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[[ fOrtunaTe ]] Saturday morning, i got up.. bright n' early, took a shower, and all that jib. I went to the greenville mini-mart to grab some stuff for the drive down there, and all that jib.. and it was only like, 8.oo, and no one was at the church parking lot. SoOoOo then, i went to the shop.. and i saw my dad driving probably towards the church, but yeah. haha..:) so i found out he cared and didn't want me to leave without him saying goodbye and all of that other crud. :) haha.. then, i went to the shop, said my goodbye's to Digger.. and Bob, and .bUddY. and my mom, and everyone else that was there.. and my dad drove me over to Christus and waited with me til' we got the vans there.. and yeah. he gave me some words of advice.. and gave me a hug and kiss goodbye, :) so i had a lot of fun with that. hehe. then.. we started going, and we realized that the big 15-passanger van didn't have air conditioning, which is one of the things that we definately wanted.. hah, yeah. definately. .. so we took it back to the .FoRd. dealership, and they had nothing.. other than 2 cars, and the people that were able to fix it, weren't there. So we ended up getting 2 cars.. which was bad, because Christine is pregnat.. and yeah. So she drove, Steph drove, and Dick drove.. yeah. hah.. we had frequent stops at gas stations.. and way sides so we can go to the bathroom and get something to drink and all of that other stuff.. So at about 7.3o at night, we arrived at a church in southern illinois.. :) which was cool. me, kamilla, jamie, and sarah, went for a walk down a main road and stuff.. and we cut through the dark alley.. yeah. it was crazy. Then.. we had pizza. and a whole bunch of other munchies, and it was extremely good. :) that church treated us good.. realllll good. haha. .. so then, lights out was at midnight.. and me, corey, and someone else, i do'nt remember.. were looking at the I spy books.. and then everyone prettty much came and joined. Then after we completed the book, we started talking.. and i started to get to know Corey Winters0-shioctin((however you spell it))..:) yeahhhh and we found out that we knew a lot of the same people, like Steven.. and yeah :) haha. no one can forget about steven. and Erin VanAsten.. darn, how we missed her party .. friggn' A, i tell you! .. before midnight.. corey gave me some kind of pill also known as ""advil"" -->we called it that, it rreally wasn't. it was more of a caffine pill..:) haha. so i took one of those, like 5 minutes before lights out.. and yeah. that was a mistake. haha... i was up til' like 2.3o, singing outkast songs.. i tell you. haha.. i'm retarded:) gotta love me. .. so then eventaully i got to bed, and everything turned out good
**
Sunday:: .. got up, went to church.. had a good breakfast.. played some cards:) i totally dominated in spoons:) heck yes! haha. . . . whatelse. then we went to the church service, hah, yeah. i got to hear some accents.. and man, o man, i love accents so incredibly much. So at about .. eh' i'd say 1o.3o AM we were on our way to Nashville.. we probably got there at like 6.3o, or so. . . . then we had the lil' opening service, and my leg fell asleep, so it looked like i had a fake leg.. haha, yeah, i looked pretty retarded. it look like i had a stump. ahhaha, i laugh at it now. uhm... then, we went to a crazy restauraunt, i think.. and yeah. it was crazy. .. . then.. we went to bed at like.. eh' 1o.3o-ish? because we had to.. eh whatever works, right?
**
Monday:: we went to an elderly home.. and i met Clifford Brown, and had a really cool time with him. he was crazy.. i painted him a picture, and it turned out so cute. :) i'm hoping he liked it, as much as he said he did. So kamilla and tim decided that they wanted to go outside for a walk.. and the lady they were with asked if Clifford wanted to come, so i asked him n' he was totally game:) hah. so it was really nice outside, sunny, about 9o degrees or so.. and we went on the brick road towards the fountain((Kamilla && tim, and there 2 elderly people kept walking)) and instead of that me and clifford walked up by the fountain.. and sat.. and it was a really neat expierence. I found out that around the fountain, was where dead-bodies where((with no gravestones)).. and where people throw ashes.. and yeah. it was crazy wierd. .. then.. after that, kamilla and tim came back with there people.. and started heading back in and i asked if clifford wants to keep walking.. and there was this huge building. . . and it was like, really cool. He got down on his knee's and started praying.. and it was just really cool because there were trees lined up, but then the sun was shining right where he knelt down. . . :) yeah, that made me really happy. . and yeah. so we went on a walk, and we came right back to where he knelt down earlier, and knelt down again.. and i joined him this time... and then we headed back in.. and, yeah. :) it was cool. i started coloring him a picture, and then.. we had to leave. . . which kinda bummed me out, but it was all good. .. we also went to the Boys and Girls club ((B.A.G.)) .. yeahh :) .. so the first day was pretty much awkward, because we were basically the only white people.. and everyone at the b.a.g club, was black. so we felt pretty out of the circle and whatever else you wanna say. haha. .. but yeah .. so then after that, we had the prayer tour around nashville.. went down like the music rows, and saw the rich side and the poor side.. and it was amazing how different things were.. and yeah. it was crazy. .. then the kids just kinda hung around and all that stuff
