Field Selections

Field selections have finally been made. In May, I will be going to Kharkov, Ukraine with ErinJoy B., Jordan T., Caleb R., and Cody K. Our Coordinator will be Mike McDougle. To learn more about the team I will be with, you can check out their webpage: http://www.kharkovmissions.com/mcdougles.html.

I'm so excited, I'm not sure what all to write.

{Published 11/04/11 due to technical error}

Tuesdays

Tonight seemed like the perfect example to demonstrate my typical Tuesday in AIM.

I woke up this morning at 7:30(I got a little snooze happy and slept in). Then me and my roommate marveled on how it was only Tuesday and tried to remember which classes we had. We then went about our way to get ready for school; we got dressed, cleaned up a little bit, ate breakfast, made lunch, and gathered our school stuff. My roommates and I left the apartment at 8:05 and drove to school together. Upon arriving at the school(8:15-8:20) we carried all our stuff downstairs to the AIM room and set our bags at which ever seats we wanted to sit in. Today I sat in the back corner between Sarah McD. and Trenton (two of my good friends.) I then grabbed my lunch, Bible, Journal, and writing pen and climbed the stairs again to head to the small chapel where the women meet on Tuesday. Tuesday is the only day Guys and Gals have separate Chapel service. I greeted and hugged Ms. Donna and the other ladies that are standing by the door and then slipped off through the other door of the chapel into a little foyer/kitchenette where there is a fridge for students to keep their lunches in. Today, I saw a couple of the other AIMer's who had just discovered the coffee machine back there and were fixing themselves some drinks(the machine in the AIM classroom broke, and the pitcher broke on the replacement we bought.) After depositing my lunch, I returned to the chapel room and took a seat. Women's Chapel is a nice service that gives us younger ladies a chance to learn wisdom from the older ladies and to practice serving ourselves. All the ladies associated with SIBI come, AIMers, preaching students, and faculty. Today we heard a lesson on forgiveness from Mrs. Merilana who works in the financial office.

On my way back to the classroom after Chapel, I spotted one of the church ladies struggling with some groceries she was carrying, so I offered to help get them to their intended destination. After helping her with that load, I asked if there were anymore she needed brought in. There was, of course, so she sent me out to her car with her keys. The only description she gave me of her car was it was in the handicap section and I wasn't sure where that was. So I walked out the main front doors of Sunset and hoped for some inspiration. The handicap section wasn't exactly where I thought it was, but it was close enough that it was easy to find. Then, since she had given my her automatic door key, I just hit the unlock button a few times till I saw the lights on her car blink. After carrying half a dozen loads of groceries(I think this lady was organizing Christmas care packages for missionaries...) I was paid in 4 packages of "Grandma's" cookies (those soft ones from Frito Lay). Then my friend Whitney asked me to help her carry some stuff down to the classroom for her.

The first class on Tuesdays in Spiritual Disciplines taught by Pat Schaefer and Cory Burns, but Pat was out of town, so Cory taught class by himself. After this class we have lunch, today I ate with Angel, Christy, and Cory Burns. Then we have Evangelism with Chris Swinford (today, we all surprised Chris by sitting on the floor round him, which he took in good stride) followed by Acts with Ray Young. Ray let us out half an hour early today, for which we were grateful!

After class I drove home with my roommates, arriving there shortly after 4:00. We had planned to eat Cornflake Chicken(I'll post the recipe sometime... maybe...) for dinner, so I started to look for a recipe when I got home. I though I remembered having this recipe when I was little, so I called Dad and a couple of my siblings looking for the recipe. They didn't all answer their phones right away, but they called me through out the day(also, none of them remember making or eating Cornflake Chicken at any point of time). One of my roommates had to go to a Bible study, so I started the chicken cooking at 5:00, so it would be done about 6:00 when she got home. I also started some carrots boiling with a couple cilantro leaves. When we prepare a meal for the whole apartment, we try to sit down and eat together. However, as I started cooking I along with the calls from my siblings, I received a text from my small group leader informing me it was my turn to bring a snack for small group. So I pulled out my recipe for Sopapillas. With dinner in the oven, I started heating up the oil for frying and cut out a few small practice rounds of dough to test the temperature of the grease. The first one came out like a nice little donut(like what they serve at Chinese restaurants), so I decided to make donuts. But I had a tough time getting the next few rounds to come out like the first. That's when my oil started smoking, so I pulled it off and turned off the burner. When the oil had cooled a little, I started attempting to cook donuts again and this time succeeded. However, I was way behind on my time schedule and Sarah had returned from her Bible study and the chicken was done. So as my roommates ate, I continued to cook. I ended up running a little late for small group,which we have every Tuesday at 7pm, but our group never starts on time anyways. One of the assistants brought Hot Chocolate for drink and that went perfectly with the donuts.

