e.brown

Some Linguistics Fun

2012-02-08T13:09:00.000-08:00

ESL Compassion

Dearest creature in creation,

Study English pronunciation.

I will teach you in my verse

Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.

I will keep you, Suzy, busy,

Make your head with heat grow dizzy.

Tear in eye, your dress will tear.

So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.

Just compare heart, beard, and heard,

Dies and diet, lord and word,

Sword and sward, retain and Britain.

(Mind the latter, how it’s written.)

Now I surely will not plague you

With such words as plaque and ague.

But be careful how you speak:

Say break and steak, but bleak and streak;

Cloven, oven, how and low,

Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.

Hear me say, devoid of trickery,

Daughter, laughter, and Terpsichore,

Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles,

Exiles, similes, and reviles;

Scholar, vicar, and cigar,

Solar, mica, war and far;

One, anemone, Balmoral,

Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel;

Gertrude, German, wind and mind,

Scene, Melpomene, mankind.

Billet does not rhyme with ballet,

Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet.

Blood and flood are not like food,

Nor is mould like should and would.

Viscous, viscount, load and broad,

Toward, to forward, to reward.

And your pronunciation’s OK

When you correctly say croquet,

Rounded, wounded, grieve and sleeve,

Friend and fiend, alive and live.

Ivy, privy, famous; clamour

And enamour rhyme with hammer.

River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb,

Doll and roll and some and home.

Stranger does not rhyme with anger,

Neither does devour with clangour.

Souls but foul, haunt but aunt,

Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant,

Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger,

And then singer, ginger, linger,

Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge,

Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.

Query does not rhyme with very,

Nor does fury sound like bury.

Dost, lost, post and doth, cloth, loth.

Job, nob, bosom, transom, oath.

Though the differences seem little,

We say actual but victual.

Refer does not rhyme with deafer.

Foeffer does, and zephyr, heifer.

Mint, pint, senate and sedate;

Dull, bull, and George ate late.

Scenic, Arabic, Pacific,

Science, conscience, scientific.

Liberty, library, heave and heaven,

Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven.

We say hallowed, but allowed,

People, leopard, towed, but vowed.

Mark the differences, moreover,

Between mover, cover, clover;

Leeches, breeches, wise, precise,

Chalice, but police and lice;

Camel, constable, unstable,

Principle, disciple, label.

Petal, panel, and canal,

Wait, surprise, plait, promise, pal.

Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, chair,

Senator, spectator, mayor.

Tour, but our and succour, four.

Gas, alas, and Arkansas.

Sea, idea, Korea, area,

Psalm, Maria, but malaria.

Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean,

Doctrine, turpentine, marine.

Compare alien with Italian,

Dandelion and battalion.

Sally with ally, yea, ye,

Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, and key.

Say aver, but ever, fever,

Neither, leisure, skein, deceiver.

Heron, granary, canary.

Crevice and device and aerie.

Face, but preface, not efface.

Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass.

Large, but target, gin, give, verging,

Ought, out, joust and scour, scourging.

Ear, but earn and wear and tear

Do not rhyme with here but ere.

Seven is right, but so is even,

Hyphen, roughen, nephew Stephen,

Monkey, donkey, Turk and jerk,

Ask, grasp, wasp, and cork and work.

Pronunciation -- think of Psyche!

Is a paling stout and spikey?

Won’t it make you lose your wits,

Writing groats and saying grits?

It’s a dark abyss or tunnel:

Strewn with stones, stowed, solace, gunwale,

Islington and Isle of Wight,

Housewife, verdict and indict.

Finally, which rhymes with enough--

Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough?

Hiccough has the sound of cup.

My advice is to give up!!!

Some advice from Henri Nouwen

2011-12-02T15:55:00.000-08:00

"There is a twilight zone in our hearts that {we ourselves cannot see.} Even when we know quite a lot about ourselves - our gifts and weaknesses, our ambitions and aspirations, our motives and our drives - large parts of ourselves remain in the shadow of consciousness. This is a very good thing.

We will always remain partially hidden to ourselves. Other people, especially those who love us, can often see our twilight zones {better than we ourselves can.} The way we are seen and understood by others is different from the way we see and understand ourselves. We will never fully know the significance of our presence in the lives of our friends. That’s a grace, a grace that calls us not only to humility, but to a deep trust in those who love us.

It is the twilight zones of our hearts where true friendships are born."

-Henri Nouwen

a hawaiian parable

2011-09-28T17:58:00.000-07:00

A man goes out on the beach and sees that it is covered with starfish that have washed up with the tide. A little boy is walking along, picking them up and throwing them back into the water.

"What are you doing, son?" the man asked. "You see how many starfish there are? You'll never make a difference."

The boy paused thoughtfully, and picked up another starfish and threw it into the ocean.

"It sure made a difference to that one," he said.

[untitled]

2011-05-02T00:23:00.000-07:00

"As I live, declares the Lord God,

I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked,

but that the wicked turn from his way and live."

Ezekiel 33:11

barefoot

2011-04-05T17:36:00.000-07:00

Today, I went {barefoot}.

(along with a significant portion of the students at SPU.)

and people all over the world...

My friends and I participated in the TOMS shoes: "One Day Without Shoes" Movement.

If you haven't heard of TOMS shoes before, they are a clothing business that for each pair of shoes that you purchase from them, they will give a pair to a child in need.

Today, we got a glimpse into what its like to go everyday without shoes.

a word about travel

2011-03-07T14:33:00.001-08:00

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”

- Mark Twain, Innocents Abroad

exciting!

2011-02-25T14:26:00.000-08:00

Hiiiii.

