It's been a while since I've had a chance to write, life has been weird as usual. I have come to the point where I have studied so much that I now have dreams about chemical equation dancing in my head.
The other night I woke up at 3 am to the sound of vulgar cursing and a lot of slapping and punching. At first I thought I was just going crazy because of the antibiotics again, so I tried to go back to sleep. The noise continued and I figured since I was awake enough to know I could be delusional I was probably in my right mind. I went and looked out of all the windows and saw some guy lying face first in the snow. I didn't really know what to do, I was alittle scared though so I grabbed a frying pan from the kitchen and went back to bed. I guess the guy outside came to and didn't have any keys because he started ringing everybody's buzzer until somebody let him in. It was so annoying.
Then because I was so tired that day I fell asleep after supper while i was studying and missed the church Christmas play.
Yesterday I was doing laundry and I put my down vest in the dryer to fluff it up a bit, well I guess my dryer is super hot because because it came out a little less than fluffed. I think it may have actually melted the stuffing because it had a really funny smell and it was kinda crunchy.
Today was the icing on the cake though. I was volunteering at the clinic tonight and one of the old guys brought in his dog. It was a beautiful black lab and so friendly. I think it started to get... how shall i say... happy to see us all... umm... maybe excited is a better word. Well I hope you get my drift because it was really awkward when the dog tried to sit on my lap.

I finally finished my Crystal growing experiment from chemistry, it turned out pretty sweet! It's a chromium potassium sulfate dodecahydrate crystal inside of a aluminum potassium sulfate dodecahydrate crystal. Cool, eh? Here's a pic of the beauty. Okay, so it won't post the pic, but I'm sure for all you who are non-nerds it wouldn't have been that exciting anyway.

And heres a pic of my tree, so the decorations are a little skimpy but I'm working on it. I'm still trying to figure out how to make a strand of DNA for garland. It needs to be rigid enought to hold the double stranded alpha right handed helix but flexible enough so that i can pack it away easily for next year. Oh and check out the classy tree stand!

NOT MUCH TO SAY

Nothing to exciting going on here. Exams start this week so I have been doing nothing but studying. I lost my bus pass a few weeks ago and still haven't found it, so some days I drive and some days I use bus tickets. I was gonna take the bus this morning but I ran out of bus tickets, and I didn't have enough change so I drove. I didn't have enough change so I used some left over Philippino pesos to fill the meter. Still wasn't enought though because when I got back to my car I got a parking ticket. Oh well I deserved that because I have parked illegally about 6 times in the last two weeks and have been lucky enough to get away with it. Other than that not much is new. Oh but something really fuuny happened this morning. I painted my nails for the first time in probably years with a pretty sassy blue colour as a study break last night. When I got to chemistry class this morning my "special" friend had nearly the same colour on his fingernails, only slightly lighter. Wow! Great colour choice Kim!

ANOTHER LITTLE ADVENTURE

I had a horrible sleep last night, I don't know if it was because of the weird noises in my building or because of stress or what. I woke up at about 2:30am, I heard some weird noises, it sounded like someone was shoveling water and like someone playing the washboard. It was really strange and I think I heard a gust of wind come through and rattled the mini blinds even though my window was closed. Now I wasn't totally awake so I was not in my right mind and I started to think that my appartment was haunted. I don't even think I believe in ghosts. It could have been a dream I'm not sure, the antibiotics I have been taking the last few weeks have been giving me strange dreams. I drifted in and out of sleep from about 3-6:30am, and the idea of have a haunted appartment made my dreams all the more interesting. I decided to sleep in a little, about half an hour, so I would have to catch a different bus.
I also thought that I should put on a bit of makeup to cover up the fact that I didn't get any sleep. To catch the bus I had to walk about 10min to the main terminal, i thought that would be my best chance at catching a bus to school. It was super cold and blowing snow. A good combo for the makeup, it froze on the way to the bus stop. The first bus that came up I asked if he went to the university, he looked at me absolutely expressionless. I thought I had detected a hint of a nod so I gave him my ticket and got on. My makeup started to melt all over and after a few minutes my hand had a bunch of blood on it. I could not for the life of my figure out where it was coming from so I got super bundled up trying to cover everything so people wouldn't see. The bus did go to the university, but the driver neglected to tell me it went on a 30min loop in the opposite direction first.
So it's not even 9am and already life is great.
Today was a super great day though because it was my last lab, hopefull for forever, with my partner. I did spill ferric chloride dodecahydrate all over the place, it turned my lab coat, the floor and m shoes a lovely shade of puky yellow. But that's okay because no more lab partner!

ONLY ONE MORE TO GO

I forgot to mention in my last post how wonderful my labs are going. While in chemistry I was able to talk my way into some extra marks it still doesn't take away all the frustration and stress of having to deal with my partner. On monday we were doing a theory lab, so no chemicals just a bunch of questions and lectures. I was about a 2 pages ahead of him on the worksheet, so I decided to go for a walk while I wait for him to catch up, I came back 15 minutes later and he was no further ahead than when I left. Forget him, I'm just gonna do my work so I can get outta here, so I left him there.
Then thursday we went in because we had to make up time for one of his previous screw ups. I insisted that I do all the work so that it get's done the right way quickly. I must admit though, I was glad he was there because I did need his help at one point. I needed him to fetch me the acetone, because I super glued my hand to the table and couldn't get it off without the chemical. Near the end though he did manage to screw it up again. Hopefully he didn't do to much damage because we don't have anymore time to redo it.
Then friday in microbiology we were preparing a bunch of slides with live specimens of molds and bovine blood. We were supposed to dye them so they would be visible under the microscope, but before that they have to be diluted in a solution then left to dry. I prepared most of my slides, about an hour and a half worth of work, then my professor offered to take students on a tour of the lab in the hospital. So I set aside my slides to dry, and went. My partner stayed behind to continue "working". When I came back half hour later I found that all he had done was a bunch of the same slide about 10 times over, and he had wrecked all of my slides. Grrrrrr!
The only thing that got me through yesterday's lab was knowing there is only one lab left.

BRRRR

So it is definitely winter. Today was a cold day, about -30C with the wind chill, gonna be even colder tomorrow. I don't mind the cold, I love winter. It's just waiting in the cold for a bus that never comes that bothers me. The bus to the eastside where I live is supposed to come at 4:07 and 4:37. I went outside at about 4 o'clock on my watch and waited. By about 20 after I figured I must have missed it, maybe my watch was wrong. No biggy, the next one should be coming soon. So I waited and by 5pm it still hadn't come. I had seen another bus that goes to the west side come 3 times, and mine hadn't even come once. Grrrr! At this point I was gonna take whatever bus came next, even if I had to walk a bit to get to my house, it would be better than standing around. Plus, between 5-6pm is the only good hour of tv I get so I really wanted to get home. The next bus that came wasn't my usual, but it was only about a fifteen minute walk from the stop to my appartment, so I hopped on. The 15 minute walk was more difficult than I expected. The side walk was a thick sheet of ice covered by a thin layer of snow. Weeee! And the wind was ridiculous, I was bundled up pretty good but my forehead was exposed. You know that feeling when you drink a slushy to fast and you get a brain freeze? That's what it felt like, but from the outside in. It was really unpleasant. All the way home I kept thinking about hhow cold it was, not realizing that I was actually verbalising my thoughts. I don't know how long I had been doing this. I wasn't just talking to myself, I was singing. I had made up some ridiculous song about how cold I was and was singing it out loud. How embarrassing!

RECIPE FOR AN ANGRY PHONE CALL

1 oozing ear drum
immeasurable grief
6 hrs of intermittent vomitting
1 cold shower
a few heartless proffessors

simmer for 45 minutes while shoveling your car out of the parking lot.
add a dash of PMS and tada! You have yourself one angry phone call to the building maintenance man.

PITY PITY PLEASE

In addition to having the flu, I also have a pretty bad ear infection. It actually popped my ear drum. I didn't realize I had an ear infection because I thought the stuffiness and fever was just because I was sick. I thought I might have an ear infection when I started getting some intense pain in my ear so I planned to go to the student health clinic yesterday after my lab. I got about half way through my lab when my ear started to bleed and leak pus. At that point I knew I had an ear infection so I left my lab and went to the clinic on campus. They weren't taking anymore walkin's because they were to busy, so I had to wait for the bus with a leaking ear for 20 minutes then ride the bus for twenty minutes, this whole time almost in tears. When I got home I took the biggest Motrin money could buy, and crawled into the fetal position and cried. After about 30min the drug was kicking in so I got up and drove to the doctor, still leaking. The doctor I saw was really good until he actually checked my ear. He looked into the pussy ear with the light thing and then into the good ear... without wiping off the ear piece. He should have checked the good ear first and then the bad ear so that he didn't transfer the infection. Turns out that my ear drum had actually ruptured. Ouch!

Here are some questions you can ask yourself if you think you might have an ear infection:
Do I feel like I am on a perpetual airplane takeoff/landing?
Do I hear any of the following sounds inside my head: fireworks, bombs, tuning a radio, moving furniture across carpet?
Is my ear bleeding? pussing?
Am I having a hard time keeping my balance while walking?

Hope these help.

