I'm Alive!!! (cont.)

June (continued)
I was placed in the first rotation group (RO), meaning I was still working but instead of being a counselor for a week I was living in the staff lodge and during the days I taught archery. It also means that I got a lot more free time and got to participate in the skits. The very first week of camp I was on rotation, but my job as the archery instructor was on hold because the bow strings and targets were somewhere in shipment lala land. However I did make myself useful by the pool and helped where needed although I did frequent the pool it wasn't until after helping out around camp. This was also the week that I really met CJ and hung out with him on breaks and at the pool. Who is this CJ person? Well I was introduced to him (during training week) by some mutual friends who went to school with him at APU... however there was something else about him that caught my eye, he was wearing a Turlock High School t-shirt. Being that Turlock is the neighboring city to my hometown I made some joke about Turlock and from there the conversation took off. It turns out his family happens to be close family friends with one of my best friends (she's in the lunch bunch, but we go way back) family. So, we may have already crossed paths at some point in time....
The 2nd week of camp was one of the best weeks at camp for me but was also one of the worst... I was counseling and had the best campers ever! They were going into 8th grade they were curious about having a relationship with Christ and they came together as a whole (if you were looking for one of them you'd find the rest of them.) but were very independent and didn't need me hoovering around all the time, but they always wanted to include me. Now you're probably wondering why I said that it was my worst week right? Well as many of you know I have food allergies which include: kiwi, most melons, and pineapple... Here's what happened every morning I would have yogurt with some granola and fresh strawberries for breakfast, so like usual I was eating that for breakfast, I took one bite I knew that I was having an allergic reaction so I went to the head nurse CAM (Carol) who was eating her breakfast told what was happening she so she gave me some Benadryl and then started asking me questions about allergies and reactions. I mentioned I was allergic to pineapple she knew instantly what I had ignored there was crushed pineapple next to the yogurt and so there must have been some juice in the yogurt and who knows how much was in there... I was told to stick around the nurses station (or at least not go too far) just incase yep the just in case was necessary because all of a sudden my breathing became labored and I was rushed to the urgent care (they were the closest facility that had epinephrine on hand. Epinephrine aka epi-pen aka anaphylactic shock treatment) I was there for about an hour as they watched my vitals and they asked Kyle (House one of FR nurses that drove me there) all sorts of questions because I was having a hard time breathing it was easiest to ask him. It was one of the scariest moments in my life. I was informed that I would need to get an inhaler and an Epi-pen and carry it on me at all times. When I got back to camp I had to hang low from all the benadryl and Dr.'s orders, but I was greeted with concerned co-workers all who heard through the grapevine that I was rushed to urgent care. It was then that I knew how blessed I was to be working at camp.

July
I was asked to work down at the conference center (the flats) for a week during Covenant Family Camp (it is the biggest/ busiest week at Mission Springs). The downside was that I only had an hour after all the campers left to clean my cabin and move (instead of having 27 hours off) the upside was that I would have a 4 day break (finish on Thursday and be back on Sunday) and I would be working closer to CJ. For the week I got to work in the nursery on the walkers side these kiddos were cute to boot! The week was amazing being able to spend time with my besties.
The crush I had on CJ grew and he let me know that he shared the same feelings... We were boyfriend and girlfriend a couple without titles and our relationship wasn't like any that I had ever had before. There was communication and an emotional bond (that really can't be explained any better than that) and respect and the best time spent was just being together. I was actually comfortable being completely and entirely myself (who can honestly say that?).
I received an email message on Facebook, from a family friend asking what my plans were for the school year and proposed an opportunity to be a nanny for her 2 children. She had asked me to prayerfully consider. I asked for more info. and prayed and prayed and prayed.
I made friendships that will last a lifetime with not only staff whether they were in college or in high school but also campers.
I counseled the last 2 weeks of July. Both weeks I had an LIT (leader in training/high school student). One week was better than the other... somewhere in there I had another allergy scare this time it was someone giving me the wrong order from Jamba Juice... It was completely an accident on her part both of the drinks were the same color... Luckily the Benadryl and in-haler were enough to keep me from going to the emergency room, but being on an upper and a downer makes one loopy Kaitlin Sweet Pea. I was sent to bed orders from the nurses... 15 hours of sleep later I was feeling slightly better.

