Unexpected Blessings (Part 2)

I got a package! A real, USPS, sent-all-the-way-from-America package from my sweet friend Amelia! I got it a couple days ago and was ridiculously excited. And it made it here in near record time – only a little over a month!

She sent me a collection of poems by Amy Carmichael, who was a missionary to orphans in India. The crazy thing is that I had JUST finished a book on the life of Amy. How cool is that??

Oh, and when I went to check the mail, I didn’t have my key. Instead, I just walked behind the counter and asked the man in the back for the mail for Box #116. He gave it to me without any hesitation. Guess I looked trustworthy.

So anyway, thank you so much Amelia. You made my day!

On Books & Being a Vegetarian (Almost!)

Since this has been a bit of a slow week, I really don’t have all that much to report. Chrissy got diagnosed with malaria today but so far it is a mild case, thankfully. But still, please pray for her!

I’ve had quite a bit of time to read the past few weeks – all books I loved and feel like I benefitted from.

First, I read Spectacular Sins by John Piper. Whoa! It was sooo good. I would highly recommend it! It’s a short read, but very dense and challenging material.

Next was Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges. Once again, excellent. The material isn’t challenging, but personal application definitely is. This book was an instrument of great conviction for me in many areas!

Lastly, I finished Death by Love by Mark Driscoll. I started it a long time ago, but finally got around to finishing it. It’s an excellent resource; lots of research and Scripture are in every chapter.

To completely switch gears, food here has been a big adjustment for me. I’ve been forced to almost be a vegetarian…a definite challenge for me, as I usually eat meat multiple times a day! I actually crave meat here. I have meat about once a week and only at restaurants. It would be possible for me to eat chicken at home, but that would involve purchasing a live chicken and, well, I can’t even empty a mouse trap without freaking out. A chicken’s just probably not going to happen.

I eat lots of eggs, avocados, eggplant, pineapple, and other fresh fruits and veggies! The traditional food is not bad, but it’s not very flavorful either. I mostly prefer to prepare food at home, although there are several restaurants in town that I really enjoy (mainly for the ice cream, but it’s hot here!?).

The rest of this week will continue to be a bit slow. All of the local schools have a big athletics competition on Thursday, so they haven’t been having class all week. Instead they are preparing for the competition, so we are unable to carry on our normal programs with the kids. I’m ready to get back to the more normal schedule (I use the term “normal schedule” very loosely – in Uganda there really is no such thing) with the kids even though this week has helped me catch up on a lot!

Packing (the fun part of it)

An important update: my trip has been pushed back two days due to a couple of minor details. I'm actually really thankful because there's still so much to do! I will now be leaving January 20th at about 5. First stop: London, second stop: Entebbe, Uganda. I should be in Gulu somewhere between the 22nd and the 24th, depending on how long we spend in Kampala (the capital of Uganda) before paying $5 each to ride a bus 6 hours north to Gulu. By "we" I am referring to whoever from "Team Gulu" picks me up and myself.

Other than that, this post really doesn't serve any great purpose other than sharing some of the fun stuff I've gotten (or been given) in preparation for Africa. At this point, I have most of what I need. The only thing lacking is bugspray. I can take three 50-pound bags and am going to pay to take a fourth. Bags three and four are clothes, shoes, balls, books, etc. for the kids: solely ministry-related supplies.

My mom found this really awesome bar soap and shampoo. The soap is citronella soap and is meant to deter the mosquitoes and other bugs. While I'll be smelling like a walking candle for the entire time I'm there, I suppose it's worth it if I don't get malaria! :-) The bar shampoo is a really awesome idea - don't know if it works well, but it saves me a couple pounds in packing, which is really valuable when trying to pack for an extended time.

This nifty gadget is really exciting! All you do is put this in water and the UV light kills all the bacteria, meaning I can drink the tap water after this 60-second treatment. It's highly effective and super convenient.

Sunscreen. Lots of it. I've never worn SPF this high, but I've also never lived in Africa.

