In which I am really sick.

Current Tunes: Ejah and Sofi chattering away. :D
Current Excitement: ....maybe getting down some applesauce soon!
Current Plans: Lay in bed, watch Return of the King, edit some photos, read, nap, be really sick.

Bahhh. So. When I moved to MO, I was sick for eight weeks. Then, miraculously, I felt normal for almost two full weeks!
BUT THEN, yesterday I woke up and felt. like. death. Oh my goodness. I went to the PR and sat there for 30 minutes. But then I sneezed and decided to go back home and sleeeep. So I did. I woke up and went to class @ 10, and managed to stay alive for that. I couldn't really engage in the ministry time though... D: Anyways, I tried to go to my small group but my small group leader took one look at me and made me go home. I did, and I also called work and told them I wouldn't be coming in. I HATE calling in sick (esp when it's only my second week working there!!), but I was feeling so bad that every movement hurt. I figured I had strep or mono again. My throat hurt, but compared to everything else that was the least of the pain... I had body aches, a severe headache, ear pain, lethargy, and a general feeling of 'I am going to die right now.' So I napped a little off and on for a few hours. Then I tried to eat but couldn't get very much down... I watched Two Towers and tried to stay very still so my body wouldn't blow up. I called a clinic and she said I could go to Urgent Care that evening... So at five thirty I called them and made an appointment for 7:30. I got there at 7:30, in incredible pain. And didn't get called in until... 9:30! Yeah, it sucked. I cried.

My temperature turned out to be 102.3. I tested negative for strep, but doc said it was just too early to tell. He seemed really surprised by all of my symptoms and the fact that I had recently been sick for 8 weeks. He talked to himself for about 5 minutes about what drugs he should give me. He even suggested to himself that he give me narcotics! I was like, that would be AWESOME. Lol, but no. Just some antibiotic that he stressed 'tastes like metal.' Anyways, I don't know how I'll actually get them. I feel in no state to go to Walgreens right now. D: I haven't showered and I really don't feel like putting clothes or make-up on. Gahross. Maybe I'll feel more up to it in couple hours. I still have to call work later and tell them I won't be working this weekend, but I hope I'll feel better on Monday. I haaaate missing work. I don't want them to think I'm a flake. I need to take some painkillers, but I drank some water this morning and it felt like pins and needles all down my throat... so we'll see how THAT goes. BAH. Being sick is the pits, esp at IHOP where stuff never stops and it is 'unpleasant' to miss things.

Okay. Enough boring stuff about how miserable I am.

Let's talk about my VISIT HOME TO MN!
It was ... THE BOMB. Seriously I had such a good time. Every moment was precious to me. I kept reminding myself that I was home, home, home, where things make sense and I have a grip on reality! Anyways. I got home around 1:30 AM Friday. Slept for a bit... Then I went to Chapel at Bethel and had a TRUE BETHEL lunch with my soulmate, Matteo. I looove him. He showed me his dorm and it was really cool! Then I went home I think. And saw BRENNAN, Because he's the very best. Then I had Panera with Denika, which was tender. She is my favorite, and I love her, and I love her, and I love her. Afterwards I kidnapped William (not really though) and we did some photographing downtown and I tried my very first tea! So that was cool. On Saturday, I got some true quality Korsmoe...Zech....Meyer family time! We went to two apple orchards (heaven!) and had lunch at Famous Dave's. It was hilarious how full we all were afterwards. I loooove my people, I really do. Especially the smallest one, because he is funny. Anyways. In the evening time Will and I crammed a lot of super cool activities into the hours we had. I had my first Noodles & Co!! I had the mac and cheese (don't judge) and it was FANTASTIC. I'm already dreaming about going there again. And again. All in all it was a grrreat day. Sunday I saw my BFF Kendra (who I wish I had had more time with!!), we went to church, and I had my favorite lunch with my familia! Then I was off, back to KC with mixed emotions. Nobody ever said how hard this independence thing really is... D: But there was a gorgeous sunset over Des Moines that evening! I may or may not have photographed it whilst driving.

I've gotta type up a quick assignment for Practicum, maybe take a shower/eat food, and then it's back to lazing about and praying that Jesus makes me all better quickly.
'slata gatas.

In which I describe a new job and a visit

Current Tunes: Josh Garrels
Current Plans: pack, PR, DRIVE HOME
Current Excitement: A Minnesotan weekend.

Hello friends!
Well I've been real busy lately!
I got a job at a local public library and I started on Monday and worked again yesterday evening. It looks like it'll be pretty much the same as my last job! Not a ton of hours and therefore not a ton of money, but it's SOMETHING and that's a start. I still want to have time to sleep and eat and breathe and pray, so a few hours was all I really wanted. This library is A LOT different from my last library and a lot smaller, but all the employees are really nice and I'm catching on to their [weird] system pretty quickly. I'll be working about three times a week from now on.

