Busy Busy Busy

I have never been so busy in my life!  I barely have time to get as much sleep but I wouldn't change this time for anything!

In class we just went through the Jesus Style which is about the nature of Jesus.  Jesus was a servant, he was the least, he did nothing out of selfish ambition, he was a man of no reputation.  We had to pick the character that affected us the most and do a speech on it.  I picked being of no reputation.  Jesus was born in a barn, was not good looking, was poor, was from the wrong side of town and many other things that we would never choose for our lives but God orchestrated it to be that way so that no one would be threatened by Him.  And when you read the Bible you see it worked!  Prostitutes, thieves, children and lepers came in flocks to him!  Would they have done the same if he was some handsome, rich and powerful man?  I think not.  How do you feel when you are around people like that.  Intimidated!  I know that's how I feel.  But out of Jesus lowered Himself so none would be afraid of Him, that is love right there.  I worked hard on my speech and I got a good grade on it!  I blame in on God who helped me through it (I was so nervous my jaw started to go numb and tingle) and my roommate Marcee for telling me what she learned in her college speech class.

Marcee and Me

On Saturday the Gospel for Asia is going to have the Hog Slog.  It's a race that is either 3 miles long ( the Hog) or 1.5 ( the Piglet).  You have a partner and one person takes off running and the other hops on a bike and does an obstacle course and then you meet and the person who was running is now biking and the biker becomes the runner.  There are 5 obstacles for the 3 mile race which is what I'm doing.  Each team has a theme and there are going to be prizes for best costume.  My teammate is named Jen and we're going to be Miss Hog Slog.  We're going to do the race in dresses and tiaras with a Miss Hog Slog slash because we thought it would be funny to jump in the mud pit in nice dresses.  Oh ya, did I mention that you finish the race by jumping in a huge mud pit?  It's pretty great.
This whole thing is basically a decoy to get the office in good health.  I'm loving it.  Some people have been training pretty intensely.  I don't have the energy to do that.  I may not win but I bet I'll have the most fun.

I live in an apartment complex that allows dogs and I'm so glad.  I miss my dog a lot so it's nice to see my favorite animals running around.  (DOGS RULE).
One neighbor has this pure white fluffy Charmin puppy that bounces around it I had the privilege to pet it today.  I also got attacked by a dog moments before this joyous occasion though.  I was sitting on a ledge doing my homework when a little girl came up with her dog and I was going to get down from the ledge so she could walk by me but she said the dog didn't bite so I could stay there, so I did.  As she walked by the dog sniffed me and then started attacking me!  It was barking and going wild and it didn't bite me but I know it sure was trying hard to.  I couldn't get away either because I was sitting on a ledge.  After they left I was shaking pretty bad but the fluffy puppy cheered me up.  Moral of the story is don't trust little girls with terror terriers.

The above picture is of a dog that was running around in the country and I found a deer tick on it.  I've never seen one before so I was quite fascinated and I did the tick dance.  You know, that uncontrollable shake of the body when you feel like you have hundreds of creepy bugs crawling over you body.

 I dressed up on March 20th in honor of the first day of Spring.  My roommate Marcee and I had a photo shoot of us cutting through a hedge. Cutting through a hedge just seems romantic, doesn't it?  But I don't think Spring is the most romantic month of the year, I think Fall is.  But Spring is my favorite. The first thing you notice about spring are the noises.  One day you hear a drip and then you hear a trickle and then you hear rushing water and you realize that the snow is melting running down the roads.  Then you hear a bird's song and you realize how much you've missed it.  And then there are the sights!  One day you see a little bud on a tree and you just have this anticipation welling up inside of you much like the days before Christmas.  What was that streak of red?  Why you just sighted the first robin of the year!  And then comes the best part!  One day you wake up and everything is green and the flowers on the trees are blooming and you wonder when it happened!  And then there are the smells!  The snow is gone and the leaves are out and the dirt exposed and the rain makes everything smell so fresh.
Yes ladies and gentlemen, I think a Minnesota spring is beautiful.

My dear friends, may you know the love of Jesus more fully each day.

Rachelle

Home is just another word for You

I've been on a Billy Joel kick and Home is just another word for You is one of his lyrics and I thought it was appropriate. 

First off I want to say....

GOD RAISED ALL OF MY SUPPORT! Thank you all SO much for sacrificing financially and for praying for me while I am serving at Gospel for Asia. I appreciate it all so much.

                   I LOVE it here, you guys. I'm coming back but I LOVE IT HEEEEERE.



I haven't posted because I've just been so busy!  I wake up, do devotions, go to class and work (it isn't work-it's a privilage to serve God working at GFA but I call it work for short), come home, eat, do homework, giggle with the girls and go to sleep.  The week has been flying by.

I have a job!  And it's not a "well let's see what we can try to have you do...um here lick this envelope, I already licked it, but I'm trying to find you something to do job" but it's actually needed!  I'm getting to make a difference on eternity!  Each person that works at GFA represents about 200 missionaries and each missionary will go on to start about 20 churches.  Churches are comprised of many people who have accepted Jesus as their savior.  THAT'S A LOT OF PEOPLE!  I AM blessed to be able to do this!  It IS a privilage!  I DO love caps lock! 

My job is Event Manager!  There are volunteers who work for Gospel for Asia and they go to conventions and set up booths so people can learn about Gospel for Asia and someone needs to register for the events and send the volunteers material to distribute and that person is me! 

It's blurry, but this is my desk.

