living out visions...

Letter to a Friend... some mutual edification.

2010-10-02T04:27:00.002-04:00

It struck me as I continued to read through Philippians how much God uses us and works through us during our personal times of hardship to touch other people's lives... both for those who believe in Christ and those who don't. And that perhaps one of the most notable outcomes is an en-courag-ing (courage is in the middle!!) and strengthening of our brothers and sisters in their own relationships with the Lord (and the out-flowing that has in their relationships with others)...

Paul writes (Philippians 1:12-14, 27): Now I want you to know, brothers [and sisters], that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers [and sisters] in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one [body] for the faith of the gospel...

Imagine if Paul fell apart?! Was consumed by despair and self-pity...?! Can you imagine what impact that would have had on the new churches??? And yet I'm reminded that Paul was INDEED a man, and that it was the work of the Holy Spirit in him - his making room and submitting to the Holy Spirit - that enabled and empowered him to believe, think, act, speak in ways that could only come from God. Then I ask myself, how much do I wallow in despair and self-pity... and how much do I make room for the Holy Spirit to do the work of the Father and the Son in me? I want the latter!!

I also got to wondering... what are my chains?? (or maybe I should be asking... what AREN'T my chains... hehe) ;)
And I'm reminded of the verses (not sure from where)... that Christ has set us free... so we are free indeed!! Do I live in the freedom of Christ, or do I grasp at the chains that Jesus has so willingly taken from me?

And last for today... I love the bit that says that we (brothers and sisters in Christ) stand firm in one spirit. It just fills me with an amazing joy and warmth. Standing firm together in one spirit... is something that cannot be weakened by absence or distance (though being closer to one another is certainly nice!!) or time. It may grow and change as we ourselves grow and change, but the Spirit remains at the center - the focus - and is unchanging... the Spirit is OUR anchor, what allows us to stand firm together. Amazing. Powerful.

Praying that Christ is your anchor today, and mine.

Engaged!!

2010-09-09T04:16:00.003-04:00

Hurrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!

The EXCEPTIONALLY happy day was August 19th... overlooking Kingsdale and Ingleborough.

Can't wait to be married!

Aberdeen... Scotland!

2010-07-26T08:54:00.006-04:00

As ever, due for an update. ;)

So, in September Steve and I will be taking a big step - together! - in moving to Aberdeen. I still have yet to find full-time employment of the I'm-passionate-about-this! type, so after much consideration and prayer looking for work up in Aberdeen seemed the right thing to once Steve found out that he'd been offered an amazing position up there. Which I am as excited about as he! He'll be working as a research assistant on a European Commission Project (meaning its supported and has involvement from several universities across the UK and Europe, so a bit more secure in its direction and funding) on the social (culture/community) impact of land degradation in the Mediterranean and East Africa... with the potential for it turning into a PhD (which would then take us overseas). We're praying and would love all of your prayers as well! I'm ideally hoping, praying for a position with the Macaulay Institute, a research institute 'on the sustainable use of land and its natural resources for the benefit of people, their communities and the environment'. A working experience which I, along with Steve, would then love to take abroad in working with faith-based organisations.

In the meantime though, we're spending the summer with Steve's parents in the Yorkshire Dales. Steve doing his research work from home and me dividing my time between driving lessons (taking my UK driving test tomorrow!), cleaning house for a neighbour lady, various garden and fix-up projects around Steve's parents' and another neighbour's house, and - my favourite - working/volunteering at a local organic farm. And as July is quickly whirring away, looking forward to what August has in store. :)

Below are photos from our first trip up to Aberdeen (my first time to Scotland) in June, getting Steve set up with his job (whilst I was researching jobs and letting agencies).

First visit to Aberdeen via the Stonehaven Camp site... our very first tent. :) Small, but cozy (honestly, it looks a lot smaller in the picture that what it really was!).

Visiting old Houghton College friends... Rebekah Ramsay and I at the beach in Stonehaven (couple train stops south of Aberdeen).

Beautiful Coast. Looking north towards Aberdeen.

Unfortunately, between drizzly weather and predominantly grey granite architecture, Aberdeen was looking a bit bleak during our week up there...

...So it's a good thing the landscape outside of our new "Granite City" home is so gorgeous and lush!!

Steve and our local castle! Dunnottar!

My first trip to Scotland and I was already in love... so looking forward to our move and all the joys and challenges that God has in store for us there!

2010-01-29T11:33:00.000-05:00

I got my VISA!!!!!!!!!! wahooeee!

Visa Chaos

2010-01-19T04:28:00.002-05:00

Praise God that he is Lord over visas too. Struggling with these 'barriers to access' (gotta love it when Dev terms resurface!)... but I know that the Lord is in control and that his way is above my own... and most importantly that he LOVES me and that in him, through him, is my FUTURE and my HOPE. That he is there for me to call on - in joy, frustration, sadness and just to talk out things with. That his hand has mine even now.

An UPDATE!!! ...unbelievable! ;)

2009-09-18T17:07:00.007-04:00

Yes, it's true, an update. Lots to talk about... not a lot of time. So I'll let pictures talk for me as well.

To make things a bit easier reading, I've decided to break it down a bit. As you all know WHO I am, we'll skip answering that question and get right into the WHAT.

WHAT (am I doing)?
I'm visiting mom and dad - for 3 more weeks now - before heading back to England. And in between there I'm becoming an AUNT!!! woohooo! Little Caleb Daniel will be arriving any day now, so tomorrow morning mom and I are making the 17+ hr trek to Florida to be with Laura and Phil for the happy (and oh-so-painful... yikes) occasion. I'm so excited to be able to be there for his birth. A new little person who I get to have as a part of my life for the rest of my life and his. What an amazing thing. God is full of all sorts of blessings for us...
However, as I am jobless at the moment, I'm also applying for jobs. Loathsome task that it is. Lord willing, I would love to enter into the field of agriculture and conservation, and still have my sights set on the developing world (once I get my loans under foot).
I am also still dating a certain Steve Whitfield. This past week we past our 8 month mark. grins (sappy enough for you?!) I love him and am currently missing him terribly. Please continue to pray for him (the Lord is doing such amazing things in his heart).

WHERE?
Kind of already answered this, but to elaborate a bit more, I'll be staying with Steve's parents in NW England (they live in the Yorkshire Dales National Park) until I get a job. I didn't even ask them - they just "expected" me to stay!! They're wonderful, and I'm really really enjoying getting to know Steve's family. After I get a job... my 'where' could change to anywhere in the UK really. We shall see. Steve and I are hoping to end up in the same vicinity... and hopefully that would mean that we could both attend the same church, which would be a huge blessing (we found an amazing one in Norwich!).

WHEN?
Also touched on this a bit too... I'll be leaving the US again on Oct 7 (arriving in London on the 8th at early o'clock). I'll not be back for Christmas, as tickets are expensive and I don't have a job yet and it's very possible that the UK government will have my passport, as I'll be applying for a Post Study Work Visa at that point. PLEASE PRAY for that as well. It's expensive, so I don't want to mess around with it. I WILL, however, be back again here in March... FOR MY BROTHER'S WEDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! eek!! :D He's marrying an awesome girl - Laura Bruckman. (haha Another Laura!) And I'm so so excited for them. Steve's hoping to come along as well, and it would be wonderful to have him meet everyone and vise versa.

WHY?
Why England? Well, several reasons. I accidentally fell in love with it. There are a fantastic amount of opportunities in the field that I want to pursue there that aren't equaled here. If you're looking for work in conservation here and hope to work with agricultural communities, you kind of end up taking on this attitude and role of policeforce, regulation/fine slapper. It kills any attempts at fostering good relations between the two entities. In England, however, the attitude toward both agriculture and conservation is completely different. Community development enters into the picture, along with a stronger perspective towards solidarity and preserving natural heritage - both in nature and in the farmers. Oh, and yes... also met this certain Yorkshire guy... and kinda like him a lot. :) That sort of helped me decide in earnest what I'd been toying with (and praying about) for a few months.

HOW?
By the grace of God. The incredible support of friends and family, here and abroad. Absolutely budgeting every finance. Fervently hunting jobs. Securing a visa. Prayer. Prayer. Prayer. Prayer. So please... pray with me.

And now, the yummy part. PICTURES!

Michelle came!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Us in Trafalgar Square. :)

And Tegan!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hurray for 15 hr layovers and picnics in Hyde Park! And Steve got to meet both Michelle and Tegan!

Two of Steve's Cambridge friends (a really sweet Christian couple, Tom and Emma) were married in August. So Steve and I stayed with another two of his friends, Lauren and Paul (in the picture) over the weekend. A fantastic time. :)

Our last girly get together at Frank's. *sniff* Hannah, Chieko, me, Miriam, Vicky and Laura (another British friend).

Possibly one of my favorite pictures ever. :) Steve and I went for an afternoon walk after church our last Sunday in Norwich and found the Norwich Botanical Gardens. SUCH a gorgeous day!!

Super fun girls night out with Emma and her girlfriends!! (Rich and Emma live 10 min from Norwich, so Steve and I were able to see them quite a bit!)

Rich, Emma, and me (with Steve taking the picture) at the Norwich City (The Canaries) Football (soccer) match. Rich is Steve's older brother (he also has a twin sister) and Emma is Rich's wife. Love them! (the Canaries tied 0-0)

Me and Hannah, one of my closest friends from UEA (and also a sister in Christ), at the Dev Ball.

Me and my 3 housemates in front of our house (65 B Connaught Road) :) , ready to go to the Dev Ball. Chieko from Japan, Miriam from India, and Vicky from Taiwan.

One of my favorite hikes. :) Steve took me up Ingleborough over Easter break. I took this picture when we went on the Ingleton Waterfalls Walk the week before coming back to the States.

Me and Steve in front of Thornton Falls - his favorite.

Next I'll post pictures of my new nephew! :) So much love, and thanks everyone for all your prayers!!! (I wouldn't be where I am without them!)

The To-Do List...

2009-05-20T04:27:00.006-04:00

So, between now and September I have 2 significant jumps to hurdle...

1. The research and writing of my dissertation. A 8,000-12,000 word monster... whose subject I'm quite interested in. :) It's a daunting task, but I know that a lot will come from it... and hopefully I'll be contributing new insights to the existing research. My topic covers the region of East Africa (case studies from this large area) and looks specifically at how household changes (such as the impact of HIV/AIDS on household organization... opportunities and consequences that follow male-outmigration -- when a husband leaves a rural household to go work in a city... and the impact of increased vulnerability of households through increased poverty) affect women and their decision-making processes regarding agriculture (for the most part, women are the farmers/food producers in this area, while men tend to focus more on cash cropping). Pray!! I've got a lot to do between now and September!

2. Job applications. Lord willing, I'd like to stick around in the UK for a job. Some hurdles I'll have to jump specifically related to this are: securing an extended visa to work, tackling a world-wide economic recession (and by that I mean that I'm an American looking for a job in the UK... I'm praying people don't turn me down on that basis because things are stretched for everyone economically and they'd rather hire 'one of their own' so-to-speak) and finally, trusting that no matter what the Lord will bring me to a place where he has a purpose for me to be. I'll be coming home for the month (about 3 weeks) of September (Laura and Phil are having their first baby!) and hoping to start work in October. Pray also that potential employers will be flexible with this starting date.

And now, my favorite part... PICTURES!! :)

The DEV School Class (most of us, at least)

Easter with Steve and his family in Yorkshire...

A sunny Easter weekend. Hiking up Ingleborough...

From the summit

Sunset

Steve's family's house

Across the valley

Sitting on the fence. ;)

A trip to the north coast (Cromer) with Steve and his 3 friends Lauren, Paul, and Rachel's taking the picture. Yes, freezing.

Me and my amazing friend (and sister in Christ) Hannah - pink wigging it on Valentine's Day.

To Cambridge... Valentine's Day with Steve (the backside of King's College and the Cam River)

Celebrating the Chinese New Year at Yafei's

2009-02-17T04:42:00.001-05:00

Celebrating the Chinese New Year at Yafei's, originally uploaded by rs.potterclay.

This is Steve. We're dating. I like him a lot. :)

2009-02-09T19:09:00.003-05:00

I really need to post, because I haven't done a real one in forever... but I also really need to read about land reform and urban agriculture in Cuba... and get some sleep so I can be fresh for work and more reading tomorrow. :) Life is good, a bit crazy, always a bit messy, but good nonetheless.

xx

End of Round 1

2008-12-19T09:18:00.000-05:00

wow. Am I really back for Christmas???

2008-11-11T18:06:00.002-05:00

"I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
I myself will see him
with my own eyes - I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!"

Job 19:25-27

Powerful words when having a rough time of it...

Coast Walks...

2008-10-18T00:45:00.007-04:00

Coastal Walk from Cley-next-to-the-sea to Wells...

Joel, me, Miriam, Vicky (David taking the picture) enjoying some Norwich ale after a long day's hike. On a boat. :)

Vicky traversing some leftover tidal streams.

Enjoying fresh seafood!!!

