desert, dance, Anberlin, and back.

We had a desert campout with the youth group recently. It was amazingly fun.

I've started listening to a band called Anberlin. They rock. I also got a bunch of Disney songs today and they make me smile = ) "Paint with all the colors of the wind...."

I've begun taking ballet again! I had been thinking of doing kickboxing, but then I took an introductory lesson and discovered that it was a real combat sport, and I had been told otherwise...so no, I shall not be taking kickboxing lessons! It would be quite unlike me, anyway.
The ballet is at the Mall of the Emirates performing arts centre. The teacher also has a street jazz and hip hop class, but she's an amazing classical ballet dancer, and she even does the Russian style! This is great. She keeps the class entertained! She is hilarious. Sharmila sings, yells, and dances as she teaches! In addition to this, she literally spits on the ground! She spits on the floor in front of her, stomps on it with her foot, and says "let's dance!" However, the class is challenging and good. My muscles are still killing me four days later, which means I worked hard.
My back is improving slowly and next week I have one more appointment (since I've begin exercising again which is supposed to help) with the physiotherapist. Praise the Lord! We're just hoping it's alright now, cause if it isn't then that means there's something wrong with more than the muscles.


I don't have much of consequence to write, so I'll stop now. Good night and God bless!

Desert Challenge and My Story Night

Many things have been happening here with the church.

The three days right after Christmas we had something called Desert Challenge, where teens from all over the gulf came for three days to our church. It was a very powerful, fun, encouraging, crazy, and challenging time. Every day we heard speakers on the subjects "reach, keep, and empower." There were also different topics we could choose from to go to seminars for.
We played games, went to the beach, ate, talked, had long worship sessions, and a "no talent show."
It was great fun and impacted most of us a lot.
To me the most powerful message was the one "keep," where he talked about keeping and applying what we'd learned and letting go of things that were holding us back from giving every part of our lives to God.
After that I had a good talk with some friends and we decided to hold each other accountable.

Just this past week at Oasis (youth group) we had something called "My Story Night." About six of us shared about a struggle God had been helping us through. It was encouraging to hear others talk about their walk with God and relate to how they had been feeling.
Speaking in public is not something I am generally interested in or do well at, but eventually I started to think about it and decided to say I was willing to share. Just after that my well group leader called and asked if I would, so I was just like "Ok God, I guess you really want me to do this." I was glad to have a chance to talk about my (past) struggle anyway, to get it out, but at the same time it was quite hard since I hadn't really talked about it to anyone.
Others spoke about struggle with friends and with God, and the worship time fit very well. When it was my turn I was really uncomfortable, but as I began talking it was alright. I shared about the time about a year ago when, for a year I fought against feelings of inadequacy and physical self-hate, on the verge of an eating disorder, and how God brought me out of that before it got further, using Becca's talk at a BarlowGirl concert.
It was encouraging talking to people afterward, although we had to leave quite quickly.


I am so grateful for the youth group and church here....it has been a huge blessing and I have SO many awesome friends through it. They are so crazy fun!

A Rebelution

Hello Y'all!

There's this fantastic website and blog that you should check out...and keep doing so...

The Rebelution
www.therebelution.com

"Revelutionaries, come with me...."
-Revelutionary-Bethany Dillon

It's a rebellion against rebellion. Showing that teens don't have to settle for being like the average teens out there. We don't have to rebel, we can do what's right and fight for it. We don't have to stop at being told we're "there;" we can still go for excellence.
We can do hard things. We can save fun for after working hard at things. We can have vision and build character.

It's not impossible-it changes our society.

luv you

.....

Hello!

We went to the desert again a few days ago. It was fun, but noisy because a ton of local kids on quad bikes were going in circles around and around us!
Several Oasis (youth group) friends were in school plays and musicals last week, so we went to support them. It was amazing! They were great performances.

I have finally been to the Mall of the Emirates. It's one gargantuan mall! I went with Ashlea and it was very enjoyable. We went, as always, to Starbucks! Followed closely after by Forever 21, Bershka, and H&M. Once again I was reminded of the incredible immodesty of our culture. It makes me so frustrated sometimes! Places like Forever 21 have such adorable clothes....yet almost everything isn't appropriate to wear as a daughter of the King.
I plan to write a letter to them (and perhaps a few other places here) and have people from Oasis, church, and otherwise, to sign a petition. It wouldn't be a very long one...but at least they'd know that there are western girls in Dubai who don't want to show everything.

long time

I'm sorry it's been so long since I wrote here.

The conference was amazing...it was so encouraging and inspiring, and lots of fun to see great friends again. We had many good talks on faith, prayer, biblical masculinity and femininity, modesty, and worship.

I've made a few more good friends: Ashlea, Miya, and Hannah (Hannah's in the compound).

There was a huge load of drama in the compound last weekend....you don't even want to know. *shudder* I wasn't there, thankfully, and it's all over now. Basically Hannah saved this little kid from being beaten up by a bunch of teenagers, and all the other kids were mad at her, and are angry with me for agreeing with her completely. It's insane. But no one's in huge trouble (not actually a good thing) and it's over.

