JenCook's Xanga

Go and do likewise

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 04:34:30 GMT

I could use at least a thousand words to try to describe why I am going back to Camp of the Hills this summer, but you know what they say about a picture...

If you are interested in applying to be a counselor this summer, please contact me soon.

Thailand Video

Tue, 12 Dec 2006 05:51:05 GMT

This is my Thailand video. I made this to send to my supporters, and Haley and I showed it at our presentation to the A&M Church. It's pretty long, so pop some popcorn, turn up the speakers and enjoy!

(If the screen below doesn't work, just click the "video" tab at the top of the page and you can view it from there.)

Lincoln Center

Sun, 10 Dec 2006 19:29:05 GMT

On Friday I went to the Lincoln Center Christmas Party that the A&M Church helps with every year. I love doing face painting so I helped out with that booth again this year. I hope the night was good for the community and for the church. I wish we did more things like this together.

Things my kids say

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 06:25:57 GMT

Two third grade girls, while working on homework with Taylor:

girl 1: Man, Mr. Josh is mean!
girl 2: Yeah.
[pause]
girl 1: He pretty though.
girl 2: mmmmmmmHmmmmm!

Klaudia: We used to have a dog. She was really nice. But then we moved to a new house, and she died. It got really hot outside and one day she died outside.
[pause]
Paradise: softly, wide-eyed Did it die from the heat?
Klaudia: nods
[pause]
Winter: That's sad.

Anesia: Miss Jennifer, Miss Jennifer I got a joke you wanna hear it?
Me: Okay.
Anesia: Okay okay. What....did....Mary eat for Thanksgiving?
Me: I don't know, what?
Anesia: Girl, you know Mary had a little LAMB!

Hiatus

Mon, 04 Sep 2006 18:36:45 GMT

No more blogging for awhile, so please do not take it personally if I do not comment on your blog. Taking a break.

God bless you all.

Pictures to see and enjoy

Fri, 01 Sep 2006 17:36:12 GMT

2 weeks ago- cooking Thai food with Nueng at Julie's house

Careful there, Ross!

A delightful dinner party

SOAR kick-off party at church

My sister Shelley and her crazy roommates Erin, Hannah and Lauren

Sisterly bonding

Will helps Josh with his mustache on the way to SOAR

Kathy Orozco and Haley teaching girls time

Having fun in the lake

Megan and Matt are not to be messed around with!

SOAR class of 2010. 2010...shouldn't we all be wearing rubber suits and driving spaceships by now?

This picture of Paige just makes me laugh!

Top secreat movie theater popcorn TO GO!!!

Just a few selections of life over the past two weeks. I've been busy, but I love it. Only 4 classes this semester, but the real challenge will be my new job. I am teaching at an after-school program in Hearne, about 30 minutes from College Station. I will be responsible for 22 5th and 6th graders, and I'm going to help them love reading! At least, I pray that's what happens. This week we have been training and planning, and my first day with the kids is next Tuesday. I'm excited, nervous and thrilled, and I'll let you know how it goes!

to tide you over

Sat, 26 Aug 2006 14:23:26 GMT

I would love nothing more than to update this blog, but I have been too busy! So in the meantime, enjoy some pictures I took this week:

http://afcsoar2006.shutterfly.com/

Small Town Gems

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 02:37:24 GMT

There is something about Texas small towns that is comforting when you have been away from them for awhile. Last Saturday I went to New Braunsfels to go toobing with my family, and we ate dinner in Gruene. If you overlook the drunk toobers throwing bananas in the river (one of them landed on me!) and the overpriced everything, it was a pretty great day. My family is really funny- sometimes when we are riding in the car we just crack each other up. It's so nice to laugh with everyone again.

Another small town I visited was Giddings- to go to Camp Tejas and visit Nueng and Gahn and Wee! Lisa came to Round Rock on Monday and we went to see our Thai friends on Tuesday. We couldn't find Nueng when we got to the camp, but after walking around for awhile we found her leaving her cabin. She was carrying her laundry bag, which she dropped on the ground and ran at me screaming, "JeeeennnnnnIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!!!!!" It was so great to see her- Nueng was one of my closest friends in Chiang Mai and I haven't seen her since May.

