And the journey ends...(at least this one)

Okay. So I just re-read my entry about the next before I left to come here to Chihuahua. It was names "And the journey begins". Therefore, I felt it fit to name this one, "And the journey ends"

As I was reading my entry the night before I left Plano, I realized that I could literally copy and paste that entry and put it here. I feel all the same feelings I was feeling the night of August 21st, only now its December 15th.

I honestly cant believe that my time here has ended. 4 months at the start seemed like a lifetime...but not it feels like a blink of an eye. But I couldnt be more thankful for this opportunity to come to Chihuahua and live here for 4 months. How many people can say that at the age of 18th they lived in another country and learned to speak a different language...well Abigail and Belen can haha....

I could sit here and right about all my memories and experiences but there will be time to share all the stories. Right now my mind is just rushing with thoughts and feelings. I dont think I will be sleeping very much tonight. Its hard to leave somewhere you have grown to love. I love Chihuahua. It feels like home. It feels right. I cant express how much I love my church here "La Casa de Mi Padre." Everyone at my church is so welcoming. Since day 1 I felt like part of the church. They never treated me like an outsider and always helped me with my spanish. We really started hanging out outside of the church about 2 months ago and now I feel like I have known them forever. They are some of my best friends. Its so cool to sit back and realize that I can be such good friends with people, who at the beginning, didnt speak the same language. Now, its just normal, like hanging out with my friends in the states and chatting it up. So cool to just think about.

I am really sad. I am really going to miss my wonderful family, the school, my friends, the teachers, and the city. My time here was a once in a lifetime chance and I took advatange of every moment. I dont regret anything. It was the best experience of my life so far. Thanks to Inter-Action and all the people here in Chihuahua, I now can speak spanish :) It is so fun.

I was talking with one of my friends about how I am not ready to leave and just how I am going to miss the spanish. I am going to miss always hearing spanish, on the radio...tv....and just everyone talking in spanish. I am going to miss always reading spanish....I am going to miss always speaking spanish.....I am going to miss all the little puestos and ordering in spanish....yes I hope there will be opportunities to speak and use my spanish in Texas...but its just not the same. Basically, I am counting the days till I can come back and just be surrounded completly in spanish.

I cant wait to see my family and friends in the states. It has been awhile and I just cant wait to hug each and everyone of you guys.

Just keep me in your prayers this week. Its going to be a little hard ajusting to the states. I am not really sure if I am going to know how to handle things. Its just different and I am a little afraid of culture shock. I know I am been to mexico many times but only for a week or two at a time. 4 months is alot different.

Wow. I just wrote alot and pretty sure none of it makes sense but that is just cause my mind is just running. I am sad, happy, excited, nervous and just about every other feeling. Wow. I will be in the states in less than 24 hours. So weird. So weird. So weird.

Love you guys.

Tuve un buen fin de semana :)

Well. I had a great last weekend here in Chihuahua. I still cant believe I am sitting here typing that. 4 months. 4 months. Went by faster that I thought it would. However, my last weekend here couldnt have been any better.

Thursday was our last day of classes and our going away party. The classes were really fun cause we just talked, played games, and just enjoyed our last day together. Our going away party was perfect. Everyones family was there and all of the teachers and their family's. We ate tamales and had like 5 different desserts. We recieved our Inter-Action t-shirts which to me symboled that we graduated from the class and we can officially now say that we can speak and understand spanish. The t-shirts are a new design this year and I am really excited because we are the first group to have them :) As students we decided to make a video to kind of end the course. With a little help from one of our teachers we came up with the idea to have each of us be one teacher and Ray be Greg. I have to say it was awesome. The teachers loved it and laughed the whole time. Hopefully Ray will eventually give it to me or put it on facebook so yall can all see how much spanish we really did learn :) We spent all night just talking with the teachers and Greg and Paloma and Ana and all the other students. I couldnt have been any better. Of course I cried....big shocker :)

