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Sunday, October 31, 2010

Church Service

My alarm woke me up at 9 am, and I left the house at 9:45 am, having a half hour drive ahead of me. I had everything for the service and my night away with me.

I arrived at Kansas City Christian Fellowship 10 minutes before the service was supposed to start, but hardly anyone was there. I set up my stuff, and then the pastors arrived. It was good to see them again. It's been a while since I last ministered in this church; nearly 2 years.

I had been told that I would have 20 minutes; since the video is 10, I thought I had 10 minutes to give an update. Before the service started, I was given a bulletin where I read that I was the speaker. I asked, and found out that I was actually the speaker.

Now, this is the second time on this trip that I thought I was just sharing a few minutes, and that I discovered just before the service that I was actually preaching/ministering. I was amazed at how God had "tricked" me into preaching twice. I was not worried, though, because last time God came down powerfully - in spite of me - and I trusted He would do the same again.

Worship started with upbeat songs I didn't know. I closed my eyes and focused on God. Then a slower song I did know came. Unfortunately it was the last one. As I was worshipping God, I was suddenly overwhelmed when I realized how different God's view of me was. While I had disqualified myself from preaching, in God's eyes I was qualified, and He found a way around my reluctance and false view, and got me to do it "against my will". And then I love it anyway, and He is the one who ministers through me anyway, blowing me away. I was really moved when I realized God's faith in me.

I wished worship had gone on a little longer. After announcements and prayer requests, it was my turn. I showed the video first, and then I came up to speak. I gave an update on what's been happening, and then I shared part of my story, telling some facts about Mali, and did a Q & A time. So in the end, I did not actually preach, but shared a few valuable life lessons learned. People thanked me after the service.

After I was done speaking, the pastors came back up and said this year they would do things differently. Instead of me praying for them, they would pray for me. And so a few people prayed for me, and then the service was over.

I talked to a few people, and then said good-bye to the pastors, and until next year.

Helping A Friend

I settled into my car, and got my lunch out. It was already 1:30 pm. It only took about 10 minutes to drive to my friend Dawn's house. She was just finishing packing, and so it didn't take too long until her stuff was in the car, and we were ready to move.

We had a 3-hour drive ahead of us. I had arranged everything for Dawn to go this alternative clinic in Wichita where both Paul and I had received much help, and for Dawn it is her only hope as she is very sick with no hope of improvement. I expect her to be worlds better after her two weeks there. We as a ministry are paying all expenses for her - because nobody else cares to help her - and we'll be happy about donations if anyone could help us with those costs.

Dawn was actually in pretty bad shape when she got into the car. She was getting better over time, with a few low points. We talked the whole time we were in the car. We only stopped once on the way to Wichita.

At 5 pm we arrived at the Walmart near Dawn's hotel to do grocery shopping for her. She was already pretty tired, but did a good job using the electric cart. It took us a while, and we were both glad when we were done. We drove to Dawn's hotel, where my friend Karen was already waiting for us.

We had some problems at check-in because they had not written down my request for a room on the first floor with as little walking as possible. So the guy had to scramble around, and in the end he gave her an upgraded room for the same rate that was located perfectly.

We moved her stuff to her room, and I put all the food away for her, and made sure she was settled in. Then we said good-bye, and Karen and I both drove to Karen't house in our respective cars.

We then enjoyed talking and catching up the rest of the evening, having a fun time. Unfortunately I'm going to bed way too late, and will pay for it tomorrow.

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Friday, October 29, 2010

Last Week In US

My first night back in Kansas City I slept 10 hours; I really needed to catch up on sleep. Thankfully this week has been low key; I didn't fill it up with appointments. Instead I rested, worked on catching up on emails and doing translation work. I enjoyed the peace and quiet at the house, with my hosts being out of town. At the same time, not having any people around makes me miserable. I also had an opportunity to talk to Christian and Paul in Mali, and was somewhat discouraged by the problems going on there. The same old challenges. Our new 18-year-old bus is causing us a lot of problems. As does our new driver who won't be with us for much longer like this. Our finances have been extremely low; still no money has come in for the school expenses, and we have our big anniversary celebration in just one month's time, and no money for that. Construction is not moving along either.

On Wednesday night I had the opportunity to go to a meeting of the Kansas City Healing Community which was informative.

On Thursday I met with one of my former professors and former board members. I enjoyed talking with him, and was encouraged when he shared his wisdom with me.

In the evening my good friend Elisabet invited me to the performance of a Christian comedian. We met right at the church there. The parking lot was full, and I was amazed to see how full the church was. My estimate was about 2000 people. Elisabet had already found us good seats.

The show lasted 3 hours, including a break. Elisabet had to leave early. Chonda Pierce was really funny, but she was also amazingly deep. This lady has been through a lot in her life, and she includes those stories in her program. Amazing how she shares tragedies, and does comedy at the same time. She didn't just bring laughter but tears to people's faces. And God really ministered through her. I myself was really inspired by her, and felt God's presence touching me. I had stuff to think about when I left.

Unfortunately I was soon distracted when I sat in the middle of the parking lot, surrounded by cars, unable to move. Can you imagine 2000 people wanting to go home, and there is only ONE exit to the church parking lot? It was pretty frustrating. It took me 40 minutes to get out of there! And I had another 40 minutes to drive home - where I arrived at half past eleven.

Today I ran some more errands, trying to tick the last items off my list. Already I have so much stuff, it's a big challenge to pack. I spent hours packing today. This picture only shows a little part of all the stuff going to Mali. I have three suitcases, and have to pay $200 for the third one. Unfortunately I can't have more than 50 pounds per suitcase, and will have to pay $100 per suitcase that's above 50 and below 70 pounds. I just hope they're all below 70. It's lot of work.

I was planning to go to church tonight, but I was so tired, and in the middle of packing. I hope I'll get to go tomorrow.

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Monday, October 25, 2010

No Fun End Of Cruise

We went to bed after midnight, and I set my alarm for 7:30 am. We had to go off board at 8:30 am.

It was very hard to get up when the alarm went off. We got dressed and went to have our last meal on board. I've really enjoyed the good, healthy food, and have definitely eaten more than necessary.

Back at the cabin, we finished getting our stuff together. Our suitcases had to be put outside our cabin by 2 am, and was taken off board by the crew. So we made our way to the exit. We swiped our cards, and just as we were about to leave the ship, we were told to go back inside since we were going on a tour, and needed to meet at the meeting point inside.

We looked at our tour tickets that in fact said to meet at the theater at 8:45 am. Okay! We swiped our cards again - this time to get on board - and went to the theater. Some crew members were there and ticked us off their list, giving us a sticker for our T-shirts that had our airport on it. Then we waited for everyone to get there.

It was close to 9 am when we got moving. Once again we swiped our cards to get off board. This time we really left the ship, and came to a hall where our luggage was waiting for us. We picked the luggage up and proceeded to customs & immigration. The officer asked me lots of questions, and was looking through my many stamps in my passport to find the one I got coming into the country. That took quite some time, but he finally found it, and let me go. Megan was amazed at how many questions he had asked me, while she just walked through.

Once outside, we were waved to our tour bus where our luggage was put inside, and then we go on. We were ready! But not everyone was here yet.

The tour guide wanted to make sure everyone on the bus was supposed to be there, and a few people had to get off because they weren't. Just before we left he asked whether all our flights were after 3:30 pm. I spoke up, saying my flight was at 1:33 pm. Megan's was at 2:50 pm.

The tour guide then told me that the bus would not arrive at the airport until 1 pm, and I would miss my flight. Great! I told him it was okay, I'd just take the next flight if I did miss it. He then asked me to come off the bus so he could talk to me, and gave me a lecture that he did not want me to miss my plane, and asking me to get off the bus and go directly to the airport. I had no choice. I had paid the $60 for the Everglades tour for nothing.

I said good-bye to Megan, got my stuff, and was pointed to the bus going to the Miami airport. I was not happy. What an end to the cruise!

I sat squeezed in, with all my carry-on luggage, and next to a big lady, on the bus that was taking us to Miami airport, not too far away. I had plenty of time at the airport. I checked in, and had a hard time figuring out where to go towards the gates, but finally found it. Once through security, I wondered about where to buy some lunch. And so I was walking around with my heavy carry-ons, looking for a MacDonald's where I could buy my beloved salad with grilled chicken and balsamic dressing. I found one.

Then I finally sat down at my gate, and did some reading. When I heard that the plane the people there were waiting for was delayed, I checked the screens, and my suspicion was confirmed - my gate had moved. So I picked up my stuff and went to my new gate, where I settled in again. I still had plenty of time.

Finally it was time to board. I was pretty tired. I had an aisle seat, and the two seats to my left were filled with an 8- and 10-year old. I had 3.5 hours of flight time ahead of me, to Detroit. And my patience with those kids was really wearing thin. The mother was a few rows back, and probably glad to get a break. I had to cope with singing, constant hitting of my arm, having to get up frequently to let one of them out, and a few small fights between them. I could obviously not take the nap I needed.

I was very glad when I got off the plane in Detroit. I did not have much time to catch my connection, but was relieved when I saw that I did not have to go far. I actually had to wait at the gate before boarding started.

And then I was amazed to see the same catholic priest again that had been on a plane with me leaving Kansas City, and now he was also returning to KC on the same plane. Funny! And he was flying first class again, like last time.

When the plane door closed, I was amazed to realize that the seat next to me was empty. So I slid over to the window seat, and was able to lean against the wall and be more comfortable taking a nap. So I got to sleep a little bit on this short flight of 1.5 hours - and I sure needed it! After all, I had a one-hour drive ahead of me.

We arrived in Kansas City - my last time for this year - and I went to the baggage claim where I had to wait for quite some time before our bags started coming out. I picked up mine and made my way to the rental shuttle stop. There were quite a lot of people, and the bus ended up packed with people and bags. I was glad to be one of the first to get off the bus at the rental place. That also meant being in front of the line at the rental counter.

I approached the counter where I saw one guy who was free. However, I kept walking and went outside for the gold customers where I alway go. When I got there, it was closed, and so I had to go back inside. By now there was a line, and I was very annoyed with myself that I had not gone directly to the guy who was free. Now I had to wait.

