Pig Tail Divas Gots STYLE Yo!!!

KIDZCITY CAMP IS AMAZING!!! I am having so much fun. My girls are so great, and my team time keeps getting bigger. I went from 8 girls to 10 in two days, and I even after losing one.

Before camp I had been praying about my girls, and I asked God for strategies and wisdom with them to make our team time exciting, and fun and my heart really has been to build unity in my group. These are the girls I normally teach on Sunday mornings, minus the ones with Jenny, but my heart for that has always been not only that they would learn to love God, but that they wold build relationships with each other that would last. It's been difficult because they don't get a lot of time together on Sundays, so it's more difficult to work with the girls who are a little quieter and don't click well with the others. But camp has given me plently of time to work.

So God gave me great vision, and it's worked out so great. Our team name is "PTD" (Pig Tail Divas!) All my girls wear Pig Tails in their hair (including me) which not only is super fun and they love it, but it makes it easier to spot them when we go somewhere. Our team color is yellow, so we tie our sleeves up with yellow ribbon to make our shirts cute and we write PTD on our forheads including war stripes on our faces, and they're just crazy about that. I bought them all their own color pens for their notebooks. Every time we meet in Team Time, (where we break into smaller groups to talk about the Word) the first thing I have them do is get with a partner they don't normally talk to, (which is their buddy for the day) and each day I have new questions for them to ask each other. They then share the answers with the group.

The theme for our group is STYLE, (besides the Pig Tails). Not just STYLE on the outside, but we discuss styleing ourselves on the insde to look more like Jesus. This is great, because every day, when I notice an issue in the group, I get to adress it in our team time, for example, yesterday at Boomers, I noticed one of the girls in our group, who's a little hard to get along with was being neglected by the other girls. So this morning, I talked about how Jesus loved all people, and that's why people loved Jesus. And so the greatest way we can STYLE ourselves to look like Jesus is to love others, including and especially those around us, no matter how hard it is. I then challenged them to take care of each other and work on loving each other that day.

They just eat up everything we do. They're so excited about the PTD's and the ribbons and even the STYLE. And God keeps showing me what to do. I love it. One thing you can pray for me though is our group has a little problem with cliques. While I'm glad that certain girls are making friends, I want unity, and there's about 3 different groups, and then the one girl who gets left out, so please pray for her and the others.

Before I go, I want to share a little about my girls, (and their nick names, which the kids made up themselves just to let you know;)

Rachel (Worship Girl, WG)- Rachel is the socialite of the group. She's the most out going, the boldest, the most talkative. We get along really well. She's very strong, and she's taken Erica Joslin under her wing which is pretty great because she's really the first person Erica has connected with in a best friend sort of way. She can befriend anyone she wants and not befriend anyone she wants. But her heart is good, and she is a prayer warrior, and thanks God for everything.

Erica (Puppy Diva) She's probably my quietest, but since her and Rachel have become friends, she's really stepped out of her shell. I love it so much because I've been praying for it for so long. She's got the kindest heart, and so she's so dang cute. She's also miss evangalist and already has such a good relationship with the Lord.

Esmae (Reptile) This girl is really cute. Her best friend is Amy and they keep to themselves most of the time, but if I ask Esmae to reach out to someone, she's immediatly on it questioning the girl about her life and her interests. I can always count on her to do that. She's very, very friendly and very obeidient, though I havn't really had any issues of disobedience with any of my girls. They're all really good.

Amy (Lizard) She's my cute little red head. Her and Esmae's hair is short, so they wear half pig tails on top of their heads, which look like little antenna's but it's so cute. She seems shy at first, but once you get her talking, she's full of stuff to say.

Maddie (Kitty) This girls a ham!!! Probably one of the funniest little girls I've ever met. She's never been shy since I've known her. She can do any cartoon voice, and any show you name from the Disney Channel, she'll sing it without a moments thought. I think that's why Sierra likes her so much. She's consantly making us laugh. My only issue with her is that she's my wanderer. No matter how many times I tell her to stick with the group, when I turn my head to do a head count and only come up with nine, guess who's missing? She gets distracted easily and then stays back to check something out. She's so fun though.

