Graduated & Home for the Holidays

WOW!! It has been a while since I last wrote. I had everything about caught up and ready to post when somehow (still not sure how) I lost the entire post and am now having to start all over. Well hopefully the second try will end in a better blog update.

So, yes, I am now officially graduated as an officer of the United States Coast Guard. I can officially ask for military discounts with a card to back me up...grin...don't ask! I have to say that the last 17 weeks has been quite an adventure that is only the start of an even greater adventure. I will start with saying that since graduation I have been processing all the input from the past 17 weeks. While in OCS, we get a lot of information, work, stress, etc...with really no time to process it. Some of it soaks in, some of it we lose, and still more of it is still waiting for my brain to process and store. Smile... I realize that's putting it all in almost computerized terms, but it's the truth of the matter.. There have been moments since graduation of wondering what in the world I'm doing, what in the world did I just finish doing, and just feeling completely lost. Those moments don't last for long, as the Lord is a constant reassurance in my life. Before delving into the story of the last few weeks, I will say that I still know that I'm in the will of the Lord for my life and am continually seeing His amazing blessings in my life as He opens doors and closes others. PTL!!! I really appreciate all your prayers over the last several months, as well as encouraging letters and packages while I was in OCS. You are all a blessing to me. Now for the story...
I understand that I may have left some people hanging in regard to my future immediately following OCS, so I would like to quickly clear that up before sharing the details of the graduation. I believe that I mentioned the fact that I was told that I was medically disqualified from flying for the USCG. Well, I have been told by numerous individuals in the CG not to take "no" for an answer, but to keep trying for what I want. One individual went so far as to tell me that I might even have to "stand on their desks until you get it." Smile... Well, I didn't go that far but here's the rest of the story. One day not long after hearing that I was disqualified for flight school, I had just completed my 2nd swim test and was talking with one of the instructing officers at OCS. He was one that was in charge of my particular group and therefore kept tabs on myself and 30 others. My conversation with him consisted of him inadvertantly encouraging me to do whatever I had to in order to have the medical record corrected so that I would be able to get into flight school in the future. He informed me he couldn't tell me how or what to do and wasn't even telling me to do anything....but....and that's what got me on the ball. A short time later, I marched myself from the gym to the medical clinic and requested a re-measurement of my arms since I had been informed that my arms were too short. Upon being re-measured a couple of times that day, it was discovered that there was a 2 inch discrepancy and I was indeed qualified to be a CG aviator. With this discovery, they proceeded to redo all of my measurements that day to confirm that no discrepancy had been made in any of the others previously taken. The assistants in the medical clinic wrote all this information on the appropriate form, which I had them sign and date. They then faxed it to the appropriate physician in Florida who is over the aviation department. I took the original and with the help of a good friend I drew of up a letter requesting the re-evaluation of my previous application. Before the end of the day, I had that letter, the new measurements, and the old application letter in a folder on my officer's desk to be read first thing the next morning. By 11am the next day I was called into yet another office where I had originally received the news of disqualification. This officer had already been in contact with Headquarters and medical and wanted to know what was going on. He told me he would do what he could, but it was just a matter of waiting. The least that would happen is my record would be cleared for future re-application to flight school, but the chance was fairly good that I would be sent to flight school as originally planned before the measurement error was discovered. To make a long story shorter, I was called into the Commanding Officer's (CO) officer 3 weeks later. The CO along with 3 other officers informed me that he had bad news, "I need your hat back.....because...I have a new hat for you." Grin... In the CG-OCS they give us ball caps with the name of the station that we will be going to on the front of it. So, my previous ballcap said I was headed to South Carolina to a ship, but the new said I was headed to flight school. I had been officially accepted into the USCG Flight School in Pensacola, FL!!! The CO proceeded to apologize to me on behalf of the entire USCG for the mistake, which I was a little overwhelmed by, and then all congratulated me. You can all imagine that I had a grin on my face from ear to ear and there was no hiding the pleasure and excitement of knowing I was now headed to where I belonged. That same day, the detailer (an individual who is responsible for all the transfers, postings, etc for a particular department of the USCG) for aviation came from Headquarters and requested to speak with me. During this time she also profusely apologized for the mess-up followed by her expectations of my future success. WOW!! Talk about blown away. God has some amazing ways of getting me where He wants me. Smile... so, now I am headed to flight school with many important people watching my progress from headquarters, OCS, etc... So, PLEASE KEEP PRAYING FOR ME!! Grin... I'll continue to need your prayers now as much as ever. Flight school will be one of the most challenging things yet I believe. I am very excited and more than a little nervous as I step out into yet another of life's adventures. The Lord is amazing and I know He is with me and I am going with Him wherever He leads.

So that catches you up on that story...there's more I could add there, but I'll save it for later where it fits into the story timeline...

Dec.1st:

Back from Thanskgiving Break, we pretty much only had 3 days before graduation. We spent those days in Drill practice, graduation practice, packing, and lots of last minute details to make sure each of us was ready to leave on the 3rd of December and head to our new homes. Drill practice pretty much consisted of either standing or marching around with 9 1/2lb rifles. Not my favorite thing in the world, but when you are with my group we do our best to make everything interesting. Smile... This day we had the full competition rehearsal for our final drill competition which was to be followed by an awards ceremony. Standing for over an hour was a challenge as I hadn't been feeling the greatest over the last few weeks, and came the closest to passing out that I had ever come in my entire life. I have never had my vision begin to go white while at the same time feeling weak all over and nauseous. I was more than a little worried because the next day was the actual competition and ceremony where we would perform in front of an audience of friends and family. Tomorrow would be longer than even our practice because they would actually hand out all the awards and read the citations that went with each. So with much prayer for the following day, the day progressed. Monday was a success and upon finishing up with all the day's activities, a group of us decided that going out for dinner sounded like a grand idea. Turns out, class that I was a part of consisted of 84 (originally 95) students that had been divided into 3 groups. My group was called the "party platoon" and was a rather tight-knit, fun group. So, before the night was over quite a few from my group had at least dropped in to the restaurant to say hi or whatever and introduce their wife or significant others. So it was a nice last dinner together before all the graduation stuff began and families arrived in mass.
Dec.2nd:

Began with practicing out in the cold for an hour or so. The weather was beautiful for the few days leading up to and including graduation day, but they were COLD...like 30 degrees cold. Smile...so standing outside for long periods of time was "COLD"! Smile... Anyway, at 10AM the competition began. I sang to myself to keep me entertained and keep my mind busy as I watched the goings on while I stood alternately at the position of attention or at a resting position with my rifle leaned out in front of me. Praise the Lord...I did not pass out nor come close to passing out. Honestly, that was an answer to prayer because the last thing I wanted to do was pass out. Immediately following the competition I was given about an hour to see my parents who had driven all the way from MO to be present at my graduation. It was great to see them after 4 months. I am honored to have parents who are so supportive of what I am doing. I'm not sure what I'd do without their support. The rest of the afternoon involved a final graduation practice and a few more final details before the evening's formal dinner & dance.

