You might have grown up in tornado alley if...

The first thing you do if you hear tornado sirens during the day is check your watch to see if it's noon.

You don't get worried unless the sky looks "green".

You might go indoors when there's a tornado, but you won't "seek shelter" for anything less than an F3.

You know what Doppler radar, Hook echo, wall cloud, and rain-wrapped all mean.

You've never exactly memorized the tornado precautions, but you've heard them enough times that you know them by heart anyway.

Watching the weather is entertaining. And red on the Doppler radar is exciting.

The phrase "Tornado on the ground, take your immediate tornado precautions" sends exciting shivers up your spine.

You've seen photos/videos of tornados and said, "Wow, that's a nice one!"

You can feel/smell tornado weather brewing a few hours before the storm actually begins.

There's an odd feeling as though you've misplaced something if you make it all the way to June without a tornado warning near you.

You think people that live in earthquake and/or hurricane prone areas are crazy.

You know what people are talking about when they mention the "May 3rd/Moore" tornado and the "Greensburg/May4th" tornado.

You watch the movie "Twister" just so you can point out all the inaccuracies in it.

You know your weathermen by their first names. i.e. Gary.

When you hear the tornado sirens go off, you go outside to watch the storm and take pictures.

Most of the tornado video footage comes from everyday people with camcorders instead of from actual news/weathermen.

You're sure there's a giant tornado magnet hidden somewhere in Moore. And that there are smaller ones distributed throughout trailer parks.

You know that the four seasons are actually: summer, late summer, winter (if you're lucky), and tornado.

You don't consider it windy until the windspeed is faster than 30mph.

You are highly entertained by people from outside tornado alley when there is a tornado watch.

You learned that some other states don't have tornado drills from this list.

There's enough random stuff in your tornado shelter that you could live there for a year.

You stand under your carport or open your front door to watch hail and/or thunderstorms.

You know the difference between a basement, a cellar, and a storm shelter.

The weather is a completely acceptable subject for conversation, at any time, for any occasion.

Your local mall has "tornado shelter" signs posted.

It doesn't bother you the next day to find out that your area was under a tornado watch the night before and you had no idea. Unless, of course, it caused you to miss some interesting cloud formations.

Getting to "play" in the basement/cellar/storm shelter numbers among your favorite childhood memories.

You keep matches, candles, and candleholders in more than one place in your house.

Your town will never get hit by a tornado because you're between two rivers or because an old Indian legend says so.

You complain about severe weather reports that interrupt the TV show you're watching.

You can get together all your most important possessions in 2 minutes flat.

When tornado sirens woke you up in the middle of the night...you rolled over and went back to sleep.

You've ever tried to reassure someone by saying that "if anything forms it will only be a little tornado"...and couldn't understand why this didn't calm them down any.

It's normal for your area to be under a tornado watch for multiple days in a row.

When looking at houses/buildings you give them a "tornado survival ranking". i.e., how big of a tornado it would take to destroy it. Also, if you are in a new building or house, you evaluate in your mind the best place to take shelter.

You've ever asked (probably w/ disdain) "Don't they know the difference between a warning and a watch?"

You know what towns/cities a tornado normally passes through before coming your way.

From watching radar maps, you've heard of almost every small town in your state. And you know what towns are around them, but you have no idea where in the state they are.

You laughed at everything in this list, but you also respect a tornado's power. And you know that after it's over, clean-up and re-building has to begin.

Well, looks like I grew up in tornado alley :) did you? would you add anything to the list?

Full Weekend

My week was so crazy last week, so I wasn't able to blog. I was gone almost every night with something. And the weekend didn't slow it down: Fri-Toon Town training, Sat-Wendy's 17th birthday party and Nick's wedding! then Caroline's Graduation party, Sun-church and LIFESTOCK!! Needless to say, I was exhausted this morning. Last week I finished one of my books of "summer reading" and it reminded me of something I blogged about earlier this year...

