Outreach Teams and a Bit of Openness

Apologies to the faithful readers who have been devastated by the lack of new editions to this little column I write. Shout outs in particular to Dad, Sara, Suky and Christina (and the other faithful subscribers that I just don't know about!)

The last three weeks have been incredibly busy. I'm not entirely sure why. Partly I was sick. Partly we had several really long application days (the Fridays on which we apply to our lives everything we learned through out the week), and partly because we have been filling up most of our Saturdays with car washes to fundraise money for outreach. And, to be honest, partly because of not knowing what exactly to share on this blogspot. Not because nothing is happening here, but because so much is happening here that I am not sure how to put it into words. I can't possibly capture it all here, even if I tried. So I will just offer a little sampler.

I am starting to delight in the things that used to drive me crazy. I actually made up a song with a friend to the tune of "Isn't it ironic" by Alanis Morissette. We tend to run out of things in really ironic ways. For example, we will have no milk for the longest and then all of a sudden the day we get milk is that day we run out of cereal. Same goes for the brownsugar and the oatmeal, the bread and the jam, etc. etc. This at one point torture is now a source of entertainment.

I am learning to let go of control. I have decided to trust God with my life and let Him decide what is best for me. I don't know what this means for my future, but I know it will be good. Right now, I am considering continuing on with this organization in the future. We will see... more will be revealed.

I am also learning how to love people. I apologize as SOON as I've done something stupid or not very nice. And I am seeing the people around me the way that God made them to be and little glimpses of their futures- the people that they are becoming. It is exciting and immensely fulfilling to love people who are extremely different from you- people who you probably, if you were honest, not be friends with under normal circumstances. And it has been a gift to my soul to love people in the active, selfless way love is always supposed to be. We have talked alot here about how love is usually thought of in terms of a feeling. And it is something we are always trying to get. But we ought to give love. And we ought to remember that love is an action- on behalf of the good of someone else. I realize how selfish I have been in relationships. And I am by no means cured of it, but I am working on it. And it gets easier to love people here as we shed our insecurities, hurts, and pride. People are being transformed around me and it is inspiring. In a strange environment like this one- unfamiliar, far from home, intense- you get a lot of opportunities for growth. You are constantly bombarded with opportunities to choose. Choose to love someone you don't know. Choose to ignore harsh words spoken and return it with a blessing. Choose to look for the good in every situation and give thanks in every circumstance.

My biggest challenge this week was getting our outreach group assignments. They are breaking our school up into four groups for outreach. All four teams will be in the same city in Southeast Asia for the whole three months, but we will be in different regions and will only get to come together once a month. I found out who I will be with, which seven other students and which leader, for three months. To be honest, I was really disappointed. I have made some really close friends and some pretty good friends. None of them is in my group. I was really sad, and felt a fair amount of grief. Sounds dramatic, but it is an unnatural thing to develop intense friendships in close quarters for three months (think about it- I spend almost 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with the girls. Not even most married couples spend that much time together) and then be ripped apart. But I have had, in the last few days, the chance to reflect and pray and I can now say with confidence that I am really excited about my group. I am excited to get to know these people I know nothing about. I am anxious to see these nine different people from seven different nations become a family over the course of eleven weeks.

By the way, I am praying for God to provide $1,300 more dollars for the outreach phase of this adventure. If you pray, please pray!

In the meantime (until the next edition) I will leave you with some random achievements from the last few weeks:
- I have learned how to build a brick wall
- I have learned how to say "how much is that beautiful, wild, crazy, awesome, great monkey? I want to buy it!" in my friend's native tongue
- I have spoken in front of 400 people (shared a little story/testimony in front of the whole base)
- I have been to a photo exhibit held by an organization that seeks to spread awareness about child-trafficking
- I have been in charge of designing and creating a new announcement wall for the school offices
- I have tried what is called a lemon bitters, which is an Australian thing and quite delish
- I have still not seen a kangaroo, an unaccomplishment really
- I have met a woman who was born and raised in Berkeley, California
- I have been the source of envy for many who want my cool camping foldup chair
- I have played a game of volleyball and not left the court pouting, name-calling, or bashing myself up
- I have won a team scrabble game (in which we were behind by over thirty points) with a single letter placed on the board
- I have misspelled the word 'won' by spelling it 'one' on my blog. Don't look for it, you can't see it, I've already deleted it

Thanks for reading, until next time!!

rainy days

I apologize in advance for any incoherence to this entry. I am sick. Just a cold. I've learned through my experiences working with kids that if it's just a cold I have nothing to complain about. So here we go... feigning normalcy.

This week has been one of the best. I am finally getting used to waking up to forty different females' faces. I am finally enjoying the lunacy of frozen milk and exercising at six in the morning.

Boy, it sure rains a lot here. A lot. In fact, it has become my number one source of entertainment. Tuesday night after small group, (one of the leaders and three other girls and myself hang out on Tuesday nights- which has been great fun and very refreshing) the four of us girls started walking back from our leader's house. It had been raining most of the evening but had decided to take a break. Just as soon as we got a block away, it started sprinkling. Sprinkling turned to rain and rain turned to downpour and we were left between a rock and a wet place- we were almost exactly between our starting point and home. No one had an umbrella or rain gear or anything, so we started to run through the middle of the deserted streets. Then simultaneously we all burst out in laughter. I think we realized how ridiculous we looked- I mean, first- we were running (as if we will out run the drops of rain as they fall and escape somehow miraculously dry). Second, we were wearing ridiculous outfits. We had left Janine's house in our slippers and socks & flip flop combos and a straw hat with flowers that we had found on the ground. Truly a sight, if anyone had happened to pass. We dropped off one of the girls where she is staying, took a few pictures and then splashed through every puddle we could as we walked through the alley to our house. The laughter and joy of feeling like a kid again stayed with me for the rest of the week.

The second rain experience I am grateful for this week was a double rainbow. I saw them early Thursday morning just before starting morning chores. They were in the shape of an ark from one spot on the horizon to another. One rainbow was magnificently bright- rainbows here seem to be brighter than ones I've seen elsewhere and they also contain an almost fluorescent pink under the purple. The other rainbow was the exact same shape, above the bright rainbow and a little more faded. I've never seen a sight like this one. It was incredible.

Now, I'm just going to go ahead and be cheezy for a minute. I can't help but take these physical experiences and apply them as a spiritual lesson. There are so many things to complain about here. The living situations, our schedules, etc. are totally out of the ordinary. In fact sometimes I'm surprised to find myself still here. But I know I am here because of what God does. He takes the rain, the gray, the cold, and turns it into a source of laughter, joy, rejuvenation, and beauty. That's a promise.