So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye!

Well, everyone, the time has come and there's no turning back now... KAZAKHSTAN!

I should have daily Internet access and will be in contact with my Faculty Supervisor over in Spokane seeing as how she's as nervous as I am (we're the first Whitworthians to pilot this trip, she wants to make sure we don't die), part of which includes daily emails of my activities so I've decided that I'll just be posting them here instead of flooding your emailboxes with stuff. Sadly, I probably won't have time to post daily pictures, but there should be some at intermittent times! Anyway, I'll be in Astana for the majority of the time, which is the capitol up north, and will visit Almaty, the former capitol down southeast. I fly out the afternoon of New Year's Eve and will arrive on the 2nd of January, teach in a public preschool for a week, and then help out in a 2nd grade classroom at the Quality School International in Astana. Everything is in order or soon will be, but prayers would be much appreciated. I know that God creates these opportunities for us to learn in multiple aspects of life, and I look forward to seeing what those truly are (although I've speculated). I can't wait to share it all with you when I get back!

Peace and love,

Chels

P.S. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! It was a wonderful holiday season and I am in love with my family, so to those of you that made it so special a thousand thanks. And with that, catch ya on the flip side :)

Go Grandma Go!

To the toughest lady I've ever known, an immense source of joy and blessing to all she meets, and one of my favorite people in the whole world. I love you Grandma, fight the fight! Got all my best prayer warriors working for you and Aunt Tanya :)

Check and Mate

Should really be working on a research paper right now (it's going to be an epic victory if I can pull this one off), but just wanted to let y'all know, well those who were waiting with bated breath alongside me, that my Washington Educator's Skills Test (WEST-E) for my biology endorsement has been conquered :D passed by two whole points (which is technically one question... eek) but they call the student who finishes last in medical school doctor, right?! So I am certified and ready to go! I'll be able to teach in Washington state after student teaching :) I cried, jumped up and down, all the usual. Thanks for believing in me :)

Another quick story I thought many would appreciate. I came home from a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving (thanks to all who made it so special :) ) to find more snow than I could shake a stick at. I parked two blocks away and trudged through about a foot and a half of snow (the sidewalk was nonexistant and snow plows filled them anyway), in some areas 3 foot snow banks, with the huge bags of goodies and provisions my mom sent me off with. After falling multiple times into the snow along the way with my comically oversized luggage, I finally made it inside. And promptly realized that my pants zipper was not only down, but flayed open. I thought I'd noticed a draft... at least it was dark when I got home, I'm pretty sure I was a walking sideshow. Best part?! It gets better and better! We got probably a foot and a half continuously throughout the day yesterday and the prospects only look whiter. Imagine me, the most balanced and coordinated person this side of the Mississippi *insert sarcastic tone here* trying to walk down my killer 55 degree driveway to get to a sidewalkless street of cars going 45mph around a slight corner before my house. It's awesome.

Oh, and I got my visa for my trip to Kazakhstan while I was home! Oh the joy! Tis beautiful, and I'm now in the process of applying for a train ticket to Almaty and finding housing there. We were suggested a little B&B called "So Young's Happiness Guesthouse"... looking into it though, kind of sounds like... well, let your imagine roam free.

Alrightyroo, gotta jet to do SOMETHING for this research paper... oh, and exam this afternoon. Been working hard to finish the year strong with homework and have also been spending numerous hours preparing for choir tour, can't wait to get the ball rolling! Hope you're all safe and enjoying this holly jolly holiday season. Love you all like you wouldn't believe :)

Peace and love,
Chels

Computer Fail

Why hellooooooo everyone! Sorry, I totally intended to write sooner, but my computer got... kind of... upset. Long story short, dropped the laptop, bent the computer cord, battery has about 7 minutes of life in it (on a good day) without direct cord hookup, cord is plugged in but doesn't count as connected at times, random spontaneous shut downs, fried and angry hard drive. BUT! Good news! Richard is a computer nerd, Chelsea gets a new hard drive and computer cord, and is now writing. Thank you, Richard :) It's funny, I never realized the easy convenience of having a computer at my fingertips all the time! I had to plan trips to campus before assignments were due... reminds me of when we all planned trips across the Narrows when the new bridge toll took over the lives of Sounders everywhere :) But here I am! My computer is good as new, if not better. Joy!

Anyways, lots lots LOTS has happened since we last spoke. Had a fantastic visit with Jenna, Kyle and the not-so-little Payton Marie a few weekends back (holy cow, how long ago was that?! Time is flying!) and it was absolutely wonderful :) Great family time, had fun with Richard downtown, it was aaaaaallll good! And, cooler yet, Richard surprised me with a visit to my parents to see them and my best friend Chelsea Trotter :D he was in cahoots with them for a while, it was such a blessing and finished up the weekend beautifully. Just what I needed. Again, thank you Richard :)

Wonderful music...

And wonderful scenary!

Since that wonderful getaway, I've been plugging through my last few weeks of the semester by working hard and hardly working... it's crucial to know both, right?! Class has been fairly hectic, especially this past week with a Genetics exam, Evolutionary Biology paper, presentation of high school reform as a policy issue, and creating and presenting at an intercollegiate poster forum. My theme was "A Snapshot of Refugee Students". Spoke to a lot of people about who refugees are and how they differ in choice and obstacles from immigrants (many don't know, it's interesting!) as well as research via anecdotal evidence, literature and interview as to how we as educators can help refugee students feel welcome to learn. PHEW! And even better, last weekend was my WEST-E exam, or Washington Educator's Skills Test- Endorsement. I took the Biology WEST-E and MAN did that SUCK. The exam was only 110 multiple choice questions, but they were based on the most difficult, small details of the hardest classes I've had here at Whitworth. SO not what I expected, everyone said it was cake! Which is what I was banking on... this is my only shot. I need to pass to student teach, but I couldn't take it before this point because I needed Genetics and Evolutionary Biology. And, better yet, the only retake before student teaching is in January, and yes, you guessed it, I'll be in the Big Kaz. I prayed before I went to bed the night before, at the exam with a friend, when they put the test in front of me, and when I put my pencil down. I've got a quaternary prayer thing going on :) I would appreciate your thoughts too. Thanks in advance!

Good news! Seevers has a room!!! We have a dining room and a whole mess of other house issues (plumbing, locks, name it... probably got it), but I feel so much better knowing that she has her own space... it wasn't a good situation. She's graduated to the garage, score! It's kind of interesting right now at the house, a little up in the air, because Steph graduates at the end of the semester and is now probably going home. She has guaranteed work there... I don't see her half as much as I used to, it's a little sad, but I don't want to see her leave! It's really getting to her, she doesn't know what to do, so I would appreciate good juju vibes being sent her way. Again, thanks for that!