I was so preoccupied with getting out of there that I forgot to tell them I want to return the car in town instead of the airport. I guess I'll just have to call them and make the change.

And then I was further annoyed that my car was as far away as possible. I was tired of pulling and carrying all the stuff.

The next thing that annoyed me was that the car did not have cruise control - especially since I have to do a lot of driving on Sunday and Monday. Also, it's harder to use a car you don't know when it's night.

But I was on my way, and used the one hour on the road to talk to a friend on the phone which was nice. Then I stopped at Target to buy groceries for the week. A lady I didn't know started talking to me, until she said, "You don't know who I am, do you?" I said no. She was someone from a church here. I told her I meet so many people...

I was glad when I was on my way again for the remaining 20 minute drive. At 9 pm I finally arrived home, to an empty house. I unloaded the car, put the groceries away, and carried my stuff upstairs. I got my computer out, and enjoyed the silence of being alone, and having nothing to do but relax. I was really tired and went to bed at 11 pm, which was midnight in Florida anyway.

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Sunday, October 24, 2010

Day At Sea

I didn't go to bed until 2 am. At 8 pm the captain came on over the speaker phone once again, wishing us a good morning, and talking about the schedule for the day. I fell back asleep. Just before 9:30 am the maid came in and left right again when he realized we were still sleeping. My alarm was set for 9:30 am, so I got up.

I went to have breakfast at the buffet restaurant. This was my view out of the window. I love it!

10:30-11:30 am - Q & A session with Dr. Katja Van Herle. She's very knowledgeable, and so it was a great session. I enjoy listening to her. It makes me wish I'd get a blood test and know all my numbers.

11:30-12:30 am - Healthy cooking session with chef Devin Alexander. It was the first time I had ever seen her or heard of her. I enjoyed her session. Her brownies are only 54 calories a piece, and we got to try them. They're absolutely delicious! I really want to get the recipe. Don't know whether I can get apple sauce in Mali, though.

1:30-3:00 pm - Q & A session with three families from the LOSING IT WITH JILLIAN TV show. People could ask them any questions, and it was pretty interesting. Jillian is the one standing in the picture, but she left after introducing them.

3 pm - Lunch at the market buffet. Megan joined me just before I was done. Then I went to our cabin, where I used the little time left picking out pictures and checking my mail.

4:30-5:30 pm - Q & A with all the trainers. People were asking all kinds of questions, and some were interesting. I was sitting in the sun, enjoying it. Today there are finally no clouds in the sky.

5:30 pm - I went to the Atrium to get a preview of Jillian Michael's new Wii game. Few people were there. I watched for a while. I didn't like Jillian's first game, and am not sure whether I like her second.

5:45-7 pm - Break time! I returned to my room to start writing my blog and get a break. I was pretty tired. The really tiring day is tomorrow!

7-8 pm - Comedian Harold Kremer was on for an hour. I tried the other comedian, who kept saying he wasn't funny but this one was, so I had some hopes. He was on again, and I had to listen to him again. Then the new comedian came, and I gave him 15 minutes to show he was better. He wasn't. So I decided to leave, and went for dinner.

7:30 pm - I was sitting by myself, eating dinner, when an elderly lady sat down with me. I noticed that she bowed her head to pray, and so I asked her whether she was a Christian. She was a Baptist lady, and started pouring out her heart to me about her wayward grand-daughter who lives with her and who was on the cruise with her. I was able to lift up her spirit and encourage her, which was great. In the end she did ask about what I do, and I told her. It was really nice meeting another Christian, after days of being in this secular environment.

8:30-9:30 pm - I went to the one lounge for Jeanette Jenkins's talk on a "healthy food plan". She was absolutely hilarious; much better than the comedians. And she had a lot of interesting things to say. In the end she was selling her books. I really wanted one, but didn't want to miss Jillian's talk, plus the line was already long. So I went up to our room. When Megan came up, she had two books in hands. She got one, and got me one as well. Yeah!

10-11:15 pm - At around 10 pm Jillian Michaels's talk came on in our cabin, and we watched it for just over an hour.

Since I already packed during my break time earlier, all I have to do now is to finish this blog, and use up my remaining 20 minutes of online time. We have to get up early, so I'm trying to go to bed by midnight tonight.

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Saturday, October 23, 2010

Nassau, Bahamas

I did not set my alarm for today, as we didn't have anything scheduled in the morning. The ship arrived in Nassau at 8 am, and were informed about it over the ship's speaker system. The maid also tried coming to do our room. I finally got up, got dressed, and Megan and I went to have breakfast. We returned to our room and got ready to go off board.

The ship had docked right there in the port of Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. We walked straight onto the pier from the ship. Our ship was just one of five big ships that were docked; it's the one in the middle.

We walked into the arrival hall, and walked by several shops selling souvenirs. Then we got out on the other side and were on the sidewalk. Our goal was to get to the beach. Somebody gave us a local map that confirmed we were on the right track. We kept walking, rounded a hotel, and arrived at the public beach. It wasn't too impressive, after the paradise yesterday.

Megan wanted to get her hair braided, and while it didn't work out yesterday, today was her day. In the meantime I went into the water for a few minutes. Then I lay down and read my book. As our time to leave approached, I looked over and saw that Megan's hair was far from being done. The lady finally realized she would not get it finished, and asked another lady to help her. Together they worked like crazy to get it done by 12:30 pm.

She paid, and we walked as quickly as possible back towards our ship for the excursion. We had to be there by 12:45 pm. We had a boat ride on the glass-bottom boat scheduled. We found the right boat, and kept waiting. Finally, after half an hour, someone came and we were allowed on board.

People were selling all kinds of stuff on the pier, including these conchs that you can get prepared in several different ways in the restaurants around her. We were told it's really good. Since I don't eat seafood...

FINALLY we pulled away from the pier, and rounded the five big ships. Paradise Island became visible to our left. The tour guide commented on a lot of the houses we passed, what famous people lived in them or used to live in them. We also saw the famous ATLANTIS ressort; it's all the big buildings you can see in the picture.

After leaving the port, we slowed down, and the first group got to go to the bottom of the boat to look at the underwater world. We were on the upper deck, enjoying the view and the breeze. Then it was our turn. I was disappointed that there were only these small windows, but we still got to see quite a bit.

They were throwing bread into the water on the left side of the boat, and the right side, making the fish go back and forth under the boat, so we could see them. We also saw corals, but not much else.

Because of the strong winds, they told us we couldn't go see the sunken ship; too bad.

After just over an hour the tour was over and we were back on the pier. We headed towards our ship, back into the hall. We were surprised to find a line of people having to go through a passport control, plus showing our ship ID cards. The line moved fast though.

Lunch on the ship ended at 3:30 pm, and so we had to hurry. We got back on board, and went straight to the buffet restaurant which is very close to our cabin. I enjoyed the food.

And I was thankful that we had two hours until the next thing on the schedule at 6 pm - the workout with Jillian. I used the time to get on the computer, select pictures, and went online (so expensive!). Thankfully there hasn't been anything urgent to deal with.

At 6 pm I was ready to work out. The workout was on the pool deck just around the corner from our room. I grabbed the yoga mat we've received as a gift, my water and my camera, and found myself a decent spot. People were everywhere. This was one of 8 workouts Jillian is doing; everyone gets one, and is assigned to one of them.

The workout was tought, but not very exciting. I didn't really like it. It got my juices going, though, and after 40 minutes I left to go to the fitness room and do a "real" workout, what my body was craving.

I got on the treadmill and ran and walked for a while, then I used some weight machines, and did some stretching. It felt wonderful! Then I returned to my room, and got changed for the lecture that was at 7:30 pm, only minutes away.

When I arrived at the theater, I saw Megan right away and sat down next to her. We kept waiting and waiting, and Dr. Van Herle came half an hour late, and lectured for 45 minutes, no Q & A time this time, as Jillian was scheduled to speak only minutes later. The lecture was good, talking about all the glands and malfunctions.

I then went to have dinner at the buffet by myself. After I had eaten, I went down to the theater, hoping for a ticket to get in since I knew there were still empty seats. However, the lady with the tickets had already left.

So I went to the Atrium where Jillian's talk was broadcast live. I found a nice seat, and enjoyed listening to her.

She finished at 10:30 or so. I then picked up my picture with her from the first day (I have to get it scanned in), and stopped by her store which wasn't too impressive. Then I went to my room. I knew I had missed the beginning of her talk, and so I wanted to catch up on it on TV. I had not missed much, as she had started late.

Megan rejoined me, having grabbed something to eat, and then we went back to the buffet together. I only wanted a cup of tea, but then I saw mushrooms, and had half a plate full. I took the tea back to the room with me. I thought I'd take some good pictures of the room. My bed is the one on the left. It looks bigger because of the mirror between our two beds.

I then finally started writing today's blog, knowing it would take a while. Good thing we don't have an early morning tomorrow. Now it's 1 am, and still have to do a few things before going to bed. Tomorrow is a day on sea.

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Friday, October 22, 2010

Great Stirrup Cay Island

At 8 am the alarm woke me up. It felt like it was still the middle of the night as we don't have a window in our cabin. I also was as tired as if it was the middle of the night. However, we were very confused about how things were working with the excursions, and I thought I had to get to the Atrium for "tender tickets" that would allow us to go offshore. That's what was written in the papers.

So while Megan was slowly getting up, I made my way there. I was still half asleep. The guy there told me that for the time we were getting off the boat, we should come back later for the tickets. A few minutes later they announced over the ship's system that no tickets were needed to get off board.

Since we were already up, we went to the buffet restaurant to have breakfast. It was decent.

Then we got ready to get off the ship. It was only 9:30 am which was actually nice since it gave us more time on the beach, which is where we went right away. Not too many people were there. I immediately went into the water. It was clear and warm, and wonderful. I swam a few times back and forth, and then Megan joined me. I really enjoyed the water, and found one shell to take with me.

We had about an hour on the beach. After I came out of the water, I lay down on one of the beach beds, and for the first time I had a chance to breathe and relax. It was about time! I nearly fell asleep lying there. The hour was up far too fast.

