Memories from the mission field: Mountain

This has been my all time favorite picture taken while on missions. This trip was our church's 1st time ministering on the Nez Perce reservation in Idaho. It was my 2nd missions trip.
This picture was actually taken on the 2 year anniversary of me dedicating my life to God. This photo has been very metaphoric to me.
I had been in a very dark place in my life when I cried out to God to help me. All I could see was the "mountain" of a struggle to get my life in order.
In 2007, Idaho 2 years later, a group of us saw this giant hill, and we wanted to try and get to the top where the cross was. It was so hard climbing up, because it was so steep. I had to cling to grass and roots to stop from sliding back down. But I had the others right there with me, and we all encouraged each other to keep climbing. When we finally made it to the top, we were so excited that we were waving our hands around and cheering, feeling so victorious.
2005, I felt so overwhelmed by what I could foresee in my future. I clung to the Bible just as tightly as I would cling to the grass and roots 2 years later. And days when I thought I couldn't make it, I had Christian family and friends cheering me on just as I did later on that hill.
2007, only 2 years later, my life had already been taken so much further than I thought I would ever go. God began to take me all around the world, showing me what I was made for.
Now, almost 8 years after crying out for help, God has taken me through 6 nations, several states, introduced me to many people, and made all my dreams come true. Just as I stood cheering at the cross at the top of the mountain, I feel I am still jumping for joy at the peak.
Now I prepare to accomplish a dream in the making since I was 4. And I know I never would have made it there, with out first asking God to save me, when I was in that dark place.

Memories from the missions field pt 4: Felipe

This was taken about 15 minutes after I sat to talk with Felipe.

This was Felipe and his baby sister, Alejandra. I met them on my missions trip to Peru in 2008. Felipe didn't speak any English, and I spoke only a tiny bit of Spanish. I could tell something was bothering him, he seemed very anxious.  

So I sat down and tried talking to him with what little Spanish I knew. Before long we were in deep conversation. 

I could fully understand him, and I was speaking words and phrases I had never learned. We ended up talking for an hour about God, and bible stories that showed how he could help in the different struggles Felipe was facing.

For that hour, I was miraculously fluent in Spanish. We prayed together, and by the time he took his sister back home, he had a big bright smile on his face.

Felipe and his sister when I first spotted them.

This was just one of the many amazing things I have experienced on the mission field, and I am expecting even greater things in Uganda.

Memories from the mission field Pt 3: Ms. Sowa

Me in Madrid

Ms. Sowa was my Spanish teacher 9th and 10th grade. By that time I had traveled to Mexico with my family and church, but traveling overseas was still something I thought would only happen many years in the future. 

But at 16 she made it possible for CCS to have a class trip to Spain.
 
An unexpected twist happened last minute, when Ms. Sowa became too ill to travel. I was faced with the dilemma of skipping the trip and not getting a refund, or traveling through Germany and Spain on my own, unchaperoned. Everyone else on the trip backed out.
 
I and 1 classmate ended up being the only ones who decided to still go.
 
Once we got to the hotel in Madrid, we grouped up with another class from D.C. for chaperoning purposes, but somehow traveling with out a parent or teacher made a big impact on me. It made my world a bigger and more fun place, and it sparked a desire in me to make my whole life an adventure.
 
I gained a sense of great independence and confidence from choosing to go on the trip, and that is helped me know I could handle going to Peru the next summer.
 
Although I did not do missions work in Spain, it was still a great milestone in my missions experience, for it acted as a sort of catalyst for the future.

Ms. Sowa went to heaven last week, and I am so thankful that she was the one who encouraged me to go to Spain, and broaden my horizon. It really did make a lasting impact in my life, and for that I am so thankful to have known Ms. Sowa.

Memories from the mission field Pt 2: Bill

I met Bill through a class in high school where we would go and visit with the residents at a local retirement home. 

We became very good friends, and he adopted me as his granddaughter.

 I continued to visit him through the years, until he passed away in 2010.
 

He was so excited to hear me talk about my dream of going to Africa. Every time he introduced me to someone he would say, "You know she's going to go to Africa some day."
 

He would always end our visit with saying to me, "I'm so proud to know you. And when I get to heaven, I'm going to put in an extra special good word about you to our Father. I'll make sure he takes you to big places. You'll get to Africa."

