Wow. It's so crazy to think that exactly one year ago, I was sitting in the airport in Washington D.C. on the phone with Mom freaking out because I was heading to Africa and my deposit hadn't gone through in my bank account. We were waiting for our connecting flight which would take us across the Atlantic Ocean to the London Heathrow airport. I was so terrified! And that was before most of the crazy stuff happened!
It's amazing how much I've changed and grown up in the past year. I feel like I was such a young, naive, ignorant girl back then. Maybe that's silly because I surely feel like I still have a lot of growing up to do before I actually feel like I'm an adult. The word woman still doesn't quite seem to suit me, even though I have the number 2 in front of my age. Twenty years old sounds like I should feel rather grown-up, but I don't know. Still, I know I've grown so much since I was 19.
I had the opportunity for so many incredible adventures that have happened in the last year. First Africa, then Grand Canyon and Glorieta, then New York, then Atlanta for Passion, back to New York, then finally home....and then back to New York again! Each one had a unique lesson and experience that grew me in a different way. But it's clear that God used each and every one to pull me closer to Him and to show me how faithful and trustworthy He is. From losing luggage and being put in scary far away places and situations in Africa, hiking over 30 miles in His beautiful creation out west and finding awful strange burns on my arm, leading a small group at Glorieta, feeling completely alone for months in NYC, being challenged with heart changing questions at Passion, to all the little in-between things, I always ended in the same place. Shaking my head at my stubborness and pulling out my journal and writing out all my thoughts in another "I surrender all" type of prayer. Because, what God tells us is true. We can just give it all to Him. He will carry us through it if we let Him take control of our lives. I don't know why it takes me so long to figure it out every time. But the verse that gets me absolutely every time is Phillipians 4:6-7: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." I just feel like that says everything.
I had some unusual and uncommon experiences all in 1 year. That just doesn't happen very often. I'm so thankful. And, yes, even for the really hard miserable times. "More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." (Romans 5:3-5). Once again...it kind of speaks for itself.
There have also been some wonderful joyful times. So many of those! I could list them, but it would take such a long time, but I can't not list a few...the relationships that were formed in South Africa, the joy of the South Africans and the lovable children, the beauty of mountains and canyons and rivers, hours of Phase 10 at Glorieta and on the bus ride, laughing with Emma and Nichole in New York, the most incredible worship with 22,000 other believers, making friends at Graffiti in NY, getting my job at American Girl and making friends there, joyful reunions when I returned to Louisiana, meeting one of my best friend's baby girl, splashing in a fountain then running through Times Square soaking wet, and then the adventures still left to come! I can't help smiling a big goofy smile when I read through that paragraph and think of all the wonderful memories that are attached to each thing.
It's hard to say, but I think it has been the best year of my life. The people I've met and the ones that I've grown closer to. The places I've been and the things I've learned. The struggles and the laughs. And most of all the ways that God has made Himself real and personal to me.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Surprise!
Well, reading my last blog update actually makes me laugh a bit. The things I said are so ironic now. I'll just get to the point. After much thought and prayers and consideration (and a lot of God just putting things right into place) I decided to return to New York until August! I know. It's so crazy!
I think I was home for only five days before I started deciding whether or not to come back. And by day 6, it was pretty much decided. Nony and Frank said it was fine for me to come stay with them again. Reese (my manager at American Girl) immediately said they would give me my position back. Mom approved the decision (which was quite a big deal). God gave me peace about it. Plus, I just really, really wanted to come back to New York. So, two weeks after I returned home to Opelousas, I got right back on a plane to head back up north.
It has been wonderful to be back here! I am loving NYC in the summertime! I decided not to tell most of my New York friends so I could surprise them. Well, apparently secrets don't get kept in the doll hair salon crowd because pretty much everybody knew...guess I should not have been too too surprised ;)
But, boy oh boy, I surprised everybody at church! Danielle nearly flipped and I think Warren was almost stunned to silence, but I said "almost". And some people just kind of did a double take like, "Wait...did you leave? Or are you about to leave?..." I was gone for such a short time that some people didn't even quite realize it.
I'm not entirely sure what this summer has in store for me. Probably some trips to Coney Island and the beaches (the ones that are by the real life ocean!!) of New York and New Jersey. And hopefully many more spontaneous evenings with my friends. I already ran through a fountain with Amy and skipped through Times Square afterwards still soaking wet! And I haven't even been here a week!!
I think I was home for only five days before I started deciding whether or not to come back. And by day 6, it was pretty much decided. Nony and Frank said it was fine for me to come stay with them again. Reese (my manager at American Girl) immediately said they would give me my position back. Mom approved the decision (which was quite a big deal). God gave me peace about it. Plus, I just really, really wanted to come back to New York. So, two weeks after I returned home to Opelousas, I got right back on a plane to head back up north.
It has been wonderful to be back here! I am loving NYC in the summertime! I decided not to tell most of my New York friends so I could surprise them. Well, apparently secrets don't get kept in the doll hair salon crowd because pretty much everybody knew...guess I should not have been too too surprised ;)
But, boy oh boy, I surprised everybody at church! Danielle nearly flipped and I think Warren was almost stunned to silence, but I said "almost". And some people just kind of did a double take like, "Wait...did you leave? Or are you about to leave?..." I was gone for such a short time that some people didn't even quite realize it.
I'm not entirely sure what this summer has in store for me. Probably some trips to Coney Island and the beaches (the ones that are by the real life ocean!!) of New York and New Jersey. And hopefully many more spontaneous evenings with my friends. I already ran through a fountain with Amy and skipped through Times Square afterwards still soaking wet! And I haven't even been here a week!!
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Home?
Well I'm back in Opelousas, Louisiana. It's so strange. I spent 8 months in New York City and nearly the entire time, all I wanted to do was come back to Louisiana. Now that I'm here, it's weird. I don't feel like this is "home" anymore. I'd finally (without quite realizing it) gotten used to being in NY. And actually really started liking it there! Now, I have a new adjustment to get re-used to. I still don't feel like this is really it. I feel like in a couple days or a couple of weeks, I'll head back up to that apartment on 8th Street and take the train into Manhattan and head to Graffiti or the American Girl Place.
A wise person that I know said, "I like to believe that 'home' is wherever the Lord has placed us at that time. If that is the case, then I am leaving one home and heading to another...and that's exactly what it feels like. I've loved my time here so much and have made lasting friendships..."
It took me a long, long time to start calling that apartment "home". In fact, I refused to refer to it that way. I would say that I was only there for an extended "visit". I didn't live there and it wasn't my home. I don't know why I was so stubborn about that.
The skyscrapers, the subways, the crosswalks, the busy people, the cold weather, Times Square, Broadway, Graffiti, American Girl, the Crocco family, April and Gabriel, Patty, Donnita, Sharlene, Lesley, Moe, Lauren, Brittany, Amy, Warren, Danielle, Frank, Nony, and Emma...all of those people, places, and things were my life. And all of it is left in New York. I hate change! And unlike when I left for New York (which was more of the "see you later" kind of goodbye), I won't be heading back up there very soon. I don't know when I'll see any of these wonderful people again. I just don't know what to do with myself now.
But, another wise friend that I look up to said this: "I have learned that our paths wind around in seemingly crazy ways, but be assured, none of it is crazy or haphazard as His will unfolds for us. In time your questions will be answered, even as new questions pop up. Patience is there. You prolly heard it from others but it bears repeating: God IS faithful. Keep on trustin', girl." I know it's true. I know that God brought me to New York for 8 months for a reason. Some incredible stuff happened while I was there. I grew so much and I met amazing people. The next season will have wonderful things too, and if I can just make it through the adjusting and the changing, I know everything will be great. God will carry me through it just like He did before. He's the only one that I can absolutely count on being constant. Everything else can change in a split second, but He'll always be with me and I can always count on Him.
I loved my life in New York (after I got used to it) and I miss everybody from that "home" terribly. But I'm ready! Ready for that next step and next season that God will take me through to make me more like Him. It'll be great! Here we go!
A wise person that I know said, "I like to believe that 'home' is wherever the Lord has placed us at that time. If that is the case, then I am leaving one home and heading to another...and that's exactly what it feels like. I've loved my time here so much and have made lasting friendships..."
It took me a long, long time to start calling that apartment "home". In fact, I refused to refer to it that way. I would say that I was only there for an extended "visit". I didn't live there and it wasn't my home. I don't know why I was so stubborn about that.
The skyscrapers, the subways, the crosswalks, the busy people, the cold weather, Times Square, Broadway, Graffiti, American Girl, the Crocco family, April and Gabriel, Patty, Donnita, Sharlene, Lesley, Moe, Lauren, Brittany, Amy, Warren, Danielle, Frank, Nony, and Emma...all of those people, places, and things were my life. And all of it is left in New York. I hate change! And unlike when I left for New York (which was more of the "see you later" kind of goodbye), I won't be heading back up there very soon. I don't know when I'll see any of these wonderful people again. I just don't know what to do with myself now.
But, another wise friend that I look up to said this: "I have learned that our paths wind around in seemingly crazy ways, but be assured, none of it is crazy or haphazard as His will unfolds for us. In time your questions will be answered, even as new questions pop up. Patience is there. You prolly heard it from others but it bears repeating: God IS faithful. Keep on trustin', girl." I know it's true. I know that God brought me to New York for 8 months for a reason. Some incredible stuff happened while I was there. I grew so much and I met amazing people. The next season will have wonderful things too, and if I can just make it through the adjusting and the changing, I know everything will be great. God will carry me through it just like He did before. He's the only one that I can absolutely count on being constant. Everything else can change in a split second, but He'll always be with me and I can always count on Him.
I loved my life in New York (after I got used to it) and I miss everybody from that "home" terribly. But I'm ready! Ready for that next step and next season that God will take me through to make me more like Him. It'll be great! Here we go!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
The End.
I can't believe it. I only have 2 weeks and 2 days left here in New York. This spring passed by much quicker than I expected. Part of me is relieved. But, surprisingly (well at least I am surprised) there is a part of me that has gotten a bit attached to this place.
I can easily say that I hated it at first. In fact, I was down right miserable from October to December. And I dreaded coming back here after spending time in Louisiana around Christmas time. Now, it's April 23 and I only have a couple weeks left. Two weeks will fly by in no time. Again, part of me is very excited about that, but part of me isn't sure she's ready for this big adventure to be at its end.
I have grown to really love some people up here. There's April Kuzas and her baby boy Gabriel. She's my sister's best friend and so loving and funny. And Gabriel is, of course, just precious. And there's Amy Weaver from my church. She's hilarious and sweet and funny and she's from Tennessee and I just love her. Warren, also from church, is an actor and I've loved getting to know him. He's smart and funny and a great performer. Plus, it's just very evident that he loves God and that's always admirable in a person. Riz is another Graffiti (that's my church's name) member. He's always so giving of his time and energy and he's great to talk to. I'll really miss Brittany who works at American Girl. She loves to crack jokes about Louisiana, but I know she loves me and I think she's the sweetest and pretty funny too. And Lauren (also from AG Place) is funny and adorable and I love talking to her. Plus, she threw a huge fit out of excitement when I brought her a can of Tony Chachere's seasoning to work today! Moe, one of my managers, is also just plain wonderful. She taught me how to fix doll hair and also how to give the little girls a great time. And she's hilarious and lovable.
Of course I'm going to be super lonesome for my neice and my sister. Emma is the most adorable darling precious baby girl that I've ever seen. Well, since Evelyn, my other neice was a baby... hehe. And she's brought me so much joy. When I was the saddest, she can bring a smile to my face like nobody else. I've loved growing closer to Nichole, my big sister. Some of it was hard. We had to work through our differences and learn to love each other's difficult parts too. But I've loved our chances to laugh and go for walks and shop at the Newport Mall when it was too cold to do anything else. I've loved sitting at the kitchen table eating raw cookie dough by the spoonful. I love her.
