O.K. so there is always this kind of inspiration ....
Just like Jason Mraz said ... The best inspiration is personal connection. Last year I had been on YouTube doing the usual. I had been looking for some good guitar covers, and as I sat there looking through some Jack Johnson covers I had found this one guys, that sounded pretty good. So I took the time to comment on his video, and I had also commented on his accent, saying that it was very cool. So after that I just kept on watching videos not thinking too much of the previous comment I had left. But soon after I got a message back ... And from there me and Kurtis, the guy I had commented to, had started talking about guitar playing and a whole bunch of stuff that I could relate to. So as we kept talking he started to get inspired by me, this is because I kept telling him that he should make a new video. And he listened ... As you see below is a video, this video is what became of his inspiration from me ...
Joyful Jamie <3
Monday, August 10, 2009
The Human Knife (Revised)
Handle View
So I found another old story that I wrote way back in the day. I am going to share it with you like I did with the other story that I wrote previously. But this time it is going to be a little bit different. This time I am going to revise it a bit ... Instead of just typing it straight as it was from the paper, I am going to add some details and such to make it more interesting for you guys :) So I hope that you all like it! And enjoy!*Some background on what this story is exactly about .... My teacher had asked the class to write about an object. So I chose a knife. Then she told us to write a story about that object, but not just any old story .... She told us to write it in that object's point of view. So in this following tale you will get to see what a knife's life really is like*
You see I was born in Africa, and there I was separated
from my family ... In those days I had a mother and father
who would knife-edge my blade every morning. But one
day it was different ... I woke up to find that I was being
shipped to Liverpool, England. I was use to being on
flat land, and not on a rocking boat, so it was not the
smoothest ride. Never the less it was very enjoyable to
look out of the holes in the crate. As I was laying there
I had noticed that something was wrong. There had
been a hard thump, and I was laying upside down.
That was all that I had remembered after waking up
with the sun shining bright on my handle. I had laid
there for ages it had seemed, waiting forever for
someone to pick me up. But as the day got darker
and darker, I had started to lose hope.
Waking up the next morning was brutal. My spine
hurt, and my blade was blazing hot. I tried to move
so that I would not get a sunburn, but I could not. As I
laid there a few hours motionless I had heard some
feet shuffling from near by. A few seconds later a
shadow had covered my blade and I saw a man. He
stood there in the humid air looking at me with
curiosity.
He continued to stare at me for a while. I had been
confused ... I mean I knew that I was a handsome knife,
but he just kept on looking for the longest time with
such a desire in his eyes. After taking a good look at me
he had decided to finally pick me up. I did not get too high
before he dropped me on my head. I got over that
migraine fast, because I had just been happy to be rescued.
I suppose he had dropped me for a reason, my handle
must have been hot from sitting in the sun too long. After
picking me up safely the second time we had walked
away together feeling as one. I fell asleep in his pocket
knowing that this man would take good care of me.
All of a sudden I heard voices ... I woke up suddenly from the
middle of my dream to two men talking. One man's voice I was
unsure about, but the other one was more familiar ... It was
Zachariah's, he was the man that had picked me up off the beach.
I continued to listen to their conversation, and as I kept listening
I had overheard them talking about something called the
Sea Hawk. I was not certain about this "Sea Hawk," but I had
concluded that it was some sort of bird that lived in the ocean.
A few days later I had felt really dumb after finding out that the
"Sea Hawk" that I had overheard about was not a bird, but a boat.
I had also found out that the other man's voice belonged to the
captain of that boat. Zachariah had been talking to the captain
about becoming one of the crew members on the "Sea Hawk,"
and he had been accepted. Only a week after getting off that boat
going to Liverpool is when I was back on another boat, but
this time I was a little bit more use to the swaying. I started to
get use to the lifestyle of a sailor when I heard a high pitched
scream. I was rattled when Zachariah jumped up and startled
to run. He pulled me out of his pocket, and it was then when
I had had my very first fight ... The other man was much bigger
than Zachariah, and so was his sharp pal. But me and
Zachariah moved as one, and I found myself shoved into the
other man. Zachariah pulled me back out, and cleaned me. He
turned to the woman that had screamed, and reassured her.
He had given me to her for safety, and it gave me a chance
to get to know her a little bit better.
After about a week or so I had found out that the woman's
name was Charlotte. She had run away from her home in
Portugal because some men were trying to find her. They had
killed her family, and the sea was her only way out. After
Zachariah had given me to her I had not known that I would
have gotten Charlotte into so much trouble. She herself
became part of the crew, and the captain despised her for it.
When he found out that there was a woman on his ship he
went ballistic. He had believed that women were bad luck.
After Captain Jagger found out about Charlotte he did
everything he could to turn the crew against her. One day the
Captain stole me from Charlotte while she slept and killed a
man using me. He had framed her for the killing, and the
next day blamed her for all the bad things that had
happened on the ship. She was innocent and I knew it.
Zachariah believed her when she told him that she had not
done it, so he did his best to keep her safe from the other
crew members that had believed Captain Jagger.
We all knew that Charlotte would not survive on the
"Sea Hawk," so Zachariah took Charlotte and I on a small
boat in the middle of the night. We got away safely, and no
one saw us leave. It took us five days to find land .... There we
found a small city, and disguised ourselves. We slept in a small
room that night, and early in the morning left for the docks.