My aunt, sister, and nephew visited last weekend, and it was THE BOMB. I had such a good time with them! We went downtown to this shopping district called the Plaza, and I was in HEAVEN. The Forever 21 had me delirious. My beautiful aunt was kind enough to support my shopping habit and buy me lots and lots of cool clothes. We ate at Panera and then went home for some rest. I also took them to the Awakening so that was cool. I'm glad they got a chance to at least check it out before the meetings went on hiatus. The next day we went to IHOP (pancakes) and had a good meal. Brennan was really cute and I looooooved getting to know him again. He's like the biggest hole in my heart whilst I am in KC, true story.

I am soooo blessed to be learning beneath ah-mazing instructors who leave room for the Holy Spirit and really care about their students. Today I had a class with Shelley Hundley (who, by the way, shares my birthday! I got a chance to tell her and we hugged! It was a special moment. I want to be her when I grow up!!). We were talking about 4 different ways to pray in the Spirit and she told us two AMAZING testimonies of when the Holy Spirit released a language in her life. Once was in Brazil? I think, when she was supposed to preach but there was no translator to translate her Spanish into Portuguese. So she preached anyways, and EVERYONE in the room, both Spanish speaking and Portuguese speaking, understood her COMPLETELY. She told us how the Holy Spirit moved in that place that night. Her other testimony was a long story about how God gave her the gift of Italian, pretty much. She can now read it, speak it, write it, and understand it. Isn't that incredible? She never took any classes or anything. She just needed it to serve someone, she had faith, and went after it! So we had a short ministry time in class where we prayed for an increase in understanding of different languages to serve in other nations. It was incredible! I felt the Lord burning the Spanish language on my heart. I long to become more fluent (or have any degree of fluency, really) in la lengua de mi corazon. My desire is to be able to write songs in Spanish to bring with me to Latin America! Wooowww exciting.

Hmm, what else?
I'm going to MN! Tonight! The weekend's free [for the first time in 3 months], so I thought, "hey, I'm getting the heck outta here" I'm sooo excited!! I have plans with my dearest friends and with my fabulous family! Apple orchard! And I think my mom mentioned cake! Sooooo excited. Bah! I really should finish packing, because I've got PR time in an hour.

Okay, so that was just a little update on my life here in KC. It's going well, I'm happy I'm here, and I love Jesus!

<3

In which I don't really say anything at all.

Current Tunes: Justin Rizzo and his amazing team at the Awakening!
Current Plans: Um, Awakening, photoediting.
Current Excitement: It's the weekend...?

So it's been awhile. Sure. Stuff has happened, I guess.

I'm putting down roots here at IHOP more and more with each passing day. It's hard to blog about what's been happening here, because a) my brain is still processing all the changes and b) there's alot. of it. Basically every aspect of my life and personality is taking a Holy Spirit beating. Which is a good thing, although it sounds kind of not.

I still miss home and my MN people, but it's so clear that God wants me here in this season that the homesickness is manageable. I'm falling in love with IHOPU and its students. Oh jeese, my classmates are incredible. So loving, encouraging, friendly, and convicted for Christ! And the teachers do nothing but provoke me to love Christ deeper and deeper. And the Holy Spirit is all over this place. It's crazy.

Okay. Since I don't really know what to talk about, I'mma just do this up list-style. All numerical and stuff.
1) In early November IHOPU is going to Southern California on an outreach/missions trip. LA, here I come! And the best part? Jesus already provided the funds for the trip! I don't have to pay a dime. Yeah, you could say it's a coincidence... OR you could admit that it's miraculous that I asked Jesus for money and in a matter of days He gave me the money I asked for and then some.
2) Speaking of financial miracles... On Tuesday in class, Wes Hall felt the Holy Spirit wanted to give people financial breakthroughs. So we stopped class and began praying for one another for finances. Wes said that God was going to release muchos finances in the next 24 hours. The next day in class, he asked people with financial testimonies to come up and share. A bunch of people, like 10-15 came up and shared stories of how people had randomly handed them checks, how they found money, etc, etc. Someone totaled up all the money received, and not including money on its way in the mail, there was over $20,000 received. Miraculously, NOT coincidentally. GOD PROVIDES, period.
3) My birthday is soon, just saying.
4) I got a job! At Red Bridge library! Minimum wage and no more than 16 hours a week! It'll be perfect to keep me in food and gas!
5) On Saturday night, I decided that I felt like being in MN. So... at midnight I left and drove home! I got home at 7amish, slept for four hours, ate lunch, went to see MY BABY... went to Bethel, then went downtown and saw Kendra's dorm and had MESA. OMG. Then I slept from 10:30-6:30, and drove back to MO. I miss MN more than I thought I ever would, but I'm thinking that that ache in me is because of the intensity of everything I'm experiencing here and in my spirit.
The end. That is all. There is no more. Except there is. But there isn't. I don't know.

In summation, God is good! He loves us and wants to be our First Love. And that's what I want, too. soreadygoHolySpirit