The universe works in such mysterious ways...words can't even describe

Have you ever met someone and just instantly 'clicked'...like you've known them for EVER, maybe sometime in a past life? Or the minute you meet them you just know that you were meant to be in their life or vice versa...where you actually think (and maybe even say out loud) "God put me in your life/path for a reason". It's strange.

This past weekend has left me absolutely speechless...and in a good way. And for those of you who know me at all, that NEVER happens. So let me just back it up a little, I had an absolutely AMAZING Thanksgiving and weekend with the family, got to go snowboarding at Baker on black friday (aka white friday for me) and the snow was EPIC! Then on saturday I got to help my mom decorate her cute little christmas tree and also go to the tree farm for the first time EVER to go chop down a tree with my brother and his family - Xavier was so cute in his little John Deere tractor riding around the tree farm. Then I headed back to Seattle to head to work at the bar (I was called in to work earlier that morning), which is where the craziness starts...

So I'm bartending (which I only do every so often to fill in) down in Edmonds and it's a super busy night, I mean the busiest it has ever been since I've worked there...INSANELY busy. And I'm really only supposed to come in for a few hours while the live band is playing - should be done by midnight, but on this night, that didn't happen. And thank goodness it didn't because I would never have met some seriously awesome peeps. So this gal walks up to the bar and is just super distraught (it is about midnight thirty or so) and I ask her how she's doing this evening, like I usually ask everyone. The look in her eyes just told me something wasn't right. She says to me - I just found out that my dad has been diagnosed with lung cancer. I look at her and tell her everything will be okay. That my father had passed away from lung cancer 7 years ago and it still feels like it was yesterday, but that everything will be okay. We proceed to get into a serious heart to heart conversation about our fathers. Mind you the bar is buzzing with people and in this moment nothing else really matters to me. Have you ever been in a loud and crowded place (imagine massive chaos) and you are talking to someone like you are the only two in the room? Well that's what it felt like.

So in the process of chatting with Bridget I find out:
1. her husband's name is Dan which is my fathers name
2. her dad's name is Dale which is my middle name (and a smash up of my parents names)
3. her mother passed away of cervical cancer when Bridget was only 7 years old
4. her father (Dale) and Dan's father (Jim) are in town for their daughter Mayzie's 5th birthday, which is the next day (sunday)
5. They've got tickets to the Seahawks game (I had never been) also and she cannot go since it is Mayzie's birthday
6. she insists that I go in her place as a stand in and hang out with Dan, Dale and Jim (who is a pastor)

By this time I had met Dan and throughout the next couple hours they quickly become my new life long friends. The Seahawks game starts at 1pm on sunday and Dan wants me to meet them at 10:30ish at the bar so that we can catch the sounder train to downtown. Well, I had my women's group meeting at church sunday morning at 7:30 and was supposed to work in the cafe at 8 (my very first shift). There was also supposed to be a baptism that day at church. Well, since the bar was so busy, I ended up closing with Joe and didn't get home and in bed til just after 4am. I set my alarm for 7 and woke up completely startled (ya know when you wake up late and know it, so you're completely frazzled) at 10am. Dan calls me to make sure I am still coming and I rush out the door to meet them in Edmonds. I text someone from church to let them know that I slept through my alarm from working so late the night before and apologize for missing my meeting and shift at the cafe.

We catch the train and head down to the game - coffee and Bailey's in hand. It was the funnest day I've had in a while - with complete strangers that felt like long lost friends. The day was full of ironic little stories and jokes and amazingness that I couldn't believe. It was seriously like I had been dropped into their lives to share my stories about my father that even some of my closest friends have never heard. I bonded with this family like they were my own...and have come away with some fun nicknames and great memories, with so many more in store. After the game we went to their house and celebrated Mayzie's 5th birthday. Bridget and I wrapped presents and also got to bond and she asked me all sorts of questions about the cancer, how it affected me, the treatments, what I went through  - because she just feels lost and hasn't quite wrapped her head around it all, and I remember what that was like. I believe that God tests you in ways that you don't understand, and he puts you in peoples lives for a reason (and I knew this from the moment I met them all). And at times you don't get why he has so much faith in you to be able to handle things, but later you realize that things that you go through - they happen so that you can help others through similar things. They make you a stronger person and I am so thankful for that. I am thankful for meeting this wonderful family - and for Bridget, for what has become another layer of healing for me. I felt bad about missing church, about missing my group in the morning, the shift at the cafe and the baptism...but throughout the day little things (signs almost) kept happening - whether it be conversations or actual physical things - that made me believe that I was supposed to be EXACTLY where I was, with these people. I can't even count how many times I stood there mouth gaping open in disbelief (SPEECHLESS) from something that just happened or something that was said that just clicked in my head that I WAS supposed to meet these wonderful people.

