a tribute to my father

6 years ago yesterday, he was gone.  It was so sudden.  It was so difficult for so long.  6 years is a long time by itself, but I feel like I have lived an entire lifetime without him.

It has not been an entire lifetime though, and today I am very thankful for all that my father was for me.

My daddy was always goofy, and everything he did was play.  He was good at his day job, but he always wanted to design video games.  Super cool, right?  If he was around today, I know he would be proud.  He would be so happy that I always follow my dreams and that my purpose is to love others.  He would be sad that my passions take my away from the states, but he would visit if he could.  He would be so supportive of anything that makes me happy.

"If you're happy, I'm happy.  If you're sad, I'm sad."  He always said it, and I know he meant it.  My dad loved deeply.  I was always a princess; I was always daddy's little girl.  My favorite time of day was when my dad came home.  I ran to him.  We would ride his motorcycle to the beach and then walk along together, talking about everything you can think of.  I walked along the rail, but I was never afraid.  What bad could ever happen with him by my side?

Never again will my dad be there: not to joke around, not to give advice, and not to walk me down the aisle one day.  But there was a time that he was there, to swing me around, to dance, to play, and to hold my hand.  I will always cherish those memories, and I'll never forget.  My dad lives as a constant reminder to love the life you're in and be content in the relationships you have.  There will always be a relationship that someone else has that you don't, but you will always have something else that someone else doesn't.  Why get caught up in that?  You have who you have, so thank God for them.

While I am so grateful for my friends and family, I am the most grateful for my God, who incidentally possesses quite a many similar characteristics to my late father.  My Father is always there for me, loves me deeply, and walks along with me.  There is much more to be said, but sometimes less is more.

But my Father is King, and I really am a princess now.

catching up

Wow, this semester has been crazy.  Crazy and quite a bit too fast.  I had intended to blog during the semester, but it just didn't happen (obviously).  Perhaps next semester I will be true to my word.  Only time will tell!

This semester, I saw dinosaurs, ate rabbit, went ice skating, and had a lot of other strange adventures.  I've learned a lot about being responsible and a good deal about always staying whimsical at heart.  I'm super excited about the future, loving the present, and having no regrets about the past.  Even the rough things that have happened helped me get to where I am now, and I love it here.

Before I forget:  check out this store!  http://www.shannon-kelley.com/store/  It's awesome.  Really, take a look.

I have been blessed so many ways this semester: wonderful friends, inspirational classes, and great jobs.  I went away 10 of 15 weekends this semester, and each one was a grand adventure.  I went to Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, Maryland, and around Kentucky.  A friend and I spoke at a few churches and visited special friends from Honduras.  It was fantastic to experience the hospitality of the Church during those weekends. 

So what's going on now?  My brother is coming from California tomorrow, and we will all be here together in Florida!  After that, I'm headed to St. Louis for Urbana Missions Conference (my Christmas gift from my mother).  I'm super excited, and I'll be happy to share what I learn in a blog or two! 

Next semester is my LAST ONE EVER!  Can you believe I'm almost finished with college?  I can't wait!  I'm hopefully going to have more time next semester because I have a slightly lighter class load and I'm working less hours.  This is how I plan to use that extra time:
More regular workouts
Language studying - Spanish and Creole
Blogging

Also, I will be sharing some information about the future, probably sometime soon.  So keep your eyes open for some exciting news!

Thanks for reading! 

Shelbs Magee

adventures in Kentucky and Ohio

 Let me catch you up on my life with a few delightful pictures. 

 

This is my lovely room.  I put lots of important things on the wall, like bible verses, pictures of friends, artifacts from Haiti, and letters from the Doctor (Doctor Who).  

 

 This is my closet, which is lovingly littered with beautiful notes and drawings, mostly from my kids in Haiti.  It somehow simultaneously comforts me and makes me miss them more.

 Jamie, one of my best friends, had a birthday last week.  Happy birthday, Jamie! 

 

 My hall is called the Jungle, so we dressed accordingly for the All Hall event in the dorm.

 

 We had our first hall event, and we got Henna!  Henna is a lot more awesome than I had ever realized.  I am so glad to be on such a culture-loving hall!

 Last weekend, Jessica and I ventured to Bowling Green, KY.  We were blessed with the opportunity to visit Flea Land!  It was a hilarious time.  Who knew that diabetics need special socks?

 The thing I've enjoyed the most is beautiful bonding time with my best friends.  It's fantastic to be around these wonderful people again.

