the adventure

Friends the time has come.

2010-01-27T15:58:00.000-08:00

Its been a good run, but the time has come for me to move on. Its been amazing, its been grand, and I hope you will come with me to the land of Tumblr. It suits me just a bit better. Come with me and we will have a greater, bigger adventure.

Click here to join me!

Road Trippin

2010-01-19T17:55:00.000-08:00

I am a traveler at heart, knowing that no matter where I go, nothing there is permanent. I don't have just one place I call home, but many places, because my heart is scattered across this world. I wish I had wings to fly, but for now, I rely on my feet, my car, and occasionally an airplane.

Here are five things I love about Road Trips...

1. My trusty car Sydney.

2. Rainbows.

3. Skies so beautiful you can't help but pull over and marvel.

4. Sunsets that make your heart ache for another place.

5. The person who inspires the journey and makes it more than worth it.<3

Photo Shoot

2009-12-17T09:41:00.003-08:00

Gifts. for Christmas. and for Africa.

2009-12-10T18:49:00.000-08:00

I have just added two new paintings to the store! If you are looking for a gift to give for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or whatever you celebrate... there are some great options here . Proceeds are to benefit Raining Hope, Inc an organization dedicated to helping the children of Jinja, Uganda.

Here are the previews of the new products ...

So check it out and let me know what you think!
joannanoelcreative.bigcartel.com

While your at it... check out these sites for more gifts to give while giving back:

Jedidiah Clothing
Invisible Children
Light Gives Heat
Rabbit on the Wall (way cute headbands... :) )
Krochet Kids

Three Pies.

2009-12-06T17:31:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love the holiday season, and being that I was not able to enjoy Thanksgiving last year with my family, I was extra excited about being home in Ca with my family this year. I was so excited I took on the challenge of making some pies! It was so much fun, and I can't wait to try it again closer to Christmas time.

This first pie was full of layers. The bottom, a pumpkin pie layer, followed by a layer of cheesecake, and the topping made of pecans, chocolate chips, syrup and brown sugar, surrounded by a gram cracker crust. It was definitely my favorite! I got the recipe off of one of my favorite baking blogs, Bakerella . You can have the reciepe here ! So Delish.

A traditional pumpkin pie with a thick crust.

And a apple pie! (I left this one in the oven a bit too long...but it was still good!)

I absolutely love the holidays, baking, and great times with family. I can't wait until Christmas!

The Open Road

2009-11-17T21:36:00.000-08:00

I thoroughly enjoy a long road trip with my ipod, a thermos full of coffee, the road in front of me, and the red, yellow and orange trees of fall passing outside the window. Its a great time to think deeply, sing freely, and embrace the outside world I live in.

The leaves, the deep fall shadows, and the crisp blue sky were so beautiful, I had to take some cell pics. It probably wasn't the best idea to take these while driving with my cell phone "65" mphish... but the scenery was so beautiful I just couldn't resist!

If you are able to find a minute, an hour, or possibly a day- just to reflect on life and the simple miracles of the everyday, I would definitely take the opportunity. When you take the time to look differently at the world around you, you'd be surprised how many wonders there are to see and experience. As difficult as this life can be at times- it truly is a miracle.

Benefit Concert!

2009-11-09T13:15:00.000-08:00

We had a benefit concert and art show at our house on Saturday night to raise money for Raining Hope, Inc. (The organization helping the children in Jinja, Uganda.) The night was a success to say the least. Musical artists consisted of the amazing Lindsey Weston (remember this name cause this 17 year old is gonna be famous one day!) Evan Foat, who shared the wonderful heart felt songs he wrote, Chris Bennet, (one amazing banjo and accordion player) and the band Kaden, who not only were some of the nicest guys but they sang and said such encouraging, motivating words. We were so thankful everyone could be apart of the night.

We raffled off some Jedidiah merchandise, sold some yummy baked goods, as well as the bracelets and headbands we have been busy making. A HUGE thank you to Jedidiah Clothing Co. for donating the merch for our benefit! You guys rock!!

Here are some pics taken throughout the night...

Thanks so much to everyone who came out to support! It meant so much and we had so much fun with you!

Visit www.joannanoelcreative.bigcartel.com to purchase bracelets and headbands.

Reflecting...

2009-11-04T18:18:00.000-08:00

On the farmlands of Oregon.

And the beauty of dandelions.

Awesome Items to Buy

2009-10-20T20:48:00.000-07:00

I have some news... I am returning to Uganda in December! I am so excited to go back and serve the orphans there, learn from them and experience the beautiful country of Uganda.

So since going back costs lots of money, I have created some crafty crafts to sell and raise money to go. Some of the items are pictured below. They would make great Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, or just to buy for yourself! Help support the cause and visit the store I have made and purchase an item! Have fun and let me know what you think!

Click here to see the site! -----> JoannaNoelCreative

My Backyard

2009-10-14T13:25:00.000-07:00

It finally feels like fall has arrived! It has been raining the past two days and I love it. Today I was sitting in my room, window open, listening to the rain and Pricilla Ahn . I looked at my lonely camera which I have been neglecting lately, and decided to go outside to take some pics and smell the rain. We have some random stuff in our backyard, but it was sure fun to get out in the rain and take some pics.

Remember these??? I wonder if I could still fit in it...

Just for those days you want to go snorkeling in the pool, you know, the usual.

I get so excited when I see pumpkins and leaves on the ground. I think partly because I was in Italy this time last year and missed the festive harvest time. I'm so thankful to be here in California this year. Its definitely not Italy, but its home.

Have an amazing Wednesday, don't forget to appreciate the simple things. The little things God gives us to enjoy when times get hard.

Peace Out.

Film, Skid Row, and Mary.

2009-10-02T15:58:00.000-07:00

About two years ago a friend and I ventured the area of Skid Row. We saw, smelled, and experienced a new world. Last night I came across a few of the negatives from the many rolls of film I took while we were there. It brought me back to that day. Once again I remembered the events that took place while we were there, many things difficult to see. As I continued looking through the negatives, I noticed a few taken of the same woman... and I remembered a beautiful woman name Mary.

I honestly don't even remember how we started talking with her- but I remember she was hesitant when I took my camera out. After gaining her trust, she warmed up to us and gave me permission to take her picture. She spoke with us for awhile about the world she lives in, the life she lives, the people she interacts with daily, and her faith. She told us how she knows God is present in her life, because He has saved her numerous times. She told us she wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for God's protective hand on her life. She was a kind and inspiring woman, she had been through so much, yet still had room in her heart for kindness and faith.

Deep down, Mary and I are the same. We are human. We are struggling, fighting, and trying to keep our faith when times get rough. She was an inspiration to me that day, inspiring me to keep fighting, to keep smiling, and to keep loving, even when life doesn't hand you exactly what you dreamed it would.

I'm so thankful for the time we were able to spend with Mary that day. I know I will see her again, and when I do, we'll be free.

Raining Hope Website!

2009-09-30T00:39:00.000-07:00

The website I have been working on is finally up on the internet!! Yay!! This whole process has been a learning experience to say the least. It still needs work and I am learning Dreamweaver as fast as I can to make improvements! Periodically check back cause it will get cooler :)
But for now you can check out the site at as is at RainingHope.org.
This is the organization who works with the Living Hope Children's Home in Uganda where I was able to go for three weeks this past May. It is a brand new name, and a new start for the organization. You can check out their blog here to find out more.

If you are interested in sponsoring a child from the home, the sponsorship info isn't up on the site yet- but let me know if you are interested!
God is doing amazing things through Raining Hope and I am so blessed to be apart of it. If you have any questions about the organization or my involvement with Raining Hope let me know!