Zachariah had talked with about 20 different Captains when one
finally accepted them as part of his crew. His name was Captain
Frank, and that same day we got to board his ship, "Wind Song."
All three of us are still alive to this day on the "Wind Song."
Zachariah and Charlotte got married, and he is now the
Captain of the ship. Captain Jagger never found us, and we now
live happily ever after on the dear old "Wind Song."
Joyful Jamie <3
from my family ... In those days I had a mother and father
who would knife-edge my blade every morning. But one
day it was different ... I woke up to find that I was being
shipped to Liverpool, England. I was use to being on
flat land, and not on a rocking boat, so it was not the
smoothest ride. Never the less it was very enjoyable to
look out of the holes in the crate. As I was laying there
I had noticed that something was wrong. There had
been a hard thump, and I was laying upside down.
That was all that I had remembered after waking up
with the sun shining bright on my handle. I had laid
there for ages it had seemed, waiting forever for
someone to pick me up. But as the day got darker
and darker, I had started to lose hope.
Waking up the next morning was brutal. My spine
hurt, and my blade was blazing hot. I tried to move
so that I would not get a sunburn, but I could not. As I
laid there a few hours motionless I had heard some
feet shuffling from near by. A few seconds later a
shadow had covered my blade and I saw a man. He
stood there in the humid air looking at me with
curiosity.
He continued to stare at me for a while. I had been
confused ... I mean I knew that I was a handsome knife,
but he just kept on looking for the longest time with
such a desire in his eyes. After taking a good look at me
he had decided to finally pick me up. I did not get too high
before he dropped me on my head. I got over that
migraine fast, because I had just been happy to be rescued.
I suppose he had dropped me for a reason, my handle
must have been hot from sitting in the sun too long. After
picking me up safely the second time we had walked
away together feeling as one. I fell asleep in his pocket
knowing that this man would take good care of me.
All of a sudden I heard voices ... I woke up suddenly from the
middle of my dream to two men talking. One man's voice I was
unsure about, but the other one was more familiar ... It was
Zachariah's, he was the man that had picked me up off the beach.
I continued to listen to their conversation, and as I kept listening
I had overheard them talking about something called the
Sea Hawk. I was not certain about this "Sea Hawk," but I had
concluded that it was some sort of bird that lived in the ocean.
A few days later I had felt really dumb after finding out that the
"Sea Hawk" that I had overheard about was not a bird, but a boat.
I had also found out that the other man's voice belonged to the
captain of that boat. Zachariah had been talking to the captain
about becoming one of the crew members on the "Sea Hawk,"
and he had been accepted. Only a week after getting off that boat
going to Liverpool is when I was back on another boat, but
this time I was a little bit more use to the swaying. I started to
get use to the lifestyle of a sailor when I heard a high pitched
scream. I was rattled when Zachariah jumped up and startled
to run. He pulled me out of his pocket, and it was then when
I had had my very first fight ... The other man was much bigger
than Zachariah, and so was his sharp pal. But me and
Zachariah moved as one, and I found myself shoved into the
other man. Zachariah pulled me back out, and cleaned me. He
turned to the woman that had screamed, and reassured her.
He had given me to her for safety, and it gave me a chance
to get to know her a little bit better.
After about a week or so I had found out that the woman's
name was Charlotte. She had run away from her home in
Portugal because some men were trying to find her. They had
killed her family, and the sea was her only way out. After
Zachariah had given me to her I had not known that I would
have gotten Charlotte into so much trouble. She herself
became part of the crew, and the captain despised her for it.
When he found out that there was a woman on his ship he
went ballistic. He had believed that women were bad luck.
After Captain Jagger found out about Charlotte he did
everything he could to turn the crew against her. One day the
Captain stole me from Charlotte while she slept and killed a
man using me. He had framed her for the killing, and the
next day blamed her for all the bad things that had
happened on the ship. She was innocent and I knew it.
Zachariah believed her when she told him that she had not
done it, so he did his best to keep her safe from the other
crew members that had believed Captain Jagger.
We all knew that Charlotte would not survive on the
"Sea Hawk," so Zachariah took Charlotte and I on a small
boat in the middle of the night. We got away safely, and no
one saw us leave. It took us five days to find land .... There we
found a small city, and disguised ourselves. We slept in a small
room that night, and early in the morning left for the docks.
Zachariah had talked with about 20 different Captains when one
finally accepted them as part of his crew. His name was Captain
Frank, and that same day we got to board his ship, "Wind Song."
All three of us are still alive to this day on the "Wind Song."
Zachariah and Charlotte got married, and he is now the
Captain of the ship. Captain Jagger never found us, and we now
live happily ever after on the dear old "Wind Song."
Joyful Jamie <3
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Got LOST while cleaning :)
So today while cleaning my VERY messy room, I fell upon a story that I had wrote in middle school on a shelf. And I thought that it was pretty good, despite all the human errors I had made. I had based my written story on the television series "Lost," but I had used different names and basically made my own episode of the show. So I thought that it would be fun to share this little episode of mine :) Enjoy!
Holly stepped onto the platform, and turned to
say "bye" to her family and friends. She walked
through the hallway, and stepped into the plane.
Holly found her seat and sat down. the plane took
flight and Holly got that funny feeling in her stomach,
but after a few seconds it slowly melted away.
Holly picked up her headphones and started to
listen to "Relient K" when she looked out of her
window and saw the wing fall off! Everyone
was screaming and freaking out because the plane
was shaking. All she knew after that was that
she blacked-out.
