God's goodness through a medley of experiences!

What a mixture of experiences this past week has brought! And I must first thank you all for your prayers as I traveled to Bungomo district, Western province last weekend.

My friend, Ruth, and I left on Thursday, taking a 9-hour bumpy bus ride (and when I say bumpy, I mean, throwing you around the seat row, causing you to involuntarily jump up and down every couple minutes kind of bumpy!) to her home district. Her mother and 6 siblings and uncle and neighbors gave me a royal welcome. It was dark by the time we arrived, but we ate and sang by kerosene lamp.

Her village is called Napara. Grass roof huts are scattered across the farm fields - maize, tomatoes, cassava, and sunflowers everywhere and such friendly, welcoming people. There definitely were no other muzungus in sight!

I had the opportunity to attend a wedding in Malaba (near the Ugandan border), where I met a Rwandan pastor that Ted and I may meet up with in Kigali. I rode on motorcycles (as a passenger, not a driver!), bicycle taxis, and even milked a cow.

Ruth's family was so generous. Her mother is such a strong, God-fearing woman. Maktilda is her name, and she ensured that we got home safely on the night bus, by her persistent prayers and by helping us onto the motor-taxi.

That evening alone was a string of answered prayers! We had a tricky time getting to the bus stage in Bungomo, and we really believed we had missed the only shuttle back - but God had one waiting right there for us; and the fare was cheaper than ever, and Ruth's pastor had even sent a friend to make sure we got on the bus safely! Oh, it was so good.

And now, I am in my last 2 days of being in Kenya. Wow This time has been so rich. It has gone by much faster than I anticipated. Ted has now arrived (sweeet). It is great, and so different to have a familiar face around consistently! I am so thankful for his safe arrival, and for the great 3 days we've had so far, visiting his peace corps friend from Davis, Rachel, visiting the Somalian refugee neighborhood in Nairobi (it really felt like we had traveled out of country!), and exploring new parts of Kibera and it's bordering posh neighborhoods.

The second phase of my time in Africa has officially begun! I thank God, and am thankful for you all too! :)

Much love,
Katharine

* The Sierra Leone Servant Team is approaching as well ... I am excited, and keeping certain issues in prayer, such as Visa applications, etc. I am anxious to share more of what I'm learning about our team's mission and goal there. I just finished reading "Blood Diamonds" for our pre-trip assignments, and I highly recommend it, for a picture of the horrific civil war and what caused it in Sierra Leone.
* I'll write again soon; g'night to you all!
(picture: me and my friend Ruth)

chattin' with god

Thank you all for wanting to know what's going on in my life here, and for praying for me. I would appreciate your prayers in the following ways:

* I am traveling to a village in Western province tomorrow. I will be on the road for 8 hours with my friend Ruth. It is her home that I will be visiting for a couple days. Please pray for safety, and that I will return to Nairobi BY Sunday evening!

* For Ted's safe arrival in Nairobi on Wed, 12/19/07 at 4:00 am. We will have 5 days in Kenya before taking a long bus ride to Kampala on Christmas Eve.

* Support-raising, Sierra Leone. My deadlines are coming up fast. I have just raised 49.63% for financial support.

* Visa issues, Sierra Leone. The saga continues ... if my team doesn't raise sufficient funds soon, our plane tickets won't be purchased until January, at which point it will be too late for my parents to apply for a SL Visa in the States. This means I will need to pay an additional $250 to get an in-country visa. Please pray that God will continue guiding the visa process until it is secured.

Thank you all - also, Praise God for the friends He has given me here, and for His protection of me and His great love.

a little bit of me

I simply cannot write. There is much to express, but I cannot do it. Maybe after having the regular company of Ted (who arrives in just 8 days!) I will have experience at expressing myself again and be able to better share with you all. In many ways, this is like my road trip. I am so disconnected from everything familiar, a lot of my false securities are stripped away, and here I am. It's just me, with no fancy masks or decorations. I haven't even been writing in my personal journal much.

kajiado: a breath of fresh air (literally!)

Last Sunday, I hopped on a psuedo matatu and headed south of Nairobi to Maasai land, just a few kilometres north of Tanzania!

I stayed at Kajiado Children's Home for five nights. This was my first out-of-Nairobi experience, and it was a culture shock indeed! The pace of life - much slower; the car exhaust and air pollution - there isn't any!