Broadcast Hope

2009-09-13T16:45:00.000-07:00

Jedidiah Clothing Company has recently partnered with LightGivesHeat and created THE BROADCAST, "A day fusing fashion with hope." Jedidiah has designed a t-shirt for Light Gives Heat and is currently selling it on their website. For $25 you get the t-shirt and a Subbi necklace made by African women living in Uganda. They are asking all who purchase the package to be apart of The Broadcast by wearing the shirt and necklace together on September 15th.
This is a great way to support the cause, spread the word about this organization, and help out the people of Uganda. The shirt and necklace are super cute too!
You can find out more about Light Gives Heat and what they are about by clicking here .

Its pretty amazing to me how many people today are using their unique talents and skills to serve and benefit people living in other countries. Uganda specifically is a place where a lot of attention has been placed, and its really exciting to see how God is working there. So go support! Do something outside of yourself- and if you can't afford to be apart of the Broadcast (or even if you can!) do something sacrificial for someone you care about today. Change starts with you. If we can't love the people around us how can we truly love people far from us?

"Everyone wants to change the world, but no one wants to change themselves." -Leo Tolstoy

Have an awesome Sunday!!

I like...

2009-09-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

If any of you have not already checked out Relevant Magazine, you should. Its an awesome magazine from a culturally savvy christian point of view. You can digitally read the entire magazine online and also read more articles and discussions on a variety of topics. I really like it and thought I would recommend it to you. Check it out!

Its Almost Done

2009-09-03T12:31:00.000-07:00

I go back to Corona this Saturday.

I stayed up way to late last night inspired to create art. I think I succeeded.

I have to pack up. I think I'm just gonna throw everything in my car. That won't take too long, right?

I have work to do, for the Pleated Poppy, and for the Living Hope site.

Right now I want to go surfing, even though I stink at it and have no board.

It is freaking hot outside, I also want to bake, but I think I would melt away and no one would ever see me again.

Farmers Market. Tonight. Last one of the summa!

via ffffound!

Suuummma

2009-07-05T19:48:00.000-07:00

This summer is an interesting one.

I have been working for Lindsey Cheney of the Pleated Poppy. She has an online business where she makes and sells the cutest stuff. I have had so much fun working for her and I am learning so much from her. Check out her blog, its pretty sweet.

I have begun painting again...yay! I'm trying to get a body of work done before the summer ends. I need to get on that. This is my first.

Tamara and I are loving baking. Chocolate cupcakes with Resces, chocolate chunks, vanilla frosting with blue sprinkles. Bomb.com.

Nolan surprised me a few days ago and took me to Santa Barbara for the day. We had a beach picnic, went to the zoo, did some longboarding, (I almost killed a few people- no big deal) and had some wonderful In-N-Out for din. Good day.

Oh, and we swam with whales that almost ate us. Close call.

This summer God has been teaching a ton. More about myself, more about other people, He's taught me about relationships and how to love. Its hard when He is moving and speaking to you, because He takes you out of your comfort zone, forcing you to rely on Him. Its also hard trying to hear His voice here in America after hearing it so clearly in Uganda. But I am so thankful for the struggles life brings, because this is when God teaches me the most. I am humbled and amazed at how much God has given me. Its all from Him, and I am blessed beyond words.

Oh- I am starting work on a website for the Living Hope Children's Home in Uganda... I'll update more on that lata...

But for now, Happy July...

Soak in the sunshine. : )

2009-06-25T21:00:00.000-07:00

Youth Conference

2009-06-23T01:33:00.000-07:00

Most of these pics are from the first youth conference we did in Uganda. We played games, sang songs and did the wordless bracelet. The children were taught the gospel and about 46 of them came to know Christ that day. It was so much fun, we fell in love with the kids there, and God was definitely glorified!

Coming.

Playing.

Listening.

Smiling.

Look at those lips!!

Thanks again for stopping by!! More to come!

a canoe ride and strawberry jam

2009-06-20T01:54:00.000-07:00

The other day my roomate Tamara and I had the opportunity to make some fresh strawberry jam and go for a canoe ride on Laguna Lake. It was the perfect summer day. Blue skies, white clouds, not too hot and not to cold. Man I love Slo.

I am learning how to be domestic while living with the Shibatas, they make the most amazing food! I am trying to soak it all in so I can be a woman and develop my cooking skills!

The jam making in process... strawberries are amazing this time of year!

The smashing of the strawberries and the finished product!

Out canoeing on the lake!

these geese were not afraid to get really close to us... I've come to find geese to be kind of scary creatures....

Africa

2009-06-17T01:12:00.001-07:00

I just returned from Uganda, Africa the end of May. It was probably the best experience of my life, and I am so thankful that God gave me the opportunity to go and serve His people there. I really fell in love with the place. It is absolutely beautiful in numerous ways. The people there have an indescribable joy and love for God. They do not have half of the material things or items that we have here in the states, yet they are so much richer than we are. Here are some photos I took. I took so many that I will have to post a few more entries with Uganda pics, but here are a few for now!

This is Beatrice and David. They call David "Obama" because his mother is from Kenya. He is the best behaved baby I have ever met and always had the same expression on his cute little face! Don't you just want to pinch his cheeks?? Beatrice grew to be my good friend. She is wise beyond her years and has a deep understanding of what it means to love the Lord and trust in Him. She inspires me to daily fall in love with Christ.

Joanna (yes we have the same name!) and Beatrice. Joanna wants to be a journalist, has a better English vocabulary than I do, and has an insightful mind that questions the world around her in search for the truth. These girls are amazing women of God.

Barefoot and free in the African grass. My favorite.

David.

My brothers and sisters.

Child of God.

I'll have some more pics up within the next few days! Thanks for stopping by!

Back and moving forward

2009-01-05T14:42:00.001-08:00

I am back, Christmas and New Years are over.

So my life is taking on a different track than I ever imagined it would.

I am going to be attending Cal Baptist this coming semester, as a graphic design and digital media major. Sooo sudden, but this is what God has put in front of me, and I am responding to what I believe He wants me to do, and how I can best glorify Him. A year ago, I never would have guessed this.

I am living at home this semester, in Corona "crown-town" California. Quite a change from the beautiful Central Coast, but its not too bad.

I am currently looking for a job, anyone hiring??

I'm working on getting my photos from Italy edited, so hopefully you will be seeing some of those up here in the next few posts.

Things are changing, life is moving forward, and I am constantly being chased by the ticking crocodile. (I just watched Finding Neverland last night)

I love how life is an adventure full of mountains and valleys, green grass and barbed wire. It is difficult while you are climbing that mountain, it is puzzling to figure out how to get around that barbed wire. But what we do not see is the wonderful landscape these barbed wire fences, these mountains and green grass create. We focus on what is in front of us, when HE sees the entire landscape. I'm sure it is a beautiful view from where He sits. Sometimes I wish I could see things as He does, if I could just see the world from His point of view, but for now I will just have to trust that His view is as beautiful as I imagine it to be, and I see it as pretty wonderful.

Gahh!!!

2008-11-23T11:51:00.001-08:00

Ok, I know I have been a horrible blogger lately, and I'm probably still going to be, but I just wanted to give you a heads up at what I am doing!

We have officially left Cortona, spent about 2 days in the beautiful Naples area which was beautiful... (went swimming during sunset in the Mediterranean with Mount Vesuvius on the horizon... soooo amazing and probably one of my favorite times of my entire trip!)

We had to say goodbye to everyone in our program, which was very sad, I will really miss everyone in our program. Each of them had a different impact on me in one way or another and I hope to reunite with some of them soon.

