The Chronicles of Canadia

No Pain, No Gain

2009-08-18T15:19:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe summer is already over! The morning I woke up in my own bed at home was a little weird, and I admit, a little hard. God made his faithfulness and love so apparent this summer and I loved every second I was gone. I met some pretty amazing people, had some cabins I wanted to take home with me and got to love on so many kids from 8-18 years old.

I'll start with a list I made after Berea so I wouldn't forget to let you all know. Here are some highlights/wicked cool things God did with us at Berea:
-This was my 3rd week with the Peck sisters-Alli and Jessie-who played guitar and keys with us (i only wish we'd been able to take them to LiLoLi with us!)
-Alli got to counsel Tuesday-Sat when one counselor got sick
-Berea's kick drum was my favorite.
-the campers thought we were rockstars, that was just fun
-We had a daily challenge as a team against any cabin interested which was so effective in getting to know the kids, even though we weren't counseling.
-We killed this one cabin three times in ultimate frisbee, but we all had fun doing it.
-there were several kids who got saved-during the worship set! (what? not at the invitation time? i know)
-I learned more names of these 230 girls than the previous week of 80 campers
-It challenged me as I was reading Judges to see Jesus even there.
-Got to help with Alli's cabin devos 2 nights
-They served wicked good salad bar every lunch and dinner
-Hilarious skits by their program team
-We were blessed with time to go into town and get Dunkin Donuts for the counselors (and I say "we" meaning Jodi, Patti and Kels, I actually just benefited from this, I didn't do it myself)
-Counselor meetings were great as we went through some proverbs
-We stayed in a sweet cabin overlooking the lake, we had a deck and easy-access to the waterfront.
-I kyaked with the rest of the team who swam "the black band": across the 1.3, (or 1.4, or 2, there was a dispute) mi lake.
-I got to follow-up with a camper I had 3 years ago, who was a lifeguard this summer (and our hook-ups to the lake whenever we wanted to swim)

Wednesday was our favorite highlight, so it's a little more in-depth:
We were all swimming while Jodi was talking to a camper on the beach. You have to have a buddy when you are in the water, so Kels was the buddy of a camper who didn't have one. Jessie and I decided to get out and were drying off on my rock (someone had etched in "BETH" years ago, so I call it mine), having a grand old time making funny acronyms for "beth," when a camper came up and asked if one of us would be her buddy. We looked at each other like, "who wants to go?" cause we'd just gotten out, and Jessie graciously went with the camper. I debated going back to the cabin and drying off, but I was having fun watching kids get blobbed right in front of me, and I hadn't had many opportunities to tan in this very rainy summer so I sat for a little bit. after just a few minutes, a camper, named Cassie, came up and asked to sit on the rock with me. I of course said she could, and we proceeded to talk for almost 2 hours about questions she had about the Bible, how to read it, where to read, etc. It was awesome.
I had to cut it short when Jessie came over and told me it was almost time for practice (music was our one job at camp). When we got to practice, someone mentioned how great the afternoon had been and all of us at once started to agree and tell the group of whom we'd talked to about what. It turned out that the kid Jodi talked to was the camper we'd heard about whose parents had been livid when they found out her uncle had signed her up for a Christian camp over the course of her conversation with her, she and some other campers led this girl to the Lord! Kelsey's was also able to talk to the girl whose buddy she'd been and that girl had a very similar situation to Jodi's and so that was encouraging for them. Alli had a good 1on1 with one of her campers and I got to talk to Cassie as a result of Jessie's willingness to buddy that other camper. so it was a really exciting band practice.

Leaving Berea as probably the hardest goodbye of the summer, because we'd gotten to know so many of the campers and counselors and the week had gone by at a perfect speed-it didn't drag on and it didn't fly by too fast to even think about. But it was hardest chiefly because it meant saying goodbye to the Pecks when their dad came to pick them up at Dunkin Donuts on our way to LiLoLi. Those girls are something else-more mature and in love with Jesus than I was at their ages (19 and 15) for sure, and just great company. I hate to pick favorites when anyone could read this, but aside from Verdugo (cause it's like home, and my cabin there was something awesome, and their food is still the best), Berea this year was it.