Today. Sunday was amazing. In the morning I woke up early to go watch my dad here in Chihuahua play in the finals of the end of the season basketball tournament. It like a rec league but it was so fun. There are different age levels and the one my dad is in is called "Dinos" because its only for people older than 50. It was so fun watching their passion for the game and just how much fun they were all having and the best part is we won first place :) Its really cool how my family here as alot of things in common with my family in the states...dads who LOVES basketball and moms who both have diabetes. After the game my mom and I went out to eat menudo which I actually really like! We ran into a friend of my uncles and ended up all talking forever and he then payed for us. I wish I was more generous with my money. I hardly have anything but why cant I share more with the little that I have? After that I hung out with my sister and cousin at the mall for a little bit then went out around the town with my mom. We had a blast just talking and spending our last few days together. We also are really good fish today :)

In the evening, at my church, La Casa de Mi Padre, there was a Chrismas Dinner. All the youth learned a dance and a song to perfore during the event. It was really fun learning it. Then with 4 other girls, I learned another dance to a Christmas song and I had to learn almost all of it 30 min before we had to preform. But omgsh it was so much fun and I just love those girls. Then we just all ate and talked to forever! I learned some really cool games with all the youth today and they all wrote Britton and I a letter. Honestly, I never once felt like I was an outsider at the church. They always welcomed me in and are honestly some of my best friends now. O how I am going to miss my youth group here. Afterwards some of us girls just went over to one of their houses and chatted and laughed FOREVER! It was so much fun.

GREAT GREAT GREAT! memories and times here in Chihuahua that I will never forget.

See all you Texan folks this week!

Love yall!

La Última Clase :(

Wow. I cant believe that tomorrow is our last day of classes. Honestly, it feels like I have been here for about 2 months, but 4 no way! Time flies...and I really do believe it now. Dont get me wrong I am so excited to see my friends and family back home. I miss them all dearly and I cant wait to give them all a VERY BIG hug! However, my time here has just felt so short.

I keep telling myself that I am not really leaving and that its not really our last day of classes, but reality is...it is. As most of you probably know, I am not very good with change. It was hard to come here and leave behind everything I had known for 18 years, and now its going to be REALLY hard to leave behind what I now have known for 4 months. I know it doesnt sounds like a lot of time but I have really gotten used to my life here. Things are so much simpler and its not always go go go and do do do. Things just kind flow around here.

Bueno. Right now I am just going to talk about school and then I will update one last time before I make my journey back home. I wish you could all meet my teachers. They are so amazing. They are not just teachers but they are my friends. I can talk to them about anything. Yes classes were tough sometimes and sometimes I just didnt want to learn anymore spanish. But when those times came, as a class, we would go around the town and explore the culture and just talk about life. I mean honestly sounds like my kind of school, and it def. is. Towards the end we started just talking about different themes during class or different topics, that way we could practice using ALL the different verb tenses. I would have never thought I could actually carry on these conversations for so long and really be able to state my point or my opinion. Now, I can talk and talk and talk. Trust me, I can talk just as much in spanish as I can in english, and we all know that is alot. The joke around here is that I never stop talking and I can always talk about anything, anywhere, at anytime, and I am not going to deny it because I know its true. This is prob. why I also write alot.

Wow. I could just keep typing and typing and typing about everything that has happend and about how you all should come to Interaction and learn spanish because there is no better or faster way, or how amazing my experience is...but I will save that for when I get back and we can go get some coffee or dinner and I can talk your ear off :)

I love you guys very much and I cant wait to share my experience with you guys. I would love to get together with each and everyone of you just to share everything...but only if you have the time and are interested!

SEE YALL IN 1 WEEK

p.s be prepared to here me speak a lot in spanish cause I kinda dont want to speak spanish...and my english...well its pretty bad...haha love you guys!

Feliz Dia de Accion de Gracias

Wow. Sorry I have been really bad about posting new blogs. I am probably going to post a couple here just to get some things out there. First of all I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving.

I had an amazing thanksgiving. Yes it was different because I wasnt with all my family, as a matter of fact, I wasnt with anything of my family. However, I quickly realized I was here with my family in Chihuahua. As students and teacher, we have all become a family. I mean, honestly how can you not after being in class 6 hours a day 4 times a week and then hanging out on the weekends?

We were invited to spend thanksgiving with The Tarrants and their family. I felt very special to be invited to celebrate this special day with people who I love. Greg began by saying all that he is thankful and how he was thankful for each and every person that sat around the table. Of course, I began tearing up...but that is normal. We then all dug in the food. We ate all the typical food for thanksgiving and let me tell you I could have eaten 10 rounds, but I stopped at 2 rounds to save room for the delicious pumpkin pie. I have so much to be thankful for and I know I dont say it enough.