Also, I'm going to miss pizzerias. I absolutely LOVE that you can find one on almost any corner, walk in, order one big slice of pizza, pay $1-$3 for it, and then be completely full. I'll miss the subways because it's SO quick and convenient and I honestly do not like driving. And I'll miss the dazzling lights of Times Square (although, I won't miss all the dumb people who don't know how to walk...).
God has done a lot in me since I've been here also. He taught me perseverance, joy, faithfulness, grace, confidence, wisdom, security, selfless love, how to seek Him, and more. I don't think I have more than a small grasp on those things, but I'm certain that He'll continue to teach me. It's wonderful to know that I've grown. And also, I know now that I don't need to constantly be surrounded by friends. I love 2 Corinthians 3:18, "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." He completely carried me through this New York journey and I'm so thankful that I had Him to lean on this whole time. He was there for me and filled me with love and peace and assurance every time I felt lonely or sad or worried.
One thing that I will not miss: the weather.
"It is never going to be warm in this stupid place!!!!" ;)
I can easily say that I hated it at first. In fact, I was down right miserable from October to December. And I dreaded coming back here after spending time in Louisiana around Christmas time. Now, it's April 23 and I only have a couple weeks left. Two weeks will fly by in no time. Again, part of me is very excited about that, but part of me isn't sure she's ready for this big adventure to be at its end.
I have grown to really love some people up here. There's April Kuzas and her baby boy Gabriel. She's my sister's best friend and so loving and funny. And Gabriel is, of course, just precious. And there's Amy Weaver from my church. She's hilarious and sweet and funny and she's from Tennessee and I just love her. Warren, also from church, is an actor and I've loved getting to know him. He's smart and funny and a great performer. Plus, it's just very evident that he loves God and that's always admirable in a person. Riz is another Graffiti (that's my church's name) member. He's always so giving of his time and energy and he's great to talk to. I'll really miss Brittany who works at American Girl. She loves to crack jokes about Louisiana, but I know she loves me and I think she's the sweetest and pretty funny too. And Lauren (also from AG Place) is funny and adorable and I love talking to her. Plus, she threw a huge fit out of excitement when I brought her a can of Tony Chachere's seasoning to work today! Moe, one of my managers, is also just plain wonderful. She taught me how to fix doll hair and also how to give the little girls a great time. And she's hilarious and lovable.
Of course I'm going to be super lonesome for my neice and my sister. Emma is the most adorable darling precious baby girl that I've ever seen. Well, since Evelyn, my other neice was a baby... hehe. And she's brought me so much joy. When I was the saddest, she can bring a smile to my face like nobody else. I've loved growing closer to Nichole, my big sister. Some of it was hard. We had to work through our differences and learn to love each other's difficult parts too. But I've loved our chances to laugh and go for walks and shop at the Newport Mall when it was too cold to do anything else. I've loved sitting at the kitchen table eating raw cookie dough by the spoonful. I love her.
Also, I'm going to miss pizzerias. I absolutely LOVE that you can find one on almost any corner, walk in, order one big slice of pizza, pay $1-$3 for it, and then be completely full. I'll miss the subways because it's SO quick and convenient and I honestly do not like driving. And I'll miss the dazzling lights of Times Square (although, I won't miss all the dumb people who don't know how to walk...).
God has done a lot in me since I've been here also. He taught me perseverance, joy, faithfulness, grace, confidence, wisdom, security, selfless love, how to seek Him, and more. I don't think I have more than a small grasp on those things, but I'm certain that He'll continue to teach me. It's wonderful to know that I've grown. And also, I know now that I don't need to constantly be surrounded by friends. I love 2 Corinthians 3:18, "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." He completely carried me through this New York journey and I'm so thankful that I had Him to lean on this whole time. He was there for me and filled me with love and peace and assurance every time I felt lonely or sad or worried.
One thing that I will not miss: the weather.
"It is never going to be warm in this stupid place!!!!" ;)
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Great News!
As some of you may or may not know, I grew up with a doll named Samantha as one of my closest friends: 
Yes, I've always loved dolls, and I always will. And I already know I'm weird. But American Girl Dolls just really make me happy.
Anyway, when I moved to New York last fall, I thought it would be smart to get a little part time job to start saving up some money so I can move into my own apartment this fall when I go back to school in Louisiana. Then I remembered this cool little place in Manhattan: The American Girl Place. So, I decided to apply for a job over there. I went and filled out an application and resume (which Nony helped me write...see? sometimes it's very good to have a smarty pants English major as your big sister...hehe). The lady at the desk told me that they'd already done all of their hiring for the Christmas holidays, so there weren't any open positions at the moment, but that my resume looked great and they'd keep me in mind if anything opened up. I was slightly discouraged, but still very hopeful! And sure enough, a few weeks later, I received a call! They wanted to interview me and thought that I'd be perfect for the job! Unfortunately, they were hiring seasonal employees for the Christmas holiday season and I was leaving December 20th to go home for 3 weeks. This didn't exactly match up with the schedule that they would have liked for me to have. So, it didn't work out, but they told me to apply again when I returned home in January. So I did!
Once again, they told me that there weren't really any positions open at that time. But once again, I got a call after a couple of weeks. They wanted to interview me! The interview seemed to go pretty well, but they still had a bit more interviewing to do, so they would call me in a few days to let me know if I had the job or not. And, guess what!? I got it! I was hired for Avenue AG, a part of the store where I'd spend sometime working the register and a lot more time in the Doll Hair Salon!
It is SO much fun! I love the little girls and styling doll hair is very fun! I think I've got pretty much all of the hairstyles down! And I think I'm pretty good at it! There's only one doll that still intimidates me a little: See that doll in the middle of the picture? The one with the super curly brown hair? Yeah, when we get one of those, we have to RECURL her whole head of hair. It isn't hard, but it takes foreverrrrr. But it's beautiful when it's finished!
Just in case anybody is wondering, the best way to care for your American Girl Doll's hair is to make sure that you always wet it before brushing (be careful to avoid getting water in her eyes). Then, using an American Girl Doll brush (or any wire wig brush, although I reccomend the AG brush, it's easiest and others fall apart easier in my experience) start brushing small sections from the tips up to the top until all the tangles are out. And voila! Don't ever brush it without water, if you do, it will dry up and become frizzy and broken. Also, never ever put any product in her hair. ONLY water. Now, if you have a curly haired doll (such as some of the My AG/Look Alike/AG Today dolls, Lanie, Nicki, Kanani, Rebecca, or Ruthie) it is very easy to care for their hair. It is intimidating, but it isn't nearly as hard as it seems! All you need to do is follow the previous steps to brush all of the tangles out first. Then simply pull up all of her hair, but the bottom layer (You'll see little lines or tracks in her hair where the wig is sewn together. Follow those lines). Now, using a rat tail comb, pencil, chopstick, or anything long and skinny like that, take small sections of hair and wind it around it. Make sure it is damp. It'll take a rather long time if you have one of those My AG with the tiny curls, but the results are beautiful.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Catching Up - Fall 2010
Since October, I have been staying with my older sister, Nichole in her apartment in New York City. Crazy, huh? Yeah, I told y'all I had alot of catching up to do!
Well, about a year ago, we found out that she was pregnant! A few months after we got this news, she invited me to come stay with her and Frank and the new baby in New York for several months. And, after much thought and prayer and consideration, I said...maybe. It depended on if my scholarship for school would dissapear. If that happened, then there was no way that I could take 2 semesters off school.
The good news is, the TOPS people said yes! They said there are certain exceptions that they'll make. Since I'm a theatre major and New York is basically the musical theatre capital, they viewed it as an experience that would enhance my education. And, it's enhanced my education in many more ways than theatre.
On July 9, 2010, Emma Lucia Crocco was born. She came 7 weeks early and had to stay in the NICU for about a month. She was very tiny and sometimes forgot how to breath. But, by the time I arrived here in October, she was perfectly healthy and getting a little chubby!
I had hesitations about coming here to New York, though. I knew that it would be lonely and difficult. And I knew that it would be cold for mostly the entire time of my stay here. (I hate cold.) But, I also knew that there were some really good reasons for being here.
I was so afraid of leaving home. It was very, very hard. The goodbyes (or as Shelli said, the "see you laters") were a bit heart wrenching. I didn't know how my friendships, that I care SO much about would last after 8 or 9 months of living in another state.
October 12th was a tearful Tuesday morning (of course, because Tuesdays never fail to be the day that I'll have a bad day, if I am to have one). Mom and Dad brought me to the Lafayette airport. They waved at me once I boarded the plane and kept waving until my plane was out of sight.
Flying again was very exciting! I used to be pretty afraid of flying, but when I went to Africa, we had 8 flights in all, there and back. So, I learned to enjoy it. And also learned that napping on airplanes is perfect. I had a 2 hour layover in the Fort Worth/Dallas airport. Then I had the longer flight up to New York. Y'all are never going to believe my good luck! I ended up on a row of 3 seats and nobody else on my row showed up!! So guess who stretched out and took a very, very relaxing nap? Me!
When I woke up, it was dark. When I looked out of the window, I could see city lights everywhere I looked. I knew I was close.
Sure enough, soon I landed. Nony met me at my baggage claim and helped me carry my things out to the car. And that's when I got my first glimpse of Emma Lucia. That precious baby girl was sleeping soundly in her carseat.
The first week in New York felt like 2 months. When I had only been there for 2 weeks, it felt so much longer. Time was just crawling by. I cried alot. Adjusting was very difficult. I just couldn't figure out how to be happy up here. That lasted 2 1/2 months. Until I went home for Christmas. Sometimes it was better, sometimes it was worse, but mostly I just couldn't find a way to be "ok". I was just sort of mopey alot of the time.
But there were some wonderful parts too! Of course, getting to know my sweet little niece has been so great. And watching her learn and grow so much! Spending extra time with my big sister Nichole is awesome too. Although, now we know exactly how our personalities can clash... And I'm getting to know Frank more and more. And his family! His parents moved to the US from Italy a few years before Frank was born. Being around the Italians is definitely fun (and different...and loud...and I never ever ever leave with an empty stomach!!!) I've gotten to spend time exploring Manhattan and our neighborhood in Jersey City (which is "technically" in New Jersey, but really, it's another section of NYC...everybody who live in JC works in Manhattan and there's a subway that goes right into the city and everything. It's basically the same as if you lived in Queens or one of the other 5 sections). Nony and I went to see Chicago in November! That was a very fun night out!! Frank treated us :)
And, of course, all this time I've been learning so much. God has been using it to teach me more than I could have imagined. Most of those first few months were just plain hard. I think I just had to be completely broken and discouraged for Him to get through to me...(why am I so stinkin stubborn?) But I'll have more on that later because I'm writing about the broken and discouraged portion of my NY adventure. I knew all that time that God was teaching me to just be OK without being surrounded by my friends. And being happy with being alone sometimes. And especially that I needed to be turning to Him and trusting Him and depending on Him for things that I was going to my relationships with people for. I knew all of that in my head, but I just couldn't figure out how to apply it to my life.
I started going to a church in the City called "Graffiti". Mandy Trammell (she works at the BCM at LSU and went to Africa with us) got me connected with a girl named Danielle who went to LSU, but is living in NY now. So, I decided to check out the church, cause Mandy is awesome and I trusted her to be referring me to a worthwhile place ;)
Turns out, I was very right! It has been a highlight to my week to go to church and fellowship with the people that go there. I've actually made a few friends! I usually only see them on Sundays, but it's very refreshing to have our young adult small group every week after the sermon. I love just sitting and talking about God and what He is doing in each of our lives for an hour.
