Abre mis ojos

Yay bloggin!

2009-11-10T19:41:00.000-08:00

Well I haven't taken the time to write on here in MONTHS, but I'm gonna try to start writing again as much as possible!

Today:

2009-07-23T13:44:00.001-07:00

Today I took a break from working in the office; this was a very good thing for me. I stayed home (well after running in to work on the call and ward schedule just for a bit lol) to work with Sarah, our house help, to learn a few things in the kitchen. She has worked for families for 26 years and definately knows a thing or two about cooking- real cooking. We (she mostly) made bread and tortillas today, so that I could learn. I took about 3 pages of notes on everything we did today, plus like another 2 out of a cookbook today; Wayne definately made fun of me for this! We did a lot of other simplier tasks throughout the day, but going through the process of the bread and the tortillas was something I had never done before. Hopefully I will eventually get this down and be able to make the same delicious bread that she does! Yummy.
disclaimer, to briefly explain the culture: it is very common to have house help here. They will cook and clean for the going rate of 399 Ksh per day, this is somewhere in the range of $5. Many Kenyan families will hire like their younger relatives to be househelp.

An afternoon at an orphanage

2009-07-19T11:03:00.001-07:00

Some playing outside :)

We played outside for a while. Most of the time I played a volleyball of sorts with a kickball.

Group picture, right before they performed a song for us! So amazing; they sang and danced, and we were told the main point of the song was, all things praise the Lord. I have a video I would love to show you when I get home. It was really awesome!

Visors!

View of the landscape from the orphanage

Some of the village children, watching as we were making crafts with the other children.

(don't worry, we had them come in to make something also)

One thing I have wanted to do while I am here is visit an orphanage; up until now, I have not been able to go along based on my working schedule or a vehile being too full, ect. This afternoon we went to a children's home that had about 40 children, I believe 38 is the exact number. (25 boys, 13 girls) We were able to greet all of the children when we arrived; they were lined up and waiting for our arrival. We were able to get a tour and see the dormitories, kitchen, library/schoolroom, and multi-purpose dining area. Any of you who have heard from Thomas and OAFA; I thought a lot about that ministry while visiting this orphanage today. There is just soo much need! The boy's dormitory has 13 beds for 25 boys, and the girl's room is very small with 8 beds crammed in for 13 girls. They have light bulbs in the rooms, but they do not have electricity, the boys' room had a kerosene lamp hung on the back wall, which a large smoke/burn mark which made it appear quite dangerous. The drought in Kenya has made it difficult to have water, and as the people at the church are hurting with crops and financially, they really feel that at the orphanage. They do not have so many essential things, and I know that there is nothing I am doing to help (in the large scheme of things at least). I wish I could raise support for their buildings, beds, electricity, more workers, and just dedicate my life to pour into them. There are so many needs and makes me wonder, how do you determine which ministry in which to pour your life into? The awesome thing is to know that these children, despite their unfortunate life events, is having Christ as part of their life. I hope they will all come to know Christ through the church and ministry of the home. Even if I spent all my time and dedicated my whole life to these children, making their physical and emotional lives better, I could not provide the purpose or hope that Christ ever could. He truly is the Hope and Life in a world of need-hope for today, life eternal. I guess that is my only consolation to avoid discouragement when thinking about all of the injustices in this world.

Sleepover!

2009-07-18T10:33:00.000-07:00

Friday night, Wayne & Anna's family were at Safari, and Peter & Lisa were also gone, so I went down to Lisa's house and spent the night with Carol and Maria. It worked out well so that none of us had to be alone. We didn't do anything particularly exciting, but sometimes I enjoy those times the most, just living life together. Eating, talking, watching the news...

Yesterday Carol had to work in the kitchen with Livingstone up at the guesthouse (here), so Maria hung out with me in the apartment; she is 5 and doesn't speak much English. This made for a bit of an interesting morning. My main hope is that she had fun and didn't just do things because she is obedient and options were set before her. I could really tell that she enjoyed a Where's Waldo book that we had though; she spent a lot of time doing this over and over until she had memorized where he was on each page. We colored and drew pictures, did searching books, and also watched a little Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island on the portable DVD player. I really enjoyed spending some more time with Maria the past two days, because the other couple times I had been around her, she was very stand offish, but last night, she actually wanted to share my bed. I just have like a sense of victory and excitement when a child begins to warm up to me that has formerly been very reserved.

I have really enjoyed getting to know Carol the past two weeks as well. She has invited me to a Bible study that has allowed for some good connections, and I am actually learning some things as well. For example, the study is on the Names of God; this week the little thing I took away was mainly that in the Bible when it says "Lord" that = Adonai (My Lord and My God). If it says "LORD", that means Jehovah. This was a quiet question from Bible reading that I had never had answered, so it was cool to be like- that's why they are different. But yeah, Carol has been a great friend to talk to, pray with, and enjoy learning from one another.

[I had previously written this post but it failed, so this is the shorter and water-downed version, sorry]

ok, so after the first of these pictures, I was like, oh yeah, forgot you don't normally smile in pictures, just laughing about it...so then she said we could take a smiling one, but then we were both laughing so much and still trying to hold smiles, that it turned out like this! Not the most flattering but fun and funny so it's ok haha.

Wherever you are

2009-07-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

As I am here, I am more and more convinced that the way you live your life depends very little on your location. This is not to say whether you are hanging out at church or at the bar, don't get the wrong idea... but by location I mean the country and culture in which you are a part. If you are striving to glorify God, your spirituality or the way in which you live out your faith does not depend on whether you live in the city or in the country or in the US or Africa. On one hand, some individuals are called to a very specific purpose in life, or at least for a portion of their life, like you could be called to _________ location, but I believe that for the majority of Christians, we just need to focus on our personal relationship with Christ and also seek to develop real community, wherever we are. The church extends over any distance, as well an any culture.