Sierra (Oragami) She used to be even quieter than Erica. I could barely get her to say anything to me. But since camp, she's opened up SO much. I drive her and her brothers to and home after camp, so I've gotten a lot of time to get to know her. I like her A LOT! She's a real cute girl. Tall, blond. She's going to be a knock out when she's older. Anyway, since camp, she's really come out of her shell. I think her freindship with Maddie has helped with that a lot. But the greatest thing about her is that she tries so hard to reach out to Ashley, the girl who's struggling, no matter how hard it is.

Ashley (Pie) This is the one who struggles with the other girls. She's very sweet, and I love her so much, but she's a little hard to get along with. I think she frustrates the girls. She gets left out a lot, and so when someone tries to reach out to her, she snaps out of hurt and they don't understand that. Please pray for her. She's a great kid, and she really needs a friend in KIDZCITY.

Kyra (Triple A) This is the coolest kid I've ever met. She just joined us today. She's a soccer player and a bit of a tom boy, but she jumped right in and all the girls love her. I think she's so cool I want to go hang out with her. I don't know her enough yet to say much about her except that she's just super cool.

Gillen (Gee Gee) She just came today with Rachel. They are friends from school. She's a cross between Erica and Rachel. Quiet, but social. She clicked the most with Erica. Her, Erica and Rachel hung out all day, and it's funny cuz they're all Asian. She's very kind, and she got into everything. Her and Kyra both just jumped right into the PTD STYLE.

Kayla (Cha Cha) She too came today for the first time. I love Kayla. She used to go to our church, but it's weird for her coming back because she's not the boss anymore. She played sick and everything she could to get out of hanging out with us at the beginning, and most of the day she played coy and pouted silently. But once people started giving her attention, she was old happy Kayla again, and everybody likes her. I'm glad she's here.

Cynthia (I can't remember) She was only here yesterday. We also are really close, but she only comes to our church every once in a while. Her and Rachel get along REALLY well. The moment they met they were best friends. Her, Erica and Rachel are quite a trio. I brought the two girls to Erica's B-Day party this year and ever since the 3 love hanging out. She's a lot of fun, and she's very loving. I like hanging out with her too.

God is doing so much. Even reading through all I just wrote and thinking about my girls, I can see Him moving and answering my prayers. He had a plan and He's been so sovereign over this week and over my team. I am so blessed to see what's happening in my girls. They even remember everything Teacher Carl preaches on. It's so great!!!!

Well, that's about it. Camp is great. I'm exhausted, and I'm really greatful I took the week off of work because I wouldn't make it. ;) With much love.


P.S: I can't use spell check, so sorry for mispelled words!

Auto Update

http://www.worsleyschool.net/fun/dangerous/creatures

Jenny sent me this site in response to my moth attack story. It's really funny.

Anyway, I wanted to give you an update on my car.

Remember how I said Mr. Mechanic Man told me it would cost 550 to get a new water pump, then possibly a couple 1,000 more for "other issues" that he wouldn't know were wrong until he fixed the water pump? Well, we took it to Tony, the beer guy, and he checked it, and guessed how much I paid? Nothing! Guess why? Because there was nothing wrong with it. There just wasn't any water in the cooling system. Funny how that worked out huh?

Carpools and Matchmakers

On Friday I attended my cousins graduation, and graduation party with my mom and brothers. It was a hot day and I got my second sunburn this week. (I got my third today at Mary millers Wedding. Woo Hoo! The first burns of summer. Bring it on baby!!!!! My tans a'coming!!!!!!!! No more Miss. White Girl! (That's kind of like the whole short thing. The feelings of dislike are about the same level.) So anyway, afterward I asked my mom if I could drive because I absolutely love driving her XTerra. (sp?) Surprisingly, she said yes. I was so excited that I forgot what a pain it actually is to drive with my mother in the car. She still hasn't quite gotten over the fact that I got my license, even though I am an adult now, and it has been 3 years since that blessed day. (I took the test twice. The first time I almost killed the instructor. Funny how I thought she'd only take a few points off for that. You couldn't even see the Tahoe coming. It was a blind turn!)