At about 5:40pm I met my parents and we proceeded to the Marriott hotel where a very formal dinner and dance were held in honor of those graduating. It was quite lovely and I enjoyed introducing my wonderful parents to various friends, acquaintances, officers, etc... I felt a bit out of my element strangely enough in that formal military ball. Normally, I have gone to formal events dressed in a formal dress and feeling like a girl...that wasn't the case this night when I was required to wear uniform. Other than not being able to dress up for the occasion, I am still learning the military life and didn't want to do something wrong... Though I have been through 17 weeks of training, there is still much for me to learn. At one point in the evening, I turned from where my parents were visiting with someone to have another gentleman begin conversing with me. He wanted to know about where I was from and going, etc...just carrying on conversation. I knew he was someone of importance but failed to realize who until he finally introduced himself by his first and last name...then I realized that I was speaking with the guest of honor, Admiral Neffenger. Grin...like I said, I'm still learning since I should have known immediately that he was an Admiral. I thankfully didn't do or say anything that could incriminate me but had a nice conversation. Grin... Even introduced my parents who had soon ended their conversation and joined mine. Smile... The evening ended well with us learning some dance moves from foreign students hailing from Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago. Good times...

Dec. 3rd:

A little sleep later, I woke up to graduation day. How exciting!! The morning began with an Honors Ceremony for the Guest of Honor. Since he was a newly appointed Admiral, this was his first Honors ceremony in which case he was presented with his own flag and a bullet shell (not sure of the significance of the bullet shell...sure one of you guys could fill me in...grin). The honors ceremony consisted of an 11 gunshot salute, a couple songs played by the Navy band (CG band was out of country for the week), and various other small elements. It's a rather short ceremony, but since it was held outdoors at 9:15AM, our hands were frozen into tight fists at our sides. Smile...

Immediately upon conclusion of this ceremony, we marched back to the barracks to change a few things on our uniforms for the graduation ceremony. We had to change jackets and a few insignia to signify our being officers upon completion of the ceremony. Never will we again wear the previous uniforms and insignia unless we are in some skit or something. While we were completing this quick change of uniform and reforming up into marching order, the family and friends were being shown a 20 minute video giving an overview of the last 17 weeks of our lives. A couple of the students were assigned the job of video taping our various events and compiling a class video. They did an excellent job and each of us now have a copy to remember our life at OCS. Smile... Finally, all dressed out and ready to go, we marched down to the graduation hall where we met our friends and family and enjoyed a nice reception before the graduation. A little strange maybe, but the graduation was scheduled through lunch, so it was excellent for tiding our appetites through the afternoon. The graduation proceeded without a hitch and I was soon walking across the stage to receive my commission as an officer of the United States Coast Guard. Woohoo!! I walked and I got it!! It is still amazing to think about it. I can hardly believe it sometimes. WoW!!

Immediately following graduation I hurried back to the barracks to load my stuff into Mom and Dad's car, then they left for the hotel while I had to stick around and do some more cleaning in the barracks. Each of us was assigned an area of the barracks in addition to our individual rooms that we had to have cleaned before we were allowed to leave for good. It was fun times cleaning up, seeing everyone and their families, and then finally getting out of there. I took my parents to visit the ship that I had sailed on in the Carribean for two weeks. I got to give them the tour inside and out giving them a peak into my life and experiences on the ship. Good times. Enjoying an early dinner and running into quite a few friends, I was exhausted upon reaching the hotel and asleep by 8:15pm. Smile...
Dec 4th:

On the road to Maine to visit family, we spent the next 3 days in Brunswick, ME enjoying the little towns, the coast, and visiting a lighthouse. It was a relaxing time. I've wanted to go to Maine for quite some time and was quite excited to have the opportunity this time. It is beautiful there. From Maine, we drove 28 hours over 2 1/2 days back to the MO, through at least 9 states. I have decided that Pennsylvania was one of my favorite going through the mountains, even the snow that we ran into. It was good to get home though and I have spent my time here sleeping, trying to keep in shape (that can be a challenge around Christmas time), and going through all my stuff packing and repacking in preparation for moving to Florida the first of January.
Life goes on:

The Lord has continued to provide my needs and bless me amazingly. Since I sold my vehicle before leaving for OCS, I have been looking for one to carry all my stuff to Florida. The Lord provided exactly what I was wanting and looking for. I am getting a 2003 4-door black Toyota Tacoma!! PTL!!! In addition to that, my Mother has been amazing helping me find things necessary to set up house down in FL. I'm VERY excited to be moving to FL to my own place for the first time in my life. It will be nice to be alone a bit and have some peace and quiet after 17 weeks in a community living arrangement surrounded by people 24/7. So, that pretty much gets you all up to date. Sure there are more details here and there, but many of those are in the forms of stories that make up each day of my life. Life is an adventure and lately it was compared to a novel. Please feel free to write me a comment on this blog or shoot me an email if I forget to complete a story and leave the "novel" hanging mid-story for too long. Either way I will check my email and get notification of a need to update. Thank you all once again for all your prayer support, letters, packages, and friendship. It is a blessing to know that people are praying for me. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and I know that this next phase of life, flight school, is going to be a challenge. Merry Christmas to you all and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

GRADUATING!!!

I'M GRADUATING!!! FINALLY!!!

Yes, as you can gather from that short little statement, I am pretty excited, amazed, and a little shocked that I'm graduating as an officer of the United States Coast Guard. Sometimes the thought actually hits me and I can hardly believe it. Definitely not where I would have saw myself a few years ago, but God has a plan. I've been asking Him recently to reveal His vision for my time in the Coast Guard. I want a vision for what He is doing and maybe even how I fit into that plan. I want to be a part of His work. I will say that this has been a challenging 17 weeks. The biggest challenge has been spiritually I think. I have had very little time to myself before Thanksgiving Break (which I'll mention more about later)... I can see how the Lord has given me grace for it, but having very little alone time with the Lord has been a challenge. I really appreciate all your prayers that have held me before the Lord through all of this. He has been my steadfast rock and strength. PTL!!!

So, just a little catch up. About two and a half weeks ago I actually got my first weekend of complete liberty. I was free to leave the barracks coming and going at will for two whole days. It was HUGE! The first weekend I was blessed to be able to borrow a gal's car who wasn't allowed to leave. I took off to Starbuck's for a few hours of me time. It was such a blessing to sit and sip a coffee, read my Bible, and reflect on the past weeks. I ended up spending much of that weekend and the next hanging out with one friend or another from the barracks, but I did manage to get a little me time both weekends. PTL!!! Those two weekends were probably the most challenging for me interestingly enough. Being without my own car here and wanting out of the barracks, I often found myself the designated driver for the evening... It was eye-opening and a good chance to see why I don't want that lifestyle. Having been holed up here for so long, I was just glad to be out and having fun, which was an attitude that set me up for doing just about anything. Needless to say, God's grace is sufficient for me and I've learned and am still learning lots. I'm looking forward to seeing what the Lord has for the future. I have a feeling that this is a training time for me, a time to put faith into practice, live what I believe in a less than accommodating environment, and follow Christ! I covet your continued prayers as I am now graduating and headed into more challenges and adventures.!