In other news, guess what's coming up and has my panties in a bunch?! Actually two things... thankfully not two bunches... KAZAKHSTAN YAY! I sent in my visa application yesterday, so now we just wait with baited breath to make sure they want me. The other thing is... CHOIR TOUR YAY! It's that time of year again... this years concert is called Heaven and Nature Sing, and will truly be a look into Heaven I think. It'll be the Whitworth Choir, Men's Chorus and (ding ding) Women's Choir. We'll be at First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue on December 4th at 7pm and will be at First Presbyterian Church of Seattle on December 5th at 3pm. Also, we shall sing in Spokanistan on December 10th at 8pm and 11th at 3pm and 7pm. Students are $15, adults are $18. Okay, commercial over :) it's gonna be a great show though if you're looking for something to do that weekend that involves beautiful music and a trip to the city... just sayin' :)

It's going to be a busy time because (I promised I'd mention it, so here ya go) I'm president of Women's Choir this year. I'm determined to run a choirocracy (you know, off-shoot of democracy... only more in tune) but it'll still be quite the job apparently. I'm flattered, just hope that I can live up to the trust they've given me! I know, it's not that big of a deal, but I still want to do a good job.

Okay, what else... it's thinking of snowing in Spokane! And, thankfully, right in time for Richard and I to travel the pass once more for Thanksgiving! I hope I get to see most of you, unfortunately for him he has to leave Thanksgiving evening... I'm so thankful that he is able to come at all, but he could only get two days off work. But I'll stick around! Festivities shall include: decorating for Christmas and other traditions, getting fat, seeing Harry Potter with my daddy (tradition :) ) and some much needed relaxation. Bring. It. On. Can't really think of much else... it's basically an easy peasy downward slide until then. So, I guess this weekend will be filled with time with friends and time spent wrapped up in a blankie watching the snow with a cup of coco. Hope you're blessed with laughter and learning, and also hope to see you soon!

Peace and love,

Chels

жизнь чудесна

Why helloooooooo everyone! How are you? I hope all's well, and the transition into cloudy gloom has been a good one :) I personally love the rain, as I'm sure most of you Westsiders do (to an extent), and walking to and from school in the foggy drizzle has become like a treat to me. There are some days that I think "really?! REALLY?!", but it quickly passes when I remember, "hey, you have air in your lungs and a beat in your heart, shut up and enjoy it" :)

Well, I still don't feel like a senior except for the senioritis problem. You'd think I would have figured out how to study by now, but NOOOO it's going steadily downhill. Thankfully, I have learned how to manage when motivation was lacking, so I've still been doing okay :) my Genetics class is a bit of work, but I actually understand it pretty well (not everyone in my class can say that, so thank goodness I can still be a functioning, motivationless member!) and Evolutionary Biology is basically a recap of the three other classes I've taken with this same professor (his lessons don't vary much... most of the time my classmates draw on my paper and we make faces at each other... mature, right?! Would it surprise you to hear that one of the culprits is one of the smartest and most promising pre-Med students Whitworth has? I hope that brings you comfort) so the class is basically a wash. Kinda nice though, it being my senior year and all... Most of my education classes are easy peasy, and some are a wee bit of a waste of time (one of those situations where they take three hours to teach what could be taught in 45 minutes to make the class meet credit standards) but one class, Leadership Democracy and Schooling, is probably my favorite class this semester. It's awesome! A three-hour night class that breezes by thanks to a very passionate area of content and a great, humorous and interactive professor. Most of the things we read are painful and, a few times, I've had to put down one of our textbooks and walk away to decompress and calm down. The beautiful thing about hearing these tough situations, though, is that it ignites a fire to take care of the kids that go through these situations. I'm learning a lot in this class, and I'm so thankful...

Other than that, I stepped away from Feminight this year, allowing the reigns to be given to someone who can continue it when I'm gone. This basically leaves volunteering with my Sudanese kids (who are phenomenal... especially Sara, the daughter, she's such an amazing kid. So mature, so helpful and mindful of others needs, she'll be a big force in the world :) ) and choir! Choir tour dates have come out, by the way... we'll be in the Seattle/Bellevue area from December 3-5, singing at the First Presbyterian Church in Bellevue Saturday the 4th at 7pm and singing at the First Presbyterian Church in downtown Seattle Sunday the 5th at 3pm. I believe the cost is still $15 dollars for tickets, I'll keep you posted, and I understand that the travel and price and time of year may make this difficult, so PLEASE never feel as though I am pressuring you or will be disappointed in your absence. Just wanted to let you know when they are, and that this year is going to be a great year :) there are a lot of Freshman in the music department this year (because there are a lot of them in every department this year), but we're still singing some great songs. One of the pieces we're singing this year that I am particularly excited about is Mary's Magnificat, which is the Virgin's response to the angel that told her she was to give birth to a son immaculately. It's stunning, unbelievably complicated, and therefore super cool! The choir itself doesn't have a ton of returners, so the dynamic is of course very different from the closeness of last year, but my director has asked me to help in making the group socially cohesive through activities and such. She says "I know you're not an officer, this is a personal favor" :) officer elections should be soon though, and I apparently need to decide if I'd be willing to be President, says my fellow choir-ers... I'll let you know :)

So my house is still pretty good! My housemate, Katie Seevers, is still in the dining room, and is rightfully fed up with it and has even considered moving out. I decided to take a picture of how things have changed so that you can see her and our situation:

The dining room, as you can see, is partitioned off by the tapestry closest to the back wall...

This is Katie's hut. It basically fits a bed and a small bedside table/dresser. Most of her clothes are in the coat closet by the door or are in Winco paper bags by her bed. We all feel terrible, she wakes whenever people come and go or get up for a glass of water... it's pretty rough. Causes unnecessary tension that we thankfully recognize as being frustration with the living situation, but it's still hard. Other than that, we're all so busy with such varying schedules that we don't usually cross paths. But it's all good, that's part of the growing process :) Hopefully Katie's room will be done in about a week, but we're doubtful when considering that there's a possible leak from the upstairs bathroom into the new room and our landlord, once thought to be competent, has whipped out his Sheet Rocking for Dummies and we still hear him saying "umm... I think we screwed up somewhere..." We also haven't had light in our staircases going downstairs for about a month now, a serious issue for a house full of clumsy girls without night vision, and we have issues with the locking mechanism on our front door. Other than that though, it's all golden! Haha...

I've changed a few things around in my room, like pictures and a new bedspread and such, but I won't bore you with those pictures. Instead, meet my new friends!

Many of you remember a fish named Phoebo that I had my freshman year... awesome fish, followed my finger and got excited when I got home (he wagged his fins, I could tell... maybe...). Well, I decided that I missed him and wanted another awesome fish, so I fell in love with the fish above. His name is Phoebo Jr., but I call him P.J. :) he's a lot like my original Phoebo, but in some ways more interactive. I know, you're probably thinking that I'm getting WAY too excited over a fish... but he's cool... I swear.

I also used to have a super cool cactus with three thallus' (plant talk for bodies) that I named Alan, Phil and Stu after the characters from The Hangover, but I had a Chelsea moment and accidentally knocked him over (with flips and everything!)... the three-man wolf pack weren't the same after that, so I had to find a new plant friend that I presumably couldn't kill (I gave Steph a cactus that we named Doug, obviously, and she almost killed him... but she's special :) ) I decided to name my new cactus Nacho, after the greatly respected Nacho Libre and his self-inflicted exile to the wilderness. I know, I name my plants... I don't judge you if you judge me.