"I once took a little dog through a course in obedience school. One of the lessons he had to learn was to respond to my voice only. There were forty-nine other dogs and their masters in the circle, adn commands were given by more than one person at a time. Each dog had to distinguish, out of all hte noise, the one voice that called to him. so do we who are trainees in God's obedience school. We learn to love the sound of His voice, and our obedience to Him, in matters large and small, changes us into His image, "from glory to glory" (2Cor 3:18). That is a promise."
--Be Still My Soul, by Elisabeth Elliot


Are you listening to His voice among the other sounds calling out to you? Are you being obedient?

UnEqual

"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?" 2 Cor. 6:14

What does "unequally yoked" mean to you? Some believe it just means you can't marry someone who isn't a believer, however I would never call someone a "best friend" if they aren't progressing in their faith. I believe we are called to reach out into the world, but should we rely so closely on someone who doesn't believe Christ is their Savior. Or should you even engage in a dating relationship where the boy isn't leading, or isn't stronger. Just some thoughts for today.

What does this verse mean to you? How strict are you on engaging in intimate (meaning anything past a friend) relationships with non-believers? Go read the whole chapter and see if it sheds anymore light with you. Please, tell me what you think.

One Word

I asked my friends to describe me in just one word. What was the first word that came to mind when you thought of me? Most said more than one, but here's the gist of what I got...
1) Leader
2) Judgemental
3) Confident (but not arrogant)
4) Honest (but not rude)
5) Good Advice Giver
6) Good Friend
7) Needy
8) Dramatic
9) Demanding
10) Inquisitive
11) Reserved
12) Observant

As each word reach my ears, I just stopped. Some I was really excited to hear, others I was kinda blown away from what they said. Now I know that what people think of me doesn't matter, but it put a lot into perspective. Obviously, I have some things I need to work on, and it was obvious which friendships were healthy and which weren't. I think sometimes we need to stop and evaluate how we're doing. Some of these things would have NEVER come to my mind (aka "dramatic" and "needy") so it's a good thing to get a perspective from those who were close to you. Just a random thought from today. Feel free to leave any comment you'd like.

(So it's official, all of my friends have graduated high school...)

Enrollement

Today my daddy and I went to UCO for Enrollement. We went prepared, so it was pretty much waisted time. However, I got to take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (for the 5th time). And here was my final results...(I hope they make you laugh, because they sure made me chuckle)!

Introversion (I)
I like getting my energy from dealing with the ideas, pictures, memories, and reactions that are inside my head, in my inner world. I often prefer doing things alone or with one or two people I feel comfortable with. I take time to reflect so that I have a clear idea of what I’ll be doing when I decide to act. Ideas are almost solid things for me. Sometimes I like the idea of something better than the real thing.

Sensing (S)
Paying attention to physical reality, what I see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. I’m concerned with what is actual, present, current, and real. I notice facts and I remember details that are important to me. I like to see the practical use of things and learn best when I see how to use what I’m learning. Experience speaks to me louder than words.

The following statements generally apply to me:

• I remember events as snapshots of what actually happened.
• I solve problems by working through facts until I understand the problem.
• I am pragmatic and look to the “bottom line.”
• I start with facts and then form a big picture.
• I trust experience first and trust words and symbols less.
• Sometimes I pay so much attention to facts, either present or past, that I miss new possibilities.

Thinking (T)
When I make a decision, I like to find the basic truth or principle to be applied, regardless of the specific situation involved. I like to analyze pros and cons, and then be consistent and logical in deciding. I try to be impersonal, so I won’t let my personal wishes--or other people’s wishes--influence me.

The following statements generally apply to me:

• I look for logical explanations or solutions to most everything.
• I make decisions with my head and want to be fair.
• I believe telling the truth is more important than being tactful.
• Sometimes I miss or don’t value the “people” part of a situation.
• I can be seen as too task-oriented, uncaring, or indifferent.

Judging (J)
I use my decision-making (Judging) preference (whether it is Thinking or Feeling) in my outer life. To others, I seem to prefer a planned or orderly way of life, like to have things settled and organized, feel more comfortable when decisions are made, and like to bring life under control as much as possible.