So, Thanksgiving Break.... this 4 day break has been a huge blessing. Weekend liberty was nice, but never very restful for recouperating. I was blessed to have a college buddy living in Boston area going to Seminary. So I made plans to spend Thanksgiving Break with him and his friends in Boston. It was 3 days of relaxation, exploring the small towns and cities of the east coast, and catching up with myself. We were blessed to be invited to a Thanksgiving dinner with a family who had one other student coming over. The lady, from Sweden, was an excellent cook. Couldn't have done too much better if I'd been at home. The family was extremely hospitable making for a very relaxed Thanksgiving Day tossing a football. playing ping pong, playing games, and watching a movie. Definitely what I needed. PTL!!! Returned to New London on Saturday evening in time for Sunday duty.

So, graduation is Wednesday, Dec 3rd! I'm very excited. The rest of this week will be spent in graduation practice and preparation. My parents are honoring me with their presence at my graduation! This is a huge blessing to me, that I don't even know if they fully realize. I'm excited because they get to cross-country it all the way up here taking their time and enjoying themselves. They will be here in time for a dinner & dance on Tuesday evening before the graduation ceremony on Wednesday morning. From there, we will be going to Maine to spend a few days with family up there before heading home. I will be in the Springfield area for most of 3 weeks before making my way to Pensacola, FL!!

Pensacola, FL!!!! Yes, I'm going to Flight school due to a miraculous, amazing work of God. I'm VERY excited!! It feels great to be headed somewhere for a longer time than 6 months. I will be in the Pensacola area for around 18 months. It will be tough and challenging, but I'm praying for the Lord's strength and help through it. I don't believe He will put me in something without giving me the tools to perform. I'm asking the Lord for a good group of believers there to fellowship with as well as a Christian mentor in the Coast Guard. You all are welcome to join me in praying for this.

Well, I believe that about catches you up with what I'm doing! Life is exciting, busy, and an adventure! PTL!!! Thank you all for staying up with what is going on in my life these days. I'd love to hear what you all are up to. Please feel free to contact me by email, cell phone, or mail. I don't have my new address to Pensacola yet for sure, but will try to get you all up to date when I do.

God bless!!

Life in the COAST GUARD

Life in the CG is quite interesting. I am now about 4 weeks from graduation and you can only imagine how I feel about this. Pretty excited... The Lord has definitely used this time to teach me plenty. This hasn't been a time of spending lots of time with the Lord each day like when I was in Spain... It has actually been quite the opposite, in that sitting down to read my Bible is a rare treat. But, the Lord blessed me with that time in Spain and now is gracing me for this season in my life where my time with Him is throughout my day. I have recently been blessed with the privilege of using my Ipod during morning workouts (5:10-6:10 AM). The worship music has been a HUGE blessing, very encouraging. Anyway...

Most recent on the excitement list would incldue fire fighting training & wet training (both at a nearby Naval Base), finding out where we'll be stationed (details on that to come), and my being put into a leading position as leader of 1/3 the class (30 others besides myself). The firefighting training was more of a fight against sleep than fire, but was a chance to get off base and hang out with some of my crew. The wet training is tomorrow and, from those in other groups have already done it, I hear it is fun.

Yes, I did find out tentatively where I will be headed after graduation, but one again the Lord seems to be testing my trust in Him and faith. I was told two days before officially finding out where I was to be stationed, that I was disqualified for flight school because my arms were too short. I was stunned, but after some time praying began to know peace in whatever came of this. That same day I was given 4 new options for where I might like to go upon graduation. The night of recieving our new job stations, I got my first pick from my second request list. I was stationed on CGC Gallatin out of Charleston, SC. I was fine with this and tried to reconcile myself to this planning to re-apply to flight school in the future. This was not God's plan though. After speaking with family and sharing the news, hearing others speak of their new stations, and then the next day speaking with my platoon officer, I began to sense that this wasn't what God wanted and that I had simply given up. So, with a prayer on my lips, I headed back to the medical clinic on base and requested a re-measurement. Throughout this time I was praying for back up prayer (which I later learned that at nearly that same time my beloved mother began praying and continued throughout the day). I recieved the results of the re-measurement finding that there was a HUGE discrepancy in my measurements and I was very qualified to fly for the CG. So, with this new information in paper form with signatures by the medics, I worked with a friend to write a letter to get my application for flight school re-evaluated. By that night, I had a folder of paperwork on my platoon officer's desk requesting re-evaluation of my application for flight school. Though my joy and peace were never lost, I knew a sense of right with this new turn of events. The following day I was called into another office and asked to once again get re-measured. This would be the 4th time I had been to medical to me mearsured. Smile... It's been a fight to get into flight school, this is only one of a few things that have tried to get in my way. Each time though, the Lord doesn't allow me to give up but at the last moment or even after the fact, He opens the door wide and I walk on toward flight school. Anyway, after this re-measurement I returned to speak with one of my officers and was told that this information had already been forwarded to the appropriate officials and conversations had already been taking place over the phone to get this straightened out. As of right now, I am still waiting for the final word. Though it is a challenge to wait, I am confident that God is in control. It has been interesting and exciting to continually watch the Lord open doors and show Himself in my life. Continuing to pray that He will glorify Himself through this situation, making the seemingly impossible happen. PTL!!! Would appreciate your continued prayers as the Lord continues to work in my life, open doors, and glorify Himself. Let the Lord's will be done and all barriers be broken and thrown out of the way!! Woohoo!!

So, the 4th thing I mentioned that is rather exciting is the fact that I am currently the leader of my platoon. I report daily to my platoon officer with matters of discipline, morale, daily schedule, and anything pertinent to my platoon. I am to be the platoon's liaison between them and the Platoon Officer. It is fun, though at times challenging. I am rather enjoying it. Today is a big day for us though. We had drill competition tonight, which is a bit intimidating to me as I am responsible for lead them through the routine making all the appropriate commands at the appropriate times. Hoping and praying I can do well. Practice for this event has been going well, so I'm sure all will be fine!! Woohoo!! Beyond that, I am blessed with having one of the most fun-filled, unified platoons here at OCS. They work well together, stand up for each other, and look out for each other's welfare. I am blessed to be working with a good, humorous group. PTL!!!

Well, I'll try to load some more pics on here.. God bless you all and THANK YOU for your prayers and letters. It is always very encouraging and a blessing!!

Learning some and having a blast (most of the time)...

Hey guys, just some update pics... I'm doing well and learning and slowly beginning to fit into the military world I think... grin... guess that's still to be determined. I do find out Oct 22nd where I will be going to work upon graduation. Hoping that will be flight school, but only the Lord knows that and I'm resting in Him for whatever His will is. I Graduate Dec 3rd, which will be here before I know it.. It can't come too soon right now.. Grin.. I don't have time to write much or won't be able to put pics on. God bless you all and thank you for your letters and prayers..

"What an adventure!!"

