My early birthday presents

As its been awhile since I've written anything, what's really on my mind is this turning point, I've felt, since a week and a half trip up to my grandparents. Maybe its because I'm getting older or who really knows what, but as I get more hands off with what I want as gifts from family and friends, the last few days have been a special reminder to me of the gift of time and the value each person carries of who they are. Saturday and last Thursday, were two days that I got to slow down and really enjoy the gifts God has given me that come without any cost. One of my favorite things of summertime is seeing people who I don't usually get to see and the spontaneity that summer can bring. Thursday, besides being awesomely productive in the morning, I was able to reconnect with two of my neighbor friends who I'd grown up with shooting baskets, talking about flashlight tag and then amidst all the fun and excitement of catching up outside, we'd realized that the dog had run away, so the next few minutes was an adventure of trying to find their dog, much to our relief she was found within the next 10 minutes or so. "The chaos doesn't end 'til the chaos is over!" Exclaimed one of our close friends this past Saturday, as we all sat around after getting our hands messy with the yummy goodness of a shrimp boil, the blessing of prayer for those moving on and putting our feet up to speak out good memories and laugh together. As I was telling a friend yesterday, I actually feel like this birthday, will make me feel older. I'm no longer a teenager and I am ready for my 20's! As I get even more hands off with the costly things and cling more tightly to those who I can see only rare and far between, I'm realizing that the greatest gift for me right now is the gift of time that others give. The new memories we can make together and the importance of living a good story. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty excited to feel spoiled, blessed and eat too much cake, but more than anything this past year has taught me how valuable people really are. The importance of being hands off comes with a greater desire to hug, build up and love on those who truly love you back. Cheers to another year of, clinging to my loved ones, being hands off of the costly things and holding more tightly to that which is free and laughing without fear of the future. 

Maybe I'm just Getting Used to It

Four steps of culture shock are something that travelers, missionaries and anybody can go through when they return from a big event in their lives. Yesterday, as many of you have seen liked and commented on the picture that announces my college acceptance, I found myself repeating this phrase at least four times during dinner it went something like this, "Maybe I'm just getting used to it..." When your transitioning, returning, entering into a new chapter or all of the above, there is a lot to readjust to. I'd like to list off four stages of culture shock, they can happen both when your in another country and when you are returning:
1. Honeymoon-can last the whole trip, enjoying it
2. Hate it, everything
3. Everything's funny
4. Everything's normal-like being home.
I think I've finally made it to number four, since being back, but I've gone through all 4, both at home as well as on the field. After reading a missionary's blog titled, "Rocky Re-entry," I loved a post she wrote regarding the gift of time. I found what I'd been missing this season. It comes down to one word. Gratitude. So simple, so easy, so often missed. Time is precious, time is a gift and is the most valuable lesson I've learned. Thanking God for every moment, thanking Him for the time I got to go to the country of my dreams, thanking Him that I've been accepted to college and thanking Him on the days where I ache for my friends on the West Coast. I don't remember which team leader on my last trip asked this question, but as I look back on my notes from one of our team meetings it hits me, "What is God already doing, that hasn't been done?" *Focus on Lordship, Jesus is the only Lord. Duh, right? Not so duh, when you are in another country that keeps idols all over their homes right next to a picture of Jesus. When your excited about going to an Arts and Crafts store, literally titled that and it ends up being an idol shop. When the lordship of Jesus becomes our focus and we turn our eyes to what work hasn't been completed example, unreached people groups worshiping false idols, co-workers not knowing the love of Jesus or lonely people simply in need of a friend...gratitude for what He's done for us un-clutters what demands our attention. The lyrics of a song ring in my head, as I approach this new day in full gratitude. I might not be walking the dirty streets of Kolkata or in a Bermese refugee village, gratitude is still here and now and there is no turning back for me:

"Christ is enough for me,

Christ is enough for me,

Everything I need is in you,

Everything I need. I have decided to follow Jesus,

No turning back

No turning back..."-Christ is Enough for Me, Hillsong

What a Wonderful World

I've been reflecting a lot about India. My godmother is getting married this weekend and that's another new chapter I can't wait to celebrate with her! When, we were asked to do the music for her wedding, my mom assigned me to sing, "What a Wonderful World." As I stood in my living room, standing by the piano, I closed my eyes during the lyrics of, "I see friends shaking hands singing how do you do..." I couldn't help, but smile and laugh out loud, as I thought of a time back in Kolkata. We were walking around a village, stopping in for house visits and praying over the grounds. A older Indian man came out of his house excited to see us Americans, smiling he talked very quickly all the English he knew at once! "Hello! How are you? Happy Birthday!" It was hilarious and caught all of us by surprise! As I sing this song, in celebration of new chapters in life, I will be closing my eyes and thinking, what a wonderful world it is, all of the different people I've seen and the different ways they say how do you do! Yes, there is heartache and earthquakes, as well as those of us who have lost loved ones close to us, I don't think our loved ones, would want us living everyday in despair, at the days to come, yet it is crucially important to grieve for them. However, in honor of those who I've lost and the countries I long to be in, I will raise my glass in a toast, to the wonderful world it is! Let's not waste a minute in all that we have to celebrate! Its true, each new chapter, carries it own hardships, challenges, but let's not forget about its new laughs!