A few things about the future... I bought my tickets to Kazakhstan not too long ago! Found a great deal (saved almost $1000, including travelers insurance!) and have a 9 hour layover in Frankfurt, Germany on New Years Day :) Basically I'll be flying out from Seattle on New Year's Eve, have a layover in Frankfurt followed by a very short layover in Moscow, Russia (big mess to figure out if we needed a visa for that... usually we would but we think our circumstances excuse us thanks to helpful and knowledgeable resources :) ) and finally into Kazakhstan early morning of the 2nd! We start teaching on the 3rd in a public preschool (yay!) and after a three day weekend at the end of the week (during which we'll be going to Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan and former hideout for Soviet officers) we'll be starting teaching in Astana's QSI (or Quality Schools International), teaching the sons and daughters of international oil tycoons and politicians... quite the difference between the two, but I feel like I'll be seeing a good variety in socioeconomic class and the cultures they have. I've been reading this awesome book called Apples are from Kazakhstan instead of doing homework that's been teaching me a ton about the history and culture of Kazakhstan... I can't begin to explain how excited I am!!! Also, if there's anything in particular that you would like from Kazakhstan, please let me know :)

Also in the future besides student teaching at Northwood Middle School (which I am visiting this next week to help in Dave Gamon's classroom and scope out my students :D), I have made some big decisions about what I plan to do after graduation. Of course it all depends on where the jobs are, but I feel as though God and other circumstances have been pulling me towards the Eugene, Oregon area. I absolutely love the climate and that it's so close to both ocean and mountains, but isn't as crowded as the Westside of Washington, and the fact that my sister, niece and brother are all there and that the University of Oregon has the 4th best Masters in Education program in the nation makes the move natural. It would make life easier for my parents, I could see Payton all I want (don't mean to get all gooey and weird on you guys, but most days I watch the videos of her a few times over and some days it makes me cry... I can't be away from her anymore, which is strange because I hardly know her but she's family...) and teach while I gain residency for a year (which I already wanted to take off from school) to have instate tuition. That and it also feels right, I feel like God is pulling me there and keeping me excited about the change/move. I love new situations, and Spokane has served its purpose to me, but I need a change; I can't stay here. So that's the plan! I can't wait, I feel so blessed and fortunate to have an idea of what I'm doing at the end of this roller coaster... as much as I'll miss Spokane and the people in it, it's because of Whitworth that I love it and the people associated with those memories will be leaving too. Time to take a leap of faith :) these plans might change, but as far as I know this is the most likely outcome.

Wow, I've rambled for a while haha... sorry! I guess I'll leave with some pictures of the last good weekend that I think we'll have over here for a while... Richard and I both had Saturday off, a rare treat, and so I planned a big day for us full of hiking followed by a fancy dinner and dessert in Coeur d'Alene. Here are some pictures from the hike:

We found a cave! So cool, not very deep though...

Here's the view from the cave, zoomed a wee bit of course :)

The Mineral Ridge Loop Trail lookout over Lake Coeur d'Alene... stunning day, creepy family hogging the bench where I planned a picnic lunch. Don't worry, we found some good rocks!

We hiked a little more along the river and found a wonderful little beach that we played on for a while, looking at cool rocks and walking barefoot on the jagged ones :) it was a perfect day!

Okay, I've rambled enough... I hope life is good for you all and that you're loving this wonderful life we have. If there's any way that I can support you, even from over here, let me know!

Love,

Chels

The Beginning of the End

It's the end of the world as we know it... and I feel slightly nauseous :) hello friends, family and... um, others... ! I hope the transition into this new season is gentle and fulfilling. The summer has wrapped up and it is now my second day of my SENIOR YEAR OF COLLEGE! Oy... we had a senior class meeting that I went to (for one reason and one reason only... free t-shirt) on Tuesday (my house called it "Free T-Shirt Day") and they announced that we had 249 days left of our undergraduate careers, just under 6,000 hours! I'm kind of having an existential meltdown... I can't imagine how most of the seniors are feeling, I'm blessed enough in knowing what I want to do with my life! Anyway, my final Whitworth semester (I'll be student teaching in the spring, so that's not entirely true... but it's my last semester of classes actually AT Whitworth) is in full swing! It'll be fairly busy and a few of my classes will be a bit of work, but this will be a much more relaxed semester than some I've had in the past (for example, last semester's madness).

I am in three night classes and two day classes, but my day classes start at 12:50pm :) Finally, a semester with non-8am classes! I know that's not the real world, but everyone else gets them so it's about time I got mine :) This excludes my science lab at 8am on Thursdays, but if that's it I'll take it! I am taking Genetics (toughy and TIME-CONSUMING), Evolutionary Biology (so excited to learn more about the subject to become more knowledgeable about my stance on evolution, intelligent design and my place as an educator in proposing the ideas to my students), Leadership Democracy and Schooling (tons of writing and reading, but gonna be a phenomenal class with one of my favorite Education professors), Teaching English Language Learners, Introduction to Intercultural Education (these last two are half a semester), and Content Area Reading and Writing. Overall, a great semester :) I also had my audition for Women's Choir today, interesting as usual... thankfully, since I'm a returner, they weren't as worried about my lack of preparation as I was. Fun fact: after a three-year study of seeing whether learning an assigned audition piece thirty minutes before said audition turns out well, I can successfully conclude that no, it does not.

The house is wonderful! Housemates are good, place is good, everything is goooood. One of my housemates is currently living in our dining room (seriously... she put up curtains and has basically her own little hut) and we are hoping her room will be done as soon as possible. She's had a rough go of it considering she is living in a common space, was scammed by a mattress company (and therefore without a mattress to put in her dining bedroom), and someone attempted to break into her car... life is rough sometimes, but she's doing well :)

A quick look back to the past... the 27th of August will go down in history as the day I got to quit my job at Magnuson! Huzzah! Best thing ever, that job was a huge blessing considering how long I was able to work and how much it was an hour, but it made me somewhat miserable sometimes. After that I took a day to hang with my housemate and relax, then the day after that Richard and I took a roadtrip to the Westside! We left after he got off work, played by the Columbia River lookout on the way, and made it late that evening. The next day we did SO much fun stuff... I showed him Gig Harbor, Point Defiance/Five Mile Drive/Owen Beach, the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, Titlow Beach, all capped off with a (very short but fun) visit to my dad at his fire station and dinner with my best friend Chelsea Trotter and Richard's cousin (he joined us from Fort Lewis) at the Tides Tavern... mmmm :) The next day, we spent most all of our time with my daddy, going out and eating basically, and catching the rest of the sights that I missed. Two movies later (Blue Ray of course, it is my dad after all!) we were exhausted, went to bed, and Richard and I woke up at 6am the next morning to get him back in time for work. Kind of a whirlwind weekend, but wonderful also :) here are some pictures:

Tehehe... camel butt :) this picture made me really happy for some reason
Anyway, I'd better do something useful before my night class, like eat dinner maybe... it's hard enough to concentrate, much less on an empty tummy. Love you all :)

Chels

Coming out from under my rock...

Yes, I do live. I live well, as a matter of fact. I'm sorry this is such a long time coming, but I can explain! For a while I was Internetless and since getting Internet my other housemates have been connected to the modem at the times I had a spare moment to blog... we have since gotten a wireless router, so I'm golden! But I've been gone all weekend in Shelton/Portland, so here I am! A lot has been happening...