16 days afloat

Hey Everyone,

We are afloat!!! We spent the whole first day floating through the Panama Canal. Going through the locks was like a water elevator. You go in one gate, it shuts behind and the lock fills with water, then the second gate opens. The canal was lovely bordered by the Rain Forest or jungle, with alligators and other wild animals to be seen. There were beautiful little islands along the way with an occasional grass hut. It was picture perfect. Believe me, I took pictures. Part way through it started to rain, I grabbed my rain jacket and relieved someone of the watch duties, standing with five others at the large steering wheels in pouring rain. Eventually I was soaked through to my toes. I stayed to help in various capacities on the bridge (where navigation, steering, piloting takes place) for the rest of the afternoon. My fingers were prunes and finally, cold to the bone, I went below to my berthing area to change and try to mop out my shoes. A few nights on the AC and they’re finally dry. What a breaking-in experience.

I am currently sitting on a 295ft sail ship in the mess deck (cafeteria). I am so glad that I haven’t been sick even once. There has been lots of cussing, trashy movies every night (which thankfully we have not been required to watch), dirty conversations and tired, grouchy people, etc…so, it has been a challenge being on board with about two hundred people going on like this. I’ve become known as "smiles" because I go around smiling and chipper most all the time. I am enjoying myself, though I must admit, I think I am just trying to overcompensate for everyone else’s lack of enthusiasm. Ahhh We are expected to be careful with how buddy friendly we are with the enlisted crew. As officers in training, we could very well be their bosses in the near future.

We actually have quite a bit of free time. I have lots of studying to do but we are also encouraged to climb up and around the sail masts and rigging. I climbed out on the bowsprit (point on the front of the boat) and just laid in the hammock-like rigging there. I got some good pics and had a relaxing time. It has become my favorite spot so far!!

I have been praying about being a Christ-like example, being available for His use. Since then, I’ve gotten several opportunities to share with people who have asked me what I believe. There are a couple other male believers on board.. Please pray that I will find a women mentor who walks with God, with whom I can seek council and understanding from.

All this week, we are doing fire-fighter training.. Yesterday we worked with water hoses. Since it is much cooler now that we’re up North, that was a bit of an adventure. We’ve also been learning how to navigate by celestial means (mostly using the sun). I was on lookout duty the other night from 20:00-midnight. We put lights out by 07:00 typically and other than some dull lights on each mast, only have red and green lights that can be seen from the exterior of the ship. Then, one of the ship’s permanent crew brought out night vision binoculars and I had a great time playing with those. Those things pull stars out of the night sky that you don’t see/notice with your bare eyes. Cool stuff!! I am told that we’ll probably set full sail tomorrow. So far we haven’t had the right winds to do that and have been trying to get out of hurricane region before we play around. We are currently somewhere off the coast of Florida and the Bahamas. I’ve seen a few islands but not much land. Occasionally, we have a bright-colored bird on board.

Well, after sailing through the Caribbean. I’m quite tan and salty. Grin. Wind blown too. I work funky hours. Yesterday I worked 8-12 am and then had all day off before standing watch again from midnight to 4am (: Then, I got to sleep until 9:45am!! I’ve discovered the blessing of earplugs. (: Two more days and we are headed back to the Academy, normal schedules/routines, and lots of things back to back. Oh, and it'll be great to have food again. We ran out toward the end of our voyage due to a misorder, so we ate rice the last week then they bought us all pizza when we got ashore. I have a dental appt and then hopefully get new glasses. Yippee…!!

Pray for me about what I am to do after my training and all of this is all over. I would really like to get into flight school. There are only 4-6 spots open out of 22. I’ve had my interview. I am not sure of the outcome yet. I am looking at a couple other options on board ship in case that doesn't work out. Pray also for the conversations I’ve been having with young people expressing their desire for truth, solidity and need for Christ’s saving grace. This is my mission field. (: Please pray that I’ll know the words to say to people and be bold and know how to communicate openly and clearly, in love.

Love to you all…..Jonna

Out to sea...

I'm hopping on a plane today to fly south to Panama, jump aboard a beautiful sail boat, and sail the open seas for the next 16 days. Woohoo!! So, if you need me, I'm out to sea, underway, and having the time of my life. Smile... Pretty exciting!!

So, this last week has been interesting. Tuesady morning I was headed to the medical clinic at 6:30 with 7 others for a flight physical. That process continued until after noon. The medical personnel here are fun overall, so I enjoyed myself. I was treated to a large cup of coffee since I had to wait and be the last to see the doctor for the final portion of my physical exam. Yummy!! You can imagine I was pretty satisfied since coffee isn't on our "privileges" list at the moment. Anyway, I passed every area of the physical and am just waiting on blood tests and such to return healthy and normal. PTL!!! I had been a bit concerned about my eyes not being good enough or them finding something wrong with my teeth, but continued to trust the Lord through that and He opened the door once again. Pretty excited about that to be honest! I just love to see the Lord at work. Continuing to pray for complete healing of my eyes though, as they are still 20/50 which is cutting it close tot he cut-off line...besides, I'd love to quite wearing contacts or glasses... Anyway...to continue on.

Wednesday was career day. They referred to it as STRAND day, but whatever that means. Smile... On this day, we spent ALL day (other than lunch breaks) sitting in a classroom listening to various coasties from different career paths tell us a bit about the different areas of service we can pursue and allowing us to ask lots of questions. Some were very interesting, others were okay, and still others where fairly boring (I think I wrote letters during some of them...grin). Learned a lot though and especially loved hearing from the HH-60 helo pilot since that is my dream or career goal in the CG. Good times.. Well, because we had so many guest speakers and then a dinner social in the evening with all the officers and guest speakers so we could ask more questions, we were required to dress up a bit. Fun times. I enjoyed wearing the little moehawk-like blue hat and dress pants (for a while at least)... Smile.. I did take pics, but because this is a military computer, I am unable to hook up my camera to the computer and therefore cannot get pictures off of it yet to send or post here.. Oh well. Someday before graduation maybe they'll be some way. Wednesday evening ended with the dinner social, which was more like a cocktail party with tastey little food samples (grin). Had a good time visiting with the officers though, learning lots, asking lots of questions, and being able to talk to them on a normal human level.

Thursday was eventful as well as I had to make 3 trips to the clinic. One was to get fitted for glasses, so I have a back up when I don't want to wear contacts, or whatever other reason I need them. Then, back for a visit with the doc on blood results from my check-in physical, and finally back to the doc (along with about 37 others) to pick up some dramamine for the trip incase of sea sickness. Hoping and praying that won't be a problem for me, but want to be prepared and not stupid. Smile..

So, today, Friday...we are up at 4:30am and off in shifts to Panama. My flight isn't until 10am, so I have all morning to sit around, get ready, write this, etc... Looking forward to this trip. I've been assigned a small leadership position with 7 others under me or working on my team. Should be exciting. Looking forward to learning a lot about sailing, as this is a large 295ft sail boat. Woohoo.. I'll post a pic.

I'd love to hear from you all.. You can post notes to this or email me.. I'd better not post my email addy here though.. So, just shoot me a note and I'll email you back if able.. God bless you all.. Really appreciate all the prayers.. THANKS

hello from Jonna...

