New NILI Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP2BjQIqA4U

The Next Semester

Hello All...

Well, it's been over four months since I last posted. Unfortunately, I never found time to write about our trip to Atacames, the Galápagos, or my trip home. Here's the short story on those...

We went to Atacames for a weekend. We rented two condos on the beach (literally, we walked out the door and right onto the beach), and it was amazing. We didn't have a schedule to follow, it was all free time. So it was just fun in the sun for us. I learned to boogey board (who knows if I spelled that right) which was probably the best part for me. Lindsey and I were out on the ocean by ourselves boogey boarding, and it was like we had the whole ocean and beach to ourselves. It was nice to chill out together. Unfortunately, most of the food there was seafood, which of course I can't stand. But like I said, it was only a weekend, and we ventured home (a little too soon, if you ask me).

Then we headed to the Galápagos. We spent the 5 days on a yacht, and visited a few islands. Unfortunately, I don't remember exactly which islands those were, so I looked online for the itinerary of the Yolita II (our yacht). We started on the tiny Baltra Island from Bachas Beach. The second day we went onto another small island, Plaza, and then on to Santa Fé Island. The next day we went to Española Island (the oldest, so I guess the animals on there are pretty ancient and very rare), day 4 we went to Floreana, and then finally ended in Santa Cruz.

The first day we flew from Quito to Guayaquil, and then from Guayaquil to the Baltra Island, where we took a bus that took us to a raft that took us to the Yolita II. We saw a couple Sea Lions right away when we got to the raft dock. The male was huge, and he yelled at us a lot. Then in the water I saw a penguin. The only penguin a saw during the whole trip. :-( (I was going to take a picture, but I thought I'd see more. And he swam away too fast). After getting settled on the Yolita II, we had a wet landing on Bachas Beach (wet landing = the boat stops off shore, and you have to walk through the water to the beach, dry landing = there's a dock/land the raft docks next to and you can walk right onto). There Risel, the guide, talked to us about how sea turtles make their nests on the beach. And there were a lot of crabs.

The second day we woke up who knows when and had a dry landing on Islas Plazas. Sitting right in the middle of the dock/landing was a sea lion who, when I tried to pass, kept coming toward me. Everyone else was able to pass just fine, but it wouldn't leave me alone. I guess it liked me, lol. Once I got past the sea lion, Risel started his lesson on marine iguanas, land iguanas, lava lizards, and the cacti. His accent was really funny, and a lot of what he said sounded like curse words. Oooh, good old Risel. I thought the island would have a lot of lush vegetation and pretty flowers, but it pretty much looked like a desert. I would have been more disappointed had I not seen so many lobos marinos. Then later in the day we had a wet landing on Santa Fé to a beach FULL of sea lions. They were precious. Also, it was either this day or the third day that we started snorkeling. I wanted to sooo badly, but Risel freaked me out going through the important signals for "jelly fish, shark, hammerhead shark, great white shark, etc..." so that when I got in the water, I was so afraid of whatever might swim underneath me that I panicked and after 5 minutes was too stressed out to stay in the water. So I got back into the raft with one of the crew members...and never went out again.

Third day we went to Española. We got to see blue footed boobies, and we got to see their mating dance. The boy offered the girl a stick (to prove he could be a good provider)?? I also saw albatross. They're HUGE and really pretty. I liked them a lot. On our second outing of the day, we went to a beach while others went snorkeling. I just laid around with the sea lions, and it was so amazing. I also got to swim with them a little bit. SO COOL!! I'd just like to add in as a side note, mostly because I don't know what day it happened, but we also saw from the yacht: sting rays, dolphins, and whales. Also cool.

Fourth day: Floreana. To be honest, this was my least favorite island, although I believe I saw the first flowers there. We saw a few flamingos, Brittiny held a crab, and then we went to a beach where we walked into the ocean where the sting rays were. The water was so cloudy we couldn't really see them, but every once in a while we got a glimpse. And then that evening was basically like a party! We went out at night and walked around town, obviously very environmentally friendly, apart from the huge truck that drove down the road. Unfortunately, all the stores closed early, which stunk. So we got pretty bored, since we don't drink/aren't allowed in bars, and went back to the ship. It was cool though.

