city noise

written by:  me

Driving down the road so fast,

Watching as it all goes past.

Not quite knowing what was seen.

Asking what does it all mean?

Not yet slowing things down,

Never taking time to frown.

Going on with lives our own,

Not seeing how we have grown.

Still pushing things from our plate,

The things that could have been great.

Things vital the first to go,

Just going now with the flow.

Wondering when they will call,

Drowning in the stress of all.

Thinking to life there is more,

Being sure down to the core.

Starting then slowly to be,

Wonder what you see in me.

Grasp something we once missed,

Now seeing You in our midst.

Oh the places i've lived...

Growing up we moved alot.  Also I have lived in many different places.  I've lived in 2 countries and plenty of differeent cities.  The two countries that I lived in are the United States and Taiwan. Within the United States I have lived in both Wisconsin and Illinois.  I have lived in 2 cities in Wisconsin and those are Antigo and Weston.  In Illinois I lived in Glen Ellyn, Elmhurst, Wheaton, Carol Stream, and Winfield.

The city of Antigo is a smaller town that most people from other states dont know about.  It used to be one of those towns you drove through on your way some place else.  After the highway was built around it the city became even less known then it already was because people no longer needed to go through it to get where they were going.  It's a town where most people know one another.  Where everyone is really nice and they have one 2 screen movie theater. The city of Weston is just outside of a town called Wausau.  Although Weston is bigger than Antigo it is still small enough for most people to somehow be connected to one another in some way.  Weston is still a pretty quiet town considering.  Also it is a very peaceful place to live.

Glen Ellyn is one of the many suburbs of Chicago that i have lived in.  It is one of those towns where people are in a comfort bubble.  The houses are big and the people are nice but alot of them have never been to other parts of the world.  But what do we do when comfortable becomes uncomfortable?  Most people prolly never think about that question.  Most of them haven't been through an experience that would cause this sort of a shift.  Some people just cling to whats comfortable never really taking a step outside of their comfort bubble.  They could live a completely different life if they would.  Being another suburb of Chicago, Elmhurst is the city that I spent most of my childhood in.  The houses in Elmhurst were just the right size when I was growing up.  It was like a small town where they didn't need HUGE houses.  Every year Elmhurst has a fair that they call Elm Fest.  Also Every summer they have an event that they call cool cars.  Which is basically an old car show.  There are almost always people walking around town or sitting by the fountain.  The fountain is the one place in town where everyone meets someone else because everybody knows exactly where it is.  The years spent there were some of the best years and I made some amazing friends.

One of the other suburbs of Chicago that I have lived in is Wheaton.  I spent most of highschool in Wheaton.  Wheaton is a very quiet town where not much ever happens... kind of like The Shire.  Most things in town close around 5pm.  So theres really not alot to do at night except movies bowling or goign to a friends house.  This is also a place where I made some really good friends.  The city of Carol Stream also being a suburb but not as close to the city of Chicago is one of the places that I lived on for the shortest time.  We lived right down the street from the mall.  My cousins lived in that city as well and they lived in one of those neighborhoods where all the kids played together at night in the coldusac.  It was a relatively safe place to live.

I Also lived in a few other suburbs of Chicago.  One of the places is winfield.  The people are nice but alot of them tend to keep to themselves.  I made few friends wile living there and am glad that they walked into my life when they did. Our neighborhood was pretty secluded and quiet for the most part.  We moved there towards then end of middle school and moved again sometime in or shortly before highschool.

I have lived in Taiwan twice and in 3 different cities.  The 1st time we moved to Taiwan I was 18.  I spent my weekdays in a school dorm in a city called Taichung.  I spent my weekends in the capitol city called Taipei.  It was a two hour bus ride one way.  Followed by a twenty minute mrt ride and then about a ten minute walk to the apartment building in Taipei.  The second time we moved to Taiwan we lived in a city just outside of Taipei called Beitou, which is also a stop on the mrt.

 I went to school in Taichung for a semester and my parents were missionaries learning the language in Taipei. Taipei is a big busy city.  The mrt links many outer parts of the city together.  Taichung was 2 hrs south of Taipei and it was so far removed fdrom the city that there was extremely little english and most of the older generation only spoke taiwanese.  How ever alot of others spoke Mandarin so I had to retain what I learned in Chinese class while I was there.  The people were nice and some were very helpful.  When we lived in Beitou it was for a few months and it was furring YWAM KKI's DTS. KKI (Kings Kids International)is part of an organization called YWAM (Youth With a Mission) and DTS is Descipleship Training School. YWAM is a missions organization that is based in Colorado.  Taiwan was an amazing place.  Hope this gives a little bit of insight to the places i mentioned.