Surprise surprise.... I have finally been given the privilege of using the internet. Woohoo... Things are going well here. Learning lots, regularly challenged (to the point of frustration at times), feeling overwhelmed on many occasions, and more... It's good and fits who the Lord has made me. I'm enjoying survival a sea swim classes, diving into water blind folded from a 8ft (approx.) diving board (the high dive). At one point I was being shoved underwater by others wh were in the same boat. Smile, but it was interesting. Enjoyed diving for 10lb bricks in 12.5 ft water. That was something I was concerned about. But I overcame it!! Woohoo...

So, I know that Mom has been updating this a bit for me. Bless her heart. I really appreciate my family. They are a HUGE blessing, even when they mail me like a dozen homemade cookies that I'm not allowed to eat. Grin...

So, I'm off to Panama in about 5 days and really excited about it. This is hurricane season and we will be sailing a ship back from there over a 15 day period. So, saying that, please keep us in your prayers. I'm so excited about it and hoping that it will be a lovely trip with many nice sunsets and sunrises and starry nights. Smile...

There are a lot of things that I'm learning here, but it's also a challenge. Please continue to keep me in your prayers. There are a few believers here and we do have a church to attend on base, which isn't like home, but is a blessing none the less....

Well, this will have to be all for now, because I'm suposed to be in my bed.. Love to all.

Letters from CGAcademy

To all Jonna's friends...her family will be posting bits of her letters for her until she is allowed internet privileges again. If you wish to contact her, you'll will need to do so by snail mail at the last posted addy. If you need it again....please contact us here.

Here is the latest news from Jonna.....

So you must realize this is a progressive letter…:) I write when I get an opportunity, which is occasionally during class as well as a few minutes here and there during the day. Things are falling into a schedule around here which is fabulous. Tomorrow, I have been assigned academic Section leader, meaning it will be my responsibility to know what classes we have, where they’re being held, & what we must bring. In addition, I’ll have to make sure I can march my Academic Section to classes on time. It will be interesting to say the least.
Looking forward to our 16 day cruise…22 days and counting. Pretty excited about being out on the big blue as well as seeing new country. We’ll be on a cutter Eagle through the Panama Canal. They fly us down there, we board, then return to the base here in Ct. Huge learning experience. Woohoo!!
So, I’ve been blessed with a pretty good group of OCS commrades. We get along pretty well & have good, stress-relieving laughs together. I honestly don’t know how the instructing officers keep a straight face sometimes. Their act alone is extremely amusing at times. I am now called "snowflake" by a few due to a funny happening. Have to tell you about it later though. The bell sounded for dinner formation. Gotta run. Love you all…..Lots.
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So, things have been crazy around here. My room has been trashed 7 days out of the last 8. Each day we’re responsible to put it back. That’s definitely a challenge for me as you can well imagine (Jonna always likes her clothes in perfect geometrical alignment).
Last week we were up every morning by at latest 5am. Normally, I was awake before that & stealthily dressing in bed. Not supposed to leave your bed until the morning call is given. The first week, we spent each morning doing various forms of "physical motivation" while being yelled at. Not horrible, just not my idea of a nice way to wake up. In addition, we were made to square our meals-lifting our forks straight up and then straight in, without looking at the fork. That was all part of indoctrination week, which is officially over now! (Jonna told us earlier that she lost weight that first week too). We still get up early and head to the gym for workout, but I prefer that.
Also during the last week, we learned gun handling, marching, sword handling, etc. for a drill competition we had last Friday. There will continue to be competitions each Friday. I rather enjoy that.
Now we’re in week 2 & starting to get some privileges back. In addition, we are getting a lot more responsibilities that are very overwhelming at times. J I am learning a lot but I still feel lost often, as do plenty others; even those OCS students who’ve been in the CG as long as 10 years. Today, I am in the colors detail, where we’ll be taking the school & national flags down at sunset. Rather a big deal here. The staff has established the leadership so that certain students are given an opportunity to lead. We’ll rotate leadership every 2 weeks. For now, I just have color duty & a night watch (1 ½ hours). I’m fine with that as I’m trying to figure all this out.
Answer to Dad’s prayer, I haven’t been yelled at that much nor gotten singled out & in trouble very often. I did get in trouble for talking at a meal….oops! I’ve done plenty of sit-ups, push-ups, etc. though for various other reasons. One encouraging note in the midst of all my overwhelming is that my Platoon Officer pulled me aside to correct me about talking but then continued on to tell me that he actually felt like I was a civilian he could take and make an officer out of. I took it as a challenge & compliment. I’d say I’ve been blessed with the best Platoon Officer & a group that works together fairly well. PTL!!!
Well, by now things are starting to fall into a schedule. They keep to an overly tight schedule with no room for mistakes. This means we often are in trouble, especially trying to make sure 93 OC’s are all there or their location is known and legitimate. Imagine!!! As I mentioned, they typically change leadership positions every 2 weeks, but, for certain positions they can change daily. That makes for continuous confusion. We change rooms & roommates bi-weekly as well. Speaking of roommates, my first 2 were a huge help and blessing. Both were prior enlistees and could help me with uniform details & encouragement. We three hit it off well & though we’ve since had to change rooms, we’re still friends. I’m very thankful as they often helped me put things in perspective.
Have spent the last week or so trying to get hold of my ASTB test scores (for flight school entry) which the Navy Recruiting Office failed to give me a hard copy of. The only paperwork I lacked…Grrr! Anyway, much effort, prayer, & trusting in the Lord & it was finally obtained today. PTL!!! There are about 20-30 others applying so the odds are high but, God’s will be done. The Lord has DEFINITELY graced me for this. Many things are challenging, frustrating, and different but God has been with me in a manifest way. There is more than a ton of unpleasant language but I’m continually asking God’s help to keep my mouth clean. He is faithful.
Praying for you often, especially when having to stand at attention behind my chair at meals. It gives me a few extra moments to pray for others & thank God. J Miss you all, miss those good homemade cookies & foods. We have plenty of good salad & decent food, but no desserts. I do get pb & honey occasionally for dessert. Keep strong.
Much love,
Jonna

P.S. Jonna called today and said she wouldn't be able to enjoy the cookies we mailed her. The group collectively have to earn dessert, coffee, phone, and other privileges. Yikes!!!

US COAST GUARD!!!

YES!!! I'm finally getting this new adventure of my life started. I will be doing my best to update this blog as I am able in order to let you all know what I am up to and all that the Lord is teaching me through this new adventure.

As many of you already know, I begin August 7th in New London, CT. I will be flying out of Springfield, MO August 6th at 10:49am (praying no delayed or canceled flights). As of today, if I have counted correctly, I have 16 days before I take off. As you can probably imagine, I'm slightly nervous and doing my best not to take my nerves out on friends, family, or anyone else who I come in contact with. I would greatly appreciate your prayers as I wait and get all the finishing details together. I'm not the greatest with goodbyes, so that's also a matter of prayer. I thank you all for your emails and encouragement. I LOVE IT!!