Beautiful English day...

Boats stranded from the tide.

me, Joel, David, Vicky

At Blakeney (after David's last name): Miriam, me, Vicky, and Joel.

Coastal Walk (the first one) from Sheringham to Cley-next-to-the-sea

Shadows on flint.

Miriam and Vicky. :)

Enjoy pints and half pints after our walk.

Lighthouse (not really) watchman taking our picture: me, Joel, David, Miriam, Vicky.... looking straight into the sun. ;)

gorgeous cliffs (which are, incidentally, slowly eroding into the sea!)

Lunch time! grins

Blackberry picking!

Old abandoned house (cliffs just to the right being eroded, so eventually it will fall into the North Sea).

more mates and our Rural Dev group

2008-10-09T18:43:00.003-04:00

Rural Dev and families on an outing on The Broads.
from the left: Rie (Makoto's wife), Makoto and their little girl Ami-chan, Thomas Sikor (prof/advisor), Rob (Norfolk farmer turned developer), Hannah :) , me, Faiza from Yemen, Adrian Martin (prof/advisor) and his little girls Lydia and Tammy.

Hannah and Phil, a wonderful couple (Hannah's in rural dev with me). We've all decided to find a church together. :)

Tiggy, Ruby, Hannah I., and Alice (on Alice's birthday) - so much fun!

me and Chieko - hurray for Japanese friends! ii ne!

new mates :)

2008-09-25T15:49:00.002-04:00

Starting from the back: Sara from California - the only American I've met so far, Stephanie from China, Mari from Mexico, me, Vicky from Taiwan, and Miriam from India. grins Vicky and Miriam live in my flat, and we're becoming quite good friends! :)

Mari, Sara, Vicky, Miriam, me - waiting for the bus

Back row: Sara, Stephanie, Chieko from Japan (Osaka), ummm a girlfriend of Chieko's
Front row: Mari, Vicky, me, Miriam

Really wonderful girls!

first run

2008-09-25T14:58:00.003-04:00

I went for a run yesterday afternoon... the result of not having done anything "active" (aside from walking, which just doesn't count at all) for about 2 weeks. I had so much pent up energy I couldn't sit still a minute longer. It was wonderful. Perfect weather, just cold enough to be comfortable in shorts and t-shirt and break a sweat but not die of heat exhaustion. Ran down to the lake and ran along the meadow clearing beside it. I was making my way to some trails I'd discovered the other day (which would have taken me into some beautifully ivied woods and out into a meadow rich with lushy grass, old oaks, and literally countless numbers of brown rabbits), but took a detour instead. A path you've never been on is just too irresistible to pass up. (hehe Life calling??) ;) Anyway, off I went, discovering that it curled around the end of the lake (past more rabbits) and crossed over a lovely river (more like a really big creek). The water was beautiful! Absolutely transparent, inky in the shadows, with the speckled suggestion of a pebbled bottom. Really hard to take your eyes off of (though necessary when running ;) ). As I ran I eventually made my way around what the football (soccer) fields and medical school, and back again to that same river, to which I discovered that there was actually a trail that ran alongside. I figured (hoped) it would take me back to the lake, and headed that way. Again, beautiful. On one side was the river, and the other was marshland - tall feathery grasses, fallen trees... and lots of nettles (eek!). There's got to be some way of harvesting them and using them... they're all over the place here, and normally such a nuisance. It's a shame to see something so plentiful just left alone and wasted (if it can in fact be used for something meaningful). Google, I suppose. grins So, back to the running. The trail did come out where I thought it would and I made my way back to my hall, tired, sweaty, and very very happy.

The End. ;)

Settling in to UEA

2008-09-22T14:00:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone! So, I've arrived at UEA (last Thursday), and have now been in England for my first full week!! Hard to believe that ALREADY a week has gone by... I have a feeling these feelings of horror and astonishment ;) are going to be an ongoing theme for the rest of this year.

So far... I've met LOADS of other international students, and a lot of those being postgrads, as well as quite a few UK students that I've hit it off well with. There's even a girl (Hannah) who is from Norwich in my department (there are 6 or 7 of us in Rural Dev) who has invited me to go with her to church! We've hit it off quite well, and I'm really looking forward to not only developing a solid friendship with her, but with others as well (there's a Taiwanese girl, Vicky, who lives on my flat floor, and we've hit it off as well!). So all that to say, I don't think I'll be suffering for lack of friendships. :)
As far as the course of study goes, I couldn't be more pleased and excited! I think this is going to be a tremendous year of growth, among students (young and old alike) who are as passionate in their fields as I, and among staff who are tremendously engaged and supportive. God has TRULY blessed me in bringing me to this place. And for some icing on the cake, the campus itself is really quite gorgeous - lakes, fields, trails, marshes, rivers... millions of rabbits nibbling away on the lawn. I'm not kidding. I've never seen so many rabbits in my entire life!!! I think I counted around 30 or so? in an area the size of a basketball court. Holy crap! No wonder Beatris Potter wrote about Peter Rabbit in the Briar Patch (and no wonder the farmer was always so infuriated!)! ;) hehe

Well, assignments are already calling... grins I'll try and keep a running update posted, along with pictures.

2008-09-17T09:59:00.001-04:00

I'm in England!! Spending the rest of this Wednesday with the Windus Family, then tomorrow Luke will be taking me up to Norwich... and I'll begin settling in to life as a grad student in the UK. grins I'm excited, and yes, nervous. :)

"L'âpres midi"

2008-09-04T22:37:00.002-04:00

So, thanks to German friend Henning, I was introduced to the sheet music to "L'âpres midi", my favorite song from Amelie. I'm in love. I haven't enjoyed playing the piano so much in a very long time. And just in case YOU would like to hear this poetic music, here is the YouTube link. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moknkDqk0wE&feature=related

In other news... :) I'll be leaving for England on Sept 14, just a little over a week away. I can hardly believe it's almost upon me, and yet it seems so far away too. Perhaps it will sink in once I've boarded the plane... perhaps not until I've started unpacking in my Orwell Close dorm room... or maybe as I'm walking down the sidewalk to my first class. Jeepers I feel like a freshman getting ready for my first day at college again! ;P

reunions! (are wonderful) :)

2008-08-21T23:20:00.004-04:00

Happy times in the Jeep!

The guys heaving their greased watermelon and racing to pounce on it.

Beautiful Kat and Beautiful Baby

The lovely Becca and Andrew!

The girls... Carina, me, Kat, Tegan, Becky, Becca.

Hair cutter extraordinaire!

Hanging out on the Shaffner's back porch.

Riding in the jeep... :)

2008-08-21T23:11:00.002-04:00

Here in... not so sunny Florida... with Laura and Phil and TS Fay straining and gusting and wailing outside.

2008-07-21T22:32:00.001-04:00

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

Galatians 5:13

Psalm 111:2

2008-07-17T06:59:00.000-04:00

Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them.

Baby!!

2008-07-09T23:02:00.003-04:00

japanese night

2008-06-23T20:57:00.002-04:00

hurray for friends with whom you can celebrate amazing japanese food! ;)
(jonathan vergara and i)

2008-06-12T00:56:00.002-04:00

It's kind of crazy to think about... but I'm really coming to love Buffalo. I didn't think that could happen for me in N. America.

2008-06-03T23:14:00.003-04:00

Lafayette High School

Mom's poppies (my favorite)

Nose in humungous Japanese tree peonie

Japanese tree peonie

Haythangay Way

2008-05-28T08:54:00.003-04:00

Seriously the cutest little Burmese Karen girl in the world. :)

letter to a sister

2008-05-18T17:12:00.002-04:00

Dear J., forgive me forgive me forgive me for taking sooooooooooo long to write back to you!!!

Let me start off by saying that you have much been in my thoughts and heart over the past days and weeks (not unusual :) ), but maybe... in a more intense sort of way... with more of a sense of urgency. May our Lord, who was, who is, and who is to come, be present with you right now, be it in sorrow, joy, tribulation, confusion, peace, laughter that makes you "crinkle your nose" :) , be you under attack, or at rest, or whatever. The Lord, our Shepherd, is with you by the quiet waters and green pastures as well as through the valley of the shadow of death. He is present with us through both and all of the in between. He is with you in whatever difficulties you may be facing at home and work, in whatever sorrow you may be experiencing in missing the Buffalo you have come to love, and in your preparations for U.

Thank you so much for sharing your heart with me. I feel... both honored and humbled. I by no means have a corner on wisdom, but I will do my very best to sift out the good that the Holy Spirit has laid upon my heart.

You're very right... I didn't tell you what I did about M. with any lightness. I had even decided not to say anything at all, that I was being ridiculous and that maybe saying something about it would cause more harm than good. And it very well may be that nothing does come of your friendship than just what it is: a friendship woven by God's very gracious and merciful hands. But I said it. And as I've had time to think and consider... just time, really... I'm glad I said it. But it has taken on a deeper meaning since then, too. Not a warm fuzzy one, but the heart-wrenching, grubby-fisted hand of a child clinging in desperate hope to his/her father... that no matter the present situation (I honestly don't know M.'s present situation, as I've neither seen nor talked to him in 2 weeks.), God knows, our Father knows, and that is enough. That has to be enough... because I am a child, and he is my father, and there is a time and place for everything, and a season for every event under heaven, and that goes for knowing these things too. And maybe more of God's children need to come in and out of M.'s life... leading him, showing him, guiding him, teaching him, rebuking him, loving him... before he is prepared and ready to lead a life worthy of the calling of Christ. Maybe this is just the beginning of that path. It could be that our roles will continue; it could be that they were only meant to be for a time. It could be that their time may come again, after a hiatus. I really don't know. But I do know that I believe that God has a purpose for his son, that Jesus Christ has a purpose for his brother... so don't lose heart, J. M. needs someone to hope for him, to trust for him, to pray for him. I'm so glad you shared with me your visions; they have served to increase my own hope. Persevere with him. Have you ever... considered sharing with him the visions that you have had? I know that that is a very scary thought... but maybe he needs to see those visions too. It's like... describing the vividness of colors and images you see around you to someone who has lost their sight. Help him see until he has eyes to see himself. Give him something to dwell on, to think about, other than the chaos that spins its threads around him. Be an agent of hope and help to give him something to cling to and hope for... and in doing so, increase his sight that the Lord is the author of it all. But despite my words, pray about it, and make sure that you yourself have peace in sharing these things with him (and remember 2 things: that perfect love casts out fear... and that there may be a time and season for that too, and the Spirit will guide you). The Lord will lead you, one step at a time.

As far as things being easy... grins I've often wondered why it weren't so myself. hehe But then... where would we be? Conceited? Self-confident? Independent? Stubborn? Would we be the oppressors instead of the oppressed? The selfish destroyers of peace rather than the peacemakers? The greedy hoarders rather than in humility sharing our last penny, our last strawberry, our last piece of multi-grain bread...? Tucked away in our nice comfy nooks of a fabricated utopian world rather than on our knees, hands in the dirt, in the basements, broken boys sobbing hopelessness on our shoulders, pen in hand with green card applications, subsidized housing forms, school enrollment sheets, overdue gas bills, eviction notices piled high in front of us with beautiful Burmese, Burundi, Somali, Cuban, Iraqi eyes peering with hope over the pile... or 3 beautiful children not your own, loved and created by our Creator, tugging at your jeans or skirt, longing to be loved unconditionally... Take the narrow road, J. Take it, and don't look back.

But mostly... know that in all the fullness of God, our Redeemer loves you. And he loves M. And while M. was getting high, or knocking up his baby mamas, or shooting someone, or punching someone's face, our Jesus died and rose for him. And he did it for us too. We were abandoned, kicking and gasping and bleating in our own blood, and he picked us up and cleaned us off and adorned us as only a Father King can.

as only a sister in Christ can

I love you

R.

2008-05-14T23:39:00.000-04:00

arg... how i would love to sleep... but alas, my roommate is snoring.

*sigh*

2 new things...

2008-05-07T20:28:00.004-04:00

It's spring in Buffalo. And this makes me indescribably happy. The trees have exploded with blossoms and leaves, and the ground has pushed out countless varieties of flowers and plants with brilliant pallets of colors and smells.

I'm going to England in the fall. grins To study Rural Development at the University of East Anglia. For a year. Meic Pearse (one of my Houghton profs) has already started looking into churches he can hook me up with there. hehehehe I can't believe this!!! I've been awarded a scholarship for international students, and the school is now considering me for a full tuition scholarship. Please please pray with me...

Did you know...?

2008-04-25T14:38:00.001-04:00

...that estrogen comes from the Latin word oestrus, which means "frenzy" in English?

hahahahahahaha

florida

2008-04-21T23:29:00.005-04:00

with mom and laura

lunch in st. augustine's at o.c. white's

old spanish church at st. augustine

beach babies at amelia island

cocktail night with laura and her friend brooke to raise money for the vet clinic they work in

looking at a huge dead fish ;)

me and mom, our last morning in florida

Sakura and LASP friends in DC

2008-03-31T22:26:00.006-04:00

We also happened to bump into the Kite Festival...