Eighty-five children live at Kajiado Children's Home, a project begun by British and American donors ten years ago. The kids range in age from 5 to 18. A few have now left the Home for college and university.

From the moment I arrived, I sensed this was going to be a very different experience for me. A children's home is a far cry from a Compassion project, where the children visit on the weekends but then live with their families or relatives. The Home, on the other hand, replaces the family unit. Each child there has eighty-four siblings, and they all do chores, pick fights with each other and also look after one another, just like kids in a natural family.

I wasn't sure what I was going to do while there, but I also realized that the point of the week wasn't necessarily to do. No, what I needed was to slow down, pray more, and try being a part of this Kajiado family however I could. So, I met many of the children, played games with them, learned how to do laundry from them, cleaned and ate with them, and did a bit of exploring in town and the surrounding acacia forests.

Thankfully there were also tangible ways I could contribute. I became a personal secretary of sorts to the project managerfor the week. A donor from England visited the project during my first two days there. He brought excel spreadsheets that the project manager would need to start using, in order to beef up accountability and detail exactly how all donor money was being spent. The manager isn't too computer literate, so I was able to create and fill in many of the forms for him.

I loved the kids and teenagers I met at Kajiado. They clearly had come from difficult places, and many are currently struggling with being teenagers on top of that. Agnes, Sylvia, Eunice, Grace, Jedidah, Mary - all girls that I will not forget. If you're reading this now, perhaps you can pray for them, and the Kajiado family as a whole. This is a Christian home, but many of the teenagers there need to know that the Gospel is personally for them. Meeting with the British donor also gave me some insights into the specific challengers of running a home like this.

The little kids, like kids anywhere, were so full of energy and just loved any bit of attention given to them. They also were fascinated by my white skin. Even by the end of the week, a few of the kids would still shout "WOOOOWW!" whenever I walked into the room. One morning, I had eight of them crowding around the outdoor sink to watch me brush my teeth! They often had me laughing. :)

By the time the week ended, I was starting to grow accustomed to the slow pace of life in Kajiado. Thankfully, some of the calmness and quietness of that place stayed with me as I re-entered the bustling capitol.

(By the way, I cannot overstate how closely God has been protecting and providing for me. Even on the way back from Kajiado - he used a kind Muslim woman to both save me from getting cheated out of a lot of money and from being stranded in a bad part of town. She walked with me for 40 minutes once we reached Nairobi until she got me to where I needed to go!)

(Picture: here's me at Kajiado with some of the kids. These were the real characters. Asha, Elizabeth, Helen and Esther... And you'll have to excuse my scruffy experience. Though it did feel nice to rough it for a week! A new experience for me was "showering" with just a bucket of water.)

World Aids Day - Dec 1st 2007

Today I had the joy of returning to Waithaka, Compassion project KE 370 for World Aids Day ceremonies. Children and families from four surrounding child development centres joined the Waithaka project for a commemorative walk and a day full of song, dance, acrobatics and testimonies at the church. After my week in Kajiado, visiting Jipe Moyo one last time was like a family reunion. I saw all the staff again, as well as many of the Waithaka project students. I also was so excited to get to perform a poem recitation with six of the Compassion teenagers. We had been memorizing a poem called “CRUEL AIDS” for a week or two prior to this day, and it was great to recite it with them, with Kenyan accents and all! :)

A really sweet 19-year-old girl who is HIV+ shared a bit of her story in front of the whole church; this was a room packed with about four hundred people. She did a Q & A session with the teens. A mother of one of the Compassion students also shared her story, revealing to the public for the first time that she has AIDS. A lot of prayer and consideration went into deciding whether or not this woman should share, as she would be irreversibly exposing herself to the social stigma that openly HIV+ people face. In the end, this courageous woman decided to share, focusing on the long-term impact her testimony may have by eroding the stigma associated with AIDS and increasing people’s concern and compassion for those affected.

It was a rainy, muddy, wonderful day. I am going to miss my good friends here in Waithaka.

connecting with Compassion

What a joyful, wonderful week! From Saturday, the 17th to Saturday the 24th, I had the real treat of shadowing the staff at a Compassion International project in Waithaka, a “suburb” of Nairobi (and when I use the word “suburb,” don’t picture anything like the suburbs in America).

The project, Jipe Moyo (Take Heart, in swahili) is located at a church in Waithaka and hosts 313 children through their programs. Through the week, I was exposed to the real nitty-gritty inner-workings of a Compassion child development centre. The four-person staff really took me in as one of their own and gladly introduced me to the multi-faceted field work of Compassion.