I realized that I failed to include my new mailing address in the newsy letter that I recently sent out. At this point, I am unsure as to how much access to or time for internet that I will have so I thought I'd include my new mailing address... Besides, it's cool looking!! Grin...

OC Jonna Clouse
US Coast Guard Academy
Officer Candidate School
43 Mohegan Ave
New London, CT 06320-4195

Well, that's all for now. Just wanted to get this blog started out on the right track. Grin. God bless you all as you continue to follow Christ!!

The Spanish Saga Comes to an End...

This guy was always playing in this same place every Tuesday & Thursday as I returned home from the University.. I finally had to stop and record it.. He's amazing. Hope this works for you guys to at least hear it..

I'm back!! Yes, that means back in the USA and not just back to updating my blog. Grin... I know that I have gotten a little behind on this in the last few weeks as I've been busy spending more time with friends and the family before leaving. I'll try to catch you all up a bit and close out the story of my Spanish Adventures. Smile... The last few weekends were spent introducing the girls to my good friend Susana. I think I might have mentioned the desire in my heart to leave them with some Christian contact there in Spain. I knew my friends Susana would be great with them as she seems to love kids and gets along excellently with all the kids at church. I mentioned to her my desire as a matter of prayer that I'd know what to do...the next week she told me she wanted to meet them. So over the last few weeks that I was in Spain, I hooked them up with her a bit. The two youngest loved her. They enjoyed spending an evening at her house dancing to Christian kids music videos along with Vicki, the baby girl of another of my friends. I loved it because they were happy and they were listening to the words of the music and thinking about them (occasionally commenting to me or Susana). PTL!!! I really feel like the Lord was working in their hearts and am still praying (and would ask that you continue to join me) for the lives of these girls and this family, that the Lord would bring them to salvation. PTL!!! My last week in Spain was fairly normal until about Thursday...then things got busy and sleep wasn't a bit part of life. Smile.. I spent a lot of time with friends and the church family when I wasn't with the girls. My middle gal, Irenita, took off on a school trip to an island in the south of Spain. She was very excited and overall I think it was the best thing for her as it made my departure a little easier for her I think. Of course, I wasn't there upon her return, so I can only assume at this point that it was the best thing. She did have an old aupair to come home to, another American gal who will be staying with them through the end of June. After that the girls will be out of school and moving into summer vacations when I don't think they normally have an aupair with them. Anyway... Friday night I was blessed with the evening off work so I could attend the church service there in Santiago and say goodbye to some people that I wouldn't see Sunday at church. In the last month that I was in Spain, the Santiago church opened a new church in Milladoiro (where nearly all my closests friends live) to spread out the church a bit and reach out to more people. So, to say the least and continue with the other topic, I have been going to Milladoiro for church for the last 3 weeks. Anyway...back to Santiago church. We had a GREAT service with the Presence of the Lord and then at the end they gathered around me and prayed for me knowing that it was my last time there. What a blessing. After the service I went out for some dinner with friends and after waiting in a hamburger joint for an hour we finally got our food about 12:30apm. Goodness... A little sleep that night and right on into Saturday and spending the morning with the girls enjoying ourselves. It was rather relaxed. I ended up spending some one on one time with the two girls still at home, which I enjoyed. After lunch, Susana came by and picked me up. I was off for a weekend of who knows what that was sure to be fun.

So, my last Saturday/Sunday in Spain. Susana had been at work putting together a fun Saturday afternoon and party that evening. About 10 of us drove out to an island to enjoy the beach, though not swim...still too cold for that. The Lord blessed me with a day of sunshine. This was the first sunny day we'd had in a month...I'm not even exaggerating. We'd had rain 27 days in a row (though some days we'd get a bit of sun in the morning or the afternoon one)...one of my friends was counting the days. Anyway... We enjoyed wading in the water out to some rocks and surprisingly the water wasn't freezing cold. Fresh Seafood

I tried fresh seafood *G* while we were out there. My friends Susana and Juan told me this particular type of shellfish was good raw or cooked and so I tried it. Figured it couldn't hurt. It actually tasted fine, salty like the sea, but not fishy or dirty. So now I can say I have had fresh seafood...or raw shell fish...whichever way I decide to say it. Grin. After a few hours enjoying the beach and a nearby cafe, we headed to the restaurant back up the road a ways. They had been telling me about this pizza place that cooked HUGE pizzas in big stone ovens. It was called "A Pedra". Yum!! So, we'd tried going there like two or three different times and each time something came up and changed our plans...so finally we were going.In addition to appetizers of shellfish and octopus, I ended up having a pizza with ham, mushrooms, garlic, and cheese....along with a calazone with fresh tuna and onions (sounds gross, but was surprisingly good especially since I don't like tuna). *G* We ended up having a total of 27 people at that party. Susana's oldest sister, Sonia, and her boyfriend showed up after we'd eaten and brought a cake and other dessert. Sonia works in a bakery for making cakes and such things, so she made it specially for me. Bless her heart! It was chocolate because they know how much I love chocolate. They also brought some walnut dessert that was like filo dough with syrupy stuff between the layers and walnuts....delicious is the best word to describe it. We had a fantastic time and finally made it back to Susana's house to sleep about 2:30am. Restaurants in Spain stay open much later than here (we didn't leave the restaurant until after 1am). Smile...Sunday morning up early enough to get to church on time for the 11am prayer hour before the service. Love going to that and getting to pray for the service, pray with others, and enjoy the presence of the Lord...preparing my heart and mind for the service. I had once again been asked to sing in this service. So, after the worship and communion I sang along with the worship leader and the congregation rejoicing and celebrating the Lord. It was fantastic. I sang "Trading My Sorrows" by Darrell Evans. They started it in Spanish and then I joined in Spanish on the chorus (still working on the verse part in Spanish). Then I sang it in English and then we all sang together in both languages. Sometimes the worship leader would sing in English and I in Spanish and viceversa. It was a blast and a blessing to me to be able to join with them in worship. My last Sunday they had a joint lunch at the church after the service, I so I got to spend a bit more time with everyone from the church. This church also gathered around me to pray for me and send me home with their continued prayers. I was so blessed by the church body there in Santiago/Milladoiro. PTL!!! After lunch, the young people hung around to show me a video that they had put together for me all saying something and mostly being silly. It was fun to watch with them and have to bring home with me. I said a lot of goodbyes that day, but not to my closest friends. I spent the evening in the park before heading home to hang with the family and the newly arrived American gal who is currently staying with them.

So, this newly arrived American gal is a girl I have mentioned before that I was communicating with over the internet and sharing the Lord with. It was cool to get to meet her and later actually get to talk to her about the Lord and what He's doing in her life. A bit excited to see how this will effect the girls as they new her before she was following Christ and now she'll be different. She is a verbal person and I'm pretty sure she won't be quiet about her new found faith in the Lord. Pray for her as I have already had feedback from her that some oher Spanish friends aren't really that interested in hearing about her "God experience". That can be a bit discouraging for a new believer.

