Chelsea Wood First Year Missionary - Adventures In Missions

Home.

Sat, 2 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

My Dear Supporters and Blog Readers:

I arrived safely in the Dominican Republic on Jan. 15. About a week later I made arrangements to leave the Dominican on Jan. 27 to return home. This has been an agonizing decision, and one that I've struggled with for over a month.

I completed my first semester, and learned so much during that time. I learned to trust God in my loneliness, and in my fears. I came to love my two roommates, Emily and Leah. We have grown so close, and I think we will always be close friends. I've loved working at the Nursing Home, and loved the people I've met there. Two of my closest friends there have died in the past 6 weeks. One went to live somewhere else. :(

Our leaders have recently welcomed their firstborn into their lives. It was fun to see her and hold her upon my return. She is so beautiful, and I can tell going to be a huge blessing.

My decision to return home was my own, although my parents support me in this. I don't believe I can be effective in ministry when I feel so empty myself. I am struggling with a lot of health issues due to the stress, and think it's best that I return home.

I appreciate every one of you, and your support of me (financial and prayer support). I'm sorry if you feel I'm letting you down by leaving the Dominican. I did come here with the intent to finish the whole time.

I would be happy to speak with any of you who wish to speak with me about my decision, or about my experiences living here.

Thank you again for supporting me financially and prayerfully

Safe and, some what sound.

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

We made it back. Today was a nice day of visiting all of our friends, who were very happy to see us.:) I havent gotten to make it to the nursing home yet. I am excited to visit my friends there though :).

Please keep our team, and my health, in your prayers. thank you all very much!

Home for Christmas!

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT

We made it safe! Atleast, Leah and I did. I have yet to talk to Angelo.

Let me give you a recap of our day yesterday:
We woke up at 1:30am
Caught 4 hour taxi ride to the capitol at 4am
Got on a plane at 10:45am for 2 hours
Went through Customs in Miami, then had a 3 hour lay over there
Got on a plane to Atlanta at 3:40pm
FINALLY landed in Atlanta at 6:30pm instead of 4:50 after flying around aimlessly for an extra hour and half cause of the weather.
Ran off the plane ant to baggage claim to see Robby Randleman for about two minutes
Got our baggage
Caught a plane out of ATL to Detroit at 8:40pm
Had the worst turbulance ever and thought the plane was going to crash
FINALLY arrived in Detroit at like 10:30 or 11pm
And there was a lot of snow waiting for us
I finally made it to the house at about 12:30am
And went to bed at about 1:30am

So needless to say, it was an extremely long day. But luckily, we were blessed by meeting some amazing people. I met missionaries from Jamaica, Haiti, and Costa Rica. I also met a Principle and teacher from a school in CostaRica that speak 4 different languages. I met a guy on the plane ride to Detroit who I talked to the entire flight, and he gave me some good advice on life! Turned out to be definitely in my "Top 5 coolest people ever".

I love being home. Theres about a foot of snow on the ground, and its still snowing. I have friends on their way, and i am looking forward to just staying in the house all day and watching a movie or something. And eating my moms amazing food.

Thank you so much for your prayers for a safe trip. They paid off! We are home, and ready to see everyone we've missed so much. :)

Winding Up First Semester

Sat, 8 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT

One week from today, at this time, Leah and I will be boarding our plane.

It's crazy how fast time has gone. It almost doesn't make sense. No, it doesn't make sense. Just
last week we were stepping off the plane into this foreign country, this foreign country that we
now call "Home". This foreign country that we have grown to love. This foreign country that will
forever be apart of us, in one way or another. I finally stopped and thought the other day, "This
is my town. This is my home. This team is my family. These people here are my friends."

Now it's time to get things ready, and go home for Christmas. Which, doesn't even feel like
Christmas! Well how can it, when its 80 & sunny everyday? I'm sure reality will hit when I walk
out of the airport in Detroit! Hopefully my parents bring me a jacket.

Well, enough of this stuff. I guess I have a few things to share.

