Too much, too fast, too deep

Current mood: busy
Category: Life

hey guys sorry i havent been bloging! its not because i have nothing to say, on the contrary, so much has been happening so fast and its all so significant and deep, i could (should) seriously write a book about it! its been such an adventure so far... i have so much to say, so many stories, so many miracles, so many revelations... God has been SO good! i miss seattle and all my friends and i miss church, but God has been so faithful to me here! its been a roller coaster ride! i love it! God is doing some awesome things, and i'm totally walking by faith and not by sight! its fun... cant wait to tell you all the stories... i'm still processing a lot of it... crazines... keep praying... its good!

Arrival, Days (& nights) 1, 2 and 3

Current mood: hopeful
Category: Travel and Places

Sorry guys I really wanted to make these blogs separate, but I don't have as much free time as thought I would, which I guess is a good thing.

Landing in Rhode Island made my stomach turn. It was a smooth landing, but the thought of actually being there, across the country, in the place where I spent the last 13 years of my life gave me butterflies. Memories just came flooding back and I had to literally fight them off, knowing that I wasn't the same person anymore.

The next morning I saw my stepsister Tanya and it shocked me to see how much she was like me when I was her age (not a good thing). My old room is her room now and she even has it set up the same way I had. Wow… My cell phone was blowing up even before I woke up (before I even flew in actually) with friends wanting to see me and the first person who got the honor to come by and take me out was TJ, my best guy bud ever since field hokey freshman year of high school. Hard to imagine I've known that boy for that long. I've literally watched him grow up from a scrawny little boy to a man and he knows me very well. Well, used to know me that is. He had a really hard time understanding the change in me, that I'm not his crazy anna banana anymore. He calls me St. Anna now which I think is cute J! It was so good to see him and catch up... I love how he can still confide in me and he knows I can see right through him. I love that boy. Next up was Paul, my volleyball/party buddy who's seen me at my worst and then heard that I preached at a volleyball game last spring. He came by and we hung out at my house before taking a drive downtown, it was really good to see him too, I'm getting him to throw a party while I'm here ;) so that we can all hang out, all the volleyball crew! One thing I noticed ever since I came back is that most of my close friends here are guys, and in Seattle they are girls, which is how it should be I guess, but here it's no big deal. I've known most of these guys forever and we have lot of history so I would think nothing of giving these guys full on bear hugs, telling them I loved them or hanging out with them one on one. I'm one of the guys here lol. The rest of the night I spent hanging out with the fam and my baby sister who is ridiculously cute, I cant stop taking pictures and videos of her! She looks just like me when I was her age it's really amazing! Next day I went to my high school (more butterflies) to visit my Physics teacher with whom I keep in touch with to this day. I actually had a dream about seeing him so I knew God had a divine appointment waiting for me. And it was a great one! Almost right off the bat he asked me about God and how I came to know Him (he knew about my church involvement from previous e mails) and for the next hour I got to share my testimony and we talked about God! It was too cool! He could see the change in me and it made an impact on him. I gave him a City Church touch card told him to go online and check out some messages so I can't wait to hear what happens next. After that my friend (ex) Eddy came by to hang out at the house for a while and it was interesting... God's been working on him for a while, so anytime now... Lastly, Aida and I hung out, went to dinner (Cape Verde food!) and met up with Meliza and Leo (other 2 sisters) to chill at Meli's boyfriend's house and watch a movie. It's funny how both Aida and Meli are now dating guys that I went to high school with. Of course the question everyone I see or talk to asks me is whether or not I'm dating someone and if I have any men in my life. I'm actually pretty tired of explaining to everyone that I actually have lots of men in my life but I'm just friends with all of them and I don't feel a need (or a desire) to be in a relationship right now! I mean I see why that would be difficult for them to understand given my track record, but hey, I'm a new person now!!! Anyway, we had a great time hanging out. I don't know what it is about being here, being with my old friends that just does something in me. All of a sudden, this Spanish talking, hips shaking, ghetto acting person comes out lol. Its all super clean though, don't worry ;)!