Okay...so now we're down to my last day, Monday. I met up with Susana and her sis Mila for b-fast. Funny story there.. I order an orange juice and croissant and the others ordered something and coffee. Well they got a little chocolate with their coffee (it's the norm) and Susi was giving me a hard time about not getting chocolate.. Smile...ornery girl. Anyway, later some guy walks in sits down in a table near us and stares at us...it was strange...okay to be honest he was staring at me for who knows why. Anyway, later he turns around and gives me his chocolate off of his coffee...haha.. Susi thought that was great...I was trying to figure out what in the world was going on. He hadn't overheard our conversation of earlier because he hadn't been there yet...so it was a funny story if nothing else. Later, we girls went and exchanged something they had bought me for a bigger size (guess I look smaller than I really am...haha). Then we met up with some other friends (Andres and Celia from the Bible study group of Thursday nights) and stopped in a cafe to get a coffee. Randomly some church member came up and joined us then paid for everyone's drink and left... WOW! From there, another friend got out of his university classes and met up with us. While most headed home, Susi, Joel (the other friend), and I headed to another bar to get a soda and chat a bit. Finally, saying goodbye to him, I walked with Susana to the busstand where we would say goodbye and she'd catch a bus home to get to work on time. That was difficult especially since I'm not a teary person and didn't cry though she was. I was standing there trying to cheer her up and praying. I slowly made my way home from there to spend the rest of the day with the family....though there was still one other friend I had to say goodbye to besides the family.

So, the family decided they wanted to take me to their favorite nearby beach spot. So, I drove them to the beach (yes, I drove...there's a story there, but I'll skip it to keep this readable..grin). We had a good time enjoying the seabreeze and sunshine (yes, yet another day of sunshine...the Lord blessed me with a whole weekend of sun) and view. Then to a cafe for coffee and ice cream before heading home. Back in Santiago we headed to an Indian restaurant for dinner. Good times. We reached back home at 11:15ish and I went out again to meet up with my last friend that I needed to say goodbye to, Juan. We ended up sitting in a cafe/bar until 1am chatting over coffee and having a good time. Juan and Susi have been my closest friends in Spain and both were difficult to say goodbye to. Finally got home about 1:30am to do last minute stuff and get one hour of sleep before embarking on my trip back to the USA. The trip home was fine. I got to Philadelphia and spent an hour and a half going through customs...which was a bit exhausting. Then I had a long wait until my next flight. In that time, I caught up with friends and family on my cell. Found out the weather in St. Louis where I was headed wasn't the greatest and not wanting to risk a night in the Philly airport, I went to customer service and asked for a change of ticket to fly to Kansas City. That was given to me without any trouble. PTL!!! I ended up leaving Philly about 1 1/2 eariler than my other scheduled flight and arriving in KC to a lightening storm that was fun to watch from the air. The luggage didn't follow me, but that turned out to be a blessing and was later delivered to my parent's home in Rogersville. So, about an hour outside of Kansas City, traffic came to a standstill due to an accident ahead. We stopped and ended up putting the car in park. After about five minutes, the lane next to us started moving slowly.. still not completely sure how happened, but before I knew what was happening I heard a loud screech of tires followed by a car colliding with ours. Yes, it totalled Mom and Dad's car crushing in the trunk. Now you can understand why we were thankful that we didn't have the luggage to get all damaged. PTL!!! My laptop was back there, but the Lord protected that and it still works to perfection. PTL!!! All of us are fine, though we've been sore a few days. I had a headache a few days as did others in the family. We've been to see the chiropractor and are doing well. PTL!!! for His protection. My uncle lived abotu 45 minutes from there, so I held my Dad's chair (the driver's chair broke) in place so we could drive to his place. Amazingly, after so little sleep for the last 48 hours and the whole weekend really, I was still going.. It was all by God's grace and strength. I finally got to sleep on my uncle's couch at 3am to sleep for a few hours before driving the rest of the way home in daylight (the lights were out on the car). It was good to finally get home and I did end up crashing on a bed for three hours (thought I'd just lay down to think and pray a bit, but you know how that goes...grin).

So, I've been home 4 1/2 days now and have been going since I touched the ground. Spent Friday hanging with my Mom and running around town trying to get some things done. Friday evening I headed to Branson to catch up with some friends and go to a wedding on Saturday. Honestly that was a bit overwhelming for me and now I'm back in Springfield with plans to get a job and take things a bit slower for a bit to catch up with myself. This return to the US has been quite a different experience for me, and nothing like when I returned from India. Maybe because this time I'm returning from another world and a different life that the Lord has blessed me with there in Spain. Anyway, I'd greatly appreciate your prayers as I continue to adjust back to my own native country and life here for a bit. Smile...

Actually, some of the most exciting news is that I won't be in Missouri very long, because the long awaited acceptance to the United States Coast Guard has finally arrived!!! Woohoo!! Yes, I am finally officially accepted... A year of waiting and believing the Lord that it was what He was opening for me to do...and now it is here before me. PTL!!! I will be moving to Connecticutt the first part of August to begin August 7th. PTL!!! I'm thinking about starting a new blog for that new adventure, but pretty sure that I won't have internet access the first few months being there, so not sure yet. I'll try to let you all know when I know.. Smile.. Please keep me in your prayers as I head out on yet another adventure with the Lord. PTL!!! if you have any questions, you have my email address or can contact me through this blog by posting a comment and I'll be happy to answer them. So for the next few weeks I'll be spending my time with family, friends, and preparing for going into the USCG.

Thank you all VERY much for your prayer support and encouragement over the last 6 months of my life in Spain. May the Lord belss you all richly in return. Jonna Clouse

Today was most likely my last day to walk to the University for Spanish classes. There is yet another class on Thursday that I could make it to, but it is review for the exam that I won't be here to take and I've other things to fill my time, so figure I won't be going....grin....not sad about not being here for the exam. BG. Anyway, all that to say that nearly each day that I've gone to the University I have walked (speed walking normally) past this man who plays his violin in front of an outdoor cafe. I always love to hear him, but normally am in a hurry to get home for lunch and work, so I have never stopped to just listen. Anyway...today being one of the last times I will pass by there, I decided to throw some money in his violin case and stop to listen and tape his lovely music.. I thought I'd share it with you guys. Not sure how great it will be as I have only previewed it on my camera...but hope you enjoy a taste of the Spanish street. There are often people playing music along the streets in the old part of town. It is quite lovely and varies in instruments...meaning, it isn't just one type of intrument but rather a variety such as guitar, bagpipes, violin, accordion, etc... It's fun and lovely...