This past week I haven't felt too good. First stomach problems, then a cold/allergies. My good
friend at the nursing home, Fransisco, hasn't been feeling too well either. Infact, he was
coughing up blood, and not eating for a couple days. So Thursday afternoon when it was time for
our internships, I decided despite my health to head to the nursing home. I wanted to bring
Fransisco a juice, and see him for a little bit. Em and I got to the nursing home, and I
immediately went back to Fransisco's room. I found him in bed, laying in the fetal position,
sleeping. He looked so frail. The room reeked something horrible, something so thick. I set the
juice down and went out to see everyone else. After a little bit of visiting I found the nurse,
Altagracia. I asked her what was going on with Fransisco, she said he hasn't ate in 3 days and
barely drinks any water. She also told me he has lung cancer- what I have been suspecting for
quite some time. She gave me a surgical mask and walked me back to his room, she told me we had
to wear them because of some virus or something he has. We went into the room and she showed
me the basin next to him. A basin full of blood. His blood. My Fransisco.

Needless to say I didn't
stay in the room long. We walked out, I found Em, and told her what Altagracia
had shared withme. I was struggling to keep my composure infront of everyone and just wanted to
go back home. So
I went to go grab my umbrella and handbag, and my handbag was gone. I asked around and someone
said a man who was there, who own the horses across the street, took my bag. I talked to the
same nurse about it and she took off after him. Inside the handbag was our cellphone, the house
keys, like 7 pesos and my chapstick. By this time I don't even have any emotions to give, I
couldn't even get angry. So Em and I left and came back to the house to wait for Miguel and
Kristen to get back with the spare keys to our house. We ended up having to change every lock
on the house- 5 deadbolts and a new door knob. We tried calling the cellphone- the guy PICKED UP,
and talked to Miguel. We never ended up getting any of the stuff back.

The funny thing is, is the cellphone is as good as useless. Its battery lasts- from fully charged
to DEAD, about 1 hour, MAYBE. And it can't place calls out, or send text messages. So the only
thing it does is recieve calls, and if you don't have the phone charger (Which he doesn't) it
is worthless. He stole a worthless phone. Worthless keys. But some darn good chapstick.

Oh, something I didn't share was when Miguel went to the nursing home to talk to the people to
get info- no one said anything. No one knew what he was talking about.

Please keep this situation in your prayers. Keep this guy in your prayers, who obviously needs
money, but more importantly Jesus.

I love you all, and I appreciate your prayers AND comments!!!

Christmas time coming soon

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Well, it's nice to be back to the normal scheme of things around here. Although it's sad,
because in just over two weeks we head back home. What weird thought.

I wanted to share with you all a little bit more about Claorpha, my darling friend at the nursing
home.

I got the oppertunity to actually sit and talk with her on Tuesday I believe it was. I told her
about the stomach problems I had had in Las Cucaritas, and how I was better from them. She was
praising God right along with me and it was really neat. I also made myself a little bit more
vulnerable and shared how sometimes I get really scared during the night, and for no reason. I
told her I pray about it when it happens, and she started tellin me "You need to pray HARD when
that happens, and rebuke it!" And I told her "I know, I do. I know it is not of God, and it is
of the devil, and I say it." It was really nice to open up to someone like that, and have them
be so fired up for me. Then, my vulnerability paid off. I asked her a question, I asked her "if
you could have one thing, what would it be?" She didnt really understand the question, then I
offered up some examples: "like a house or a dog or something" And then that's when she broke.
She started to tell me about how she DOES have a house. Apparently she was living in her house,
happy and fine, and then some people moved in with her. (She wasn't clear on who they were thru
the tears) Shortly after moving in with her, they took her to the Nursing Home and left her
there. She still owned the house, and I believe is capable of living on her own. She doesn't
have any medical conditions, and is there mentally also. It broke my heart.

It just doesn't make sense to me. Quite a few of the elderly at my nursing home are fine. Healthy.
Normal. Why are they there?

Twice a week I spend my time there with them. It's not enough. They have no sorce of
entertainment, no fun. They are in their last days, and being bored to death. I almost mean that
literally.

I am sorry that there is no "happy ending" to this blog, or no resolve. But that's just how
it is sometimes.

My heart breaks every time I enter that place, in the best way possible. I don't know how I'm
going to leave them in May.

Please keep all these things in your prayers. I miss you all!

Pctures!

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Browse my pictures! I put a couple new ones up from Las Cucaritas! I love you all.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

We are back!

We got in yesterday at about 12. We had an amazing trip. The mountains were so beautiful,
it was awesome to be there emersed in that for 5 days.