In other news, I went to the grocery store this morning since I didn't go to school. It was an interesting trip since it rained and froze, and most of the walk to the grocery store involves inclines or declines. I had to revert to crawling at one point. Good times.

TODAY"S GONNA BE A GOOD DAY

So the day started off by me sleeping in this morning. That just throws the whole day off. I got dressed and rushed to the bathroom to brush my teeth only to realize that there was no toilet paper. So I ran to the closet and got some and threw an extra couple of roles on the counter, but as I was doing this a couple fell out of the package into the toilet. After my 15 second germaphobic panic attack, I came to my senses and acknowledged that this problem could not be flushed away. I summed up the courage to pull them out of the toilet. As a starving student my next thought was, "ah man, there goes a couple of bucks down the toilet," the quick absorbent action of the little guys made future use unlikely. Then I saw that I had been splashed by the "eau do toilet" but their was no time to change I had to run to the bus stop.
I went to my one class of the day, only to be told by the teacher he decided not to teach anything new until after tomorrow's midterm. So that was poinltess. I came back home did some laundry and made some lunch. I put some alphagetti in the microwave and went to check on my laundry. Pouff Oh boy, I went to the microwave and opened it up. Inside I found constellations of letters plastered all over. My alphagetti exploded. I don't know how this happened because it wasn't even hot when I took it out. Oh well, my microwave probably needed to be cleaned anyway. I got up close and personal to scrape off the alphagetti and was hit with the stench of burnt popcorn (from weeks ago), I had no idea that smells could linger for that long. Yuck!
It is not even 1 o'clock yet, what next?
As I regurgitate the events of the morning, I wonder if someone who is this germaphobic should be majoring in microbiology.

English Lessons In Japan

I wonder if these ladies would make a special trip tp my lab and say this stuff to my partner so I don't have to.

WHILE IN ROME...

Well, I'm not in Rome, or anywhere near Europe for that matter. I'm in the most symmetrical province in Canada, Saskabush. I am enjoying some of the customs of this foreign land far more than I ever expected. I went to a country gospel sing along at church tonight. It was a blast, I sat there giggling to myself for the longest time. Most everyone was dressed up in cowboy gear, and the devotion was done by a rancher, the theme was "Jesus as our Cowboy." It was a little hard to see though because of all the flashing reflections from the belt buckles on stage. Everyone was clapping and stomping their feet. They had someone playing the spoons and another guy playing the washboard. It was great. You know you've lived in Saskatchewan too long when.
The coolest thing was this little old lady that was part of the intro band. She was so cute, playing the electric guitar and groven along with the music. She would be the coolest grandma ever.

LOOK IN THE MIRROR BEFORE YOU GO OUTSIDE

Funny story, just happened.
I found a cell phone earlier today so I brought it home with me. I was gonna put up signs later after supper but I got distracted with other things. Please don't laugh at this, but since I don't do make up very often I'm not very good at it so I usually do a practice run the night before I plan on looking nice. So that's what I did, I tried this pink eyeshadow set on one eye and blue on the other to see what looked best. Then I did some cleaning and some homework, yada yada. Then the cell phone rang so I answered it. It was the owner, and he said he would come by and pick it up. When he rang the buzzer I brought it down to him.
I had forgotten that I had two completely different colours of eyeshadow on. And, I was wearing shorts, forgetting that I have not shaved in weeks. I'm sure he thought I was quite the spectacle.

I LOVE BEING A STUDENT

I love being a student and having no money. Everything you own is a piece of garbage and when it breaks you can't afford to fix or replace it.
Take my toaster for example, which only toasts the top half of the bread, and frequently sets off the smoke detector.
Or my laptop, which randomly goes into hibernation mode. Sometime it won't even turn on, and sometimes the touch pad doesn't work.
Then there is my hair brush which is losing all it's pokies and is really more like a comb now.
And my phone which doesn't always ring. The answering machine doesn't show messages until days after they have been left. I just got a message this morning that was left sunday night. So if you need to leave me a message make sure you plan ahead of time.
Last but not least, my car. I love my little ricebuggy, but the pothole activated trunk release is starting to get tiresome. I can't wait until winter so it freezes shut. The brights come on whenever I signal and the left signal light flashes double time.

DON"T WORRY I'M STILL ALIVE

It's been a while since I've had the time to blog. Had a huge paper to write last week and then with midterms I just couldn't find the time. That and my computer doesn't always turn on.
So life has been pretty uneventful, I haven't been out to much so my encounter with unusual people has been kept to a minimum.
I was interviewed for a Saskatoon radio station a couple of days ago while I was waiting for my bus. That was weird, but I felt bad for guy doing the interview because nobody would talk to him. That and he picked me out of the crowd because I was wearing a bright yellow vest. I think it was one of those all news radio stations that hardly anybody listens too.

The other day I was toasting a poptart for breakfast, and a small fire started. It was really small but enough smoke was produced to set off the smoke detector and force me to open the windows. On the upside, the wind was relatively quiet so the smell of the farm stayed on the farm.

In other news, my lab partner is going to drive me to be institionalized. I would really appreciate your prayers for patience. He's not a bad human being, he's just not the kind of person you want for a lab partner. Besides the fact that he get's in my personal space bubble, he just can't follow instructions. By 3rd year university you should be able to stripe a plate perpendicularly rather then parellel. Especially when there is a diagram with explanation in the lab manual, the lab instructor explains with a picture and you watch your partner do it. The first lab he splashed me with methyl blue, a permanent dye, so I had blue freckles on my face for the weekend. This past week he spilled a broth culture of E. coli and Staph. aureus on me. Neither of the bacteria were the dangerously infectious strains, but in that large a quantity they could cause problems if I had any cuts on my hands. And they smell really gross.

AVOIDING HOMEWORK

I really reall really don't want to write my political studies paper, so I thought I would write on my blog instead. Here are just a few random thoughts...

You know your tired when...
You try to brush your teeth with exfoliating facial scrub (I now know what St. Ives Apricot Scrub tastes like)

More money saving tips:
1. If you splurge and buy a bag of oranges, keep the platic net bag. Bunch it up and use it as a pot scrubber
2. Save energy when making spaghetti (which you bought from the dollar store). Put the sauce in a metal bowl and put it on top of the boiling pasta to heat it up.
3. You know how when you get to the end of the deoderant stick the plastic thing has holes in it. Well you can dig out the deoderant from the holes with the toothpick to get one, maybe two if your lucky, extra uses. Keep the toothpick to be used again.
4. Forget chewing a whole piece of gum, or even a half. A third is just enough to freshen your breath.

FOND MEMORIES

I ran into Dan King the other day, he's the dude in charge of 24-7 Prayer Canada and it reminded me of something embarassing that happened a couple or years ago. You might remember this Kim, it was at Briercerest during YQ. I was helping out with the 24-7 room at the youth conference by photocopying and cutting flyers. I was in the library because they have one of those big paper slicing things. You know the ones that you pull down a lever and can cut a whack load of paper at once, well that's the one I was using. I would slice the paper and then put them into their appropriate pile. Well it was about the 3rd or 4th stack of flyers, I sliced it just like the other ones, but when I went to grab the pile of papers I found myslef under attack. I had been smoked right in the chops with the lever. I guess I didn't push down hard enough so the lever didn't stay in the down position. You know when something like this happens, somebody must have seen. As a result of the attack I had a bit of a fat lip and a minor cut.

The Inspirational Journey of Team Hoyt

Here's some more footage, I absolutely love this story.

Together - Team Hoyt

I saw this clip at church last Sunday. You may have seen it before, but it's totally worth watching more than once. I balled my eyes out when I saw it.

I WONDER...

I came to the realisation last night that my nose seems to be the source of many of my problems. I wonder if they make prosthetic ones?

YIKES!

Gotta make this quick, lot's of homework. This is by far the weirdest person I've met. I was just at the cop shop picking up a criminal record check. It was really busy at the front desk, so I had to wait in line for a while. The guy infront of me starting a conversation. Just small talk, then he asked me what I was filing a complaint for. I told him I wasn't filing a complaint I was just picking up a criminal record check.
"I wish that's all I was doing" he said.
So I asked him what he was filing a complaint for.
"I'm not filing a complaint. I'm turning myself in. Their has been a warrant out for my arrest for quite a few years."
"uh.." That is pretty much a conversation killer right there. This was by far the most awkward silence I have ever experienced.

HOW TO LIVE ON A BUDGET

I have some time between classes, not enough to pull out my homework and actually be productive, but enough to post blog. I thought I would share some of the money saving tips that I have learned since moving out on my own. They are not favourable or enjoyable but when you have negative dollars in the bank you do what you gotta do.

Tip #1
I absolutely cannot live without gum. I allowed myself this luxury so long as I only chew half a piece.

Tip #2
If you are a skim milk drinker, you can save money buy buying 2% then adding a little water to make a carton go a little farther. A ratio of about 4 parts milk and 3 parts water tastes almost like skim milk. For 1% flavour I estimate a ratio of 3 to 1 should be sufficient.

Tip #3 Paper Products
Facial tissue is quite expensive. You can get the most for your money if, after you have used it for your nose, you save it and re-use it as toilet paper. This will give you maximum use of the kleenex and save you money on toilet paper.

