Journey to the Heart of Taiwan

goodbyes... tears... and my emotions go wild

2011-06-27T23:19:00.000-07:00

i don't even know what to write here.

we had our official team "going away" party yesterday...

i hate the term "party" for goodbye gatherings.... are we really celebrating the fact that ppls are LEAVING?!?! :P

anywho, this is my last week here.

in fact.... my days in Douliou are finished in 4 more hours.... and i will then take a train up to Taipei to finish off my stay here.... the airport is right around the corner!! ((JULY FIRST))

i'm actually rather trippin out about this whole "air travel" thing....

somehow time slows down epically while i'm in the airplane.... and i arrive in MSP 5hrs after i leave Taiwan :P

yup... those were some random thoughts.... anywho...

this past weekend was FABULOUS!! i ended up going down to Kaoshung and hanging out with the fantabulistic KimChee and Grace! it ended up being a very girlie-weekend. we did our nails(really long/pretty nails), watched chick flicks, talked about everything, stayed up late/woke up early, drank lots of coffee, went shopping, attended a bilingual church service, and traveled around everywhere via train/taxi :D it was great fun ^_^

So yes, the weekend was fabulous!

however... it was the start of more/harder goodbye's... and tears :'-(

Monday (yesterday) i was super/pleasantly surprised with a goodbye party from my co-workers

i cried >_<

i never really realized how many memories we all have together... until i was watching out final slideshow.... and started crying as i watched... and every picture brought me back to a different and very special memory...

I LOVE MY TEAM!!!

like seriously.... NONE of us are alike... and yet we all suit each other perfectly.

it's amazing...

this past year has been amazing....

and beautiful.

i'm running short on time right now, and i promise to write more later, but...

to all my CEI co-Teachers

Thank you. Thank you for blessing my life and leaving your footprints on my heart.

I will love y'all for EVER!!

<3

To keep you entertained

2011-06-26T18:24:00.000-07:00

These are merely some random pictures to keep y'all entertained.

they were taken over the past 2(+) weeks.

ENJOY! :D

Reporter Class

My Prince (I WISH!!!) <3

~ I absolutely [HEART] these girls ~

Making Sandwiches :-d

for some reason they thought i needed 4 forks. HA! :D

we have some issues...

Joyce was convinced that they were my princes.
i'm convinced that she was nuts :P

we're awesome.
Basically :)

Yup... that's it folks :D

Love y'all much much much <3 <3

AND SEE YOU SOON!!! :D

They said it was the end...

2011-06-19T23:07:00.000-07:00

... but it's only just the beginning.

my last few days here are going to FLY BY!!

i honestly have no idea how i'm supposed to get anything done cuz there's so much to do and so little time to do it.

i've already started packing cuz i have a feeling that, come next monday, my life will = chaos -__-

this past week was fabulous. the kids were super energetic and cool and exciting and... yeah.

it was a good week.

and this weekend... was ... fantabulistic!!

My friend, Elmari, and i were able to go up to Taipei for the weekend and visit my church family/friends and several of my other friends.

it was SO GOOD to see ppls and get the chance to say goodbye....

although... i really do hate goodbyes.... so it was really a good-sort-of-hard weekend :P

Sooo... i don't remember everything from this weekend, but here's the jist of it:

FRIDAY:

All the CEI teachers went to eat dinner&coffee at this really cute restaurant.

it was super ooper fun and i've officially decided that our whole team really IZ nutz :P
(and that we ARE all oranges ~ http://loveyunlincei.blogspot.com/)

After some awesome coffee and R&R time, i headed over to Elmari's for the night... which was nice to just get away from "my home" without actually leaving my town... :) :)

SATURDAY:

The next morning Elmari and i headed out for Taipei... we planned on leaving at 8, but someone coughcoughMEcoughcough forgot to wake up when her alarm went off :P ((fail))

the train ride was long... thus we ended up taking a few random pictures and making a random video...

((fun times for sure))

once we got to Taipei it was rush, rush, RUSH!!

had to drop off our bags at our apartment, rush back to the Taipei main station, meet up for starbucks/shopping with mi amazing sisters (May and Daffney), over to the church for worship practice, worship service with the church, dinner at TGI Friday's with Elmari, and then back to the apartment for a restless night of sleep :P

i will say, the church service was amazing. seriously the most amazing part of this year (er... one of them?)

we got there and May's like, "Camille... we have a surprise for y'all tonight"

and so they did.

right after their worship&songs, they called me up to the front of the church and the WHOLE CHURCH prayed over me as i prepare to set off on this new journey back to the states/college.

it took my breath away... and made me cry >_>

why did God bring this church into my life at the END of my time here?!?
((confused feelings inserted here))

but their prayer over me was beautiful.... and quite hit home with me.
(ask me about it sometime and i'll be more than willing to share it with you) <3

I'm going to miss them all so much. everyone of them, their amazing personalities and love/passion for Jesus.... <3

SUNDAY:

woke up about every 10 min from 6am-9am thinking that i'd missed my breakfast appointment = not cool.

however, it worked out. i ended up being able to shower up/get ready with plenty of time to spare, and THEN.... i got to see my amazing and long-lost-friend Bibi (you can see her in some of these old posts from the FIRST year i was in Taiwan: here, here, or here).

It was SO cool to meet up with her/catch up with all that's going on in her life. we were able to hang out at this adorable lil' breakfast cafe.

[oh so cute]

So yeah, after an AWESOME morning with my amazing friend Bibi, i went back to pack/wake up the sleeping Elmari for some crazy adventures in downtown Taipei... :D :D

we ended up leaving around 6pm and getting back to our lovely hometown around 9pm

pretty sure i fell asleep soon after that ^_^

PICTURES FROM THE WEEK

LOVE

long train ride. take one. and action...

Camille doesn't like getting "lost" >_>

see?!?! we can be cute sometimes :D :D

you know you're with great friends when you get to starbucks... and all order the same thing :P

the church service :) :)

All of my church brothers and sisters ~ i love them SO MUCH!!! <3 <3

matching shirts that we'd bought that day ~ ~ so cute, no??? ^_^

we wanted to be European (: (:

Friends for a lifetime ~ Sisters for EVER

the MRT station ~ in case you were wondering what they looked like :)

Mi and Bibi :D

~ Happy days ~

This (below) is one of our videos that we made on the train.

enjoy(??)

mmk... as for one last announcement....

I GOT MY FLIGHT TICKET!!!

July 1st i will get to see the shore of MN

WHOOHOOO!!!

see y'all in 12-ish days :D :D

Love y'all lots and lots <3 <3

i'm coming home

2011-06-14T20:56:00.000-07:00

So... this year is almost up.

just over 2 weeks left
(if all goes according to plan and i can get my flight switched)

i'm a huge mixture of crazy emotions right now.

part of me is longing for my time here to be longer.

there's so much to do during these next few weeks.

weekends are all filled up already.

too many ppls... and not enough time to say goodbye to everyone.

and i am NOT looking forward to saying goodbye

to the girls that i've lived with 24-7 for the past year... not at all..

((heart break inserted here))

But.... i'm going home.

yeah, i left on a rather [odd] note.

and yeah, being away for a year was really good.

however...

i'm ready to start over.

isn't it beautiful that
no matter what's happened,

no matter what pain we've experienced,

no matter how far we've slipped,

no matter how much disbelief we have...

His arms are always reaching out... ready to grab us as soon as we call out to Him.

...

it's when we're at our lowest that He proves that He truly IS enough

...

a verse that i've been memorizing recently (coincidentally enough) is:

1 Corinthians 1:27-31

New King James Version (NKJV)

²⁷ But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; ²⁸ and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, ²⁹ that no flesh should glory in His presence. ³⁰ But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— ³¹ that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”

歌林多前書 1:27-31

Chinese Union Version (Traditional) (CUV)

²⁷ 神卻揀選了世上愚拙的，叫有智慧的羞愧；又揀選了世上軟弱的，叫那強壯的羞愧。

²⁸ 神也揀選了世上卑賤的，被人厭惡的，以及那無有的，為要廢掉那有的。

²⁹ 使一切有血氣的，在神面前一個也不能自誇。

³⁰ 但你們得在基督耶穌裡，是本乎神，神又使他成為我們的智慧、公義、聖潔、救贖。

³¹ 如經上所記：誇口的，當指著主誇口。

yup, so that's about all i have for this afternoon folks!

Hope you're having a FANTABULISTIC week.

<3 [two weeks] <3

Oh! and on a side note, this is a song that i found the other day... kind of has to do with the title of this post ~

Love y'all Lots and lots!!!

it's so beautiful it makes you wanna cry

2011-06-13T04:28:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend i was able to spend time with my old student, Anna, and her friends.

talk about an AMAZING weekend.

the girls (Anna and her friends) had just graduated from Jr. High that morning (Friday) and were officially on "Summer Break" for the weekend!

and boy did we make the MOST out of it....

we started by hitting up the beach and watching the sunset

it was GORGEOUS!!!

(there were about 10 couples out there getting their wedding pics done - that tells you how beautiful it was)

we then rode our bikes back to Anna's house, but got rained out...

so we stopped by Highlife and bought some real sweet raincoats.

...boy were we lookin haaawtt ;)

we then chilled at her house for a while, cleaned up, and then went out to this fabulous coffee shop and bought some amazing food ~ WhooHoo for lil' town coffee shops! Better than Starbucks any day ^_^

the next day we headed out to Taichung, which was pretty exciting for the girls cuz they'd never gone there without their parents before... ((no pressure on me, right??)) :P

but it was good! we had SUCH an enjoyable time together!

we explored new roads, checked out multiple shops, worked on courage with the girls (cuz THEY had to ask the adults for directions - i was no help whatsoever), ate a TON (and a half) of really, really fantastic food (including going to restaurant from INDIA = SCORE!!!!), and basically walked around ALL of Taichung (which is no small walk, let me tell you)!!

Anna's father picked us up from Taichung and drove us back to her house, however... on the way home we were able to stop at this really, REALLY beautiful rest stop.

was

INCREDIBLE!

we pulled up and i instantly thought of all of the rest stops back in America and it made me sooooo happy!!

(i know, i'm lame like that :P)

we watched the sunset and it was rather amusing actually... i'm pretty sure that half of the population of Taiwan came to this rest stop... JUST to take pictures of the sunset (not lying ~ see pictures below for proof).

the sunset was quite beautiful though.

and we got front row seats on the balcony, overlooking all of Taichung, AND over the Taiwan straight, which was pretty darn amazing...

and it was so... so peaceful.

Isn't God good like that?

even in the midst of several crazy weeks, besieged by several crazy weekends IN A ROW...

He still provides us with a few moments of peace.

My dear friend, Anna ~ I love this girl a lot <3 <3

The train ride over to Taichung was long... and yeah... long :P

i, being a girl after my mothers heart, HAD to get some Starbucks.
not paying mind to the mile-long line that i had to wait in for 45min before i could ORDER my drink,
nonetheless ANOTHER 45min before i actually got my drink.

fail.