We did VBS two days there, and then the other two we helped working and such with the people
there. It was so much fun watching all the litle kids playing all the time. I decided that
there, would be the best place ever to raise little boys. Always a mountain to climb, always
places to get dirty, games to play, and animals to ride. I was almost jealous thinking about
how neat it would have been to grow up there.

Our last day there the girls and I had one of the most awesome oppertunities. We got to
bathe in a waterfall there. I just couldn't get it out of my mind- we are in a waterfall in
the Dominican Repubic! And it was a nice size waterfal too, about 15 or 20 feet. I do believe
that there aren't many other places that could top the beauty of this place.

We did take some pictures, which I will post. The hard thing was is that sometimes I would
look out and say "Wow, that would make a great picture" but then I kindof got the sense that
God didn't want us to. Like it was a precious secret we could share, the beauty of this
country.

Our entire trip up there, from the time we left, we were under intense spiritual attack. We
hadn't been in the truck an hour before we popped a tire. POPPED a tire. It was shredded.
Then once we reached the mountains and got to the Pastora's house, we were all exhausted. It
was horrible. Then the next day I had stomach problems that I haven't had in months. Side
Note: I used to struggle a lot with stomach problems and finally once I got here it dawned
on me that it might spiritual warfare. So I started praying about them when they would happen,
and they stopped! Back to story: I got those stomach problems again the second day there. So
I prayed more and eventually felt better. The third day Emilia burned her hand really badly,
almost a 3rd degree burn. The Fourth day Angelo woke up with a horrible cold and allergies.
He ended up taking 5 tylenals and was then OUT the rest of the day sleeping. The fifth day
Angelo got pink eye!!! On top of all this our batteries for our CD player ran out one day
so we were unable to do our Drama's. The devil CERTAINLY did not want us there, but we
pushed on none the less!

Your prayers helped us through the entire trip, and we are all so greatful for them! I hope
you all have a happy Thanksgiving and remember your family here in the Dominican. I love
you all!

La Republica Dominicana

Sun, 11 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Well, I already typed my full blog once and when I went to save it, my not so
trustworthy laptop decided to fail on me! So now I will try AGAIN.

We had an outreach yesterday in the small neighborhood in which we work three
days out of the week. It's where we spend the majority of our time. The outreach
Went really well we all believe! We sang songs, did our DRIME's (wordless dramas
to music) and Angelo shared the Gospel. We were happy because there were
a handful of rowdy teenagers there who really watched the DRIMEs and listened to
Angelo's message. After all of that, Angelo played basebal with the guys, Emilia
and Leah played some games with a group of girls, and I sat myself down with
quite a few adorable kids who just wanted to be loved on. And that's what I do
best. Love on them.

Then last night I cooked dinner for a couple of our Dominican friends, and we
all had them over for pizza! We had a lot of fun, then after I went to youth group
at Ronnie's church with Ronnie & Angelo. I enjoy their youth group a lot, the
teens there are so energetic and FUN. It makes me sad that I can't bring this
youth group back to the states with me! Oh and after that we all went out to go
eat... CHINESE food! haha.

It is so hard to believe that we have just over a month here till we go home
for Christmas. Oh, and never in my life have I gotten a sunburn in November! haha.

A quick update on the prayer requests I asked of you guys last time. My Aunt is
out of surgery, it went really well. Although now she is in a lot of pain (which
is to be expected). Please continue to pray for her!
I haven't gotten to go back to the Nursing Home since I last posted, but when I
go on Tuesday I will try and post and tell you all how Claorpha is doing.

I cannot explain how much I appreciate all of your prayers. Keep them coming!

Back to Normal

Fri, 9 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

We have completed (basically) a normal week since tropical storm noel. It was a good week, we went to Elias Pia (Hatian Market) today. It was hard being in a car for the first time since two months. I definitely got car sick!

We have an outreach in the community, and I am really excited for it. Please keep it in your prayers. Also, my Aunt is going in to surgery today for her Heart Valve. (i cant spell, forgive me!) Oh, and my friend Claorpha in the nursing home is having really bad headaches. She cant get out of bed too much anymore.

Tonight we are having our family night, and we are initiating our Prayer Room, which I am really excited about.

Alright, sorry for the short blog, but family night with Enchilladas is calling my name! :)

Noel has passed!

Sun, 4 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

We are finally done with Tropical Storm Noel.

Things are getting back to normal, the power is finally back on! But the main bridge to the Capitol is still being fixed, so please rpay for that. Also be praying for the people that may have lost their houses, or family members.