Li Lo Li

But we had to go. So we got to LiLoLi a little later than planned, due to Steve Peck's hold-up at the border (yay, more time with Alli and Jessie!). We breifly met the other counselors and then went straight to bed.
My first cabin at LiLoLi was SO stinkin cool. They were way fun, but also loved to sleep. We were in bed so early the first night that we completely missed the staff bringing around rootbeer floats! But me and my co-counselor Andrea were fine with that.
The theme was changed lives. Week 1 we talked about Peter and week 2, Paul.
Tuesday of the first week the speaker did a message on Hell-out at Ft. Seneca, in the dark with the fire going. I was little scared that it'd be all hype and scary, but not substantial. But I was wrong. He was very straightforward and stuck to the Bible on describing the kind of place Hell is and who ends up there. Before my cabin got thru the gate of the fort on our way back to the cabin, they were peppering us with questions and concerns; one just exclaimed "I need to get saved!" So the whole way back, we talked, Andrea with some and I with others from our cabin. One of my girls began a relationship with God that night, before we even got back to the cabin!
The rest of the 2 weeks were a blast, and I shan't bore you with but one or two more details: -Week 2 it rained so hard mon and tues that we were allowed to ride tubes down the overflowing creek-something that hadn't happened since Patti was a camper!
-My team the second week was close to winning till our most athletic guy got sick and had to go home-but we still stuck in 3rd, and they were great kids.
-I taught my cabin Bang and "He is Wonderful," my new favorite worship song.
-Mama and Papa Bear sent us a care package from Cali-with Verdugo CINNAMON ROLLS in it!!

Leaving LiLoLi wasn't as hard as leaving Berea, and I didn't really even feel the weight of the end of the summer until I was at home. I was excited to come home and see people and I had been with the team so long it didn't really feel like I was really going to be away from them, even though I was.

I have been blessed beyond what I could have imagined this summer, I thank you all for your prayers. Currently I am looking for a job, as I feel this is the wisest option for the moment, but keep praying, because I hope those Canadians will be part of my everyday life again.

Rained On, But Not Rained Out

2009-07-18T22:25:00.001-07:00

WOW. What a week! or a couple of weeks... We just got back to Bradford after a great adventure across Canada. For pics see my facebook, but I'll recap that quickly before telling you about Eagle's Cove.

We spent 4th of July in WA, left the next day and drove all the way up to Jasper National park Alberta. Nope that will take too long to write that way: Jasper to Banff saw a bear and some "Elkibou," Bang! (Banff is french for Bang you know) oil change in Calgary, nothing in Saskaetchewan, oh, except an ice cream stand and an accidental visit to Alli Peck's college! Awkward farm visit, Bang! lake winnepeg, rain, eating at a casino, more rain, kakabeka falls, no moose, Thunder Bay.

We got to Eagle's Cove, which is about 30 min outside Thunder Bay, ON, friday night thinking we would have a few days to settle and prepare for camp, as we were the 1st week of camp. But this was not so. We were the 2nd. I met Bera and Bonita, the directors, as well as Kya, their 7 mo old Phyrrenese guard dog (she's gonna be a beast when she's full-grown) and Bonita informed us that the Reserve that was to bring up most of the campers cancelled on us. We prayed about what to do regarding that and sunday decided to run "play days" at a few low-income housing complexes in Thunder Bay that Tina and Stephan (a swiss couple who'd lived at camp last year and were back for a month this year- with the cutest kids) had connections with. The rest of the time we got to do some more discipleship type stuff with the Hub staff who came up from Bradford to be the camp staff for the week (they are mostly college-age).

We had 2 days lined up-tues and wed.-so monday we prepared (brainstormed activities, built games, etc) and then went into town to pass out flyers at the 2 complexes. Up until this point we had had fairly great weather, sunny, a little wind, but nice. Tuesday we awoke to dark skies. OK, to make a long story short, we got a thrid complex for Thursday and every single day we woke up to rain, prayed, went ahead with the play day and saw no more than a little misting the whole time they went on. Wednesday's play day we were really praying for sunshine, and while the cliouds still covered the sky, I met not one, but two little girls named sunshine. God is so funny isn't he?

We held staff devos every morning and evening and it was just so cool to see the Hub kids 9they aren't really kids, but ya know) learning and being challenged and being wiling to serve even though it was in a totally different capacity than they had planned. Last night we got some attacks by the enemy, but God just spoke through Jodi, addressing it in devos and we ended the night with a really awesome time of prayer. No one could have expected this week to go the way it did, but God had an amazing plan that was so much better than ours. Keep praying that we will always be sensitive to his direction.