The patient crew was totally rewarded with a free drink ^_^

Anna and Alex were great troupers (: (:

The sunset in Taichung was AMAZING!!!

a great day with amazing friends! Goodness i love these kids <3 <3

i was highly amused by the peoples with cameras.
it started with simple pictures on lil' phones
... and then made it's way up to the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III (or something like that)

i was being a good example and teaching Anna how to smile... with her teeth :D :D

it's too bad that my ipod doesn't do this picture justice >_<

it was really extremely breathtaking and quite lovely :)

i will add more pictures later ~ my kids took more pictures than i did and once i get them, i'll post them up here too :) until then...

[OH WAIT]

i was almost forbidden (by my awesome team) to even GO to Miaoli...

this is why:

Joyce was having another wedding reception this weekend and had invited Jo+i to sing, but i had already made plans... so Jo+Fae came up with something instead. i think it turned out quite nicely... with just a touch of camille-ish craziness in it ;)

Mmk, it's getting late and i've still gotta study Chinese. so until later my dear friends...

<3 <3 Lots of Love in Christ <3 <3

"That's all I ask of you"

2011-06-06T22:59:00.000-07:00

Soo.... this past weekend was AMAZING!!

who knew weddings could be so awesome??

my dear co-worker, Joyce (also known as Apple) got married this weekend in a beautiful catholic church. Now, i've never been to a Taiwanese wedding before, but apparently this one was very "Americanized" (from what i was told).

Because i'm a bit lazy, i'm giving y'all the quick summary of the "wedding weekend"... Enjoy <3

Going to the church for some epic rehearsal time ^_^

Bwahaha,... haha! i enjoyed this far too much!!!

Writing letters. drinking water. chillin.
it's what i do best :)

Jo decided that i needed two microphones. i was good with that idea :D

We really do take this whole "performance thing" seriously...

(or not)

it was hot... yet we still play it cool ;)

i absolutely adore Grandma Iris ~ she's the most amazing person EVER!!

i don't really know what's going on in this pic...

for the record... this is what we're both really like... :D

us. being awesome.

went shopping for my first "white dress" ever (yeah, this is as close as i got to fully "white") :P

~ trying to look cute ~

sometimes it really, really pays off to live with a seamstress ;)

the finishing touch = awesomeness!!

Destination: Douliou Night Market

cuz we're all awesome like that :D

my precious little friends (who looked so different with makeup on) <3

being a girl can be fun... sometimes ^_^

Katie ~ seriously such a cool and awesome person!!
i wish she didn't live on the opposite side of the island :(

Here comes the Bride!!!

The onlookers >_>

Her Train was sooo beautiful and long and... yeah.
She was truly like a Princess!!

The Church

Me and Iris (again) :D

The CEI team that came to the wedding ~
We are from all over Taiwan (Douliou, Taipei, Hualian, Taoyuan...)
it was really neat to see everyone in one place!

Practicing once more (and being quite serious)

(... very serious, actually)

Oh yeah... and i was so amazing, that they begged for an encore...
to which i complied and sang out their favorite song:
"and IIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIII.... will always ... Love... YooooooooooooOOOOOoooOOOOOu!!!!"
[jk]

The sisters of the Bride <3

DRINKS ALL AROUND!!
(and yeah, it's only cranberry juice)

biggest fail of the day.
(and yes, that is the bride's bouquet that i'm holding)
>_<

mi angels ~ ~

~ ~ Angels and their clouds ~ ~

Getting our pic with Mr. HT

I absolutely ADORE this girl. have i mentioned that yet??
Jo... you have NO IDEA how much you encourage me on a daily basis!
Thank you for loving Jesus more than anything else!
...And encouraging others to do the same!! :)

Our cotton candy... (not quite all of them)

\\Joyce's little Angels//

Orange, Apple, and... actually. i don't know what her hubby is... :P
(grapefruit, maybe??)

Oh yeah! And we got to get our hair done
(cuz we were in the wedding and all that good jazz)

however... my hair was already flawless... so i just got a wreath :P

[look at the stars... look how they shine for you]

LanCi looked SOooo amazing!!
seriously LOVE this sister in Christ <3

Jo and me.... again.
(we got a lot of pics together this weekend)

Iris and i got a lot of pics together too ~ ~

Mi little sister
(who... is older than me, yet weighs half my weight) :P

see? we even make the same faces!! >_<

Me, being the creeper girl that i am, got a picture of the future couple ~ ~

The Douliou CEI Girls!!!!
(plus the husband)

Overall... it was a beautiful wedding!!
Totally the best one that i've ever been to!

Also... for those ppls who haven't seen these yet,

here are some YOUTUBE clips from the wedding.

1) The Song that Jo and i sung

(All I Ask of You - from Phantom of the Opera)

2) The Bride's Wedding Bouquet Toss

(which turns out to be rather interesting...)

Mmk, well that's all for today folks

(at least... i think it is)

i hope y'all are having a WONDERFUL week.

give your best friend a hug this week...

wave to a stranger...

put honey in your coffee (instead of sugar)...

don't lick any frozen metal poles...

and love unconditionally ~ just as Christ loves us <3

Love y'all lots and lots <3 <3

bubbles go best with peach tea ~

2011-06-01T08:45:00.000-07:00

it's June.

weird, right??

i'm pretty sure i can recall last June better than i can recall yesterday :P

okay, so these last few days have been.... rather challenging.

actually... i've been struggling a lot with what kind of an impact i've been making (for a bit more info, go to my last blog post).

seriously! i can compare myself soooo easily with a certain teammate of mine **coughcoughJOcoughcough** and feel like i've WASTED a TON of time here!! (mainly cuz that girl's like related to the energizing bunny and she just keeps going and going and going and going and going.... and going.)

but today... today i was BLESSED!!

i got a note from one of my really, really awesome friends telling me how much of an impact i am making over here and how excited she was to see God working in my life!

i got an email from my Dad saying that he's proud of me!

i read through a scripture verse in Ephesians (3:14-19) that talks about God's CRAZY LOVE for me ~ and that it's sooo deep, and soooo wide, and soooo long, and SO HIGH ... that i may never be able to fully understand it (which would NOT surprise me ~ i have seen a glimpse of it and already am afraid to test the vastness of his great love)...

and one of my co-workers told me that i'm doing an amazing job here... :)

::squeal of delight inserted here::

the simple things in life that make my day!!!

So... yeah.

basically really, really encouraged today ~ even though it was raining outside (-:

and this evening (after our last afternoon class) i decided to take some "time away from ppls" (which is impossible here, let me tell you :P )

but i sat out on the balcony and look in awe at the beautiful mountains we have next to us.

seriously!! they're about 7miles away and since it's always so cloudy/muggy over here we like, NEVER see them. and today, they showed themselves... and it was AMAZING.

however... what made it even BETTER was the fact that i was sipping some peach black tea (which my Dad got me hooked on) and blowing "miracle bubbles" (which my amazing friend Libbsterz gave me).

**side note inserted here: I love bubbles. a LOT. but i cannot make a good bubble to save my life! so if you are a bubble-blowing professional, look me up and we should hang out ~ you can teach me your ways! :P

so black peach tea and bubbles....

my heart was pretty darn happy today. let me tell you ~ ~

Ooo.... and our kids are ADORABLE!!!

and my Chinese-learning (or desire to learn) is lacking. like, a TON.

not cool >_< (<----- Asian version of an angry face)

mmk... that's enough rambling for tonight...

this lil girl's gotta get off to bed! I'm into this wake-up-at-5:30am-so-you-can-have-some-"free time"-in-the-morning thing (semi-good, semi-not....)

until later y'alls...

smile at random strangers

laugh at anything and everything

cherish the precious lil moments

and let Jesus' love flow through you ~

Lots of love y'alls <3

[agotado]

2011-05-30T04:28:00.000-07:00

...it's been a long year.

and i'm kind of getting to the point where I'm overwhelmed, worn out, and.... exhausted.

seriously... i'm pretty sure i've just randomly broken down crying several times within this past week alone.

i can't believe (CAN'T BELIEVE!!!) that i only have one month left here.

this has become home to me... and leaving this place so soon.... blows my mind!

what's the future going to hold?

where am i going in life?

why can't the next chapter be as simple as "going back to Taiwan to teach for a year"....??

and then... to add to all of my self-doubts (which the devil just DELIGHTS in planting in mi mind, btw), i start to think about my year here....

i look back at the year and think.... did i make it worth it?

did i spend enough time with my kids?

did i visit as many teams as i could?

did i pour my heart out into my teaching?

did i take every single little bitty opportunity and make THE MOST out of it?

honestly? i can shake my head and say "no... i didn't."

and i can start beating myself up.

saying stuff like "Camille, you should've tried harder!"

could've...

should've...

would've...

.... yup.

doubt sucks, no?

Sooo.... basically i've decided that this next month is going to fly.

and i'm excited... like, REALLY EXCITED to go back to MN and see all those ppls whom i've missed SO STINKIN MUCH!!

but... at the same time, i'm sooo going to miss Taiwan.

however, i'm not going to look back in regret of things that i haven't done... cuz i have so many awesome memories from things that i HAVE done.... and to me, those are far more precious/important that worrying that i didn't "do enough" ~

i'm excited to see what this next/last month is going to bring!

so far, i know that there's gunna be a wedding, trips up to Taipei, the middle of Taiwan, down to Kenting (possibly?), 3 more weeks of TEACHING classes (and one office week), and .... yeah!

the thought of all i have to get done in these next few weeks is overwhelming...

but... it's all brought to peace at the beginning of the day... when i come before my Lord, Jesus and "cast all my cares upon Him... because HE cares for ME" (1 Peter 5:7)

-----

mmk, that was a lot of rambling, but hey! i woke up at 5:30a this morning, went for a jog, have downed several cups of coffee and black tea since then... and it's now hitting 7:30p and i'm thinkin that going to bed early might be a good way to end this "Memorial Day" (sad fact: American's don't get this day off in other Countries ~ just thought i should throw that out there) :P

Love y'all lots and lots <3 <3

Song of the week: From the Inside Out ~ Hillsong

{通过对海盗的眼睛}

2011-05-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

Pirate: One who robs at sea or plunders the land from the sea without commission from a sovereign nation.

So after some pretty intense research,
I've decided that I'm pretty sure Taiwan is the Pirate in my story....

...and it stole my heart <3

(me, being inspired by the recent array of piracy going on...)

Yup, so that was our week *WITH* the kids....

however, what they missed out on/what happened outside of the classroom....

I got a package from my dear, dear friend (Libby) and in it was my latest "Man-friend"
WhooHooo!!!!

as you can see, he rightly earned a standing position on my desk

Don't we make quite the cute couple???