Today will be a great day of rest. The sun is out (and in full force) and us girls are enjoying the day! This week we are getting back to our normal schedule. I am happy for that since I only got to go to the nursing home once last week. It makes me sad when i miss going there for a day because I enjoy the people there, SO MUCH. Please pray for one lady imparticuar, Claorpha, who is having really bad headaches- so bad that she isnt leaving bed. The doctor jokingly told her If you dont leave the bed, the bed will eat you!haha.

Thank you all for your prayers, we certainly appreciate and need them. Its so weird how some days I will wake up and just FEEL the prayers. I can feel being protected by prayer, and its the most amazing thing.

I love you all!

Tropical Storm

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

We have recieved a message from the Dominican Republic team. They said:

The Dominican Republic had a tropical storm go through and it knocked out all the electricity. Everyone is okay. There are no injuries to anyone in the DR. They are doing some evacuations in some areas but the team is not in danger of any evacuation. They will not be able to blog for over a week but they are safe.

Passion for the People

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Wow, here we are, almost done with October. Scary, isn't it?

This week has been a good one, for the most part. Emilia got really sick yesterday,
we think with food poisening- which is weird, cause we all eat the same things. But
so other than that we have tried to remain in good health! :)

I had a really good time at the nursing home, Tuesday I entered the main room
where I heard a lot of music coming from and they were all... DANCING! haha. It
was extremely entertaining to see these normally sad, broken people, dancing! It
kindof brought my hopes up to what I am possible of accomplishing here, with God.
One day before I leave I want to play praise music and have them dance a long to
that!

Our time in the community this week has been fun, too. Us girls FINALLY met
3 Dominican girls to hang out with. Ages and names: Helen, 17, Natalie, 18, and
Enoris, 18. (I probably spelled the last name wrong!) We really enjoy them and
had fun conversations. As I write this blog I am waiting for them to come over
to our house for dinner! We are cooking pizza for them! Oh, and we have one more
guest coming. Alicia, who is with another mission group through her school in
Pensylvania! We met her through Leah and Angelo's english class. She is tons of
fun, and the only person being sent from her school so she has no other girl
friends here. She is bringing dessert... a surprise!! :)

God has been working a lot in my heart, teaching me more patience and how to
better be a servant, and a warrior of prayer. Tough stuff sometimes, let me tell
you. Although I often find the person I am not being patient with, is not a
teammate, or a leader, but myself. As many of you know we often hold ourselves
to high standards, and sometimes I find myself doing that.

I am starting to get some direction on next year, or just the future in general. I
feel like I'm being lead to be a Nurse, (enfermera!) or an Ultra-Sound Technician.
I am ofcourse, still praying about it. So please join me in my prayers!

For those of you who are looking for things to pray for my team and me for, I'll
give a couple things.
1. Moving forward and stepping out in our faith, and simply sharing the Gospel. We
have the relationships made, now we need to take the step to talk about our faith
more, and help others to do the same.
2. Our health! Mine has gotten a lot better from a couple weeks ago, which I
totally turn all praises to God for! All I did was pray, and pray hard!
3. Growing together as a team. We are pretty close, but I know that we could be
just so much closer and it would be better!

And for me, please pray for my decisions that I will eventually have to make on
the future. There are a couple determining factors that will be revealed later
on in time.

I thank you all for your prayers, and know that I miss each and every one of you
with a passion! :) OH and look at my photos (on the left underneath the pic of me it says browse my photos)

Update update... yay.

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Time for an update!

I would really like to share with you guys what I do throughout the week! :)

We basically have two types of days here. Monday, Wednesday and Friday are
"Church planting" days. These days involve us going out into the community, (we
have a certain area that we go to) and visiting with the people, establishing
relationships and such. We are getting more and more friends evryday! It's
really inspiring. I love the people here. We have made special friends with
Forking, whom i believe is 30. He is single, has no kids, but lives wiht his
mom and makes AMAZING juice and Empanada's. Empanadas are fried dough, with
meat or chicken inside. Super yummy! haha. We are definitly limiting ourselves
though, although it's hard to not eat them more than twice a week! haha.