A few great memories from the past week or so have been with the reality of the body of Christ. Last Sunday, the church service I mentioned with the hundreds of children... there was one girl who I sat with and was able to talk to throughout the service. She was 13 and a Christian, it was such a neat thing to tell her that she was my sister in Christ. In my Bible, I had a wordless book flip chart thing that was purdy cool; she liked it a lot, so I gave it to her. Of course, before I could give it away though, I wanted to make sure she knew what all the colors meant- so that was fun to share, although very very briefly, with the children around me. My ultimate hope is that she may even remember what they mean and use it to tell the story of the Gospel to others-maybe extremely hopeful, but still cool to dream of :)
The other time that the body of Christ was very evident was just a few days ago; one of the women who works in accounting lost her brother-in-law. The departments at Tenwek both mourn and rejoice in the happenings of others lives, so with working in the offices, I was invited to visit her home for a "service" of sorts. Lisa and I walked in a bit late, so chai had already been taken and much had already been said when we arrived. It was really awesome though to see this true form of community so evident; each person shared some thoughts and encouraged the family that he was a believer. Actually, all that was spoken showed such strong faith and such an eternal perspective, it was almost unreal to me that these people had just lost a loved one. I guess I am not really sure how to properly describe that whole experience without typing soo much, but just know that the body of Christ and NT-like church community was very evident in the people here. Just the fact that I was welcome, I believe, is a huge reality of the all-encompassing ties of trusting in the same Savior.

Anyway, back to the main point. The fact that I am living on a missions compound does not make my personal, spiritual life any easier or any harder than any other time in my life. If nothing else, this is a huge lesson that must be learned and truly experienced. Missionaries aren't super heroes; they are regular people and regular families trying to keep up with a million things that need to be done-just like anyone in full time ministry!

[this is a topic for another post, but the similarities of living on a missions compound and at a Christian camp are strikingly similar!]

Men of Zebulun

2009-07-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

As I have been reading through the Word, I am now in the middle of I Chronicles. For some reason, one small and rather insignificant verse really stuck out to me.

12:33 says, "men of Zebulun, experienced soldiers prepared for battle with every type of weapon, to help David with undivided loyalty-50,000;"

Our theme this summer at BLBC is STAND based off of Ephesians 6 and the armor of God. Even if this wasn't our theme, I think that this summer we all realized that we were entering into very real spiritual warfare. The description of the men of Zebulun is such the essence of what we should strive for! I want to be an experienced soldier, prepared with every form of weapon (or the full armor of God), and to have completely undivided loyalty-such a beautiful thing.

BABY!

2009-07-13T12:36:00.000-07:00

Wayne's friend Vincent became a daddy today! Vincent worked under Wayne two years ago when the Ellis family came to Tenwek for the first time

I love babies, and I think it is really cool that we got to see little Jesse at just one day old.

Wayne, Damaris, and Vincent just two days ago.

The adorable baby Jesse!

Current prayer...

2009-07-13T07:37:00.001-07:00

This song has been resounding in my head the past two days:

Lord, I need You.

You are all I desire.

I need You, Lord, I need You.

I need You more than life!

A Weekly Update

2009-07-11T10:19:00.000-07:00

All in all, it has been a good week. I think I went through a one to two day period of extra emailing and such to avoid missing home, but now I am feeling even more at home here after that short time. Monday I went with community health, but since then I have been working with a lady named Lisa Kuyaya who does sooo much here at Tenwek. She is a super secretary, doing projects for the medical superintendent, managing all the guest services needs and arrangements, and fixing daily problems. Anyway, I just kinda shadow her and assist in the ways that I can around the office and compound. One day I helped organize and take inventory of the guest food pantry; other days I did more typical office work. On Thursday, I had to man the office on my own the best I could which was actually kinda fun. Some things I (attempt to) do are organize and reply to emails, type of minutes from medical staff meetings or reports, answer phone calls, and help to organize files. None of these things I feel like I am necessarily adequate or helping, so my main hope is that I am not too much of a bother. I really am enjoying learning so much and doing the work that I am able to do. A few things I have done this week: a Sunday night church service that was out of control but so fun (prolly shook 200-300 school children's hands), went to a Bible study with many local Tenwek workers at a permanent staff home, bought lots of gifts to bring home for all ya'll, and went to dinner at Peter & Lisa's house last night. I was purdy excited about spending time with them and being invited into Lisa's home; I also hope to become better friends with a lady who works for them named Carol (she invited me to the Bible study). Last night was super relaxed... after dinner we sat on the couch and watched NCIS and the news. This was great though, because I felt very at home, as if I was visiting with a good friend from back home. Today, as I already mentioned, I did some shopping-that was also fun, but I probably spent more than I should. After that, we went for a walk down by the river which was really gorgeous. I can't wait til the next time that we can go kick around down there. Weelll I think that is all I have to say; hopefully soon I will write a post with deeper thoughts thus far. It is hard to be in the mood to write; I would always much rather just post a bunch of pictures to tell the story of my day.

BTW: these pics are all from today :)

Nice work, Aliya!

Not a great picture of the falls, but I really like it down there- so gorgeous!

Ohhh so common :) Just thought I would share a piece of reality.

Love the motto! Very very true :)

So cute!

Note: mosquito nets over every bed in the ward.
We took some pictures in the hospital, since we didn't have any "Tenwek" pictures yet.

***Grace and Peace in Christ!

Abide in His unfailing love and depend on His complete faithfulness.

Coca-cola wins!

2009-07-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: if you aren't on Senior Staff, you won't understand.

Coke kiosks are everywhere in Kenya; Pepsi is not here. Sorry Sarah!

SAFARI!!!

2009-07-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

The safari was great to learn about Maasailand and see soo many awesome animals!

This first picture is the inside of my tent! I will have to show you more photos of the extravagant resort.
Just check out the pictures! I don't feel like I have a lot to say right now, but as the saying goes-"a picture's worth a thousand words"-so here ya go!

My favorites to see were the elephants and lions (especially lions!); we saw one male lion Saturday night and two Sunday morning! We saw a lot more animals but this is a taste of what we were able to see!!!