Tip #4
You can also save money on toilet paper and hand soap if you make an effort to use public washrooms as much as possible When you get up in the morning, try and hold it until you get school/work. Before going home after school or work, make use of the facilities. Do the same if out shopping or at a restaurant.

Tip #5 (Must be put into practice before moving out on your own)
If you are an avid television watcher, deprive yourself for several weeks. This way, when there is nobody to pay for your cable and all you can get is CBC, you can enjoy their lame programming. Programs such as "Antiques Roadshow" and "Coronation Street" will be nearly enjoyable. Not because they are good shows, but because you so desperately need to be entertained by a screen that anything will do.

I hope you find these tips helpful.

RANDOM

Do you think micro-evolution was a part of God's plan or a result of the fall? If when God created things they were good why would they need to change? If changes in DNA are just screw ups in replication, are they "good"?

MORTIFIED

The building I am living in is being renovated. As old tenants move out they are redoing each suite. When I moved in they had no other vacancies so they wanted to use my place as a show suite if someone wanted to take a look. They also wanted to leave the furnishings in here since I didn't really have any. This kinda worked out for me because now I could postpone dishing out money for a couch, table, window coverings, etc for a month. The stuff they had in here wasn't the best quality but it's better than I could afford so I have been enjoying living in luxury. The couch was so comfortable that I fell asleep at 7pm, I woke up only to move to my own bed at midnight. I had a wonderful sleep, which I needed to get my brain to finally kick in. This morning I made a connection, which I should have made when I first moved in. As a science major, I am usually excited about new discoveries, not so much this time. As I said before the stuff in this place is not the best, including my bedroom curtains. In fact they are about the quality of a sheet one would use when doing shadow puppetry. So if it is dark outside... and my light is on inside... well I'm sure you know what I'm getting at. Needless to say I was mortified, I wanted to curl up into the fetal position and cry in the closet. This was followed by the discovery that you can see into the bathroom through the kitchen window. I am somewhat consoled by the fact that I live on the second floor, and you can't see easily into my place from the street, but from other buildings is a different story.

THE FIRST BALLET CLASS

I'm sure you have been dying to hear about how my first ballet class went. Well I'm sorry to report that it went rather well. I did how ever look like Snuffalupagus (from Sesame Street) in the dance studio. I was absolutely terrible at everything, but that's alright because everyone else sucked too. The teacher was all graceful and silently sliding across the floor to demonstrate various steps. Then the students try... thud thud thud. But it was fun, we all had a good laugh.
Boy did I feel old though when this woman who was in her late 50's was behind me and my joints were cracKing more than hers when we were trying to "plier". Hips, knees, ankles, toes. Ouch!
Then there was those ever so wonderful mirrors that cover the walls. We tried doing some fancy arm movements. My arms looked more like a couple of tire irons than "whisps of a willow tree". And have you guys seen that commercial with the family with huge hands? Thats what mine looked like. I think I was blocking other peoples view with my big bear claws.
Oh my goodness, and then trying to spin. Pfff! We had to take turns in smaller groups because we were to uncontrolled and the teacher thought we might hurt each other. I was so dizzy, it felt like that game where you spin around a baseball bat and then race.
I can't wait until next class!

P.S. boys are still weird.

I am 21 years old. As such I find my self in the phase of life known as "finding my place in the world." While I am a university student, the bulk of what I have been learning comes from simple everyday experiences unrelated to my lectures. The more I experience life the more I realize that virtually every situation you face relates to either an episode of The Simpsons or Seinfeld.
For example,
I was sitting in my biochemistry class, and this guy came and sat beside me. I didn't pay much attention, I was just twiddling my thumbs waiting for class to start. I was looking around the classroom, not paying particular attention to anything. I turned to my right and that guy's face was right in my face.
"Hi, I'm [name omitted]", he practically shouted.
You know what I'm talking about, the episode of Seinfeld known as "The Close-Talker". This guy was right in my face, what made it even more awkward was that he was the professor for the second half of the class and he was so close I can see the pores in his skin. I obviously reacted by moving back, but he moved closer and kept talking. Aaah!

Speaking of boys who make me awkward, there is this guy here that I have met twice. He seems realy nice, but he needs to work on his hand shake. I don't think anyone has told him that there is a point where you need to release. Once you have introduced yourself, let go. Do not continue to hold on while carrying on a conversation.

In chemistry this morning some dude sat beside me, we introduced ourselves and just made small talk until class started. Not the most exciting class, so I was slouched back in my chair with my arms crossed. Then this dude reaches over and pulls my sleeve up a little to see what time my watch said. Uh, excuse me? Physical contact in general is not okay with me. But when a girls arms are crossed the wrist are very close to an area that a boys hand should not come near, making this extremely inappropriate in my opinion. I was not happy.

Then there is this guy in my mirobiology lab. Our first lab was on friday. He must be really shy because he hardly said anything. It's really hard to discuss the results with someone who doesn't talk. Today was my first inorganic chemistry lab. We had been told that there was an odd number in the lab so someone would have to work alone. I was hoping to get that position. It's not that I want to be anti-social, but it is quicker for me to work on my own. It saves me the time and trouble of having to prove or explain that I am right. Well when I got to the lab I found that the same guy from my microbiology lab had signed me up to be his lab partner for chemistry. Grrr!

A CHURCH OF NOBLE CHARACTER

Sorry, this isn't going to be funny, but I thought it was still worthwhile writing. Besides I am having a hard time laughing at the moment because the thermostat is broken and it is 12 degrees inside my appartment. I think hypothermia might set in soon.

I was checking out biblegateway.com the other day. I am often on that site because it has full versions of several translations you can view and it is helpful for me to better understand the meaning of some passages of Scripture. This time I was looking up Proverbs 31:10-31, the "Wife of Noble Character". I have done quite a bit of commentary reading on this passage in the past with each one expressing a very different opinion. The commentary on this website really caught my attention and made me think. Here is an exerpt:

"This passage is to be applied to individuals, but may it not also be applied to the church of God, which is described as a virtuous spouse? God by his grace has formed from among sinful men a church of true believers, to possess all the excellences here described."

Does or has the church ever fit this description. Personally, I don't think so.
As I read through it again, this time with the bride of Christ in mind I was a little discouraged. I think we have failed in many areas.
I really wonder if Christ has full confidence in his bride?
Have we brought Him good and not harm?
Are we prepared for God's work for us?
Are we wiling to do his work with all our heart and strength?
Do we take care of the needs within the family of saints?
Is wisdom and faithful instruction on our tongue?

Anyway you get the idea. What do you think? I don't like to be a negative nancy, but as someone from a family of non-believers I here alot about what the church is doing wrong, and so my view of the church is often more negative than positive.

But what if the church really fit this description? This question now is a main focus of my prayers. Can you imagine the difference it would make in the world?

GOOD HAIR DAY

The other morning I totally slept in. I thought I pressed the snooze button, but apparently not because I woke up 45 minutes later. So it's about 7:30am, and the bus leaves at 7:45. I jumped out of bed and threw on some old sweatpants put my hair in a pony tail and was out the door. I didn't have time to have a shower but God must have thought I needed one because about halfway to the bus stop it started pouring rain. For someone with frizzy hair this is not good (although my hair didn't look good to begin with). My hair went from a flat kinda greasy pony tail to something that resembled a poodles arse.

I NEED TO GET A LITTLE FRESH AIR

I had a craving for some popcorn friday, so I threw some in the microwave. As it was popping a friend of mine called who I haven't talked to in weeks. I was so excited to talk to her. After a few minutes I could smell smoke. Oh no! I burnt the popcorn. Not just a little bit burnt, but nearly on fire burnt. There was smoke coming out of the microwave. When I opened the door a huge cloud of smoke puffed out. Not exaggerating, I went over to fan the smoke detector because I was afraid it would go off and freak out the whole building. I thought maybe I could salvage some, but even the bag was burnt to a crisp. Well, so much for the popcorn. I opened all the windows to try and get rid of the smell. It still stunk when I went to bed, but it was too cold to leave the windows open, so I re-opened them in the morning. Unfortunately, Saturday was a windy day and on a windy day in Saskatchewan even the big city smells like a cattle farm. So it was a toss up betwen closing the windows and letting the smell of burnt popcorn linger or keeping the windows open and every breath making you feel like you were sitting with your face right up to a cows behind. I went for the smell of burnt popcorn. I somewhat became accustomed to the smell, but I had forgotten that a real estate agent was using my place for an open house because he had a few condos he was trying to sell. So I went back to the windows open. I felt bad for that guy having to be in my place for a few hours. Quite the smell combo. Sunday came around and it still smelt awful, so I took the air freshner from the bathroom and put it on the kitchen counter. It was one of those ones that you lift up the lid and there is the jelly like stuff inside. Not the most effective but it is all I had. Monday morning the burnt smell had almost gone away, I can't really tell because it is masked by the smell of paint. They are painting the hallway in my building. I can't wait till winter when they are finished the renos and the manure is frozen and nearly odourless.