Kyla surprised me. :) Yuri (taking the photo), exclaimed over and over "Come on, Patti!!" so excitedly that I began to be suspicious of who was actually standing behind me... grins

Stacy, Patti, Kyle, and me (and Yuri taking the photo). It was the first time I'd seen Stacy and Kyla in 4 years!!

Admiring Abe (me and Tegan).

Last weekend, my parents' farm, this weekend... :)

Isaiah 26:3-4, 12

2008-03-31T22:21:00.003-04:00

You will keep in perfect peace her whose mind is steadfast, because she trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.

LORD, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.

a new gang in Buffalo...

2008-03-27T22:02:00.003-04:00

So apparently, a new gang is moving into Buffalo, the West Side. MS-13, which stands for Mara Salvatruchas (13 was a number chosen to pay homage to the Mexican Mafia), originated in LA (from my understanding of them, while studying in Central America, they're serious). El Salvadorian immigrants striking back after being terrorized by other gangs of LA. But a new gang moving in means turf wars with the gangs already present, and in this case, mostly with the Bloods, who inhabit most of the northern West Side (2 of the guys that I work closely with in our store our bloods, one inactive, the other active). I (and my housemates) live somewhere in the middle. One of the guys that I work with at the store told Kim, our manager, that things were going to explode and to be careful in the streets. Yesterday, 2 teens were stabbed mid-afternoon a few blocks from the store I work at (with inner-city youth), on the corner where the post office is that I send all my mail through. Gang-related, probably drug-related (though not necessarily having to do with MS-13). It hits close to home though (it's a good thing my parents don't read my blog!!). Yesterday as well, a warning went out from the Buffalo Police for all motorists to be careful of an MS-13 initiation right having to do with bumping into and mugging people in their cars. Susannah and I took a looong walk yesterday evening (and I again this morning), completely unaware of all that had been taking place. Praise God that his hand of protection was over us.

Pray for Buffalo... Satan wouldn't be working so hard if good things weren't happening here. And good things ARE happening!

2008-03-19T07:38:00.002-04:00

The cursed end of my own way is hell.

Thank you YHWH for not forsaking me to follow my own way.

Your mercy and love are greater than I have capacity to understand.

Lord, lead me in your paths of righteousness... Lord Jesus, my Shepherd.

In all my ways may your Spirit direct me to acknowledge you, so that you will make my paths straight and my steps sure.

Amen

So... there's this guy... grins

2008-03-09T20:36:00.002-04:00

from a Lenten reading...

2008-02-21T08:47:00.002-05:00

This spoke to my heart...

"Every believer knows that Christ went the way of the cross for our sakes. But it is not enough just to know this. Each of us must find the cross. He suffered in vain unless we are willing to die for him as he died for us. Christ's way was a bitter way. It ended in a victory of light and life, but it began in the feeding trough of an animal in a cold stable, and passed through tremendous need: through suffering, denial, betrayal, and finally, complete devastation and death on a cross. If we call ourselves his followers, we must be willing to take the same path.

When a grain of wheat is laid in the earth, it dies. It no longer remains a grain, but through death it brings forth fruit. This is the way of true Christianity. It is the way Jesus went when he died on the cross for each of us. If we want our lives to be fruits of Christ's death on the cross, we cannot remain individual grains. We must be ready to die too...."

Taken from "The Center", J. Heinrich Arnold, Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter

Lelei, Psalm 121

2008-02-20T05:57:00.002-05:00

My Kenyan friend, Lelei, emailed me recently and asked me to read Psalm 121... He was one of the students (he's just 19), who was right in the middle of all of the political chaos and turmoil in western Kenya...

I lift up my eyes to the hills --
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip --
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches of Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD watches over you --
the LORD is you shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all harm --
he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

"To Know the Cross", Thomas Merton

2008-02-15T07:18:00.003-05:00

The Christian must not only accept suffering: he must make it holy. Nothing so easily becomes unholy as suffering.

Merely accepted, suffering does nothing for our souls except, perhaps, to harden them. Endurance alone is no consecration. True asceticism is not a mere cult of fortitude. We can deny ourselves rigorously for the wrong reason and end up by pleasing ourselves mightily with our self-denial.

Suffering is consecrated to God by faith - not by faith in suffering, but by faith in God. Some of us believe in the power and the value of suffering. But such a belief is an illusion. Suffering has no power and no value of its own.

It is valuable only as a test of faith. What if our faith fails the test? Is it good to suffer, then? What if we enter into suffering with a strong faith in suffering, and then discover that suffering destroys us?

To believe in suffering is pride: but to suffer, believing in God, is humility. For pride may tell us that we are strong enough to suffer, that suffering is good for us because we are good. Humility tells us that suffering is an evil which we must always expect to find in our lives because of the evil that is in ourselves. But faith also knows that the mercy of God is given to those who seek him in suffering, and that by his grace we can overcome evil with good. Suffering, then, becomes good by accident, by the good that it enables us to receive more abundantly from the mercy of God. It does not make us good by itself, but it enables us to make ourselves better than we are. Thus, what we consecrate to God in suffering is not our suffering but our selves.

Only the sufferings of Christ are valuable in the sight of God, who hates evil, and to him they are valuable chiefly as a sign. The death of Jesus on the cross has an infinite meaning and value not because it is a death, but because it is the death of the Son of God. The cross of Christ says nothing of the power of suffering or of death. It speaks only of the power of him who overcame both suffering and death by rising from the grave.

The wounds that evil stamped upon the flesh of Christ are to be worshiped as holy not because they are wounds, but because they are his wounds. Nor would we worship them if he had merely died of them, without rising again. For Jesus is not merely someone who once loved us enough to die for us. His love for us is the infinite love of God, which is stronger than all evil and cannot be touched by death.

Suffering, therefore, can only be consecrated to God by one who believes that Jesus is not dead. And it is of the very essence of Christianity to face suffering and death not because they are good, not because they have meaning, but because the resurrection of Jesus has robbed them of their meaning.

To know the cross is not merely to know our own sufferings. For the cross is the sing of salvation, and no one is saved by his own sufferings. To know the cross is to know that we are saved by the sufferings of Christ; more, it is to know the love of Christ who underwent suffering and death in order to save us. It is, then, to know Christ. For to know his love is not merely to know the story of his love, but to experience in our spirit that we are loved by him, and that in his love the Father manifests his own love for us, through his Spirit poured forth into our hearts...

The effect of suffering upon us depends on what we love. If we love only ourselves, suffering is merely hateful. It has to be avoided at all costs. It brings out all the evil that is in us, so that the one who loves only himself will commit any sin and inflict any evil on others merely in order to avoid suffering himself.

Worse, if a person loves himself and learns that suffering in unavoidable, he may even come to take a perverse pleasure in suffering itself, showing that he loves and hates himself at the same time.

In any case, if we love ourselves, suffering inexorably brings out selfishness, and then, after making known what we are, drives us to make ourselves even worse than we are.

If we love others and suffer for them, even without a supernatural love for other people in God, suffering can give us a certain nobility and goodness. It brings out something fine in our natures, and gives glory to God who made us greater than suffering. But in the end a natural unselfishness cannot prevent suffering from destroying us along with all we love.

If we love God, and love others in him, we will be glad to let suffering destroy anything in us that God is pleased to let it destroy, because we know that all it destroys is unimportant. We will prefer to let the accidental trash of life be consumed by suffering in order that his glory may come out clean in everything we do.

If we love God, suffering does not matter. Christ in us, his love, his Passion in us: that is what we care about. Pain does not cease to be pain, but we can be glad of it because it enables Christ to suffer in us and give glory to his Father by being greater, in our hearts, than suffering would ever be.

Siki berurin rana. Be blessed today.

Ash Wednesday on the East Side

2008-02-07T07:34:00.000-05:00

This Lenten year... I planned to attend Ash Wednesday service at Westminster Church in Buffalo.

Then Jess got a call yesterday morning from one of our store workers (and friend/little brother/this young man that both of us have come to love so much), Markee, asking if there was any way that we (I) could give him a ride to the East Side to get his birth certificate from his Aunt (his mom isn't present and his dad, well...). He needs his birth certificate so he can finish getting his SS card so that he can get some photo ID so he can get his permit... you get the picture. It's so despairingly sad sometimes, to realize just how much our "system" sets up failure for those who needs its help the most. Markee is one of the fortunate ones... at least he knew his aunt had his birth certificate. Quite a few others have absolutely no idea, or their mom/dad took everything when they left, or it burned in a fire, or it was stolen when their apt was robbed.
But I digress.

Admittedly, I wasn't too excited about driving to the East Side (also referred to as the "[something] war zone") as dark was encroaching on us and the streets were quickly being overgrown with layer upon layer of frozen ice chunkies falling from a seemingly revengeful sky. Scary under my perceived "normal" country conditions let alone driving in the midst of some crazy Buffalo traffic. Not thrilled, but who else did Markee have to take him...? Seriously, nobody. Jess. Me. That's it. And he doesn't have enough money for bus fare. Sobering thought....

So we get to his aunt's house, and he hops out and says he'll be right back... Markee is better at African time than Africans I think. grins (That's not meant offensively by any means!) So close to 40 min later, Jess and I decided that we'll give him "ONE MORE MINUTE". So, out we went in search for Markee, and I in search of their bathroom, and though we found both we also found something that we weren't at all expecting...
An aunt committed to Christ and to her confused at life, errant, lost in his heart Nephew. By the way that both she and Markee's older cousin Douglas peeled into him, it was obvious that they cared deeply for him, and most especially his aunt. "Markee! Y'need to stop messin' aROUND! Git oughta dat mess you in and staat PRAYIN'!! What you doin'?! I done took you ta chaach growin' up! You KNOW how ta make yaself right wi da LORD! You betta start readin' yoa Bible - you got a Bible??! You betta staat prayin' cuz da only one dat can help you outta dat mess you in is JEsus! I'm serious Markee! Stop messin' wit dem druugs and smokin' and all dat! An' stop bein' lazy an' get yoself outta bed in da mornin' and get ta chaach! An' if ya can't read dat Bible you got, den sleep on it! Put it right unda yo PILLOW an' maybe somepin be happenin' when you's aSLEEP! Da only reason you's alive ri'now is cuz da Lord's hand be upon you! But da Lord ain'gonna keep helpin' you if you keep ignorin' him - da mo' you ASK da mo' you RECEIVE!! An' Jesus be da only one dat can help you straighten things out! You listenin' ta me?! I'm serious Markee!"

Wow. I was totally floored. Everything his aunt and cousin said to him had exclamation marks, and for a few brief (20-30 or so) minutes, Jess and I were in a completely different world than the ones we'd grown up in or had ever known. I got my Ash Wednesday service, but from a minister I hadn't foreseen, in a church I didn't know existed, and with sinners who know about God's grace and provision through Jesus Christ more deeply and profoundly than I ever have, and in a different way than I ever will.

The beginning of this Lenten year left me completely exhausted, shattered, physically and emotionally... and maybe spiritually too. The very first day it pried my old eyes away from me (not exactly an easy accomplishment), and started forming new ones in their stead. They're still being formed. Ash Wednesday told me, 'Here. Le'me show you what sacrifice be meanin' HERE. Let me show you what Lent be here. East Side AND West Side. You know what Lent is in a white chaach wi' white friends wi' a white pastor, and dem things be good, bu' you don' know what Lent be fo' us. An' den you be one of us too. Well... maybe no' quite, but at least you understan' different.'

And so I am....

Continue Praying for Kenya...

2008-01-03T20:39:00.000-05:00

If all that has happened in Kenya has truly broken my heart, I can't imagine how those must feel who call it home, or who have been there and built relationships with people there for years instead of weeks...
The area where the most violence occurred - western Kenya/the Rift Valley, and particularly the large town of Eldoret - was quite close by to where I was living, working, coming to know the students and teachers and staff at the training center, as well as the surrounding area and community.
Praise God that peace is returning to the area, things are calming down, people's needs are beginning to be met, food and medical provisions are slowly making their way to the people who desperately need them. However, A LOT MORE needs to be done... and things that aren't so easily fixed need the powerful healing touch of the Lord's hand. Neighbors have burned each other's houses down, fought against and killed one another... and based on the violence done against one another, claimed that one tribe's blood is somehow better than another's. Each has taken justice into their own hands... claimed to be the victim and so justified their violence against the other. Yet no one has escaped the tragedy - there are perpetrators and victims on both sides. So pray instead, that people would understand justice as Jesus understood justice... in love and in grace... in forgiveness.

Stories in pictures...

A small sampling of students. :) The girl to the left of me is Helen, and the girl to the right is Nelly. The first time they REALLY opened up with me was when a group of us girls all started talking about boys. hahahaha I did find out a lot of cultural bits on dating and what kinds of boys Kenyan girls like and what happens surrounding marriage... grins

Bagging maize with Jemayo (my first friend, beautiful voice, huge heart) and some of the other students during one of my first days at the training center.