McKenna, Kate and I began our travels!! We took an all day train to Venice. Venice is soo completely amazing and beautiful. A city built on water full of history and class, what could be better? We were able to hang out with three people from our program who were also traveling to Venice. We stayed in a budget hotel which was pretty decent considering the price we payed. We also went on a gondola ride! It was so beautiful. We were in Venice for two nights.

This morning we left for Austria. We have officially left Italy and ventured on to other countries.

So today after being on the train a few hours, we come out of a tunnel, look outside and see the entire landscape covered in white. Yes, there is an abundance of snow here. Its something three California girls didn't really think about when planning our travels. So pretty much, Im keeping warm by wearing my entire wardrobe at once.

But I can't even believe how beautiful it is here. The mountains are so tall, full of trees and snow! The architecture is beautiful as well. Today after we arrived and settled into our hostel, we took a walk down into the town and found a Christmas festival! There were many booths selling Christmas decorations and ornaments, there was a choir singing (reminded me of home) as well as many hot food items being sold. One of the most popular warm drinks here is hot wine. It kind of tastes like apple cider, and its great for keeping warm. It feels so good to be in the snow during a Christmas event.

On the walk home back to our hostel I thought my legs were going to fall off I was so cold. I honestly don't know if I've ever been that cold in my life! I buried my face in my jacket and just walked as fast as we could. It was so cold. Like, really cold. But I will just have to put more of my clothes on tomorrow cause we are going on the Sound of Music tour! As I'm sitting here in the hostel lobby typing this, the Sound of Music is playing on the TV and they are singing the doe a deer song. I feel so happy! haha...

But anyways, just a quick update of what I have been up to.

Pretty much I am so extremely blessed to have this opportunity to travel through Europe. It is amazing how beautiful the earth is. Everywhere I go, I am continually amazed at Gods creation. All these places are so different, yet every single one is so beautiful.

Thank you Lord for this opportunity. Thank you so so so much! I am having the time of my life!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-01T08:51:00.001-07:00

I've come to realize just how bad I am at this blogging thing.

Ok, so the semester here in Cortona is quickly coming to an end! AH! We have about 2 weeks left here in Cortona, and then the group travels to Naples for two days, then we are done with the semester! It has come up so fast, and I am really trying to embrace these last few weeks. (Why does it always take us realizing the end is coming to make us really embrace things?) Anyway, last night was Halloween and it was so much fun! Halloween isn't really celebrated here in Italy the same way it is in the states. No trick or treating or jack-o lanterns, or dressing up, here its really just another excuse for people here to party..haha. So the restaurant we eat at every night, Tonninos put on a Halloween party for us! They made a nice dinner, hired a dj/ singer, cleared out a room so we could dance, and tolerated all of our ridiculous outfits! Me and my roomate Kate were zombies. Pretty much we just ripped up shirts, frizzed our hair and put scary black makeup on. It was different for me cause I'm never anything scary for Halloween, but our choices on costumes were quite limited. But our outfits ended up being a lot cooler than we expected them to be! It was so much fun. Our professors were there and gave out prizes to the best costumes, the women who clean and work at the school were there and danced with us, as well as the waitresses who serve us every night. It was a bonding experience with the staff for sure. Afterwards, we all went to a local hang out spot for a little bit, then we went up the hill for the "cave party" some guys in the program set up. See, here in the city wall there's this hidden cave that you have to crawl through this little hole to get into, but once your inside, its this huge place with plenty of room for everyone in our program, we hang out in it sometimes. There were candles lit so we could see, and we all just hung out in the Cortona city wall! The cave was originally built as a secret look out spot and used as an escape from enemy attacks. There's all these square holes in the wall, looking out into the valley. We're close to the top of the hill, so if you walk/crawl out to the other side of the cave, you are outside the city, and there's a huge field overlooking the Tuscan valley. Last night the stars were peaking through the holes in the rain clouds, and they were brighter than ever. I was able to have some really good conversations with people, have fun and just enjoy and embrace being here in Italy. I had a great Halloween, and I hope that you all did too!

"No Problem"

2008-10-21T12:43:00.000-07:00

Last night after dinner my roommates McKenna and Kate and I went on a little adventure to an Italian movie theater. We have decided that we need to take full advantage of everything in Cortona, so the movie theater was a place on our list of things to do before we leave. So we walk into the place, which is not only a movie theater, but an actual theater, the same theater where the piano concert we attended was held. In the “concession” area, there is a bar with alcohol and coffee, as well as candy and popcorn to purchase. We haven’t had any popcorn since we’ve been here, so it was something we looked forward to getting and eating while watching the movie. So we say we want a popcorn and she hands us two bags of microwavable popcorn which has not yet been popped. She points to our left and shows us the microwave in a yellow and white arcade game (the best way I can describe it) display. On the outside it said some stuff in Italian and had a cowboy on it, saying that it was America’s best. Here the cowboy on a horse represents America. So we went over to the overly gaudy microwave and put our popcorn in. It wasn’t exactly what we were expecting, but it was good to eat popcorn when we haven’t had anything like it in a while.

So we sit down in the theater and the movie begins. It was called “No Problem”. The entire thing was in Italian, but we could kind of get the gist of what was going on throughout the movie. They had an intermission half way through, and Kate, McKenna and I shared what we each thought was going on in the movie. We all had our own interpretations, but we think that we got it once we put our stories together. In the end, the movie was pretty lame, especially because we couldn’t understand a word, but we had some laughs and we were able to experience more of Italian culture! And now we know that movie theaters in Italy have their own microwaves for your popcorn! Overall, it was a fun time.

The movie didn’t end till about 11:45ish. As we walked back home, we talked a bit more about our interpretations of the movie, and decided on what we thought the ending was. As we were heading up our hill, we stopped about half way up, sat down along the wall, looked out upon the beautiful view and just talked. One of my favorite things to do here in Cortona is sit along the wall, look out upon the night lights of Tuscany and have a good conversation. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end the night.

Sorry!

2008-10-18T11:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, my sincere apologies for not blogging for such a long time. We had midterms last week and then this week I ended up getting really sick and was bed-ridden for two days. Now I’ve been playing catch up in my classes since I missed school for two days. We had a “plague” going on in the dorms. It was a stomach 24-hour like flu. About ten people caught the plague, me never thinking I would be one of them when the outbreak first started. I distinctly remember these words coming out of my mouth, “I’m not worried, I never get sick”. The next morning I woke up throwing up. I guess I forgot to knock on wood when those words came out of my mouth. But I’m all better now, done with midterms and ready to continue with blogging!

I have realized that we only have about 4 weeks left here in Cortona. It has made me really want to take advantage of everything here. Its funny how you can be in a place for such a long time, then when you realize that its not going to be there any more, you really begin to take advantage of things.

But I have definitely been looking forward to some things when I get back to to the states. I have begun to get extremely tired with my wardrobe. I have had the same clothes here for this entire time, and I really am needing some variety! When I get home, I am going shopping for sure. I also am getting a hair cut. I think I’m realizing that long hair is not for me. I was trying to grow it out, but I am just continually frustrated with it, and I think I want to go back to having it short. I also can’t wait to eat healthy again. Fiber, vegetables and Starbucks! That is what I want. Ok, so enough of me ranting on about what Im doing when I get home…

We have begun planning our traveling for after the semester is over! I’m very excited to see other parts of Europe. We will be traveling for about 4 weeks. Some of the places we are going: Venice, Paris, Dublin, Barcelona, Prague, Salzburg (Sound of Music tour, yessss!) Munich and some other I can’t think of right now, and I fly out of London on December 17. We will be getting a Euro rail pass and traveling by train. I’m so excited.

