Our neighbors survey the damage done to their houses by the waves that overwhelmed them without warning 

More destruction caused by the waves that hit our neighborhood 

This is a picture of our Indian friends' house across the street from us; they lost most of their things in this wave and the second one that hit a little later. 

World-changing events...and I'm back in Texas

Hey ya'll! I made it safely back to Texas; it was a long trip back (I think I was on the road about 8 hours), but it was worth it. I had a really great time with my family in Georiga! We got to go down to the lake in Florida a few times (wasn't good fishing weather, tho), and I got to drive down there, too. It was good to spend Christmas with them; I got a few fun books and CDs and so forth. My aunt from Atlanta came to visit for a couple of days which was great, as well as my aunt and uncle who visited for several hours on Christmas day. And my Uncle Tony taught me to play X-box!

Christmas night was the first time I heard about the earthquake that hit off of Aceh, Indonesia. It wasn't until the next morning that I realized it had caused huge tsunamis that hit and caused destruction in over half a dozen countries as well. Since I know my family's house in Malaysia is near the ocean, I immediately went to call my parents to see if they were ok. They were, praise the Lord. A few waves did take out the wooden, tin-roofed houses across the street from us, including an Indian family we'd become good friends with. Thankfully, the largest wave only came up to the gate of our house. I talked with Mom, Dad, and Lins, and it was incredible just to hear their stories and experiences of the waves hitting and then dealing with the devastating aftermath. They are still helping people clean up their houses and trying to rebuild, as well as providing spiritual, emotional, and psychological support to those affected by the waves. And really, Malaysia wasn't even hit as hard as a lot of countries. Lindsay told her experience of seeing the second wave coming in: she said it was scary to see this huge wave coming towards them, with people on the beach running towards our house and screaming, "I don't want to die, I don't want to die!" It was a pretty poignant image.

I think later that day it really began to hit me how much devastation had been done. All the images I saw on television were of places and people that I had grown up among--and it was so hard to see all that. It also hit me that if Malaysia had been hit worse, I could've lost my family that day. I called Lance that night and just had to talk and cry about everything, shaking as the full effects of the day caught up with me...and I hadn't even been in direct contact with the devastation! Lance listened and encouraged, and he prayed with me for my family and all the people who had been affected by this. Please do pray for these people; the death toll is over 80,000 at this point, and it will continue to rise. Countless hundreds of thousands more people have lost family, friends, homes, possessions...everything. One friend who is going out to Malaysia to help with the crisis there wrote this in her e-mail as she got ready to leave: "I am praying that the shaking that has literally reshaped the islands will represent what God is doing in the heavenlies to bring His Kingdom to the peoples of the islands. Many times in the past there have been movements of God in the midst of great crisis. May that be the case now." That's what I am praying. Let's face it: we have a God who is mightier and more powerful than the earthquake that was the equivalent of 1 million atomic bombs, a God who is more far-reaching and over-whelming than tsunamis 50 feet tall travelling at 500 miles an hour that could wipe out lives and buildings in an instant, thousands of miles away from where they originated. That's the God that we serve. And he has the power and ability to impact these peoples' lives in an even greater way than this destruction; let's be a part of his movement and pray for those people who so desperately need our God. He alone can make their worlds whole.

Right now I'm listening to WOW 2005, and there is a beautiful, moving song by Avalon on there called "You Were There." Christina was actually the first one to introduce me to this song. I wanted to post part of the lyrics--I think it applies to these times, because in the midst of everything, the Lord was still there, and he was still the amazing, powerful God he's always been:

You were there, You were there
During history’s darkest hour
You were there, You were there always
You were the Victor and the King
You were the power in David's swing
You were the calm in Abraham
You are the God who understands
You are the strength when we have none
You are the living, Holy one
You were, You are and You will always be
the Risen Lamb of God

Anyways, I wanted to say thanks to so many of you who have called to check on how my family is. Your concern means so much, and I'm thankful to have friends who care like that.