I have one of the best views in the whole building!  You can't really tell but the whole wall is comprised of windows and all I see all day is the green hedge, the blue sky and the birds.  So nice.

It's not all work!  Here I am having fun with my roommates and friends.  :)

They're great girls.  For some reason, my roomie Kathryn thinks I'm a hoot.  She constanly wants me to say things like bag, rag and dragon because instead of saying "bahg" I say "bayeg".

You know what I mean?  I guess it's a Minnesota thing.  And everyone down here calls their Aunts Ants.  Ants are bugs.

Speaking of Aunts, my Uncle Bill, Aunt Amy and Cousin Jacob picked me up for church and then we went out for lunch and they bought me such much appreciated groceries.  It was so nice to spend time with them.  At Target Jacob slipped his hand in mine and we walked hand in hand.  It was so sweet.

:)

Hello! I mean Howdy!

I made it to Texas safely!  Now I just have to survive here for a year.  I've never had to deal with poisonous spiders or snakes or scorpions before.  I might faint from fright at the sight of them which will give the little critters ample amounts of time to inject me with their juices.



The plane ride over went super duper fast.  Our plane departed at 7:15 and we arrived just 2 hours later.  We had to wake up at 3:30 because the shuttle to the airport was at 4:30.  Did I mention this was all in the A.M? The shuttle (if you're picturing a train like I did please know that shuttle is a fancy word for 15 passenger van) was actually enjoyable even at that time in the morning because of our driver, Steve.  What a fun guy.  He immediately informed us that he owned 145 crazy hats even crazier than the one he was wearing which was a rainbow mohawk hat.  He then told us his life story beginning with his wife's family's names.  His in-laws had 6 children and their names were as follows: Marlene, Darlene, Carlene, Charlene, Arlene and Cliff.

You never notice how many lakes Minnesota has until you fly.

I've been enjoying time with my family right now.  I got to go to my cousin's basketball practice and I went to his school to eat lunch with him today.  He's a cute kid. 

His little ear turned BRIGHT red and he ducked down to hide his face when we started talking about a certain little lady.  I had my first crush in first grade.  His name was Patrick and he had buck teeth.



I've been hearing how coconut oil is so wonderful for your hair so I decided to try it out.  I'm sure it can work wonders but I think you need to do it correctly.  I did not do it correctly.  I read up on it after I took my shower.  Bad idea.  I read that you should use 2-3 teaspoons of coconut oil per use and shampoo after you let it set. This Ladies and Gentlemen, is where I went wrong.  I really wanted to make my hair soft so I poured some oil into my hands and rubbed it into my hair.  But I did not get the desired effect so I poured it on to my hair.  But at the moment it wasn't soft enough so I dipped my hair in the jar of oil. Needless to say I used too much.

I used so much I could make my hair stand straight up.  Please, don't try this at home.
I hope it comes out by tomorrow when I meet my fellow School of Discipleship class because nothing says "please be my friend" like the most oily hair of my life.  But on the plus side my hair was really soft and managable.

God Bless!

P.S.  Hi Shantelle, I miss you!  I hope you're doing well.  Thanks for reading my blog!!

Official Letter

The following is the letter that I send out to people who may be interested in supporting me through prayer or financially:

In January I am going to be moving to Texas to attend School of Discipleship, a program run by Gospel for Asia, a ministry focused on sharing the Gospel with the most un-reached in the world.

The School of Discipleship Mission Statement is to assist men and women to become devout followers of Christ, and to fulfill the Great Commission by enabling them to know Jesus more fully and intimately through the careful study of God’s Word along with practical teaching and training relevant to each individual, God given calling.

I have been praying about attending this for over a year and I believe God is opening the doors for me to go.  I think this year will have a huge impact on my spiritual life and I am excited to help and learn from a ministry I am very passionate about.  In addition to that, I know I am going to be mentored by godly men and women, make new friends and have an impact on eternity!  How thrilling! 
                                
 During this 11-month program I will be working as a home-team missionary in the GFA headquarters.  For every student that works at Gospel for Asia around 150 national missionaries are able to spread the good news!  I will also be participating in Bible teaching, prayer meetings and street evangelizing.  The program will help me develop a servant’s heart, love for the Lord and a passion for missions.
The cost of this program is $850 a month and this includes housing, food, utilities, books, training and a trip to Asia to see firsthand the work going on.

I would greatly appreciate prayer (and lots of it) and any financial support you would be willing to give towards my time with School of Discipleship.  If you do decide to become a member of my support team (sorry there won’t be any custom t-shirts available), please indicate this on the enclosed card and use the envelope to mail it in.  If you are including a check please make it out to Gospel for Asia.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me!  My number is 320-305-0198.  You can also call Gospel for Asia at 1-800-946-2742 Ext. 3135.
Their website is gfa.org.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration!

Rachelle Hasslen

Dear Diary,

Hello!  I am creating a blog to keep people informed about my life while I am at the School of Discipleship program in Texas.  I made a blog quite a few months ago but decided to not use it because of it's name.  Thoughts and Trots of a Blonde Filly.  I thought it was cute but people kept telling me it sounded like someone's woefull tale of having diarrhea in Philadelphia.  No thanks.

I'm going to really try and actually write (type) on a regular basis.  I don't want it to turn out like my diaries:

Dec. 8 2002 Dear Diary, I had a good day, our substitute was cranky. 
April 14 2004 Dear Diary, Wow!  I haven't written in here for a while!  I promise I'll do better!
March 6 2007 Dear Diary, Don't trust my promises.
I could be a writer, no?

Adventure is out there!  Rachelle