wish_i_was_swimming's Xanga

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 18:45:31 GMT

Apparently, a couple of you think I should update. So I'll tell you about Thailand.

I keep being tempted to compare this year's Thailand trip to last year's Thailand trip. I want to say "Well, this was better last year, but that was better this year." What I realized, though, is that that's just setting myself up for disappointment in one way or another when everything doesn't line up. The trip this year was absolutely incredible. I can't say that I came home with any emotional highs or any stories that will make everyone cry, but what I have is so much more concrete than that. I was talking to Abby on the phone this weekend, and we came up with a brand new word to describe the trip: "spirinotemo." Meaning "spiritual not emotional." There are so many lessons to be learned from this year's trip, but not from a huge emotional high like the ones that come after many other trips. A lot of the time, the effects of our work were not terribly evident. Basically, what it came down to is us trusting that God will bring what those we were serving need out of what we gave during the conference.

A major lesson I saw played out over the course of the conference was that we cannot, of ourselves, make anything happen. We can plan and say "we are going to do this or that" but we can't actually *cause* any results. What we *can* do is remain obedient to God's call in our lives and know that God will bring about His planned results through our work and obedience.

Philippians 4:19 says, "My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." This was the verse that my seven year olds memorized during the conference. As I heard it over and over, it began to sink in. What we were doing at the conference was serving, obeying the call that God had placed in our hearts to go over to Thailand and minister to His workers there. When we do this, God meets the needs of His servants at the conference, and those who the people at the conference will minister to as they return to their homes, through our actions. That is a huge thing, an amazing calling, if rather humble and unglamorous. Many come home from their mission trips and have stories to tell about whatever work they did that people may look at and say, "Wow, they really did a lot for the Lord on that trip." And it's true, they did. When we come home and tell people about our childcare, it doesn't seem like such a big thing. But looking at the results of what we did (not, of course, the results we made happen ourselves, but the results God brings out of our work), it is clear that God uses even this work to further His kingdom. Seeing the number of children in just the 7-9 year olds on the last day of the conference raising their hands and praying to accept Christ, hearing the stories of families who came to the conference and were encouraged to go back to their work in Asia, opening up to share our lives with the families and being changed ourselves- this is only a glimpse of the amazing things that God made happen through what seems like just a humble task.

So now I'm back at home, hoping that my life will never return to normal- because I don't want normal; normal implies the normal American apathy, boredom, and lack of purpose. Normal doesn't involve a heart that breaks for people halfway around the world and a heart steadfastly focused on the Lord. I don't want normal again.

Change is a gradual thing. God doesn't usually instantly change people's hearts, though He has before. Instead, he works in people's hearts, preparing them for each step and conforming them more and more to His image. It's a beautiful thing to watch God work change in my heart and the hearts of all the people I came to know and love so much on this trip.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 10:53:12 GMT

I got out my suitcase last night! Tonight, maybe I'll start packing it. =)

Google is amazing.

And I leave in 2 days. Wow.

Monday, January 22, 2007

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 18:48:39 GMT

What a strange week...

Okay, most of it wasn't strange, but Wednesday certainly was. Just as I was thinking that (a) I probably wouldn't be going to camp this summer for the first time in...about 9 years, (b) how interesting it is to look back at the past years and see how God has made them totally different than all your plans, and (c) that there wasn't really anything at all that could *possibly* be changed this summer from the way I expected it to go, I got a letter asking me to go back to Gnaw Bone as a counselor.

For those of you who don't know, Gnaw Bone is the awesome, quaint little camp I spent 7 summers (ages 8-14) at. Last year I *expected* to get to go back as a CIT (counselor in training) but, (surprise!), God changed my plans-no Gnaw Bone for me last summer. This year I totally didn't expect to go back and, out of seemingly nowhere, I'm going back. Strange, the way things work.

In other news, it is not 11 days 'til we leave, Kris. It's 10! I'm so completely beyond excited, as well as rather exhausted and not prepared at all. Maybe it's time to have some hardcore prayer sessions.

And last, but most certainly not least, in case you *weren't* watching football last night, the Colts won and they're going to the Super Bowl for the first time in a very, very long time! That'll be awesome. As it turns out, we're in Thailand when that happens.

That is all.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 14:23:23 GMT

3 weeks and I leave! It's so soon...

I'm beyond excited...the trip's gonna be amazing.

On the other hand, I have no idea how I'm gonna get it all done before I leave. There's so much school.

I suppose when it's time to leave, I'll leave and deal with it later. I like that solution.

Friday, December 29, 2006

Fri, 29 Dec 2006 13:23:29 GMT

I think I'll update before January.