I turned in my last date of work a while back, so effective the 27th of this month I am unemployed again! WAHOO! I'm very blessed to have the job I do, especially for the pay and for the amount of time I was available, but man it's wearing on me. I'm getting a little tired of being yelled at all day. I could talk for days about some of the calls I've had, but I won't bore you and to be honest I'm trying to block them out haha. My boss was upset that I wasn't sticking around for the school year, but I want to see how stressful my final semester at Whitworth will be before I add on a job including a commute. If I can find a job on campus, shwing! If not, helloooooo super-budget. Anyway, I came back to work today after a long weekend and only 10 days left! Wahoo! That and only one more tutoring session... I can't believe the summer is wrapping up so quickly!

So, as promised, I am ready to reveal my house! Below are pictures of my room, bathroom, living room, kitchen and dining room. Enjoy the adorable college housingness :)

Please don't mind the dishes drying on the rack or soaking in the sink... I just wanted to give you a picture of how it will likely (hopefully) look like throughout the year. Having no dishes at all would be unrealistic and downright dishonest! It was quite the road to get all the bills transferred and names changed and such, but I washed my hands of the old place and am starting anew! To celebrate, when Steph came back into town, we held a barbeque for our friends and second family. There were about 15 of us, it was great! The badminton net was up, the tiny football barbeque was... well, useless until Tarig, the father of my Sudanese kids, came over. Fire + inexperienced barbequer = flipping burgers on the stove. Anyway, we all had a blast. I did take one picture though with my camera. Asim, the 5-year-old, apparently starved himself all day, telling his parents "I don't want to eat yet, I'm having barbeque at Chels and Steph's". So by the time we finally got food warmish, Asim asked for this impressive masterpiece.

Oh yes, the boy I've never seen finish a piece of chicken asked for a double decker cheeseburger. After eating half, he put it in a ziploc baggy and put it in the fridge as a snack for the ride home :)

This past Tuesday (or a week from today if you will), it was Richard's friend Alice's birthday so a small group of us went to Silverwood Theme Park. It was so fun! I had never been so it was great to finally trek over and try it out. There were many memorable moments, including the accidental hour-long detour around Hayden Lake (fun fact: it's a pretty large lake), being spit on by kids while riding the ferris wheel at sunset, helping Richard overcome his fear of rollercoasters (slightly), and trying to skillfully and discretely pick my atomic wedgie in front of the whole group after going down the super duper cool waterslide. It was great, I could go there every day! Except I will admit, after about 7 minutes I wanted to kick/punch/slap each and every speaker in the park that was playing nonstop kiddo banjo music... I can still kind of hear it now... anyway, here's a picture of Richard and I on our Silverwood day of fun! Kinda goofy (on his part... but I'll get him someday):

I haven't figured out how to turn it, so... sorry! Enjoy :)

This past weekend I took a roadtrip with my friend Kendel to Shelton (the parents' cabin), Portland, and Eugene (didn't actually happen, we were going to visit the University of Oregon but decided to wait for when class was in session... I'm looking there for grad school, they have the 4th best program for Masters in Education in the US so it's worth a look!). It was phenomenal to see my wonderful family as well as an old friend (Shoes, or Emily as she was called at birth, goes to Portland State University), but fairly self explanatory so I'll just show a few pictures:

The stunning sunset at the lake cabin :)

My niece is b-e-a-UTiful, she's so perfect! And she's getting SO big...

An example of the beautiful driving weather we had for our nomadic weekend.

I've still got quite a few things to plug away at until the summer is over (school starts September 8th... I think...), so I've been keeping nice and busy in my off time! But don't worry, I play plenty too :) I hope this finds you well, please keep me posted on what's going on with y'all, and have no fear I will not go this long again without blogging :)

Peace out, rainbow trouts

Chels

I'm HOOOOOME!

Oh hey! This is a quick one, just thought I'd let you know that thanks to some absolutely wonderful people *cough* Grandma and Grandpa Book and Richard, not to mention the emotional support of the four other friends who said they would help but forgot that they had to "work" *cough*, I am moved into my new house! It's so wonderfully lovely! Just thought I'd let you know that I can now be reached at a new address:

9905 N Waikiki Rd
Spokane WA 99218

I moved from Ivanhoe to Hawaii in a day, and oh can I tell the difference :) Love y'all! Hope your Fourth's were as wonderful as humanly possible!

Love,
Chels

Magnuson Hotels Weird Call of the Day: I went on a wild goose chase today to find a man a hotel in Santa Cruz, CA that provided those complimentary shampoo's... yes, called multiple hotels to see if they were provided in the rooms. Found nothing, the guy wasn't happy with me. Awesome.

The Goods

Oh hey there! Long time no blog... sorry, things have been pretty dang busy around the Chelsea household... a lot has been happening!

So I've been working at the Call Center at the kind of job I never want long term but always thought would be fun to, you know, try out... my headset, cubicle, computer and I are becoming fast friends! Except when I work the 6am shift. Then we throw punches. I've actually been working 6am shifts a lot lately and began a stretch of 7 consecutive days of 6am shifts, some being 5 hours and some being 8 hours. It's the only way I could get a few days off to spend the 4th with the family at the lake cabin, so I was happy to concede and struggle through it. Should be interesting... Anyway, I could talk forever about the funny calls I've gotten, every day is such a treat! I love talking to people and the intelligence of some is amazing, but it just lights another fire under me as to the importance of educating people... everything can relate back to a calling to teach :) I've had several Southern men declare undying love and affection for my phone skills and self (awkward to get them off the phone, by the by), this morning I was asked to settle a dispute between someone and where they were that involved the guy providing his card for guarantee, paying with cash and ending up being charged on the card anyway. I was confused because I couldn't find his reservation and was searching on our database for a good few minutes... come to find out he was referring to his tab at the bar inside the hotel which he never had reservations in... not really my job to settle your beer tab, sir. And this morning, my coworker got a phone call from a woman who accused her of sleeping with her husband while he was staying in Florida on business. This is when we quickly say "I'm at a corporate office in Spokane, Washington ma'am, it ain't possible". We've gotten people asking if there are nude beaches close to the hotel and how "nude" they truly are, had people calling to ask square footage of rooms and asking if it would be possible to fit three adults and 7 kids in one room, tons of stuff. The job can be unbelievably stressful, but I'm enjoying it for the most part! If it weren't for the early morning hours and the computer headaches, I would say the hours, pay and variety make it the perfect summer job. I am blessed :)

So a few weekends ago I brought my Zaki kids over to my place to share American and Sudanese recipes and play outside... oh the exhaustion, they're hard to please! Especially when you're cooking and cleaning for 6 straight hours... but thankfully I was saved by Richard (more to come on that :) ) and took them home after 8 hours of crazy fun times. I have a few pictures of my kiddos, I'm so proud of them! Asis, the oldest, graduated elementary school a week or two ago. Sara, the 10 year old daughter, amazes me. She's such an incredible little lady, she wants so badly to do good in the world and to help people... I've been learning so much from her heart! She wants to start a school club that spreads awareness about the dangers of leaving kids home alone without supervision, targeting more towards those from non-American backgrounds. She and her siblings are frequently left home alone for hours on end, and with an eight-month-old even, and she wants to educate people of other cultures about how dangerous that could be. She's a great kid :) Asim, the five-year-old, is getting to that age. Yes, THAT age. He knows all and is always right, so it's a good thing he's cute :) He actually lost his first tooth not too long ago and is excelling in his numbers and letters. Also, his garden is blooming! His radishes and carrots are doing pretty good, but I think we killed the tomatoes and flowers... oh well, at least something is growing.