Our excursion was scheduled for 11:15 am. We walked over to the meeting point, and then were asked to follow the guide over the hill to the other side where the boat was anchored. Then we got on to our little boat.

Our guide was a local who was pretty funny. The boat pulled out, and we passed by some of the other islands. The guide gave us interesting information. The water on this side of the Great Stirrup island is very shallow, while it's very deep on the other side.

At one point they stopped the boat, and the guide got three starfish out of the water. They were huge, and fascinating, and beautiful. I took these pictures, but didn't care to touch them.

Then he got a landcrab out that he had on the boat to show it to us. He told us that they taste very delicious.

Then he got these, conchs. The more colorful one on the left is the female, and the other one the male. The animals hid inside their shell, when he got them out of the water, but you can still see them a little.

It's so amazing how clear the water is! You can see everything on the ground. I was amazed how many starfish there were (on the left). The boat also made the jellyfish come up to the surface (on the right). We even saw a stingray on the bottom; it wasn't moving. Fascinating!

After just over an hour the tour was already over. It was time for lunch. Since the island actually belongs to the cruise company, they had a nice buffet set up. It had the same healthy food we've been eating on the ship. The watermelon carvings were so beautiful!

We sat down for our nice meal. Then we still had about half an hour before our beach workout at 2 pm. I wanted to get some rest, and found a beach bed in the shade to lay down on. I was just falling asleep, when Megan woke me up after I'd rested only 15 min or so. We stopped by the restrooms, and then went to where the beach workout was going to be.

Dark clouds were on the sky and threatened to unload their cargo. I decided to do the workout in my bathing suit - a good choice. Because minutes into our workout it started raining. And then raining really hard. The workout wasn't too much fun either. And we got all sandy all over, and thanks to the rain, the sand stuck really well to our body and clothes. I moved my bag under the tree so the contents would stay as dry as possible.

Megan and I decided to quit the workout a few minutes before it was over. I went into the sea one more time to wash the sand off, which worked well. Then we made our way to where the boat was leaving from to take us back to the ship. One was just arriving, and we got on, and went to the upper deck. And there was Jillian Michaels, sitting not far away from us. She was talking with some people, and we had the opportunity to listen to her conversation, which was very interesting. It was all about the Biggest Loser and Losing It.

We sat there forever without moving, and it started raining again. What awful weather! When the boat finally started moving, the captain received a round of applause! We were so glad when we got to the ship, and slowly got onto it. There was security - scanning the bags and our bodies - and so the process was very slow. Meanwhile we stood in the rain, and felt the cold air from the airconditioned ship making our wet bodies freeze. We got into the elevator and went to our room as quickly as possible. I'm starting to figure out where what is and what the fastest way to get there is. No easy thing on such a big ship.

Megan took a shower, then me. I enjoyed the hot shower a lot! It was good to be clean and dressed in dry clothes again. We then left to go to the cooking demonstration that was at 4 pm. When we got there, there were lots of people, and we were told that it was full and we couldn't get in any more. That was a disappointment. Hopefully we get in on Sunday.

I returned to our room, looking forward to some quiet moments of blogging about today. I didn't have anything until 7 pm. Megan had something that interested her at 5:30 pm, so she went there. I was writing, and connected to the internet for the first time (though it's slow and 75 cents per minute). At 6 pm I went to have dinner by myself at the buffet restaurant around the corner. It was good. Then I returned to the room and continued writing.

At 7 pm I joined Megan in the theater for a talk by one of the trainers. It was pretty good. At 8 pm we went to the buffet restaurant so Megan could haver dinner. Then we went to our room. We found out that Jillian's 9 pm talk was not broadcast live into our rooms, but would be on at 10:15 pm. So we decided to go hear one of the comedians at 9 pm. She told me to go ahead, that she would join me later. I found a good seat in the back of the bar where the comedian was on.

I'm not easily entertained this way, and it wasn't very funny. He kept even putting himself down, saying he was a bad comedian. After half an hour I returned to my room, and started reading emails I need to catch up on.

At 10:15 pm, there was no Jillian on TV. I kept waiting, and waiting, but it never came on. Since I was really tired, I finally decided to just go to bed.

A few minutes after I had turned off the light, Megan came back. She told me that she had gotten into Jillian's meeting though our live meeting is on Sunday, and that it had lasted for 2 hours, until 11 pm. The broadcast of the meeting was going to start at 11:15 pm. So I turned the TV back on, though I was already falling asleep. I watched it for a while before turning it off. Unfortunately it still took me some time before I was able to fall asleep.

This cute little animal was done by the two guy-maids who do our room.

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Thursday, October 21, 2010

Cruise Start

The alarm went off at 8:30 am so we could go to breakfast before it's over. Megan is an evening person, and she preferred to skip breakfast and get more sleep. However, I decided to go have breakfast after all.

I was shocked at how many people were in the breakfast room. I guess everyone went just before they'd close at 9 am. There wasn't even a free table anywhere. I wanted to get some tea, but there wasn't any hot water. It took forever before they brought some out. In the meantime I took the previous to last bagel - it was stone hard. I made a waffle - and it tasted awful. I was disappointed with the breakfast. Megan had not missed anything.

When I returned to the room, I turned on my computer and did some emails and stuff. I was really tired, and after having done the most important stuff, I lay back down to get a little more sleep. After an hour of much needed rest, I woke up Megan half an hour before we needed to check out to the hotel.

So we packed up and checked out just after noon. Then we called a taxi, and literally two minutes later it was there. I have never taken a taxi in the US before, so this was a first! We loaded our stuff into the car, and off we went to the port.

It didn't take us too long to arrive. When we got out, a guy immediately took our luggage, and put our room number on it. It would be delivered to our rooms. Then we walked over to the end of the line of people waiting for the boarding process. I took a picture of the ship.

It took us a while before we had gone through the whole line and reached security. Even there I had to empty my water bottle, but my computer could stay inside my bag.

After security, we stood in line again, this time for check-in. We stood there forever. Finally it was our turn. They checked our passports, took our picture, and gave us our key cards for the room. Then we moved on and arrived in a big hall where we were told to sit down in a certain spot. They then had certain rows get up and move to the next line. We had to sit there for a long time. I was so tired, I really just wanted to close my eyes.

Finally, we moved forward again. They took a picture of us, then they swiped our key cards, and we moved on to the next line. What a long boarding process!

The next line was for the picture with Jillian Michaels. Every single passenger had his picture taken with her. There was supposed to be a mandatory safety drill at 4 pm, and we weren't sure whether we'd be done with the picture by then. We were moving forward at a steady pace in any way. And then they moved the drill to 4:30 pm so the picture taking could be finished first.

When I got to the little cordoned off area where Jillian was, a security guard took my carry-on luggage and took it to the other side. Then Jillian shock my hand, put her arm around me for the picture, and then asked me my name. Then I had to move on, and was returned my bags. It wasn't quite 4 pm yet.

I was so tired, and we were both hungry. We went to our room where our suitcases were sitting in front of our door. When we walked in, I was shocked how small the room was. Later I realized that it wasn't really that small, and that they've been very smart in using the little space there is.

We only dropped our stuff and were out again, going to the closeby buffet restaurant to get some food. There wasn't much time left until the security drill, and so we were rushing. I would rather have had some meat, but we were rushed to the pasta section.

As we were finishing to eat, crew members came up and told us to move to our stations. We returned to our room first, since we both had something to get, and then went to our station, which was in the theater. The drill then lasted 5 minutes; they only told us how to put on a life jacket.

Next we went up to the pool deck for the 5 pm welcoming event. People were already gathering according to their team colors. Amazing how many people are participating in these war decks, and are really getting into it. We're on the red team, but I couldn't care less.

I sat down in the shade, and let the other people do the stuff. Megan joined me after a while. Every team had a slogan they were screaming, and they really worked up the crowd. At 5:30 pm Jillian came and welcomed us and introduced all the trainers and speakers.

In the meantime the ship was leaving the port of Miami and heading towards the Bahamas, and I was able to take these beautiful pictures.

Then we headed downstairst to the theater for the talk on "obesity" by Jillian's TV doctor. Its start was delayed by half an hour. At 6:30 pm she started, and went for an hour. It was interesting, though not much was new. It was also freezing like crazy in that theater, and I was so tired I could not keep my eyes open the whole time.

The next talk was in the same theater, and also started late. It was entitled "makeover". I was disappointed when all it was was Jillian's makeup specialist doing the makeup for a lady on the stage. And so we left after 20 minutes, and headed to our room, so I could get my jacket and stop freezing.

We went to the info desk to find out what restaurants are free and decided to check out the "Versailles" restaurant. It looked very fancy. We were led to a table, and the waiter even put the napkin on my lap. We were then given the special menu that Jillian's team has designed. It included all the nutritional information.

I went for a three-course menu - all free. I had a simple salad, then steak with baked potato, and then a blondie. It was a really nice meal. I even got a hot tea with my dessert.

It was about 9:30 when we left the restaurant and went to our room. They had finally separated the one bed into two and moved them to the walls, so we can each have our individual bed. I settled in, moving my stuff around, and sat down to write my blog for today, while Megan went for a walk. I want to make sure I blog every day, as I would not be able to remember all that's going on for long enough.

Well, since internet on the ship is via satellite, it's very expensive, and I'm only going to use it to quickly see whether there are any urgent messages. Whatever can wait till I'm back on shore on Monday, will have to wait.

It's midnight, and we still haven't figured out how everything works tomorrow. Hopefully we will. Looks like we'll have to get up early.

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Wednesday, October 20, 2010

From Colorado To Florida

How hard it was to get up at 7 am after only 5 hours of sleep! I packed up my stuff, and then had breakfast with Mary. At 8:30 we left the house to drive to the airport, which would take us nearly 90 minutes.

We did some talking during our drive, but not all the time. I was pretty tired, but managed to keep my eyes open. I got to the airport at 10:15 am, and it was time to say good-bye to my new friend and personal intercessor.

I'm SO GLAD I came to Colorado Springs. It was a time of healing and restoration that was needed and wouldn't have happened otherwise. And one day was all that was needed.