 

Silence says alot

"Silence is a fence around wisdom.”  German Proverb

One of the best ways to get to know someone is to understand how they communicate.  Communication is made up of many different parts.  Only 7% of communication is what we say to someone. The other 93% is non-verbal and somewhere in there falls silence.  Out of the 93% only 38% is  vocal (volume, pitch, rhythm, etc).  The other 55 of the 93% is body language and facial expressions.  To fully understand a message we must look at all of it.  Effective communication is the combination of both verbal and non-verbal actions.

“Silence is a source of great strength.”  Lao Tzu

Silence can say many things to a person and can possibly be the most powerful of all non-verbal communication skills to use.  It can say that you value what that person has to say.  Silence says that you are open to being 100% present in the moment, that you are completely open to the other person sharing ideas and that you want to understand them fully, including their thoughts, feedback, input, and feelings.  It also can say that you are open to learning.   In silent moments sometimes we learn more about that one person in that moment then we will the rest of the time we know them.   It is in silence that I think people are the most open and transparent to another person.   Silence says more about a person than any word they say ever could.

“Silence is as deep as eternity; speech, shallow as time.”  Thomas Carlyle

Some people are so worried about what they are going to say next, or about when it will be their turn to speak that they don't even fully hear, understand or appreciate what the other person has to say.  How different would our lives and conversations be if we all stopped worrying about ourselves long enough to shut up and really hear and understand what others had to say?  Also wouldn't it be so much different if everyone slowed down enough to show others that they appreciate what is being said?  There are few people who actually take the time to show these signs of appreciation, and openness to what others have to say.

“An inability to stay quiet is one of the most conspicuous failings of mankind.” Walter Bagehot

16 days to go!!! :)

Sitting here in Illinois getting ready for whats sure to be a great experience.  We are going to spend 6 months in Taiwan doing DTS with YWAM.  DTS starts in October so we are finishing up last minute details while we are here.  So excited to see what god's gunna do while we are there.  We fly out of chicago in about 16 days so we've been pretty busy up till this point getting all the details together.  All thats left to do for the most part is getting visas which we are applying for tomorrow.   Can't wait till we are finally there!  :)   With that said i should really wrap this post up for right now... Zai Jian! (good bye)

Tijuana Trip

I went on a missions trip in june to Tijuana with Antioch Community Church. We spent about 5 days there. It was an amazing experience, through out the time we were there we had encounters with god, we lead 103 people to christ and healed over 20 people. We gave their info to the local church there who followed up with them. We did many things while we were there. Most days were outreach days though. One day we helped out at the orphanage. It was a family trip so most of the church went.



We spent our evenings just getting to know eachother and growing as a team, we had between 60-70 people on our team. Our outreaches were similar everyday but also a little different. We had anevangelism team, 2 drama teams, and 2 dance teams. We also had some one sharing the gospel and each outreach we had a different person from the evangelism team share their testimony.



A set usually included one or two of the dance teams, the gospel, a testimony, and a drama. The drama we did was called the covenant. The covenant is a silent dramma for the most part. The only line in it is life which in spanish is vida. So the silenceness of it was really powerful and helped with the language barrier. The charcaters in the drama were adam, jesus, satan, and 4 demons named drugs, lust, pride and intellect. The college dance team did a dance to a song called after the musicstops by lacrae. The family team chose the song supernatural. it was just an amazing week. had some great team members too.

Wedding Tradtions: Something old, new, borrowed, blue, sixpence in your shoe

Most people say "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue." Many brides interpret these words in the same old conventional fashion (the handkerchief is old, the dress is new, the earrings are borrowed and the garter is blue). The whole phrase is "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a silver sixpence in her shoe." Here is the meaning behind the phrase.

Traditionally brides incorporate something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue in their wedding. The orgin of this is english and the old english rhyme goes "something olde, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a silver sixpence in her shoe." Family members and the bride's attendants gave old, new, borrowed, and blue items and a sixpence to the bride as tokens of love on her wedding day for good luck just before her marriage. However, today brides are working the old, new, borrowed, and blue objects into their weddings themselves. But you may break tradition and get the groom involved as well.

The first of the five items or "Something Old" represents continuity of the past moving to the future. The old item can be an antique, an heirloom object, or a sentimental piece that represents the bride's past. The second of the five items or "Something New" represents optimism for the future and the new life the bride will share with her groom.

"Something borrowed" is usually an item from a happily married friend or family member, whose good fortune in marriage is supposed to carry over to the new bride. The borrowed item also reminds the bride that she can depend on her friends and family. One of the most traditional choices is also one of the loveliest -- borrowing a gown from your mother or grandmother.

