Love in Nicaragua

In October I was blessed with the opportunity to travel to Nicaragua on a mission trip with 8 other people from the Peninsula-Delaware Conference area.  We were hosted by an organization called El Ayudante, which helps to support churches and schools that work to feed and educate children in poor communities.  We visited several schools and churches, where we played, did crafts, sang songs, and encouraged the children to grow up to the be loved and gifted people God created them to be.  We were also able to leave donations of money and school supplies at each place.  

At each location I was blessed with the opportunity connect with a few kids, and I was reminded that kids everywhere are the same!  They love hugs and having their pictures taken.  They love to sing, they get a little too wound up when they have sugar and attention, and the boys can't resist the urge to inflate their empty juice boxes and stomp on them, making everyone jump!  It was hard for us to see such beautiful children living in poverty.  Most of schools and churches provide meals when they can, because many of the children would have very little to eat otherwise.  But, we were inspired by the way God has called people in these communities to help feed and teach these children so that they might have the chance to get out of their circumstances someday.  

One of the most special experiences for me was handing out leftover Pecometh t-shirts and dresses that some of our campers made.  I was honored to be able to connect our campers who are so blessed and generous with these children whose faces lit up when they were given new clothes that were just for them.  

Thanks to everyone who supported me financially and through prayer!  As I encountered poverty and injustice in Nicaragua, I was reminded that we also still have poverty and injustice in our own country as well.  It is a comfort to know that our church family is doing what we can to help people in our own community, in our own country, and around the world.  

Check out my pictures on Facebook... Nicaragua 2011 Part 1 and Nicaragua 2011 Part 2!  

Seeking Advent(ure) in Haiti

Over the past week I have encountered Isaiah 40:1-11 a few different times in various devotionals.  This is a pretty standard passage for the beginning of Advent, but this scripture is jumping out at me in new ways as I prepare for my trip to Haiti this week.  Advent means "coming."  It is the season in which we remember the coming of God incarnate in Jesus, we prepare our hearts to welcome Christ in our midst, and we look forward to the future restoration of the world.  Isaiah's "voice crying out in the wilderness" reminds us of this future reality.  And if there is a people on this earth who understand the impact of massive landscape change (physical, emotional and cultural), if there are people who know the fragility of life, if anyone is in need of comfort, embrace and the promise of restoration, it is the people of Haiti.  

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Bay Area Adventures Part II

Saturday afternoon we headed into San Francisco for sister (+Sergey) adventures. Our parents booked us a night in the Union Square Hilton with reward points, and we were pretty impressed with the view from our tower room on the 38th floor. We settled in, went to H&M and then got ready for a night out in SF. Our first stop was Bourbon and Branch, a speakeasy a few blocks from our hotel. From the outside it is just a nondescript brick building with a sign that reads "Anti-Saloon League." When we knocked on the unmarked wooden door, a hostess peeked out and asked for a password. Once we gave her the password we were ushered inside and seated in a booth in the dimly lit front room. The atmosphere was fantastic, complete with rules banning cell phones, cameras, and ordering Cosmos. The drinks were yummy and not as expensive as they could have been (mine were each $11). The place felt like an authentic temperance-era speak easy right down to the cloth hand-sewn coasters (upon which I fixed and plan to replicate) and the fedora that Sergey was wearing. After that we went out to restaurant where we had wine and good seafood, and then we went back to the hotel to hang out and enjoy the view of the city.

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Easter in Australia

Easter in Australia is an interesting thing. Most people get off work Thursday-Monday, so there's a lot of holiday weekend stuff happening, like the Easter Show, which as far as I can tell is something like a county fair but with Easter Bunnies and lots of chocolate.

