First Experience Abroad

Proverbs 13:20, ¨He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.¨

Right now I´m in Ecuador for study abroad. It´s been a great experience! Monday morning I got on a plane for the first time. It was AWESOME! Flew from Des Moines to Chicago to Miami to Quito, Ecuador. Then, when we were landing in Quito, which is atop a mountain, we started going up again! After flying around aimlessly for a bit the pilot said we couldn´t land cause of the fog. So we went to Guayaquil. And sat on the plane. For about 2 hours. Then came back. At 3:30 in the morning we unloaded from a plane that should´ve been there at 10:30. Oh well, such is life.

The next day, Tuesday, we ate a fantastic breakfast at the hotel then went to go on a farm tour. My favorite part was the riding the bus part. I saw so many things, even though we were driving ridiculously and I couldn´t get any good pictures. We had some cool discussions though and got to know one another pretty well. 

Then yesterday morning we travelled to another little town, I can´t think of what´s it´s called just now. The drive through the lush mountains was fantastic! I opened my window and rode with my head and shoulders out for a while, til I got in trouble.

We went on a tour of a tree farm (where I saw a mule AND a donkey!), a pineapple farm, and a palm oil extraction facility. The last place gave us free baseball caps. Always a plus, especially since I noticed that I have about half an inch of blonde-ish hair growing atop the brunette.

Today we went on a tour of a banana farm, which was very cool, and a tobacco leaf farm that has 2000 employees. It was quite ginormous.

Favorite things:

1. the airplane when it takes off

2. the airplane if I´m in a window seat

3. food. all food. but especially piña (pineapple juice) and all the ways they cook meat here

4. ¨The more you play with it, the wetter it gets!¨ -Dr. Lee Burras. He was talking about a particular type of soil. We were all thinking, ¨That´s what she said!¨

5. friends. and hanging out together all the time

6. the Spanish language! I´m finally putting it to use!

7. every time I see a mule. or donkey. especially when I look at a bunch of horses and within .001 seconds I have the one mule picked out. from a distance. (it´s a talent)

8. the weather. even the rain is nice

9. COFFEE! it´s so good here I can drink it black!

Lesser favorite things:

1. smoking in public is common here. I´m allergic.

2. there are some trash problems, especially in poor areas

3. poor areas

4. no toilet paper in a lot of public restrooms

5. Josh and I can´t seem to be on facebook at the same time. I just want a live facebook chat! 

6. it´s very hard to take pictures from the bus 

That is a short summary of my trip so far. This way I won´t have to tell all the details so many times :) 

Forgiven

~Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize."-1 Corinthians 9:24




"I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen, not only because I see it but because, by it, I see everything else." 


"...a Christian is not a man who never goes wrong, but a man who is enabled to repent and pick himself up and begin over again after each stumble..."-(both) C.S. Lewis


I'm a contradiction. I always have been. When I was in about 8th or 9th grade, every sentence I said contradicted itself or the surrounding sentences. My actions fall short of my beliefs and I'm one of the poorest decision-makers I know. I told someone recently that the best decision I made was to pierce my nose (spur of the moment decision): what does that say about me?


The worst decisions I make are when something contradicts my beliefs, but seems pleasurable in my mind. Somehow, I manage to make myself think that it's okay to do that: God will forgive me. I can go to a party, I can take a sip of alcohol and still claim to not drink, it's okay to sample everything a little bit...you get the picture. That's just one example. Another would be when I got pissed for getting a speeding ticket for the one time I drove 70 in a 65-I just tried to justify it by explaining how normally I drive 85 not 70, so this time I wasn't really doing anything wrong. But I was graciously reminded that 70 is still speeding and has the same penalty as 85.


One good that has come out of periodical falls: I am less apt to judge people harshly. Because I've put on a false face a time or two, I am sure as hell in no position to judge others who do the same. Reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis has helped influence my perspective as well. And the music I listen to (check out "Forgiven" by Sanctus Real) points out that our God is one who is loving and forgiving (for reference google "Jesus"). I mean, who gives up their own perfect life for the life of sinners like me? If that's not love, ... well, it is love, there's no alternative.