The following statements generally apply to me:

• I like to have things decided.
• I like to make lists of things to do.
• I like to get my work done before playing.
• I plan work to avoid rushing just before a deadline.
• Sometimes I focus so much on the goal that I miss new information.

And here is my personality in a whole...

ISTJ
Quiet, serious, earn success by thoroughness and dependability. Practical, matter-of-fact, realistic, and responsible. Decide logically what should be done and work toward it steadily, regardless of distractions. Take pleasure in making everything orderly and organized – their work, their home, their life. Value traditions and loyalty.

Graduation

Well, today's the day. I've been waiting for 12 years for this day to come, and here it is. My high school career is almost over. I'm finding it hard to believe, but I'm ready for this day to come. I'm ready for a new adventure with new people. I'm ready to take the next step into God's plan for my life. And I'll leave you with this quote I heard at the midnight showing of Prince Caspian (a must see!!)...

"I do not think I'm ready."-says Prince Caspian to Aslan
"For that reason I know you are."-Aslan

As today grew closer, I felt like I wasn't ready. So much of my time was wasted on things that didn't matter the next day. But as always, God thinks I'm ready, so I must be. Here's to the next part of the journey!

This poem was given to one of my friends during her quiet time and she asked me to share it with you all. So please pass it to your friends as well.


Why?

Why must I see such evil things when I close my eyes
When I open them to the world it makes me realize
God made the world for good not for all the pain we see
But man disobeyed God's wish and took the fruit upon the tree

Why must I see such hurt and sorrow everywhere I go
It makes it hard to realize but at least I know
That God made the world for good not for all the pain we see
God sent Love in the form of a man to die upon a tree

Why must evil rule the world we know and live in now
It’s hard to say we'll make it through but I know we will somehow
Cuz God made the world for good not for all the pain we see
And the Spirit lives in you while the Man on throne with He

Hmmmm....

So my parents are convinced this dream probably doesn't mean anything, and I just over-thought it, which is probably true, but let me tell you what I came up with:

1) Bombs--I was under attack, and a lot of it was with the stuff at church, but I wasn't ever hit because I was hiding out in Central LifeKIDS. For a while things would be ok and then out of nowhere something else would happen.
2) Significance of the people:
Lori--our main interaction is at church, we're both incredibly busy
Hannah--our friendship fades in and out (busyness), but we always end up together
Chris--we go through a lot, but always end up ok in the end
Taylor--just in my life for short periods of time, but is always focused on what's ahead of him
Family--at the time, I didn't involve my parents in much of my life, so they didn't know what was happening (but that's changed, so don't worry)
The people in the field--I think they were all people I knew and that had a part in my life.
3) Don't know about the field
4) Warehouse--I'm hiding from something big that I'm supposed to be apart of, but won't join without coercion and support
5) Mountains--they are a place of peace for me
6) Bombs--get ready, they're coming again.



So whether or not you think this dream had any meaning, you have to admit, it was strange. :) I don't know what I think, sometimes I think God speaks to me through dreams. You can believe as you will (and I'm the first to admit I over-think A LOT), but here it is. Take what you will :)

A Dream

Here's a freaky dream I had. It happened about 7 weeks ago. The week after we got back from Mexico.