Ok, now this (below) was *after* the interviews we had with the kids.
I merely wanted one good "Pirate-ey Picture"

And Jo decided she was going to play photographer.... so it went more like this:

Picture #1

Picture #2

Picture #3

Picture #4

Picture #5

Then I decided to strangle my roomies so i could have their... um... gold? :P

Oh!! and highlight of the day:

Going into town and Chinese lessons at our local College

... looking like this :) :)

我的中文老師認為“非常酷！”

Oooo... and on a totally different note:

i was missing the world like CRAZY this week.

Seriously... I'm already missing ppls here...

but at the same time, i am SO ready to be back stateside.... (i think)

Yeah, so basically i wanted to see everybody right NOW...

and i finally made that possible :) :)

(1hr and 75 pictures later)

Love y'all lots ~ Can't wait to see y'all <3 <3

因為我們很幸...

2011-05-22T23:37:00.000-07:00

First off: this is a picture of our team ~ including Mr. HT!! one of our kids last week drew it for us... and i LOVE it... like a ton!! try guessing who's who... :) :)

我愛我的朋友！

我的“老朋友”是珍貴的。

和我的“新朋友”是太棒了！

seriously... the adventures we had this weekend.... none could compare!! ^_^

late night with all of May's church-friends.

what an encouragement they were!

i've seriously been praying this whole year that i would find a church family...

...and i found them.

((why do they have to be a 3hr train ride away?!?!))

(yes, we have too much fun) :) :) :)

the pictures below are from my trip up the mountain
(i forgot its name... but it sounds like "Yummy"... i think?)

Max (May's younger brother) was my amazing tour guide!!

他很英俊!! :) :)

是的，我們知道酷 ~ ~

咖啡和我的朋友

很好玩

很和平

我的心是快樂的

Random fact of awesome craziness:

I found these in May's stash of music... boy o' boy did these bring back memories.

so yeah, this weekend was a BLAST!!

however, on a more serious note...

One thing that happened really touched my heart...

May asked her friend and her mentor to pray over me before we left the church that night.

i was a little nervous because i hadn't had anyone pray over me since... well, since a long time ago...

we all sat down and they all started praying over me. at the same time. in Chinese.

and it was beautiful.

my feelings during their prayer was .... is... hard to explain.

it was like tension being released....

afterwards, Dhiren told me that he'd had a vision...

i was a lamb.

i was standing by myself overlooking the many many valleys.

in my mind, there was chaos and many unanswered questions.

but in my heart there was peace... which showed through my eyes as i gazed into the distance.

although i had many questions, i had Jesus helping me. and He was giving me his peace.

i was standing near a stream and it was night time.

there were many stars and beautiful galaxies.

and i was alone in this wide world.... but i was ok, because i had my Jesus.

{{a little strange, i know... but i'm telling it like how they told it}}

afterwards the mentor-Lady explained that Jesus seemed to be saying that no matter where i go in life... and no matter what i do, i must rely on Jesus FIRST. and in turn, He will give me the peace and power to continue.

interesting....

Okay, that's it for now ppls :)

XOXO and Love y'all lots <3 <3

Be ENERGIZED!!!

2011-05-19T19:16:00.000-07:00

This week = the week of "Oranges"

(don't ask me why we call them oranges... we just do) :P

basically very very energetic kids who have a HUGE passion for making noise, being energetic, laughing, talking, learning, being awesome, etc, etc... :D

Typical classroom behavior... for the teachers.
Fae - writing stuff out
Jo - talking
Bri - making weird faces on the sidelines :P

Yes, this picture (below) is my most FAVORITE-EST picture. EVER. ^_^

Us English Teachers know cool... :)

(to point out a side note: some of us ARE apples. for sure)

Hope y'all enjoyed a sample of what our week looks like (picture-wise).

however, if you really want the full story behind all of these picz, you're just gunna have to come out here and see it for yourselves... :) :)

41-ish days left.

I love y'all lots ~ ~ see ya soon <3 <3

Running With Eyes Closed

2011-05-16T19:22:00.000-07:00

.... is stupid.

So.... i'll (try to) make this a quick post.

basically this weekend was awesome.

i did NOT want to go to this TESOL retreat, "hang out" with all these really cool ppls, be social, sit through long and boring sessions, etc, etc, etc....

boy did God change that...

and y'all will hear about it in the next post :)

however, this post is about Saturday morning. and that morning was fantabulistc!!

i have this really cool friend. her name is KimChee.

KimChee is a really really cool friend cuz she wakes up at 6am to go running with me.... ^_^

So KimChee and i get our gears on and take off in the drizzley rain for a quick 2 mile-ish jog (maybe more like 1.5...?). however.... we took off ....and forgot to watch where we were going....

yeah.... we got a little lost... which is weird, cuz i NEVER (never, never, NEVER) get lost in Taiwan!

It's kind of funny looking back at it.... instead of going on a quick run and coming back, showering up, taking our time w/ getting ready for the day, etc, etc.... we ended up walking all around ALL OF TAIPEI (not really, but it felt like it...), with NO money, NO food, NO phones, and NO idea what the name of our place was called.... or how to get back there (apparently) :P

i seriously almost broke down crying... not cuz we were that lost ~ i was sure we'd find our place eventually. but it was so embarrassing to have no clue where we were.... cuz i had just boasted the night before on how amazing my sense of direction is here in Taiwan. boy, oh boy! i got a whole new lesson (again) on how pride comes.... right before the fall :P

So after about 30-45 minutes of pointless wandering... i finally stopped us and asked KimChee if we could take a few moments and pray, cuz i was completely done with just wandering around town.... :-\

we did. and within 8minutes, we were walking up the stairs of our dorm to our rooms to freshen up :) :)

however.... i did do some thinking while we were walking around...

i thought about my year in Taiwan.

and how... for the most part, i feel like i've gone through the year "running with my eyes closed"....

going and going and going... but not really savoring the precious little moments as much as i should.

i've been here in Taiwan for 8 (9?) months, and i feel like, sometimes, i fall into the [MODE]... which, to me, means that i have a scheduled bunch of events and things i must do. i do them. and nothing more.

how boring, right?

i've been running through most of this year.... without really paying attention to the little things. just trying to make it to the end to say "this is what i did last year"..... ((ouch... i really hate admitting that one)) :P

i'm not coming back to Taiwan next year...

thus, i have 50-ish days left here.

during these next 50 days, i've resolved to make the most of my time left here.

i'm doing a lot more traveling to visit my Taiwanese friends (actually... going to go visit my precious friend, May, up in Taipei this weekend).

i've decided to take a break off of Facebook (at least until i get back stateside)

i'm taking some time away from movies ~ there are no good ones out anymore anyways :P

and i'm going to be utilizing EVERY POSSIBLE MOMENT i have left in Taiwan.

every ounce of strength i have (in myself and through Christ)

and every little piece of mwa.... is going to go ALL OUT during these next few weeks left here.

((actually.... most of this was written really late at night.... and i don't feel like editing it... so forgive me if it makes no sense....))

Love y'all lots and lots <3 <3

May ~ Mom ~ Memories

2011-05-16T18:10:00.000-07:00

i thought FOR SURE that i had posted this a week ago... guess not :P

Anywho.... this is a quick summary of my time/week with my mom!!

we had a BLAST ~ traveled from the top of Taiwan down to the bottom... and back up again!

in between those two points, we met a TON of new friends, she was able to meet a bunch of my precious children and co-workers, and i was able to show my mom WHY i love Taiwan sooooo much!!

AND.... cuz i don't have time to write all of the stories from our trip together, i threw together a quick video (12:08 is quick.... for me) ^_^

Hope y'all enjoy it!!!

Love y'all lots and lots <3 <3

童話 (Tong Hua)

2011-05-12T00:17:00.000-07:00

As sung by my 6th graders a few weeks back ~ Hope you love it as much as we did ^_^

童話 
Tong Hua


忘了有多久
wang le you duo jiu
I’ve forgotten how long it has been

再沒聽到你
zai mei ting dao ni
Since the last time I heard you

對我說你最愛的故事
dui wo shuo ni zui ai de gu shi
Tell me your favorite story 

我想了很久
wo xiang le hen jiu
I have thought for a long time

我開始慌了
wo kai shi huang le
I start to panic

是不是我又做錯了什麼
shi bu shi wo you zuo cuo le shen me
Wondering if I have done something wrong again

你哭著對我說
ni ku zhe dui wo shuo
You told me as you cried

童話裡都是騙人的
tong hua li dou shi pian ren de
That everything in fairy tales are all lies 

我不可能是你的王子
wo bu ken neng shi ni de wang zi
I couldn’t possibly be your prince.

也許你不會懂
ye xu ni bu hui dong
But perhaps you don’t understand either 

從你說愛我以后
cong ni shuo ai wo yi hou
Ever since you told me you loved me

我的天空星星都亮了
wo de tian kong xing xing dou liang le
All the stars in my sky have brightened.

我願變成童話裡
wo yuan bian cheng tong hua li
I’m willing to become the one in the fairy tale

你愛的那個天使
ni ai de ne ge tian shi
The angel that you love

張開雙手
zhang kai shuang shou
I extend this pair of hands

變成翅膀守護你
bian cheng chi bang shou hu ni
and turn them into wings to protect you

你要相信
ni yao xiang xin
You must believe

相信我們會像童話故事裡
xiang xin wo men hui xiang tong hua gu shi li
Believe we will be like we are in a fairy tale

幸福和快樂是結局
xing fu he kuai le shi jie ju
Where blessings and happiness is the ending

你哭著對我說
ni ku zhe dui wo shuo
You told me as you cried

童話裡都是騙人的
tong hua li dou shi pian ren de
That everything in fairy tales are all lies 

我不可能是你的王子
wo bu ken neng shi ni de wang zi
I couldn’t possibly be your prince.

也許你不會懂
ye xu ni bu hui dong
But perhaps you don’t understand either 

從你說愛我以后
cong ni shuo ai wo yi hou
Ever since you told me you loved me

我的天空星星都亮了
wo de tian kong xing xing dou liang le
All the stars in my sky have brightened.