Prayer requests:
-Angelo was not able to go because of his seizure. He is doing well, but the Dr.'s don't know what caused it. However, his absence gave the Hub staff a great opportunity to step up and they knocked our socks off.

-4 more weeks of camp-energy and focus

-Kelsey is not deathly ill like last year, praise the Lord, the antibiotics we got her after verdugo and the rest she was able to get at lakeside really got her back up to par.

-I am looking very much forward to getting to encourage some younger girls who might not be campers at the next 2 camps we'll be at We're just doing the music (and of course Jodi is speaking), so I won't have a cabin.

-keep my cabin from verdugo in prayer. there were some very hurting girls in that group and it just broke my heart.

-money: 1. we usually pay to go up and help at eagle's cove, but because there were no campers, they told the 4 of us we would not have to. 2. generous people sent Jodi and Patti money 3. we found a stack of cash at home we'd forgotten. God is so good.

thanks so much.

But How...

2009-07-04T17:19:00.000-07:00

"But how can they call on him unless they believe in him and how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him and how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? so faith comes by hearing, that is the good news about Christ." Rom. 10:14-17

That was the daily verse on Thursday this week at Lakeside Bible Camp. I thought it fitting as I had a one-on-one with one of my campers who was totally eager to receive the Lord, she had simply never heard about his truth before!

We've just complete our second week of camp and we're all already tired, but this week driving back across Canada should be relaxing enough. We go straight to Thunder Bay, ON for Eagle's Cove, which I hear is like no camp I have ever been to, or will go to. These kids are all from crazy home lives and certainly not church kids. I can't wait. I get to lead a cabin that week and then get a break at Pine Orchard and Berea to just do music! After Berea we go straight to New York where I get to lead a cabin of high schoolers for 2 weeks! I knew, but it was confirmed in me this week that I am all about high schoolers! At Lakeside my co-cabin leader, well all the co-cabin leaders, were high schoolers and I loved my cabin but I really felt like I connected with and was able to encourage them, so I am way looking forward to LiLoLi.

If you'd like to see pictures, check my facebook.

prayer requests:
health-kelsey got sick after verdugo but is on the mend. her staying healthy would be great.
Angelo, the leader of the group going to eagle's cove had an inexplicable seizure. the younger Hub leaders are going to need to step up. and please pray the doctors figure out what is wrong.

One Year

2009-05-22T17:12:00.001-07:00

One year ago I had a couple of staples in my head.

One year ago I could barely walk around my house without needing a nap by the time I got to the living room couch.

One year ago I was getting used to the idea of not getting to travel camps for the summer.

But this year, I am getting ready to finally go (Lord willing)!
I'd ask that you keep me and my team in prayer as we will be spending 7 weeks at 6 different camps. Here's a quick run-down of our team and what we do:
Jodi: main speaker
Kelsey: also speaks some, leads worship on guitar, skits
Patti: back-up guitar, powerpoint, skits and games sometimes- actually she does anything and everything, she's just an awesome servant.
I will be playing drums with Kelsey (and we'll be joined by Alli Peck on keyboard at 3 of the camps), as well as helping with skits, and counseling at Verdugo, Lakeside and LiLoLi.

Our roles change a little depending on the camp, but that's the general idea. The campers at each camp differ in age; some camps are elementary school age, some jr. high, and others, high school; some camps are all girls, others are co-ed.

Things to be praying for now:
-focus: i'm still trying to move into camp mode. Camp work is exhausting, but fulfilling-unless you're not focused on God, then it can bea real drag.
-God's financial provision: He's always so good about that though (c; (and on that note, I was able to work enough this semester to save and cover my bills while I am gone-glory!).
-While the focus is on camp this summer, I also am seeking God as to what I should do after the summer is over-I would appreciate your prayers on that as well.

I'll be posting blogs periodically to keep you updated with specific prayer requests (hopefully every week) and news. I will probably be checking my email and facebook (hopefully posting pics!) whenever I can, but I LOVE getting real mail, so if you want to send me some, below are the addresses I have and the dates I will be at each camp. Thanks for your support!

Verdugo Pines Bible Camp: June 20-27th
P.O. Box 1989
Wrightwood, CA 92397

Lakeside Bible Camp: June 28th-July 4th
P.O. Box 310
Clinton, WA 98236

Eagle's Cove: July 12-18th

Pine Orchard: July 19-24th
Box 184
1100 Gorham St. Suite 11B
Newmarket, ON, Canada

Camp Berea: July 25th-August 1st
68 Berea Rd
Hebron, NH 03241

Camp Li-Lo-Li: August 2-15th
8811 Sunfish Run Road
Randolph, NY 14772

At Least A Visit

2009-03-23T15:58:00.000-07:00

It's been a while. A lot has happened, but I 'll restrict my comments to Canada and my brain as much as possible.