"I was at church, downstairs in the LifeKIDS Central Offices (if you have been there, I was between Kendra and Shawn's desks). I was with lots of people (around 7), but the only person I remember is Lori. Next thing I know, bombs (almost torpedo-like) come through the walls and we all hit the floor and covered our heads. After about 5 min, the bombs stopped and we all got up and none of us were hurt. We gathered ourselves up and go on doing what we were doing. About 15 minutes later, bombs (again torpedo-like) and the same thing happened, we all hit the ground hoping we didn't get blown up. Next thing I know, I had left the church and I'm with Chris and Hannah. We're walking South on Coltrane from 15th to 33rd. Next thing I know, Hannah is gone and I'm just walking with Chris. As we approach 33rd, everything around us turns into ice: the road, the green trees, the cars---EVERYTHING was ice. Then, Taylor is in his car and passes Chris and I in the intersection. You can barely see into his car, but you could see his face. I kept yelling at him to go check on his dad (remember bombs just went off) and he kept pointing behind him. As he went through the intersection, two kids on bikes followed him. He was just gonna make sure they got home safely. Chris and I walk through the intersection, but we had to pull on the iced trees to get up the hill, but we made it over the top together. Where there are houses on Coltrane after 33rd, there was just a field--a field that had never had anything on it, but it was full of families. We (Chris is still with me) run through the field searching for my family. I found them sitting in their lawn chairs, chatting away as though nothing had happened (remember, bombs just went off at church). I ran to them making sure I was ok, but they didn't hear me. All they asked was what I was doing, and I told them I wasn't sure. Hannah and her family coming running over, and soon all of my parents' friends are with us. Chris, knowing Hannah and I had made it to our families, went on a search for his and he walked across the field to 33rd and Bryant. The rest is kinda fuzzy. I was in this big warehouse, but I was hiding in the rafters. A spotlight kept trying to find me, but it never did. Below me, there was dancing and singing, almost like they were putting on a production. A guy was in the rafters as well and he convinced me to join in the dancing. So now I'm dancing in this circle. Next thing you know, this same guy is pushing me out the front door telling me something bad is gonna happen and we have to hide. I think more bombs might have been going off. So he pushes us out the door and he makes a run for it, but I just stood on the outside of this warehouse. To my left are mountains of great size. The people I traveled to Chihuahua with are with me now and we are climbing these mountains. We get to a plateaued spot and we, along with some kids we picked up from somewhere, are sitting in a circle, holding hands. Just as we sat, bombers come in from behind the mountains and I'm yelling to this group, "WE SHOULD MOVE!!! MORE BOMBS ARE COMING!!!!!! WHY WON'T YOU LISTEN?!?!?!"

Here's where I woke up. I know it's long, but I wanted to give details. Craig said to write it down, so I did. Do you think there's any significance in the dream? What might your interpretation be. Look soon and I'll show you what my friends and I came up with. They thought it was such a bizarre dream, it had to have meaning....keep in mind, I have the gift of prophecy...I don't know...

Lessons Learned from Toy Story

I was babysitting last night for a new family and we watched Toy Story (1&2). And as I watched, I picked up a few lessons I learned from Woody and Buzz and the gang:

1. Jealousy is NEVER good.
2. Sacrificing old friends for "new, cool" friends generally isn't a wise thing (sing with me "Make new friends, and keep the old..." I don't know the rest...) Like my parents say...don't burn bridges
3. Embrace who you are to your Owner and don't let other "toys" convince you that you were worth more than your Owner knew.
4. Sacrifice always comes with love.

If you don't know the story, I suggest you go rent them both. I'll do a quick summary of the situations of the lessons, but I don't want to make it too long.

1-When Andy gets Buzz, Woody gets jealous. He was always the favorite, but now he lives under the bed instead of on it. His jealousy goes so far that he "pushes" Buzz out the bedroom window.

2-The other toys fall for Buzz's newness and immediately turn their back on Woody. They keep the two from getting home and almost get Buzz blown up by Sid, simply because they had traded in their trust of Woody for Buzz.

3-In the 2nd movie, Woody is stolen and is sold to a museum in Japan. He came from a TV series and his "co-stars" convinced him, Andy wouldn't love him forever and he should give up and sell himself. BUT in the end, Woody remembers Andy will always love him and returns with his new friends.

4-Buzz risks his life to rescue Woody all because Woody once risked his.

What lessons have you had to learn. Just in the last few months, I've experience each of these at least once. What other movies have you learned from?

Glorious One

Our hands are lifted high
Our hearts are bowing reverence
And we're surrounded by
The glory of Your presence

With every creature every tongue
We're lifting our voice to the Glorious One

Glorious One
Glorious One

Light of the world
You outshine the sun
King of all Kings
Eternity sings
Glorious One

God of infinite worth
With hands that carve out the ocean
You hold the universe
And still You run to the broken

With every heart that's been redeemed
We're lifting our song to the Glorious King

There is none more beautiful
There is none more wonderful


Glorious One, by Steve Fee

What do we do without a leader???