Amelia, here's a picture of the colorful skirts - just for you!

Grandma shoes - when you walk everywhere, totally necessary. These are seriously some of the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn. They have excellent support, will dry very quickly, are very breathable, and have velcro - how can you go wrong with velcro??

When you wear velcro shoes and Chacos, live half the time without electricity, and kill your own chickens for dinner, girly polka-dot shoes are necessary. Because cute heals aren't an option.

Without TV, Internet, or consistent electricity, my book-reading time will most definitely increase (assuming that the times without electricity are accompanied by a lantern or candle). I'm really looking forward to all of these. I've never read anything by Elmer or Thrasher, but they both came highly recommended.

My family knows me well. Plus Katie Davis has one too, so I feel way cool!

Dakota doesn't actually get to come with me, but I wanted to include her just because she's way cute. She does cool tricks like brings in the paper; gives high-fives, "pounds," and shakes; and places the ball into your hand rather than at your feet if you say "I can't reach it!" I'll have a dog in Gulu too, but there's no way he'll compare!

That's all I have for now, but I continue to feel your prayers! The Lord's provision on this trip has been overwhelming. I'm amazed daily by His undeserved grace.

Keepin' it Real

It has been brought to my attention several times in the last month that I never get upset and I never "lose my cool." The truth would actually be that I just don't show when I'm upset. The people that know me well can testify to this.

So...lest anyone think that I have it all together, let me tell you some of the other stories about how my first week with kids went.

Monday was rough. Really rough. I left work Monday extremely discouraged and wondering how in the world I would ever survive an entire summer working with middle-schoolers each day. Before Monday, I honestly thought I was prepared. I have worked with middle school kids extensively and typically build rapport with them quickly. However, what I failed to think about was the fact that I have never had to be in an authoritative role. I am always in the role of friend, with the purpose of building relationships, and therefore don't have to give a whole lot of direction. Very different than being in more of a teacher role.

Part of my job this summer is teaching academics. I was assigned reading and so I spend three 45 minute rotations twice a week working on vocabulary and reading. I had chosen Prince Caspian as the book and was very prepared for my lesson. However, the kids got there and reported that they had already read the book in school and had no interest in reading it again. Then two kids absolutely refused to read. And when I say refused to read, I mean they told me "no." Of course, I was stressed out, didn't know how to handle the complete disregard for authority, and became quite flustered. They never did read and I left wondering how I was going to survive the summer.

Things got better on Tuesday. We went on a field trip and everyone had a great time. No incidents and all of the kids obeyed very well.

Thursday was the next day for academics. During the week, I reassessed how I wanted to approach reading, keeping in mind that it is summer and learning is not their favorite thing. I even decided to switch books. We are now reading "Forty to Life," a book they started last summer and loved. Great decision. More kids read and best of all, they were engaged in the book. Listening intently even as I read to them and remembering all the details of the story. I was so encouraged! While I am somewhat disappointed that not all the kids will read, I recognize that some kids are not going to be comfortable with that and I still think there's value in me reading to them (most of the kids still read Thursday).

So, I am still a little unsure about how everything will work out, but I am very encouraged and looking forward to the challenge the middle-schoolers bring to life!

So much craziness!

The past month has been absolutely insane!! I graduated, started an internship, moved, and applied for several jobs. Ahhh!

Let's start with graduation. Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Gran-gran all came up. Mom and Dad got here last Tuesday for graduation on Wednesday. We went to Stefano's (definitely the best pizza in Knoxville) to watch some of the Mavs game after they got here. It was fun and they enjoyed getting to see the strip on Cinco de Mayo! My graduation ceremony was really nice. Very surreal. It honestly is unbelievable to me that it has been four years since I finished high school. It has FLOWN by!! We went to Olive Garden afterward to celebrate.


We graduated!! Me and one of my good friends, Hannah.


With the parents.

And the grandparents.