Asil, the eight-month-old, is growing so quickly it's insane! And he's beautiful... he's starting to use his legs and crawl around a bit. Here's a picture of my little man :)

Last Wednesday, I actually had a two-day stretch off work on Thursday and Friday so I left after work and went down to Portland to see my baby niece and beautiful sister! It was so wonderful to see them, and I haven't seen Payton since she was a month old (I know, weird...) except for on Skype which doesn't count. I love living in Spokane right now, but I truly do miss my family so this trip was exactly what I needed. On Thursday mid-afternoon, my mom joined us to make the group complete! An awesome, chill time with family... another blessing :)

It's true... don't argue with me...

Grandma and baby girl Payton :) I like this one!

The girls all together, first time since March :)

So this probably won't interest you, but the drive to and from Portland from Spokane is absolutely b-e-a-UTiful! I wanted to share a picture of the scenary at the time, made the 7-8 hour drive bearable :)

But there's another picture I took on the way back that I want to share...

Look closely in the back of this Volvo hatchback... very closely... yes, you see correctly. When I was passing through Lind, WA (literally a one-horse town) I passed this car with a goat in the back seat. It was just hanging out, nibbling on some hay, ya know, being goaty. Maybe it's a one goat town... all hail the Lind goat!

And I'm assuming this next piece of news is largely the reason why people will be reading the blog this time around... yes, it is true. Chelsea has a boyfriend. And here he is! Sorry about the picture quality and dorkiness, it's honestly the only picture we have together after having dated for a month :)

This is Richard Falk! We met under hilarious circumstances in a diner, started talking, and went on a few dates within a short amount of time (each date being unintentionally 8-10 hours a piece haha) and entered a relationship shortly after that. It's funny who God puts in your life when you least expect it :) He's 23 and currently working in retail to save up money to go to school in the Fall. We have a ton in common so spending time with him is the easiest it has ever been for me to spend time with a guy I've dated. I don't really know what else to say except he is the kindest, gentlest, funniest, smartest and youthful guy I have ever met and he makes me incredibly happy. It's been a fun time! The picture above was actually taken last Saturday, we went to a fancy dinner and then to a Comedy Club... probably why we thought we were funny in the picture haha. So there you go, everyone can breathe easy, I'm being well taken care of!

Starting in the next few days, I'll be packing up and peacing out of my current domicile. Joy! I'm ecstatic (not for the move... I'll actually be moving three people instead of just myself... true joy!) to go to a new place with cheaper rent, nicer spaces and better people (actually, most of the same people just weeding out a few :) ) Actually, funny story. A week or two ago, my computer rebelled and decided to be moody, so while I was computerless (tear) I milked the school of it's Internet by going to the library on campus. When I walked in I saw my landlord being helped at the front desk so I said hi and started talking to him about how thankful we were and how great it looked and how Kelsey (one of my housemates who was able to move in early, rent free, because her other lease was up in June) had moved in great. He was looking at me like, "what the heck are you talking about?!" but smiled and nodded his head. It took me until 20 minutes later when I was texting Kels that I wasn't talking to Jim our landlord, I was talking to Thom Caraway, my Core 150 discussion group leader. So embarrassed, only made better by yelling out loudly in the middle of the library... good thing it's not the school year. So yeah, the English department thinks I'm insane (that's his department) but it's made for a good joke. My housemate Katie is an English major and she messaged me saying, "hey I think it would be cool if we painted our rooms for next year... I'll ask Thom when I see him in class in the Fall". Haha everyone, haha. Just kidding, it really is pretty funny, but in my defense they look extremely similar! I only realized it when considering the differences in voice octaves and the slight differences in very similar beards. Anyway, I'm stoked to get over there and build another home for the year!

In all, life has been wonderful! The sun has finally come out and looks like it'll be around for a while *knocks on wood* so summer is here :) I hope life is treating you all well and that you are living and loving life well. Hope to see y'all soon!

Love,

Chels

Reservation Specialist

Magnuson Hotels- World's largest independent hotel group

:)

Employment Por Favor

Why hello there! Hope all is well for everyone! I'm just doing a quick check in to let y'all know what's going down on this side of the mountains... First off, Spokanistan is COLD! I bet you Westsiders are saying "shush girl, you have no idea..." and I'm sorry that you've probably had it worse but my goodness! Summers ain't what they used to be in the olden days :) I can't believe it's already June... where did it go?!

I don't really have pictures or anything to post (sorry) but I do have one exciting piece of news... a week or two back I was really frustrated with this whole job search thing and gave myself two options: find a job by the end of the month or come home. Part of me really wanted to come home and be with family, but the other part of me knew it would be so much easier to stay here and that I would love the experience of working on my own and growing up and spending time with friends and etc. So I told God that I trusted Him to make the best choice for me because goodness knows I have no flipping clue what that is... that evening I went to tutor for the Magnuson family and they asked me if I had found a job. When I said no, they stated that they might see what they can do down in their company (Magnuson Hotels) call center. The next day, I got a phone call from the Director of Data and Voice Services saying that I didn't need a background check, interview, or resume and that I had been hired soley on recommendation! Granted, the clout of the CEOs and namesakes of the corporation are pretty good, but he said he felt comfortable hiring me right off the bat! Soooo what I'm trying to say is God decided to keep me in Spokane and made me an employed person! Yay!

I had my first day on Wednesday and basically I'll be taking and cancelling hotel reservations, quoting prices, changing hotel rates in databases, answering information emails and faxes, inputing hotel reviews, the works! It's actually pretty dang stressful, but I'm getting the hang of it :) I trained for two days on how to multitask like a madwoman so I should be fine. Today was my first day on phones and a) I had fun, and b) no one died! There were some pretty strange calls and some pretty awesome accents (we get calls from all over the US, UK and Canada), but my favorite by far was a gentleman calling to complain about being charged $5 for his "free" hot breakfast. He went on for a good 20 minutes about how he felt discriminated against... it really was unfair for the hotel to do that, but it was still funny how passionate he was about an egg and hashbrowns...

A little background: Magnuson Hotels is actually the world's largest independent hotel group and we represent independent hotels throughout the US, UK and Canada through reservations and marketing. We advertise and help them with bookings, and they give us a little kick-back. Tada! I think the reason why it is so stressful is because we get around 25,000 calls each month and the call center is only open from 6am-10pm PST and has maybe (if lucky) four people on shift at a time. They're seriously understaffed (which was nice for me I guess!) so they like that I'm so flexible with hours and such. I'll be getting between 25-35 hours a week and I've already picked up a shift for someone tomorrow. It's the night shift, which is much better than the 6am shift, trust me. This summer is going to force me into coffee-drinking, I'm convinced. Anyway, my coworkers are all UBER SUPER nice and my boss is already teasing me like I'm one of the family. I'm very happy :)

In all, this summer has already been phenomenal. Building some fantastic old and new relationships, learning a lot about living on my own, all great stuff! I'm all smiles :) I truly hope from the bottom of my heart that the same is for you. Okay, I'm going to rest because I officially dislike computers (thank you, job) and need a break for my eyes. I've been off work for 2 hours but it still hurts!