So, It starts of course with every time I try to switch lanes she tells me to stay where I am, or gives me directions of where to drive on a road I've traveled hundreds of times. We exit the 52 onto the 15, and it's 4pm so traffic is starting to build and I have about 30 seconds to cross what, like 7 or 8 lanes? to make the carpool lane. And as soon as I take the first lane I hear my mom go,

Mom: Jael, don't stress out o.k. You don't have to make the carpool.
Me: Oh, I'm fine mom. I've got it.
(Approaching second lane)
Mom: Because we can always just take Scripps.
Jael: (Perfectly calm) It's fine mom. I got it.
Mom: (Not so calm) Just don't stress O.K:
(Hitting the fourth. 3 more to go. Carpool lanes coming up quick)
Jael: (Chuckling) I promise. I'm o.k. I got it.
(One more lane to go)
Mom: Because you really don't need to stress. We'll be fine on the 15.
Jael: (Eyes intently staring down my target. Finally, pull into my final destination.) There. We made it.
(Two minutes later as she's looking onto the freeway.)
Mom: Wow, the 15's packed Good thing we took the carpool lane.



Hee hee. I love my mom so much. She's so great.



Yesterday I met a boy named Peter who apparently I used to play with when I was a child. We don't remember each other at all, but I remember his back yard. Isn't that funny? He had a little Turtle Sand Box and a fort thing. My grandma's funny. He lives right next door, and every time I go over there it's like she tries to advertise him to me. "Oh Jael, he's so cute. And he's such a good Christian boy." It's funny, but when my other grandma tries to set me up, she usually says the same thing. "He's a Christian Jael. He goes to Christian Heritage, so he must be..." ect. It's funny how just because some guys a Christian they think I'll automatically fall for him. Grandmas are great. So anyway, everytime I go there, she's gives her little speal, and then urges me to go meet him, but he's never home. Yesterday, he was.

So I finally meet the infamous Peter. He's nice, quiet, not too bad looking, but sorry grandma, no sparks. I find it interesting that the people closest to you (outside of the city church,) find it odd that we choose not to date. Like, it's just the craziest thing. And no matter how many times you explain it to people, a.k.a, your grandmothers, they still try their hardest to find you that perfect guy, and then get you to date him. The world is weird. But I'm sure they think I'm weird as well.

It all Started with a Banquet

It all started with a banquet. I was an intern about 3 weeks ago, and I graduated, and that night, for the first time I went to a place I would be calling my home for a while. The house is big, but not huge, cute, but not beautiful, relaxing, but lonely.

I still remember that night. Everyone was beautiful, dressed to impress and smiles plastered on their faces. For some, the end meant grabbing that special someone and running out the door because yes, they can finally "date." For some the end meant nothing for they are still, at this very moment, at the church doing the exact same thing they've been doing all year long. And for others, the end meant, well who even knows. That's where I am. All I'm sure of was that when that banquet was over. Scott, Jenny and I jumped in Scott's dad's BMW and cruised around Poway until we ended up at the bowling alley, where hey, everyone showed up and proved, we just can't get enough of each other.

For everyone, the end meant a new season. It's time for things to change. It's time for new things to grow in us. I feel the resting season is over. Life will never be the same. And it's good.

So for the last 3 weeks, I've been bored and lonely in this house, and taking every chance I can get to go to the church, hang out with people, or work. Yesterday I called up Laura Oakley and we planned to go see Madagascar. (Great movie by the way). So I'm finally getting out of my house, and I'm driving down Poway road, when my car starts to make a funny noise, and then a funny smell, and then the steering wheel stiffens, right as I'm crossing the center of a 4 way, main street intersection. So I beg my car to push just a little farther to the next driveway on the right. Apparently my car had just a little more grace, because we made it. So I try my brakes, but the cars still rolling, slowly, towards the little porsce in front of me. I hold my breath and push the little stick thing into park and slam on my emergency break, and woo hoo! It works!!! The pretty car is saved! Of course my excitement comes to a halt as smoke begin to rise from the hood. Hmmph. Where am I anyway? I look to my right, and oh wow, I'm at at the Mobil Station, which just happens to have an auto shop attached to it's hip. Hmmm, God? You're funny.

