Depuis vingt-trois heures...

In 23 hours......

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Thats all. :)

A day in infamy...

I have always bragged at the fact that I have NEVER shed a tear in a movie before, which i follow up quickly with the fact that it almost happened in Finding Nemo the glorious underwater Pixar film.
This streak was broken on Monday.
My family went and saw Blindside. Holy moly. Let me just tell you. This film was amazing. I cannot put any words to it that can describe it better than that. It was a movie that touched me and touched the hearts of many people in the theater. You could just sense it. It brought to life poverty within our own country and its story of hope. I strongly recommend it to anyone and everyone. I shed large amounts of tears of joy multiple times throughout the film and it just hit the right place in my heart. It is a true story and those always hit home the most for me. This one is definitely worth your money.

Greatest day in December :)

About a week and a half ago, I was privileged to accompany a part of the Griffin Family at Disneyland! I told Josh(the father and my awesome mentor) that at some point in the near future I would love to sign him and two of his four kids into the park! So we went! It was so awesome! It was a gloomy Friday, which is perfect Disneyland weather! There was some rain off and on, but for the most part it was very nice weather! Josh met me at Starbucks promptly at 12:32, the time I told him to meet me at because that's how long it would take me to get to my car from school and drive to the meeting spot. We dropped off my car at home and then we were off! I looked into the back seat and I saw two elated children who were staring at my front lawn and were in awe of Mickey and Friends who were caroling! Princess Alexis was wearing her Snow White Dress and my little buddy Jadin was wearing his new Transformers rain boots. From the minute I stepped in the car they were very excited! According to Josh, Alexis ran and jumped into his bed that morning with her Snow White Dress already on and ready to go! We stopped for some warm drinks and then we were off to the happiest place on Earth! When we got there, Josh gave Lexy a little present for the day; a Snow White crown! Jadin got some donuts! haha. We then hopped on the tram for our first ride of the day. Upon arrival, we met up with my Auntie Robyn and my dad who got us all into the park and we chit-chatted with them for a bit. Auntie Robyn talked with Princess Alexis for a while about just princess stuff and Lexy was just so excited! We then got onto the Disneyland Railroad and took it all the way to the Princess Fantasy Faire! We only had to wait in line for about 45 minutes to have our personal meet and greet with five princesses! Lexy was soo excited and ready to go every minute we were waiting in line and Jadin was getting antsy so he and I were coloring with Lexy's new princess pen on the showtime schedule for the park! It was the best past time activity to try and guess was he was drawing. I think i may have only got one right. :) While standing in line I got a bit worried because I overheard a woman say that only a few of the princesses were out at any given time, so we were hoping Snow White would be there for little snow white! Sure enough, when we got to the front of the line and they sent us in, as we turned the corner, there she was! Lexy was elated! She couldn't believe that she was talking to Snow White! They got to talk for a little while and then I was able to take a picture with Snow White for my mom! The other princesses we saw were Cinderella, Bell, Jasmine, and Mulan. After we left the meet and greet area Lexy was overjoyed that she got to see all the princesses and get their autographs and take pictures with them. That was what made the day for Josh, Lexy and I. To see her face just light up before, during and after just brought joy to all of us! The rest of the day was pretty great also! We went on Its a Small World, the Tea Cups, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Tours, Monsters Inc., we saw the Aladdin show, but the story of the day with my little buddy Jayjay goes with Buzz Blasters. We had all just finished with dinner at the Pizza Port, Jadin hopped in his stroller and Lexy was holding Haley's hand, who joined us about half way through the day, and we were headed towards Buzz when all the sudden right after we passed the churro stand, Jadin hops right out of the moving stroller and Josh asks him where he was going and he pointed to me! He was signaling that he wanted to ride Buzz with me! It was the greatest thing for me with Jadin that day!
The bottom line over all about this day was that it was magical. The family I got to share it with was amazing, the happiness and joy on their faces brought joy to my heart and the interaction between them and I was amazing. Lexy and Jadin are truly the little brother and sister that I never had. I love them very much. There is so many more awesome things that I could say about this day but i'll leave it at that. :):)

Oasis of Hope Fundraiser Night

Oasis of Hope is located in Kitale, Kenya. It was founded in 2004 and has helped children who are orphaned, in need, living on the street, and living in extreme poverty. The programs assist approximately 150 children ages 5-18.
Current programs include: a Drop-in Centre, Group Homes, Family Assistance, and Vocational Training.

