Summer Goodbyes and Fall Excitement

Left - Britt and Kelsey




I just said goodbye this weekend to Kelsey, a wonderful young lady who came to serve here at Colina for a month, and Adrian, Noelle, and their three beautiful kids. These people have shown such love to the kids here and to me as well it was very hard to say goodbye to them knowing that our paths are going different directions. I am so grateful that I was able to meet them. Talking to them and hearing the things that God has done for them over the years was so enjoyable. Having tea and cookies with Kelsey to end our night and just talking like old friends was so awesome. And sitting with Noelle as she teaches me Spanish and Knitting. Got a hang of the knitting, the Spanish is coming slowly, but I am doing better :D And listening to Adrian talk about his childhood here at Colina was so awesome. And the way that the kids here at Colina loved being around these people and watching them interact was such a blessing. Left- Britt and her awesome little ones Below Britt and Erica

I also said Goodbye this last week to my summer classes that I have been teaching since the beginning of July. Kudos to

all the teachers out there, this was so much harder than I thought. I was teaching 3 computer classes and 2 crocheting classes. The crocheting class was fun cause I was able to create my own things and teach them to the class. In fact, one of the girls in my older class created one of my bags. I felt special. My computer class was just a little bit harder than that. I know computers but trying to teach 25 kids ranging from 4 to 15 was really hard. I had fun though, watching them draw in paint and create powerpoint presentations about different historical figures.

As my time here gets close to an end, I see that I have so much ahead of me and also had the realization that my life here and my life back home dont have to be separate. They c

an and will be joined. Colina is a part of me and God wants it to continue to be a part of my life as I grow older and circumstances in my life change. I am so thankful that I know this now. It makes me feel so blessed that this new family of mine will always be a part of me. I am a lucky girl. Bottom left - Britt and Luz, Bottom Right - Britt and Vero

Smiles and Sunshine.

Life here at Colina has been interesting to say the least. We have been having Tribe meetings that have us all separated into the 12 tribes of Israel for Family Day. I am in the Tribe of Benjamin. Pretty awesome. We have played games and created flags. The kids in my Group continually make me happy. The hugs, the looks, the photos and the "BRICKNY" yells that flow through the air as they try to gain my attention. I love this place.

I love walking through the orphanage as the kids are on bikes or rollerblades and they fly by with their hand out so that I will High Five them as they pass. I love the little girls that talk to me at length about their dolls and everything cause thats what little girls do. The boys who chase me down the beach chucking sand at me cause thats what little boys do. The fact that I go in to the ocean and save Mel from the waves, cause thats what I do. The hugs and the little hands that grab mine in a moment of comfort.

Everyday I think of this place, its hard to imagine not being here. It has become such a part of my life its hard to imagine being home going to school and working again.

I love the classes I teach. They get to be difficult once in a while but I manage. The kids in my crocheting class make me smile. I feel accomplished a little haha.

More to come

Hasta

Sunburns and Diet Cokes

So sunburns are definitely not my favorite thing on the planet. They hurt and I don't get tan after...I just turn ghost white again. The weather here is hotter than I remember. I'm homesick but then I look at the kids and the smiles they give, the fast talking Spanish that flows my way when they are all excited about telling me something, or the kisses on the nose from my little Angel (that is really his name) and I remember again why I am here. I love the kids here. I love what I do here, even if it is mainly office work. I love the nights I spend with the ninas watching movies in Spanish and pretending to comprehend it all. They make me smile a lot.

I feel torn sometimes from the life I have back home and the life I have here. I love them both. I pray that I can keep them intertwined for a long time. Well time to get back to my office work and hopefully...no more sunburns for this little Chica.

Hasta Luego!

It is well...

So...many things have taken place in my life in the last few weeks. Another earthquake but this one felt like a spinning ride that I couldnt get off of haha. No damage. I have been hanging out with the kids and started teaching classes in Computers (who would have thought) and crocheting! I am loving it and my spanish is coming along. My family and church came down to serve a mission trip for a week. It has been a blessing to see my Papa and Mom and Sis. I missed them a lot more than I realized.