 

This is Aliyaha, the five year old I mentor.  We always have too much fun, and it ends with her falling asleep in the car on the way back to her house.  She's got a lot of attitude, but I'm glad she's a part of my life.

 

 One of my classes this semester is Disc Golf.  I'm not great, but it's definitely more exciting and more relaxing than classes like New Testament End Times.

 

This is one of my best friends in the whole world, Kristen!  She and I met this lovely puppy in Kresge Lobby.  His name is Sylar!

 

 The Romans were here for a few days, and I was glad to have family time. 

 We even went to Red Robin.  Yum.

 

This weekend, Jessica and I had a fantastic time visiting South Solon, Ohio.  Jessica knows some people there, and we got to participate in their missionary conference throughout the weekend.  We saw this creepy half mannequin on a porch by the church.

  

South Solon doesn't have any businesses.  I didn't know there were still towns in America without a single business.  We delighted in the fact that the only place to get a snack in the town is a vending machine in front of someone's house.

 

 Jessica read me a bedtime story Friday night.

And Saturday night.


Anyhow, it's been a great couple of weeks.  As a senior, I've been spending a lot of time trying to figure out my future.  I'm considering a 15 month apprenticeship in "Little India" in England.  So please pray for me to be able to discern if this opportunity is right for me.  No matter what missionary endeavor I choose, I will probably have to be fundraising a lot, so please pray for that too!

Love,
Shelbs

Overdue

Hey there, people I love!
I know this blog is long overdue.  Today is the first time that I feel caught up with my life.  Everything is finally organized, and I'm up to date on all of the homework and reading that I already have.  The first week was rough.  I love being back, and I was so glad to see all my friends again.  Yet, every time I was alone, I remembered my precious kids in Haiti.  All I could do was cry.  I know it just takes time, and I'm getting there!  I trust that God is going to continue to take care of those kids, and I just want to embrace every moment even now that I'm back at Asbury!

I've got another jam-packed semester ahead of me.  I'm working three jobs.  I'm a phoner, childcare worker, and a desk worker!  The fantastic news is that I can get quite a bit of homework done when I work the desk.  Can you believe it's my senior year?  I can't!  I have been so blessed by my time at Asbury, and I'm thrilled to have this year here! 

On a different note, I'm trying to lose some weight this year, so wish me luck!  I lost 5 lbs since being back at school, but I know it gets harder after you get started.

As for the future, who knows?  I can tell you a little about my dreams.  I truly believe that when we delight in God, He gives us desires that are just like His desires (Psalm 37:4).  Then God makes our dreams come true!  So what is my dream?  There are so many possibilities and opportunities.  It's absolutely invigorating when you think about it.  I can still honestly say that I'll be happy anywhere, doing pretty much anything!  I'm looking into several long term options, so pray that I will be able to discern where I might be the best candidate.  I'm especially excited about Urbana, a missions conference that I'm going to in December.  Hopefully, I'll be able to connect with a lot of missions organizations there, if I haven't already made a decision. 

I am also hoping to go to Honduras for five weeks before I commit to something quite a bit longer. 

Well, I know this blog is a bit random, but it will be more regular in the future.

LOVE,
Shelbs

america

My last few days in Haiti were full of sad goodbyes and beautiful moments.  I got to snuggle with a giant mastiff, dance in the rain with good friends, spend the day at the pool with a wonderful family, and stay up too late talking.
I was rather tired getting back to the states on Monday, and I haven't quite regained my energy yet.  Readjusting is difficult, and I'm glad I have a week to chill before school.
It's been really hard so far.  I mean, everything that I have focused on for three months is over.  I don't feel like the people around me understand what it's like for me to be back in the states right now.  It's just confusing.  I don't know.  Believe it or not, there are a lot of things I had forgotten about this place.
Anyway, yesterday I went to Disney World, so that was fun.  Mike, Kevin, and I got in for free thanks to an awesome friend of mine named Michaya.  We all went to Hollywood Studios, and Michaya and I went on to Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom.  Magic Kingdom is the BEST.  If I could go again, I would definitely spend longer at that park.  I really loved the Lion King show with all the acrobatic monkeys and such.  I also enjoyed "Tower of Terror" because Mike didn't know that it was the kind of ride that drops you until we were being dropped.  Needless to say, he was frightened.  It was hilarious for me though!
So yeah, my brother is here, and I'm at my mom's house.  I really don't feel like doing much though.  I kind of would prefer to sit around and think.
I got a few pictures at Disney, but my phone broke!  No pictures then.  Oh well!  They replaced my phone at the ATT store since I just got it a week ago.
Speaking of that, please text me so I can have your numbers!  =]

the beat goes on

Clearly, my goal of blogging every day this week has been less than 100% successful.  Oh well!  