I've kept up with my family the last few days in Georiga, and now I'm back in Texas. Lance took me out last night to eat at a really nice restaurant, and it was really great to see him again and spend time together. We exchanged Christmas presents, and he gave me a beautiful pearl ring, necklace, and earrings--they are beautiful!! Then, on my impulse, we caught an 11:00 movie. Today I've just been doing a few things for my grandmom, catching up on some e-mail, and listening to my new CDs. Just wanted to catch you up and give a little more detail about how my family's doing. Thanks again for your concern and prayers; they will continued to be needed in the weeks and months ahead. I can't help but thank God for the gift of my family, life, love, safety, and security...because all of those things, as we've found, can be stripped away in an instant. But we know that nothing can separate us from God's love for us, and I pray that he will show that to the thousands of people who are living in a nightmare right now. May God bless each of you with family, life, love, safety, and security; they are precious gifts; HIS love is a precious gift. And I am so thankful for those gifts.

Brief update

Merry Christmas

My GORGEOUS baby sis, Lindsay, and her date, James, at the Christmas banquet. When did my little sis get so beautiful or so grown up?! Sniff, sniff. 

Off to Georgia tomorrow

Hey friends! I am in the process of getting stuff together last minute and packing before my trip tomorrow. I'll probably need to leave here by 10:30 tomorrow morning, so I'm trying to get most stuff done tonight. Also, I am talking with my sister on the phone right now!! Yay! This is the first time I've talked with her in a while, so it's great. She's a sweetie! She just sent me some pictures of her at her Christmas banquet....and she's so gorgeous!

Sunday was a pretty good day; my cousin Jenny came through Saturday night and left Sunday, so I only got to see her briefly, but it was still nice. Today I ran several errands; I went to Mardels Christian bookstore to pick up Christmas presents for my family in Georgia (and I drove there all by myself, a 20-25 minute drive one way--yay me!) and I also picked up a refill of my prescription. I started laundry so I'd be ready to pack, and then we met my aunt, uncle, and cousins at a Mexican food restaurant for supper. After that we drove around for an hour or two looking at Christmas lights (we all began getting tired of it toward's the end cuz it was getting late, but the displays were still beautiful!).

Like I said, I'll be headed out tomorrow. I won't really have internet access while I'm in Georiga, so I won't be able to update my blog as regularly. However, I am able to post audio posts, which I'm going to try out. I can call from any phone and record a message that will be put up on my blog as a sound file you can listen to, so I will be able to keep in touch somewhat by that. I may also be able to get online sometime at the library to post something, so we'll see.

I hope all of you have a fantastic week heading into Christmas! May God bless each of you in such a very special way. My special love to my family and all my friends! Have a great week.

Me and Cowboy, the new dog in my extended family...he's a sweetie! 

I'm lovin' this break!

As much as I love school and as much as I love my college, I have to admit that I'm loving our days off. Yay for Christmas break! The worst part probably is that I don't get to see my friends. God has blessed me beyond what I could've asked for in the friends he's given me. I was reminded of that today when I got two cards from friends: one from Melissa, and one from Rachel G. Melissa, you mentioned checking my blog; so I just wanted to say thanks for keeping up with me! And thanks for your wonderful card; it was so sweet and made me miss you! Yes, I got it before I left, and I'm gonna write you back. :-) We really should try to hook up, call Christina, Kirstin, and whoever else is in the area. Yay for awesome friends!

The last several days have been a lot of fun. I went to the missions banquet at Lance's (and my old) church, and that was a really good experience. Having grown up on the missions field, I'm familiar with missions and everything, but God continues to hit me afresh with the importance of being his light in this world. I really was convicted, especially as I've been reading Amy Carmichael's biography, too. So it was a really great experience, and I'm glad I got to go; Lance and I had a really good talk afterwards about missions and so forth.