Memories from the Mission field Part 1: Mrs. Lehman

As I get down to the final weeks before departing to accomplish my life long dream of going to Africa, I want to spend some time sharing about different people who helped motivate me, and share different stories from my time in missions.

This first entry, I will copy and paste something I had written up in 2008 about a teacher who helped inspire me when I was in 6th grade, Mrs. Lehman:

Monday, March 24, 2008
A letter from Mrs. Lehman
Category: Life
A letter from Mrs. Lehman
I had this teacher in the 6th grade. Her name was Mrs. Lehman. It is so funny now that I think back about it. The whole year I was terrified of her! She was probably one of the most strict teachers I have ever had. Like any stupid little kid I thought because she was strict it meant she just hated kids...but that was the farthest thing from the truth. I can now think back to all the times she made me laugh, comforted me as I cried, and supported me in every way possible. By the time I was half way through 7th grade I missed her class.
In 2004 Mrs. Lehman passed away very suddenly. I was crushed when I heard the news.
Time went by and we all grieved and eventually moved on and Mrs. Lehman became a part of my memory. A few weeks ago I was pretty upset about a few situations and was really questioning everything about myself. Now, one of my weirdest quirks is that I clean like crazy when I am frustrated. So I was in my room cleaning it when I found a folded up piece of paper. I opened it up and knew what it was within the first few words, and the tears started pouring. It was a paper Mrs. Lehman had written about her having a conversation with one of her granddaughters 20yrs in the future and they were discussing on where every one in our class was these days.
This is what she had written about me:

"Lindsay and I chatted for a few more minutes, and she shared with me that she and her family were traveling to Kenya, Africa next year to visit former classmate, Savanah. Savanah was a missionary in a small village in the middle of Kenya. She had become a nurse soon after high school and was using her skills to be the only "doctor" of the village, as well as being the deliverer if the good news of Jesus Christ. People loved her and were always coming to her with their problems. Somehow, no matter how difficult the situation, she always managed to make every one feel better. Savanah spent many of her evenings at the local orphanage reading to the children, playing with them, and fulfilling their needs of some one to love them. She often thought of the days gone by at CCS and the friends she made there. She thought of how Mrs. Lehman had told her to listen to the voice of Jesus and do what He says. For a while she was confused on whether she should be a missionary or a nurse, but the Lord revealed to her she could do both. She is extremely happy, fulfilled, and awaits the day of Jesus’ coming"

At the bottom she wrote "You're doing good, Girl!!!!!"
For a while I felt all my frustrations were gone. I really don’t have too much to worry about because it is all going to work out fine.
It was amazing to me how even over 3yrs after her death, and 5yrs after being in her class, she still was helping me. Letting me know that there was some one who was rooting for me, some one who believed in me, even when I do not believe in myself. Her words of wisdom still ring in my ear in times of trouble. A giant smile still covers my face when I think of her roaring laughter. But most of all I still feel the warmth of her love and compassion whenever I picture her face
Let this be an encouragement (aside from my possible bad grammar) to all teachers who may be reading. Even if it doesn’t seem like it, you have an amazing influence on your students. One that will remain for many years after they have left your classroom.
If you have been tagged it's because you were one of my teachers, are a teacher, or are some one who I know has great influence on people's lives

Prayer Tower

I mention the prayer tower alot in this blog. But I got to thinking today, that most of the people who read this are back in Oregon, and probably wondering what I am talking about. So today I will dedicate an entry to introducing you to the prayer tower.

The prayer tower, also know as the ORU alien spaceship, is one of my favorite places on campus.

There are beautiful gardens surrounding it called the prayer gardens. Often times when walking past the prayer gardens, I will see someone sitting in the grass reading the bible, or pacing around the flowers singing a pretty tune of praise to God. The walk to the prayer tower is half the fun, because of getting the experience of the breathtaking gardens.
When I step inside the prayer tower, I am on the 1st floor.

To my left is the prayer room, which is my ultimate favorite part of the prayer tower. You walk through the prayer room doors and the room is very dimly lit. there is slow paced worship music playing that sets the mood quickly. There is a cross directly across from the entrance and paper to write on set at the feet of the cross. When I get close to the cross, I find holes in the cross, for me to leave my prayers in.