Then, in December, Mandy brought a group of about 30 students from LSU for a mission trip in NYC!! She'd told me about it months before I even left to come here. And I definitely wanted to be a part of that mission and serve with them. They arrived December 11th in many different groups. Mandy was the first to arrive and I went to meet her to make airport runs and we got to be the welcome crew! I immediately started making new friends with these people. I'd met 2 of them before, but most of them I didn't know. It was so wonderful to be around Louisiana people!! Pretty much all of the serving that we did was through the Bowery Mission, which is a ministry for homeless people. Let me just say this, it is SUCH a blessing to get the extreme privelege to be used by God to be His hands and feet.
And a few days after that came the highly anticipated December 20th! Nony, Frank, Emma, and I boarded a plane headed for New Orleans, Louisiana! Mom, Lydia, and Claire picked us up from the airport. From there, we got muffulettas and beignets, then went to Jade and Jennifer's house for supper and finally, HOME!!! Home, sweet sweet SWEET home!!
I was busy almost every single day of the 3 weeks I spent in Louisiana. I got to spend time with my family, Natalie Sibille, Ashley, Wiley, Caitlin, theatre people (and witnessed Duncan's proposal to Angie!), Mom's side of the family for Christmas Eve, Kaelyn, Shelli and Sydney (who live all the way out in Pearl River...what's that? you never heard of it? yeah that's right, cause it's pretty much all the way in Mississippi....haha), then went to Passion 2011 (which is a whole nother paragraph, so just hold your horses) where I got to spend 10 hours on a bus going to Atlanta Georgia with Mandie, Chelsi, Dano, and a few new friends, then once we got there saw Sloan and Megan Rogers and Whitney and Jordy and Michelle and lots of Africa people: Mollie, Cameron, Polly, Claire, Brittany, Cassie, Rob, Lynn, Shaun, Morgan, Kyle, and Jesse! (wonderful reunion, by the way! I hadn't seen most of them since June!), then came back to Louisiana and got to see Mary and Melanie before I left!
Okay, Passion 2011. There are not words to describe what God did in me those 4 days. But He was definitely there in Atlanta doing alot of work on alot of hearts. About 22,000 hearts. It never failed to completely blow me away when I went into the Philips arena for worship and saw the place packed with people praising and worshiping my God! It was beautiful and amazing and nearly gives me chills to think about it. It must be just a teeny tiny taste of what Heaven will be like! Also, the things that God taught me through the different speakers made me change the way I see and feel about things. I finally understand how much of a selfish awful person I am without Him. And I understand what His amazing grace is!! It's so incredible that He can love me! SO incredible.
I'm back here in New York now and things are going so so SO much better. I decided that I was going to have a good attitude this time. It's allowed me to be so much more open to the things that God is teaching me. I think the mainest thing is selfless love. (okay, yes I know "mainest" is not a word. I just like it and it gets my point across, so hush, Nony...sorry, my big sister is a grammer nerd :-P) It's so amazing to see how God is changing my heart. I've been trying so hard and He's been helping me to do things that I never could have or would have done. It's definitely very small baby steps, but I'm growing and I can see that.
Well, about a year ago, we found out that she was pregnant! A few months after we got this news, she invited me to come stay with her and Frank and the new baby in New York for several months. And, after much thought and prayer and consideration, I said...maybe. It depended on if my scholarship for school would dissapear. If that happened, then there was no way that I could take 2 semesters off school.
The good news is, the TOPS people said yes! They said there are certain exceptions that they'll make. Since I'm a theatre major and New York is basically the musical theatre capital, they viewed it as an experience that would enhance my education. And, it's enhanced my education in many more ways than theatre.
On July 9, 2010, Emma Lucia Crocco was born. She came 7 weeks early and had to stay in the NICU for about a month. She was very tiny and sometimes forgot how to breath. But, by the time I arrived here in October, she was perfectly healthy and getting a little chubby!
I had hesitations about coming here to New York, though. I knew that it would be lonely and difficult. And I knew that it would be cold for mostly the entire time of my stay here. (I hate cold.) But, I also knew that there were some really good reasons for being here.
I was so afraid of leaving home. It was very, very hard. The goodbyes (or as Shelli said, the "see you laters") were a bit heart wrenching. I didn't know how my friendships, that I care SO much about would last after 8 or 9 months of living in another state.
October 12th was a tearful Tuesday morning (of course, because Tuesdays never fail to be the day that I'll have a bad day, if I am to have one). Mom and Dad brought me to the Lafayette airport. They waved at me once I boarded the plane and kept waving until my plane was out of sight.
Flying again was very exciting! I used to be pretty afraid of flying, but when I went to Africa, we had 8 flights in all, there and back. So, I learned to enjoy it. And also learned that napping on airplanes is perfect. I had a 2 hour layover in the Fort Worth/Dallas airport. Then I had the longer flight up to New York. Y'all are never going to believe my good luck! I ended up on a row of 3 seats and nobody else on my row showed up!! So guess who stretched out and took a very, very relaxing nap? Me!
When I woke up, it was dark. When I looked out of the window, I could see city lights everywhere I looked. I knew I was close.
Sure enough, soon I landed. Nony met me at my baggage claim and helped me carry my things out to the car. And that's when I got my first glimpse of Emma Lucia. That precious baby girl was sleeping soundly in her carseat.
The first week in New York felt like 2 months. When I had only been there for 2 weeks, it felt so much longer. Time was just crawling by. I cried alot. Adjusting was very difficult. I just couldn't figure out how to be happy up here. That lasted 2 1/2 months. Until I went home for Christmas. Sometimes it was better, sometimes it was worse, but mostly I just couldn't find a way to be "ok". I was just sort of mopey alot of the time.
But there were some wonderful parts too! Of course, getting to know my sweet little niece has been so great. And watching her learn and grow so much! Spending extra time with my big sister Nichole is awesome too. Although, now we know exactly how our personalities can clash... And I'm getting to know Frank more and more. And his family! His parents moved to the US from Italy a few years before Frank was born. Being around the Italians is definitely fun (and different...and loud...and I never ever ever leave with an empty stomach!!!) I've gotten to spend time exploring Manhattan and our neighborhood in Jersey City (which is "technically" in New Jersey, but really, it's another section of NYC...everybody who live in JC works in Manhattan and there's a subway that goes right into the city and everything. It's basically the same as if you lived in Queens or one of the other 5 sections). Nony and I went to see Chicago in November! That was a very fun night out!! Frank treated us :)
And, of course, all this time I've been learning so much. God has been using it to teach me more than I could have imagined. Most of those first few months were just plain hard. I think I just had to be completely broken and discouraged for Him to get through to me...(why am I so stinkin stubborn?) But I'll have more on that later because I'm writing about the broken and discouraged portion of my NY adventure. I knew all that time that God was teaching me to just be OK without being surrounded by my friends. And being happy with being alone sometimes. And especially that I needed to be turning to Him and trusting Him and depending on Him for things that I was going to my relationships with people for. I knew all of that in my head, but I just couldn't figure out how to apply it to my life.
I started going to a church in the City called "Graffiti". Mandy Trammell (she works at the BCM at LSU and went to Africa with us) got me connected with a girl named Danielle who went to LSU, but is living in NY now. So, I decided to check out the church, cause Mandy is awesome and I trusted her to be referring me to a worthwhile place ;)
Turns out, I was very right! It has been a highlight to my week to go to church and fellowship with the people that go there. I've actually made a few friends! I usually only see them on Sundays, but it's very refreshing to have our young adult small group every week after the sermon. I love just sitting and talking about God and what He is doing in each of our lives for an hour.
Then, in December, Mandy brought a group of about 30 students from LSU for a mission trip in NYC!! She'd told me about it months before I even left to come here. And I definitely wanted to be a part of that mission and serve with them. They arrived December 11th in many different groups. Mandy was the first to arrive and I went to meet her to make airport runs and we got to be the welcome crew! I immediately started making new friends with these people. I'd met 2 of them before, but most of them I didn't know. It was so wonderful to be around Louisiana people!! Pretty much all of the serving that we did was through the Bowery Mission, which is a ministry for homeless people. Let me just say this, it is SUCH a blessing to get the extreme privelege to be used by God to be His hands and feet.
And a few days after that came the highly anticipated December 20th! Nony, Frank, Emma, and I boarded a plane headed for New Orleans, Louisiana! Mom, Lydia, and Claire picked us up from the airport. From there, we got muffulettas and beignets, then went to Jade and Jennifer's house for supper and finally, HOME!!! Home, sweet sweet SWEET home!!
I was busy almost every single day of the 3 weeks I spent in Louisiana. I got to spend time with my family, Natalie Sibille, Ashley, Wiley, Caitlin, theatre people (and witnessed Duncan's proposal to Angie!), Mom's side of the family for Christmas Eve, Kaelyn, Shelli and Sydney (who live all the way out in Pearl River...what's that? you never heard of it? yeah that's right, cause it's pretty much all the way in Mississippi....haha), then went to Passion 2011 (which is a whole nother paragraph, so just hold your horses) where I got to spend 10 hours on a bus going to Atlanta Georgia with Mandie, Chelsi, Dano, and a few new friends, then once we got there saw Sloan and Megan Rogers and Whitney and Jordy and Michelle and lots of Africa people: Mollie, Cameron, Polly, Claire, Brittany, Cassie, Rob, Lynn, Shaun, Morgan, Kyle, and Jesse! (wonderful reunion, by the way! I hadn't seen most of them since June!), then came back to Louisiana and got to see Mary and Melanie before I left!
Okay, Passion 2011. There are not words to describe what God did in me those 4 days. But He was definitely there in Atlanta doing alot of work on alot of hearts. About 22,000 hearts. It never failed to completely blow me away when I went into the Philips arena for worship and saw the place packed with people praising and worshiping my God! It was beautiful and amazing and nearly gives me chills to think about it. It must be just a teeny tiny taste of what Heaven will be like! Also, the things that God taught me through the different speakers made me change the way I see and feel about things. I finally understand how much of a selfish awful person I am without Him. And I understand what His amazing grace is!! It's so incredible that He can love me! SO incredible.
I'm back here in New York now and things are going so so SO much better. I decided that I was going to have a good attitude this time. It's allowed me to be so much more open to the things that God is teaching me. I think the mainest thing is selfless love. (okay, yes I know "mainest" is not a word. I just like it and it gets my point across, so hush, Nony...sorry, my big sister is a grammer nerd :-P) It's so amazing to see how God is changing my heart. I've been trying so hard and He's been helping me to do things that I never could have or would have done. It's definitely very small baby steps, but I'm growing and I can see that.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Oops...
Well the other day I realized that I haven't blogged in a long, long while. I really wanted to post some detailed blogs about my trip to South Africa, but I didn't completely succeed.
I don't want to leave yall hanging (that is, if anybody even reads this...), but I can say this, to wrap up what I started. God used that trip in many different ways in my life. But I think that the biggest recurring theme of my trip was trust. God showed me how to trust Him over and over again. From before the beginning of the trip. Some of this, I've mentioned before, but I'll say it again because God used it to make an impact on my life.
Of course it started in the fall of 2009, when I refused to even consider going on the trip to South Africa in the first place. Then one day, something small inside me said "Go to Africa". Now I was actually thinking about it. I was miserable. I would go back and forth. I thought and prayed. And when I realized that I only had 1 little day to make this decision before the deadline to sign up for the trip, it was all even worse... At that point, I didn't even know how much money I'd need to raise, just that it was alot. Everything logical did not make sense. But, something in me didn't let go of it. And that something was God. Once I made the decision, complete peace washed over me.