**
Tuesday:: we went to the food place and boxed about 8oo boxes = i was kudos:) heck yes baby! .. then we went to the boys and girls club, i played football -->only girl...:) white girl:) haha. then, i scored a touch down because ray ray through it to me.. and man o man, was he hott.. hahha. yeah..then i played basketball against erika and veronica. .. yeah, me and troy totally dominated.. haha:) heck yes baby! .. then we started playing volleyball with big reggie, and .. then i got the majority of the white people in there too.. and he enjoyed that.:) yeaaaaaaaah. i did most of the sports stuff.. and i had a good time with that. we went to some mexican restauraunt, and the food made me and cory sick.. i barphed like 8 times, and yeah. cory got sick a few times too, but after that .. we went to the opra hotel, and we felt unworthy because we were in our work clothes.. and looked like crap. it was amazing how huge that thing was, yeah. it was unbelieveable. .. insane .. then, we went into a back corner, and got pared up into groups.. and it was me, kelsey, and troy. the thing was you had to do a skit for one of the things that made you happy about that day.. and feel accomplished, and i did the whole, scoring a football thing. and troy did something about the boxes.. and so did kelsey. haha.. yeah. cory had to cross his legs, and that was so funny.. ahahhaa, FAT ALBERT! .. so we were sitting on the ground, yeah.. so then, i barphed while i was at the fancy hotel (( don't worry i made it to the bathroom )) .. heh .. yeaaaaaaaaah. then.. because we were sititng like pretzel legged for like.. an hour, on the ground.. cory's legs fell asleep hahha, and it was so cute because he couldn't walk.. :) haha, it was hilarious.. he couldn't walk so me and tim helped him to the couch.. and haha, i helped him:) yaaaaaaaaah. then, we went to kmart.. and i got a green volleyball.. and some munchies, AND a my little pony coloring book:). heck yes bebe! .. then, the kids hung out and had a good ol' time.. and we colored in the coloring books that we all bought. haha.
**
Wednesday:: was our urban mission.. we had to walk around down=town nashville.. and find a homeless person, have lunch with them and talk with them, talk to some tourists, and have a prayer.. and act like we were a homeless person and lay on the ground in the city. (( we were grouped up, and i was with, sarah, erin, cory, me, and dick )) .. yeah ..--each group had a different place to go.. and different missions .. hah. yeah. anywase. so we met jeffery, and found out some stuff about him, like how he lived.. and what he did. if he ever did drugs, and all that othre stuff. i guess he was more into robbing, and burgarly then anything.. so yeah. So we sat and ate with him for a while, and then we met these other two guys .. and they told us a story about how one of their friends jumped off a bridge, and didn't bring the guy back a mt. dew or something, and then.. the homeless guy found the guys body.. and took the money back? something like that.. but they were kinda different and talked a lot about suicide, and how ugly one of the guys was compared to a horse on broadway. haha.. it was funny. then.. yeah. we went to a car parking place, and prayed there. then.. we met a guy from illinois, that was going to the dave matthews concert.. and asked him some questions.. then up the street, we met these other tourists, (5) from virginia who were all also going to the dave matthews concert.. and yeah. we asked them questions, and gave them some food. haha.. :) good time. then after that, we headed over to the bus stop.. and layed on the middle of the side - walk.. and acted like we were homeless and such. it was a cool expierence, and people didn't really even care... so yeah, it was like wow. then we headed back to the farmers market.. and i tripped, whoops:) haha. i'm such a dutz. gotta love it!:) yeaaaaaah.. then, me, cory, and sarah stuck our heads into the water fountains.. you know the ones that come up, and go down? .. yeah.. them. haha. then we went to the market.. got some ice-cream, and tried making conversation with one of the ladys.. but she didn't understand much english.. so yeah. haha.. then we got this japanese beverage that was in a crazy cool bottle.. and yeah. it was awesome :) haha. next, we went to the b.a.g club.. and played with the little kids.. had some funs with that. haha.. i made some adorable friends. .. went to bed at about 11.3o because we had to get up really really really early the next day.