The rest of the day ended up being nice. Even though it took them 2 hours to even look at my car, I saw a movie, hung out at borders, and ran into about 15 people I knew. Allene picked me up for our cell, and I finally get a call that the damage is about 2,000 dollars, maybe, maybe only 500. Who even knows? I said, NO WAY! I'd rather just buy a new car. So my dad picked it up this morning, and is taking it to Tony, this guy we know who works on cars out of his own back yard and asks us to pay him in packs of beer. He's great.

So you see, this all started with a banquet. And that my point.

A New Little Friend

I began to make my long drive home from Dennys around midnight. (I wonder why it's called midNIGHT when it's actually the first minute of morning? Hmmm. Strange. Anyway...) A dark and a heavy fog had settled in upon the long and windy road. (Another strange word. Windy and windy. One pronounced 'wYn-dy' and the other 'win-dy'. I hope I spelt that right. Man, my thought interruptions are interrupting my novel type sentences. I was trying to make it sound like a book, but I keep interrupting myself. So...) I found myself reflecting upon the eventful day that had just ended. Once again, another exciting day at Dennys.

When I had arrived, there was a table of 25+ coming in, and Jessica took them all by herself. I too was in the back room where we hosted the party, taking tables in the left over booths. My 1st table was a table of 9 that used to come into the Diner where I worked last year. The woman is just gorgeous, and should be in movies. The husband is Hispanic I believe, and they have 4 boys. I absolutely love waiting on them because they're just the nicest family. Today they had 3 extra people with them, and at the end of their meal, they left me a 20 dollar tip. This was the second time in my life since I'd made that much at one table. The 1st was the last time I worked.

This of course was only the 1st blessing of the day. My best friend from 5th to high school came in with her sort of new boyfriend to eat so I could meet him. He's a cutey for sure, but he has such a young look to him. He's one year younger than her, but apparently he treats her like a princess. He works at his church which I believe is called Skyline, and it is now a church of 3000. She loves him, and he treats her well. I have no objections. But I didn't get much of a chance to talk with them because as they sat down, the party left and another party of about 30 entered. Guess who's turn it was?

The crowd was the drama group. RHS Drama program has their own academy awards show they do every year. I, being an alumni, was invited, but had to work. I had a feeling they'd come in. The drama group has a bad reputation at Dennys. Even when I was there, we'd always come in, unexpected, no reservations, leave crappy tips, and somehow, a cheese stick would end up on the wall next to some poor, unsuspecting couple. We've been kicked out, told off, ect. Everyone else was snickering at me and laughing at me because "I got the crazy people." I loved every minute of it.

Donna Louden came in and hugged me and then introduced me to everyone in this way. "Hey, everyone, this is Jael. She's a drama alumni." At this point, the large mass began to cheer and clap for me. (That part was pretty great.) "She knows how crazy drama can be, so pleae be nice (isn't funny how she had to say that) and leave her a big tip. Like, a 100 dollar tip." She then left me in the lions den to go Danielle Spearman's birthday party.

Everything went really smooth. Coming from drama, I knew how to handle the crowd. I knew how to quiet them down and keep there attention. I couldn't help but laugh at the other waitresses who were trying to help me with drinks, and would come in and yell with great annoyance in their tones, but could not get anyone's attention.

Many people I knew from high school were there, plus josh and Andrew from GC. I had a lot of fun. They ended up leaving a 23 dollar tip, which was more than I expected, but over all, hanging out with "the drama crew" again was a blast, and made me wish I were once again part of that club, which really was unlike any other in the school. We really do become like a second family to each other. We spend so much time together, it's crazy.

So, I'm reflecting and pondering on all this when I am all of the sudden surprised by a GIANT MUTANT MOTH FLYING AROUND ABOVE MY DASH!!! I swear, it came out of no where. The sight of it's wings fluttering around my front window cause me to scream and swerve my car through the blind fog. I stop, regain my composure and begin to look for the moth. It flies up, but then disappears once more into the darkness. I am barely breathing. The King of all Moths is somewhere hidden in the shadows of my car. I promise you, I didn't give Dennys another thought the rest of the drive home.

As my speed began accelerate with my nervousness, I continued to look around my car for my new little friend. Of course, he's not showing his ugly face, so I look toward my steering wheel to check my speed, and there he is, resting right on the 50 mile/hr mark, wings spread, legs firmly planted on the plastic covering, beckoning me to try and catch him. I shriek once more and then grab my water bottle. I'm about to dump the remaining contents out the window so I can catch the little monster, but then decide that would be a waist, so I chug it But in the middle of my drink, he moves once more to a place my water bottle wont reach, and yet now, he's even closer to me.