Then I had $4000, immunizations, passport, and so many other preparations, but it was still alot of months away. The only one that really worried me was that big sum of money. And this is where God started telling me to just trust Him. He would provide it.
And He did. Every last bit.
Even after I got to Africa, the lessons about trust continued. Especially with the whole luggage issue.
Then in small ways, like when I had to sing at two different churches in Lehae and Kliptown and I had hardly any voice. I had to trust (yep, there's that word again). Maybe that seems small to most people, but I was pretty nervous and had to remember that God gave me my voice and I wasn't singing for myself, or the people in my crew, or even the South African people. Nope, I was singing for God. And any praises I sang to Him would be beautiful to Him. When I opened my mouth to sing, the notes just came out. I didn't feel like I had to strain anymore. Once again, God took care of me.
I also had to trust that He'd take care of the children that we'd grown to love so much: Amu, Naquanda, Lindewe, David...they all had become very special. I don't know how much they possibly could have understood about the gospel. They were so young. And they spoke different languages. But it wasn't MY job to make sure that they were saved. That was up to God. And I had the extreme privelege of getting to go there and proclaim His name to them for a short time. But that was only a small part of His plan for their lives and mine.
He taught me many other things while I was there and I had incredible experiences that I could go on and on about. But it's long past time to move on to the next thing that happened in my life. God's been growing me alot since last June and I have so much catching up to do.
But before I completely close out on the South Africa stuff, I have just a few of pictures:
I don't want to leave yall hanging (that is, if anybody even reads this...), but I can say this, to wrap up what I started. God used that trip in many different ways in my life. But I think that the biggest recurring theme of my trip was trust. God showed me how to trust Him over and over again. From before the beginning of the trip. Some of this, I've mentioned before, but I'll say it again because God used it to make an impact on my life.
Of course it started in the fall of 2009, when I refused to even consider going on the trip to South Africa in the first place. Then one day, something small inside me said "Go to Africa". Now I was actually thinking about it. I was miserable. I would go back and forth. I thought and prayed. And when I realized that I only had 1 little day to make this decision before the deadline to sign up for the trip, it was all even worse... At that point, I didn't even know how much money I'd need to raise, just that it was alot. Everything logical did not make sense. But, something in me didn't let go of it. And that something was God. Once I made the decision, complete peace washed over me.
Then I had $4000, immunizations, passport, and so many other preparations, but it was still alot of months away. The only one that really worried me was that big sum of money. And this is where God started telling me to just trust Him. He would provide it.
And He did. Every last bit.
Even after I got to Africa, the lessons about trust continued. Especially with the whole luggage issue.
Then in small ways, like when I had to sing at two different churches in Lehae and Kliptown and I had hardly any voice. I had to trust (yep, there's that word again). Maybe that seems small to most people, but I was pretty nervous and had to remember that God gave me my voice and I wasn't singing for myself, or the people in my crew, or even the South African people. Nope, I was singing for God. And any praises I sang to Him would be beautiful to Him. When I opened my mouth to sing, the notes just came out. I didn't feel like I had to strain anymore. Once again, God took care of me.
I also had to trust that He'd take care of the children that we'd grown to love so much: Amu, Naquanda, Lindewe, David...they all had become very special. I don't know how much they possibly could have understood about the gospel. They were so young. And they spoke different languages. But it wasn't MY job to make sure that they were saved. That was up to God. And I had the extreme privelege of getting to go there and proclaim His name to them for a short time. But that was only a small part of His plan for their lives and mine.
He taught me many other things while I was there and I had incredible experiences that I could go on and on about. But it's long past time to move on to the next thing that happened in my life. God's been growing me alot since last June and I have so much catching up to do.
But before I completely close out on the South Africa stuff, I have just a few of pictures:
Monday, August 30, 2010
Mission Trip To Johannesburg, South Africa Part 2: What God Taught Me The First Two Days.
The first afternoon there was pretty uneventful. We had alot of time to get settled and meet people and shower and stuff.
Mostly, I tried to get settled.
I didn't want to meet people while I was so mopey and upset about my luggage. I wasn't myself. And I wanted them to meet the happy Gracie. So I sat in my bedroom, wrote in my prayer journal, and cried.
I felt pretty sorry for myself.
And Mandie, who hadn't slept since who knows when sat there and endured all of my tears. Not only that, but she was sweet and loving and encouraging despite the condition that she was in. She even tried to help me call my mom with her phone, but it wasn't working right.
In other words, Mandie is awesome.
I was writing in my prayer journal and telling God just exactly how miserably upset I was. I was complaining about missing luggage, a headache, the cold weather, the fact that Mandie's phone wouldn't call Mom, and how I couldn't find my joy anywhere.
But as I was writing all this to God, I realized something. I realized how ridiculously selfish I was being. And how foolish. I was telling Him how I didn't want them to take me to get clothes and stuff that I needed. I said I wanted my own things. Stubborn, foolish, selfish, sinful Gracie. How pitiful is it that I am so very attached to my earthly belongings that I became this upset when I was without them!?
Finally, we got up to go meet people. There were a bunch of people standing outside the dining area. So, we went and started talking to people. I started to learn this stomp and clap dance thing, which was pretty fun and definitely harder than it looked! I still don't quite have it right...
Next, we had our first supper in Africa. I was kinda nervous. I didn't know what to expect. I had never had African food before. And I didn't know what they ate in Africa.
We ended up eating some noodles with meatballs and peppers. With a weird kind of sweet sauce. I didn't really eat too very much of it. I'm a rather picky eater. It's a shame, really. But, I'm doing much better than I was a few years ago. I tried everything even though it looked weird. Alot of other people liked it, though!
It was soooo cold in the dining room. And I was still wearing my dress that I'd traveled in the past few days with only my thin black cardigan. I was shivering and bouncing because I was trying to stay warm! It wasn't working, so Heath let me borrow his jacket. It was awfully thoughtful of him. Otherwise, I might have frozen.
We had our first worship service, heard a little more about what we'd be doing there, and watched a video about Nelson Mandella and things that happened with the Apartheid so we would know more about South Africa's history and culture. I feel awful, but the truth is, I don't remember that video at all. It's because I kinda fell asleep. I promise, I tried my very very hardest to stay awake, but it was impossible. And for the record, I wasn't the only one. I don't think there was a single person in there who didn't fall asleep! Remember, we'd been traveling since 6:00 Sunday morning! And it was Tuesday night. It was way past time for rest!
After the video, I finally got to take a shower!! Ahhh, it felt amazing. People gave me the things I needed. Mandie had shampoo and a towel. Chelsi had pajamas.
I was ok.
I was fine. I realized that I just needed to trust God. I had absolutely no reason not to. I had started this journey last fall. When I first decided to come. And God provided $4000. I can trust Him. He provided wonderful people to get to know before and on the way to Africa. I can trust Him. He got me and the other IWC team there safely. I can trust Him. He was providing for my needs, the things I didn't have. I can trust Him.
There was a reason for me losing my luggage. I needed to find joy in things that were not, well...things!
After I was all warm and clean I snuggled into my very own sleeping bag and my soft polka dot blanket (the only personal belongings that had made the flight!) and passed out. I slept so, so good.
When morning came, I woke up and thought, "Oh yeah, I'm here." It was a good "oh yeah" and a bad "oh yeah" at the same time. Because I also remembered that I didn't have anything here with me.
We packed sandwiches for lunch. But by the time I got to make mine, there was no meat left. It just wasn't my day.
But I tried to be positive, and I made a "Salad Sandwich"!
We went to the Apartheid museum that day. We learned alot about Nelson Mandella and everything that happened leading up to him. And also about the things he did to change what was wrong.
After the museum, we went back to Florida Baptist Church. A few of us played soccer together! It was very very fun! I was, for sure, one of the worst players, but I had a blast anyway.
It was the first time since I'd gotten there that I forgot everything else and was just happy! And having fun! It was great!
Then Scott came up to the game and called me over. He said, "You having fun?"
I smiled really big and said, "Yes!"
Then he said very quietly that he had just heard that they found my luggage!!!!
I was so, so excited! My smile grew and my eyes got big, "When will I get it!?"
He said that it was on its way and would arrive any minute now!
Now, I was really ready. Bring on those Soccer clinics in Dobsonville!!
Coming up next: Soccor Clinics and Loving on Kids: Dobsonville.
Mostly, I tried to get settled.
I didn't want to meet people while I was so mopey and upset about my luggage. I wasn't myself. And I wanted them to meet the happy Gracie. So I sat in my bedroom, wrote in my prayer journal, and cried.
I felt pretty sorry for myself.
And Mandie, who hadn't slept since who knows when sat there and endured all of my tears. Not only that, but she was sweet and loving and encouraging despite the condition that she was in. She even tried to help me call my mom with her phone, but it wasn't working right.
In other words, Mandie is awesome.
I was writing in my prayer journal and telling God just exactly how miserably upset I was. I was complaining about missing luggage, a headache, the cold weather, the fact that Mandie's phone wouldn't call Mom, and how I couldn't find my joy anywhere.
But as I was writing all this to God, I realized something. I realized how ridiculously selfish I was being. And how foolish. I was telling Him how I didn't want them to take me to get clothes and stuff that I needed. I said I wanted my own things. Stubborn, foolish, selfish, sinful Gracie. How pitiful is it that I am so very attached to my earthly belongings that I became this upset when I was without them!?
Finally, we got up to go meet people. There were a bunch of people standing outside the dining area. So, we went and started talking to people. I started to learn this stomp and clap dance thing, which was pretty fun and definitely harder than it looked! I still don't quite have it right...
Next, we had our first supper in Africa. I was kinda nervous. I didn't know what to expect. I had never had African food before. And I didn't know what they ate in Africa.
We ended up eating some noodles with meatballs and peppers. With a weird kind of sweet sauce. I didn't really eat too very much of it. I'm a rather picky eater. It's a shame, really. But, I'm doing much better than I was a few years ago. I tried everything even though it looked weird. Alot of other people liked it, though!
It was soooo cold in the dining room. And I was still wearing my dress that I'd traveled in the past few days with only my thin black cardigan. I was shivering and bouncing because I was trying to stay warm! It wasn't working, so Heath let me borrow his jacket. It was awfully thoughtful of him. Otherwise, I might have frozen.
We had our first worship service, heard a little more about what we'd be doing there, and watched a video about Nelson Mandella and things that happened with the Apartheid so we would know more about South Africa's history and culture. I feel awful, but the truth is, I don't remember that video at all. It's because I kinda fell asleep. I promise, I tried my very very hardest to stay awake, but it was impossible. And for the record, I wasn't the only one. I don't think there was a single person in there who didn't fall asleep! Remember, we'd been traveling since 6:00 Sunday morning! And it was Tuesday night. It was way past time for rest!
After the video, I finally got to take a shower!! Ahhh, it felt amazing. People gave me the things I needed. Mandie had shampoo and a towel. Chelsi had pajamas.
I was ok.
I was fine. I realized that I just needed to trust God. I had absolutely no reason not to. I had started this journey last fall. When I first decided to come. And God provided $4000. I can trust Him. He provided wonderful people to get to know before and on the way to Africa. I can trust Him. He got me and the other IWC team there safely. I can trust Him. He was providing for my needs, the things I didn't have. I can trust Him.
There was a reason for me losing my luggage. I needed to find joy in things that were not, well...things!
