day seven

saturday, 1-24-09

hey! sorry i don't know the time. unfortunately i don't have a watch, and i'm sitting by myself. i'm next to this gorgeous water fountain in the airport [in san diego]. OH! i just realized that i HAVE to take a pic by it! we have maybe an hour b4 we board the plane that will fly from san diego 2 charlotte, NC. it's prob like, 9:30pm or so right now. ok, i have 2 go! bye!

ok, now it is 10:31pm. i'm on the plane right now, but it's not in the air yet. this time we're flying w/us airways instead of delta. so far i like delta better b/c they had tvs on the back of each seat, but this plane doesn't appear 2 have any tvs.
anyway, i really enjoyed this trip. i think it was a big eye opener for me. i mean, i'd heard about, and see pictures of sever poverty, but to see it in real life is much different. it just makes it real. this was such an awesome experience. well, i was expecting some kind of amazing spiritual thing to happen, and it really didn't, but i'm very happy with all that i learned. it was just different than what i had expected. i met some really awesome ppl on this trip too! like barry 9who certainly ranks right up there with gary l. as one of my top fave ppl), janelle (she is such an amazing person! i'm so glad i had the joy of sharing a room w/her), david (what a sweet guy! he's not even a YWAM employee, but he did so much for everyone that he totally seemed like it), and MANY more!!!
so, the three minute showers. i was SO worried about those b4 we left! i mean, it wasn't even funny! but it was sooo easy!!! now i feel stupid 4 worrying so much. i guess that's why God doesn't want us to worry about stuff. also the thing with the TP. in case i haven't explained it, we weren't allowed 2 throw TP in the toilet b/c the pipes were sensitive or something, idk, but we just weren't allowed 2. so i was REALLY worried about that 2, but it was so easy! and now it feels SO weird not 2 throw it in the trash can! lol, that's just strange! oh yeah, another thing i'm having to get used 2 again is saying 'hi' instead of 'hola' and 'thank you' instead of 'gracias'!
oh yes, crossing the boarder 2day went really well. (lol, laura just gave me a barf bag!) (ok, we're in the air now!) (oh GREAT! there's a baby a few rows behind us) we didn't have any problems getting the pickup w/all of our suitcases (prob like 30 of 'em) across! that was the most important b/c if they had had 2 check all of those suitcases it would've been a huge delay. man, i'm writing in the dark (oh, laura just turned the light on!) so i hope i can read my handwriting later oops! i accidentally wrote 'tater'! lol).
i was looking forward to going 2 church 2morrow nite all week, and i just found out 2day that we're not going!!! i wanted 2 see everyone & tell them about our trip & show pics & everything! now i have 2 wait till wednesday! oh well, thank goodness for email!
well, i'm gonna stop writing now b/c i've been writing 4 a LONG time! =)
11:12pm

and then we made it home safely on sunday! the end! lol =) oh and i got to see my friends on wednesday, and it was very fun!!! and now bri, laura, and i have to give a little presentation in youth group on wednesday...bleck!!! i HATE talking in front of ppl!!!!!!!!! oh well. =)