I checked in and went to security. I had forgotten how big this airport was, how slow security was, then the train to the terminal, and the walk to the gate. I was sure glad we hadn't gotten to the airport any later!

I bought food for lunch, and sat down at the gate. I did not have to wait very long until boarding. I was glad when I saw the individual TV screens - only to be disappointed as the entertainment system was out of order. At least that meant nothing kept me from taking a nap. I also spent some time reading. The flight was 2.5 hours long.

I arrived in Atlanta, which was a two-hour time-difference, and had very little time to catch my connection. I was glad when my gate was not far away. That gave me a chance to still go to the bathroom and fill my water bottle. Then I boarded my plane to Miami.

It was another 1.5 hour flight. I did some reading, some napping, and some writing, and time went by fast. At 7 pm I touched down in Miami. I have never been this far south in Florida! It took a while before we got to our gate. I started texting back and forth with my roommate Megan, and didn't stop until we saw each other face to face.

I picked up my suitcase and called the hotel for the shuttle. They told me it would take 15 minutes. I talked to a friend while waiting. The shuttle came, and a few minutes later we arrived at the hotel. It was really warm outside.

My new friend Megan was already checked in and in the room, so I could just go up to the room. It was great to finally meet her in person. We didn't stay long, but left the hotel so I could find something to eat for dinner. We went to this little place right next to the hotel where I got a pita with gyros. Then we returned to the hotel.

I had lots to do on the computer, and the rest of the evening was spent talking, working, writing, watching... I just hope I won't go to bed too late so I can catch up on some sleep and be fit tomorrow.

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Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Just One Day In Colorado

I woke up at the same time I've been getting up during the fitness week last week - at 7:30 am, which is 6:30 am in California. We had a nice breakfast together (not counting the calories), and I got quite a bit done in the morning that had been waiting for me to get to it. At 10 am we left the house, stopping at a store. I was not feeling well at all, and so I got some vitamin C and Airborne. I felt like a cold was coming on, probably because of the lack of rest and sleep.

At 11 am we arrived at the church office, where pastor Anthony greeted me. God connected me with him earlier this year, and he's now one of our board members. It was great seeing him again.

The three of us sat down in the church office and started talking about all kinds of things, clarifying some things, discussing things to be done, and talking about the future. We had a good time. Time was passing by way too fast.

We then went to an office store where he had copies of my brochure made for the evening meeting. He was also so kind to buy a few DVDs for my kids, and give me a nice pen and pencil as a present.

We then went to Panera's Bread for lunch, and I enjoyed the food. I also enjoyed our conversation. Anthony is a very unique pastor in many ways. He truly cares - so much that he's taking on a lot of things, and so he's looking to maximize his time which should help everybody, including me.

From there we returned to the office, where we spent some time folding brochures. I was really tired, and so we decided to return home for a nap before the evening meeting. When we got home at 5 pm, I had exactly 45 minutes to lie down. I decided to not turn on my computer, but get a real nap since it was very much needed.

And I slept really well, using all that time until my alarm woke me. At 6 pm we left to return to the church for the meeting. I set up my brochures and remaining DVDs, and started talking to a few people who remembered me from last time. Mary and I sat down in the second row, and I remembered how cold the sanctuary is, returning to the car to get my jacket.

At 6:45 the Tue night meeting started with worship. Pastor Anthony was leading, and it lasted about an hour. Since I've been in this spiritual desert now for month, I simply praised God at first. The worship went deeper, and this ache inside of me was touched; this longing to be close to my beautiful Bridegroom, my beloved heavenly Daddy. It was painful not to live in this tangible presence of His at all times the way I used to. Tears crept into my eyes.

The worship ended, and nobody spoke a word because of His strong presence. I was still holding back the tears; I know I could have lost it and wept for desire for Him. I slowly regained composure as the announcements were made.

Then the pastor called forward a young lady who was leaving on a 2-month missions trip, and for some reason he wanted me to come forward and also lay hands on her as she was sent off, and he had told me so before. Considering my spiritual state, it took me a lot of energy to do it. His wife was on one side, I on the other, while the pastor prayed for her and sent her off. I was listening to God what He would have me pray for her, but it never came to that.

Then the pastor introduced me. The church is growing rapidly, and so there were quite few people that had not heard me share in June. So I gave a quick overview over what I do in Mali, how I got there, and then what has happened since June. After I was done, the pastor prayed for me.

Then he preached, and at 8:50 pm the meeting was over. Well, the official part, because a line formed next to the pastor - those wanting to talk to him. We were planning to go out to eat, and I was getting hungry. It didn't look like we were leaving any time soon.

I talked with a few people as well, and a day to go skiing was set up for when I'm back in town in February. Yeah!

At 10 pm we finally moved towards the door. I was very tired, and very hungry. So much for eating every 4 hours! (They had underlined the importance of that again at the fitness camp.) I picked up my stuff, and had a few new people on the email list.

More time passed before we finally got into our cars and drove to the restaurant. There were 5 of us - the pastor and his son, Mary, and the lady leaving on the missions trip. I had never been to this restaurant before; it's called Village Inn. I had a meal that was WAY too big, and didn't really talk much as I was so tired. I'm not the one to want to leave people I love, but at 11:30 pm I was ready to go home. I had not checked my emails all day, and knew I had to still do that.

And so it was time to say good-bye to Anthony (picture). Then we still stopped to buy bagels for breakfast before returning home.

Back home, I quickly checked my mails and replied to the urgent ones, not doing anything else. I went to bed at 1 am, but couldn't fall asleep for a full hour. It would be a short night.

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Monday, October 18, 2010

Final Results

I woke up at 6:30 am, and got ready for my final ride to the fitness facility. Once there, I had my final tests before having breakfast. I was weighed, and I lost 6 pounds (2.7 kilos) this past week. Then my measurements were taken, and I had a good result there too. Then I did the fitness test on the treadmill, and had a huge improvement. A week ago, my result was in the lowest category "very poor". Today I jumped over the next category "poor" and was in the "fair" category.

Then the dunk in the water tank to measure my body fat. I have not lost as much fat as last year, nor have I gained as much lean muscle as last year. That doesn't surprise me as I did a lot more strength training last year.

I finally got to have my breakfast, and then I had my 30 minutes with the nutritionist who was on vacation all week last week. She's a sweet lady, and we had a good time talking. Since I really know how to eat right and everything I need to know, there wasn't really anything new she could tell me.

I said good-bye, and was given a ride back to the apartments, where I had another 3 hours, thank God. Paul wanted to talk to me since I haven't taked to them all week, and so I ended up skyping with everyone in Mali for an hour which was really nice. I got to see all the kids and talk to them. I really miss them, and am looking forward to going home soon.

On To Colorado

After my shower, it was time to pack and get ready for my departure at 1:30 pm. I took the shuttle I had reserved a spot on again.

After check-in and security, I still had some time. I sat down at the gate, and started reading old emails, since I didn't want to pay to get online.

Both my flights weren't long. The first one was to Salt Lake City, and the second to Denver. Even though the first one was a short flight, it was a big plane, and they had individual TV screens. Why on a 1+ hour flight, and not on a 5 hr flight? I was lucky, because one of my favorite American shows was one just at that time.

When I got off the plane in SLC, the departure of my connection was only 30 minutes later! Thankfully it's a small airport, and my gate wasn't far. Still, I half ran. I didn't think there'd be another flight to Denver that day. It was already 7:15 pm. When I got to the gate, they were just about to start boarding. They were a few minutes late, thank God.

This one was a small plane - two people on the left, two on the right. The lady next to me was a little weird. And then she took her shoes off and assaulted me with the smell. I considered saying something to her. Instead I put my jacket over my mouth. I was glad the flight was only just over an hour.

I arrived in Denver and made my way to the baggage claim where my bag was one of few left on the belt. I'm glad it made it as well!

I went outside to the curb to wait for my ride. I wasn't in a good mood. I actually wasn't too happy about being in CO, and would not have come had I scheduled my trip in the last few weeks, but it was scheduled way back.

After 20 minutes of waiting my hosts arrived. We put my luggage into their car, and off we went to Colorado Springs. It was quite a long ride, 1 h 25 m. We were talking in the car, and my bad mood dissipated over time. By the time we arrived at their house after 11 pm, I was fine.

They have a cute little house. I got a cup of tea, and turned my computer on. Unfortunately I stayed up way to late - which is not good as I'm heading to the East coast! And I'll pay for the short night tomorrow.

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Sunday, October 17, 2010

Sunday!

I missed this morning's workout, knowing I could always work out when I'd come back from Pasadena. I had breakfast with my friends, and then we went to H-Rock Church.

At the church I saw a few people I knew which was nice. My friend had to go work at the nursery, and so I ended up sitting alone in the sanctuary. I noticed how different the service was from when I'm here during conferences!

I was pretty hungry after the service. I was juggling following the eating rules from the camp, which is eating every 4 hours. When you can't do that, you can eat a protein bar, which gives you another two hours, so that is what I did.

Still, I was starving when we got back to the house, and had my meal right away. Then we had a wonderful afternoon of more talking together. It was such a precious time!

At 5 pm we left - my friend and her two kids and I - so they could drop me off back at my apartment in Marina. My friend's husband was at work again. At first we got lost because of construction and detours, but we finally made it. It was after 6 pm when we arrived at the apartment complex.

And then they even got to see my apartment, as they needed to use the bathroom. Especially the daughter enjoyed it. But they couldn't stay, and so it was time to say good-bye, until next year.

It was time for my next meal, and then I decided not to do the 2-hour workout. I was thankful for a day to recover. The evening went by really fast, and before I knew it it was time for bed. I have to get up really early again tomorrow!

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Saturday, October 16, 2010

Fitness Camp Day 6

I was thankful that our day started a little later. The van picked us up at 9 am to take us to the fitness facility. Quite a few people decided to get some rest, so there was only a handful of us at the gym.

We had the female trainer who is very tough, and the first workout was 2 hours long. The lady really pushed as; we did cardio as well as strength training. I really had a hard time, since it was very intense.