We hung out on Thursday, moved some, and went to dinner before Dad had to head home. Friday we went to the Appalachian museum and Saturday we had lunch with Diana, went shopping, went to the Chocolate Factory, and viewed Knoxville from the Sunsphere. I was sad to see everyone go, but I'm so thankful they had the opporunity to come up. Hopefully they'll be able to visit again with the rest of the fam or I can go home for a weekend. Conner is definitely coming for a visit at some point, and I can't wait to see him!

I started an internship at JustLead, an urban youth ministry in Knoxville. I will be an AmeriCorps member there as well as a volunteer. I have to complete 510 hours by August, so I will be working insane hours, but I absolutely love is so far. It is such a blessing to be able to work with other Christians each day and get to share Jesus with kids. I feel like I'll be in a great position to really impact these kids' lives and I am praying that I take advantage of my time with them and that I have opportunities for great spiritual conversations with them!

Anne and I moved in with our friend Carli and her dog, Darcy, for the summer. We still have a bunch of boxes to unpack and nowhere to put all of our stuff, but I think we'll have a fun summer here. Darcy was kind enough to help wake Anne up this morning and is currently snoozing next to me. She will be ridiculously spoiled by the end of the summer, I'm sure.

Still looking for opportunities in Eastern Europe. Praying about it and trusting that the right doors will be opened and the wrong ones closed. The waiting game is something I'm horrible at, but this has been an excellent lesson in patience and waiting on the Lord. However, I still catch myself praying almost daily for Him to hurry and reveal His plan for the next year....I think I still have a long way to go on the whole patience thing!

And just so I don't end on a dull note, here's a super-cute picture of Anne, dressed as a flower for YOKE camp. :-)


P.S. I got some awesome deals on books from McKay's recently: Don't Waste Your Life, Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die, The Pursuit of Holiness, and Crazy Love. I'm way excited to read them all. I started Crazy Love and The Pursuit of Holiness is up next. Can't wait!

April Fools!

These last few weeks have been insane. I have been incredibly busy, but I feel like it has been a busyness with more substantial things. I've been reading a LOT. . . mainly my Bible, Passion and Purity, and Martin Luther's commentary on Galatians. I have loved Luther's commentary. It has given me great insight into Galatians! I haven't loved P&P as much as I expected. It comes highly recommended, but I didn't think it quite lived up to the hype. Good, but not awesome. I just bought a C.S. Lewis book with a collection of seven books on spirituality. . . Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Abolition of Man, The Great Divorce, The Problem of Pain, Miracles, and A Grief Observed. I won't have a chance to start those until next week, but I'm looking forward to it. I also got Crazy Love by Francis Chan and More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell.

Today I watched the complete "Does Satan Exist" debate and it was great! I thought that it was very representative of spirituality in America today. It makes me really sad, but I thought that those in defense of Jesus were very powerful. I would highly recommend watching it! It's pretty long, but very worth it.

I went to lunch with Ann from my office today and really enjoyed spending time with her. She has been a great encouragement in my life, and it has been nice to have an older Christian woman to pour into my life.


So, for April Fool's Day, I decided to send my roommates an eviction notice. Since our apartments already despise us, it wasn't really that hard to make it believable. Here is what the letter said:

Dear Apartment Residents,

This is an official notice of eviction, effective two weeks from today, April 15, 2009. Your compliance is appreciated. The following reasons are given for this notice:

1. Failure to pay full rent each month (Reference previous documents received).

2. Disregard of noise complaints filed by other Country Oaks residents (Reference previous documents left at your residence).

3. General hostility toward office staff.

Please note that failure to vacate by the above date will result in legal action. The Sheriff’s Department has been notified of the pending eviction and will be on hand April 15 to ensure that appropriate actions have been taken.

Thank you for your cooperation. If you have questions, please contact the attorney listed on our website. Any attempts to contact office staff will be viewed as threatening and hostile and will be dealt with accordingly.

Sincerely,

Management Staff

It worked beautifully and was hilarious! I would highly recommend evicting your roommates as an excellent April Fools joke.


That's all for now. I'm looking forward to Easter and the celebration of Jesus' gift of salvation.