Home Improvements: Part III.

I realize I haven't blogged in WAY too long, 

I do apologize. 

I did try and blog some last week, 

but the website was on the fritz.

Crazy. 

Anyway, 

I wanted to share some more of my home improvement efforts.

Over the summer I inherited some old furniture from my parents,

who recently moved.

So I set out to refinish a chest of drawers and an end table. 

I had an idea of what I wanted to do,

but I wasn't really following any sort of plan;

I'm more of an "off the cuff" kinda gal. 

So here's a glimpse of the LONG refurbishing process.

Here's what I started with:

The chest of drawers. 

The end table. 

First,

 I sanded them down to get the shiny finish off,

so I could paint them.

I did the same to the end table. 

Next, 

came the first coat of paint!

I wanted the two pieces be able to go together if need be, 

but not necessarily match.

So I went with a base of navy blue for the chest of drawers, 

with off white for the handles. 

I decided to go with a base of off white for the end table. 

The next step proved to be the most time consuming...

Painting all THE DETAILS!

I do love details. 

After MANY hours spent in the garage working,

and MANY hours of watching Netflix while I painted,

this is what I came up with. 

The chest of drawers!

The end table!

I was so excited to get them to Ruston,

so I could get them into the house!! 

I ended up using the chest of drawers for extra storage in the bathroom!

And the end table became my much needed bedside table!

So that's the story of my furniture painting!! 

It was a lot of work, 

but it was well worth it!

I love how everything turned out! 

Home Improvements: Part II.

I wrote the first installment of my home improvements back in April,
with my new coffee table made from an old window.

Back in the spring we had our windows replaced at my house here in Ruston.
It was quite the endeavor, but it taught me a few things.
The main thing it taught me,
was that our mini blinds were DISGUSTING.
They were ALL broken,
dusty,
crooked,
and just plain nasty.
So we decided to forgo the blinds and replace them with curtains!

Only problem was...
we didn't have any curtains.

So my task over Easter break was to fix that!
I found some relatively inexpensive fabric at Wal-Mart and went to work!

With help from Mom,
(lots of help)
I started sewing curtains for our living and dining room.
They weren't too complicated,
just time consuming!

The edges of the fabric had a nice selvage,
so all I had to do was make two nice big seams at the top and bottom,
and there you go!!

The Before:

The After:

The living room

The dining room.

On my way home from Kamp, 

I stopped off here in Ruston to spend the night.

I found that our next door neighbors had cut down the 3 or 4 trees along our side fence,

leaving my room no longer hidden by lush foliage. 

So I was needing some better window coverage! 

So I set out again to make me some curtains!

I bought some discounted fabric at a local store in Lake Charles,

and to work I went. 

(With lots of help from Mom and MomBond)

We decided to make tabs out of ribbon to hang them, 

instead of the big seam like the other curtains. 

This material also had a nice selvage, 

so no side seams!!

Wahoo!!

We used hem tape to be able to make the bottom seam look larger without losing length. 

So a couple seams, and a few tabs later here's what we got!

I decided to use the new curtains I was making, 

and the ones I already had up, 

to make my room that much more private. 

So hopefully these do their job and keep what's inside in, 

and what's outside out! 

How Phoebe Got Her Fun Back.

I've officially been back in the "real world" for FOUR whole days now.
Wow,
I can't even believe it.
I already miss Kamp like crazy!

Allow me to explain why.
Kamp is basically just you,
living,
working,
hanging
with about 200 friends
24/7!
IT'S AWESOME!

That's what I miss about Kamp.
I don't miss living without air conditioning,
or sorting mail for 400 people everyday,
or answering the exact same question 30 times a day.
I miss hanging out with my 200 friends and acting goofy.

While at Kamp this summer I had a "revival" of sorts.


I GOT MY FUN BACK.


That's right everyone,
I'M FUN AGAIN!
Wahoo!

As some of you may know,
this past year was rough for me.
There were a lot of difficult and painful situations,
most of which were beyond my control.
I will admit that there were a few times where I unintentionally made my own life suck.
My bad.

And because of all this junk,
I lost my fun.
I had been so down for so long,
I had forgotten what it was like to be up,
to just have fun,
to be goofy and enjoy myself.