ipml

~beth

day six

friday, 1-23-09 9:30pm

hey, once again, srry i 'dinit' (as bri would say) write yesterday. ok, so yesterday we did another outreach & it was so cool! we actually went 2 a migrant camp this time. it was really sad how small the houses were & the conditions of the bathrooms. i'm really starting to realize how awful things r there! i learned some things about the ppl that i won't write down (since this is going on my blog =). but it is VERY sad! wow.
well, right now most ppl r packing up to leave 2morrow. i'm having difficulty really packing b/c i have 2 use alot of my stuff 2morrow morning b4 we leave. so that's why i'm writing in here right now =)
OH YEAH!!! 2day we went to the market & the beach & a really NICE restaurant! we had SO much fun!!! i spent like, 45 bucks at the market. i got a woven backpack & purse, and a [i can't write down the other thing b/c it's a surprise 4 someone =]
, & (whoa, a random car just drove by the visitor center playing mexican music really loud) a hat, and a BUNCH of bracelets [they're for my friends]. ok, right now janelle & laura were just talking about their hair & stuff u can do w/it. i can't do any of that b/c my hair is so short. i don't want to get it cut quite this short again.
anyway, yesterday we worked in the nut house shaving macadamia nuts. that was AWESOME! (whoa, just now laura & i were randomly talking about something really awkward! lol) [wow, i can't rememeber what in the world what that was!] i wanted 2 do that job again 2day, but we ended up cleaning the trailer that joy (one of our roommates that's gonna be here 4 6 weeks) is gonna b staying in. it was NASTY! hopefully it will be ok with her now =). ok, i'm gonna stop writing now =) GOODBYE!!! [i should have said 'adios' =]
10:00pm

wow, i can't believe i completely forgot about wednesday! we went on another child outreach. it was kinda like vacation Bible school. it was really cool. a mexican lady did a lesson with the kids, and then we gave them peanut butter and milk. they brought their own cups and spoons and we filled their cups with milk, put a scoop of peanut butter on their spoons, and put the spoon down in the milk. they LOVED it! we also handed out the toys we took. they really liked the bobble heads. it was really neat, during the lesson, the little kids had to go to another section of the room so as not to distract the older ones. so a couple of the older girls were supposed to keep them quiet. one of them (she looked about my age, when i get the pic of her on my slideshow, she's wearing a white jacket) even read them a story! they seemed so mature, they were really good at keeping the kids' attention. i thought it was neat. oh, and then when i was giving out toys, the girl in the white jacket was in line for one, and i didn't notice at first that it was her, and i gave her a bouncy ball. she nodded a 'gracias' to me and then left. but if i had known that it was her i would've given her a bobble head b/c i LOVE those things, and she was about my age. so i could tell she was a little disappointed, but she didn't say anything about it. but then later i saw her and one of her friends playing with their bobble heads. so i guess she traded with someone. i thought it was cool that she liked the same toy that i liked. i mean, i would've felt the same way. idk, i just thought it was neat that this girl that lives in another country and speaks another language, prob has the same interests as i do. the bobble head thing just made me think of that. sorry if it doesn't make any sense =)

ipmt!

~beth

wow, i just did my quiettime

and b4 i read the passage for today, i prayed and asked God to help me focus on Him. and i asked Him to teach me something from reading His Word. so then i opened up to haggai (which is where i was supposed to read today according to my wol book), and when i started reading i was like 'WOW!!'. chapter one verses five and six say:

Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it."

and then in verse nine it says:

"You EXPECTED much, but see, it turned out to be little."

i mean, i was just amazed that i was reading this RIGHT AFTER what i just posted a little while ago!
the part i highlighted in green stood out to me. not that i don't have ENOUGH clothes to keep me warm, but i'm never satisfied with the clothes i have. i always want more! 'oh this shirt isn't cool enough anymore, i need that one, it's in style now.' that's how i always think! that is my weakest spot i think. i need to be very careful how much i focus on my looks and my clothes. and i've known this for quite a while. i try not to put too much emphasis on these things, but it is very difficult for me. i just need to work hard in this area.
anyway, i just thought i'd share what i found in God's Word. oh, and i wanted to say 'sorry' for criticizing the kids at that one outreach. i mean, i still don't think they were very nice, but i shouldn't have been so quick to criticize them for not being thankful towards us. that's not what we were there for. we were there to HELP them not to GET a 'gracias' from them.
well, i need to get ready for bed! good night!