Fifth day, we landed in Santa Cruz. We had a flight at noon, so we did a quick tour of the Charles Darwin Station/Galápagos National Park. Then we got in a truck, that took us to a bus stop, that took us to a ferry, which took us to Baltra Island, got on another bus which took us to the airport, and got on the plane to Guayaquil and then another plane to Quito (and of course rode in the Sprinter back to the Seminary). And I must say, my head was not OK for a couple days due to all the rocking of the boat and flying and then being on land again. That night though, we had our goodbye dinner with all our roommates....except mine, because she went shopping with a friend. What? Yup. That's ok though...it was a good time. Very sad, but excellent.

A couple days later I was flying home. It seemed as if time had flown by. I couldn't believe how fast time had gone, and I couldn't believe that I had ever wanted to go home so badly (as I did desperately in the weeks before the trip to the Amazon). Flying out of Ecuador, looking over Quito, all kinds of emotions rushed over me and I was sobbing. It was as heartbreaking as it was to leave my family in Chicago. Maybe more so, because I knew I would probably never see most of those people again.

Now, almost four months after arriving home, it's still a bittersweet thing. I still cry sometimes, and I spend a lot of time reminiscing. I talk to my friends, and I look at the pictures ALL the time. It's almost strange to be starting another semester at Olivet. I know people who are arriving in Ecuador today, and I am soooo jealous. I would LOVE to go back. It really is one of those experiences that you can tell stories about without ever really being able to express all the emotions and feelings that go with it. I don't think anyone, without traveling with NILI, will ever be able to understand how great of a program it is, how many things you learn and feel throughout the semester, and how hard it is to leave the people at the seminary that helped you and loved you, and that you came to love as well. It's irreplaceable. I hope someday, all of you who read this will be able to have such an eye-opening experience, that God will move in your life so extremely, and that your heart will have such an opportunity to grow.

So I think this is it for my aventura. What a blessing it has been. Even writing about it now is so emotional for me. Thank you all so much for joining me on this ride, it means a lot to me.

Dios les bendiga,
Ami

Trying (and probably failing) to catch up...

Buenas noches a todos!

So sorry it's taken me forever to post something else. I may have made blogspot a tab...but I still forget (and sometimes avoid) to post. So what have you missed? Oh my...so much folks! At the beginning of March, I was able to stay the weekend with an Ecuadorian family. My NILI friend Abby and I were able to stay together. And I think it was cheating...I don't know if our family was really Ecuadorian. ;-) But seriously, they broke all the rules. Our "parents" bought us clothes and we went out dancing with our "sisters" on Saturday night. Then Sunday morning, we got up and went to church, La Iglesia San Fransisco, and heard our "Daddy" preach. It was such a good time, and it was more difficult to leave than I thought it would be!

A couple weeks ago we got back from our missions trip/weekend at the beach. From Friday-Thursday, we were in Riobamba (or as others call it, Friobamba, because of the cold). It was shocking when we got there. We weren't staying in a hostal, we were staying in a district center. We were in a cement room with bunks stacked 3 high, and only one window right above the door. Plus, the dust and dirt created itself (although we found out it actually came from the mattresses...gross). One night, I woke up at about 1:30, and I could feel the dirt in my bed and on the pillow. I spent about five minutes trying to brush it all off. Without success of course, because the mattress above me was just dropping more anyway. :-) Saturday was our day of being tourists. We climbed Mt. Chimborazo, and it was FREEZING cold..and difficult to breathe. All in all, it wasn't a bad experience...but probably not something I'd want to do again! Saturday night, we did evangelism with the youth group of the church Pucará, which we worked with all week. Our group performed the Lifehouse skit out in public and it was really cool.

Monday started the "hard" work. Seriously...we picked of floor tiles and painted. Mostly because they wouldn't allow us to do anything else. They wouldn't tell us what was going on and they were so unorganized that sometimes we would just sit there with nothing to do. But it was still awesome. Part of our NILI tuition went as a donation for the church. Our donation paid for a new floor and paint. So it really transformed the church. It looks amazing, if I do say so myself. :-) During the afternoons, we took the kids (about 100 of them) out to the park to have a mini children's service. Abby and I led the songs and it was so much fun! They loved the song we learn in class with Profe Martínez...En el amor no hay temor (in love, there is no fear!). We also did some dramas. It was amazing how much the kids were in love with us white folks...everywhere we walked I had girls hanging all over me...they just wanted to touch us! They were a lot of fun, if not misbehaved!