So, yes. I've been super busy. And it would be tricky for me to catch you all up on everything, so I will summarize with this:

school is great
friends are great
SPRINT is great
God is great
life is great

And life just got a little bit greater because I got the camp counselor position for this summer! So, I will be a camp counselor at a Christian camp in Washington for 6 - 11 weeks (still up in the air) this summer, ministering to upper elementary and middle school kids.

I very excited (and nervous) for this. It's something I've never done before, but I'm looking forward to the challenge, and to the growth that will come from it.

ANyways, sorry but that's as much of an update as you get!

Now, I'm off to SPRINT Retreat (where all this summer's SPRINTers come together for some training, some bonding, and some fun), where I'll be singing as part of the worship band (another new thing for me!), helping to lead this choreographed dance to 75+ people, yelling at people in Russian (as part of a "mock" customs scenario), and bonding with the TWO Russia teams that will be in the place that is so dear to me in just over 4 months!

Blessings,

A Reflection, by Emily Brown

2011-01-16T19:06:00.000-08:00

Below is a reflection that I wrote which will be included in the SPRINT Manual that our soon-to-be SPRINTers (we're in the process of interviewing applicants and forming teams right now!) will be reading before they head out on their trips this summer. I thought I'd share it will you all:

SPRINT Core Reflection: Emily Brown

I spent the evening before we left Russia, the last night of one of the greatest and most challenging months of my life, trying to figure out how I could stay in “the Motherland." Included in my list of possible options was a plot to sneak onto the island center of St. Petersburg just before all of the bridges went up. This little stunt would prevent me from making my 5:30 am flight, and I’d be “trapped” in Russia – a dream come true. Unfortunately, in the midst of my plan, just as I was stealthily traversing the rafters beneath the bridge, the police, having received word of my soon-to-expire visa, surrounded me, dragged me to the airport, strapped me into the plane, and shouted “Do svidaniya!”

Okay, so maybe it didn’t happen exactly like that, but in all seriousness, leaving was hard – one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. It’s amazing how attached you can get to a place and its people – especially its children – in just four short weeks. Re-entry can be rough, friends. One of the hardest aspects of being back in the U.S. was being away from my team. Yes, I had my family, but they didn’t really fully understand. They couldn’t. Only my team could. I found it difficult to make simple conversation, to talk about movies and the weather; all I wanted to talk about was Russia. Yet, I didn’t really know how to talk to people about it. Most of that first couple of weeks back I spent sitting around, looking at pictures, talking to members of my team on Skype, and eating packets of Russian instant oatmeal I’d brought back.

I found it really hard to fully embrace my life back in the U.S. – at least my old life. I’d grown and changed so much in Russia, and even though I couldn’t figure out or give a name to some of the changes that had occurred, I felt like a different person from my experience - a stronger person. Processing your trip – deciding what you took from it and how it’s going to impact you now – takes time. Sometimes lots of it. Even though I’ve been back for nearly six months now, I’m still working through the process of figuring out just how Russia has impacted me – my values, my goals, my take on the world, and most of all my relationship with God. Some of the things that have helped me the most have been giving myself quiet times to reflect, telling just a select few friends and family members the “whole” story, and keeping in contact with members of my team. Together, we have been able to hold each other accountable in applying what we learned on our trip to our lives now, and not letting each other just forget our experiences.

It can be a bit of a roller coaster ride, friends, but I can tell you that it will all be worth it. Even if I still can’t pin down all the ways that my trip has impacted me or how I am supposed to apply those changes to my life now, I can confidentially say that through it all, God has stretched and grown me in more ways than I’ve ever been before, and I feel that I’m coming away from this experience as a much better person – a humbler daughter of Christ.

alive

2010-12-13T13:24:00.000-08:00

hello there :)

So, despite my lack of blogging, i am still alive.

here's an update from the last few months (in bullet point style):

I still love SPU. a lot. It's great, and the {perfect} fit for me.

Autumn quarter went great! I took Beginning Russian, Christian Scriptures, and Anatomy & Physiology. Christian Scriptures was my favorite class, by far. I learned more than I ever could have imagined I'd learn in just 10 weeks. Anatomy & Physiology was my hardest class.

Next quarter, I will be continuing the beginning Russian sequence, and completing the A & P sequence. Additionally, I will be taking Community Bible Study (with the same amazing professor of my Christian Scriptures class in Autumn quarter) and Intro to Global Development.

I love being on SPRINT Core. For those of you who don't know, SPRINT (Seattle Pacific Reachout INTernational) is the organization that I went to Russia with last summer. Now, I get to be on the other side and help organize and send the 2011 teams out! We are sending 12 teams to 11 different countries: Rwanda, Uganda, Egypt, India, Haiti, Indonesia, Brazil, Guatemala, China, Vietnam, and Russia (2 teams are going here! yay!). We've had {110} students apply, which is more than double the number that applied last year.

I've been working about 11 hrs a week in the {Office of Student Life} at SPU. It's a great job. My boss is the sweetest woman ever. I love my job.

I don't really know what I'm going to do with my life. I wish that I could major in Jesus, but sadly, that isn't offered (I guess I could do a self-designed major. . . haha). Here's my plan right now: I'm considering Global Development Studies as a major, Biology as a minor (because I'm very close to achieving a minor in it already). Sadly, because I started considering nursing as a potential career so late, I would have to do another full year at SPU in order to complete their nursing program. So, I am getting my nursing pre-requisites done at SPU anyways, and am thinking about graduating SPU with a GDS degree, and then going somewhere else, like Seattle University or Portland State University, to get my nursing degree and my Masters in Public Health. Long term plan? Work for a non-profit, and help people.

I still miss Russia and the kids a lot. Not a day goes by when I don't think about them.

Sadly, I will likely not be returning to Russia this summer, as I had wanted. After talking with the SPRINT Adviser, and praying about it, I've decided to stay state-side, at least this summer. I do definitely want to go back, hopefully as an intern, but this summer is not my season.

