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