Today I work, I only had 2 kids left by 4 and so we went to the duck pond. We spent about 45 min watching the mother duck and her ducklings and anxiously waiting to see the school of fish that lives in the pond. About 30 min into it, the mother jumped out of the pond and walked in the grass. The moment she jumped out, the 8 ducklings chirped constantly for their mom. They even tried to jump out with her. They followed her around as she walked on the outside, but they were completely lost with out their leader Even though she was out of the pond, every time she quacked, the ducklings knew just where she was. It reminded me of one of Jesus' parables:


"3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”
John 10:3-5

Go here and read the rest of the story. My question--can you recognize your Father's voice? Have you ever been lost and then you hear His voice? Any cool stories you have hearing Him?

Be Still My Soul

I'm reading this book called Be Still My Soul, by Elisabeth Elliot, and I wanted to share a part about prayer...

"I realized that the Bible itself is full of written prayers, including the one Jesus taught His disciples when they asked for a model of prayer. "Our Father who art in heaven...(Matthew 6:9-13) The older I get, the more I use that prayer and the more I realize that virtually everything that really matters is contained in that one prayer. I am not praying to get an answer to every question or a solution to every problem, but rather to put my whole live and all the lives of those whom I love in the light of heaven."


How has your prayer life changed as you've grown older? What are your favorites ways to pray? Do you have any prayers you pray every day?

Memories

So I don't have anything really great to say, but I want to hear stories....so what are some of your favorite stories of me??? I'll post back what my favorite stories of you are :)

OKC---

This was my first weekend at OKC!! I'm exhausted (Sundays are so much longer...) but I had so much fun! I got to be in rooms that I haven't been in before and every time, God sent me someone I knew, or at least someone who was personable (you'd have thought we'd known each other for years...). It was different not knowing anyone and starting from scratch. I had no credentials. Left and right people asked and told me what to do, and I just bit my tongue and learned. Thanks for all your prayers. It's gonna be great, just pray I make new friends easily. :)


***Side note...only 3 more weeks until graduation! I can't wait! I'm headed to Edmond now for Konnect!

Lesson 1....

Get all your strength from God...He'll supply all you'll ever need.

Here's something that amazed me about my experience in Chihuahua: 1) I didn't eat half as much as I usually (I can only remember being hungry once...on the way home--Domino's night) 2) I slept very little, I mean like 3-4 hours a night (not once did I feel worn out from exhaustion) 3) I did some major work out and managed to always make it up the mountain (in my own time...another lesson, so stay tuned).

The whole week I pulled so much strength from my Jesus. When I painted all day without rest, He guided my brush. When I spoke after having no sleep, He guided my words. When I ate enough food to be polite, but not enough to fill my tummy, He gave me the Bread of Life. When I felt I couldn't walk any longer DOWN the mountain, He sent me a friend to walk with. When I needed a day of silence, He spent the whole day at my side, just listening, but never speaking. When I doubted I could make it UP the mountain, He sent me a helping hand. When the journey seemed like forever, He sent me a guide. When the blister grew on my foot, He gave me a friend who let me borrow their socks. When I knew I couldn't walk anymore on my knee, He brought someone to carry me. When I was in pain, He sent a friend I could lean on. When I needed some encouragement, He sent me a beautiful sunset. When I felt lonely, He blessed me with a sunrise. When I needed some real food, He blessed me with potatoes and ketchup. When I needed affirmation I was doing a good job, He spoke through everyone around me.

Get all your strength from Him, He's all you'll ever need.

Nothing left...

"Here’s a story that started on Christmas
When a baby was born in the night
And those who came far, who followed the star
Were seeing a heavenly sight ...
a heavenly sight.

Well the years hurried by, and the boy, now a man
Could make the blind see with a touch of his hand
He was born to be King -- he was Rabbi and Priest
But the best that he had, he gave to the least ...
He gave to the least.