The walls are black, with chalk available to write on the walls. All around are different peoples prayers, scriptures, and words of encouragement posted on the walls. There are leather couches that when you sit, you sink into....which is the way I think all couches should be.

Going back out of the prayer room I have to take the elevator up to the second floor to see the biggest tourist attraction about the prayer tower.

When I enter the 2nd floor, I see windows all around me in a circle. Through them I can see the entire campus, and a large portion of the city of Tulsa.

It is a very quiet and tranquil place. The walls and floor display different quotes and scripture.

As I walk around and view the far out distance, it becomes a rather emotional experience. There is something so beautiful about it.
There are different churches right outside the ORU boundaries, so I can see crosses propped up seemingly all over town. It always makes me want to smile and say, "This is God's country."

There are individual prayer rooms on the second floor too. The have to be checked out to be used, and have a single person couch and coffee table.
Each room has a featured quote.

One of the best features of the prayer tower, is how cool it looks in the beautiful Oklahoma sunsets.




While mentioning sunsets, here is my favorite sunset picture from my time here:

More happy happenings

This meme pretty much sums up my week.
Monday we hit a high of 81 degrees,
Tuesday we had a tornado watch because of a cold front moving in,

Wednesday we only got up to a high of 30,

Thursday was torrential rain,

and Saturday was a sunny and beautiful high of low 60's. So you never know what weather you will get in Oklahoma!
Saturday and last Monday I got out to take a walk in a tank top and worked on my tan a bit. I have the slightest humorous hope that maybe working on my tan in February will be enough to help me in Africa in May.

We had "open dorms" on the 27th where the guys are allowed to spend a few hours in the girls dormitory. I got a text to come to a Lord of the Rings marathon, and when I got there, I was greeted with brownies and "SOME" popcorn.
I admit I had quite a good laugh with this picture.

This past week was homecoming week, so there were lots of festivities to enjoy.
Saturday night was the homecoming basketball game, and there was a dance afterward, each of which I had a blast at!

My hilarious friend Jake didn't know what to do at the dance, so he just did what ever move came to his mind.
Half the battle at a dance is just trying to look like you know what you're doing. Ha, I'm laughing again!

Midweek a new student center opened at ORU, as a massive hangout spot with games, tvs, computers, food, and more. Some of us celebrated the opening by playing the old fashioned video game Mario Cart.

And speaking of games, how could I fail to mention, the big game! A group of about 20 ORU students all piled into 3 cars and we went to an ORU alumnus's home to watch the Superbowl on their gigantic in home movie theater. I am not a big fan of football, but anything is more fun when watched on a massive screen in a comfortable chair, with good food.

This crazy weather tells me that spring is in the air. With spring comes tornadoes, tans, and tanktops.
I first visited Oklahoma in the spring, and I can't wait to live here for the season. Lots of good picture ops.
Infact, here's a rather "springish" picture of me!

Why I love this church

I've been going to Church on the Move now for 5 months. I first discovered it while online in Oregon trying to find Tulsa churches I would like to try out when I got there. I loved watching the online services, but there were a few other churches that impressed me online as well.

When I got to Tulsa, I liked the first few churches I visited, then at the end of September I went to Church on the Move for the first time in person. The atmosphere, worship, and teaching had me sold after one visit and I decided it was the church for me.

Going to this church is the first time I have ever experienced having a sermon that I thought about a lot during the rest of the week. I know the feeling from different powerful church conferences, but I used to listen to a normal Sunday service, and not remember much about it afterwards. That changed when I started going to this church.

One thing I found really different and I really like, is that the tithe and offering is taken at the end of the service. To me, it feels more right. ~We give you this really good lesson, instruct you and challenge you to improve yourself, and then ask you to help us continue our work.~ That's the logic I see.
The church is very big, but they are good about giving it a small, tight knit feeling. After hurricane Sandy, the church took one offering in all 3 of their services, and were able to send $35,000 to churches that were helping victims.

One time back in October, pastor Willie George talked about tithing. I still think about it every time I am hesitant to give money when I feel the notion to.

"Sooner or later, you are going to come to a crossroads, where you have to decide if you are going to put God first in your financial life....Worrying about money is serving money instead of serving God...The more you trust God about money, the more he will trust you with money."

