The tenth seven days.

We are up to 70 days now! I am continuing on with my practice of looking for "happy" things in my days, and sharing them here with you! I'm doing pretty well finding five or six happy things per day and writing them in my pretty notebook- it's really good for your mental health! : )

July 20: I am really excited on behalf of my mom! She asked me a while back to try to find someone who might be going to Ecuador anytime in the future. She has a sponsor child there named Jessika (a beautiful teenage girl) and she worries about her a lot lately. Like, getting up in the middle of the night or feeling these intense urges to pray for her and her family. She really wants to send Jessika a package because she can't go see her herself right now. I posted on the advocate boards a few months ago trying to find someone, and after all this time, I got a response today! A very kind lady named Emily is going next spring with Compassion, and even though that's quite a ways off, she said she'd be happy to take something for Jessika! I feel happy for my mom, and for Jessika, too.

July 21: We got a surprise letter from Brenda today! We just heard from her two or three weeks ago, so I wasn't expecting to hear from her again so quickly! All my letters make me happy, but it was neat to get another one from her so soon (and she seemed happier in this one, too!)

July 22: Two things made me really happy today. The first is that my Bible study group got together for a service project this evening. For the past few years, my church as done kind of a free yard sale thing for families in our community who need some extra help. We collect clothes, shoes, housewares (dishes, cooking supplies, linens), large baby and preschool-age toys (like bouncy seats and stuff) and school supplies. Families can register for the event, and come "shop" for whatever they need one weekend in July before school starts again. My friend Dave, who went on the Tanzania trip back in March, said something during the trip that has stuck with me- he pointed out that a lot of times, people want to help but they don't want to be directly involved. Like, his church does similar stuff throughout the year, and people are happy to donate, but when it comes to the relational aspect- assisting on the days when the families are coming to get the items- they struggle to find volunteers. So I came back and shared this with my group, and we decided to help out with this project at my church. Unfortunately, due to the timing of the event, we could't all get together for the weekend project- but tonight we went up to church and worked on unpacking the boxes and getting the stuff sorted out and arranged on the tables for people to come and shop. There was so much stuff, which made me happy! And as a bonus, tonight when I got home Brandon's cousin brought over a window air conditioning unit, which we put upstairs in the room where our pets are. Now I don't have to worry about them getting sick and dying because of the heat- and I can come up here to cool off, too!

July 23: Today was not great. I could only find two happy things about today: I had a short night at work, and a four year old girl told me she thought I was pretty and she liked my "sparkles." I'm glad that some of our little patrons appreciate my affinity for glitter.

July 24: Today was a good day! I had an interview for my aforementioned "longshot" job opportunity, and I think it went really well. I'm excited about it! I also had a nice lunch with my mom and was able to spend the day with her. Plus I got a letter from Victor, and most importantly, it's my buddy Anell's birthday! He is six today! I can't believe he's been home for about a year! I love that little guy so much, and I hope I can see him soon so I can give him his present!

July 25: We got to go see Transformers today- it was the first showing of the day, so it was really cheap. And I love Optimus Prime. I would totally name a child after him. Seriously. I know that the Transformers movies are not examples of cinematic greatness, but seeing one of my fictional heroes on the big screen makes me really happy. The movie was super long and could have used more Optimus, but going out to the movies was definitely a nice treat!

July 26: Today was pretty good! I went to Walgreen's before work to pick up some photos I am sending to Kajal, and I also found a few other treats- like sparkly notebooks that were buy one, get one free. I also got to work with my friend today, and we had a nice lunch from a local barbecue restaurant. It's always yummy! The day at work was long, but I didn't work with anyone who's been acting weird around me lately, so it was definitely a nice change and a pretty good day, considering I spent most of it at work. : )