2013

Happy New Year everyone! Another year has gone and another is about to start. First of all, I would like to look back at my memories of the year 2012:

Deep Freeze Youth Trip

Deep Freeze Youth Trip

Homecoming Dance

1. Freshman year of high school at Rickover Naval Academy. As I hoped, I made some good friends and got good grades. Now I am glad that I chose this school.
2. Deep Freeze Youth Trip. As a youth group retreat, the junior and senior highers attended Deep Freeze: Voice Your Choice. It was a truly exciting and fun trip.    
3. 15th Birthday. This year my parents got me tickets to go to a Gungor concert in Wheaton. We went to it a few months later. It was a good birthday present.  
4.  Sleepovers with Friends. Every now and then, friends from youth group or school get together for some night-time fun. We would have dinner together, watch movies, and talk for hours. Just being with friends created some happy memories.
5.  Summer Trips. That summer was probably one of the most eventful summers I've had. First I went to Toronto, Canada as you can read in Summer Adventures: A Trip to Canada.  Then I went to a sailing trip in Boston called Sisters Under Sail, where I sailed on the tall ship Unicorn.

   

   The Unicorn

   Finally, I went to a youth conference called CHIC 2012 held in Knoxville, Tennessee. These were some of the best trips I have taken.
6. A New Home. Before we went on our trip to Toronto, we looked at a house. We really liked it, so we put an offer for it. When we arrived at our friends' house, we got a call and found out that we got the house. By September we moved in and started working on it. Now we love it and feel blessed for the shelter that God has given us. 
7.  Start of Sophomore Year. So far, my 10th year of school is going well. I like my new teachers and my grades are doing well for the first half of the year. I hope that I will finish my second year of high school as well as I have finished my freshman year. 
8. Homecoming Dance. At the start of the year was the school's homecoming dance. Last year I wasn't able to go, so this was my first time. It was fun and I definitely plan on going back next year.
9.  Halloween. I haven't really been trick-or-treating before, so my friends went for one last time dressed up as Doctor Who characters. I was dressed as a character called the Dalek. It was fun and I was glad I could do it with my friends.                                

10. 

    Halloween

    Christmas 2012. This year my Grandma came over and celebrated the holidays with us. My parents got me and my brother bikes as presents. What was also exciting was our first real snowfall that day. A few days later, my Uncle Tony and Aunt Kim came over and visited for a few days as well. It was good to see them again. And it was a good Christmas.  
    

    

    Gungor Concert

 

 

 

 

Now I would like to say a few more words to reflect on the future. This year I'm working on a little personal writing project that I hope I will enjoy. I also hope that the rest of my school year goes well and that I will learn more about myself and God in the year of 2013. God bless and Happy New Year!

Summer Adventures: A Trip to Canada

On July 7th, my family and I departed for Canada, making a stop for the night at a hotel in Grand Rapids. The next morning we made our way to London, Ontario to have lunch with my mom's high school friend. Then we drove for another hour and arrived in Brantford where we stayed for the rest of the week. While there, we were staying at Lisa's, another childhood friend of my mom's, house. On Monday, we visited some relatives of my mom, Linda and Bob Cuthbert, then went to see some old friends from Spain for lunch. On Tuesday, we drove to Toronto where we visited Toronto Island with some missionary friends. Wednesday morning, we went to visit Bob and Linda again then went swimming at my mom's relatives' house. Our last day in Canada was Thursday when we went to see Niagara Falls. When we came back we went swimming at Lisa's parents' house where we met their cat family, Princess the mother of Oreo, Cookie, Cupcake, Muffin, another kitten named Bagheera the son of Lucky(whom we didn't see), and another cat named Simba. On Friday we departed for Chicago where we started making preparations for moving to a new house. 

