Guys, I'm sorry it has been like a century since I posted last time! There is only one word to describe my life right now- STRESSFUL! I'm sure many of you would agree with me on that one. You guys are in my thoughts and prayers often :)

I'm really depressed that I can't come to Chicago over Christmas break, but I've already decided that for Christmas this year I'm starting an England FYM fund. If you guys really want to see me you can just squint your eyes real hard at Sydney and call her Lindsey-haha. It was so funny because when Syd and I went to Cedarville to visit like everyone we met asked us if we were sisters.

Cross country is over now, but guess what other sport I'm playing...Basketball! haha-I'm so bad at it and it is hilarious. I'm just doing it because it's an excuse to go to the games and my friend Kara really wants me to play so she won't be the only one in our grade.

So Anyways I hope that you girls and guys have an awesome Thanksgiving break! Please be in prayer for my friend Nathan's family and friends because Thanksgiving Day will be the one year anniversary of his death and it is gonna be really hard on everyone who knew him. I love and miss you guys!

~Lindsey

ps- Thanks for the card Joanna!

Ladies, ladies ladies.

First--- lets thank steph K for being the first one to book a flight, encouraging the rest of us to do so.

Second--- Wheres steph M? i miss her :(

Ok, lets get down to business. Laura, i called you, got no call back, figure it out. Ill post this here so you can call/comment/email me with your thoughts.

Looks like our train out would be around 820 AM on the 29th, which would put us in chicago at 12.

We would leave on the 3rd, at arounnnd.... 115.

Laura, holler at me about this. Leah, You too.

Hey everyone! I'm so sorry I haven't posted in such a long time! My life is pretty crazy and busy! I do have a little something that I figured might make you guys laugh...

Things to remember from the DR...(remember this???)

1. "We are in the DR..." -Jerson

2. If you see something that's big and black odds are it's a tarantula

3. There are more ways to cook bananas than shrimp

4. Just because you in the Dominican Republic doesn't make you Republican...it makes you Dominican

5. If you hear someone yelling "hey!" at you, don't be offended it's not a guy, it's a goat (OMG Chelsea)

6. If you hear something "whispering" at night...it's a rat

7. If you are counting on electricity...don't. You probably won't have any

8.Likewise, if you are counting on a shower best be ready to drive to the river or grab a bucket

9. Yes, there is always water on the bathroom floor. No, don't ask where it came from-you don't want to know

10. No toilet paper in the toilet!!! That's what the trashcan is for

11. If it's yelllow let it mellow...if it's brown flush it down

12. NEVER peel a mango with your hands

13. You can never have enough beans and rice

14. or mangos

15. or bananas

16. or pineapple

17. It's normal to see a cow anywhere...and by that we mean ANYWHERE

18. The music NEVER stops

19. Honking every time you drive by someone is a must

20. Never go anywhere without hand sanitizer

21. and toilet paper

22. In the Dominican Republic they don't speak spanish they speak DOMINICAN

23. "That's my bed roll!!!" haha Erin

24. "Tummy, may I please brush my teeth before I take a shower?" -yep chelsea's stomach talks...

25. If you see a woman walking down the street, you stop, kiss her on the cheek, and go along your way. It doesn't matter if you know her or not, that is what you do

26. MAAAAGIIIIIIII

27. Mango

28. 2 words...community living

29. "Germ-x is a very

30. You are not a true Dominican until you whistle, hiss, click, ect.

31. Why point with your finger when you can point with your lips?

32. The colder it is at night the hotter it is during the day

33. A Dominican's top priority-find shade

34. Domincan stare...huh....awkward

That's all we have so far...but I'm sure we can think of more!

I also wanted to ask for your prayers...My Grandma is really really sick. She hasn't eaten for three days and they ahve been doing tests on her for about three months now just trying to figure out what is wrong with her. They haven't found anything and the tests are making her so sick that I don't think she can make it through many more. Also, please keep my mom in your thoughts too...it's really hard for her, and she's just so tired and stressed from it all. Thanks so much guys! Again, I am so sorry that I haven't been on in such a long time. I love you all and miss you so much! I'm sad to say that I can't come to Chicago. I just can't afford it. But I hope you all have an amazing time! I'm sad I don't get to see you :-( Love you !!!!

~Ashley ><>

My youth group is devestated. Sunday was the first time in three years he hasn't given a sermon. We talked about it in small groups. Well, tried to. We ended up crying a lot (the girls at least).

His victim...well no. I hate using that word because it was consensual. The 16-year old girl tried to commit suicide a couple of days ago. She's in the hospital right now. Please pray that God will heal her heart and her body.

It's almost surreal. You hear about stuff like this, about godly people becoming registered sex offenders, but you never, ever think that it will hit close to home. But it did. Sometimes I'm numb to it. Other times it hits me full force, like when I remember random times Don and I spent together, like in the van-ride to Juarez last year where we both discovered that we loved Nickel Creek and couldn't stop raving about it. Or sitting with him, while I bawled and he reassured me, when I was going through Tyler withdrawal.

But he's not coming back, and I'll probably never see him again. He betrayed all of us who saw him as our second dad. It's like he died.