This Wednesday we are going to Perugia for their annual chocolate festival! I am soo excited! I love festivals, and I absolutely LOVE chocolate, so I think that it will be great. This city is famous for their chocolate, and it is supposedly some of the best in the world. I will let you all know how it goes!

sorry!

2008-10-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

Just finished my art history and Italian midterms I've been studying for all week... sorry for the lack of blogs. I will update soon! Just letting you know I'm still here!

Rain, hikes and a Fortress

2008-09-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

Today was field trip day. We went to Urbino and Gubbio. They are two smaller Italian towns filled with history. We woke up before the sun at 6:45 am and were on the road by 7:30. It was a long bus ride, which I love because I get to listen to music and gaze out the window and enjoy the beautiful scenery. In Urbino we walked through a museum, and saw a few paintings we have been studying in art history. After the museum, we explored the town a bit and got some pizza for 1.40 from a small hole in the wall pizzeria. The weather was extremely freezing and rain sprinkled down periodically. Around 2:30 we hopped back on the bus and headed to Gubbio.

Gubbio was my favorite place we had visited so far. And it wasn't because of the museums, or any paintings we saw. When we first arrived, we headed straight for the "ski lifts" which really were not ski lifts at all. They were more like large 2 person bird cages with no tops. You see, Italy builds the majority of its cities on hills, because it was much easier to defend your city from enemy attack if you had the higher ground. So these "ski lifts" took us up to the top of the large hill. Going up the lift, it was raining and freezing, and I loved it. Of course, I was really cold and soggy, but once I got over the fact that I wasn't going to stay dry, I completely enjoyed myself. The view was beautiful looking over this ancient city. The clouds were hiding the sun in some places, and letting it peak through in others, forming wonderful sun rays that were enhanced by the rain in the distance. Getting off the lifts was an adventure in itself. They don't ever stop, so to get out, you have to open the little door, and hop out before the lift goes around and back over the cliff. It was a little frightening, but totally fun.

There is a church right where the lifts let you off, but we decided to hike up the path to the fortress. Most of these ancient Italian cities have fortresses at the tallest point of the hill. The fortress was a place used for protecting the city by spotting an enemy attack from miles away. So we hiked up to the fortress in the cold, wind and rain. But when we got there it was so worth it. The view was amazing with the clouds, the sun rays and the fresh wind blowing across our faces. Looking over one side of the fortress, we could see the cities and civilization, but going to the opposite side, there were only hills and forests to overlook. And these hills were definitely covered with sheep. Yes sheep. Not cows. I was pretty excited, as I always seem to get whenever I see sheep around. We stayed up there for awhile then headed back down and decided to look inside the church. It was beautiful, and just as I was getting excited about how wonderful this church was, I looked to the front and saw a dead man put on display. My wonder and awe suddenly turned to confusion and disgust. This was quite an odd display of a corpse. I walked up closer to this display to see if what I thought I was seeing was really real. And it definitely was. It is the body of Saint Ubaldo who the church is built in honor of. So, if your church is honoring a dead guy, why not put that dead guy on display right there at the front of the church? And this was an actual body. He was still wearing his nice church clothes and was laying down in a glass box. His face looked like it was from a picture out of one of those Ancient Egypt books showing the mummies after their bandages have been taken off. His skin was greenish brownish and his face was sinking. I'm sure the guy had seen better days. It was a little strange...

So now that you have that wonderful description in your head, let me transition to the lift ride down the hill. We hopped/fan into our bird cage carrier thing and headed back down. I must say, the ride down was even more beautiful than the way up. The sun was peaking through the clouds at just the right angle, allowing the entire valley to light up under the cloudy sky. I also had the lingering feeling of experiencing an amazing piece of history and beauty at the fortress. I call these moments in life "journal moments". They are the times you hear the song that brings you back to that moment you will never forget. You know what I'm talking about. When you see a miraculous sunset, feel the embrace of someone who cares for you, when you see two innocent children playing and laughing together, when you accomplish something you never thought you could. Those times when you feel like life can't be worth nothing. Those times when you know that there is something more. These are glimpses of hope. Hope that this tiresome, painful life isn't all there is. The hope that maybe one day this broken world will be healed. This is the feeling I got at the fortress today and heading back down the hill in the lift. They are the times I want to journal. So I can remember these moments. So one day I can look back and remember that hope exists.

Today had its share of journal moments.

And I think thats what I'm gonna go do right now.

And listen to the rain.

grapes

2008-09-25T12:00:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we went and picked grapes in a wine vineyard. I took photos and it was so much fun.

carazay cats

2008-09-23T13:29:00.000-07:00

Cats in Italy are crazy and probably mentally insane.

I was interrupted in painting today by the cat screams (yes the kinds you hear in the movies) of two cats who appeared to be in a terrible disagreement. They were the classic cat screams that you hear all the times in the movies and cartoons when the cats are being attacked by the dogs. It was loud enough that we stopped painting and opened the doors to see what was going on. They eventually chased each other down the hill and their terrifying screams faded away in the distance.

Oh, but that is not all. The other day we were walking down the hill to go to dinner and we see these two cats starring at each other, but this cannot be described as a minor stare, it was more like they were burning holes into each others eyes. They were making the most horrible noises, noises I never knew a cat could ever make. Nothing could interrupt them or even make them flinch. We were making barking noises and they didn't even move. They were literally there for about 7 minutes before we got tired of being freaked out by them and left for dinner. Yeah. Cats in Italy are freaky. Like, really weird.

Piano, pesto and jump suits.

2008-09-22T03:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great day. It was Sunday, our only day completely off. (Saturdays are for day trips) I woke up, hopped in the shower, got some coffee in our kitchen, went to church, (some of us have started our own little home church on Sundays and we are also doing smaller Bible studies throughout the week. God is really doing a lot through it and has definitely blessed our group) then I went for a walk. This walk was so great. I decided to explore up the hill a little bit. So I bundled up in my heavy coat, scarf and uggs, grabbed my Bible, journal and a book I'm reading and headed out. I walked along the city wall passing grape and fig trees, and I found this nice little place to sit and read under a fig tree overlooking the valley. It was a little bit chilly and the clouds in the sky threatened rain, but never went through with it. I sat there for about 2-3 hours just praying, reading and resting in the presence of Jesus. It was so refreshing to get that time alone with God. I came away from that time feeling relaxed, at ease and in love with my heavenly Father. After walking away from my sitting place, I walked around a little bit more, just enjoying listening to the voices of the Italian people talking, the wind blowing through the trees and feeling the cold air rush against my face.

When I got back I worked on a painting for a little bit. Later that day, Dusty, Kiersten, Marissa and I all dressed up and went to this free piano concert down at the local theater. It was amazing. We had our own little box seat with a great view of the pianist. After the concert, we stopped by the local thrift store because I needed some painting clothes. I got these awesome sweat pants that look like they were taken out of an episode of Saved by the Bell, and this sweat pants/overall jump suit which I must say I am gonna look pretty snazzy painting in. After the thrift store we went to dinner where we saw the pianist and the host of the piano concert! We were excited because we knew that if they were there, we picked a good restaurant. I was so hungry just walking into the place and smelling the aroma of pesto and tomato sauce on the stove made my stomach growl. I ordered gnocchi with pesto. It was so delicious and the pesto couldn't have been any more fresh.

After filling ourselves up, we walked back up the humungous hill home. I hung out for a bit, did my Italian homework and went to bed.

And there you have a day in the life of an Italian art student.