Justice is the boy biting the smirking girl's ear. He is Cosmas the Nightwatchman's son. Cosmas was like... my African dad. He's amazing. Olivia is the little girl front and center (red sweatshirt), one of the many orphans who now have a home at the Kipkaren Children's Home. The day I took this picture we had all gathered at the soccer field to watch the guys play - students vs. staff. Olivia, whom I'd never met before, came up to me and gave me a HUGE hug, and then stuck by my side for the rest of the game. Beautiful kids, eh? So so easy to love.

Linet (quiet and shy, yet funny), Jentrix (absolutely crazy! hehe). Two of my sisters.

Lelei, my little brother. He's pretty awesome. :) He sat behind me in class, and every time I didn't understand something that was being said in Kiswahili, I'd ask him about it later and he'd laugh and tell me what we were doing. The common line went: Lelei, kiyaene?! (Kinandi for - What are we doing?) And he would laugh because I'd spoken in Kinandi and then tell me what was announced or what was said - quite often it was about what we were doing next... Like, "Cherotich (my Nandi name), kiwendi kabungui!" (Kinandi: we're going to the garden). Or whatever variation of that! :)

Me, Joel (quiet and sweet), and Kiruwa (one of the most motivated and hardworking of all the students) - friends and students from the Ag program. This day we spent in the Agro-forestry unit (when you combine forestry and agriculture to create more environmentally sustainable conditions for growing crops, raising animals, etc) preparing baggies of dirt to transplant seedlings. We did something like... 3,000 baggies?!

All of these names and faces... they're all my friends, my brothers and sisters, my neighbors. I love them as I love myself. As they're still on Christmas break, each one is scattered across Kenya - some near, some far, in their own homes and communities with their families and friends. I don't know how any of them are, or how they managed through the post-election violence. I am moved to prayer on their accounts again and again, and I would love for you to join me!

"To: Dan.... Love, Rachel"

2007-12-21T15:46:00.000-05:00

Background: My brother, Dan, just moved out of the house and into his own a few weeks ago. His new room just happens to be a very brilliant and altogether wretched shade of PINK. hehehehe So being the very sensitive and loving sister I am *ehem* I wrapped his Christmas present in pink tissue paper with a pink bow...

"To: Dan
Love, Rachel
grins I thought the PINK would compliment your room."

Sisters have to find SOME way of lovingly dishing back the jokes our brothers have so lovingly dished us. hehehe

Merry Christmas!! (literally!) ;-)

Worn Soles

2007-12-02T21:07:00.000-05:00

Today (Saturday) I sat under a tarp, brown from dirt and use, with what seemed like millions of holes in it, some big, some small. And light shone through the holes. Light and blue sky. And it struck me that those holes seemed like millions of twinkling stars, and the background of the tarp the deep night sky. Under this sky of tarp and holes I sat behind an old man with splashes of white intertwined throughout the frizzy black strands. The collar of his suitcoat was frayed and threadbare at the neckline, a walking stick held loosely in his stiff crumpled strong black hand, the skin on his feet dry and cracked with age and caked with the dust of paths tread. On those feet were falling-apart sandals made of discarded tire fragments. And as he crossed his ankles underneath his white plastic armchair, I saw that the heels of his soles were worn on the outside edges... Just like mine.

Humility "Part 2"

2007-11-28T06:01:00.000-05:00

There is great humility to be learned in being a "foreigner". To be a foreigner is to be dependent. You are dependent upon those around you to open their lives and hearts to you, to welcome you into their midst, into their communities, into their circles of friends, into their families. You depend on these people to be bridges of understanding to their culture and traditions. You are dependent upon their willingness to be teachers of their languages and patient as you stumble about in your journey of learning. You depend on them for a great many things like these, and then, as you have started on that path to becoming one with them (I stress WITH them and not one of them. To be one OF them simply isn't possible. Nor should you seek it, as that would mean losing those things that make you who you are, largely coming from culture, from how you were raised, the education you received, etc. God has made you who you are for a reason and a purpose, and it is not for us to divorce from ourselves that which God has molded and shaped us into being as a result of our own unique backgrounds. However, it is so sooo important to engage in being ONE WITH THEM. This is being their sister, being their brother, walking in their shoes, eating their food, speaking their language...), you begin to depend on them for other things... Things like love and acceptance... like the extended family that the body of Christ is able to offer, because when it really comes down to it, we're all foreigners. You depend on these people who you are building relationships with, friendships with, to be your mother to comfort you when you're sick (because your own mom isn't there to make you chicken soup or ginger tea). :) You depend on them to encourage you when you're having a rough day, laugh with you as your joy shared is doubled, and cry with you to bear some of the burden of whatever pain you are going through. To be dependent is to know humility - a humility that is sweet to taste, full of love, and abounding in grace.

a mix of pictures (and more to come) :)

2007-11-20T07:05:00.000-05:00

Preaching on the "maui" (stone) in "Kenya 2" (the people here are very hostile, and almost all are engaged in brewing illegal alcohol). My third weekend in Kipkaren, the students and staff at the training center went from house to house in our surrounding community to invite the to "the rock" for an afternoon of preaching and music. A lot of people are found deeply imbedded in poverty (not only economically), and have no church to turn to or to have turn to them. So out we went. It's the intention of the spiritual leaders at the training center to make these meetings a weekly happening, as people are responding to the Word and to the love being shown them. We've only just begun though, and there is still a tremendous amount of work to be done.

Listening.

Eating sugarcane (my first time) with Rashid and Henri (2 public health interns). The dairy unit is behind us.

Up before 5am to milk the cows. grins (they have 2 cows: Istoria and Nenile)

HIV/Aids Testing

2007-11-20T06:21:00.000-05:00

Yesterday (Monday), I went with the public health workers and interns to an area called Osorongai (near Kipkaren) to test people for HIV/Aids. Betty (the worker), Rashid and Henri (interns), Miishak (driver) and I piled into the landrover/ambulance with our supplies and kits and headed out over the bumpy roads to Osorongai. The back of the "ambulance" acted as a sort of office/area of privacy, as those who were willing climbed in and out to get their fingers pricked, blood tested, results read, and personal information written for records. Of the 44 people we tested, most of whom were youth, all 44 were negative (yay!). And one of the opportunities of catching, testing, and educating people when they are young is that you can teach them how to protect themselves from getting HIV, as well as help erase some of the stigma surrounding the virus. And for some comic relief, we ended the day with loading the back of the truck with a couple bundles of squawking smelly chickens to bring home with us for supper for some visitors at the training center. grins Never a dull moment. ;)

Humility "Part 1"

2007-11-17T00:18:00.000-05:00

The other day I was asked the question: "What is God teaching you here?"

Perhaps I might have responded "What isn't God teaching me here?" grins But I didn't. ;) Because he IS teaching me some specific things, one being humility (I'll share more of the others later), which is also completely inexhaustable as far as coming to know it. It's a lifelong learning. So anyway, to the details.

Humility...

The first part of humility I'm learning I expressed to a friend through email, so I'm going to include some of it here, and hopefully clarify it a bit better. (The second part of humility will come the next time I blog.) :)

Perhaps as it goes in many or most traditional cultures (including our own not so long ago), women lack voice. And I'm not talking about the kind of voice that stands up at a podium to demand rights. I'm talking more of being shut out or shut down from sharing thoughts, ideas, emotions, feelings, wisdom, using the gifts and creativity and intelligence God has blessed them with. With women to women there is freedom. But women and men sharing together on equal footing has yet to come to full life, and most especially (and sadly) in marriage. Within marriage, in a quiet but firm way, they are oppressed and treated injustly. Someone told me that once a woman enters into marriage she begins to self-destruct. She loses her voice, her ability to make decisions, her freedom to express thoughts and feelings... In traditional Nandi (the local tribe here) marriages, the men are trained beforehand - a kind of marriage counseling ceremony of sorts for men - and one of the things that they are told is that their wife is their "closest enemy", so build a wall against her and don't be vulnerable or share anything on your heart with her because she may turn against you. How horrible is that! So instead of marriage bringing a man and woman even closer together, it separates them. (Not exactly the picture of marriage we read of between Christ and the Church.) Where the man will perhaps share all on his heart to his girlfriend or fiance before they're married, afterwards he stops sharing with her and she is not allowed to share her thoughts and feelings and desires with him. She becomes simply an object of pleasure and a bearer of his children. With intimacy in marriages, women can never approach men or express their love or feelings of attraction to their husband. It's only when their husbands have the desire to be with them. And even if they theoretically can approach their husbands, they don't for fear of being beaten (regardless of whether or not their husband actually would). I'm not saying that that happens in ALL marriages (there might be the exception here or there), but it's definitely in the greater majority. Women are blocked out physically and emotionally and intellectually. So now you can perhaps see why it was said that they self-destruct. Even before marriage, women aren't given equal footing with men (intellectually, in leadership, etc). I maybe happen to be an exception here, simply because I'm a mzungu (white person), so I can access conversations that African women can't or are less likely to.
And it is in this sense of gender oppression and injustice that I've been learning a lot about humility. And I was thinking... that even though humility is always a good thing... the source of that humility, or what causes the humbling experience can be a pretty aweful thing. I guess that's not a new concept... arrogance is bad and so the humbling is good (put simply), but before now I'd never thought of humility and the cause of it as being systematic. The "system" is culture. The culture says that "the way it has always been is the way it should always be". And so you find a culture of injustice and oppression against women (and again, especially in marriage). But it is this system, this culture, that is causing humility in me, because I've taken equality for granted from growing up in it. My hearts rebels against being put in a box with no voice... when I know that a man, ANY man, looks at me and sees first that I'm a woman and so I'm on less footing from the beginning. Before we've even begun we're on unequal ground. And then, because I have white skin, I land just ahead of my black sisters because they have black skin. I'm somehow special because of a DNA code, a difference in pigment. And so I hurt twice - in hurting for being a woman, and hurting for the injustice against black women because even though I've started off on uneven ground, my ground is higher than theirs. And if you try and share these things with the majority of men of this culture, they don't see the pain that women experience because they are the ones that are benefiting from the system. How brave are the people that work for change even if it means losing some of the status and benefits (even though injustly gained) they possess! But even if you look at the so-called "benefits" and "status" and such, men have NO idea what they are missing in isolating women and their wives from themselves, chaining them to tradition because "things are the way they've always been". Where would ALL of us be if that was how we lived?? So, as I wrote my friend: "A burdenshared is a burden halved... A joy shared is a joy doubled..." (something like that). grins So, I'm learning humility - how to be humble - in this culture, while at the same time in my own small ways humbly challenging the powers that be. The humility I'm learning isn't from the source of pride, and it isn't a humbling who's source is something ill inside of me. The source is bigger than me, bigger than women, bigger than men, and really, bigger than culture. Who is the corruptor of all that God made good? Satan and his "principalities and powers". These are what we are ultimately fighting. And who is the only one that can fight Satan but Jesus Christ. Yet we have been given His power through the shedding of his blood. We have been given his name. And we have been given his Word and the Holy Spirit who gives us his words to speak.

Before I end I want to assert that Nandi (and Kenyan) men aren't evil. (You may laugh, but I'm serious.) I have met so many wonderful christian men here who sincerely love the Lord and desire to do his will, and I'm friends with ALL of the students, and we all hang out together and joke and laugh and talk together and there's not so much the sense of "you can't participate because you're a woman". I do want to share these things with you, however, SO THAT YOU CAN PRAY. Not only the women need prayer as they deal with their experiences of oppression, but the Nandi (and Kenyan) men need prayer as well - that our Mighty loving God would soften their hardened hearts... that the power of the hand of Jesus Christ would touch their eyes so that they can really see the intense pain and chasms of separation that their cultural norms are placing between them and their women and their wives... that the Holy Spirit would whisper in their ears, giving christian men a voice to speak out against their culture of injustice against women and instead uplift them before God, before their families, and before their communities. Christian men NEED to be different from what their world tells them is "right to do". Christ came to make disciples of both men AND women, and both were found at his feet. He fulfills those attributes in cultures that are godly, and he turns the tables on those that are not. Pray that men will be Christ in their culture. Pray that the Holy Spirit would give them the vision, the insight, and the courage to break cultural norms and defend the oppressed. Pray that they would see the value of their women, that they would see them as indeed being made - male and female - in the image of GOD. Cast out what ill feelings you may have against them and PRAY for them because they are being greatly deceived by the Deceiver. And pray that the Lord might even send men - foreigners or other Kenyans - who can teach them what they do not know, and that they would have ears to hear and hearts that receive.

Siki berurin mising' ! (Kinandi: Be blessed so much!)

A bit of life at Kipkaren

2007-11-08T23:43:00.000-05:00

FULL is a great way to describe life here.

What am I doing and learning...?