我願變成童話裡
wo yuan bian cheng tong hua li
I’m willing to become the one in the fairy tale

你愛的那個天使
ni ai de ne ge tian shi
The angel that you love

張開雙手
zhang kai shuang shou
I extend this pair of hands

變成翅膀守護你
bian cheng chi bang shou hu ni
and turn them into wings to protect you

你要相信
ni yao xiang xin
You must believe

相信我們會像童話故事裡
xiang xin wo men hui xiang tong hua gu shi li
Believe we will be like we are in a fairy tale

幸福和快樂是結局
xing fu he kuai le shi jie ju
Where blessings and happiness is the ending

我要變成童話裡
wo yao bian cheng tong hua li
I will to become the one in the fairy tale

你愛的那個天使
ni ai de ne ge tian shi
The angel that you love

張開雙手
zhang kai shuang shou
I extend this pair of hands

變成翅膀守護你
bian cheng chi bang shou hu ni
and turn them into wings to protect you

你要相信
ni yao xiang xin
You must believe

相信我們會像童話故事裡
xiang xin wo men hui xiang tong hua gu shi li
Believe we will be like we are in a fairy tale

幸福和快樂是結局
xing fu he kuai le shi jie ju
Where blessings and happiness is the ending

我会變成童話裡
wo hui bian cheng tong hua li
I will to become the one in the fairy tale

你愛的那個天使
ni ai de ne ge tian shi
The angel that you love

張開雙手
zhang kai shuang shou
I extend this pair of hands

變成翅膀守護你
bian cheng chi bang shou hu ni
and turn them into wings to protect you

你要相信
ni yao xiang xin
You must believe

相信我們會像童話故事裡
xiang xin wo men hui xiang tong hua gu shi li
Believe we will be like we are in a fairy tale

幸福和快樂是結局
xing fu he kuai le shi jie ju
Where blessings and happiness is the ending

一起寫我們的結局
yi qi xie wo me de jie ju
Together we can write our own ending

To hear the actual version (sung professionally, but not nearly as cutely), check it out HERE.

愛你們很多 <3 <3

Hello Apr...er, May?? where did you come from?!?!

2011-05-01T18:17:00.000-07:00

goodness. is it just me, or did April FLY by?!?!

i feel like i was just getting into this busy month of April, when all of a sudden it's gone... :-\

i feel like my time in Taiwan just started, when all of a sudden i'm realizing it's coming to an end...

it seems like 2 more months is NOT enough time for everything i want to still do....

it seems like it was just yesterday that i mentioned to my dad that my mom should come out to Taiwan.... and she will be here TOMORROW!!! whoop whoop ~ ~ excited i am :) :)

this next month is going to fly by faster than last month. i know this because i already have every weekend booked with tons of traveling. ((happy smile inserted here))

Aaaanywho, don't think that much "interesting" happened last week.

we had 25 amazing little kiddos ~ super sweet and well behaved, with a touch of "mischievousness" in them ;)

i didn't get much sleep in last week ~ teaching myself how love insomnia was probably one of my worst decisions ever.... :-\

however, to every negative there is a positive.... and i did get a lot done last week!

i'm making tons of headway in my Chinese and Spanish (and mixing up the two while i'm at it). Seriously.... try switching from 說中文, hablar español, y luego habla 英語.... wait.... i mean... 什麼?!?!?!

((yeah... this is how a typical conversation goes with camille [and in her brain] these days... it's quite funny actually))

Ooo.... and I also found this AMAZING coffee shop down the road that has FANTABULISTIC coffee, waffles, AND free wi-fi :D ((happy dance inserted here))

So my lovely Sunday afternoon was spent there, working on my Chinese, skyping with some of my favorite ppls from the states, and loving the life that God has blessed me with <3 <3

Ooo.... and on that note, i totally rediscovered Mars Hill Church this weekend. wow.

soooo many good sermons! i seriously could've sat all Saturday night/Sunday listening to them! ((currently listening to Pastor Driscoll's sermon on GRACE - listen here))

so, i was introduced to this site by a friend of mine several years ago, but kind of put it on the back shelf cuz nothing struck me as too amazing....

boy was i wrong!

actually, the reason that i rediscovered this site was because i've been doing a lot of thinking about "predestination" and such.... and have been finding that the more i "know" about it, the more confused i get ((not cool)).

after listening to Pastor Driscoll's sermon ((predestination)), i was finally able to understand some things/get some of my lingering questions answered. however, it was a bit "deep" and some of it went waaay over my head, so i'll probably have to go back and listen to it again... just to make sure i understand :P

mmmm.... so yeah. that's the highlight of my weekend.

that, and all the amazing music that God's been throwing my way!!!

((whoop whoop for good tunes))

several of the "newest hits" that i've fallen (back) in love with, are:

- From the Inside out (in English and Spanish) <3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMiP5KR73s8

- This is your life (Switchfoot)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LJPHKfnmRk

- What do I know of Holy (Addison Road)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVScvSBsm40

<3 我愛你很多 <3

~ Te quiero a todos mucho ~

Love y'all lots <3 <3

“I Will Wait…for You”

2011-04-30T00:57:00.000-07:00

So it seemed, that it was cool, for everyone to be in a relationship but me..

So I took matters into my own hands… and ended up with him

Him who displayed the characteristics of a CHEATER, a LIAR, an ABUSER, & a THEIF

So.. why was I surprised when he broke into my heart?

I called 911, but I was cardiac arrested for aiding and abetting,

Cause it was ME who let him in…

Claiming we were “just friends”..

It was already decided for me by the first date, that even if he wasn’t!

I was gonna make him ‘The One’..

You know… I was tired of being alone,

And I simply made up in my mind, that it was about that time so I decided to drag him along for the ride,

Cause I was always the bridesmaid & never the bride..

A virgin in the physical, but mentally just a grown woman on the corner in heat!

Who was tired of the wait!

So I was gonna make him ‘The One’.

He had a… form of Godliness… but not much..

But hey, hey I can change him! So (honey) I’ll TAKE him, I mean he’s close… enough

Ready to sell my aorta for a quarter, not knowing the value of its use to me

Arties so clogged with MY will, it blocked HIS Will from flowing through me

So, I thank Christ that His blood pressure gave this heart an attack,

That flatlined my obscured vision, put me flat on my back

Through my ignorance He sawed,

Through my sternum He sawed & cracked open my chest

TO transplant Psalm 51:10

A new heart & a renewed right spirit within!

So now I fully understand,

Better yet I thoroughly comprehend,

How much I NEED to wait… for You.

See, the bad thing is that I knew he wasn’t you from the beginning..

Cause in the beginning was the Word

And he didn’t even sound or shine like Your Son

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks,

And all he could whisper was sweet, empty nothings –

Which meant NOTHING.

He couldn’t even pray when I NEEDED him to

Asking him to fast would be absurd!

So forget about being cleansed & washed with water through the Word…

But I know You.. ♥

You were already praying for me

Even never having met me

Let me assure you, I will wait for you.

I will no longer date, socialize or communicate with carbon copies of you

To appease my boredom or to quench my thirstiness I have for attention

And short-lived compliments from ‘sorta kindas’.

You know…. He ‘sort kinda’ right, but ‘sorta kinda’ wrong?

His first name LUKE,

His last name WARM.

I, I won’t settle for false companionship

I won’t lay in the embrace of his arms,

Attempting to find some closeness,

But never feeling so far apart cause, I just wanna be held

Cause ♫”all I gotta do is Say” No!

NO more ‘almost sessions’ of ‘almost coming close’

Passing winks & buying drinks,

I’ma, I’ma, I’ma flirt!♫

Who flirts with the ideology of,

‘Can you just tell me how much I can get away with & still be saved?’

NO more.

I’ll stay in my bed… alone, and write poems, about how I will wait for you

He won’t even come close,

Our fingers won’t even interlock

We won’t even exchange breath

Cause I have thoughts that I’ve ‘saved as’ in a file that God has only equipped you to open.

I will no longer get weighted down,

From so-called friends & family talks,

About the concern for my biological clock

When I serve the Author of Time.

Who is NOT subject to time,

But I’M subject to Him,

He has the ability to STOP, FAST FORWARD, PAUSE, or REWIND at any given time…

So if we could role play,

You would be Abraham & I would be Sara

Or you can be Isaac & I can be Rebecca – a servant’s answered prayer

I am bone of your bone, flesh of your flesh,

Made up of your rib Adam!

And once we meet, like electrons

I will be bound to your nucleus, completely indivisible atom.

We even speak the same math: 1 + 1 + 1 = 3, which really equals 1 if you add Him.

We were all created in His image,

But you have the ability to reflect, project & even detect the Son.

If I were to explain what you looked like,

You would have to look like a star,

A son of the Son..

I would gain energy simply from the light on me.

I would need you , in order to complete my photosynthesis

I await your revelation, but once again from the genesis, I will wait for you ♥

And I will know you… because when you speak I will be reminded of Solomon’s wisdom,

Your ability to lead will remind me of Moses,

Your faith will remind me of Abraham,

Your confidence in God’s Word will remind me of Daniel,

Your inspiration will remind me of Paul,

Your heart for God will remind me of David,

Your attention to detail will remind me of Noah,

Your integrity will remind me of Joseph,

And your ability to abandon your own will, will remind me of the disciples,

But Your ability to love selflessly & unconditionally will remind me of Christ.

But I won’t need to identify you by any special Matthews or any special Marks,

Cause His word will be tatted all over your heart.

And you will know me, and you will find me,

Where… the boldness of Esther meets the warm closeness of Ruth.

Where the hospitality of Lydia is aligned with the submission of Mary,

Which is engulfed in the tears of a praying Hanna.

I will be the one, drenched in Proverbs 31… waiting for you.

But to my Father, my Father who has known me before I was birthed into this earth

Only if you should see fit…

I desire Your will above mine,

So even if you call me to a life of singleness,

My heart is content with YOU – the One who was sent.

YOU are the greatest love story ever told,

The greatest story ever known

You are forever my judge & I’m forever Your witness

And I pray that I’m always found on a mission about my Father’s business

Oh, I will always be Yours!

And I will always wait for You Lord, more than the watchmen wait for the morning…

More than the watchmen wait for the morning… I WILL WAIT ♥

“I Will Wait…for You” — Janette Ikz

(watch in on Youtube HERE)

So... my amazing and dear friend (Kimchee) sent this link to me today and i just though i'd pass it on to y'all cuz it's just that good!! :) :) Enjoy.... <3 <3

Love y'all lots <3 <3

the beauty of grace

2011-04-25T19:07:00.000-07:00

The Prodigal

by Sovereign Grace Music

You held out Your arms, I walked away

Insolent, I spurned Your face
Squandering the gifts You gave to me
Holding close forbidden things
Destitute, a rebel still, a fool in all my pride
The world I once enjoyed is death to me
No joy, no hope, no life

Where now are the friends that I had bought

Gone with every penny lost
What hope could there be for such as I
Sold out to a world of lies
Oh, to see Your face again, it seems so distant now
Could it be that You would take me back
A servant in Your house

You held out Your arms, I see them still

You never left, You never will

Running to embrace me, now I know

Your cords of love will always hold

Mercy’s robe, a ring of grace

Such favor undeserved

You sing over me and celebrate

The rebel now Your child

(take a listen HERE)

This was just a random song that i happened to stumble upon while procrastinating on Facebook.

i didn't think it' d be as powerful as it was.

i cried. it is beautiful.

and so true...