A team of high school students will be traveling to Kitale in March of 2010 to work with the children at Oasis of Hope. This event hopes to raise funds for the supplies that are needed for this organization to continue to change the lives of these African children.

Please join us this holiday season! This is a FREE open house event so feel free to come and go as you please between 5 and 9pm on Sunday, December 20th, 2009. This event will be appropriate for ALL AGES (parents there is no need to find a babysitter- children are welcome)! Come enjoy friends, live music, and food all while getting some of your holiday shopping done!

We will be selling assorted hand-made gifts such as: aprons, headbands, jewelry, etc...

Contact me with any questions you might have! Hope to see you there!

Update: Kenya!

Well Hello there followers! Here is just a quick update on where the team is at with raising funds and support for Kenya 2010! As a team we must come up with about $111,000 which may seem like a large number, but with incessant prayer financially, the team has faith that God will surely provide! I have about $1000 more to raise personally, but the good news is that over $1500 has been provided by all my awesome supporters. I thank you all so very much!

We also had our first team meeting this past Sunday that was combined with the adult team that will be in Kitale at the same time as the High School Ministry team. They are all very nice people! They taught us some cool things about their past experiences in Kenya. The adults all come from a medical background of some sort and are focusing mainly on the hospitals and streets of Kitale in hopes of providing assistance to those in need of medical attention. The meeting overall was great! It was great to meet some of the people on our own team also that I had never met before. I can really already sense that God will do something great with our team.

Some things you can pray for:

-Pray for the members of the team who are struggling financially to raise support to get them to Kenya. Pray God will open their hearts and give them hope that God will provide if it is meant for them to go on this trip.
-Pray I will raise enough money by the deadline to get me to Kitale.
-Pray for the students that are not going on this trip, that really wanted to go with our team. Pray that they will continue to be on fire to serve globally and pray for their understanding that this may just not be the time for them.

As a team we have already been thrown some curve balls but we have been turning them into base hits. No home-runs yet, but we are satisfied with the simplest of success. We are all pumped to get out and go! Just as we learned in October, we are on fire with loving God AND loving others. Pray, that this flame will burn constantly and that we will remember why we are participating in such a experience.

Caption to picture: This is a picture my dear friend Nicole Leever took while she was in Rwanda a year and a half ago. I was privileged enough to receive a large copy from her and it is hanging in my bed room always reminding me of this trip. Always making me think about the fact that this trip isn't to better myself, but to brighten the lives of others and love on children like this little boy.

"The" Support Letter.

Thought you all might enjoy seeing the support letter that I sent out to a few special people!:

Within the last few years, God has been moving in me and shining his light through me in many ways. I have been given a multitude of opportunities through the High School Ministry at Saddleback Church, and those opportunities have helped me grow through Him in ways that I could never have imagined. Ever since December of 2007, my heart for those affected by poverty has grown significantly. It was at the Youth AIDS Summit during my sophomore year of high school, where it all really hit me how grateful we should be with all that we have. When there are families and orphaned children living in cardboard boxes in sewers not but a few miles from where each one of us Americans reside, I continually ask myself, “what am I doing to fix this?” The images of orphaned children give me chills and bring tears each time I see them. When another opportunity arose in my church for a group of high school students to reach out and connect with the inhabitants of Kitale, Kenya, God pressed it on my heart so much that it is where I will be serving in March of the close and coming new year. This trip will enable me to serve God in ways I would have never imagined.

The HSM (High School Ministry) Kenya 2010 team, while in Kitale, Kenya, will have the opportunity to:

- Evangelize in schools, hospitals, drop-in centers, group homes, city streets, churches and prisons.