When I got back to Tulsa, after Christmas break in Oregon, my savings was almost totally gone. I knew I needed to get a job, and got very nervous when I found out that not even Walmart was hiring. I had put in several applications at local businesses, and it had been two weeks without hearing a peep.
2 Sundays ago, we were singing in church, "Lord use me,take my life, and lead it your way." With money on my mind, I again thought of the sermon back in October. I knew it was God, telling me to give an offering of my money. I was really hesitant to, because I have such little left, but I remembered those words, "You have to trust God about your money, for God to trust you with money."
I put $5 in a tithe envelope, and wrote a little prayer on the lid, "Lord, I trust you with this money, and I ask you to please help me find a job."

Last Tuesday I was so touched when I logged on to my email, and found I had been contacted by Church on the Move pastoral staff.

Hi Anna, We want you to know that we’ve received your prayer request and we’re standing in faith with you. In Matthew 18:19 Jesus said, “If two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.” So we join our faith with yours and believe God for you to find favor in the hiring process so that you’ll get the job that you apply for. God bless Anna, and if you have any requests don’t hesitate to let us know.

I was amazed, and could not stop smiling the rest of the day, that they had looked up my email from my "new member card" I filled out in September, and wrote me to let me know they were praying with me for a job.
Then to top it all off, Wednesday I got two calls for interviews, and Friday I was hired on the spot for a waitress job!

The 7th floor adventure

I have found a fun community here at ORU. There are so many people with the same attitude and likeness as me. Yesterday proved that once again. There is an urban legend on campus. The one building where almost all of classes are, the GC, has a 7th floor which is where Oral Robert's office was in his living years, and where the college president now is. Now and then, while using the elevator in the GC, some very well dressed person will step in and ask, "7 please." and everyone else in the elevator will say with their eyes and quiet gasps, "Oooh seventh floor."
The urban legend is that the 7th floor is where all the important ORU leaders and rich alumni hang out as sort of a "fancy people club".

The rumor is, that when you step off the elevator, there are two security guards, dressed like Men in Black, who ask you for ID, and will have you thrown off school property if you are not on the elite list of names.
Of course, me being me, hearing these rumors and urban legends time and time again, but never meeting someone who had been there, my mind has been screaming at me, "Go! Go! Go!" But I was nervous, very nervous!

I have a very adventurous spirit, but a very non confrontational personality. If I went up to the 7th floor, I stood the risk of facing the men in black if the rumor was true.

Nevertheless, the call to adventure got the best of me. So yesterday, after my last class on the 5th floor, I got on the elevator and hit "7". I wanted to squeal as soon as I felt the elevator start to rise, but I thought if I was going to do this, I had to keep my composure and act like I belong up there.
I heard the ding, signaling that I had reached my destination, and much to my relief, there were no men in black.

Even though there were no men in black, the sight was so beautiful, that I definitely thought I would get in trouble if caught up there. The roof was a colorful oval stained glass, the walls had the gorgeous display of the school's history, and over in the corner I saw the door that said it was the university president's office.
I was very impressed, but still very nervous about getting questioned about being up there. I saw feet coming from around the corner, and I went into panic mode. I saw the fire escape route map on the wall, and tried to hurry to look for stairs I could run down.
Then I felt a tap on my shoulder, and a deep, strange voice said, "Miss, what are you doing up here?"
I slowly turned, then tried to muffle my laughter of great relief, as I saw it was one of my friends.
I asked her, if this meant we were allowed to be up there, and she said, "Oh I have no idea. I just hear about it, so I came up to see it. Been up here a few times, but never seen anyone else, so no one has ever questioned me."

I thought it was hilarious. The exact same time I was feeling adventurous, and exploring a new place I had been told to fear, so was my friend.
We stepped into the restroom which was the fanciest restroom I have ever seen(no we didn't use them, just gawked at them!) We stepped back out and were talking to each other about just how nice the bathroom was, when a man approached us.

I again felt a sense of terror, but he just smiled and said, "First time on the 7th floor?"

He told us a bunch about how it had been renovated in recent years, and some jokes Oral Roberts and current president Mark Rutland had made about the 7th floor.

At the end of the day, I was so glad I went, and I was just tickled by the fact one of my friends followed the urge at the same time as me, totally unplanned!

My new obsession

The other night, a group of us went out for a late night adventure, star gazing in the wilderness. That night, a new obsession was born in me. The sky was magnificent and we were all filled with ooh's and awe's. But my camera is not very good at taking pictures of the vast amount of stars in the sky. However, while trying to take a picture of the stars, I focused in on the moon, then shrieked when this picture came out.

