grow something new

Petit Jardin

Earth Day

Jalama Beach

This Saturday evening we arrived at Jalama Beach campground with 5 carloads of friends, sausages, canned beans, guitars, and a gigantic 8-person tent.  The beach is beautifully secluded, and most of our camper neighbors looked like they had been surfing all day.  We, on the other hand, set straight to work setting up the gigantic flapping tent, starting a fire, and asking all our neighbors if we could share their parking spots.  I'm not sure if we left such a good impression.  And the flapping tent, well, pretty much flapped all night long.  But a sublime sunset followed by a warm morning, paired with the fun of camping with 13 friends (and a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday sung to our dear Thais), made for quite a lovely weekend.  And now that I'm officially Californian (I got a license, of course), it made me love "my" state all the more...haha : )

Sunburned Shoulders at Joshua Tree

Resurrection

Up the Coast

Ryan's family is here over Easter weekend, and so what better way to end the quarter than with a trip up the coast to Big Sur.  We had a great time together, and the coast is spectacular!  Click here for photos...

Yamba and Pegwende

I just found out from the pastor I worked under in Burkina that the old couple who served as house parents just died in a car accident on their way back to the Village of Hope last night.  Yamba and Pegwende are two of the most incredible people I have ever known.  They were old and yet tireless, constantly caring for the children, teaching the Bible, passing out medicine, leading worship, bandaging wounds, providing a home for the youngest children who were scared at night or wet their beds.  Some evenings I would walk over to their room for a visit, and they would be sitting outside eating dinner together at a little table, so thoroughly enjoying each other and still surrounded by children.  They both preached and read Scripture with an authority that was convictingly humble.  I have so much to learn from their lives.  Please pray with me that Christ would comfort the children, everyone at the Village, and Pasteur Michel's family as Pegwende was his older sister.  Death still stings...

Yamba is on the far left, and his wife Pegwende on the far right (and they actually have the brightest smiles...but in Burkina you don't smile for photos...Sara and I obviously never quite caught on to this!)

Finally

So it's finals week, but the whole reason I'm in school is so that I can better learn to care for people and understand this world, right?  And thus it is, that with a beast of a paper to finish and exam to begin studying for, today allowed for yet another reunion with friends.  Paulita, Janelle and I are friends from St. Peters Elementary School, where we decorated our lockers and played street hockey and went on field trips to the Air & Space Museum.  L.A.'s done it again...bringing people together : )

 

And now I need to work on my paper.

just a heap of cousins

Yesterday evening, cousins started gathering.  Two from the Hollingers, a Krabill and a Kraybill, and here we all are in Pasadena.

[you may want to take note of carter's height, as it compares to his 2 older cousins in his armpits]

Family Fun

Mom and dad came for a whole month and this is what we did. 

As you can see, life is pretty exciting when you vary up the studying.

because i love him

happy birthday to cousin matthew.  hummus, lamb, and good times had by all.