Because I'm staying state-side, I applied to be a camp counselor at a Christian summer camp in Yelm, Washington. Being a camp counselor is something that I've always wanted to do, and after talking with a friend of mine who worked as a counselor at this camp last summer, I decided to apply. If you all could be praying, that would be great!

And now, for more pictures than you've ever seen in your life:

A before shot of our room, on moving-in day

the after shot, taken the last day of fall quarter!

We kicked off the year with the annual "Ashton Rootbeer Kegger"

then took a ferry boat to the Ashton Retreat at Camp Casey

it was so much fun

this is us using sea kelp as a jump rope

some of the lovely ladies of 6th East Ashton

next was "Fusion", an SPU event where each floor on campus performs a skit of some sort. My floor performed the YouTube video "Kittens, inspired by Kittens", which if you haven't seen it, WATCH IT NOW by clicking here. I was the voice of the little girl, haha.

all dressed up as kittens

Because we were so tired, Bri and I had a coffee chugging contest.

not the brightest idea.

there's been 2 am runs with friends to Beth's Cafe

and many general good times

we drove to Vancouver, B.C. and went to the Passion Vancouver concert, with performances by Matt Redman, Chris Tomlin, and the David Crowder Band, and featured speaker Louie Giglio. There were 11,000 people in the stadium.

Then our dorm floor had "Roomies", an event where your roommate sets you up on a blind date, and vice versa. Everyone carved pumpkins and went out for ice cream.

Meet SPRINT Core!

I love these people :)

and, of course, there's been many a basketball game.

and a spontaneous trip to Voodoo Donuts in Portland, Oregon. We left Seattle at 10:40 pm. . .

. . . arrived at Voodoo at 1:30 am. . .

. . . and got back to school at 5:30 am :)

we had 2.5 snow days!

and sledded down Ashton hill on a deflated raft

and another basketball game, only this time we traded our orange for ugly Christmas sweaters in preparation for "Tradition", an all SPU Christmas Party.

complete with an awkward nativity photo

and all types of pictures with Santa:

1) a friends pictures with Santa

2) a roommate picture with Santa

3) a 6th East picture with Santa!

Each year, the sophomores of 6th East get assigned a freshman to be a "big sister" to.
This is my "little sister" on the floor. Her name is Nicole, and she is simply precious :)

and these are my crazy friends

Welp, there you have it. That is the entire {Autumn Quarter} in pictures :)

I can't promise that I'm going to start being better about blogging, sorry. Once Winter Quarter starts up in 2.5 weeks, I'll likely be just as busy as I was Autumn Quarter. But, I shall try my best!

Love and Blessings,

(sms) shine - d.crowder

2010-11-09T17:46:00.000-08:00

click here for music video

Send me a sign
A hint, O whisper
Fill me with life
'Cause I am listening

Come break the quiet
Breathe your awakening
Bring me the light
'Cause I am fading

Surround me with the rush of angels' wings

Shine Your light so I can see You
Pull me up, I need to be near You
Hold me, I need to feel loved
Can You overcome this heart that's overcome?

You sent a sign
The hint, O whisper
Human, divine
Everyone is listening

Death laid low
Quiet in the night is stirring

All around the rush of angels

O the wonder of the greatest love has come

Shine Your light so all can see it
Lifted up, 'cause the whole world needs it
Love has come, what joy to hear it
He has overcome, He has overcome

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8cAU475dQo&ob=av2e

a video about Russia

2010-11-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

Hey all!

Sorry, it's been forever. I've just been really busy.

but, look what I have?! A 5 minute video showing some of what my team and I experienced in Russia :)

My team and I made it.

So, here ya go! enjoy :)

Click here to see the video

these faces

2010-09-22T12:27:00.000-07:00

i miss them.

pictures from Russia

2010-09-09T19:21:00.000-07:00

I posted about 2/3 of my pictures to facebook, and added captions to some. Please feel free to click on the links below to view them!

Album 1

Album 2

Album 3

Album 4 (The kids)

Enjoy :)

home. . .

2010-09-02T17:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back in the states,

at least physically.

but, I seem to have left { my mind } and { my heart } in

Russia.

Россия.

Rossiya.

Leaving was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

Russia was life-changing, to say the least.

I really don't even know where to begin,

(so it could be a little while before I start blogging about it.
I'm still trying to process it all)

BUT, I will share one picture with you right now:

Настя, я люблю тебя.
Nastia, yah lueblue tibyeh.

Nastia, I love you.

this little girl has been on my mind more than anything about Russia.

[Saying goodbye to her was the hardest goodbye I've ever had to say.]

Soon, I will tell you more about this girl, and about ALL of the amazing children of God that I was so privileged to have gotten to meet.

I learned more than I could have ever imagined from these kids,

from this trip,

from Russia itself.

To those of you who supported me in my Russia mission,

no words can express how grateful I am to you.

[my life and the lives of these kids are forever changed because of you.]

Russia Update 2

2010-08-18T08:21:00.000-07:00

Hiiiiii :)

Welp, we're in Novgorod, Russia now. We've been here since Sunday, and we have really enjoyed it so far. It was really hard to say goodbye to the kiddos at the baby orphanage, but we know that God has them in His hands.

We started working with the kids at the TB Children's Center on Monday. We're with the kids for 5 hours every day. They are SO much fun. At first, the language barrier seemed like it was going to be a really big problem, but already it's getting much easier, as we are finding new ways to communicate. A lot of gesturing, haha. BUT, I am proud to say that I led a whole craft without the aid of a translator! woot woot!

The kids are SO sweet. There are about 30 of them, and the average age is probably about 8. Over the past few days, I've grown particularly close to a group of five 8, 9, and 10 year old girls, especially a little girl named Nastia. She is a soft spoken sweet heart, and I love her to bits. I'm trying really hard not to think about how difficult it is going to be to say goodbye in just under two weeks.