THIS IS NOT MY LIFE

So this is how my day went yesterday. I went for a practice run on the bus before school started. The holtine said the bus comes by at 20 past the hour. I left my place at 9:07am, surely I would make it on time since the stop is less than a block away. So I waited... and waited. No bus. Just as I was about to give up someone else came to the bus stop, I asked what time it was, 9:45. Apparently the bus comes at 46 min past the hour. Anyway, I got to the university. I had to run a few errands before meeting my aunt and grandpa at the Univ. Hospital around 11:30. He had an appointment at 1:00. At 11:00 I thought I better make my way to the hospital so I have lots of time incase I get lost. I found the cancer clinic right away. That is where my aunt believed his appointment to be. I waited and by the time 11:45 rolled around I thought I got a little concerned because my aunt is always on time. I asked the receptionist if they had checked in, maybe I had missed them when I went to the washroom.
"No, what was the appointment for?"
"A CT Scan."
"He is actually scheduled for that in the Main Hospital in the X-Ray department."
Wonderful. I went the long way around the outside, not knowing that there is a tunnel that goes right to the main area from the cancer clinic. So I went and asked at X-ray if he had checked in for the CT scan.
"No he hasn't, but his appointment isn't until 1pm so he still has time. Oh but his appointment is in the Cancer clininc"
"What?"
She sent me back to the cancer clinic, they then sent me back to X-Ray. It was about noon thirty at this point. I went and got a bite to eat then asked again at X-ray if he had checked in. She then sent me to the other end of the hospital to Admitting, because that's where he has to check in first. He hadn't checked in there either so I waited a bit longer. When it got to be after 1 o'clock I started to get worried. So I decided to make some phone calls to see if I could figure out what happened. I didn't have any cash on me so I had to use a credit card, which they charge you up the wazoo for. After about $15 worth of phone calls and getting no answer I decided to check one more time then go home. I went straight to where they do the CT scan and asked the nurse there. She checked the computer and said they were expecting him at 1 but he hasn't shown yet.
When I got home there was a message from my aunt left at 9:30 saying that his appointment had been cancelled because the scan was broken. Why didn't anybody at the hospital tell me that? If I had been given the right bus time by the operator I would have gotten the message. Arrrg! Oh, well, at least nothing serious had happened.

Anyway I wrote this novel mainly so I wasn't blogging for the sole purpose of telling you the following: I had to sleep on the couch last night because I could here the people next to me getting to "know" each other (in the biblical sense of the word) through the bedroom wall. Gross!

...BUT I DON'T EVEN USE HAIRSPRAY

So I went to Zellers the other day to pick up a new razor. I was in the aisle looking at all the different kinds. At the end of the aisle there was a hairspray display. Out of nowhere this lady, about 50 I think, comes up to me and asks me if I can help her with the hairspray. I told her that I don't work at Zellers.
"Oh I know, but I need help picking out hairspray."
Ok, whatever. So I went over to help her out. She asked which was the better deal, you know, more for the money, so I told her. Then she asked me what kind smells the best. I don't know, I don't use hairspray, they all smell bad to me. So I took of the lid to smell the three kinds she had picked out
"Oh, no. You won't be able to smell them properly, you have to spray a little on your wrist."
What, this isn't perfume! I did it anyway. They seriously all smelt almost exactly the same. Yucky! I told her I didn't know what they smelt like but she was insistant that I describe the scent. I didn't know what to do, so I made something up. I told her one smelt kinda fruity and the other smelt like White Rain perfume. I don't even know if White Rain perfume exists, I had just heard it in a song before. She decided against the other one because of the price, after I sprayed it on my arm of course. Then she asked me which I would buy. I told her I don't use hairspray.
"Well, if someone were to give it to you as a gift which would you prefer?"
"Uh... the purple one." So she took the purple one. But then she wanted an aerosol instead. So I went and grabbed her one.
"Oh this one has a little dent in it, could you grab me another one."
Alright so I went and got another one.
"Is that a little scratch here on the lid?"
Are you kidding me. So I got another one. I must have shown her at least 5 cans, and had inspected many more which I didn't bother showing her. The other people in the store must have thought I was crazy, carefully inspecting every can of hairspray on the shelf. I could barely contain myself,everytime I walked back to the shelf I laughed. I was just waiting for someone to jump out and show me the hidden camera. Finally I said, "this is about as good as it gets", and handed her a can. She took it and the hairspray ordeal was over. It took at least 15 minutes.
Then she needed help with tweezers. She showed me the different ones she picked out. "Is this one a slanted head? How do you tell?"
"Well you see how it's at an angle, that's slanted. And it's the one I use, and I highly recommend it."
"Oh, Ok. Thank you so much for your help."
If anybody knows what it is about me that attracts these kind of bizarre situations please tell me so I can change.

IN SASKATOON

So I've been in Saskatoon for almost a week. I really like the city and campus and I am excited to meet new people at church. So far things have been interesting, as they usually are. The day we moved all my boxes and furniture up to the second floor it was 34 degrees. It turned out to be a windy day, so windy it blew the screen out of my kitchen window. The second day was fun, also very hot. I went to the gas station to fill up my car only to realize when I went in to pay I didn't have my wallet so I had to walk home and get it. It wasn't too far, only a few blocks.
Thursday would have to be the best day I've had so far. I was on my way to Dollarama (the best store ever, the first dollar store I've been to where everything is actually only $1) which is on Circle Dr, a really busy main road in Saskatoon. I needed to turn left and had a green light so I was inching into the middle of the intersection. The light turned yellow so I went to turn and my car stalled. At first I freaked out because I had no idea what was going on, my automatic has never stalled before. All I knew was that I needed to move and I couldn't. So here I am stuck in the middle of the intersection during 5 o'clock rush hour. When it came to mind that I needed to restart my car, only a few seconds, cars from the perpendicular lane already had the green light and were driving around me. I had to sit there until I got the next green light before I could go. It was so embarassing.
Anyway, that's some of what has happened since I have been here. I can't put any pictures up because... well I don't know why, it just won't let me.

Sorry everyone,I'm really trying to get all these pics downloaded so you can see them. I really want you to see the difference that you can make in a childs life but my computer is kinda on the frits right now. I'll try again tomorrow. In the meantime you can check out ruelfoundation.com and see some kids who are currently waiting for surgeries.

HOME

I'm home now. Got here last night. Suffering from some serious jet lag but other than that things are going well. Almost all of the gifts I bought got confiscated at customs. I might get them back in a couple of weeks after the inspector looks at them but I have to drive down to the airport and pick them up myself. They won't mail them to me. Grrrr!
I've got a million things to do now before school starts. I'm heading to Saskatoon on Sunday to try and find a place to live and to see some friends from Bible College. As I get back into the boring routine that is my life there is nothing really to blog about, and once school starts I probably won't have time. So checking out this site will probably be a waste of your time.

IN SEOUL

So far so good. I'm in Seoul right now. Just got here about an hour ago. 9 hours down only 18 hours of travelling to go (not counting layovers). I'm glad to be here, this leg of the trip should go a lot smoother. It was quite the adventure getting here. The ferry from Calapan to the main Philippine island was pretty rough. People were falling just trying to get into the boat. It calmed down after about 30 minutes. Then I had to take a bus to the capital city, Manila. That wouldn't have been so bad if the guy sitting next to me wasn't cuddling up to me in his sleep. Plus there were vendors hasseling us the whole time. Annemarie and I almost missed the bus stop. One of the staff members told us the name of the stop before we left, it actually had two names but we could only remember one. It wasn't the one the driver used. He stopped but since we didn't recognize the name of the place we didn't get off. I had a feeling we should have though so I went up and asked where the stop was. He started yelling and stopped on the highway to let us off. It was only about 10 metres away from a taxi so it wasn't too bad.
We got to the hotel alright, but I locked the keys to my suitcase inside my suitcase so I had to pick the lock with a hair pin. Annemarie is leaving tomorrow so she is staying the night. I got a taxi to the airport last night. It started off all wrong. He was going the wrong way down a one way street, so that was scary. Then he got a ticket for it and he was arguing with the cop while I was sitting there waiting to go to the airport. On top of that he was trying to set me up with his son. AWKWARD!
Anyway, I got to the airport alright and I'm now stuck here in Korea until tomorrow. I'm not in the same hotel as last time, which is disappointing because I was really looking forward to a heated toilet seat, after spending much of the last seven weeks squatting. Oh well, such is life.
I'm pretty tired so I'm going to head to bed. Goodnight!
Oh, by the way, you all should check out googleearth.com. It's a satelite thing and you can see your house online.

Today is my last day here in Calapan. Tomorrow I will be heading to Manila, where I will catch my plane. I'll be flying to Seoul where, I will be stuck for 37 hours. The airline booked me a hotel so I'll be able to sleep, but it will be boring there all by myself. I'll arrive in Edmonton on wednesday and home on thursday.
Since it is our last day here, we decided to get manicures and a foot spa since it only cost $5 for the two of them. The girl doing mine kept laughing because I am so pale. They all started calling me "CoffeeMate" (a cofee whitener). They also couldn't believe how many bug bite we had all over our feet and legs. It was a little awkward because everyone in the salon kept staring at us, but I survived! The funnest thing ever was when they started playing videoke on the TV and we all started singing along.
Anyway I gotta get home and start packing before church.
Can't wait to get home!

