Autumn 2010

sorry for the late update.. i was going to write more while still in Redding but didn't really have the time or energy to do that, so here we are now.. many many days later and in Finland.

I have been back here for a week and some days. it feels good although I had my doubts some times while walking the streets of Kuusankoski and wondering what my life here is all about. But lucky for me I love Fall and the colours on the trees and leaves and I think that is my way of surviving here..

At school I have been for a week and A LOT of things happened. I decided my major and applied for that. I decided my subject for my thesis and applied for that. That's a thing I wasn't planning to happen that fast but it just happened. So now this fall I have to write the plan for it, of how things will go and what happens and then next summer I can start doing my thesis. Exciting.
I also got to meet some people and figure things out, didn't go as I planned so I need to go meet this person again tomorrow and talk things straight, because I don't think the corner of a street is the best place for doing that at all.

I am starting to recover from the time difference and jet lag and that, waking up really early which is good but sometimes too early just is too early.

I need to figure out how to pay my visa bill and it has come even bigger because I didn't really have money to buy food after paying the bills that were waiting for me here at home. But I know somehow things will work out and I dont have to live from debt. Just have to use some of my student loan money for that and just wait for my tax returns..

Now life feels pretty good and this fall will be busy I think. Trying to be involved in a lot of things. That's good but hoping that I will know how to manage my time well. :) Everything is a learning process.

Congrats you all!

3rd of September 2010


Declaration of joy and love to people who are celebrating today.

First:

My oldest and most wonderful sister turns today 41. Congratulations sister! I love you <3


Secondly and where I can be part of too.

My dear friend Christina Delk and her fiancée Isaac Magana are getting married today!!! Congratulations on your wedding day!!
I am also so grateful that I can be part of this day.
Also Happy Birthday Christina!

monday thoughts

Grande Java Chip Frappucino with a blueberry muffin. Delicious. Location: Starbucks. The usual ( where I had the meeting with some angels.. you can read about that from earlier blog posting.)

Today my last full week started here in Redding.. and yes, next week I am already on my way back home.. I don't know if it's good or bad.. People are saying: stay here, stay here or asking when they see me after long time: oh are you doing 3rd year or what? and I'm like yeah, maybe later :D now just visiting.
My thoughts about the future and doing 2nd year have been changing like a rollercoaster.. It's so confusing. But if I do 2nd year I will def do 3rd year too then. I mean I still have time to figure all things out, but of course when I am here, actually here among the other students and friends and all that, obviously you think about these things.. life is.

Today the moving process started. First load of Katrina's stuff is over at the new place and tomorrow after she comes from work we will take the rest, probably and I assume I might go there to sleep in the evening. I love the house and we will have it to ourselves for the next couple days, until the other roommates will show up so that's pretty awesome.

I went to buy some t-shirts today, and found couple pair of earrings that I can use either pair at the wedding so that's cool :)
And then what I also did is that I went to buy a cupcake tray from Macy's.. yaiks.. :D haahh.. I mean I wanted to have one and I planned to get one, I just don't know where I am going to put it :D I might just mail it to myself :D.. because I was already thinking about doing that.. I just need to go to the post office.

Days seems to be so full of something.. I mean when we are trying to plan what to do when Katrina is off and just do things and all that, it seems that we are already so busy and that isn't so cool.. but that's life really. I mean we have done things and be part of stuff, it's just more of going from moment to moment. The sad situation is only that it's not walk-by-distance from Starbucks or Barnes & Nobles or places like that.. anyway, I think I can handle that, as long as I will get in touch with my pals.

Tonight my plan is to leave soon from here and then go to Foodmaxx to buy some stuff for the delicious mac&cheese recipe I learnt from leah.. (her grandma's SECRET recipe.. ) and planning to make that for myself tonight and eat that and maybe watch some Finger of God probably tonight.. It's prob going to be long night but who knows.. I haven't heard anything back from my friends and that is sad.
update - Joe answered, he works till 8 pm which I knew.. and maybe he would like to hang out with me later so I told Katrina to tell him to pick me up later in the evening.. so I might have plans after all.. hahah..
You never know what happens here or what you are doing later in the evening..

Zero-fat Diet and other wonders of life

As the title says, that's what I will try next. (sounds like as I would tried a lot of different things, but that's not true..)

I went to the doctor with my friend and he suggested to her to do that and while I was listening, I decided that I have to do that too.
It will be hard and I should add some crazy exercise with that, but at least in the beginning I just try to find the "right" diet for myself. My plan is to keep doing that till Christmas and then look from that how it works.
I was told that it would take maybe about three weeks to see the first results.
I am going to have Katrina as my accountability partner, I need to share with her how I'm doing and also my plans will include that I will write here about my diet and struggles with that. I guess I need to do some measurements before that so that I know where I am at and see the changes better.



Today we are supposed to have this Lake Party day, but when I look outside there's (not cold) but cooler and little bit of rain in the air.. For me it is okay and it felt wonderful to just walk here (to Barnes and Nobles) and let's face it, there was no one else walking with me.. This is true car kingdom.. hahah.
Today Katrina is working till tomorrow morning and I have to figure out something to do.. and I don't even know what's going to happen with the going to the lake.. I guess I should just go to my apartment and wait there if someone picks me up for something else. As you know, I don't have a phone to call anybody.. sucks.

anyhow, i will go now and play some treasure madness or something else, spending time online waiting for some friends to wake up :)

Furious Love

Hoping to catch up with ya'll as I have been here for now for a week and two days..
Time has gone so fast, althou it feels like I would have been here for much longer.. I guess that's because so much is going on and we are doing a lot, (although we are not really) but the lifestyle is here more day by day oriented, so maybe that's the reason of the feeling time flying so fast..

What have I done in the past week?