5 minutes away from home. I stare at him most of the drive. He's not moving. I finally park, and prepare to catch him with my bottle. I try to slide it where he is, pretty sure my plan will fail to accomplish what I had desired. I was right. Mr. Scary Moth Man flies under my butt, and while screaming and swinging into the air at nothing in particular, I jump out my car. The Moth disappears...

I slowly stick my head back in the car, then climb up on my seat, and carefully search for the beast, but he, the clever little devil, is in hiding. I think, perhaps he's flown out of the car, but as if I had thought out loud, there he was flying past my face and into the back seat. He parks it by the handle on the roof, and I grab a plastic bag from target, ready to capture, but once again I miss and he flies away. I might have seen him fly out the door, but again I'm not sure, so I wait. I sit back down and look around a little more. Maybe he was gone. Maybe I was free at last. I may have seen him fly out. I think I saw him fly out. My suspicions were confirmed when he flew back in right past my nose and back into the car. Once again I scream, jumped out, and deciding it was no longer worth it, slammed the door shut. SO I may or may not have the Mutant Moth chilling in my car right now. If I ever catch him, I promise not to kill him, that is, if the heat doesn't get him first.

I may have learned a valuable lesson from all this, but I can't think of it right now. It's almost 2 in the morning, and I still have to review and spell check all this. But I'll leave you with this. The best part about blessing other people is seeing their faces when you do. I've been asking God for more opportunities to give, and there has been so many, and I just love to see how happy people look when you bless them. Give somebody something of value today, and see what a difference it makes in your own day.

Love you all.

Jael

An Encounter at Dennys

Today is my youngest brother Jared's 12th Birthday! I can't believe it, he's one year away from being a teenager. Who would've thought this day would ever come??? What's funny, is I know 12 year olds, and he still seems like he's 10 to me. He's pretty short, but then again, everyone in my family is short. Stupid genetics. There's no hope for any of us, so I suppose I'll have to marry someone pretty tall if my children want to see happy days, or see anything at all for that matter. (J/K)

So, Wednesday, when I was working at Dennys, I had the whole back room to myself, which I love, because they stick all the big parties back there, and that's where you make the most money. I had about 5 tables, and I asked the hostess not to seat me anymore so I could go on my break, but when I came back into the room, EVERY table decided they wanted dessert, which of course we make, so it just takes extra time, mean while, every time I went back into the room to drop one off, every table needed something else. "Miss, could you bring us more napkins?" "Miss, could you bring our check?" "Miss, I need a refill." "MISS MISS MISS!" You know how it is. I really want to go on my break, but these people refuse to even let me have a moment of peace.

In the midst of these demanding parties, there's a little hidden table of 2 in the back corner. A single mom with an almost side pony tail atop her head, and one of the most beautiful yet sassy little girls I've ever met. Sherry and Dannella. The two reminded me of another mother daughter pair I know and am close to. Mom tries to act too young, making comments such as, "You're the bomb" and the daughter's got the mom wrapped around her finger and get's whatever she wants. Every time I left their presence I wanted to cry, because I know how that story ends. I found myself praying often for them under my breath, asking God for an open opportunity to minister. It comes.

Every table leaves at the same time except for them, and I finally get to go on my break. Since there's no one else in the room, except the two, I'm aloud to sit down at one of the tables. Im walking toward them and I they start to get up. In a flash I blurt out, "Please don't leave, I'm on my break and I wanted to sit and talk with you guys," which isn't completely strange because I had pretty much already established a relationship with them, laughing and joking with the girls every time I had previously come to their table. So she smiles and sits back down and the three of us begin to chat.