Things have been happening around the orphanage that have caught my attention. Things I am not used to, but have opened my eyes to the frailty of my life and the lives of the ones around me. It causes me to continue to live my Life to the fullest and live it to Glorify God. Big shoes to fill but I have help. :D

I have recently been listening to the worship album that Kutless just put out and it has been making me smile. The old hymn "It is well" always leaves me with a catch in my throat and a tear in my eye...It reminds me that thru it all, it is well. My soul is taken care of by someone who knows it all. I have listened to it a lot during my time here at Colina. I remember constantly that I am loved and wanted no matter what is going on in the world around me.

Till next time!

Hello Life!

Alrighty! So it has been quite a while since I posted last. It has been a whirlwind year...deaths, births and new acquaintances thru it all. Things are going better in my world. God revealed himself to me in so many ways. Showing me love in places that I had seem to have forgotten. My Family grabbed me and showed me unconditional love that I had forgotten existed.

The deaths that have occurred in the last year took its toll on me. I miss the people that I have lost....Grandparents, Uncle Trav, Kylie Cowan, Dustin Hutt. These people all left an impression on me that I can't deny. I was blessed to have each of them in my life.

I quit my job as a teller to Move to Mexico for 3 months over the summer and wow this has been an educating trip. I am loving it and seeing the Love of God in these kids faces and remembering why I am here. I thank God for giving me this opportunity.

My family has been changing. My siblings are getting older which means...I must be getting older. 2 of my younger siblings graduate next year and the youngest graduates the year after that...wow. I am turning 24 and still unmarried. Good thing I am totally content with that! I haven't been this happy with my life in a Long Time and I have to Thank my Lord one more time for helping me this way.

I got an associates degree finally :D Me and My awesome Step Mom Gee got to walk together while we both got it. I had a fantastic time. What a fantastic accomplishment for the 2 of us.

Started dating a pretty awesome guy 5 months ago and things are awesome. Both of us go back to school in August.

Life is pretty amazing right now. Even with the sadness that has come with death and sickness I know that God is in Control and He is my Support and Strength.

More to come about Mexico Later!

My Beauty from Pain....Strikes Again

And so this begins...the next installment of the crazy life of Britt, the bipolar teller. I go days and days on being a crazy manic woman and then swoosh depression hits like a freight train. Its horrid. I have had the worst couple of weeks.

I have made mistakes that I would have never thought I would allow to happen. I have had someone seem to actually care about me but then the minute they did not get their way they threw a hissy fit convinced me that I am not worth it and that he couldnt believe he wasted his time on me. Wow what a way to make a girl feel fan freaking tastic about herself.

I feel like I have been ran over a bus like 18 times. I really would love to just escape. I have people in my life that are trying to convince me other wise but my heart is just not hearing it. My head is beginnng to hear what they are saying but actually believing it is an entirely different story. At least one of the people involved has tried to right the wrong in this. Its a nice feeling. But none the less I feel so helpless in this that its pretty ridiculous.

I keep being told that I am worth it and God loves me...but it is not processing in my head. I have been burned so much in the last two weeks that it kills me to try to understand that My God truly does believe that I am worth it. I know he loves me...but believing it and showing that I believe it are extremely hard...

My Beauty from Pain....Take 3

Good Evening...I hope this finds you well. My Brain has been overflowing with lots of things. This Last week has been one that finds me confused and frustrated....which seems to happen a lot. A close friend of mine lost 2 people that she loved in one day. I pray for her all the time. I know that this time is hard for her. What I dont seem to get is why things like this happen. It doesnt make much sense. It is so tough for me to see her and the people around her go through this.

On another subject, I have been struggling with why things are placed in our lives whether they be situations, people or problems...I am gathering the part that we have to endure a bit of pain and discomfort to enjoy the greater things in Life, but sometimes it is so hard to see past the things that are right infront of me and see the big picture. The big picture kicks my butt 99.9% of the time. I have so many things going on around me and I seem stuck in the middle watching it all just go by...but I dont want it to. Dont you ever just feel stuck. I have wanted to scream cry laugh and yell all within a couple of days. There are so many things that have been happening I just wish I could make heads and tails of everything. Stupid life...wish it made sense but I know for sure God knows whats going on and He is going to comfort me and help...Why you may ask, cause He adores His children and I am one of them who cant believe that He actually puts up with my stuff...