I'll start with the people. I am #35 of the students here, and one of the olderst as well (most are between the ages of 20 - 22/23, a couple are mid-20s, and fewer still around 29-30). I spend most of my time with the students and teachers (who have also welcomed me as one of them) doing morning chores (2x a week I get up before 5am to help milk the 2 cows and learn more about sustainable dairy farming in Kenya), I water my popo mti - Kiswahili for papaya tree - that I planted last week, and I often help some of the students water and weed their gardens. Our daily breakfast of chair and bread and butter sandwiches is at 7am, and then we have our morning meeting/chapel time which we start off by singing a few songs in Kiswahili acapella (one of my favorites times of day), and then one of the students reads a few verses or a passage of scripture and talks a little about it. Following our morning meeting we usually have a morning practical - a different one every day. Some of what we've done in the past 2 weeks is shelling, drying, and bagging maize (to be ground into coarse flour for ugali), building a chicken coup, digging a ditch for water pipes (to supply ready available water to the kitchen and garden - especially the garden, as students spend A LOT of time hauling water in buckets and water cans from the river up to their plots), moving young trees to a nursery bed to be transplanted, planting our popo trees, etc. After our morning practical we wash up and head to class - the first one starting at 10am, and then 2 more following that, each an hour long. At 1pm we all have lunch together, followed by 2 classes after lunch. When classes finish we have our late afternoon practical which can include continuing the work that we weren't able to finish in the morning, harvesting our produce and preparing it for supper, planting or transplanting crops, building compost piles (3x3x3 meters), learning how to make organic fertilizers, etc. When we're finished with whatever we're doing, we hang out and talk and joke and maybe chew on sugar cane :) , or wander around, water the gardens, study, or do whatever else needs to get done. The bells for supper calls us around 7pm, and the dining hall is filled with people talking and laughing and smells of ugali and whatever vegetables/legumes have been cooked for the evening meal. We finish the day with evening meeting/chapel, and then either watch an educational movie (like organic farming techniques in Kenya or bee-keeping, historical documentary or one with some kind of spiritual lesson) or study or go to bed. I have learned SO MUCH in the classes and practicals we've had. I'm filling my notebooks and am looking forward to reading through them and studying them when I return home, and then in the future being able to put into practice the knowledge I've gained here.

What have I learned about Kenyan culture...?

You greet people with a FIRM handshake (and I mean FIRM) whenever you meet them. If you are close friends, especially with women, you touch cheeks on the right side of your friends' face and then the left. You might greet them in Kiswahili with HABARI (literally "news" but kind of translates to how are you) or HABARI YAKO ("your news") or HABARI ZENU (how are you all). Or in Kalenjin (the mother language of most of the people here and the surrounding people of this area) you might say CHAM'GE or YAMOYE (equivalent to the Kiswahili).

Most people are pretty soft spoken. Everyone loves to sing, and we almost always sing acapella (which I LOVE) with all sorts of beautiful harmonies. Everyone is pretty relaxed, taking their time, however in class the WALIMU (teachers) are teachign the students about good time management and the importance and benefits of diligent and perseverant work.

It's culturally appropriate for women to wear skirts below the knees, although that's very slowly beginning to change as women gain more equality of opportunities (you CAN wear pants or long shorts - below the knees - if you're playing sports and the like).

If you see 2 women or 2 men holding hands it means that they are good friends or like sisters or brothers - this is culturally appropriate. However, you'll never see a man and a woman holding hands.

Chai is essential for life, and especially for beginning your day. grins (Seriously. Some people won't go to work if they don't have chai.)

One of the neatest cultural experiences I've taken part in here is the HARAMBE. A harambe is when people come together and team-up to contribute financially for the need of a member of their community or church. The harambe is held for this person. It's community oriented, and often also acts as an accountability check for that person. For example, if your community or church hold a harambe for you to help raise money so that you can go to college or further your education, you're expected to come back and bless you community with what you've learned. You give back to the community in other ways what you were given. So our class did exactly that for our friend Temayo, who wants to continue on with her education after she finishes this program.

There are lots of other observations I've made, and some I'm forgetting, but at least I've given you a taste of what I've been experiencing. :)

What has the Lord been teaching me during my time here so far...?
Many things. :)
One which stands out the most is God's great faithfulness. It's been a period of about 2 years (while I was teaching in Japan) from when I first decided that international sustainable agricultural was the direction that the Lord was calling me into - and the calling not a quiet one, but more like he was shouting it at the top of his lungs in my heart. grins So between then and now I've been learning about WAITING. What is active waiting and what is passive waiting? How could I be active in my waiting and WHY should I be? One morning in Japan, while I was reading my Bible and journaling and praying and contemplating these questions, the Spirit posed me and said, 'Rachel. THE WAITING is just as important as THE ARRIVAL of that which you're waiting for. Don't waste a moment, because you will need all the experiences and the things that you are learning during the waiting for that time when you arrive at what you're waiting for. If you're passive in your waiting (and for each person that waiting looks different) you won't be prepared for when you arrive, and you may not arrive at all.' And so, after 2 yrs of actively waiting, I have begun my arrival. :) Here in Kipkaren I have found what my heart has so passionately been seeking, and it's more than I could have ever asked for or imagined. Day by day my joy is being made complete. grins

With love...

(Next post I'll put up pictures so you can see some of the friends I'm making and a bit of what we're doing!)

Sustainable Agriculture at the ELI training center in Kipkaren

2007-10-29T14:05:00.000-04:00

As I wrote to Noel not too long ago, in the past few days I've learned more about sustainable agriculture here than I have in the past few years. Finally, after waiting and preparing and researching and pursuing and backtracking and persevering for almost 2 years, I'm learning the details of sustainable agriculture. And not just learning, but learning and practicing, applying classroom notes and lessons to the shamba (garden) and the fishpond and the livestock, etc. And tomorrow morning (incidentally also my 25th birthday. grins), I'm getting up before 5am to help Dickson, one of the teachers here, milk the 2 dairy cows on site. Yes, by hand. :) And yes, I know how to milk cows, but have never actually milked one completely, so it really will be a new experience. Some of the classes I'm taking or will soon be taking include (but I know I'll forget a few): soil science, crop science, bio-intensive agriculture, livestock (cows, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits), economics and management, bee-keeping, small-pond fish raising, agricultural extension, home economics (which includes nutrition and how to cook what you're growing so that you can get the maximum benefits and nutrients from the plants), agro-forestry, horticulture, disease and pest control and management (pathology), and here is where my memory fails me. But as you can see, my plate is very full, and I'm loving absolutely ever second of it. The teachers here are arranging a schedule for me so that we can fit 6 months of material into 6 weeks. Intense, but there is so much to learn and I don't want to miss anything.
Aside from classes and application, I'm making friends. Lots and lots of friends. And all Kenyans. They are wonderful, and I already love them. We are learning together, teaching each other, and learning a lot about one another (they all speak English very well, which makes learning Kiswahili a bit more challenging, but they're teaching me that as well). We are already a great encouragement to one another as we not only learn about sustainable agriculture together, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ together. At some point, I'll be sharing some experiences in my own journey of faith. Pray that it touches the hearts of those that God has prepared to receive such messages. And BWANA ASIFIWE! Praise God because even after only 3 1/2 days, he has already done wonders. And soon soon, pictures will be coming, and then you can meet some of my friends and teachers, see where I'm working and learning and what I'm doing, and see some of where I'm living (it's beautiful by the way). :)

With love...

From London to Tanzania

2007-10-23T07:36:00.000-04:00

For those of you keeping up on my blog, or the recent happenings of my life, or even just randomly checking, here you’ll find a brief recounting (to try and retell my experiences in full would probably take a book!) of the past week and ½ (almost 2) since I left Toronto for England, and then Tanzania (in 2 days I’ll be making my way north, by bus, to Kenya, where I’ll be doing my 7-week internship in sustainable agriculture). I arrived in London Thursday morning (10/11), made my way to the Highbury Centre (a Christian guesthouse in London where Houghton students are staying for the semester), and spent the rest of the day walking around Kensington Park, down Portabello Road (anyone ever watched the movie “Bedknobs & Broomsticks” as a child??), and taking in a bit of the sights of Notting Hill (yes, the same Notting Hill the movie is named after). The following day (Friday), I met up with my British friend, Luke, and we walked all over the place for a good 4+ hours! This would be where the picture of me standing by Parliament would come in. ☺

Besides Parliament and Big Ben, we saw Buckingham Palace, the backside of Westminster Abbey, a bit of the changing of the Horse Guard (Luke saw a great deal more than I, as there was quite a crowd of people and he stood a head taller than almost everyone. grins), Trafalgar Square, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London, and Tower Bridge from a distance – to name but a few of the sights! We had a lovely time walking around together (infinitely better than going around alone!), till eventually we caught the tube (British equivalent of the American subway) outside of London to meet Charlotte, Luke’s sister (also a good friend). Charlotte drove us back to their parents house, where I stayed for the weekend. I LOVE their parents! Wonderful wonderful people, and I felt so blessed to be able to get to know them in even just the short amount of time that we had together. It’s such a blessing and encouragement to find family in Christ no matter where you are in the world. So Saturday all of us but their mom went to visit Cambridge, where Mr. Windus went to college, first stopping in a very quaint, traditional village called Thaxted (where the windmill photo comes in – a picture of Charlotte, Luke and I).

When we arrived at Cambridge, Mr. Windus first showed us around Emmanuel College (not sure if that’s Emmanuel spelled with an ‘E’ or an ‘I’…), the college he graduated from, which was quite stunning. I never knew college building and grounds could be so beautiful. Mr. Windus took great pride in showing us around, and we very much enjoyed it. We then toured King’s College which, because it was sponsored by the king (Henry VII, I think??), was exquisite. The college “chapel” was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. After eating lunch, we complete our day at Cambridge with “punting” (insert punting photo here ☺ ).

One person punts while the others enjoy the view. Grins Mr. Windus took us for a tour down the “Backs” of the Cam River, where we were able to see the backsides of the colleges bordering the river – quite the experience! And on the way back, I even got to try my hand at punting! (NOT as easy as it looks!) That evening, Charlotte and Luke took me out to Southend (pronounced ‘Souffend’ by the locals ☺ ) for a walk along the sea (English Channel) and some of the best fish ‘n’ chips I’ve ever had. Sunday, they took me to meet their Nan (grandma) and brother and sister-in-law, Charlotte and I parted ways with Luke on the tube heading back into London (so sad!), and then the 2 of us went to an evening church service at Holy Trinity Brompton (look at my previous post). After another sad goodbye with Charlotte, I made my way back to the Highbury Centre. I have to say though that spending the weekend with the 2 of them and their family was the highlight of my time in England. One that you come away from full of joy, anticipating the next time you can spend time together (and trying to figure out when that might be!), and thanking God for such a rich blessing. So, Monday I found myself wandering the streets of London alone again ☺ , visiting inside Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s (the top from which this picture was taken),

and Tower Bridge. A full, exhausting, and exciting day, and then Tuesday I was off to an overnight layover in Kenya.

I’m convinced that college friends’ parents are one of God’s great blessings. grins Because Tegan’s parents were definitely that for me, as I spent the night with them in Nairobi before heading out the next morning (my dad’s birthday!!!) on my hour flight to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where I was met by Kat, Paul, and Paul C (for those of you who don’t know, Kat is one of my college roommates, and really more family than friend, Paul is her husband and like a brother, and Paul C is another friend from Houghton). My first day in TZ we all spent on an island off the coast, resting from travel, catching up, swimming the Indian Ocean, and enjoying one another’s company. AND eating really amazing fresh seafood, including these crabs! (Are you drooling yet?? hehe)

And all for less than $20! Crazy, eh?! After spending the night in another Christian guesthouse in Dar, we left the next day (10/18) for a 5 hr drive to Mikumi National Park (a wildlife game reserve). The first afternoon/evening of our 24 hrs in the park we saw elephants, zebras, giraffes, cape buffalo, mpalas and bush bucks (2 varieties of deer), hippos, crocodiles, wildebeest, quite a few beautiful birds, and probably more that I’m not remembering. Plus we got to witness an absolutely stunning sunset (check the following pictures).

The next morning we woke up early to start again, and while we saw a great deal more of everything (including a bull elephant up close),

the real treat of the day were the lions!! First we saw a lioness (who actually roared for us, calling for another lion), then the full grown male who was answering her call, actually came while we were there!

And all of this before breakfast! Then again, late morning/early afternoon, we were pointed in the direction of a pride of lions (by others who had spotted them), to find about 12 or so congregated around a recent cape buffalo kill (probably from that night or early morning). INCREDIBLE!

This last picture is of Kat and I early that same morning, riding on top of their (she and Paul’s) land rover – a great way to spot all the animals and just take in the views all around us.

Now I’m at Masumbo with Kat and Paul, experiencing a tiny part of their life here, meeting their friends, cooking and eating together, sharing stories and life and time. Such an incredible blessing to be here with people I love so much. Tomorrow we’ll all take an 8 hr bus ride to Dar and Thursday take a 12+ hr bus ride to Nairobi (thankfully Kat and Paul have some business to do up in Kenya, so we’ll all be able to travel together!).