Two weeks ago, I had my follow-up angiogram. The coil on my aneurysm is fine, no problems. The AVM is gone too, but the Dr. saw an "early blood vessel." He thinks it is most likely scar tissue, but wants another angiogram in a year just to keep an eye on it. It's nothing to be alarmed about, for certain, not because were it not scar tissue it could be another AVM, but because we shouldn't be afraid of things that can hurt our bodies, but concerned with our souls. So we'll just keep an eye on it, like the Dr. says.

Now for the Canadian news:
If the Lord wills, I will be traveling again with Jodi, Patti and Kelsey this summer! We start with Verdugo Pines girls camp in June and go from there. I'll post dates and addresses later, in case you want to send me mail! There's nothing like getting mail at camp.

That's about it for now. I'd appreciate continued prayer for direction in the future.

I think this is the end of the first book in The Chronicles

2008-09-20T18:58:00.000-07:00

Have you ever hit construction while you're driving and you try and go around it, but actually have no idea where you are going? Have you ever successfully arrived at your destination afterward, having totally flown by the seat of your pants, and surprised yourself even more than your passengers who you tried to convince that you actually knew what you were doing? I actually do this quite frequently, and kind of get a thrill out of it.

That is what my life feels like.

But of course, that's not exactly what it's like; because instead of accidentally stumbling across a road I am familiar with, there is actually someone else in the driver's seat steering me to the right place, as I sit and try to figure out why God decides to take me this route-not in a frustrated sort of way, but in a let's-see-if-I-can-figure-this-one-out sort of way. It's thrilling.

Some of you have heard, and others may not even have known that my Canadians and I were reconsidering when I should move out there, now that my brain is pretty much back to normal. So here is the next chapter of the Chronicles of Canadia:

After much prayer and weighing options, I was really pretty ok with staying here, subbing, coaching, working with the youth at church, whatever; but also totally alright with leaving for Canada in a second. Both options had pros and cons and I really didn't feel led in either direction. SO, after reconveining with the Canadians and sharing that with them, they shared that they, and those that had been praying with them, did not really feel at peace about me coming out right now. There's more to it than that I guess, but to keep you from falling asleep, we'll leave it at that.

Even as I am getting excited about the things I'll be doing here at home still, I do think on some of what I will miss not giong to Canada now; but I do think at this point, that it may be on the horizon still, just maybe a little further away than I had thought.

What I will be doing here, and am getting excited about includes, getting to coach CC and Lord willing, BBall, again; restarting Living ICE at church after it's hiatus upon my hospitalization; and of course, just working (as a sub again) so as to be able to actually make my car and school payments. Along with that, I am going to be forced to grow up a little and be an adult (ugh), having to take care of my own medical insurance and things like that. That, along with my long-term vision of the coffee shop which may or may not happen in Canada, I am applying at The Coffee Bean, and if that doesn't work out, I suppose I could handle working at Starbucks. It is a sad thing though, that Lancaster does not have a Peet's at which I could work...*sigh*

Note: Since this blog was originally set up to inform my friends, family, and stalkers of my adventures in the Great White North, I will likely not be updating it as often as I would, were I actually in the Great White North. If you further wish to stalk me, please refer to my facebook. OR you could actually speak with me by emailing or calling at your convenience. thank you.

Home from the Hospital and Focusing Forward

2008-08-29T18:20:00.000-07:00

Monday I finally had my infamous surgery, Praise the Lord! I bled a little into the existing cavity, but that should resolve itself soon, and today, (Friday) I was released from the hospital to go home. Woot! Thanks SO much to all of you who prayed-many of you twice-for the surgery. I'll have a follow-up angiogram in 6 months.

I talked with Jodi and Patti today-and God- and I'm still planning on going to Canada, probably in a month or so. Here are some things you can be praying about for the Canadian plans (yes this is the shift back to blogging about Canada and less about my head, Thank God):

1. Medical Care- I'm on my parents insurance until taxes (April), which means I have a buffer, but should move asap, as it takes 3 months of residency to apply for Canadian Healthcare. Thankfully, though, Jodi and Patti know a Christian Dr. out there that, barring emergencies, will probably be able to take care of little things.