Nueng and Gahn should be spending some time in College Station later this month, so if you will be in town you should definitely get to know them. They are two of the funniest people I know!

Lisa and I left for a few hours in the afternoon because everyone was working. We were headed to Brenham but my mom suggested we try out some winery in La Grange, so we proceeded to drive the 20 or so miles to the sprawling metropolis of La Grange, Texas to look for the famed winery. We drove through town looking for this supposedly famous attraction, and we couldn't find anything so we stopped at a gas station to ask. Lisa went up to the counter and asked the girl, "We're looking for the winery, do you know where it is?" The girl responded, "Winery?" with a puzzled expression on her face. "Yeah, a winery- a place where they make wine..." "Umm, I don't know about that. Sorry." So apparently this was not a well-known place. Eventually we made our way to the Chamber of Commerce to ask around. The President, a woman who is no stranger to hairspray, came out to talk to us. "A winery? Yes, I do believe there's one out on 71- one time I was driving late and I HIT A DEER and here I am sitting on the side of the road and I see a sign that says Winery right there next to the mailbox I hit..." and on and on. She gave us very detailed directions and we headed off to continue our quest. Eventually we came across a series of small signs for "Rosemary's Winery," so we turned into the driveway of a small ranch home with a tin roof one-room building in the front yard. We weren't sure if they were open, but then an older man in a dirty ballcap came out from behind the house with a big smile on his face, beckoning us to come inside and have a look. We walked into the "store," sampled some varieties and ordered two glasses, which we enjoyed at a little table in their front yard. There was some squirrel poo on the table, but the lady of the house came and wiped it off for us. We even got to taste a grape straight from the vine...which was about 20 feet from our table. The people were really nice, and we thoroughly enjoyed our lucky find.

Today I visited the not-so-small town of College Station, and not much has changed in the past 7 months. There's a new Sonic in town, but it's in a gas station which makes it only a pseudo-Sonic, but a pseudo-Sonic is still better than no Sonic at all. Lisa told me that I should go eat at Rosa's, and I know I will stay away from Pei Wei for awhile. I should be moving back to town sometime at the end of next week- I have some job interviews for after-school programs, yay! I miss kids.

As of tomorrow, Lisa will be in Lubbock for the foreseeable future. In her honor, I have composed a poem:

Every day at three o'clock

I'll stop my life and just take stock

Of how I miss my Lisa friend

Our CS days have met their end.

At happy hour we would be

Most days at sacred hour three

Diet cokes in both our hands

Vanilla added, we're great fans.

Lubbock's not so far away

And we must all move on someday

But distance cannot friendship break

We trust that this is no mistake.

Ja kit tung Lisa! Lisa pben puen jing jing. Kit tung mak luuey. Pra-jaow oay pon!

One Chapter Ends, Another Begins

Fri, 04 Aug 2006 22:54:13 GMT

Hello there. I haven't posted on this blog in quite awhile...if you need to catch up visit http://jenniferinchiangmai.blogspot.com/ The blog for my time in Thailand was fairly impersonal and activity-oriented to keep my family, friends and supporters updated. This blog is a little different- I hesitate to categorize it, so maybe we'll just call this chapter "Life After Thailand."

To pick up where the other blog left off...a few pictures of my departure from Chiang Mai. I miss my friends, but I was ready to take a break from my job. One of the primary questions I've been asked is, "So what did you do?"...which is a fair question, and I hope to eventually answer it through stories and reflections.

Nicole is going to grow up so fast! I am really impressed with Preal- she is raising Nicole on her own and running a small coffee shop in the front of their apartment. These two are inseperable- if anyone else holds Nicole for more than 5 minutes, she starts crying for her mom.