God's grace never ceases to amaze me.... and bring me back to my knees.

in fact, Jo was talking to us just this morning about how we are loved by God.... for NO REASON.

seriously.... how does my mind grasp such a concept?

why would God love us? someone so undeserving of anything and everything?

i'll leave y'all with a story.... one that Jo mentioned to me this morning during out talk....

it's called:

THE EMPTY BIRD CAGE

There once was a man named George Thomas, pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning, he came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak…I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright . I stopped the lad and asked, “What you got there, son?” “Just some old birds,” came the reply. “What are you gonna do with them?” I asked. “Take ‘em home and have fun with ‘em,” he answered. “I’m gonna tease ‘em and pull out their feathers to make ‘em fight. I’m gonna have a real good time.” “But, you’ll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do?” ”Oh, I got some cats.” said the little boy. “They like birds. I”ll take ‘em to them.”
The pastor was silent for a moment. “How much do you want for those birds, son?” “Huh? Why, you don’t want them birds, mister. They’re just plain old field birds. They don’t sing. They ain’t pretty.” “How much?” the pastor asked again. The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, “$10?” The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy’s hand. In a flash, the boy was gone. The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free. Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story.

One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. “Yes sir, I just caught the world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait, knew they couldn’t resist. Got ‘em all.” “What are you going to do with them?” Jesus asked. Satan replied, “Oh, I’m gonna have fun. I’m gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to drink and smoke and curse. I’m gonna teach them how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I”m really gonna have fun.” ”And what will you do when you get done with them?” Jesus asked. “Oh, I’ll kill ‘em,” Satan glared proudly. “How much do you want for them?” Jesus asked.
“Oh, you don’t want those people. They ain’t no good. Why, you’ll take them and they’ll just hate you. They’ll spit on you, curse you and kill you. You don’t want those people.”
“How much?” He asked again. Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, “All your blood, tears and your life.” Jesus said, “DONE.” Then He paid the price.
The pastor picked up the cage he opened the door and he walked from the pulpit.

God’s Word states it this way: “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” I Peter 1:18-19

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

Jesus cried from the cross, “It is finished.” He paid for our sins. He became sin for us. The price for our sins has been paid for. It is a done deal. Accept the purchased price, Jesus the Christ and be saved.

(This story can be found here: The Birdcage)

::sigh::

Never take advantage of this grace, friends.

I love y'all lots <3 <3

他复活了!!!

2011-04-23T09:30:00.000-07:00

HE IS RISEN!!!!

Luke 24
1 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’”

8 And they remembered His words. 9 Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. 11 And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.

Love y'all lots and I hope you're having a wonderful Easter Weekend!!

<3 <3 <3

i love Thursdays (:

2011-04-20T21:14:00.000-07:00

i really do love Thursdays!

see, my typical Thursday goes like this:

6:15 - wake up
7:30 - breakfast
8:00 - class #1
8:50 - class #2
9a-12p - office work
12:00 - LUNCH
12:50 - nap time
1:30 - class #3
2-3p - office hours
3-5pm - walk into town w/ kids to do some "reporting" (interviews)
5pm - off work.... usually go out to dinner w/ Jo :)
6:20 - 8:20 - Chinese lessons!
9:30pm - sing to the kids before their bedtime
10pm - jogging/workout
12pm - ??? - work on Slideshow for Fridays class :) :)

yup. so that's my Thursday in a nutshell!

however, this week's been even more hectic.

we're working on putting together thorough lesson plans for the future teachers and since i'm the only one who knows how to "work with the computer/WORD", i get assigned to do all the main formatting.

fun fun fun :)

so lesson planning for Easter week, perfecting old lessons, writing all of the lessons out word-for-word, working on Chinese lessons, trying to fit in some Spanish review (cuz i'm nutz like that), workin on plans for this fall (filling out FAFSA, writing essays, filling out applications, transferring credits, etc), running every evening (working for this half marathon in less than 90 days), sending letters, etc, etc, etc....

it's been an awesome week.

now it's lunch time ~ my favorite time of day!

and then it's off to nap time for mwa :) :)

prayer requests:

- health! lately i've been feeling rather sick and my knee's been giving me some trouble. pray that God would continue to give me energy and strength and that i would be able to get back to full health ASAP!
- time management! so that i can make sure i get many things done in the few months i have left here
- energy and SLEEP!! insomnia has been ruling my life and i just really need some good rest soon ~ ~
- Love <3 i never seem to have enough of it to go around.... and i want to have a God-sized heart.... so yes, pray that God would give me enough grace for me to truly LOVE those around me!!

ok. gotta bounce to lunch.

Love y'all much much much!!! <3 <3

Música

2011-04-20T19:55:00.000-07:00

i love music.

a lot.

and those who know me, know that i almost *always* have music playing/earbuds in my ears.
(which i'm sure gets a little irritating when people are talking to me and realize 5 minutes later that i haven't heard a word they're saying cuz my earbuds were in :P )

but lately, God's been doing a lot in my heart as far as what i'm putting in my ears.

i tend to have a very wide range of "music appreciation" and sometimes, i forget that the lyrics (as catchy as they are), are NOT helping my mind or my walk with God.

now i'm not one of those ppls who just listens to songs cuz they've got a "catchy tune". if i fall in love w/ a song, it's because of the lyrics. and lately... i've found some songs w/ really REALLY amazing lyrics.... but i've also found many songs w/ not-so-amazing lyrics.

i tend to make the excuse that i'm only listening to those "other" songs when i'm exercising (cuz they have a quick beat and a catchy rhythm that's easy to jog to). However, even then, the tune/lyrics get stuck in my head and i find myself thinking about them throughout the day. :-\

Sooo.... yeah. pray for me as i try to get rid of some of the old junk in my music playlists and as i find some new and more "positive"(?) music :) :)

.... i think that's where i was going w/ that... :P

Oh, and some of my most recent favorite songs that you should check out (if you don't already have them):

The Listening (Lights)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYBoNV-OW84&feature=related

Sing me a Love Song (BarlowGirl)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i3hnVSTci8

No Matter What (Kerrie Roberts)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA3MSqufJP4

Tong Hua http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uuh_IfVtJ3M

Forever (Fireflight)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ_QH1_mEg8

yup. that's it as far as this post goes ~ ~

Love y'all lots <3 <3

~me :)

thoughts on prayer

2011-04-17T08:02:00.000-07:00

"Sometimes I'm a selfish fake

You're always a true friend
I don't deserve you
'Cause I'm not there for you
please forgive me again

I wanna be there for you,
someone you can come to
runs deeper than my bones
I wanna be there for you..."

[Flyleaf]

This is seriously the most played song on my ipod right now ~ Looooove it <3

Anywho... this week was... good. it was hard, but it was good.

let's see.... we had a really well behaved group of kids.
it was funny actually.... we had two different schools.
one was quiet. very quiet. the other was very LOUD.
i can't help but love having two opposite groups like that and watch them get to the perfect medium as the week progresses! :D

this was also our week of training in our two newest teachers ~ Patty and Mandy.
my word.... God has given me the most perfectest team EVER!
patty is quiet and sweet ~ but she has her little sassy side.
Mandy... is like the Taiwanese version of me (according to Joyce) ~ she's already earned the title "Orange... #2" ;D hehehe

spiritually, this week was really hard. not gunna lie, quiet times for me don't happen nearly as often as i wish they would! however... God's grace and gentle little reminders never cease to amaze me.

i was actually observing one of Jo's classes (something that i LOVE doing, cuz she's such a cool teacher. she never forgets anything! ... and her Chinese is so darn cute) and i noticed one boy being a little more rowdy than the others. well... half way through the class, he raised his hand to answer one of the questions, she called on him, he got it correct, she praised him, and that was that. however... it amazed me, cuz after that he didn't take his eyes off of her/participated waaaay more. i shot up a quick prayer, asking God to use that kid in amazing ways in the future.... and then it dawned on me that i should pray for another kid... and another... and then i got really overwhelmed. there was sooo much i wanted to pray about for each of these kids.... and so much potential that they could have.... and yet.... [argh]. idk... i guess it never really hit me like that before. i really should be praying much more for each/all of my kids throughout the week! i KNOW that God can do amazing things through each of these kids and that He wants to do amazing things through all of them.... if only i could take some time out of my "busy schedule" to pray for them.

in fact... i don't pray nearly enough in general. and if i do... i rarely believe that God is actually going to "grant my request". i mean, i want Him too, and all that jazz.... but sometimes i don't think He will. and sometimes i'm scared that He will.... i've been reading through this book that my friend is letting me borrow. it's called "forgotten God" (yes, i'm still reading it... i'm a slow reader). Anywho... it's talking about how in Luke 11:13, Jesus says to His disciples, "if you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much MORE will the heavenly Father give the Holy spirit to those who ask Him?" Ahhhhhh!! I'm such a failure at believing/REMEMBERING that. i, personally, LOVE giving ppls gifts... kind of like i love getting gifts... only, i love giving them more because i not only feel good about it, but i love the expression of ppls faces as they get a little reminder that they are loved. and God's heart is like a-billion-trillion-gazillion(timez infinity) bigger than mine! so.... imagine w/ me now... how much MORE must God LOVE giving gifts to us? and answering our prayers!!

i need to pray more. #fact.

i need to start believing that God does want the best for me... and that He not only has the power, but also the pleasure in providing for my every need!

honestly... the thought of this fall scares me... a lot.

God is totally changing my heart... and much as i love it... it scares me.
it's making me vulnerable... putting me legitly at the point where i'm going to have to "walk by faith".... and take each day one step at a time...
there are still so many things that are uncertain concerning this fall.
but even if i don't know what's all going down this fall... i can be confident that God will cover all my needs.
i have a big God... and His love constantly brings me to tears.... because i tend to fall so short... yet never far enough to fall out of His loving arms.

mmmm.... think that's all i had to say about that.

(btw, the worlds best post-running snack = my family's granola! it'z just that fab, it leaves you feeling satisfied and good about what you just ate!!)

Okay... other than that, a few more highlights from my week would be:

1) MY MOM IS COMING TO TAIWAN!!! praise the Lord! i've been waiting for the past 5 years for anyone from my family to come out and visit me over here... and now it's legitly happening! May 3 - May 9th me madre will be traveling Taiwan w/ me!! whoop whoop!

2) God is pulling me away from Nursing... and bringing me into a more "natural" health profession.... ((more detail on that when i get some))

3) Running is amazing and more people should do it! it gives a person more energy than an energy drink!!! (and less guilt) ;D

5) lots of traveling in the near future...

6) ONLY 3 MONTHS LEFT!!! ((camille's brain goes into shock)) praying that i make THE MOST out of every single moment i have here!!!!

.... and that's all for now folks!

Love y'all much <3 <3

Psalms 91

2011-04-12T10:49:00.000-07:00

Psalms 91.... Weird how that's been my favorite Psalms since I was 14. Pretty sure my favorite verse inside of that chapter is "because he has set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him. I will set him on high because he has known my name" (done from memory and at 2am, so forgive me if it's not accurate). Anywho, every time I'm feeling down, God throws some awesome and unexpected blessing at me... And I can't help but sit in awe when I think of God's amazing love for me! I so don't deserve it!!

Ok quick update before I go to bed...