I returned from Small Group after 9pm and ate dinner and cleaned the kitchen.It is, of course, my job to wash all the dishes that don't go into the dishwasher(such as pans) since I use them the most(I do most of the cooking because my roommates don't like to). By the time I finished and got to sit down, it was just after 10pm.

So thus I decided to write up this post while the day was still fresh in my day. While I was writing my brother Dwight called me, and we talked for awhile. Now, I intend to take a shower and go to bed so that I can wake up in the morning and do some homework. I find it easier to do academic work in the morning before the chores pile in and I get myself into a hard work mood.

(I forgot to mention how we spilled a cup of milk and had to clean the carpet afterwards... also, writing this post reminded me of one of my favorite childhood books Fortunately by Remy Charlip)

Break Week

I am now coming to the end of our first break here at AIM. This break marks the end of the firsts half of the second term. This week I was blessed with the opportunity to spend time with Shannon B.'s(one of my classmates) family who lives here in Lubbock and since it was Thank Giving, we ate dinner with her family. We had a fine time of it. The first couple days, when we weren't sitting around her house relaxing, we ran errands. Her mother insisted on taking us out to eat a couple nights, so we ate at Olive Garden and O'Hana's. We also had tacos one night, and Angel (of Mexico City) was around to approve them as the most realistic he had had since coming to the U.S.

We Breakfast burritos the next day, but they weren't authentic Mexican, because Burritos aren't Mexican. They're actually American!

Shannon's family like puzzles, so we pieced a couple together. We also took turns riding on her dad's 4wheelers and "Commander"(a side-by-side 4wheeler)

The other AIMer's who were in town came to visit at various intervals, so we also did some homework instead of lazying around all week.

Now I'm just lounging around the apartments eagerly awaiting the return of my roommates(and other classmates).

Rain!

It started to rain today while Hannah and I were eating dinner at Landon's apartment. It then proceeded to hail. Pieces worked their way up to hominy size! We looked up the weather on our computers and watched the forecast videos that indicated the rain would be around for a while (apparently rain gets channeled towards Lubbock somehow...probably something to do with the city's poor drainage...) My roommate proved herself a true AIMer when she exclaimed "But I don't have any homework here with me!" After the hail ended, I wanted to go play in it, but I didn't because I already have a cold and I don't really need pneumonia right now (new term and all that...)

Anyhoo, keep all the AIMers in your prayers, we just started a new term and there's a nasty cold going around.

Sundays

Today's Post will be about what I do on Sundays. I'm planning to do a series of post that give focus to each day of the week individually. Since Sunday is the first day of the week, we're starting there!

Each student is assigned an Area Church(AC) group. We attend that church every Sunday for the whole semester. Every Sunday, you drive to your area church with your group and stay the whole day. Most AC groups focus on working with the youth group at their church.

My area church is 21st Church of Christ in Clovis, NM. It's the farthest AC from Sunset. Assigned to Clovis with me are Jordan Terry, Angela Young, Jeff Smith, Robert Click, and Brent Franques. We also have three assistants that watch over us; Jenni Williams, and Carla and Robbie Stephens. Because there are nine of us, we take two vehicles and switch off driving duties. We leave Lubbock at 8am Lubbock time and drive for two hours so we can arrive at 9am Clovis time. Yes, we go through a time warp every Sunday. During the drive there we either talk, study or sleep; sleep being the most common event and studying the wisest...

Upon arriving at the church, we visit with the congregation for a few minutes before heading off to class. Generally we attend the teen class but sometimes they need us to help in the children's classes. Soon, the AIM boys will begin taking turns leading class. After class is worship. At Clovis, we like to spread out and sit with random members of the church. Before the preacher begins the lesson, the 2-7 year olds are excused to children's service and each of us AIMers take turns helping out with that.

After service, we clean the building and change out of our dress clothes. For Lunch, the members of Clovis take turns sponsoring us in their homes so we get about an hour and a half relaxing. Then we whisk ourselves away to work.

Work each Sunday is different. One Sunday, we spent the first half of the after noon working at the Matthew 25 center (which is the churches Benevolence program) and then the rest of the after noon singing at a retirement center. Last Sunday we spent all five hours washing cars with the Youth Group. Sometimes, we have Devos with the Youth group and sometimes we just help members with any manual labour they need done. The church get's pretty creative thinking of things for us to do(like that time they found a black widow nest at a preschool...)