Nice picture Bay! Nicole was sitting next to me while I was driving to the train station (yes, babies sit on laps, carseats are unheard of) and she kept pinching my arm, so I held her hand at the stoplight.

My suitcase weighed about 700 pounds, but somehow we got it onto the train. Everyone came to see us off at the station- I travelled to Bangkok with the ACU interns, P'Gade and her friend Dahleen. We spent a day in the city and then bright and early Tuesday morning I boarded my flight home!

27 hours later, I arrived in Austin to be greeted by my family, wielding "Welcome Home!" posters and creamy jalapeno ranch dip from Chuys. They know me so well. :)

Everyone has been asking if it feels weird to be home, and so far the answer is no. It feels wonderful, and it feels normal. Granted, I haven't been home all that long, but it's so great to see the hills of Austin, to be in my house, to play with my pets and to drive to Sonic with my sister. Part of me feels like I can finally breathe again.

As soon as I got home, I was itching to get out to camp. For those of you who don't know, I will be returning to Camp of the Hills next summer, and I am so excited. I never knew how much of my heart was there until I went to Thailand and thought about those kids all the time. Next summer will be very different, as many of my friends and the veteran counselors are not returning, and Chris will not be the director. But I am very excited to work with Derick, and I'm really excited for the future of the camp.

White girl! You can tell that I haven't been swimming at camp all summer. It's hard for me to imagine camp without Amanda, but I am excited for her to start nursing school soon.

Robert's last camp bible lesson...probably. You never know what could happen!

Drew told me today that there are 296 days until training week starts next summer. I mean, look at these faces. I cannot wait.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Tue, 17 Jan 2006 05:31:36 GMT

I love you all so much. You have no idea. I can't believe you came all the way here to see me. You rock, and I love you, and I'll miss you more than you know.

Story tomorrow

And...here's the story.

Apparently, since Novemberish Kimie has been planning a surprise party for me. Now, this is cool for all of the obvious reasons that surprise parties are cool, but also because I have always wanted a surprise party and never received one. Mostly because I like to be in charge- I usually plan my own parties before anyone else has a chance to do anything. But she really pulled one over on me. So many details, so much secrecy, and I was totally surprised! I walked right into Chuys, thinking I would have a nice dinner with Kimie, and put our name in and got a beeper. She then pulled me toward the tables by the bar, and I see...Ben Edmiston? What? I looke around and realize that TONS OF PEOPLE I LOVE are sitting in the restaurant! I was so shocked, and quite confused! My family was there- I thought they had gone to church! And Adam, Jenni, Josh, Clif, Garrett, Ben, Lisa D, B-rad, Katie, Lisa W, Traci, Jeff- it was amazing. One of the most fun nights of my entire life. Kimie also secretly put together a memory/photo book, to which everyone contributed pictures and messages of encouragement and love. I'll cherish it forever.

How can I leave such amazing people? I am so thankful to be blessed with friends who would drive for almost 4 hours round-trip just to come have dinner and send me off in style. I don't deserve it, but I am so very grateful.

And really, I think I am finally ready to go. I know that no matter what happens during the next 7 months, I will be okay. God has seen fit to bring me through a lot this year, and I have no doubt he will do so again in the coming year. Change is scary, but inevitable. Even looking at this picture (which I have already blown up to 8x10 and framed!) makes me a little sad, because I know that things will never again be quite the way they were last night. People will graduate, move, get married...things will change. I am thankful for the love I share with these people, and I am learning to be thankful that each person in my life will grow and change while I am away. Lisa and I were talking tonight about what a blessing it is to be able to look back on your life and appreciate the things that have been hard, for they bring us to where we are at this very moment. Things never seem to turn out quite the way we plan them- and thank goodness for that. How amazing that we serve a God who keeps us guessing. May our joy of discovery and adventure never fade.

That's it, kids. From now on, all posting will take place at http://jenniferinchiangmai.blogspot.com. It's been fun, thanks for coming along for the ride. I love you all and I will miss you- and I'm coming back, so don't take my stuff.

Grace and Peace,

Jennifer