I had been doing pretty well with the idea of leaving on Monday until today.  The Kelley's are moving all of their things out of the house today, and it has such finality to it.  I am suddenly exceedingly aware of my impending departure.  But when you leave somewhere, you arrive somewhere else.  All of the somewhere else's in my future are super cool and exciting, so I'm not worried.

Today, Karissa and I are baking a cake for the grandparents in the family that is here.  This trip is part of their celebration of their anniversary.  Baking is so fun I wish we had some powdered sugar so I could make homemade icing, but I guess we will be forced to use chocolate spread or nutella for frosting.  (Just kidding, Karissa, I won't steal your Nutella.  That Nutella as icing thing was a one-time adventure.)  

I know a lot can happen in three days, but I feel like I am already out of time.  

In this three months, I have avoided getting my hair braided here.  They do it so tightly, and I already have a sensitive head.  I always say no, but yesterday some young girls in Williamson started to do my hair without even asking.  I grimaced through the entire process, but in the end, I had a rockin' hairdo.

For tomorrow's blog, I'd like to answer any questions that anyone still has about Haiti (if I can).  Ask away!

Love ya!  <3

i don't know why you say goodbye; i say hello.

Oh goodbyes.  I am in denial about leaving on Monday.  I think if I just ignore that fact, maybe I can make every day the longest day of my life.  Such is really the goal for every day anyhow.

Well, I had to say goodbye to my kids at FPCH.  They kept asking if I could come back on a different day or spend the night or wait to leave.  I really wanted to say yes.  I just have to let go and trust God with them.  He can take better care of them than I can anyway, right?  It's just difficult not knowing what the future holds for any of these precious kids.

Every day of the week is my last.  Today is my last Wednesday.  Tomorrow is my last Thursday.  I'm hoping for goat and french fries for dinner tomorrow night.  

I love the team here now.  They're giving me a good dose of being made fun of - all in love of course.  Hahahahaha. 

This blog is a bit incoherent, so I apologize.

I wanted to talk a little about bests.

The best thing to drink in Haiti is Couronne.  It is a super sweet soda.

The best place to think or converse is the roof at the guest house.

The best time to take a shower is after your sweaty parts of the day are over.

The best movie to watch over and over is "Tangled."

The best alarm clock is Lena yelling "DINNER TIME!  BREAKFAST TIME!"  

The best snack is popcorn made on the stove.

The best thing to bring to kids is construction paper and crayons.

The best place to hang out is anywhere in the shade.

The best way to learn Kreyol is to try and fail a lot.

The best method of keeping in touch with people is facebook.

The best best best thing is living life with people and enjoying it.

So that's me... Just enjoying life!  There are lots of things continuing to go wrong, every single day even now.  And yet, it's just not worth it to be upset unless it's hurting someone else.  If it's just throwing a wrench in my plans or hurting my feelings, oh well!  I can take it.

Well, I know that's vague, but you can just trust I am loving my last week in Ayiti!

[On a completely unrelated note, I'm redoing my blog a lot.  I am going to attempt to keep it up as my adventures continue back in America.  However, I am going to change the URL.  So let me know if you have any ideas, and just keep that on your radar if you try to come to my blog one day and it doesn't work.  You can ALWAYS e-mail me at shelby.bollar@asbury.edu.]

shelby: then, now, and someday

Things I Miss:
I miss my brothers and my mom.  Sometimes kids ask me what my brothers names are.  They think Michael is pretty normal, but they are exceedingly surprised by the name Kevin.
I really miss my family in California.  It's been way too long!
I miss chapel.  At Asbury, we have chapel 3 times a week, and I love it.
I miss Starbucks, ribs, and sunflower seeds.
I miss sleeping in.  Breakfast is at 7 every day, so I either get up on time for it or don't eat breakfast at all.

Things I'm Currently Enjoying:
Adorable kids who love me a lot.
An AWESOME family from Napa/Seattle.  They are super fun, and I'm so glad they are here to help me make the most of my last week.
I really enjoy living with the Kelley's and with Karissa (another intern).
Cold showers.
Adventurous roads and crowding an amount of people in cars that would not be legal in America.
Everyone is always outside.
I love the Haitian staff.
Spoons.
Cokes with real sugar.
Palm trees.
Learning Kreyol.
Making new friends.

