it's been awhile!

hi! i just got home from pennsylvania. there was a nextgen training conference (electronic medical records)

it was a blast! it was a 7 hour car ride. we got there monday night. on tuesday, i stayed within walking distance of the conference and just explored. i found a place that claimed "the healthiest place on earth", so of course i had to go inside (i went back today, haha). i got my nails done, got authentic philly soft pretzels, and walked for at least a few miles. still not used to the weather. overcast, rain, overcast, sun, muggy. not fun.

yesterday was the best day! i drove about an hour and 15 minutes away (by myself!) to bird-in-hand, pennsylvania, aka amish country! i went to a buggy ride place. the landscape everywhere was beautiful. so lush and green. lots of farmland and rolling green hills. i squealed when i saw my first amish man. i almost called jordan when i had to drive slow because i was behind a horse & buggy (but it was like 6:30 am california time!)

i took a buggy ride farm tour, bought homemade rootbeer, and got a glimpse of simple amish life. i really admire their principles and reasoning, but i do think it's a bit extreme. i wondered if and how they traveled. like out of town or state?? a horse and buggy can only go so far.

i went to an amish farmer's market. SO COOL. tried shoofly pie and almost bought a plethora of whoopie pies, but to my dismay, they'd melt on the drive back. i ate at an amish and mennonite home cooking restaurant. they had the best homemade applesauce ive ever tried! it was fun to do all this by myself. i wasn't bothered by it one bit. it does make eating a little less fun though (and way too quick) i ventured around lancaster county looking for a starbucks so i could read. who knew there wasn't a starbies on every corner in amish country?!

today was a little less eventful. i went to see a movie nearby the conference. cyrus i think. it was really awkward, which i like, but i'd label a redbox movie. i ate at ruby tuesday, which is advertised in fresno but we don't have one???!

looking forward to being home, but cherishing the next few days. i'm going to lunch with a woman that aunt kathleen gave my contact info to. i think i'm going to meet some dietitians. some incredibly sweet ladies from church are taking me to dinner tomorrow night :) i do feel loved here. that's for sure.

excited to see what else God has up his sleeve while i'm here. miss you all. <3

it's been another week!

howdy y'all. already done with week 4. nutso.

it's been yet another good week. we had another weight loss support group meeting on wednesday. on thursday, i taught 2 kids nutrition classes about healthy beverages. it was a short week! monday i was lazy daisy. i rented movies & picked up food from chipotle. i loved my life so much.

today, i tagged along on the day camp's field trip to the columbus zoo. it was AWESOME! i've never been to such a zoo. it was pouring rain all day, which im still getting used to (summer rain). only 2 weeks left, im a sponge!

on my last week here, im going with dana and some co-workers to pennsylvania for a conference :)

learning a lot about myself, Jesus, people, and community nutrition. i love my life.

week 3 already

it's been a good week! mary & i have been trying to iron out details for the day camp adult and kid nutrition classes that start next week. i'll be doing 2 rotations of the kids' class for 2 thursdays. that'll be fun! i told them that public speaking isn't my cup of tea, but i'd love to do it. i've learned a lot more by observing mary and i ask her a lot of questions.

i'm learning a lot of things that i know can help me in my future career but could help fresno, as well. the urban gardening program here is so good! and they have developed a watering system that uses harvested rainwater. this community might not have much to work with, but they're very resourceful.

i went thrifting on monday. i got loooots of awesome stuff and spent less than $40 :) i went grocery shopping & walking at a park (they built a park smack dab in the middle of a metropolis! there's geese and everything!). i went to the weight loss support group and bible study. we went out to eat a couple times. i OVERate last night, but i did not feel bad about it. haha.

i'm reading an amazing book. it's called "compassion: a reflection on the christian life". it's made me think a lot, which i like to do. haha. but really, it's making me look at the christian life through a microscope, getting down to the nitty gritty of it. the heart of it. what it should look like; how it should play out in such a broken world. it's convicting and encouraging at the same time...i hope to get it done by the end of the weekend. i've got 2 other books to read!

tonight is red, white and BOOM! it's a huge, well-known fireworks show here in columbus. i'm not sure where we will be watching it from, but it's supposed to be chaotic and fantastic! i'm excited :) i LOVE fireworks! i'm sure i'll take some sweet pictures.

looking forward to the next 3 weeks!

i love you all. i mean it from the bottom of my heart. i'm so thankful for a supportive community of family and friends.