KENYA: Days 2&3 at Tenwek >>> Community Health

2009-07-03T12:29:00.000-07:00

Riding along on red clay two-track roads with more rocks, ditches, and mudpuddles than ever thought imaginable- this has made up many hours of the past two days of my life. I have traveled with nurses and doctors to faaarrrr out villages and communities to do immunization clinics for children (usually babies) and pregnant women. Yesterday we rode in a small truck that had a cap of sorts with two rows of seats facing each other in the back, that is where I rode. Today we had a bit more of a normal vehicle but definately no shocks. I actually love the rides though, because the countryside is soo beatiful and riding bumpy 2-tracks reminds me of Drummond Island. But yes, yesterday we had an extremely busy clinic. Upon arriving I had no idea what to do or how to help, but thankfully there was one other American girl yesterday who could show me the ropes- and I needed the basics!- I learned how to assemble different simple medical instruments, diluted one of the vaccines, and was able to give orals to the children (being Vitamin A gel and Oral Polio droplets, if you care haha). Today I did many of the same tasks but was the only non-Kenyan in the group; I really enjoyed talking to the men more and being able to ask them questions and begin learning a couple Kipsigis words. I can say them once, but I REALLY have trouble remembering them...ugh. This afternoon on my "lunch break" I just took my water bottle and camera with me and was able to take a few photos of/with the women at the clinic. They knew nothing about a camera and thought it was awesome to see the picture on the back. One man I took a picture with wanted a copy immediately; unfortunately I had to tell him I could not do that ;) This was a really great ice breaker though for a group of people that only speak Kipsigis...sometimes language barriers REALLY STINK but taking a few pictures was fun. One lady, Estell, invited me to her home, but when Alfred came to ask how far it was and to translate, we found out that is was quite far away so I could not go, but thankfully with Alfred translating, he made things clear and the decision was more reflected on him than on me- I didn't want to offend.
Something that is definately a part of the culture here is CHAI! We have tea twice a day, morning and afternoon. The past two days, our afternoon chai has been in restaurants on the way home from community health. It is just funny, because a cup of chai is 10 shillings, which would be somewhere around $.15. I thought of fifteen cents compared to my like $5 typical Bigby/Starbucks treat and could only laugh. One thing though, you always here those stories of people drinking coffee in foreign countries and having their glass refilled over and over; well, today in the White Hotel, I had to learn to be strategic in my chai drinking. My glass was refilled once, and from then on... I casually watched the waitor as he made rounds and when he would near my table, I would take a sip, assuring that my glass was not on the table at the time he came. Yes, this was not the best thing I could have done-but at the time, it is what I did.
And as far as lessons learned from this trip... I cannot tell you what they will be, but I do know that God is frustrating me in ways that I would have never expected and has much different (and I am sure much greater) plans that I had ever imagined.
Praise the Lord that I have been able to have my computer and the internet both function long enough to write this blog.
Hope you are doing well; I would LOVE to hear from anyone who reads this!
I will write soon and hopefully put up pictures; tomorrow morning I leave for an overnight Safari! -Adios all.

***These are some of the women from the clinic today. The picture below is from a walk with Michael and Aliya today near the compound.

So this is Africa.

2009-07-01T11:13:00.001-07:00

Well, this won't be poetic or probably even using proper grammar, but I will give a quick update of our events so far. The travelling here consisted of 3 airplanes, no misses flights, and only one engine repair (which apparently was a long 2 hours for everyone else, but I slept). We arrived in Nairobi Sunday night [which would have been Sunday afternoon or evening for you; we are 7 hours ahead of MI time]. We stayed two nights in Nairobi and relaxed, doing more touristy yet fun things around town. We saw baby elephants, warthogs, a couple rhinos (one Aliya named Jim), and fed giraffes. At the elephant place, I saw monkey's in a tree, that was purdy cool! We went out to lunch at a really nice outdoor restaurant that day, and our afternoon was spent at Kazuri Beads. This is somewhere that had been recommended for me to see, yet I did not think we would go, so I was very excited to see Kazuri. It is a ministry where single mothers are provided with work, and they make beaded jewelry and pottery. The whole process is very open to visitors, so we saw the clay to the molding, where they fire, paint, ect...
So anyway, around the city, it was not too different, because it was still a city BUT there were some fun sights, like men herding goats or cows along side the road, women carrying jugs of water on their head, random markets and kiosks, baboons along side the road, dangerous driving -basically just being in a foreign city :)
Ok, fast-forward to yesterday when we drove to Tenwek, which is about 3-4 hours outside of Nairobi. The nearest town to us is Bomet if you want to see kinda where I am. It was beautiful to see some of the countryside. We stopped at one point where we were able to take in the beauty of the Rift Valley. It was one of those roads along side the mountain with the valley below; we passed a huge semi-truck that on a curve had rolled and seriously could not have gotten ANY closer to rolling ALL the way down the side of the mountain into the valley. But reguardless, Rift Valley- gorgeous!- even though pictures don't look that amazing. After this, we continued driving, first in an area of great drought. This is very sad, because the people already struggle and now this. We passed one spot that was a place of government food handouts; giant white bags filled with rice. Our driver, Gerald, said that people would have walked for miles and miles to receive these handouts-so sad. But later in the drive, nearing Tenwek, things became much more green.
Ok, well let's see; now we are here! I must say that already the compound is not really anything like I had imagined it. It is much larger than I pictured and different in ways I cannot necessarily describe. Today I got a tour and saw my way around a little bit, but I still have a lot to learn about where things are and have lots I want to see! Late this morning I began working with a lady by the name of Lisa who runs all the visiting guest coordinating; she described to me all that her job entails and what she does everyday and WOW. So, I did different just following things today, helped with some filing, helped to sort through "application" type packets for future doctors-small tasks to help her be [hopefully] more efficient. Tomorrow I am going out with Community Health to fairly far away village and be gone all day. I may be organizing vaccines or holding screaming babies while they are given immunization, but I am excited to see what tomorrow brings. The next few days I will be doing a lot with community health and just see from there when they have need for more people; starting the 8th a group of student nurses will be around helping in that area. Other tasks I will be doing will be making rounds with chaplains (probably what I am most nervous about because being in the hospital and around all the medical is not my strong point at all, just getting the tour today was somewhat difficult) and I may be doing some just excel type number entry things for one of the permanent staff surgone. A lot of my schedule is just day to day though, which we will have to just figure out as time goes on :)
So yes, sorry for this not being thought out or profound in any way, but we are doing well. Evenings are the roughest for me with feeling the time difference. Anna and Michael are struggling with sleep deprevation, but for the most part everyone has been healthy and happy.
Hopefully I will be able to write on here again soon, but the internet is unpredictable...so hope to hear from you, feel free to comment and email.
Adios and God bless :)
Psalm 145!!!