I did fail to mention in my last post that I'm going back to Thailand this year. Woohoo!

So now, instead of break I get to get ahead. Totally worth it.

Merry belated Christmas, everyone. Who still has their decorations up?
(Being the festive people we are, we took down the tree on the 26th.)

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 19:32:04 GMT

Maybe it's time for an update...

November flew by...I've done just about two semi-maybe-interesting things in the last month:

I shot a gun- 4 times! Be in awe. My dad and brother were going to shoot some clays over Thanksgiving break, and they invited me along, so I went, and they let me shoot. No, I didn't hit anything. Please don't trust me with a gun around people yet. <_<

I ate Chinese food! Yes, I know some of you are probably thinking I'm very strange for never having had Chinese before last week, but I hadn't, so there. I still have yet to try American Thai.

In other news...wait, there is no other news.

Monday, October 30, 2006

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 19:21:56 GMT

I was looking at my posts and I realized I started the last four with "so." Maybe I should be more creative?

Life's been busy, and, as always, I have trouble remembering to keep my focus on God, but every day he seems to send me something new to keep me going. Sometimes it's an analogy from a chemistry experiment. Sometimes I find something in my lit homework or somewhere else. God is good.

I learned an amazing method for scripture memorization at camp this summer. You take a verse and you say it/memorize it daily for 7 days, weekly for 7 weeks, and monthly for 7 months. By the end of that time, it's pretty much engrained in your head. I've never been any good with memorizing verses before now, but now that I've started, I've realized how good it really is. I had 3 weekly verses on Saturday that went so well together, I really wanted to share them with you.

Phillipians 3:10,11- I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain the resurrection from the dead.

Hebrews 1:3- The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

Habbakuk 1:5- Look at the nations and watch, and be utterly amazed, for I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.

I've been struggling a lot with loneliness lately. I just don't have any really good friendships around here, so I live my life by internet and phone. I'm so thankful for the friendships and opportunities that I have. I don't think I could give them up to have more here at home. So, I just keep going, and try not to throw myself a pity party. =) At the same time, I've been very frustrated with the youth group and its lack of...depth. I keep considering going to the adult classes and actually learning something, but I'm afraid to because youth group is really the only time I see other teens and talk to them. We have nothing in common because we live in completely different worlds, but...I don't know...I don't want to cut off all social contact. So, I have a dilemma, as always.

Friday, October 13, 2006

Fri, 13 Oct 2006 22:07:41 GMT

So, this is turning out to be quite an interesting week...

We found out that the (wonderful) SamanthaY will be heading on over here to Indiana, and she's coming to see us! What could be better? (Except maybe another TPS trip)

And...we're probably getting our brother's puppy. Long story, but the story's not the point. Two years ago, Mom would have laughed at the idea of one dog, much less two.

That's my news for today.

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Sat, 23 Sep 2006 23:07:12 GMT

So, an actual update? No way.

Two weekends ago, I was in Virginia. Now, I'm swamped with schoolwork.

I've found, it's so easy to get so caught up in school, even in the first two weeks, that I forget about or don't have time for anything else. But, even more than that, I tend to forget for Whom I should be doing everything I do. I get so caught up in doing homework that I forget that there's any purpose behind it, and I forget to look for that purpose. So that's my question. Colossians 3:17 says, "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." How do we do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus? Obviously, our focus has got to be a lot different than my focus is right now. There is a reason for everything I am doing, and I know I've got to remember that. Sometimes I have trouble understanding that. I love the way Profa Fann puts it here, especially the last paragraph. (I think this can apply not just to Spanish, but to anything else I take or do. =D)

So, this year, I just need to learn to put my focus fully on God. School isn't the be all and end all of my life, though I have an incredibly hard time understanding that.

In other, frustrating news, I never got all those miles from the return trip from Thailand credited to my frequent flyer account (which equals about 9000 miles, by the way). I got the miles from the trip over, but not the trip back. So, they want you to send them the boarding passes to recieve the credit, if you haven't gotten it within a certain amount of time. Well, a couple of weeks ago, we took my boarding pass stubs (I like to keep weird things like that) and we put them in an envelope and we mailed them to...whoever we were supposed to mail them to. A couple days ago, we found out that I wouldn't get the miles credited to my account. They said they needed the boarding passes to do that. We sent them the boarding passes! *mutter* Stupid people.

There you have it, a nice, long update.

Friday, September 08, 2006

Fri, 08 Sep 2006 21:24:50 GMT

So, I'm in Virginia now. After a 12 hour drive. >_<

And...there's really nothing to say.