2008-09-22T02:17:00.000-07:00

So, at the request of my mother, I have posted some pics of me and friends in Italy. The people here are great and I'm already starting to get close to some of the people here. There are about 44 students here, 10 guys and the rest girls. I already was good friends with three people in the program before we came, because we all go to Biola. There is a group from Westmont College in Santa Barbara who I've really gotten to know. There are people from Georgia, South Carolina, Washington DC and many other states across the US. Its so fun to get to know new people. I've even found myself wanting to say ya'll because I'm surrounded by people whose regular vocabulary consists of using that word all the time!

These are some pictures from our recent trip to Assisi and Perguia.

These are my friends (from left to right) Dusty (who I was friends with before from Biola) Kiersten and Marissa, who are both from Westmont. The four of us have been hanging out a lot. They are such a fun group of people with the same sense of humor as me. As you may be able to tell from some of these pics.

We got some AMAZING nutella crepes with hazlenut and syrup. They were made right in front of us. They were fresh and warm and tasted so good on a cold, windy day in Perguia.

Me eating lavender and cinnamon gelato at a local gelateria in Cortona. The man who owns this shop is so nice to us, and sometimes gives us free things when we come in as a large group. He makes all of the gelato himself and comes up with the most amazing flavors!

This is a picture from our first week in Rome. From left to right, Dana, Nicole, McKenna (my roomate) Chrissy, Kate (also my roomate and friend from Biola) and me! Most of these girls go to Westmont.

Dana, Nicole, Chrissy me and Marissa in Assisi.
This is the wine cellar at Tonnio's Restaurant where we eat dinner during the week. Pretty sweet huh!

Kiersten, me and Marissa at that cafe drinking the hot chocolate I blogged about last time!

The crew once again in Assisi.

So there are a few scattered pics of me with new friends. Hope you were able to get a little bit more of the taste of my life in Italia! That was for you mom!

stopping by...

2008-09-18T04:51:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up and looked out my window and realized our hill was we live on was swallowed up by a cloud. The normal view out of my window looked as if everything had been erased and replaced with white. The tempurature has dropped dramatically, and there has been thunderstorms and rain for the past week. Some people have been complaining about it, but personally I love it. It is so cool to be on top of a hill, looking out and being able to see bolts of lighting from different storms across the valley. It is such a neat event to see and experience. You can feel the thunder rumble, and for someone from California who is not used to thunder storms, it is pretty fun. There are people from all across the country in this program, so most of them are used to thunder storms and think it’s really funny how the people from California get so excited when we hear the thunder. The other day while it was raining, a few friends and I went to a café and had cioccolata calda (hot chocolate). And it was probably the best hot chocolate I have ever had! The best way I can describe it is hot, rich pudding because of how thick it was. I ate most of it with a spoon. The best part was the small glass tea cup we drank from. I’m such a sucker for holding hot drinks, smelling the steam, and slowly taking small sips, especially when it’s raining outside; being in an Italian café doesn’t hurt either. I think the feeling I get is almost as good as the taste of the chocolate!

Classes are well underway; I have finished my first photo project and my first painting. I am learning Italian slowly but surely and art history is coming along. Every Saturday we have mandatory field trips, and this Saturday we are going to Assisi. After we return, there is an art show at the fortress. Yes, the fortress. Doesn’t that sound so cool? There is a fortress up at the very top of the hill by the monastery, which is still in use today. And that is the location of the art show. All the artists of Cortona were invited to display their work. So some of the students here, myself included, have entered our artwork to be displayed at the fortress art show. I have entered in one of my photographs, which I am not extremely proud of, we didn’t have too much time to prepare, and I really just wanted the experience of having my work in another show. So I chose a photo from my recent series for my photo class. I’m just excited to go to the show and experience what an art show is like in Italy.

Our internet has been very bad here lately, in fact, it has been completely non existent in the dorms, so we have had to go down to the classrooms to use the computers there. The classrooms are in the building next to ours, so its not far, but when its raining outside, it makes it harder to make the trip. But we now our internet has been fixed, so I will have more of a chance to post blogs and talk to my family on Skype! If anyone has Skype, let me know and we can set up a chance to talk! If you don’t know about Skype, it’s like a video chat. It is free to download and if you don’t have a camera on your computer, you can use the microphone in your computer so the person you are talking to can hear your voice. Its like a phone from your computer. It’s a great way of communicating internationally.

Well I have to get ready to go to my next class, art history. I hope you are all having a great week and enjoying the abundance of different kinds of food you get to choose from, cause pasta get a little old after awhile! Ciao!

The Town of Cortona

2008-09-11T01:43:00.000-07:00

The outside view of the city of Cortona

So I told you I would give you a better description of where I am living and how it is going. Let me try and describe Cortona for you. Cortona is a small town on a hill overlooking Tuscany. There is one main road which branches off into ally ways and narrow streets covered in vines and towered over by yellow and red houses. Looking up, you will see a variety of windows, looking side to side, you will see many different types of doors. Each one having its own individual character. Walking along the main cobblestone road one will see a variety of things. There are restaurants and cafes with all of the tables outside on the side of the road. Mind you, these streets are extremely narrow, and not many cars are seen on the streets. It feels more like a festival or market where the streets are closed off. But every once and awhile you have to get out of the way to allow a "smart car" to get by. I am so ready to steal one of these cars and bring them back to the states. They are so cute! So teeny and they have the best colors. So, if you continue walking down the road, watching your step so one of those cobblestone bricks doesn't jump out and grab you (they like to do that to me) you will see grocery stores with Italian men singing as they wash the fruits and vegetables sitting outside their stores. They greet you with a smile and "buon giorno!" as you walk by. You can smell the fresh fruits as you pass by the stands, and you cannot help stare because of the wonderful array of colors that are filling the fruit baskets. The smells of the spices and pasta hide in the air as you pass by the restaurants, every once and awhile they come out of their hiding places to fill your nose with their amazing sent, causing your stomach to growl and your mouth to water. Continue walking, and you see cafes with the most amazing coffee, but no to-go paper starbucks like cups. To-go is pretty much unheard of here, so if you order a coffee, be prepared to sit down at a table and slowly sip your small cup of coffee. As much as I love the slow paced feel of the cafes, I do miss carrying my coffee around with me, being able to drink half at one time and save the other half for later, cause I'm such a slow coffee drinker! But anyways... keep walking and you will pass a few cute shops, bakeries with amazing looking pastries, meat shops, gillaterias, and many art galleries. You will soon come to a big open area called the plaza. Here there is a congregation of elderly Italian men who are conversing rather loudly. At first you would assume they are all angry and yelling at each other, but actually they are agreeing quite expressively, laughing, reading the morning newspaper, and enjoying each others company. They always watch us trying to speak Italian and direct our way around the plaza. I'm pretty sure they're making fun of us half the time. There are women doing their grocery shopping, children running around falling on the cobblestone, laughing and getting back up. It is so cute to hear them speak because you cannot understand a word they say, but the Italian sounds so beautiful coming out of their small mouths. There are men standing outside of their shops and cafes trying to lure you into their building. Continue past the plaza and you will come to a historic church with a large number of steps leading up the the huge wooden doors. Passing the church, you walk down a large slope (being careful of those cobblestone blocks) and you come to the edge of the city wall. This is what we call the overlook. There is a great view here overlooking Tuscany, with a historic church and cemetery being the closest building in site.

To get back to our school, you have to walk up this enormous hill. Like, it is huge. Its a great workout, but if your going down to town, you'll want to try and get all that you need so you don't have to go back down later.

Every night we gather for dinner at Tonnios restaurant at the base of our hill. We eat downstairs in the wine cellar. We get a three course meal every night. Starting with pasta, then a meat course, and a dessert. Oftentimes we get fruit for dessert, but last night we got this delicious cake. We were very happy about that!

Today we officially start classes. I have photography and Italian today, art history and painting tomorrow.