Tuesday's and Thursday's are our internship days. Which translates into me
spending the afternoon with my Caballero's! (Gentlemen) I am interning at the
nursing home, which I love. There are about 15-20 people that stay at this
nursing home. We play dominos, draw, sing, and read. Tuesday I am bringing
them a special surprise... PINA! aka Pineapple! :)

Saturday mornings are when we clean our houses.. which get very dirty! haha,
no, not too bad. And then in the afternoon we do some sort of an outreach.
Tomorrow we are going to Guachupita (the slums) to pour some concrete for
a house there.

Emilia and I have been running in the mornings now. We wake up around 6, and
do about 2 miles. (Not all running, we haven't worked up to that yet!) I
really enjoy it!

Other than that, not much is going on here. Leah left this morning for the
US to go to her sisters wedding. It's weird without her here, and it's only
been a day!

Please keep me in your prayers when it comes to my stomach problems, and
learning to be a better servant for my team. Thank you all so much for
everything! I love you all and will hopefully see you soon... :)

Si, tengo photographias!

Wed, 3 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The view fromMontacitos

Me and the darling Carlos... That was the only time he smiled, when i was dangling him upside down!

Our time in San Juan is getting better everyday. My spanish is improving (slowly, but surely) and we are learning to appreciate the little obnoxious children that SCREAM and QUACK outside of our house at all hours.

We are taking turns cooking, and doing the dishes. What a growing experiance hand washing dishes is, after always having a dishwasher! :)

One thing that is a delicacy here that we have grown to appreciate is... power. It flickers on and off throughout the day, and night. its never garunteed. actually, its almost garunteed that in the evening, around 7, when it gets really dark- there will be no power. or, when youre laying in bed and its almost 80 degrees, and all you want is a fan on. but no such luck!! haha.

We are learning about our internships and what they might be this semseter- we start them on tuesday. i will post more when i have made a decision :).

Thankyou allvery much for your prayers and support as im learning the ways of this foreign country, and falling in love with it more and more everyday. I love you all and miss you very much!

How beautiful...

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

this is what i can look out over my roof!!! how cool!

sorry i cant post muhc, just know things are amazing here, God is good, and i am HOT. we need some air conditioning for real. lol :)

i love you all!

How beautiful...

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

this is what i can look out over my roof!!! how cool!

sorry i cant post muhc, just know things are amazing here, God is good, and i am HOT. we need some air conditioning for real. lol :)

i love you all!

Me llamo isabel...

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

So i have officially taken on a new name of sabelso that the dominicans can pronounce my name! haha. its fun. and emily is now milia.

i love the DR. it has been a really good time. we spend the past 4 days in montacitos, and had a really good time. now were hanging out for the day in san juan, where we live. our house is awesome. ill post pictures when i can.

God is so amazing and working so beautifuly in our lives already! I am very happy to be here.

I love you all, i will post more when i have more time! thankyou again!!!

Eyes Opened & Hearts Touched...

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

So I'm in training camp in Georgia, and having a really good time. I am loving my team, we are crazy. Today Leah, Katie (england) Emily and I cuddled during quiet time :) haha. it was so cold!!

I am so excited to leave on Wednesday. As soon as we get there we are packin up a couple days woth of clothes, sleeping, then leaving Thursday afternoon for the vilage of "Montesitos" (little mountains). were going to be doing VBS there, a youth group, and a church night thingy. then we come back sunday morning, have a day of rest, then like 4 days of orrientation to get ourselves firmiliarized with the city. Google it, San Juan de la Maguana.

GOOD NEWS! we found out the 3 of us girls have a HOUSE and not an appartment!! its a big house too. like a one story house but its big. I'm so excited. our own house!

so thats my life as of right now. i am so excited to get to the DR! although training camp is awesome and im enjoying my time here with my team and then the england boys, and i made some new friends. (w00t peru team!)

I probably wont be on again untill next sunday, but send emails and leave posts!! I love you all!

So much to say..

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

I don't know where to start!!

So I am doing good on support, and I went before my church again on sunday for a "comissioning" of sorts. I recieved after $120 from 3 different people, that I am so thankful for!!! That's going toward my plane ticket in january.

Also, I met with my Pastor on Wednesday and they gave me a check for $200 to remburse me for the money I had given for Angelo. Angelo is doing good on support now, but he still needs some pledges... So lets make that happen!!! :)

I had my going away party on saturday, which was oodles of fun. Except for all the crying I did. That's another thing, i've been an emotional wreck the past week. I have been making my rounds at the different colleges around here saying bye to friends which is so hard :(

Tomorrow night i'm having a sleepover with my 4 close friends and then they're coming to the airport with me on wednesday. I am soooo excited, and so sad at the same time. I don't wanna leave my parents, OR my friends!