With love,
Chels

искать

Zdravstvutiye! I know, you're thinking "can you FIT anymore consonants in there?!" but welcome to the Russian language! That is Russian for "hello" according to my correspondence in Kazakhstan, but according to Alta Vista Babel Fish he added an unnecessary "y" in there... oh well, I should worry about saying it not spelling it :)

Well, summer is here! Kinda... besides the early apocolypse (is it 2010 or 2012? Because the Spokane sky is wondering...) it's been beautiful over here.... granted, my standards for good weather are based on the Westside of the state, so everything looks good to me! I ended school in a high fashion with a few performance-based finals on Tuesday and my Advanced Cell Biology final on Friday. One of my finals on the Tuesday was a mock interview for the Education department. They brought in administrators from neighboring Spokane public schools and had us participate in a half-hour mock interview in which we were evaluated based on our answers to the questions and our professionalism. It was a ton of fun! The interviewer that had me said she would hire me in a heartbeat, which was bittersweet since I have still been unsuccessful in landing a job here... but flattering all the same! She said it was one of the first times that she had no constructive criticism to give, so I feel as though the Education department here at Whitworth is giving me all the tools I need to do well in the job market :) when it comes to teaching jobs of course... otherwise, I'm still trained for nothing!

After my last final on Friday (take THAT, Advanced Cell!) I went with a few friends to eat me some 5-pound burrito (and no, I still couldn't do half... the guy friend with us ate more than my friend and I combined. He was a fistful away from finishing it in one sitting, and of course he's thin as a board...) and then promptly slept for 14 hours unintentionally. Laid my head down for a nap at 5pm and didn't wake until 7:30am the next morning. I don't think I've ever been that awake or peppy! Some of my housemates did not appreciate it I think :) That weekend I tied up many of the loose ends (pretty much picked off my whole to-do list for the summer minus the ongoing projects... felt awesome!), went to graduation on Sunday (promptly freaked out, too, when I realized that that was me in a year...), sang at Baccalaureate beforehand (which apparently is a fancy word for prayer service when I thought it was a fancy word for graduation... school can be over and you can still learn!) and celebrated my birthday! It was great and very low key; most of my friends went home for the summer or were graduating and were with family, so I only spent the evening with four other friends and had a great time. It's crazy to think how fast time has flown and that, four years from now, I'll finally be grown-up enough to rent a car! CRAZY! I look back at myself when I was 18 even and cannot recognize myself... I am so incredibly thankful for this transformative time and all the people who have been part of it. Thanks everyone :)

So with another year at Whitworth under my belt and one more to go (BAH!), I've been keeping busy... had some leads on jobs that friends had heard about, such as a position at a youth center and daycare, but still have had no luck in my applications. If you can keep this process in your thoughts and prayers, I would deeply appreciate it. As of right now, I've given myself a deadline: if I still have no luck in landing a job by the end of the month, I'm coming home. Everyone has been so wonderful in trying to help me and in understanding my fluidity in my decision-making, but I want to do what's best for everyone else as well as myself... I just hope I can figure that out. It's all so confuzzling! I trust Him though, and what needs to happen will happen regardless.

So after doing odds and ends stuff in the morning, I've been having fun playing at night with friends I haven't seen in a while... it's been a great time! Right now I'm working on getting Haiti all squared away, including buying plane tickets and figuring out which immunizations I need to get (joy... pure joy). Everything looks as though it is progressing though! And I spend a wee bit of time either studying for the West-E, my teacher certification test in this state that I need to take in November before I student teach (based on my content, aka Biology), and learning a wee bit of Russian and a some Kazakh phrases. These are ongoing projects, including packing up and getting ready to move to my new house sometime in July! YAY! We're so excited and think it will be a wonderful change, minus the killer driveway in the winter... we'll just wear pillows in our pants to ease the falls is all :) in all, everything is looking bright! I also had a fantastic visit with my cousins Carissa and Chris, got to show them the metropolis of Spokane and all of its outdoor wonders, and just had a great time spending time with them. Thanks you two for such a fun time and for being great family to me :)

Steph landed happily and safely in Tanzania a few days ago and had a fantastic African birthday celebration (her birthday is exactly a week after mine, so she got to spend her 21st in Africa... lucky...) and is working at a daycare/school. It sounds as though she is incredibly happy, but I would love your help in keeping her in our thoughts and prayers for safe travels and good lessons. Thanks in advance.

Anyway, I best be going... my pa is coming into town! I'm going to say hi to him really quickly, head of to work/tutoring and then the fun begins. My mornings this week are being spent at Northwood Middle School helping Dave Gamon run his Charities Week deal and dad is coming tomorrow to meet him... and on Thursday mama is coming on over too! Can't WAIT to see my family, I miss everyone so much and Spokanistan is getting lonely :) well, I hope you all are well and that the world is treating you kindly. Love you and will hopefully see you soon!

Asalaam Aleykum,
Chels

P.S. Sorry for the lack of pictures... they're all in my head :)

The End of All Things Junior

Oh hey! How are y'all?! I think the Spokane twang is getting to me a little bit... which reminds me, I was sitting at the DOL this morning getting my license renewed and someone's cell phone began ringing the most high-pitched, blue grass country tune I had ever heard. And that's when I realized; welcome to Hickville :)

Well, these past few weeks have been hard work but extremely rewarding. First things first, I finished my unit plan! It turned out to be 45 pages single spaced and multiple sleepless nights and weeks, but I actually had a blast doing it. I've already received feedback and my professor called it a "masterpiece" and is going to use it as an example for future students AND has shown other parts of it to the School of Education dean and professors. Apparently she was proud of my work :) Also, my advisor has asked me if my online teaching portfolio (obviously a working document) could be the chief student evidence used to help the School of Education renew their accreditation. I feel very accomplished and blessed; it's very humbling to know that God's call on your life is not only something you love but something you have the potential to be good at! It'll take YEARS upon years of experience, but I'm getting the best start possible at Whitworth. As far as other school things go, I wrapped up two of my three field experiences (thank goodness!) and am working on making my presentation for the Institutional Review Board for my behavior intervention. Good news, the kid's still living and we didn't completely tank his schoolwork. I count that as a success for being a newby, yes?! :)

In other breaking news, next week is finals week! HECK YES! I cannot be more ready for this semester to be over, but at the same time it has been the most growing semester and time of my life I think. I really feel like I've crossed the bridge from Kidville to Grownuptown... it's okay, you should be scared. I have become a huge advocate for children and feel ready to try my hand at adult life. With Haiti (which has been officially paid for :) I cannot thank you all enough for your support), Kazakhstan (I officially downloaded an English to Kazakh dictionary for my computer... did you know that atan means a castrated camel? Apparently it's important to know... it's a good thing I'm growing up, but apparently not fast enough), student teaching with Dave Gamon, graduating and living, I feel like I have been blessed beyond compare. Along with this, relationships here, gaining and losing friends, and building my relationship with God, I feel ready. Ready to affect others, and ready to share joy. He has given me the patience and ability to trust that I needed to get to this place, so I am oh so thankful. Okay, enough of this stuff, I seem to be doing it a lot :) next week shouldn't be too tough for me which is nice; the rough part was last week, it's all downhill from here! I have a huge Advanced Cell exam that I could use good juju vibes for on Friday, but other than that it is completely manageable.