My time with Lance was great; I'm always so blessed by him. On Thursday, my friend Cassie had planned for us to watch The Return of the King extended DVD version that she'd just gotten, so we got to watch that with her. I was going to go back that evening, but then we weren't going to get to finish the whole movie (all 4 hours of it!), so Cassie suggested that I just stay another night. I decided to, so we watched part of the movie and then Lance and I went to find the Interlaken lights in Arlington (which is an extravagent neighborhood Christmas lights display that Lance has been wanting to take me to). We drove over, found the exit, found a sign that said to go straight ahead for the lights, drove straight ahead...and never found anything. We went back and tried over again, in case we'd missed a sign, but we never found anything. So that was a little disappointing, but it was fine. I ended up feeling really sick--I was having really sharp pain in my stomach--so I might not have enjoyed it much even if we'd found it. Lance took me back to his house and had me lie down for a bit; he also gave me some medicine that should help the pain. I guess it did, cuz I started to feel better. Then we went back over to Cassie's and got to finish the movie. (I just have to say how neat Cassie is--she's so much fun, and so unique. She always makes me laugh!)

I got to sleep late the next day, and then Lance and I just hung out. He and his sister were driving to Arkansas that day, and they were going to meet their mom to trade cars. Well, Lance's mom was working near my grandparents' house that day, so we just ended up meeting at my grandparents so they could drop me off and switch cars at the same time. So I said goodbye to them and won't see Lance for another week and a half to two weeks. But I'm excited about the time I'll get to spend with my family, both here and in Georiga. I called my grandmother in Georiga today to let her know when I was getting in, and it was good to talk with her.

Today's been pretty lazy; I slept late (making up for the previous late night due to movie-marathons at Cassie's) and then just did some random things. I cleaned up my room since my cousin, Jenny, is in town for tonight and will be staying in the same room. I also drove over to the Family Christian bookstore looking for a present for my grandparents in Georgia, but I didn't find it; I may have to order it. Anyways, that was exciting because it's only one of a handful of times I've actually driven somewhere by myself (!!). Kind of sad, since I'm 19, but hey. :-)

By the way, found out something super cool: C.S. Lewis' book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is going to be made into a movie!! I think the same people who helped out with the Lord of the Rings will be doing this one, too, creating all the creatures and so forth. It's also being filmed in New Zealand, like LOTR, so that's pretty spiffy. I found another blog that has news and updates on the making of the movie, so check it out if you're interested:
Click here for Narnia blog.

Anyways, I'm sitting at home by myself right now, half-watching the movie White Christmas on TV. G'dad and G'mom are off at an international students' Christmas party, my cousin Jenny is out at Wal-Mart, and Cowboy is the only one keeping me company. (Cowboy is Aunt Kay and Uncle Stan's new dog; they're gone for the weekend, so Cowboy's hanging out here.) I'll probably go finish my movie and then head for bed after Jenny gets home.

The Lord is so very good; I'm so thankful for all the blessings he has given me. I was talking with my mom the other night, just looking back at several difficult things that happened towards the beginning of the semester, and now just seeing how God has brought so much good out of all of it. He is so faithful, patient, and loving; would that I could ever pay him back with a devotion that is worthy of him! But thankfully, even though I can't, he always loves me and is always happy to help me grow. May Christ be glorified by each of our lives. God bles you.

Thy Love

This is the third time I have attempted to write this post; I kept writing it before and it's been lost each time. Perhaps I can get it right this time!

Today's been a good day; I helped take over my grandmother's nativity sets to the church. She has collected nativities from countries literally all over the world; we counted 35 today at the church, and those weren't even all of them. Tomorrow morning we'll go over at 8:00 to set those up, and the brunch starts at 10:00; it should be fun.

I also got to spend some time with my aunt, uncle, and cousins this evening, which was great. They have a new dog, which I'm loving! Also, this morning, I got to watch some old home videos my parents made when we first got to Indonesia--I was about 3 or 4 in them. It was amazing to watch them and realize they'd been made over 15 years ago! I saw my little sister, Lindsay, as the cute, adorable 1-year-old she was; and I saw my parents, young, new missionaries starting out on the road God is still mapping out for them today. It was really neat.