Please pray for our safe travel on these days, as bus rides coupled with crazy traffic can be a bit of a risky venture. Praise God that I have friends to travel with though, as I wasn’t looking forward to making the trip alone! Praise God for good health thus far, and pray also for continued good health. Praise and thank God for the joy and blessing of reconnecting with old friends, strengthening ties with new friends, and meeting those who are or will become friends. God certainly has a way of blessing us through relationships! Pray also as I continue to prepare my heart for my coming internship in Kenya, as well as speedy language acquisition. I’m so very excited!

Church at HTB (Holy Trinity Brompton) in London with Charlotte

2007-10-15T17:43:00.000-04:00

(message by Ken Coster)

John's Gospel... The choice of how to live your life...

"I came that you might have life in all its fullness."

"You can either live flourishing in God's favor, or floundering in the world... "The Spirit gives life!" (KC)

"Fear is a habit." ~ Burmese Opposition Leader
And fear is a habit that is paralyzing and destroying our lives. We need to break the habit of fear and build habits that will give life.

Read John 14:15-21

Fear is the great disenabler of God's will and plan and purpose. We often look forward with great apprehension and fear, but then looking back we are show God's amazing faithfulness in accomplishing his pupose. FEAR says that 'your God is too small and weak to get you through this obstacle.' But which is the driver in your life? Fear or God, who has shown his favor and given his blessing to you? RISE to the challenge! Fear drives the need for security that the step you're taking is insured and guaranteed. But we are called to live by faith. These times of uncertainty are often times when we experience the most growth in our faith.

The disciples set off in their boat without Jesus... without Jesus. But he met them. He met them in the middle of their storm with the words "I AM." And only after he uttered these words did they take him into their boat... 'and IMMEDIATELY they reached their destination'... "The journey is shortest when Jesus is closest. The journey is longest when Jesus is farthest." (KC) God's favor trumps fear every single time. And faith is built up every time God shows his favor. John 14:1 (read).

We are called to action in faith, remembering that God has promised us life in all its fullness.

2007-10-03T23:58:00.000-04:00

This time, a week from right now, I will be on my flight headed towards London...

eeeee! hehehe

Grape Festival Art

2007-09-30T20:00:00.000-04:00

My mom's cousins, Pam and Ruth, displayed their quilting at the Grape Festival in Naples this weekend. I've never seen quilting quite like theirs before. Anything like theirs! And here are a few pictures to give you a taste of what they do...

This piece is about 3 ft long. Nearly life size! Pam did this of her daughter, Morgan, and Morgan's cat. Ruth had taken a picture of Morgan upside down with her cat on her. Each color you see is a different piece of fabric. Amazing, eh?! And absolutely gorgeous!

A close-up of Morgan's face.

A close-up of the cat.

Laura (my sister) and I are brainstorming to see what we could have her do for us... grins

Ever wondered how to NOT CRY WHEN CHOPPING ONIONS???

2007-09-16T00:30:00.000-04:00

Goggles, my friend. Goggles.

Overnight in Buffalo

2007-09-09T21:10:00.000-04:00

So, for today, tonight, and tomorrow I find myself back in Buffalo. I'm on Jessica McDonnell's laptop (she and I, along with 2 other girls, lived and worked with each other this summer), listening to bluegrass, waiting for cookies to get out of the oven, and anticipating a good game of 2 of Rummikub with good friends. Tomorrow Jess and I will help move all of our student's artwork from this summer to the children's section of Buffalo's Albright & Knox Museum. They'll be displaying it, along with telling the stories of the refugee children and their families, until mid-October (come and see!!!). On Sept. 21st from 5-7pm, they're even holding a reception, welcoming the public. The media will be there, and it will be a quite an event. I'm excited for the public in general, and especially Buffalo, to learn more about the newcomers living in their (our) midst and the richness of their lives.

Update: pictures of our art exhibit coming together.

As you can see, there's more to the exhibit than just these murals, but these are the focus of every thing else. The theme of our afternoon program, Arts Bridging Cultures, was centered around unity and diversity and the areas of the world all of our children (both from the School 3 and Our Lady of Loretto programs) came from. What we came up with was a collaged map of the world (each age group taking part in its assembly), and a collaged map of each of the countries represented during our summer English program. It's so amazing to finally see them up and displayed - something we had been working for since the very beginning of the program (getting permission from Albright & Knox to display our artwork so that we could better communicate our activities and goals with the larger public).

It's Finished!!

2007-08-29T08:22:00.001-04:00

My Peace Corps application and health form, etc. is finally finished!! WOOHOO!

Cheers! ;)

(Just kidding. I actually took this picture when my mom and I took my Japanese friend out for lunch before riding on the Canandaigua Lady - the steamboat that used to run products up and down Canandaigua Lake. My mom's in the background.)

In other news...
*My cat is back after a week-long hiatus... boycotting my sister's dogs.
*On the note of my sister's dogs... Laura is living at home until the beginning of October while Phil finishes his training (on a sub) in Connecticut. She brought her 2 dogs and 1 very large cat, and as a result, our 3 house cats have gone into hiding. Tiki doesn't leave my parent's bedroom, Veev is either in my room or outside, and Moofer stays outside most of the time and only approaches the indoors at night when the doggies have gone to sleep upstairs with my sister. All rather comical. :)
*I'm leaving for Kenya in a little over a month. My arms are reminding me of that fact, as Monday night I attended "Passport Health" at Canandaigua hospital and had 4 vaccinations. Yellow Fever and Typhoid in my left arm and Meningitis and Polio in my right arm. My arms now feel as if someone whacked them with a blunt object. And today I get to have one more! ;P Tetanus. yay.
*I've discovered the wonderous fun of nail polish! Although not on my fingernails.

(My cat, Veev.)

So if you've been trying to figure out a way of getting rid of old nail polish and don't have any little sisters or cousins to give it to... There you go! ;) (**well-ventilated work area HIGHLY recommended... unless you plan on getting high -- not recommended. grins)

2007-08-24T15:03:00.001-04:00

I'm almost finished with my Peace Corps application... which means I'm also almost finished with my grad to school application to U of Wyoming...

=-O

grins

Ever transitioning...

2007-08-18T13:41:00.000-04:00

A week ago today our AmeriCorps group finished our summer program with Journey's End. It was an incredibly full and challenging and exhausting and rewarding summer. I'll post more pictures of my kids. I love all 11 of them, and I'm going to miss them more than I can say. However, it's also nice to be home. My cat is on my bed vying for the attention of my hands as I'm typing this blog. :) This past week was a crazy one as well. Due to "complications" with the Thundersquirrel, I wasn't able to come home from Buffalo until Monday evening - the same night I was supposed to be picking up my Japanese friend who was coming to visit. I got as far as Dansville, where my mom picked me up to drive to Rochester, and I left my car at TOPS. Juri stayed with my family Monday night to EARLY Friday morning, and we had a full week. We were able to show him a bit of the inner-workings of our dairy farm, a bit of life around Naples and Canandaigua - complete with grape pie - and a morning and afternoon spent at Niagara Falls. We all had a great time, and it was a wonderful opportunity to share with him a little bit of the love Christ abundantly lavishes on us. Now... Now I'm cleaning my room. :) No, now my sister is moving back in for 6 weeks while her husband Phil goes out on a sub for training (he's in the Navy). Now I'm finishing my joint MA degree-peace corps application. And now I'm trying to wrap my head around all of the preparations I need to make as October 10 approaches (faster than I think it will - or maybe just as fast as I know it will). So, if you think of it, pray for me as I juggle all of these things (of course, by the grace of God. I'm so glad I'm not left to juggle them alone.)
And NOW, I'll end with some more pictures from this summer.

Our AmeriCorps group, plus mentors (high school refugee students, helping us in the classroom and the newcomers adjust).

Tresar (Burmese Karen) and Divine (Burundi), rocking away on the horse at the playground.

Khadija, one of our mentors (from Kenya), Liz Garogano, Matt Tice, and me at Matt's sister's wedding. The Tice's are an amazing family. Bob (the dad) is the pastor of River Rock, the church I started attending this summer. I've never felt more a part of the family of Christ as I have in that church, and it's an international church as well (with refugee families from over 12 countries!). Polly (the mom) helped Rachel M. and I a lot with ideas and supplies for our elementary classes (she just finished teaching Kindergarten for a time). Matt has become a good friend, and Jessie helped rescue the Thundersquirrel with her AAA card late one Wednesday night, a few days before she got married. Truly an amazing family.

Petting a newborn calf at Jenna's Grandparent's farm.

Rachel Martinke and I singing the "Hello, What's Your Name?" song during our morning meeting time. Rachel M. had 12 4-5 yr olds and I had 9 6-8 yr olds (and 2 of the 5 yr olds). After our morning meeting our groups would split, and I would take mine to our room across the hall.

AND I got to meet Kat, Paul, and Becca on a few occasions throughout the summer - Amy's wedding, twice in Buffalo (one of those times being a NICKELCREEK CONCERT!!! --finally!), and once in PA at the Shaffner's (where this picture was taken). :)

Juri going for a ride on the haybine (cutting hay) with my dad.

Hug of death (me and Dan) after Dan gave Juri and I a ride on the silage dump truck. It's a very big truck. :)

Me, Laura, and mom. Gifts from Juri from Japan. Jimbe (the shirt and shorts) and Sensu (the fans).

Mom, Juri, and I on the lookout in front of Niagara Falls before heading down to get on the Maid of the Mist. The wind nearly knocked us over.

Mom and I in our bright blue ponchos on the Maid of the Mist in front of the American Falls BEFORE we got drenched by the Canadian Falls. grins

Oh! And guess what! From January to July '08, I'm going to be working with AmeriCorps again on the West Side in Buffalo. I'll be doing lots of stuff with community development (more details later), and I am... more than excited! grins

wow. It's been a month and 2 days since I last blogged.

2007-07-27T18:07:00.000-04:00

Ba

Tresar

Divine

Elnu

Erick with Ali and Elnu in the background.

This summer, in a few short words, has been both incredibly rewarding and incredibly exhausting. Due to the "exhausting" part, my blog has been quite neglected, and probably will continue to be so. grins But here are some pictures of "my kids" (11 all together) - the refugee kids I'm teaching English to - and may their pictures grasp at your hearts a little (as they've most definitely entangled themselves around mine). :)

p.s.

2007-06-25T23:31:00.000-04:00

Don't use a cable lock for your bike if you have a bike. People can cut through them and take your bike. Which is what happened to mine. And now I have a new new bike. (oi) I hope whoever has my old new bike appreciates it. ;) And word to those who DON'T want people running off with your bike... buy the metal horseshoe-shaped bolt locks that CAN'T be cut through.

Kekkonshiteru! (getting married)

2007-06-25T23:28:00.001-04:00

102_7368
Originally uploaded by rs.potterclay.

Amy and Sam are MARRIED!!!!

Love

2007-06-20T22:58:00.000-04:00

"Rachel says that love is like a big black piano being pushed off the top of a three-story building and you're waiting on the bottom to catch it. But Lourdes says it's not that way at all. It's like a top, like all the colors in the world are spinning so fast they're not colors anymore and all that's left is a white hum.
There was a man, a crazy who lived upstairs from us when we lived on South Loomis. He couldn't talk, just walked around all day with this harmonica in his mouth. Didn't play it. Just sort of breathed through it, all day long, wheezing, in and out, in and out.
This is how it is with me. Love I mean."

- Sandra Cisneros, Woman Hollering Creek (and other stories)

Le New Bike

2007-06-10T16:41:00.000-04:00

So.
I got a new bike - a new SWEET bike - new sweet DISCOUNTED bike - this weekend. :)
I brought it to Buffalo, a nice drunk old man helped me get it out of my car (I didn't have any choice; he wouldn't go away), and my front brakes got messed up in the process.

I set forth to fix them.

Taking apart each area (above the front tire and in the brake lever), I carefully noted where each piece was supposed to go so that I could put it back exactly as I had taken it apart... That worked IN THEORY but sadly, not in practice. grins I'm sure all of you, at some point in your lives, have felt that needling, intertwining feeling of frustration and stubbornness. The more you try to do something (and fail at it) the more determined you become that you will CONQUER EVIL [insert whatever your mutterings and glarings are focused on]. I felt this. A lot. ;@

Finally, I conceded in doing a bit of online research (thank you google) on how to reassemble your front bike brakes, and in the process learned a ton. Like "brake calipers" and "adjusting barrel" and... my memory is failing me. Anyway, I learned how to fix my brakes!! woohoo! And I tested them a BUNCH - riding around - because the left hand side (that goes to the front brakes) turned out to be in a slightly different position than the right hand side (which I didn't touch).

I feel like my bike and I have now had a true bonding experience. ;) Now I need to come up with a name for it...

Any suggestions??? (It's white.) I'll take a picture and add it to the post later.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!

2007-06-04T17:15:00.001-04:00

My sister and brother-in-law are celebrating their 2nd anniversary today. :) crazy, eh?!!

2007-06-03T21:29:00.001-04:00

I'm up in Buffalo now (just moved in this evening)!!