August
The summer was coming to an end and everyone was getting restless and snooty with each other. Things that didn't bother me were starting to get under my skin, but God continued to teach me how to love even those who didn't treat me with the respect that I deserved.
"You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" was what my mom kept reminding me (4 months later this phrase is still helping me).
I touched base with my family friend to see if she was still needing a nanny, this was the door that God had left open, and she was! I would start right after I got home from the summer.
I stayed an extra couple days to help run a few activities for a large group that was at the conference center that also wanted to use Frontier Ranches facilities.
Summer was over... I drove home to start real life, not school. Still in a relationship with CJ (who lives a short drive from my house) and would be home for a couple of weeks before heading off to school.
Only a couple weeks after CJ went back to school things ended between us and since I rarely hear from him, and when I do it's because he is home and it's convenient for him... I'm not looking to be back in a relationship with him, it was fun while it lasted, and obviously if it were meant to be we would still be together. 


My summer was gearing up towards finding my place in God's bigger story. I cannot say that I have figured out how I fit in God's story, but I can tell you that it has helped me realize how important surrendering and giving it all to Him, leaving it all at the cross, is and will forever be.


I've had a lot of time to spend in His presence to reflect and rely which both are difficult at times and have been a struggle. So far this has been THE most life transforming years of my life! The doors that God has graciously opened are both honoring Him and both are for a certain amount of time and are not in the small smelly cow town that I reside in currently. Both require prayer lots and lots of prayer for guidance. Opportunity 1.) is a 2 year internship at Mission Springs, 2.) is going to Discipleship Training School DTS with Youth With A Mission YWAM in either England, Ireland, or Scotland for 5-6 months. Both opportunities applications start in the beginning of this next summer would begin the following September. Both are phenomenal opportunities.



Sorry, that this took so long to write I should kept up with it over the summer, but I was busy... Please forgive me?






Next you'll hear all about being a NANNY!!! :)

I'm Alive!!!

Notice the title? It's the best I could come up with since I have been M.I.A. for several months now... I'm very sorry about that... (really I am!) I wanted you all to know that I haven't forgotten about you (in blogger world? cyber space?) what would you even call this place??? Anyways, I know that it's been a long while of me being absent from posting ANYTHING on here so hopefully I can catch you all back up on the happenings and whereabouts that have consumed my life.


Note: This will most likely be made into parts for ease of typing reading.



May
I was finishing up my semester and on the look out for a job that could possibly be more than just a summer job, but was not limiting myself (I just really needed to be employed). I had become frustrated because I hadn't heard back from Mission Springs at all (I applied in January). I kept checking their website to see if positions were still available and there were so I took a deep breath and called them to see why I hadn't been contacted. Turns out my application hadn't gone through (their website was having problems or something to that effect), but I was advised to reapply because they were still hiring for counselor positions. So I did just that; I reapplied and got a phone call within the next week! I jumped at the chance to work at Frontier Ranch (my decision was based on 3 things #1 I love Mission Springs, #2 I needed a job and #3 I truly felt led by God (I still believe it was a God thing)). I had 1 1/2 weeks from being hired to moving over to the Santa Cruz Mountains for the summer and I had a lot of things to take care of before then.


June
I left home on June 13th to start my summer adventure. The first week I was at Mission Springs was all trainning and getting to know everyone on staff most were new and some were returners, but by the end of the week you wouldn't have known that we had just met. God really knew what he was doing by placing everyone at Frontier Ranch!

To Be Continued...

31bits

Awhile back I came across this website for a non-profit organization called 31 Bits. I fell in love with the site for several reasons :

1. They make jewelry
2. I fell in love with the women who make the jewelry their stories touched my heart!
3. I love what this non-profit is doing and what their future plans are for this organization
4. Did I mention the jewelry? It's affordable! Right now they're only selling necklaces and bracelets BUT don't let that stop you from checking out their collection!

"Uganda has been plagued by an internal war between the government and the Lord’s Resistance Army for over twenty years. The war has caused untold numbers of abductions, torture, rape and deaths throughout the northern regions of the country. Over one-million of the Acholi people, who reside in the north, have been displaced, many forcibly entered into refugee camps. The refugee camps provide little refuge due to poor security, lack of healthcare, lack of proper sanitation, and a lack of jobs. The endemic poverty is hardest on the children who often go hungry and have little opportunities to grow out of their current situation. However, in the midst of this suffering, there are women who are finding creative ways to provide for themselves and their families through their art of jewelry. These crafts, though easily made, are very difficult to sell because there are few available markets for such items. Despite the fear of ongoing war and the struggle to provide basic necessities, there is immense hope for change.

31 Bits is centered around using the creative art and entrepreneurship already present in the women. Our goal is to help get them out of poverty, provide consistent schooling for their children, and proper nutrition and healthcare for the entire family. We do this by creating an international market and a voice for the beautiful jewelry the women are already making. All of our products are bought directly from the women, are fair trade, are made from recycled paper, and are sold in boutiques across the United States. We envision that in two years we will expand 31 Bits to partner with local Non Government Organizations to initiate and fund community based projects directed by the needs and desires of the community. " -THE VISION





I dare you to go to 31 bits website and see for yourself just how beautiful this non-profit and jewelry are! You don't know where to look? start by clicking here----->CLICK ME!!!!