I was happy about the lunch break at 11:30. We had our meals, and at 12:15 another 2 hour session started - with the same trainer. I was not very excited, when I realized it was as intense as in the morning. It's been a tough week, and I felt like I needed some rest. I considered quitting, and at 1 pm I told her that I was absolutely done for today. So I had to wait until 2 pm when the others were done, and they took us back to the apartments.

A Night Away

I was so thankful for this time off! I took a bath for my aching muscles first. I could barely walk, with everything hurting. Then I just enjoyed some relaxing moments as I had until 5:30 pm.

At that time my friend's husband came to pick me up. I was so excited to get out, and to be with Christians again! It's definitely strange being the only Christian in a secular environment, and I felt pretty much like an outsider.

It took us 45 minutes to drive from Marina where I was to Pasadena where they lived. He is a student at Fuller, and so they have an apartment in student housing. There were stairs, and my poor hurting muscles did not like them.

It was so great to see my friend Minoska again who I had not seen in two years. I had never met their two children, 10 and 2 years old.

The apartment was small but cute. We immediately started talking and talking; her husband had to go back to work until later that night. We had a wonderful time catching up. We have such a connection, I feel she could be a very good friend if we weren't so far apartment.

Unfortunately I could not eat with them, as I had my pre-prepaired meals from the camp with me.

I showed the 10-year-old pictures from Mali, and she really loved them. It was cute how concerned she was for Sarata because she is our only girl. We then all watched my 10-minute presentation. The daughter went to bed late that night! And so did we.

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Friday, October 15, 2010

Fitness Camp Day 5

Since there are only 14 people at the camp right now, everyone had to get into the van at 7:40 am. We only left ten minutes later.

Today I didn't get hot breakfast at the facility, since it was crab, and I don't like seafood. However, I really picked the wrong food with cottage cheese and a few apple pieces. I didn't like the cottage cheese, and had to force myself to eat it, while the others had those beautiful eggs and salad and pineapple with their crabcakes.

Stretching & foam rolling only started at 9 am this morning. Then we had cardio dance class at 9:30 am, and I was curious since I had never done it before. It reminded me a little bit of jazzdance which I used to do in my late teens and twenties. However, I refused to do the freestyle which he wanted us to do alone for everybody to watch.

Next we had 30 minutes of abs and core, and it was pretty intense. Next we had a one hour super circuit. We first had a cardio circuit, followed by a strength circuit (focusing on arms), and then the same again the second half hour. It was intense, and I enjoyed it!

Again I was glad when noon came around and time for lunch! I heated it up, ate it, and this time the next workout was already at 12:30 pm. It was time for the infamous Santa Monica stairs that I have not done before, since I arrived and left on a Friday last year, and didn't get to do it.

It took us half an hour to get there, and we had one hour to go up and down the staircase with 173 steps. I was told a typical average for the first week was 6 to 8 times. And so I started down the stairs, noticing how steep the staircase was. Once on the bottom, I started the daunting task of walking back up. I was amazed at the people that were running up those stairs! It did not take me long before I was out of breath. The first time was sure tough! And so was the second time. Then it got a little better. I timed how long it was taking me to go down and up, and my best time was 5.5 minutes. I managed to do it 7 times, and I was happy with that result.

We were all very quiet in the van on the way back. I was tired, and wondered how I'd do a 90 minute bike ride, right after the stairs. I felt every muscle in my leg, and hoppled inside the building upon arrival. Thankfully it was time for my 200 cal protein bar - and so energy started coursing through my body again. When you work out this much and eat this little, you can literally FEEL it in your whole body when you eat!

At 3 pm it was time for the bike ride. We were three people, and since we all knew the way (already my 3rd time in 4 days!), we were each on our own.

I picked the bike I used the first time, though only the front brake was working, but this one moved more easily up the hill. I was ready for the challenge!

It was really cold, and the sun had never come out today. But I knew I would not be cold for long. I looked at my watch, so I'd know when half my time had passed so I could turn around.

There were a lot fewer people out because of the bad weather. I had even rained a little in the morning. I pushed myself forward. I've found that I do much better in the afternoon, and seem to actually have more energy as the day proceeds! And so I went further than I had ever gone before, and was proud of it. I arrived back at the facility 90 minutes after I had left, and I was sure ready to go home.

I still had to wait half an hour for the other group to come back from their workout. Then we piled into the van. Again it was really quiet.

Back home, it was time for another meal, then my Epsom salt bath, and then catching up on emails and blogs. And so it's 11 pm tonight before I can go to bed now! Good thing that we only leave at 9 am tomorrow.

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Thursday, October 14, 2010

Fitness Camp Day 4

My alarm went off at 6:45 again, and at 7:30 the van left to take us to the fitness facility. We had fried rice for breakfast, and then we had 30 minutes of stretching and foam rolling. Then it was once again time for a bike ride! My second in three days, but this time with another trainer.

Unfortunately I did not get a good bike. It would barely move up the hill, contrary to the bike I had last time. Still, I went further than I had done the first time, along Manhattan Beach. I enjoyed the sound of the waves again.

After over 90 minutes of cycling, we returned. My next workout on the schedule was half an hour of boxing and abs/core. We were only 3 people, and had a different boxing trainer than last time. And he did an awesome job! I actually enjoyed it! This trainer is the one who was assigned to me last year, but now he only works part time at the facility.

I was glad when it was noon and time for lunch, as I was hungry! And our next workout was already at 1 pm. And so I used my free time doing the most useful thing - nap. One of the trainers took this picture! I was caught!

At 1 pm it was time to leave on THE HIKE. I did it last year, but I had forgotten how tough it is. This time, we were only 2 people - and three trainers! Two of the trainers came just for fun.

We had to drive nearly 30 minutes to get to the location. We parked the car, and off we went. We hiked up a steep mountain, and it was very tough, as it goes up and up and up.... I had a hard time! I kept stopping to catch my breath and give my calves some rest. I was the last one, with the one trainer and the other girl ahead of me. I could not catch up with them. At one point we all stopped together for a few minutes. And then I overtook the other girl - and they were never able to catch up with me the rest of the hike! That made me feel good!

For the first time I had my mp3 player with me. I was carrying my backpack, since I knew I would need several bottles of water, and I drank 4. Because of that I could put the player into its side pocket, and listen to worship music the whole time. It was a wonderful change to having to listen to secular music in the gym all day long.

I was so glad when we reached the top, and it was going downhill again. It was cold, and foggy, so there was no view whatsoever. The two trainer girls were ahead of me, and going downhill, I was able to keep their pace, which made me feel good. I do think I did better than last year, and had a better time.

We drove back to the facility where I had my next meal. It was already 4 pm. But the day was not over yet. We had gym boot camp from 5 to 7 pm. I was looking forward to a circuit or so, to do some strength training, since I had only done cardio all day.

However, the trainer decided that we would only play some children's games, spicing them up with movement to keep our heart rates up. The first game was simple, but okay. The second game was pretty good too. But the third was really silly, and I told them I was quitting. I just could not join in that. So I sat down in the lounge and waited for them to finish; there was only about 20 minutes left. It was over at 6:30 pm.

I was glad to eat the protein bar, and to go back home, where a beautiful Epsom salt bath was waiting for me. I'm still enjoying being alone in the apartment, watching TV and doing computer stuff all evening till going to bed at 10 pm.

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Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Fitness Camp Day 3

Once again it was time to get up at 6:45 am, and take the van to the fitness facility at 7:30 am. Over there, they were making a delicious breakfast for us - raspberry pancakes, egg-white omelette, turkey sausage.

At 8:30 am I started with 30 minutes of stretching/foam rollers. From 9 to 10 am we had a circuit with weight machines and cardio. From 10 to 11 am I had cardio boot camp, i.e. intervals on the treadmill. It was only after 10 am, but I was not feeling well at all. I was concerned that it was still this early in the day, and I was barely able to function. Thankfully the trainer noticed and didn't push me any more than I was able to perform. I was disappointed with myself. I feel like I was doing much better when I was here last year.

At 11 am we had boxing for half an hour, which wasn't as intense thankfully. It was followed by half an hour of abs/core. At noon it was time to eat, and I was sure glad for the break.

There was supposed to be a "group talk" at 12:15 pm, but it was canceled. It was humorous when one of the staff members suggested we'd get on the treadmill instead. Yeah, right!

My next workout was at 1:30 pm, and I opted to do what I felt I needed most: sleep. So I lay down on the couch and napped a little, as much as that was possible with the noise.

At 1:30 pm I had to be on the treadmill by my own for half an hour. I could tell that I was doing better. I was looking forward to tennis at 2 pm. I haven't played tennis in years, though I really like it. We took the car to a nearby public tennis court. There were two other girls and I, so just three of us. We had to run around the court to start off - just what I needed! Then we did drills, which meant more running. At one point we had to run one lap per missed ball. Great!

In the end we played a few matches; with four people, you don't get to play much that way. Americans like their competitions!

After the 90 min of tennis, we returned to the fitness facility where I had a protein bar. Next was "group training". It was a personal training, just me and another girl, so it was very personalized. It was focused on the arms, getting them more worked out, as well as cardio.

After that one hour, it was time for dinner. I had the same meal a second time that I had already had at noon. I wasn't too happy as I had not been informed of the glitch in the system that caused them not to see when we want an ingredient off the list. And so I had some weird stuff in my food today that I had to pick out.

A lot of people were done for the day and went home. I really considered skipping the last 90 minutes of boot camp. However, I amazingly felt better than I had felt all day long, and so I decided to stay and fulfill my duty. I was sure glad when I was done at 6:30 pm! My workout day had started at 8:30 am! I had turned on my heart rate monitor then, and it had been running for 10 hours.

We were taken back to the apartments, where I was very happy to find I was still alone in the apartment. I thank God for that! Other people pay a lot of money for that privilege. I pray it'll stay this way as long as possible.

I took my Epsom salt bath, and then sat down to get online, relax and I had one more meal at 9 pm. I had a very hard time waiting that long to eat.

Now it's nearly 10 pm and time for bed once again. Tomorrow I have another intense day ahead of me, with lots of outside activities.

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Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Fitness Camp Day 2

I woke up before my alarm even went off at 6:45 am. My roommate had never come home. At 7:30 am the bus left the apartment complex to drive us to the fitness facility. I was ready for the day! It was really cold, though.