**
Thursday:: woke up bright and early, at like.. 4.oo and was on the road by 4.eo and ended up at a Men's christian center, which is where men go after they get out of jail or got themselves into making some bad descisions, so the shelter offers a rehabilitation center. The men that are there aren't aloud to leave there for a minimum of three months. ((men that are staying there aren't homeless, either)) The shelter also offers a shelter for homeless people so they can have shelter, and get food and nutrition that they need. But in order to stay there they have to go to a chapel service, to try to keep their faith strong.
so we got into the cafeteria area and sat around waiting for some specific directions from the cooks. Eventually we headed into the kitchen and were told to wash our hands, put on gloves, hairnets, and an apron. because we had 15 members from our church, in the group, we had about 5 people go and communicate with some of the visitors. For the first session .. we served oatmeal, bananas, donuts, bread, and iced tea. After the 1st session, we did a switch, and had someone go out and visit with the 2nd session of people.. so i volunteered.
so at first i was nervous and didn't know what to say or what to ask without getting them offended. after about 2 minutes i walked into the cafeteria sitting area and asked christine if it would be alright for me to talk to the guys by myself, she looked at me like *wow* but without any hesitations she said yeah and was encouraging about it too.
so i was walking back, and i asked a guy that was going to say hi to one of his buddies if it would be alright to sit by him. So he pulled out the chair for me, and told me to sit down. .. :) .. yeahhhh . haha, he was about 2o years old ((and i feel horrible, because i forgot his name..)) and i started asking him about his life. like, where he was orginally from, and asked if he played any sports and he said that he played football but got himself in some trouble and ended up dropping out of high-school. He asked if i played any sports, and i told him that i played volleyball, basketball, softball, and i'm in track. I told him that i only play track for school because of how its mostly names, and it pretty much is. He was probably one of the most positive, inspiring, and sweetest person i've ever met, in my entire life. He told me that i got buisness to finish up, because if i don't i'll end up regretting it. He told me that i got to show them what i got and never give up on myself or basically to give up period. He told me God will always be there to guide me through laughs and tears in life.
I told him that i had a few doubts about myself and that i didn't feel needed or important, but that has all changed since i talked to him. He told me that i had a purpose in life, and that i can do wahtever i set my mind to because God will back me up on my descisons even if i did make the wrong one, because he'd forgive me. After about a half hour of encouraging words and positive vibes (between me and him) he ended up having to go back upstairs to his room, and then he left.. he gave me this smile, and this hug that i will never, ever forget. .. when he left, there were other people at the table, and i asked them where to go for fun.. and they gave me some good ideas. At about 7.3o, we left and went back to the church so we could get some sleep, but had to be back up and ready by 1o a.m. it was an uplifting expierence and i'm glad God gave me the courage to go and talk to him and all the other people that were there. .. so .. overall i believe i saw god in all of the men there. they realied that their life was going in the wrong direction and decided to look at God for some reasurrance and guidance. I saw God in the guy i was talking to because he, proibably, didn't know how much all of the things he said to me meant. I just know that God has something positive for each, and every person in this world. .. and i'm not afraid to admitt that i'm a Christian ..
.. anywase! we went to the B.a.G club.. and i played some games with payton, and cheered him up because he was pretty bummed out about his mom probably going to jail. .. and i pushed him on the swings, and just made him smile, and cheered him up, which is what he needed. :) and i'm glad i can make someone happy .. :) so because thursday was our free night, we got to go shopping <3! yes!.. we went to this 5o-like restaurant.. and me n' corey, kamilla, and steph sat up by the bar. me and sarah got up and danced to *twist* haha.. heck yes. us wisconsin=ites are total crazy funkay sistas! OOoOoH baby! .. then, after that, i bought a new cd .. and we went neon-lighted mini-golfing.. so it was totally fun.. i had a blast. it was awesome, and it was so cool getting words of wisdom from him.. man. yeah. thanks:)
**
Friday:: got up, and went to the family shelter and cleaned the utility room.. with kelsey. yeah, it was pretty sick because it looked like someone took a crap in a bucket -i had to clean out .. sick .- then.. i went downstairs and folded some clothes, and went upstairs and did some envelopes.. ate lunch .. and had a lot of laughs.. kamilla was feeding my cake. . . and people ewre shoving frosting on my face .yeah i loved it:) haha. then we went to the b.a.g club .. and i didn't get to say goodbye to payton, but i got to play volleyball with the adorable little kids.. and watched the 13-and up kids do some SLAM DUNKS. and it was off the heezzeee! haha:) yes! .. hottness in a bottle .. :) .. then it was our last night, and we did a closing devotion, and got really close to eachother throughout the week.. yeah it was a week i'm never, ever going to forget. ..