Things I'm Looking Forward To:
I'm going to be involved more with CSA this year, particularly with the homeless shelter in Lexington!
I'm going to have a fantastic hall - complete with so many wonderful friends.
I'm also going to have a wonderful roommate, who is also pretty much my neighbor in real life too!
Many fabulous road trips.
Red Robin with my brother and mom when I get back to America. (All my life, grand occasions were celebrated with clucks and fries.  Why change now?)

On a completely different note, now is the time to tell me if you really want a souvenir from Haiti.  Very soon it will be too late!

my haitian adventure in pictures

If you would like to see ALL of my pictures, please go to facebook.  If you would like to hear a little more about the stories that go with a few pictures, read this blog!
Here it goes, in no particular order.

Once upon a time,

 I was in Haiti for my first week.  There were two teams here then - a large group from a university in Minnesota and a group of three from a different school in Tennessee.  This is FPCH, but I didn't really know it back then.  This was before I really discovered my potential to bond with kids.

 This is our group picture with the kids at Tree of Life, way back when Tree of Life had like 20 kids.  I'm holding Luciana, who was my first love from the first day.  She smiled so big that she had to close her eyes - just like me.  We were instant friends, and she always loved to see me again.  It was about three weeks later that she went home for me never to see her again.  I'll never know what kind of situation she lives in now, but I can continue to hope for the best.

 This is FPCH many weeks later.  This is me and Cameron (a part of the awesome family from Seattle).  Standing next to me is Leon, who loves to goof off with me and make fun of my Creole.  Boys his age seem to love to learn english and joke around.  =]  So fun.

 One time, we only had one car to take to church.  This was the solution - 17 people squeezed into the truck.  It was a massive pile of sweat, but we survived!

 This is us playing Akatumba, a game where you recite each others names to the beat and you get out if you can't remember the person's name.
The white kid is Zach, who was part of a family of three that was here for a week.

 This is Rana!  She was on a large team from Minnesota.  She was super sweet and fun and encouraging.  This picture was taken at Wahoo Bay Beach Resort!

 This is all of the interns and Lena!  I am too tall for the first row of this picture.  Consequently, Karissa looks like she has to pee, and I look like I am leaning forward like a dummy.  Hahahahaha.

 These are three of my Tree of Life girls and Judeline who helped take care of them.

 This is my photobomb of Emily's normal picture with Lovingtsky.  I always hold Elemnia upside down and this is how our game goes (except in Creole).  Me:  Who's crazy?  Her: You!  *then I hold her upside down* Her: *giggle* *scream* Me:  Who's crazy?  Her: You!  Me: Who's crazy?  Her: Me me me!!!! Then I put her right side up and after she catches her breath she says "You're crazy!" And thus the game never ends!

 This is Katelyn.  She is a lovely, beautiful teenager girl who loves God!  Her entire family was a huge blessing to me for the month that they were here.  I am so glad I got to know them!  I loved spending time with Katelyn.  I know she will go far as she shares her love of God with the world!

 This is Zach, Sam, Cameron, and Emily playing frisbee with the kids at Tree of Life.

 Just playing around at FPCH!

 Dancing around with Dudvaline!  Sweetie pie.  =]

 This is the man who runs the garden at Luly.  We got to hear all about his hopes and dreams for Haiti.  He was super cool!  Karissa (taller one) and Emily were two of the other interns this summer.  Karissa is the big sister I never had, and Emily is the little sister I never had!  I'm going t miss them both a lot, and I'm so glad I got to share this experience with them.  The kid is just some kid at the school who photobombed us.  Hahahaha.

 This is me and some of the River Falls girls at Wahoo.  Isn't it insanely beautiful?  See me about tips for having your next vacation in Haiti!

 This is one of my places to hang out - on the playground at Tree of Life.  It's especially lovely when a child or two or three or four join me up there!

 This is some of us ready for church at Port au Prince fellowship on a lovely Sunday morning!

 This is Emily and Samantha in the Defender.  It's not our favorite car, but it really has defended us through a LOT!

 This is Fior Di Latte.  Here your ice cream comes inside a corresponding fruit.  We have been there twice.  Once I ate chocolate out of a cacao pod, and the second time I ate orange sherbet out of an orange!  Legit.  It's in Petionville, the big fancy city in Haiti.