Well, it was a short update, and a little scatterbrained, but I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry I can't write more. We're limited in time. Also, this is only the second time we (as a team; Tanya's the one who takes the updates that you've been recieving from us in writing, and sends them out) have had internet access.

Okay, out of time. But, I love you all!!!! Please keep us in your prayers. Prayer that we can all be healthy. We've had some weird health issues kind of circulating throughout the team, so please please please pray that we can all be healthy, so that we can all work with the amazing kids at the Children's Center!

Slava Bogu!! ("God Bless". . . I think)

UPDATE!!!!!

2010-08-10T06:23:00.001-07:00

Zdrasvyote from Russia!!!

I'm in an internet cafe (in the Hermitage!!!!), so I'll keep this brief.

Wow. I can't even begin to describe all of the amazing experiences I've had so far!

I LOVE RUSSIA. the end.

Haha, just kidding, but seriously, those three words sum it up. It is absolutely amazing here. I love it. Everything about it! {well, I think we all could do with a little cooler weather, but that's it.)

Favorite sight so far seen: Church on Spilled Blood. Krasiva ("beautiful"). google it.

Best memory so far: Playing with the kids at the HIV baby orphanage, specifically an adorable little boy named Dima. I love him so much, and I've only spent 2 days with him so far! I want to take him home :)

Strangest food so far: for breakfast, a mixture of cottage cheese, sour cream, sugar (lots of sugar) and honey. Sounds gross, but it is VERY tasty! (Granted, the cottage cheese and the sour cream are very different here)

Random blurts:

Russians like mayonaise, cucumbers, standing very close to you, and mullets (yes, the hairstyle). They are also some of the sweetest and most compassionate people in the world!
Some of youhave probably heard about the fires in Russia that have been ongoing (and some new ones that started as a result of a storm Saturday night) and I just wanted to assure you all that we are quite safe :)
GOD IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!

Okay, I need to wrap things up. Sorry. But, I do have some prayer requests:

Pray for our teams continuing good health (pray that Natalie's allergies get better) and pray for the health of the HIV kids we're working with. Their immune systems are so supressed that a cold caught from us can be a death sentence to them.
Pray for continuing team unity.
Pray for our preparations for the VBS camp that starts next week.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers!!!! I love you all! Paka (bye bye!)

Soulful Sunday

2010-08-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

{thank you, LORD}

{for getting me through 20 years of life.}

Россия {Russia}

2010-08-03T20:54:00.000-07:00

Well friends,

looks like I'm off to Russia :)

I'm kind of in a hurry, so this will be brief!!

If you'd like to read updates from my team while we are in Russia, go to these websites (not sure which one, or if both, with be providing updates)

http://sunergosorphans.wordpress.com/

http://www.spu.edu/depts/perkins/students/sprint/sprintrussia2010.asp

I love you all! Thank you for all of your prayers and support!!

See ya in a month!

Soulful Sunday

2010-08-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

четырe ( four )

2010-07-31T08:21:00.000-07:00

четыре. дней.

[four. days.]

~~ten.~~

~~nine.~~

~~eight.~~

~~seven.~~

~~six.~~

~~five.~~

and now four.

it seems like yesterday when it was four [ months ] away.

am i ready?

[for the most part.]

but can you ever really be totally ready?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

my prayers recently have been simple [in thought]

but difficult [in action] . . .

1) LORD,

help me to be fully present,

{wherever i am}

and focused on what i can do
in the right here
and right now.

{focusing on each moment}

because. . .

if you did not have a Will for me
{to do something}

right here,
right now,

i wouldn't be here.

2) may the hearts of the children that we are going to serve be soft,

as well as the hearts of my team.

use us
as instruments
to Your Will.

use them
{these broken children}
as instruments
to Your Will.

help them to learn from us. . .

. . . and us to learn from them.

3) help me to live my life {only} for the applause of those nail-pierced hands.

and no one else.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

four.

more.
days.

wordless. wednesday.

2010-07-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

cupcake fun

2010-07-27T11:10:00.000-07:00

green, through and through.

recognize these little guys. . . ?

from a certain children's movie. . . ?

they're the aliens from Toy Story.

:)

when we ran out of "eyes", we just decided to decorate the rest.

fun fun fun.

Soulful Sunday

2010-07-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

what we've been up to

2010-07-23T10:16:00.001-07:00

well, we've been. . .

making playdough, and playing with it. . .

playdough animals. . .

playdough pizzas. . .

playdough people. . .
[my creation]

even playdough snowmen. . .

and writing names with playdough. . .

[alex had a little help, but william did his all on his own.]

taking naps on brothers. . .

taking walks through foggy bottom. . .

playing at the park. . .

[even though, with humidity, it was about 95 degrees when we were there at 9:30 am. . . you can kind of see how sweaty we are, especially if you look at william's hair]

and letting little boys bury feet in the sand. . .

yep. that's about it.

On a different note, 12 days until I leave for Russia :)

Soulful Sunday

2010-07-18T09:00:00.001-07:00

{Thank you, Lord. . . }

Forgiven & Loved

2010-07-16T11:35:00.000-07:00

By Jimmy Needham

Tell me I’m forgiven and loved
‘Cause I hear it from the street corner priests
On how God is love and how man can be clean
But my joy has been on holiday
And my peace has almost passed away
Tell me I’m forgiven and free

CHORUS
O I tried and tried to rectify my hopeless situation
But I bought the lie I still have work to do
Now I’m working nine to five like I can earn my own salvation
But there is no condemnation in You

O whisper to me now that it’s for real
‘Cause in the silence of these walls righteousness lost its appeal
Dirty deeds have done me in
O but that can’t stop the faithful friend
Giving mercy once again as You heal
Here it is I’m feeling it

(Chorus)

O He died, He died to rectify my hopeless situation
And His blood commands my guilt to leave
Now on Calvary I stand
Empty pockets, open hands
O there is no condemnation for me

(Chorus)

Child, you’re forgiven and loved
Child, you’re forgiven and loved
Child, you’re forgiven
And child, you are loved
Child, you’re forgiven and loved

Alex's Laugh

2010-07-13T17:23:00.000-07:00

I tried to post this with the previous post but it didn't work, so just fyi, there's another new post below!

