Seeing Triple in Bend Oregon!

This weekend my dear-sweet-amazing sisters visited from Lynden for the first time!!! Carissa and Lindsey are two of the most precious people i know! They have these hearts... that are HUGE!!!!

Carissa. Is the older of the 2 by 7 minutes. She speaks Spanish almost fluently and when she returns from Argentina i'm sure she won't remember English =) Her heart has been moved in Compassion for the Latin American culture for years. And when i say moved... i am pretty sure her heart sits in her stomach and aches to see Hope and Freedom come to a people locked up in hopelessness and fear. She came to Red Robin and pretty much just chatted it up with all "the guys". . . i have on idea what they talked about other than the fact that i DON"T speak spanish... but it sure was fun watching her love people through language

Lindsey. Lou- Lou = Soft Heart. She is so sensitive to the things that move the heart of God. This last year has been a whirlwind of growth and challenge for Lindsey, but through it all she Stands firm in Jesus... pressing into what He wants to teach her. Even though she is not going to Argentina for 6 months. Linds also has a HUGE love for the Latino culture... all those years of working in the berry fields have given her an eye for those who seem "hidden" from America, yet help us stand. She also was so fun to watch speaking Spanish with my buddies at the Bird.

Even though it was a SHORT FAST weekend, i am SO glad that they got to be here to experience my life in Bend. They came to Westside, Red Robin, Backporch, Safeway, Jonny Carino's... all my favorite places! And everywhere we went people asked if we were related... "no we just look alike."
it was a lot of fun.

Thanks for visiting sistas... come again soon!

Some Thoughts about the Year.

As we get closer to 2008 I feel i must post some notes pondering all the things that have happened in my life in 2007... so on Christmas Eve at 1:39 am ... here is my first post in such regard. Here is my little "article" i wrote for our family New Years Letter!!!

I sat down to write this years part of the Diacogiannis Dispatch and started by reading over my journals from the last year or so. I love looking back at 1 year and seeing all the things God has brought me through. It is overwhelming at times; His Grace, Faithfulness and Love.

As most of you know I am living and breathing different air then the rest of my family. I moved down to Bend Oregon on April 20th full of excitement and anticipation of the plans God had for me in this new place. Little did I know or imagine the adventure that lay ahead of me. The story that brought me to Bend is far to long to be held within the pages of this New Years letter. I will do my best to condense this adventure I have been on in a few short paragraphs.

I was hired at Red Robin a month before the move, so I started work 2 days after moving here. Going from full-time ministry at North County Christ the King to Red Robin was so strange. I was not at all prepared for the people, lifestyles and lack of God in that place. On the flipside I was not prepared for the boldness and kindness of the Christians in the very same place! Red Robin soon became a big part of my life. Over the summer I worked 40+ hours a week and loved every minute of it.

Westside Church is my second or third home depending how you look at it. There is my house… the place I sleep and am writing this, there is The Bird were I spend lots of hours a week serving people Smiling Burgers and Bottomless Fries, and then there is my Church. The move to Westside has been the hardest, most rewarded thing I have ever done. After 6 months of tears, prayers, walks with Jesus asking and searching for the reason why I was brought to this place; I felt His releasing into a new ministry and passion. I am now the Lead of Connections for Oneighty. Oneighty is the High School Ministry at Westside and if I didn’t have bills to pay I would spend so much more time there with the amazing team of leaders and Pastors. My goal in Oneighty is to be the bridge between being a “newbie” and “in the family”. I LOVE High Schoolers. They are on such a different planet than most of us, but what they need most is the Love of Christ poured into their lives in a tangible way. This is the goal of Oneighty. I could go on and on… just ask me in person sometime… and be prepared to see the fireworks in my eyes and the spring in my step increase as I talk about the things God is doing in the young lives of Central Oregon!

Grace. Faithfulness and overwhelming love. These are the things that sum up my last year. Grace from all of those who watched me do the craziest thing of my life. Faithfulness that only comes from my Father in Heaven and overwhelming Love from both. I am so blessed. I know where I’m at. I have a piece of the future in mind and I know that my Jesus will be with me every step of the way. He hasn’t let go of my hand yet, but keeps encouraging me to trust Him, and so here I sit; Trusting in the One I can’t see but I know is real. Believing for a destiny and living a life that was not in my plans, but my greatest joy is knowing that I AM right where God wants me. May each one of you find this joy in your life. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Bend Oregon.

Weekend Joyness!

This weekend I went to Lynden... and if you are reading this and didn't get to see me while i was there... it's cause it was a super quick trip. Sorry.