I first visited the project on a Saturday, when all the children came from 8am -5pm. I sat in on their worship and devotions, and part of their health lessons. I was allowed to take several of the update photos that are going to be sent to the children’s sponsors and briefly meet the teenager’s class.

Each morning was a one hour journey to reach Waithaka. A 20-minute walk to my bus stage, where I catch a matatu to Nakumatt. There, I head south on a different matatu, all the way to Waithaka. On Monday and Friday, the staff does morning devotions, which were very special to share in. Wednesday and Thursday gave me to opportunity to do ten home visits. Among the most notable was a home way up in the green farm fields where the sponsored child had just undergone tonsil surgery. His is happy and fully-recovered. Compassion covers full medical expenses for their sponsored children.

Another home visit was to a boy that recently lost his mother, leaving him an orphan. He now lives with his grandparents, in a small room with no adequate lighting or study space. He is 16 years old, and the project health worker took me on this visit to assess how they can best help this boy in his current situation. The last home belonged to a widower who has six children. His wife died suddenly eight years earlier, while he was doing night shift at his job. He has no job now, and struggles to earn money to support his family, which now includes four grandchildren. The father just graduated this weekend from a cookery class at the Compassion project. He now knows how to make multi-purpose soap, juice, shampoo and cakes, and he believes this will be a great asset to him as he tries to provide for his family. The health worker came here to look at the family’s garden and water supply, so that he can assist them in efficient farming which will hopefully give them surplus to sell.

Compassion offers a variety of courses for the sponsored children’s parents, including: sewing, cookery and beading and assistance in starting their own businesses.

I also went with the social worker to purchase some children’s birthday gifts, and sat in on a women’s HIV support group. I took a bookkeeping lesson from the project accountant and an overview of the health programs from the health worker there. And throughout the week I met many children and parents. It’s awesome how excited kids can be about meeting a muzungu. On Saturday, the last day of my involvement at the project, I briefly addressed an assembly of all the Compassion parents on the issue of sponsorship. And after that I rehearsed a poem with the teenagers – a poem we will present on World Aids Day next weekend, December 1st. Five Compassion projects are gathering at Jipe Moyo for a full day of events, and I am happy to have one last chance to see my Compassion friends!

I also met a British neighbor in Lisa’s apartment complex. We’ve enjoyed dinner and tea together three times, and she even gave me a lift to my bus stage a couple mornings. And now, the depressing news of the week … on Friday, while shopping for the birthday gifts at the Kawangware market, my digital camera was stolen out of my backpack. I took wonderful pictures this week that I was excited to use both to tell my stories and to further promote Compassion’s work (as well as the ministries at the Word Fellowship Centre) – but they’re all gone, never to be seen! I was, and still am, truly upset about that. Maybe the only plus about this experience is that it made me put my guard up again. It served as a reminder that this is not a safe city, and I need to be smart and aware of that.

But to end on a better note - I really learned a lot this past week. I am now in Kajiado - a town near the Tanzania border in Masai land, at a children's home. I hopped in a volvo/taxi and came down here yesterday. This is a definite change of pace from Nairobi, and I think it'll take some adjusting to get used to it. More coming soon!

... new experiences ...

* On Sunday I walked an hour and a half to Word Fellowship Centre in Kibera, in gum boots! Gum boots are what we call rain boots, and they are essential here as the mud is sooo sloppy and sticky after rain. However, it was not raining that morning. It's usually muddy in Kibera anyways, so that's why I wore them ... however, I will not do that again.

(Oh, and the reason I walked ... I didn't have any change for a matatu!)

* I love Kenyan food. I haven't had so much as a stomach ache since I've been here. I even feel better than I usually do in the States because of all the fresh vegetables (and perhaps lack of dairy and lots of meat) in the Kenyan diet. YUM. I honestly never knew veggies could be so delicious.

* My favorite swahili word = skumaweekee. It is this spinach-like plant that is super popular and was grown all over Waithaka.

* I learned my first day here that "kiswahili" is simply the word for swahili in kiswahili! Ok, I know I'm not the only one that was ignorant of this, because I asked many of you if you knew the difference between the two before I left! ;)

* Taking a shower/bath with just a bucket of water is kinda fun! Well, at least when the climate, and bucket of water, is warm. Some of you that did the slums track at Urbana may have had a more rustic experience.