2. Money- the way we'll be living is very much by faith. Think of Acts where people sold their houses to meet each other's needs, or any cool story you've heard of God sending random checks right when they are needed. They do have some regular supporters that cover rent andutilities and such. Bottom line, if God wants me there-which as of now I am convinced he does-I know he will provide. But I'm sort of joining the family out there, as I'll be living with Jodi and Patti and so all our expenses are sort of just all of ours (food, rents etc). So you can be praying for provision there. All I really need is $200 for school payments, and I figure if God can fix a blood vessek in my brain, he can probably handle that. So be in prayer for that.
lastly there are a few small bills I'd like to knock out before I go (credit card, etc). I will be subbing until I leave so pray God will provide enough to get rid of those.

3. Coffee- As of now I'll probably be working closly with the high school drop-in ministry at the local HS and with the youger leadership at the HUB (youth center). They are mostly college-age and many were saved thriugh the HUB, and essentially run it, under Brian (or Baldy)'s supervision. I'll get the opportunity to misniter to them through leadership training and stuff. I'd LOVE for that to happen through an idea God put on my heart a couple years ago-a coffee shop designed to help connect the kids and build them spiritually. That is still in the works. Pray for a particular community sr. group who meet in a room that is in the same building as the HUB who don't wnat to give it up. We'd like to rennovate it-let them continue to use it their 8 hours a week, and the rest of the time run the coffee shop out of it. Right now they've said no. So pray God will change their hearts or give us another location.

Thanks again for the prayer. On that subject I'd like to assemble a prayer team as I move taht will receive a newsletter (by email or hard copy) from Cross Trainers in addition to your commitment to pray. It will have more general needs of the whole ministry you can be praying for-but it's like a big family. And you're not going to get a bunch of "opportunities to save children's lives by buyng them llammas and chickens" It's just going to keep you up on what God's doing with the ministry that I'm a part of, and while i'll be blogging, it'll be more consistent I think (c: SO if you want to commit to praying for me, and the family of believers I'll be serving with, let me know, and I'll only give them your email/address if you want the newletter (c: Please let me know if you'd like to be a part of supporting me and cross trainers in prayer! (you can comment or email me: drummagirl12@hotmail.com)

Thanks

Camps and Kaisers

2008-08-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

these last two weeks I was blessed to go up to Verdugo Pines Bible Camp and serve on program staff and as a counselor for Jr. High and High School camps. It was ridiculously awesome. The theme was "Man vs. Wild." The speaker, Keith Kaiser, spoke on the Israelites in the wilderness, and our need to deal with sin in our lives. There were 4 workshops dealing with four sins the Israelites struggled with, mentioned in 1Cor. 10:6-14.

I, myself, was challenged with sin in my life and was able to say along with the Paul and the campers, "But thanks be to God! He give us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1Cor. 15:57b

Monday August 11th (yes, that's 2 days from now), I am going in for brain surgery so here are some ways you can be praying:

1) that there would be no emergency surgeries, or really anything else, that would push my surgery later in the day. My mom needs to get sleep for her first day of teaching her new little kiddos the next day.
2) success. in this case, that would mean that the glueish stuff they are putting in my blood vessels would block the blood flow the way it's supposed to, and last until God gives me a new, incorruptible body.
3) no complications. they are fixing both the unburst aneurysm and the burst AVM. if for some reason the fixing of the aneurysm got messed up, they'd stop and have to fix the AVM later, so it'd be great if it all just worked the way it's supposed to.
4) recovery and beyond:
i'll be in the hospital down in Hollywood for two days (give me a call if you want to come see me!).
i'd really like to make it to the next two weddings I've been invited to this month, both are dear friends of mine.
after the hospital there is a month of recovery and then i should be good to go for Canada, Lord willing. so clarity of the Lord's will and good healing in that time would be sweet.

thanks to all of you who are praying for me! I'll try and blog again as soon as I'm home from the Hospital

I have a date!