Crazy Busy Weekend

So, my crazy busy weekend... Let's just say that I was tired to start with so it probably wasn't the greatest idea to be running crazy all over the countryside, but oh well...that's pretty much what happened. Here goes.......Friday night is my work night...giving Irene (la madre) some time to go out with friends, etc... So, I've been praying about how to introduce my girls to local Christians so they can still have a Christian influence in their lives once I'm gone. Anyway, the Lord worked that out this last week with an opportunity to take the girls bowling once again, only this time with Susi along as well. PTL!!! That was an answer to my prayers and the girls were so excited about it from the day I mentioned it to them.. They were VERY excited to meet my friend that I hang out with and talk about all the time. So, Friday night, I could be found spinning in chairs in the bowling alley, dancing under the strobe lights after getting a strike, taking pics with the girls, playing air hockey, acting as a cheerleader, playing fuseball, and sipping on my Aquarius (a lemon sports drink much like Gatorade). Good times... We got home about midnight and I put my happy girls to bed...smile! Saturday morning was fairly normal. The girls and I did their English lessons together (Saturdays are more relaxed, though I give them a spelling test every Saturday), I finished up a dessert my boss started (she had to run, so she made the dough and I got the girls to help me peel, slice, and position apples later), then I finished making lunch as well. After the girls, their Dad, & I ate, I jumped in the shower before sitting down to have a cup of coffee & taste the dessert with Irene (though I needed to be doing other things). Thankfully Susi was late picking me up for our evening plans, because I was exhausted & a little stressed just trying to get ready. Spain time differs from American time and is a challenge for me because I'm such a time-oriented, scheduled person...Anyway...you'd think I'd learned my lesson having lived in India...but guess I'm still learning. Thankful that Susi was late this time so that I could catch my breath before heading with her and the rest of the Santiago youth group to join another youth group in a place called Ferrol. Though we ended up waiting for others as well, we finally got on the road to Ferrol which ended up taking about an hour to drive. I was piled in the car with Susi, two other gals, and one guy... He got picked on a bit by some of the girls in the car, but held his own well.. grin. (no I don't think I was the one doing the picking this time). Anyway...in Ferrol, we discovered that we were supposed to take fliers all over the city (over an hours time frame) and pass them out. Susi and I were a little flustered by this, because one we hadn't even prayed together as a group before heading out, and two the fliers didn't even have the local church info on them (they had some address in another town where you could write for more information)...Anyway...she and I went out walking and stopped in a doorway area to pray together before proceeding. Then we had a nice walk around the city talking and brainstorming ideas as we handed out the fliers or slid them under shop doors. :) Interesting...so, she and I ended up arriving back at the chruch about 15 minutes late and worship had already started. Oh well. Didn't get much out of the service...guess my mind was a bit too tired to pay attention very well, plus the speaker was from southern Spain where they have yet another accent/Spanish pronunciation. Smile.. After the service, we had some snacks, finger foods, and drinks together... I was in the middle of eating, when some of the guys started rolling out a pingpong table.. My eyes got huge and all appetite for more food was gone. For the next hour probably, I was either intently watching the pingpong games going on or playing myself. I did manage to hold the table for a while the second time that I got up to play. It was fun to play again...and it's always fun to surprise people who don't expect a girl to know how to play. It was a little embarrassing when I got up to the table to play the first time and the whole room errupted in cheers. Bless the guy's heart who was matched against me. Especially with people cheering for me out loud. Grin... The guy wasn't sure how to play with a girl.. Guess he wasn't sure if he was supposed to go easy on me or what. When I got up to play, he turned to some of the guys and said, "pero como jugar con una tia (chica)?"...Haha!! He figured it out soon enough I think. I didn't win that round, more of a warm-up round for me... As I was playing, I remembered back to times playing in India with David...but more so back to playing with Dad and how he used to tell me about putting the ball where I wanted it. Grin... Thanks Dad & David for being patient with me then so I could learn.

After playing a while, I was tired...as were Susi and Mila. So, knowing we had to drive back, we three decided we needed coffee. We were just going to walk down the street to some cafe and drink a coffee then come back for everyone, but it turned out that everyone decided they were going as well. We ended up driving across town to a bowling alley/shopping center (kind of like a mall) to have coffee and hang out. Before we left the church, I somehow managed to extend an invitation to a couple of the guys I had been talking with to come along and get a drink...hmmm...which here in Spain means I had to pay. Grin... I didn't mind, but found it rather amusing! Just some of the guys from the youth group, but they got me... One of them has been in the US and I think he found it rather amusing. Anyway... Needless to say, our little "let's run get a coffee before we leave" turned into at least another hour ordeal of hanging out in this "mall". We finally made it home about 1:30-ish and into bed by 2am-ish. Susi and I stayed up talking and praying together, so we didn't get to sleep until 3am. AAAHHH!! Smile My drinkin buddies that I managed to invite for a drink...haha...minus the one without sunglasses

Sunday, thankfully church isn't until 12pm...so we could sleep in a bit before getting up and getting ready. Off to church, the sermon was about Jesus washing His disciples' feet...I don't know all that was preached, but I learned from just reading the verses and reading my Bible.. Smile.. After church, a few of us went to get a drink at a small cafe while waiting to go to lunch. As you're probably coming to notice in many of my posts, it is common to go get a drink or snack somewhere with friends. Anyway, the Bible study group that I have been going to on Thursday nights was invited for lunch in the home of an Ecuadorian family. Yummy!! We had some delicious cream-pepper-fried chicken (got the sauce recipe since it was so good), sauted shrimp (she put about 2 tablespoons of a sauce on them as she was frying them, which I got the recipe for as well), yellow rice, fried potatoes, and more... Then we had a lemon cheesecake that Susi made along with coffee. Plenty and delicious. We played some dominoes and cards for a while, then left from there to head to Noia to say goodbye to the Towners (missionary family) once more. They left town today, headed for Madrid, where they'll catch their flight out later this week. It rained most of Sunday afternoon/evening...We didn't stay long in Noia..so on the way home we headed to Padron to visit Mila. We had dinner plans with her, but those kind of got changed because the pizza place they've been wanting to take me to was closed. It's a restaurant outside of town a ways that cooks pizzas in clay ovens or rock ovens from what I've gathered. Anyway...think we'll be going later. So, back to Mila's house...she ended up cutting both Juan's and my hair. Bless her heart, after working hard all week. It's nice to have my hair cut and feeling clean and lush again. YEAH!! Smile...ready for coming home now.

A stream I pass walking to the college campus where I have Spanish classes twice a week.

So, I'm counting the days now...I'm at 14 and counting...grin. I'm ready to return to the US. The Lord has blessed me here, taught me a TON here, and now has prepared my heart and mind to return once again to the USA. PTL!!! He is so very faithful to me and I am blessed. He has faithfully prepared me for each step in my life it seems. I remember Him preparing me to leave home (India) for college, to leave college, to come to Spain, now to leave Spain, and SO many more instances.. Thank the Lord!! So, now just last minute purchases and saying goodbye or "Hasta luego" - "Until later" to a lot of friends. It's amazing how you can travel to another country and get connected with a church and before you know it you have a TON of friends.. I'm pretty sure that the family I live with (the Mom most particularly) is rather amazed at the number of friends I have and not only just from Santiago (where I'm living), but from many surrounding cities and towns. Grin... PTL!!! I love it!!

As promised: a pic of the car that I enjoyed driving belonging to my friend Juan!! It had get-up-n-go...which I really enjoyed! Plus...good music!