blast the music,
pack the bags,
steal away the time that lags

see you later
see you soon
dodge the sun and skirt the moon

catch a vision
catch a plane
let's go together to insane

together crazy
twice the fun
make this journey
worth the run

1. Tell us briefly what you are going to be doing over the next few years

I'm going to be working in Europe as a photojournalist with missions teams and tour groups, essentially. There'll also be some travelling, language, and volunteer work with NGO's - non government organisations.

2. Why is this important to us?
I'll get to tell stories about the various cities and what God's doing with the nationals and groups, using photos and videos and websites. God's doing so much in Europe! in america, we tend to think of Him doing amazing things in africa or china or south america, the *needy * places. and they are needy- physically and spiritually- but Europe isn't saved by any means. And people need to know that they can pray, and give, and go to make a difference there!

3. What would you like us to know about serving in a cross-cultural mission project?
It's challenging. You go for a few days, for a few weeks or months, and you come back changed. You're suddenly looking at your life in the States and saying, 'Wow, I have so much and they have so little!' or whether you come back and say, "I *needed* God when i was gone- and I need Him with me still! Sitting in church once a week (or month?) is not enough for me- I need to wake up and make Him big in my life!" Going on a cross cultural mission project opens your eyes, to what God's doing in other peoples' lives, to what He wants to do in your life.

4. How can we pray for you?
That i won't lose track of the bigger picture when I'm studying language and working. I love media, but I need to love God more. Please pray that I'll take the time to keep up good networking with people here and overseas, because those connections are too valuable to lose.

5. What would you say to those who say that they cannot join in a mission program because of school and work needs?
I met a girl two months ago who's moving as a missionary to the jungles of Peru. She's got a student loan. She thought about working it off and then going overseas, but realised she couldn't wait, that the people there couldn't wait to hear about God. So she gave her family power of attorney, and is sending most of her paycheck every month to that student loan for the next two years. By the time she leaves the jungle, her loan won't be gone but it'll be smaller, and she'll have been faithful.
As far as school and work needs, another thing is that God can use- wants to use- the skills you have. We hear about medical personnel and the great work they do overseas, but there's so much more. I'm a media person, so that's what I'll be doing, and I love sports, so I'll be volunteering in sports ministries. I personally know businessmen, english teachers, musicians and artists, athletes, and tour guides who have just transplanted their lives overseas and are serving God daily. Some of them go over independently, or with Shell Oil or Nike, and they just live transparent lives as committed believers. And some go overseas with a sending agency, which is pretty cool. The Lottie Moon Christmas offering? Also very cool. That's what supports workers around the world so they can focus their time on the lost, before they focus on anything else. FBC is such a deliberate acts 1:8 church, right? "Go into all the nations..." How and where we go makes a difference, but the most important thing is that we're following God obediently.

6. What would you say to those who say that they cannot join in a mission program because they would miss their family?
For one thing, you can miss your family anywhere you go. I know I miss mine whether I'm working three states or three countries away! This is, by the way, where skype and emails and facebook come in handy - i'll be able to wave at my parents and hear their voices via videocamera!
For another thing, in separation, the people overseas and your teammates become your family. My little brothers had six or seven women who considered themselves surrogate grandmothers! Sometimes families and friends visit - and you get to show them firsthand what you're doing.

And sometimes you just have to say, "I'm sorry, but God has called me to go to a certain place. and I can't turn back. I love you dearly, but this is where i need to be. "

What is done has been done for the best
Though the mist in my eyes might suggest
Just a little confusion about what I'll lose
But if I started over I know I would choose
The same joy the same sadness each step of the way
That fought me and tought me that friends never say
Never say goodbye...

- Road To El Dorado

We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter's evening. Some of us let these great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nurse them through bad days till they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true.

- Woodrow Wilson

"You can always trust the information given to you by people who are crazy; they have an access to truth not available through regular channels" - Ballantyne

This week pretty much saved training for me, made me feel that this time of language/culture/overseas preparation wasn't wasted. Learned a lot in class- challenging things about how to live out your faith and the price others pay for theirs.

