Wednesday, August 17, 2005

I'm working again!

I'm going to start working again! I'm excited to start doing something and earning some money. But, I'm very scared to go back into the classroom. Especially as a substitute! On Monday I'll be subbing for a 5th Grade classroom at Ewa Elementary School until September 13th (when I move to the YWAM base in Honolulu). I've always been in primary, so this will be very different for me. I'll probably have to have some of the students teach, especially math. Fifth Grade! I'm a little freaked out. But, I'll be glad to get some experience in the upper grades.
So, please pray for me to not pee my pants or anything. Because, that's what I feel like doing. Wow, YWAM starts in like, 3 1/2 weeks. AAHH, that's crazy!!!
Anyways, I added some people's blogs to my links. Jesse, who just got married (yay), Andrew and Andrea, my cousins with cute kids, and Ona-Lysa, cute girl in Australia going to school with Hillsongs! (Is she not one of the luckiest girls ever, or what?)
I love you all, please say a prayer for me as I prepare to teach 5th graders (SCARY) and prepare my heart for YWAM.
Mahalo!

Monday, August 08, 2005

God is so cool!

Don't you just love it when God reminds you how cool he is? I was driving home tonight and was thinking about people in my life and how they handle relationships. Particularly about the people that seem to always be having a relationship with someone, and not really being single. You know who I'm talking about, those people who seem to always have a boyfriend or girlfriend, or some type of prospective.
Then I started thinking about myself. (You all know how into dating I was) I remember when I was younger and how I couldn't wait to have a husband. Then, I remember catching myself. I knew that I needed to have a strong relationship with God. So, I would pray that my desire was for a relationship with God and not with a man. But, that's natural. That's what we were created for. First to serve God. God designed women to be a companion to man. Isn't that what Adam asked for? I don't know, I'm just thinking out loud, or typing what I'm thinking.
Well, as I was driving I started to remember about when I was younger and how I had a hard time accepting that I was loved. I would think that when I met this perfect man that God had for me, I would finally feel loved and everything would run smoothly.
I will never forget the time I felt God's love for me, Rebekah Lynn Brooks, for the first time at 16. (That's another story). And it's been a long process, but I know that the Creator of the world loves me. How huge is that? I started to remember about all the times that God provides for me. He's so awesome! And I didn't even realize it till tonight about this whole love thing, I've been able to feel loved by my God, and because of that accept it when other people tell me they love me. I've been able to live my life contendedly and without regret. I'm finally comfortable with who I am and how God created me. Of course I still wanted a husband, but I was ok with how my life was going and didn't long for it to be different. I didn't feel as if I had this huge void in my life and couldn't continue the same. (Ok, I'm a little dramatic)
And now, God brings this man into my life. I realized that God is the provider for my life and he is the center of my life. So now, he brings me the man of my dreams.
Why am I typing this on my blog for the whole world to see? I don't know. If you happen to stumble across my blog and you're one of those people who for some reason are always in some type of dating relationship, this is my advice to you (because I am the oh wise one of dating:)). Take a year or two off. Find out who you really are. And if a year freaks you out or you find it hard, try to figure out why. Fill your life with God's love first!
Does this mean my life is perfect and I never have doubts or fears. Of course not, I'm human. But, I do know that I'm thankful to God for how he has always been with me and that I've had the awesome pleasure of knowing Him my whole life. I'm thankful that his timing is perfect and that He's in control of my life and not me! Yay God! He knows me better than myself. He knows when and what I'm ready for. I'm thankful that I've had the pleasure of being single for 23 years. Because I would not be who I am today if it were not for that. I would probably still be trying to figure out what kind of a person I am.

Sweet, Sweet Sound


Sweet, Sweet Sound
Originally uploaded by rebekahlynn5.
While at Pinehaven I got to dance a hula for their church. I danced to "I Love You Lord." I actually learned it in Washington when I was in COP. I was very excited to dance for them, but also very nervous because I have never danced by myself before. It was such a blessing to dance for them. I felt very honored. I was able to represent hula and Hawaii to these people, many for the first time. It was such a great experience, probably one of my most memorable moments of Pinhaven. So many people came up to me and commented on how they have never seen anything like that before. One boy said that he knew nothing about Hawaii and had never seen anything about Hawaii, he said "that thing you did was cool." Their first representation of hula was with worship to God and in a respectable manner. I am so thankful to God for allowing me this opportunity. At the end of our stay we put on a "service" for the students and they wanted me to dance again. So, I danced to "Shout To The Lord," while the other church that was there sang it accapela. That was really special! This little girl from Washington (of all places) was deemed Miss Aloha (Miss Congeniality) by our coordinator when we returned home. She said that I represented the Aloha spirit the whole time while at Pinhaven. I felt so honored.