Which brings me to my next point: I became a Christian in May and have been reading Christian resources ever since, trying to be better, trying to live it. And in church this morning, I was thinking about some of the books I've been reading recently and came up with random proof of this God and Christianity thing. I wrote them down on the program and will present them here:


Shannon's Random Proof of Christianity (scribbled on paper as "Reasons to Believe Christianity")
1. Genesis explains where we came from. (Genesis 1 to be precise)
2. How would Noah have known to build an ark if God hadn't told him? (Genesis 6-9)
3. How could a virgin be pregnant if it wasn't the work of God? (google "what causes pregnancy" if unsure)
4. We know Jesus was sinless. Think about it: here's this dude, running around, performing miracles, and claiming to be the "Son of God." Don't you think everyone was watching Him closely? Surely Judas or one of the others would've mentioned it if He'd sinned. But nobody could find a fault in Him. (check out the ending of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, or random places in the New Testament for reference)
5. The supernatural miracles that Jesus performed-enabling the blind man to see, healing the 10 lepers, and  feeding 5,000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, just to name a small percentage, were obviously not from a normal man. But from a God-man. (reference Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John)
6. He rose from the dead. And walked around, talking to people. There were witnesses. (Matthew 28)


As far as living it out...eh. I'm sure that I'm no worse than I've ever been, maybe even better, by the standards of this world. But because I know and am acutely aware of right and wrong (prayer will do that to ya) my errors stand out (to me) more so than before I was a Christian (Christian=God's little buddy). And it can be hard for me to forgive myself, or to even let myself see the truth of my actions. But I'm working on it. After all, I'm a Christian, and my purpose on this earth is to become "a little Christ" in order to show Christ's love to others so we can all party in Heaven someday. I'm messed up, but God loves me anywyay, and He loves you too.  :)


(This is how I use my time at school. I have 3 finals this week and plan to study for approximately zero of them.) Ha.

Wedding Planning

Philippians 4: 6-7, "Do not be anxious about anything but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."


I could rant on and on about how horrible last week was. But I won't. Putting the past behind me. I will say this-since I've been "born again," my attitude has been affected in hundreds of positive ways. Like when I was driving home Friday, I couldn't have had a more worshipful heart.


I finished up my unfortunate week by going to a friend's wedding Saturday night. Here's a couple pictures.

The bride and groom's first dance.

Josh and I with our flower girl-also the flower girl for this wedding :)

195 days until my own wedding. I'm not panicking yet, but that is a deadline, and.... We have basically nothing done. We have the big things-preacher, location and reception location, ceremony music (which includes Bon Jovi) and Bible verses (all non-traditional), dress and new cowboy boots for myself  :), flower girl, bridesmaids and Man of Honor, and photographer. 

Sometimes I think this would be easier to plan if my parents weren't included. They tell me they'll pay for this or that, they'll take care of this or that...they are not taking care of any details yet and I'm starting to worry a little bit. If my bank account was big enough, we'd've had everything done/ordered already (invitations, decorations, cake). And they-Mom- keep trying to give me instructions and advice. This shows how little they know about me. Unless I ask for said advice, I will not listen to it and then she just gets all worked up. 

Sample conversation from this summer:

(Setup: Josh and I got engaged and chose to set the date for next summer, and I will still be in school. Dad says he won't pay for the wedding cause I won't do things his way. I say, "I don't care. I have money and a job." To my knowledge, Dad and I are both fine with the situation... Mom and I are on our way home from looking at dresses, where we were limited to the $99 rack because I'm not stupid enough to blow all my money on a damn dress. Now we're on our way home.)

Mom: "I just don't know why you can't compromise a little bit. I've been trying to talk to him but he refuses to pay for your wedding if it's outside...I just wish you two weren't so stubborn!"

Me (nonchalantly): "That sucks."

Mom (getting worked up over nothing, it seems): "I just want you to be able to have a nice wedding!"

Me (just as nonchalantly as before): "Don't worry. We'll make sure everyone knows to bring their own lawnchairs and a dish for a potluck supper. My friends will all understand. It'll be fine."

Mom (somewhat hysterical at this point): "Why do you think everything has to go your way all the time? Can't you just compromise a little bit? Just leave Razzle home and we'll see if he'll give in, at least a little bit."

Me (calmly and business-like): "Yeah that's not gonna happen. Razzle is my best friend. This is my only wedding. It's going to be my way."

Mom (on the verge of tears and getting very worked up): "You are just like your dad! I want to help you out so you'll be able to have a nice wedding! But if you insist on everything going your way, that's fine! I'll just have to be embarrassed about it and make sure I don't invite any of my friends!"

Me (just as calm as before): "Okay. ... You know, they can come if they bring a dish for supper."

For the record, Dad gave in and decided that they'd pay. But not for the photographer or my footwear, apparently.

Of course I'm not easy to work with. Dress shopping: white only, no train, not strapless, not lacy, no veil, no bouquet...I know it was frustrating for the dress shop ladies to work with that, but we managed. And of course I won't do traditional vows either-I'm writing my own. The ceremony exit music will be Bon Jovi. And we're riding off into the sunset on Razzle. 

Non-traditional, to say the least. But Josh and I are working well together, and that's all I can ask for. Everyone else can get over their issues or shut the hell up :) Cause one thing's for sure, I am my own boss, this is my only wedding, and even if things don't get done til the last minute, they'll go my way.