- Create and run a 3 day summer camp for Oasis of Hope street kids.

- Participate with mobile clinics, training, evangelism, service, worship and outreach.

- Minister in different capacities to students, orphans, street kids, pastors, church leaders, and the sick.

As you can very well see, this trip will definitely challenge me in ways that I have never been challenged before and will also open my eyes even wider to the image of poverty first hand. I am so stoked to see how God will use me on this trip and how he will use our team to impact the people of Kitale.

/// Here is how you can be a part of this opportunity \\\

Prayer/// I would greatly appreciate your prayer support. Many of us know that prayer is the only way that this trip would ever be possible; completely turning everything over to God and letting Him transform my heart as He pleases. Some aspects of the trip you can pray for are:

//Safe travels. –to and from Kenya and also when we are out and about on the streets.

//For the summer camp –that kids lives would be changed by God.

//For the hearts of the team to be in the right place.

//For great conversations to be made within Kitale and also within the team.

//Strength in the midst of exhaustion/Health while in Kenya.

Financial/// If you feel led, I would love your support financially. I need to raise $3000 by December 15th to make this trip happen. It seems so soon, but this deadline is only placed in order to be able to purchase plane tickets at the best rate. Donations can also be retrieved after this deadline and would also be greatly appreciated. This donation is tax deductible. Checks can be made payable to Saddleback Church and for your own tax deduction purposes, please do not write my name anywhere on the check. Please use the blue envelope provided to return your donation to me for the trip and I will make sure that it is deposited in the proper church account. I would forever be grateful for your partnership in this area of my trip. Donations of any amount would be greatly honored and deeply appreciated.

Thank you very much for being who you are in my life…

I will keep you posted with continual information on the trip.

View my blog at cory-matthew.blogspot.com for updates regarding my ongoing

journey through life in addition to keeping you up to date

on how the preparations for Kenya are going.

Thank you so much! Lots of love!!

Cory Tomlinson

“Then these righteous ones will reply,

‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you?

Or thirsty and give you something to drink?

Or a stranger and show you hospitality?

Or naked and give you clothing?

When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?”

“And the King will say,

‘I tell you the truth,

when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters,

you were doing it to me!”

Matthew 25: 37-40

support for Kenya!!

As of today I still need $2,190! we have already almost made a $1000 headway! its awesome! Pray that all the money necessary would be provided in order to make this trip a success for the team and for the hearts of children to be changed while we are there. I cannot wait to see what God does in my life while I am there and I also cannot wait to see what he does in the hearts of my other team mates!

Keep those prayers happening and all will be great! God does amazing things through prayer!

I love all of you!

Caption: The shirt that I am wearing in this picture is the shirt from the 2007 Youth AIDS Summit in which I attended which thouroughly changed my life which I mentioned in my support letter!

Please feel free to comment on these posts even if you do not blog! I would love to hear from the people who are following me on my journey of life. Please please please write a little something in the comment box! you all are amazing!

homecoming '09 Trabucoo!!

Approximately one week ago minus a few hours.. because the adventure didnt commence until about 4 hours from now, one week ago.. i attended homecoming at Trabuco Hills High School. It was probably one of the most fun dances I have ever been too. The people that were there were amazing, the DJ was what I would call "solid", my date, heather leith, was soo much fun and the places that I found to dance on campus were pure genius.

Lets start from the beginning of the day!

We all gathered at Altisma Park across from the Mormon church in RSM, and we all gathered for the infamous pre-dance session of parents with their ghetto cameras, including iphones, cell phones, point and shoots, then there were about two people with their legit cameras. These two people were my mother and Shannon Leith, Heathers sister. I'll let you judge her amazing photography by the pictures shown below this!

Here is the group!