* I am called muzungu wherever I go – usually by little children. On my way to the Kibera church on Sunday morning, 5 children literally flew out of their home and ran towards the street, jumping up and down and exclaiming, “Muzungu! Muzungu!” Very cute! haha. I'm glad I can add something interesting to their day without actually doing anything spectacular. :)

computer training program: kibera

Kibera, as I've mentioned before, is home to one million people - Kenyans from all over the country, seeking work and the sustenance that their home villages could no longer provide. Each day this week - after learning how to hop on and off the wild and dingy matatus - an escort from Word Fellowship Centre would meet me at Nakumatt Prestige, the shopping center near an entrance to Kibera.

It would never be wise for a muzungu like myself to venture into Kibera (or particularly Mathare - a smaller, yet reputably more dangerous slum in East Nairobi) alone. Besides, I would never know the way to Word Fellowship Centre without an escort, the windy dirty alleyways in Kibera are tricky to navigate!

This week, my days were filled with bright, new encounters. I taught some basics of Microsoft Word to a handful of students at Word Fellowship Centre's one-year-old computer training program. The church has five, pretty ancient computers tucked into a small room, with one small window, and a small glowing lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. It's a bit dim, and hot, as the metal roofs in Kibera soak in all the sunshine and start to cook the people inside!

Here I met Vincent, Wycliffe, Richard, Ruth, Peter and Daniel. Richard was my first student - a man of 28 years or so who is eager to learn all about computers in order to secure a steady job. He was most excited to change fonts, toy with different alignments, and splash his document with an exciting variety of colors. For his first practice document, he wrote something like this: (keep in mind that English is his third language)
"Katharine from U.S. has met Richard from Nairobi. They are currently enjoying Microsoft Word. Thereafter, they will go on a picnic. In the evening, Katharine and Richard will attend a prayer meeting with the pastor and bishop. Katharine will be asked to introduce herself, and she will comply."
Then I met Vincent. Vincent is 21 years old. He is a super bright boy who hails from a town nearly 8 hours away, close to Kisumu. Vincent goes to church every day of the week, whether for youth group or drama club or prayer meetings. His love for God shines through. When I asked Vincent where he would choose to live - anywhere else besides the slums of Kibera - his reply was this, "I dream of going back to my home village and bringing the word of God to them, to especially the youth there. We may have a hard time here in Kibera, but at least we know Jesus here. People in my home village don't know Jesus like we do here in Kibera." His village is poor, and ministering there for life would bring him no money, no renown, but Vincent's heart is truly burdened for the youth near Kisumu. WOW. His parent's are not believers, and so they do not know of his deep passions to be in full-time ministry. He knows they would not approve of his desire to study theology at university, but I can't help wondering if their minds would change, were he to receive a scholarship from some theological institution either in Kenya or the U.S. His faith would also bless whichever Christian university accepted him.

Wycliffe had never used a keyboard before. The space bar, return key and delete button were all fascinating and sometimes discouraging frontiers for him. I think he enjoyed the opportunity to type whatever he wished on a fresh Word document. Here is what he wrote:
"I like worshipping God. My father is Karoli Shivachi and he is a small scale farmer. How can a young man make his way pure? It is by doing according to the word of God. During my free time I like visiting the sick also helping my grandmother do her work.

Daniel is the computer teacher for the several boys here. He was my escort most days from Nakumatt to the interior of the slums. And Ruth is a college student who attends Word Fellowship Centre. She embraced me as a friend from the first time we met. She also lives in Kibera and is so grounded. Like all the students I've met here, their raw, firm faith in God and Jesus Christ astounds me and teaches me too about God's unshakeable faithfulness.

The words with which Richard ended his practice document are true: ”Katharine was amazed at the strong faith of those in Kibera, despite their small amount of resources.”

Karibu Kenya!

I ... am ... in ... Africa!! Can you believe it? I can't quite. I've been here for almost a week now, but it still doesn't sink in all the time. I stepped onto Africa soil just last Thursday morning, received a taxi ride from a funny man named Paul, and was welcomed to apartment 16 at Kolobot Gardens by Virginia, Lisa and her three-year-old daughter Bella.

Lisa lives in a lovely, green part of Nairobi, just down the street from the President's residence. We are also just up the street from University of Nairobi and the YMCA (which has good internet service, yay!)