FINAL WEEK

We are in the final week of school here. Today was our last day of class, tomorrow will be our last day of outreach. Then friday we are going out for a graduation breakfast and supper.

The doctors who have been teaching us had to leave on the weekend so we had a fairwell dinner and kareoke night on Friday. They were both such wonderful fun people. It was hard to say goodbye to them but I feel so blessed to have met them. This is a picture of the students with the two docs.

Here is Annemarie and I singing "Wild Thing" together and Jez, one of the docs singing Michael Jacksons smooth criminal. It was hilarious.


We have a couple of other docs come in. We did dermatology for two days, and we had a surgeon come in to show us how to do stitching. Here is the practice banana that we did.

Matt let us practice on hime. He had couple of moles that we removed and stitched up. Here is me stitching...

Here is me after stitching...

I didn't actually faint but I was feeling a bit lightheaded. Apparently I looked pale, even my lips turned white. But in my defense we hadn't eaten for 6 hours, and it was super hot in the room. I didn't feel that bad but everyone insisted I lie down. It was pretty embarassing since I am the only one who plans on being a professional doctor. On top of that I had said just before we started that I was really excited about doing stitches because I am considering going into surgery. The doctor consoled me saying that most people in med school faint when they see their first surgery.

These pictures are from the sunday school that we do in Silonay on Sundays. The kids are so cute.

Apparently not all of the photos are loading. Sorry!

Thursday we got a last minute call from a tribal leader cancelling our outreach on Friday. We were all really disappointed because it was going to be a beautiful hike in the mountains, along side a river and some small waterfalls, and this was a very secluded tribe so they were really in need of some medical attention. I'm not sure why it was cancelled, but it all worked out in the end. Our director made some connections and we were able to set up in the local health clinic so we could serve some of the poor right around where we are living. Almost the entire community where we do weekly bible studies showed up. We got help all the kids that we sing songs and play games with. It was so cool because they all remember our names and came and sat on our laps. Us students did the doctoring by ourselves. The real doctors were there when we had questions but we diagnosed and prescribed all by ourselves. A lot of it was headaches, colds, and diarrhea so it wasn't to hard. I spent most of my time cleaning fungal and bacterial infections off the kids' scalp. It was so sad when one little girl had to cut her beautiful long black hair so it could be cleaned. We saw another malnurished baby. 9 weeks and only 3kg. Since she lives so close to us we will be able to help her quite easily. The mother was having difficulty breastfeeding so the baby was not getting enough milk. We gave her a bottle and some formula to feed the little girl and she will be coming by the base for weekly check ups until she is well.
Well, that's all for now. I gotta go and prepare a thirty minute sermon-like speech for tomorrow. I'm speaking at Silonay, one of the communities we do bible study and sunday school with.
Oh, one more tip if your ever in the Philippines. I got quite the shcok when I tried to call West Jet, 1-888-WEST-JET is not the right number. It will connect you to one of those "special" lines that you have to pay per minute, you know the adult only ones. Boy was my face red!

As I opened this page to start typing I was filled with joy, because I have so many wonderful things to say about Ryan. He is still gaining weight, and now he's even started to smile and laugh. He can sit up all by himself, when we first saw him he could barely even move. His skin no longer hangs off of his bones. He is really warming up to all of the staff and students, he's no longer afraid of white people and he is able to sleep peacefully now.
That joy has become mixed with sadness. Maria, the Mangyan caregiver had a stroke Sunday afternoon. Her grandfather was ill and she had gone home to see him when she collapsed .She just died in hospital. She was only 20 years old. She was such a sweet girl and was great with Ryan. We all got very close in the few days that she was with Mercy Link. The team here did everything they could for her, paid for all the medications and tests, and visited her a few times a day.
Please pray that Maria's family and tribe will not blame Mercy link for this. Death and illness is a punishment from the gods in Mangyan culture. They could think that Mercy Link is cursed and maybe even take Ryan away. Even though the stroke would have happened whether she had been with us or not, there is no way of proving that to the tribal leader. This is the second Mangyan woman since Mercy Link has started that has fallen seriously ill while working for at the base here.
Also pray for the students here. When things like this happen we are always left asking why. There has also been a lot of tenison in the house between some students. Just the regular frustrations of having roommates, being away from home and being sick. We have less than two weeks left, it would be a waste of the last five weeks if some of us left angry and unhappy.

HERE'S THE MISSING PICS

OUTREACH -- JULY 14

We had another great outreach yesterday. Nearly 200 patients. We had set up at the base of a mountain so that we would be more central and more tribes would be able to come seek help, but we ended up be swamped by the people from the nearest town. Many of them already had regular doctors and could afford their own medication. That was really frustrationg because it prevented us from seeing some of the people who really needed the help. We did our best, but we couldn't stay their all night. It got so crazy in the afternoon that Narelle and I were seeing patients without the supervision of any doctor. Aaaah! For the most part it went well, but there were quite a few problems that no one could do anything about. One women wanted medication to make her voice come back, she had lost it over 20 years ago. Another wanted sleeping pills but we don't give out anything that can become addictive.
We met another motherless family. This father was taking care of 6 children all under the age of 11. The grandmother tried to help but she was very ill. All the children had asthma. I patched up a 6yr old girl who had a nasty blister on her finger. It had popped and needed to be cleaned and bandaged. The poor little thing didn't shed a tear but was shaking when I put on hydrogen peroxide. It must have hurt so bad. We saw a 21yr old man who had had a stroke less than a year ago. He had the medications his mother could afford, but they were hoping we would have something that would bring back the function to his right side. He is pretty much destined for poverty because finding a job will be very difficult for him. The fun really started on the way home when the tire that was just repaired after last week had a bulge on it. We had no choice but to drive home in it, it was pretty dodgy driving through the rough terrain. Here we are all piled on the right side to relieve some of the pressure on the left tire...

The tire ended up blowing. It was the loudest sound ever. Some girls thought we were being shot at. It was pretty funny. It didn't blow until about five minutes away from where we live so it worked out quite well.
Here is the flat tire....

Here we are walking home...

After that we went to the local version of MacDonalds, called Jolly-Bee for icecream.

So I just sat here for 30 minutes and the pics didn't load so maybe next time.

I MEANT TO POST THIS LAST WESDNEDAY

Ryan, the malnurished boy from outreach, was brought to the hospital by his father on Saturday. We are so grateful they came. Most people don't come to the hospital because it is to expensive. Here you have to buy any medications, syringes, needles or sheets yourself and finding all these things is quite difficult. You even have to bring your own water. It's really sad but our director got the little guy everything he needed. The hospital did some tests, but nobody was around to care for Ryan or give Pauline (the director) the test results. So she brought him back to the base. It turns out he is actually two years old not 1. We are all really confused because we have recieved alot of contradicting information from some of the tribal women. The main thing is he is here now and will get help. The father was really upset and wanted to stay with ud for a little while, unfortunately he had to go back to work but he trusts the team here to make Ryan better.
He's still very unwell, when he first got here saturday night he was only 6kg, which is incredibly small for a 2 year old. But he has gained 1kg in the three days he has been here. He is much more awake then when we first got him and has started to eat on his own. The students are not allowed to get involved too much right now because white people are very scary and he will do better if as few people as possible are handling him and feeding him. The tribe chief came to check on the little guy and was shocked at the difference a few days of proper care had made.
Here is a picture of the little guy.

God totally had everything planned out before we got this little angel. Just a few weeks ago a girl from Sweden called Pauline saying she felt God wanted her to be a part of the staff here in Mindoro. Pauline didn't have a position for her but thought it would be the right thing to let her come. She arrived last wednesday, but had nothing to do here on the base. There was also a Mangyan caregiver(from a different tribe) who has been asking Pauline to join the staff for the last few months but she did not have the money to stay here. Pauline had kinda lost touch with her, but she was at the clinic we did on friday. When Pauline agreed to take Ryan she didn't know who would care for him but then remembered the Swedish girl. She was also able to get sponsors for the caregiver to come in so somebody from his own tribe could care for him. It was good for the students too because we had just learned how to diagnose and care for different kinds of malnutrition the day before outreach.

I also took pictures at some of the bible studies we have done the last few days. The kids were re-enacting the battle of Jehoshaphat. I think they got do wrapped up in the paper swords they missed the point of the story. Oh well, at least they had fun



How scared does this baby look. Us white folk get this look alot from the wee ones.

OOPS!

In the last post I wrote that the baby's mother died to years ago, which is impossible since the baby was 1 year old. What I meant was the mother died to months ago. Thanks for the correction Tina!