Well, where to begin..

Obviously I have been extremely tired, jet lag can be hard.. and it kinda sucks when your friends would like to hang out late in the night but you are so tired that you cannot even keep your eyes open.. hahah..
But luckily the situation is getting better :) and I think here you have to realize the factor of hot sun that will make you feel so tired after a day in the sun..
(4 hours in the sun and I got really sunburnt... really sunburnt, even I DID put some sunblock on me.. it was only 15spf and I think I need to get 50Spf..) Tomorrow I will have a lake day with my old roommates and I definitely don't want to get sunburnt there..

I have seen a lot of friends and especially when Katrina has been working I have spend quality time with other friends and it has been good.. Real good. Kinda catch up with life little bit and be part of their daily lives here. See preparations for Christina and Isaac's wedding that's in a week.. Woot Woot! (the bridal shower is on Sunday). All the things I can be part of, that is just amazing.

I have done SOME shopping :D hahah.. maybe little more than was planned but who cares.. hahah.. I mean I have bought some stuff from my list that I made before coming here.. and I am happy that I got stuff that I wanted, clothes and craft stuff for the future things.. I just need to pray for my luggage that it will weight only 23kg at the airport.. But Katrina promised to pack my stuff well so that I can put all the heavy stuff in my backbag in my hand luggage.. so that will be good..

Time here has been good, enjoying life doing nothing or kinda nothing..
But this time here has also popped up A LOT of questions in my mind for myself and to the Lord.. I just have the moment of confusion in my life.. Kinda like pondering about what am I going to do with my life, what will happen, what is this coming season about, what should I do about it, what are the things God wants to teach me during this season etc.. LOTS OF QUESTIONS :D hahah.

and I need to write about that more on the next posting..

Healing Rooms and more

I just wanted to talk little bit about today how we went to the Healing Rooms at Bethel today.

So at Bethel they have these Healing Rooms every Saturday, where people can come to get prayed for something or just soaking in His presence.
Apparently it has changed little bit from the last time, because there's so many people coming to Healing Rooms. So there's prayer servants and people go there in groups of 15 - 20.. While waiting they will be in this Encounter Room, which means that there's worship, dance, soaking, just being in the presence of the Lord and then you just wait for your turn.. They also share testimonies of healings and people are get prayer ALSO while waiting to get inside. I think that's great..

I was just sitting there and enjoying the presence and thinking that I have truly missed this atmosphere of freedom and love that just overflows there.
And on the Avenue of Nations I saw the flag of Finland!! yaya.. they didn't have that before.. only in the prayer house.

shhhh.. I will tell ya a secret.. Last night when we went to the service, I was just so so tired and during the worship while I had my eyes closed I just felt that if this keeps going on, I will fell a sleep and that's not good, especially bc I am sitting on the third row in front. So I was planning to go sleeping in Joe's car while he is at the service but he suggested that go to the prayer house.. So I went there and had good hour and a half there and I "woke" up around 9.30 and ten minutes later Joe came pick me up from there.. So refreshing! and I feel that the Lord also was cleaning me inside.. Doing things in me so that's AWESOME!

and I am going to buy these two dvd's about GOd's amazing Work. THose are called: Finger of God and Furious Love.. prob going to buy couple more so that I can sell those back home to people, apparently some peeps have been asking about those.. (Sami told me, so prob going to do that.. althou the amount of luggage that I can carry is so limited.. but yeah.)

Anyway, I am just enjoying life here and it's so good to just be with friends and feel loved and missed :)

I try to share more about this trip later.. See ya

HEL - AMS - SFO - RDD

With pleasure I am writing this blog from Redding, California. My favorite place in States.

This is my third full day here and I am just loving it. I started my trip 7am from Helsinki-Vantaa airport and made it and out from SFO at 7.30pm this time. A long day indeed. But was happy to see Katrinas face at the airport.
My flight to Amsterdam went fine and I was happy to go boarding to my next flight from AMS to SFO but it was delayed.. First only couple hours and finally it got delayed by 5 hours.. I was like God where's my favor??? But going through this experience I realized that His favor doesn't always mean that all the things has to go perfectly. It means that even in the situations you don't enjoy that much, His favor is with you. Let me share what happened.. There was some technical difficulties in the plane and that's why we had to wait for so long.. So the staff had to get us another plane, but this time it was smaller than the first plane.. Which meant that around 70-100 people would fly out of AMS the net day.. And I was like no, I need to get there today.. I was flying today bc Katrina would be able to pick me up today. I won't accept this.. :D Anyway, I just had this peace (even a lot of people were angry and just yelling to the staff) that I will get a seat in the plane.. althou I thought I heard my name called on the list of people staying in Dam.
Anyway, I just waited and then I tried to Board and they told me I still don't have a seat and the lady asked me to go talk with her colleague. I'm like okay. I went and she asked me to sit and wait. Althou I could have just be mad and yell and be furious that I must get to this flight, I just said okay, I will wait.. Then I just sat, waited and even saw this family who were after me and they were guided to go to this other desk that was for people who had to stay in Dam.. I was like oh, wonder what's going to happen to me.. Anyway, in 5 more minutes the lady comes and winks at me that she got me a seat.. I was like YEESSSS! thank you JESUS! hahah you are so good.. I got like one of the last seats. so so good. and maybe like couple minutes after I got into the plane, it took off..
That's what I call God's favor :)

I have seen my friends and familiar places and it feels like I have not been away this long.. It feels like coming home after a long trip..
I have also laughed when some people have asked me if I am going to do third year here.. and then I'm like I haven't even done 2nd year.. hahahh.. I guess this is truly a sign that I must do second year and third year OR there's a chance for me to get to third year right away. YAY!

I will continue the story on another text. Enjoying my life so so so much!