Ten On Tuesday

Each week someone is randomly picked to come up with the ten questions... this week just happened to be my sister's lucky week; you can check out her blog at Practicing Patience

1. What two cities should be moved closer together?
Kona and Chicago, tropical beaches and the city that would be perfect!

2. What was the first plane ride you took?
It was to The Big Island, Hawaii!!! I was 5 I think? I absolutely love Hawaii I'm gonna live there someday :)

3. What continent would you most like to visit?
Europe... I used to want to go to Australia because they speak English, then I found out how big the spiders are there... I'll stick with going to Europe!!!

4. What’s your favorite place to window-shop?
Pottery Barn. :)

5. What’s the least fun you’ve ever had at a place specifically tailored for fun?
Disneyland... I was with a few friends (of which only 1 of them I can tolerate for more than several hours) I was annoyed and grumpy and no fun to be around at "The happiest place on Earth"

6. You’re stuck on an island with plenty of food, a companion, and a relatively stress-free lifestyle. What do you say when the rescue ship comes?
"I'm SAVED!!!!" I'm sure I'd be ecstatic to be rescued!

7. Which day of the week do you look forward to most?
Wednesday. It's in the middle of the week and generally the rest of the week flies by until Monday...

8. What’s your favorite place to enjoy the great outdoors?
I LOVE THE BEACH!!! It doesn't matter the time of year as long as I'm at the beach I'm happy!!!

9. What’s on your “to do” list this summer?
1. Find a job 2. Figure out what to do for the fall 3. Spend time with friends and family 4. Maybe go on a road trip Oregon, Washington, B.C. Canada?, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming... and maybe a few other states??? (Courtney are you still game?)

10. Which natural disaster freaks you out the most?
Tornadoes I'm petrified of them! Thank goodness CA never gets them!!!

Roots and Rings

Ten on Tuesday

Ten on Tuesday

I'm trying something a little different for me suggested by my sis Courtney

1. If you could travel back in time, would you? What decade would you visit?
Definitely! I would love to have met/got to know my maternal grandparents I was born a year to late to "meet" my Bompi and even then I wouldn't have remembered him as for my Mimi I at least had 4 years with her but only have a few vague memories with her. So, I would say decade wise late 70s to mid 80s.

2. What was your best Halloween costume? (fun to make? most creative?)
My favorite costume was a flower growing in a pot... I was that several times growing up my Mom made the costume for me and I think I wore it until it didn't fit anymore... I do have a perfect idea for halloween this coming year but I don't want any copy cats and I need to find a few more people who will dress up with me ;)

3. Do you like your name? If you weren’t called by your name, what would you want to be called?
I like my name now! I used to hate my name because it was uncommon until I was a senior in high school!!! I wanted my name to be Sally for awhile, I'm not sure why but I used to like that name.

4. In the past year, what is the BEST recipe you made. Please share it!
"BEST" recipe? This is tough!!! Well Courtney and I made a cookie cake pie... it was very very rich, but so good! What did I make on my own though? Oatmeal cranberry white chocolate chunk cookies! Find the recipe here!

5. Look around – what is the nearest object or picture hanging on the wall?
Sailing pictures! I'm on my Dad's computer and he loves boats! several of the pictures are of my dad sailing in either his Hobie Catamaran or Catalina 25.

6. What was the last movie you saw in a theater? Would you recommend it?
Valentine's Day. I would absolutely reccommend it! It was a perfect chick flick and was hilarious!

7. Did you go to summer camp? Will you/do you send your kids to camp?
I sure did for 6 years! I even counseled there for a summer :) I think I'll send my future kids to camp it is a great experience for kids to grow!

8. What kind of ringtone do you have?
I have a few good ones my sis Paige and I bluetooth songs to each other. One of my favorites is "I don't feel like dancing"-- Sissor Sisters

9. Where is the farthest away from home you have ever been?
Farthest would be Knoxville, TN. or would it be Ohahu, HI

10. Has anyone ever written a song or a poem for or about you?
Actually yes. After I broke up with a former boyfriend he tried to "win" me back by writing a poem about me... Let's just say it was more stalkerish than romantic and it clarified that I made the correct decision to not be in that relationship!