~beth

last night in youth group

when we were singing, one of the songs we sang was 'your grace is enough'. all i could think about while we were singing was how for all those people in mexico (and all over the world) that have nothing, God's grace REALLY is enough! they appreciate Him and his grace so much more than i do. the chorus just says:

your grace is enough
your grace is enough
your grace is enough for me.

and i kept thinking, "ya know, for ME His grace isn't enough! i always want MORE! it's always ME ME ME!!!" but i shouldn't need more! God's grace is amazing, and it SHOULD be enough for me! i don't know why i'm so selfish! i seriously need to start focusing more on God and others around me more than myself. and by 'others around me' i don't mean focusing on boys, and my bffs, i mean, i need to pay attention to them, but i'm talking about people that are in need. going to mexico and seeing all the poverty just really opened my eyes. i just can't get over how most of the people there that were so poor still seemed to have so much joy! the kids were thankful for getting a little sticker on their hand, for cryin' out loud! can't you just imagine trying to give a sticker to a kid here in america? most kids here wouldn't be satisfied with that! they need more! and i'm guilty of that exact thing, i'm not just talking about OTHER ppl. like, i EXPECT to get stuff for my bday and christmas, and when i don't get what i was EXPECTING i'm always disappointed. that's just how it is here for most ppl, we always need MORE! enough is never enough....
and the sad thing is that i'm writing all of this b/c i'm thinking about it and i'm in a 'godly' mood. ya know? like, i'll go to church this sunday and i'll be focusing on all the same stuff i always focus on - my friends, what the popular girls are wearing, who i'm just dying to talk to after the service is finally over, and so on. and i always feel bad for thinking like that, but i never DO anything about it! oh, and i just realized that i'm sitting here at the computer and i haven't even done my quiettime today! i'm going to do it right after i finish this post.
i just don't know how to get myself to WANT to focus on God! like, i WANT to have an amazing relationship with Him, but i just DON'T!! and i don't know how to WANT to do my quiettime, and WANT to think about Him when i'm singing during praise and worship, and WANT to actually pay attention to what the speaker is saying and think about God. i've asked Him to help me in these areas, but i guess i'm not actually trying. i think that's the thing, i always EXPECT Him to do things FOR me, and He can, but He wants me to work at it too.
anyway, i'm gonna go spend some time with Dios (God). sorry for totally dumping my feelings all over this post =)

ipmt (lol =)

~beth

day four

wednesday, 1-21-09 8:00am

sorry i didn't write yesterday! i was gonna write last nite after we got back from the adult outreach thing, but i was really sick. i threw up 3 times last nite! that's the first time i've thrown up in like, a year! yeah, unfortunately the first time was in the van on the way back from the outreach (thankfully someone had a bag!)
ok, anyway, the outreach wasnt' at a migrant camp. i thought it was gonna be, but it was actually in a neighborhood. the boys there were really mean! they would use the little kids to get more candy for them & food and all kinds of stuff. and all the kids tried to trick us into giving them more candy & food. then after we had been passing out food for, like, an hour, i started feeling sick. so i went and sat in the van pretty much the rest of the time. that ended up being scary b/c a man that was drunk tried 2 break into the van. but when mommy honked the horn, he went away. it was so scary b/c the door he tried to open had been unlocked just a few seconds b4! God definitely protected us!
yesterday @ lunch, mommy & i had kitchen duty. i did NOT like that! but oh well. yeah, we would have it again today, but since i have a fever we switched w/someone. we still have it 2morrow though. i think we're gonna call daddy 2day. i'm glad we're gonna do that! i still haven't really read any in 'return of the king'! i'm sure matt is going to be disappointed in me. i just can't concentrate on it! ok, i think i'll try reading some now.