Love, me

Already Over Now

Helloooo!

Red turns out to be primarily quite screamo....so I only got the two versions of the AMAZING song Already Over.

Right now my favorite song to listen to is Boten Anna by Basshunter, a Swedish techno band. They rock!! The English translation doens't make much more sense than this...the song is about a Bot named Anna.

Jag känner en bot
Hon heter Anna. Anna heter hon,
och hon kan banna banna dig så hårt
Hon röjer upp i våran kanal.
Jag vill berätta för dig att jag känner en bot.


Coen had me listen to it the other day and I was hooked. He's Humberto's best friend, who is often visiting when we all hang out. He's a good friend, but a very strong adversary in our debates.

And now the powerful words of RED. The vocalist is so emotional in his singing that it adds twice the beauty to the music. If possible you should really try to hear this song...both part one and part two.

You never go
Your always here (suffocating me)
Under my skin
I cannot run away
Fading slowly

I'd give it all to you
Letting go of me
Reaching as I fall
I know it's already over now
Nothing left to lose
Loving you again
I know it's already over, already over now

My best defense, running from you
I can't resist, take all you want from me
Breaking slowly

I'd give it all to you
Letting go of me
Reaching as I fall
I know it's already over now
Nothing left to lose
Loving you again
I know it's already over, already over now!

You're all I'm reaching for
It's already over
All I'm reaching for!
It's already over now

I'd give it all to you
I offer up my soul
It's already over, already over now!

Give it all to you
Letting go of me
Reaching as I fall
I know it's already over now
Nothing left to lose
Loving you again!
I know it's already over now!
It's already over now!
I know it's already over, already over....



RED writes about the temptations man faces, and how once we've decided to give into it, the fight is already over and we've begun to sink. But in another sense, when we cry out to Christ, He'll take it into His hands and it's over.
The battle is over...Christ has won and reigns.

It's already over. We have nothing to fear in Him.



♥,Cait

Red

I just heard Red. They're amazing.
Eisley still reigns though ; )

I've been having fun...but many things have been going on.

Kyleigh and I joined Waterworks with the youth group--her in drama and I in the praise team (no, not with the pipes!).

I have well group tonight...like a Bible study small group fellowship time thing.

Sabine is beginning to struggle with a lot of things like Teri now...I don't know what to do except pray, because she's already heard every way I tried to help Teri.

I am still Starbucks deprived as of two months. Rawrrr!! I don't know how much longer I will last....

♥ Cait

9.18.06

Hello!

There's been a lot of neighbor trouble around here....also good things, but it's been stressful.
I went and talk to this guy and told him in short, to "watch it!" but I think he may now be just mad at my friend, though she had nothing to do with me talking to him. Oh, well....he needed to know that.
Traffic here is absolutely a nightmare. Sometimes the roads are like a parking lot, all the way through Dubai...it's crazy. Other times there are only specific places or specific times when it's bad. Dubai actually doens't have bad roads-they're better than Michigan by far! It's just that there are so many people. Instead of building all these new huge apartments (probably about a hundred at once, no exaggeration) they should be building more villas. There is shortage of them; they're prettier, they last longer, and then traffic won't be half as bad. They think they will fill up in no time, but I'm not really sure. The compounds or freestanding villas tend to be nice, whereas even good apartments aren't that great and people don't want to live there.
We'll see what happens!

I'm waiting for people to get home from school....I got done quickly today and took a nap ;) I can't wait for the end of October! We're going to Al Ain, Abu Dhabi (the capital of the UAE), for the conference. There isn't going to be a teen program so my friend Samuel (who lives in Bahrain) and I are putting one together. I will organize a Bible/book study on Biblical femininity etc. It should be a good time of fun and reconnecting with some of my best friends from other countries around here.
The only problem is that my friend in the compound, Luz, is having her birthday party during that time, and I'll miss it. I wouldn't mind so much except that Humberto's band was going to play and I don't want to miss their first little gig! Heh, those guys are fun people. If only they could get a vocalist who would stop trying to change their style!


♥

Haha....

STOP PLANETARY DISCRIMINATION


PLUTO WAS FRAMED


PLUTO WAS DEMOTED


I want a shirt with one of those on it. It's hilarious. I love the subject but honestly, I don't really care scientifically or politically.
It's just that Pluto seemed like a cool "planet."

Today we played wallball in the squash court and I got the Swedish guy accross the street to play so I was happy. It seems like he really needs friends.

At band practice the two pipers that drive up from Ras Al Khaimah brought dates and Arabic coffee. Yum!

Yesterday we went to Dreamland, a waterpark in Umm al Qusais. It was scary.

heh

I've been on a real teenage schedule of late...

It's 12:14 AM...I read till 3 last night...

Weird.


Today after church we played volleyball. Then at home Ky and I went to the compound clubhouse, and watched this guy we know practice with his band.

They're pretty good. Their singer was there for the first time and that was quite amusing. She's all girly and preppy and into soul, R&B, and pop music, whereas the style they aim at is emo/hardcore metal/rock....

♥