The Building Museum {Lego Exhibit}

2010-07-13T16:24:00.000-07:00

{I accidentally had my camera set on "wide shot" for all of these pictures, and didn't realize it until I uploaded them. So, they are all kind of long and skinny. whoops.}

William and I went to the Building Museum today to see a Lego Exhibit.

This is the main hall of the museum. It was so beautiful!

We decided to explore the museum a little before going into the Lego Exhibit, and ended up finding a little game, pictured below:

it was a board game, only the board was a road.

the first car to travel from the parking lot to the . . . other parking lot . . . was the winner.

William liked it, so that was a plus!

Then, we went inside the Lego Exhibit.

Yep. That's all Legos. The one behind William was made using over 400,000 Legos!

impressive, right?

They had a separate room full of tables with troughs of Legos for making your own creations.

it was super crowded.

there's William on the left.

He played for a good hour and a half!

And, yes. I will admit that I played with Legos for a little bit, as well.

just a little bit, though.

; )

Welp, that's all for now!

Soulful Sunday

2010-07-11T09:00:00.001-07:00

"and may you have the power to understand,

as God's people should,

how wide

how long

how high

how deep

{HIS} love is.

may you experience the love of Christ,

though it is too great to fully understand.

then you will be made complete

with all the fullness of

{LIFE}

&

{POWER}

that comes from God."

{ephesians 3:17-19}

24 days, 22 hours, 33 minutes, 07 seconds

2010-07-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

until I board a plane for this place:

how to beat the D.C. heat...

2010-07-08T04:58:00.000-07:00

So, as some of you have probably heard, the East Coast is going through a massive heat wave right now.

Yesterday, it was 102, but because of humidity and such, the Washington Post said it felt like 106.

My sister Amanda called last night to say that she had heard that the National Zoo in D.C. had been distributing popsicles to the animals in an effort to keep them cool!

The poor polar bears are really not used to this low 100 degree weather!

[For those of you back home on the West Coast, I hear that you guys are having a heat wave, too!]

So, I thought I'd share with you all some creative ways that William and I have attempted to "beat the heat":

1) Pretend that it's snowing inside:

and try to eat the imaginary snowflakes. . .

[This is William's favorite because he says it looks like he's actually eating the snowflake]

2) Imagine that it's Christmas:

3) . . .

Unfortunately, there is no number 3. Any suggestions?

The Missing Beatitude

2010-07-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

Well, as I mentioned before, there has been one rather large change to my Team's itinerary while we are in Russia, and I'd like to explain it to you now:

Instead of serving at the Youth Transit Center (for troubled and runaway children and teens), we will now be serving at a TB Children Center in Novgorod, Russia, a city about 2.5 hours south of St. Petersburg.

Here's a map, if you'd like:

{note: there are actually two cities named Novgorod. The one called Nizhni Novgorod is not the one we are going to. We are going to the one that is about 1/4 inch below Saint Petersburg on this map}

To the best of my current knowledge, the TB Children Center is a temporary orphanage for children who have been exposed to tuberculosis. The children come to the center to be checked out and treated for 3-6 months. The center works hard to build the immune systems of the children and ensure that there are no signs of the disease. Currently, there are around 50 kids, ages 3-17, staying at the center.

While we are at the center, we will be putting on the 2-week Vacation Bible School that we had planned for the Youth Transit Center, though there will likely be more than twice as many children.

Thus, my team and I have a bit of a task before us.

We have quite a bit more VBS supplies to gather.

Additionally, we need to alter our VBS plans quite a bit. At the Youth Transit Center, since there were only going to be around 20 kids, we were going to keep them all together for the lessons and games (despite the age range, 5-17).

Now, at the TB Center, we will be dividing the kids into 2 groups (3-11 year olds in one group, 12-17 year olds in another). This means that we need to create a lesson plan, a set of games, several crafts, and two skits for each group.

This task is further complicated by the fact that my team and I are currently scatter across the country, and will not be together again until we are in Russia...

BUT, Skype and Google Documents have been VERY helpful for us, and we are confident that we will get everything planned and be prepared! And we have been blessed with a proactive team!

And with that, here are a couple of pictures of the TB Children Center, taken by a team from another university that is currently in Novgorod:

don't they just look so sweet?

:)

Needless to say, my team and I are very excited to get to know these kiddos! We believe that this is a positive change to our itinerary, and are greatly looking forward to it!

Now. . .

The question you are probably asking right now is, "Why did the plans change?"

The answer is simple:

Because God opened a door.

(One that hasn't been opened to many other non-profit groups yet.)

and...

Because flexibility really is the missing beatitude:

Matthew 5: 11(.5)

"Blessed are the Flexible,

For they will not be bent out of shape."

Flexibility.
If I had to pick a single skill that I would say that I have improved on the most through my first year of college, it is this.

hands down.

And what a difficult skill it can be sometimes.

BUT, it so helpful, as well!

My team and I are confident that God has this all under control, and that this change in our itinerary is His will. We feel blessed to be given this opportunity to minister to these kids.

Please be praying for us as we gather more supplies and make more plans for the VBS. Please be praying for the children at the TB Children Center and the teams that are currently in Russia assisting Sunergos International
(I linked their blog to my sidebar. Check it out!)

