like to hear about! I know a lot of you that read this went on the trip, but if you want me to talk about something, leave a comment. :) Thanks!!

Question

Answer this honestly please...

If you were a starving child somewhere in the world, do you think you would feel better or worse if you knew that someone who could eat all they wanted decided not to because they felt sorry for you?

No worries, I'm not going to stop eating because of the kids I saw and know in Haiti, I was just wondering what other people thought about this.

One Thing

Why do we want everything?
Money, jobs, treatment of a king...
When honestly,
Jesus is the one thing,
We need only.

"Everything is meaningless,"
Give it all up and confess.
'Cause honestly,
There's nothing we need,
But Jesus only.

You get what you need,
You share the smallest seed.
And honestly,
The one need in this life,
Is Jesus only.

You only get what you can take,
God sees all the fake.
But honestly,
The single need of everyone,
That's Jesus only.

God knows the real you,
From inside your heart to inside your shoe.
Now honestly,
Jesus knows your need,
It's Him only.

When life gives you hard times,
Don't box up like mimes.
For honestly,
Your need to get through it,
Is Jesus only.

So throw out your regrets,
Get rid of your secrets.
Oh, honestly,
Jesus is the one thing,
We need only.

Brain Test

I saw this on my mom's blog and thought it looked interesting... the "You may well suffer a feeling of continually trying to 'catch up' with yourself" cracks me up. Does that part have anything to do with being random?? People always tell me they don't know what I'm talking about, maybe the truth is I don't know either :)

Tori, you are somewhat left-hemisphere dominant and show a preference for visual learning, although not extreme in either characteristic. You probably tend to do most things in moderation, but not always.

Your left-hemisphere dominance implies that your learning style is organized and structured, detail oriented and logical. Your visual preference, though, has you seeking stimulation and multiple data. Such an outlook can overwhelm structure and logic and create an almost continuous state of uncertainty and agitation. You may well suffer a feeling of continually trying to "catch up" with yourself.

Your tendency to be organized and logical and attend to details is reasonably well-established which should afford you success regardless of your chosen field of endeavor. You can "size up" situations and take in information rapidly. However, you must then subject that data to being classified and organized which causes you to "lose touch" with the immediacy of the problem.
Your logical and methodical nature hamper you in this regard though in the long run it may work to your advantage since you "learn from experience" and can go through the process more rapidly on subsequent occasions.

You remain predominantly functional in your orientation and practical. Abstraction and theory are secondary to application. In keeping with this, you focus on details until they manifest themselves in a unique pattern and only then work with the "larger whole."
With regards to your career choices, you have a mentality that would be good as a scientist, coach, athlete, design consultant, or an engineering technician. You can "see where you want to go" and even be able to "tell yourself," but find that you are "fighting yourself" at the darndest times.

The test is here if you want to take it.

Random Thoughts About Haiti

***WARNING: THIS MAY HURT YOUR FEELINGS***

I have no idea what I'm going to say, so this should be interesting. Here goes nothing.

Haiti is a very different place. Some parts of it are amazing and some parts make me want to scream. Most of it is amazing though :) When I go there I feel so much more at home and able to just be myself. People always talk about how hot it is there, and yeah, it's hot, big whoop. It's not the most important part of the whole mission trip. Get over it. Incredible things happen on these trips, things that make it really obvious that God is there.

In the mountains at Petit Bwa, some of us were tired from the hike and then doing VBS and just wanted to get home instead of going on the prayer walk. But we sucked it up and went. While we were praying with people, we stopped on the side of the road (there was only about 6 people, the ones in front of us had gone to someone else's house I guess) and prayed for this old lady that walked down the mountain everyday to sell stuff at the market. Her foot was frozen in place, so she couldn't even move it to walk down and up. And you should know that that is not an easy hike either. After we prayed with her, a witch doctor that came up when he saw us praying asked if we would pray for him. He was interested in being saved. So the pastors that were with us talked to him (just so happened that all three pastors were with us and hadn't gone ahead...) and he took us to his house. When we got there, they sang 'Power in the Blood' (Tammy has a story about that one). The pastors talked to him some more, and this man fell to his knees while we were praying for him. He was saved that day.