Pinehaven Missions Trip

Aloha mi familia! (Yes, I'm tri-lingual.)
I just got back from a week-long mission's trip with my church. It was to a little town called St. Ignatiaus, Montana. Actually, it was to a ranch called Pinehaven in this town. This ranch is ginormous! I don't remember how many acres it was, but it was large and in charge. Anyways, it's a ranch for mostly Jr. High-Highschool ages. Although, there were some that were younger than that too. It was set up by a Christian missionary and his wife that came to Montana to preach to the Native Americans. They then set up this ranch for kids who are not doing so hot in their home situations. It's now run by this couple and their son and his wife. So, the kids come from all over the country and stay here, work on the ranch, live on the ranch, and go to school on the ranch until the people in charge feel that they're ready to return home. Some stay till they graduate, others leave earlier. There are about 6 houses right now with about 12 students in each. These become their families while at the ranch. Each house has house parents (who usually have their own biological children). They get up early, do chores, go to school, at 12:00 everyone stops and comes home for lunch, then go back to either work or school, then come home at 6:00 for dinner. It's really great! It gives these students a routine, and family life. They were held responsible for their actions, which is what a lot of kids need.
You could tell that God was working in this place. The staff and parents there had such a caring and loving attitude. And it was all for the kids. It was so awesome! Even the way the ranch is run is totally blessed by God. People donate things all the time, tractors, heavy machinery, even fire trucks! They milk their own cows, (yes, I got to milk a cow and even hand feed a baby cow!!) and someone was going to donate the milking machine, but Bob Larson (the head hancho) wanted the kids to continue doing it themselves because it was good discipline. It was amazing to see God's work in this place.
This was a different kind of missions trip for me. The other missions trips I've been on have been to third world countries where they're so excited for the missionaries to come and put on their show! But, it wasn't like that at all here. We were just another church coming to work. To work hard! In the summer they have all different churches come to help out on the ranch. So some of us picked berries (with the bears), built drawers, built fences, put up siding on the new barn, and chopped and stacked firewood. I was on the firewood committee. I was a logger for a week. Yep, I'm tough!! We would go up into the woods and chop down the trees. Ok, I didn't chop any trees, but I watched them fall! Then we ran it through a wood chomper! So, I didn't chop wood either. But, I got to run the machine a couple times. Rick, the head of our team, told me I was turning into a real wilderness woman. (What can I say, ladies is p.... too, go'on brush ya shoulda's off!) So, we threw wood to each other (or at each other as I often was being thrown at), and stacked it, unloaded it, stacked it. We stocked them up through the winter and into 2007. (I think) I got the dirtiest, I've ever been in my entire life! My face was so gross! At lunch (or supper) we would come in and wash our face and arms and hands, and still be so dirty. Then at dinner we would be even dirtier! My toes would be black through my socks and shoes. My arms were constantly scratched and had pitch on them. I am so HARDCORE! :)
It was great fun! I also got to drive a tractor, I'm a born natural! And run the wood chomper and was given the nickname Chomper Chick! (Why do I always get nicknames on mission trips?) We also got to go on a horse ride! I was very, very nervous. I did not want to go down hill, and it freaked me out! But, I had a really good horse that went nice and slow. Everyone tried to get me to make her go faster, but hello! I didn't want her to go faster, are they crazy! But, at the end of the trip I did trot her and now I'm a professional horse rider as well. (Just jokin' :)
It was an awesome trip and I would love to go back someday. Montana is a beautiful state. God, is so cool! We live in an awesome country that has so much diversity! Every state I've been in (I'm so diverse) is so different and amazing in it's own ways. I'm so thankful for where I live and that God cares about us and made this awesome creation!
E Hui Hou!