If you have any questions, please send them my way, either through a blog comment or directly to my email at browne9@spu.edu!

a litttle webcam fun

2010-07-03T08:15:00.000-07:00

mark of success?

kept the boys occupied for 30 mins!

and no, I haven't forgot about my Russia update post. It will be coming soon!

summer number three in d.c.!

2010-06-30T19:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm in D.C. now!

In fact, I'm pretty close to exactly where this picture was taken. (on the Lincoln Memorial side of the water, though)

When I went running last night, I did a loop around the Lincoln Memorial and then tried to run across the bridge that is pictured here which leads to Arlington Cemetery, but couldn't find it. Go figure.

(For those of you who know me well, this shouldn't come as a huge surprise to you; I'm terrible with directions...)

BUT, I am determined now to find it!

Well, I flew in Monday! The plane rides weren't too bad, though I was pretty tired afterward since they were red eyes. But it was kind of nice to travel at night because everyone on the plane was asleep, including the people on either side of me. It was nice and quiet, which I like!

I "officially" start watching William tomorrow, so that will be fun. Today, we played an almost 2 hour long game of what was supposed to be the "shortened" way of playing Monopoly (the real deal; NOT Monopoly Junior!) and I lost. My pride wasn't really bruised at all until I looked at the box and saw that the age range for the game was 8+ years old, and I was beaten by a 5 year old. . .

. . .this could be a long 5 weeks :P

Anyhoo, I just thought I'd update you all and let you know that I'm alive and well :)

For now, I'm going to bed.

goodnight!

P.S. There have been some really recent, major changes to my Russia trip itinerary, so I will be posting about them soon! Nothing bad; just different. I'm waiting for more details, but I'll update my blog as soon as I know enough to explain it!

what packing for 9 weeks looks like. . .

2010-06-27T14:33:00.000-07:00

. . . when you spread it all out on the living room floor. . .

catch ya later, west coast!

I'm off to Washington, D.C. for 5 weeks,

and then St. Petersburg, Russia for 4 weeks.

See ya!

41 days until...

2010-06-23T22:00:00.000-07:00

RUSSIA!!

woot woot!!

Fast approaching...

I can't even believe it.

And on another note, since I {unfortunately} am fairly certain that I will not be able to update my blog while I'm in Russia, there are a couple of options for you all if you'd like to know how we're doing in Russia:

1) if you are interested in receiving email updates from our team {via the SPRINT Coordinator, Owen Sallee, stationed in Seattle) while we are in Russia, please email me your email address at browne9@spu.edu

So yes. Let me know!

2) We have set up a team website {with a blog incorporated} that we might be able to access while we are in Russia. We can't be sure yet, but we're certainly going to try! You can access it by clicking below:

SPRINT Russia Team 2010 Website

Also, as a side note, my team is trying to collect supplies for the VBS that we are putting on over in Russia.

What we still need:

1. Markers, paint, crayons
2. Poster paper, construction paper
3. Tye-dye supplies
4. White t-shirts
5. Bubbles
6. Soccer ball, frisbees
7. cotton balls, sticks, glitter, glue, pipe cleaners
8. yarn
9. beads for bracelet making

If you have anything on this list in surplus at your house, or know anyone who does, we would greatly appreciate it! Just let me know :)

Hope you all are enjoying SUMMER!

school's out for summer!

2010-06-16T12:49:00.000-07:00

Yep, sorry for the delay in posting.

We're going to back track a little bit to my last couple of weeks of school.

We'll start with Memorial Day Weekend:

A Trip to Cannon Beach, Oregon!!!

embarking on our journey :)

apologies for the blurry picture; we were just so dang excited!!

....but we experienced some car trouble...

...major car trouble...

and ended up having a few hours to kill

taking goofy pictures

what do we know about cars...?

so sad

but this is dramatized.

we weren't that sad.

it did suck waiting in the rain for a couple of hours
but it wasn't so bad.

our first rescuers!! they came to take my friend Bri

because the tow truck could only hold two of us.

and an hour later....

rescuer #2: Mr. Nisqually, the tow truck man!

we snagged some pictures while Mr. Nisqually/tow truck man/"Justin" took a bathroom break....

so relieved to be rescued!!!

So, we were towed 92 miles in the opposite direction of Cannon Beach,

slept for 4 hours,

and then hit the road.
Our departure time?

that's AM.

about 2 hours into our drive, we stopped for some starbucks...

at the same starbucks that we were stuck at less than 12 hours earlier...

oh the irony.

and finally, at 9:30 am, we made it to Cannon Beach!!

While we were being towed, the rest of our party had reached Cannon Beach, set up camp, and slept. They were just waking up when the two of us got to the sight.

our lovely set up

and our fire starter, posing with his proud accomplishment.

some how, all of us girls ended up bring blue rain jackets...

and finally, we hit the beach :)

....followed by a necessary trip to Mo's...

where you are never too old to color...

and a drive to the Tillamook Cheese Factory:

and a final picture session at the beach...

Sooo Fun!

Okay so more to come, I promise.

Right now, I'm focusing on holding babies,
generating a packing list for Washington D.C. and Russia,

working on my Russian,

lounging,

enjoying being out of classes,

chilling with my sister and bro-in-law,

etc.

it's the life :)

a much needed retreat

2010-05-28T00:53:00.000-07:00

{to this place...}

{with my lovely floormates}

{pumping gas for the first time}

{i love you, 6th East Ashton Hall}

{thanks for the memories}

{now off to CANNON BEACH!!!}

Some Big Changes!

2010-05-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

Hey guess what?

I'm pre-nursing now, and not pre-med anymore!

Yep. You read that correctly.

I am no longer pre-med.

...at least not for now.

Maybe later? Perhaps I'll change my mind again?