When she woke up all she knew was that she had
a nasty headache. When she stood up she felt a sharp
pain near her rib. Looking down at her side she saw a
piece of metal stuck in her side. Holly pulled it out and
let out a gasp. She held the pain in and walked out
onto the beach.
Holly looked around and saw half the plane on
the beach with people running all over the place.
That's when Holly noticed a little boy with a dog trying
to pull him away from a falling piece of metal, so she
ran as fast as she could and grabbed the boy just
in time. Everyone that was near the plane fell right on
the sand. Holly picked up the boy and laid him down
onto the sand under a palm tree.
Later that day Holly found a doctor on the beach
named, Jeremy. Jeremy took a look at the boy and
said he was going to be just fine, and that he just
got a minor concussion. Holly was relieved as
Jeremy said that. She walked over to the boy
and noticed that he was awake, so Holly asked
him, "What's your name?" The little boy answered
back, "Drew."
When Holly was done talking to Drew she
walked over to Jeremy and said thank you to him.
That's when this man yelled out, "Help!" Jeremy and
Holly both turned around as the man kept on
yelling, "Help!"Signaling for them to follow him. When
Holly and Jeremy got to the place that the man
pulled them to the man said, "Look up, I think there's
a man up in the tree." So Holly and Jeremy looked up
and saw a man in his plane seat, stuck in the tree.
They got the man out of the tree and returned to the
beach. By the time they got back to the beach, people
were building shelters, so Holly built her own tent out
of tree branches and palms. It gave Holly shelter that
night from the rain. When she was in her tent, she
heard a roar, and she ran outside.Everyone else
was out of their tents, and that's when they all
knew they were no longer safe on the island.
Joyful Jamie <3
say "bye" to her family and friends. She walked
through the hallway, and stepped into the plane.
Holly found her seat and sat down. the plane took
flight and Holly got that funny feeling in her stomach,
but after a few seconds it slowly melted away.
Holly picked up her headphones and started to
listen to "Relient K" when she looked out of her
window and saw the wing fall off! Everyone
was screaming and freaking out because the plane
was shaking. All she knew after that was that
she blacked-out.
When she woke up all she knew was that she had
a nasty headache. When she stood up she felt a sharp
pain near her rib. Looking down at her side she saw a
piece of metal stuck in her side. Holly pulled it out and
let out a gasp. She held the pain in and walked out
onto the beach.
Holly looked around and saw half the plane on
the beach with people running all over the place.
That's when Holly noticed a little boy with a dog trying
to pull him away from a falling piece of metal, so she
ran as fast as she could and grabbed the boy just
in time. Everyone that was near the plane fell right on
the sand. Holly picked up the boy and laid him down
onto the sand under a palm tree.
Later that day Holly found a doctor on the beach
named, Jeremy. Jeremy took a look at the boy and
said he was going to be just fine, and that he just
got a minor concussion. Holly was relieved as
Jeremy said that. She walked over to the boy
and noticed that he was awake, so Holly asked
him, "What's your name?" The little boy answered
back, "Drew."
When Holly was done talking to Drew she
walked over to Jeremy and said thank you to him.
That's when this man yelled out, "Help!" Jeremy and
Holly both turned around as the man kept on
yelling, "Help!"Signaling for them to follow him. When
Holly and Jeremy got to the place that the man
pulled them to the man said, "Look up, I think there's
a man up in the tree." So Holly and Jeremy looked up
and saw a man in his plane seat, stuck in the tree.
They got the man out of the tree and returned to the
beach. By the time they got back to the beach, people
were building shelters, so Holly built her own tent out
of tree branches and palms. It gave Holly shelter that
night from the rain. When she was in her tent, she
heard a roar, and she ran outside.Everyone else
was out of their tents, and that's when they all
knew they were no longer safe on the island.
Well, I hope that you enjoyed the story :) Although now that I look back at it, I wish I would have added more details ... But oh well, I wrote that almost 4 years ago, so I guess it was not too bad. Keep reading my blogs! There are more to come!
Joyful Jamie <3
Ride That Bike
So yesterday my brother, my cousin, and I all went on a bike ride with my friend Jon's church. We dispatched from a local sports complex, and from there basically rode on the river banks all the way to the beach (literally). Yeah, well as we left I was probably thinking the same thing as you would ... "Yay! This is going to be fun, I get to hang with my friends, and get to eat some brunch." I was so excited, and so as we started I was like, "I am going to stay in front with all my other friends." But as the time went by, I kept pedaling, and I kept looking back at my cousin to make sure that she was keeping up, and as more time went by she kept falling behind little by little. So at first I was thinking, "Wow, Sydney is really out of shape," but after seeing she was behind I slowed down so that she could catch up, and as we met she said, "Ugh, my tire is flat." Finding this out I was thinking to myself, "Oh, it can't be that hard to pedal with a flat tire." But after switching bikes and riding for a while I found out what Sydney had been going through. And she was right ... It was not easy ... So I kept pedaling and pedaling, and no matter how fast I pedaled we could not catch up with the rest of the group. We had gotten so far behind at a point that we had stopped and started to call people from the group with my phone, and to my luck nobody answered ... Until I finally got a hold of my friend's parents. They tried to help as much as they could, but saying that they were not on the bike ride they could not do too much for us. So we stood there thinking of what to do, whether to keep going, or to stop and wait for someone from the group to find us. While waiting there were some rude people ... One guy rode by us, and got all angry for no reason. He yelled, "Get off the road!" And clearly we couldn't with one side with a long dip with rocks, and the other with glass. Finally after getting yelled at and passed up a lady from the group found us. I was so relieved. She knew the way, so both me and Sydney followed her, and we slowly but surely made it to the beach safely. When we arrived, like 20 minutes late, we got to talk and eat our brunch. Sydney and I were sweating up a storm because of our difficulties, and glad to be at our destination, somewhat on time :) Although the day did not turn out the way I wanted it to, I still enjoying riding the bikes and hanging out with some friends.