Thanksgiving was good enough to be one of my top three, if not my favourite one yet. Fun times chatting or gaming with people- no agenda, no time constraints-and then just playing with the preschoolers and bouncing babies for hours and basking in the warmth of of our 'family' here. Marvelous day.

The fact that we played volleyball Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon/Wed didn't hurt either... lots of good time with friends. Wednesday I was actually an hour late for volleyball, but that was because I was talking seriously with a younger friend of mine back home who's really close to surrendering it all to God. Which of course helped me realise that, even if I wasn't excited about our D.C. trip and 'cold witnessing', I really am passionate about people finding God, becoming who they're meant to be. And today ended up great... ate at a cozy Polish cafe with my team and had some good intentional discussions with people there, at the Basilika, and at the station. Sunday we have European cultural worship, which should also be cooI...

In other words- hope renewed that I'll hit the field running with good memories *and* good preparation at my back.

Peace and grace out!

Today was satisfying, but very long... very long.

When i'm tired enough to want to skip volleyball, that's saying something... but right now, this is bigger than tired.

One of my friends left me a phone message saying she wanted to talk with me, so she caught me on Facebook chat a few minutes ago. And now I'm late for volleyball and late for sleep and I don't really care because we're having a talk that's what we should be about.


"yea but i have to give my whole life over to god and thats just something i am not ready to do
i can't trust him with my whole life"

"i didn't think i could either, honestly
but He's worth it
way worth it..."

And I'm leaving it at that while I'm trying to talk her through it, hear what she needs.

This is where it's at. Please be praying for my friend - I call her my adopted little sister - and that she'll realise that God's waiting for her.

“Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.”
-Stanley Horowitz

Hello!

Third weekend arrived... so glad for it to be here :) This week was really challenging, and not in a concrete, this-is-what-you-need-to-work-on way, either. To be honest, I'm finding it increasingly hard to sit in class and listen to the theoreticals of cpm, etc., and to know that 'real' life for me starts after class when I can study language, play sports, or pick others' brains about overseas and what God's been teaching them. I did really enjoy the days of hearing stories and insights from the field, especially ones who were in support staff positions....

Polish is going well.... Exercise... mostly just walking and running around campus, but there's been some good volleyball going on, and - w00t w00t - some of the new people headed to Europe later play good volleyball too! "See you in April!" is becoming a definite watchword around here. As far as 'telling the story', that's mostly just been in good conversations with friends here, but I did share yesterday online with an Iranian friend for about half an hour. I never thought I'd get this comfortable with saying, "I hear you, and I value our friendship, but this is what I believe, no hedging." Reading through Acts and hearing how bold the 'sent ones' were is really working on me. Our small group is still amazing- so many great stories and perspectives during the discussions.

Prayer needs... mostly just that I'd be able to focus on who God is and what He has for me, here and now. Was a little rebuked by what one of the Xtreme leaders said- "This is not just preparation for the journey - this *is* part of the journey. Make the most of it."

Peace and grace out!
Lee G

Another week almost done!
All of us trainees are defiitely settling in, getting a better feel for what we'll be given every day (lots of information, eye openers, and promises) and what's expected of us (learning, communication, and godly living.) Formal sessions include taxes, language, and cross-cultural witness; informal learning covers everything from practicing testimonies to sharing personal stories...

It's been good, but not that challenging so far. There's some pressure in the deadlines and following this schedule, but it's not generally till the after-class hours that life really begins. That's when friendships solidify, when the session hightlights are seriously talked through, when the books are read. (I know I'm partial to books, but a lot of the session hours could have been condensed into reading material!)

Anyway. Overall, it's been really good. Overachieving to the point that a lot of my homework is already done (or half-done) and spending some quality time with other learners. That's pretty much what my life's going to be for the next six weeks.... :)

The Night Before the Party Begins.