lol, i didn't end up reading any! i was planning on reading alot while i was there, but i read like, one page all week!!!!!! it was pretty sad!
ok, i'm gonna tell the story with the drunk man a little better, i didn't do a good job in my journal. so i was feeling very sick and i had to go sit in the van. the first time laura and i sat in there together. then one of the ladies that was in charge made us get out b/c she knew it wasnt' really safe for us to be that far away from the rest of the group - even if we were locked in the van. (it was funny, she was about to go get the water that barry had bought for me and then come back, and laura and i were like, 'we're fine, u don't have to come back' and then she was like 'ur not as safe as u think...' it was scary, but it was funny too.) so we followed her back to the group. the ppl were watching a Jesus film right then and the lady wanted us to go sit with some of the kids. but i was so sick, i just couldn't. so i sat down on the ground (until bri's mom came over and informed me that the kids pee on the ground...). then mommy and i went back to the van and sat in there. i felt so much better just from sitting! but these boys kept banging on the back door of the van (it was a fifteen passenger van). they wouldn't stop banging and yelling! so mommy told me to lay down in the seat so they couldn't see us. then we just laid there and talked, eventually the boys stopped bugging us. then barry (the guy that was in charge of our group. he's with YWAM [youth with a mission]) came to get some glowsticks out of the front seat. he just opened up the door, and mommy was like, "oh! i didn't know u had another key!" and he was like, "i don't....it was unlocked." after he went back to the rest of the group, mommy locked the door. and then just a few seconds later this man started banging on the van and trying the doors. he was yelling 'maria! maria!' or something like that. then he tried barry's door! so if barry hadn't gotten those glowsticks, he would've gotten in! it was so scary! i didn't see him b/c i was still laying down on the seat, but mommy did see him. i'm kinda glad i didn't though, b/c that makes it a little less scary for me.
yeah, that nite wasn't very good....the kids were so mean too! oh my goodness! they just didn't seem thankful for the food and everything! i mean, we weren't doing it to get a 'gracias' from them, but i kinda thought they would thank us at least! but only like, five ppl said 'gracias' to me at least.
lol, wednesday when my fever had gone down, that afternoon we went to a child evangilism. and b4 we got in the van someone noticed that there was a bag sitting on the little wall next to the van. it had a rock sitting on it and the bag said 'barry's barf bag'! it was kinda embarassing! then someone told me i was the most graceful barfer they had ever seen! yeah, it was funny!
anyway, i'd better stop typing. i have to go wash dishes.
ipml!

~beth

my slideshow

is now at the bottom of this page. so if you want to see some of my pictures from mexico, they're down there. hopefully i'll be adding more pictures to it soon. they're all in order starting with the plane ride to california. hope you enjoy it.

last tuesday

i didn't journal, so i'm gonna post a few pics instead. but unfortunately i can't post very many b/c the stupid computer isn't working very well today. so i'm quite mad at it right now.
anyway, these are just a VERY small fraction of the pics i took:

this is a pic from out the plane window

ok, BIG skip, we're in ensenada now. this is (from left to right) laura, bri, and i.

this is mommy and i

ok, this is a pic of a model of the orphanage. that's just half of it, but it's the half with the buildings. the other half just had macadamia nut trees.

lol, a random pic of the bathroom sign =)

me and a little girl in the daycare. the kids in daycare don't actually live in the orphanage. they have single mothers and the moms bring their kids there to be taken care of during the day. every morning, the ppl that work there give the kids a new change of clothes and then wash the clothes they came in. then at the end of the day the kids are sent home in clean clothes.

this is laura with a little girl at the daycare. she really bonded with this girl. her name is belinda but it's pronounced 'bay-leen-tuh'. she's adorable!

this is our room.

this is the bunk i shared w/my mom. she slept on the bottom, and i slept on the top.

this is my mom and a little girl in one of the houses at the orphanage. that was monday nite when we babysat for the house parents. they do that every monday night, the houseparents get a nite off and the visitors get to watch the kids. this little girl was doing a puzzle in the pic.

ok, sorry about the very small amount of pics, i'll have to figure something out so it'll work better. i might copy mommy and make a slideshow of all my pics...

ipmt!!!!!!! (i changed to 't' this time b/c 'i'll post more TOMORROW'!!!!! lol)

see ya!