I am having a great time so far. I love the town of Cortona and getting to know the people here. I'm excited to learn Italian so I can better communicate with the locals.

Well I have to get ready for photo! I will be writing later on! Thanks for reading!

Settled in Tuscany

2008-09-08T16:10:00.000-07:00

My roomates and I are constantly in awe of the wonderful view we have from our room. We constantly leave the doors open to allow the warm breeze to circulate through the room.

The view out my window!

This is my bed right next to the window

My two roomates Kate and McKenna and I.

We are so blessed to be here!

I had to put this pic in one more time cause I love it so much. This is my home for the next few months.

So I will write more later and be more descriptive, but our internet hasn't been working too well here lately and I wanted to get some pics up. Let me briefly describe what is going on with me right now.

We have arrived in Cortona! This is where we will be staying for the entire semester, along with day trips to various parts of Italy every weekend. Cortona is absolutely beautiful. It is so small and peaceful here compared to the other cities we have visited. Classes started today, but they were only about an hour long. Going over syllabus and stuff like that. I'm so excited to be here and God is already working in so many different ways. I will write details later, but for now here are some of the pics of the view from my room, just so you can get a taste of how amazinly beautiful it is here. We are at the very top of a hill, and you can see everything from our window. Our room was built for four, but we have three, so it is very large. Especially for me coming from Hume where we fit three girls into a room barely big enough for one! I absolutely love it here and I am so blessed in so many different ways.

Thank you Jesus for this amazing opportunity.

2008-09-04T17:34:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos from Rome. I'll get some from Florence up when I get a chance! Sorry these are a bit out of order!

A typical street in Rome.
On our way to Italy!
New friends!

One of the many chapels we visited.
A typical painter in the piazza.

Tonight for dessert we had small pieces of biscotti with dessert wine in a small glass placed in the center of the plate. It was amazing. The dessert wine tasted like regular wine with a ton of sugar. My kind of drink. I just had to share that with you guys because of how great and exciting it was. Afterwards we went into town and got the most amazing gillato at one of Florence's finest Gillaterias. Luckally we walk like 10 miles a day or this would be really bad.....

I have some catching up to do...

2008-09-04T06:36:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I have been a horrible blogger and I know that I have a lot of catching up to do since I last blogged. Like a lot. So…I’m gonna try to put this in a small nutshell for you what I have been up to these past few weeks. (Even though I’m totally horrible with nutshells and will probably go into way too much detail, but I’m going to try!)

*Hume is long over. I left Hume and went home to Corona for the first time because this is where my family now resides. It was definitely weird going home to a place I had never been before. It’s a great house with a pool and poozie, which is amazing because it was like a million degrees there and without a pool I think we would all pass out. My mom and dad even got in, which means it was super hot. I got to hang out with my bro, I saw my sister a little bit cause she drove up from AG (where she is still living to finish out her senior year of high school) for a family bar-b-que at our new house. So it was good to see my family before I left for Italy.

* Ok I am now in Italy. Big change from Hume Lake. We flew into London, had a ten hour stop over, then flew out of London to Rome. We stayed in Rome for three days, visiting museums and getting to know the city by bus, subways and a whole lot of walking.

*Now we have gone from Rome to Florence, which is where I am at the present moment. We arrived here late Tuesday afternoon, and tomorrow (Thursday) is our last full day here. On Friday we leave for Cortona, which is where we will be living for the rest of the semester. Cortona is a small town in Tuscany on a hill with the population of about 1200 people. Our school is on the top of a hill overlooking the largest lake in Italy and the rest of the town. Anyone seen the movie “Under the Tuscan Sun”? That movie was filmed in Cortona. I can’t wait to get there, be able to settle in, unpack and get to know the town and the culture. I will be taking four classes as I’m in Cortona; Painting, photography, art history and Italian language. I’m stoked.

Wow that was a pretty good nutshell for me. I guess that means I have room to go back and explain more of what we have been doing.

I will start with Rome. Rome was totally overwhelming for me. My first time in Europe was full of riding buses, speeding cars who are not afraid to get close to pedestrians hot, sticky subways and tons of amazing art history. We started each of our days with breakfast at the hotel. Full of bread, ham. Bread. Eggs, cereal, sausages, bread, pastries, oh and bread. Let me tell you they sure do like their carbs here! Me and my friend Dustin (who goes with me to Biola) decided to make ourselves lunch everyday with the bread and ham that we got at breakfast so we didn’t have to spend money on lunch everyday. We toured tons of museums, but I will just tell you my highlights. The Coliseum was amazing to see. I kept picturing the gladiators having amazing battles in the center. My absolute favorite was the Vatican. We saw the Sistine Chapel and it was amazing. The entire Vatican contained enough to take your breath away multiple times. I could have spent months in there looking at everything the place contained. It amazes me how much talent God can give a human, and it shows me just how amazing God Himself is in creating these humans.

After spending all day walking everywhere, as well as riding the buses and the Metro, we would come back to the hotel and get ready for dinner that was served at the hotel which consists of three courses. The first course is a pasta dish, the next a meat, and the third is a dessert. We were also served wine with dinner as well as sparkling water. These are just as common here as regular water in the states. Wine is extremely cheap here, sometimes even cheaper than soda or water! I have grown to love the sparkling water, where as when I first got here I couldn’t understand how anyone could ever drink it! After dinner we were usually extremely tired from being on the go all day, so we had a meeting with our professors and got to bed around 11 ish. That was our approximate schedule while we were in Rome.

Our schedule here in Florence isn’t extremely different, all except for the fact that we eat dinner at a restaurant every night where the food is amazing, but the service isn’t as friendly as it was at the hotel in Rome. Yesterday we were able to see Botechelli’s Birth of Venus painting, which I spent about 20 minutes looking at. It is one of my favorite paintings and it was amazing to see it in person. Today we went to a photography museum, which was a wonderful change from the many sculptures and paintings we have been seeing everywhere. I also had to buy art supplies today, which was so much fun until I had to pay. I have been doing a good job at not spending too much money here, so when I have to drop a large amount of money it doesn’t feel too good. But it is definitely worth it.

I am excited because tomorrow we get to see Michelangelo’s statue of David, and we leave for Cortona! I’m so excited to get there and get settled into a non-touristy Italian town.

So that is what I have been up to lately! Now that I am in Italy I will hopefully be better at this blogging thing, don’t give up on me! I love and miss you all. I really miss California, the hills here look just like the Central Coast, which makes me home sick. But I am loving being here. I wish I could have packed everyone up in my suitcase and be able to spend this amazing experience with you! In the meantime, remember to embrace every moment of everyday you are alive, we don’t know what is going to happen to us. Which reminds me, if you think of it, please pray for my Grandpa Steve, he had a sudden heart attack and is still recovering. I would totally appreciate that.

Thanks guys! I love and miss you all so much!!

2008-09-04T06:31:00.001-07:00

2008-07-11T10:02:00.001-07:00

Hey guys!

So I'm so sorry I haven't written for awhile I need to remember to take time to blog!

This week at Hume has been really great. The campers are all so awesome this week. The speaker this week is really great too, and I had the chance of talking to him for a few minutes. We talked about scripture and verses that are used as popular life verses but taken completely out of context when we talk about them. One of them in particular is Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." People act as if this verse is talking to individuals, saying that God knows the plans He has for your life, and He does, but that is not what this verse is saying. This verse is directed at the Israelites, telling them when they will be taken out of captivity. Most of the people who heard this verse didn't even get to see freedom because it didn't happen for 70 years after this verse was said. God was talking to the people as a whole. He knows the plans for the Israelites. JP (the speaker I was talking to about this) said that this is still a great life verse, and when we put it into the actual context of what it is saying, it is even greater, knowing that God is talking to His people as a whole. It is not about us, it is about bringing glory to God and He knows the plans He has for all of us as a whole. Its a cool thing to think about... anyways I don't know if I even made any sense here, and Jp said it way better than I did! haha...