Let me to you that I've only been pre-nursing for about 24 hours, and boy is it a great feeling :)

I finally got the courage to make a decision. God only knows if it's the right one.

It might be a permanent decision...

it might not...

...but for right now, I'm rolling with it.

So, yeah. Big changes.

But they feel great for now. {Relief}.

If you're reading this and thinking, "what the heck? where did this decision come from?", let me assure you that I plan to post the loooong process of making my decision sometime next week.

BUT ...

For now,

I just wanted to tell you all :)

Okay. Time to get back to studying for my Animal Bio test... which starts in 40 minutes.

Иисус = Jesus

2010-05-11T09:37:00.000-07:00

A little more Russian for you :)

I wanted to show you all this picture by an artist named Chris Harrison:

Each of the bars at the bottom represents a chapter of the bible, and each colorful arch represents a cross-reference between verses. Pretty amazing, right?

And on a random side note, I got on SPRINT Core!! I will be the Office Team Assistant. That means that next year I will be helping coordinate the SPRINT trips instead of just being a participant. I'm really really excited. The other Core members are really great, and I'm excited to get to know them more. And I'm glad to get more involved with SPU :)

Okay, back to homework!

3.00 x 10^8 meters/second

2010-04-21T10:59:00.000-07:00

That, my friends, is the speed of light.

Why, you ask, is that the title of this post?

Because that's how fast I feel like I'm going this week.

BLLLLLAAAHHHHH.

What exactly have I been up to?

Writing a Paper
Selling Tulips for SPRINT before they die
Reading textbooks
Taking 18 credit hours
Studying for two exams
Working at my new job
Applying for SPRINT leadership
NOT sleeping

looking a bit like this chick:

[though minus the hair, outfit, smile, lack of color, etc. so basically, not like her at all ]

At the same time though, I've been trying to remember to have fun, slow down, and enjoy:

Also,

I had the opportunity to listen to this man, John Perkins:

it was amazing and inspiring.
a man with a heart for Him.

Yep. That's life.

Also, you should drop everything and read Psalm 118 right now.

And listen to this song: Hillsong United Till I See You

Okay, goodnight!!!

team russia

2010-04-18T17:46:00.001-07:00

to read more about us, click here :)

could they really be any cuter?

2010-03-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

Some more pictures!

2010-03-28T14:43:00.001-07:00

Here are some more pictures from the last couple of days:

me and the babies
(Luke is in the green hat)

Auntie Natalie and the babies

Auntie Natalie and Luke

me and little Lukey

Luke's precious little clubbed feet :)
(For those of you who don't know, Luke's clubbed feet were not a surprise; we knew about the condition from ultrasounds. It's 100% treatable, and frankly kind of cute right now!)

Auntie Natalie and Abbey girl

Abbey and I

I LOVE the way Abbey smells!

Twinies :)
(Abbey on the left, Luke on the right)

We had some fun with little gangsta Luke

me and Abbey. Isn't she tiny?!
And so adorable!

Luke and Natalie

Abbey and I

The adorable little family :)

why God is so good :)

2010-03-27T02:54:00.001-07:00

well, among other reasons, because He gave "us" these two little miracles:

meet

Luke

(born around 1:00am on March 27th, 2010. 7lbs 7oz, 20.5 inches)

&

Abbey

(born around 1:20am on March 27th, 2010. 5lbs 9oz, 19.5 inches)

Me and Natalie with the babies

my proud brother-in-law with his little babies :)

MORE PICTURES TO COME!
(for more details, please visit my sister's blog here)

a Canadian adventure, (eh)?

2010-03-23T11:03:00.001-07:00

So, two of my friends and I spent the first part of Spring Break in Canada.

We were only there for a day and a half, we still somehow managed to take 410 pictures.

AND only two of us had cameras (I just purchased one and it is in the mail right now!)

(also, I'd like to point out that this is my 2nd post in a row with 40+ pictures!!)

embarking on our journey, which consisted of 4 ferry rides total

in addition to a 6:15 am departure from my friend's house in Port Townsend, WA
(although I will say that we look pretty good considering the picture was taken that early in the morning...)

our first glimpses of Victoria

on the balcony of our hotel

Parliament

the Empress Hotel

my beautiful friends Bri and Em J

we got a kick out of the "positively".

Chinatown!

who knew Darth Vader played the violin?

we sat on this dock for probably an hour and a half.
it was glorious.

saying goodbye to Canada.

it was fun :)

let's sum up winter quarter, shall we?

2010-03-20T13:44:00.000-07:00

Well, actually, perhaps I should start with some stuff that I forgot to post about fall quarter...

Light Park in Seattle:

Climbing Mount Si for my Mountaineering Class:
(oh yeah, you read that correctly. I took a class on mountaineering)

okay, now for winter quarter...

Painting on the 6th East Ashton balcony:

Homecoming Dance with my floor:

Skiing(!!!):
(sorry there is only one picture from skiing. We didn't want to take cameras on the slopes in case we fell, which i did many times)

Cramming five beds into our room:

and general good times:

Yep. I love college.

why i love my small, christian school

2010-03-11T14:05:00.000-08:00

because i get to go to this beautiful field station...

on this island...

and walk along this bridge...

and stay in this dorm (more like a lodge)...

and do my homework in this common room...

and have worship time, lead by my biology professors, on this dock...

and go canoeing...

and hiking...

and say nerdy things likes "why don't we sit on this bryophyta (moss) and eat our lunch?"

and these are just a few reasons why
i love my school.

currently...

2010-02-27T22:22:00.001-08:00

...i am on one of these islands...

[which Seattle Pacific University owns, and where they have a field station]

sitting in this "dorm", [it's more like a lodge that you might find at a resort]...

curled up in a blanket,

on one of the most comfortable couches I have ever sat on,

in front of a cozy fire,

with six of my peers surrounding me.