Pictures included the "throwing of the autumn leaves" picture, the "look like a prairie dog" and also the "plagiarize your shoulder" picture. All turned out to be some quality poses. After most of the group left for Heathers house for food, Logan, Rachel, Grant, Jessie, Heather, and I stayed back and we got to take some awesome pictures in front of Logans bus! While taking these awesome pictures, we were all remenissing of the glorious movie that is Little Miss Sunshine. Oh! did I mention that this was our ride to the dance. Yup. uh huh. riding with some class.

oh and you want to see my awesome date again. yeah?

well here she is!

Please notice the amazing home-made boutenire and corsage that we made for each other for a totally of zero dollars. Im pretty sure ill be keeping that picture of her for a long long time. It is absolutely hilarious!

After an amazing dinner prepared by Rubios, the group all played some intense catch phrase and to wrap up the pre-homecoming festivities, we watched a little gem of a movie of Heather, Joanna, Melissa, and Danya in their third grade highlight video. It was seriously the funniest thing I have ever seen. Heather wore overalls and chokers. enough said. Joanna. well her singing at Christmas time with everyone else playing a key on the xylophone was just precious. Danya just loved to eat, proven by the thanksgiving feast. and Melissa. well that girl just knew where the camera was every single time it was around. It was just great.

We then made our way to the dance. and it was just soo great.

Homecoming 09 THHS. No regrets. none at all!

support letter peeps!

Soo I just wrote my support letter for Kenya. I am getting uber... yes uber (i feel very tied to my German roots in saying that) excited! I but the address of my blog at the bottom of it so hopefully their partnership with the trip and with me will tie them into viewing my blog! I hope I get more than 2 followers through this. :)

Cant wait to see what God has in store for the HSM Kenya 2010 team this year! I will definitely keep you updated as things occur!

Hosanna

I see the king of glory

Coming on the clouds with fire

The whole earth shakes

The whole earth shakes

I see his love and mercy

Washing over all our sin

The people sing, The people sing

Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest

I see a generation

Rising up to take their place

With selfless faith

With selfless faith

I see a near revival

Stirring as we pray and seek

We're on our knees, We're on our knees

Heal my heart and make it clean

Open up my eyes to the things unseen

Show me how to love like you have loved me

Break my heart from what breaks yours

Everything I am for your kingdoms cause

As I go from nothing to Eternity

Hosanna in the highest

love it. love life. love God.

Jessica & Kyle were here.

Hey fellow bloggers, Jessica Raleigh and Kyle Smith here.
Jessica: Hey Kyle, what's up?
Kyle: my name is klyed. but hi.
Jessica: that's cool let's take some time to talk about our good friend Cory..
Klyed: Cory starts with a C. so does cars. i like cars.
Jessica: hm. that's cool. cool starts with a c too, so Cory is cool.
Klyed: carcass also starts with c. if i killed cory, he would be a carcass...
Jessica: well that's completely normal. i'm going to name some things i like about Cory. his glasses that aren't real, his ringback tone, his love for Wendy's. and lots of other stuff.
Klyed: the computer says fraud monitoring is on. FAIL. i dont even like this kid.
Jessica: cool beans. well currently Cory is singing Shania Twain to me and it's beautiful. I'm really happy about that. and well Klyed that was rude. i bet he doesn't like you either..
Klyed: i have 17 friends. and you are not one jessica.
Jessica: well i have a million friends and you're mean.
Klyed: Cory, i love you. Jessica... well.... sorry. im taken. by lawrence.
Jessica: cool. alright. well that's weird. but i love Cory a lot too. and that's why i want to say that he's great! yay!

Well that's all from Jessica and Klyed. Hope you didn't hate this.
yeah. Kyle is stupid. (: that's the point of this post.
oh and that Cory is amazing!

sooo..

I heard the homecoming group for mission wants to go to costco for dinner...

this has to be a joke.

who ever came up with this idea should be shunned. This is the worst idea in the entire world.

my idea: take industrial pictures at the irvine train station, and then take the roundtrip train to fullerton to go to the Old Spaghetti Factory, which is 100 feet away from the train station across the parking lot! Eat some awesome pasta and bread, not to mention the glorious creamy pesto dressing for the salad. I mean who can beat that. Then we take the train back to irvine.

