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 ;)