MANGYAN OUTREACH

Yesterday we did an outreach with one of the native tribes. It was so beautiful up there in the mountains. The hike was shorter than expected because we drove the bus a little farther than we should have up the narrow muddy path. We ended up getting stuck but some members of the tribe came and helped us push it out. I don't have any pictures because the batteries went dead on my camera, but hopefully I can snag some from somebody else.
It turned out to be a relatively short clinic, which was for the best since most of us were ill and the tribe didn't provide lunch. They did feed us these really weird bananas that were baked. They tasted exactly like potatoes, so it was a welcome change from rice.
I pulled some more teeth which was so much fun, still don't have the magic touch when it comes to injections, but what can you do. Hopefully pracice will make perfect! We saw mostly ear infections, which isn't overly exciting. The funniest thing was this women who had internal hemerhoids but refused to accept the diagnosis. The doctor kept explaining it to this woman but the woman kept telling the doctor she was wrong. We don't know what diagnosis she was looking for so we just gave her pain killers and vitamins.
We saw our first severely malnourished baby. He was just over a year old, and barely even awake. His eyes were clouding over because of a lack of vitamin A, and his skin was peeling off. His mother had died two years ago and the father didn't really care for the child. His aunt was the one who took care of him most of the time. He was given a glass of milk (the powdered stuff, no nutritional value) some mornings and that was it. We are also sure he has pneumonia and maybe TB. The baby needs to get to the hospital, but we couldn't take the baby without the father's consent. The father wouldn't be home from work until 9pm, so we talked the chief to convince him how sick the baby is. The chief wouldn't release him but said they would bring him into town the following day with the father. Please pray that he keeps his word. If the baby doesn't get to the hospital he will die. We gave him some vitamins, and paracetamol for his fever. We kept him in the clinic for a couple of hours and I fed him a rehydration solution. He perked up quite a bit and was able to hold the glass himself, he even ate some rice. But he is still in the danger zone and the tribe doesn't know how to care for him properly in his state. He needs to be hospitalized, but we did all we could do. I'm going to try to get to the hospital tonight to see if he is there.

Class to day was super fun. I got to pull some teeth! The hardest part was giving the anesthetic injection, pulling the teeth was pretty easy. I can't believe people are willing to be our practice patients. This wasn't an official outreach, we just went to the nearest community and asked if people would let us pull their teeth out. They needed to be pulled anyway, but there is no way I'd let somebody with no training pull my tooth.

Here are some pictures from our weekend off. This is the first phase of my sunburn before the shoulder tops burned. The sandcastle was built by some guy that morning. Every morning he builds a new sandcastle, it takes him nearly 8 hours.




Tomorrow we are going on outreach to one of the native tribes. It requires a one hour hike in the mountains. I'm really excited. Outreach is my favourite part of being here. But there is a small problem, a few of us might not be able to go. Some of us have caught a pretty serious case of "the ring of fire". And seeing as there is no bathroom there it would be extremely awkward for us. It could also be a health risk to them as they do not have proper waste disposal. Please pray that it will go away by tomorrow, we are quite unwell and the outreach was planned to include us. Ironically, we have prepared posters, a puppet show and a skit on how to prevent diarrhea.

BACK TO WORK

I got back yesterday from Borocay. I had a really good weekend off. We went snorkeling, parasailing and cave hiking. I got a wicked farmer tan (well, more of a burn despite the fact I put on sunscreen twice before going outside) though because I was wearing a t-shirt over my swimsuit. The next day I put on sunscreen only up to the burn so that my shoulders would burn and I would have a normal tan. Didn't work. The top part of my shoulder burnt, but not all the way to the previous burn line. So now my arms are burnt and my shoulders are burnt, but there is a blindingly white stripe seperating the two. Add to that the burn on my face is now starting to peel. I look like such a dufus.
Snorkeling was super fun, I saw heaps of Nemos and Dories. My mask was broken though so I kept getting salt water in my mouth and up my nose. When I first put the mask on I started to hyperventilate because it stops you from being able to breathe through your nose and I felt like I was suffocating. My lungs were sore the whole day. After about half an hour though I felt more comfortable. I think the guide thought I was looney. After snorkeling we went to a private beach for a while. Just as I jumped out of the boat a wave came in and knocked me feet out from under me, thus planting me firmly on my butt in the water. The guide and boat driver had a good laugh.
The most awkward moment of my life happened to me the next morning. I won't go into detail because I would rather forget the whole thing. I went for a swim early in the morning before the other girls woke up. There was some great waves coming in and I ended up finding some little Filapino kids to pla with for a bit. After being there for about 45 minutes this guy came over and started talking to me, it was no bug deal because he was gay so I didn't feel threatened. That is until he told me he was a bisexual, gave me his hotel and room number and told me to meet him back there at 8pm. Yikes! Not my favourite moment. Needless to say I didn't go anywhere alone that night.
Other than that things are going well. I can't wait until our next clinic on Friday, I absolutely love working with the people. It is frustrating though because we don't have the chance to follow up on the patients we see. So please pray that our one-time efforts will be sufficient to help them and also pray that we would make the right choices for treatment. It is difficult to know what to do with patients you know can only be helped with longterm care. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers

WEEKEND OFF

Hi everyone. Hope everything is going well at home. Everything here is good, if you ignore the effect a virtually all rice diet has on your lower digestive tract!
Not much has happened the last few days. A typhoon just missed our base, but we got lots of rain. It's been raining the majority of the last few days so the church and bible studies that we do on Sunday and Tuesday were cancelled. We walk to the lecture hall in knee high deep puddles. It's still over 30 degrees though sot he water is welcome.Some place the in town don't have drains so he water builds up in the streets, sometimes shoulder deep. When it rains all the kids come out and swim and bath in the puddles.
We've been doing a couple of extra hours of class the last few days to make up for the weekend off we are getting. Yay, urine analysis!
I'm going to be heading to one of the nearby islands Thursday night to relax with some of the girls. We're hoping to go snorkling and banana boating.
I'd post pictures but there is dead bug in the USB port, so maybe next time.

I hope you can see all these pictures, some of the ones in the previous post got cut off.


We did and overnight outreach the last couple of days in a village a few hours away from where we are staying. We saw some crazy things but we were able to help a lot of people with serious problems. I got to inject anesthetic into dental patients for the first time. Felt pretty bad for the first guy I did, but we asked first to make sure he was okay with the fact that I had never given anybody a needle. There was one poor old women who had severe decay in one of her front teeth. So bad that the infection ate through the root of the tooth, through the jaw bone and out of her chin. When we pulled the tooth she bled out the bottom of her chin. We saw a man who had a serious skin infection on his legs that had been there since he was 1 year old. He is now 37. We gave some antibiotics and anti-inflammatories so hopefull it will clear up. We also saw a man who was 71 years old that was in the begining stages of a heart attack. He was so thin because he worked 10 hours days carrying bricks and doing construction and he never stopped to eat. I'm 21 and can't imagine working like that in this heat, let alone 71 years old. We also diagnosed quite a few children with various forms of TB. It's so sad because they will probably die soon because we don't have all the proper treatments and they cannot afford to go to the hospital. Unfortunately we also see alot of people taking advantage of the free medicine we give. We saw a little girl who looked perfectly well and when we asked her what was the matter she couldn't remember so she had to go back and asked her mother. So her mother came over and told us what the girls problem was and exactley what medicine she wanted. She got very upset and stormed out when we wouldn't give it to her because what she wanted was an adult medication for this girl who was 10, and the symptoms she said the daughter had didn't add up. We also saw an elderly women who was so depressed she wouldn't even look or speak to us. Her husband had brought her in to see if we could make her happy and well again. We don't have anything to help mental illnesses, but we gave her some multivitamins and ibuprofen just so they wouldn't walk away empty handed after coming so far. We also saw a girl who was ate who had severe abdominal pain. After talking to her mother we found out that she was on a diet and wouldn't any other than a little bit of rice. She was bigger than all the other girls because she was half American, but she was no where near being overweight. SHe was only 8 years old.

We see alot of patients with very serious problems, blood pressures of 200/140, cysts, cancer, heart disease, etc,. It's really hard because we don't have necessary diagnostic tools and as a one time clinic we cannot not give the long term care some require. We give them all the necessary medication we can but that's usually only about two weeks worth, most need more than that and repeat check ups to monitor their condition. But we do the best we can and most people are very gratefull for it.

It was a very long and tiring weekend both physically and emotionally. Didn't get much sleep because we slept on concrete floors and all the emotionaly stress makes it hard to sleep at night but they are going to give us a weekend off here pretty soon. When we got home last night we went to the restaurant opening of one of the former Marine reach staff and had a delicious meal. Much better than the fish heads we were served in the village(although I am thankful for the meal they cooked us). Then we went and relaxed by doing some videoke. I highly recommend it, it was a blast. This is Annemarie and I singing "Stop! In the name of love".

PICTURES, FOR REAL THIS TIME

View from hotel in Korea



Here are some pictures of our outreach. The little boy in yellow had 2 severely infected ulcers on his leg, but was so strong when we were patching him up. The last picture is the bridge we crossed to get one of the communities to hold a bible study. It was right by the ocean, so beautiful.





I have a bunch more pics but they take super long to load. Maybe next time.

FINALLY SOME PICTURES

So I finally found a computer in town with an accessible USB port so here are a few pictures. I only have a few so far because you have to be careful of taking pictures of tribal groups and land. I hope you can see them alright, I can't tell because the computer monitor here is not very good.
Here is the view from my hotel in Seoul when I had to overnight between flights. I'll have to take pictures of the toilet on the way home so you can see what a classy place it is.
We'll I've been sitting here for 25 minutes and the pictures aren't loading so I'll try again when I have more time.