A few weekends ago, Steph and I were visiting our Sudanese friends the Zaki's and was told by the five-year-old about his garden. He wanted to show it to us so badly, so we trekked outside and were taken to a weed-ridden plot of dirt with nothing useful growing in it. We asked him what seeds he had planted, and he replied "these!" and promptly grabbed a rock, buried it in the ground and watered it. It was both kinda sad and adorable :) so Steph and I decided to help him create his own garden a few weekends ago. Apparently he was up at 2:30 in the morning waiting by the window for us to come (which wasn't until 4pm...) and asked his dad to call the news stations. He said, "tell them to bring video cameras! We are making a garden! It's huge news!" Needless to say, parents = not so pleased with us :) So we borrowed a shovel and got to work.

We bought carrots, radishes, blue flowers and tomatos. You can see he was giving us a lesson. The look on our faces... we felt more scared than we look.

We found worms. He said we had to protect the worm homes. We did. So there. It was a ton of fun, and he goes out to check it every 20 minutes or so. Every kid needs a hobby :)

Last weekend was fantastic, it was our Women's Choir concert! It was called, "All Shall Be Well", and went off wonderfully. We sang mostly in English this time (who woulda thought!) except for one song in Latin called "Vivos Voco" and five songs that comprised a set called "The Hebrew Love Songs" in... well, Hebrew.... this set is my favorite. If anyone would like a copy of the CD, just let me know! There are a few pictures down below...

Typical.

These are the choir officers this year. Amy, on the left, was El Presidente, and Janelle, on the left, was the Chaplain. Tada! I'll miss these two Seniors!

Starting July 1, I will be living elsewhere! I'm very excited about this, as are the other housemates, and we think it'll be a perfect fit for us. But I really wanted to show you a picture, even though I haven't taken one of the place yet, so here's the Google Maps street view image of the place:
Lovely, huh?! We're on the right side of the "Magic School Bus", so the side with the garage door open. Can you see why it's called that? Pretty obnoxiously yellow... we love it :) After move in, we plan on planting a garden and fixing things up, even though it'll be pretty dang perfect. This summer will also be full of camping, playing outside and other frivolities. Still looking for a job; beginning to think I have more resumes out in the Spokane area than I have extended family members... but I'll keep trying. My best shot right now, I think, is at a small bakery behind the school called Le Petit Chat, but it's a long shot. I'm trained for absolutely nothing, I have no skills! I tell people that I have worked with kids at a theatre arts camp and was an RA and a tour guide, and do you know what that equates to? I'm trained for nothing. I'm also diligent though, so I'll be sure to keep you posted :)

Well, I'd better get back to work. I just need to stay strong for another week and I'll be golden! I love you all and hope you're enjoying your weekends. Hope it's as beautiful on the Westside as it is over here :)

Peace and love,

Chels

P.S. Have fun wth Payton if you're going to see her... give her a hug and a kiss from me :)

Updateamundo

Chello, this is a fully living, breathing, and somewhat functioning Chelsea here. Tis nearing the end of the semester and school is winding down! I am so thankful to see the end of this semester, I need a break! Between a normal class load, three field experiences, three jobs (although their hours would really count as about one, but still have to run around everywhere to each one), leadership responsibilities, volunteering with the Sudanese family and upkeeping my house and such, it's been a looooong semester. But so much is life! This is the way it's going to be from here on out, I realize that it's the reality of adulthood. But since when did it come up so fast?! I'm boycotting. Is it still 2003? Yes it is. And don't try and convince me otherwise... no, I don't wanna hear it!

So this is going to be a quicky update because 1) my life is school and not as interesting right now, and 2) I gotsta get over to my favorite coffee shop soon to work on my monstrous unit plan assignment. In news, two hopings have become official; I am officially going to Kazakhstan, and I am officially student teaching in Dave Gamon's classroom (the incredible middle school teacher I've been working with this semester asked if I would student teach with him and then he got it all set up with the school for me :) so humbling, that never happens for secondary people around here!) I'm extremely excited for the future right now, it's almost making me a tad bit impatient. But all this along with finishing up my degree (mostly) next Fall, Haiti in the summer and a new house to move into (with much better situations all around), next year is shaping up to be the best year of my life so far! In other news, the only thing that is weighing on my mind at the moment is summer employment. I've been sending out resumes and applications like they're free hot donuts but haven't gotten a bite yet. I'm not extremely worried about it right now because Whitworth ends in May so I will be in the job market early; if need be, I'll become a professional job hunter once school is out. I need to focus on finishing the year strong, but I'm still being proactive about summer employment. Maybe I'll find something perfect under a rock somewhere!

In other news, there isn't much news. I have been fairly preoccupied with school and work and schoolwork so I try and take mini relaxing vacations when I can. Steph and I tried to go hiking the other weekend and couldn't find the trail so we wandered down a dirt road for a good hour and a half making up stories and murder mysteries. Also, with the craziness, it's important for us to get away so I made a surprise picnic for her at Riverfront Park downtown (I know, aren't we just the cutest couple ever?! :) ) and it was SO stunningly beautiful outside we just stayed down there for a while to avoid homework. Basically, that is what life has boiled down to right now: homework. I'm so cool, my weekends are now filled with being antisocial and staying locked up to complete everything that needs to get done by the end of the year. But everything is temporary, and I will again be up to my old tricks :) makes me extremely excited to be here during the summer with good friends and good times!

Anyway, gotta jet! I love you all and hope you are well; please keep me updated! To throw a picture in here, just because I should, here's a picture of Steph and I on our picnic adventure. Enjoy the awkwardness :) and wish me luck on my unit on the cell!

Peace and love,

Chels

Survival of the Sleep-Deprivingest

Well hi there! I hope all is well for everyone and that you're enjoying this absolutely GORGeous weather :) well, at least I hope it's gorgeous for you... it has been for me! I'm sorry to say that I am currently pictureless, BUT I'll just give you a quick checklist of the cool stuff happening in my life...

I am actually home for Spring Break right now, catching up on sleep and knocking out a very short (thank goodness!) to-do list. The week leading up to here was pretty rough, two all-nighters in a row and minimal sleep after that made for a fun week. But I got everything done that I needed to, and it's almost like my Spring Break is two weeks long... I say this because the Spokane school district's Spring Break is the week after mine, so my three field experiences are on hiatus :) Also, last week, I found out that my partner for my Behavior Intervention field placement came down with viral meningitis and was hospitalized (felt SO bad) so I had to change groups and am now at another Elementary school. It's actually much mo' better because the teacher is nicer to the students and to us Whitworth students as well. All in all it was a fairly stressful academic week, but I made it through! Now, for seeing friends and lying around time...