After all the work is done and we're about ready to collapse, we have supper with another sponsor. We love this time! Food and a place to sit!

Evening Services begin at 7pm. First, the congregation sings together and then they split for classes. We have to option of also attending the Spanish service that takes place at the same time as the regular evening service. After service, we stick around for a little while to make sure there's nothing to clean up and then we drive home. The drive home is really only two hours, but seems to take us three, especially since we cross timezones again(leave at 8 arrive at 11). On the drive home, we study, talk or sleep as before.

Fun fact: On the road to Clovis, we pass a far that has Zebras and Camels. We get excited everytime we see them!

Labour Day Week

We've been given Labour day off, so we spent the day at Shannon B's house. I'm rather convinced right now that Shannon's mother is God-sent. She let us take over her house for the entire day and she fed us! Most of the AIM class(and a few assistants) spent the day eating and swimming. Kris and Barb(have I mentioned them before? They're the directors of AIM) stopped by to check on us and so we got to hear some fun motorcycle stories.

The pool was the perfect temperature, so we spent most of our time in it. Since the pool was 12 feet deep at one end, some of the boys practiced their front and back flips and tried to teach some of us girls. I, apparently, am not a natural so I'll be practicing a little more... We also played King/Queen of the floating raft and had several splash skirmishes. A few of the boys decided at one point that they wanted to make human towers and started climbing on each other's shoulders. It was quite a sight to see, even if they never managed to get higher than three people. After that, they tried out some risky, new ways to jump into the pool(including linking arms and on each other's shoulders). About this time, the girls were quite sick of the daring dos and asked the boys to stop. Which resulted in the boys throwing volleyballs at each other...

We were served a large variety of fruits, vegetables, and chips through out the day; we were encouraged to eat lots since you can't gain weight from such things(Ok, maybe the chips...). Dinner came in two parts. First we were served Baked Ziti and then later we were given Tortilla Soup. For dessert, we had ice cream and fruit cobbler.

Tomorrow morning, we're leaving for a retreat up at Mountain View and we'll get back on Friday.

Wednesday

Hello everyone! I hope you're all doing well and that God has blessed you.

Today we received our Area Church assignments and my Wednesday Night class assignment. I get to be a regular attendee at 21st st Church of Christ of Clovis, NM. Wednesday, I've been chosen to assist in the kindergarten class! I'm excited for both.

For those who don't understand, let me explain. Each AIM student is assigned into a group to go to a nearby church(up to 2 hours away) every Sunday as our Area Church commonly (commonly abbreviated AC). Our job is to learn and work. Mostly we spend our time with the youth group, but we also clean the church and do what ever odd job the church thinks we should do. I'm with a group of five other students and 3 assistants. Every Sunday we'll get up early so we can leave at 7:50am to drive one hour to Clovis and arrive (magically) at 8 am for service. We'll then spend the day in Clovis working, playing, and being fed(usually) with the church members. Then we'll leave and arrive home about 11pm.

On Wednesday, we are each assigned to a class to help with. Some of the kids are assigned to the high school class, and some to College, and some of us are assigned to children classes. I think being assigned to kids classes is better than high school or college. In the kid's classes we get to work directly with the kids and help the teacher get through their lesson. But in the high school and college class, you just listen to the lesson and try not to answer to many questions.

Tonight for dinner, I made beef Stroganoff and baked potatoes. It was fantastic, and now I have two pre-made meals for the rest of the week. But since I used the last of my ground beef, I need to go shopping. Tonight I'm going to try Lowes, a local food store that is supposed to have good prices. And I have a gift card for them.

Take Care and keep God in your Hearts.

(PS. Go check out the new Prayer page!)

Canadian Summary

Please forgive me for not writing earlier this week. We ended up returning later than originally planned due to bus problems and then had lots of test to study for all week... I think that since this will be a regular problem I will apologies now, just once, in advance for all the time I must post belatedly.

The Canadian trip went splendidly and we had many adventures through out. The trip out went easily and many of us caught up on some of the sleep we had missed during the week, myself especially. Upon arriving at the church in Canadian, we were promptly fed a nice dinner of pizza, salad and girl scout cookies. While we were eating, the church members who had pledged room in their houses for us arrived and we were nicely grouped up and assigned hosts by the end of the meal. I got to stay with five other girls on a farm that had a nice house with carpeted bathrooms, two horses, two cows, and an energetic grandson. The had two guest rooms, so we had two girls in each room and then Angie on the couch and me on a blowup mattress. Mr. David, our host, let us ride on the trailer of his pickup on the way to to house and we took pictures and laughed the whole way. Upon arriving at the house we found they had such a nice backyard that we had to go outside and take lots of pictures(which resulted in a lot of laughter). We also played with our hosts' grandchild who had us laughing nonstop. I'd like to say that we went to bed early and got the best sleep of the year, but in truth we ended up staying up talking and laughing. We did a lot of laughing.