For those of you who know of the unfortunate things that always seem to find me, you'll enjoy this... I've already developed three differen rashes. None of them are serious.

A PALE PARADE

I have some time left before my hour runs out at the internet cafe so I thought I would share some less important experiences.

It seems white people are quite the novelty. In the stores the big products are soaps and lotions with extra whitening ability. This struck me as odd since at home I seem to be on the recieving end of many jokes about the pasty whiteness of my skin. The ideal at home seems to be the tanned look and here it is just the opposite. At the airport coming in a couple of Filapino kids looked at me and laughed, when I turned around they ran away. It turned into almost a game as I would try and turn around and catch them before they had a chance to stop and laugh. Whenever I walk anywhere off the base people stare, men, women and children. Walking to town this morning men were honking their horns, waving, yelling and even slowing down and driving alongside of us. I don't at all feel threatened, but I feel like I am on display in a parade for the pasty white people.
The other day we rode back to the base on this motorized trike with a basket on the side. Two girls got into the basket and I jumped on the back of the bike. As we got on and started to drive away, a bunch of men were clapping and cheering for the driver. We are pretty sure they were cheering for him because he picked up three white chicks.

OUR FIRST OUTREACH

Yesterday was our first chance to use what we have learned so far. We went to a tribal group near the mountains of Mindoro. We saw over a hundred people. Some had been walking all night to reach the clinic. While the people all seemed pretty healthy, they were all very short because of poor nutrition. The tallest man that I met wasn't even my height and the women were all less than 5 feet. You could tell by looking at their hands and feet that they worked very hard all day every day. The children looked much younger and the adults looked much older than they actually were.
Most of the people just had a cough and cold. They mainly just come to get the free vitamins. There was a few more serious patients though, one women was nearly nine months pregnant and severely anemic, but they can't afford the iron supplements. We gave her what we could but we have limited resources. The saddest thing I saw was an 11 year old boy who was blind from cataracts. They could be removed relatively easily in hospital and his sight would be nearly normal. Unfortunately the hospital is about 90km away, and the tribe does not have a vehicle. There were a couple other patients who needed to go the hospital too but the director said it was unlikely they woud go.
I couldn't believe how tough the kids were. There was a twelve year old boy whose father had cut the side of his foot with an axe. It cut nearly through the bone. They have no way of dressing wounds so he has been walking on it and working in the rice fields. We cleaned and patched him up and he didn't even flinch. There was also a five year old with a couple of badly infected wounds on his arm and foot. He laid there completely still, at home people (myself included) have cried for much lesser things.
At the end we shared the gospel with the tribe. About seven of them asked Jesus into their heart. The best was this little old granny who seemed to just fill with joy. Her big toothless grin was amazing.

DAY 3

Today we did more hands on work in class. We learned how to do a general examination and about some of the most common respiratory diseases. Marine reach is starting an orphanage and already has one baby girl. She is seven months old and has been with the director since birth. She was born extremely underweight and is still recovering. We were able to do an examination on her, which made the information easier to grasp after doing it on a live patient. Our first outreach will be to a tribe just north of where we are staying. It will be a one day thing on friday.

Yesterday we did a Bible study in the village. First we just went and started singing childrens songs until everybody came out. Even the adults were doing the actions. It was so much fun. I started out with the high school students but after they finished I went and played with the kids. I have never been so entertained with jump rope. I was surprised how much english the little guys knew. The were eager to know all our names, ages and where we were from. They asked questions non-stop. They even tried to teach us some tagalog, but we couldn't pronounce anything correctly. When we were leaving we got them all into one big group hug, which ended in us lying in the dirt laughing. It's the first time I've seen these people, we could barely speak to each other but I feel like I've known them forever. I can't wait until next tuesday to see them all together again.

I tried to post pictures but it's not working. Hopefully I'll figure it out next time.

It's a good thing I like rice, because we eat it every meal, with the exception of a few breakfasts. The food has been really good but I can't wait until I can have a steak again. Speaking of food, I better get to supper. Hope everyone is doing alright where they are.

DAY ONE

We just finished our first day of class and are now in Calapan checking out the city. I just bought 1kg of the best mangos in the world for only about 90 cents. Everything is so cheap here it's unbelievable and a good thing because I have no money.
Class was really good, the couple teaching is from the UK so it is sometimes hard to understand with their accent. But they are amazing and so passionate about using medicine to serve the Lord. I can't wait to start our first outreach, we have a very dynamic team. It will be great!
But at the same time, we are struggling a bit to come together as a unified body. We vary greatly in age and theological backgrounds. We all love Jesus, but come from such different backgrounds that we are having a hard time finding common ground. Please pray for unity, I know it will come but we don't have much time here so the sooner the better.

GOD'S SENSE OF HUMOUR

I was just reading my friend's blog and was reminded of how emotional moments seem to always have a laugh attached to them. When I was saying goodbye to Jenn and Kim in the coffe shop parking lot it was pretty emotional, because we are all going different directions in life. So there was definitely some tears. Not long after the tears started coming did we turn to see a man relieving himself while his girlfriend waited in the car. What a beautiful moment. Even now as I read emails and blogs I'm starting to tear up. But I am also trying my hardest not to laugh as a really horrible Filipino singer is singing the backtstreet boys. No word of a lie!
God definitely has a sense of humor.

IN THE PHILIPPINES

The last post got cut short because the computer at the hotel in Korea started writing in Korean and I didn't know how to make it go back to english. I'm in Manila now and will be heading to the base in Calapan in a few hours. Three out of seven of our team is here now. There has been a lot of problems already with pick ups at the airport, it seems that the shuttle service has given everyone different directions on where to be picked up. Please pray that we can find the other four members of our team and that there is no more delays or cancelations.

Traffic here scares the beans out me, they have lanes but don't use them and pedestrians don't have the right of way. There is no seat belts and nobody signals. Most people speak at least sme english, so that makes things easier. I have only seen downtown Manila but already I am shocked at the poverty. I can't wait till our first outreach when we can reach out and help these people.

Also pray that I will not melt or burn to a crisp. Yesterday was about 39C with the humidity. I can't wait till I see snow again!

I have to go but before I do here is a few tips for anyone planning international travel.
1. A 12 hour flight is not the time to be adventurous with your food choices.
2. Don't allow someone who does not speak your language cut your hair, even if it is only 3$ Canadian
3. Stay away from BALUT, unless you like the taste of poultry fetus
4. Learn to like shrimp before you leave because that is the only thing that looks famiiar
5. Learn the money conversion so you can tip more than 12 cents
6. Be prepared to encounter a variety of smells

Love You All!

JUST ABOUT THERE

Right now I'm in Korea. So far nothing really weird has happened. I'm staying in a really nice hotel, you know the ones with the elevator dude that pushes the button, and I'm on the 20th floor with a sweet view of Seoul. I just had supper, I don't know exactly what it was, and I don't want to think about it. It was called soup but it looked like one on those cancer lungs they put on cigarette boxes. The fliㅑㄴㅇ롸냐ㅗㅗ마ㅓㅑㅕ

ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT

It's Saturday night, and I am losing my mind as I realize how unprepared I am and how much I have to do before I leave. I'll be heading to Edmonton Tuesday, my flight leaves at 6am Wednesday.
I just bought a suitcase so at least I can start to pack now. I'm mostly prepared to go there, I've gotten my tickets, VISA, insurance etc., I'm just not prepared for life when I get back. I still don't know where I am going to school, I seem to keep taking one step forward two (sometimes three) steps back. Until I figure this out I can't apply for my student loan, scholarships, or a place to live. Oh boy! I'm having a mild panic attack thinking about it all, but I'm trying to trust God with it. It's hard though when you're a control freak, perfectionist and over-thinker. I wish God hadn't made me this way! :)
Despite this I can't wait to get there and start class. I never thought I would spend school vacation doing more school but here I go. This is school with a Jesus centered purpose, so it should be a little more enjoyable than taxonomy and chemical equilibria. Anyway, I really have nothing to say but I needed a break from the mind boggling work of preparing to leave.

I have been counting down the days until I leave since I got my plane tickets, only 7 days left. However, it is just occuring to me how short a week really is and that I still have no idea where I am going to school in September. I have applied to three different institutions and have received conditional acceptance but I can not be accepted completely unitl my transcripts have been processed. The time frame I was told would take until the middle of June. Having gone to 2 different colleges before hand makes things difficult, especially since one was a bible college. I have been waiting (im)patiently for months to finalize this portion of my life, but find I am no closer than I was 3 months ago. My marks are such that I am sure they won't turn me down, but if I have to wait until I come back (first week of August) finding a place to live will be quite difficult. I want to go to the school that will accept the highest number of courses from other colleges to save time and money. I only have three business days left before I leave to get this organized, the sooner I know the better so I can go to Saskatoon or Edmonton to find a place before I take off.
Please pray that everything will come together before I go, or that I will be patient and trust that God will have everything sorted out for when I come back.