I made my plans for getting to Ft. Worth tomorrow after the brunch; I'll leave about 2:00, arrive at about 4:00, and then go to the missions banquet at 5:30. I'll bring a book to read on my trip over on DART. ;-)

Speaking of my book, I'm reading a biography about Amy Carmichael, one of my favorite missionaries and authors. I want to close with a couple of poems she's written that are very powerful:

Love that never faileth,
Love that all prevaileth--
Savior Christ, O hear me now
And give Thy love to me.

Round me souls are dying,
Deep in darkness lying;
Thou didst love them unto death;
O give Thy love to me.

Grant that I may reach them,
Grant that I may teach them,
Loving them as Thou dost love,
O give Thy love to me.

Love that ever burneth,
Love that ever yearneth--
Savior Christ, O hear me now
And give Thy love to me.
- Amy Carmichael -

It's the cry of my heart that I would learn to love and yearn for other's souls as Christ does. Imagine how much he loves us; now imagine how much we would do if we loved even a tenth as he loves. May God grant us a glimpse of his heart, a piece of his love, that we may touch, love, and reach out to save a dying world as Christ did. O Lord, I pray, "give Thy love to me."

Love of God, eternal love,
Shed thy love through me.
Nothing less than Calvary's love
Would I ask of Thee.
Fill me, flood me, overflow me,
Love of God, eternal love
Shed Thy love through me.
- Amy Carmichael -

Gotta love lazy days

Just thought I'd drop by for a brief post. Today's been a wonderful, relaxing, do-nothing day. I woke up at 10:00, stayed in bed till 11:00, then read my Bible and another book in bed until noon, at which time I finally got up to take a shower and have lunch. I did a couple of things for my grandmother, but other than that, I got to sit and watch a couple of hours of TV. I can't remember the last time I sat down by myself to mindlessly watch whatever happened to be on TV that I wanted to see--how delightful! I don't intend to make that a habit, because after a while the mindlessness gets to me. But every now and then it's rather nice.

This evening we went out to eat at Luby's Cafeteria, which was fun. I love getting to sit, eat, visit, and talk with my grandparents. Tomorrow I'll probably try to sort out everything I've packed, and in the afternoon I'm supposed to help my grandmother move some things over to the church for her ESL class party/brunch/something-or-other that she's doing on Wednesday morning. Then tomorrow night I'll probably get to go visit and have supper with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. Wednesday morning, I'll help set up for and attend the afore-mentioned party/brunch/something-or-other, and then I'll probably help clean up after it. I may go to Ft. Worth on Wednesday night for a missions banquet at Lance's (and my old) church. I'll probably spend part of Thursday with Lance since it will be our last time to see each other until after Christmas, when I get back from Georgia (which will be around the 28th).

So those are my upcoming and oh-so-exciting plans for the near future. I may stop by again in a day or so to put up another note, but until then, I pray God's Spirit will invade your hearts and lives, show you anew how much he loves you, and then teach you afresh the role he has for you to play in his kingdom--it's probably bigger and more exciting than you could ever imagine! May he teach us all to learn to love him more and better and to surrender to his work in our lives as he molds us to be all that he made us for. Let us not compromise on even the small things; let us live in Christ with all the purity and faithfulness God calls us to, by his grace. Love, grace, and peace to each of you during this Christmas season.

School's out!

Hey friends; well, finals are over, and I am officially done with this semester of school! It's a grand feeling. Despite being sick over finals time, I think they all went well. I started feeling better on Wednesday. Lance came to visit Tuesday, and it was great (as always) having him around. Thursday was fun because we got to hang out with Christina, Melissa, and a couple of other s. We went carrolling with Chorale that night which was pretty fun. Lance and I drove back (well, Lance did all the driving) that night. I got to spend Friday and Saturday with him and his family (we celebrated his niece's 16th birthday--I can't believe she's already 16), and then today I got to come to stay with my grandparents. It's great to see them! There's nothing like family.