This weeks kids are perfect. Love them to death. Their English level is average but they've got enthusiasm for learning, which is always good :D

I specifically asked God go show me ways to bless my teammates this week and He's already brought about several opportunities!!

MY MOM'S COMING TO TAIWAN!!!! May 3-9 :) :)

God is opening my eyes to professions other than nursing... and I'm finally starting to see why I didn't make it into the nursing program this past year (He's not finished with me yet!!)... More update on that later :) :)

Love... and other drugs (:

2011-04-09T10:21:00.000-07:00

God never ceases to amaze me. ever.

i am blessed beyond measure... and i have no idea why!

This last week has been... fabulous! ((quick summary of what's in the VLOG)):

- we had a really short work week (wed - fri) w/ really easy-to-work-with kids! (:

- i got a new "boyfriend" [[great story: We were introducing ourselves to the 6th graders on friday and i ended up hitting a kid in the head while introducing myself! ((oops)) he was totally hilarious about it and throughout class he would keep razzing me, throwing glances at me, etc, etc. and at the end of class, he ended up slipping a note in my pocket that said: "Facebook name: **** ***" hahahaha! totally made my day! ...my co-workers said that i should start hitting boys in the head more often ;) ]]

- i found out that i can skype on my new ipod ~ ~ sooo cool!!

- i've gotten quite a bit of quiet time... which has been nice. God and i have had some long talks, walks, and it's been b-e-a-u-tiful!! :) :)

- i have a certain family member who might just be coming over to visit me next month ((praying that works out!!!))

- i got a package.... FROM MY BEST FRIEND!!! ((who hasn't [snail-mail] written to me all year (emails/skyping doesn't count) and finally sent me a letter!! .... actually... more like 30(+) letters... and a box full of everything camille-ish!!! weird how ppls know exactly what to put into my boxes! i've gotten 4 boxes this past month... and every one that i get puts me in tears... cuz it makes me feel so frickin special... and honestly, there's nothing special about me. and i don't deserve them at all. but still... ppls love me enough to send me stuff, knowing how much it makes my week... Kind of makes me think about Jesus' love towards us.... we don't deserve it... but He just wants us to believe that His love IS ENOUGH!! ... it's Beautiful <3

- i re-connected w/ an old friend (whom i haven't heard from in ages) and got some new music flooding into my ears. <>

- i got my "tooth problem" fixed on friday... or, at least... i hope i got it fixed. i ended up not getting my wisdom teeth removed and instead i got a root canal done ((much more painful, let me tell you))! :P

... i think that's it. it's officially past 1am and i should be off to bed ~ off to "Camille Mountain" in the morning :) :)

Love y'allz lots <3 <3

SUNday... On Thursday

2011-04-06T22:03:00.000-07:00

This week is 1 day camps (for 2 days) with 6th graders from our school. They are so stinkin cute~ absolutely love them! However I'm pretty sad that we only get them for one day.

Ok... Update on life since April started...

Traveled down to kaoshing and kenting with Kim last weekend. It was awesome cuz we got a really long weekend (Monday and Tuesday too) and we were able to see some of the pingdong team too. Always an adventure hangin with Kim though. Petty sure we ran into quite a few stalker dudes... :):)

Mmmmm... Getting some extra sun rays was nice though:)

However, as soon as our amazing weekend was over, I got back home and realized that I had lost my iPod ::pout:: here I'd been so careful with her for over 3 years and NOW I lose her... I was sad. Nonetheless it was a "God thing" cuz I had been meaning to buy a new iPod for some time and now I finally had a legit excuse to do so... :)

Cool how God knows when to open and close doors, eh? :)

Anywho... Been doing a lot of thinking about what's all gunna go down this next year once I get back stateside. I'm really praying that I'll get the job, a car, and be able to rent the appartment that I'm looking at... But I know that things don't always work out ad we hope they would... So now I'm praying that God would give me the grace to be ok with whatever happens this fall. This is stinkin hard for me cuz when I plan I plan big and never expect it to fall through... But I really want to be open for whatever the Lord has planned for me <3

Mmk... Enough rambling for now.. Gotta get inside and get some lunch.

Hope y'all are doing fabulous ^_^

Love you much much much <3 <3

March --> April

2011-04-06T19:11:00.000-07:00

[argh]

Sorry it's taken me a few days to get to the computer ~ i left for the [long] weekend on April 1st and just got back last night. That weekend basically consisted of laughter, train rides, amazing food, friends, fellowship, beaches, traveling, movie nights, and AMAZING REST ~ Praise the Lord! i totally needed that weekend!

needless to say, March is passed... followed by a very very busy April!

but let's hear more about March Madness:

- Week One -

- got 2 of my wisdom teeth removed for a great price (and thus got half of my regular headaches taken away). Decided that i have a new love and appreciation for Novocain.... it's quite the pain killer! lol.

- helped Sara (Fae) get her feet about her/learn the ropes for teaching, etc, etc

- figured out that if i woke up early, sat on the balcony, watched the sun rise and read some scripture = aaaaaaaaamazingness!! always the best part of my day! :D

- great news(!!!): Our Chinese teacher (Joyce) FINALLY set a wedding date! She'll be getting married on June 5... and on June 11!! :D :D so excited that i'm actually going to be there for this. Oooo.... and there's been rumors that Jo and i might possibly be playing/singing at her wedding... we shall see how that goes ^_^
- lots and lots of Chinese practice (我的華語不好。我的中文寫作是好的。我的中文語法是非常糟糕).
- ...and lots of Spanish practice!! ... Yo hablo Inglés... and i speak Chinese... 和我說西班牙語... o_O
- sent out some packages/letters ~ was sooo excited cuz i know how much i love getting letters/packages, and thus sending ppls thing makes me sooo excited!!! :D

- Week Tw0 -

- haaard week. pretty sure it was just long.... we only had 22kids (and they were well-behaved), but it was around this time when it started to kick in how much i used/depended on fb to keep me update w/ various friends around the world. [argh] it was crazy... but it was good! because whenever i would reach for my computer, i'd grap my Spanish/Chinese homework, or my Bible instead! wow... did i get a lot accomplished over those few days!!
- went to visit with a really good friend that weekend (May). Hung out with her in TaiChung all Saturday, spent the night at her really cool appartment/dorm, went night-marketing, ate a ton of really yummy/delicious food, talked/met some of her friends, and hit the bed early. [new note for self: never go to bed before 8pm... i woke up at 2 wiiiide awake. thank the Lord for ipods... they make good early morning company] On Sunday we went to May's Churches "Sports Day" ~ which was a ton of fun... and Jo ended up being there with her church as well!! hahaha.... so cool how tightly knit Taiwan Churches are!! ^_^ So yeah, we went to the opening ceremony... the songs were great! and the sermon... well, it was presented by a Korean Pastor, who used a translator to translate his sermon to Chinese.... it.was.hilarious! So i only caught a bit of what was all being said... but the facial expressions... the Korean dude would talk very straight and mono-toned... but the Taiwanese dude was hilarious! it was so odd to think that these two men both were sharing the same sermon.... ^_^ heheh.... anywho, that was good, and afterwards we went outside for some warm ups, basketball playoffs, tug-o-war, and relay races! It was a blast! and it was so encouraging being around other believers who would mention God/Jesus/Love/etc in every other sentence! man... i guess i didn't realize how spiritually deprived i was getting... ((really praying that i find a church soon...or find one as soon as i get back stateside...))
- oh yeah... and... I GOT TWO PACKAGES!!! one from Soukupgirl (alyssa ~ contained yummy yummy foods, heart pillow, a letterz, and happiness of all sorts of sorts!), and the other from mi madre (contained an M&M hoodie [fabulous even though i can't eat chocolate], letters, and various other things...) ~ so blessed to get love from the states ^_^

- Week Three -

- really great week of kids this week... they were almost "too" well-behaved. however... after a few days we broke them of that, and by the last day... well, there were tears as they said goodbye
- Got informed by mi padre (who is awesome, btw) that i'm getting supported by OG (OlympiaGranola) to do the MudRun this fall w/ 4 of my girlfriends! whoop whoop!! ...oh... and i'm running a half marathon... 3 days after i get back to MN!! ... training started soon after i read that :P Yay for running motivation though, right?? Actually... i started using this really cool program called DailyMile - it's really been good at helping me keep track of my miles, time, etc :)
- sadly enough, i broke my "no facebook" promise (sad face) because there were several things on it/mssgs that i had forgotten about and had to get on fb in order to finish them :P

- Week Four -

- this week of kids was... a... handful. we only had 10 more kids than we'd had the weeks prior, but it could've been 30 more... [[wow]]. basically a very active and energetic group. microphones were a blessing to have in class. ooo.... and it didn't help that 4/6 teachers were SICK on Monday (coughcoughnotmecoughcough). man... it was just a pretty long week. but it was good cuz the Lord continued to show me His amazing love and grace towards me and continued to provide me with strength to press on and go all out for the kids. it was great!
- TWO MORE packages ~ one from mi aaaaaamazing family (included GRANOLA, sports-wear, and letters!!!) and one from mi fantabulistic "Granny" (Ruthie ~ sent me a hat, shirts, and lots of yummy food ... AND COFFEE!!!) ... i am SO BLESSED! why? i'll never know... :-\

-----

mmm... spiritually it was a really hard month. i constantly felt like i was battling every little thing that happened in my day ~ not waking up early enough for devotions before class, coworkers not being perfect, not feeling enough love for the kids, not having enough time for everything i wanted to do, etc, etc. ....but God's grace is amazing, is it not? cuz as soon as i'd start to get discouraged.... He'd put something random in my life (a cup of coffee on my desk, a note of encouragement in the mail, and kid coming up to me and hugging me....) and my whole mood would just totally change.... He is far too good to me... <3

One scripture verse that has stood out to me this past month is Ephesians 2:4-5, "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)"

Thanks for keeping me in your prayers ~ i promise to keep y'all posted more often :)

Lots of Love <3 <3

[back again]

2011-03-31T11:23:00.000-07:00

So yes, it's been a month since i blogged last.

TONS has happened w/in that month.... however, it's 2am and I've got class in 4hrs (my bad) :P

However, i just wanted to let y'all know that:

1) i am alive :)

2) my Jesus and my God ARE REAL!!

3) Love is an amazing and indescribable concept....

4) this blog was checked out by over 600 computer systems this past month (according to blogger) ...weird.

5) i love y'all much much much <3

Hope you've had an amazing month of March :) :)

~ XOXO ~

"We do not look at the things which are seen,
but the things which are not seen.
For the things which are seen are TEMPORARY,
but the things which are not seen are ETERNAL."
(2 Corinthians 4:18)

Last Blog Post

2011-02-28T00:20:00.000-08:00

...until April :)

Hope this all made sense to y'all. Like i said, it's my first attempt at a bloggin' video... in fact, i think i like it more cuz i can ramble a whole lot faster than i can type ;)

For more info on my challenge (via Amy Vest) check out http://www.lovingthelord.org/

Hope y'all have an AMAZING month of March ~ keep me in your prayers and thoughts as i will keep you in mine ~ ~

Lots of Love <3 <3

ps. Jeremiah 29:11-13 :)

[letters]

2011-02-25T06:56:00.000-08:00

i prayed today that i would get a letter in the mail.
cuz letters kind of tend to make my day and i was just in need of having it "made"
got to the PO and .... there was nothing.
so sad.
soon forgot about it in the bustle, bustle that was happening.
we had "new girl" come in today.

