Fall Things #2

Friday night was Fall Thing - A Masquerade! SOOOO much fun. Went with my friend Amanda, and Stephen and Amy. It was incredibly fun walking around and taking pictures. We had a blast. Went to Mimi's Cafe afterwards. A great, crazy, 'punk' night!

Fall Thing #1

Amy's B-day

It was Amy's birthday today. We went to church (Elizabeth, Lauren, Amy, Stephen, Mary and I) and then we joined up with more people for lunch at BJ's. Fun!

Disneyland

It was Elizabeth's birthday on Saturday, so she, Lauren, and I went to Disneyland. We had an absolutely amazing time riding rides, eating at the Blue Bayou, watching fireworks, and getting to walk through parts of Indiana Jones! Elizabeth is my favorite person to go to Disneyland with - so I had a blast! It was fun to watch her get to celebrate her birthday at the park.

A Russian Day

So this morning I went with Amy into Los Angeles. We began by taking the train into the city... fun to take the train! A double-decker train. Went to a Russian Orthodox Church. It was unlike anything I expected. It was traditon heavy, but organic and fluid. Beautiful, kracevaya, music! Really eye opening to me. To see the veil that is shrouds the Cross is sad, but some truth is still shared. Seeing people bowing down and kissing icons was strange, but it makes me want to study their beliefs more to understand how they can worship icons when they hear Christ.

Went to a Russian resturant and ordered shashleek. It was amazing! Almost as good as it was in Kazakhstan. Then, went to a Russian bookstore and found a cool old book and postcards. Had a blast speaking in Russian to the owner. Then, found a Russian bakery and bought the same cookies I ate with Pasha in Kazakhstan! I was so excited! Brought back so many memories.

I love the Russian culture and people so very much. It was such a blessing to share their culture with a good friend of mine. I love it so dearly, it was such a joy to show a friend what I love.

Almost a third

Sorry I've been slow on the updates. It's been pretty crazy. Today I had an exam in 'Emergence of Modern America.' Seemed to go well. Lately it's been lots of school... with some minor crazy times. The top picture was from Hotchkiss tie day. We all dress up and wear ties... fun times. The next few are from a trip to the park. We spent about an hour, got icecream, and ended up having an icecream fight. Hilarious, and so much fun. We all can't wait to do it again sometime. Got to get to know people a little bit better, so that was fun.

Have gotten to know some of the guys on my wing better. I got to talk with my ARA for a while the other day. We walked to Jack n the Box, and just had a nice talk about life and school and whatever. I'm looking forward to getting to know him better. Have gotten to know a couple of the new guys a bit better, too. One is from Canada, and is fun to hang out with and study with. Amy and I joined some others friends last night to study for our exam. Good to study with others and talk and stuff.

This blog is rather boring it seems, but I've got to get back to school...

HOTCHKISS

So this weekend has been a few days of ups and downs. Friday, we had dorm chapel. Really good. Had kind of a bad day though. But God encouraged me through His Word. I was reminded of God's goodness and grace in our times of need. Friday I spent about 6 hours in the library with Amy studying the Sioux Indians. Not my idea of fun. I don't particularily like their history, and I have a research paper on them. Friday night I went to the volleyball game because my brain was fried. Our school has a Sadie Dawkins Masquerade... and I got asked out! I was happy to get asked. The girl and I have two classes together, and have had fun talking this week. She's really fun and sweet, so I'm sure we'll have an awesome time at the Masquerade! After spending 20 mins at the game, had to go back to studying. Spent another 3 hours studying.

This morning I spent another 5 hours in the library with Amy, Stephen, and Sam. Read 1/2 of a book that's due Tuesday. Still have my Indians to do. My dorm had a Hotchkiss day, and it was a blast!! I am wipped out, but it was well worth it. I've now got to study another probably 3-4 hours tonight, but I'm still happy I went. We played Cabbage Football. So much fun. I caught the winning goal. My friend Amanda and I talked quite a bit... and played the game a little. Enough for my team to win! haha. Played the game where you have to join with others to form a number... say 5, 7, chicken (2 on piggy back), pyramid (5 ... no top) and so on. So much fun. Then, went to In 'N Out. A blast! Met some new people, and had fun with oldies.

Now... it's time to get back to school!!

Labor Day

Well Labor Day weekend was nice. Almost too nice. I feel spoiled to have spent an extra day off, having fun and hanging out with friends. Saturday continued to be a great day after my last post. Amy, Brittney, and Ally and I were playing cards and wanted to do something more random. So we headed to BJ's and got a pizookie, and then proceeded to take a picture for each letter in the alphabet... ASL style. So much fun. Got back sometime around 11pm or something.

Sunday was church. Another amazing sermon by Scott. I am so encouraged by his preaching... God continues to teach me much through him. I feel so many times that I have so many questions, and I am blessed with a solid church that I can grow in. It's easy to overlook all the blessings that we have here at Masters, but I am humbled to remember how blessed I am to have such a surrounding of brothers and sisters and such a strong church to hear the Word preached in. We talked about suffering and its necessity (as pertains to the gospel being spread). And about our need to reach out to the sick and lost not just the nice and self-righteous. I was reminded of Mrs. Bell and other missionaries I've talked to in Kazakhstan, and what truths they have taught me that put these ideas into practical use. Mrs. Bell reaching out to the AIDS-suffering, and offering the hope of Christ. The sick can see the need for a Physician, the lost can see their need for a Savior. Suffering, as I've heard from missionaries in closed countries, is necessary to the growth and spreading of the gospel.

Monday was a day of fun. Amy, Stephen, Brittney, Ally, Caroline, and I headed into Los Angeles to the LA County Museum of Art. What a fun museum! Huge, but had a great diverse range of art. I loved the Egyptian, Islamic, Nepal, and 18th Century European especially. Went to the tar pits and downtown Hollywood as well. Came back and watched 'Emperor's New Groove.' Talked to a couple of my friends for a while as well.

Time Is Going By

So, I'm exhausted. Not quite sure why.

Lets see...

Monday... started school. Had a nice chapel, nice lunch, and some of my classes were good. Some are going to pretty hard though. Figured out I have 4,500 pages of required reading (not counting research!), and about 80+ pages of research/essays due. Fun. haha.

Thursday... played a fun German game with some friends. Had a good time.

Friday... black day at Hotchkiss! So hot though... so hot that Tatlock let us wear shorts! He became my hero of the day. I told him in person, and he laughed. But I was serious. Watched 'The Pianist' with Sam. Then played Pit with Amy, Caroline, Sam, Stephen, and Josiah. Had a fun time. Helped Stephen fix his popped tire, and then took random pictures above the school on a hill.

Today... went a served at a VBS-like activity at a church in Ventura. The church was so giving and nice! They showed us so much love. It was a joy to serve alongside them. I helped run a sponge-throw booth (fun!!) and then do puppets with Jillian. A big blessing to serve and get to know some more people.