It's only been 6 days, but I want to share with you what those days have contained. I have done a lot of walking ... :)

After that first Thursday of rest and a walk in the nearby Arboretum (just like Davis!) I visited a home for abandoned babies in Nairobi called New Life Charity Trust. The home houses about 45 babies at the moment, and most of them are taken for adoption - praise the Lord! Many of the babies enter the home severely malnourished or abused, some in need of surgery. Several are also HIV+. They have round the clock caretakers that look after the children, but they take drop-in volunteers all the time to hold and feed the infants and play with the toddlers out on the lawn. They are SO precious and beautiful. It's amazing to hold them and know that God's hand is working in their lives and, I pray, preparing a promising future for them.

I also visited Lisa's work at the Save the Children South Sudan office. Lisa actually works for S.T.C. USA, but uses the South Sudan division's office space.

The weekend was great, visiting Lisa's church called Mamlaka Hill Chapel, which is part of Nairobi Chapel. What's neat about this, is that the original pastor of Nairobi Chapel (Pastor Oscar) gave one of the most striking addresses at Urbana 2007 - one of those speeches that no one in the audience likely forgot! Church was amazingly good - super inspiring and uplifting worship and a teaching that I really needed to hear. I went back to New Life after church.

And this week I have had the pleasure of meeting Pastor Josphat, a man who works at Nairobi Chapel and has planted a church of his own in the Kibera slums. Yesterday and today I visited the Kibera church, which is called Word Fellowship Centre. They have asked my help in organizing a plan for them to fund raise for a new building. It would be difficult to describe the current building to you here. It is typical of all housing in Kibera ... mud and plaster walls, metal roofing, no real wiring, but they have one luxory - toilets! And by "toilets" I mean two deep holes in the ground and a bit of toilet paper. Many in Kibera do not have that luxory; they simply relieve themselves on the muddy road.

I could not imagine a filthier place. One million people live in Kibera, which is government-owned land. The largest slum in Africa, the people there are literally living in trash. I have only spent two blocks of time there, so I'm not qualified to say much more - but it is also there that I have met people with the most shining, extraordinary faith. People my age, who declare praises to God and cite scripture in their normal conversation.

Yesterday, a 13-year old girl named Maureen walked up to me in Kibera with a huge smile. She greeted me, and we chatted, and then she proceeded to share her favorite verse, John 3:16 with me. Wow, I was not so strong in my faith at just thirteen.

Now, if I were to unpack all my thought processes thus far in this blog entry, it would surely go on forever, and people might not want to go on reading. Perhaps I will get better at being concise as these entries continue!

I will share that I've had rough moments in the past 6 days. I've struggled with feeling very lonely and insecure and giving in to doubts. Notes from friends back home were super encouraging to me. I'm feeling much better now, but I need to continue to set my eyes on the beauty of God, which is far greater than my own deficiencies. In fact, those do not matter anymore but should draw me closer to Christ.

Prayer requests are as follows:
* For me to feel confident of who I am in Christ - that I would turn to Him alone for strength and affirmation.
* For safety, continued divine appointments, and for friends
* For the babies at New Life - that they would have abundant and hope-filled futures. (Some names are: Dwight, Harrison, Helen, Nakia, David, Kathleen, Andrew)
* That God would give me clarity about my role at the church in Kibera and bless my involvement there.
* That God would do great things during this time in Nairobi.
* For the financial support I need for my Word Made Flesh team to come in

Love you all!

Ph: (254) 726 767 537. I am 11 hours ahead of PST right now.

Peace and assurance, and obedience

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." - John 14:27

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal." - Isaiah 26:3-4

Sermon notes: In it's highest form, Peace is equal to the Hebrew concept of shalom--wellbeing, wholeness, integration, reconciliation. Peace is everything existing at its higher purpose ...

At the moment, these verses spoke against the general confusion and tiredness I was feeling. This peace is what Christ offers, always, no matter our circumstances and despite our sinful nature, because He is our Rescuer and changes all of that...

Psalm 37, The words COMMIT and TRUST stood out to me while reading this, and the bolded portion too. Wow. I feel like these verses just speak volumes.

Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this; He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still for the Lord and wait for Him patiently. - Psalm 37: 3-7

Daydreaming ...