I got in Thursday of Easter Weekend. I had breakfast at 4 am AU time and was through security by about 7:30 am. Just past the gate I was greeted by Jackie, and moments later met with several blurry-eyed members of the Donnelly family. After a few minutes I headed off with Jackie and Pat. Before lunch we had stopped for pastries, Jackie and Pat signed their lease, and we stopped at Jackie's house where I unloaded my stuff and we picked up Pat's parents. We went to a pie shop for lunch, where I ate a steak and mushroom pie! I have been dreaming of pies since I left South Africa in 2006. After that we headed up to Illawarra Fly, a tree-top walk near Jackie's house. It was awesome and scary.

On Friday we went up to meet the rest of Pat's family. From there we went to have fish and chips on the beach, and then we went to Symbio, a zoo. They had some interactive time where I got to PET A KOALA and hold a snake. The koalas are so cute, and the snake felt weird... all muscly. My favorite, though, was the common marmoset. Those were so cute. I wanted to smuggle one out in my pocket. I also went to the petting zoo type area where we could feed the animals, and fed kangaroos. That was really cool too.

Saturday, we had a girls' day in Sydney. Jackie and her sister Michelle took me in to the city to see some of the touristy things. We went first to Chinatown for lunch, and had awesome Thai food at a food court where there were so many Asian food options I was momentarily paralyzed. After that we went to Darling Harbour, which is sort of like the Baltimore Inner Harbor, but Australian. It was the 21st birthday of Darling Harbour, so there was a bunch of cool carnival stuff going on. We went into a circus tent and saw an act with juggling and accordion/violin accompaniment. We also walked across the Pyrmouth Bridge and saw the middle swivel open to let a non-existent boat go by. After that we took a Matilda Ferry to Circular Quay, where we saw the Harbor Bridge and Sydney Opera House. After that we were tired, so we went to a shop where I bought a bunch of Australia gifts for people, and then we went to a surf shop where I bought awesome Australia Haviannas that have a small Australia on each one, and AU beaches printed on the soles. From there we went to a Rugby League game, which was an interesting experience.

Today we went to Jackie's church and hung out at the house while Jackie packed her room. It was interesting because their church doesn't celebrate Easter. The service was nice; they meet in a community center and sang lots of hymns. It was weird though because the sermon would have fit in very well with Lent, but since it came on Easter sort of felt like having an extra day of class at the end of the semester. I found myself thinking "everyone is in church right now at home" at times, and really missing all of the trumpets and lilies and "Christ is Risen - He is Risen Indeed!" In fact, when Pat walked into the living room this morning I said "Christ is Risen!" Hoping that he would say "He is Risen Indeed!" but he didn't know to say that. Fortunately, a few minutes ago Aunt Leslie commented "He is risen indeed" on my "Christ is Risen" facebook status. On the up side, I had my first hot cross bun, which is apparently an Easter thing. I just know it as the nursery song. I then wikipediaed hot cross buns out of curiosity. Very interesting. Anyway, Christ is Risen. And fortunately, Easter is a season of 50 days and Pastor Amy is diligent about celebrating that long. So it will still be Easter when I get home.

Off to Oz

*Apparently Oz is an acceptable abbreviation for Australia.


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So, I leave tomorrow for my whirlwind world tour. I'm going around the world in 28 days. I head first to Sydney, for wedding festivities and a little sight-seeing. I promise to take pictures at Outback Steakhouse. I'll be celebrating Easter there (Sydney, not Outback specifically)... of all the times to be away from church, that's probably the saddest, but Christ is risen everywhere.

After that I am going to do a lot of flying hither and thither to visit Erin in Indonesia. I fly from Sydney to Bangkok, spend the night there, and then fly to Denpasar, Bali in Indonesia. Erin is meeting me at there, and we are flying to Surabaya, Java so to visit her school. Then we are going back to Bali to stay there for a few days.

From there I fly back to Bangkok and switch planes there and in Abu Dhabi on my way to London. In England I have a long list of things I want to see (probably too many to possibly fit into one week). And I meet Megan there for the Megan Squared Invasion! Then, its home to the US, and straight back to work because Pecometh's busy season will be upon us.

