God-ness

God-ness #1:

This past Wednesday night, I had a great talk with one of my residents, Amanda. We were wrapping shoe-boxes for Operation Christmas Child and she was telling me how she use to put together boxes with her church when she was growing-up. I did not know she had a church background, but it opened some doors for me to ask her more specific questions related to religion. As our conversation continued, I learned that Amanda is really involved in Grace Church (a church that meets on campus).

....side note: Amanda is having issues with her roommate. Not "bad" issues, they just don't get along...at all.

After learning that Amanda was a Christian, I was able to address the roommate situation in a whole new manner. We talked about what maybe God was trying to teach Amanda in the situation, or maybe how God was trying to use Amanda in her roommate's life. I was able to encourage her to pray for her [Atheist] roommate.

All this to say, it was so refreshing to encourage a resident in a manner that was not based solely on my RA training. Please pray that Amanda, that we will continue to have good conversations, that God would open unknown doors with other residents, and praise God for this opportunity!

God-ness #2:

Yesterday we had our Fall Festival. It was fun, but I decorated the "Haunted Lounge" for like 3 hours, led social mixers for 2 hours, and then took down my decorations in like 5 destructive minutes! I was exhausted. Despite my fatigue, my friend Hillary convinced me to go to a Halloween party. A friend of ours was DJ-ing a party and Hillary wanted to go and support him (Ryan). I only went because Ryan is a friend of ours who goes to church with Hillary and who salsa dances with us, so I figured he would probably play a few Salsa songs.

A freshman in my building, Orlando, was walking up and down the halls prior to my leaving, and said he didn't have much to do this evening. I, not even knowing Orlando's name at the time, invited him to come to our party. He was hesitant at first, and even asked me if he would be the only minority (Orlando is Black). I told him I didn't know anything about the party, but that my friend Ryan was also Black. Orlando agreed to go.

When we arrived at the party, much to my surprise I was the minority, and also much to my surprise, it was an Every Nation Campus Ministries Party!!! (The ministry I did my freshman year!). It was so great to see all my old friends, and to get to introduce Orlando to them.

Orlando loved it, and ALSO to my surprise he was so excited to meet Black Christians. On the way to the party he told Hillary and me in the car that he didn't really like college and was thinking about transferring....Orlando, now has plans to go to church with some of the guys I introduced him to tomorrow morning!

AND I DID GET TO SALSA!!!




Spain girls reunite at Ginny's surprise birthday party!

HaPpY HaLloWeEn!!!!!

Last night I had my Operation Christmas Child Program. We filled 4 boxes among my residents and collected $28 to ship them!

Today is my good friend Ginny Davenport's 21st birthday! She was a great friend of mine while in Spain. I am helping out with her all-day-birthday-scavenger-hunt, going out to dinner with her, and then attending her surprise birthday party tonight! (DON'T tell her!!)


Tomorrow the Triad (where I am an RA) is having a big fall festival. We have elementary school children coming to trick-or-treat in our dorms from 1-3pm, then we have a cookout, haunted lounge, field games, movies, pop-corn maker, live DJ, pumpkin carving contest, etc from 5-8pm for our residents. It should be fun! I am going to be a cat because it was the easiest thing I could think of to be!...wear all black and make cat ears.

Then the rest of the weekend will include: homework, homework, homework, and if I have time, some homework!!!

The Mountains

I just got back from my weekend in Asheville! It was a fabulous weekend. I rode home with Hillary and we accomplished some much needed catching-up. I got home around 5:00pm and did laundry. Later Friday evening, Hillary and I went to eat at Cocina Latina and then salsa dancing! Saturday I took it easy (!!!!!) in the morning, then went shopping at Wal-Mart and the Dollar Store with my mom...we needed to buy Operation Christmas Child box stuffers. Then my mom made me my favorite Chili for dinner....Ummmmm....it was so yummy. Later Saturday evening I met-up with my friend Grace (co-RA) who was visiting Asheville with her family. We did random Asheville "things" and went by Stone Ridge Tavern (where I worked this summer) to visit all my friends! Sunday morning after church mom and I ate at El Chapala Mexican restaurant and then I headed for Raleigh around 1:30.