Open our eyes...to reality.

2009-06-25T18:34:00.000-07:00

While reading in 2 Kings 6 today, I came across a story from Elisha's life that really struck me. Some men were searching for him to capture him and had surrounded the city of Dothan (where he was) during the night; his servant woke up early the next morning and basically freaked out [definately the natural thing to do, freak out and say, what are we going to do?!?] Soo 2 Kings 6:16-17 is Elisha's response, "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And Elisha prayed, "O Lord, open his eyes so he may see." Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
After this, the passage goes on to Elisha asking God to take away all the men's sight and he makes them think they are in the wrong city ect, -just read the chapter from the Word, it's sweet!-
One random thought about this passage: I thought it fit purdy well to the theme/title of my blog, "Abre mis ojos"
But this passage is just so cool, because it shows the reality of the super-natural and God's abiding presence. The theme at camp this summer is Stand, based off of Ephesians 6:10-20. We need to put on the armor of God to stand against the devil's schemes and need to remember "our struggle is not against flesh and blood". Elisha knew that crisis he was encountering was not only what it appeared to be from a physical point of view. He saw the larger picture and prayed that his servant's eyes would be opened to those who were with them! Remembering our struggle is not against flesh and blood can go both ways of seeking the Lord's super-natural help [maybe it won't be hills full of horses and chariots of fire, but He is in control], but we also need to remember that Satan is alive and roaming, looking for every opportunity to make us Christians ineffective in the Lord's work.
p.s. I love that Elisha is almost always referred to as "the man of God", and yes, I realize this was in the OT times and was a prophet of God...but I still think it's ok to ask, what do I need to do to stand out and be referred to as, "a woman of God"?

Here I go...and here I come!

2009-06-20T17:09:00.000-07:00

I love the Senior Staff this year! Everyone moved in a couple weeks ago, and I have loved the community developing already. Our first day of the real camp season begins tomorrow, so that is very exciting, but the awesome part of training and guest group weeks are that we are all living in the staff house together still :)
I have loved the evenings of swimming at the lake, fishing, worship times, and lots of talking and prayer. Two things that strike me and excite me the most about our staff is commitment to prayer and a steadfastness to the Word. Last summer I grew a lot and thought according to the Bible and through an eternal perspective more than any time in my life, but this year I am learning a ton about the power of pray and about community. This past semester at school I was really lacking community and felt like a part of myself died a bit, the past few weeks have brought a lot of healing. Another thing that made me feel so much more alive in the past week was going to work in downtown South Bend last weekend at a ministry for people trying to get a new start to life. I have missed Lizzy and the other kids in Grand Rapids and missed going downtown to meet with the homeless in GR also, so serving in South Bend with our staff was an awesome opportunity. I played with a little girl and little boy who did my hair, played with action figures, and just made my week! There was karaoke going on a lot of the time we were inside which was a ton of fun to sing along and dance with the kids too.

Ok, well I rambled there a lot, but the title of this is "Here I go...and here I come!"
I have been at camp and loving that (other than some long, stressful days lol), but a week from today I fly out! I am going to Kenya and cannot wait to see God working and to witness the church fully alive in Africa. I will write updates on here often and would love for your support through many and constant prayers! God [through the awesome body of Christ] has already fully provided for my financial support!!!!!! I will be working in the business office at Tenwek Hospital compound assisting the lady who organizing everything having to do with the guests coming to serve at the compound. I will also be working with the community help group, the local school and orphanage, and helping to teach a Sunday School once or twice too. There are many opportunities presented within the hospital that I may encounter that I could really use extra prayers for... I will have the opportunity to make rounds with a chaplian, sit with individuals while they pass from this life into the next, and may even have to do small tasks to help out if there is a large accident while I am there(bus accidents are common there). Needless to say, it is uncertain what I will experience and can only rely on Christ for strength for everything. Also, a very basic thing to know in my head but when working through it, the language barrier I know will be very frustrating when I just want to be able to connect with the Kipigis and other local people in Kenya.
Anyway, hope you enjoy the blah blah blahness of anything I write on this blog. Have a great day. Keep smiling and strive to be blameless until the day of Christ's return!

Been a while...