One good thing is that this nightmare has pulled us together.There's a lot of love, a lot of care, even of people who've never spoken to one another before. It's rather miraculous :). God hasn't forgotten anyone.

So please pray that we will continue to heal. And for Don, because he's going through hell right now. His life has ended as he knows it. And he's still a good person, he did so many good things. He just made a big mistake.

Well...there's also another bit of good news:

I'M GOING TO CHICAGO!!!! :D

I'm SO excited to see you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Gah!!!!!! I can't put enough exclamation points. If leave at 6:40 a.m. and get into Chicago midway at 10:00 a.m. My mom found the flight this morning and surprised me after I got home from work!! So I'd love it if someone e-mailed me with rough plans, where we're staying, what we're doing;. that would be awesome :) :) :)

I love you all. Thank you so much for your prayers. They are working.

hey everybody.

today I found out that my friend's brother, Daniel, died in a scuba diving accident. He was in his early 20's with a son and a new baby. I can't even begin to understand. Im so confused and feel completely overwhelmed for jeff (my friend) and his family--i cried all day and can't stop tinking about them. They are a really close family of 6 boys and 2 girls....this is just crazy and i can only imagine the pain and shock they must be going through. please. please pray for them! I don't know what else to do. They are LDS and i know they are going to need prayer and strength...they're leaning heavily on the Lord right now, and that's right where they should be...please pray...i just don't understand and can't imagine losing a sibling.

Oh God, what are You thinking?! Where is Your plan?!? please, Lord, bring comfort and new hope. i love You.

Hey Everyone...I love and miss you!

I hope you all have spectacular plans for Thanksgiving break and get to relax and have a great time with family or whatever you end up doing. I am going to NY with my band from high school as a semi-chaperone, semi-just-for-fun and to be with old friends. It should be a really fun time, i'm excited.

I have a prayer request: Two of my friends and I really have hearts for the poor. We are planning to do a poverty simulation near where we go to college in a couple of weekends (the first weekend of december) where we go live on the streets with no money or very much of anything else. We are going to have to beg for our food or money for food and will sleep on the streets. Tonight the CRU (campus crusade for christ) Owen (my dorm) guys invited the CRU Owen girls on a creative date (basically they plan a get together with the guys and girls and invite us to come and hang out with them...they have games, dinner, etc...every creative date is different, this one was a mystery dinner where we had to drive around to different restaurants around town -fast food- and get our entire dinners from different places, then meet back up.)...Anyway: so tonight right after the creative date we invited everyone to come to a meeting about the poverty simulation, but no one showed up, so the three of us just talked about it more...and it would be fine if its just us, (theres a senior guy named j.c. and a sophomore girl named anna and me) but j.c. has done stuff like this a lot before and hed be our only guy and he has to leave saturday until sunday at 2AM for a jazz band concert hes in and hes the one who kind of knows how things work and would be able to be a guy to keep us safe, but i do trust that if god is truly asking us to do this and giving us this desire, then he will provide safetly and will help us and work things out...just help either more guys to be interested or for us to learn a lot and make smart decisions and all....we also may make this into a fundraiser of sorts for the shelers around town, and so pray that we can figure that out soon if we are going to do that...Also we are going to have to walk about an hour to our location i think so idk I dont know a lot of details yet, but I will let you guys know so you can pray for us.

Thank you loves.

Zephaniah 3:17

<><

Jenny

P.S. I love and miss you all...and Mark, I am really working on getting my dad to let me come, but its hard over the phone and email and all, so hopefully ill get to talk to him this weekend about it all and just pray that it works out, I really do want to come see you guys.

Hey wonderful people!

I love you!

Please pray for me...I have a state competition to win a scholarship for 5 grand. It's on monday and I'm a little nervous because I have to take a hard test and talk about current events...but mostly because I have to give a speech impromtu! I don't enjoy speeches...especially when I don't know what I'll be talking about. PLese just pray that the Lord would give me and my friend (his name's jordan too!) peace and wisdom! Both of us are competing along with about hundred other kids from Utah...only two win. Thanks!

Guys,

I learned today that my youth pastor, Don Ryan (who I've known since freshman year) confessed that he'd been sexually involved with a sixteen year old girl in our youth group. He's been arrested and facing up to twelve years in prison.

I....don't really know what to think. First I was shocked, then I was really angry (I freaking side-swiped a guy on my way to the church), and now I'm....I don't know. Maybe you guys have heard or not; someone told me it was going to be national news.

God, it's DON. I've learned so much from him and spent so much time with him. He WROTE my recomendation letter for Wheaton! Just...even the thought of him doing something like that....I saw his prison photo on the news. God, it's almost surreal And his poor wife....and kids. He's got three little boys.

I was with my youth group for about 4 hours tonight. We're as broken as you can get. And I know that God can use this to glorify Himself...that he'll give us the strength we need to reach out to one another and it will be ok. But it's so hard.

I've just heard about the Chicago trip, and it's probably too late for me to go :(. Which makes me even sadder. I'll miss you. I hope you have a good time.

Please pray. We need it badly.

Lolo