How Is That Smart?

I don't get men who think they can say anything they please to women walking past them down the street. Honestly, what is wrong with them? How is it that I can hardly ever walk out of my house without some creep talking to me or just cat calling me?! It just gets on my nerves! It's stupid, silly, disrespectful, and sometimes vulgar. UGH!!
Today I even had some guys in a car whistling and barking at me....I did my best to just walk straight, ignoring them and keeping a serious face (though I wanted to laugh out loud 'cause it was so stupid).

I can't really do anything about it except praying and walk with someone wherever I go (though I hardly ever have anyone walking with me to and from work). Not that I'm in any danger...it just feels better having someone there with you...though I do know that God is always there with me.
It's just very annoying....but, yes, I need to remember what my roommate says all the time - pray for your enemies and those who get on your nerves and who you're not very patient with.
Thank you God for Jesus and all the people that you speak through! =)

A Nice Day

God is so good! Just a few days ago I was complaining to myself about how I haven't been able to really enjoy this summer, but yesterday and today were great!

Yesterday, a group of us had a nice picnic at a beautiful beach about an hour or less away from here and it was SO nice. I got to hang out with a lot of people, enjoy the natural beauty, eat good food, and play with Eben (Matt and Becky's four year old son). =)

This morning, PJ (one of the guys who works on my floor at the shelter) spoiled us yet again, with a very good breakfast consisting of grapes and strawberries! After lunch, I went outside, in our side yard, in the nice sunshine (but chilly air...weird!) with one of the books I'm reading, Face to Face With God by Bill Johnson (thanks again Randy and Linda!! =) ). I sat next to a group of moms and half read and half listened to and joined in their conversations. I love the moms at our house =). After that, I got to hang out with Hannah and go for a walk with her while sharing her iPod and singing together. It's so much fun to just sing out loud and dance down the sidewalk even though people around you can't hear the song you're listening to and look at you like you're crazy...I love it!
When we got back from our walk we then went to the Winters' room where I finally got to watch some of the Olympics!! I'm so bummed that I didn't get to see the China vs USA basketball game!! I'm sure it was great!! I had no idea basketball was so big in China!
Hopefully, I'll get to see some more tomorrow. It's a shame they only start at 7 pm here...
Ok, gotta go to bed. Night!

An Article On Aaron The Tuba Senior

Check out this article on one of our seniors!

I saw Aaron playing once while I was downtown. I didn't know anything about him, except that he's in our senior program, goes around with a tuba strapped to the back of his wheelchair all the time and looks like a happy man.

There's a beggar who's almost always across the street from the sidewalk where I walk to come to work. He's always shaking his tin can full of coins and I've always wondered about him. Some days ago, someone told me that, back in the day, he was a famous country singer. That's so sad how some people end up like that...

I Wish I Could Help These Kids

One of the things that bothers me the most at the homeless shelter where I work is hearing how the parents treat their children. When the children (babies and older) are quiet, the parents will be nice to them, cuddle them, say some nice things to them.... But if the child is crying, or wondering around, or curiously looking at/through some stuff, (basically being a child) or if the parent's having a bad day, I hear the worst things come out of the mother/father's mouth, things that a child should never hear, and it breaks my heart. They call them bad names (like stupid and worse things), they swear really bad, and just plain treat them like dirt.
And then people wonder why kids who live in this neighborhood who come from poor and messed up families and have nothing to do during the day, start shooting each other and just get into gangs and violence...

By the way, I don't think I even mentioned that a few weeks ago Tabitha (Jon Trott's youngest daughter who lives a couple blocks down the street) was walking with Naya (her 7 month year old baby) and all of a sudden found herself in the middle of a gun fight between two groups of (what she said looked like) 14/15 year old kids! She immediately dropped to the ground, holding the stroller and screaming for them to stop shooting. Fortunately, no one got hit.

Please pray for the kids (from babies to teenagers) of Uptown Chicago.

Crazy Thunderstorm!

This evening at about 8:15pm it started really pouring outside and the thunder and lightning were super loud. One really loud one made me jump and skip a heart beat! About ten minutes later we heard a howling outside and my roommate thought it was the wind (but we later found out that it had been a tornado siren). Then, at about 8:35 the power went out in our whole building (10 floors with a lot of little kids and seniors that were probably really scared by it). Betty and I went to stay in Becky's room who had candles. It was really funny 'cause the guys in our family ran up to Becky's room to make sure that her and the kids were alright (Matt's away) and then they all ran to the beach to watch the storm over the lake! During the first half hour that the power was out, Becky, her kids, me, Betty, Max and Melissa hung out in Becky and Matt's room munching on popcorn (that had been made before the power had gone out) and cookie dough (which we had wanted to bake, but we obviously couldn't anymore) and had fun telling stories and joking around. Betty called her mom (who lives about 2 hours away from Chicago) and found out that a tornado hit a family friend's house and destroyed it (the owners were safe though) and someone told us that there was a tornado downtown Chicago. The power did come back on for about two minutes, but then turned back off for another half hour again. Meanwhile, the storm had stopped.
Now, it's 11:21 and the storms been back for a half an hour and it's really thundering and raining hard! I hope the power doesn't go out again. That's the first time that's happened to me since I've been here. (Used to happen ALL the time at my parents' house in Italy, though)
I love storms! My mom says it's 'cause I was born in one =)

Ok, gotta go to bed. Night!

P.S. It looks like I've finally broken my trusty old travel alarm clock! Poor thing...It's still on, you can set the alarm and turn it on and off, but you can't set the time on it...and at the moment it says that it's 12:14pm, when it's 11:38pm...I guess I'll just have to use my cell phone now...which I hate doing...

P.P.S. Now it's Tuesday and I found this picture that someone took during the storm last night on a news website. Check it out!

An Explanation For The Giggles

"True belly laughs are important in community life. When a group laughs in this way, many pains are swept away.
Laughter is something very human. I am not sure angels laugh! They adore. When human beings are too serious they become tense. Laughter is the greatest of relaxations. And there is something funny about humanity. Little as we are, poor as we are, with all our 'animal' needs, we are called to become more than angels; brothers and sisters of Gos, the Word made flesh. It seems so ludicrous and wonderful, so crazy and yet so ecstatic. And the most rejected are called to be at the heart of the Kingdom. Everything is upside down. No wonder some people at sacred moments have the giggles"
From Chapter 11, Celebration, in "Community and Growth" by Jean Vanier

Ironically, Erica and I used to get the giggles a lot during this class (which was taught by Neil Taylor, one of my favorite pastors of our church). We sat in the back and would start giggling and laughing over something silly (or sometimes over nothing at all) and couldn't stop. Not that I ever do that....haha