Driving home from Caanan on Friday, there was a storm coming in over the mountains and we thought we were going to get poured on. We didn't. While the storm was coming in with gray clouds and dark skies on our left, the ocean was on our right with white clouds and the sun coming through and reflecting on the water. It was so beautiful.

I was in the games rotation for Bible School. On Tuesday we taught the kids (and our translator) how to play Duck, Duck, Goose. They loved it. It made me so happy to see what simple things could get them so excited. I don't think a single one of them complained about anything. In America, the kids are almost always complaining about being bored or hot or sweaty or tired... in Haiti... always smiles. And that's one of my favorite parts.

In the truck on the way to the airport, I was talking to Tiffany and she said that most of her favorite sounds come from Haiti. Most of her favorite memories come from Haiti. Some favorite smells are from Haiti. And I agree with her completely. Most of my favorite sights are from Haiti too. Everything about Haiti is so different from America, talking about it or looking at pictures of it isn't going to work trying to show someone what it's like there. You can't. It's impossible. You sure as heck can try, but whoever you're trying to tell isn't going to understand. They can fake it and pretend they get it, but honestly they can't unless they've been there. Comparing Haiti to another foreign country works for some things, but not much.

One morning at prayer rock, we were trying to figure out who should talk to the uncle of one of our translators/witch doctor in La Digue. We didn't know if just Pastor Rony should, or if all or some of us should go. Then we went into a silent prayer time. The verse Acts 8:24 came into my head. When prayer time was done, it was still in my head, so I read the verse. Then I closed my Bible and tried to figure out what that verse meant. But I didn't understand what it was about, so I felt like I needed to read the whole section. After devotions were done and everyone was headed back to the house, I showed Nate and Brenda and a few other people. Nate read part of it out loud to the people up there (about 3 people). On the way back down I started crying about it. The section is Acts 8:9-25. I tried to type it all out, but it's way long.

That's probably about all the random thoughts you can take for now. And me... I'm still sorting out everything. My deep thoughts are not working their way through very well. Maybe by tomorrow I will have some more random things to say. I need to go for a run so I can think without being ambushed by American-ness. Sorry if any of this hurt anyone's feelings, but I warned you. Me + America = lots of thinking about Haiti and probably some hurt feelings.

If you read that whole thing, you are amazing :) It's confusing I'm sure.

♥ Love Tori ♥

Mwen Renmen Zanmis Mwen

In English that means, "I love my friends"

These are my friends in Haiti... minus Anna - she took the picture. From left to right is me, Tiffany, Mickenson, Tipap, Esaie, and Paige. I miss and love them all so very much and I can't wait to see them again.

I have some deep thoughts about Haiti running through my head, but they are pretty much a jumbled mess that would confuse everyone. When I make sense of them all, I will write them. Or maybe sometime I will just sit down at the computer and start typing. That could be scary. We'll see what happens. :)

Good Morning :)

Psalm 55

Psalm 55

4-8 My insides are turned inside out;

specters of death have me down.

I shake with fear,

I shudder from head to foot.

"Who will give me wings," I ask-

"wings like a dove?"

Get me out of here on dove wings.

I want some peace and quiet.

I want a walk in the country.

I want a cabin in the woods.

I'm desperate for a change.

From rage and stormy weather.

16-19 I call to God;

God will help me.

At dusk, dawn, and noon I sigh

deep sighs- He hears, He rescues.

My life is well and whole,

secure in the middle of danger.

Even while thousands

are lined up against me.

God hears it all. And from his judge's bench,

puts them in their place.

But, set in their ways,

they won't change;

they pay Him no mind.

22 Pile your troubles on God's shoulders-

He'll carry your load, He'll help you out.

He'll never let good people

topple into ruin.

23b And I trust in You.

God and Barbers

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. Asthe barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists." "Why do you say that?" asked the customer. "Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving a God who would allow all of these things." The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist." "How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!" "No!" the customer exclaimed."Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, likethat man outside." "Ah, but barbers DO exist! What happens is, people do not come to me." "Exactly!"- affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! What happens, is, people don't go to Him and do not look for Him. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."