~beth

day two

monday, 1-19-09 4:42pm

ok, so this is our first day here actually doing stuff. well, first we had a tour of the WHOLE AREA! it was really looong! then we ate lunch, then we...um...went to the daycare. wait, no, FIRST we had breakfast, then 'sala' or 'chapel'. THEN we went on the tour. ok, just now we (me, mommy, laura, & [her mom]) got done cutting up A LOT of tomatoes. i'm serious, it was A LOT of tomatoes! i'm talkin' lik, at LEAST five hundred. ok, i'm being summoned urgently to lunch! bye!

monday, 1-19-09 9:18pm

ok, i was gonna write something but now i'm gonna go take a shower =) i'll be right back =) THREE MINUTE SHOWER HERE I COME!!! ok, now it is 9:53pm. my shower went well, i'm pretty sure i did it in 3min (or under). well, we just got back from 'house-sitting'. more like 'baby-sitting' 11 kids! it was AWESOME!!! there was this one little girl named dalia that was just SO adorable (well, they were all adorable)! but yeah, we had a lot of fun. i can't wait till tomorrow!

i'm back!!!!!!!

i'm so glad to be home! wow, that was such an amazing experience. but i'm not gonna write about it all right now, i will post my journal entries from last sunday though. so here they are:

sunday, 1-18-09 6:56am

i'm on the plane to atlanta, georgia RIGHT NOW!!! i can't believe it's actually happening, we're going to mexico! ok, so far the only thing i've done on the plane is look out the window andread the story that anthony gave me b4 we left. it's a sequel to the story i wrote (which i still have to post on my blog, along with matt & jacob's story). thankfully, so far, i'm not feeling sick. ok, apparently right now bri is 'beeping'. i'm not gonna bother explaining that one [later i found out that it was 'peeping']. wow! outside the window is SO AWESOME right now! oh! we have 'approximately 40 minutes or so' until we get to georgia! ok, i'm just gonna write more if anything else happens on the plane. i'll def write more when we get on the plane 2 california. TTYL!!!

sunday, 1-18-09 8:50am

right now we're flying over new mexico. and, just to tell you, it's been alot longer than two hours. it's actually been three hours [ok, i thought it was like, four hours at least, but then mommy told me it was three]. the time change is weird! it has been so AWESOME looking out the window! it's so pretty!
i just got finished watching a movie called 'the city of ember'. it was pretty good. right now laura & bri r playing a trivia game on the little screen on the seat in front of us. OH YEAH! i read the stories that jacob wrote. they were really good! i also just used the airplane bathroom (an experience that, if i never had it again, it would be perfectly fine w/me!) ok, well, bri & laura want me to play the trivia game w/them. ipml =) lol

ps. wow! this game is SO MUCH fun!!!

sunday, 1-18-09 7:55pm

right now i'm sitting on my bunk in our room. so, yes, we're in mexico, and @ the orphanage! the taco run was AMAZING! and the van ride wasn't bad @ all! we're already getting to know one of the other girls (well, she's in college) that is gonna be here this week. her name is janelle. idk if that's how she spells it though [that is how she spells it]. i'm sharing a room w/mommy, mrs. [laura's mom], laura, bri, janelle, adn two other ppl that we haven't met yet [joy and barbara]. ok, well i think i'm gonna attempt to read a little in my book!
8:03pm

ok, i know this isn't the right font, but oh well. anyway, that was what i wrote in my journal on sunday (except the parts in black). ok, well, i'm gonna go take a nap now, i'm quite tired after travelling all nite!!! see ya!