So many times last year I prayed for peace,
I prayed for joy,
I prayed for FUN.
And it seemed like I would always get a little taste,
but it never really lasted.
I had given up.
I had just accepted that this was what I was going to be like from now on.
Hi, I'm Phoebe and I'm no fun.
LAME!

But,
I didn't get joy then because I wasn't ready for it.
I didn't get peace then because it wasn't time for peace yet.
I didn't get fun because God wouldn't have been fully glorified in it yet.
I'm not 100% sure why this was given to me when it was,
but I don't really think I need to know that.

 I do need to know that the Lord is faithful.
That the Lord heard my prayers.
That the Lord listened to ME.
He heard me ask for these things;
and He knew I wanted them;
He knew I needed them,
but He also knew when to give them to me.

He knew that if He had blessed me with these things any sooner,
I wouldn't have been able to fully accept them.
I might not have had the support group around me to encourage me.
I might not have been able to see the blessings.
Who knows??
Not me.

But what I do know is that the Lord has finally restored me.
He never left me.
He never neglected me.
He always listened to me.
He was preparing me,
so that one night upstairs in my cabin,
I could look back on a day of fun and silliness,
and proudly proclaim, "I'M FUN AGAIN!"
(Yes, I really did shout this aloud with my fists raised in triumph.)

And ya know what?
Fun feels really good!
I love it.
It's stinking AWESOME.

So thank you to all of you who put up with me while I was trying to find my fun.
Your patience is very much noticed and appreciated;
I do realize just how very "un-fun" I was,
and I apologize.
Thanks for sticking with me.
And don't worry,
CAUSE THE FUN IS HERE TO STAY!

Kanakuk Bound.

Well folks, I am off yet again!

I am returning to Kamp! 

Wahoo!!

I work at Kanakuk Kamps,

more specifically I work at K-West, 

Kanakuk's middle school kamp.

Yayyyyyy.

(Don't worry...I work in the office)

So this means that I will be removed from all distractions and thrown into a big Jesus bubble. 

Which I kinda like.

It's refreshing to be in such an uplifting and encouraging environment 24/7.

But this means I will be without internet,

phone,

and air-conditioner yet again.

The good news is that I will still have access to good old fashioned snail mail! 

Which I've found to be quite enjoyable!

So ya know...write a girl!!

Phoebe Thomas

793 K-West Dr. 

Lampe MO, 65681

Haiti Wrap Up.

I just wanted to share a little bit more about my time in Haiti.

I wanted to share a little bit more about what I learned and how I saw God work.

It's hard to narrow down all the different ways I saw God while I was in Haiti.

One way I saw Him was in the Haitian people.

The Haitians that were taking care of us did such an incredible job, 

and it was because of their deep love for the Lord. 

They knew and understood that we had left our homes, 

and families, 

and comforts, 

to come and serve them.

And they knew that we came to serve them because of our love for the Lord. 

Because we love Jesus, 

and the Haitians also love Jesus,

we were able to love each other. 

We didn't love each other because we knew each other, 

or because we had lots of things in common,

the only thing we had in common was Jesus.

But that was more than enough! 

God showed Himself through His people.

Another way I saw God was in His creation. 

We were out in villages,

so we were constantly surrounded by the Lord's creation.

Pure, untouched, unblemished beauty.

We were constantly encountering new things, 

new smells,

new plants,

new animals,

new sounds,

and they were all pointing back to Him.

One thing in particular was the wind. 

I felt like God was always in the wind.

It always seemed to blow at the perfect moment,

right when the sun was at its hottest,

or when I was the most tired,

or the most frustrated. 

I have no doubt that God was in the wind every time it blew. 

It kinda made me think of the movie Pocahontas,

and the scenes where the wind would blow and all the colorful leaves would come and surround her,

like they were meant for her.

That's kinda what the wind felt like in Haiti,

except it wasn't colorful animated leaves that surrounded me,

but rather the presence of the Lord. 

Those are just a few of the ways I saw and felt God while in Haiti.

I know there are many, many more,

far too many for me to name or even realize.

I do want to say thank you to everyone who supported me while on this trip.

Thank you for all the prayers, dollars, thoughts and encouragement. 

This trip would not have been possible without you.

Haiti: Week Four.

Alright, here is the fourth and final week of Haiti!

Day 22 - June 10

Our final Sunday in Haiti.