2009-05-23T21:44:00.000-07:00

Wow, I haven't written on here for 2 & 1/2 months!!! Guess life has been pretty busy. First of all, guess those "coming soon" posts will never be written, but if you want to hear any of those stories or life lessons- I'd love to talk and tell ya! Let's see, my fourth semester of college is now over, I am hopefully over 1/2 way done with my college career!!! This semester really took it's toll, and I have never been so excited to not be writing papers and studying!!! I realize the work will not get any easier, but I am very grateful for a break from it all. My studies become consuming when so many things are constantly hanging over me; I hate the pressure. I hope that my mental power this summer will be used to read and study things not of this world. Reading daily planned passages of Scripture is a great thing, but I want to go way above and beyond that level or reading to truly learning and studying the Word. [don't have a particular direction, so any suggestions would be sweet!] Memorization is also a part of my goal; my summer plan is to memorize Matthew chapters 5 & 6. Please anybody who reads this, keep me accountable and check with me to make sure I am making progress in this goal. In the past I have only done around 20 vs, this is close to 80 verses-definitely won't be doing this by my own strength!
Also, outside books have been a part of my agenda; part of preparing for Kenya included reading a few books about missionaries to Kenya and to Zambia. The first book was about Ernie Steury who was the first doctor at Tenwek Hospital (the compound I will be living on) and a lot of the history of Tenwek, as well as the Steury family and live story. This book definitely made me fall in love with the vision and actions of this ministry. Christ and the Gospel are always in the proper place of supremacy. Every patient who enters the hospital will be prayed with and will hear the Gospel in their stay. Many proper actions in reguard to educating the community and reaching anyone in need has led to a ton of ministries and programs stemming from Tenwek. For example, they have a nursing school, a chaplain training school, and community health programs. Anyway, I will write more on here with pictures and real explainations when I am actually there in a little over one month from now. :)
Well, just for sakes of a life update- like I said, finished my sophomore year of college and now off for summer break. I am working at Bair Lake Bible Camp again this summer; I stayed out there this past week just to help out along with the company of Natalie and had a great week. We worked hard but also were able to enjoy things like bottling homemade root beer, the game of Life, Pig Pong, fishing, volleyball, and other fun "camp" things like Bag-o. I am very excited for our staff this summer and cannot wait will everyone moves in on June 5th! Also, the Retreat Center has had a makeover! It's sooo sweet; Lori Wickes (and family & friends) has total repainted and decorated and the whole building is starting to have so much more potential. I am soo excited to see returning staffers' reactions when they move in!!! But yup, camp, uhh basically working in the kitchen and then like one week of counselling in August this summer. I am missing most of the bulk of true camp time though with my trip to Kenya-which of course will be totally worth it!
I fly out June 27th and will be back, I believe, August 2nd!
Other things in life include seeing lots of transition in life for many people I know, and mostly all of it is exciting but sometimes change can be really hard. Sometimes change isn't even as hard for the people experiencing it as it is for those around them who must adjust to the new normal.
oh & random but I got rid of facebook since I have last written; such a good choice! I will probably get back on in not too long, but not having the need to spend time on it or use it in class or who knows-I was just on it all the time! Now, I will write people on it, occasionally look at pictures, ect but the whole perspective has changed after not being on facebook and also being at camp away from tv and easily accessible internet. Basically, as Christians we are to strive to be people of excellence and the time spend on facebook was not doing what was best with the time given to me. Also, I want to really stop focusing soo much on things of this world! Entertainment of all sorts is so bad for me, and I can say that something isn't bad (necesarily sinful) but what is it hindering me from doing instead? I love country music, but I am really trying to not listen to secular music right now because if I am thinking about the things in the songs or humming/singing country songs-than my mind is consumed by things of this world, not by prayer or worship or a potentially uplifting conversation. In Hebrews 12, talking about throwing off everything that hinders-these are the things that hinder, things like facebook or country music that aren't evil but are not spurring me on to grow in Christ or accomplishing anything valuable in my life. Just working through a lot of similar thoughts, sorry for rambling rather than saying anything to intelligent sounding or having a good conclusion to this update.
Life is good. I am enjoying lots of summer outtings like rock climbing and Lake Michigan!
Peace and Love in Christ!!!

Lessons Learned

2009-03-03T18:49:00.000-08:00

Last semester was a tough one for me. Not living at home for the summer brought tension with my parents, a WHOLE bunch of stuff happened with my church back home, many of those circumstances led my parents and other people I love to hurt like I have never seen before. While being at school, I did not know how to handle the situation. Also during this time I was confused with myself on a lot of things and just needed a time to clear my head and not view myself as a burden to everyone around me.
During this time, I did not enjoy who I was all that much, but I was able to experience Christ's faithfulness. He will never change or leave or disappoint. I guess that was a theme for fall 08 in my life > God's faithfulness.

Anyway, over winter break I was able to have a time of great renewal and feeling like myself again. I want to radiate His glory, but I often stuggle with socially finding time amid my studies. I hope that I will be able to find small ways to bless those around me, for His glory.

I am reading through the Bible again this year, it is good and bad for my devotional life. It means I take in a small amount of the Word each and every day, but this also means that for some reason I am less apt to jump into my small random studies about things that really change me. I need to continue spontaneous topical studies amid these readings.

Probably so far the one thing that has impacted me most this semester though is the idea of Christ VICTORIOUS! We sing all the time about "Jesus conquered the grave" but man, do we know what we are saying?!?
I read Mark 5 a while back and am still being impacted by the reality of this story. Verses 2-8 tell of a man possessed by a legion of demons so powerful that this man could not be contained! He could tear lose from iron chains!!! Satan and his demons are very very powerful, this cannot be forgotten.
Now, Jesus enters the scene, He steps out of a boat and the man sees Him from a distance...the man ran and fell at Jesus' feet and shouted "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't tortue me!"
First of all, these demons know who Jesus is--- & if that isn't enough, they immediately make the man fall at Christ's feet, declare His Lordship, and plead for His mercy!!!
This is utterly incredible.

Coming Soon!

2009-02-25T14:23:00.000-08:00

I wanna write about some things lately, this is basically a memo to self.
"The Silver Spoon"
"Change on the Street"
"Giving it my all"

Just an update

2009-02-25T13:45:00.000-08:00

Well at the moment I am enjoying thinking about Kenya. I read a few pages from Miracle at Tenwek when I had a moment in [pause for firedrill, now i'm back] btween -that's purdy sweet, firedrill right the middle of typing the word inbetween- ok anyway, today I read a bit about Tenwek, spent some time on the website looking at the community development stuff and also just researching Kenya. I love having the resources to just look things up and learn; hopefully the more I learn about the customs and culture now, the more I will understand and be impacted by my experiences in Kenya. I am doing a HUGE project on the Dominican Republic right now for Intermational Marketing, and the website everyculture.com was one of my best sources for my culture paper...so I went back there for starters on Kenya.
http://www.tenwek.org/tchd/what.htm
http://www.everyculture.com/Ja-Ma/Kenya.html
I like being able to read about a culture and feel like I somewhat have a foundation to build off of from my international classes here at school.
My next endeavor is to learn more about the Kipsigis tribes and people, because they are the main group served by Tenwek and that live near Bomet. These people do not represent a large portion of the people of Kenya; the primary ethnic groups include the Kikuyu, Luhya, Luo, Kalenjin and others, but near Tenwek are many Kipsigis people.