Now, on another note. Yesterday in church my Pastor was talking about the Greatest Commandment, and how we as Christians can't keep it. He was talking a lot out of Colossians and encouraged us to read it. So I went home and lastnight I read all of Colossians. I encourage you to do the same as well!

Please continue to keep me and my team in your prayers. Especially my pregnant leader :) haha. I thank you all so much for being with me thus far, and now it is time for me to start my journey....

Sorry!

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Wow, I thought I had done a pretty good job blogging a lot... untill I looked at my last blog.

15 days. That's two weeks from tomorrow. And I am not much further along in my support from when i last blogged. i have $3,666 currently. I need to have 60% of the funds in before i go, with the other 40% in pledges.

Things here are good, I just got back from New Mexico visiting Ashley from my previous DR trip. We had a blast and it was SO good to see eachother! Now i'm actually procrastinating getting ready for work... :)

Our team is getting in better contact which is awesome, and please remember while youre praying for me to also be praying for them. (Angelo, Emily, Leah, and my leaders Kristen & Miguel)

Thankyou all for your prayers and support ! I better go actually GET READY for work.

46 days!

Sat, 28 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Can you believe that? It's coming so quickly.

Today my parents and i thought we'd get on the ball ahead of time and start doing some shopping for the trip, as opposed to waiting till the week before. :) I got my luggage (all like 50% off!!) and some neccessaties for the trip. I am also trying to get in touch with one of the girls (any of the girls) from the FYM DR team 06-07. I want to get their ideas on "what i wish i would have brought" or "What not to bring" and such. And it wouldn't be bad to talk with our leaders to figure out a packing list... i really hate waiting last minute and buying everything at once.

Right now support wise, im at 3,338.5 dollars. The total trip cost with the airfair is 5,962 dollars. so im 2,623.5 dollars away! just over halfway there. Thank you all so much for the help youve been giving me.

Time to go unpack the new things, and eat my lean cuisine! haha. Oh, P.S., my update letters are in the mail. let me know by like middle of this week if you havent recieved one for some reason. This is my last letter before i send my "I'm leaving" letter! how sad!

Oopsie Boopsie!

Sat, 21 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

I haven't blogged in a while!

Alright so what's new? I got to meet Emily! :) The 3 DR girls (Leah, Emily & Myself) met up last week for dinner and icecream. (the icecream was upon my request...) And I am very happy to report that everyones normal. Hahaha. Only playing. Well, kinda. haha.

So it was amazing being able to meet Em, and her boyfriend. I am getting SO excited for the dominican. I can't contain it!

Other than that, Just the same stuff around here. We had a really bad storm on thursday which knocked the power out. It's still out, but i'm at my friend Ashleys house. Her and her family are out of town till tomorrow and I came over to shower, play iwth their dogs, and get on here. You wouldnt believe how boring it is at your house with no power! haha.

Funny story: I have been "babysitting" mine and my friend Bill's hamster for the past two weeks. Yesterday I got home from work and saw that the cage door was open, and there was no hamster inside. So i spent a good hour crying and looking for the poor thing, haha. Still nothing. So i had things to do i left and went to dinner and a movie, and came home around 12 or so and decided to look for her then because hamsters are nocternal. (*i know, i cant spell) So i tried, and still no luck. finally i went to bed but not before leaving some cheese and crackers on the floor, still in the wrapper but with the wrapper opened. About 245 am i start hearing stuff and turn on my flashlight and sure enough, there's bunny! (i know, weird name for a hamster! Haha) it took me another good 10 minutes to catch her once she was in my sight because i am slightly afraid of her, lol. So im happy to say bunny is safe and sound in her cage again and bill will be picking her up tomorrow! haha.

alright i spose thats all for now. God bless!

77 Days, i believe.

Sun, 1 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Today as I was sitting in church it hit me. Only two months.

When I left the dominican last year, I was telling everyone "i'll be back in 15 months!" And now, it's two. It's so hard to believe that it has been a year since I was there. I miss everything so much. I will be completely honest when I say I am going to miss my team that I went with before. Those girls touched me, each and every one of them. Within 3 weeks they went from people I had never seen before, to my sisters. I thank God for those girls!