Speaking of family, I just wanted to send out all my love to my family in Malaysia. It's a little sad to realize I won't be with them for this Christmas. I got kind of teary-eyed about it the other night when I was with Lance, just seeing all the Christmas things out and thinking about my family. Mom, Dad, and Lins...I love and miss you guys! I'm so blessed that God gave you to me as my family.

God really is good. I think about my family, all my friends, and each one is so special and such a blessing in their own way. My love to all of you!

May each of you have a very blessed Christmas season.

2 Down, 2 To Go

Finals week...the joy of every college student. Fortunately, I'm about half-way through mine! I had my Speech final last night and my English final this morning, both of which went pretty well. I just have one tomorrow at 1:00 and one on Thursday at the same time. I've been studying a good bit in advance for those, though, so I feel pretty well prepared.

The only bad part is I'm kinda sick. I woke up with a sore throat on Friday, and I thought, "Oh, man, you've got to be kidding me...right before finals??" So I actually went and bought medicine (and those in my family will know that I rarely go to such extreme measures) as well as orange juice, which I have been guzzling non-stop. I think it's a little better now, which is good. The sore throat is just scratchy now, my noise isn't as stuff, and I only cough now and then. Mostly I'm tired, I think because my body's been fighting off whatever I had. I will say that trying to study for finals when you don't feel well isn't very fun. Neither is taking finals while you're sick. But God's been good and kept me well enough so that I haven't had to miss them altogether! I'll continue to take care of myself, though!

Oh, and on a side note, I got to go see Christina in our church's Christmas musical...and it was superb! Christina looked absolutely gorgeous! The whole thing was wonderful, and Christina did a great job. Yay Christina-banana! (Don't ask why I started calling her that...neither of us know for sure) And Kirstin got back in time from Nick's 21st birthday to sit with me, so that was marvelous.

That's an overview of life for now. Wish me luck on my last two finals! (Actually, prayer would be appreciated, too, and would probably be more effective)

PS--I'd also like to say that I got a really sweet e-mail from Dad a few days ago, and then a voicemail from Mom last night, and then a wonderful letter from my little sis this morning! Mom, Dad, Lins--I love and miss you guys very much!!

Fun Times and Finals Time

Yay! I would just like to say thanks to my wonderful, gorgeous friend Christina for putting such a lovely comment in reply to my post below! Comments like that (and comments in general) make all this blogging so worth it. So yes, if you have time and feel like it, I would encourage you to all emulate Christina's example...cuz it makes my day! (Hint, hint!! *wink*)

Life has been interesting lately...especially one certain Thursday night! Kirstin and Christina (those wonderful girls!) came into my room the other night, originally for some venting time for Kirstin about certain issues. Well...ahem...yes, we ended up taking dozens of crazy pictures with my digital camera, and then making some even crazier videos! It was hilarious; I'm surprised my neighbors weren't complaining about the noise, since we were all laughing so hard! If you're (very) lucky, I might put up some of those (less embarassing) pictures... *grin*

So I got to sleep a lot later that night, and I woke up with a sore throat (drat!). And, of course, of all days, that was the day we were to be singing with choir for a retirement home. I managed, and my throat felt a little better as the day went along. I rode to the retirement center with LaShay, Melissa, and another friend of ours named Kristen; we had fun jamming out and "warming up our vocal chords" to Reliant K's Christmas album (which I discovered was titled "Deck the Halls, Bruise Your Hand"). The mini-concert went well, and all the older people enjoyed it--they were so cute! So many of them came up to hug us and thank us for coming.

So that was exciting. Then I went back to my room and got my books together to go to the library to study. Well...didn't happen. I got there and went to "briefly" visit Christina in the history center...but I didn't end up leaving. We started going through all these old pictures of our school, and lo and behold, we found a picture of my grandparents and my uncle in there! (My uncle was just a little boy at the time) So Christina's boss scanned it and sent it to me, which was exciting. Then I got to watch this video from 1987 of an interview with my grandmother, since she grew up in this town, her father (my great-grandfather) taught here for a long time, and she also attended college here. It was very intersting to see, too. So between that and talking with Christina, very little of my studying was accomplished.