I took my "adopted" little sis from Bend home to meet the family! Paige and i had quite the adventures. We jumped into Canada... literally. Check out the slide show!

While we were in Lynden North County Christ the King(my old stomping grounds) opened it's NEW Worship Center. It was so amazing to be back not only at my old church, but old job... life... and seeing a HUGE DREAM fulfilled. It was so amazing to be standing in a Miracle. I walked in the door to the new Commons (foyer) and just took a moment and praised the Lord. When i moved, i had no idea i would be able to be at the opening weekend for such an amazing moment!

WE also celebrated Christmas a little bit early. Since i won't be going home for Christmas this year, we opened presents to and from me and Papa and Mama gave us our new ornaments. I'll post those pics soon... my camera battery died... But I got a ton of AWESOME stuff. My kitchen is all tooled up for baking/cooking!!! hooray!

On the way home Paige and i had one last adventure... sliding into a Snow Drift!!!! I have never "spun out" before... so i kinda had a WOW moment... but no tears, screams or anything... we just looked at each other and said, "chains?" We hadn't put them on yet =) Much to our joy a very kind man stopped... and he had a shovel. Who carries a shovel in there truck?? He dug us out, showed me how to work my four wheel drive and then gave us a shove out of the snow!!! We got back on the road and praised the Lord for protection and Safety.... no one was behind us or coming towards us!!!! it was totally amazing!




Christmas is just 7 days away. I hope you have your focus on JESUS, and the JOY of his birth! What an amazing time of year this is!
Joy+lots of it= Joyness!

Hooray!

Hooray for Family.

Hooray for Jesus.

Hooray for Friends...new ones and long time ones.

Hooray for dreams come true.

Hooray.

Hooray for Christmas.

Hooray for Lights.

Hooray for guitars... i wish i could play them.

Hooray for Worship.

Hooray.

Hooray for Miracles.

Hooray for children....someday.

Hooray.

Hooray for Blessings.

Hooray for Blenders.

Hooray for towels....especailly red and black ones for my kitchen.

Hooray.

Hooray for Dad and Mom....they love each other lots.

Hooray for Little Brothers.... who are so grown up.

Hooray for little Sisters... the ones who are taller than me.

Hooray for Heroes....my big brother is my very own.

Hooray.

Hooray for love.

Hooray for life.

Hooray for beauty.

Hooray for pain....even though it hurts... healing is good.

Hooray for emotions.

Hooray for holidays.

Hooray for road trips.

Hooray.

Hooray for Canada.

Hooray for 10-19's.... whatever they are!

Hooray.

Hooray.

Horray.

Life with Internet!

Today is a very Happy day for me... yes it's true; I am sitting at my desk, typing on my computer, uploading my photos... with MY INTERNET CONNECTION!!!!!!!! Merry Christmas to me... that's all i'm giving myself... internet.... the connection to the world around me...

i'm not sure i have been missed though... due to the lack of comments... i'm not even sure people read this silly thing....oh welll.... I still love blogging... Funny thoght; my mom is a professional Blogger... she blogs WAY more than me and is always updating pictures, adding slideshows, and linking more blogging friends to her blog. WAY TO GO MOM!!!

Life in Bend Oregon has been AMAZING since i last wrote. God is so so so so faithful. I am LOVING ministry in Oneighty High School. It rocks my tuesdays and sundays!!!! I am super involved in the Connections area... making sure students are not left out on the fringe. It is totally amazing and i am so excited to see 180 grow and be a place High schoolers from around Bend can call family. Last week we had a staff VS Varsity girls Volleyball match/game it was incredible.






Thanksgiving was AMAZING as usual. CRC is defiantly one of my most favorite places ever.




and here are some random fall/winter pics....

Life with out Internet!

I can't believe it's been so stinkin LONG!!!! Oh how i miss blogging!!!

Do you ever wonder what life was like before the INTERNET??? The thought has crossed my mind here and there... but this past month and a little bit has been amazing!!! and weird!!! I didn't realize how much i use the World Wide Web until i had to live without it!!! You see i have this AMAZING new living situation, but we don't have internet at our house...and since i have a 21" imac, going to a coffee shop to use the internet is rare... I did actually yake it to Backporch once... but i was desprate, and that's when i DID have internet at my old house! So here i sit... houssitting and enjoy the internet at my fingertips!!! glory. but tomorrow... i'm back to a life of random friends computers... and checking email on occasion.
Once i do get internet where my computer is... then i will for sure be adding pictures from my last month and a bit and updating as often as my little heart desires, but for now; This will have to do.