We got to the gym at 7:45 am, and today they made our breakfast on site fresh. Crêpes with strawberry-flavored ricotta and turkey sausage and egg-white scrambled eggs. Tiny portions of course. It was really good.

At 8 am the other new girl and I had a gym orientation; I didn't really hear much new stuff since I've been here before.

At 9 am we left to drive to Venice Beach to go running for 2 hours. We parked the van, and then we were allowed to go run/walk on our own. I wished I had brought my camera with me. I just love the beach and opted to run by the water, rather than the paved walkway. It was beautiful, and I was just praising God as I ran and walked alternatingly. Then the beach became too steep, and I went up to the paved path where the others were. I kept running until half the time was up, and then I turned around.

I had not been there before, and I was shocked by what I saw. Lots of homeless people, "medical marihuana" signs, and lots of weird people and places and signs. It was such a goodless place! My heart was breaking, and I was praying God's people would go to witness and evangelize and be a light there.

Two hours after we had left the fitness facility, we returned. On my schedule, I then had the option between a 1 hour workout or a lecture on eating disorders. I really didn't want to hear the lecture, but I also thought I could do with a break from workouts. So I went to the lecture; it was okay.

It should have been over at noon, but he went on and on. Since I had had my little meal at 8 am, and we're even supposed to eat every 3 to 4 hours, I was getting really hungry. As soon as the lecture was over at 12:15, I was the first one out to go eat.

It was a freshly prepared meal again - a salad with chicken. Since I was missing two meals today, they gave me a second meal for later (second breakfast as well).

At 1 pm it was time for the next workout. I was one of three people the trainer had to work with. We focused on our arms for the one hour, doing a circuit, alternating arm exercises with cardio.

At 2 pm we left on our 2-hour bike ride. There was only one other girl. I heard that attendance is low this week, which is good for us. We followed the trainer, and road down to the beach, where they have this beautiful bike trail along the beach. It was so gorgeous! Again, I was praising God and enjoying the view! I wished I had taken pictures!

It was tiring, though, since it was also going uphill and downhill. I was glad when we got back to the facility. We were actually a little early, and so I got to sit down and relax for a few minutes. It was also time for the protein bar.

At 4 pm my last workout for the day started. Once again an intense circuit with 10 different stations that we had to go through twice, always doing 2 minutes each. It's amazing how long 2 min are!

At 5 pm I was finally done for the day, and I was glad. I definitely feel this day was not as intense as I remember them to be. However, looking at tomorrow's schedule, it takes everything to the next level. Tomorrow I have one workout after another, and I only finish at 7 pm! Wow!

They took us back to the apartments, where I went straight to the bathtub with my Epsom salt. I still had 45 minutes to wait until I could eat my next meal, and I could hardly wait for it. Then I did some laundry, and then I turned my computer on as well as the TV. Tonight I'm watching "The Biggest Loser" on TV for a change!

I'm still enjoying having the apartment to myself; still haven't seen my roommate. However, tomorrow, people are moving into the other bedroom, so the quiet will be over. Sigh.

I'm glad I'm sitting now. When I have to get up, I move like a 90-year-old - slowly, and every movement is painful!

Once again I intend to go to bed at 10 pm; I need my sleep to work out like this!

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Monday, October 11, 2010

Off To Los Angeles

After a short night I woke up at 5:30 am (which is 3:30 am in California). I finished packing, and at 6:15 am I left home to drive to the airport. It was still dark. It was a one-hour drive. I was amazed at how much traffic there was, and wondered who all these people were and where they were going! After all, stores open here at 9 or 10 am!

I filled the car back up with gas at the airport, and returned it. Then I took the shuttle bus to my terminal. Check-in was quick, and security as well. I still had over half an hour until boarding.

My first plane took me north, to Minneapolis. I had just enough time to make it to my gate there, once again having to cover a long distance from gate to gate. My second plane took me to Los Angeles, and it was only a little over 3 hours long. I was disappointed that there weren't individual screens. The movie was very cheesy, but I watched it anyway. The rest of the time I just dozed, as I had done on the first plane. I sure was tired!

We arrived in LA early, at 1 pm. However, they made us wait for our luggage forever, so that made up for the gained time. I then walked over to where the shuttle buses leave from. I had reserved my space on it online. However, I had to wait for half an hour, though I once saw one bus going to my area drive by! It was annoying to just stand there and wait. And then the shuttle driver did not believe me that there were apartments at the address he gave me. He kept telling me it was a hotel, which I denied. He was annoyed, and so was I.

Start Of Fitness Camp

I later discovered that the new apartment complex is so close to the airport that it would actually have been cheaper to take a taxi! Oh well.

The guys from the camp actually called me, thinking I was lost, as they had expected me much earlier. I told them about the shuttle driver. When he dropped me off, he said he's never dropped anyone off there before. Now he knows where it is!

One of fitness staff was already there, waiting for me. He showed me the way to my room. It looked very much like the old apartment complex. However, now I have to say that I liked the other one better, especially the apartments themselves. Last time, both bedrooms had a bath with bathtub. This time, only one has a bathtub, and it's not my bathroom. I just hope when the people arrive that will stay there, that they will let me use the bathtub anyway.

My roommate is an intern at the camp, but I haven't met her yet, even though it's already after 9 pm.

Another disappointment was that they are not providing Epsom salt anymore (helps when you're hurting all over). And, they have actually NOT moved to their new facility yet! It's still under construction! Their brochures gave the impression they are already there! For that reason, they now have to take us to their old facility by bus every morning, and take us back at the end of the day. Last year, we walked back and forth between apartments and gym. This year, that's not possible, so no breaks at home in between. That really annoyed me. Now I have to sit around over there when I have nothing scheduled.

So I wasn't too happy. I was then given 15 minutes to change into my workout clothes and catch a ride to the facility, which I did. Over there I then saw a few familiar faces. I first met with one of the responsible people who took my measurements and talked with me about what I wanted to do or not do. I told her I would not go to an appointment with the psychologist this time (see first week of August 2009 blog of that hilarious appointment last year).

Then they weighed me, weighed my body fat by dunking me under water, and weighed my fitness level on the treadmill. I was extremely disappointed by the results. I feel much fitter now than last year. I was also totally shocked at the weight the scale showed. Obviously, my friends' scale in KC is wrong! It was highly discouraging.

I then had a half hour on the treadmill, and I only walked/ran half-heartedly because of that discouragement though I purposed in my heart to make the most of my week at the camp, and today was the first day of losing weight once again.

Then the other new girl and I had orientation with a staff member; not much has changed though.

I was really tired by then, as I waited for the 5 pm workout. I sat there waiting, having my eyes closed, and was about to fall asleep. But no such luck.

The workout really pushed me, but I loved it. It was like a circuit, and the 90 minutes were intense. Running on the treadmill, alternating with strength and abs exercises, without breaks. I knew the trainer from last year, and I like her. When she told me the second time not to cheat, I was not happy that she questioned my integrity, and wanted to tell her that I was a Christian, and therefore I do not cheat. The third time she questioned whether I had done all the repetitions, I told her just that. Hopefully she won't do it again. I know it's normal in the world to think this way.

I really was glad when it was over, and was looking forward to getting a good night's rest tonight. The 2-hour time difference really works to my advantage, as we have to leave the house at 7:30 am every morning (which is 9:30 in KC).

At 6:30 pm the bus took us all back to the apartments. I did not have any sunscreen or Epsom salt, but was told a grocery store was right around the corner from the apartments. I knew I had to go there tonight. Tomorrow, I will definitely not move once I'm home. And so I changed and went to the store, where I had to buy 4 pounds of Epsom salt - the only size they had! The sunscreen was the opposite - tiny - but it should be enough for this week.

Back at the apartment I took my first bath with the salt, and then did a little bit of unpacking, and eating my second and last meal for today. I then discovered that those two meals were actually for tomorrow, not today, so now I'm 2 meals short for tomorrow!

I got connected, and wrote this blog, and I intend to go to bed early tonight. You can only work out this much if you're rested. Your prayers are appreciated!

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Saturday, October 9, 2010

Last Moments In Wichita

Friday was one of those days that are filled with frustration. It was unbelievable, especially the bank stuff driving me crazy. I also had a skype meeting with the publisher of my bok that was not really encouraging. In the evening I went to the gym to run some frustration off, which was helpful.

This morning I intended to go to the gym one last time, but it was not meant to be. I had an email from Christian that Paul needed to talk to me because of some serious issue, so I was a little worried. Already, the email contained some other news that weren't good.

As they had their service in Mali, I used the time to pack up and get ready to leave. I also said good-bye to my friends and hosts.

They finally came online not long before I had to leave. It was a rushed conversation. In short, it looks like our new driver is not going to be our driver for long - once again (sigh).

First Manicure & Pedicure

I left Wichita late, after 1 pm, to drive the 3 hours to Kansas City. But I was not heading home but to a nail studio where I was meeting my good friend Elisabet. I had wanted to go get my first manicure & pedicure in the beginning of this trip, and now Elisabet was giving me the gift of my first one ever!

I arrived there exactly on time. I parked the car, and went into the small studio where Elisabet was already waiting. And then our 2.5 hours in the studio started. Amazing how long this takes!

I got my nails painted with my own nailpolish, while Elisabet got hers done a different way. After the nails we sat down in those massage chairs with footbath where we soaked our feet for a while, before they started working on them.

My toe nails were then painted as well. In the end, they asked if I wanted a nice little design on it, and that prospect was exciting. So I got this little design on my big toes and my ring fingers. I just took a picture for you!

They gave us cheap flipflops so we would not mess up our nails in our shoes. At 7 pm we walked out of the place, and Elisabet had to leave. I said good-bye to my friend, and got into my car to drive the remaining 40 minutes home.

At 8 pm I got home, and started unpacking. Soon my friend and host returned home, and we ended up talking for a long time. The rest of the evening flew by as well.

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Thursday, October 7, 2010

Last Day At Clinic

I was supposed to have the first skype meeting with my publisher since sending them my book this morning. However, it was postposed to tomorrow. Instead I got to see and talk to my kids which I hadn't done in a while. It was wonderful! I sure miss them! Just a few more weeks!

