Assignment: I gave everyone an assignment to write a blog about a fellow housemate. We each drew a name and I got Toya’s name! She calls me 2wheeler and beauty queen and here’s my lovely story about her…
A Little Background…
Toya grew up in San Diego, California with four younger siblings. She worked in a library for fourteen years and eventually moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. Toya has been very independent for most of her life and has expressed that coming here to AIM and living with ten other people is a stretching step of faith.
Toya’s Likes and Dislikes…
Likes: 1. the color purple 2. beaches/water 3. alone time! 4. her nieces and Jack
Dislikes: 1. chocolate 2. red roses 3. bugs 4. flip flops
What I think Toya contributes to the community and what she means to me…
Toya got here about a month after everyone else due to a missions trip she was participating in to Africa. We all anxiously awaited her arrival. Toya is such a blessing to the community even just in the month that she’s been here, she has contributed so much! She is an amazing cook (all from scratch), she has a great sense of humor (particularly when she makes fun of me), she has a lot of knowledge and wisdom from her greater years as a Christian than I, and she has played an important roll in my life even in just the past few days. Specifically, there was a night last week, I was crying and upset, she asked if there was anything she could do for me but I pushed her away. Instead of getting frustrated with me, she let me cool down a little and cry then she came back and comforted me. She shared her story and some struggles she was having and related them to the situation I was dealing with and by the end of the conversation we were both smiling and laughing, needless to say, I felt a lot better.
Toya seems like a quite or shy person but once you get to know her, she has so much to offer! :] Toya, you are such a beautiful person inside and out. God has awesome plans for your life and I am excited to see the journey you’re walking these next few months. Keep persevering even on the days that life just plain sucks because God has something GREAT for you through all this! I am blessed to have you as my house-mate and to be your friend. Thank you for opening up with me, being real with me and letting me cry on your shoulder. You Rock! :]
Toya seems like a quite or shy person but once you get to know her, she has so much to offer! :] Toya, you are such a beautiful person inside and out. God has awesome plans for your life and I am excited to see the journey you’re walking these next few months. Keep persevering even on the days that life just plain sucks because God has something GREAT for you through all this! I am blessed to have you as my house-mate and to be your friend. Thank you for opening up with me, being real with me and letting me cry on your shoulder. You Rock! :]
and just for the record, she does like white people! :]
You can see what I wrote about Kelsey below… (it will explain the remark above if you haven’t read it yet…)
Kelsey,
You are so lucky to be w/my sister and I do mean MY Sister. Sweet T was given to me by God when I needed a friend to show me what a relationship w/God is suppose to be. I like to tell people I want to be like Toya when I grow up and I’m in my high 40’s.
Sweet T tells her family she’s going on vacation with her boyfriend and his wife to the beach. We lay in the sun, I turn red she covers up to keep from turning even blacker! We know black is beautiful but not so black she turns blue! I’d love her even if she was her shade of purple.
Those trips to the beach in Sept are sometimes the only time we get to spend together the whole year. I’m greedy with our time together. I look forward to it all year long. Tom and I love taking folks to the beach with us and rotate people from year to year. Toya is always first, it’s a given and I would beg and beg if she ever said no. But she’s a water baby and we bust that ocean wide open, she doesn’t say no.
For those of you who saw the duct tape episode, Tom is my husband and T’s boyfriend. I’ve had him for 32 years so believe me I can share. Tom also adores T too.
Seems like we are always cooking up a storm in one kitchen or another. I love to see what happens when we create and it’s always some kind of good eats.
My whole family loves her. That’s enough goo for now.
I love my Toya, you have my heart always.
Tammi