So today I pretty much helped get ready for Sophia's birthday party tomorrow, talked to a bunch of people, made plans for next week and chilled with fam and God. I still haven't had any quality time with Tanya L. Not cool, I really want some, we need to talk. Joe is coming by soon to hang out, but I'm gonna have to go to church at 8 am tomorrow so no staying out late for me. Bummer, cuz I wanted to salsa! What else? It's sad seeing how virtually all of my friends here are unhappy and unsatisfied with life. The vicious cycle of heartache just repeats itself over and over. When they see how happy and at peace and joyful I am it blows their mind because they know I used to be just like them. Nevertheless I see God working in their lives and hearts and it's encouraging J. The harvest is ripe...

Providence 411

Current mood: busy
Category: Travel and Places

Providence is nicknamed the Little Apple (NYC being the Big Apple). It's a very small college city (7 colleges and universities within a 10 mile radius not including the many various community colleges) that's full of young people which accounts for its many bars, lounges and night clubs. Not to exaggerate, but RI (specifically Providence) is home to many of the finest restaurants (most are located on Federal Hill, my neighborhood), many of which turn into some of the hottest nightclubs after dark and are frequented by some of the world's best DJs. The city is corrupt to the core and underage drinking is the norm. Who you know is all that matters in virtually every arena, especially when it comes to getting in, getting tables and getting VIP. Italians rule everything and after that it's the Portuguese and of course the Jews. The East side, where Brown and RISD are, is dominated by old money and bears a lot of history. The West side is mostly new money and where all the preppy college kids live. It's home to PC and RIC (my school!). Federal Hill (where I live) used to be dominated by the Italian mafia but has since limited its territory to the Atwells Ave area (where all the restaurants are) and the rest of the neighborhood turned ghetto. Downtown is beautiful. Small, but beautiful. In the summer, Waterfire makes it a very famous attraction. It's a city that never sleeps with its party life. South Providence is just downright dangerous. Shootings and stabbings happen virtually every night and you can see drug dealers and prostitutes just by driving down Broad Street during daylight hours. North Main is ghetto and pretty much everything else in between... and when I say ghetto, I mean ghetto. Capitol Hill in Seattle doesn't even come close. RI has a lot of culture. Different kinds in different places. It's very diverse, very liberal and very controversial. It's very unique in itself and very different from its surrounding cities and suburbs. What more can be said? I can talk about it forever, but I think you get the picture... I lived there for 9 years, so I'd say I still carry a lot of it in me.

The flight of a lifetime...

Current mood: excited
Category: Travel and Places

My life is an adventure and I wouldn't want to have it any other way... this is truly becoming my motto! So here's the breakdown of the latest:

My mom dropped me off at the airport Tuesday morning and at first it was just like any other trip: check in, go through security, wait for boarding... the usual. The plane was a bit late which wasn't anything out of the ordinary. So we board, and of course my seat is smack in the middle of the plane and I'm sitting between two people, an older woman who is very friendly (and very fussy) and a quiet young man. Well the woman and I start chatting and I tell her I work at a Christian school and we talk about that for a while, just waiting for the plane to take off... well it doesn't. We sit in it for about two hours waiting while they fix the broken cargo door. There went my connection in DC... Somewhere in the last half hour the quiet man decides he wants to talk to us as well. By then everyone on the plane is talking and getting to know each other. People are beginning to get impatient and antsy, not to mention mad about missing their connections. While everyone is complaining, my neighbors are very puzzled by my good attitude about the whole thing. It honestly didn't get to me at all. I was completely calm and happy and joking around and just enjoying life! They marveled at it... Finally, our flight got cancelled because they couldn't fix the door and we had to get off the plane to re-book our flight. So all 180 of us had to stand/sit in a huge long line/pile by the gate for about another 2 hours waiting to talk to the 3 agents that were supposed to help us. Some waited even longer... It was kind of fun at fist, texting and calling people, getting encouragement from Mike, looking up scriptures in the Bible and laughing, all to the puzzlement of everyone around me. After two hours though, I gave up on the line and called the ticket agent by phone to re-book my flight. While I was in line I was talking to a girl about my age and who, like me, was keeping a very good attitude about the whole thing. I saw her again on the shuttle ride to the hotel where the airline put us up for the night, along with the quiet man, and we agreed to have dinner together. It was awesome! Turns out she is a Christian who is struggling to find a church in the Seattle area. So we had an amazing conversation and exchanged numbers! I made a new friend! It was definitely a divine appointment! I actually liked the hotel staying thing... I just love hotels! And this was a nice one... so it was very fun actually (no hotel party though). Well the next morning when I got to the airport I was in for another surprise: our 8:30 flight now wasn't leaving until noon and we had to rebook our connections again. People were mad. I felt like the enemy was trying to kick it up a notch, so I just repeated the verse in Proverbs 16 that I (randomly) read that morning: "A man makes his plans, but the Lords directs his steps." I of course knew that God was in control even if nobody else did. Sow while I was standing in yet another line, my mom called me freaking out and I talked to her in Russian. After I hung up a young man behind me asked me if I was Russian. Another divine appointment! Turns out he's a Russian youth pastor from Pennsylvania who was in Seattle for his brother's wedding and preached at 3 different churches last Sunday, one of which was my old Russian church. We talked for a long time about the things of God and I got to share my testimony with him (with everyone around listening in). It was quite awesome, but sad because like many Russian Pentecostal Christians, his beliefs were still centered on the traditions and the law instead of an intimate, loving relationship with God. When I was telling him what God has done in my life and how much I loved Him, he just looked at me like he had no idea what I was talking about, but I know it got to him... so yea... lots of seeds were planted on this flight... on the plane, in the terminal, at the hotel... I'm amazed at what God can plan and do and how He can use people for His purposes... While I think it's unusual how He had me minister to people that were already Christian (but needed encouragement and support), I know that others have benefited from it was well. On the flight to DC our pilot was very funny, slightly unprofessional, but funny. The things that went on this flight were beyond anything I've ever experienced before... The pilot was a week away from retirement and just "didn't care anymore" about United, so he actually drafted up a letter (Christmas card) to the president of United, expressing his and the passengers' disdain about the whole 24 hour delay ordeal, and passed it around the plane so people could leave their own comments. He then took a picture of the passengers in the cabin raising their middle finger (directed at the United's president) so send along with the letter. I'm telling you, this flight was beyond strange. When the letter got to me, I read over it quickly and found it to be less than pleasant... so I did what I could so lessen the damage by adding Romans 8:28 and saying that there were no complaints from me because I actually enjoyed the adventure. Hope it helps... When the plane touched down in DC everyone cheered... I think a lot of good came out of this "nightmare". People got out of their shells, let down their guard, helped each other, talked to each other, made new friends and were forced to slow down and notice others around them... there was a lot of bonding. As I pondered all of this sitting in my first class seat from DC to Providence, I thanked God for always being in control and ordering my steps ...

Lots of "stuff"

Current mood: sleepy
Category: Life

I am ridiculously blessed! I love saying that because it always throws people off and yet it's so true! Quick recap of the last few days and a look into the future and you'll agree:

This weekend has been super busy with working and hanging out with friends and the memories I have from it will be forever treasured... I almost don't want to leave Seattle because I have the most amazing friends here J and I don't know how I'll live without them for two and a half weeks LOL! I got SO stinkin' blessed at CollegeGear.com with a huge paycheck that went way over what I was supposed to get and I also found out that I'll continue working there next year! YAI!!! Also, today at school, Pastor told me that I'll be getting a raise!!! WOW!!! I wasn't even looking for one! So yea... God is SO good to me! And it's completely unmerited and undeserved... I just love Him SO much!