He was born and he died, almost 2,000 years ago
He laughed and he cried, he felt all the fears we know
But what does it matter? A story so strange ...
Even if it is true, what does it change?
What does it change?

Well he spoke like a prophet -- like no one they’d heard
This simple young carpenter -- crowds hung on every word
He hated injustice -- He taught what is right
He said “I’m the way, and the truth, and the light.”

His friends soon believed that truly he was the one.
The Savior, Messiah, God’s one and only son.
But others, they doubted, they did not agree
So they took him, they tried him,
He died on a tree ...
He died on a tree.

God has made a way
for all who mourn and grieve
Death will never be the end
if you just believe.

There is nothing left to fear
nothing Heaven knows
For he died for us to give us life
and to give us hope He rose
He died for us to give us life
And to give us hope He rose."


This is from "An Easter Carol" produced by VeggieTales. We were watching it today at work and I had kinda tuned out the lyrics--after all I had already seen it so many times--but I just happened to tune in to

"There's nothing left to fear, nothing Heaven knows.
He died for us to give us life and to give us hope He rose."

As most of you know, I've really been battling some fears. For the first time in my life I can say I'm genuinely scared of change. But as I'm facing this huge change (graduating high school, friends going to college, going to a different campus...and the list goes on) I have to remember Jesus suffered the worst just for ME! No matter how many times I'm hurt, no matter how many times doors keep closing, no matter how many times people leave, I always have hope...my Jesus never leaves me, He never hurts me, and He will always open the RIGHT doors at the RIGHT time. (Go check out the video by clicking on "An Easter Carol" at the top...)

Journey back home!!!!

We woke up bright and early at 3:30 (well, not really bright, it was still dark...), loaded up the van, and fell asleep again. :) I slept for another 4 hours, until the sun came up, another beautiful sunrise!! Everyone woke up slowly and we crossed the border around 8:15. We were stopped by the military again, this time, however this time they made us all get out. Thankfully we were all awake when we crossed the border. :) When we were crossing the Rio Grande, we sang the National Anthem, and Mel recorded it. She still had her camera out when we got to the border patrol, and they "confiscated her camera and made us all get out of the van while they searched it. A van, with an x-ray inside of it, which was kinda cool to watch. After some rigorous searching, we were on the road again. We drove for another 3 hours without stopping, and Lori decided she couldn't wait any longer and we pulled over and she took her orange trowel and went on the side of the road!!! In TEXAS!!! We were in such a hurry to get home, we stopped at a gas station for lunch, grab our food real fast and jumped back in the van to continue our voyage home. We were all just giggling and laughing at all our funny moments and next thing you know, our conversation turns completely serious and we all opened up and had some incredible discussion about the trip and the things we learned, about our favorite parts and our least favorite parts. It's amazing what God can do in an instant. We started to get a little hungry, and almost simultaneously, we (the students) had this brilliant idea to buy the leaders dinner. We wanted everyone to be able to sit down and talk (we hadn't sat together as a group the whole week). After much debate, we stopped at an Arby's and somehow got our food correctly (there was some poor management...) and were able to just sit and talk. Lance opened up to us about how he felt the trip went and we told him exactly what we thought...WE LOVED IT!!!! About 30 min later we hopped in the van again, and headed home. Sarcastically I said, let's say our favorite thing about each other, well, Lori took it seriously and so for the rest of the drive home, we simply encouraged each other. Talk about cool. This pretty much blew Paco's mind...here we are, a bunch of teenagers and we're sitting in a van talking about Christ and each other so positively. He didn't stop going on about it! We made Chris (the leader) cry because of how much of a leader we all were at age 16, 17, 18. Mel couldn't stop complimenting us either! It was so cool, probably one of the coolest "drive-backs" I've ever had. I will never forget some of the things people said about me (it's crazy how you see yourself one way, and everyone else sees you differently). You were all such an encouragement to me, I hope I spoke half as much life into you as you did to me. Well, that's about it--we got home at midnight Sat (the next morning was Easter). I went with some people to IHOP (as always) and we sat and talked for some time. I think I finally made it home around 1, and took a much needed shower (I think it was 4 days...), and fell asleep around 2am and woke up bright and early at 7 for Easter Sunday!!

