Because You Asked...

There are really no other words that need to be said once you look at that picture of those two girls and then look at my best friend and me together. We are those two girls. We got to see part of the world together and grow in God together and grow in our selves together and learn what it takes to have a healthy friendship.

 

Without you I would have been uncontrollable on the first drive to The Hill, I would have been lost on so many adventures we went on and I wouldn’t have had someone to take care of and take to the doctor. I wouldn’t have had someone always caring about what I was thinking or feeling, I wouldn’t have had someone to sleep over with all the time and I wouldn’t have become a better speller. There are many ways that you have changed my life for the better and many ways you have opened my eyes to always living life to the fullest and never missing a minute of anything. 

I've heard it said

That people come into our lives for a reason

Bringing something we must learn

And we are led

To those who help us most to grow

If we let them

And we help them in return

Well, I don't know if I believe that's true

But I know I'm who I am today

Because I knew you...

Like a comet pulled from orbit

As it passes a sun

Like a stream that meets a boulder

Halfway through the wood

Who can say if I've been changed for the better?

But because I knew you

I have been changed for good

(For Good from musical Wicked)

You asked me to blog again because even though it was really for when I was in Texas you didn’t get to start reading it until the very end and now you want to continue. I don’t know why cause it really isn’t that exciting, mainly just my thoughts. But this one is for you Jo cause every brunette needs her blonde best friend and I know I got one in you.

Love You Jordyn.
a.m

 

 

Home

Well folks, I am kind of out of words to say at this point. I am home though, home to where my parents live and around of my family. Home to where I have grown up around and the things that remind me of my child hood. As much as I love my home, there are lot of things I love about the Hill. I love how about 30 girls live in one building so you are never alone because there are people everywhere.

 

I love how everything was centered on God – five hours of class a day, prayer before and after meals and being with a bunch of people who want to grow in Christ.

 

I love the hill country area the school was in and watching the sun set hide behind the hills. 

I love my bff’s and how it kind of started off as a joke but totally didn’t end that way.

I could go on as I could go on about any place that I have lived and all the great things about those places.  I don’t think I could hide the fact that I miss being in Texas.

Today is the first day being home, that I have actually had time to sit on the couch and be home. Since I have gotten here it has been Go Go Go. Which on one had has been great and got be back into Canadian living pretty quick but on the other hand I am still pretty exhausted and ready for some down time in the next two days.

Love,

a.m

11 Days

There are only 11 days left for me and Texas to be together. It is amazing to me that I have made it through a year down here and that it is time to move on to the next adventure/chapter of my life. As this last week of normal classes started we all looked around for a moment and just took it all in. Looking around, trying to remember each detail of everything we see so that we never forget. However, the harsh reality will hit at some point – within five to ten years from now we won’t remember a lot of this. One girl has been counting her steps from building to building so that she will always know how long it takes to walk from place to place. It’s a nice thought but honestly, in ten years will she truly care how many steps it took to get from the dorm to the dining hall. I am not counting my steps as I go around the school grounds but normally talking with someone, thinking about what the last teacher just talked about or replaying a memory from this year over again in my head.

Last week there were many people worried about me, I was pretty checked out and just not here. On Wednesday morning between hour one of class and hour two I found out that a very dear friend, Naomi, had passed away. I had no words to tell anyone of what had happened, why I was crying uncontrollably or what they could do. My friends hugged me and I fell into their arms and felt the Hill behind as my mine went back in time. By Wednesday night I was emotional checked out, and had been crying most of the day. Thursday night there was a horrible storm - we were on tornado watch and the ground would shake with thunder. After little sleep the night before and then the storm keeping me up that night I was physical drained on Friday. And mentally I just wasn’t there – I was reliving something Naomi and I had done, replaying memories of her over again in my head. On Saturday I watched her memorial service online and after listening to what her family had to stay about her and how she lived her life to the fullest I realized she wouldn’t have wanted me to fall apart forever over her passing.

I just looked at myself and how I was the few days before and realized how silly this all was. I still have two weeks here and I am living like I am not here because someone that I love is gone to heaven a place I have learned more about this year and long to go to. I am allowed to be sad about her passing and even shed a tear or two. But even more so I should be joyful of her passing and look upon her life as an example of how I should be living my life to the fullest each day. I just have to close my eyes to see Naomi again and I will hold close to the fact that one day I will see her again. I just have to close my eyes and go back in time to the classes I’ve taken here and the crazy things I’ve done here too. I am allowed to be sad about leaving but not to the point where life as I know it stops because life doesn’t stop, you just stop living it. Texas and I will always be together in my heart even if I am not actually still down here and Naomi, she will always be in heart.

Love,

a.m.

Another Count Down

It might look like from the outside that our life here at the Hill is full of only count downs for something else great to happen. Well on one hand it kind of is but on the other there are so many grand adventures we go on every day that we just can’t really count down for cause we don’t normally know until after it’s over how much fun we truly had. I have learned that most of the time the adventures that I don’t feel like going on are the ones that are the most fun. However, I don’t always remember that and miss out on some great fun says some. There is no way to know what each day will hold until it’s over and you’re looking back on it – normally being amazed of what happened.

That’s really like life overall though because truly who knows where their life is leading until they look back and see everything they have come through. I sure don’t know where my life is leading. One day I am ready to pack my bags and move to some small island somewhere in the middle of an ocean, and then next day I am sure I am meant to go to Colorado and do the second year program for Torchbearers and some mornings I get up and just want to be in University all ready. For being a person that tends to have a plan for the next five years I am pretty lost at the moment. Though I do have a plan I just don’t know if it will play out the way I want it to since I have so many other ideas and thoughts of fun things to do. I can plan all I want but it might never come to pass as I want or have it planned out to be. Most things don’t happen the way I plan them so why would I be surprised about my life not turning out the way I want it too.