What's wrong with it? I do it way too often; it just comes so naturally to me. But I do feel like it can be damaging. Whether it's a case of simply wasting time, or not having my mind on "whatever is pure ... noble ... true ... right ... lovely ... admirable ... excellent or praiseworthy." It is often very clear what thoughts are damaging, but when I have so much time alone (especially now that my two main buddies down here are either gone or otherwise occupied) my mind can come up with all sorts of stuff - thoughts or scenarios that transport me to another place.

Something subtle that I have noticed is that too much daydreaming about possible future events can leave me with a false sense of security, or, rather, a presumption about the yet-to-come that makes me feel like I'm totally aware of what the future holds. It's hard not to do this while I'm sitting around making plans for my Africa trip and researching graduate schools for next year. I start to see myself in those places, interacting with people that I don't yet know and imagining what I will learn and what I will do. Really, this has nothing to do with reality, what the future actually will bring.

So these thoughts are something to be brushed aside. I just wonder... if I don't intentionally extract them, or push them away, will they leave a residue, enough of a presumption that will surprise me while I'm actually in Africa, or perhaps studying for a Masters next year, so that when I'm met with new circumstances I will say, Wait, this isn't what was supposed to happen! Will my building of expectations now make me less ready to take on the twists and surprises that life does bring and will bring each day of my trip and beyond?

I don't want my ability to respond on the spot to be deadened by these mental journeys of mine. I am harkening back to last summer, when I went to Chennai for my first missions trip. I thought that I left California with no set expectations - that I was a clean slate so to speak, but was I wrong! I was paralyzed most of the time because I had imagined such different things from myself and the people our team served.

Maybe this has to do with truly relying on God, instead of relying on the weak plans and ideas I come up with. Daydreaming to an extent seems inescapable, but the underlying issue is this: Am I fostering in my relationship with Christ a deep, unshakable trust in His will, in His plans.

A message from Purity

I received this note in the mail today, from the little girl I sponsor in Kenya. These are exerpts:

I know it has been long since I wrote you a letter. How is your family? Are they okay? My family and I are happy too. Is your family happy?
My school has many pupils and teachers. I love my school. In our school we are given lunch that is beans mixed with maize and the mixture is known as githeri. In our class I was number one and my teachers congratulated me.
In the Compassion project we learn how HIV spread and the types of soils in our country. In the project, we praise God, We love God and we pray for our sponsors every saturday. I know you are my sponsor and I love you so much and I always pray God to protect you always. My family was very happy when I received letters from you and the map you send.
I want to tell you a memory verse: Psalm 105:1 it says, "give thanks to the Lord, proclaim his greatness, tell the nations what he has done." If you read psalm 105:1 your heart will be blessed. God will be with you.
I go to church every sunday. In our church we pray we sing and we jump for the Lord.
It is cold here in Kenya. What about your country? Thank you for your help. God bless you.

How amazing is that?? I would not exchange this experience for ANYTHING. I am so blessed!

Common grace

In church, we've been dwelling on the word "grace," and it takes a long time for things to hit me, but tonight Pastor Mark mentioned three forms of grace: saving grace, gifting grace, and common grace. Common grace is something that we all experience but we can live in such a way to not recognize it at all. For example, it is grace that we wake up in the morning, grace that we regain consciousness, our lungs fill with air and we know a new day, grace that we witness a beautiful sunset or walk along the beach, dipping our toes in the cool, clear water. It is grace that we have friends and family who love and care for us, and on and on and on.

God's fingerprints are all around us, but how often do we see them? I like how Pastor Mark says it, that "the pixie dust is sprinkled throughout every day of our lives." Ha, we just often don't see it that way. So, common grace ... and we experience it by not just admiring life from a distance, like we would survey a painting and say, Oh, isn't that a beautiful painting? but we enter into the painting. We chase that sunset, jump in that water, talk to that stranger. We delve in and live life.

Ah, so awesome. I forget how good life is sometimes. I mean, God's grace just pours out, never ceasing, until we're all bathing in it. Even if circumstances are bad, there is still much to rejoice over. Our God, is amazing. And that is what common grace reminded me of.

Boundaries

An interesting issue in life, that I'm not really equipped to talk about right now. But I've been struggling with boundaries, especially this past week. And now that I've started this blog entry, I'm realizing that I should probably stop, and go pray. More on that later?

I love my friends ...

Seriously, I felt so much love on my birthday. My parents were in town, and other people came in to celebrate with me. The Hamptons threw me an awesome party and I got phone calls and e-mails from all these amazing people. And people just got along ... *sigh* ...

