I'm going to Guyana. Please help.

UPDATE:

my fundraising site is up!

I'm going to Guyana!

for two weeks. and i'll be camping. and hanging out with lots of sick people.

october 23-november 6.

i'm stoked.

[it's on facebook, too!]

What?

So over the past year, I've been trying to figure out what to do with my life. I took a CNA class- absolutely loved it. Then I worked for a few months with the school district, and in the spring decided to go back to the local community college. Spring and Summer quarters I attended part-time so if I had any migraine problems it wouldn't set me back in school. This plan worked excellently because both quarters I got a 3.9! Yay! Overjoyed, I quite happily signed up for Fall classes, ready to keep going.

And then there was that Sunday I sat in church and felt really strongly like something would come up this fall and I should withdraw from classes so I could devote myself to that opportunity. My thoughts were something like, "wha?!" So a few days later I took a big gulp and withdrew from my classes. Yikes! I thought and prayed about it and decided that hey, this would be a really good opportunity to do something I've always wanted to do-- go volunteer abroad!

I started researching various volunteer programs like crazy. After about a month of research I'd seen a few programs that caught my eye, but none of them occurring this fall. Then I got an email from Ve'ahavta. They told me that they had an upcoming medical trip to Guyana and were in need of a support person for their team and the information they had about me suggested that I might be a good fit for this role. The trip is scheduled to leave Oct 23, so would I please get back to them quickly about whether or not I'm interested? I took a weekend to pray about it and decided that this is something I really want to do and to go for it.

Well that's nice, Cassanndre, but what're you actually gonna do?

Well, this is so cool. Short answer: I'm going to be a support person on a medical team. My job will be multi-fold. Part of it will be to help our team leader logistically, make sure we don't forget anything on the little boats or airplanes (like medicine, tents, food, and other not-so-important items), and remind my teammates to stay hydrated and wear mosquito repellant. The other part of it will be using my medical skills and enthusiasm to learn by helping the doctors and nurses in the clinic. I will help with basic patient care (taking vitals, basic first aid, etc), triaging our incoming patients, and educating patients on things like hygiene, sexual health, diabetes, and preventative measures. I will also have opportunities to observe the doctors and nurses in action.

We will travel by "puddle jumper" (little plane), boat, canoe, and.... well, I imagine there will be a vehicle here or there :) We will be going to the rural Guyanese people who have less access to primary care and working with the local healthcare workers to meet the medical needs of each village.

If you want to know more in depth, check out the Ve'ahavta Guyana project information page.

You said "please help"... are you asking me for money?

Yes, yes, I am. I will be completely honest with you about this. And y'know what makes it great? I really don't have the ability to afford it on my own!

Are you crazy?

Yeah, maybe I am. However, I feel really strongly that this medical trip to Guyana is something my Heavenly Father is giving me the opportunity to do and it is something I really, really want to do. That's an understatement. I am enthused, excited, and committed to this trip. Worst case scenario here? I go to Guyana and am in debt to Ve'ahavta and arrange a payment plan with them to pay off the cost of the trip within the next year or so. I believe in working for a living as well as working to make dreams possible. I don't like the idea of debt and try to avoid it as much as possible. I feel strongly that if I do everything I can to prepare myself for this trip and take advantage of all of the resources available to me that I will be provided for- in whatever form that comes about. It might sound crazy to plan this trip on such short notice with such little resources of my own, but I am not ashamed of my situation nor my decision to go.

The cost of the trip is termed a donation (and thus is tax-deductible). It is typically $3,000 but because I'm awesome, Ve'ahavta has reduced it to $2,500 for me. What does this cover? This covers not only my personal airfare, food, in-country travel, insurance, etc. but it also helps cover the cost of the medical supplies we will be using and supplying the Guyanese people.

What do I get out of it?