First off, I am very thankful for this opportunity to be here in Mexico for 4 months to learn spanish. I cant even being to explain this experience that I have had, but I wouldnt change it for THE WORLD. I am very thankful for the family here in Chihuahua who offered to host me for 4 months because I am not just another person staying in their house, I am part of the family. One day we got back to the school and my dad here was outside. I yelled "Hola papa! como estas? and he said to me Hola hija! muy bien! Afterwards, my teacher was telling me how she thought that that was really neat to see and really special that we called each other daddy and daughter because its shows the type of relationship we have. SHe told me that if people would have seen they would have thought that he was my real dad and I was his daughter. I am also very thankful for my real family. They have allowed to be here and to follow my dreams. They have always encourged me to follow Gods plans and my dreams. When I told them "Hey. I am going to live in Chihuahua for 4 months to learn spanish, there was never a moment where they told me I couldnt because they knew how much this meant to me. I love yall and miss yall!

Obviously I am thankful for all my friends, new and old, and just the life God has blessed me with because I am blessed. I pray I always remember that.

Well I hope you all had a great thanksgiving, and remember we should be thankful everyday for the things God has blessed us with, big and small, not only on one day out of the year.

Love you guys!

Nos faltamos poquito...

Where to begin.

We are coming down to the wire. I will be leaving here in about a month. We only have 3 more weeks of classes. Wow. I cant believe how fast it has gone by. I dont like to think about how short of a time I have left...because I want to be able to enjoy the days I have here with my family, at the Lirio, at school, and with my friends.

I went to Lirio this past weekend. I wish I could adopt everyone of those kids because they deserve to be shown how much they are loved. I wish I could hug each and every one of them all day every day just to show my love for them. The love I have for them in unconditional because that is how God has taught us to love. Yes at times it gets tough being constantly asked can I use your IPOD, your phone, your backpack, your camara but then God softens my heart and reminds me that they just want to feel loved and this is one way they can see that we care because we trust them. Honestly.....its going to be extremely hard to leave next time. It will be my last time to be able to go out there and it breaks my hearts when they just plead for me not to leave. After spending some much time there I dont know what I am going to do next time. Please pray.

I was able to stay out at Lirio an extra day this past weekend because we didnt have school on monday. We spent 5 hours cooking for a going away party for Greg and Paloma. Let me tell you, the food was AMAZING! You can ask Greg and Paloma themselves. When we arrived, there were tons of pastors from all around the city. Each and everyone of them spoke about how much of an impact Greg and Paloma have had on their lives and churches. It was so cool to sit back and watch and listen to the stories and the encouragment as they move on to Africa next year. I am so proud of them, not just because they are going to Africa, but because of the impact they are making here in Chihuahua with so many people. They will for sure be missed here, but tons of people will be praying for them daily. All the pastors and friends have decided to get together every month to just have a prayer time. How cool is that?!

Prayer request- My diabetes. I dont know what is going on right now but my body just isnt doing well with the insulin. Usually at bedtime my blood sugar level is really good, but without eating anything or doing anything, I wake up with a high blood sugar level. My mom sent me 2 months worth of insulin and I am almost out. THe thing is I am not taking excessive insulin or I would be low all the time. When I read the box of my insulin it said to inject with 60 units every day. In the one box (which is "worth 2 months") there are 5 pins each with 300 units. Basically if I took 60 units a day...the box would last 25 days. I am not sure how that equals 2 months. It is frustrating because it is so expensive and I hate putting the burden on my parents. At times I just feel like not doing anything..checking or taking insulin...just cause I am tired of it. But dont worry I am taking care of myself here so much better than when I was at home. I have gotten back into the habit of testing EVERY TIME I eat and before I go to bed and I am taking all the insulin when needed. Just pray that I can continue to get under control. Thanks guys.

See yall soon!

CON AMOR :)

Oremos Chihuahua...Las Grutas...Cuatrimotos!