After I was all warm and clean I snuggled into my very own sleeping bag and my soft polka dot blanket (the only personal belongings that had made the flight!) and passed out. I slept so, so good.
When morning came, I woke up and thought, "Oh yeah, I'm here." It was a good "oh yeah" and a bad "oh yeah" at the same time. Because I also remembered that I didn't have anything here with me.
We packed sandwiches for lunch. But by the time I got to make mine, there was no meat left. It just wasn't my day.
But I tried to be positive, and I made a "Salad Sandwich"!
We went to the Apartheid museum that day. We learned alot about Nelson Mandella and everything that happened leading up to him. And also about the things he did to change what was wrong.
After the museum, we went back to Florida Baptist Church. A few of us played soccer together! It was very very fun! I was, for sure, one of the worst players, but I had a blast anyway.
It was the first time since I'd gotten there that I forgot everything else and was just happy! And having fun! It was great!
Then Scott came up to the game and called me over. He said, "You having fun?"
I smiled really big and said, "Yes!"
Then he said very quietly that he had just heard that they found my luggage!!!!
I was so, so excited! My smile grew and my eyes got big, "When will I get it!?"
He said that it was on its way and would arrive any minute now!
Now, I was really ready. Bring on those Soccer clinics in Dobsonville!!
Coming up next: Soccor Clinics and Loving on Kids: Dobsonville.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Mission Trip To Johannesburg, South Africa Part 1-Preparation and Traveling
Okay. Here we go. I have no idea how to write about this without it being the longest blog entry ever. Actually, it probably will be anyway. Following God to South Africa was one of the best decisions I have ever made. It was very difficult before. When I decided to go last October or November (I don't even remember exactly when it was), it seemed so crazy and so far away. I couldn't believe that I was going to go on a mission trip. To Africa. That's totally a Nony thing. Not part of my plan for my life at all. But, isn't it funny how sometimes God's plan for our lives is completely different from ours?
I think the thing that I got to learn about the most on this whole trip was about trust. Trust in my Father, God. Over and over again, I had to trust and over and over again He proved Himself to be unswervingly faithful.
After months of preparing, I finally had all $4000, all my shots, my passport, a giant suitcase borrowed from the Sibille's, Ashley's camera that she let me borrow (oh, and by the way...I didn't mention, but in May, Ashley and Wiley got married!! :-D), my "deluxe money belt", and lots of other little details all ready.
The day before I left, Natalie and Natalie both came over for supper and helped me finish up my packing. I checked and re-checked my list SO many times. I was very very stressed out about forgetting something. After checking it so many times, I found this paper that said that it was wise to bring an extra change of clothes and a few pairs of underwear in your carry-on just in case. So I thought "whatever..it can't hurt..."
We arrived in the early morning of June 6th at the BCM to head out to the New Orleans airport. I couldn't believe it was actually June 6th. The day that had been in my head for months and months. It was here! We were actually going.
I. was. terrified.
Sure, I was excited. But this was the farthest and longest I'd ever been away from home! The group leaving from Lafayette that I had been meeting with and kind of getting to know were Mandie, Chelsi, Heath, Jeramy, Daniel, and Andrew. Plus, there were 2 people that I didn't know. Travis, from LSU Shreveport. And Megan and Josh who were coming from the LSU Eunice BCM. There were other teams that we'd meet up with. But not until later. I said my goodbyes to my mom and dad and hugged them very tight. Then we all climbed on the bus to head for New Orleans.
Travis, the guy that we didn't know ended up sitting right next to me. And I have never grown to love a person so quickly! We all did. He just fit right into our group. It was like we'd known him for all those months that we'd been meeting. Just on the way to New Orleans, he was completely made part of the group.
We got to the airport with plenty of time to get our boarding passes and go through security and everything (which I went through first! Brave Gracie!...actually I was not brave at all. I didn't want to go first, but it just kind of ended up that way, unfortunately.) We also met up with more people going on the trip with us. Some people from LSU. Mandy, Shelli, Preston, Lindsey, Jenny, Catherine, and Courtney.
That first flight was my only window seat out of 8 flights total (that's including coming home). We flew to Washington DC and it was not a smooth flight at all. It was very turbulence-y and we hit some thunder storms that made it kinda scary. Plus the landing was really rough. I could actually feel one wheel hit the runway and then the other. I was thankful to be back on solid ground when we got off that plane. But, I still had an awfully long way to go. That was the shortest flight of all. And only the first of many more to follow.
After a 5 hour layover (and after learning that my deposit didn't go through, so I couldn't use my debit card for a few days...ahhh!!), we boarded our DC-London flight. I was so, SO nervous about this flight. It was my first ever flight over the ocean, my first ever overnight flight, and my first ever time leaving my country! And, everything overwhelmed me because I knew that my seat was not next to anybody I knew. Soon, my emotions got the best of me and I was standing next to seat 23E hopelessly looking back at Mandie with tears in my eyes, hoping that the person that was supposed to sit beside her would trade with me. After awhile, nobody showed up next to her, so the flight attendant just let me sit there next to Mandie, Heath, and Megan.
The flight went very well. I slept pretty good. It was a little weird and awkward for awhile, but I finally kinda figured out how to be comfortable.
We arrived in the London Heathrow airport on the morning of June 7. And guess what? Our flight to Nairobi did not take off until late that night. Sooooo, we had an 11 hour layover in the city of London, England!! How exciting is that!? We decided to make good use of our time and explore the city!
So, we had to go through customs there. It made me sort of nervous. Scott had told us that we shouldn't mention to them that we were going to Johannesburg for a mission trip. If we did, there's a good chance that they would send us right home from London. All we needed to say was that we were going to Johannesburg, South Africa for the World Cup. Which was completely true. But the whole idea made me a good bit scared.
When it was my turn, I was the first from our group to go to this particular lady's desk. She asked me a million questions: Where was I from? Where was I going? What for? What would I do there? What did I want to do in London? Why? Who was I with? How did I know them?
Finally, she let me through. And lucky for everybody else, they all went through after Josh Johnson (the LSUE BCM director), so that desk knew what was going on and it was nice and easy for them!
By the time we got done freshening up from our long day/night of traveling, exchanging money, figuring out what to do with carry-ons, and everything else, we had lost some time. Then we had trouble getting tickets for the Underground.
But finally we made it to the Picadilly line to head to Green Park. Every time the doors opened, a recording would announce what stop we were at, then say, "Please mind the gap..." And it was all in a British accent!
We walked through Green Park and when we came out the other end, we stumbled across a little place called Buckingham Palace. Maybe you've heard of it? It was very pretty. And there really were guards standing there with their fuzzy hats! But, I totally saw one of them move his head to look around...oh well. Hahaha
We also saw Westminster Abbey and Big Ben! And the Thames River.
Then we met a guy who was kinda crazy and chasing Shelli all around. Apparently he was some sort of performer for a live horror show. Turns out, when he stopped being crazy, he was quite normal and very fun to talk to.
Then we went to ride the London Eye. The largest ferris wheel in the whole world! By the way, I am kind of a little scared of ferris wheels. Actually, the last time I was on one, I hid my face and held on very tight the whole time. Nevertheless, I climbed onto the huge thing. And, I was very very quiet (this is kind of a big deal, since I usually am sort of talkative...), especially as it started getting higher. But I will admit, it was an amazing view! We could see the whole city! And further! And the river below us. I am glad I went!
After running through the city seeing all the famous sights, we found a little fish and chips place to grab some food. It was pretty yummy and definitely a good way to close out the experience, but to be completely honest, I'd prefer my Dad's fried fish any day!
After about 6 hours of non-stop running around, we had to head back to the Picadilly line and 30 minutes later arrived back at the London Heathrow airport. After getting our boarding passes and getting a big scare about our flight time (we thought we might have missed it! But we ended up realizing that we had plenty of time...) we wen through security and everything again. Then found our gate. I saw two girls standing together and one of them had a shirt that looked very familiar. It was an IWC Love Like Crazy shirt. Identical to the ones that Scott Belmore had given to all of us for the trip! She was standing right in front of me when we were waiting in line to board the plane. I tapped her on the shoulder and said "Hey! I have a shirt just like that! Are you going to South Africa for the mission trip!?" And guess what!? She said yes! Her name was Polly and she was from Mississippi. The girl with her was named Brittany! Two new friends!!
We got on the plane and this time we were all seated close to each other. But we still ended up switching seats around a little within our groups. I sat on a row with Mandie and Chelsi. We ate supper and tried to play some Travel Scrabble, but I kept falling asleep when it wasn't my turn. Finally, I guess they just decided to quit waking me up for my turns and I slept as hard as a rock. No Benadryl. No ear plugs. I was out. One of my best nights of sleep ever. I didn't move for hours.
We got to Nairobi, Kenya the morning of June 8. There were 6 of us who had to recheck our luggage here, because it didn't go all the way through to Jo'burg. Of course, I was one of those 6.
After a huge ordeal, waiting forever, Heath and the Kenya Airways man found the luggage, took our old luggage tags and went down a long hallway to check the luggage. But it was done! We barely made it to our flight (I mean, with seconds to spare).
This flight went pretty smoothly I sat next to Shelli and Andrew. Well, until Shelli discovered that the plane was pretty empty and there were a bunch of rows of seats behind us that were completely empty, so she went and stretched out for a nap. Me and Andrew looked over our papers about the Soccor Clinics/Holiday Bible Club that we'd be doing with the children once we got there.
We landed in Johannesburg and headed to customs, then went on to grab our luggage. But the luggage just took forever to come. We just waited and waited. Finally one of my pieces came around. Then we waited and waited and waited some more. I started getting a really bad feeling in my stomach. What if my luggage didn't come? That had happened to Nony before. As the minutes passed by, the feeling grew. Eventually the conveyer belt thing stopped. That was it. By the way, the suitcase that did come only had my sleeping bag in it. Oh, and some chocolate chips and syrup and chex mix to give to the missionaries. And that was it. EVERYTHING else was in that other bigger bag.
As it turns out, after sorting through all the luggage tag receipt things (which had all been labeled with Andrew Bozeman's name on them), there weren't even any tags for my bag or Andrew's bag, which had also not come.
So, basically we went to the desk and had to just tell them what our bags looked like and hope that somebody could spot them. Remember those emotions that I talked about ovewhelming me back in DC? Well all those emotions were building up in my again. Only they were much, much more intense this time. The entire time we were filling out the papers about our luggage, I was holding in all my tears.
I was halfway across the world, I hadn't gotten a full night of sleep in days, I hadn't showered in days, I only had about $200 in cash with me since my card was currently not working, I only had one change of clothes that I had THANKFULLY packed in my carry-on, and it was cold!
Finally we went to join everybody else. I saw Dana Belmore and just hugged her and didn't say anything. She said "It's okay. Once you shower and get some rest, everything will be alot better. It's okay." Then I spotted Scott and I just went and hugged him and the tears were just coming and coming. I didn't want to be there at all. All I could think was that this was only the very first day! I still had 2 more weeks before I would get to leave!
A guy from Capetown, South Africa named Sam came and Scott told me to follow him. He would get me on a bus to ride to the church we were staying at, which was about an hour away. In a part of Johannesburg called Florida. Sam was so nice. He showed me where to go and helped me onto a huge blue bus thing. You had to climb up a ladder to get inside! And then on every single seat was a Vuvuzela. All of the people on the other bus/truck thing were blowing them and I really didn't have the patience for all that at that moment. Do you know what a vuvuzela is? It's this big loud horn that South Africans blow at their soccor games. I did not like them that day.
The bus (...or truck..whatever...) ride was very peaceful and relaxing. I met a few of the people that would be part of our team.