My appointment at the clinic was at 11 am. I went in to see the doctor, who treated me for 10 minutes, and then he said that he was done. He said I was in perfect health, and there was nothing more to do. Wow! Praise God! I ended up doing 3 treatments before leaving, including my second full-body massage. The jury was out, and has come to the conclusion that I STILL don't like massages!

The last treatment was the ION-cleanse (hands) and mustard foot bath. I had that foot bath yesterday for the first time, and today it hurt as much as yesterday. My feet were on fire, and I put the AC in the car on high, blowing right on my feet.

It was nearly 2 pm before I left the clinic and went home. I had lunch, and then I went to the gym. After about 15 minutes on the treadmill, my feet started burning again. It got worse and worse so that I had to get off. I went to the weight machines, but after 45 minutes total (instead of 75) I left to return home. Once home, I put an ice-pack on my hurting feet. I hope I won't get that same reaction at the gym tomorrow.

I had dinner with my hosts and friends, who then left to go to a home group meeting. I enjoyed the quiet, took a bath, and then started doing administrative work for the ministry which I always enjoy doing. It's after midnight, and time for bed now.

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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Day 2 In Wichita

My clinic appointment today was at 10 am, so I had to set my alarm. I was tired when I got up, and got some tea and breakfast.

I had a nice time with the doctor again, then got a treatment, and then I was scheduled for a full-body massage. I've never had that before! I was very curious what that would be like. The lady used oil and massaged all my body parts with it. It was not bad, actually, though I don't feel any different now.

It was nearly 1 pm, and they told me to come back at 1:30 pm for more treatments. Thankfully I was able to make it 2:30 pm. I would have preferred just doing them right away.

As I walked out, I saw another lady walk to the hotel nextdoors and asked her whether she was staying there. She said yes, and we started talking. She showed me her room, and I was impressed with it.

Anyway, I stopped at Walmart to get a new batterie for my heart-rate monitor, and went home. I had a beautiful salad there, and then left again to return to the clinic for another 1+ hour of treatments - getting my lymph system flowing, and my body detoxed.

It was nearly 5 pm before I returned home. We had just over an hour before leaving the house again. Karen warmed up left-overs from last night, and we had a nice dinner. Then we left to go to the prayer meeting of their house church that was only just started a few months ago.

The meeting took place at the pastor's house. He's a missions guy, and I was received warmly. At 7 pm we got started with worship, singing two songs, then they did some praying for different things. Then it was my turn.

I quickly shared the pre-story, and then showed the video presentation. Then I had more time to share and answer questions. We had a great time talking, and I could tell that most of them really enjoyed it. Time went by fast.

After the meeting, people were leaving quickly. There was one girl I talked with more and I'll probably meet with later this week. We said our good-byes, and drove back home.

Now I'm taking advantage of a few hours before bedtime. Somehow you never catch up with what there is to do on the computer.

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Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Alternative Clinic

My appointment at the clinic was at 1 pm, but it was changed to noon when they called me in the morning. That gave me enough time for a wonderful bath before going there.

This is my third time at the clinic; the last time was over a year ago, when I brought Paul here to get help. The founder and Christian doctor has become a friend, and so it was good to see him again. I only have four days at the clinic, but that's better than nothing. I had a great time talking with him while he treated me for an hour.

Then I did a few of the different treatments they have where you just sit and let the machines do their stuff. After I left I stopped at Walmart to buy groceries.

Gym & Dinner

I wasn't home for very long before I left to go to the Y to work out. My friends were so kind to get me a pass for four days. On Monday my fitness week starts where I work out for 7 hours a day, so I need to build myself up even now.

I had a little trouble finding it, but did in the end. I was pleased to find the treadmills, and see the TV channel with Fox news right there. So I tuned in, and started walking. I could tell that I had only worked out one time during my 10 days in PA, because after short breaks I seem to have so much more to give. I started running and was blown away when I ran for 4 minutes without stopping! Wow! In the end I did more running during the 45 minutes than I had for a long time. I also enjoyed the weight machines, walking around in this new gym and looking for the ones I do. I felt so great when I left!

While I was on the treadmill, this very old man came shuffling up with his cane, very slowly. He had a hard time getting onto the treadmill, but managed. He put his cane down, turned the treadmill on, and set the speed to 1.9. Then he held on to dear life with both hands while walking. It was amazing to watch! His back was so crippled he actually could not lift his head up! I've never seen anything like it in a gym!

Back home, it was time to get ready for dinner and our visitor, a good friend of my hosts'. They were grilling steak, and cooking mashed potatoes, sweet corn and mushrooms. The food was delicious!

I took this picture for Paul who came to love steaks while in the US. It sure was a big steak!

We had a great time talking until the lady had to leave. I then stayed up until midnight, being on the computer.

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Monday, October 4, 2010

Good-Bye, Harrisburg!

It's been a while since I had such a hard time leaving a city. My heart was aching as I was saying good-bye and waiting to board my plane to leave. I love the church and the people here so much... But I'll be back.

It was close to 3 am before I finally fell asleep. I was actually packing my bags at 2 am; as an evening person I knew that would be easier than doing it in the morning. After a few hours of sleep, I woke up before the alarm went off. I finished packing, and talked to Christian in Mali for a short time.

Today is the first day of school for our kids, and I'm not there! I'm never not there for the start of school! This is the first time! Christian made this cone filled with goodies for Bakary, for whom it was the first day of school; it's an Austrian tradition. I love the picture!

I got packed up and was done in time for Terri's arrival at 9:30 am. She loaded my stuff into her car, while I checked out. They took $20 off my bill for the hassle with the broken shower the first few days. Impressive.

Terri dropped me off at the church and went to take care of some other stuff. I was 15 minutes early, but there were already a few people there. As I walked into the sanctuary where they had put up the round tables, and put my stuff on a seat close to the entrance, I see the pastor from Shippensburg walk up towards me which was a nice surprise. I had invited him to come, but he wasn't sure whether he would. He came with one of his leaders. I talked to them for a while, and then Charles walked in, and I had the joy to introduce the two to each other.

I then saw the French-speaking missions pastor and went to talk to him, and introced him to the guys as well. I actually ended up sitting between them. We started eating at 10:15 am, and thankfully I sat at the first table to go to the buffet. Time went by so fast. The plan was to leave at 10:40 am. Just before that I waved good-bye to Charles from the distance, but he waved me over. He then introduced me to Bill Johnson and Larry Randolph, and asked them to pray for me before I'd leave. The three of them laid hands on me, all fathers in the Spirit, and Bill prayed first. I was amazed when he started off giving me a fatherly blessing. Wow! One of the things I really long for! I was blown away. I can't help it anyway but smile in His wonderful presence when I get prayed for. Then Charles prayed a precious prayer, and finally Larry (a prophet) said there was something with medical coming. No clue what that means, but we'll see.

A final hug from Charles, and I needed to go. Another hug for my other friends, and off I went to get into the car with Terri. I felt so blessed, but also so sad that I had to leave. I love these people, and this town! I'm glad the ministry office moved here, so I'll have more reason to come. Plus, a family from the church in Shippensburg is coming to Mali for at least a year, praise God!

Terri dropped me off at the airport, and she was the last one I had to say good-bye to. I then checked in, and stood in line at security. I never get to the airport so close to my flight - 75 min before departure - but still had plenty of time even. It's a small airport.

And so I stood by my gate waiting, and reflecting on the morning, feeling this heaviness of heart about leaving. I talked to Debbie (our new secretary) on the phone, saying good-bye once again.

Hello, Wichita!

I took the little plane to Detroit which only takes about one hour. Thankfully I had plenty of time to cross the airport today, not like last time, and was in no rush to get to my gate. At the gate I gurned my computer on, writing this and other stuff, but unfortunately there was no free or reasonably-priced internet connection, and so I had to wait until late night after my arrival in Wichita to get online.

I took the second plane which was bigger though it only flew just over an hour like the first plane. I was able to get a little nap in that I really needed, and spent the rest of my time reading the only book I have right now (and it's nearly finished). I guess I should have bought at least one at the conference last week!

We had left Detroit an hour late, but arrived only with a 15-minute delay. My luggage was the first to come out, and I made my way to the bus to take me to the rental agency. I got settled into my "car for the week", ready for the 3 hour drive to Wichita. I had been looking forward to listening to a CD series on favor by Joseph Garlington that I had bought. And so I listened fo 3 hours, my car set on cruise control, just moving along on the highway. At 8:30 pm I pulled up at my friends' house in Wichita. It was great to see them again. We spent some time talking, and it was about 10 pm before I turned my computer on and go to read emails after having traveled the whole day. It was 1 am before I hit the pillow.

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Sunday, October 3, 2010

Glory & Joy Of The Lord

I knew it would be hard to get up at 7:30 am today, and it was. I went through the motions, had some breakfast, and left at 8:15 to walk up to the church for the 8:30 service. Terribly early for me, but I wanted to make sure everyone had a chance to see me and pick up my materials if they wanted to. I was able to move my stuff closer to the sanctuary doors so people would see it. Unfortunately, it was not said from the front that I was here, and so people didn't know and didn't come to see me at my table in the back. I did not enjoy standing by the table just watching people pass by, especially being so tired.

The second service was at 10:45 am, and Bill Johnson preached the same sermon a second time. I was so tired, I really wanted to return to the hotel but didn't. The service was over some time close to 1 pm. By then I was not only tired but hungry. My friends Carol and Terri found me by the lonely table with my materials. They tried to get a few other people together to join us, but only one of their friends did. I was happy when we went to my favorite restaurant Applebee's which is just around the corner from the church.

We had such a fun time together! What a great bunch of people! We had good food, and then just hung out talking. Time went by fast. About 4 pm we left there. I was tired, and needed to get some administrative stuff done in the afternoon before seeing my secretary for the last time in the evening. So they were so kind to drop me off at the hotel, where I had wonderful 2+ hours left.

I did the work, and was even able to lie down for a few minutes since I was tired. It was enough to get ready for the evening session.

