guatemala

guatemala. or gwodomala which is what my 5-yr old sister affectionately calls me. whatever you decide to call it (guatemala being the correct way, haha), this is the place i will soon be calling home. The place of constant spring and where the people grow coffee for a living. the place of poverty and wealth intertwined. My church here in Chester us sending a team to Guatemala sometime in May. I've only ever been there once-- in December of 2006 to distribute bundles of love which is essentially a new school uniform, shoes and a backpack for the children in the schools of AMG international and would love to go there again.The people there are some of the most beautiful people i have ever seen and the country is breath-taking. Most people are acquainted with Antigua which is where some rather large resorts are. but if you drive for a few hours you will come across some of the most poverty stricken areas you will ever see. I was in total shock as i went from someplace so gorgeous and put together to someplace where people lived in houses made of aluminum and cardboard. anything to keep them covered at night. children muddied and danger everywhere. The people of Guatemala are not only poor financially, but spiritually as well. They are hidden from the real truth of God. The lies of society overtake everything in their lives.

guatemala

Guaor gwodomala as my 5- year old sister affectionately calls it. whatever you decide to call it- i will be calling it home. Guatemal

you know you lived in the 2000s when.......

ok so i read some of these the other day and thought they were very funny.... so here they come..

you know you lived in the 2000s if:
*You waited outside the bookstore until midnight to get the newest Harry Potter book.
*You sat in front of your T.V. and cheered for Michael Phelps during the Beijing Olympics.
*When you hear someone say, "Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?" you are compelled to answer.
*You begged your parents for Heinz EZ Squirt Colored Ketchup just to see if tasted like regular ketchup.
*You owned a Poo-Chi robot dog.
*You would tell your parents "just five more minutes!" while you were on AIM, and you ended up spending forty-five more minutes talking to your friends.
*You have a Facebook or Myspace account.
*You remember that Fall Out Boy and Nickelback invaded car stereos everywhere.
*You were around when the curse of the Great Bambino was lifted and the Red Sox won the World Series!
*You ever had a Ninendo DS, a Gamecube, or a PSP.
*The two most recognizable games were Halo and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
*World of Warcraft was the most popular game to play online (and still is).
*PS2 and Xbox gave way to PS3 and Xbox 360, and everyone had to have a Wii.
*You watced Hannah Montana / Miley Cyrus become the biggest overnight sensation, and you may or may not know the words to "The Best of Both Worlds."
*You were in love with (or hated) High School Musical.
*Your popularity in elementary school was marked by the amount of Crayola crayons you had and whether or not there was a crayon sharpener on the back of your box.
*You watched American Idol and knew that Simon was the bad guy, Paula was the good guy, and Randy was the guy who just kind of hung around.
*You fell in love with Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler, or Chris Daughtry.
*You couldn't believe that Billy Mays, the OxiClean guy, died.
*You ever owned a pair of skinny jeans.
*You remember such Youtube sensations as "Dramatic Chipmunk", "Charlie Bit Me", "Numa Numa Guy", "Leave Britney Alone", "Diet Coke and Mentos", "Afro Ninja", "Star Wars Kid", or "Evolution of Dance."
*You fell to the torture of getting Rick Rolled, again and again.
*You knew a ton of Chuck Norris jokes.
*You spent summer nights blaring "Ocean Avenue" by Yellowcard while driving in your first car.
*You remember Shrek coming out in 2001 and being the biggest animated movies since Toy Story.
*You couldn't turn on the television in 2009 without hearing something new about Jon and Kate Gosselin and their eight kids.
you would make it a priority every night to watch:
You would set aside time every night to watch:
~Who Wants to be a Millionaire
~The Weakest Link
~24
~GLEE
~Heroes
~Deal or No Deal
~Grey's Anatomy
~The Office
~NCIS
~Monk
~Gilmore Girls
~LOST
you made sure to watch these shows after school:

Spongebob Squarepants
Even Stevens
Boy Meets World (reruns!)
Lizzie McGuire
Fairly Oddparents
Kim Possible
Drake and Josh
Zoey 101
Pokemon
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
That's So Raven
iCarly
Wizards of Waverly Place
Sonny With a Chance
Phineas and Ferb
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody

You recognize the song "F-R-E-E ,that spells free, credit report dot com baby."
You know the meaning of any or all of the following: "LOL" "OMG" "BRB" "JK""IDK"
You became a "Twi-hard" and you wanted a boyfriend like Edward Cullen or Jacob Black.
You wore Vans or other skateboarding shoes with fat laces.
You said "Fail" or "Win" or "Pwned" or "Epic" or "Legit"
You owned a pair of Crocs.
When someone said "This is madness!", there was only one way to answer...
You wish you went to Hogwarts instead of your own high school.
Seeing movies in 3D became a popular trend again.
You were around when McDonald's actually put salads on its menu.
You knew that the Pixar movies "The Incredibles," "Finding Nemo," and "UP" were destined to become classics.
You saw Disney create its first black princess in "The Princess and the Frog."
You saw Napoleon Dynamite and were fond of saying "Your mom goes to college."
You drank Vanilla Coke, Pepsi Blue or Mountain Dew: Code Red.
"That's what she said!" became the best comeback ever.
You collected the Commemorative State Quarters.
You would get sent home from school when you had a runny nose because the nurse thought you had swine flu.
You or someone you knew owned an Apple Mac Book, released in 2006.
You remember when Bob Barker still hosted 'The Price is Right.'
Lady Gaga and Katy Perry became musical phenomena overnight.
You were obsessed with energy drinks: Red Bull, NOS, No Fear, Amp, Monster, or Venom
You can play a Guitar Hero guitar better than a real guitar.
You had to get a converter box for your T.V. or you would have stopped getting cable.
You remember the perfect season of the New England Patriots being ruined by the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.
You remember the moment you heard that the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, died at age 50.
You also remember when Dale Earnhardt, Heath Ledger, Farrah Fawcett, Patrick Swayze, John Ritter, Ed McMahon died, and Brittany Murphy died.
You remember Joe taking over for Steve on Blue's Clues.
You called or texted everyone you knew when Blink-182 reunited.
You owned any of the Now! That's what I Call Music CDs from the 2000s or (shhhhhh) Kidz Bop.
You remember Jared from the Subway commercials and the jingle "5....5 dollar foot long!"
Wikipedia was created!
You had to teach your parents how to use iTunes and how to work an iPod.
You thought T9 texting was the most amazing breakthrough in technology


It was a decade of sequels and trilogies, including:
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Chronicles of Narnia // Prince Caspian (it's still not over)
Shrek // Shrek 2 // Shrek the Third (it's still not over)
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones // Revenge of the Sith
Spider-Man // Spider-Man 2 // and Spider-Man 3
Twilight // New Moon (it's still not over)
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
... and the Chamber of Secrets
... and the Prisoner of Azkaban
...and the Goblet of Fire
...and the Order of the Phoenix
...and the Half-Blood Prince
...and it's STILL NOT OVER!!!
... Remember when old movie legacies were restarted...
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Star Trek

Let's not forget all the music, from the end of boy bands to the spark of pop-punk and emo, to hip-hop and auto-tuners. Did you own one of the bestselling albums of the 2000s?

1. The Beatles: 1 - 31 million - 2000
2. Linkin Park: Hybrid Theory - 29 million - 2000
3. Britney Spears: Oops!... I Did It Again - 19 million - 2000
4. Avril Lavigne: Let Go - 18 million - 2002
5. Linkin Park: Meteora - 16 million - 2003
6. 'N Sync: No Strings Attached - 15 million - 2000

ok thats all.... i thought you might enjoy them...
(thanks to facebook for theses =])

no one like you...

I was thinking today, there is absolutely no one. and when i mean no one. Like our God. He's everywhere, knows everything and has power over absolutely everything. I mean, take a look into the New Testament. The seas were in complete terror, high winds blowing, huge waves and a tiny boat. picture yourself on that boat. can you even imagine how Jesus' disciples felt? i know i'd be terrified. Jesus calmed the storm and the water was completely still. Can you even imagine, treacherous waters, howling winds, humongous waves crashing and breaking over a boat instantaneously calmed? What a powerful God we have.
Matthew 8:23-27
Psalm 107:29
Psalm 65:7

a place of worship

This past weekend, once again I found myself at a place where I'm finding myself more and more. Berea. This weekend was a little different than the last one though because I went there as a camper instead of to work. As I was standing on the stage in front of the band worshiping God with my friends and other christians that were there, I found myself stopping, and just listening to the sound of Gods children singing their praises to Him. The speakers was Stuart Hall. What a great speaker! He was very much into the Word and taught the Truth and kept the attention of everyone. I found that I was looking forward to listening to him speak more and more, even if it meant sitting in uncomfortable plastic chairs for half an hour. He spoke to us about how when we accept Christ into us, we are full of His love. once its in, it wont leave us. Saturday, I decided to go out to the lake and watch the sunrise.... I didnt end up going out to the lake until about 7, so I missed the sun actually coming up over the mountains, but the colors of the sunrise reflecting onto the glassy surface of the frozen lake and stretching its rays over the earth were absolutely breath-taking. The band was called The Mark White Band and they were such a great example to all of us that were there this weekend. here are a few pics!

i love camp

part of the veiw from my cabin---->
This past weekend I had a great opportunity to volunteer at a camp in Hebron, NH called Camp Berea. I've worked there before and fell in love with the place the first time I went there, which was as a camper in 2005...I think=] I had always wanted to work there and when the opportunity arose, i took it. Its amazing how much stuff goes on behind the scenes in order to make two days of camp go smoothly, and when it doesnt go smoothly, it still goes amazingly well! preparing food and cleaning up after 385 campers is a challenge, but fun. I was constantly reminded through the song lyrics that the band chose(The Mark White Band) that even when everything goes wrong, God will never let go of us, He's always there. The song that they were always singing,inevitably,when i walked in was "You never let go". What an amazing song! It was stuck in my head all weekend=] I stayed in a cabin with some godly girls and they are such a great example to follow! i was so blessed to have this opportunity and can't wait to go back there this weekend for my 5th year of being a camper! If you ever have the chance to go there, take it. You learn so much about God and it is a great environment led by some very godly people.