Joyful Jamie <3
Thursday, August 6, 2009
A What List?
So I promised a "Bucket List," like these guys here had .....
So here is mine ... Really short and simply :)1. Travel around the world
2. Write a book
3. Learn to snowboard
4. Meet Joe Brooks
5. Be fluent in every language
6. Go on a cruise
7. Ride in a hot air balloon
8. Learn to fly a plane/helicopter
9. Walk on the moon
10. Fly like superman
Of course there are tons of other things I
would like to do as well ... But I can't name
them all in less than 100 things :)
Joyful Jamie <3
Almost on the Road
I FINALLY GOT MY PERMIT!!!
Today was very nerve racking to be honest. It was not at first, butas the time got closer to walking in to take my test, well, that is when it
really started to hit me. I went to the DMV today with my mother, and we
sat there for a couple hours waiting for our number to be called. My
nerves really started to kick in especially when my mother and I forgot
to write my social security number down. So we had to go through a lot
of trouble to get the number, and then after freaking out about that,
I remembered that you are given an eye exam before taking your
provisional license test. Remembering this I kind of freaked out again
because I wear glasses/contacts, and well, I was not wearing them. So we
walked up to the counter and I signed some papers, and the eye sight
test came. I was thinking .... Crap, I waited 2 plus hours just for someone to
tell me I cannot take my permit test just because I am not wearing my
glasses?!?! And to my surprise, I actually did better than I thought that I
would. I only said one letter wrong, I had said it was a "O," but my mother said
it was a "D." So after all the dilemmas were over I walked over to the test taking
area. There I took my "pre-license" photograph, andwalked into the test taking
area. I sat there and took the test, and finally when I had finished marking
all my answers I had walked up to the "correcting" table. I know this sounds
a bit mean, but I felt a little relieved after hearing that the girl in front of
me had failed, and that she had missed 13. I thought, "Well, at least I can't
do worse then that." Yeah I no, harsh, but it still gave me some confidence.
So after that girl left I walked up to the table to get my test graded. I stood
there and I was so happy when the guy flipped that first page without a mark
on it. My overall paper consistedof only one small red marking. I was so happy
to be done with the test, and to have passed it. My mom described my joy
like this on Face Book,
"Everyone ... She was so cute .... After the test was graded she
turned around with the biggest smile on her face and waved
the paper in the air! What a proud moment!"
- My Mother
And that is exactly what I did ha ha :)
I was just that happy to have my permit,
and ready to start my hands on driving.
Joyful Jamie <3
Sunday, August 2, 2009
San Fran Mission Trip
Hey everybody!
Well, as you can see this is my very first blog, I will try my best to make it some what interesting :) I hope that you enjoy it, and please leave a comment if you wish.
*I am sorry if this blog turns out to be very long, but I hope that you can get a glimpse of what my friends and I had experienced while in San Fran*
About a week before I got packed up and ready for the trip to San Francisco our youth group leader, Josh, asked us to write down changes that we should pray for in the long haul in our journals that he had given us. And I am glad to say that almost everything that I have written down has been accomplished/overcome. For example: I prayed for the people that we would meet by praying that they would accept who I am, and for them to think of me as more than just another person to them. Another example was when I prayed for our group, and how I hoped that we all would be very open minded both there and back at home as well. I feel accomplished, and happy that we got the chance to complete these challenges.
*The Drive in Helen & Henrieta (The Vans)*
Day One: We left on a early Sunday morning (July 16), and it took us about 7 or more hours to get there. Once we got to the city we went right to business, and we took a drive around the city to get a feel for our surroundings. This "prayer drive" showed us how the city really was, apart from the tourist part of town that most people see when they go to San Francisco. Some of the main things that I noticed was ...
1. San Francisco varied from luxurious to poor in the matter of blocks.
2. I was told the average homeless age was 9, which I personally think is very wrong. That 9 year old child does not deserve to be out in the cold, especially because they did not do anything to be in their situation.
3. Another thing that struck me was that many Vietnam Vets lived out in the streets as well, which you think would be the total opposite.
And as we kept driving I just prayed for those out on the streets, and for their safety. I prayed for the organizations and people that were helping those in trouble, and for them to continue to help. While driving I saw something that gave HOPE to me. I saw four men helping this other man out by pushing his broken down car to a gas station. And as we continued to drive away I just thought, "how nice of them," and was happy to see that there was still some hope in the city.