 CN Tower

 Toronto Island

 Toronto Skyline

 Niagara Falls

Princess

Oreo

Cookie

Simba

Cupcake

 

 

 

 

 

Bagheera

Muffin

 

A New Start

Lots of things have been going on lately. I am now attending a high school called Rickover Naval Academy. And no, I'm not thinking about joining the navy. It's a college prep school with many opportunities. So far I have been able to visit three colleges, join the school's book club, and make good friends. Today is Easter and the last week of my spring break. After today, there will be two and a half months left of school when I will have successfully completed my freshman year of high school. Then next year I'll be able to have a new start in school. A new start with new opportunities and new friends. Just like Easter. It's the day of making a new start in your life. The day when things spring back to life again. And it's all because of the love of God. In him, we are able to start again. That's why Easter is an important day to me. Because of the great love of God, I am able to start all over again.

Return from Washington D.C. Trip

One of the organizations we worked with was "Food and Friends", who packages hot meals for poor families

A Visit in the Air and Space Museum

The Capitol

Inside the Dome of the Capitol

Washington National Cathedral

Front of Washington National Cathedral

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Statue of Abraham Lincoln

We stopped by one some of the Smithsonian Museums

White House

We got to stay in this little cabin in West Virginia for the remainder of the trip

I apologize for the long wait on my report of my mission trip to Washington D.C. I understand that many of you have been anxious to hear how my trip went. I just want you to know that you have helped change a lot of lives in Washington D.C. with your financial and spiritual support. It was a wonderful experience. We did many wonderful things. When we were helping the community, we were working with little kids and packaging food and groceries for poor income families. We also managed to see great sites. We saw the Library of Congress, the state capital, the Washington National Cathedral, the White House, the the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the Washington Monument, the FDR Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial. On Friday afternoon, we set out to stay in a cabin in the mountains of the beautiful West Virginia. We stayed there for the night and all day Saturday. On July 17th, I have returned from my trip in Washington D.C . We arrived back in Chicago at 10:00. It was a really great trip. I want to thank all of my supporters again for helping me pay for this trip. It was really worth going. Again thanks to all of you!

Washington D.C Trip

Tomorrow at 6:45 a.m. I'll be taking off on my great adventure to Washington D.C. There will be challenges that I will be facing when I'm in Washington D.C. But there will also be some fun things that I'll be able to do on this trip. And for both of those reasons, I am very excited to be embarking on this journey. I hope that I shall change lives in Washington D.C. and that the challenges I face will draw me closer to God. I just want to thank all of you who have supported me through your generous donations. By the end of this trip, I will let you all know how my trip went and how God has used me. Please pray for me that my trip will go smoothly and that I shall have the strength to face the tasks God has given me. Thanks again to all of you!

Washington D.C. MissionTrip

Soon, I will be graduating from 8th grade. This summer, I and other 8th graders who graduate will be able to join high school students on a mission trip to Washington D.C. We will be in Washington D.C. from July 11th through July 17th. We will be able to explore Washington D.C., while doing service projects to help the community such as cooking meals for the homeless, packing food boxes for poor families, and a lot more. I want to go because I've always wanted an opportunity to help people and society, and I've always wanted to go to Washington D.C. For this trip, I need $220, and I would appreciate if you could help me to get the money I need to go on the trip. If you could make a generous donation, not only will you help me to cover my insurance for the trip, you could be giving me a chance to do amazing things in Washington D.C. to help our society. Thank you for your help and support!

If you would like to contribute, please make checks payable to North Park Covenant Church. You may put Senior High Missions Trip on the memo line, but please don't include my name on the check. You will receive a tax deduction at the end of the year from NPCC.

You can send any correspondence to me at:
Meaghan Cady
4952 N Ridgeway Ave Apt 1
Chicago, IL 60625

UPDATE: You can also give via paypal and my parents will give the money to the church, but you won't get a tax deductible receipt. Click button below if you'd like to use paypal:

P.S. Any extra money raised will be contributed to the team.

Christmas

This week is the last week before christmas break. We have three weeks of vacation and return on January 3rd. It started to snow last week, and now there is lots of snow here in Chicago. Which is pretty cool for us, because in Spain, it doesn't snow much around Christmas. I am very excited for Christmas this year. This year, I get to spend time with family. My grandmother and uncle are coming to stay at our house for Christmas. In Spain, children celebrate "Las Reyes", or in English, "The Three Kings". On January 6th, the kings come and give presents out to the children. This year, I get to celebrate Christmas like a true american with friends and family. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!