This weekend was crazy and I must tell someone

The days can be long and full when you wake up at 8am and don't go to bed until 3 or 3:30 in the morning. That is what I learned this weekend, and I can't believe I have such cool friends that actually want to hang out with me that much.

At church on Sunday morning, Jamie talked about the "unexamined life" being prone to forgetfulness and repeating similiar sins over and again. And sometimes, my head and heart feel so full of emotions, ideas and thoughts that I just have to spill it out. Otherwise, I don't know what happens -- something like stagnation, and then a forgetfullness about how amazing God is and how beautiful life is...

I have this week "off" from my mothering duties, and my lack of curfew beginning on friday night was certainly not taken for granted. First, I had the privelege of making some yummy stir fry with friends and learning even more about Iranian culture. (I saw a "tar" for the first time and heard it played by my friend's roommate and looked through this insanely beautiful book of farsi poetry). Then we watched the film "BABEL" and wow, that was a trip ...two of the most moving scenes in a film. The fun continued as Leslie and I stayed and chatted with Matin for awhile, eating some delicious Persian sweets and learning how to drink tea the "Persian way." And then Matin kicked us out ;)

The five minute car ride back to Leslie turned into a two hour event as we talked and talked in my car outside of her house. Gosh, God really did create humans for relationship didn't He? I mean, why else would we have the desire and experience something so good through fellowship like this?

Saturday morning began with some gracious family friends knocking on the door to fix our computer and sweep the living room floor. Hallelujah for no more dirt and balls of cat hair on the floor! After attending the free car wash at my church, and having a profound interaction with Erica over some Crystal Light, it was off to an afternoon of babysitting.

Now, I should stop and comment about why this interaction was profound. It had been awhile since Erica and I had chatted, and even just hearing about what is going on in her life feels like a glimpse into a brilliant light, of some much deeper calling/ purpose/ adventure that I have felt called to as well ... but being around her was a flash of light, a much needed illumination and reminder of what God has spoken to me about before ...

The afternoon with Miriam and Locksley's children was absolutely delightful. We played Candyland, ate cookies, and had a "fruit picnic" on the lawn by the greenbelt. We took an adventuresome walk down the bike path, where Jeremy (age 4) "caught us a fish for dinner" with only a crooked stick that he found along the path :) They all took turns being dragged across the grass in the sleeping bag that also served as our picnic blanket, and Karyzma and I collected dandelions and made all the wishes we could think of while the boys tried to catch butterflies.

All of us went to Borders and Jamba with Miriam and then I had to figure out my "game plan" for the evening... I was immoblized with indecision for about 45 minutes, spent way too much time picking out a birthday card at Albertsons, and could not find the party directions anywhere (even though they were tucked nicely inside my planner). I called Jessica Moon and was so thrilled to find a buddy for the evening's adventures!

Together, we made it to Oak Park for an awesome party, which involved hot dogs, foosball, DDR, air hockey, basketball, nachos (not that we participated in all those activities, but all of that was going on!) and ate some yummy cake. Dave and I just barely scored some foosball goals on Jessica. Really, two against one ... we should have done better! And we heard some miraculous stories about God's insane working in peoples' lives.

Next stop - 50 street. And yes, I got us lost again. Thankfully, I was with Jessica Moon, and getting lost with her is far from negative because it just means that you get to spend more time with her!

We picked up Ted and did some grocery shopping, which involved a controversial purchase of a Texas-sized bottle of Ranch dressing. No comment - no one is allowed to talk about it anymore! haha. And it's always nice to see Ted.

Although we got back to Davis at midnight - did I go to bed? No! Did I even go home? Nope. Instead, I dropped by Lonna's house because I was originally wanting to do that earlier in the evening. And sure enough, her light was on! So we proceeded to chat for the next 2 and a half hours. Went home, read 3 chapters of "Mere Christianity" and then ...

I can't believe I've only covered Friday and Saturday so far. This weekend truly was crazy. Sunday especially so, because I began the day discussing C.S. Lewis and God's Kingdom with Brittany outside in a beautiful East Davis park, and the night ended on a swingset in Dolores Park in San Francisco with Hilary and her law school friend Brighton. Everything in between? Wow ... I'm not sure what all is key, but Church was a blessing to see so many lovely faces; I had coffee and walked around downtown, "window shopping" with Jen, and got to talk to Noemma during my drive. The SF swingsset was a total accident - just a lovely unplanned evening in a city that we didn't even plan on being in. But I got a fuller taste of Berkeley and SF than I have before ... Oh my gosh, and we met the best dog in the world at Maxfield's coffee shop, living PROOF that God has a sense of humor, oh my goodness ...