Thursday we all woke up at 2:30 AM to have prayer with the youth group (Jovenes 3,000). We went up to the side of the mountain, and you could see the city lights. It was beautiful! We separated guys and girls and had our own prayer. Then we got into partners, and prayed for every part of the body: the mind, the arms and hands, the feet, the ears...it was so incredible. Then we went back to bed and got up again at 8 to leave for Guayaquil. What should have been a four hour trip took almost 12 hours. The luggage rack of the Sprinter broke from the weight and we had to unpack all the luggage to try and fix it, pack it all back up, and since it wasn't fixed...drive super slow. Plus, there was traffic. But we finally got there!!

Guayaquil is one of the coolest cities ever. Seriously, it's like an American city. It was super, super warm (when we ate breakfast, we were sweating just sitting there waiting for our food). There were 6-lane highways, tall buildings, and nice, shining cars. We walked along the "boardwalk" Malecón one night, and it was gorgeous. The weather was perfect and the sea was right there. We also got to climb up to the lighthouse (all the way up to the top!). Saturday we went to the beach...finally! We were there for about 4 or 5 hours, and it was wonderful just to be in the sun. I had forgotten how much I loved the beach. The only downside: we all got burnt really bad! But I really don't care (because now I have a tan).

As we all know, today is Easter. This whole past week has been Semana Santa (holy week). Friday we went back to Colonial Quito to watch the parade of the cucuruchos (penitents). The people have to apply about a year in advance to do it, and the ones with the biggest sins get picked. There are people carrying crosses and some who have barbed wire wrapped around their bare skin. Then there are others who are bare-backed who are whipping themselves with this plant. Not only does it give them welts/tear of the skin, but the skin has some kind of reaction to the plant so that it also creates a rash. At first, I was very uncomfortable and uneasy feeling at the parade. They're almost all dressed like the KKK, but in purple. But I got over that...and it was actually really cool. And strange. Hey, I'm not judging their religious rituals...

We have started block 3 (of 3) for courses. It's amazing how fast the time has flown. There are only 20 days left!!! This weekend we have a trip to Atacames, which is another beach. Except this time we're doing it right...no hostals or district centers. We're staying in a condo right on the beach!! And even better, there are no trips or tourism-y things planned. It's just the beach, sleep, and eating. I can't wait! Plus, we're bringing one of the seminary families with us...Javier and Adriana's family. They have 5 kids, and can't afford a vacation. When we told them they were coming with us, Adriana cried. It's just amazing what NILI has done, not only for us students, but for the seminary students/the lives around us as well. NILI really does make a huge difference for these people.

The weekend after that, we're going to Otavalo one more time to do last minute bartering and shopping, and then Sunday we leave for...the GALAPAGOS! I can't wait. Don't worry...I'll post about it. :-) Unfortunately there are so many things in between...we have projects and tests. And most importantly, our final project. I can't wait to get that over with!

This experience really has been amazing. I'm still meeting and getting to know people. It will be really difficult to leave. We already had to say goodbye to our beloved NILI director Kim, because she had to return to the states for a family emergency, and she won't be back for 2 months (obviously long after we're gone). The old NILI director was scheduled to visit Tuesday (3 days before Kim left), but now she's staying with us for the rest of our stay. God really had the whole situation under control! The countdown is almost to the teens...it's coming so fast! But I really can't wait to see my family, my church, my friends, my school...my new nephew! There's a lot to do when I get home...it's a schedule jam-packed, but I'm so ready! Please just continue to pray for the last 20 days, and especially that I don't get eaten by a shark, stung by a sting ray, or that my plane doesn't crash. :-)

God bless,
Amy

How Did I Get So Lucky?

Hello all!

Sorry it's been so long. It definitely gets busy around here. This past week, I have been in the Amazon rain forest! As I was trying to explain my experience to my Mom earlier, I realized that there just aren't enough words. It was truly the most incredible thing I have ever experienced. Here's the rundown:

Saturday (our first real day in the Orient), we went to Baños to do a little shopping. Then, we went for a walk by a small waterfall, and we had to cross from one side of the mountain over the river to the other side. We did this by means of a sketchy looking basket suspended by a couple of wires. I was scared to death, but not as much as Barbara who screamed the whole way across (both ways). After that we went for a real hike to a huge waterfall. There is a video of the waterfall and the scary bridge on my facebook. Then, the youth group at the Nazarene church in Shell invited us to their Valentine's Day program, which was very nice even though it was rather long.