This is the best idea in the entire world. The END.

Homecoming dates.

Trabuco Hills: Heather Leith

Mission Viejo: Tessa Owens

live it up! sen10rs!!

busybusybusy

So, I realize I havent updated in a while.. but I also realize that I dont have any readers as well. hopefully that may change.

Ive been a super busy guy the past few weeks. Ive been at the offices at church like everyday and its so awesome to see everyones smiling faces around the church all the time! It excites me to see everyone who works so hard to make HSM happen on the weekends. Also, ive been doing so much stuff for French Club at my school and its been very stressful! Its hard to be the only officer of the club who has experience with how to run the luncheons and all the activities.

Some other awesome things that have happened in my life is this super awesome ministry I am involved in called the Josh Griffin sermon and series ministry team. In this team, we help josh formulate weekend messages and the logistics of how to run the weekend. Its an awesome group of people and we all work together to make the weekend fun and friendly for anyone and everyone who comes to church! Through this ministry, we were formulating a message on forgiveness and we brought upon an idea to write a skit about forgiveness and how it pertains to an everyday person. I decided to take on this project and after a long drawn out creative writing process, we finally had a finished project. The video linked below is the last service that we showed this piece at for the High School Ministry. Who knew such a thing would let God work through the lives of many of my peers!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1Wme5WQz5M

thats all for now! hope to hear from some other people on here sooner than later!

some days..

there are just some events that make me feel down. a bad hair cut is one. :(

super duper.

Tomorrow. tomorrow. tomorrow.

I get to see heather leith. I am so excited to see this girl! I have not seen her in such a long time. Actually I am pretty sure I havent seen her since the last day of school. That was more than a month ago. I cannot believe that it has been this long without the presence of her own.

I cant wait to hear her awesome stories from Sri Lanka. After seeing all of her wonderful pictures via her mission trip blog, I cant wait to hear the stories first hand. This girl is awesome. I will let you know how it goes tomorrow after the reuniting.

This should be great.

the future is exciting.

Junior Miss. Ojai. Hillsong Conference.

stoked.

lunch with Kyle should be good today. im off to in n out to strike up awesome conversation with a friend thats just so awesome! can't wait to see what God puts on our hearts to converse about on this fine summer afternoon. :)

Abundant Love.

I was about to sit down to write this blog about how God has been working through me in the past week.. but im honestly at a loss for words as to how to write it down. His abundant love has surpassed anything words can describe. Ill be back tomorrow to see if i can formulate something a little more descriptive. But for now, know that I am on a spiritual high with God right now and i never want to come down!! :)

I swear...

... by the moon and the stars in the sky....

but no really. im sorry i havent been able to be on this very often.. well since first semester finals when i got those stress zits. man that was a stressful time! well i hereby promise that i will post morefrequently on this here blog of mine and i will keep you updated on this awesome summer! woohoo!!

SUMMER '09 NO REGRETS

Finals:

STRESS ZITS

im alive!

i swear i havent died! i just havent gotten a chance to post in awhile! life has been super busy!!

I CANT WAIT FOR FINALS TO BE OVER!

i really hope i do okay on all of them. this junior year is a killer!

Aside from school. Life has been amazing!

Friends = amazing

Family = amazing

what more can one ask for?

So, i thought i would tell a little synopsis of my friends right now. Basically, as i exclaimed earlier, they are all so amazing. Every single one of them. The difficulty I am currently facing is balancing time between the groups. Sometimes I wish everyone knew everyone and together everyone would get along. no drama. no arguments. Speaking of which, one of my new years resolutions is to stay out of drama. So ill keep everyone posted on my progress with that one. So far it is non-existent! But back to friends, the feeling i get whne i am with these wonderful people is great. After we hang out, there is most definitely a sense of loss. I just wish i could always be hanging out having fun with any of them!

Well. on that tender note, i will leave you with these parting words.

AU REVOIR!