Yesterday at the Fro- So was our busiest day of the summer! It was also one of the hottest! By the end of the day I was so so tired from working. I slept really good last night. My friends Johnny Hamilton and Emily Berger are here visiting this week and it is so fun to have them! Tonight I get off at 7: 30 and we're gonna go to Look Out Point, which is an amazing place which looks over everything, and the stars are unbelievable. Well, I have to get ready for work, so I will try to write more tomorrow. Have a great day everyone! Remember who you are living for!

yesterday

2008-07-03T18:18:00.000-07:00

was quite eventful. I had just returned home from an amazing weekend at home. My family's last sunday at Grace! So weird. Way more emotional than I had thought it was going to be. But it was so good to see family and friends and hang out for a weekend. Anyways On Tuesday I had started feeling sick, and there has been this flu going around that people have been sent home for having. But I knew it wasn't anything like that cause it just felt like a head cold with a bit of a cough. So I decided to wait it out and see how I was feeling in the morning.

To make a long story short, I woke up in the morning and couldn't even stand. I tried to put my blush on cause I looked at myself and thought "ew I am soo pale!" but I couldn't cause I didn't have the strength. After getting up for the fourth time, I managed to get my other flip flop on, and I prayed that God would allow me to make it to the Infirmary. On the walk over there I could barely see, everything was amplified and seriously God was the only thing that got me there without falling. When I walked in the nurse was all chipper like, "Hi! how are----" then she looked at me and was like, "you need to sit down." So I really don't remember much after that, except I dry heaved a little bit (Sorry if that was too much info) and I was sent to an isolated cabin for the day. I slept pretty much the entire day and was feeling much better, so the nurse was ready to send me home. As I was sitting there listening to the nurse talk to me about the medicine I should take, I started to feel dizzy again, and the nurse told me I was turning green. So I laid down and passed out. They ended up giving me oxygen and an IV and after a few hours, a urine test, tons of blood pressure tests, a doctors examination and some Cheerios, they said that I was just really over worked and dehydrated. They said I needed to take it easy today and drink lots of water. So today I've mainly been reading and been on the internet all day. Erin and I made a video about our adventure yesterday. Check it out!

hmmm...

2008-06-25T11:19:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I really hesitate to write a blog cause I really don't know what to write, welll...let me tell you what I've been up to lately.

Grace left on Saturday and it was my day off. Me and some friends took a hike to the Boole tree, which is the fourth largest tree in the world! And the largest in the US National Parks. It was a moderately difficult hike, but it was a good work out and we had fun. When we got back we went to the weekly staff bar-b-q on the deck, and then I just had some down time by myself by the lake. Later that night me and a few girls took a laptop to the end of the dock on the lake and watched a movie under the stars. It was really fun. But a really lame movie. If you ever get the chance to see "Because I said so" I would say don't watch it, I kinda wanted to punch the mom in the face the entire time. Anyways!

Church was on Sunday, and then it was back to work.

Yesterday and today I don't work till 1:30 so its nice to sleep a little bit. Oh yesterday it was so cool, I was riding my bike around the lake looking for a place to stop and read and I found this tree stump about 10 feet off shore in the lake. There was a duck sitting there, and I saw it and said, I could totally afford to get my feet wet, walk out in the water and sit on that stump to read! So I did! I was surrounded by water just me, my book Bible and journal, and Gods wonderful nature. It was so peaceful and I was so glad that I got my feet wet in order to get out to the stump. I memorized where it was so I can return to my new fav reading spot.

So thats what I've been up to these past few days.

I'm going home this weekend to be there for my family's last Sunday at Grace. I wasn't planning on going home really at all this summer, but my boss said I could get work off, and my dad really wants me to be there for this. So I'm excited to get home and see people.

Well, I am gonna grab some lunch, maybe get some reading in or a bike ride around the lake? Maybe I will visit my stump. We will see what happens!

Grace is here!

2008-06-18T11:22:00.000-07:00

This week has been so much fun because my home church is here at camp this week! Its been so much fun hanging out with my brother and sister and their friends. I've been able to experience more of the actual camp this week because I've been going to Rec, chapels and meals with my church. Its so much fun, also a little weird cause I'm again seeing the camp through a different point of view. Every night I've been going up to my sisters cabin and hanging out with the girls there. Erin has come with me a few times.

I'm especially tired this week physically, because I have been staying up really late with the girls and waking up really early to meet them for breakfast. But mentally and emotionally I'm more awake than ever. Going to chapels has really been awesome because I've been able to hear some great worship and some really good speakers. Every week a different speaker comes to talk to the campers, so I want to take advantage of hearing all of the amazing people who are here every week this summer. In a few weeks my favorite speaker Francis Chan comes! I'm so excited for him to be here. I will definitely be sitting in on chapels when he comes.

The Lord is doing a lot here. His nature is still so beautiful and He is continually reminding me about who He is and who He wants me to be. Its amazing how quickly we forget all that He has done for us.

Well I have a little bit of time before I go to lunch, so I'm gonna take a quick nap, meet my sister for lunch and then head to work! Pray for the campers here, last night was decision night and they will have another decision night tomorrow. There are many high schoolers here who who don't know about God and his love, and they are being fed the gospel. Pray that God will reveal Himself to them and work in the lives of the broken (which is all of us!)

Have a great day everyone! Make it count!

Ps, listen to Sigur Ros cause they're awesome.

Under Way

2008-06-10T09:09:00.001-07:00

Well life here is underway. The campers arrived on Sunday and the camp is full of energy and much more crowded than it has been. Its so fun to watch the campers because it reminds me of when I was one. So many good memories. Its great to see the camp through a different perspective, through a worker.

Work at the Fro-So is so much fun. I work with 6 girls who have become my friends here. They are all so great to work with. For those of you who have never been to Hume, the Fro So is short for the Frozen Sombrero. We serve amazing burritos, quesadillas, milkshakes, malts and ice cream! We are located in the center of Ponderosa (the high school camp) on the deck where people hang out, so we have a great view of everything going on. We can see the lake, and everything worth seeing from our windows. Yesterday we watched the campers do Recreation (a Hume tradition of crazy competitive spirit and games that was one of my fav parts of Hume as a camper) We are pretty much awesome. So me and my Fro So girls decided to create shakes of the day, where we put a sign out telling about our creation. Yesterday was Kim's Birthday Shake (cause it was her birthday!) It consisted of half strawberry, half vanilla with a banana, whip cream, nuts, and a cherry to top it off. Every time someone ordered one we do this cool cheer thing where we stomp and say "SHake of the Day! FRO SO YOU KNOW!" Its so much fun. I love working with the girls and being able to talk to the campers and spread some of the joy of Christ. They really emphasis here how every person working this camp is helping with the ministry here. I have been able to talk to campers, get to know their names (some of them have ordered three shakes in one day!) Its a cool place to be. Well I have to go, I'm starting to go to a Bible study on Tuesday mornings and today is the first one. I have work at 1:30 today and will have the morning to relax and spend some time with my love named Jesus. Ok Peace out for now!!

I am here.

2008-06-06T16:00:00.001-07:00

I'm here! Its my third day at Hume, and orientation and training for work is well under way. I am so happy to be at Hume Lake, so many great memories here. Its so beautiful and I've been waking up early to go for runs around the lake.

