stuff Christians like

You're going to enjoy this. (Well if you are familiar with Christian culture and don't take yourself TOO seriously, you are going to enjoy this):
http://stuffchristianculturelikes.blogspot.com/

Um, I feel I should ammend this to mention that she just added a new one that is quite a bit more "risque" than the others (although there are a couple other slightly risque ones as well), so if you're offended and mad at me for the first post you see, um... sorry? Probably if you're of a highly sensitive nature this site is not for you...

Also, if you enjoy this, you may also enjoy: http://www.stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/ which is the origional source of the idea, and also very very funny.

Back to blogger.

So sometimes the internet networks here randomly decide that I can't access blogs anymore. I don't know why. Usually either the network at work or the network at home takes a turn. But for the last couple weeks they decided to both block me at the same time, so that's why no blog posts or comments. I apologize on behalf of Nicaraguan internet providers.

But tonight my network suddenly let me back, to my surprise and joy, so here I am.
Is it really August 19th already? This month is zipping. Here are some basics:

-I have been working for the past month on developing a survey to distribute to churches in Nicaragua. It is currently 60 questions long and has been pre-tested on a group of 10 pastors. Periodically I get overwhelmed or just mad about the project, but for the most part I'm learning how to fake my way through things I don't actually know how to do with surprising success!

-My host sister Wendy leaves tomorrow to begin University at Dort College in Iowa (very small Christian school). Actually, she left today, but then her flight was cancled and she got to return home for one more night, much to all of our delight. Kids usually don't leave home in Nicaragua until they're married, much less move to other countries at 18, so this transition has been a pretty big deal. Pretty much the whole past week has been spent with visits, parties, and outings relating to her leaving. I am sad to see her go, but very excited for her!

-Have I mentioned on here yet that I'm getting my wedding dress made here? I picked out fabric and talked to the seamstress. Looks like my wedding dress and viel, all together, are going to cost me a grand total of about $80. Not too shabby eh?

-My professor is coming to visit at the end of this month. I'm really looking forward to it. It will be great to see a familiar face from the mother-land, and he will be very helpful in figuring out outstanding questions about my job etc.

I think those are the big news items that come to mind.
Personally: I've been doing pretty well. Actually, I had a low three or so weeks there, but have been picking back up emotionally for the past week. Something about "culture shock" or something like that. The Lord has been so faithful in answering prayers. He leaves me no choice but to trust in his infinate goodness and care. This is a broken world we live in, but the Lord is working, and his plans never fail.

Thank You!

On a more serious note from the below post, I wanted to say a very special thank you to all of you who prayed in response to my requests. It was really incredible how I so clearly saw the Lord answer those prayers the very next day. My head cleared and I was able to speak clearly with my overseer and actually move forward on the project I'm doing for work. He has also been very near to me as well as surrounding me with support from people both near and far. Praise the Lord who is able to do so much infantely more than we could ever ask or imagine!
With love,
Pamela

Meet the Bridesmaids!

I just wrote this all up so that they could meet each other. But I thought, heck, why not make it public and let the whole world meet them. So withour further adue, meet the female cast of the Schnake-Kolbas wedding (coming June 13 to a Forest Reserve near you. Or... maybe not so near you... depending on where you live...).

Julia Larsen
My sister Julia is of course my Maid of Honor (er... "Matron of Honor" technically, I prefer Maid though. I'm still gonna make her work ;-). Though most of you have either never met her or not seen her for a few years, she’s still my dearest friend. She’s only a little over 2 years older than me. We grew up doing everything together. Even in high school she always let me hang out with her, and even drove me to ballet classes when mom and dad said they wouldn’t let me add a fourth class. Everyone calls her one of the nicest people they know, but she’s really smart too, and also quite funny (she is a Schnake after-all). Right now Julia, her husbad Viggo, and their 17 month old son Daniel, are in Tanzania Africa starting a bible translation project from scratch for the Mbugwe people. Julia enjoys reading, being in raptures over nature's beauty, and playing with her son Daniel.

Jennifer Bulthuis

Jenny (or Jennifer as I think she prefers these days) has been my best friend since high school. I’m her Anne of Green Gables and she’s my Blonde Diana. We’ve really been there for each other through thick and thin and we’ll always be close because of that. She got married last summer to a hansom young man named Bjorn, and they now live just across the border from Vancouver CA on the U.S. side. She has worked the last year as a bilingual education specialist (well ok, technically only as a teachers aide, but really that’s what she does) for Lynden (?) school district.

Rebecca Chase
Rebecca and I met at bible school in England and continued on together in Austria in ’04-’05. She is truly a kindred spirit. Our hearts seem to track together in a special way. She is one of the kindest and funniest people I know. I’ve always felt it is a special honor to call her a dear friend. She and Chaz met at bible school and have been married for over two years now. She is from VA Beach, VA, but this spring they moved out to L.A. to live with Chaz’s sister and brother-in-law. She has worked for the last couple of years as a case manager for women’s shelters. She’s really crafty and spends a lot of time sewing and making cards and other crafts which she sells.

Michelle Kolbas

Michelle is Michael’s sister, my soon to be sister-in-law. She has been so warm and welcoming in the past year, really letting me know I am welcomed as part of the family. The funny thing is that I’m actually closer in age to Michelle (just 11 months younger) than I am to Michael. She is also currently planning her wedding with her long time love Ryan and will be getting married in September. Michelle loves sunflowers and Disney princesses. I think she really is something of a Disney princess. Right now she’s finishing up her last year of school to become an elementary school teacher. Her fiancé Ryan is a hard-core fire fighter. Together they are going to single-handedly ensure that California’s youth are safe and well educated.

Hannah Dorr

Shoot, we really need a better picture together Hannah. But anyway, Hannah and I have been friends since middle school. I first remember her driving home from youth group when I was in 7th grade, she in 6th and I had a major crush on her brother David, and thus made a joke at her expense (which he thought was funny so it was totally worth it). She didn’t like me at that time, but I didn’t know it. We became friends my 8th grade year, I think, and our friendship has steadily grown ever since, up to now when I would call her one of my closest friends. The thing I love about Hannah is that we have fun together. We like to go for bike rides, pick berries, build forts, and walk to DQ. Hannah is the only unmarried/engaged and the only dark haired member of the bridal party. She is currently studying Sociology at George Fox University in Newberg OR and has a cute boyfriend who I haven’t met yet named Mitchell.