Needless to say,

Today [and this weekend, for that matter] is a good day to be a biologist :)

dear Facebook,

2010-02-17T20:08:00.000-08:00

I gave you up for lent.

Because you suck up my time. at an unbelievable rate.

Even though you are so enjoyable,

I spend too many hours a week on you, when I should be doing homework.

Don't take it too personally.

My Jesus is just more important. much MUCH more important.

and He deserves my attention more than you do.

no hard feelings.

see you 40 days.

maybe.

Love always,

threads of hope

2010-02-10T16:34:00.000-08:00

I wanted to tell you all
about a really amazing organization called "Threads of Hope".

As some of you may know, many women and young girls are sold into prostitution in the Philippines because it is the only way they can provide for their families.

Threads of Hope is trying to change that. Based in the Philippines, the organization has found an alternative to prostitution for women and girls:

making bracelets
[just like the ones pictured above]

Their Purpose Statement:
Threads of Hope assists the economically oppressed in under-developed countries to establish home enterprises that will provide an income, through the development of products that can be sold world-wide. Funds generated through sales and donations will primarily be used to help meet the physical, educational and spiritual needs of the communities where the products are made.

Click on this link to watch a video about the organization.

Well, SPRINT (My school's missions organization, discussed in this post) and Threads of Hope have joined together in a fund raising effort.

We SPRINTers (as we're called) are selling these beautiful, unique bracelets for only $1 each.

60 cents of each dollar raised goes to Threads of Hope,

40 cents of each dollar raised goes to the SPRINT program.

It's just one small thing that is making a huge difference in the lives of these women and young girls, AND helping us SPRINTers make a difference in the lives of others through our missions work :]

If you would like to help support these two organizations or know anyone else who might want to, please please PLEASE let me know.

Thank you,

golden gardens

2010-02-05T19:39:00.000-08:00

a fantastic place in seattle, washington.

great, right?

:]

photos courtesy of bri

study. study. study.

2010-02-04T11:15:00.000-08:00

my friend bri took this picture a couple of weeks ago when I had my last plant biology test.

on that particular Thursday, I kid you not, I studied from 10am-3am, with a breaks for lunch and dinner, but not much else.

i have a feeling that a similar state will be reached at some point today, seeing as how I have not one but TWO midterms tomorrow.

and one of them is another plant bio test. and a christian formations' test. fantastic.

but, I'll survive.

In other news, if you could be praying for my little niece right now? She's in the hospital with respiratory problems.

this kid is the toughest kid I know. I'm confident that she'll be alright :]

listen.

2010-01-28T11:23:00.000-08:00

saviour king. amazing song. please listen. click here.

my favorite part:

"hope which was lost
now stands renewed"

Где туалет?

2010-01-26T21:54:00.000-08:00

can you guess what the title of this post says....?

No?

Well, I'll give you a hint:

Still haven't got a clue?

Well, it means, "Where is the bathroom?"...

in Russian.

That's right, people. I found out where I've been selected to go on my SPRINT trip, and it's...

RUSSIA!

This means that from August 4th to August 31st, 2010, I will be in Saint Petersburg, Russia :]

Here are some details:

My team (still haven't found out who my other team members are, but there will likely be 4-10 total) will be working with Sunergos International (you can read more about the organization by clicking on it), an organization that helps orphans and troubled teens, primarily.

In brief, we will be serving in an HIV baby orphanage for children ages 0-5 who are HIV positive, and a runaway transit center for troubled youth.

We begin our pre-trip, team building exercises soon and I am so pumped and excited to see how God is going to work in our lives!

Thank you all for your prayers with my interview and such :]

God Bless.

it's what we do.

2010-01-24T14:17:00.000-08:00

I'd like you to meet Stinky Pete:

Yep. We named our trash can. it's what we do.

There is a story behind this. You see, towards the middle of fall quarter, our dorm room started to smell really badly, and we had NO idea why. We didn't suspect the trash can until a week or so (I know, I know. dumb, right?) because we'd been really good at changing the bags and stuff.

We were wrong.

Turns out, it was the trash can. And us.

We had apparently failed to put a liner bag into the can once (weeks before, probably), and had put things like used tea bags and cup noodles in it...

...liquidy things.

and, well, they rotted. a bit.

Anyways, we cleaned him (the trash can) and gave him a name, thinking if we named him, we might take better care of him.

So far? It has worked!

But, yeah. we're weird. it's what we do.

Oh, and meet The Coffee Monster:

again, a story.

I got this coffee machine for Christmas.

Often times, it gets angry. and makes noises. and sputters. and growls. and steams and smokes when it definitely shouldn't (like 2+ hours after we've used it).

don't get me wrong, it's a great coffee machine. it's just a wee bit scary.

So, we named him, thinking that if we named him, perhaps he would be less noisy and scary.

again, so far it has worked. and again, it's just what we do.

And on a different note, our floor (and most of the girls floors in my dorm) was visited by a group of silent guys dressed in a bunch of colorful, one-piece spandex suits.

They just came into our rooms, poked around, and then left.

how strange. but very, very entertaining :]

oh college.

Also, after nearly a week at it's worst state ever, my half of the dorm room is squeaky clean, as it should be.

For those of you who saw the state of my bedroom back home, you would be extremely impressed with how my half of the dorm room has looked (for the most part) thus far this year.

I've been really good about keeping it tidy. I've made my bed in the morning way more times than I've not made it.

So this last week when it was awful, it was really hard for me.

But now, it is better :]

OH. BEST PART OF THIS POST:

"And the Lord said, 'Throw it on the ground.' So Moses threw it on the ground." Exodus 4:3.

If this does not make you laugh, watch this video.

(or just watch it anyway because it's so great)

okay. that's all.

happy sunday!