Finally, we made it to Florida Baptist Church. We found our bedrooms that were set up with mats on the floor. Let the South African Adventure begin!!
Coming up next: What God taught me the first 2 days I was there.
I think the thing that I got to learn about the most on this whole trip was about trust. Trust in my Father, God. Over and over again, I had to trust and over and over again He proved Himself to be unswervingly faithful.
After months of preparing, I finally had all $4000, all my shots, my passport, a giant suitcase borrowed from the Sibille's, Ashley's camera that she let me borrow (oh, and by the way...I didn't mention, but in May, Ashley and Wiley got married!! :-D), my "deluxe money belt", and lots of other little details all ready.
The day before I left, Natalie and Natalie both came over for supper and helped me finish up my packing. I checked and re-checked my list SO many times. I was very very stressed out about forgetting something. After checking it so many times, I found this paper that said that it was wise to bring an extra change of clothes and a few pairs of underwear in your carry-on just in case. So I thought "whatever..it can't hurt..."
We arrived in the early morning of June 6th at the BCM to head out to the New Orleans airport. I couldn't believe it was actually June 6th. The day that had been in my head for months and months. It was here! We were actually going.
I. was. terrified.
Sure, I was excited. But this was the farthest and longest I'd ever been away from home! The group leaving from Lafayette that I had been meeting with and kind of getting to know were Mandie, Chelsi, Heath, Jeramy, Daniel, and Andrew. Plus, there were 2 people that I didn't know. Travis, from LSU Shreveport. And Megan and Josh who were coming from the LSU Eunice BCM. There were other teams that we'd meet up with. But not until later. I said my goodbyes to my mom and dad and hugged them very tight. Then we all climbed on the bus to head for New Orleans.
Travis, the guy that we didn't know ended up sitting right next to me. And I have never grown to love a person so quickly! We all did. He just fit right into our group. It was like we'd known him for all those months that we'd been meeting. Just on the way to New Orleans, he was completely made part of the group.
We got to the airport with plenty of time to get our boarding passes and go through security and everything (which I went through first! Brave Gracie!...actually I was not brave at all. I didn't want to go first, but it just kind of ended up that way, unfortunately.) We also met up with more people going on the trip with us. Some people from LSU. Mandy, Shelli, Preston, Lindsey, Jenny, Catherine, and Courtney.
That first flight was my only window seat out of 8 flights total (that's including coming home). We flew to Washington DC and it was not a smooth flight at all. It was very turbulence-y and we hit some thunder storms that made it kinda scary. Plus the landing was really rough. I could actually feel one wheel hit the runway and then the other. I was thankful to be back on solid ground when we got off that plane. But, I still had an awfully long way to go. That was the shortest flight of all. And only the first of many more to follow.
After a 5 hour layover (and after learning that my deposit didn't go through, so I couldn't use my debit card for a few days...ahhh!!), we boarded our DC-London flight. I was so, SO nervous about this flight. It was my first ever flight over the ocean, my first ever overnight flight, and my first ever time leaving my country! And, everything overwhelmed me because I knew that my seat was not next to anybody I knew. Soon, my emotions got the best of me and I was standing next to seat 23E hopelessly looking back at Mandie with tears in my eyes, hoping that the person that was supposed to sit beside her would trade with me. After awhile, nobody showed up next to her, so the flight attendant just let me sit there next to Mandie, Heath, and Megan.
The flight went very well. I slept pretty good. It was a little weird and awkward for awhile, but I finally kinda figured out how to be comfortable.
We arrived in the London Heathrow airport on the morning of June 7. And guess what? Our flight to Nairobi did not take off until late that night. Sooooo, we had an 11 hour layover in the city of London, England!! How exciting is that!? We decided to make good use of our time and explore the city!
So, we had to go through customs there. It made me sort of nervous. Scott had told us that we shouldn't mention to them that we were going to Johannesburg for a mission trip. If we did, there's a good chance that they would send us right home from London. All we needed to say was that we were going to Johannesburg, South Africa for the World Cup. Which was completely true. But the whole idea made me a good bit scared.
When it was my turn, I was the first from our group to go to this particular lady's desk. She asked me a million questions: Where was I from? Where was I going? What for? What would I do there? What did I want to do in London? Why? Who was I with? How did I know them?
Finally, she let me through. And lucky for everybody else, they all went through after Josh Johnson (the LSUE BCM director), so that desk knew what was going on and it was nice and easy for them!
By the time we got done freshening up from our long day/night of traveling, exchanging money, figuring out what to do with carry-ons, and everything else, we had lost some time. Then we had trouble getting tickets for the Underground.
But finally we made it to the Picadilly line to head to Green Park. Every time the doors opened, a recording would announce what stop we were at, then say, "Please mind the gap..." And it was all in a British accent!
We walked through Green Park and when we came out the other end, we stumbled across a little place called Buckingham Palace. Maybe you've heard of it? It was very pretty. And there really were guards standing there with their fuzzy hats! But, I totally saw one of them move his head to look around...oh well. Hahaha
We also saw Westminster Abbey and Big Ben! And the Thames River.
Then we met a guy who was kinda crazy and chasing Shelli all around. Apparently he was some sort of performer for a live horror show. Turns out, when he stopped being crazy, he was quite normal and very fun to talk to.
Then we went to ride the London Eye. The largest ferris wheel in the whole world! By the way, I am kind of a little scared of ferris wheels. Actually, the last time I was on one, I hid my face and held on very tight the whole time. Nevertheless, I climbed onto the huge thing. And, I was very very quiet (this is kind of a big deal, since I usually am sort of talkative...), especially as it started getting higher. But I will admit, it was an amazing view! We could see the whole city! And further! And the river below us. I am glad I went!
After running through the city seeing all the famous sights, we found a little fish and chips place to grab some food. It was pretty yummy and definitely a good way to close out the experience, but to be completely honest, I'd prefer my Dad's fried fish any day!
After about 6 hours of non-stop running around, we had to head back to the Picadilly line and 30 minutes later arrived back at the London Heathrow airport. After getting our boarding passes and getting a big scare about our flight time (we thought we might have missed it! But we ended up realizing that we had plenty of time...) we wen through security and everything again. Then found our gate. I saw two girls standing together and one of them had a shirt that looked very familiar. It was an IWC Love Like Crazy shirt. Identical to the ones that Scott Belmore had given to all of us for the trip! She was standing right in front of me when we were waiting in line to board the plane. I tapped her on the shoulder and said "Hey! I have a shirt just like that! Are you going to South Africa for the mission trip!?" And guess what!? She said yes! Her name was Polly and she was from Mississippi. The girl with her was named Brittany! Two new friends!!
We got on the plane and this time we were all seated close to each other. But we still ended up switching seats around a little within our groups. I sat on a row with Mandie and Chelsi. We ate supper and tried to play some Travel Scrabble, but I kept falling asleep when it wasn't my turn. Finally, I guess they just decided to quit waking me up for my turns and I slept as hard as a rock. No Benadryl. No ear plugs. I was out. One of my best nights of sleep ever. I didn't move for hours.
We got to Nairobi, Kenya the morning of June 8. There were 6 of us who had to recheck our luggage here, because it didn't go all the way through to Jo'burg. Of course, I was one of those 6.
After a huge ordeal, waiting forever, Heath and the Kenya Airways man found the luggage, took our old luggage tags and went down a long hallway to check the luggage. But it was done! We barely made it to our flight (I mean, with seconds to spare).
This flight went pretty smoothly I sat next to Shelli and Andrew. Well, until Shelli discovered that the plane was pretty empty and there were a bunch of rows of seats behind us that were completely empty, so she went and stretched out for a nap. Me and Andrew looked over our papers about the Soccor Clinics/Holiday Bible Club that we'd be doing with the children once we got there.
We landed in Johannesburg and headed to customs, then went on to grab our luggage. But the luggage just took forever to come. We just waited and waited. Finally one of my pieces came around. Then we waited and waited and waited some more. I started getting a really bad feeling in my stomach. What if my luggage didn't come? That had happened to Nony before. As the minutes passed by, the feeling grew. Eventually the conveyer belt thing stopped. That was it. By the way, the suitcase that did come only had my sleeping bag in it. Oh, and some chocolate chips and syrup and chex mix to give to the missionaries. And that was it. EVERYTHING else was in that other bigger bag.
As it turns out, after sorting through all the luggage tag receipt things (which had all been labeled with Andrew Bozeman's name on them), there weren't even any tags for my bag or Andrew's bag, which had also not come.
So, basically we went to the desk and had to just tell them what our bags looked like and hope that somebody could spot them. Remember those emotions that I talked about ovewhelming me back in DC? Well all those emotions were building up in my again. Only they were much, much more intense this time. The entire time we were filling out the papers about our luggage, I was holding in all my tears.
I was halfway across the world, I hadn't gotten a full night of sleep in days, I hadn't showered in days, I only had about $200 in cash with me since my card was currently not working, I only had one change of clothes that I had THANKFULLY packed in my carry-on, and it was cold!
Finally we went to join everybody else. I saw Dana Belmore and just hugged her and didn't say anything. She said "It's okay. Once you shower and get some rest, everything will be alot better. It's okay." Then I spotted Scott and I just went and hugged him and the tears were just coming and coming. I didn't want to be there at all. All I could think was that this was only the very first day! I still had 2 more weeks before I would get to leave!
A guy from Capetown, South Africa named Sam came and Scott told me to follow him. He would get me on a bus to ride to the church we were staying at, which was about an hour away. In a part of Johannesburg called Florida. Sam was so nice. He showed me where to go and helped me onto a huge blue bus thing. You had to climb up a ladder to get inside! And then on every single seat was a Vuvuzela. All of the people on the other bus/truck thing were blowing them and I really didn't have the patience for all that at that moment. Do you know what a vuvuzela is? It's this big loud horn that South Africans blow at their soccor games. I did not like them that day.
The bus (...or truck..whatever...) ride was very peaceful and relaxing. I met a few of the people that would be part of our team.
Finally, we made it to Florida Baptist Church. We found our bedrooms that were set up with mats on the floor. Let the South African Adventure begin!!
Coming up next: What God taught me the first 2 days I was there.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
AMAZING SUMMER
Well, this has been an incredible summer for me! I wish I had time right now to tell absolutely everything about it. But I don't. So, little by little, I'm going to have to update this blog about all the things that have happened. But between South Africa, "Into the Woods", the Grand Canyon, and Glorieta, I've been a pretty busy girl. Plus, God's been showing and teaching me alot! I can't wait to tell you all about it!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Almost There!
It's early Tuesday afternoon during the very last week of classes. I am so ready to be finished and free for the summer. This week has been good so far, but I've been having to be patient alot. And the good news is that I think I'm really succeeding!! I sat through two very long and boring conversations yesterday, and I only got up and left them 1 time. (My excuse was that I wanted a drink of water, which I went and got.) I've been learning alot about patience lately. That's one of the many ways to show love for people. I also have learned that being patient doesn't just mean painfully enduring it. I mean, I know that in some versions of the Bible, in the fruit of the Spirit, patience is called "long suffering", but I think that even in pain and suffering we should be able to find joy. And, yes, even in long boring conversations. ;-) We're called to love. And that's one step closer towards loving peope, I think...I've really been working on that. In my relationships with friends and family. I've been trying to love. Those can be difficult, sometimes. But what's really really difficult is when you have to love people who don't love you back! Ahhh...it's exhausting! But God's teaching me alot through it. And I hope I'm growing...
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Finally Decided to Update... :-P
Once again, I did an awful job of keeping up my blog! I haven't posted anything since Christmas cookies!
Well, my second semester of college is about to end. Can you believe that?? I sure can't! It all feels completely normal to me. I feel like I've been in college for forever. But, at the same time, it still feels like I just started!
