Unexpected God Moments = A New Friendship and a Small Road Trip!

This morning before I went to church I swung into Starbucks for a 1/2 Cinnamon Dulce, 1/2 White Mocha Latte, and found a seat at a table to do a little bit of a bible study, and a flight look up for my mission trip coming in September (I hope to purchase my ticket no later than Wednesday - More to come at the end of this blog). I'm minding my own business when this Chinese woman asks if she could sit with me. I say "Sure" and move my things out of the way for her to sit. But it's not like all the tables were full, only one other person was sitting down. 

I start up the chat and ask her if she's a student here at Miami, she said she was. So I ask her major and she said that it's the English language and a minor in the German language. She proceeds to tell me that she's actually getting ready to go home on the 3rd, and then asks me a simple question. "Do you think I could ride my bike to the Ohio River, or maybe take a bus there? I get a big smile on my face, with a little chuckle in my belly and tell her that she may be riding her bike for a long time because she isn't able to go on the highway and that it's about 30-35 miles one way. As well, that there was no busing to Downtown Cincy from Oxford. 

We started talking a little more. I told her that I would take her to the Ohio River after church, and then invited her to come with me. She at first told me that she's been to the two Korean churches there in Oxford, and expressed that she didn't really care for the services. I told her that I didn't go there, that I went to the Oxford Vineyard. I said come and meet my friends, then we'll grab some lunch, and head Downtown.

She loved my church!! She really enjoyed the music and talking with John my pastor. She felt really welcomed (not like she wasn't but she had set her mind based on past experiences that there would be so much structure that we would just be "going through the motions").  Towards the end of the service today Andre broke us up into groups so we could pray together about our "mystical" name in God our father. Like He gave to Simon and Abraham in the bible. I LOVED her word for John and the who Oxford Vineyard experience she had this morning. She called him the Green Banana!! She referred to him & our church as a new good experience for her. She expressed that she liked how she was greeted by members of the church, she was very touched by the worship music, and she liked how the message was delivered (plane jane, easy to apply to everyday life and not over her head). 

This is Bird, her Chinese name is Lai Yin Zhi (yeah I didn't get it either ;o} but it was a lot of fun trying!!)

After church we headed for Downtown.... ROAD TRIP!!!! She was a truly amazing woman to get to know!!!! I love those God moments that you so totally don't expect!!! Today was truly a so very much so marvelous day!!

When we got to Colerain Ave we went to Panera Bread. Her first experience!! She got the alfredo pasta with the rice and chicken soup and she really liked it. On our way down I-275 to 74 then hitting I-75 we ran into a little traffic (on a Sunday I know weird right, especially on 275?) because, my guess, the big boys were still playing in the road on 74 towards Indianapolis. Any who - My car hasn't been doing well just idling while running lately (I'm contacting Monroe Tire's Corp about this too). So I'm just praying to find a break in the middle of the highway so that I might flip a "U" turn and just head down I-75... didn't happen so I prayed I wouldn't over heat. I didn't!!! God's so awesome!! We get down there and park in the Great American Ball Park's garage, so we just had to walk across the street to the little park/walk way by the Ohio River. She enjoyed it, the weather was perfect for a day like today, but she admitted that she must have gotten her "Rivers" mixed up because she had something else in mind. LoL So we walked around for a bit, sat on the swing for a bit and talked. We talked about God, why I have so much faith, my walk with God and trials. Then we talked about guys (come on we're women... it was bound to happen), our families. She told me how China has a 1 child restriction on families that live there, but she has an older brother who is 9 years older. Confused I asked how her family was able to do this. She told me that they were originally from Japan, and they had moved to China. 

We spoke about cooking, and she insisted that I come to China and when I did to contact her and I could come over to her home and she would cook for me. Fantastic!!! Love this woman!!!! We walked around the block just to further check things out. I honestly thought that there would be more to see, but there actually just a block of bars and restaurants right there next to the ball park. Not having cash on me for parking (don't know what I was thinking) we set out to look for an ATM. Funny moment: There is this restaurant that started with "ATM" so thinking they had one inside, we went in and asked. The waiter who approached us said that it would be just an moment and we will be helped. I just said to him, "I'm just looking for the ATM." He kindly replied that there wasn't one, and I said it says there is on their sign. Walking out of the doors and looking up.... that was just part of the place's name!!! HA HA HA HA He said that there was one in the building on the other side of the block. Walking over there we found that the doors were locked :o(, but then again it's Sunday. Luckily, the garage took credit cards ($5's to park down there).