Then we got to go out to eat with Rachel, Melissa, LaShay, Ashley, and Kelsey at our favorite place, Chicken Express! It was so exciting; I hadn't eaten there in a while. We had fun, although my energy level began winding down. Christina and I drove back to the dorms, talked for a while (I love that girl!), and then each went to do our own studying. I studied for an hour or hour-and-a-half, and then I got to talk with Lance for a while. He somehow managed to talk me into sending him a few of the crazy pictures I took with Christina and Kirstin the other night, and he enjoyed those immensely.

So today, I woke up and my throat's still sore; but I think I'll try to go to the store and get some sore-throat-fighting ingredients (i.e. orange juice, soup, maybe even medicine). I don't want to be sick over finals time! Which, by the way, begins day after tomorrow. I'm very excited to get them over with, although I'm starting to get a little nervous about them. But I remind myself, they're just like any other test; I only need to study well for them. So I'll be spending a good part of today doing that.

Well, I guess that's about it for the time being! I hope all of you have wonderful weekend; and even if you aren't studying for finals (and even if you are), I hope you have many fun times coming your way! God bless you richly--and may he teach us all to bless Him richly, too.

CNN.com - Philippines: 1,000 dead or missing - Dec 3, 2004

Click here for story

I just found out about this today. Amazing; 1,000 of our fellow human beings have died or gone missing in the last several days, and most of us have lived oblivious to it. Let's lift up our prayers for these people.

Psalm 63

The Lord led me to this psalm the other day and used it to bless my heart. It shows how God alone can truly satisfy...and He alone can satisfy beyond our wildest dreams. He alone is faithful; His love alone is better than life itself; He alone is worthy of praise. And I think it's interesting that David wrote this while in the wilderness. What is your wilderness today? Will you let God refresh you with his glory?

O God, you are my God;
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
where there is no water.

I have seen you in your sanctuary
and gazed upon your power and glory.
Your unfailing love is better to me than life itself;
how I praise you!
I will honor you as long as I live,
lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
You satisfy me more than the richest of foods.
I will praise you with songs of joy.

I lie awake thinking of you,
meditating on you through the night.
I think of how much you have helped me;
I sing for joy in the shadow of your protecting wings.
I follow close behind you;
your strong right hand holds me securely.

...the king will rejoice in God.
All who trust in him will praise him...

-Psalm 63: 1-8, 11a

Days go by

I can't believe it's already Decemeber. What happened to this whole semester? I'm not sure I know.

Well, I only have three more classes for the rest of the semester, and then I'm done! One class today and two tomorrow. Amazing. This week's gone well. Monday night, I found out I made a 95% on my speech on kidney donors, which shocked me because I hadn't felt as prepared for it. (Is the lesson I should learn that I should practice my speeches less and I'll get a better grade on them?) Then Monday night, Christina and I went on a secret mission (dun da-dun!) to Wal-Mart: to find pins to pin up my WAY too long choir dress. I just had found out I'd have to wear my concert dress when our chorale sang for chapel, and I needed to find a way to make my dress shorter fast. Well, we tried pins, but they showed...so yes, ladies and gentlemen, Christina patiently SCOTCH-TAPED my dress up! And it actually held! The things we do...

The chapel service went well, and then I went to the rest of my classes. I actually got to do a couple of hours of homework last night as well as begin studying for my exams. I talked with Lance briefly and then my parents; we had some details we needed to work out about a trip to Georiga. Fortunately it all worked out and I'll be able to go for about a week and be there for Christmas.

Today I talked with financial aid and got my scholarships worked out. Soon I'll go eat lunch with all my girl friends and then computer class; I'll also get to babysit today again! I haven't seen Graham and Bethany in a bit. This may be the last time, depending on whether or not I'll babysit for them next Wednesday for finals. Anyways.

I hope each of you has a blessed day! May the Lord's spirit invade your lives today.