*City View*
Day Two: The next day we had woken up bright and early to take showers. This simple task to most was really hard for me, one because I was not use to getting up as early as we did, and two, we had to take 5 minute showers, which I was not use to as well. But to my surprise I did it, and as the week went on it got a little bit easier to do so. After getting all nice and cleaned up the group and I left to a kids VBS, where we met lots of crazy/cool kids. I later learned that the first VBS (this one) had one of the better group of kids. But while there we did arts and crafts, skits, games, and singing. I met this little guy named, Angel, and he supposedly did not like his name. He was a crazy little trouble maker, but ended up making some things fun. We had also met this girl named, Brooke, she was so God loving. She just wanted everyone, and I mean EVERYONE to know about God. It was amazing to see that such a small child was so open/friendly, and it was crazy to think that she, at such a young age knew so much about how Great God is, and was already ALL for him.
After playing with the kids at the VBS we had driven to a park, and there we were given 10 bucks. With that money we had to go out and find a homeless person and give them either the money, or something that we had bought with that cash. So we walked down the street and we met this guy named, Kevon, his girlfriend, Mary, and their friend Art. After talking to Kevon for a while we found out that he made money by welding/brick work. He was a good guy, he never laid his hands on Mary, ever, and had some great things to say to us. One of which that really stuck out to me was when he said something like this, "It truly is a blessing from God to wake up in the morning everyday." It was especially cool to hear it from him, because as a homeless person it is a different view. Living in the streets isn't fun, and it is almost like you wish you didn't wake up the next day to selfish people, and hunger. So hearing it from him hit me, because I noticed how great it really is to wake up every day. He also pushed the idea of paying it forward, where we should always help out one another continually. I personally did not get to know Mary all that well other than it took her about 15 years to get her apartment, but I did get to talk to Art, or listen to him. He had "coca-cola" cup in his hands that really held Alcohol, and he just cracked jokes to whatever we said. Example: "Where did you grow up?" "I never did." He was hard to get to know though, just because his whole conversation was jokes, but he was a pretty cool. We ended up giving our money to Kevon, and Mary.
One thing that I noticed that was kind of interesting was the homeless "classes," were Kevon & Mary were classified as some of the higher class homeless people, and Art was more of a stereotypical homeless person. No matter how different they were, they were both equal, and had great wisdom.
After chilling with Kevon and the crew we left to eat some Thai food at Naan n' Curry. And it was VERY good. Then after our bellies were filled we had left to go to the church that we had stayed at all week. And that Monday night I had joined one of the other groups (that also stayed at the church) brotherhood. I am really not supposed to tell you the rules, but I am anyways.
*The brotherhood makes you SMARTER & STRONGER. The rule is that you cannot say the word MINE. IF you do, then you have to do 10 push-ups. It makes you smarter, because you have to think before you say something, so that you make sure that you don't say mine, and stronger, because if you say the word "mine," then you have to do push-ups, which will make you stronger if you say MINE a lot :)*
*Me writing in my Journal about the brotherhood*
By the end of the day I was a little bit strong after doing 20 push-ups, and was given a prayer card. On this prayer card was someones fear and dream for the trip in San Fran, where I prayed for them every day of the trip for those two things. And I had also learned to "OPEN MY EYES," so that I was not so blind to those that are worthy of a conversation with you.
*The Fear/Dream Note card*
Day Three: The following day we drove to the Golden Gate Bridge, and there we prayed for the city. We got the chance to see some seals, and drop a few pennies off the top. After enjoying the walk to the middle of the bridge we immediately left to help deliver the "food on wheels" to some of the local residents. While delivering a meal I had helped this one lady named, Lance, tie her shoes. She had a sling on her arm, and I could tell that she needed some help with that. After delivering all the meals on the route we left and had went "city searching" for homeless people, and then gave them some socks and blankets. We all were given 2 dollars, and we had to buy food with that to feed us all. As a group we decided to combine all the money, and to find a grocery shop to buy our food from. So we took one of the local buses to a destination after it took us a while to find the bus station. But all in all after we found a grocery store, we had gotten a loaf of bread, some turkey meat, and a drink to share for lunch. After starting the city search the first person we found surprisingly was, Lance, sitting on the sidewalk (same person that I tied shoes for), and we bought some berries from her. We left there and stood at a corner stuck, not really knowing how to start a new conversation with another person, and it was almost like God's grace. Suddenly a guy named, Jerome, walked up to us and asked us for some socks, and after that we just talked. After talking with Jerome and his friends for a while all of the socks and blankets we had had disappeared, so we left because we had just enough time to walk to the park to meet back up with the group. But as we entered the park we noticed a homeless man begging, and I walked over and introduced myself. His name was Ricky, and Ricky was a amazing poet, and in his poems we learned about his life story. He told us how we were doing such a great thing by saying, "There is no point of seeing if we don't help those who are blind." We found out that he had been stabbed, but sadly we ran out of time and we had left him with a nice conversation, and some food (bread and berries).
We all met up in the park, and left to go eat. It was great to see someone so "GENUINELY GRATEFUL."
We ate some Nicaraguan food I believe, and it was very good. It reminded me of the stuff that I was use to eating back at home. And after eating and while sitting and talking about the day with the group I was reminded that the rest of the days I would have to keep the "RIGHT MINDSET." Which is hard to do, especially when tired.