New subject:
I have so many great things to be excited about coming up! This weekend Jenna, Jenn, Liz, Brenda, and I are going to Indy to have a weekend away with Tamar!!! This will be the first time our everyday group of friends from last year will have all seen each other in almost a whole year. It will be so much fun & just great to catch up on life with everyone. I know a few ppl are really struggling right now, so it will be a great time of community -at least that is my hope.
Then the next weekend starts spring break :) I am going to visit Mike and Janet and Caleb!!! I am soo excited to see all of them! Caleb is going to be completely different and more capable of everything than when I saw him in October; the first year, kids change so dramatically soo fast! Reconnecting and catching up is something I am longing for right now and can't wait to spend time with Mike and Janet so soon!

other quick closer:
well I was gonna add the link to the chapel recording from today, but it's not up yet. Today Christine spoke in chapel, and it was a really good reminder for everyone. Often, people either work really hard to live a good life (mentally earning salvation) or think that they could never deserve salvation- either we ask: Am I enough? or Am I too much? (could God ever really love me? ect) She had a chart that basically showed how we for some reason thing that saving us is God's job and then making us complete in glory someday is God's job...but this time inbetween is somehow our responsibility.
This parallelled thoughts I had the night before when reading Mark 7:6-8. I am one of the "do it yourselfers" who want to live a good life and honor Christ in my actions, which can be great, as long as it doesn't turn into mere works done out of self-righteousness. In Mark 7, Jesus calls the Pharisees out about doing good deeds but having their hearts be far from Him. This reminds me of the danger of the way I am attempting to live. I need to repent and rely fully on Christ each and every day, doing acts of service out of gratitude for who He is and all He has given.

well I really need to go. Dinna w/ Sashi then tutoring. Can't wait to see the kids, we didn't get to go last week

Things I have done in the past year...

2009-02-05T16:52:00.000-08:00

Tonight I was thinking about how thankful I am for my car and that it runs. Many of my friends are not so fortunate right now. I was also thankful for safety while driving on the roads, so much traffic would not be my first choice. Anyway somehow this led me to looking at pictures and thinking about how blessed I am and decided to make a list of things I think are purdy cool that I have done in the past year.

I have seen...
Skillet
Thousand Foot Krutch
Spoken
Beautiful Republic
Falling Up
Family Force 5
The Mines
Israel and New Breed
and Chris Tomlin
.... IN CONCERT!
I...
made a snowman
made a snowwoman
shopped at Salvation Army
rode a fourwheeler
held a racoon
watched a game of rugby
watched the Highland games
played volleyball
went ice skating
went on a picture scavenger hunt around GR
went on the GIANT button downtown GR
swung on the big tire swing downtown GR
climbed a GIANT tire
climbed sandunes
climbed trees
climbed the CU big metal sign in front of the Hansen Center
went on the big swing on my brother's ropes course
went rock climbing at Grand Ledge
climbed BLBC rock walls many a time
walked on frozen lake Michigan
watched a sunset over Lake Michigan & Lake Huron
swam in Lake Michigan & Lake Huron
saw one of my best friends leave for the Air Force & then Italy!
saw many Many MANY shooting stars
went on a crazy dress up day
saw a LLAMA
was with Michelle when she saw her FIRST SHOOTING STAR!
took TONS of pictures
went to a Detroit Tiger's game (almost went to Canada)
WENT TO DRUMMOND ISLAND
took Stacy's senior pictures
went to Lizzy's first ever band concert [tonight!]
chatted with many people with interesting and sad stories downtown
worked at Bair Lake Bible Camp
became a lifeguard
WENT TO THE BAHAMAS!!!
went snorkling in the ocean
saw a sea urchin, anemone, sting ray, squid and many other amazing creatures in the wild!
saw the Atlantis
said "see ya later" to Mike, Janet, and Caleb
went to Purgatory [it's state land in Jones, no worries]

hmm well i dk random and i'm sure i'll think of tonz more things that i'm like- oh yeah-that was sweet! but I think I got a purdy good list going :)

KENYA KENYA KENYA!!!

2009-01-29T21:21:00.001-08:00

I will write more about this soon, but I haven't mentioned at all that I am going to Africa for the month of July!!!
I am going with my uncle's family to Tenwek hospital that is 3-4 hour drive outside of Nairobi, Kenya. We will be spending a couple days in Nairobi at a women's home that helps former prostitutes to learn skills to support themselves and an orphanage there too. Our time at Tenwek, my uncle will be serving as a doctor there, but I will be helping out in a number of different areas, basically where they need help on any particular day. My opportunities will be helping in an orphanage, local schools, nearby villages[community help], hopefully administrative shadowing -like business experience type work- and random things around the compound. I'm not going as an intern, so I don't have a specific role, but thankfully I have the chance of seeing how the business end runs and also working with people.

I am so so so excited but will have to write about this later.

I gotta get up in a few hours for 8:00 International Marketing :)

Gifts?

2009-01-29T20:48:00.000-08:00

Tonight I went with Courtney's family to a Chris Tomlin concert; it was a really good time but made me realize how much I take forgranted. In Grand Rapids and at Cornerstone, I experience such amazing worship opportunities, bands, services... that they have become commonplace in my life. I don't stop and realize how special these times are and that I must take advantage of them now. Evensong here at Cornerstone is a great example; the talent, passion, atmosphere is amazing!
The concert tonight was fun, and I am glad I was there- but something inside me was not impressed. It seemed just like I was at chapel; so many other people's lives are drastically impacted by experiences like a Christian event- guess I just don't want to take things forgranted anymore. So many of the adults tonight were so invigorated to have the experience; I felt ungrateful.
Guess I just want to work on looking at my life from a different perspective in order to take every chance to see an opportunities or a blessing.

BAHAMAS!

