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.