HAVEN'T EVEN LEFT CANADIAN SOIL YET

I've heard that in a lot of foreign countries men find white women attractive. I've never gone to far from Canada so I have never experienced this but it does scare me a little becuase I'm really pale.
Well the weirdest thing happened to me at work last night. I was just standing at my till talking to one of the janitors when this little Filipino (I think) man came in IGA. He came in the exit doors so he was behind the tills. He looked a little lost so I asked him if there was anything I could help him with. He asked me my name and told me his was Russell. I told him if he needed help to ask me and I went back to my till. He just kinda stood there for a while, I think he was looking at me, I never looked back at him but ya know when you can feel someone looking at you.
Then after a few minutes he came over and asked me how my night was, and if I liked working at IGA, etc. Then he asked me what I was looking for in a man.
"Uh, what?"
"What do you look for in a man?" he repeated
"I don't look, I'm to busy for boys." I replied.
Then he tells me he is doing a survey of what Canadian women are looking for in a man. So at this point I thought he was intoxicated. Whatever, I had nothing better to do so I played along. We talked for a bit, then he askes, "Are you sure you do not have any time for just a coffee."
"Sorry, no. I should really get back to work."
"Okay, thank you for your time." He said as he left.
Rather befuddled, I went back to the janitor who heard the whole thing. The janitor told me that Russell was watching me as he left, he was sure that Russell was sober and smitten with me.
Perfect, I haven't even left the country yet!
The weirdest thing though, was this guy didn't come in to buy anything, he didn't even look at any of the shelves. He just talked to me and left.

PIECE OF MY HEART

Well it's 2 o'clock in the morning and I am wide awake. This is when I would normally be working but I have the night off so here I am sitting all by my lonesome at the computer desk. In just 2 weeks my plane lands in Manila, 17 days and I will begin classes, 21 days and I will be doing my first outreach in a clinic. As the time draws closer people continue to ask me why I am doing this. The answer would take a novel to fully explain but I'll do my best here in as few words as possible.

The all encompassing answer is to be like Jesus. My Hero and Bestest Friend. While I am a long ways from being perfect and a far cry from loving people the way He did, this is just one of the many opportunities I have to allow Christs love to flow through me. From my heart, out of my mouth as I share the gospel and through my fingertips as I bandage wounds, pull teeth and offer other health care these people could never afford.

God is head over heels in love with these people just as he is with you and me. Sadly, many of these people don't know it yet, and they certainly haven't felt it. Well soon that will change. The team and I will be meeting people who are sufferring both spiritually and physically and we get to show them a God that cares for the whole person. He hurts when we hurt. As his child it is my joy and responsibility to act out His love for the people of this world. The world is full of owies and boo-boos, medical missions is God's way of bending down and kissing the world better.

BETER LUCK THIS TIME

In just two short weeks I will be on my way to Manila. Crazy! As I count down the days I remember that last time I left the country. It wasn't really a big deal. I went to California with my volleyball team a few years ago to play in a tournament. It was incredibly fun but a perfect example of how Murphy's Law haunts me.

I don't remember the exact order of the events but the sum was rather unfortunate. I do know the first thing that happened was that my ears popped so bad travelling that they bled for a couple of days. Then for whatever reason I suffered from chronic nosebleeds, at least one a day, sometimes two or three. I also had a terrible cold, which made it difficult to talk. At times the only sound that I could make was a goose-like honk. This turned out to be a lot of fun on the volleyball court. I also had an allergic reaction to the sunscreen that I used on my face and ended up with a beautiful rash. Then to top it off I got pink eye.

Despite all this I did have a lot of fun. However this was only a two week trip, and I am a little afraid of what may happen in eight weeks in the Philippines, especially since the climate and food are so different. If you think of it please pray for better luck this time. I don't want to scare people of with a scaling face and pussing eye.

PLEASE PRAY

I just heard that a typhoon has ripped through the northwestern part of the Philippines last week. The death tolls is around 40, and there are still many people missing. Over 40,000 people had to evacuate their homes as the storm triggered floods and landslides throughout the northern part of the country. Many of those are now homeless. Please pray for the people and the rescue workers. The typhoon also hit the area where we were going to be staying and studying. Please pray also for the leadership as they are deciding how to handle the situation.

And, as always, if you have any prayer requests I would love to hear them and pray for you. You can post them as comments, just click below this post on "comments" or you can email me at dawn14rose@yahoo.com.

I KNOW THIS LOOKS LONG BUT PLEASE READ

Hi everybody!
Sorry if you were looking for some humor, this isn't an emabrassing story. It's time to get a little serious, but a good kinda serious. Promise!

As a college student I have no money, I have negative dollars actually, but I have always wanted to go on a missions trip. I was planning a two week trip for this summer but after a series of date and schedule changes things didn't work out. Then a good friend of mine told me about Mercy Link and the Mini-Med School she is doing this summer. I went to their website and knew this was the thing for me. You know when you just know, it was that kinda a feeling. I was super excited about it, but it was a 7 week long course.

How would I find the time to earn money to go on this trip, and for my next year of college?

I got two full time jobs and have been working my butt off the last three weeks, we're talking 80 to 90 hour weeks, but finaces still worried me since I have a student loan. Despite this, I was gonna go on this trip, I knew this was the one.
My dad mentioned to a friend of his, Randy Vanderveen, that I was going on this trip. Then him and his wife had me over for supper, along with Darren and Christine Andres. They prayed for me, which was the hugest blessing ever, and they also supported me financially. They were both amazing answers to prayer. So Randy, Darren, if you guys are reading this, thank you so much. Whenever I think about your kindness I start to cry. And for anybody else reading this please pray for them. Darren as he works with the youth in his church and is working on getting his masters and his wife Christine. For Randy and his wife Cheryl as they plan a missions trip for the fall, as well as their daughters, Malory who is getting married and Amy who is just graduating from high school.

MMMM CHOCOLATE

I was out and about one day running errands. At my first stop I picked up a caramel Aero bar because I was pretty hungry and ate it on the way to my next stop. It was pretty tasty, I do recommend you try one. So I went to the mall, and to the college, and to a few other places. Along the way I had run into a few people I knew so I stopped to chat a couple of times, yada yada. The whole time I had been completely ignorant to the fact that I had a huge chunk of melted chocolate on my crotch, about the size of a credit card, and on my sleeve. Not only was there chocolate, but there was also some of the caramel. I walked around for a couple of hours in public with this smeared on my pants. I can't believe nobody told me. My pants still bear the scar.

DON'T YA JUST LOVE PUIPPIES!

The other day I was doing my rounds for Stats Canada, delivering census forms, and
I came to this house that had a bunch of dogs. There was this one little guy that was brand new, just a little fluff ball running around. So I picked it up and was playing around with it. Well this little guy was pretty excited and did not have much control over his bladder. I ended up wearing some of his urine.

NOT A FAN OF THE NIGHT SHIFT

Last night at work this guy came in to buy a few things. I rang through all his stuff and then he kinda whispered that he wanted something else too. He had a really raspy voice so I didn't quite catch what he said, so he repeated it. I didn't think I heard him right because I had no idea what he was talking about. So I asked him again.
"A pack of New York Rubbers" he said. I just kinda looked at him very confused. I was totally clueless. So he told me what they actually were, I'll let you guess, and I could feel my face turn bright red.
"Uh, mmm, uh... right over here." I choked out. They were behind the customer service desk, so I had to let him back there. He picked some up and then paid for them. Then he called down one of the aisles, "Com'on Smiley", and a girl in rather interesting attire followed him out.

A little later that night, another gentleman came in looking for the same product. So I took him behind the customer service desk, hoping he would just pick up a pack so I could get this over with. But no. He has the boldness to ask what kind I thought were the best, and what sizes they come in. As if I know. He spent like ten minutes looking at all the different kinds. I was very uncomfortable.
I can't wait till my next night shift.

KIDS, ASK AN ADULT FOR HELP

This happened a couple of years ago. Kim you might remember this, you were there.

I was at Bible college, and there was a big conference put on for high school kids, only a couple thousand or so. One of the things there was a prayer room, and I was helping put it together. I was asked to go and cut some pamphlets, so I did. I went to the library to use those big things where you pull down the lever to cut through big stack of paper. It should have been so much easier than cutting with scissors. It started out good, I got through most of the stacks, so I kept up the pace. I grabbed the next stack put it on the table and pulled down the lever. I picked up what was now two stacks of paper too put them aside when I received an unexpected blow to the mouth. I guess I hadn't pushed the spring loaded lever all the way to the stop position, so it flew up and got me right in the chops. And you know that, when something like that happens and there are other people around, somebody must have seen it. Not to mention the fat lip I got from the incident.

I'M SO AMAZING!

I was working (at IGA), and was going on my lunch break, so I grabbed this pizza calzone thing to eat. I go to the staff room, heat it up and start stuffing my face. Well, if you know me, you know how skilled I am. A big blob of sauce dropped on my shirt, a white shirt I might add, and I'm sure you can guess where it landed (I won't say because I'm to shy to write such words). I tried washing it off, but it was there to stay. I still had about 4 hours left on my shift, and as a cashier, you run into a lot of people. I couldn't hide it so I just went back to work. The rest of the night very few customers actually looked me in the face. I don't blame them, I wouldn't be able to look somebody in the face either without laughing. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. I just feel like I do alot more losing than winning.