Some really big things are about to happen in my life, though! First of all, I am going on my first big mission trip! I've gone to New Orleans with my church and also done alot of the Hope For Opelousas ministry, but never a real big mission trip that's far away. And, let me tell you, this one is far. I am going with the BCM to South Africa!! I can't believe it! In less than 2 months I will leave. I'm going to be there for 2 weeks. I can't believe that God has me doing this! But, I'm just gonna have to trust Him. And that's all. I started raising money in November and I had a goal of $4000. That was a very big scary number. But yesterday, I got some incredible news! Out of the $4000, I still had about $1000 left, which was a little stressful, since I have to have all the money by May 1st. (And in case you didn't know, that is less than 2 weeks from now...) So, I was a little concerned, but at the same time I knew that if God truly wanted me there, then He would certainly provide the money. And yesterday, it happened! My church said that they would give me the rest of the money I needed to go!! So, it's official! As official as ever. I am going! I am going to South Africa to serve my Lord! Friday, I am going to get my Yellow Fever vaccination...
Another HUGE thing in my life is that 2 people that I'm very close to are about to have babies. My older sister Nichole, and my older brother Jade's wife, Jennifer! They're both due in August. Nichole/Nony is having a girl and Jade and Jennifer are having a boy...But here's the amazing news. I am going to go live with Nony in New York after the baby is born!!! For about 8-9 months! So, wow...
I am going to have an incredible summer though. I will be performing in "Beauty and the Beast" at the OLT, going to South Africa, and then in August, going to the Grand Canyon and Glorieta with the BCM! I'm ready!! I just have to get through the next week and a half of school first....tests and studying and stuff...bleh...
Well, my second semester of college is about to end. Can you believe that?? I sure can't! It all feels completely normal to me. I feel like I've been in college for forever. But, at the same time, it still feels like I just started!
Some really big things are about to happen in my life, though! First of all, I am going on my first big mission trip! I've gone to New Orleans with my church and also done alot of the Hope For Opelousas ministry, but never a real big mission trip that's far away. And, let me tell you, this one is far. I am going with the BCM to South Africa!! I can't believe it! In less than 2 months I will leave. I'm going to be there for 2 weeks. I can't believe that God has me doing this! But, I'm just gonna have to trust Him. And that's all. I started raising money in November and I had a goal of $4000. That was a very big scary number. But yesterday, I got some incredible news! Out of the $4000, I still had about $1000 left, which was a little stressful, since I have to have all the money by May 1st. (And in case you didn't know, that is less than 2 weeks from now...) So, I was a little concerned, but at the same time I knew that if God truly wanted me there, then He would certainly provide the money. And yesterday, it happened! My church said that they would give me the rest of the money I needed to go!! So, it's official! As official as ever. I am going! I am going to South Africa to serve my Lord! Friday, I am going to get my Yellow Fever vaccination...
Another HUGE thing in my life is that 2 people that I'm very close to are about to have babies. My older sister Nichole, and my older brother Jade's wife, Jennifer! They're both due in August. Nichole/Nony is having a girl and Jade and Jennifer are having a boy...But here's the amazing news. I am going to go live with Nony in New York after the baby is born!!! For about 8-9 months! So, wow...
I am going to have an incredible summer though. I will be performing in "Beauty and the Beast" at the OLT, going to South Africa, and then in August, going to the Grand Canyon and Glorieta with the BCM! I'm ready!! I just have to get through the next week and a half of school first....tests and studying and stuff...bleh...
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Christmas Cookies
One our Christmas traditions is decorating Christmas cookies every year. Nony is in town this week and last night we decorated our cookies :-)
Mom headed the operation by baking the cookies. Lydia and sometimes me helped with the cookie cutters. Then me, Mom, Lydia, Nony, and Lydia's friend all did the decorating.
The finished project!
Mom headed the operation by baking the cookies. Lydia and sometimes me helped with the cookie cutters. Then me, Mom, Lydia, Nony, and Lydia's friend all did the decorating.
Hard at work ;-)
As the little sister, I have always thought that Nony's cookies were the prettiest. I still think that...
My masterpiece of the night: The Sugarplum Fairy
Some of my creations...
The finished project! The only problem is, we can't eat them until Thursday at Aunt Diane's!! We did sneak a few last night though....
My First Semester Of College
Wow! Okay, I haven't been very faithful in updating my blog, but I've got some time on my hands right now and so here I go! I'm done with my first semester of college, and I SURVIVED! I'm very thankful for Christmas break though!
The first few weeks of college were extremely overwhelming. I had work to do, and a deadline to finish it and I had to remember how to get from class to class and I didn't really know anybody too well. I mean, I made friends pretty quickly, but they weren't my friends. Just classmates and accquaintances. People who's faces I knew, but not names. But I am SO grateful to one particular person, who helped me out imensely during my first few weeks. Ashley Brown. She answered questions, encouraged me, explained where to go for class, and so many other little details that just made me feel better about this whole new experience called college. And I'll admit, at first, I hated it. No matter how much everybody assured me that it got better, I hated it. I made a couple friends at the BCM, but they all already had friendships and groups and I didn't quite feel like I was fitting in with them.
But alot of changes have happened since then. Now, I've really made some friends! There are some other Theatre majors that are fun and friendly that I like alot. But I haven't gotten too extremely close to any of them. However...I have made some incredible friends at the BCM. I finally started to connect with the people there when we went to Ignite a collegiate conference in Shreveport. Besides finally making friends, it was an amazing weekend that I spent praising and worshipping God and learning more about Him. One of the afternoons we went to the riverwalk and just had some free time until supper. I ended up walking around with 2 people that I did not know very well at all. Wiley Kersh, who works at the BCM and Ashley Hill.
Me and Ashley started talking while we were walking around and we just talked and talked and talked. When we went and met up with the rest of the BCM people to eat supper at Buffalo Wild Wings we sat next to each other and talked and talked some more! We got to know all kinds of things about each other and our families and we just had a connection right away. She's 22, which is 4 years older than me, but it didn't matter! I finally had a friend! I also made friends with Kaleb and Victoria and Matt and Kyle. We played "Extreme" Alphabet game anytime we were driving anywhere. I got to know Scott, who is the BCM director. It was a great weekend!
Soon after that I met 2 more girls. Just about every Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday, they were at the BCM at lunch time. "T-Plus" and "T-Minus" is what I first heard them calling each other. Their names are actually Caitlin and Kaelyn. I got to know them better during our fall break though. A few of us spent a few nights at the BCM and painted a house for a lady in town for a service/outreach type of thing. Me and Ashley and Caitlin and Kaelyn all did that. And soon I became friends with both of them, too! Also, during that time we met Ershad and Jamal. They are 2 guys from Iran. Neither of them are Christians, but they were very interested and asked lots of questions. We were all excited to get to share our faith with them.
Since then, I've grown increasingly closer to all these people. Me, Ashley, Caitlin, and Kaelyn all have a bond that's so strong. They're all like older sisters to me. They are so supportive and loving and have taught me so much about my relationship with Christ. Plus, we have so much fun when we're all together!
As for my classes, they all went great. Math was very difficult, but a guy from church, Johnny Carriere helped me through the first few weeks over facebook and the phone. Then, as me and Caitlin got closer, she started helping me. If it weren't for those 2, I'm afraid that Math 105 would not have been so much of a success! I got a B in Math and English and A's in all my theatre classes. So, I had a very good first semester of college! Here are some pictures of some of the high points of the semester:
My first UL football Game:
That's me and Kaelyn (T-Minus) and Brittany waiting for the game to start.
Me, Kaelyn, and Jamal (one of the Iranian guys)
Wiley, Ershad (the other Iranian guy), Ashley, and me. It was very cold at this game, so me and Ashley were huddled up together in her blanket!
Apparently it's a tradition to go to Sonic after the game, so that's all of us at Sonic!
This is one night when I was supposed to be doing math homework...
Me and Ershad at the BCM one night.
A few of us got together to play cards and hang out. We also crunched Life Savers in the dark and when you chew it, it makes a spark! And we opened Band-Aids in the dark and they have a little glow...it was so fun...
Me and Kaelyn cleaning the kitchen because our team lost Cranium...
Me and Caitlin :-)
Natalie Sibille also came and hung out with us that night :-) That's me and her and Ashley
Caitlin, Natalie, Me, Jamal, Ashley, Kaelyn, Ershad, and Emad
I'm glad to be on break now, but honestly, I'm missing seeing everybody everyday!
Monday, August 24, 2009
College Day 1
Well, today was a really long day. I woke up, took a shower, ate a biscuit, packed my lunch, had a small meltdown, talked and prayed with Mom, felt better, and then headed away to my first day of college. I made it to Cajun Field to park my car without any trouble. Then I got on the bus that brings me to the campus.
When I was sitting in the seat waiting, I saw somebody I knew! It was Aaron Olivier, who was in my Kindergarten-3rd grade classes at Westminster! He sat next to me and we figured out that we had the exact same first class, which was Honors English.
When we got to the UL campus, I got off the bus and found the BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministry) which is an organization for Christian college students to hang out together. They have get togethers and Bible studies and you can hang out there in between classes. I went and met some people over there. It turns out, one of the people in charge, who's name is Scott was attending UL at the same time as my big sister! He knew Nony! So, I left my lunch in the fridge over there and went to find my English class.
I found it very, very easily and (guess what) all by myself!!! My English class is very small. It's about the size of my dining room and kitchen. And we just have a table that we all sit around and a couple of desks behind the table. The teacher was late. And he's kind of strange. His name is Dr. Smith. The thing that was kind of strange about him was that I could never ever tell whether or not he was joking or serious or if he was being sarcastic or trying to be funny....He was a very confusing man. But he seems nice. I hope he turns out to be a good teacher! I think we'll be reading some interesting things...he likes the old stuff alot....like the ANCIENT stuff!
Next was Honors Seminar. I have to go to one of these every week. And (surprise, surprise) a boy in my English class was also going to the seminar. So we walked there together. He is one of the hugest nerds I've ever met! He's very weird. He likes computers and stuff. But he makes me laugh. Honors seminar was interesting. Right now, I'm just learning about what it really is. I don't really know what I think of it yet.
After Honors, I had a little over an hour for lunch. I went to the BCM. Once again, I found my way there all by myself! I met some more people there including a girl named Brittany and a boy named Kyle who were both really nice. After lunch I found my way back to the Student Union where Ashley Brown, a friend from the OLT was. Our next class was together and it had been moved to a different place than what was on the schedule, so she was going to show me where the new place was. When I met up with her, she introduced me to some other Theatre majors. Then we walked to our class. A few other people showed up in the same room. We waited for quite some time. But the teacher just didn't come. Eventually, we came to the realization that we must be in the wrong classroom...
We found out from somebody important that we were indeed in the wrong classroom. So, all 6 or 7 of us walked to a completely different building and found our class, which was Movement for the Actor. I'm not sure exactly what'll be going on in this class besides learning some stretches and yoga type stuff...so we shall see....
After Movement, Ashley and I walked to the bus stop. We were waiting for the bus and talking, when I suddenly realized that I had forgotten my lunch box in the BCM fridge! So, I had to walk ALL THE WAY to the BCM and get it, then walk ALL THE WAY back to the bus stop. Then I rode the bus to the parking lot. And I had to walk so very far past so so so many cars to get to mine. But finally I made it. I took a huge breath and turned on some good music! I was ready to go home!