Sunday we attended church and had lunch at a sea food restaurant. I thought shrimp would be a pretty safe bet, but I was wrong. I could only eat about three before I became completely disgusted and gave up. They had their shells and legs and such and I could not do it. So Lucy ate them for me. :-) That afternoon I had a nice long nap. Although I soon learned that that nap would not be enough to rest me for what the rest of the week had to offer.

Monday we waited around all morning to see if we could be flown into the jungle. Finally we get a call saying we're leaving at 1:30! Now, if you have not seen either End of the Spear or Through the Gates of Splendor, stop reading now and go watch one of them. What I have to say next will not mean near as much if you do not know the story behind it and this post will be long enough without writing out the whole story. OK, so at 1:30 we fly out of Shell in these little tiny airplanes that are even scarier to me than big planes. And there are windows all around it so you can see everything that's going on. As we're flying, all we can see is trees and more trees, until out of nowhere there's this patch of just grass....our landing strip. It was very muddy (it's the rain forest, it rains daily basically) and it was a bumpy landing. But the Waoranis were right outside our plane waiting for us as soon as we landed. Now, they didn't know we were coming, but Dewey (I have no idea how to spell his name) found out we were there and came down the hill. Dewey is now an elder of the tribe. He killed missionary Roger Youderian. As soon as he came down, he prayed for us. How incredible!! I actually got to shake the guy's hand! Then later, he led the tribe in a worship song in Waorani (also will be on my facebook). We were able to watch them use their blow guns and see the kids climbing the trees...just daily life. Then they took us down the hill so that we could see a monkey (we'd been dying to see one). He was the funniest little guy ever, and he was totally showing off for us. Finally, after just a few very short hours (that seemed like minutes), it was time to leave. Dewey prayed for us again, and the Waoranis waited until our planes left, waving the whole time (video...facebook).

After we landed again in Shell, we were able to tour Nate Saint's house, and one of the coolest rooms was the radio rooms. We got to see where his wife would sit and talk to him on the radio when he was flying. What a cool place to be! To end the night, a few of us went to the house of the missionaries we met Sunday night at dinner...Rick and Sharon. They are some of the coolest people I have ever met. Their house was so homey, and she made us pumpkin bread and mora juice. Rick also took us to the hangar so that we could see the ultralight (plane) and they both taught us a new game, I Doubt It - or Liar's Dice. I did not want to go back to the hostal that night I was having so much fun!!

Tuesday (as if Monday wasn't cool enough) we went into Puyo. We saw some huge fish that almost ate some people's toes, and then we watched our guides (Juan y Carlos) catch some fish...our lunch. We went canoeing down Río Puyo, which was actually just sitting in a canoe while a guide paddled, but it was so beautiful! It was like being in a dream world, totally exotic. I mean seriously...we were just chillin' on a river in the Amazon rain forest. What? Then we went back to the shelter we started at for some lunch...the fish. I had a very difficult time because the fish was whole, they just cooked it. That means the thing had it's head and eyeballs and fins....everything! I had to have Kalyn cut off the head and skin it for me because I almost threw up. But I ate a little bit of it. A very little bit.

After lunch, our friendly guides took us on a hike through the rainforest. Juan took out his knife and cut a tree to show us the sap, which looks like blood (thus, bleeding trees). Then he found us some ants and told us to eat them. So I ate an ant (alive) and to be honest, it tasted like lemon...it wasn't bad. Then he told us to eat a leaf because it was sweet...I was skeptical but sure enough the leaf was sweet like candy. Who knew? Juan led us off the path which was the coolest thing ever. We were wearing the huge rubber boots of the tour company, so it didn't matter where we stepped which was good because it was almost all mud. It was so pretty. And I got to swing on a vine!! I felt like Jane. At the end of the hike there was a really pretty waterfall with a natural pool at the bottom that we got to swim in. Since the waterfall wasn't too huge we got to swim right underneath it and touch it without getting hurt. It was cool, except I couldn't get near it with my eyes open because the spray of the water in my eyes and my contacts didn't mix well. After that it started to rain. And then it started to pour so we started heading back to the shelter. Our ever-resourceful Juan cut off huge leaves that we were able to use as umbrellas to keep the rain out of our eyes and off our backpacks where our cameras were. It was so cool to be walking through the rainforest in a rain storm. I believe the words out of my mouth were, "I can't believe my life right now!"