~beth

tomorrow is the day

we're leaving!!!!!!! 6:15 AM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *shiver* man, that's early! we have to be at the airport at 5:15, and we have to get up at 3:30!!!!!!! AAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!! wow, i have issues with getting up at 6:20 on sunday mornings! well, i think we're all packed now. it still doesn't seem QUITE real. i mean, i don't think i'll really realize 'wow. we're going to another country' until we're on the plane tomorrow. like, obviously i KNOW that, but i don't FEEL it. ya know?
anyway.......oh yeah!!!!!!! mamaw gave me FIFTY DOLLARS yesterday! it's to use as spending money! that was just sooooo nice of her!
ok, on the plane tomorrow i'm pretty much just gonna be reading, writing, talking, and thinking. i'm gonna be reading 'the return of the king', and also jacob gave me a couple stories to read on the plane. they're stories that he wrote. and i'm gonna be writing in my journal. i'll be talking to whoever sits next to me (prob my mom or laura or bri). and then i'll just be thinking, too. i soooo hope i won't get too bored!!! i REALLY wish i had an ipod!!!!!! lol
we just finished watching 'the two towers' this morning. sometime when we get back, our whole family is gonna watch all three of the movies together (i hope mommy will watch them with us!). ok, well, i don't really have anything else to write about (which is surprising since i'm going to mexico tomorrow). so, i'll post all about it when i get back!!!!!! ttyl!

~beth

we're going to mexico

in THREE DAYS!!!!!!! yay!!!!!!! i am sooooo excited, but scared too. mommy got our suitcases mostly packed today. ok, i just wanted to post SOMETHING today! i know i won't be able to post tomorrow b/c i have speech class. so, i'll be posting my journal entries from while we're in mexico. i'll post them when i get back.
well, i'm watching 'lord of the rings: the two towers' with ben right now, so i gotta go. i might post on saturday, but if not, i'll post when we get back.

see ya!!!!!!!!!!

so, i haven't even posted since

december 23rd!!!!!! wow, sorry 'bout that!!!! my christmas was awesome! i had alot of fun with my family. me, ben, mommy, and daddy opened presents in the morning. then around one or one-thirty, grandma, grandpa, ANT janet, jessica, and mamaw came over and we ate lunch and played dirty santa. it was sooooo much fun!!!!!! and then that nite we went over to big papaw's house as usual. that was fun too. so our christmas was good.

then on new year's eve, jacob and his family (i only say that b/c i can't say their last name =) came over. we always do something with them for new year's. we had alot of fun. we played apples to apples. that is one of my favorite games. unfortunately we don't have it, so jacob brought his game (he got it for christmas i think). it was awesome.

so that covers the holidays. lol

wow, so my mom and i are going to mexico in exactly two weeks from yesterday!!!!!!!!! i'm soooooooo scared! i'm hoping that God will give me peace about it when we actually go (well, it would be nice to have it now, but later is fine too =).

oh yeah! ya know that story i told u about that matt and jacob wrote? well, jacob finally agreed to let me put it on here. ok, so i have to type it up now b/c i only have the printed out version of it. so i'll do that a little later b/c i don't really have time to do that right now =)

jacob and i decided to write a story together (another one about me, him, erin, and matt). so we were gonna do that on new year's eve, but it just didn't really work to actually type it up together. so jacob was gonna go home and write it, like, we both came up with ideas for it, but he was just gonna write it. so anyway, then i couldn't stand it and i had to write my own version. so i did that. and then we were gonna combine them somehow, but they are so completely different, i don't think we can! lol but anyway, my story is six pages long. jacob's is three pages (so far, it'll prob end up being a book lol). i think they're both really good. pretty much the only thing that is the same about them is that jacob and i are siblings. and i'm a princess and he's a prince. we are having alot of fun with this! and i think we should put all of the stories that have been written about the four of us into a book. like, jacob has written at least two by himself. and then he and matt wrote that one that i'm gonna put on here. and then i wrote one. and we will prob write more! so i think we should put them all into a book and get it published! lol. that would be awesome!!!!!!!

ok, well i might put that story on here tonite, but idk if i'll have time. daddy and i have to go over my math (ew!) lol

ipml!!!!