This is just one of the instances where I've met and become fast friends with AWESOME people. This has actually happened to me a lot recently. In the last few months I have been surrounded by some of THE most amazing people in the world! And I am so thankful for all of them. Seriously...I don't know how I've been so lucky. I do know this though - everything happens for a reason.

Chil-Aoke Fundraiser

So tomorrow (Sunday, Nov. 21st) is our first Honduras fundraiser as a group and I am SUPER excited about it. It's at 6pm at Creekside Church in Mountlake Terrace and should be lots of fun. I just got done making the Golden Ladle award at my friend Mary's yesterday and it turned out absolutely AWESOME! I took it to the trophy shop to have the brass plate made and the people there were very impressed with it too. So hopefully we will have a great turnout, it is $5 to come and eat chili/participate in voting for the best chili - of course the winner will get the coveted Golden Ladle award :) Silly, I know. But fun too!

I have also decided to extend the raffle that I am doing for donations to help me get to Honduras in March. Raffle tickets are $10 and I will be selecting a winner in December sometime, so the winner will get a catered dinner in January sometime. Let me know if you want to get in on this great deal for a wonderful meal prepared by Nathan Crave of Etta's at the market. Hope everyone is having a great weekend! I'm hoping for snow :)

My decision to go to Honduras

Hi all! Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to read about my upcoming adventure. I've recently decided to sign up for a mission trip with my church. This is the first time I've ever thought of doing something like this and I'm super excited about traveling to another country and making a difference in the lives of a family in need. There are about ten of us that will be traveling and we will be building a home for a woman named Edith and her family.

Originally the mission was to travel to Mexico to build a home there for a different family and I had signed up about a month or so ago thinking I should have enough time to put money aside to go. I have never been to Mexico and I thought what better reason to go (instead of the one that most people go for - spring break and partying). Well, in this last month I had been unexpectedly laid of from my 9-5 job and thought maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to sign up for something that I wasn't sure that I could afford. Within this month the church decided against sending a group of people to Mexico for safety reasons and changed the plans to travel to Roatan, Honduras. In addition, the trip is scheduled for March, the week of my fathers birthday, and I had a hard time deciding on if I should still try to go or not since this is always a hard month on my mother (my father passed away 7 years ago now - it just doesn't seem like it has been that long). Well I was talking with my friend Marah and she said to me - Lynnie, if your dad was alive would he want you to go? to which I replied "yes, of course", so she said to me - you have to go, and do it in memory of him. So here I am, attempting to raise money to go on this trip that seems like it could never happen for me. I will need to pay for our travel costs well before March so I've decided to start blogging about my exciting adventure so that my friends and family know what I am up to and can follow my fundraising efforts. My goal is to raise at least $2,000 for my trip as well as the building materials for the home there.

If you are local to the Seattle area I am doing a raffle for a catered meal by one of Seattle's finest chefs,  Nathan Crave (yes, Marah's husband). He (actually she - thanks Marah and Nate!! You guys are the BEST!!) has offered up his time and services as a donation towards my fundraising efforts. There is a suggested donation of $10 per raffle ticket (you can definitely purchase/enter more that once for better odds at winning) and a winner will be selected and announced Thanksgiving weekend. He will work with whomever the winner is to create a menu specifically for you and your family. If you would like to donate online with a credit or debit card, simply click on the link below (I have created a secure paypal account). Otherwise please email me your address lynnie.ochoa@gmail.com and I will send you a self addressed stamped envelope so you can send me a check or money order in the mail.

Thank you for all your support for this great cause. Blessings to you and your famly during this holiday season! And remember - it is a tax deductible donation :)

Donate online here: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=DTQXQH46FW68N