When I arrived to my dorm door SEVERAL of my girls had written sweet notes on my board for me and a few of them had created a "mountain scene" (including birds, clouds, ect) with painters tape on the wall next to my room. It is a huge mountain scene and below it, it said "We brought the mountains to you because we like it when you stay here!"

...how sweet are they???? I love my girls.

middle schoolers

I spend every Monday morning observing 2 Spanish classes at Carnage Middle School in Raleigh. This past week, after saying the Pledge of Allegiance, one boy asked his classmate:

"If Obama wins the election, will we start saying '...and to the Democrat for which it stands...'?"

His classmate then responded:

"Duh, it always changes when we get a new president."


I have thus added a new reason to become a teacher: Correct all Pledge of Allegiance misconceptions.

Destino Bible Study

I love Destino! We meet on Tuesday nights from 6-7:30pm, and it's great. We have been consistently a group of EIGHT girls. Ekaterina (Puerto Rican, Leader), Berenise (Peruvian), Sylvia (Mexican), Blanca (Mexican), Gladys (Mexican), Holly (North American, Campus Crusade Representative), Allison (N. A., Co-RA), and me (N. A.).

We always start out with an Ice Breaker (Rompe de heilo), like Sillas Musicales (musical chairs), and then we have a Bible Study. I love that it is a small group atmosphere and that we are all girls.

Tonight several of the girls could not make it, so I decided to postpone the lesson I had planned and the four of us there shared our testimonies. It was so incredibly neat to hear how extremely different our stories were, but yet how God was using each different detail in our lives to lead us to Destino! It reminds me that God has big plans for Destino on NC State's Campus or He would not have spent the time leading us all to be part of the Destino group.

Please pray for our group. We would love to have some guys join (we LOVE our girl group, but we can't stay exclusive forever). Also pray that God would use us on our campus and that we would know how to reach out to the Hispanics here.

When I visited State during my senior year of high school, I signed up on NC State's Hispanic organization's email list. While in Costa Rica I got an email announcing the first Destino meeting. I was so excited about the idea of Destino, that I prayed for it even before I came to State. It's fun to look back and see how God put Destino on my heart before I was even a part of it!...God clearly has had plans for Destion long before the rest of us did.

Busy Busy Busy

My list I created to be completed for the weekend:

-Call my Grandma Kincaid and thank her for also sending me a generous check to help out with Fall Break Break-Ins!
-Interview a resident for a Diversity paper
-Write Diversity Paper for RA Class (5-7 pages)
-Write Observation paper for Intro into Education (3 pages)
-Go visit CHASS Dean and get a class approved for next semester
-Visit Duke Nasher Museum of Art with Spanish Literature Class (1pm-4pm Saturday)
-Do research in Library on selected painting from Duke Nasher Museum
-Write analytical paper in Spanish about painting, artist, and time period influences
-Do weekly readings and answer questions for Spanish Literature
-Do Unit 3 Outline for Early American History (including researched sources)
-Do weekly History online readings
-Prepare for Bible Study for Destino on Tuesday (I'm leading!)
-Complete 2 reference forms for people applying for RA positions for next year
-Work on Logistics and Advertising for Operation Christmas Child program in my dorm
-allow residents to come and sit in my room for hours at a time and listen to them talk even though I have a lot to do (I really do love them, though...they're great! and they make me laugh a lot)
-sleep, eat

And to think that I (well, my parents) PAY $$$$$ for me to do all of this!....Americans are CRAZY!

Fall Break Positives!!!!

Yes, my Fall Break had some unfortunate events...but it was still enjoyable overall.

~I got a much needed hair cut
~I ate at Asiana
~I got some homework and a project done
~I got to spend time with my parentals
~I got to go WEDDING DRESS shopping with Caroline (and Christy), but ONLY Caroline was shopping
~I got to see my favorite dog and two cats
~I got to watch some TV ( which has truly become a veg-out-luxury...no TV time, or TV, in college for me)
~I washed clothes
~I got to visit, hangout with, and go dancing with some friends from this past summer
~I got to eat breakfast with the Whipple family and my friend Hannah
AND
~my mom told my Granddaddy that I was upset about the car break-in and all the $$$$ expenses that came with it, and he sent me a very generous check!

....there were a 1000 more positive things, but I have to do homework!