Blue has been connected to weddings for centuries. In ancient Rome, brides wore blue to symbolize love, modesty, and fidelity. Before the late 19th century, blue was a popular color for wedding gowns. There are unlimited ways the color blue can be incorporated into the wedding day. Keep in mind there are many shades of blue and one may work better than another for the bride depending on how the blue item will be used.

And finally, a silver sixpence in the bride's shoe represents wealth and financial security. It can also be carried in the bride's purse or sewn into the hem or lining of her gown. Including the sixpence in your shoe is largely a British custom today. For optimum fortune, the sixpence should be in the left shoe. These days, a dime or a copper penny is sometimes substituted, and many companies sell keepsake sixpences for weddings. A sixpence is a coin that was minted in Britain from 1551 to 1967. It was made of silver and worth six pennies. So this wedding tradition is definitely English, and many sources say that it began in the Victorian era.

songs from graduation

the 2 songs im goinng to share with you wereeither played or sung at graduation. :)

A new day has...come (this one was sung)
By celine dion

I was waiting for so long For a miracle to come
Everyone told me to be strong
Hold on and don't shed a tear

Through the darkness and good times
I knew I'd make it through
And the world thought I had it all
But I was waiting for you

Hush, love

I see a light in the sky
Oh, it's almost blinding me
I can't believe
I've been touched by an angel with love
Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls for a new, new sun
A new day has...come

Where it was dark now there's light
Where there was pain now there's joy
Where there was weakness, I found my strength
All in the eyes of a boy

Hush, love

I see a light in the sky
Oh, it's almost blinding me
I can't believe
I've been touched by an angel with love
Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls for a new, new sun
A new day has...come

A new day has...come
Ohhh, a light... OOh

---

Time Of Your Life (this was played)
by: green day

Another turning point;
a fork stuck in the road.

Time grabs you by the wrist;
directs you where to go.

So make the best of this test
and don't ask why.

It's not a question
but a lesson learned in time.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs
and still frames in your mind.

Hang it on a shelf
In good health and good time.

Tattoos of memories
and dead skin on trial.

For what it's worth,
it was worth all the while.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

(music break)

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

Ping Lin "tea town"

The other day we visited a tea town call Ping Lin and it was a cool experience. We found this little tea shop and this guy made us a few different types of tea to taste, one was their specialty, one was a little sweeter and one was really sweet. We found out that they price thier tea according to how sweet it is. They were really nice and we also found out that once you plant the tree or what ever the tea leaves grow on it takes three years before you can harvest the first time. But there are 3 or 4 havesting seasons a year. It was very educational and "a real taste" of the culture in taiwan. One of the sweeter more expensive teas was called asian beauty and had a red sort of color to it.

The Twelve days of Christmas

The Twelve Days of Christmas (12 Days of Christmas) : Lyrics

On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me A partridge in a pear tree.

On the second day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Two turtle doves, And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the third day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Three French hens, Two turtle doves, And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Four calling birds, Three French hens, Two turtle doves, And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Five golden rings, Four calling birds, Three French hens, Two turtle doves, And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Six geese a-laying, Five golden rings, Four calling birds, Three French hens, Two turtle doves, And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Seven swans a-swimming, Six geese a-laying, Five golden rings, Four calling birds, Three French hens, Two turtle doves, And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Eight maids a-milking, Seven swans a-swimming, Six geese a-laying, Five golden rings, Four calling birds, Three French hens, Two turtle doves, And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Nine ladies dancing, Eight maids a-milking, Seven swans a-swimming, Six geese a-laying, Five golden rings, Four calling birds, Three French hens, Two turtle doves, And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Ten lords a-leaping, Nine ladies dancing, Eight maids a-milking, Seven swans a-swimming, Six geese a-laying, Five golden rings, Four calling birds, Three French hens, Two turtle doves, And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Eleven pipers piping, Ten lords a-leaping, Nine ladies dancing, Eight maids a-milking, Seven swans a-swimming, Six geese a-laying, Five golden rings, Four calling birds, Three French hens, Two turtle doves, And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Twelve drummers drumming, Eleven pipers piping, Ten lords a-leaping, Nine ladies dancing, Eight maids a-milking, Seven swans a-swimming, Six geese a-laying, Five golden rings, Four calling birds, Three French hens, Two turtle doves, And a partridge in a pear tree!

Heres a little history behind the christmas carol that most of us have heard so many times. Someone I know shared this info with me and I would like to share it with you as well.

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics to remember basics of their faith. (It has two levels of meaning : the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church.)