Tomorrow I'll be back in the Bronze Valley again. Quietly, crazily, excited. "One of these days, maybe," I thought. Left the Valley last winter, thinking it'd be months or a few years before I saw the place again. "We want to see you back," said Professor El, when I said I was moving to a different state, different job, different life. "Of course you'll see me back," I smiled, "even if it's just for a visit one of these years." "No, as in, back for the eight weeks." In other words, for training. I just shrugged.

And tomorrow I start that training. In a deliciously unstressed state of mind, because I've 'gone through' four trainings, as it were, already, just by working there and hanging out with the trainees. Yes, it's going to be challenging. Yes, there'll be tons of surprises. But I'm a high need-to-know person when it comes to work and study, and knowing ahead of time what I'm getting into is a huge blessing. The more I know, the better I can prepare, right? I sound like such a stick-in-the-mud... should probably add that, "the more I know, the more fun I can have". And I'm not gonna add any more along that line, because, see, some people just aren't a fan of mischief. Alas for them.

And I don't intend to distress anyone or harm property, but let me say this - me and my 'mates are going to rock out training. Ace the papers. Throw ourselves into the learning. Rock out the volleyball courts and other sport times. Give God that "white hot worship" that He deserves. That was a John Piper reference, by the way - I'm almost done with my first book report (overachieverrrrr) which means I get to hand it in early, do the second one, and then not stress about those writings when there's homework to be done, cookies to bake, or adventures to have....

2008/06/04

Many people got the opportunity to see Jesus Revolution in action when concert team Central came to Wisla in Poland, with it's 11 000 inhabitants and hotels with space for 26 000 tourists. The team started the day by visiting the high school in the city.... They performed dances and invited the students to the concert that same night. As many as 145 youth found their way to the city’s cinema, where the concert was located. "I came because I saw the school visit", says Pawel, a 14 years old student. "I pray to God every night, because I know that He is there, but today I understood that Jesus loves me," he added when the concert was finished.

-http://www.jesusrevolution.com/jesusrevolution/?pid=News&id=176

Getting closer to overseas again. More info from my boss... good stuff on what to expect. Drafted back the beginning of an email, which I'll fill in with more questions as I come up with them... "Thanks for taking the time to answer all these questions- I'm a huge information person, so the more I can find out ahead of hitting the field ... the happier I'll be :) "

So, language. Culture and city study. I've already done some, and now I need more.

She had a pink hibiscus on her shoulder by her ear
It caught my glance because tattoos aren't common around here
I asked her why she had it
And she grinned without surprise
Then rubbed half off with a blue-nailed finger
And laughed with green-rimmed eyes

Why not take a chance, she asked?
What else are colours for?
If they're not used to paint your life
What do you save them for?




-random jotting from today

Old Town

Spent yesterday wandering the old town... honestly, I'd have enjoyed it more if I wasn't *living* here. And if there had been more people around- anywhere in the world, there would have been more people out enjoying the sunshine and breeze. Even on a Sunday afternoon. Especially on a Sunday afternoon.

Why does it still surprise me to hear people speaking English?

Subconsciously I still expect to hear the neighbors talking in Dutch across the fence. Schoolkids walking by should be speaking German. Shopkeepers should be arguing politely in Arabic. And I should *especially* not understand anything going on around me in airports. That I do is a little unsettling. It's been almost a year... two more weeks? And the time between hearing a voice and having those tones translate into Anglicised words is still... odd.

The only excuse I have for the delay is that hardly anyone in the southern United States speaks proper English anyway.