The Burg

I had a brief visit in College-land this week... Jackie and I drove out to Frostburg to see Jess's apartment yesterday and spent the night. This was my first trip to the 'Burg. Jess lives in Edgewood Commons, which is owned by the same company as South Campus Commons in College Park (where I lived for 2 years); consequently the whole place looked eerily familiar. We got to see Danny, and meet their friend Mark. Jess made pot roast which was excellent, and we called everyone Jess could think of looking for a corkscrew. We found a corkscrew, Bee came over, and we spent the rest of the night hanging out around the table.

Most of my drinking is done with my parents or my aunts, so it was a nice change to be drinking with people my own age (and chuckling that those too young to drink)! Of course by midnight Jackie was ready to crash (having flown back from LA the night before), so the boys went home and the party wound down.

Jackie called the love seat, which left me with two small armchairs or the floor. So I laid the cushions from the two chairs on the floor and slept on those. I used to be able to sleep anywhere... floor... chair... field... etc. Last night I slept fitfully and when I woke up at 8:30 my head hurt and my back hurt and basically my whole body hurt. I am soooo not in college anymore.

The drive back was interesting. Motivated by the scenery and our newfound love (LOVE!) for the GPS device, Jackie and I were going to go to Harper's Ferry on the way back (I've never been), but then I-70 was shut down for awhile and the detour took us over and hour. While sitting in the car we took lots of pictures and imagined all the ways we could possible contrive to meet the guy in the car behind us (we named him Matt), but then he pulled off the detour road. That actually inspired us to make our own detour (we weren't following him), and skipped the rest of the traffic. We realized it would be dark by the time we got to Harper's Ferry, so we ended up just driving over the line into WV for the heck of it, and then going to dinner at Pizza Hut. Good times.

If you need directions, I'll be your guide...

I recently acquired one of those GPS navigation devices. We bought one for my grandparents last year, but they haven't used it, so they gave it to me. I get lost.... more or less constantly.

The downside of my Magellan Whatever-Its-Called is that I'm still getting used to driving and looking at it. With reading directions off a piece of paper, I have to remember the street name, whereas so far with the GPS I keep forgetting to look at the street name, so then when it starts counting down to my next turn I'm afraid I'll miss it or take the wrong one, so then I look at the street name on the screen and then miss the turn. Or a couple times I took the wrong turn because I didn't trust the countdown.

On the upside, I take wrong turns all the time anyway, but the GPS thing just gives me new directions and it usually doesn't make me feel stupid. I also like the fact that it tells me how long it will be until I get there.

By far the best part, however, is the fact that I can search for any local businesses nearby. This means that on a road trip, I can find the nearest Starbucks any time I want, without having to wait for the Starbucks symbol on an exit sign.

crash

This year, the beginning of my post-camp crash coincided exactly with my crashing back into school and work. Sunday I bid adieu to the Brits, and spent some time at Lorettas. Monday I dropped a Kiwi off at the airport and came straight down to school.

The road trip was awesome - an excellent chance to let loose (in legal and mostly appropriate ways), and try not to think about all the responsibility waiting for me. I saw Cleveland, Chicago and parts of Wisconsin. I shot a shotgun and ate a corn dog for the first time. How American. We read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince aloud in its entirety and listened to a whole lot of musicals. How nerdy.

Now I'm at school. I have a room at seminary on Monday and Tuesday nights. Yesterday I walked up to Wisconsin Ave and checked out an outdoor store that I've been wanting to see. They sell climbing stuff and clothes from Patagonia!!!! Today I went to my first class and bought A LOT of books.

Being back at school makes me feel really awkward and shy again. And young. And inexperienced. During chapel I was thinking about the fact that I am (deep down) grateful that I can relate to a lot of the things that my middle and high schoolers are going through. I'm awkward and shy and experiencing the first day of school. I am still in a stage of life where crushes and talking to boys are... a challenge. I don't exactly know what I'm going to do with my life long term. As much as I dread some of these awkward experiences, I am constantly aware that God is with me through even the silliest of my struggles. It means a lot to me that I can walk these paths with (although a little ahead of) the youth I serve, and I can say from experience that God is with us.