Thankfully this week, 

we stayed and went to church in Boucan la Marre, 

instead of driving all the way to L'Anse a Galets. 

So we had church, 

lunch, 

and good ole chill time. 

There was the typical afternoon walk,

a touch a prank pulling,

but mostly just relaxing. 

That night started a week long revival at the church in Boucan la Marre. 

Some of the church members from Point Sable came for it. 

(Over a four hour hike through the mountains)

It was an unexpected surprise to get to see them again.

The revival was...interesting. 

Mostly it was just the young man who was preaching that night, 

he was only about 21, 

and he still has a lot to learn. 

After church was rather...eventful. 

Basically we saw a GIANT TARANTULA. 

And I had a hissy fit. 

(so did everyone else)

Kaiti was able to capture this moment on video,
hopefully it fully displays what we were feeling at this difficult time. 

Day 23 - June 11

This started our last full week in Haiti. 

Surreal. 

We started the day with the usual,

a few work,

and the rest try to find work. 

Some sifted sand, 

some carried water, 

some cleaned starfish, 

etc. 

Then we played with the kids at school. 

At the school I tended to sit along the wall and just kinda chill, 

I wasn't really down for playing soccer with 50 Haitians boys.

So I typically became the target of the little girls' favorite game,

"I dare you to touch the white person!"

That was always amusing!

She was my favorite, because she was the sweetest.

She would just sit there and rub my non hairy legs,

(they really surprised her, everyone is hairy there).

Day 24 - June 12

The day started out as usual. 

Work.

Sort of work.

Play.

Rest. 

Eat.

Rest.

Walk.

Eat.

Rest.

It would typically end with sleep,

except that this day did not end with sleep.

It ended with rain. 

Our first experience in the tents with a nice HARD rain. 

They held up for a little while, 

but not super long. 

The boys abandoned their tent pretty early,

(it was kinda sketch from the beginning).

And then the rest of us followed suit. 

One of the girls' tents held up pretty well,

(thanks to Kyle Johnson)

there wasn't any water in there and they slept in it all night. 

The other sleepers however, 

had to get creative. 

The boys went and joined Kefin (the guard) in his room,

and the girls (except Jill and Allie) commandeered the kitchen in Pastor Pierre's house. 

Day 25 - June 13

Well the night made for an interesting morning. 

Around 4 a.m. Jill came in and said she had a fever, 

she took Sarah's place in the house and Sarah went out to the tent. 

The next morning we went to survey the wreckage. 

I was surprised to find that it really wasn't that bad,

our tent had a few puddles, 

but nothing a mop couldn't handle. 

Nothing essential got wet, 

mostly just dirty clothes and a book or two. 

We didn't work in the morning. 

The rain had filled all the water drums,

and the sand was too wet to sift. 

So no work for us. 

Which was a good thing because everyone was exhausted.

But here's some pictures of what our carrying and sifting helped to accomplish over the two weeks there.

 These walls were all just cinderblock when we arrived.

Now they're smooth and ready for paint!

This room had no floor or interior walls.

Kevin, Jon and I did go and hang out during recess. 

I don't know what was going on that day,

but it was pure craziness. 

These two boys got into a fight about a soccer ball, 

and for whatever reason that lead to fights breaking out all across the schoolyard.

I felt like I was watching a prison riot, 

except I wasn't in a prison,

I was in a Haitian elementary school. 

It was crazy. 

Day 26 - June 14

We didn't work this morning either. 

There wasn't much for us to do and we only had a day or so until we left,

so we just took it easy.

I think everyone was still recovering from the rainy night too.

So we hung out.

We did take some bets,

(all in good fun),

Pastor Alfonso arrived today from the States,

and we took bets on what time he was going to get here,

(I won, I said 3:45 p.m. and he pulled in at 3:43 p.m. HOLLA)

and also on how many bags of alcohol wipes he would bring,

(I was way off, I said 4 and he showed up with 11!).

Later that afternoon, 

while Pastor Alfonso was resting,

we decided to pull another prank.

We took the dead tarantula from the other night, 

and placed it on his shoes.

He didn't react quite like we had hoped, 

but hey, it was still pretty good. 

Day 27 - June 15

Our last day in Boucan la Marre. 

Excuse me, WHAT?!?!