Travel Snapshots

No language homework today... yet. Might still happen, might not. I've been pretty good about it, especially considering there's no one to make me or even really care. Which is encouraging when I wonder how I'll do when I get overseas. To be sure, I could be travelling so much I won't be sent to language school, but I'd still want to do well whatever country I lived in,and I absolutely hate being an obvious foreigner. In Holland, I didn't care if I stood out, as long as it was for the right reasons- height, sports passion, multilingualness.... And some accent was okay, especially when they said I sounded more British or Canadian than American :P But not to stand out as an awkward, 'visibly unassimilated' outsider. And I don't really see that changing. Which means extra study here and now. *shrugs*

I'm a little curious as to whether some of the recent tax law changes in europe and friends leaving are going to mean any changes in leadership or timing... is there *any* chance I could make my way over before next year? I realised today, while out on a run, that I've still got a footlocker or two in storage over there, wondering how I'm going to get it out. Or if, you know, I even really need it anytime soon. Was reading about Rebekah at the well (Genesis 24) yesterday- I never caught the speed of the story before. She saw the situation as God's hand on her, and left her home for the future in about 24 hrs. I've read that story several times before, and yet I'm at an age and place where God could very easily send me out as well. And would I be as graceful about it? For the adventure, definitely! In full trust in God and His timing in the surprise invitation- that would be harder. And could I make ready and be gone in 24 hours? She probably had servants, lol, but it's still a good challenge. Should we ever be to the point where we couldn't leave everything behind in 24 hours to follow God's call?

"Does He not say that where two or three are met in His name, there He is in the midst of them?"

"Yes."

"Then thus far I will justify myself to you, that, if I do not go to what you call *church*, I yet often make one of a company met in His name."

"He does not limit the company to two or three."

"Assuredly not. But if I find I get more help and strength with a certain few, why should I go with a multitude to get less? Will you draw a line other than the Master's? Why should it be more sacred to worship with five hundred or five thousand than with three? If He is in the midest of them, they cannot be wrongly gathered!"


-George MacDonald, 'The Elect Lady'

Still working on overseas opportunities for next year...

And, yeah, I'll admit I'm frustrated it won't be sooner. At least I'm getting to the stage where I think I can see the hand of God in that, and not just wondering why He won't do the 'logical' thing and send me over sooner. I know how good this time for me here is. And I'm grateful for the discussions that are going on even now that might give me a job over there that I'd really love, and maybe have long-term. I was so ready to go in February- I would have happily gotten on a plane within six hours and been at the training, and then on across the sea. Which would have been crazy fun on one hand, but I think this will be better, long-term.

I'm just not very good with long-term. And considering that it affects life so much, long-term is probably something God's working with me nowadays.

new favourite place. and new half-way point, eminently visitable. a library just blocks down from our church. with wifi. and hidden corners near windows, where i can sit, access internet, and watch squirrels outside. a small downside is that the web system blocks xanga, so i'll have to upload certain jottings later. but blogger.com is fine, so i'll def be more motivated to keep that up.

"You have to hang up your travelling shoes and stop wandering sooner or later, don't you?"
"So I've been told. Personally, I just keep on wandering."
- Dr. Who

Found this while working on campus... hardly thought one day I'd be applying it to heading out from there myself.


"God does not ask us to do the things that are easy to us naturally. He only aks us to do the things that we are perfectly fitted to do by His grace." - Oswald Chambers

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
- Mark Twain

"You've both escaped from somewhere, haven't you?"
"Frequently."

- Dr. Who

Nice new photo database I found... http://www.dropshots.com/

What affects men sharply about a foreign nation is not so much finding or not finding familiar things; it is rather not finding them in the familiar place.
G.K. Chesterton

"When you remember me, it means that you have carried something of who I am with you, that I have left some mark of who I am on who you are. It means that you can summon me back to your mind even though countless years and miles may stand between us. It means that if we meet again, you will know me. It means that even after I die, you can still see my face and hear my voice and speak to me in your heart.

For as long as you remember me, I am never entirely lost. When I'm feeling most ghost-like, it is your remembering me that helps remind me that I actually exist. When I'm feeling sad, it's my consolation. When I'm feeling happy, it's part of why I feel that way.