God has truly revealed Himself to me through the nature here. Early in the morning the lake is so beautiful. There is steam coming up off of the lake, the air is crisp, cold, and so fresh. The sun is just rising over the mountains, and stepping into the warmth of the sun feels so good. The smell of pine is everywhere. The birds are so loud here because there are no other sounds to drown them out. The stars! Oh my word. The stars! Last night I went out and laid on the dock with a couple girls. I have not seen stars so amazing in such a long time. I just was in awe. Thinking about how powerful, huge and indescribable God is, gosh. It just really blows my mind. It truly humbles me. Thinking that I know better than God, and taking my plans into my own hands is probably the dumbest thing to do. Looking at those stars made me realize that, and truly showed me that I have trust and faith in a trustworthy and faithful God. He is soo incredibly big and powerful.

Someone once told me that even if you were soo completely intimate with God every single day of your life, like completely intimate. Every day. You would only know a small part of who God actually is. He is that big. That is pretty darn huge. So huge you would fall flat and die if you saw a small glimpse of His face. Man. It just blows my mind.

I love being able to see God through His wonderful art. Everything here just shouts His name.

Its funny, being here right now is totally reminding me of beginning of freshman year of school at Biola. Your meeting so many people and you don't remember anyone's name, but you want to have relationships with people. I am so blessed to be able to live with my best friend Erin Royer. She is great and we are having so much fun together.

Hume is beautiful. I really don't know what to expect this summer but God's got it all under control!!

Last Night.

2008-06-02T23:51:00.000-07:00

This is my last night in my house for who knows how long.

This is the last night in my house with the five of my family members under one roof for who knows how long.

After I come back from Hume, my family is going to be in Cornona. We're keeping the house here in AG, but renting it out. So who knows what is going to happen.

I've realized my life right now is truly at a changing

point. It is awesome. There are changes happening in so many people around me too. For the better. God is moving. The Holy Spirit is alive and working. Its so awesome and encouraging to see. I'm really stoked to see how God moves at Grace Bible through all of the changes that are taking place right now. I know God is using some really awesome people there right now to further His kingdom. I think its going to be a hard process, but

God is in the middle of it all. So good.

Tomorrow night I will be at Hume Lake. I took some time at the beach yesterday to give my future to the Lord. It was awesome. I know He

is going to do crazy things that I'm not even expecting in the least. It will be cool to look back on my life at this time next year and say, "wow, I had no idea what God was going to do with my life." I know that this time last year I was in a COMPLETELY different state of mind, and at such a different place than I am now. I love where I am. God has brought me through so many trials and hard times, but I am so glad, because without them I wouldn't be where I am at this moment.

Heres to the future! Heres to the journey! Heres to the Adventure awaiting!

Oh, and heres my address at Hume incase you

wanna drop me a line!

Joanna Pickett, Staff

Hume Lake Christian Camps

64144 Hume Lake Road

Hume, CA 93628-9999

Peace out. For now.

The days go by so fast

2008-05-31T16:26:00.001-07:00

These past couple days have been so random, I just love it!

Heres the most random story from yesterday/today:

Yesterday I get a call from a friend at Biola saying that he is in Pismo Beach and him and his friends are stranded cause all of the camp sites around here are full. They asked me if I knew of any other camp sites they hadn't tried so they might be able to get a spot somewhere. (in Pismo, on a Friday after Memorial day weekend, things fill up really fast around here). SO I called a family friend who knows some good camping places and he said that everything would be booked without a reservation. So they ended up coming over, we had a bonfire in my backyard, played some guitar and jimbay (I don't know how to spell that) and told some pretty outrageous stories. One of my best friends Erin came down from Biola and stayed the night too! It was so much fun. This morning my brother made us breakfast burritos and we drank coffee. Good stuff.

I love having a house where people are welcome to come and go on their travels. I love serving and allowing our house to belong to the Lord, not us. Mi casa es su casa. For real.

Yesterday my family found out that they got the house they wanted in Corona! This house has a jacuzzi and a pool, so when I come back from Italy, everyone is welcome to come to our new house. There definitely will be some gatherings there in the Spring.

I figured something out about myself. I love grocery stores. Especially Trader Joes.

AAND the .69cent sodas are back at McDonalds for the summer! My brother and I are pretty

stoked. Too bad I'm only here for a few more days to enjoy it.

I'm still trying to figure out this blog thing, and for some reason its only letting me upload one picture. But here

is the bonfire we've been spending a lot of time at in our backyard. More pics to come later!

Have a Blessed day!! Remember to live it out to the fullest! We don't know how long this life is gonna last!!

The Call

2008-05-27T23:25:00.000-07:00

So this is my first post! Ok, well I guess since this is my first post I will start by telling you why I am doing this blog. I just finished my sophomore year of college at Biola University. I had an amazing semester. I was able to deepen friendships, make some sweet art, and dance it up with the amazing Xopoc (the dance team I am on at Biola, we won first place at mock rock! what what!!) Finals week was probably one of the toughest, most stressful and yet funnest weeks of my life because I spent all those times with my awesome friends. I was able to survive only with the help of God after getting 4 hours of sleep in three days (I think I was legally considered insane) and who knows how many total hours the entire week. But that all payed off after getting a good grade in my design class that has kicked my butt this entire semester.

So after a crazy finals week, things slowed down and people started to leave school for the summer. It was really hard to say goodbye to people because I will not be back at Biola for the fall semester. I will be studying abroad in Cortona, Italy. As excited as I am to study in another country, I am very sad that I won't be able to see my friends for such a long time. So that is why I am starting this blog!! So I can share whats going on in my life with the people I will not be able to talk to on a regular basis!

But before I go to Italy, I am spending the summer working at Hume Lake Christian Camps. I will be rooming with my best friend/second sister Erin Royer and working at the Frozen Sombrero serving ice cream and Mexican food. I'm super stoked. I leave for Hume a week from tomorrow. I can't wait to work at a camp. I love everything about camp. The people, the fresh air, the smell of campfires, the beautiful nature, the dirt, the lack of technology, and abundence simple living.

I had two of my best friends stay with me at my house these past two days. I had a great time showing them the amazing Central Coast. I never really realized how great and beautiful it is here until I moved away. But it really is great here. I am going to miss it. My family is moving away from here to Corona in Southern Ca. So after I come back from Italy, they will be settled into their new house in Corona. This makes me sad, and happy that my dad gets to work a new job where he truly can use his gifts. There is so much change happening right now. Not only in my life, but in many people surrounding me. My friend told me that the number 8 signifies change. I think thats whats happening in 2008. Change.

For those who have seen Chronicles of Narnia (Prince Caspian) these are the lyrics to the song at the end of the movie. For those who haven't seen it, go and listen to the amazing song sung by Regina Specktor at the end of the movie. I have always loved Regina, but this song truly spoke to my heart. Probably because I could relate to it so much after saying goodbye to Biola and my awesome memories and friends. Look up the song, its really beautiful. Def one of my favorites right now.

It started out as a feeling

Which then grew into a hope

Which then turned into a quiet thought

Which then turned into a quiet word.

And then that word grew louder and louder

'Til it was a battle cry

I'll come back

When you call me

No need to say goodbye

Just because everything's changing

Doesn't mean it's never been this way before

All you can do is try to know

Who your friends are

As you head off to the war

Pick a star on the dark horizon

And follow the light

You'll come back

When it's over

No need to say goodbye

you'll come back

When it's over

No need to say goodbye

Now we're back to the beginning

It's just a feeling and no one knows yet

But just because they can't feel it too

Doesn't mean you have to forget

Let your memories grow stronger and stronger

'Til they're before your eyes

You'll come back

When they call you

No need to say good bye

You'll come back

When they call you

No need to say good bye.