"She is clothed with strength and dignity and laughs at the days to come." -Proverbs 31:25, this is my prayer for all of you, whether male or female, whether you are going through a transition or not. May you never lose the gift of laughter and raise your glass in a toast with me, as together, let's close our eyes and reflect on the wonderful world it is. 

Embracing the Chaos 101

Chaos=complete disorder and confusion. 

I'd like to give you a couple of scenarios that have happened to me as I've been in a in the meantime season. As many of you know, I have been preparing for the ACT test. I never took it my senior year, because besides being in full track season, I was also support raising and getting a job. So, back to the here and now. Everyday has been going back to the basics of broadening the horizons of my mind. Do you ever have those moments where you just need to freak out about something big that's going to happen and then after you freak out you feel a lot better? That's how I was yesterday on the way to the class I was taking to prepare for my ACT. I had crammed in all my English and Reading homework that afternoon thinking those were the two subjects I'd be covering that day. I arrived, breathing a bit better and ready to save the world. I sat with my math and reading teacher I confidently explained to him how well I had done with my English and Reading homework, because today is english and reading, right? Nope, he says. However, instead of covering the two pages of math homework that I hadn't done yet, we ended up covering Science, English and Reading. I'm so thankful and blessed by these teachers I've had and gotten to laugh with, while re-learning Math with. I'd never been so happy in my life to be told to just focus on my Math homework!

Second scenario, I am at work at Kids Stuff, at the YMCA. Its crazy in there. We have anywhere from about 15 kids at a time to 30 something. My favorite part of the shift, is when a child will ask me to read to him or her and then I have about 10 or more crowding around me trying to get a glimpse of the story I am telling. Although the room is loud and kids will sometimes walk around with their fingers in their ears because they can't stand the noise, its my pleasure to open up my arms and hold them on my lap reassuring them that this too will pass and how can I best take care of them and help them have the most fun in the meantime? I think this is a great picture of God's heart for us. When we are in the meantime and either having to embrace days of chaos with 4 hrs of study and 3 hours on the job. Will we embrace it and let the God of all comfort hold us and let Him take care of us? I love the picture of God holding me in His lap, because that is how I love to comfort the kids I am put in charge of. I heard this quote during my lecture phase of staffing a DTS, that I will never forget I hope you find comfort in this as you hear about how much God the Father longs to hold you: 

"He knows you by the perspective that you are the only one on earth. Your glowing and you don't even know it. Stop being so hard on yourself and be more curious about the Father."-Kenny Peavy, Holy Spirit. 

Hope for the Future/Missing my Homelands

Today, I write this wearing my Irish sweater and punjami top, missing all my countries and places, that have become like second and third homes in my heart. This morning, I told God, "I miss India!" My time with God helped sooth my soul, but I had to move on drive to work and get started on my shift. What happened next, brought me back to one of my favorite places in the world.  I entered into the YMCA, where I work at Kids Stuff, and as I opened up the door, headed upstairs, I was surprised to see that all the lights were off in the building. Everyone in the facility, had gathered down in the lobby and it wasn't until I made it upstairs, that I found out what happened. The power had stopped working! As parents were gathered upstairs, picking up their kids and having to leave,  God had brought India to me! You see, in India they have power outages all the time! We had them almost every other day in both places we lived! Then, I had to wait for an hour to see if the power would go back on and I would be able to finish my two hours, I had left to work. I was back on IST, (Indian Stretchable Time). The time I had gathered there, at the YMCA, waiting, connecting with other co-workers and being able to finish my two extra hours, brought me the joy I needed. To make me feel at home and to get a little taste back of India in my heart. 

There is a hope for my future, for yours...as I enter back into what may appear to be a more ordinary way of life, I am learning that ministry can happen right where your at and it doesn't have to be a scheduled event. God's reminded me to love the person in front of me right where I'm at and to not take these little things for granted. As I enter back into part time jobs, getting ready to head back to school, I'm snapping back into slowly, but surely, the everyday life of what I did back in India, all over Asia, and the West Coast. That was simply loving people. It was worth the effort for me today to get out of my house get all the snow off my car and drive up to work. Look at the story I get to tell you about now! When people ask me what my ministry is now, or what I am doing in the meantime, I tell them, my focus is loving people and listening to them. These are my hopes for the future. I have many, goals, dreams, passions and plans, but right now I am simply loving the person in front of me right where they are at. I did it for two months in India with a whole different culture, and that is exactly what I am doing now. I'm loving the person in front of me at my work, my family and friends, the college I'm going to, and every moment in between. When we take the time to listen to someone its exciting to discover something new, that you could've never known before, I often find that, when I take the time to listen and love the person right in front of me, the person in front of me, is much more often, more than willing to take the time to listen to me in return:)