If you forget me, one of the ways I remember who I am will be gone. If you forget, part of who I am will be gone. "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." the good thief said from his cross (Luke 23:42). There are perhaps no more human words in all of Scripture, no prayer we can pray so well."
-Frederick Buechner

So ready to go. All these resources - language learning, storytelling, history and underlying rationale of it all - lie at my fingertips. And the more I explore them the more impatient I get, it seems. I know there's a time for everything, but some fast-forwarding motion would be nice. I want to *be* challenged to explain why I want to go, *be* in training, and *be* overseas working my heart out.

Finding a thought-provoking spiritual gifts test online, realising that's probably going to come into play later as well....

This question I couldn't easily answer, as much as I'd love to give a decisive 'yes'.
"I am ready to try the impossible because I have a great trust in God."
With my heart, sure I'd agree, and the word 'impossible' is such a beautiful challenge, as is 'trust'. I'd just be wary of whether it meant emotionally/mentally/spiritually possible, or physically possible. Physically, as in 'translate all 33 stories in half a year' - bring it on! So I guess 'yes' to the impossible... I don't know if that'd be based more on the adventure sense or on the trust in God, though. I do trust that God can do impossible things through us, through me, when He wants to.

"I do NOT feel uncomfortable when people drop in unexpectedly."
This one's funny, because by nature and from growing up overseas, I'm highly comfortably with unexpected visitors.

Strongest end scores - Hospitality, Going, Craftsmanship, Helping, Encouragement, Music, Writing.


Interesting. Seems pretty in-line with how life is, with what I love... taking care of people and doing my own jobs well, not to mention no-brainer inescapables like writing and music :) And just think if I get the videography job this summer- such a beautiful combination of craftsmanship, music, helping, and encouragement :)

Life is suddenly better, this February. It looks like there's a chance I may be heading back overseas, though not before fall. I had started studying Arabic, then went ahead and switched to Italian- the Middle East is still a possibility, but Europe tugs at me more. And I still have a half-finished workbook from last year, so it's easy to get back into it.

Knowing there's 'a future and a hope' just makes this year so much more faceable. Like I was telling someeone the other day, I "spent two challenging, delightful, frustrating weeks in SC with the wilderness training, then two weeks here wondering how it all went wrong, and what I was going to do with my life." But now I think I can see a little further into the future, a little more of what has for me. And that revs me up, so to speak, because when I know what's coming I can prepare for it. Just the simple step of studying Italian helps, as do some recent storytelling resources.

So we'll just have to see how all this develops, but I'd be highly excited (and not very surprised) to be on the road again soon....

“I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.”

Robert Louis Stevenson

Days like today- after a weekend of fullblown American suburbia - I wonnder why I even blog at all. And that's such a trite question, found on so many hundreds of blogs I'm sure... I hate trite questions. Except maybe when they lead to original answers, none of which I'm guaranteeing here. Only to say that I mentioned this weekend of movies, food, and hanging out to a friend, and said that at times I wonder what it would have been like if I had been raised by my aunt... if I had grown up in her safe, warm southern community... if my all-American cousins had been my brothers and I had been an all-American girl....

I mentioned some of that to my friend, who asked then, point blank, if I'd 'missed much?'

I tried to get her to rephrase the question. But the answer was pretty straight-forward when we got down to it - yes and no. I regret nothing. I'm proud as well as grateful that I grew up overseas, in my own globetrotting home, and that I can enjoy my all-American family and friends and not feel a need to join them.

And yet I would have been a highly different person, so in some vague way I do miss that. I would have developed different talents - physically, socially, mentally, spiritually. Would have had different experiences, known and befriended different people. Maybe by now I would be dating someone or - like some of my friends here - be engaged or married. Maybe I'd have found a job that I loved and been firmly entrenched in some organisation or off in my own studio with writing or photography. I would probably not have typed 'organisation' with the British 's', I would have written it 'organization' without a second thought, because, after all, they don't want to be progressive if they don't want to be.

Anyway. No conclusions, just more questions raised by one small question in the first place. Or maybe two small questions. Seed questions growing more, and all is as it should be....