I saw this on one of my friend's facebook's today. :)

P.S. I will update about Haiti as soon as I can, I want to get pics on here first though so I can update with pics and not have to try and explain everything... haha. But soon I promise.

4 Days!

We leave in 4 days... 7 hours... and 30 minutes. :) But who's counting??

VBS in America started today. I am in the movie room with Brenda and mi madre. It's fun but I kind of miss being a guide :( Brenda told me this morning that she was glad she wasn't in all the chaos that was going on before the opening part started. It was nuts out there, but I like that. Oh well. I will be a guide next year then I guess... unless we are leaving for Haiti the Saturday after Bible School gets done. Then I will not be a guide. Too much stress :)

Oh and we had homegroups yesterday... and we figured out that me and my mom are seeing Brenda for 15 or 16 days straight. Yikes. Just kidding. We love her :) So that should be a lot of fun. But I don't have to sit next to her on the plane, I sit next to Anna. YAY

I'm not sure how much I'm going to be updating for the next couple of weeks, cuz of Bible School and Haiti and everything. I will try to update in Haiti at least once, but that's only if the internet is cooperating.

When we get back I will definitely post about it. No worries ;)

T♥R!

Five Factor Personality Test

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have high extroversion. You are outgoing and engaging, with both strangers and friends. You truly enjoy being with people and bring energy into any situation. Enthusiastic and fun, you're the first to say "let's go!" Conscientiousness: You have high conscientiousness. Intelligent and reliable, you tend to succeed in life. Most things in your life are organized and planned well. But you borderline on being a total perfectionist. Agreeableness: You have high agreeableness. You are easy to get along with, and you value harmony highly. Helpful and generous, you are willing to compromise with almost anyone. You give people the benefit of the doubt and don't mind giving someone a second chance. Neuroticism: You have medium neuroticism. You're generally cool and collected, but sometimes you do panic. Little worries or problems can consume you, draining your energy. Your life is pretty smooth, but there's a few emotional bumps you'd like to get rid of. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is medium. You are generally broad minded when it come to new things. But if something crosses a moral line, there's no way you'll approve of it. You are suspicious of anything too wacky, though you do still consider creativity a virtue.

The Five Factor Personality Test

I don't even know what some of those words mean :) haha oh well.

"Jam Session"

Or so Aaron called it. He took the video using my camera while I was outside hanging out with Tiffany and Paige and everyone. Sorry it's a little long, about 2:15...

13 Days!!

My mom pointed out today while we were laying out that we can officially say we leave next Saturday. :) YAY :) Except to be completely honest, I almost don't want this trip to come. Don't get me wrong, I want to go and I am extremely excited, but since the Livesay's are moving and stuff, we don't know when we're going back. So once this trip comes, it's going to be over, and we're going to be in America again for who knows how long. And I don't like that feeling of not knowing. But I definitely am going to enjoy every single stinkin' (literally and non-literally :D) second of this trip.

I don't really know what else I can say about this, so I guess that's all for now. Have a good rest of the day!

America's Got Talent

Here are some videos of America's Got Talent from this year:
Kaitlyn Mathers -4 year old singer
Nuttin' But Stringz -R&B violinists
Jonathan Burkin -baton twirler
Neal E. Boyd -opera singer (he is good, usually I don't like opera.)
Eli Mattson -singer
Next II None -boy band (lol they are good and I just realized watching this video that they are from the great GR Michigan!)
Mary Bly -80 year old dancer
Russian Bar Trio -extremely suspenseful gymnastics type thing
David Militello -9 year old autistic singer
Jessica Price -singer

Here are some from other countries or a different year:
Terry Fator -ventriloquist (winner of last year I think)
Kaitlyn K -11 year old singer
Europe's Got Talent -10 year old singer
Gary and Vinny -7 year old twin singers
Connie -6 year old singer

Sorry there's so many. It's hard to pick from! There were more on the sidebar of kids singing that I wanted to watch, but I really need to go eat lunch now. Maybe later. :) Enjoy! (try to watch as many as you can, I don't think I'll be posting for a couple days to give you time to watch these)