So our day was spent packing, 

sorting, 

resting, 

etc. 

We did make it interesting. 

We all voted on who was the weirdest.

We ranked everyone from weirdest to most normal,

9 being the weirdest, 

and 1 the most normal.

Here's how it went:

9. Hailey

8. Jillian

7. Kevin

6. Jonathan

5. Sarah

4. Chase

3. Allie

2. Me

1. Kaiti

That afternoon we also took our last hike around the mountain,

and went to all of our favorite spots.

Guillaume even joined us. 

We also spent some time with some of the church members. 

Day 28 - June 16

It was an early start at 4 a.m. 

We got up and packed up and started to head down the mountain. 

The taxi was supposed to meet us at 3 a.m., but he never showed, 

so we all had to pack it in the one truck,

in true Haitian fashion. 

The taxi eventually met us on the mountain, 

he was having truck trouble,

the trouble being that his truck didn't work.

We headed on down to L'Anse a Galets to catch a boat over to the mainland, 

where we would spend the next two nights at a resort. 

The boat ride was different from our past experiences,

it wasn't the slow pirate ship type, 

it was more of the fast treacherous type.

I don't know if I can fully describe it, 

but I would liken it to riding a mechanical bull,

while on a speedboat,

while people threw buckets of saltwater on me from all directions. 

We were able to document our experience with a short video

But we made it to the hotel where we were going to be staying, 

we all felt like feral children trying to be civilized. 

We all ate a delicious meal and went to our BEDS and slept. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent sleeping,

eating, 

or laying on the beach. 

It was awesome!

Day 29 - June 17

We got up and had some breakfast,

and we prepared to go into Port au Prince to do a little souvenir shopping.

It's not very safe for Americans to be in Port au Prince,

but we were in very capable hands,

Pastor Pierre had some friends on the police force. 

They were our ride into the city, 

the driver also called in some backup,

so there was a plethora of armed guards watching over us at the market. 

Legit, huh?

Day 30 - June 18

We got up nice and early and we went back to AMERICA!

It was sad to be leaving,

but it was also really nice to be going home! 

There really isn't any place quite like home. 

Haiti: Week Three.

Here's a rundown of Week Three. 

Day 15 - June 3

Our first night back in Boucan la Marre,

at some point during the night the dogs started going CRAZY. 

My thought process went something like this: 

"Holy crap these dogs are ripping someone apart...

...Or there's just a lot of dogs...

...Should I go look?...

...Could I even help?...

...This is scary...

...Stay in your tent...

...THIS IS HAITI!"

So after that "restful" night's sleep, it was time for another day of Haitian church.
However,
this go around proved rather difficult.
We start the Sunday morning early,
because we are going to L'Anse a Galets for church,
and it's about an hour or so of treacherous mountain non-roads to get there.
For an added bonus,
2/3 of the team are hit with "the sickness"
(a.k.a. hardcore diarrhea).
So we drive on down to church.
We get there with everyone on the verge of carsickness,
on top of "the sickness,"
and for the cherry on top,
this church has no toilet.
Instead,
they have the world's oldest outhouse.
Well, it's more like an outcorner with a lace curtain for a door,
it's covered in a lifetime's worth of "bathroom things,"
there is no toilet paper,
(luckily someone brought baby wipes)
there are flies EVERYWHERE,
and the "hole" is radiating and uncomfortable amount of heat.
Needless to say,
this day was not looking too bright.

Church was fine,
it was pretty awkward because of where we were sitting;
we were sitting kind of at the front,
so if there would have been a stage,
we would have been on it.

After church,
it was time for lunch,
the church members had cooked for us.
It all looked delicious,
sadly none of us really wanted to look at food, much less eat it.

Plus, the entire eating process was just weird.
We were seated in this room,
at a table that was way to large for the space it occupied,
with all the Haitians standing around us watching,
and the ladies standing behind us attempting to swat away flies with a towel.
And while they were getting the flies,
they were also getting us,
right in the face,
as they wave their undeodorized arms right above my head.

Thankfully we left,
and we returned to Boucan la Marre,
where we had a TOILET.
Hallelujah!

