Giant Cookie

So I found an awesome recipe for making GIANT choc. chip cookies and have started making them a lot...here is a picture of one I made for some people :). I am really excited to come home and show my family me new cookie baking skills haha...Jesus loves you! Here is the link if you want to recipe...http://allrecipes.com/recipe/giant-chocolate-chip-cookie/detail.aspx...and the trick is to put parchment paper over a pizza pan...fill it with cookie dough about 1/2 inch thick leaving 4 inches from the edge, then make a "crust" of cookie dough about 2 inches wide all around the outer edge of the pizza pan. So there should be about 2 inches between the crust and the dough in the center, it expans while cooking so don't worry :). Voila! Then they are no burnt edges!

Thanksgiving Abroad

Well this past Thanksgiving wasn't my first away from home, but it was my first away from relatives.

I am not sure if it was even my idea, or one of my friends, but we decided to have a Thanksgiving dinner together, which is really cool of them.
So it ended up being Dan and Diana, Dejan and Deanna, Etienne and Cyril, Evangelina, Jo and Andy, Anne and Daniel and Keziah and Zoe, Anca, Jason, and myself. Plus Keith and Melody showed up for a little while.

We had all the food I normally had at Thanksgiving thanks to everyone bringing part of the meal, and I had the experience of making my first Pumpkin Pies, my first tofu loaf, my first cranberry sauce, and my first cranberry relish. It was stressful. and it took me 6 hours just to make those four things. An obvious clue to my lack of experience. I am thinking, Thanksgiving is a lot of work, haha.

But the best part wasn't the food, it was my friends, my family.I love everyone here and I feel so blessed (and thankful) to have these people in my life. To have that many people come together, and celebrate a holiday they never have before, makes me feel so loved. And I am thinking how much I will miss them in 7 months when I leave. And that makes me sad.But at the moment there is no time to waste on sadness. Only time to soak up all the happiness the people in my life bring to me.

So to all my friends who came and spent Thanksgiving with me, Thank you. I love that you are in my life, and truly appreciate you. I can still say that I have never spent a Thanksgiving with out my family :).

Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but becareful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude.-E.P.Powell

audrey.

What do I do with my life? Read on...

Monday Morning. It's cloudy outside. Gray. Windy. Damp. The rain comes and goes.
11:00. Where has the day gone already? Quiet. Still. But the computer growls.

I have been crazy busy until this morning.
It started on Thursday. I woke up. I made roughly 150 copies for a Bible Study. Then went out to eat with the Pastor and Youth Pastor and other girl, Diana, who I work with, it was for her birthday :). We went to Nandos which has the best chicken ever but I get the veggie burger. We eat for awhile. And then they all leave. I have to stay in the town center to find 3 things. 80 trays. 2 Angel cookie cutters. and a present for Diana. I spent roughly 2 hours searching. I am at John Lewis (department store) and I ask a lady who works there "Do you happen to have angel cookie cutters??" she replies "Ummm...yes!" I SCREAM "REALLY!?! AHH! YOU HAVE MADE MY DAY. You seriously saved me I am so happy thank you so much!" she looks scared "Glad I could help you...?". Hahahahaha. so funny. I needed these cookie cutters for Messy Church which is one of the largest productions the church here puts on ( it is in teh afternoon for families with kids ages 0-13, it is 2 and 1/2 hours long, we have crafts, songs, stories, games, and then we all eat a meal together), and I am in charge of organizing crafts. We need the cutters to make angel gingerbread cookies for the kids to decorate. So I am stoked that I found them. I go on to find 40 plastic trays (this is for one group of kids to make gingerbread stables on, because Jesus was born in a stable) I find them..and buy them.. with many strange looks from all around me...I insist on walking the 30-40 minutes back to the church because I think paying for a bus is a waste of money. But I won't lie, it was really heavy, and I was discouraged at times lol. I get back. I have an hour until Health Evangelism. I juice a bunch of veggies because I am trying to fight off a cold. I go to H. E. and am there helping set-up, serve, and clean up until about 10 (I love the people who put it on and love helping them, they are my friends). At 10 I start making my first batch ever of Communion Bread, which by the way is really easy luckily for me. Afterwards I organize the 150 copies I had made earlier. I get to bad at 12:30. I get up the next morning at 7:15. I get in the shower. I make oatmeal and run downstairs. (I have a meeting at 8). The church rents out the rooms to different organizations for them to have meetings and stuff and the student missionaries help set up tea/coffee/biscuits/AV for them. I get there and one room had been set up wrong on accident so spent 20 or so minutes sorting that out (becoming later and later for my meeting)...Finally at 9 my meeting with Lorna can start. What are we doing today? Making gingerbread...We made gingerbread from 9 in the morning until 11 at night. The goal was to make enough for 80 kids to make stables, we made enough for 40...ran to hobby craft and came up with something for the other 40 kids to do (all for messy church)...and everything worked out. Went to bed by midnight. Got up at 7:00. Finished preparing my Sabbath School lesson. Led the Youth Sabbath school...helped make sure everything was ok for the Parallel modern Church Service...went to Church...ate lunch...started setting up for Messy Church...had Messy Church (CRAZY)... was the MC for Messy Church...helped clean up from Messy Church...went to see 2012 with one of the teens :)...got to bed by 1 a.m....got up Sunday morning went to a Pathfinders meeting from 10-12...checked on the center which was being rented for a birthday party...slept from 2-3...showered...went to a birthday dinner...came back...went to prayer meeting where I read the Scripture for the evening...watched Flash Forward in the flat...Called my mom...Dad...and Brother...went to bed by 12...got up at 9 this morning...did my devotional finally...got on here...and now I am going to clean the flat which is TRASHED. So now you know how 4 and 1/2 days of my life have gone. Haha. But I love it. I love being busy and knowing I am here for a reason, Knowing that I am helping God and this church.