Life in Bend Oregon is as exciting as always!!! I LOVE my new apartment and my roomates are great!!!

Work; Since this is where i spend most my time. Red Robin aka The Dirty Bird is a GREAT. I am really learned a lot about what it means to "walk out your faith". I can preach my heart out, but if i am not consistantly living(every day) what i am "preaching" i've got nothing. Sometimes i feel like the non- Jesus lovers are watching me. Just waiting to see what i will do... if i will fail. They love to try and push my buttons; to see if i will ever get mad to the point of exploding. It's been a challenge in someways not to just give up hope for these people. But i know no one else is praying for some of them and if i don't no one will... and then their hope would be lost. So i keep praying... and living as consistant as possible... and just lovin' on 'em. Trying to see them with Jesus eyes and love them with God's heart. I wish they would "just get it".... but it's a battle not easily won. And so back to my knees i go.

Church; I LOVE MY CHURCH!!!!!!!!!!!! Emerge is averaging about 120m a week!!!!! It is simply amazing!!!! I wouldn't miss a Thursday night if my rent bill depended on it!!!!! I am volunteering in High School Ministry now... 180 (www.180bend.com) pretty much is amazing. I love it so much. On Tuesday night we had a prayer and worship night.... with 3 prayer focuses and then worship mixed in all over the place. I was telling somone the other day that it should be illegal how much i love pouring my life into these student's lives. I think sometimes i am more blessed by watching them grow then they are by me being there. =) Mostly i just want kids to see that life in Christ is SO much better(John 10:9-10) than life for this world and this now. It's also great working with so many of my students at The Bird.... or they all come in and hang out. =)

Future; God's will be done in my life AMEN!!!! I keep seeking wisdom...searching out right living.... and pressing into what God' perfect will is for my life... and i keep going back to my blog entry entitled; The Will of God.... check it out if you haven't.... i believe i wrote it in July.

May the Light of Christ grow brighter and brighter as you run the race He has called you to! I pray that you would experiance more of him everyday and that you would never tire of His Adventure!!!

Don't waste a moment... don't watch your life go by... you only have NOW... live the best Life of your Life... it's all you got.... seize the moment!!! Live for more.

Why am i awake?

Um it's 2 am and i am WIDE awake... not like a little awake... WIDE awake... and i worked 9 hours yesterday....or today since i haven't gone to sleep yet... how is that even possible?.... oh my I just had a *yawn*.... but still no droopy eyes...

oh my another *yawn*.... this is a good sign... now what was i going to write about... hmmmm.... oh yea....

i'm moving! not far... at all... actually less than 400 meters from where i sit is my new bedroom!!!! and my two new roomates who are probably fast asleep, like normal people... oh another *yawn*... in any case; I am really really excited to be moving in with Kristin and Meagen. They both go to my church. Basically i will be saving about 300 dollars a month on rent! Praise the Lord!!! i am so in awe! *yawn*

let's see what else... i got pulled over on my way home from work tonight. I have a head light out... which bites, cause the Jiffy Lube guys said they changed my bulb. Which basically means they put in the wrong kind of light... The Police man was really nice.... even with me and my Washington plates and licence! =) I should change that... i need a "perminate" address though... hmmm.... *yawn*... oh how the thoughts get random this late at night.....

Did the Mariners win tonight??? Last i saw when i left work it was 4-3 Cleveland... or whoever they were playing....

*yawn*--- wow that's a lot of yawning for not being able to fall asleep.... perhaps back to the cozy bed i will go... *yawn*

bless you .... whoever you are that read this silly thing.

PS- i am very excited = Above the Noise+Wednesday/Tomorrow/Today.

The End

Verse of the moment....

Romans 8:31-32
"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"

Just take each thought and ponder it... and maybe pull out your Bible and check out the few verses before this... and it will put this in more context.... but for real:

IF GOD IS FOR US WHO CAN BE AGAINST US????

what a thought, God, the one who created the whole world, gave his Son for us, loves us through our crap IS FOR ME!???!?!?!?

I am in awe. simply in awe.

Summers End

If you are reading my blog for the first time you will not have missed much as of late, however if you are a returning "blogger" you will notice that this is the first blog in much to long! In short: My adventure with God has been indescribable! So this will be effort to show what the last 2 months have been like...by pictures and short stories! Hip-hip horray!

I went home to Lynden July 13-16 and went to Chad and Trina's wedding...


Christian Renewel Center- One of the most dear places to my heart! I ended up being there a lot more than i had planned, but it was much fun! God always does amazing, prophetic, challenging things in my when i am at CRC.. and this time was no different! My dear friends Jon and Ann Dunagan where the speakers... they are also my extended family in Hood River Oregon... more on that later!
My amazing sisters and myself.... yes we look like triplets!