That night we went to church in Boucan la Marre,
it was more like the church in Point Sable,
which means it was loud and lively.
One thing was different,
the majority of the church members had leaves shoved up their noses,
we couldn't figure out what they were for,
so we just assumed it was because it smelled bad in the church.
We were later informed that they were in fact marijuana leaves.
Church was kinda crazy that night.

Day 16 - June 4
Our first day of work in Boucan la Marre proved to be VERY different from work in Point Sable.
The main difference being,
there really wasn't much work for us.
Every morning our task was to fill these three drums with water from the well,
and to sift sand.
Filling the water never took longer than 30 minutes,
and sifting required 3 people max.

Sarah and Kaiti sifting sand so the workers can make cement. 

So we settled into a routine of finding random things to do, 

until the school kids had recess from 10:00-11:00. 

So today,

Sarah and I tried to help in the kitchen, 

she helped with some of the dishes and then we both made juice.

Then they told us that was all and we were on our way. 

So basically the mornings consisted of random work, 

playing with kids, 

and chilling out until lunch. 

The afternoons consisted of reading, 

sleeping, 

playing cards, 

walks, 

and yoga until dinner. 

It was a nice routine. 

Today however was interrupted by the beginning of the plague that hit our team this week.

Chase got good and sick and had to be taken to L'Anse a Galets to the hospital.

So around 10:00 PM,

Pastor Pierre, Hailey, Kaiti, Kevin, Chase and Jillian,

all headed down the mountain to the hospital. 

Jon, Sarah, Allie and I were left alone. 

Which was perfectly fine, 

we learned how to play Haitian cards with Myriam (Pastor Pierre's daughter), 

and Madame Carmelle (Pastor Pierre's wife). 

Day 17 - June 5

The hospitalers didn't return until around 10:30 the next morning. 

So the four of us left behind were on our own.

We were going to work, 

but the Haitians wouldn't let us.

We were going to go for a walk,

but then discovered we had run out of water.

So we were going to help make juice for lunch,

but we had run out of water. 

So instead we just hung out until everyone got back.

When they did return,

Chase was looking and feeling much better, 

but everyone looked like they had gone to a hospital in Haiti,

a.k.a. well worn. 

So the rest of the day was spent resting and relaxing, 

and enjoying the few short hours of no one throwing up. 

Day 18 - June 6

I awoke this morning to the roosters, 

a very old lady sweeping mango leaves right outside the tent,

and Kevin puking. 

GOOD MORNING.

We still had some Cipro shots that the doctor had given to them at the hospital the day before,

so Pastor Pierre found someone in the village to give Kevin a shot in his pasty white butt. 

We don't really know who the guy was, 

we later found out that he was the bass player in the church band,

and was somehow qualified to give shots. 

But we were quite thankful for that strange man,

because Kevin's recovery time was infinitely lessened. 

So once he was safely asleep in his tent, 

the rest of us loaded up in the truck and headed to the market.

Market was a really cool experience,

we got to see a real Haitian market and not just a tourist one. 

There were many new sights, 

and many new smells. 

But it was fun to get some snacks and treats, 

we even got popsicles! 

That afternoon was filled with more rest and walks. 

Walks really became the highlights of my days! 

It was our chance to get out and do some exploring! 

This was one of our favorite spots to walk to in the afternoons. 

Day 19 - June 7

Today was the usual routine in Boucan la Marre. 

Work.

Try to find more work.

Rest. 

Eat.

Rest.

Walk.

Rest. 

Eat.

Rest.

Sleep. 

I don't recall anyone being sick,

but someone probably was.

Day 20 - June 8

Sarah fell victim to the plague today. 

So she slept and the rest of us "worked."

Some sifted and some helped the workers with the cement. 

Hailey and Kevin and I found ourselves jobless,

so we took to cleaning our captured sea creatures.

We worked out quite the system.

Hailey cleaning the starfish. 

After that it was more walking, 

exploring, 

reading, 

resting, 

etc.

Day 21 - June 9

Given that today was a Saturday, 

there was even less work for us than usual. 

So we opted for a morning walk.

That was fun, 

everyone except for Sarah went,

she was still not feeling well. 

But after the walk was the usual,

lunch,

rest,

dinner, 

rest, 

sleep. 

My home for the 4 weeks I was in Haiti.

Our home in Boucan la Marre. 

The area with the chairs and hammocks became known as our "living room."

Yes, our days in Boucan la Marre were quite busy.