The Christmas party at school went amazingly well... everything worked out and my kids were very happy... they are so darn cute they made me cry! They are really not happy about me leaving though! All day they were giving me cards, pictures, and love notes telling me how much they'll miss me and how much they love me! I showed them the movie Cars after lunch and they loved it! I love it too lol I always tear up at the end... They were just so grateful! So yea... it was just a very sweet and emotional day... and then I had a few heart to hearts with my teacher-friends and that really made me not want to go to RI lol... it's like the whole day (week) God was showering me with love and blessings in forms of my friends, students and co-workers. I can't ask for a better life!

I'm packing now... so tired... packing and praying... this is my 3^rd trip there since BC and I've planted lots of seeds, so I'm ready to see a harvest! Please pray for me and for my family and friends. Pray that God will use me to do His will. That I will glorify Him in all I say and do. That God will use me to show His truth and His love. John prayed for me in school today and it was so powerful. He touched on everything I was thinking! Please pray that God will soften and prepare hearts to be sensitive to God's presence, voice, and touch. I want to see miracles. I want to see healing. I want to see lives changed and transformed. I want to see my loved ones in heaven...

I know God is in control and I trust Him to order my steps on this trip... this will be quite an adventure, I'm excited! And as usual, I'll keep everyone updated! J much love!

Scabs

Current mood: drained
Category: Life

why do scabs itch? you know, right when they are healing up, they start to itch... and its so annoying because you know that right when you go to scratch them, they'll start bleeding again! they just look like they are all healed, but they're not... i hate it...

i have a scab on my foot from ice skating last week. i've kept a band-aid on it for the last few days, and when i took it off it looked like it was healing quite nicely. and then last night it started to itch... and i wanted to scratch it so bad! but i didnt because i knew better. i didnt want to make it bleed again...

i hope you guys are catching on... its a lot like that with our spiritual lives... when we think we are "healed" in a certain area of our life, the itch comes for us to revisit it. we think its ok because we are "healed" but we're really not... and when we revisit it, it starts to bleed again... we just hurt ourselves and have to go through the healing process all over again... its not worth the scratch... leave the scab alone... dont do it... i'm trying not to...

Recent Bulletins

Current mood: sleepy
Category: Blogging

Subject

In case you missed them :) (Yes, I think they were that good!) CollegeGear.com :) :) :)

Body:

i have the coolest job... working with the coolest stuff... a dream job really, its so fun and just perfect in every way. exactly what i needed! i work with college merchandise of all major schools and you wouldnt believe the products you can get with your school's logo on it! everything from golf balls to garters to tattoos to kitchenware! its crazy!!! my favorites are of course all the baby stuff, they are just so cute!!! little baby booties with college logos, bibs, caps, beanies, just the cutest stuff imaginable! i can pretty much recite all the major school's logos and mascots now... yai for me! and it constantly makes me think of my friends! all the UW, USC, Ohio, Duke, and UConn stuff... awww.... lol ok i wish i could get it all for you! i think i know how Ruth felt now... this job is such a blessing from God, i'm super grateful!

Subject

Russian to the CORE!!!!

Body:

so today we had an extra long lunch break because the conversation at the teachers'/staff table was hysterically funny! and by that i mean two of the teachers were in tears from crying!!! what were we talking about?! russians! lol russians here, russian language, ukranian language, russians in russia, ukranians, and how we are just so different from Americans and all other people! it was so fun! i remember a lot of Russia, but i wish i remembered more... man, if youre not Russian or have never lived in Russia, youre seriously missing out lol... i REALLY want to go back and visit!!! Russians are just nuts! our life is crazy! we are just so unique... i'm so proud of being one lol :D!!!

Subject

I Stinkin' LOVE my job!!!