Thanks for sticking through this all and reading it! It's amazing all God did in me. I'll be posting what I learned from people and from My Jesus in the next few weeks!

Day 6

The next morning, I woke up to the sun and hurried down to the lake to watch the sunrise. It was quite cold, but totally worth it. The lake was covered in fog, and as the sun inched up over the mountains, the fog followed it and there were even some small "tornadoes." The sun came up and brightened the water quite a bit. I hurried back to camp and Lance prepared coffee cake for breakfast. It was AMAZING!! We finally got moving around, packed up again and started to head out. Before we left one of our leaders Chris did something that I thought was pretty cool. He took each of us students and told us something he had noticed about each of us that had inspired or encouraged him. I bet you'll never guess what mine was...that's right, my smile, along with perseverance. He said he could always count on seeing my smile and that my smile gave everyone the energy to keep moving. (I thought it was pretty cool anyway). We loaded up and start the drive to the hot springs. I think the drive was only about 30 min, but the rest of the way to the hot springs was grueling. As we pulled into the park, the guy who took our money told us it was only a 3 kilometer walk, however, it turned out to be about a 7.5 kilometer hike into the canyon (keep in mind, we were in our shorts, a swimsuit, flip flops, and a t-shirt). Then when we got to the hot springs, they were PACKED and were just little pools, not really hot springs, but we swam anyway. Everyone else there was more or less drunk or were at least on their way to getting drunk. But we stayed and swam for a little while, but lunch time came, and we were ready to hike back up. It took me and Mel an hour to hike back up (I had a growing blister, and my knee was throbbing, as was Mel's, so we took it slow). We got to a stopping place where everyone was waiting on us and I drank 2 full bottles of water. The leader Chris ran to the top and drove the van down to get us. We drove to Divisadero (the touristy spot of the cannon) and shopped and looked at a great deal of the canyon. After about 2 hours, we loaded the van and headed back to the orphanage to sleep for the night before we headed back to America. This was a 6 hour drive and by the time we got back to Chihuahua we were starving, so we pulled in some money and ordered 6 boxes of Domino's pizza!!! For 8 of us to eat!! And all but one box was eaten. We stayed up a lot of the night talking and laughing and made it to bed around 2:30 only to be woken up at 5 to start our journey home.

We've got one more, the journey home...look for it on Thursday!!

Day 5

We started to drive to Creol, which is a four hour drive. We went on the side-of-the-mountain road again, but I was laying down, so I didn't stress so much. :) A lot of us slept on the way to Creol since we had gotten little sleep the night before. The map we were using to get to Creol was 30 years old, so where we were going was a little sketchy. We had to stop and ask for directions and after about 30 min of driving around Creol, we found our destination. It was a lake (I'm not sure of the name of it). The first entrance we went in was full of people. Apparently the Mexican fair was going on, so after we couldn't find anywhere to camp, we left and went further down the lake. About 20 min later, we found a nice quiet spot where no one was and set up camp. Hannah, Lori, and I went to the lake and Caroline eventually came too. The four of us sat around and talked (we hadn't spent a whole lot of time together) for about an hour while admiring the lake and birds. Eventually we had to go back to the campsite for dinner. Lance and Mel made us meatloaf, green beans, and potatoes. It was DELICIOUS and I'm not much of a meatloaf fan. For desert we had peach cobbler, which was also DELICIOUS, at least the part I ate. After dinner, Caroline, Hannah, Lori, Chris, and I went back to the lake to watch the sunset. It lit up the lake in beautiful shades of red and orange. It was almost as pretty as an Oklahoma sunset in the summer. :) We came back up and had some hot chocolate and some "'shrooms" (or marshmellows as most of us call them), and told funny stories. We discussed some leadership stuff from Habitudes and after the fire died, we went to bed.

I'm almost finished, we've got one more day, plus the journey home. Thanks for reading. I know this is taking a long time.