*The group walking on the Golden Gate Bridge*
*My Bus Ticket*
*The Cathedral We Saw*
Day Four: YAY! Wednesday!! Shower day!!! Yeah, so as you read, we had showered, and were ready to go to the Korean Salvation Army Kids Center. I have to say, Wednesday was probably the hardest yet funnest day of the week. Just because the kids at the Korean Salvation Army were really rude, and it did not help that I was tired already. Although almost all the kids were little brats I did meet this one girl that was 6 named, Katy. I like her because she liked the same things I did, and she was so kind. While sitting with her at the art table I sketched a picture of Nemo, and made a flip book. After playing with her and the rest of the kids all day we left and had the rest of the day to ourselves. We decided on going to the Fisherman's Wharf, so we went. There we saw some awesome seals, and I bought a new beanie. Nathan bought a Confucius says poster, which is pretty funny, and Jon/Adriana/Andrew bought hats as well. Overall the day was great, although I got frustrated at times, but I learned to have patience. I was just happy to end that day on a happy note, because of our free time we received.
*My Nemo drawing, and my Flip Book* *Free Time at the Wharf*
*The Korean VBS*
Day Five: Every day it got harder and harder to wake up in the mornings, but some how I did it. After struggling to wake up, and clearing the fog in my head we headed out to our first place to serve for that day. None of us really knew where we were headed to though, except for John-Mark, our CSM leader. When we arrived I admit I was kind of putting the idea down of a food bank, just because I thought we were just going to be standing behind a table passing people their food for the day. But after we got introduced and got to our working station I got excited. We ended up packing cabbage into boxes, and I really enjoyed that. Mostly because I like manual labor. Our group thought about breaking a world record, but we could not find enough information on it, but in the end we packed enough cabbage to feed 700,000 people all around the world, and I thought that that was quite amazing. After the hard work there we all left for a lunch break by going to a park. There we saw a little black & white cat, and we named it Ki-Ko. Later that day we drove to another day care and helped the people there watch some kids. It was the best kids group that we had had that whole week, although they were making guns with the Legos. In my journal I prayed for them, because I knew the reason why they were making those guns. The same reason I make cars, because they were use to seeing them. I left that school that day enjoying the time I had spent with the kids, especially Yolanda, who always wanted my attention, and Xavier, who was sleep walking during class :)
*Packing Cabbages* *Saint Vincents VBS*
Day Six: Day six was our last day in San Francisco. It was our last day there in the showers, but not our last day to serve. Willing to give our all in our final days in San Fran we went to a recycling medical place. There we boxed unused extra medical supplies, that hospitals/other organizations had donated for the cause. The people there were so kind to us, and they had snacks and drinks for us to consume during our lunch break. While working and boxing the medical supplies I was amazed at how much unused clean stuff there was. It was great to know that the objects we were boxing would be shipped to other countries in need of the supplies, and that it would save a lot of lives. It taught me to not be so wasteful, and to share our leftovers with those that need it, no matter how little it seems to be to us. The final thing that we did for the week was delivering more food to people that had HIV. This job was really fun to me. I got to lead the group to all the destinations throughout the city. I know it sounds silly, but this exercise taught me how to read maps. Before I was really bad with directions and such, but now I am use to it. It taught me to be aware of my surroundings not only for safety, but also for landmarks to make me familiar with where I am. I had to find our way back to the food bank place by memory, and with some help from John-Mark. And the very last meal we all had together was at a Vietnamese place, were I received a fortune cookie that said, "Appreciate the caring people who surround you." And to me this meant a lot, and it was kind of a reminder. It was a great way to end the trip, on a high note. And it was great to know that everyone is always "LEARNING" every moment of the day, even grown ups that seem like they may know everything. Although the week seemed to move by so fast, I am hoping that the group and I continue to do God's work back here in L.A., so that we could learn to be more like God.
*My Fortune Cookie Paper*
This was a little Prayer that I wrote in the van as we left San Fran ....
Dear God,
Thank you Lord for being evident to us throughout the week. I pray for patience and knowledge so that I may keep learning to be more and more like you every day. Everyone is made in you image, and help me to keep my eyes open. I pray for all of this that everyone has learned so far, and for us to be able to reflect on it so that we can keep learning, and grow in our relationship with you. Please have mercy on us. I pray for those on the streets tonight, and every other night, and for them to be kept warm. And for their stomachs to be filled, and their hearts to be filled with joy because of the hope you bring us all. Have mercy on us, help us to reflect, and learn, and to put our faith into action, and for us to keep up the great attitudes, and to continue your work back home. We thank you for everything we have seen on this trip, and for our lives. Amen.
Joyful Jamie <3
Well, as you can see this is my very first blog, I will try my best to make it some what interesting :) I hope that you enjoy it, and please leave a comment if you wish.
*I am sorry if this blog turns out to be very long, but I hope that you can get a glimpse of what my friends and I had experienced while in San Fran*
About a week before I got packed up and ready for the trip to San Francisco our youth group leader, Josh, asked us to write down changes that we should pray for in the long haul in our journals that he had given us. And I am glad to say that almost everything that I have written down has been accomplished/overcome. For example: I prayed for the people that we would meet by praying that they would accept who I am, and for them to think of me as more than just another person to them. Another example was when I prayed for our group, and how I hoped that we all would be very open minded both there and back at home as well. I feel accomplished, and happy that we got the chance to complete these challenges.
*The Drive in Helen & Henrieta (The Vans)*
Day One: We left on a early Sunday morning (July 16), and it took us about 7 or more hours to get there. Once we got to the city we went right to business, and we took a drive around the city to get a feel for our surroundings. This "prayer drive" showed us how the city really was, apart from the tourist part of town that most people see when they go to San Francisco. Some of the main things that I noticed was ...