Wednesday: We went white water rafting!! This time we went down Río Pastaza. It was only a category 3, but it was so much fun. Juan was my guide again, and Carlos didn't come so we traded him for Antonio (he had dreadlocks and he was very cool). It was so short, I would have loved to do a whole day trip! But I loved the rapids and the huge waves that we would go over (or crash into most of the time). Juan was a good guide and he kept us save and alive...what more could you ask for? After that fun trip, I was exhausted so I took a nap. That was about all that happened for the rest of the day besides dinner, and then sleeping (which I couldn't do much of). I went to bed at about 11:30, but didn't fall asleep until about 1 or 2. And then I kept waking up!

Thursday....my birthday!! I turned 20 yesterday...I know, I'm old. In the morning I was grumpy because I didn't have much sleep. I wasn't really grumpy....I just wasn't properly functioning and thus did not react to certain situations, which means I didn't really get happy or upset over anything besides being bugged. Then I had coffee, mmm Mocachino! We started at an "exotic bird house." It was really lame at first because there were like chickens and some funny looking doves. And then we found the ostriches, the parrots, the monkeys (the didn't have only birds we found out), some kind of warthog thing, and turtles. It turned out to be really cool. One monkey, Junior, kept reaching out of his cage to hit Josh and try to steal things. Finally Kalyn gave him a sucker (unwrapped) and he knew exactly what to do. He took it, ate it, and when it was gone, threw the stick on the ground. I think he's had one before.

We had lunch at a really nice place with a nice bathroom (believe me, it counts here). They gave us popcorn as an appetizer! But it was probably for the soup.... Then we went to the monkey house. It was completely not at all what I expected. All the monkeys were free, none of them in cages. They climbed all over us, let us hold them, sat on our shoulders, and played with our hair. Some of them didn't want to be picked up, so they just let me hold their hand. There was a little baby monkey who didn't want me to pick him up, so he just held onto my finger and led me throughout the jungle wherever he wanted to go. He also let me feed him. So cute!

We ate dinner at this really fancy place with the best view. It overlooked the rainforest and it was so gorgeous! The food was the best I have had since I've been here. I got pepper chicken, and it could compete with chicken in the states for sure! During dinner, everyone said something they liked about me (NILI tradition). It was so nice, and I almost cried, because I'm kind of sappy. After dinner there was a party! We had the youth group from the church over and Rick and Sharon. I got hugs and kisses from everyone, and they sang two songs for me. Then, as another part of NILI tradition, they all formed a circle around me and prayed for me, how wonderful!! I also got to play more I Doubt It...what a good birthday!!

Today we came back. And I'm exhausted! I miss Shell already and I can't explain to you enough how fantastic of a trip it was. God truly blessed me with this experience and I feel tremendously lucky. But right now, I need sleep. So I will write later!

God bless,
Amy Jo

Some Lessons I've Learned...

1. Peatones (pedestrians) do NOT have the right of way. Be very careful with this.
2. If they are boiling bananas, run away (I very literally almost threw it back up on my plate).
3. Get used to sleeping with the light on...it doesn't go off until everyone's in bed, and it comes on as soon as someone wakes up.
4. It's OK for boys to stare at you for any period of time.
5. Because I am white, I get honked at and talked about all the time..."Oh, que linda!" (How beautiful!) They think you don't understand. Just say "Gracias!"
6. Only use yellow taxis with numbers on the side.
7. Malls here are not cheaper.
8. Alex Campos is one of the greatest Latin artists ever.
9. You must turn the hot water on and let it run for about 5 minutes before it's actually hot....and you just don't use the cold water knob.
10. Children can do whatever they want here.
11. Don't make much eye contact with guys. Don't go out to town alone with a guy. Don't have a long conversation alone with a guy. These all mean that you are interested or are dating.
12. Almost no one wears wedding rings.
13. Wear layers just in case...the weather changes constantly.
14. SPF 50 is a must...SPF 30 will still get you burnt.
15. You can buy a movie for $1.50. But this may mean that someone filmed it in the theater and put it on a DVD. Good luck finding which ones those are...
16. Don't touch the dogs on the street.
17. If you buy fruit/vegetables on the street or in the market, WASH before you EAT.
18. Only buy Pinguino ice cream. This is critical.