[great story inserted here - i was super, super worried about getting a new girl on the team. i know what it's like to be the "new girl", Jo and i already click wonderfully, etc, etc.... and i was scared that she wouldn't fit into our groove... prayed and prayed about it. and God was amazing... and brought about an old acquaintance of mine (Sarah Fae Larson) to come help us in Taiwan! How cool my God is!?!?!!]

Anywho, the kids all left around 1:30pm and Sarah was gunna come in around 2pm
...which gave me *just* enough time to "clean up" the room (take my stuff out of the extra desk/closet, organize the garbage, sweep, and throw the sheets in the washer).
She got here safely. and with a huge smile on her face!
i'm super excited to be able to work with her over these next few months.... she seems like an amazing person and it's gunna be quite nice to be able to actually get to KNOW her :D
Aaaanywho.... i left for a skype date for a bit, and came back to a letter on my desk (which Sarah brought to me from the States)....
...it was from my family at Kost Church.
and it made my heart cry, cuz God once again reminded me that He is faithful... and fulfills the desires of our hearts <3
how lucky i am to have such an amazing God who loves someone like me....

--------------------

anywho, this week was fabulous!

at first i came into the week of "man, after the energy of those kids last week, this week is going to be E-A-S-Y!
lol, boy was i wrong...
God basically taught me patience this week... lots and lots of patience....
very energetic kids. naughty kids. but kids w/ love untouched.... and this week was not only what *they* needed.... but also what we needed. what *I* needed <3
the girls were super precious.... all of them were so different though; we had the girlie-girls, the tom-boy girls (like... she looked like a "he"), and super energetic girls.... lol. And the boys... well, they were all awesome on the boy-level of awesomeness! ;)One of my favorites was a boy named Robin. Man, that kid's English was fabulous! He'd hang out w/ me throughout the week and translate EVERYTHING for us in class! Oh, and on the last day (friday afternoon/today), we had just gotten done eating lunch and were supposed to meet up on the 5th floor to get their bags and then walk them to the bus.... well Robin grabbed my hand and we walked hand-in-hand to the 5th floor. it.was.PRECIOUS!!!!
Sooo.... yeah. that's been a bunch of rambling in various topics (of sorts).
gunna hit up be pretty soon ~ it's been a looooong day and i'm a bit exhausted after 4hrs of sleep last night :P

Lots of Love Y'alls <3 <3

thoughts over a glass of tea.

2011-02-21T19:51:00.000-08:00

[and yes, it's a glass of chamomile tea]

being how it's Feb. and all that [LOVE] jazz... i figured i'd write a quick post about how much i love, love, LOVE my life... and what God is doing in my life ~ ~

~ i love snow. it makes me sad that so many of my friends are having (had?) a "Snow Day" (on Presidents Day) and i'm missing out on it...

~ i love working in aboriginal villages... honestly, this last week was *amazing*
     - hyper, energetic, enthusiastic, "orange" kids
     - so much heart. they give sooo much even though they don't have much to give
     - the scenery in the mountains was breathtaking!
     - the tears at the end of the week wrenched my heart out... big ol' alligator tears, hugs, and inability to move because there were too many kids holding me down...
     - basically a beautiful week :) :)

~ i Love being fully and deeply in love with my Jesus. Jesus is (and always will be) my first love! there are days when i read a passage of scripture and just... recall how precious time w/ Jesus is. and that, even after we mess up our lives, fall, trip, and fall some more... He's still willing to come pick us up and dust us off again. it's too amazing for my mind to comprehend!

~ i love getting valentines day packages in the mail... that contain bags of rice and candy canes (guess that's what i get for not eating chocolate) :P Also getting a card signed by all the ppls that i love and miss sooo much (you know who you are) :) :)

~ i love staying up "late" enough to watch the sunrise

~ i love waking up and having a cup of coffee on my desk

~ i love hearing children say how excited they are that the next class is "英語課!!"

~ i love my co-workers - honestly, i couldn't have picked out a more perfect group of ppls to work with! Joyce is so amazing at being the "head teacher" (and she's so much fun!). Blanche is so bubbly and her love for the lord and the kids is so encouraging to me! Yellow has the best smile and she's picked up way more English that i have Chinese (so far). Jenny is doing a great job filling in Iris' shoes (though, Iris is still extremely missed) <3 and Jo... i am SO BLESSED to have such an amazing co-English teacher/leader/friend! She is such an amazing person and I'm so grateful for her on so many levels!!

~ i love skype! what a cool invention - i can talk and see someone as if they're sitting right in front of me! (although "skype hugs" are... a little awkward. not gunna lie)

~ i love music. i love being able to pick up the flute and play whatever i want to. i enjoy playing the piano (kind of....). and i love picking up new songs from different countries :)

~ i love running. haven't run in a while, but i love it nonetheless

~ i love the fact that i have a God who has had my whole future planned out since before the beginning of time. who has plans for me. who knows what my future holds, even though i don't. and who loves me and takes care of my ever need....

~ i love Taiwan. a lot :)

~ and i love you... whoever you are. and i pray that the Lord Ooper blesses you today!

Happy Tuesday, Y'allz :)

Lots of Love <3 <3

**side note here: this upcoming month (March) i was challenged by one of my friends (Amy Vest) to take the Winter Media Minimization Challenge (you can read more about it at her blog page). During this time/month, I'll be taking time off of all media-related activities (Facebook, Blogging, Movies, etc, etc.). I will have 15min a day to check my email (walkingbyfaith@gmail.com), so if you need to get a hold of me I can be reached there **

~ heart of a traveler ~

2011-02-09T22:31:00.000-08:00

wow. this past week(+) has been a blur of everything amazing, happy, crazy, fast, awesome, fabulous, and ____________ (fill in w/ your own positive word)!!!

Traveling w/ @Ruthie Hug and @Madeleine Laney was FANTABULISTIC!!

here's a quick overview of what all took place:

day 1:
i took an evening train up to Jongli, where Popo picked me up. Popo is the nurse at the outside school that Ruthie and I used to work at (see old blog posts from 2008-ish). She is SO AMAZING! I forgot how cool Popo is ~ prob one of the funniest Taiwanese people I've ever met! So her and her son picked me up... then we went to JuJu's house (her friend/co-worker/classmate in nursing school) for some snacks. AND THEN we went to the airport... just in time to watch Ruthie and Maddie walk through the baggage claim!!! SOOoooooo excited to see them! we went to Popo's sisters "house" to spend the night... the next few hours were filled w/ hugs, talking non-stop, smilez, laughs, and finally (around 1am) Bed :)

day 2:
woke up "early" and walked to 7-11 for some good ol' original breakfast (consisting of yogurt, coffee, and various other things). walked back to house and got a call from Popo that we were gunna go out to breakfast... at McDonald's! lol. so American we are :P oh yeah, we were also celebrating Chinese New Year these next few weeks (Feb. 1 - 15), so lots of firecrackers everywhere/burning money/lots of food/ etc, etc. After that we popo's house for a bit (met her other son, Ethan), went over to the temple where we observed the traditional Taiwanese offerings of food/dishes to the gods... oh! and burnt money! wow... burning money smells weird. Also did various other things (totally forgot what else we did that day actually) and then went to dinner at a traditional restaurant w/ Popo, Pat, and Ethan! it was so nice - SO MUCH GOOD FOOD!! in fact, that's my favorite part about Chinese New Years.... you get to eat ALL THE TIME... and not feel bad about it :)

day 3:
went to popo's for breakfast. waffles+coffee = fabulous start to the day! after that was a blur of activities... lunch at Juju's, touring Taoyuan, seeing the old EV(which included closed doors, but as we know, closed doors can't exactly keep us out... scaling walls comes in handy... and gives you dirty hands afterwards), bubble milk tea, dinner at JuJu's (w/ leftover lunch... which was still a TON of food), and long debates about why camille doesn't want to get married/have kids (odd conversation for a dinner table of 10 ppls, let me tell you). It was really cute though - Popo kept finding all of these "mixed babies" and saying stuff like, "you'd have such cute mixed babies". Lol... Yup, so that was our day 3...

day 4
woke up early and Popo took us to the Jongli Train station... where we took a long, long, LONG train ride down to Kaoshung. with it being Chinese New Years. and we were WITHOUT SEATS. lol. made for an even longer (5+hrs) train ride! kept ourselves entertained by taking pictures, listening to ppls conversations about us (spoken in Chinese cuz they didn't know that we understood them), discussing plans for kenting, and drinking a TON of water (bathrooms R us)! Got to Kaoshung around 1-ish, got some tea/fruit juice at a drink stand, and then took off on a bus to Kenting! funny story inserted here: Maddie and i had to go to the bathroom, but the bus driver got there right as we were getting to the restroom, so we had to skip out and just get on the bus, *hoping* that there was a bathroom on the bus. there was not. and it the next 2 hrs were PAINFUL! lol. they actually involved maddie faking being "preggie", Ruthie going up and begging the bus driver to stop at a bathroom, walking up and down the aisles, and screaming as our head hits the ceiling after going over a bump! lol. soooo much fun now that i look back on it, but it was SO BAD at the time... seriously thought we were going to wet our pants! Oh! and to top this off, we had to switch buses an hr from Kenting, so maddie waddled over to the other bus (which almost took off before we got there) and *i* ended up carrying her luggage cuz she was "pregnant". oh! and there was no bathroom on the next bus either... but thankfully the bus driver this time was super nice and stopped soon after picking us up :) :) :) so yeah, we made it to Kenting w/ clean pants and smiles on our faces! We were super grateful to be able to book a good hotel that night, cuz man it was PACKED in Kenting. ate at a nice restaurant, walked around the night market, and crashed in bed! it was a crazy, great day!

day 5:
slept in. Starbucks for breakfast. and all day on the beach. basically a great day, lots of sun, and good talks with two amazing girls (seriously, Maddie and Ruthie are amazing.... everyone should get to know them!). that night we walked out onto the beach and just sat on the sand and stared up at the stars and the huge waves. i was once again overwhelmed at how BIG my God is. and how He takes 24-7 to care for ME. he made this huge universe... full of pain and sorrows... but also full of joy and beauty. idk, something just triggered inside of me and reminded me that life is truly what we make out of it. God gave us beauty... but he also gives us a choice, and we have to decided to see it .... <3 oh, so we stayed another night in Kenting (ended up getting another night at that hotel, which was nice... cuz otherwise we were going to have to camp out at the McDonald's down the road).

