Saturday, September 25, 2004

WILLS!!!!!!!!

"Hello, hello? Can you hear me? My name is Michelle. I'm trained in first aid. You need to get up. Get up, get up." Ahahha, so how many times did I repeat this today? A LOT. But I can now treat you if you aren't breathing, are unconscious, have no circulation, or have any severe lacerations or amputations to your body. Oh, and if you have a heart attack or stroke. Yep! It's actually really useful to know what to do. Tomorrow we move onto asthma, diabetes, and other diseases. My class is pretty small and my instructor is easy-going and amusing. He went off on this random tangent about pickpockets in Europe and told us about Ben Johnson getting pickpocketed. He tried to chase the robbers but couldn't catch them! Apparently it was big news. Ahahahaha, I said maybe he couldn't catch them because it hit 10 seconds and he couldn't go anymore. Ahahaha. Anyway, overall it was a tiring but good first aid day. The best thing was that I learned that it's good to eat slow (one point for me!), to eat 4-6 mini-meals per day (another point!), and not to drink while chewing food (and Michelle finishes with a big THREE points!). It pays off to be slow guys! Ahahaha. You'll all be coming to me for slow-eating pointers, soon! ;)

I also went to a Rexdale Alliance service today, because I miss my chuch service tmw. GUESS who I saw there? Mr. DALE! I was going to say something, but thought he probably wouldn't remember me anyway. It's good to see he's doing okay though. I think about him every winter when we start shovelling the snow and my dad goes nuts shovelling fast and hard. Now that he's running on the treadmill, that probably won't be so bad, but my dad just used to go from doing absolutely no physical exercise during the year to busting his butt shovelling.

Anyway, I also saw some other ppl I know, but most notably, I got to see my friend who's been in Malawi for the past year. WILLS! Actually, that's her last name, but it's so funny, the way we interact is when we see each other, we scream out each other's last names. It's good fun. Actually, if any of you remember my fantastic "It's Raining Men" dance from when I went to China, she is the choreographer of that hilarious dance. Apparently one of her friends had her do it at a wedding!!! Ahaahah. It's just filled with the biggest 80s dance moves EVER (think running man, pastel hairbands, side ponytails). Another high point was actually after she finished yelling out my last name. She said, "You're not wearing plaid." Instantly I picture Joey Lawrence (circa Blossom era) and his tacky plaid shirts that were SOOO cool back then. Then I realize she's referring to the fact that they called me the "Plaid Patrol" and "Bad in Plaid" back when we were over in China, because all the PJs I used to wear happened to be plaid and pink. I came home that summer and realized 90% of my PJs were plaid. Ahahahahaha. Anyway, it was sooooooo great to see her. She always cracks me up and has the most hilarious stories from Malawi. I'm glad she's back, and that I got to see her!

The service was actually really good, too. It was entitled, "Who Killed Jesus?" and the Pastor talked about people watching The Passion of the Christ and coming out thinking that a certain group killed Jesus. For example, there was all that controversy over the anti-Semitic stuff, but he talked about the fact that if we walked out from that movie and thought Pontius Pilate or the Roman soldiers or Judas or whoever killed Jesus, that we had missed the point. He concluded that basically, all humanity was responsible for Jesus' death, but also that God was (Acts 2:23,24).

"This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him."

Looking at the cross always helps me put my life in perspective. I think today as I thought about the crucifixion, I thought about my pride and the sin that's in my life and I thought about how everytime I get angry or...whatever it is, I mean, that action is the reason Christ died. Everyday, it's us that nails him to the cross. I think that's also what Mel Gibson wanted to convey when he had his cameo in the film nailing Jesus to the cross. It's Mel's hand that lifts the hammer. But through the blood and suffering, it's amazing to think that even if you were the only person on earth, Christ would still have died for you.

"It was my sin that held him there, until it was accomplished.....His dying breath has brought me life, I know that it is finished." - Stuart Townsend, How Deep the Father's Love

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