I was looking forward to this last night of worshiping God in this wonderful place here. I still had the good seat in the third row, next to our new secretary Debbie and her husband Mike. This picture shows the three of us after the meeting when we finally had to say good-bye to each other.

The sanctuary was full once again, with Bill Johnson being the speaker. I found a spot in the front of the church again, though it was very crowded, with everyone worshiping God. The worship was awesome once again, with wonderful songs that elevated Jesus, just praising Him. For a while, I was simply praising Him as usual. But then His presence started coming down again, and I lay down on the floor, flat on my face. I was drinking in His sweet presence for the longest time, and eventually I turned around on my back and stretched my arms to heaven to love on Him. He's so wonderful! Contrary to last night, I was not giggling tonight, and was able to make my way back to my chair after worship, though I had to move slowly. Charles got a hold of me, and introduced me to Bill Johnson, which was sweet.

Bill then taught, awesome as usual. For once I was not so tired I couldn't keep my eyes open, which was a great thing.

When he was done talking, he had us pray for each other. The he said we should pray for God's glory, and he prayed as well, and as he was talking, God's glory came down on me powerfully. "Glory" is one of my "trigger words" :-). I crashed to the ground and was stuck there, as He filled me with His glory. Bill went on to call out words of knowledge and have the people pray for the sick. During that whole time I could not move and felt like a huge weight was holding me down on the floor. I saw myself as a little girl, and my heavenly Daddy was there with me, and we had a great time together and talked, Him answering my questions. It was a very precious time.

The service ended, and I could still not move. I was wondering how long I would stay stuck there. And then I felt a hand on my back. Somehow that released me to move. It was my friend Carol.

I slowly moved, and started laughing. Terri was there as well, and we started having a wonderful time together, with me laughing, trying to get up, going back down, etc. It was so wonderful! I was hoping it was release from the heaviness of the past few months, rather than preparation for hard times ahead. I'm so thankful for the joy of the Lord, especially since it's been so long since I've had such a joy!

It was getting really late. It was like 11:15 pm before we left the church. Carol was so kind to take me back to the hotel. It was sad to have those last minutes with her and having to say good-bye. She's a wonderful person.

Well, now it's 1 am. I've been struggling with this slow hotel internet connection again that hardly works, while writing today's blog. I guess the night won't be very long once again.

Actually, I packed at 2 am, and it was nearly 3 am before I fell asleep.

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Saturday, October 2, 2010

God Of Surprises

I was so thankful I could sleep until my alarm went off at 9:15 am. I'm definitely not a morning person. I was able to take my time, have breakfast, and talk to Christian in Mali. After 3 days without water, our construction manager finally got it fixed, and it was nothing big. Why couldn't he have done it the first day!?!

I left the hotel in time to get to church for my 11 am appointment. I was glad the sun was shining, though it was sure cold. Fall has started!

I asked Debbie to come outside so I could make sure Charles knows who our new secretary is. So together we waited, and waited, and waited. At 11:30 am we finally found Charles, who was still talking with his previous appointment, who was apologizing to me for taking up my time. After the three of us talked for a while, Debbie returned to the sanctuary, and Charles and I sat down at the coffee shop there to talk. Unfortunately there was only half an hour left, but I tried to make the most of it. Charles is such an amazing pastor and father; I wished I could call him my spiritual father.

He had to leave at noon, and I went to spend a little time with Debbie and her husband who were taking a one-hour lunch-break in the middle of their prophetic school. At 12:30 pm I returned to the hotel, looking forward to a quiet afternoon.

I ended up talking with Paul in Mali, and getting upset about some things that are going on. But in reality, things are going really well in Mali, as far as I can tell.

I took a bath, and did some administrative work. That way time passed quickly. Before I knew it it was time to leave for the 7 pm meeting. Once again I walked up the trail to the church.

I was looking forward to worshiping God once again, though there was still some residue of frustration. I was happy with the great seats we had, and worship started even before 7 pm. As I've been doing, I went to the front where many others were as well.

As I started worshiping God, I did nothing different from the other meetings. However, as we were praising God and I raised my arms to Him, as so often, I could not stop smiling because He is so wonderful, and then He started filling me with His presence. The weight of presence made me bow - just like it happened on the first night on Tuesday - and I finally lay down prostrate on the ground, enjoying His presence and letting Him fill me. I started manifesting, as I went deep into Him. I felt like I was supposed to turn onto my back, but resisted at first. Finally I obeyed. I turned around and raised my arms up into the air in praise and worship, and God's power even increased, with my body responding to His power. How awesome His presence is! How much I've missed it!

The worship songs were just over the top, with the praises just rising and rising. His presence continued filling me, and His joy started flowing over within me, and all I could do was giggle and giggle. I was glad nobody could hear me, as I could not stop, being so full of joy because of Him. I just wanted to stay there, and wasn't even sure I would be able to get up. Well, worship DID end, and I tried to get up, but had a very hard time. And I was still giggling. When I tried to get up, I just crashed back to the floor laughing and laughing. By then, the lights were back and I was a little self-conscious. I just wanted to return to my seat, but I was lying on the ground, jerking in His presence. Someone said to me to just stay there. I wasn't lying comfortably, and wanted to get up as my second choice after lying down more comfortably. I might have made the wrong choice in returning to my seat during the offering. I was half-lying in my seat at first, as His power was still so strong on me, and I just wanted to continue drinking from his joy and presence.

Bill Johnson came to preach, and slowly I sat more and more upright. His power was still strong, and I was hoping to return to my horizontal position before Him at the end, but God had something else in mind.

Bill went into a time of physical healing. Debbie next to me raised her hand when he asked who had cancer though she had not had confirmation that that was what was wrong. Three of us ended up praying for her healing. My hands were on fire, which they always are when I pray for healing, and her pain and lump started disappearing. It was gone by the time we were done.

Then Charles introduced me to a missions pastor of another church, and while I talked with him, they prayed for Debbie's legs. Those were healed quite a bit as well! She walked out of the church carrying her cane! Praise God! She was full of joy, and so were we. There were many other miracles.

I'm so thankful for this encounter with God tonight that I SO NEEDED! It's been way too long that I had the joy of the Lord like this. His joy wipes away all the pain and heaviness. I floated home to my hotel room, and can't wait for the 3 services tomorrow. The only downside? The first service is at 8:30!!! That's going to be very tough. A short night ahead!

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Friday, October 1, 2010

Special Meetings

A new day, new mercies. I was looking forward to another day with Jesus, another day of praising and worshiping Him. The pastor of the church was scheduled to speak, and I was very much looking forward to hearing him.

As I started worshiping God, the same pain I have felt returned. And I realized that I have not written everything in the last blog, but that there is more to it. However, I kept praising God, and the pain was not as intense as it has been.

While listening to Charles preach, my well-being improved. I enjoyed it very much. We were a small group, and at the end, he called everyone forward saying he'd quickly pray over everyone. As I stood there in line, God already started touching me powerfully. It was awesome. When Charles came to pray for me, I went straight down where I enjoyed God's presence for a while.

After the meeting I returned to the hotel right away since I knew it would be my only break today. I had to be back at church by 2 pm, and would not get back to the hotel until late at night.

At 2 pm, there was a meeting for pastors that Charles, his wife, and another staff member were doing. It was very interesting, though most of the time, meetings like that speak mostly to American settings. At the end, Charles prayed for every pastor present. The sadness I've been having was back. I didn't really get to talk to anyone, so I finally stopped just standing around and left. Unfortunately I had 45 minutes left until the pastors' dinner at 5 pm.

I realized that the other workshops were done as well, and called my new secretary Debbie to see where they were at. We spontaneously decided to take the little time available and go to my hotel room so I could show her how to use the online accounting tool that she'll need to use. Time was short, but we succeeded and returned to church in time.

There were lots of pastors and leaders at the dinner, and I ended up sitting next to people I didn't know which is what I love most. I talked with the guy to my left for the longest time first, and then with the people to my right. I also enjoyed the food since I've been living on bread and turkey ham for the past few days.

Halfway through the dinner Charles came up to talk. He shared about a network they have in the infant stages called "Clear River Network". I love that name. I had no idea they had that network, but I love how relational Charles and everyone in this church is. They are truly family! What a great place!

Charles introduced several people who were there, including me. Then he encouraged us to pray for each other. The people to my right immediately started praying for me, and I really appreciated it. The lady was really sweet and wanted to connect. They are in the process of starting a church.

At 7 pm the evening meeting started. I felt better again as I worshiped God. At offering time, I was excited to give an extravagant offering to this precious church I really love. Then Larry Randolph came to speak, and he was awesome again. I hadn't heard him in years. It was really touching what he shared about fathers and mothers and sons and daughters. In the end he called those who had never been affirmed by a father forward. I wasn't sure whether I should respond, as I've had temporay fathers in my life, but I could not remember if they had done what he asked. So I just stayed in my seat.

Then asked all the others below 40 to come forward, standing on the other side. Now I had no choice but to go up and stand in the crowd. I really felt like I was standing on the wrong side. Part of the pain of the last few days has been not having a spiritual father/mother, someone who cares and affirms. Anyway, I was just waiting for the meeting to be over. Larry then asked the people still sitting to pray for us. At that point I returned to my seat. I was tired, and wanted to get back to the hotel. My good friend Carol was sitting next to me, and she encouraged me to go forward and get prayer on the "correct" side of the room. I answered that if any, I would want Charles to pray for me that fatherly blessing. She said I should just go up to him. That's not really me, but after some time of considering it, I finally realized I should do it. So I went forward and waited close to Charles. When he was done, I asked for his fatherly blessing, and he gave it to me. Unfortunately it was a very quick thing, but it still touched my heart. Then I saw another one of the pastors standing around, and asked him as well, and he prayed another quick father's blessing. Then I returned to my seat. I realized that I would probably have melted had they taken a little more time. While I have had so much healing, I still need a father in human form, and miss that.

Carol said she'd take me to the hotel, but first we went to a grocery store. I just love hanging out with Carol. We had a fun time at the store, though I was REALLY tired. As soon as I got to my hotel room, I turned on the computer, and did not go to bed until late, as always. I was glad I did not have to get up early in the morning.

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