The next morning, after a nice breakfast from a local cafe provided by our host, we met back up with the rest of the AIMers for a mini-seminar given by the preacher from the church there. Then we were fed a fantastic lunch of hot dogs before being released for free time. They gave two options, we could go to one of the church-member's farm to play in their pool or we could go to town and visit the old fashioned drugstore for sodas and then walk down the historic 1 mile bridge to play in a shallow river on the other side. I choose to go to town and the river, which proved to be quite an adventure. The drug store was cute and antique-y and served good ice cream for a fair price. I got a Strawberry milkshake(my favorite) and helped Angel(our Mexican student) to order his own. A couple of the kids mentioned going down to the cities museum for a look-and-see and though I meant to go with them, I missed their departure and decided to stay at the drugstore. Kris Smith then drove us down to the bridge once he decided that the town people had had enough of our unexpected crowd. He dropped us off at the main side of the bridge and instructed us that the river was on the other side and that we'd better get walking for maximum play time. The bridge really felt looked and felt like a mile, though I don't know if it really was or not. It was originally built for wagons to cross when the stream was actually closer to a mile long, but the river had long since shrunk. Walking down the bridge was just like what you'd expect walking down a bridge would be like. Not terribly exciting. But through patients and perseverance, we managed to reach the other side where the river was located.

So they forgot to tell us how to get to the river after we reached the end of the of the bridge, but we figured it out. And we should have taken them seriously when they told us that the river was only a foot deep at most.... We did have a lot of fun, and I managed to find some clay in the sand including some little red coloured balls that we used as paint. Some of the kids that went to the museum arrived after a few minutes. It turns out they had all been worrying thier faces off because one of them, Trenton, assumed I was going to the museum with them and then got lost trying to follow them. They set themselves into a panic just because I didn't have a cell phone they could reach me at.

After playing in the river(ok, it was a stream) we walked back to the bus quickly to escape the rain storm. We were then driven to a near by lake for a barbecue with the church. But, of course, the rain followed us there and we had to eat inside. Fortunately after dinner, the sky cleared up and we got to play outside for a couple hours. This lake made me think of Eden with it's plethora of plants, some of which bore edible fruit.

The next morning was Sunday so we went to worship with the Church in Canadian. Afterwards we had lunch and then began driving back to Lubbock. Unfortunately, Ebenezer(the bus) only made it to Panhandle, TX. It managed to stop right in front of a liqueur store across the street from the only wrecker in town (but they didn't have anything strong enough to move us). Since we had to spend a few hours in Panhandle waiting for a new bus to come get us, they let us explore town. We all ended up at the Dairy Queen down the road where we met the father of the preacher from the local Church. So the church took care of us for the afternoon. (Coincidence or blessing? I think you know.) We had a good time and when the bus arrived, we all jumped in to head home.

The trip to Canadian took 4 hours, and the trip home took 10... Ah well...

Classes and a Road Trip!

We spend all Wednesday and Thursday in classes and working on the resulting homework. We're having quite a time trying to organize our binders for each class. There's lots to do and we've only been in each class once. But don't worry, we always find time to feed ourselves a good dinner. For instance, last night we had Rotisserie chicken, squash, and green beans. We even managed to go outside and sing for an hour or so.

Today, we get to go on our first trip to Canadian, TX. We are all very excited to go! The details of what we get to do are a little fuzzy still, but there will be a bible lesson form the preacher there and a barbecue with the church. Also, we get to stay with members of the church and be spoiled by them. From what we've heard, they sound like a very nice church and that just makes us more excited to go.

There is one problem to this great trip, we all have a ton of homework to do before Monday, so we'll be studying our backsides off the whole way. And we have to take Ebenezer, the church's old bus. He's not the most reliable bus around... So, keep praying for us all!

God speed, Dawna

First Sunday, First Chapel, First Rain Storm!

Since I talked about Saturday on Sunday, I must now talk about Sunday and Monday both today. Sunday was our first worship service with the Sunset church. First we had a nice bible class in the basket ball room(another room I don't know the real name for yet) and then we cleaned up the hall quickly to set it up for a banquet the next people to use the room were throwing. Having finished the setting up tables and chairs, we walked across campus for worship service in the main Auditorium. All of us AIM students were asked to sit in the first couple of rows, but spread out so when we stood to be presented to the church, it would be easier for the church to see us.