LAS GRUTAS

Friday all the students went to visit some caves. Yes there are caves in Chihuahua about 15 min from my house. Is that not really cool? Well even if you dont think its cool...I do :) Although it was really humid it was fun! It ended up just being us students in a group together with our guide. Not to mention he was cute :) haha sorry! But anyways there were TONS of stalagmites and stalactites! There was a part that we went through without light to get a feel of what it was like forever ago when the miners worked without light! That was a little scary. But after sweating for o about an 1 it was over and we headed downtown and hung out there all day!

OREMOS CHIHUAHUA

This has to have been one of the coolest things :) At my church this past sunday I recieved a flyer that said Oremos Chihuahua. Honestly my first thought was this kinda sounds like the God of This City event back in Dallas. I told everyone I really wanted to go. So we went! When we first got there I got the goose bumps. It was so amazing to see how many people showed up to this outdoor event. Yes it wasnt as full as the concerts I have been to here, but it was still so amazing to see everyone worshiping God. In this city there are few Christians compared to Catholics. Therefore, I didnt expect that many people to be there. When we got there, it felt just like the "God of The City" event that I went to this past spring. We all stood worship our God and praying for Chihuahua. Praying to take away the terrible violence through out the state. We prayed that there would be Justice. Peace. Joy. We all live in a lost world, but our God saves. They invited all the pastors that were there to go up on stage so we could pray for them. How powerful. God was so powerful and I felt his presence there. Then we ended with one of my favorite songs, and it happened to be the same song that "God of The City" event ended with to. And of course that would be God of The City or Dios de Esta Ciudad. Purely Amazing. I love how no matter where you go...God is there.

CUATRIMOTO

Yes thats right. Today I got to ride a 4-wheeler in the mountains of Chihuahua. Britton's family invited all the students to hang out with them today. They own a farm with land and a house but we decided to go more into the mountains to have more of an adventure! And boy did we! We drove about 2 hours on mountain road! Then we started riding the 4 wheeler. There was only one so we took turns! Ray and I drove really fast of course and the view was absolutely gorgeous! I loved it. Then we all cooked out and had a great time! However one of the trucks got stuck in the mud and sand. So we spent about 2 hours trying to get it out. Meanwhile though we climbed things, took pictures, and talked! Finally a tractor came to the rescue! It was a great adventure!

Good time in Chihuahua!

Prayer

Okay I promise this one will be short. Well at least shorter than most. I am not going to write about what I have been up to or how much fun I am having. Just wanted to talk about whats been on my mind lately.

We recently started subjunctive form of spanish. It is difficult because we dont have anything like it in English to compare to. Therefore...it is stressful. On top of that I am starting to get really stressed about where to go to college this next fall. I will be going to CCCC next spring but only for the spring. Then I will be transfering...just dont know where. I have a couple in mind but I really need Gods provision right now. I ask that you could just pray that God continues to lead me where he wants me to be. Just pray as time is nearing an end here. I dont do well with change therefore...I am not even close to being ready to leave. I feel that time has gone by way to fast. Just pray that God softens my heart and prepares me for another big change.

I also have the opportunity to go to Guatemala in the spring time. Pray that if God wants me there he will put everything in place for me to be able to go. I would love to go because it would be a chance to use my spanish. I am always looking for changes to use it. If you have any ideas of how I can keep up with my spanish when I get back let me know :)

Continue to pray for my family. Today I read my sister here status on facebook and it was discouraging. They read

"los misioneros salen al mundo a cristianizar a los salvajes, como si los salvajes no fueran ya suficientemente peligrosos" and "dicen que la fe mueve montañas, pero en realidad la dinamita ha resultado más útil"

These say that missionaries go aroud the world christianizing the savages as if they werent already dangerous enough. The other reads they say that faith can move mountains, but reality is that dynamite actually is more useful. This is discouraging and sad to see people perseption of Christians. Some people just see it as one big joke. Please help me pray for them and that I can just continue to be a light.

A little fun new...i ate cow testicles today. Yes thats right cow testicles. My family told me after I had eaten them and I cant lie but they were really good! :) I didnt get a picture though! How sad! Cause I prob wont eat them again! But hey thats okay! ANd a new baby cousin was born today! He is precious!

I just ask for Prayer right now. I am getting tired really easily and I think its just really heavy work cause I am at school from 9 to 1 and then 4 to 7. Then its dark and not much happens. Therefore its school all day. And ALL SPANISH!

Thanks for your prayers and please let me know how I can pray for you!