Love,

a.m

ps - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE COOLEST BROTHER EVER!!

 

Nine Months

Nothing has gone by faster than the past nine months have. At the end of each week I would look at my roomies and ask them what I did all week. They are normally able to list everything since I am with them a lot of the time. People tend to say that life just speeds up the older you get but I can’t imagine it going by any faster than it already is and I’m only 19 years old. I can look back upon the last nine months and remember so many great things – so many memories from inside the door, in class, playing boarding games, counting down the minutes until work day is over and trying to make the most of my time while at outreach each week. Plus so many more.

While talking to other His Hill students that have come back to visit I can understand why they all say this was the best year ever. First reason is always because it’s in Texas and everything is better and bigger in Texas. Then because we get five hours of Bible teaching five days week from some pretty interesting people. Also since we are meeting people from all over the world that all want to be your friend and are excited to be able to be this journey with you. The reasons could truly go on forever about why this year is so awesome. But mainly for me just because it’s something new.  A change, a new adventure.

Love,

a.m

Sebastian

My room got another pet a while ago. However, with this one there is absolutely no up keep. He dances, he sleeps at the end of mine and Noelle’s beds and he works really nicely as a backrest. What is this pet you might ask yourself. Well, let me fill you in our the happenings of Left Side Down #3 –

A few weeks ago when it was my work day duty to clean the boys dorms, I saw Sebastian in one of the rooms but he was much too high for me to reach him so I just pondered the idea for the rest of the week of how I might be able to get him down without having to move anything or ask for help the next week. The next Thursday he was no longer there. I had a moment of silent as my dream has just disappeared and then got back to work of cleaning. A little while later in a different room I found my new friend and he was in arms reach. I talked to Adri my cleaning buddy for a moment about what was about to happen. As was going to have to run across half of campus with him and well he isn’t the smallest of animals. She agreed to cover for me any one asked where I went and then I was off and running - across the field, past the fish house, the swings and through the parking lot into the girls dorm.

As I pasted the fish house, one of the boys saw me and began to shout out to me about how I was stealing his pet since it was firstly in his room before everyone decided they wanted to have him too. But now he is in the girl’s dorm very unlikely he will be leaving any time before the end of the year since the boys are rarely in here. We have to invite them in and that doesn’t happen very often.

Still wondering what our new pet is, well the time has come. He’s a tiger. Sebastian, the tiger. The boys have a different name for him but I can never remember it so we had to change it to something else. He is much easier to take of than any of our fish were, but not always as much fun since he isn’t actually a real animal.

Love,

a.m

Last Weekend Memories

Way back at the beginning of the semester a bunch of us brought tickets to go to a Spurs game. Then a little while later all us girls decided to start planning the boy’s appreciation night and all of this fell on Easter weekend. By far the busiest weekend all year. With all that some of our teachers put a lot of homework due for this past week and this coming week. Free time is something not very common around here lately.

Even though it has been super busy for most of us, it has also been the funniest weekend this semester by far. We went from one activity to the next one and most of the time running around trying to make the boys wonder what they will be doing.

On Friday night most of the student body got onto the Cool Bus and we went into San Antonio to the AT&T Center for a Spurs vs. Clippers game. It was such a blast! I have never really been into basketball but some of my really good friends here are in love with it so I have learned lots this year about it and also learned I am not going to ever play because I am not good at all. But that’s beside the point, the game was so crazy, back and forth and down to the last second it could have went either way.  In the last five minutes I made a bet with one of the boys who was cheering for the Clippers that the Spurs would win. At that point they were winning and in the end they did win. However, that was the longest five minutes of my life. All of a sudden the Clippers were winning and then the Spurs and then back to the Clippers. In like the last second of the game the Spurs got ahead and won! This means I will not be buying myself ice cream on the next ice cream run!

On Saturday most girls were going crazy making sure everything was perfect for the boy’s day. We first sent them on a little walk to find a staff member who would have more information about the first activity for them. In one of the more treed area of the grounds we had them play sling shot paint ball for like two hours. None of us girls got to go down and watch but the boys said they had a lot of fun and that was way better than anything they had imagined. For supper we went over to this ranch that was totally the way anyone would picture a small Texan ranch. It was by far one of the cutest places I have ever visited. We all ate supper together there and then played games outside, played pool in the house game room and just sat around talking together. We thought the sun would set sooner than it did because we were going to leave the boys there so that they could watch a movie outside at the ranch. However, it took a lot longer to set that day, which wasn’t bad just set up back on our time line. They were still able to watch the whole movie and get more time to hang out with us girls. Overall, I think it went over very well and the boys really enjoyed it.

On Sunday, we all had to be up, nice looking and at the chapel for sunrise service at eight am sharp. Plus, my new daily duty is cleaning one of the public bathrooms so I had to clean that before the service started because people not from the Hill were coming. One of the earliest morning yet for me. The second year students put on the service and did a wonderful job. Then everyone went over to the Fish House for breakfast together at nine. So much food and so many people I had never seen before.  I ate breakfast, took a few pictures and then went back to bed.

Most of Sunday I sleep since there wasn’t much of it the days before hand. It was a wonderful weekend! Just much busier than any of us would have thought or wanted to plan.

Love,

a.m