2008-07-12T12:41:00.001-07:00

I finally got a surgery date!
I check into Kaiser in Hollywood on August 11 at 6:30am, and 8am they'll be going in to fix both the AVM and the aneurysm.

if you want the graphic (and i think cool) details here they are (if you don't want them skip down to the prayer requests):

They-and by they, I mean Dr. Lei Feng, Director of Interventional Neuroradiology at Kaiser-are (is) going to go up through my femoral artery, first to the aneurysm (which has not burst, but they found while looking at the AVM that did) and put what has been described to me both as a "clip" and a "coil" (that will not go off in metal detectors-i asked) into the blood vessel. Whichever description is more accurate, I think the general idea is to stop blood flow to prevent any bursting of weak wall of that vessel. It's great that they can go in through the artery, because he showed me where it was on the plastic brain, and if they had to go through my skull, they'd have to essentially shove aside a lobe to get to it. It's like dead center. Thank the Lord I live now when they can shove little poky things and cameras in my blood vessels to do things like that.

Once the aneurysm is fixed, they are going to make a U-turn and go back to the AVM and block the 2 vessels feeding into it. It makes a lot more sense when you've seen the angiogram, but try and track with me. Again, the goal is to stop the blood flow, so they are putting this glueish stuff in there to do that. All in all it's about a 4 hour surgery.

The risks are lower because they aren't hacking through the skull and removing a chunk of tangled blood vessel (which would immediately solve the problem, but they could grab some brain tissue in the process), but there are always risks when you're poking around up there, even when your getting to the blood vessels from inside the blood vessels and not getting at them through the skull and brain tissue. Should the Embolization (this type of procedure with glue stuff thru my leg) fail, it'll do little damage, which is great. Int hat situation they will just have to try another option (probably radiation before cutting my head open-but it's a longer process).

As was pointed out in an episode of Scrubs (a great resource for the most accurate medical information (c: ), statistics vary, and there have been cancer patients who according to the stats, should have died, but lived, and appendicitis patients who should have lived, but died. I don't remember what Dr. Cox attributed that to, but I happen to know the One who not only knows what's going to happen to each patient, but the One who controls who beats the stats and who doesn't, and why. That's pretty comforting, eh.

Prayer requests:
-the time up until the surgery: The doctors cleared me to do anything except drive and be in a remote place, but I'd really like to not rebleed before the surgery, not that that is likely, but you know.
-the success of the surgery itself: The Neurologist (Dr. Freidlich) was very optimistic about it, saying I was a great candidate for this type of surgery/cure because of the nature of the AVM. Dr. Feng was, while optimistic, cautious-i'm sure because he's the one actually doing the surgery, and doesn't want to say anything that might bite him in the legal butt later. So pray that there are no complications. There are always risks when you are dealing with brains.
-post-op and recovery: my mom starts school the day after the surgery. If everything goes as planned I should be in the hospital for only 2 days so it shouldn't really be a problem, but it'd be great if she didn't have to miss any school-especially the first week.
-you can also thank God that I got a date that lets me go to camp cause i'm really excited about that!

thanks again for all the prayer and support over the last month or so, it's been a real encouragement, and I know it's why everything has gone so smoothly.

Beth

Change of Plans

2008-06-17T17:13:00.000-07:00

"Come now you who say 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy, sell and make a profit.' whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.'" James 4:13-15

There has been a change in my plans.

many of you who even know I have a blog anyway have already heard the saga of my hospitalization, but I've included what I wrote on myspace and facebook below, In case you have not.

This is mostly an official update to say I will not be going to camps as planned this summer, God has chosen otherwise. I would appreciate your prayers though, in seeking His will for me this summer. A lot of it I know has to be spent "recovering" (read, "sleeping"). But there has to be a reason I am not at camps, and I would love to find it out that I might follow His direction in that.

here is the story if you have not heard,

I was down in the OC the Saturday before memorial day at my friend, Annie's place for a bachelorette party in honor of her marriage the next weekend. I decided to spend the night, since I never get to see any of the girls who were there (I'm not kidding-several flew in from other countries for the event, so there you have it). I woke up in the middle of the night, not being able to sleep, but with nothing else particularly wrong, and got up to go to the bathroom. That is the last thing I remember until waking up Wednesday night in the hospital.

But I'll tell the story chronologically. Apparently Sat night/Sun morning I started throwing up (still at my friend's down in the OC), and finally around 10am, one of my friends, Becky, called my parents to come get me because I was not doing well. I actually do have a slight memory of her popping her head in and telling me she was going to do this, but with no feelings or other thoughts attached to that memory (like I didn't wonder why, but I don't remember feeling bad, I just remember the scene itself).