Natalie Sibille called me on my way home, which was very nice. When I got home, I just dropped all my stuff on the floor and flopped into Dad's recliner. My sweet puppy Lottie came and crawled up and fell asleep in my lap and we barely moved until Mom and Nathan got back from the dentist. Then Mom and I went swimming and I told her all about my day.
Lydia and I watched some TV (which I never do) then we ate supper....the rest of my evening has been very relaxed. I mapped out my classes for tomorrow. And I'll be ready...
For now....Goodnight!
When I was sitting in the seat waiting, I saw somebody I knew! It was Aaron Olivier, who was in my Kindergarten-3rd grade classes at Westminster! He sat next to me and we figured out that we had the exact same first class, which was Honors English.
When we got to the UL campus, I got off the bus and found the BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministry) which is an organization for Christian college students to hang out together. They have get togethers and Bible studies and you can hang out there in between classes. I went and met some people over there. It turns out, one of the people in charge, who's name is Scott was attending UL at the same time as my big sister! He knew Nony! So, I left my lunch in the fridge over there and went to find my English class.
I found it very, very easily and (guess what) all by myself!!! My English class is very small. It's about the size of my dining room and kitchen. And we just have a table that we all sit around and a couple of desks behind the table. The teacher was late. And he's kind of strange. His name is Dr. Smith. The thing that was kind of strange about him was that I could never ever tell whether or not he was joking or serious or if he was being sarcastic or trying to be funny....He was a very confusing man. But he seems nice. I hope he turns out to be a good teacher! I think we'll be reading some interesting things...he likes the old stuff alot....like the ANCIENT stuff!
Next was Honors Seminar. I have to go to one of these every week. And (surprise, surprise) a boy in my English class was also going to the seminar. So we walked there together. He is one of the hugest nerds I've ever met! He's very weird. He likes computers and stuff. But he makes me laugh. Honors seminar was interesting. Right now, I'm just learning about what it really is. I don't really know what I think of it yet.
After Honors, I had a little over an hour for lunch. I went to the BCM. Once again, I found my way there all by myself! I met some more people there including a girl named Brittany and a boy named Kyle who were both really nice. After lunch I found my way back to the Student Union where Ashley Brown, a friend from the OLT was. Our next class was together and it had been moved to a different place than what was on the schedule, so she was going to show me where the new place was. When I met up with her, she introduced me to some other Theatre majors. Then we walked to our class. A few other people showed up in the same room. We waited for quite some time. But the teacher just didn't come. Eventually, we came to the realization that we must be in the wrong classroom...
We found out from somebody important that we were indeed in the wrong classroom. So, all 6 or 7 of us walked to a completely different building and found our class, which was Movement for the Actor. I'm not sure exactly what'll be going on in this class besides learning some stretches and yoga type stuff...so we shall see....
After Movement, Ashley and I walked to the bus stop. We were waiting for the bus and talking, when I suddenly realized that I had forgotten my lunch box in the BCM fridge! So, I had to walk ALL THE WAY to the BCM and get it, then walk ALL THE WAY back to the bus stop. Then I rode the bus to the parking lot. And I had to walk so very far past so so so many cars to get to mine. But finally I made it. I took a huge breath and turned on some good music! I was ready to go home!
Natalie Sibille called me on my way home, which was very nice. When I got home, I just dropped all my stuff on the floor and flopped into Dad's recliner. My sweet puppy Lottie came and crawled up and fell asleep in my lap and we barely moved until Mom and Nathan got back from the dentist. Then Mom and I went swimming and I told her all about my day.
Lydia and I watched some TV (which I never do) then we ate supper....the rest of my evening has been very relaxed. I mapped out my classes for tomorrow. And I'll be ready...
For now....Goodnight!
Ready for College
Today I am going to college. I'm going to UL in Lafayette. I have a new book sack, a new lunch box, all my school books, new notebooks, new pens and pencils, and even a whole bunch of new clothes. We made a map of how I'm supposed to get around the campus. So, I've done absolutely everything possible to make sure I'm ready for today. Only problem is that I am SO nervous! And I don't usually get nervous! I'll be leaving in just a couple minutes....I hope I don't get lost! And, Lord, PLEASE let me have some really nice teachers!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Nieces, Nephews, and Performances
Thursday morning, Jennifer dropped off all five of her kids. Claire, Ethan, Blythe, Owen, and Evelyn were staying with us for 5 days. That meant we'd have 8 kids at our house, and half of them would be 6 and under...that means we have a house full of chaos.
Thursday night, I had a show. It went well. Mrs. Heather and Catherine were there. I have to fall down onstage quite a few times in the play and I started noticing, that the bruises on my knees were growing bigger and darker each day....After a few months of rehearsal and a couple performances, my knees were really feeling the pain. Jay informed me, a little late, that for Shakespeare, he very cleverly wore knee pads all through the rehearsals, so he wasn't hurting himself again and again all throught those weeks. Pretty smart...but, to tell the truth, even if he would've told me before, I still probably wouldn't have used knee pads...I just don't like the way they look.
There's me and Natalie in our costumes. After the show, we end up taking lots of pictures. All these sweet, and usually timid little girls come up asking for our autographs and pictures with us. It's so cute!
Friday was a long boring day. We didn't do very much. We were pretty bored all day. Claire and I went with Natalie LaCombe to get her hair done. It was a waste of time and money. The lady didn't do the best job, and it costed alot. Natalie, who is going to cosmetology school was not satisfied...
Lydia and Natalie had a show that night. They are in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" at the Opelousas Little Theatre. That night Mr. Kent and Mrs. Tara Sibille worked at the door at the OLT for "Willy Wonka". On their way out of town, they picked me up to go spend the night over at the Sibille's house.
Natalie, Mikie, and I decided to watch "Rent". Michael is obsessed with "Rent". And I hate it. But I'd never actually watched it. So, I decided to give it a chance...
That was a mistake...
I didn't enjoy it at all. All I got out of it was people in bad clothes singing annoying songs...
So, before it was even half over, the disc started skipping alot. I was rather pleased. Mikie and Natalie were not.
We went to bed, but we talked for awhile in the dark, of course.
Saturday morning, we had a Theatre Workshop. Kids ages 8-12 came to the Eunice Players Theatre where we're performing "Dorothy Meets Alice". Most of the cast came. And we all dressed up in costume. Not our costumes from the play. Just any costume. We each had a character that we had to act like all morning. I dressed as a Southern Belle. Natalie was a flapper from the 1920's. Taylor was "Jacqueline" (Jack) Sparrow. Bradley was an 80's (I think) rockstar. Audrey was a hippie. Angie was a nerd. Holly was a belly dancer, I think. Chelsea was a cat. Duncan was a monk. And Mikie was Mark, a character from "Rent".
It was a very fun morning. I enjoyed playing the acting games and teaching the kids about the theatre. Saturday afternoon, we went back to Natalie's house for a little while. Then we went to the OLT to see our fellow thespians in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory".
We picked up Claire from my house on the way because she wanted to see the play too. As soon as we arrived, we went in the back to say hello. As soon as a got backstage, Mrs. Pitre came up to me. She said, "Gracie, can you do a huge, huge favor for me?"
I smiled big, and said, "Sure!" (even though I had no clue what she wanted)
She sent me across the street to Walgreens to get some glue sticks for a glue gun. They needed it to do something for the play. I needed a ride to get to Walgreens, so Natalie and I stopped Hannah Stewart (a friend from Showcase) as she was coming in the door. She drove us to Walgreens, but of course they didn't have any glue sticks.
We had approximately 30 minutes before the show started, so we decided we could risk going to Walmart. We headed down Creswell lane. Me, Hannah, Natalie, and Claire. It was crazy.
Hannah and Claire dropped off me and Natalie at the door. We ran through the store to the craft section. We grabbed the glue sticks and ran to a check out. We checked out and went back to the theatre. We made it! It was 6:51, I think. And the show was supposed to start at 7:00.
There were so many people there that I knew! I was so excited! Mr. Dirk and Mrs. Liz from church were there, to see their grandson, Connor perform. Kristi and Mrs. Diana Burleigh who are involved in "Dorothy Meets Alice" were there. Angie, Duncan, and Taylor were there. Jay and his son Jude were there. It was so fun! And there were other people there, too. Plus, all the people in the cast! It was a good night.
Willy Wonka was very cute. The singing wasn't the best. It was often off-key. But they had some very good actors and actresses! Their set was cute and clever. It was a very good night! After the show, I went with some of the cast to Casa Ole to hang out. That was fun, too.
Sunday morning, we had church. We had all the Stanford kids with us, so that was an adventure.
Sunday afternoon, I had a matinee performance. Mom and Dad were bringing all the grandkids to see it. Plus Grandma-Mona was coming. Oh and Jay was bringing his son to see it, too. So, I was excited. I love when I know people in the audience!
It was a wonderful performance. I think it was our best yet! We didn't have hardly any messups with our lines. Only a couple very insignificant ones. It was wonderful. I loved hearing my family and friends laughing at us. Especially Owen. He laughed with all his heart everytime anybody else laughed. Even when I know the jokes were over his head. He's so funny...
After the show and the chaos of seeing everybody was over and we went backstage again, I realized that my ankle was really hurting. Apparently on one of my falls throughout the play, I'd hurt it, and not really noticed during all the craziness. But, man, it was really hurting, then. It was swollen too! Everybody advised me to take it easy on my ankle until Wednesday, our next performance. I don't do very well with the whole "taking it easy" concept...
Today was another "stay at home" type of day. We just hung out around here. Lydia and Claire went to a Music day camp sort of thing that's going on all week. The rest of us stayed at home. Nathan and I had the responsibility of feeding all the kids their lunch. That wasn't as big of an operation as it could have been, which was nice. Then out of all the little kids that were there, it was Nathan who made a big mess by spilling my tea...
This afternoon was just hanging out around here. Me and Claire cooked some taco soup for supper. We went for a bike ride, even though I shouldn't have cause that's bad for my ankle...
Now, I'm sitting here while everybody else is going to bed. I talked to friends on facebook and watched some of "24" with my family...and had a nice dessert of Oreos and milk...I'm resting my ankle up on the top of the table (which feels very nice, it helps it not hurt as much) and I think that I'm kinda tired, so I'm gonna head to the bed....goodnight. :-)
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Opening Night!!
We had a wonderful opening night! An almost sold out audience that was full of energy, everybody very into their characters, friends that came to see it, little girls who wanted to meet Dorothy and Alice (and take pictures!), milkshakes afterwards, and we get to do it five more times! :-)
Ahhh...I love the theatre....
And my stage makeup is pretty fabulous! Hahaha. I'll put some backstage pictures as soon as I can!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Father's Day and Chocolate Cake
Yesterday was a pretty good Father's Day, I think. We didn't do anything big. We just all stayed close to home. I baked a Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake for my dad. I made it from scratch...it took forever! And it made a big mess. Also, two of the 3 layers cracked in half. So when I put it all together, there was a crack the size of the Grand Canyon down the middle...
But, hey, it was one of the most scrumptiously deliciously yummy cake I've ever eaten...I also made a few facebook friends quite jealous! :-D
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Dorothy Meets Alice
We've been rehearsing for a play called "Dorothy Meets Alice". It's a children's musical about the characters from "The Wizard Of Oz" and "Alice In Wonderland". We have a fun cast. Even though it's a children's musical and some of the jokes are really cheesy, we have a blast!Our performances July 8, 9, 15, 16, and 17.
Our cast is:
Jessica- Taylor
Alice- Me
Dorothy- Natalie Sibille
Scarecrow- Bradley
Lion- Duncan
Tin Man- Michael
Wicked Witch- Angie
Doormouse- Kristi
Mad Hatter- Darrel
White Rabbit- Audrey
Red Queen- Holly
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