The big news as of now is actually the future. Plans are changing left and right! I will actually be going to Haiti this summer August 4-11 now that the organization has shifted their trips around, which is fine because it gives me a longer period of time to work consistently throughout the summer. Also, I'll be staying in Spokane this summer... I'm currently looking for and applying for summer work (I'll do anything, paint houses, work a register, I don't care!) and have a job starting the first week of April that will continue through August. I'll be tutoring a 7th grader who needs help with his science! During the summer I'll be moving out of my current house and into my new place. It's smaller, just four of us will be there, and a much better situation for all sorts of reasons! So that's exciting... then starts my last year! Probably the most exciting thing to happen recently has been my applying for my Intercultural Immersion experience. All education peeps at Whitworth, for the JanTerm of their senior year, spend a month teaching in a different cultural context than their own. Some go to the other side of Spokane (whomp), some travel across the state, some go to another state (or home for them), but most go outside of the country. I am one of those that can't justify staying in the country if I have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go elsewhere... so I've been looking at my options. I have always thought that I wanted to fulfill this experience in Africa, whether through the school or a program created by me, but through some searching I have had a change of heart. Whitworth has a faculty-led, 8 person trip to Tanzania, which is basically exactly what I thought I wanted... but instead, I am applying to go to Kazakhstan! I am very excited, it's really a big change but it feels so right!

I've also started thinking of life after Whitworth... Grad school at University of Oregon, teaching in Alaska, Oregon, Spokane, Africa, I don't know... life is the best kind of question mark right now. Life is good, and the future is bright :)

Anyway, that's a short little synopsis of my planning right now. I'm excited for a break, but I'm sure I'll be excited to go back to school too. Enjoy your week everyone!

With love,
Chels

Hallelujah

So as many of you can imagine, one of the most wonderful, magical things happened this weekend. My sister, the strong and incredible woman that she is, gave birth to Payton Marie Hall at 10:52am on Saturday morning. Most of the people who read this blog read Jenna's too, so I won't go into too much detail... but the weekend was quite the journey! For several reasons...

I got the phone call from my dad at about 4:50am that Jenna's water had broken and she was on the way to the hospital. So of course, in good 'ole "wait, what?!" fashion, I started throwing things in a bag and said "I'm on my way". But my wonderful father assured me that he was already looking at plane tickets and that he would get me there as soon as possible. I keep trying to tell him how much it meant to me to get me there so quickly so that I could be there from the beginning, but I don't think I can. In a lot of ways, my daddy was my rock this weekend. Love you dad :)

So I leave my house, go to the airport, basically jog through security (had no belt or laptop... wouldn't have worn pants if it would have sped things up... but I'm pretty sure it would have just slowed my travels down) and fly over to Portland. Funny enough, my plane landed at EXACTLY 10:52, and as I called my dad to tell him that I had landed, I heard the lullaby that hospitals play over the loudspeakers every time a baby is born. That counts as being there, right?! It was really an exciting moment. So dad said, "grab a cab and get here quick". So I run out of the airport, run back in to find an information kiosk and ask where the cabs are, and finally jump in a cab with a driver named Donald Lickiss. Oh yes, I remember his name. How could I not. Upon walking up to him, I said "hi" and he responded "never". Between you and me, his aroma said different... my dad even commented when he met me outside the hospital. So I zoomed over with good 'ole Donny boy and arrived at the hospital just as Kyle had come out of the OR, showing video of the baby to the two new grandmas. Of course, we all commenced to bawling and hugging. It truly was a beautiful family moment, we felt like this new little person made us complete. As soon as we could, we went in to see Jenna and Payton. I'm so unbelievably proud of my sister, and I kid you not, Payton is the most beautiful little girl ever born... a true angel.

Over the next few hours, we went between hospital and Jenna and Kyle's house, resting (I was an exhausted wreck) and basking in this miracle. One of the most magical parts of the weekend, though, was when Jenna and Kyle invited a chaplain to bless Payton while we were there. He prayed over the family and had the parents say their hopes for her. When I got to hold her next, I told her my hopes and dreams for her in this world, that I wanted her greatest gifts to meet the world's greatest need and that I hoped she would show others the love and support that she is sure to receive from her family. And she started crying. I think I overwhelmed her :) When I held Payton, my favorite thing to do was to sing to her. Nada te turbe, nada te espante, todo se pasa, Dios no se muda, quien a Dios tiene nada le falta, solo Dios basta. Basically, it means "Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you, all things are passing, God never changes, he who has God lacks nothing, God alone is sufficient". Not your average lullaby, but if she's going to be bilingual by the time she's 5 I've got to get to work! Just kidding... but I was truly feeling the sentiments of the song.

This weekend was beautiful in many ways, but it was also a pretty difficult time. For those of you who have followed me through my college journey, you may remember a good friend of mine named Lee Stover who made at least one appearance in each of my email updates. Well, four hours before I received the news of Payton's impending arrival, I received news that Lee had passed away the night before in his sleep. You can imagine I didn't get much sleep that night, hence my being an emotional wreck :) He passed away from an enlarged heart in Cheyenne, Wyoming where he was a Youth Director of a Presbyterian Church. I only told my dad, he was so wonderful in hugging me and holding me, and covering for me when I "needed to go for a walk". My mom could tell something was wrong so I told her later when we were alone. I wouldn't be telling you now except I feel compelled to share with you my thoughts.

Lee Stover was a fantastic friend, I can't even count the memories! We built an igloo together, we wrestled constantly (and if you remember his description, you can imagine how it was extremely one-sided), he waited with me when I got my RA letter, we went camping at Priest Lake, and tons of other little memories. He was the kind of guy who would see a budding little freshman, hardly knowing who she was, and would make her feel right at home. That is who Lee was to me, a support and essential member of my family away from home. The guy who saw me outside on the evening of the first snow of the year, came out and asked me to dance as the snow fell. I am being completely honest when I say that it was a magical moment for me, I had never felt so special. It is by far my favorite memory of Lee, and is such a good example of his person.

If you had met him, you would have loved him. His laugh was contagious, and although he wore his emotions on his face, he still always seemed to be smiling. He had a larger-than-life personality and a pure heart for others. He wasn't a protector of others simply because of his size (about 6'5" and 300+ pounds), but because he cared for people so much. No person was insignificant in his eyes, everyone had an incredible purpose on God's Earth. He had a way of always being a support, always being there when you needed him for silliness or seriousness. He could reach the unreachable; those people you see in your lifetime that you wonder, "do they have anyone to love?" you also would have seen hugging Lee if they had met him. A ferocious man of faith, unafraid to ask difficult questions and admit when the answers were inadequate. An incredible friend to everyone, and greatly missed.

It's always hard to lose someone because we feel cheated, don't we?! We feel like, as much or as little time as we had spent with them here on Earth, we lost all future opportunity to be in fellowship with them, to laugh with them, and to learn from them. But this isn't about me, this isn't about my losing the possibility of relationship or even the world losing the possibility of being bettered by him. It's funny how much we take for granted and let go unnoticed until it is pressed upon our heart. I learned so much from him while he was alive, but oh so much more in his death. It seemed as though Lee had an endless capacity for loving and caring for others, and I realized through the way he lived that it was because He loved God first. His dedication to Christ made him a vessel to pour out to others, and I want to be more like that. At his memorial last night, one of his friends reflected that Lee's life was one big "Hallelujah", that each day was a gift and a new opportunity to show Christ's love on Earth to others. Shouldn't we all live that way, as if each day were a celebration?! I want each day to become a "Hallelujah", an experience with which I can love others and do so with joy. That's what Lee has taught me; I saw it in his face whenever I saw him, but now I see the desperate need for it in the world. It almost seems fitting that a man with a heart larger than life itself died of an enlarged heart...

So I guess this is a temporary goodbye, friend. You'd better be saving me a dance up there, but until then I'll say and live a "Hallelujah" each day for you.

Love,

Chels