I'm sure there are more I'm not thinking of...but this is a pretty good list for now. Maybe I'll write a Survival Guide for Ecuador! I probably won't learn enough in 4 months for that...

Chau!
Amy Jo

Good Family

Well...first of all, I should start off with the Ballet Jacchigua. It was incredible. There were some awkward scenes (not entirely a family program) but there were so many beautiful dances and costumes. One of the ushers was really annoying...I was filming and she told me to stop, and I did. Then she came up to me two more times during the show to tell me not to film until finally I had to argue with her and tell her I'm not filming, I'm taking pictures. But she kept repeating herself over and over "No puedes filmar, no puedes filmar." (You can't film). I understand. I'm not. I'm telling you this (in your own language) and you act like you can't hear the words that are coming out of my mouth! Ayayay.

What I really want to write about is my family here. If you don't know, I've been sick the past few days. I was really sick yesterday and just felt....blah. Well, the mothers here are wonderful (everyone is actually). One of the ladies here especially kept tabs on what I ate and made sure I was eating enough and not eating what would make me more sick. Then she sent her son out with tea for me, with the message that I need to drink it, it's medicinal, it will help me. :) I really hate tea, but I really appreciated the gesture (so I tried to drink as much as possible). Then, the other students from NILI went into Carcelen. I was feeling too sick to go, so I stayed in bed to play on my computer and sleep. When they came back, they brought me red roses, Sprite and crackers for my stomach, and Gatorade for the dehydration. I was so touched! I love my NILIs. And I have to say that if the food didn't help me feel better, their thoughtfulness did. Because I feel a million times better today besides a kind of heartburn-like pain in my stomach area. They are my 4-month family, and I love them. :)

As an overall update...classes are going well. There's a lot of work to do, more homework than I think is necessary for study abroad students, but I suppose I can handle it (insert sighing and dirty looks here). I'm especially not looking forward to my 10 page exegesis. In Ecuador? Seriously? Ew. OK, that's really all. Hopefully something more exciting will happen soon that I can update you on.

God bless,
Amy Jo

This is the place to be!

Hola!

Now that I've seen Ecuador in daylight I can say much more! First of all, the people here are wonderful. They are so sweet and kind. They've been helping me with my Spanish, of course and they are very patient. Also, the seminary has housing for married couples, and a lot of them have children. So there are children running around all over the place here! There are also rabbits here, cats, and dogs wandering around. I met a cute dachshund today named Dipo. He's my new friend.

Also, the view is amazing. All I have to do is open my door and right in front of me are the mountains. We can also see a couple volcanoes, but I'm not sure which ones those are, I just know they're there. Downtown is beautiful. There are stores lining every street, and when you get into the heart of the town, all the streets are brick. And there are people selling things all along the street. For instance, you can buy a dozen roses for $1. My favorite part so far was today. All of it was my favorite. :-) We went to church this morning, and it was the most incredible experience. It was a 2 hour service, but it could have been twice that and still been good. Everyone worshiped to the music...no exceptions...I was greeted with hugs and kisses on the cheeks, everyone said "Amen" all the time, we prayed after everything, and the ending prayer was so powerful. We all gathered in the front of the sanctuary and prayed and prayed and it just moved me so much. I have to tell you, if you think you're going to come here to minister to the people here, you are so wrong. You won't get anywhere that way. Instead, they have ministered to me so much already. I have something I can't want to take home and share with people at church. Church at home doesn't have passion or faith compared to the people here. I'm just so excited because through this experience I'll be able to take what God has laid upon my heart to minister to my own home church...something I didn't really expect.

All in all...I am one of the happiest people alive. The other NILIs (American students studying here) are already like family, living in a very close community with the seminary students who will hopefully be like family soon as well. The scenery is beautiful, the atmosphere is so welcoming and encouraging, I can't imagine spending my study abroad anywhere else! Just to rub it in a little bit more, I've added some pictures for your enjoyment. :-) I hope you are all safe and not suffering too much in the cold weather.

God bless,
Amy Jo