Anyways, I suppose you probably want to know more about what is going on here. I have been working at Ruehl and Outback, which is a lot easier than I had imagined. I work 5 days a week at ruehl, 9-3, then just a couple days at Outback in the evenings. I still have my social time. And my rest time.

A couple friends and I are doing our yearly-camping-trip to a town about 3 or 4 hours away right on lake Michigan on wednesday. I'm so pumped. We're going to be 4wheeling and camping and enjoying the beach :)

Alrighty then. I guess that's all. Oh, support is up to $2,963.50!!! Thank you all so much for your support so far. I will be sending out the update letters very soon :) I love you all.

I Don't Know What To Put Here. :)

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Update time once again. Things here are well, I got back from california on Thursday. It was a nice trip, so good to see robby and meet his family :)

Now i'm getting back into the swing of things. I worked yesterday, and today took a "Day of Rest".

Moving to the Dominican Republic is becoming realer (more real?) every day. I can't believe, only 83 more days. It's so soon. I can't wait to be back there. I was thinking yesterday about when i was having my hard time in february, learning about my health issues, and worrying about raising support. i finally decided, again, that no matter what i would go to the dominican, and i announced this to my friends that had been praying for me. they knew what my decision was going to be, but they also knew i had to come to that decision on my own. Its weird cause my new friends that have only known me since september were like "chelsea and the dominican go hand in hand" and "you can tell how much you love the dominican & the people there, you see it in your face when you talk about it"

that makes me happy :) Also, my support raising is making me happy. I have $2,813 raised. which is nice. I cannot even begin to thank my supporters!

Alright thats all for now. i love you all!!!

rain..

Sat, 9 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

I thought I should let you all know my dad is doing a lot better. We went ahead with the graduation party. I just foundout this week that he does infact have a blood clot in his leg. It is part superficial and part deep. The doctor put him on some blood thinners and told him to go about his normal stuff, so that's whats going on here.

Other than that, I'm all graduated. It wasn't as sad or heartbreaking as I thought it would be. I'm glad it is over:)

I have been working a lot this week, which is good. I will have a fat paycheck waiting for me when i get back from cali. Which, is in 4 days by the way :)

Speaking of money, support raising is going good. I have another 250$ from the Almand family, and i plan on using a lot of my graduation money for support. I am at about 2,488-- but i have two people pledging to give 50$ a month, so with that all added up its about 3488 :) So only 2000 + airfair to go!!! :)

I guess everything here is going well :) I can't wait to be in the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC in 99days! I love you all, and thankyou again.

Quick Prayer Request.

Thu, 31 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Hay all. I wanted to post this for a prayer request with my family. I got home late lastnight and my mom was waiting up. We talked for a minute then she told me my dad went to the doctor today for a pain in his leg that they think might be a blood clott. They don't know for sure yet, they are going to do some blood work today to findout for sure. But if it is infact, then I have to reschedule my already schedualed grad party from this saturday, to something in like July. After already sending out over 120 invitations. Please keep my family in your prayers! I am really nervous and I just want my dad to be alright.

Everything else is good here, FYI. Just runnin on about 4 hours of sleep right now, hah. Thank you all so much.

As our lives change, come whatever...

Thu, 24 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

School is OVER! :) Yesterday was my last day. After a long day at school, (okay, I was only there for an hour & 1/2 so what!) I got to relax and lay out all day, enjoying summer!

Tonight we are all getting ready to go to get our Family pictures done. It was our mothers day gift to my mom because we haven't had one professionally done since I was a baby. And I'm 18. haha :)

I guess nothing huge has been going on in my life lately. I just kind of need prayer for a situation with one of my friends. We're going through a rough time together, and it's just extremely hard. He is my only real guy friend and I can't lose his friendship. I take that back. Ofcourse I can, it will just be really hard.

Things are going great right now other than that, I'm enjoying summer. Only 19 more days until I go to California. How exciting :) And I am doing fairly well with my support raising! Which makes me excited. I cannot wait. only 114 more days until LA REPUBLICA DOMINICANA<3

Alright well maybe this was a totally pointless post. Just want to update you all on my life!

As We Go On, We Remember...