My parents came down and brought me and my car home at which point they called the Dr. because I've never had migraines or anything of the sort. Those brilliant people they talked to told them to wait until after the holiday and bring me in (they may have actually called Monday-remember I have no memory of this).

Monday I was still not feeling well and apparently called my best friend, who also happens to be a nursing student, to come over and sit with me while I was throwing up and felt like crap-what a pal, Lacy! Just as my parents were arriving at a memorial day party down below, I apparently had a seizure. Lacy called 911-and then my parents-and I was taken to the ER AV Hospital. Props to my church for half of the members sitting in the ER waiting room for who knows how long-I've seen pics (c:

Some awesome nurse got me to cut in line for the CT scan and they found and AVM (in short a malformed blood vessel had burst in my brain and it was bleeding). They immediately stuck a drain in my head to get the blood out. Apparently I also needed a breathing tube, but I fought so hard against it that they had to sedate me. Tuesday they transferred me down to the ICU at Kaiser in Hollywood where I woke up Wednesday-after having the breathing tube removed-to Lacy and another friend of mine, Dana, laughing their heads off-probably at either my haircut (they shaved a nice portion off the middle) or at whatever I was saying on all the vicodin and morphine I was on. I totally thought I was dreaming until I woke up Thursday morning in the same place, with my pastor sitting in the corner of my room, instead of back in the OC where I thought I should have been- talk about trippy!

Over the next week and a half I ate a lot of jello, my brain continued to drain and I asked over and over what had happened cause I kept forgetting (c: oh and I slept. a lot. I also got a lot of visitors, so I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone that visited me (and who brought me shakes!) because I loved it-that would be Dana, Lacy, Hannah, Kerry, Jon, Krysti, Pastor and Mrs. Patterson, Mrs. Wright, Lo, Danielle, Laura, Krista, Lei, my parents, Bonnie, Tim, Andy, Rachel and Stacy, Dan, Sarah, and Marybeth, Megan, Becky, Matt, Kristin, and major props to my grandma for sleeping in those kaiser chairs (Lace, Tim, and my parents know they weren't comfy, but none of them are 73!)-if I forgot to mention you, lets just blame it on the fact that I had brain surgery and was on lots and lots of drugs. You guys rock my face off-actually most of you almost made me laugh my stitches out-but what would the ICU be without a little laughter?

Tuesday of the second week they took the drain out of my skull. They took a couple more CT scans, and then sent me home that Friday. I'm not allowed to do much here (they actually told me not to run-yes, I coached CC and Track, but run? are you kidding? I could barely stand without falling over, let alone my blurry vision/blindspot, what made them think I'd try to run?). I'm walking around fine now and the headaches aren't bad, I really only am getting em at night. I got my stitches and staples out yesterday. I'm watching lots of movies and love to have people over-as long as you don't expect to do too much more than talk or watch a movie (c:

The saddest part is that I will not be able to go to camps this summer as I had planned, which is such a bummer-but if you are going to girls camp at Verdugo, the docs cleared me to come visit for a day, so I'll see ya there (c:
I'm not really sure what God has planned for me this summer. But the half of me that isn't totally bummed about not getting to travel camps is really excited to see what He's got.

If you want to be praying for me here's how you can be:
I have another CT scan on the 27th, at which point we'll schedule the procedure they have to do to actually fix the AVM (and oh, by the way they found an aneurysm that hasn't done anything yet, while they were up there, so they want to deal with that at the same time). I'll need wisdom in deciding the best way to deal with it (apparently they can do a lot though my femoral artery-yes that's in my leg-so hopefully that will be effective enough, but I have to talk to the docs about all the options, ya know) I really want to just get it done and get better asap, so that would be great.
As of now I am still planning on moving to Canada in the fall, Lord willing. Pray for guidance there though.
And of course when I have the procedure, it'd be great to not have any complications.

thank you all for your prayers and concern. I'm not out of the woods, but I think I can see through the trees.

Camp Dates

2008-05-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

Here are the dates of each camp, so you can be praying each week for the specific camp.

Verdugo Pines: June 21-28
Eagle's Cove: July 5-12
Pine Orchard: July 13-18
Camp Berea: July 19-26
Li-Lo-Li: July 26-August 9

thanks!