Well, that depends on what you want out of it. If you want me to have a great time, expand my educational experiences, and help people- I promise you'll get that. You'll even get some people in Guyana who are healthier, happier, and more knowledgeable about taking care of themselves. Personally, though, I want to give back to the people who help me to go. I have a few ideas about this, and honestly, I can't think of one to make the single gift back to those of you who help sponsor me. So how about this? I'll give you guys a list of things I can do, and you let me know what you would like in return.

• a printed photo of guyana. your choice from my pictures of people and land. (since i am a photographer)
• a photoshoot of you, your family, your pets, whatever.
• professional editing or restoration of photos you already have.
• babysitting. (for an evening, a day, a few times a week, a month....)
• cleaning. with my special genetic-anal-retentive skills.
• a massage. (i have no training whatsoever, but i do have a reputation for awesome massages.)
• buy doTERRA oils from me at retail price (i believe i get 25% of your purchase). feel free to ask me about essential oils if you don't know about them or what might be a good fit for you. i love them. maybe i'll put a post regarding oils here on my blog sometime soon...
• caregiving. i am trained to be a nursing assistant. i can help you or a loved one in a number of ways, from personal hygiene and basic medical attention to preparing meals and rearranging furniture for greater accessibility. and many things in between.
• tutoring. i have extensive experience working with special needs kids. i also am a college student and can help with most subjects up to high school level. i took two years of ASL and can teach you basic sign language.
• anything else you can think of.

well that's nice that you can do stuff, but I only have a little bit of money. can I just get a picture or something?

Of course! And you know what, if 50 people donated $20, that would be $1000. Now, I probably won't be able to send an 8x10 glossy to each of those 50 people because that would get expensive. But if you want one, let me know and we'll make it happen. If you want an hour of tutoring or a small handful of photos edited, let's talk about it. If you want to just donate and you don't want anything in return, that's really sweet and I'll accept that, but please give me your address so I can at least send you a picture or something. Pretty much, I'm a reasonable person, and I expect that anyone who reads this is probably a reasonable person. Want to help me out? Let's talk and see what I can do for you!

I have more questions!

Okay, post them below, give me a call (if you have my number), or shoot me an email (cassanndre [at] gmail [dot] com). I will also probably come back and add more information as I think of things people might want to know/ I want to share.

I LIKE TO YELL!

Actually, I don't, but some people do. At least, that's what it sounds like when they write in ALL CAPS. It's a pet peeve of mine. My younger sister (bless her heart) likes to do it. Today I was thinking it would be cool to get her a cap that says "ALL CAPS" on it. I did a google search and while I didn't find that cap, I did find a few other fun pictures, here here here and here.

My favorite?

i'm a mormon

In a week, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will start here in the Seattle area a huge media campaign, known as "I'm a Mormon". This has already been done in other places, like NYC. There is a good article from the Huffington Post which was put out earlier this month about this campaign. There is also an article available at the LDS Newsroom. As a Mormon in the Seattle area, I've been asked to participate in this campaign by creating a profile on Mormon.org so that I can share with people what I believe and how I live my life. I am in the process of creating a profile and when I have a link to share I will post it here.

Why is the Church doing this media campaign? Good question.

1) to dispel myths and let people know what kind of people we really are

2) to share our love of Jesus Christ and help people better come to know Him

3) to direct people to mormon.org where they can learn more about us and Christ

What do I think about it?

I think it's awesome and I can't wait to get started! (Oh wait, I have started.)

Here's a teaser from my mormon.org profile:

Hi, I'm Cassànndrè.

student. photographer. educator. learner. biology major. dancer. reader. migraineur. flutist. volunteer. Mormon.