2009-01-16T14:11:00.000-08:00

2009-01-12T13:00:00.000-08:00

So much has happened since I last wrote on here... a 5 week winter break in which I helped around home, went to the BAHAMAS- amazing might I add, started a new year, and hopefully have a new outlook on some things about life in general...
but for now, the thing on my mind is--- I am so scared of living like the typical American Christian!!! Worrying about all the worldly things that need to be taken care of is so typical, I am not sure how to explain my thoughts but just the things money gets spent on and the mindset of all the things that we "need" [ since we dont' understand the concept of true need] & if I have a family all the many things that will occupy my time, it scares me, I dont' want to get caught up in the things of this world. Most importantly, I don't want to keep waisting time within relationships when people need NEED CHRIST. For some reason I have been so caught up in helping people with physical needs that while spending time with them, I have somehow been deceived into forgetting that their GREATEST NEED = CHRIST & his salvation! We don't live like people are dead and condemned to hell, the time is now, time is short. I want to remember this.
I want to be in the world but not of the world but there are soo many temptations. My fear is that I am so brainwashed that I am deceived and already fallen victim to many temptations, my prayer is that the Lord will renew my mind. Strip it of the things I accept as normal & put them to His test. -yet to be figured out...-

well this is my venting for now, gotta go get ready for my brother's basketball game.

So instead of saying weirdo, I think friends a better name!

2008-12-08T21:12:00.000-08:00

We all remember the tacky lessons of good ol' Veggie Tales... I was just thinking about this song and I really like it. We are all different and its good to be friends with everybody no matter who their friends are or whether you have the same interests or backgrounds...i really like the idea of "any day in any weather"--- like no matter what, I will be there for you friend. Love is about giving with nothing expected in return and giving always, when it's the hardest and when it hurts. I want to be a friend on "any day in any weather"

I can be your friend

Any day in any weather

We can be friends and play together

Ya were all pretty different some are skinny some are stout

But the inside is the part were supposed to care about

Aye! thats why we have feelings that are very much the same

So instead of saying wierdo i think friends a better name

I can be your friend (la la la)I can be your friend (la la la)

If your hair is red or yellow

We can have lunch i'll share my jello

I can be your friend (la la la)I can be your friend (la la la)

It's okay if we are different,we can still play and i can be your friend!

Boy oh boy, it's that time of the year.

2008-12-06T20:17:00.000-08:00

Right now there are so many emotions, worries (aka EXAMs), activities- a million things going on all the time. I am now officially done with classes for the semester, I have 4 more exams & then 1 exam to try to test out of a class. I should in fact be studying this very moment but will probably just go to bed after this.
Tonight was Mock Rock, which was amazing and I love so much! The winning act from last year started off the evening and was a great surprise! "When You Were Young" - love it love it. Let's see, some guys that I didn't expect to participate were in the first act which was very entertaining. My favorite to watch though was a kid doing "bye, bye, bye" ... oh my goodness!!! He was soo good and HILARIOUS, like I was extremely impressed but laughing so hard the whole time at how intense he was at this dance, up there all alone, it took guts! Anybody from home who can come next year should come up, I love this event so much!
Courtney went to the ER tonight, I think she will be ok but that was a little scary. She has been sick on and off all semester and her fever and such got to that point of needing to see what was going on. She got back quickly though so she'll be alright :)
Tonight I was/am feeling quite overwhelmed ect but the end is in sight and I will be free for so long over Christmas, it will be amazing.
I want to learn to count my blessings, even the simple ones. I am thankful for the ability to learn and the funds to be here. I will not write all that I have to be thankful for but this is what I need to remember when feeling down.
ok headin out. I gotta make fun of Peter and Jenn ;)

the Oasis

2008-12-02T12:57:00.000-08:00

This snow is here! I couldn't be more excited about it. Sunday night me and Seth built a giant snowman and played in the snow for an hour or two, that was super duper fun. That time included the snowman, playing with cattails, summersalting & rolling down a hill, tackling Bethany in the snow, and sliding like a penguin over big snowballs. I should have been inside studying, but I hadn't been out to my favorite area on campus in a while so about an hour ago I went out behind VO's parking lot to just be at rest and take in nature's beauty. God is so creative and so good! The picture on the left makes me smile cuz you can see the clocktower, that is my way of proving I was still at CU, or maybe I just like to cheesily represent CU...

This is my fav picture!!! :)
I love this little drainage "stream", somethin bout water does me good.

Celebrating Fall :) Now it's time to welcome in WINTER brrr

2008-11-23T20:55:00.000-08:00

Family Picture!!!

It's not about me. YOU always have and always will be ETERNALLY FAITHFUL!!!

2008-11-23T20:35:00.000-08:00

This morning, the message was soo great. I can't wait til the sermon is posted online to listen to it again. (link for Crossroads is on the page, you can listen too) Anyway, it was a hugely great wake up call saying, this whole life thing, this whole Christian thing- it has NOTHING to do with you. Our hearts are more deceitful than we can comprehend. We are all one decision away from throwing it all away... we will fail. I will fail. This is hard to accept. But it is an amazing paradox, knowing that God has entered into a covenant with us and He will not only hold up His end of the deal but mine too, when I can't. He LOVES me. God's faithful, unconditional love is self-sacrificing. And like yes, I know that Jesus died for me and that He loves me and that He is not like there but really truly, completely unselfishly loves. I cannot love like this, only through Him could I dream to begin loving like this. Anyway, this paradox- basically it is comforting to know that this life that I am trying to live has absolutely nothing to do with me, because He has paid it all and it is ALL ABOUT HIM. This from our typical perspective says, this hurt my ego, it means I am unimportant, and about a million other crazy thoughts like that... but when it is not about me, I don't have to be worth it or earn His favor, or be popular or pretty or have a job or be dating or be perfect- the pressure is not there, and I can rest secure in my Saviour knowing that I am loved and I can strive to be the best through His strength and love with His love, because I am loved. Not to earn any merit or work my way into heaven or on the "nice list" - yesterday I watched Santa Claus 3 with Brenda, Rosie, and Vannah, so that is totally the analogy in my mind-
Lately, I have not felt worth what i should be. I have never struggled with this before, I guess I should have known it was coming at some point, but today has been a huge lesson :)
I want to reconcile with Christ. I have been running, maybe not completely to my knowledge, but I have been running from the Word. Why? because it's boring, no, because I like to get caught up in me and say i'm busy, probably because I am scared of the change if i completely -surrender- This past summer I spent more time than ever before in the Word and learned of its priceless value. I want to view it as a constant need once again. I will keep things posted on how I am doing at spending, and waiting expectantly to spend time with Christ reading the Holy HOLY WORD OF GOD.
hmm well guess I should go read, stop blabbin. And get to sleep. So happy to sleep tonight!!!
and soo stinkin excited to go home in 2 days for Thanksgiving break. I haven't seen Mark in for-stinkin-ever! and it will be good to see Erica, Natalie (the rest of the Grace crew), and friends that are still in YG too! hmm venting on here is good, i like it. Goodnight world.