How It Happened

2008-05-12T19:07:00.000-07:00

It goes back a few years, but I'll try and breeze through the first few. In 2004, I worked on staff at Verdugo Pines Bible Camp, and since then have been a counselor up there every summer. It was there that I met Jodi Greenstreet, the speaker for girls camp. Being on facilities staff, I didn't see much of the kids or program staff. The only reason I met Jodi was because all of the kids kept getting us mixed up (apparently we are either twins, sisters, or she's my mom). Long story short, two summers later, I joined Jodi, her roommate Patti, and another Bible college student, Kelsey, traveling to several camps where we counseled, helped Jodi with skits, and led worship. During the school year, Jodi and Patti run a youth center in ON, Canada-this will come into play later.

February 2007 came around and I was soon to graduate college without a clue as to what I would be doing shortly thereafter. I had had this crazy, off-the-wall idea back in my fall semester to open a coffee shop focused on connection and conversation, and involved in the community, but had no idea how to begin to think about opening a coffee shop. So I tried to forget about it. After some time, prayer, and the inability to stop thinking about the coffee shop idea, I pitched it to Jodi and Patti-maybe it could happen through an existing organization. They told me they'd pray about it, and after a follow-up or two, it kinda died out as I started to really freak out about what I'd be doing after graduation.
I spent last summer working for The California School Project down at Biola, and helping out with the youth at the church I had been attending. At the end of the summer, after going back and forth as to whether I should stay down there or come home, I felt like God wanted me home, though I still had nothing to do, and the grace period on my school loans was coming to a close. I needed some kind of income, so I called my high school and quickly got a part-time coaching job and was put on the list to sub.

What I did not know was that someone from the school, while doing my reference check, had called Jodi and Patti, and just mentioned that they were excited to have me come on to coach. That was the day they were going to call me and ask if I would consider coming out to Canada to work at the youth center. They took that comment as a sign from God to wait, and did not call me.

That was in late August or early September. In October, my best friend was in a car accident and broke her hip, confining her to bed for three months. Well, not only was I not in Canada, but I had no full-time job to keep me from visiting her in the hospital, and helping her at her house during the long recovery period. Jodi and Patti told me later that when they heard about her accident, they knew why God had told them to wait.

By January, I had been hired by two school districts and was coaching JV basketball, which I loved. I was on my way home from practice one day and thought to myself, ya know, I could do this for a while, stick around subbing; see some of my girls up to varsity, then figure out what to do next-but I'm ok for another year or two. Contentment. Finally! Then I got home.

I opened an email from Jodi and Patti and my heart leaped when I read that they wanted me to travel again with them this summer. Of course I would! That was such an amazing summer! Sweet! Then I read on. I literally stared at the computer screen for at least sixty seconds as I read and re-read their second proposal: They asked if I would pray about moving to Bradford with them in the fall and help out at the HUB (the youth center)-and if God works it out, they want to start a coffee shop to connect more with the community! I wish my screen had taken a picture of my face at that moment, because my chin must have hit the ground with how wide my mouth gaped at reading the email. After the astonishment subsided a bit, my only second thought was, but if I move to Canada, I won't be able to coach next year. I resolved to pray about it and gave myself a date to decide by, a month or so after that.

That weekend, I took my basketball team up to camp, as a sort of service project/team bonding experience. We had a lot of fun sliding around in the snow, getting no sleep, and somehow even made cleaning the dining room fun. We were there three days, Friday to Sunday, and had team devotionals each morning and evening. Saturday night we spent two or three hours discussing some difficult truth and in short, my entire team- without prompting from me, decided to act on that truth. There were tears and hugs and prayer and it was great. And of course no one wanted to go to bed afterwards (mind you it was 1am by this time), including me. So we stayed up for another hour, and then I insisted they get the remaining four hours of possible sleep before we had to serve breakfast. As I lay there on the futon trying to sleep myself, but still not being able to for the excitement at what just happened, I got this revelation: Beth, what would you be waiting around for next season? I mean it'd be great to get to coach again, but everything you wanted your athletes to get, everything you wanted to see happen on your team as a coach-just happened. And all of the sudden, I was free to go to Canada.

Two days after I got back from camp, I called Jodi and Patti and told them I'd love to move out with them. I am truly amazed as I look back on the last year-heck, six or seven years since people started telling me to think seriously about what I want to do with my life-how through all of my freaking out and confusion, God had it figured out all along. And on top of that, now I can look and see that He had so many blessings along the road to Canada that I would have quickly discarded had he offered them beforehand, but now having experienced them, wouldn't trade for anything. He was hiding his plan because he was spiteful, he knew it was the only way it'd work. He is truly worthy of my trust.