 This is Charlie, Samantha, and MC at the beach in Luly.  So beautiful!

 Emily and Me in the defender.  I had to include this one because Roberson is in the background, and I have too few pictures of that wonderful man!

 Just chillin, like every Monday and Thursday.

 This is the face I normally make.  Now I'm in Haiti, and I still can't help myself.

 Me and Luciana and Anne Marie, who is still there at Tree of Life.

 Samanthat loves to make friends with random kids wherever we go!  And there I am, just being a monster in the background!

 Ostanel helping with the lesson for the kids.  This is another picture from my very first week.

 This is Kassie, who was a wonderful friend to me my first week here!

 This is Elemnia.  She thinks she is three or four, but I've seen her birth certificate.  She is five years old and one of my favorite people in the world.  I could sing and play and swing and run around with her every day for the rest of my life.  I really could.

 This is Estelle, Kassie, and me in the crystal clear water of Wahoo Bay.

 This is Francesca.  She was my first love at FPCH.  She has since gone home with her family too, and I really hope it's a good situation.  I love for families to be together, so I really hope she is happy.  I asked the kids, and they say she is.

 This is another picture at the beautiful Wahoo!

 This is Lovingtsky.  He is deaf, but he can read lips like a PRO!  I wrote a blog on him a few weeks back, so go take a look.

 These are the three Huguenin kids and Lena!  All four of these kids were SUCH a wonderful addition to my time this summer.  I love them so much!  We had a lot of fun together playing spoons, playing pretend, watching the Little Mermaid, etc!

 The roof is by far my favorite place to hang out at the guest house.

 My Hello Kitty sunglasses were well loved this summer.

 This is a lovely place to hang out at Wahoo.

 My white sunglasses were always a little lopsided and goofy.  Also, Haiti quickly destroyed my bathing suit.  Hahahaha.

 This is my ice cream at Fior Di Latte!  Orange ice cream inside of an orange!  So cool!

 My first week here we did Toms!  It was a very interesting experience for me.

 One time, we played four square.  I don't know why I look so dumb and like I never had any intention of playing the game.  In reality, I am a rockstar at foursquare.

 More toms!

 The lovely roof with Kassie.

 My sunglasses look goofy and lopsided on Francesca too!

 This is the Baptist Mission.  I wish we could have gotten a picture that really encompassed the view from that place.  A-mazing.

 This is The beach at Luly with this awesome really old tree jutting out into the water.  Good times!

 This is a letter that Lindsey sent me.  It took a month to get to me, but it was so worth it.  It came on the best possibly day, and I loved it SO much.

 This man with chicken is just SO happy.  I love him.

 This is a group picture at Tree of Life after the group got a little smaller.  Nathalie is in the front with Elemnia.  They were two of the most malnourished kids we dealt with.  Luciana in my arms, just like it always was in the beginning.

 This is another picture at the Baptist Mission, with Jamil who is awesome!  He was our driver and translator many days this summer.  He really enjoyed our day at the Baptist Mission because his best friend is a monkey that lives there.  I loved to see how the two communicated.  =]

 We helped throw Martine (the caregiver at Tree of Life) a super birthday party!  I made the cake, but Brookyln helped.  This resulted in an exceedingly moist cake that had an extra cup or two of water in it.  I was told that we had icing in the house, but we didn't.  I improvised by making some out of powdered sugar and butter.  I used kool aid to make the pink icing.  You can't see it that well, but the cake has a border complete with hearts, designs, and polka dots.  There are also flowers that weave through the words "Bonn Fete, Martine!"  Martine told us that day that we are her family and that she no longer feels alone.  It's nice to hear words like that, but it hurts me to feel like we are abandoning our family to be alone again.

 This is Jen, Jason, Lara, MC and me at the reception of Manno's wedding.  I wrote a blog about the wedding.  This is me trying to get dressed up.  Next time I travel, I will bring at least one dress that is nice enough for a wedding!  You never know when you're going to make friends with someone who is getting married soon.

There is a Rebo coffee shop in Petionville.  It's just like a Starbucks!  It is so delicious.  I had a Reboccino Glace.  Yummmmmmmmmmm.  Karissa enjoyed hers even more than I enjoyed mine. I think she is dying to go back. =]


Any pictures that I take from here on out will be pictures of my last week in Haiti.  But life goes on.  What I do in America is equally important to what I do in Haiti, or anywhere in the world.  I love God and love people, everywhere I go.  The end (but not really).