New Year

Well, I am back in the States again, and sitting in the Delta Crown Club at Atlanta's airport. For $25 you can sit in a special club where they give you free drinks, CNN, nice chairs, and a break from the rest of the airport. I sort of feel weird about this, but apparently my anti-elitist sentiments don't hold up to my anti-sitting in uncomfortable chairs and paying $4 for water feelings.

Anyway, here's list of pros and cons about being back in the States:

Pros:
-I can plug in my laptop without smelling smoke, seeing sparks, etc
-News that does not involve tons of bizarre murders or false AIDS remedies
-my cell phone works now
-Just in time to celebrate more Dems in Congress!
-can go back to freely criticizing my country (you know how you're allowed to complain about your mom, but you don't want others to? That's how I feel about my country)
-Will see friends and family

Cons:
-Am now obligated to keep up with my e-mail
-Vacation is now over
-Miss my friends in SA
-Now have to answer my cell phone
-Watching News does now involve hearing about American politics and Pat Robertson

And seeing as I've had so much time to think think think, here are my New Years' Resolutions (measurable goals to follow).

1) Adventure - I came to the conclusion that I need more adventure in my life, but that adventure is not just about doing things that are crazy, spontaneous and slightly irresponsible, but about taking advantage of every opportunity God gives me and getting the most out of it.

2) Reconciliation - I am going to make an effort to bring healing in as many parts of my life as I can.

3) Peace-making - This goes along with reconciliation, but is less specific. James 3:13-18 says that Wisdom is "peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others." Also that "All those who are peace-makers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness."

4) I hate to be cliche, so I really don't want to make the resolution to get into shape, but it was shocking how out of shape I am when I was walking around South Africa. I started to walk more before it got cold, and I would like to at least be able to hike when I want to.

Oppression

The Global Young Peoples’ Convocation has been awesome. It hasn’t been anything flashy (although the hotel is pretty nice), but we’ve had good speakers, and the focus has really been on finding our voice as young people. Meanwhile, some random things have happened. I chipped a tooth on a peach pit yesterday. I ran into and have been hanging out with Susie Barr-Wilson, who worked at Camp in 2001.

Once again, I am being told to wait. One of the speakers preached on Acts 2, and talked about how when the Holy Spirit came to the believers in Jerusalem, it gave the people a new talkativeness, a new liveliness, and a new fearlessness. Again, I am feeling God pushing me to be bolder, braver and more vocal. But then, at the end of her message, she said, “But don’t just go and tell the church that you’re here to do this work. Wait in Jerusalem. Let the Holy Spirit come upon you and fill you with a new talkativeness, a new liveliness, and a new fearlessness.” So… where is my Jerusalem?

We have gone to several museums and visited ministries, and there has been a lot of talk about peace and justice. Today one of the speakers was giving a talk about the Biblical foundations for Social Justice and Advocacy. He paused after speaking and forgiveness and reconciliation, and announced that “Just moments ago, Saddam Hussein was hanged to death.” He commented briefly on our sadness when any member of the human race suffers. I’m so relieved that he responded that way, because I don’t believe taking a life can bring healing to the victims. When we loose sight of the humanity of one person (even one who has done as many horrible things as Hussein), we lose a piece of our humanity. We separate ourselves from the fact that we too have oppressed and hurt and abused. And we have allowed it to happen.

I read recently that the Boers in South Africa were mistreated and put down under the British colonial rule. The Boer response was an Afrikaner pride movement that led up to Apartheid. I learned today that during the Anglo-Boer War, concentration camps were used to hold Boer women and children, and many died there. (Africans were also held in camps, although not as many). Oppression begets oppression, and until we find a way to end oppression, there will always be terrorism and violence and more oppression. Why don’t people get this?