The moon came in clear and close. I was literally jumping up and down squealing, I was so excited and proud that I had just taken that picture. Now I have been trying to take as many pictures of the moon as I can, and it fills my head with wonder, of what it would be like to wander around up there for a bit. Maybe someday we will make family trips to the moon. Until then, I will just continue trying to get as clear of shots of the moon as I can:

Happy happenings

School is in full swing, and so is the fun. The weather is AMAZING. It varies from SUPER cold to decent, but the sky is a deep, rich, beautiful blue, and the sun makes me want to smile constantly.

Two weeks ago I was getting concerned with my Africa fun because I was short $1000 for the February 50% deadline. I put another shout out on Facebook, and in 9 days $510 came in. I still have a lot to go, but I am excited to see how God provides it. Our team has been meeting for a lot of prayer time. Praying for our funds, praying for our travels, and praying for the people we will meet in Uganda. I am more and more excited every day. I dreamed of this trip literally all my life, and I could not have asked for a better way for it to come true.

There have been a few people that I had classes with last semester, who I have been hanging out with a lot this semester. We discovered a share love for spontaneous adventure. On one of these adventure, one of the guys led us down and around different stairs and halls, and through a delivery tunnel where.......we discovered ORU's Area 51! This discovery was EXACTLY why I love spontaneous adventure.

Right after this Area 51 discovery, I made another cool discover....Cristina! One of the guys I was with was talking about tornadoes, and one of his other gal friends had joined our group sitting drinking coffee. She spoke up, "Man, I don't get that in Oregon." I gasped and turned to her "What did you just say?!" Christina is the first Oregonian I have met, and she only lived about 10 minutes from me! We looked each other up on Facebook, and we know a bunch of the same people!

Christina has joined our posse of adventurers, and I am JUST about to venture out with them again. This evening our adventure is, driving out to the wilderness to star gaze! :) <3

I'm gone...and back.

I am back in Tulsa, sitting in my dorm, wrapped in my electric blanket, with Madea on in the background(thanks Jodi!). It's weird for me to think, this morning I was home in Oregon, this evening I am home in Tulsa, and tomorrow I will be back sitting in class.

I feel a strange sense of homelessness. Every place I call home, is all just a sort of visit. Tulsa is my home now...for most of the year, but come May I will be kicked out and not welcome back until August. When I go to Oregon, I say I am back home, but in the same sentence I refer to Tulsa as home. I relate better than ever to the Carrie Underwood song "Temporary Home". Every bed I sleep on, is very temporary. I have never been a fan of change, and every time I have to change living spaces, I feel a strong and stronger desire for something that will be permanent. I am ready for my own bed, my own home, my own family, my own pets. I am SO so looking forward to the day when my life has settled into the long term. Moving to Tulsa was a very good change for me, but I am ready for things to stay the same again.

Visiting home reminded me of why I wanted so badly to leave Oregon. I saw the sun once in 3 weeks, I had to drive if I wanted to go anywhere and everywhere, and there was really not much to do most of the time. I watched so much Netflix that I even started watching foreign films. It was nice though, taking a break to do almost nothing. Overall, I had a good visit, but I am sure of my decision to move now more than ever.

I got to visit most of my friends but not all. I went dancing for the first time with my good pal Laura.

I had a hilarious adventure with my friends Lydia and Lexy, when we tried going to see Monsters Inc 2, then realized it was Monsters 1, so snuck into Django, then had to leave because I forgot to pick up my mom from work.

I went to see my friend Kaya and her baby Rose. Rose is 7 months old, my favorite age, and laughed the ENTIRE time I was there. There is nothing that compares to the thrill of spending time with a giggly baby!

I also went out to lunch at my favorite local restaurant with my oldest friend Emily. Visited my friend Heidi in Gresham, and she and my brother decided to try to stay in contact with each other.

I spent an afternoon with my aunt going to meet her stepmother Mary. Mary is a retired pilot who is now an expert dog agility trainer and competitor.

My last day in Oregon I spent with the family at the beach. I loved it so much, especially because it's been 5 years since I've seen the ocean. With all the fun I have had visiting family and friends, I am ready for life to get back to the semi normal state of school.