about me

I believe in miracles. I believe that we all have a happily-ever-after waiting for us, we just have to get there. I believe that I have the choice to be happy. When I choose to be happy, I see beauty everywhere. I don't know what I want to do with the rest of my life, but it will involve having a family and helping people. I cry really easily. I don't like seafood. Or spinach. I'm shy, but I hear that I hide it well. I love to dance and I'm a different person when I play my flute. My little photography business is slowly expanding. I am an undergraduate biology major- at least for now. I believe that we need to have goals and make plans but ultimately trust God to guide our lives because nothing ever goes according to our plans. I'm grateful that He is in control. I'm Cassànndrè, and I'm a Mormon :)

how i live my faith

For a couple of years I wasn't able to work or go to school because of severe migraines. I read the story of a woman whom doctors couldn't heal and with faith sought just to touch the hem of Christ's garment (Luke 8:43-48). That story touched me and I wondered how I could do that. One day I was sitting in a religion class and the teacher said something (I don't even remember what!) and I decided that the closest I could get to touching the hem of Christ's garment was to touch the temple, because that is the Lord's house. I began to visit the temple every week....

for more, visit my profile at mormon.org.

some thoughts on stress, anxiety, depression, emotional health, and the Atonement

So I sent this email to some of my close family & friends. Then I read through it and I thought "I should post this on a blog so other people can learn what I'm learning." And then I remembered that I already have a blog! I just haven't posted anything in 2+ years. So here we go. Maybe I'll even start sharing more stuff :)

So here's a link: Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety http://www.stresscenter.com/mwc/

This is a stress & anxiety program which includes cd's that I am borrowing from my visiting teacher. I'm only on the second cd, but I can already tell there is a lot truth in what they teach and that truth resonates within me and clicks with gospel principles I have learned. I think this could benefit you guys. If you go the website there is a way to try their whole program (cd's + other stuff) for free- so long as you send back most of the materials within some window of time. I don't trust myself to send stuff back so I'm not choosing to do that. If I listen to all of the cd's and feel like I should then I probably will :)

Anyways, I hope you guys make use of this, or at the very least check out the website and the various free information they have. What I'm hearing in the cd's is a lot about how to be emotionally healthy-- even when you have an emotional illness such as anxiety, depression, or OCD. They liken dealing with these things to dealing with addictions-- you have to retrain your brain, work hard, accept what it is you struggle with, and work to get to recovery.

I think that emotional health is something that isn't taught much these days. The chief place for it to be learned is in the home, and even if we grow up in a home with parents who are loving and nurturing, anxiety & depression are things that require an extra study in how to be emotionally healthy. I'm grateful for what my mom has taught me, and I'm grateful for the resources the Lord provides me which help me to continue recovering from my anxiety and depression. (Some of these resources include my church, the scriptures, LDS social services, and Heart t' Heart resources.)

Tonight I'm listening to cd #2, which talks about self-talk. I'd like to share some thoughts I had while listening tonight. They were talking about how those of us with anxiety often work ourselves into a panic attack with negative self talk, and how when we learn to talk to ourselves positively we can actuallyhead off panic attacks. This reminded me of something cool I've experienced in the last couple of years.

So a couple years ago I discovered that I have this one PMS day a month where I'll get a bit of an emotional break-down. {{Yes, I really am talking about PMS on my blog. Because conversations like these don't phase me. If it makes you uncomfortable, I'm sorry. It doesn't get any worse in this story, though, so don't worry. If you are like me and it doesn't phase you, then you should consider reading some posts by The Weed.}} I don't really remember how I realized this, I just remember being astounded when I thought back a few months and could see this pattern every single month. Since realizing this I've come a long way. I remember this monumental day about a year ago (give or take a month) when I was at BYU-I. I was sitting in the Ricks building (aka the building of awesomeness aka the building with a Cassanndre-friendly study place) and started to feel anxious. It was like I could feel a panic attack coming on. I don't even remember what it was about, but it was something small. I remember checking my calendar and saying to myself "Yep, my period is a week and half away. That's probably what this is about." And then something awesome happened: I realized that it wasn't a big deal, it was just my monthly mini-panic-attack, and I knew I'd be okay. I went back to studying. Any you know what? I didn't get a panic attack! Yep, that's right. As I was listening to the MWC cd tonight I remembered that event and i realized that I had essentially talked myself out of getting a panic attack. Yes, indeedy. And then I thought about how it's been in the past year. There have been months when I've gotten weepy or anxious or something silly only to realize afterwards what it was due to, but there have also been months when I've noticed it coming on, realized what it was, and headed off a panic attack- successfully riding out my anxiety and keeping it from disrupting whatever I'm doing. This is awesome and I'm happy about it.