"The Demise of Our Love"

I will post birthday pics later :). But for now here is something I wrote and finally finished editing today.

peaceandlove..audreychristine.

Realizing what needs to be realized.

Stanborough Park Church :).
Well Today is October 12. It has been a few days over 3 months since I got here. WHOAH 3 MONTHS! Time has gone by so quickly, and now I am realizing it is time for me to decide what I am going to do with my life next. I rarely have time to think about this kind of stuff anymore, but I need to. I know that I need to stop being immature and accept the fact that college is a necessary step to take. So now that I have stopped denying that, it is only a matter of where. There is Newbold, which, though low on degree options (Iwas thinking about film and media), is less than a fourth of how much it cost me to go to PUC, plus I am already in England. There is PUC...I loved PUC, it was gorgeous, I really like the school, I liked san fran being close, I just loved it really. There is La Sierra, one of my best friends will be there, the other at Loma Linda (both in socal), so if I wanted to do nursing that would be my best option. There is ACA (Adventist Colleges Abroad) in Spain, which considering I want a spanish emphasis on whatever I do decide on, this is a necessary step at some point. . . and there of course is always the option of Colorado. Going to CSU or some other public college and paying way way less, but not getting the enviroment of an adventist or even just christian university. . .



I have had too much time to think this morning. Or maybe not. I love having mornings like this. so rare. to be able to spend a few hours just turning things over in my mind. realizing what needs to be realized.



the past.



haunting.

taunting.

reminding.

unburying that which I buried in my mind.

six feet deep.

with cold dirt.

and darkness.

but now exposed to the light of this day.



I HAVE TOTALLY GREAT NEWS. I am coming home for Christmas :). I cannot wait to get home and see my family, and friends hopefully. I am a little home sick. Mostly because I know how easy it is to be at home. With no expectations, no e-mails, no planner... But I chose this because God wanted me to, and I am still choosing it every day because I want to. I want to be here, I want to make a difference, I want to do what God has planned for me because if he planned it then it is destined for greatness, whether I realize that now or 10 years later. God is good. God is here. God loves you and God loves me and as long as we remember that much we will be alright.



a.