Nothing like another 3:30am night, talking with Hilary for hours about so much ...Future, Service, Poverty, Selfishness, our American Christianity, God's Calling on our Lives. I realized once again how I have slipped into selfishness regarding my relationship to God. And realizing this as I was specifically complaining about others' tendencies to do so. Yikes. It was a frustrating and strange and delightful night all in one.

The next morning - like any day - could be described in very normal terms. I got coffee with Hilary and then drove back to Davis. But no -- walking down the streets of Berkeley are rarely uneventful ... maybe they become that way after time, but not yet for me (and hopefully not ever). On the ride home, I got to talk to Grace Han - it was the first time in almost 9 months! And it was a long, just amazing conversation... and not amazing because of it being some extraordinarily prophetic, heart-piercing talk, but it was just an encounter that lifted me up so much

I can't stop talking! I think I've still only told the mere surface of the story, the basics of "what happened" this weekend - but the deeper meaning of it all - that is what needs processing and I'm afraid I may explode if it doesn't come out! Explode or start rolling backwards inside ... I can't believe everything that has happened the last few days; I am still clueless what my heart is telling me in a lot of ways, and I'm thankful that God is always with me through every adventure. I don't need to run around trying to find Him, but He has His arms open to me here, in the confusion and overwhelmingness of it all.

I love the "reality checks" that friends provide, and I love that life is not bound by the limitations I sometimes put on it. God I don't know what You're doing or where it will lead, but I just want to serve You joyfully in the moment. Let me act more than think and plan.

And I didn't even touch on Monday night ...

I officially fail at this

Who am I kidding? I'm no blogger, I'm no bonafide Myspace regular. There are things I would like to say on here - but the motivation usually passes before I sit down to the computer. Well ... I will share some photos from my month with the Hampton family because that wonderful 3-week period cannot go undocumented. But hey, it's getting late, and I just realized that all my pictures would have to first be resized before I can post them on here. Ridiculous, let me tell ya.

So my mom may go on an African safari. I think that'd be pretty sweet - but I'd be kinda concerned that she'd get trampled by a rhino or something. I guess I would get a taste of what my parents go through whenever I'm traveling.

So my ex-roommate and one of my best friends is getting MARRIED this summer. She is home from China for about a month, and her boyfriend decided to pop the Q. Congrats Keiz and Aaron! Keiz will be coming up to Davis next week, when we will attempt a roommate reunion of sorts (sans Rystrom, who is currently in Thailand ... which is quite far from Davis). I realized today that I've been naively assuming that I magically won't have work or nanny duties to tend to next monday, tuesday and wednesday. Um, hello Katharine.

I went to this absolutely amazing conference called Urbana last week by the way. It ROCKED my world. There were over 22,000 missions-minded college students in attendance, in St. Louis, MO. We went to seminars, worshiped with amazing cross-cultural flare and celebrated the global church, the true body of Christ that spans language and country and cultural barriers. It was challenging and humbling and uplifting and overwhelming ... so much goes into that conference and in turn it plays a big role in inspiring and convicting an entire generation about God's powerful, unconditional heart that seeks to heal and restore the world.

This world is hurting. It is broken and in pain, but there is hope because God works His plan of redemption in mysterious ways. And Christ came to heal and serve others, and to give that hope to the lowly, the outcastes of society. So I am encouraged by that. And we should all be moved by that.

A friend said something really profound, I think, tonight. He said that "a lot of people don't think." They don't think about issues, about worldviews, about why they do what they do -- they don't even think about what they believe. And it's because we don't have to. In this society we have the choice of distraction. We have so many things to distract us from having to think. And that's not good, to put it simply. I think it puts us in a rut, and we're missing out on the world, and what's real and what God's doing in the world, what God thinks and feels about us and the world. When we're not thinking, we're letting others think for us. We're subconsciously adopting some opinion that's being fed to us by the general society (how does that happen? i don't know) - and it's probably usually crap. This friend really made me think about this, about thinking.

Good night and good luck (I have yet to see that movie, it's been on my list for over a year now). Bon voyage if you're going on an African cruise like my mother, and I should stop now ;)

And probably no one is going to read this because it's too long. But that's okay.