Shredded

Miami traffic is ridiculous.One morning we went to a campus twenty minutes aways and it took us a little over an hour to get there. I could never live there.

On the way back to the church that same day we all heard something “hit” the van. Shortly after most of us were thinking that Brenden was a bad driver, because he was swerving so much. Then our tire popped.   Seems up untill that moment he himself was thinking that the wind was super strong, because he was having a hard time keeping us straight. I have to say I’m very proud of how smoothly Brenden got us out of traffic and onto the medium.Personally I don’t think I’ve ever seen a tire so shredded. I even grabbed one of the many pieces to put in my scrap book …. haha.Probably the most annoying part of breaking down in the middle of the highway was that there wasn’t anywhere to sit. Yes it was hot, humid, bright, loud and we didn’t have water, but no one really complained.

to the right: Chad and I waiting to get back in the van.

While out there one of the only things I could think about was my camera, which was not with me  , and how cool it would be to do a photo shoot there. There was a ton of traffic flying by at such high speeds I felt like it would make for great contrast.

Funny, Neva was the only one who thought smiling wasn’t appropriate for being broken down in the middle of Miami.

Thankfully Aaron and Lee knew how to change a tire. Though it did take them a little while to find the spare, which was hooked underneath the van. Turned out the spare tire in the van went to the trailer.

Lesson learned: When a loud noise is followed by swerving, there is probably a flat tire involved and some quality time on the interstate.

Rainy Day

The sky is falling

Dropping as little stars

taking over every leaf and stone

and crawling like darkness into my being

Shivering, I turn my face upward

dropping little tears down and

asking the cool to crawl within me

Thunder rolls answering

as the stars envelope me

I can not explain to you how refreshing and soothing a rainy day is. I’ve been asking God for one and here it is
Right now I am soaked to the bone, wrapped in a towel, sitting on the couch in the back room, sipping on Russian tea and reading “Funding You Ministry” (not exactly my prime choice but I have to have it read in less than 3 weeks). My house is almost empty right now, kinda weird since eleven people live here, and the thunder is softly reminding me of how beautiful today is.





This morning I had my prayer shift outside and then went for a bike ride …. it was wonderfully sunny. This is the beauty of Florida weather.

Welcome to Miami

A lot of people will think of Will Smiths single ”Miami”, released back in 1998, when they read Miami. Sadly I had never even heard of this song until someone started singing it when I mentioned I was going.
I had never been to Miami and truthfully had no clue what to expect, besides a party town. Now that I have been I can actually agree with this statement, but at the same time there is so much more to Miami. Weirdly enough Will Smiths song does hint at what it is like -

“…Can y’all feel me, all ages and races

Real sweet faces

Every different nation, Spanish, Hatian, Indian, Jamaican

Black, White, Cuban, and Asian…”

I can’t tell you how odd it was to be in such a cultural place. At one of the campus’ we would go to in the mornings I seriously would be the only white person in sight; and it was so neat! There were Haitians, Jamaicans, Hispanics, Blacks, Asians, and Cubans. Seeing all of the culture mix together on a campus was very beautiful.
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“Party in the city where the heat is on
All night, on the beach till the break of dawn
Welcome to Miami”

One night we went to South Beach to talk to people. My partner and I went to Starbucks first (my first and only time in Miami) and then started walking. The first couple we approached couldn’t speak any English, fail, so we kept walking and being amazed by how cool all the shops and restaurants were.  We ended walking over to this guy, Dave, and praying with him for quit some time. He was in the process of acquiring housing there and was making money by selling palm branch creations to tourist. Praying with him was such a blessing; not only did he come away blessed but we did as well. And he gave both of us some creations 
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“Yo I heard the rainstorms ain’t nothin to mess with”

I first night in Miami it POURED.

Mochi

Today we went to the Farmers Market.  We went and no one else was there (a bad source told us it was on Saturday when in real life it’s on Sunday). So we ended up walking around Lake Eola. Coming from a place where you have to go to River Park North to see geese, I was in complete awe. I don’t think I’ve ever been so close to swans! Sadly enough it seemed that I was the only one interested in trying to pet one so I had to run catch up with everyone instead.

Someday I will go back and this time I’ll have my camera (no, none of these photos are mine) and people who will wait (even if I have to force them) By the way, this ties into this past weeks teachings. We watched the Passion videos by Floydd McClung, which focused on passion. For small group this past week we incorporated the teaching and asked God to give us something to encourage someone else in their passions. Part of my encouragement was, “God has created you to capture the beauty others can’t see”. This is the second time this has been actually spoken over me, among the many times people comment on it. Well this afternoon made me think about this word.

We did end up at the Flea Market for a bit, though it wasn’t appreciated and we left.
Fact: I love flea markets. I like making a day of it. Wake up early, spend several hours roaming the market, grab lunch at a local cafe or deli and then walk around downtown – that’s a wonderful day to me. Course I would only do this maybe once a month.

Back to my day; after dinner we decided to try to new frozen yogurt place right next to the new theater. Mochi Frozen Yogurt = Amazingness. And yall know I’m not big on sweets. It’s a self serve place where you are charged per ounce, so you control how much it will cost you. And half of the toppings they have are fruit! I ended up with Taro and Kiwi yogurt with kiwi, mango and strawberry toppings.

It was a good day.
Got to know some people a little better and see beautiful things .

Closer than the skin on my bones

It's like he is singing what my soul cries out to Him.