1. San Francisco varied from luxurious to poor in the matter of blocks.
2. I was told the average homeless age was 9, which I personally think is very wrong. That 9 year old child does not deserve to be out in the cold, especially because they did not do anything to be in their situation.
3. Another thing that struck me was that many Vietnam Vets lived out in the streets as well, which you think would be the total opposite.
And as we kept driving I just prayed for those out on the streets, and for their safety. I prayed for the organizations and people that were helping those in trouble, and for them to continue to help. While driving I saw something that gave HOPE to me. I saw four men helping this other man out by pushing his broken down car to a gas station. And as we continued to drive away I just thought, "how nice of them," and was happy to see that there was still some hope in the city.
*City View*
Day Two: The next day we had woken up bright and early to take showers. This simple task to most was really hard for me, one because I was not use to getting up as early as we did, and two, we had to take 5 minute showers, which I was not use to as well. But to my surprise I did it, and as the week went on it got a little bit easier to do so. After getting all nice and cleaned up the group and I left to a kids VBS, where we met lots of crazy/cool kids. I later learned that the first VBS (this one) had one of the better group of kids. But while there we did arts and crafts, skits, games, and singing. I met this little guy named, Angel, and he supposedly did not like his name. He was a crazy little trouble maker, but ended up making some things fun. We had also met this girl named, Brooke, she was so God loving. She just wanted everyone, and I mean EVERYONE to know about God. It was amazing to see that such a small child was so open/friendly, and it was crazy to think that she, at such a young age knew so much about how Great God is, and was already ALL for him.
After playing with the kids at the VBS we had driven to a park, and there we were given 10 bucks. With that money we had to go out and find a homeless person and give them either the money, or something that we had bought with that cash. So we walked down the street and we met this guy named, Kevon, his girlfriend, Mary, and their friend Art. After talking to Kevon for a while we found out that he made money by welding/brick work. He was a good guy, he never laid his hands on Mary, ever, and had some great things to say to us. One of which that really stuck out to me was when he said something like this, "It truly is a blessing from God to wake up in the morning everyday." It was especially cool to hear it from him, because as a homeless person it is a different view. Living in the streets isn't fun, and it is almost like you wish you didn't wake up the next day to selfish people, and hunger. So hearing it from him hit me, because I noticed how great it really is to wake up every day. He also pushed the idea of paying it forward, where we should always help out one another continually. I personally did not get to know Mary all that well other than it took her about 15 years to get her apartment, but I did get to talk to Art, or listen to him. He had "coca-cola" cup in his hands that really held Alcohol, and he just cracked jokes to whatever we said. Example: "Where did you grow up?" "I never did." He was hard to get to know though, just because his whole conversation was jokes, but he was a pretty cool. We ended up giving our money to Kevon, and Mary.
One thing that I noticed that was kind of interesting was the homeless "classes," were Kevon & Mary were classified as some of the higher class homeless people, and Art was more of a stereotypical homeless person. No matter how different they were, they were both equal, and had great wisdom.
After chilling with Kevon and the crew we left to eat some Thai food at Naan n' Curry. And it was VERY good. Then after our bellies were filled we had left to go to the church that we had stayed at all week. And that Monday night I had joined one of the other groups (that also stayed at the church) brotherhood. I am really not supposed to tell you the rules, but I am anyways.
*The brotherhood makes you SMARTER & STRONGER. The rule is that you cannot say the word MINE. IF you do, then you have to do 10 push-ups. It makes you smarter, because you have to think before you say something, so that you make sure that you don't say mine, and stronger, because if you say the word "mine," then you have to do push-ups, which will make you stronger if you say MINE a lot :)*
*Me writing in my Journal about the brotherhood*
By the end of the day I was a little bit strong after doing 20 push-ups, and was given a prayer card. On this prayer card was someones fear and dream for the trip in San Fran, where I prayed for them every day of the trip for those two things. And I had also learned to "OPEN MY EYES," so that I was not so blind to those that are worthy of a conversation with you.
*The Fear/Dream Note card*
Day Three: The following day we drove to the Golden Gate Bridge, and there we prayed for the city. We got the chance to see some seals, and drop a few pennies off the top. After enjoying the walk to the middle of the bridge we immediately left to help deliver the "food on wheels" to some of the local residents. While delivering a meal I had helped this one lady named, Lance, tie her shoes. She had a sling on her arm, and I could tell that she needed some help with that. After delivering all the meals on the route we left and had went "city searching" for homeless people, and then gave them some socks and blankets. We all were given 2 dollars, and we had to buy food with that to feed us all. As a group we decided to combine all the money, and to find a grocery shop to buy our food from. So we took one of the local buses to a destination after it took us a while to find the bus station. But all in all after we found a grocery store, we had gotten a loaf of bread, some turkey meat, and a drink to share for lunch. After starting the city search the first person we found surprisingly was, Lance, sitting on the sidewalk (same person that I tied shoes for), and we bought some berries from her. We left there and stood at a corner stuck, not really knowing how to start a new conversation with another person, and it was almost like God's grace. Suddenly a guy named, Jerome, walked up to us and asked us for some socks, and after that we just talked. After talking with Jerome and his friends for a while all of the socks and blankets we had had disappeared, so we left because we had just enough time to walk to the park to meet back up with the group. But as we entered the park we noticed a homeless man begging, and I walked over and introduced myself. His name was Ricky, and Ricky was a amazing poet, and in his poems we learned about his life story. He told us how we were doing such a great thing by saying, "There is no point of seeing if we don't help those who are blind." We found out that he had been stabbed, but sadly we ran out of time and we had left him with a nice conversation, and some food (bread and berries).