Courtesy of: Roots and Rings

The Dreaded Doctors Appointment

I've had a mole on my back since 4th grade and it's grown and changed color over the years. I've had doctors look at it and the same story would be said "It looks fine, let's just keep an eye on it and see if it progresses." (meaning: grows more or keeps changing color)
That's exactly what I've done kept an eye on it. I eventually made yet again another appointment. This time the doctor took one glance (he didn't even really examine it) and noticed that my mole had grown A LOT more and was 3 different colors (gross I know). He basically told me I could remove it right then or if we leave it alone it will just keep getting bigger. My first thought was "OH NO NEEDLES AND SCALPELS!!!" but I've been worried about this growth on my back for a very long time so I set aside my fear of "surgery" if you would even call it that. So I got a shot of local anesthetics in growth and from there I couldn't feel a thing in the general area of my left upper back (shoulder blade)... I was shocked that I didn't need stitches or anything just a band aid. I was excited that this mole was finally gone and I thought I got a "cool" band aid (you know when you get a shot all the doctor has for band aids are Barbie or some other fun little kid band aid) nope I did NOT get a "cool" band aid just gauze with some medical tape.

Then came the talk about how it's routine to send the mole to the lab to have a biopsy done just to make sure it's not cancerous. The most confusing part about the talk was when my doctor said "I'm pretty sure that it's not cancerous, but usually when I say that I'm wrong" Then why did you say anything!?!

Prayers are needed that the biopsy results come back negative! (I really don't think I could handle having skin cancer right now I'm only 22!)

Color Me Happy

Don't you just hate it when you get a song stuck in your head and you just don't know where or when during the day you heard it?

I think you can guess where this is going...

Today, out of no where I started to sing a song that I know for a fact has never been on the radio. How do I know this? Because it's a song from my childhood, no not New Kids On The Block(they're from Courtney's childhood although I wish I had randomly been singing any of their songs!) this song is actually from Fisher Price, ya like the little kid toy company. You see when I was little (probably 3 or 4 years old) and learning colors, shapes, abc's somebody probably my parents got me an interactive book with a cassette tape called Color Me Happy When I Know My Shapes.



So how and why do I have a song from Color Me Happy stuck in my head? I have no clue! But, I think it's hilarious that this song has been stuck in my head all day. The best part of all is that I haven't heard it since I was really little and I knew the words! The other funny thing is that I found the cassette tape and found a cassette player so my mom and I just listened to it! It brings back so many great memories!

Surrendering

I have been struggling.

Scratch that I am struggling with where God is leading me. I need all the prayer I can get, but I'm not sure where to start who to ask and what to do. It's weird for me to even grasp that I don't know where to begin. I know to love God unconditionally and to trust in him and to just surrender to him. I don't know about all of you but it is THE hardest thing I'm facing right now.

Yesterday Courtney and I went to Monte Vista Chapel's high school youth group to A) hear Liz's worship team play and B) hear Matt Hulst speak (he is a friend of Liz's through YWAM). Can I just say I was not planning on going, I was planning on watching TV with my parents, Courtney asked a couple of hours before it started and I said yes (obviously). A few girls from Hilmar where there 2 of which are in the worship team, but they go because they are in high school not just a random person wanting to listen to the guest speaker. What can I say about the worship team? Well they were pretty awesome and I thank God for giving them such an amazing gift to worship and play for him, not to be boastful, but to play whole heartedly.

Now on to the speaker Matt Hulst. Matt is "contagious" when you hear him speak you know the holy spirit is shown through him. He was talking about surrendering you life to God and loving people. I wasn't sure where he was going when he first started speaking, I'm not going to lie but I was distracted by what is going on in my life right now and it took me a little bit to quiet my mind and to just listen to the message. Once that happened it was the most thought provoking inspirational message that I NEEDED to hear. He spoke the truth and a few things that really stuck for me were; Who are you living your life for? College isn't for everyone surrender to God and see where and what he has intended for you and to love people just as they are no judging on how they dress who they hang out with or how they're living their life. God just wants us to love on each other!

Okay so why do these things stand out the most from his whole message? Well, I've been struggling with who I am, where my life is headed, what my future beholds, etc... It is very hard to be me right now, I'm not throwing a pity party. I'm just not sure what in life I'm supposed to be doing. It's hard to surrender yourself to God when there is so much pressure coming from everyone on me continuing my education (education is important and I'm thankful for the education that I've had so far, I also look forward to more education down the road if God is willing). When I was growing up it's all I knew once you graduate from high school the next step is college, but I never stopped to ask God if that's the path he has chosen for me. This is thought provoking, especially now because I am quite busy with college applications to transfer to a four year university. What if God has another plan for me? Do I listen? What about what my parents want for me? I want to please my family by getting a degree, but then I might not be listening to God... I also need help with the love everybody part... you know how easy it is to be people watching and you start guessing and judging how people live, I need help to not do that! (Do you see where I'm getting at?)

So with you all as my witnesses I SURRENDER, hold me accountable to my word and to God's word. If you see me start to stray away from this newly paved path call me out on it. So here I am on my knees surrendering to the name above all names, my Lord God Almighty.