We headed back to Oxford. And talked most the way, about music, our passions, family, cooking (some more of it), and the fact that I need to visit her in China :o) When I dropped her off at her dorm she said that she knows we'll see each other again, myself going there to China, and herself coming back to Ohio. 

Prophetic?  I think so!! I truly honestly seriously enjoyed myself today!! I can't remember another time when I have had such entirely unexpected fun!! I love God!!!

UPDATE ON: Mazatlán, Mexico

I have $400's for my $600 air fare ticket!!! Whaooooo!!! $200 more is all I need to get my air fare!! Then I'll be working on my room and board costs of $675 and it will be paid for!!! I'm looking at booking my flight no later than Wednesday!!! I'm so uberly excited!!!! (If you can't tell by all the "!!!'s")

Left arm fallen off yet?

So, my good 'ol left arm.... My half human half bionic arm....

Caused me so much drama and goodness PAIN for something like 3 weeks!!! Pain that would seriously stop me in my foot steps, take the breath right out of me, and pretty much lay me flat out in a total complete trance of pain.  After playing phone tag with University of Cincinnati Hospital for 2 of the 3 weeks, I finally received paper work in the mail requesting proof of insurance or even income before they would even schedule an appointment to see me. Note: this is the hospital that installed the hardware that my body currently has in it, and yet they have NO record of ever putting it in my body? Odd? 

Well Sunday July 14th one of my student's from my classroom at work invited me to attend his church with him and his mom, needless to say I went. Arm still hurting just as bad, and still stoping me in my steps when it would elevate (as it did should I use my left arm in any manner). I tried as much as I could not to use it.... but yet driving my car was still a challenge for me, but I managed to do it with little pain. 

After church with my student and lunch, on my way back to Oxford I swung into the Home Depot to see about getting some of their freight boxes for my classroom project, "Box City." I stopped at the customer service desk and talked to a guy name Todd. Just matter of fact asking him when they got truck, and if they could save me about 16 large boxes off of it. He told me that they usually immediately crush them for recycling. Stooped, I simply ask if they could just save me 16.... thinking it wouldn't be that hard. He then asked me "How many boxes are you needing?" Just telling him 16 when I asked him if they could save a few for me, I replied quietly "only 16." He asked me to follow him to a flat that was stacked about 3 feet high with brand new boxes. He asked me to wait a minute so he could go get a flat bed to stack 16 boxes on. He gave me 17 brand new packing boxes right then and there, they cost about $3.50 a piece. As well he helped me get all 17 in my little tiny Sunfire. Let's just say that I couldn't see out of my rear view mirror and my passenger side mirror for the entire rest of the weekend. 

On my way back into Oxford, to the home I'm staying at (until the end of this week), I pass buy my dear friends from church Jeff and Becky Maglich and see that their front door is opened. Ecstatic that I just got all of these brand new boxes for my kids at work, I wanted to share the news. Home Depot has been FABULOUS to The Goddard School of Fairfield!!! They've given us everything for our Goddard Garden (the raised bed, the 20 bags of soil to fill it, seeds and plants of fruit and veggies, as well as shovels, rakes, and paint stirs to label the growing plants with) but they just pretty much helped me out with our Box City art project, that will allow the older kids to play with the younger toddlers (this way diversifying their learning experiences for both/all age groups) buy supplying us with the most expensive/biggest part of this project!!!

While there we are talking about everything, Jeff is amazed at "how much favor I have" in my job. I could list everything but I'm not going too... that's for him to do not me. We talked about Mazatlán and the prospects that are being offered with this amazing opportunity and how everything is looking for and with that. I then expressed concern about my arm and not being able to do ANYTHING because of the pain.  We prayed over everything, my classroom at work and the wonderful things happening there, Mazatlán and everything that has to do with that (support through prayers and financial means, getting there in September, next summer's possible internship, etc), and my good 'ol left arm.

Since that moment of prayer.... MY ARM HAS NOT HURT AT ALL!!! I can do anything/everything with it!!!! It's been that way for a little over a week now (9 days), not that I'm expecting it to start hurting again. But I'm elated that it's not hurting!!!! God you so totally rock dude!!!!