Danella's in 2nd grade, but she looks much older. She's very tall. (Lucky girl.) Somehow, right away we get on the subject of church, and Sherry looks at me and says, "I knew you were a Christian. I could just tell. You're so different." And little Danella says, "You even look like a Christian." And they proceed to tell me that they're Christians and go to the church of a pastor friend of mine, but they're moving to Texas in 2 weeks. Dani loves church, but they admitted to not going too often. They may visit ours this Sunday. After we had established that we were both Christians, she began to openly pour out her heart and her life story to me. She'd recently left Dani's dad, which all she would say "was a bad seen" and that she has trouble with her daughter because she has ADHD, and is constantly begging for attention, mostly by, (from what I could tell), constantly pushing her limits and boundaries.

We talked for about 15 minutes. It was really good. I got to pour into her, and it ended with me praying for her and her daughter. I prayed for wisdom, a good church in Texas with a great children's program, and healing, and before they left I made Dani memorize a quote. "My body is lined up with the Word of God." Which she remembered very quickly and I instructed her to repeat it every day. She walked away saying it over and over again. It was so cute. Her mom was fighting back tears, but she left smiling. She even filled out one of our comment cards which said, "Jayel was awesome!" Hee hee.

It's so amazing to see how God worked that out. To know that that one little moment had been planned from the beginning of time. Perhaps they will never forget me. Perhaps their lives will be forever changed because of one encounter at Dennys. This happened a few days ago, but revisiting this memory stirs me. Think, we could have encounters like this every day if we just looked and asked. If we weren't afraid.

One of my favorite things is learning about other peoples lives. There's just so many out there being lived, and so many that need help. And to think, this is how we're called to live, every day. Literally, helping and changing peoples lives is our calling, all of our callings as Christians. That's huge. God is so amazing, and once again, I stand in awe of His sovereignty. If I had gone on my break when I wanted to, if none of those other tables had wanted dessert, I may have never had that opportunity. He is good.

It Must be Loov

So, I finally make a blog, and guess what I do? I forget my sign in name. I kept E-mailing the blog people to send it to me, and they say they do, but I never got the E-mail. I finally found about 5 E-mails from them in my spam folder, and at long last, I have recovered my account name, so I can finally begin to record my many adventures at Denny's. Sadly, I didn't really have one tonight. I was a little disappointed, but it's probably because I was in section one, and you can't have more than 4 people at a table in that section. Plus we were slow, but I do have one cute story. At the end of the night, four guys, who barely spoke english came in and I sat them, and the old guy bows to me, so I curtsey back trying to be being funny, and then comment on how lame my curtsey was because I didn't put any real effort into it, and the old guy not understanding a thing I said goes, "Yeah." A young guy at the table laughs, obviously understanding what just happened. I than look at this curious old man and ask, "have you come in before? I recognize you, and I don't think I could ever forget someone like you." And he looks at me and in his little accent goes, "It must be love." Of course it comes out like "Loov" which just makes it cuter.

Interns is over. The last two years of my life have come to an end, and to tell you the truth, it's been a little emotional. Every once in a while it hits me, "I'm not an intern anymore. I can wear jeans to church again!" (I never would;) and I just want to cry. I'm not even sure what to do with myself. They still haven't given me more hours at work, so I have all this free time, and for some reason, I keep finding myself at the church, working. I can't seem to get away. I love the house of God so much, and there's no place I'd rather be, but over the last two years it's become part of me, and it's what I know right now. I think this next season of my life will be good for me. I'll get to stretch out my hands in "The Real World" and put to practice all these things I've learned.

Over and over I've tried to reflect on what God has done, but all I find myself thinking about is the future. My desire to travel is growing stronger and my hunger for the Word is increasing. I want to travel and preach the Gospel. Eventually one day I want to be a pastor, but right now I just want to go. I find myself dreaming of being in some other country, surrounded by beauty similar to that which I found in Nicaragua. I'm resting with children in my arms. I'm preaching and entire villages are being saved and healed. It seems like a dream so far away, something I could never reach at 20, but I keep asking myself, "Why not?" God can do anything right?I know I need to go to school, and I will, but there's breaks, there's next summer. Who knows what God has in store for me? My dreams are massive and I don't want to wait till I'm 30 to see them come to pass.

God is so good. Our lives have such amazing potential, and He wants to do something great with each one. I look forward to seeing the paths of each one of the interns. It's been such an honor to grow with them and see their giftings and their passions. God's will for each of their lives is going to blow everyone away. I'm excited!

O.K, it's time for bed. Good night all!