Body:

you guys have no idea... i wish i could just have all of you spend a day in my class... i have so much fun everyday (ok maybe some days are less fun than others but still)!!! my kids just love me so much its crazy... the amounts of love notes i get! Hugs, kisses, cards, comic strips, toys, candy, just crazy little things to show me they are thinking about me, love me and are even praying for me!!! i'm just so blessed there's no way i deserve this... they just literally shower me with love and appreciation every day... sure there are times i want to hurt them (just kidding!!!) but their love outweighs my frustration by FAR!!! i'm so in the right profession... i love this... Thank you, God, for my job. i know that i'm in the right place, where You want me... you cant really understand this and appreciate it unless youre a teacher or have worked with kids before... i wish i could make you all undertsand... its really just so wonderful...

Subject

MORE Praise Reports!!!

Body:

God is ridiculously good to me :) i guess it comes with obedience lol :) so here are my stories for this week so far: 1. i really need $$$ but had no way of making more than i already did so i was praying for some sort of financial income/miracle/anything! well, a couple of days ago my friend told me that her friend really needed help around his warehouse, just doing retail stuff like pulling, packaging and shipping and he was paying really well! i could make my own hours, work anytime as much as I wanted and get payed anytime (cash/check)! it really couldnt be any more perfect! so yea... a total answer to prayer!!! i'll be working my tailfeather off until i go to RI for the much need Christmas $$$! YAI!!! 2. the tricept in my left arm by my elbow has really been bugging me for a while and i wasnt sure why. it was just hurting randomly and made it uncomfortable for me to move my arm too much. i've mentioned it in prayer a few times, but wasn't too worried about it. so last sunday at the healing service i wasnt even thinking about it and i just went up to pray for my friends. well, on monday i realized that my arm wasnt bothering me anymore. at all. not one bit... yea i got totally healed :D! PRAISE HIM, PRAISE HIM!!! lol God gets major props in my book!!!

Subject

My PASSION

Body:

This is what I put on repeat as loud as it goes and rock out to practically 24/7... This is my lifesong... my theme song lol... the soundtrack of my life... Philipians 1:20 Artist: Australia Hillsongs Song: Evermore Lost for words with all to say Lord You take my breath away Still my soul, my soul cries out For You are holy And as I look upon Your name Circumstances fade away Now Your glory steals my heart You are holy You are holy, Lord evermore heart,="" my="" heart="" will="" say=""> Above all, I live for Your glory Even if my world falls I will say Above all, I live for Your glory With all my heart I'll say I'm living for Your name With all to give You praise We're living for Your glory, Lord!!! evermore>

Subject

LMAO

Body:

This is from the AIM conversation I just had with one of the boys I studnet taught two years ago (8th grade English). aznminority7: are you getting married AVp94: no AVp94: lol AVp94: why should i? aznminority7: cuz you are pretty duh AVp94: haha AVp94: thats not everything aznminority7: my bro thought aznminority7: so to LOL how stinkin' cute!!! yea i heard a lot of my students had crushes on me that year... that explaines all the detentions lol!

Subject

"PRAISE HIM, PRAISE HIM!!!"

Body:

lol yea i love that song! so lately in IMY we've been talking a lot about prayer and how God answers it. its been really interesting. in my personal experience i found that God always answers my prayers. its not always what i want and when i want it but i always get an answer! i either get a YES right away (it happens quite often actually), a NOT YET (recently i got an answer for something i asked back in february!) or a I'VE GOT SOMETHING BETTER IN MIND ;) some people say it means "no" but i dont see it quite so negatively. either way God always gives me peace about it and helps me understand why its a "no" and most of the time i end up not wanting the thing i asked for anyway so it always works out. i always have praise reports... God is just SO good! :) so yea... i "PRAISE HIM!!!" :D

Currently listening : Mighty to Save By Hillsong Release date: 05 September, 2006