Lindsey and me... getting ready to jump from behind a waterfall! yahoo!

I didn't take this picture, but it was on my camera... Uriah and Tim diving in!

Next I had the amazing blessing of being able to spend an evening with my "Indian-African" Family. When i was in Africa in 2005 i became very close to my host family. Sam and Vicky grew up in the slums of south India and God brought them to himself and together and they have an amazing heart for the Wolof people of West Africa. When i returned to the USA i soon realized it would be very unlikely that i would see Sam, Vicky, Jeshu and Debbie on this earth again! Much to my heart's delight I spent the evening on Aug 3rd with them!

Debbie Joy was just barely 1 when we were in Africa and now she is all grown up and very sweet!

August 4 2007~ Caleb Wilson and Sarah Nelson
Caleb and Sarah were on my YWAM DTS and we could never have guessed the They would be married 3 years later!!! But we are all so glad they are!



August 5-7~ Lost Lake Campout! Covenant Christian Hood River has become my second church family!!! I LOVE them so much!!! The church campout was a great end to a fabulous weekend!




I was only back in Bend for 5 days before i went back to Hood River for 3 days to help with VBS... well 3 days turned into a week!!!!
VBS was great i had a little team of ten 1-3th grade boys! They were soooo much fun!



On Tuesday August 14th, my life changed... forever. I went cliff jumping... well at least that was the plan. I had heard about The Pocket a lot from the Dunagans and heard it is SO much fun. Totally safe and SO much fun! I've been cliff jumping before, so i was up for anything. But no matter how many times your have jumped before it is always a little nerve wracking to stand with toes on the edge....looking down 30 feet into the green, cold water! Sure enough my case of nervousness almost cost me my life. When i went to jump it seemed as though my feet wanted to stay where they were, thus sending me straight down, instead of jumping out! I remember thinking, "wow i'm going to hit rock!" and "What's going to happen?" Nest thing i know i am trying to breath and all i get is big gulps of water! My whole body wast screaming in pain, but nothing would come out of my mouth. My contacts were moving around on my open eyes, and the water was dark and cold. when i surfaced i knew Patrick had jumped in to pull me out, but i could barely gasp for air before going under again... this time i felt him grab my arm and pull me out... i was trying to breath and understand what just happened... The other guys who were they thuoght for sure i was broken everywhere... but only my left leg was bleeding and bruised! When they asked me what hurt... i said "EVERYTHING!" but amazingly when i stood up and started moving, only my ledt foot hurt!!! nothing else.... i knew my muscles would be sore the next day or two, but my foot only hurt if i put pressure on it...It was swelling right away! I was convinced it wasn't broken...and after the guys graciously prayed for me and took me home to the Dunagans i went about the rest of my afternoon and evening. It wasn't until the next day that i was conviced to go to the ER and get x-rayed. Turns out my foot was broken.... but a very small "easy to fix" type of break! yay! i recieved a small-not-so-fashionable blue "shoe" to wear for the next 3-6 weeks! It was very scary, and I know God has a plan for my life!!! Patrick and Daniel Dunagan thought i was going to be hurt MUCH MUCH worse than i was, so we are all praising the Lord that i am not! here's the pics....
This is my leg and bruises about a week later:

This is my little diagram of the cliff... yes i went back 4 weeks to the day after the fall of my life!


I stayed in Hood River for week because i could not work, and then took me, my broken foot, and crutches to Cour De Alene Lake in Idaho to celebrate my parents 25th wedding anniversary!
Yup, i have put 12,000 miles on my car since Feb. 14th!!!!!

Josiah loved riding in the boat!

Lindsey skied for me, since i could do much of anything except lay in the sun... bummer i know!

The view from the deck!


After Cour De Alene... i still wasn't supposed to work...so Lynden got to see me again. I enjoyed Woods Coffee everyday at leadt once a day, and got to chill with my older brother Gregg who was on vacation from Iraq! YAY for our American Hero! Once i was back in Bend i got right at it and went back to life at Red Robin! Not as crazy as before, but i got a few new nick-names including,but not limited to; Hobbles, Hop-a-long, Gimpy, Gimpster...you get the idea!
The glorious RR outfit!


After a week and a half i thought i needed a break =P so i went up to Puyallup and DID the Puyallup Fair with most of my family and then just got to love on them and some close friends for a couple days... and then back to Hood River i went to celebrate my 22nd birthday!!!! That's right i am 22 years young, and loving every moment of it!