I'm in a townhouse on Lafayette with 3 other girls (upstairs) and then there are more girls downstairs.

It's so wonderful to be living with girls again (in community - something I've rather missed over the past year and a half).

And of course, I'll keep you posted. ;)
grins

Cassie and Alex

2007-05-23T22:48:00.001-04:00

Meet a new addition to my dad's side of the family - my cousin's baby, Cassie. Isn't she cute?! (ALL peacefully sleeping babies are cute! As opposed to the not-so-peacefully, alert, filling the air with demanding wails of hunger or protest or tiredness babies.)
Another cousin, Alex, is on my right (your left). Can you believe that she's only 11?!! She would add, "Going on 12!" grins And I hadn't seen her in 2 years! YAY for family reunions. :)

nightmare

2007-05-21T22:50:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I had a nightmare. My brother was giving me a bear hug. Then my brother turned into someone who was hugging me, but too tightly, and he started to squeeze the breath out of me. I opened my mouth to protest, but couldn't close it because he (whoever it was) was squeezing me so hard (think of a cartoon where people turn into odd shapes). Then my mouth opened so wide that my jaw bones started crushing my back molar teeth, and the pieces of my teeth crumbled in my mouth and I had to spit them out so I wouldn't choke on them. Throughout this whole process I was becoming more and more nauseas (who wouldn't if their teeth were getting crushed!) and bawling my eyes out over my teeth (thankfully I - for some odd reason - felt no pain). At that point I either stopped dreaming or woke up. I'm not sure which.

Seriously strange and horrible dream. I don't have nightmares often. Perhaps this is why. oi!

Where I'll be in Oct-Dec...

2007-05-12T23:15:00.000-04:00

Find Nairobi, Kenya. Move up and to the left (in the Rift Valley), and zoom in on Eldoret. THEN zoom in even more, moving to the left of Eldoret and find Kipkaren (Kipkarren). I'll be doing my internship in and around Eldoret and Kipkaren. :)

It's really happening! grins

2007-05-11T00:35:00.000-04:00

I bought my plane ticket from London to Nairobi this afternoon...

HURRAY!!!

:)

Weekend Adventures with Rhian & Co....

2007-05-07T08:22:00.000-04:00

In pictures. :)

So Rhian and I (along with many others scattered over Saturday and Sunday) did a great many random and oh-so-fun things (Paul's pottery sale!, Dutch Blitz with the Pearses late Sat night, flying - trying - kites, walks, to name a few). Only one of which did we take any pictures, so here it is. Traversing Houghton Creek. Twice. :) Complete with only slightly wet feet, encounter (me. rrr!) with giant tarantulous spider, and loads of laughter. And of course, complete with posed creek-crossing pictures. grins

Details. :)

2007-05-01T15:19:00.000-04:00

From the beginning:

Right after New Year's, some close friends of our family came over for a visit. The husband and wife, Don and Amy Rogers, work with a Christian organization called Empowering Lives International (ELI), based out of Kenya, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Sudan. My parents had told them of my interests in working overseas in sustainable development, so they wanted to get together with me before heading back to California and then on to Kenya. After talking with them about what they're doing in East Africa and the biblically-based, holistic values and goals that ELI bases it's being and working on, I decided to pursue an internship with them. Their work in sustainable agricultural development especially caught my attention. :) So thinking about for a while, and prayerfully considering doing some kind of internship with them, I followed through with an application, finishing it just before Easter. They got back to me the beginning of last week to tell me that they were excited about having me after having read my application, and were going to follow up with calling my references. At that point they would send my application to their staff in Kenya to review, and get back to me sometime the end of last week/beginning of this week (they called last night).

So what exactly will I be doing??

As much as I can remember from what Kierra, the woman I talked to, told me, I'll be in Kenya (I don't remember the name of the town/area...). ELI has a kind of 9-month educational program for applicants from Kenya, TZ, Uganda, and a couple other countries in East Africa, training these students in sustainable agricultural, as well as discipleship and Bible training. The program runs from September to December with a month-long Christmas holiday, and then students return in January and graduate in April. During my first chat with Kierra, she told me of this program and asked if I'd like to join them in studying sustainable agriculture. I, of course, was thrilled! :) There's also an orphanage nearby that I can get involved in during my down time! I am sooo excited!!

When will all this take place?

I'm trying to figure out dates now. I'll be leaving early/mid October and returning early December (the students go on holiday the 2nd week in December, so I'm trying to arrange my returning schedule based on that). So, Kat, Paul, and Paul C... :) You guys up for a visit early/mid October??? (Please say Yes!) grins
I'd like to stop over a night or 2 (or whatever works) in London to see some friends and a bit of the sights there, then fly into Dar es Salaam and somehow find Kat, Paul and Paul (help?). Then I would take a bus? to Kenya and connect with the staff with ELI... Apparently it's been done before (by the many who have gone on before me... ;) Like Noel, who took an 8-hr bus ride in the opposite direction), so I'll be counting on the wisdom of those many to give me a few hints in the right direction. :)

How I'm getting there...

Working. grins Saving my pennies (all that which is not being sent off to not-so-lovely SallieMae). I'll also be raising support.

I know I don't have to ask, but please continue to pray for me as all these plans continue to unfold over the next days, weeks, and months ahead. We can make all the plans we want, but it's the Lord who orders our steps (Jeremiah). And honestly, who better than the One who holds the universe and our hearts in His hand.

I'll keep you posted. (grins Pun intended. Yes, horrible, I know. Blame it on Amy soon-to-be-Divinagracia.) ;)

2007-04-30T20:05:00.000-04:00

I'M GOING TO AFRICA!!!!

(details to come) grins

A weekend of blessing...

2007-04-22T21:48:00.001-04:00

Yes, it is, in fact, the lovely Becca Clark's cheek I am kissing. grins One photo from a weekend full of blessings. I had a wonderful viewing of the Senior's Art Exhibition (opening night was Friday) with Paul and Chi and Sarah (Richards-Desai). Spent Friday night up at the Pearse's and enjoyed a leisurely morning of tea and conversation. Went to Houghton's track meet - quite the event, 11 colleges/universities gathering to compete - to see Naomi and Bethany Christensen run, and promptly ran into Becca. grins Finished the afternoon off in the ceramics studio, and headed over to Becca's (in Cuba) in the evening, spending the night with her talking, cooking, taking pictures (Look for a special pedi-picture on Becca's blog. I shall say no more. You will have to see for yourself.), walking, and watching the Japanese Anime movie, Howl's somethingerother Castle. A movie I happened to see in Japan (a Japanese friend taped a favorite movie of mine and attached this one to the end of it), all in Japanese, and of course had no idea what was going on. So we watched it in Japanese with English subtitles. Amazing what watching (reading) something in your own language can do for comprehension. grins And then Sunday, after Sunday school and church at Houghton, was invited along with the Christensen's (only Naomi could come) over to the Pearse's again for lunch. Delicious of course, ending with strawberries, ice cream, fresh whipped cream, and berry coolie (I had no idea what this was until Ann explained it to me. Basically it's homemade fruit/berry sauce you eat over ice cream. Very very yummy.). After taking Naomi home, Rhian and I headed over to the Luckey's to spend the rest of the afternoon outside playing crocket and frisbee. Beautiful weather, beautiful people, beautiful weekend. I feel so wonderfully blessed and refreshed and ready to start the new week. :) I hope your (whomever happens to read this) weekend was as much of a blessing to you.

God the Rebel

2007-04-19T08:57:00.000-04:00

G.K. Chesterton (Fabulous man. Really. If you haven't read anything of his yet, I suggest maybe starting with Orthodoxy. That's where I happened to start. And if anyone has any other suggestions, by all means make them. :) )

That a good man may have his back to the wall is no more than we knew already; but that God could have his back to the wall is a boast for all insurgents for ever. Christianity is the only religion on earth that has felt that omnipotence made God incomplete. Christianity alone has felt that God, to be wholly God, must have been a rebel as well as a king. Alone of all creeds, Christianity has added courage to the virtues of the Creator. For the only courage worth calling courage must necessarily mean that the soul passes a breaking point - and does not break.

In this indeed I approach a matter more dark and awful than it is easy to discuss; and I apologize in advance if any of my phrases fall wrong or seem irreverent touching a matter which the greatest of saints and thinkers have justly feared to approach. But in that terrific tale of the Passion there is a distinct emotional suggestion that the author of all things (in some unthinkable way) went not only through agony, but through doubt. It is written, "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." No; but the Lord thy God may tempt himself; and it seems as if this was what happened in Gethsemane.

In a garden Satan tempted man: and in a garden God tempted God. He passed in some superhuman manner through our human horror of pessimism. When the world shook and the sun was wiped out of heaven, it was not at the crucifixion, but at the cry from the cross: the cry which confessed that God was forsaken of God.

And now let the revolutionists of this age choose a creed from all creeds and a god from all the gods of the world, carefully weighing all the gods of inevitable recurrence and of unalterable power. They will not find another god who has himself been in revolt. Nay, (the matter grows too difficult for human speech), but the let the atheists themselves choose a god. They will find only one divinity who ever uttered their isolation; only one religion in which God seemed for an instant to be an atheist.

Beneath Thy Cross

2007-04-08T07:46:00.000-04:00

Christina Rossetti

Am I a stone, and not a sheep,
That I can stand, O Christ, beneath Thy cross,
To number drop by drop Thy Blood's slow loss,
And yet not weep?

Not so those women loved
Who with exceeding grief lamented Thee;
Not so fallen Peter weeping bitterly;
Not so the thief was moved;

Not so the Sun and Moon
Which hid their faces in a starless sky,
A horror of great darkness at broad noon -
I, only I.

Yet give not o'er,
But seek Thy sheep, true Shepherd of the flock;
Greater than Moses, turn and look once more
And smite a rock.

Saturday, in the tomb. Two prayers.

2007-04-07T16:40:00.000-04:00

Jesus, in a prayer to his Father:

"...Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began..." (John 17:3-5)

Child, in a prayer to her Father, her Lord and God, her Savior, her Interceder...

...Help me to complete the work you have given me to do, so that I might bring you glory on earth. For that is my purpose; that is why you created me. That is why you called my name, and keep calling me. That is why, even in my sin, you keep turning your face to me, drawing me back to you. That is why you whisper in my heart...

From June 4 - August 10...

2007-04-03T15:46:00.000-04:00

Guesswhat guesswhat! I'm working with Journey's End in Buffalo this summer! :)

I'm excited because...

*I get to work with kids. :)
*And not just any kids, but international kids (most of them are refugees from Africa, I believe).
*I'll be applying and continuing to extend all of the things I've learned through my experiences teaching English in Japan and working as a substitute teacher at Naples Elem School this spring (since Feb).
*Yet another stretching experience - I'm totally out of my comfort zone in the inner city. Akita, Japan is a far cry from Buffalo, NY. BUT I'm really looking forward to learning as I'm teaching and getting to know these kids and their families and familiarizing myself (along with the other teachers) with "life in the city" for the time that we're there.
*Where we'll be living is close enough to Journey's End to bike or walk back and forth. (Hurray for cutting back on the use of fossil fuels!)

And if I think of anything else, I'll add to the list (I'm sure there will be more). :)

prayer of many

2007-03-29T20:05:00.000-04:00

from Psalm 30 & 31

I have become like broken pottery... my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief... my strength fails... my bones grow weak...
Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am in distress...
But I trust in you, O Lord; I say "You are my God." My times are in your hands...
O Lord my God, I call to you for help and you heal me. I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you see my affliction and know the anguish of my soul.

Noel, the linguist in me couldn't resist. grins

2007-03-14T23:03:00.000-04:00

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

One thing I do want to add... I don't use the word "pop" for carbonated beverages. I say "soda". Just to set the record straight (for anyone who might care). :)

Roadtrip to Charleston, South Carolina (aka WARM CLIMATE LOCATION)

2007-03-12T18:17:00.000-04:00

HO-hohh! Warm weather HERE WE COME!

Some very sweet pottery. Raku fired.

Signs of Spring

Me in front of one of Charleston's famed historical mansions. (I wanted to wear a skirt on a warm day - just for fun. Everyone else dresses up, so why not, right? Figures I would wear it on the chilliest day we were there... ;P )

Tour of downtown historical Charleston by carriage (mom REALLY wanted to go). Our tour guide, Mark, was HILARIOUS. Humor with a bit of sarcasm, a lot of wit, and a very defined suthun draawl.

Saturday, the warmest sunniest most beautiful day we were there, Phil, Laura, mom, and I went walking in downtown Charleston and along the water. The warm salty breeze was delicious. :)

Me and Laura. I miss my sister. :)

And you may all thank me because the warm weather we're now having is on account of me bringing it back with me. hehehe ;)

Today is International Women's Day

2007-03-08T21:46:00.001-05:00

Blanca with her diploma
Originally uploaded by jungle/arctic.

Celebrating voices, purposes, futures... and for those who confess Christ as Lord, celebrating part of His beautiful creation, the works of His hands.

