FANtastic Update!

Helloooooo Friends!

Wow, I'm a horrible Blogger. :(

BUT! Here is an update on my life!

1. I am sick.
2. I am home in Bisbee.
3. I am not home-sick. . .

lol.

To make this easier to read, I'll break it into 3 sections!
1. What I've been doing (including a FANtastic testimony towards the end) (80%)
2. What I've been reading (15%)
3. What I'm about to do (5%)
*The above percentages are to encourage you to not give up reading just because you get to the "What I've been reading" section and you've already been reading for 10 minutes. haha

What I have been up to since you last read an update:

I was in Central California helping with the Youth Rush teams for 5 or so weeks. BUT! Before I started work, I went on an epic backpacking trip in Yosemite with some good friends! In this picture (going clockwise from my face...) Ranela, Kasee, Amber, David, Shama, and Hope! (I think this is while we all had our own packs on in the beginning... lol)

Below is the GORGEOUS Lake (Crescent Lake) we hiked to.

Hope and I

Hope and David

The trip out there was definitely hard, but I so enjoyed it! I hurt my knee on the way down... -_- But at least my back has gotten strong enough to go backpacking again! All in all I think we hiked at least 20 miles from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. Couldn't walk right for a week. 

The next adventure was my favorite time of the year! Leadership Pre-Treat with all the teams from Central California. We had FIVE teams this summer! Lots of prayer and Bible reflection before we hit the ground running for the summer. One of the team-building activities was an egg drop with supplied materials... This is just one example of how awesome they each were. 

As if I didn't get enough of beautiful Yosemite... I got to go with the Fresno (Fres-YES!) program on a Sabbath. This Asian guy took our picture for us (the picture he took is not any of these, I didn't want to be the 7th person to hand him my phone and say "This one too!") and afterwards asked us if we were Seventh-day Adventist! A group of them were from the Oakhurst and Fresno Central churches. This guy was like a MUSIC MACHINE! He asked to sing a song... and then he started another... and another... and another..... until the guitarist told him he couldn't play anymore because his fingers were hurting. lol. 

Other than doing lots of training and paperwork, I got to spend lots of time with Jonathan and Gisel Sanchez (My house parents. haha. He and I led together and she was one of our students. So I was really just living with some friends.) Since I was on an hourly schedule due to new HR regulations, I had to take lots of time off to not do overtime. So I made the Fres-yes program leaders lunch one day to surprise them. Not to toot my own horn or anything... but the lunches are pretty stinkin' adorable if you ask me. :) 

While Central Cal was super fun, I was really looking forward to going home and taking some time off between now and the start of the HEALTH program at Weimar. This is the first time I've been home during the summer since 2004. Needless to say, I'm feeling a little strange about it. 

Due to my desire to take a train trip at some point in my life, I decided to take one to Fresno and back to Tucson. It's an overnight trip out there... and what I didn't realize was how uncomfortable it is to sleep on a train without being able to fully extend your legs for 9 1/2 hours. 

The other thing I didn't realize was just how sketchy it is to hang out at Union Station in Los Angeles from 6:00 PM till 10:00 PM. I got hit up for money at least 7 times. Here are a few of their stories...

One guy seemed in genuine need for some money to get him out of LA. So I gave him some. 

Another guy who was clearly crazy kept trying to get my attention to give him some money... I decided to sit somewhere else in the station. 

The next guy (Erik) came up, introduced himself and started explaining what he was doing. I had to ask him to repeat what he said because I was too busy analyzing whether he was safe to talk to. I felt better when I saw that he was reading 7 Habits of Highly Effective People with a bookmark almost halfway through. I decided to listen to what he had to say. He wanted to trade up from a Minions BandAid to anything I felt like giving him. (However, I guess the rules are that I can't give money, food, drink, or animals) Since I'm totally a sucker for things like this after so many years of canvassing and scavenger hunts, I traded him my car USB adapter for his BandAid. I hope he gets bigger stuff from that than he could with a BandAid. 

While I'm settling back into my seat to wait for my train, another guy comes up and slurs while asking me something. I wasn't sure what he was saying and while I was trying to understand, a man carrying a fan (similar to the one pictured below) sat in the seat next to me to wait for his train. I finally figured out the slurring man was not asking me for money, but for a can of soda. I had to tell him that, no, unfortunately I didn't have any soda for him.

So Fan Man next to me (who looks super sketch himself for hauling this fan around among other things) starts asking me what the guy was wanting. His response when I told him? "Oh yeah, you meet the strangest people here..."

I guess you do. lol. After a few moments of awkward silence, I decided to strike up a conversation with the man. His name is Fred. He's in sales. "How did you get into sales?" "I was tricked." Boy I can relate... haha.

We got to know each other for about 10 minutes (he was actually really cool! And not because his fan was plugged in... ) and eventually we got onto spiritual topics. We talked about prophecy and about history and studying the Bible... then he dropped a bombshell. He dropped his voice and looked hesitant when he finally said, "You know, if people really studied their Bibles... they would be keeping the Sabbath, not Sunday."

...

"I'm actually a Sabbath keeper!" He was super happy to hear that! He doesn't believe in Organized religion and has a couple things that I think he needs to study deeper, but it was incredible to get to know him. I told him about reading The Great Controversy by Ellen White and he stopped me and pulled out his phone so he could write down the title and author. I told him that she wrote it in the 1800's and that it was a book I thought he should read after our conversation. I almost missed my train, but it was well worth that experience!

Now I'm home.
And I'm sick.
But not home-sick.

What I've been reading:

GREAT book. Off the top of your heads what are some great relationship books you can think of???

Boundaries (And all of it's affiliates)
I Kissed Dating Goodbye
Boy Meets Girl
When God Writes Your Love Story
When Dreams Come True
Preparing the be His Helpmate
Lady in Waiting
Captivating
Relationships: A Mess Worth Making

These are just off the TOP OF MY HEAD. I timed myself. It took me 1 min and 18 sec to come up with this list.

Now, what is a great relationship book to read after you BREAK UP?

...


...


The Bible....

....

Right?? Well, a friend of mine (Shout out to Hope!) recommended a book to read about this very topic. How do you get over a breakup in a Biblical way. ESPECIALLY if you weren't expecting it to end.

No, I didn't just breakup with someone. But I was telling her how I tend to blame certain things in my life the past 3 or so years on a relationship that went south. So this book has helped me to see things more clearly and how to better respond to them in my heart.

You want to know what book it is?
Really?
Okay.

Read it. But don't break up with your significant other just because you want to read it. It's not a great idea to do that. But maybe read it so you can help someone else through a rough time. :) 

What I'm About to do:

Honestly? Take a nap. I'm still feeling really sick... 

Hope your summer is going well and that you're enjoying it no matter where you are or what you're doing! :)