And that my friend brings us up to date on the details of cassie's July, August and begining of September 2007! It was most definatly one of the most amazing summers of my life!!! I feel like i lived in the "greenhouse" affect of growth!!! God has taught me so much, i have laughed, cried, prayed and smiled at this adventure i am on. I am so thankful for all the prayers and encoraging words. Thanks! here is the quote of the moment;

"Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every moment you believe to be the will of God." -- Jim Elliot

and that's that.
Laugh out loud. Smile for real. Enjoy the moment. Live Passionatly. Listen to the Music loud. Love More. Dance. Sing. Clap. Whatever you do be all there! I have a friend who says this, "have the best Life of your life." and that's the truth. Make today great, pursue God's Best...

Life is Happening...God is good.

Hmm... It seems that it has been a while since i last wrote... very interesting.

Life in Bend is wonderful... let's assume that unless i post with tears and gnashing of teeth that Cassie is LOVING life in Bend Oregon and is so enjoying this adventure with God... putting the puzzle of life together! Way awesome...that's all i have to say on that note!

Work is going great. I am loving "The Dirty Bird" more and more. =) I work with a great group of fun upbeat people, and lots that go to my church! woot-woot! If you are an eater who treats your tastebuds to Red Robin, but sometimes get in a rut and only order "that one thing that I always get"... let me challenge you to eat outside the box next time you treat your tastebuds to RR... the menu really is full of wonder and awe... and silly side comments about the menu items...so check it out and be amazed!

Happy Birthday America!!! I realized that i didn't ever mention that i had an AMAZING 4th of July in Hood River Oregon with some family friends who let me be apart of their family fun! I was in a parade( yay Hood River), went to a GREAT church BBQ and outreach, heard some amazing music(www.rescueministries.com), worshiped the LORD AND of course watched the fireworks! Enjoy the pics!






I had a vacation!!! gasp and rejoice-- that's what i did! I went "home" to Lynden for a few days! Things that make the Diacogiannis home AMAZING:
-Papa D's waffles...with strawberries!
-snuggling with the next avalible little D brother or sister!
-sleeping in until you smell the waffles...
-playing every card game invented;
~BLINK ~ Uno ~ War ~ Go Fish ~ Nertz ~ Hand and Foot
-laughing so hard you cry... at the dinner table...
-having the most RANDOM disscussions at the dinner table =)
-taking walks around Lynden
-EXPERIANCING THE LOVE OF CHRIST IN A FAMILY WHO NO MATTER WHAT LOVES YOU... even if we get in "fights" which actually doesn't happen too much!

I also went to a wedding, went to Woods Coffee 900 times, visited my old church (yay NCCTK phase #1 done!), and got to catch up with lots of amazing friends!


This is me and Hosanna(lil sis) Dancing to "Fly Me to the Moon" at our friends wedding!

Welp, that about recaps my life in July so far.... blessings as you seek HIS will for your life!

African Siblings!

These are the 4 precious children that God has placed in our lives! My parents are AMAZING and are in the process of adopting Victor(12), Lydia(10), Rachel(10) and Sarah(6 ?) from West Africa! WE are all thrilled and so excited to see how this all happens! Our prayer is that our new brother and sisters will be here by Thanksgiving! Please be in prayer that the process is not drawn out longer than it should. Victor, Rachel and Sarah are siblings and Lydia is getting 13 in one package deal! how awesome is that?!?!?!? Yes my parents already have birthed and are raising 10 AMAZING children for the Lord, but these precious ones would be a gift from the Lord for our family. We don't divide Love at our house we multiply it!

i'll keep you all updated on how things are going! Life here in Bend is wonderful! Hot, but wonderful! God's never ending kindness is incredible!

i Love my Brother!

Hey hey hey!
last week i got to spend all day in Portland with my "little" brother Jeremiah! He is an amazing dude...and i'm so lucky to have him as a brother and best friend.... Portland was an adventure to be had for sure! We walked from Pioneer Park to The Old Spaghetti Factory... it's only about 2.5 miles, but there are a few freeways between the two....yes, we walked on the freeway, but only for .2 miles so it wasn't that bad, except that i was wearing a skirt and flip-flops...and the "sidewalk" is not on Portland's City Works Dept. "to do" list.... so therefore i got a few scraps from the bushes that were trying to force us onto the freeway into the path of speeding cars.... it was crazy! But oh so much fun!!! and i got my phone fixed, so i can have longer than 5 minute phone conversations! yay for Verizon!

enjoy some pics of me and my crazy brother....we wanted to take pictures of us walking on the freeway, but thought that might be dangerous =)