day 6:
left kenting that morning and headed over to Tainan where we met up w/ Ruthie's friend, Joyce. Joyce was an AMAZING tour guide and ended up showing us all over Tainan. I had no idea that Tainan was the "first town" in Taiwan. there were so many old buildings over there, so much history... funny actually... it reminded me how young my country really is... and how fast technology/life has expanded since then....
oh! and we also got to visit her church. so cool! I'm going to actually go visit there for a service one of these Sundays! the ppls there were so nice, super encouraging, and i walked in and just felt.... Love. it was beautiful <3 that night we took the train over to Douliou and spent the night at my place. it was so fun to get these two girls + Jo in the same room.... wow. happy times for sure!

day 7:
we left Douliou early and took of for Taipei. this day consisted of taxis, MRT's, crosswalks, lots of walking, coffee, bookstores (yes, I actually bought some books!), Taipei 101 (which i *still* haven't gone up on), and night markets! Oh, we even got to see Rachel G. for a bit - so cool cuz I havent' seen that girl in forEVER-ish! She's still as sweet as i remember :) :) that night we rushed to take the last train for Jongli, where Popo picked us up and we (once again) crashed at her sisters house! it was fabulous, and i'm pretty sure we all just crashed as soon as we got there :)

day 8:
slept in! it was around 9:45am when i actually got out of bed - longest i've slept in since forever ago! Met up at Popo's for "breakfast" around 11am. We all hung out at her house for a while and then we headed out to go swimming, drink milk tea, hot coffee (note to self: never let Maddie have a cup in a car w/o a lid), and get our hair done at a salon. that evening we went to Popo's house and had a ton of fun! We had this delicious/amazing dinner (very traditional/hakka food) and then we turned on some fun music and did face masks.... with the boys too!! it was hilarious! So much laughter.... pictures... it was awesome! (and my face felt fabulous too!). that night consisted of major packing, talking girls, sniffles (we all got sick by the end of the week), and Glee Music (who knew?).

day 9:
worst day of the trip by far! Maddie finally got her breakfast from the traditional breakfast stand, we made it to the airport through crazy traffic, and had to say goodbyes. i hate goodbyes. a lot. i had sooo much fun this week and was so encouraged by hanging out w/ two amazing and godly young women... and then it was over all too fast. sad. i am now determined to go out to WA (maybe this summer...?) and visit them! So yeah, just the sight of the airport (and knowing that i wasn't going on a plane) was enough to make me cry... :( We all said our goodbyes... and then Popo dropped me off at the train station (where i started my journey back to douliou).

*pictures from this week (and Japan) can be found by clicking here*

gosh... it was a FABULOUS WEEK. don't think i would've planned a better one.
and it was *just* what i needed during this "half point" in my year here.
i know that a lot has happened these past few months... and more will happen in the next 5 months... but it's going to be good. it's a new year (a month late, but still)... and a new year means new beginnings.

oh gosh.... there's much more that i want to write, but i'm bouncin out of here and going to visit the Pingdong team this weekend (leaving tonight)... and i'm still in the process of unpacking/packing my bags. So more will have to wait for another time....

Blessings to you in this New Year

<3 <3 Lots of Love <3 <3

[Ready or Not]

2011-01-31T10:44:00.000-08:00

my heart loves adventure.
loves packing.
loves traveling.
loves *going* places and meeting new people.

last weekend i got to travel... for 6 days straight.
it was a *little* stressful, but i loved it. every minute of it.

and my heart is overwhelmed with happiness right now, because in about [12-ish] hrs, i get to travel again.
this time, with two *AMAZING* girls who do *AMAZING* things!
actually... i only know one of them... but from what i know of the other one, it's gunna be like we've always known each other <3 <3

i'm SO excited.

granny Ruthie is one of the most enthusiastic, encouraging, crazy, most-Blondie, passionate ppls i've EVER met/talked to! and she's coming back to Taiwan... and *i* get to see her! how wild is that?

and she's bringing her friend, Maddie - who seems beyond awesome as well (so excited to meet this face whom i've only seen/talked to over FB)!!

seriously, back in september-ish, when we "talked" about her possibly coming out, i never thought that God would actually LET THIS HAPPEN!! it's fabulous!

God has seriously been amazing me *constantly* these past few weeks.
He gives me more than i could ask for.
He arranges my life perfectly...
HE IS SOOO GOOD!!

::sigh::

so yeeesh... adventure starts tomorrow.

9 days traveling over as much of Taiwan as possible (or, at least making as many memories as possible in every town that we land in)!

hmm.... 9 days seems too short. really hoping that it doesn't "fly by"...

and SUPER glad these girls love coffee as much as i do
(much coffee = little sleep = more adventures)

wow... i am WAY too excited... it's about 3am right now cuz i can't sleep (coffee at 12am doesn't really help) and i'm not picking them up from the airport until 10pm tonight. dumb :P

yesh... now i am rambling. sad.

oh, and for the record i will not be online/checking emails/FB for the next 9 days as well... so if you NEED to get ahold of me, try my cell phone! (but, as rumor has it... i usually don't keep my cell phone on me, so don't expect to get ahold of me regardless) :P

okay... i'll probably have lots and LOTS to talk about in a few days... (unlike my ramblings right now)

but prayer requests:
- safe travels!
- being a BLESSING to those ppls i come in contact with
- remembering my "Chinese Language skills" (or lack thereof)
- for my team - getting proper rest during this "vacation" and coming back to our 2nd semester fully rested and rejuvenated!
- sleep - i haven't been getting very good rest... and it's making my days rather difficult
- FUTURE PLANS... i'm taking steps in various directions... but i have a feeling i will have to choose very soon... which scares me. i just want God's best... but right now, "God's best" looks like 5 different options... all at once. [sigh]

Happy February to y'alls! have a great first few weeks ~ i'll be back to keep y'all posted on happenings in Taiwan in no time :)

Lots of Love <3 <3

[Chinese] New Years Resolutions

2011-01-30T10:18:00.000-08:00

Soo... i realized around January 15 that i forgot to make "New Years Resolutions" for this year (2011).

darn.

Thus camille, not to be outdone by time, is being creative and starting her "new year" w/ Asia... and going to do a "[Chinese] New Years Resolution" list :) :)

however, camille does NOT like those "daily goals" (cuz she always fails after day #3 and then gives up for the rest of the year). so we're gunna get a little more creative....

here's the list of things which camille wishes to accomplish within the year of the Rabbit (year 2011):

get a closer relationship w/ the Lord.
go skydiving (almost did last year...)
going to hand-make something (like a scarf, hat, ____??)
going to do 5 5K's and get my time under 25minutes
going to do one half marathon
NOT going to do a full marathon... just thought i should throw that in there.
going to take more time to get to know my friends 1:1
going to spend more quality time w/ my siblings
going to ride in one [horse] gaming show
going to get solid A's in all of my classes this fall (Lord willing and i end up going to school)
go water skiing
do a [sprint] triathlon (possible with two other people... that's good enough for me) :)
go somewhere randomly w/o telling anyone where i'm going/what i'm going to do
road trip w/ a friend (or two) for 4 days
go on a MISSIONS TRIP (somewhere other than Taiwan, cuz to me, this is HOME) <3
hug a child who doesn’t know love 
go up in a Hot Air Balloon
go to New York
regain Joy
start learning a new language (...or "finish" learning Spanish)
be able to hold a long conversation in Chinese

Bible Verse for this year:

"Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" - Hebrews 11:1

Quote for this year:"If you are at the place in your life where you feel like you can't take one step without the Lord's help, BE GLAD. He has you where he wants you." - Stormie Omartian

**yes, i did steal some of these idea's from Joelle W. - you're an inspiration to me, girl <3

i figure since i'm turning 21 this year, that this is a long enough list... for now. believe me, there are many, MANY things i want to add to this (and probably will end up doing so). i'm actually more excited for this new year than i have been for any new year in the past! i believe that God is going to do crazy amazing things w/in this next year and i can't wait to see what that's gunna be!!!

Lots of Love <3 <3

the unknown chapter

2011-01-28T06:53:00.000-08:00

people who know me know that i'm not too fond of reading.
the reason being that i find that a majority of the stories are far too predictable.
the paths may vary here and there, but after reading the first chapter, you can basically skip to the last chapter and get the whole jist of the story... (it's true).

::sigh::

i really wish that my life story were that simple.

people who know me, also know that i've had my life planned out since i was 6.
i was going to go to college for 4 years to get my nursing degree.
work in the USA for a little bit to gain some field experience.
and then i was going to move to Asia (India) and work in various orphanages/hospitals over there until I died.

that was my life. and i was so passionate about all of it, that i was sure that it was totally God's will and it was going to happen!

Early Summer 2007 happened, and I ended up in Taiwan for a year.
BEST YEAR EVER.

in fact, it was so good that for a while i thought that i'd be coming back for a second year.

but college and nursing was still important to me... and so was my family... so i went back stateside.

went to BU... which ended up being a smart, yet extremely stupid decision...
many good things happened at BU - meet some amazing friends, got more involved in music, great professors, awesome roomies, etc.
but BU had downsides too... like being overly priced (by a TON of money), had a few "bad crowds" of ppls, and even though it was a "christian college"... i ended up loosing sight of God ... and my passion for my future.

i got to the point where i had no idea where to go/what to do w/ my life anymore...

so i went back to the last place where GOD was REAL for me...

i went back to Taiwan.

not gunna lie... this year (past 5 months) has been HARD.

i've cried
i've attempted to eat chocolate, cuz it's supposed to make one "feel better" (that's a lie. it doesn't work)
i've past many sleepless nights
i've downed coffee to stay awake for classes
i've argued and "fought" with God (kind of impossible to fight w/ someone who made the whole universe... just sayin)
i've been done... and have literally sat down w/ God asking Him WHAT my purpose here is

I WANT TO SEE THE ENDING!! NOW!!!

... sometimes i feel like He just likes keeping me in suspense...

however... in these past two weeks, i've come to realize a really simple fact... one that made my heart break...

what happens in the middle is just as important as what happens in the end.

my life is a book. and it's being written... slowly, but surely.
and sadly enough, this is not a book that i can just "skim the beginning" and then jump to the end.
this is a lifelong process.
and i can't expect all of it to just fall into place.
i want a happy ending.
but that's not going to happen if i don't push myself toward that.
yes... crappy things have happened to this "book" in the past.
but many, MANY good things have happened to.

honestly... a thought that has been constantly triggering in my mind these past few weeks was this, "if tomorrow was the "last chapter" of your book... how would it end? in other words, where am i in life right now? am i satisfied w/ who i am? if not, what am i going to do to change that? what do i want my life to say about me? what have i done to end w/ a "bang"? and why wait? why not change NOW?

...cuz who knows... tomorrow might just bring about the end chapter.

(ramblings of a tired camille... please forgive me if this made no sense)

Lots of Love <3