We all met up in the park, and left to go eat. It was great to see someone so "GENUINELY GRATEFUL."
We ate some Nicaraguan food I believe, and it was very good. It reminded me of the stuff that I was use to eating back at home. And after eating and while sitting and talking about the day with the group I was reminded that the rest of the days I would have to keep the "RIGHT MINDSET." Which is hard to do, especially when tired.
*The group walking on the Golden Gate Bridge*
*My Bus Ticket*
*The Cathedral We Saw*
Day Four: YAY! Wednesday!! Shower day!!! Yeah, so as you read, we had showered, and were ready to go to the Korean Salvation Army Kids Center. I have to say, Wednesday was probably the hardest yet funnest day of the week. Just because the kids at the Korean Salvation Army were really rude, and it did not help that I was tired already. Although almost all the kids were little brats I did meet this one girl that was 6 named, Katy. I like her because she liked the same things I did, and she was so kind. While sitting with her at the art table I sketched a picture of Nemo, and made a flip book. After playing with her and the rest of the kids all day we left and had the rest of the day to ourselves. We decided on going to the Fisherman's Wharf, so we went. There we saw some awesome seals, and I bought a new beanie. Nathan bought a Confucius says poster, which is pretty funny, and Jon/Adriana/Andrew bought hats as well. Overall the day was great, although I got frustrated at times, but I learned to have patience. I was just happy to end that day on a happy note, because of our free time we received.
*My Nemo drawing, and my Flip Book* *Free Time at the Wharf*
*The Korean VBS*
Day Five: Every day it got harder and harder to wake up in the mornings, but some how I did it. After struggling to wake up, and clearing the fog in my head we headed out to our first place to serve for that day. None of us really knew where we were headed to though, except for John-Mark, our CSM leader. When we arrived I admit I was kind of putting the idea down of a food bank, just because I thought we were just going to be standing behind a table passing people their food for the day. But after we got introduced and got to our working station I got excited. We ended up packing cabbage into boxes, and I really enjoyed that. Mostly because I like manual labor. Our group thought about breaking a world record, but we could not find enough information on it, but in the end we packed enough cabbage to feed 700,000 people all around the world, and I thought that that was quite amazing. After the hard work there we all left for a lunch break by going to a park. There we saw a little black & white cat, and we named it Ki-Ko. Later that day we drove to another day care and helped the people there watch some kids. It was the best kids group that we had had that whole week, although they were making guns with the Legos. In my journal I prayed for them, because I knew the reason why they were making those guns. The same reason I make cars, because they were use to seeing them. I left that school that day enjoying the time I had spent with the kids, especially Yolanda, who always wanted my attention, and Xavier, who was sleep walking during class :)
*Packing Cabbages* *Saint Vincents VBS*
Day Six: Day six was our last day in San Francisco. It was our last day there in the showers, but not our last day to serve. Willing to give our all in our final days in San Fran we went to a recycling medical place. There we boxed unused extra medical supplies, that hospitals/other organizations had donated for the cause. The people there were so kind to us, and they had snacks and drinks for us to consume during our lunch break. While working and boxing the medical supplies I was amazed at how much unused clean stuff there was. It was great to know that the objects we were boxing would be shipped to other countries in need of the supplies, and that it would save a lot of lives. It taught me to not be so wasteful, and to share our leftovers with those that need it, no matter how little it seems to be to us. The final thing that we did for the week was delivering more food to people that had HIV. This job was really fun to me. I got to lead the group to all the destinations throughout the city. I know it sounds silly, but this exercise taught me how to read maps. Before I was really bad with directions and such, but now I am use to it. It taught me to be aware of my surroundings not only for safety, but also for landmarks to make me familiar with where I am. I had to find our way back to the food bank place by memory, and with some help from John-Mark. And the very last meal we all had together was at a Vietnamese place, were I received a fortune cookie that said, "Appreciate the caring people who surround you." And to me this meant a lot, and it was kind of a reminder. It was a great way to end the trip, on a high note. And it was great to know that everyone is always "LEARNING" every moment of the day, even grown ups that seem like they may know everything. Although the week seemed to move by so fast, I am hoping that the group and I continue to do God's work back here in L.A., so that we could learn to be more like God.
*My Fortune Cookie Paper*
This was a little Prayer that I wrote in the van as we left San Fran ....
Dear God,
Thank you Lord for being evident to us throughout the week. I pray for patience and knowledge so that I may keep learning to be more and more like you every day. Everyone is made in you image, and help me to keep my eyes open. I pray for all of this that everyone has learned so far, and for us to be able to reflect on it so that we can keep learning, and grow in our relationship with you. Please have mercy on us. I pray for those on the streets tonight, and every other night, and for them to be kept warm. And for their stomachs to be filled, and their hearts to be filled with joy because of the hope you bring us all. Have mercy on us, help us to reflect, and learn, and to put our faith into action, and for us to keep up the great attitudes, and to continue your work back home. We thank you for everything we have seen on this trip, and for our lives. Amen.
Joyful Jamie <3
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