**
Saturday.. we started heading home, and we went into georgia for like 3 seconds, which was awesome that was before we went white water rafting, which was an awesome expiereince... considering 3/4's of the way through, we realized that we had a flat tube in the front.. yeah, it was insane. haha.. then after that we got in a car accident, which was alright.. yeah. the tire was slashed.. and there was a really really good fender bender.. yeah. hah, everyone was for the most part alright.. yeah. so me and nick played some v-ball . hahah.. yeah, i got pretty close to him. i realized that he isn't always annoying.. and that he can be really cool..:) yeah. so because we got like 3 hours back-tracked.. we didn't get to the church we were staying at in Kentucky til' like.. 12.3o, or so. . . then me, cory, troy, nick, jaime, and kamilla.. went into the gym and played keep away from the opposite sex.. and v-ball for a lil' bit, but then by like 1ish we were all in bed.. and it got freezing in that church! i tell ya! .. then i had backseat with cory and jaime all the way back from tennessee..
**
Sunday:: .. went to a church service, kelsey choked on the wine of communion, and that was really funny. haha... yeah.. :) haha. then, we started heading back.. and went through indiana.. and i thought i was going to get taken to jail beacuse i stole maps of indiana.. but i didn't know we had to pay for them.. and i went back in and payed for them, and it ended up being 12 bucks for 2 maps.. which was ridiculous.. man, i was so ticked off, i'm not even kidding. then cory was a dork and teased me about it the WHOLE way home.. we took out cory's hair.. and it was so cute:) haha. then i wrote my lil' thing for the august news letter.. yeah. :) it turned out good ((the thing on thursday)) .. uhm.. whatelse, we had a closing prayer and .. gave everyone hugs.. and said our goodbyes, but it's not like were never going to see them again.. haha. we will, without a doubt. :) .. me and cory had our volleyballs signed by everyone .. yeah.. i saw buddy.. and my mom.. who left, and left me home alone, shows how much she missed me.. then my dad is in colorado .. yeah. bummer.. so i called nicole, told her i was home, fell asleep.. woke up at like.. 9.3o-1oish.. and i saw jeremy was online, and i found out that everything between me and him is .. well, over. so there's nothing. .. but haha, i don't care:) life goes on.. and it was unbeliveable how fast things happend.. but he's an a-hole so don't worry about it. I also talked to Cori s.! :) heck yes baby! .. then me and andrew talked for about an hour n' a half.. and then, yeah:) it as s-weet.. then i fell asleep.. i love him .. i love andrew brinker .. i fell for him, already. pathetic. i know. ahh!
**
what i recieved, and i'm taking home from this week::
-i.n.s.p.i.r.a.t.i.o.n.s.-
:appreciation::
-not afraid to try something new-
foRtunAteCy
::r:E:S:P:e:c:T::
encouragement
+.tRusT.+
'guidance'
Lx3vE
hAPpinEsS=D
eMotionS
a PurposE*
~content-cy~
/hOnOr\
**
what i gave this week..
u.n.d.e.r.d.u.c.k.s.=D
DediCatioN
((friendshiP))
*^HoPe^*
<
-*-hUgS-*-
**::LauGHtER::**
MY view on MY beliefs
''eNerGy''
;;pAtienCe;;
....MY ALL...
**
POW -FOR THE WEEK-
.. when i met jeffery, i look back at the whole situation, and i realized how unsocial i was.. and that i wasn't acting myself, and i wish i would change that.. and wasn't so afraid..
**
WOW -FOR THE WEEK-
.. @ the shelter getting my words of wisdom, or .. seeing clifford get on his knee's and pray.. and i thought those were the two most amazing things i could see. I also thing its awesome, how these people can have nothing.. and be happy. Like, it doesn't take money.. to make them happy .. like you can't buy them happiness, just by someone else making them happy.. but for us, i feel so greedy.. and fortunate.. it's like wow ..
**
what i'm going to be taking home..
..how this expierence opened up my eyes and i took a few more steps into the real world, and i realized how easy we have it and how much God plays an important impact in my life.. yeah.. along with the friendships that have grown, and that .. were made :) i love you all! xOxO!
**
Monday:: .. woke up, nicole called me, then.. we were going to do something so it was all good .. so we hung out.. and had a really good time:) it was awesome.. haha. went to memorial park and sat on the dock. then.. we went to my house to get my crap. talked to my dad for a second. .. talked to grussy boy for a while, and tryed to cheer him up.. he called me right away this morning:) yaaaah! .. then, i tried calling andrew.. but drama, drama, drama.. i tell ya! .. what else happend. we watched saw .. i was crazy. we ran in the rain.. and was walking around in the puddles .. HUGE PUDDLES UP TO MY KNEE'S! haha, i watched nicole play video games.. haha. then i fell asleep . . . then we went to mickey-d's today .. and then i left her house at like 11.3o, got a call from my mom to pick up buddy.. then i dropped off my film from tennessee at walmart.. haha.. :) yeahhhh. .. played volleyball with alissa, and played with buddy.. what else? i think that's pretty much it! .. but yeah. haha...