Emi yori (for Emi)

2007-03-02T09:24:00.000-05:00

In February, when our friendship first started. :) (Thanks Brooke!)

grins Remember the hiburi, Emi?? hehehe

St. Patrick's Day dance.

Champion Bowler. :)

Mexican Food Night!

Our bowling shoes on another bowling occasion. They rock!

Me and Emi "tooting" on our tea bottles.

Tomoko's birthday (between me and Emi). :)

Miss you Emi! Samishikunaruyo! Genki da ne!

The Blue Sky

2007-02-28T15:19:00.001-05:00

The Blue Sky
Originally uploaded by rs.potterclay.

So, right around this time last year in Japan, I was eagerly awaiting signs of spring, and dieing for a glimpse of blue sky like the picture I took right around this time last year. This year isn't so terribly different (in respect to the comment I just made) than the last. I'm eagerly awaiting signs of spring, and dieing for a glimpse of blue sky like the picture I took right around this time last year.

grins Yes. I wrote what I wrote on purpose because I meant to write what I wrote. hehehe Language is just too much fun sometimes. :) And I think I need more sleep.

International Banquet...

2007-02-28T08:36:00.000-05:00

Paul posted this picture on his blog quite a while ago, but I DID promise a picture, so here it is. :)

The theme was glimpses of "Africa"... and we had a blast! (And the food was DELICIOUS!) Paul and I got a table with Rea and Phil Holcomb, Dan and Laura (now both!) Kilpatrick, and Eileen Frawley and Dan Holcomb. It was a great time to catch up with friends and profs alike, and meet some people too. :) Afterwards, Paul and I helped in the kitchen cleaning up till almost midnight. Hurray for a discount on tickets and FREE INTERNATIONAL FOOD! hehehehe

snow dunes

2007-02-26T21:11:00.000-05:00

Last weekend (2 weekends ago) as I was driving to Houghton, I came across these not too far from my house. Backroads are made for times like this, when you can pull your car over and stand in the middle of the road to take a picture without fear of getting hit. grins Beautiful, eh?

Poetry for the Substitute Teacher

2007-02-21T22:33:00.000-05:00

A poem from Please Mrs Butler, verses by Allan Ahlberg, lent to me by Meic, Ann, and Rhian Pearse, and Oh so very funny. :)

Supply Teacher

Here is the rule for what to do
Whenever your teacher has the flu,
Or for some other reason takes to her bed
And a different teacher comes instead.

When this visiting teacher hangs up her hat,
Writes the date on the board, does this or that;
Always remember, you must say this:
'Our teacher never does that, Miss!'

When you want to change places or wander about,
Or feel like getting the guinea-pig out,
Never forget, the message is this:
'Our teacher always lets us, Miss!'

Then, when your teacher returns next day
And complains about the paint or clay,
Remember these words, you just say this:
'That other teacher told us to, Miss!'

hahahaha This carries so much more meaning after having substitute taught for almost a month! ;)

Painting...

2007-02-07T15:34:00.000-05:00

Sorry. No pics of International Banquet yet, Noel. :) They're pending Paul's sending them to me from his camera. So until the time of their arrival, I'll update a bit of what I've been doing, or trying to do, the past couple of days (and finally succeeded in doing today).

Painting my room. :)

And today was the Painting of the Ceiling. [trumpets sound fanfare]

Before I started... I moved my bed and dressers and shelf to the middle of my room. And I took this picture before I finished covering everything with sheets and newspapered my windows and the remainder of my floor...

About to start!

In the process...

Almost finished. Notice the HUGE difference between white and "fresh dew" green. ;) Hey, it's a start. grins Next, the border is to come off. (Bye bye horsies. *sniff. tear.*)

And to end the event, I fell off the end of my bed while trying to paint around the light ficture and into my dresser (the tall one on the right whose big oval mirror is covered with green and white sheets), breaking a scrolly piece holding up the mirror (and almost my leg. Instead I have a nice big bruise there.). Thank you, Lord, for wood glue. Otherwise I would be very very dead (the act of death being committed against me by my mom). grins All is well. Glue dries and bruises heal. :)

2007-01-26T06:29:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow night is the International Banquet! Can't Wait!! I'll post pictures later so y'all ;) can see everyone dressed up and eating amazing food and enjoying good company. Come join?

Once upon a time we went to Olean to go iceskating...

2007-01-22T15:47:00.000-05:00

Last night Paul and I met up with my cousins Amy and Trisha, and Trisha's husband Jonnie in front of the Walmart in Olean to go iceskating. When we arrived in Olean everything was black. No street lights. No stop lights. No store lights. Except we didn't realize it right away (my comment toward no stop light where there ought to have been one: "Why are they taking that stop light out??? There's enough traffic that goes through there!"). We felt like something was out of place, but couldn't quite put our finger on what it was until we arrived at the plaza where all the big stores are located, and not one of them was lit up. It was then that we noticed the no street lights etc. We got out and talked to a Walmart clerk who told us that someone had seen a flash of light at the power plant and so they figured that a transformer had blown. Electricity was out throughout all of Olean and the neighboring town of Portville. hahaha What a night! Thankfully we managed to find my cousins and decided to drive to the rink to see if there was any possibility of skating that night. There were some generator-run lights on here and there, but no such luck for the rink lights. No skating for the night. :( Jonnie suggested driving over to Wellsville (which was certain to have electricity) and visiting the new art center or getting a bite to eat at Texas Hot (which is also reputed to have excellent coffee). So off we went. We had a great time talking over french fries, hot drinks, apple pies, and of course the infamous "Texas Hot", and as our food was disappearing and conversation was winding down the lights flickered and went off. grins We laughed. Each table was given a flashlight while a waitress went to look for candles, and about 15 minutes later (right after the waitress found the candles), the lights flickered again and came back on. What a night. :) Then we had our nice waitress take a picture of us. Slightly blurry, but it works.

Paul, me, Amy, Trisha, Jonnie

2007-01-16T17:08:00.000-05:00

It's snowing... and cold. GRINS

I miss REAL winters.

2007-01-15T19:37:00.000-05:00

Like this!

Me and Amy collapsed in exhaustion after hiking for almost an hour in knee-deep (sometimes THIGH-deep) snow. Sam took the picture. :)

Almost at the top. :) And looking behind.

grins You may all hate me for wanting WINTER to come, but you can't because there's no snow yet. :P (Actually, I'd be content with frigid weather for a good couple of weeks so I can go iceskating on our pond.)

sigh

2007-01-11T18:58:00.000-05:00

Wet clay has that affect on me. ;)

So today I met up with a local potter who'd been talking with my mom since last winter about me coming and visiting her and sharing clay knowledge once I returned from Japan. I was FINALLY able to meet her this morning. We talked for an hour or so. She looked at some pieces I brought to show her; she showed me around her studio barn (small - don't picture anything big. cute. quaint. just right. with a wood stove to keep it warm in the winter. :) ). Then she asked me a wonderful question: "So do you want to get your hands dirty?" She needn't have asked. grins My answer was somewhere along the lines of: "Of course!" I wedged a good sized ball of cold soft warm brown clay and sat down at the wheel for the first time since August. Heavenly. :) She wanted to see a little of what I could do, and later wanted to see how I pulled handles, so I made a bowl, stein, mug, and a pitcher that was supposed to be another mug but I kind of messed up the edge and so it became a pitcher. grins Tomorrow I'm going to run over with Paul (he's coming over :) ), pull my handles, and introduce him to Stephanie and Steve (the Marshalls). Fun pair. Backwoods hippies of the best sort. Perhaps who you might expect to find at the Pollywogg Holler. Or perhaps who you might expect to build a place like Pollywogg Holler. grins So now my hands have that wonderful feeling I get after having worked in clay for hours.

It's a beautiful thing.

:)

Hot Date

2007-01-07T19:18:00.000-05:00

Yes. I give you permission to have a hearty laugh. :)

So after 2 weeks and a day of dating (the great majority of that time spent being a part of weddings), Saturday night after Paul and I left Chi Desai and Sarah Richard's wedding (now Chi and Sarah Richards-Desai), we went on our first date.

It was awesome.

We went to an Asian (Japanese/Korean) Sushi bar (corner shop in downtown Ithaca) and ate tempura and miso soup, and talked about linguistics and cultures. hahaha A man after my own heart. ;)

Did I mention that Paul makes a pretty hot date. ;) I imagine that if he's reading this he's probably turning a little red... grins

And now I need to finish that last grad school essay :P because in another hour or so a certain special someone is going to call.

I like Paul. grins

2007-01-03T13:05:00.000-05:00

yuppers! It's true. :)

Michelle and Mark's wedding was a blast (and beautiful!).

And even better because I had a hot date. ;)

M & M M. (Mark & Michelle Morrison)

Some beautiful girls!

grins

HEY Guess what!

2006-12-22T23:53:00.000-05:00

grins

I'm dating someone. :)

But I'm not going to tell you who - you have to guess. (mwahaha!)

Hint: If I'm asking you to guess, it's most likely someone you know.

And if you happen to want anyMORE hints I'd be happy to oblige, as long as they aren't some variant of the question: "What's his name?" That's for you to find out!

oh! And if you do happen to find out (which eventually I hope you DO!), please keep the secret so I can prolong the torture of those who haven't guessed yet. grins

Happy guessing! ;)

2006-12-18T05:36:00.000-05:00

Countdown till the GRE torture ends...

3 days left and counting.

2006-12-17T19:45:00.000-05:00

1 Thessalonians 1:3
We continually remember before our God and Father your WORK PRODUCED BY FAITH, your LABOR PROMPTED BY LOVE, and your ENDURANCE INSPIRED BY HOPE in our Lord Jesus Christ.

2006-12-13T18:00:00.000-05:00

1) I love my cat , Veev/Veever/Vivi/Vuvvy/Vuv/Voovoo/Buggy/Whatever pops in my head - all short for Velvet. My dad says she's his, but really she's mine. She just sleeps on his stomach while he watches TV every night - the only cat in our long history of having cats that has ever chosen to approach my dad for attention. grins She sleeps with me almost every night and makes me feel better when I'm upset or frustrated or annoyed or sad or all of them at the same time. And she makes me feel even better when I do feel good (which is most of the time). I got her when I was in 4th grade right after 2 of our cats died in our house fire. She disappeared 2 years later for 4 years and miraculously found her way home via our neighbors a couple miles down the road. Apparently she'd shown up at their house one day a couple years prior and they were sick of her having kittens. :) What are farms for but to take in promiscuous cats? But hey. I can't complain. I got my cat back. grins

2) I really like vanilla soymilk. But if I had to choose between that and raw dairy milk - like some random millionaire offered me a million bucks to choose not to drink one for the rest of my life - I couldn't live without the cow. :)

3) I just acquired a new bike. For free. But it's not new. It's been sitting in the dilapitated shed of a house we just bought (more for the accompanying farmland than for the house, though that might come in handy for my brother someday). It needs... a lot of fixing up. :) And the thing I'm most excited about is the Japanese-style basket I intend on attaching to the back of it (after, of course, cleaning off the cobwebs and spider poop, fixing the tires and gears, and oiling it up a bit). One more reason to look forward to spring.

4) I really really really want a white Christmas. A lot of white. Like a couple feet of white. And a whole lot of cold weather - below freezing (I know you all thing I'm nuts, but I have a good reason. I promise.) - because I want our pond to freeze over so I (and whomever wants to accompany me) can go iceskating. :) And if the pond freezes and there's lots of snow we can go sledding down the hill behind my house and slide across the width of the pond. Otherwise you have to stop you and your careening sled before you whoosh into the pond and freeze to death.

5) Tegan, I finished The Handmaid's Tail in 6 hours. grins Sometimes it's nice just to read a book straight through, stopping only for refills on hot beverages. :) I haven't done that in a long time. It's not so nice having to wake up the next morning after going to bed after 3...

6) I like it when I use up the very last bit of hand/body lotion, unscrewing the top and scooping out the last of it with my fingers. Then throwing the empty bottle in the garbage.

7) I discovered that if I want to study, I need a "study spot". I can't concentrate anywhere else.

8) My hands shake when I play the piano for people who are paying attention to me, excluding my family. I love playing the piano, but not for performance.

9) We have an outdoor cat with chopped tail and deformed ear that we affectionately named Stubbs. She's super affectionate and kind of stupid. She sleeps outside on our deck waiting for someone to pet her even when it's raining and snowing, until I suppose she finally gets too cold to stand it anymore and goes to a barn.

10) All of this was so I could procrastinate studying for the GRE, which I now have to go do. It's 7pm and I want to watch a Frank Sinatra - Gene Kelly movie at 8. :) Anybody else like the old Turner Classic Movies (TCM)? I love 'em. grins

The Beige Thundersquirrel is back on the road!

2006-12-08T10:09:00.002-05:00

grins

Yes, it's true. After almost a year and a half of sitting in a barn collecting dust and mouse turds, having its brakes frozen up from rust and the tires deflated from disuse, the Thundersquirrel has officially passed inspection. :) And I am very very happy.