Unspeakable Joy

I'm thinking about Kolkata a lot more than I ever thought I would. I'll never forget having to spend 20-30 minutes on the phone ordering wraps, because the only restaurant we all loved we were either tired of going to over and over again or it was closed, or the pollution and dust that could make you cough at any given moment also made it difficult to breathe. I talked to a lot of people before leaving, about how excited I was to get to work in the slums in Kolkata, like Mother Teresa. The reason why I bring up the conditions we were living under, is to try to make you understand the joy God gave me to help cope through what could have stirred up frustrations with the things we so often take for granted, like where we get our meals from, or even just breathing fresh air! One time, I was having a really hard day, for those of you who have talked to me already, you may know that most of the time, I was in India I was sick. I had a consistent cold and the pollution wasn't helping. On this day, that I was struggling, with anything from a runny nose to a cough or exhaustion, we had to wait up to an hour for our contact to show up because he got stuck in traffic. While we waited we all got some chai and sat in front of our favorite restaurant that was closed, trying to decide what to do. What if our contact didn't show up? Did we go into our restaurant for lunch and try to do ministry with our waiters, or go back to our base and prayer walk? Another half hour or so went by and as we finished our chai a short Indian man riding a motorcycle, drove right up to us! Introducing himself as our contact, he helped us all get into different taxi's and we followed him to a slum school, where we would be helping kids with their school work. By then, I was still frustrated with my physical conditions, but endured the taxi ride. What I was about to encounter was the joy of the Lord as my strength. I stepped out of the taxi with two friends, by the way our taxi drive almost got us lost on the way there, but knowing by now, God really wanted us at this slum school, we headed in as the last 3 to show up. I will never get how tiny this school was, the different ages, differences in learning skills and the big smiles that greeted us as we walked in. Guess what we got to do? Teach English! Something I had done for two weeks in Thailand, last February, not my favorite ministry tool, but by now I've gotten over that, knowing God has me in different countries for big reasons like teaching English. As we sat down and partnered up with a student, I immediately felt a connection with an older girl in her mid teens, clearly feeling out of place with all these small children, who were just learning the alphabet. What can I teach her? I thought, as we looked each other in the eye, I smiled introduced myself and getting out her pencil and paper, I decided that we weren't going to be learning from the school books today. Today, I would teach her how to sing about joy. Most of you should be familiar with the song, "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart, where? Down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart to stay!" It was chaos in the classroom, but my favorite kind of chaos. The giggles, singing and everyone grabbing at once for the erasers to erase their mistakes and try again. Meanwhile, I was over in the corner, with my new friend, literally, writing out the love of Jesus down in her heart. I didn't know if she was a Christian or not, but because she clearly knew the lesson plans that the rest of the kids were doing, I was up for the challenge of teaching her something new. 

What really got to me was at the end when she had learned the song and the slum children wanted to sing for us in Hindi. Then we sang for them in English. After they were done singing in Hindi as well as singing one song in English, we sang in English, "I've got the joy, joy, joy...." seeing her know the song as we all proclaimed it in the slum school, I felt the strength of the Lord rising in my bones to smile and look her in the eye knowing the barriers I had got to break today. This is the joy of the Lord I am talking about. The unspeakable joy that isn't always super giddy and excited all the time, this is the joy that keeps us going despite our physical condition or where God may decide to plant us for three weeks, that rock our worlds beyond our wildest comprehensions. I walked out of that slum school a different person. Forgetting about the runny nose, cough, lack of sleep and my own hunger, I embraced the girl who I got to sing with and walked away with my rest of the team, back to the taxi's, ready for whatever wild ride God wanted to take on next.

Take a Moment

This morning I woke up, for some reason, as I was lying in bed and I got up to make myself breakfast all I could think about, was how much I wanted to write. Sitting at my kitchen table, sipping my coffee, I am reminded quite vividly of a time in Kolkata, India, worshiping on a rooftop with another YWAM team, from Perth, Australia. I woke up with this image in my head. Two teams from two different countries getting together to worship over one nation. Kolkata, is crazy, unlike anywhere I can begin to describe of where I have traveled before. What keeps hitting me about this situation, of our two teams worshiping on the roof was the lyrics to the song we were singing, "Take a Moment," the lyrics that keep hitting me as I remember raising my hand and proclaiming this over the city were, "Take a moment to remember, who God is and who I am. There you go lifting my load again. Your lifting my load. Your lifting my load. Your lifting my load. Your lifting my load. His yoke is easy, His burden is so light."

As I lay awake in bed this morning, all I could think about was, "If God can use two teams to come together in worship, from two different sides of the world, and sing a song about God taking our burdens, can't I believe that here in America, He can easily lift my own load too?" Why is it so easy to proclaim this over a city, but sometimes more difficult to believe in the day to day schedules? Its what I choose to believe. That He can lift my load of studying, cleaning the house for people to come and setting up meetings to go back to work. If He can easily lift an entire load of a nation because He is God, than why is it we try to carry these burdens of daily living by ourselves?  Today, I choose to let God lift my burdens instead of trying to carry them all on my own. If He so longs to lift the load of an entire nation, imagine how joyful it makes Him for one person to step out in faith to believe He can carry their load. 

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." -Mathew 11:28, The Message.