My Life Went Crazy

wow. my life went crazy. still is going crazy...last week Toddler Club start which happens on Wednesday froms 9:30-11:30 and then 1-3 and Thursdays again from 9:30-11:30. on Friday I made (with Rima) 150 Cupcakes. It was Parallels 1st birthday, Parallel is the modern Sabbath Worship service they put on at the church, and so instead of a cake I suggested we do cupcakes, it seemed easier, and cupcake cakes are all the rage right now! Here were the options:

Chocolate w/Peanut Butter Frosting

Chocolate and Vanilla w/Raspberry Frosting

Chocolate and Vanilla w/Orange Frosting

Chocolate and Vanilla w/Chocolate Frosting

Orange Chocolate w/Orange Frosting

Vegan Vanilla w/Vegan Raspberry Frosting

Vegan Chocolate w/Vegan Chocolate frosting

Vegan Chocolate and Vegan Vanilla w/Vanilla Frosting

Raspbery Vanilla w/Raspberry Frosting

Vanilla and Chocolate w/ cream cheese oreo frosting

mmm... they were all so delicious. But holy cow a lot of work. we worked on them from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m...and then at 4, I went to bake pasta and mac n cheese dishes with Anne and Jason for the lunch social which happened on Saturday. That took a couple hours. Then Dejan and I made a quick grocery trip and it was time for vespers. I never found time to shower that day haha. At vespers I did the icebreaker we have been waiting WEEKS to do. Which was fun. Each group got a present which I had wrapped in such a way that it was totally a challenge to unwrap and then they had to put on mittens and try and open it but when we said switch they would pass on the gloves to the next person, and whoever got it open on their turn got to keep it. It was a giant bag of candy, we try to promote good health here. haha. so then I worked on Sabbath School because the launch of our new one was the next day! I made it to bed at about 11 ( I forgot to tell you about the cold which I caught on Tuesday and it progressively got worse and peaked Saturday). Sabbath School went great and then it was a mad rush to get to Parallel (church service) and make sure Cupcakes were okay, luckily, people had already started preparing the cupcake tower. After Church service we started preparing the food for the lunch social in the flat...after lunch we left the dishes and went to the park with the teens...at about 5 we came back...did the dishes...and then the teens came back to flat...then they left...then they came back at about 9 to play xbox...i went upstairs and watched a movie cause I was feeling so "knackered". I went to bed at about midnight despite how exhuasted I had felt all day. I got up at 8:30 the next morning, Sunday, and at 9:30 went to my all day first aid class until 4:00. I came back to the flat...and started working on Messy Church ideas. Messy church is an afternoon Sabbath program we put on for parents and their children 0-13 years old, once a month, we expect 60-100 kids. I am in charge of crafts for the kids. On Monday I finally had a relaxed day and I am not sure what I really did besides waste time on youtube and itunes. On Monday evening I did secretary work for Ian (Senior Pastor) for about an hour and then helped clean up the church center which gets rented out by various organizations throughout the week. Today I got up and set-up a room for being rented out and then came up to flat and got right back to work on Messy Church craft ideas. I also need to think about what craft we should do in toddler clubs this week seeing as it is craft week and I am in charge of craft weeks! Right now I need to write up an article on the Parallel Service for a Church magazine here. But first thought I would fill you all in on my life :). At 4, I go to a Bible Study with Dejan, which should be nice. I need to go food shopping at some point but we will see if that can happen haha! Hope you are all doing well, and so you know by cold has gotten much much better!! I miss everyone dearly! verse for the day is Ecclesiastes 6:7 "We work to feed our appetites, meanwhile our souls go hungry".

It's a Mad World

I am tragically upset right now. My basic feeling is insane frustration at this world. our world has gone so completely crazy and bad that we don't even stop to ask ourselves the most basic questions. we don't even consider the fact that maybe, maybe it's not just about us. we think about ourselves and how what we are doing feels, and if it feels good we go with it. if what we are doing is something we benefit from, something we enjoy, something we can get lost in from the pure joy of it, we don't think twice. what a wise plan satan has. think back. garden of eden, book of Genesis, why did Eve eat the apple, it looked good. why do we do what we do, it looks good. sex. drugs. money. popularity. it all looks good. satan isn't an idiot, he's conned us all into falling for anything that will trip us up, pull us away from God, make us forget all about why we are here and who made us and how much we are loved. my challenge for us is this. stop man. just stop. push pause. think twice. pray. just because it feels good, tastes good, sounds good, doesn't mean it is. and it's not just about you. anything and everything you do wil effect someone else whether you know it or not, whether it's instantly or takes centuries. you make a difference. and the choices you make on an everyday basis could change the world around you in more ways than you realize.