Praise the Lord for a new day!

2008-11-20T17:32:00.001-08:00

I am just so thankful for today! Tuesday night I stayed up late having a couple very needed conversations. Wednesday was just a downer for me... I was thinking about hard things have gone on back home and about how much the people closest to me have been hurt so much in the recent past... also, just being single has never been something I struggled not being content with, but this semester all of my best friends are in serious relationships and everything is very different and that has been super difficult for me. Anyway, by the time I was done with classes (getting a bad test back in accounting, and taking an exam in fine arts), I was at a point of breaking. I went back to my room, grabbed a notebook and my Bible and went to retreat to break down. I read, prayed, journalled, cried a bit & well it helped a little bit. I went and visited Court and Beth after this, which was nice to just lighten up and dream bout our future apartment together :) The day really started to turn around with tutoring though, the kids just display such pure love! Also, I went to watch Chuck do "Joe the Homosexual" which was super interesting and a great experience I think.
Anyway....on to a NEW DAY! Today has been great. I am just so much more peaceful and emotionally together. There are a million things going on and due and that I need to be working on and studying ect but it will be ok. I am so thankful for sleep and for the Lord's strength to face a new day and have a new perspective within such a short time.
then tonight was meet a need, just four of us went down to partner with the grand valley people... and man, I take so much forgranted, those homeless or struggling individuals that we are able to interact with work so hard to just get by and stay warm. I sit in my warm room, eat the cafeteria food (while profusely complaining!), and often don't find the joy in life that I should. I want to learn to be thankful. Rid myself of this American shell & take each blessing as a true blessing!
Oh and aparently I am going to marry a guy named John. -we may be moving to CA in my station wagon- There is a guy downtown who basically every time I talk to him either sets me up with someone or about how I will be a good wife someday haha. This week I was set up with a GVSU guy named John, who I had never met before, good times. Gotta love downtown!

Anti-theft lunch bags

2008-11-19T22:39:00.000-08:00

makes me smile.

If you were a junky?

2008-11-19T21:48:00.000-08:00

I'm purdy sure that if I could choose anything to be completely obsessed with, it would be kayaking! It is just beautiful and can be as relaxing or as thrill-seeking as you desire!!! You are out in nature, on the water, it's kinda like backpacking without carrying everything or working nearly as hard at it hahaha. I am looking at some incredibly intense videos, I'll post them but man, what a rush, I seek those adrenaline rushes so much sometimes!!! There is so much corrupted, unhealthy entertainment in this world, being in nature is the best entertainment, art... and purest ways for me to enjoy life.

http://canoekayak.com/av/flash/tatlowwhitewaterbrian/

http://canoekayak.com/av/flash/pacifichorizonstrailer/

Ice on the pond!

2008-11-19T06:17:00.000-08:00

YAY this is a momentous day, there was a thin layer of ice on the pond this morning. This means that the cold is here & I can only hope that ice skating season is just around the corner!!! I definately here some hockey calling my name. (or maybe it's just Sarah yelling it at me from Wisconsin) Anyway, makes a rough day a little better to think about.

busy mind

2008-11-18T13:16:00.001-08:00

so many thoughts have run through my head today and i've been going strong but getting nothing done!
I got to sleep in a bit, enjoy some of the book of Daniel, I got to a part today that always blows me away, the other satraps could find no corruption in him, it says he was "neither corrupt nor negligent" basically, he was faithful in all he did and he did it all ridiculously well. This time reading through the book I guess some of things seem more miraculous than I had given them former credit for..like the fact that Daniel was revealed the king's dream through a vision, crazy! and just the whole thing of the fiery furnace, the fire was so engulfing and hot and the men who threw in the 3 guys died, yet they not only survived but were walking around and when they came out didnt' even SMELL like smoke. and I think it's comical that there was a 4th man that "looked like a God", like our God not only meets us in our need but is really really there. After this miracle, of course people would have emotions worked up or w/e but it's still insane the way that the king reacts, he goes from killing people who won't worship his statue to worshipping the One True God and demands that everyone else does as well!!!

back to my day... I needed to go to court to observe for Business Law, so I went out to the parking lot to leave, the weather is GORGEOUS! sunny sky, cool air, just was like empowering. so I go over to my car, which the windshield is frozen/dusted over and well I don't have a scraper yet, soo I first used my coat, not working, but then I pulled around so the sun was on it and let me tell you, a rubber flipflop works GREAT!... so I went and missed the first set of cases and was told to come back 2 hours later, so I was not going to drive all the way back, so I went to Alpine and well lets just say that none of the internet was workin for me, so I needed to drive back to get a World Civ letter turned in on time, since I was skipping class to go to court (that sounds so funny!) so I went. Yup, got roughed around by a scary lady police officer, sat, waited and listen to a lot of different cases, very interesting but just one of those places your nerves are kinda on end the whole time.
Well I need to go, Michelle is waiting on me, sorry Michelle :).
I'm so excited, it's THANKSGIVING DINNER tonight!!! BEST meal at Cornerstone!

Initial thoughts

2008-11-17T20:33:00.000-08:00

Well, I've thought about it for a while now, I have a blog. Is this conforming or will it be helpful? Will I be ok with being completely honest if i know there is a chance of someone reading this?

Anyway, when I was thinking about naming this blog, many things went through my mind. I thought about Romans 12 and thoughts about love, forsaking the way of the world, continually serving with zeal...I thought about Psalm 24- the earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and all who live in it. Man if I could just live out these nice little thoughts... the beginning of Roman's 12 -do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world- I really believe that "pattern" is singular because it all comes down to that the way of this world is thinking about self. Love is not thinking about self. I can't even comprehend being completely selfless for even a minute of my life.
Well I'm having trouble concentrating, I'm hanging out with my Pickett girls... actually telling first kiss stories, wow I don't have girl talk like this very often, so funny!