Walking with Jesus

Teresa Ortiz

Break Time and a Dedication to My Fellow Warpies

Hey friends! I don't have much time, I am supposed to be unplugging the computer so we can get everything in this room on the truck but Art is fiddling with something outside so I thought I would take advantage of the break.

I won't bore you guys rehashing the past year, heaven knows you have heard it enough times for 12 life-times. What I really want to say is thank you! Thank you for all the notes, words of encouragement, and all the wonderful articles I have read that have taken my mind of my circumstances.

You guys have become family in many ways, and I feel like I have been missing out these past few weeks because I haven't been able to read or write as often as I normally do.

 All this to say, there has been a song flowing through my mind that fits this occasion perfectly so I am dedicating it to you so that you can have it in your mind while I am away getting settled in California.

You know I Can't Smile Without You,
I Can't Smile Without You,
I can't laugh
and I can't sing,
I'm findin' it hard to do anything.
You see, I feel sad when you're sad,
I feel glad when you're glad,
If You only knew what I'm going through,
I just Can't Smile Without You.
You came along just like a song
and brightened my day,
Who'd've believe that you were part of a dream
Now it all seems light years away.
And now you know I Can't Smile Without You,
I Can't Smile Without You,
I can't laugh and I can't sing,
I'm finding it hard to do anything.
You see, I feel sad when you're sad,
I feel glad when you're glad,
If you only knew what I'm going through,
I just can't smile.
Now some people say happiness takes so very long to find.
Well I'm finding it hard leaving your love behind me.
And you see,
I Can't Smile Without You,
I Can't Smile Without You,
I can't laugh
and I can't sing,
I'm findin' it hard to do anything.
You see, I feel sad when you're sad,
I feel glad when you're glad,
If You only knew what I'm going through,
I just Can't Smile Without You

(Barry Manilow)

Dang, Art just came in, I gotta go, he is kicking me out. One last thing before I go. While searching the net for these lyrics, I came across the most amazing video of this song and I wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't include it here.

Burning Books, Bibles, and Music CD's: Amazing Grace or Arrogance?

Survivor Samoa Episode 4 "Hungry for a Win" Galu Goes to Tribal Council

After his heated battle with Ben during tribal council for Foa Foa, Jaison had regrets about playing the game. "I came for adventure", he said among other things while going over the evening's events as the storm raged and the rain come down hard.

The morning of day 9 met with Russell (1) of Foa Foa somewhat frustrated by Ben's actions that forced him to side with Jaison. He then turned his attention toward Jaison should they go to tribal council…again.

Meanwhile, Shambo was reunited with her Galu tribe members after developing friendships over at Foa Foa and her prior feelings of being on the outs come back without skipping a beat…and then tree-mail arrived. The leader (chief) of each tribe had to pick two members to assist them in the battle for reward. Mick of Foa Foa chose Natalie and Russell (1), and Russell (2) of Galu chose Shambo and Dave. Once they made their way to the beach, each of the tribes stood in silence and the tension mounted as they waited for Jeff's arrival. As time went on, they started to wonder if they were to play this one out on their own.  On one side of the marked circle was a crate holding three chickens and on the other, a treasure chest. As if they heard Jeff's voice from afar, Russell (1) took a step forward, and Dave rushed for the treasure chest. Natalie and Shambo headed for the chickens. In the treasure chest were instructions and 18 small balls; nine purple and nine yellow. Each tribe member had three balls, and in turn had to throw the ball closest to the flag in the sand. In the end, the tribe whose ball was closest would win reward – reward being the chickens.

In a welcomed twist, the tension in this challenge was not the catfight for who is stronger, but rather the silence as each member focused and tossed their balls. In the end, Dave's third and final ball rested inches away from the flag and Galu walked away with the chickens leaving Foa Foa frustrated and hungry for a win next time around.

While the challenge was going on, Erick the bar tender of Galu took advantage of the time to search for the hidden immunity idol that he was convinced was somewhere in their camp – specifically in the same place as it would be at camp Foa Foa. Earlier in the day, he met up with Shambo and asked her for the clue she was given on her way over to Foa Foa a few days before. Willingly she gave him the information – bad move, in my opinion. Did she really think Erick would share it with her if he found it?  As it turned out, after climbing high and searching low, he found the idol, tucked away in the trunk of one of the trees right near the camp.

When they arrived at camp with the chickens, the remaining members celebrated and Shambo was elected as caretaker of the chickens – probably not the best choice given the fact that the next morning, her carelessness allowed one of the chickens to escape. It was a funny sight to watch a few tribe members try to catch the chicken.  Apparently, it wasn't that big of a deal, as after a while, no one seemed to care about the missing chicken; perhaps another sign of being too comfortable with their winning streak.

Day 11 and immunity was back up for grabs – the challenge? Six members of each tribe had to carry several blocks over a netted course. Once all members were on the matt and the end of the course, they had to stack the blocks making a single tower. After this was complete, they had to cross a roped bridge. Waiting on the other side was a bundle of blocks needing to be untied and another tower was to be built; this one being higher than the first -- to the point where the players had to form a human ladder. Again, the tension in this game was not brawn, but balance. With each tribe having a few blocks left, it was anyone's game. That is until Kelly of Galu lost her grip, and two of the three remaining blocks tumbled to the ground while Natalie placed the last block on Foa Foa's tower and for the first time, Foa Foa won immunity and avoided tribal council.

The attention shifted to Galu – who was going home?  Russell (2) was disappointed in Monica's performance (or lack of), during the challenge. Others were frustrated that Shambo let the chicken escape and still others had grown tired of Yasmin, know as "Yaz", not pulling her weight and helping out around camp. Yaz admitted to doing nothing around camp, but defended her self as one who stepped up during the challenges.

With this loss, the game takes an interesting and refreshing twist as viewers are given a glimpse into what seemed like a happy family. Russell (2) was angry that his tribe was considering going against his wishes to vote for Yaz and not Monica. The tribe members were torn in that they did not want to go against Russell, but they truly believed it was Yaz who needed to go. (Remember this is the same girl who on day 1 said, she didn't even like to camp!)

Evening of day 11 – Tribal Council wasn't as exciting as Foa Foa's in terms of mean spirited conversations, but rather, honest opinions about what each of them thought of some of their tribe members. In the end, one thing was clear the tribe disagreed with their leader, as Yaz was the first to be voted out of the tribe and the fourth person voted off this season of Survivor. (Given the fact that she wore her high-heeled shoes to tribal council, I would say they made the right choice.)

Will they recover? How will Russell respond when they get back to camp? The rain returned and they were left to their own thoughts as they walked off into the darkness toward camp.

15 players and 28 days left – who will be voted off next?

• Previous Posts:

• Break Time and a Dedication to My Fellow Warpies
• Burning Books, Bibles, and Music CD's: Amazing Grace or Arrogance?
• Survivor Samoa Episode 4 "Hungry for a Win" Galu Goes to Tribal Council
• Happy Birthday Wishes and a Prayer for the Queen of Searchwarp
• When Your Child is on Drugs and Your Marriage is Falling Apart Reach out and Never Give up
• Survivor Samoa Episode 3 "It's called a Russell Seed" Who goes Home Next is it Ben or Ashley
• Survivor Samoa, Episode 2, and Betsy the Police Officer
• The Substitutionary Death of Jesus: Answers to Biblical Questions Part 4

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• Black Raspberry
• Naturalize Your Wetlands
• Not Just for Decoration
• The Black Willow Tree: A Common But Beautiful Addition to Your Home or Garden

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