After service I was greeted by Dusty, who invited me over for dinner with him and his wife, Cheri. We've decided to get together in a couple of weeks when I have a free spot on my schedule. Sunday night was spent away from the rest of he congregation in what they call "Power House." There we hung out for a while before eating and playing the Name Game. After a great review on everyone's names, we sang together. Then we went home and went to bed.

This morning morning Grandma, Aunt Verna, and Uncle Marvin left to return for Canada. They were still rejoicing at the return of the AC. I didn't get to see them off as they left during Chapel. Today's Chapel was the first chapel of the 81st SIBI class. It was held in the Main Auditorium today,but from now on it will be held in the Flag Room. At the end of the Chapel service, we had a flag ceremony with the Great Commission read aloud in the language of each country as it's flag was presented.

After Chapel, we were instructed to go downstairs to the AIM Class room (the room we registered in.) We had two full class periods of Orientation today which included talking about why we were at AIM, what could keep us from reaching our goals, and a in depth look at the rules.

After class, we stepped outside to find the skies filled with clouds and by the time we reached our apartment, it was raining. My suit-mates and I found the rain exciting and we played in it for a while. We even went to visit some of our peers just as an excuse to walk through it.

Tonight we had Broccoli, cauliflower, and cheese soup with chicken for dinner. We invited Trenton over to share with us since the rest of his apartment was going out for dinner before they went to open gym. Afterwards, one of the girls that lives next door to us, Jessica Cope, invited us over for some sherbert and we ended up staying the evening there. We turned on the disco ball and the Christmas lights and then turned off the overheads. We had a great time and the apartment just got fuller and fuller with people till we were sure the fire marshal would have shut us down if he knew. Highlights included Rebekah dancing and watching the DVD player screen saver.

A Quick Post Before Bed.

Yes! We not only made it to Lubbock safely, but we all have internet now! We all seem pretty excited and I think a few of us might miss some sleep tonight...

My Grandmother, Alice Williams, drove me to AIM. Aunt Verna and Uncle Marv also drove with us. We stayed Friday night at a Super8 in Fort Sumner and then drove the last three hours in the morning. At the Hotel, I met a lady who had lived near Lubbock for some time. She advised me to get some boots because there would assuredly be snow in the Winter (I'm sure I'll regret this, but I'll say it any ways: Yay!) and that Lubbock was built in a grid pattern and would be easy to get around. Another guest of the hotel that I met was from Illinois and told me about a prairie dog preserve she and group(her husband, her sister and her sister's husband) and how she annoyed lizard by following it around a tree trying to get a picture of it. Also, the AC on the car quit right before Grandma picked me up, but thankfully it came back... 1 and a half hours from Lubbock. If you ever intend to drive from Arizona to Texas in the summer I suggest you ride in a car with reliable AC, otherwise your trip may be a little unpleasant.

Upon arriving in Lubbock we got a little lost, but I managed to remember the cross streets of the apartments and then get directions from one of the AIM Assistants. We then got to puzzle out how to go under the overpass and wind back up on 34th street(who designed this place!) When we finally made it to the Sunset building I was so nervous I brought the wrong papers in to registration and had to make an extra trip out to the car. Upon reaching the basement of the building, I immediately found myself passing my future suit mate, Sarah McCormick, in the hall way. I entered the room where we registered(I still don't know what this room is called yet, though I get the feeling I'll be spending a lot of time in there) and met Mr. and Mrs. Smith, the director and his wife/secretary. But before I could get registered Mr. Patrick Sheaffer, co-director, pulled me aside to go over some basic apartment rules with a couple other kids because he didn't to have to repeat them for each student. I then received my apartment key and registered.
The last two days have been spent getting to know my classmates and organizing the apartment that I share with the previously mention Sarah McCormick and my room mate Hannah Yeats. More to come, but I'm too tired now.

Godspeed.

Packing

I back in Arizona for the week until my Grandma Alice comes. There's lots to do- packing, getting papers together, finishing financial arrangements... Not to mention two of my brothers are in town and one brought his wife.

A Start

Hello! I intend this to be a blog to catalog my days as a missionary apprentice. I wanted to get a good start on this so I'm starting now.

In a week I'll be traveling back to Arizona for the last week of summer. There I will meet with the church there and pack the last of my things. From there I intend to drive to Lubbock. Because the trip is 14 hours I plan to leave on the 6th of August and stop somewhere for the night so that I can arrive in Lubbock in time for registration without having to wake up at 1am.

Now, I'm gonna go format the rest of this blog.