Wed, 16 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Well, its really hard to believe, but my highschool career is coming to an end. Like right now. This is my last full week of school, i just have about 3 or 4 exams next week on half days. Today was the schools last chapel, and at my school the seniors always put on the last chapel. In my opinion, it was a huge success.

We did something really neat. We did a human video. A human video is like acting out whats happening in a song, without words or props really. The song we did it to is actually an Underoath song, (if any of you know Underoath) called "To Whom It May Concern." We had so much fun, and really did it for the glory of God.

Last night as I was at my friend Ashleys house everything came crashing down. This is it. It's almost over. We're done. That was the last night that I would spend the night at her house and do homework, or try to do homework, till wee hours of the morning. We ended up talking, crying, and laughing till almost 4 am. We made spaghetti at 230 :) Oh and coffee!!

Robby and I decided on what day... Tuesday? No. Monday night, that we needed to see eachother before training camp. (Robby=team ENGLAND). So Tuesday morning I talked to my mom about it, checked out some tickets, and decided it would be a good idea. :) I got my daddy's approval today, which was a kindof big thing. Imagine letting your youngest daughter, fly accross the country to california, to a boy who you've never met before, and stay with him and his family for a week. Luckily my parents trust me fully, and Robby, and know where the intentions are. Not only that, but we've been waiting almost a year (a year in july) to see eachother and my dad said "This is an oppertunity you cannot pass up." :)

With all that said, I'm buying a plane ticket-- probably tonight, or sometime in the very near future. You cannot IMAGINE my excitement. Me. California. Robby. In 27 days. For 1 week. :)

God is SO good. I got some more support in this past week too. Once AIM recieves the check from my church, I'll have about 2,000 dollars! It's hard to believe its almost time. I can't wait to go back, I NEED to go back!

Oh, la republica dominicana... quiero ir ahora!

I never stop being amazed.

Fri, 4 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Well, God did it agian. He shocked me. Blew me outa the water.

I should have written (Wrote? lol) this post on monday, but I wanted to think about what to say. Finally I figured, just say it.

Monday while I was sitting in my math class, we were on the computers and I was finished with my work so I got on my email. I read a couple and was looking thru the next ones when I saw something that caught my eye. It was labled "Dominican support" and it was from one of the ladies on the missions comittee at my church. I had spoken to them and given them my letter a couple months prior and hadn't heard anything back. So anyways, I proceed to read the email and all I saw were the numbers "$1,300". Immediately I started screaming and announcing to my classmates about the email. (Thank God I go to a Christian school where they appreciate this stuff!) As I read it to the class, tears came to my eyes and I literally couldn't see to read. I was balling. My church has agreed to give me $1300 for my trip! PRAISE THE LORD!

I can't explain to you how amazed and thankful I am. God is GOOD!

You never cease to amaze me...

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Wow. Ever have something happen to you, and look back and think, "That was TOTALLY God."

I had that happen to me just lastnight / this morning. Lastnight before I went to bed I was praying about my trip, my life, and one of my bestfriends lives, too. I was praying for him and I felt the verse from i believe it was Job 8:21 "He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouts of joy." I was praying God, please let his mouth fill with laughter, be with him in anything he might be going through. And thats when it started to happen. I felt God placing my friend on my heart, so strongly. So I asked God, " What do you want me to do? Call him, or pray more?" and I felt like he said "Pray, and then call." So ofcourse I listened. When I prayed I felt God say that there was "Serious Turmoil" in my friends life, and that it had to do with someone close to him specifically (I won't say who.) So I got worried, prayed more, then called him. He didn't answer. He always answers. I was stressin'. So he finally called me back but my phone was off and I was asleep. I got the message and at 430am I called him back.

Now you can imagine whats going through my mind. Is this just me making things up? Is anything actually wrong? Will he laugh at me when he hears what I have to say? So we talked, and I told him everything, except that I thought I knew who the problem was with. I held back, that might be too weird I told myself.

That's when God slapped me in the face with a great big "I know what I'm doing when I tell you things!" Everything I had prayed lastnight, and God had shared with me, was true. It was eary. I know that God placed my friend on my heart for a reason, to let him know that God has everything in control and He has people praying for us. Even when we least expect it.

Needless to say, he was happy to hear God had layed him on my heart, and the funny thing is, is I know it isn't just me. I know there are so many people praying for this amazing man as he is going through this time, whether they know why or not.

HOW AMAZING HE IS!!!!!!!!