:)

summer thunderstorms are incredible. that's it.

so thankful :)

tell me this isn't funny!

i'm so darn thankful to be here. ive had some great, encouraging conversations. i'm gaining such reassurance for what i want to with this life. it's always so cool to tell people how little me from cali ended up almost on the east coast in a tiny health center. God's hand was so prevalent!

i'm learning so much about what it takes to be a dietitian in such a community. lots of people come from generational poverty & it's hard to get them to even consider to change their eating habits. the dietitian, mary, is so graceful with how she maneuvers through tough nutrition therapy sessions with the patients. i'm soaking up everything like a sponge :)

last night, tonight, and tomorrow night is the church's neighborhood bible club. aka VBS. i went out there with jessica tonight, because the boys had their first baseball game. it was soooo cute. i remember when the kids were dancing and singing and spelling out "Jesus". i was thinking to myself, how in the world could someone deny this? deny the God who provides and sustains this kind of joy. i got pretty silly with the kids. it was so fun. :)


"Am I too busy chasing a temporary fortune
That my priorities get lost along the road
The seasons bring their moments
They linger for an instant
They never wait for you to pay the debts you owe

When I leave I want to leave a memory filled with love
The kind you don't forget
When I go I want to be known
As one who lived with no regrets

If life is like a flower
Am I doing all that's in my power
To leave a fragrance behind
It's time to count my blessings
Forget about my savings account for a while

I want them to say
What a glorious day
She had so much to gain
But she gave it away
And I want them to see something different in me
And that I'm going to be free

Some glad morning when this life is over
I'll fly away
To a home on God's celestial shore
I'll fly away
When I leave I want to leave a memory... "

when i leave- by jj heller

ooops

for those of you that i gave my address to, the zip code is 43223, not 43222.

dangit!

father's day in ohio!

happy father's day, heavenly father.
happy father's day, robert mackechnie.

it was a good father's day with the vallangeon's. lower lights christian community church of the nazarene is a lovely, authentic house of worship. i loved it so much.

btw, mimi's cafe has an incredible new vegetable flatbread wrap. haha, they paid me to type that.

saturday update :)

hi, the rest of the week was pretty cool. i went to a ohio community health center conference with dana thurs/fri. last night we went to see treasure island at an outdoor theatre. i saw my first firefly! i almost flipped out. they are ugly bugs with light-up butts; God has a sense of humor.

today we went to a place called cosi. it was like the met on steroids times 10. it was so awesome.

church tomorrow. FATHER'S DAY TOMORROW <3 i love you daddy-o.

miss y'all. text me if you'd like :)





^ this is jessica, the vallangeons' adopted daughter. she's turning 6 this week. we've spent a lot of time together :)

6/16/10

today was my first day with the dietitian, mary. she's so awesome! she's been a missionary for years: in france, martinique...and haiti!! i sat in on 2 of her appointments. it was so interesting. i learned a lot. i went with her to a weight loss prevention program at the church tonight. i loved that. it was inspiring to see people motivated to lose so much weight. i stuck around for the bible study. they are going through acts, which im excited about, because i stopped reading that book because it was hard for me to follow :)


i know my papa howard & gma gma would be proud of me :)

1st full day

i survived my first full day! the dietitian wasn't in, so i observed & did "office" stuff. i learned a lot. one thing ive learned about office stuff, as mundane as it seems, it's so necessary and crucial for organizations to stay afloat, let alone function well.

it was a good day. pumped for the days ahead. :)

< this is my home for the next 6 weeks. it's 2 blocks from the health center.

oh, and jetlag is kicking my butt. haha.

my baby sent me this today: "...be strong and courageous. do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." joshua 1:9

i'm here i'm here i'm here!

God couldn't have placed me more perfectly. Dr. Dana (the doctor of the health center/woman i'm staying with) is so awesome. her husband is the senior pastor of their church & they have 3 adorable kids. their house is smack dab in the ghetto, which i'm so happy about. BUT don't worry, i'm safe (mom & dad!)

tomorrow's my first day at the center. i'm doing orientation stuff and planning things out with the dietitian. i'm gonna be helping with so much stuff! and finally i get to help with a community garden!! but they call theirs an urban garden :)

i have my own room, which is larger than my own at home. haha.

please pray that God uses the crap out of me. i'm honored to be here.

"apart from faith in Christ, there is no explanation for such a life." - randy alcorn, the treasure principle. it doesn't make sense to live in the ghetto, but to a family that loves Jesus with everything they have, it makes perfect sense.

love.

6 week adventure!

i created this blog for the sole purpose of keeping my fam & friends updated easily, but im excited to see how this thing turns out.

this internship is literally going to be an adventure! i'm excited that i don't really know what's in store, except for growth. :)

i'm a bit nervous about plane travel. only for the fact that i'll be solo this time; no one telling me where to go, where to check in, etc. so if you could shout out some prayers for that, i'd be so thankful.

anywho, gotta get back to packing. pumped for the journey ahead. <3