1. True love refers to god. The partridge was Jesus Christ and the pear tree was the cross.

2. Two turtledoves were the Old and New Testaments

3. Three French hens stood for faith, hope, and love.

4. The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.

5. The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first fivebooks of the Old Testament.("Pentateuch", which gives the history of man's fall from grace.)

6. The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

7. Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit: Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.

8. The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

9. Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit:

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.

10. The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.

11. The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

12. The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in The Apostles' Creed.

For those who don't know, the Beatitudes are the blessings Jesus spoke of during the Sermon on the Mount. The Latin word for blessed is beatus, from which we get the word beatitude. The beatitudes are found at Matthew 5: 3-12:

1. Blessed are the poor in spirit,for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
2. Blessed are they who mourn,for they shall be comforted.
3. Blessed are the meek,for they shall possess the earth.
4. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice,for they shall be satisfied.
5. Blessed are the merciful,for they shall obtain mercy.
6. Blessed are the pure of heart,for they shall see God.
7. Blessed are the peacemakers,for they shall be called sons of God.
8. Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice sake,for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

http://members.tripod.com/~robertwells/Beatitudes.html

this week

This week was sort of fun. I spent the week helping out with Child care for the team Training for phases 2 and 4. we did a lot of fun things with the older kids. we took them to a Children's museum, the Billy Graham Museum, to Kline creek farm, and we also played some fun games with them. It was great to get to know everyone through out the week.
Here are some pictures that I took:

Fun with Friends

Hey all! it's been A while since my last post ....
Anyway, Thursday night was Fun. I spent some time with friends and my boyfriend , we had lots of Fun. We ended up having A bon fire at some point, it was kinda smokey but again Fun. We spent A good amount of the night by the bon fire. Well since it's about midnight I should probablly go, So I'll write another post again some time soon.

The Colors of Sand

I wrote this for school last year as part of A project, let me know what you think.

The Colors of Sand


Sand is there and makes some people stop and reflect on things or brings old memories long forgotten back to the front of your head. It’s a pretty gold or white color and sometimes it’s pink, yellow or an ugly brown like my changing moods. You can be creative with it and make things out of it just like drawing a picture or making up a story. Sand is soft but hard to walk in. In the old days martial artists used to train in sand to strengthen their feet. I am constantly changing, like sand in different places is different colors. Every one has a favorite beach and sand color. Some people like white because it’s pretty and looks like snow. Other like me prefer the golden brown color where it’s pretty and doesn’t remind you of the winter. The golden sand is comforting to me like sunrays on a summer day. White sand feels kind of like marshmallows and is warm under your feet. The sand is worry free and lies there lazily under your feet. As you walk your feet make imprints in the sand much like many memories in my head. Once they’re there they take a while to disappear and are slowly covered up by others. Sand catches you when you fall just like I catch myself when I trip. Some days my mind is quiet and peaceful like the sand on a beach and others it’s loud and obnoxious. The colors of sand are all unique in their own way just like I am and my personality is an exact match of no one else’s, just like every fingerprint. We all make our mark in the world at some point in some way just like the sand forms to the shape of your foot when you are walking on the beach.

Post Blast

Blast was sooooo much fun, I almost, well actually I probably did fall asleep on the bus on the way to the camp. there were over 600 of us there this year, it was. we had lots of fun as a group, the Dupage Girls had the farthest cabin on the Girls side, but it was worth it.

we grew closer as a community durring the trip, and it was very cold but oh well thats wisconsin in the winter.....

Also I got some pretty good pictures from the retreat this year, it really was a great experience and I would not trade it for anything.

:) Hope you had a good weekend too.

Blast

hey, Getting ready to go on a winter retreat called blast. It starts tomorrow and goes all weekend long. It was sooo much fun in the past, I can't wait to see what happens this year. I grew alot durring blast last year and am hoping not only to have fun this year, but also to meet god there in a new way. :) Anyways i'll most likely let everyone know how it went once i get home. For now thats about all i have to say except that im really excited about tomorrow.

poem

here's a poem i wrote for school, let me know what you think. :)

Sky Diving



Jumping from a plane-
The unforgettable stench of fumes surrounds me.
Freefalling peacefully-
through the off white fluffy clouds.

Trees changing colors far below,
to a deep red and some to goldenrod yellow.
My hair blowing in the cold, harsh wind.
I can barely tell what is below!

Maybe a dark and deadly forest,
or maybe-
a deep blue salty sea.

Hurriedly I open my ugly brown parachute.
The feeling as if I am,
suddenly floating through the thick,
chilly air that surrounds me-
like a big blanket.