So my question for myself is this-- if I can do this with my PMS-anxiety, is there any (good) reason I can't do that with my general anxiety? Me-thinketh-not. My question for each of you is this-- if I can do it, can you? I think so (in my head that sentence sounds kind of cocky... except instead of being cocky about myself I'm being cocky about you guys haha.)

Once upon a time I had an awesome middle school counselor named Betty McCadden. I remember one conversation I had with her when I was super super depressed and had a lot of questions about what I was going through. I remember her telling me that she thought I had all the answers already inside me (except it sounded less cheesy the way she said it). That has stuck with me over the past 8 years.There's a quote I heard tonight which echos closely what Mrs. McCadden told me:

"You are searching for the magic key that will unlock the door to the source of power; and yet you have the key in your own hands, and you may use it the moment you learn to control your thoughts." -Napolean Hill

Sometimes, though, I don't actually have the answers I'm looking for and no amount of mental self-control will produce them. But I know where to turn to get answers. I know how to pray. I know my Heavenly Father hears me, loves me, and cares about me. I know that if I am willing to listen, He will give me answers I'm looking for through the Holy Ghost.

I also know that it is by the power of the Atonement that we each may find healing and recovery from the things we struggle with. I know that Christ loves all of us and I know that He leads us to the people and tools we need to partake of His healing.

another set of... quotes!

The nearer we get to God, the more easily our spirits are touched by refined and beautiful things. - Douglas L. Callister

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.
- Samuel Johnson

The word 'meaningful' when used today is nearly always meaningless.
- Paul Johnson

If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get a million miles per gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside.
- Robert X. Cringely

"We need to stop dropping bombs and start dropping bacon!" -some comedian Rob was watching on the TV

"If I'm going to talk like you, you need to talk how I want to talk." -Eddy

"Antidisestablishmentarianism is like Paris Hilton. It’s famous for being famous even if it doesn’t have a real role in the world." -Charles Hodgson

“You know that you are in love when the hardest thing to do is say good-bye!!”

“Distance never seperates two hearts that really care, for our memories span the miles and in seconds we are there. But whenever I start feeling sad 'cause I miss you, I remind myself how lucky I am to have someone so special to miss.”

"Goodbye is not forever, goodbye is not the end. It just means that we'll miss you until we meet again."

"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within."
~ Elizabeth Kubler Ross

“He who is seeking for happiness alone seldom finds it, but he who lives for the welfare of others, who loses himself to give happiness to others, finds that a double portion has come to himself."
~David O. McKay

"Be who you are and say what you feel, for those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind"
~Dr. Seuss

"right. he was so in love with me that he couldn't keep it all and you got some of it too" -marianne

"Life is one fool thing after another whereas love is two fool things after each other." -Oscar Wilde

"...like a jingle cat of doom!" -michael

"May the forces of evil become confused on the way to your house." -George Carlin

We can endure almost anything if we have someone at our side who truly loves us, who is easing the burden and lightening the load

"The more refined and subtle our minds, the more vulnerable they are." -Paul Tournier

"...one day you'll wake up, and at least the memory won't hurt anymore." -from a cheezy Mormon movie

"Never let the facts get in the way of the truth." -"Lie to Me"

"Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved." -Thomas S. Monson

“Treat a man as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he could be, and he will become what he should be.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” -i stole this from Loriel

contempt is what we feel for the being whose enthusiasm to benefit mankind is such that he is a burden to those nearest him; who wishes to do great things for humanity in the abstract, but who cannot keep his wife in comfort or educate his children.~theodore roosevelt

"The question's very much too wide, and much too deep, and much too hollow, and learned men on either side use arguments I cannot follow." -Hillaire Belloc

"Life is Fragile, Love is Not." -The Schecks ~

“Treat a man as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he could be, and he will become what he should be.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson