Sunday, June 5, 2011
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
A Month
Wow, where has a month gone?
So much has happened. The transition to life in Los Angeles hasn't been without it's share of adjustments and continuing struggles, but overall, things have been very smooth.
Although our apartment still has no furniture besides our beds, two tailgating chairs and a tv, I'm starting to feel settled. I think this will all feel pretty surreal for a while, but it feels good.
Last week, I realized that the place in the city that feels most like home is actually the Mayan Theater downtown. It sounds crazy, but the sticky floors and peeling walls of the ornate theater turned porno-house turned trendy LA night club have been my constant through all of my time in Southern California. Living situations and work locations have changed, but almost every Sunday night, I have traveled downtown to find community and purpose.
Going back every week really feels like going home, and seeing faces of both new and old friends there is quickly becoming a major blessing as I suddenly am finding prayers for connection and community being answered without me even realizing it!
Tonight, Josh and I watched Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. My absolute favorite line comes from eccentric toymaker, Mr. Magorium, played by Dustin Hoffman, talking to his successor Mahoney, played by Natalie Portman.
He tells her, "Your life is an occasion...rise to it."
Speakers at Mosaic are constantly reminding us that we are created to do great things. We just need to step out into the light.
I don't know what I'm here for. Maybe it will take me a long time to figure it out. I do know, however, that I feel like the opportunity of being here is a great occasion, and I intend to rise to it...
It's time to step out and see what's in the light.
So much has happened. The transition to life in Los Angeles hasn't been without it's share of adjustments and continuing struggles, but overall, things have been very smooth.
Although our apartment still has no furniture besides our beds, two tailgating chairs and a tv, I'm starting to feel settled. I think this will all feel pretty surreal for a while, but it feels good.
Last week, I realized that the place in the city that feels most like home is actually the Mayan Theater downtown. It sounds crazy, but the sticky floors and peeling walls of the ornate theater turned porno-house turned trendy LA night club have been my constant through all of my time in Southern California. Living situations and work locations have changed, but almost every Sunday night, I have traveled downtown to find community and purpose.
Going back every week really feels like going home, and seeing faces of both new and old friends there is quickly becoming a major blessing as I suddenly am finding prayers for connection and community being answered without me even realizing it!
Tonight, Josh and I watched Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. My absolute favorite line comes from eccentric toymaker, Mr. Magorium, played by Dustin Hoffman, talking to his successor Mahoney, played by Natalie Portman.
He tells her, "Your life is an occasion...rise to it."
Speakers at Mosaic are constantly reminding us that we are created to do great things. We just need to step out into the light.
I don't know what I'm here for. Maybe it will take me a long time to figure it out. I do know, however, that I feel like the opportunity of being here is a great occasion, and I intend to rise to it...
It's time to step out and see what's in the light.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
now vs. next
Uh oh, I can feel it creeping in...
Yep, there it is. It's that need I have to think about what's next. And I'm not talking about the Los Angeles move. It's a given that I'm constantly thinking about Los Angeles. I have to think about that, I'm packing after all!
No, it's that thinking about what could be next.
It's wondering how Los Angeles will stack up against the lifestyle I loved in New York in the winter. It's the need to compare relationships, communities, and churches to what's been familiar. It's a beginning to romanticize about the idea of moving "back East" after a few years on the West coast. And I haven't even moved there yet!
Now don't get me wrong. I think it's awesome and even necessary to be dreaming big dreams for our futures, but not when those thoughts unhealthily disconnect us from the here and now.
I would assume this struggle is something everyone experiences in life, but I think it has been magnified for me by the last four years of being on co-op. No matter what I've been doing, that thought has always been tucked somewhere in my mind. "In three months I'll be back at school." "In just a few weeks I'll be in a new city." "After this, I can't wait for..."
But now, things are different. There won't be an end date on the calendar for me to be constantly watching, thinking about what's next. And in my brief moments of clarity, that's exactly the way I want it. I want to be challenged to completely be somewhere. To be indefinitely committed to one place.
It's not going to be easy, and it will definitely take some getting used to. But if I'm able to change my mindset, I'm confident the results will be great.
I'm dreaming big dreams. Not so much for the next, but for the now.
If only I could figure out how to get myself in the mindset of taking advantage of these last two days I have here at home...
Yep, there it is. It's that need I have to think about what's next. And I'm not talking about the Los Angeles move. It's a given that I'm constantly thinking about Los Angeles. I have to think about that, I'm packing after all!
No, it's that thinking about what could be next.
It's wondering how Los Angeles will stack up against the lifestyle I loved in New York in the winter. It's the need to compare relationships, communities, and churches to what's been familiar. It's a beginning to romanticize about the idea of moving "back East" after a few years on the West coast. And I haven't even moved there yet!
Now don't get me wrong. I think it's awesome and even necessary to be dreaming big dreams for our futures, but not when those thoughts unhealthily disconnect us from the here and now.
I would assume this struggle is something everyone experiences in life, but I think it has been magnified for me by the last four years of being on co-op. No matter what I've been doing, that thought has always been tucked somewhere in my mind. "In three months I'll be back at school." "In just a few weeks I'll be in a new city." "After this, I can't wait for..."
But now, things are different. There won't be an end date on the calendar for me to be constantly watching, thinking about what's next. And in my brief moments of clarity, that's exactly the way I want it. I want to be challenged to completely be somewhere. To be indefinitely committed to one place.
It's not going to be easy, and it will definitely take some getting used to. But if I'm able to change my mindset, I'm confident the results will be great.
I'm dreaming big dreams. Not so much for the next, but for the now.
If only I could figure out how to get myself in the mindset of taking advantage of these last two days I have here at home...
Monday, June 28, 2010
but why california?
In the last week, without anything I've really had to do, I have had some time to think and dwell a little. I don't think that it's any coincidence that I spent a significant part of the last week next to an enormous body of water (Lake Erie) and was also in Somerset, PA. Being so near water not only made me think of California, but also reminded me of the summer I spent as a counselor at Summer's Best Two Weeks, just minutes from Somerset.
Not only that, but I also was able to talk and catch up with my friend Lori, who was on my Namibia team last summer and as I type this is actually en route to Namibia as a leader of this year's team with my friend Sonja.
Memories of those two experiences at Summer's Best and in Namibia are powerful and continually inspiring to me, as they were times when I felt really focused on a goal and was powerfully motivated by being in such a tight community with other people who shared that goal. In the case of Summer's Best, it is actually a little depressing to think about, since this summer was the last summer I could've gone back as a counselor, something I wish I had been able to do.
But in the midst of thinking about these experiences and other similar ones, it hit me, this is why I'm going to California.
While in Los Angeles, I felt extremely focused, inspired, and driven. Although I was never able to get into a small group community, I still felt inspired by Mosaic and loved the vision they have for the city and for people, and I loved serving with them. I really felt like I had a lot of clarity, especially during the summer I spent there, and actually was actively trying to apply a lot of what I was learning and thinking about!
The last five years in Cincinnati have been absolutely awesome. I may never have a community as incredible as the group of friends I've found and they've helped me grow in huge ways. I'll be working hard to stay in touch with them. Navs and crossroads have helped shape, focus, and inspire me in big ways too. But it was easy for me to lose focus again and again with all of the distractions of being in school. Now, I think it's time for a new chapter of the story, with a new setting.
I know going out to Los Angeles won't be perfect, and I don't expect everything to fall in to place when I arrive. I do know, however, that in LA I felt like I was really consistently moving in a direction I wanted to be moving, a direction I want to be moving in the future.
This Friday I fly to California to start this next chapter. Who knows how long I'll be out there, but for now, I'm supposed to be in the City of Angels.
Not only that, but I also was able to talk and catch up with my friend Lori, who was on my Namibia team last summer and as I type this is actually en route to Namibia as a leader of this year's team with my friend Sonja.
Memories of those two experiences at Summer's Best and in Namibia are powerful and continually inspiring to me, as they were times when I felt really focused on a goal and was powerfully motivated by being in such a tight community with other people who shared that goal. In the case of Summer's Best, it is actually a little depressing to think about, since this summer was the last summer I could've gone back as a counselor, something I wish I had been able to do.
But in the midst of thinking about these experiences and other similar ones, it hit me, this is why I'm going to California.
While in Los Angeles, I felt extremely focused, inspired, and driven. Although I was never able to get into a small group community, I still felt inspired by Mosaic and loved the vision they have for the city and for people, and I loved serving with them. I really felt like I had a lot of clarity, especially during the summer I spent there, and actually was actively trying to apply a lot of what I was learning and thinking about!
The last five years in Cincinnati have been absolutely awesome. I may never have a community as incredible as the group of friends I've found and they've helped me grow in huge ways. I'll be working hard to stay in touch with them. Navs and crossroads have helped shape, focus, and inspire me in big ways too. But it was easy for me to lose focus again and again with all of the distractions of being in school. Now, I think it's time for a new chapter of the story, with a new setting.
I know going out to Los Angeles won't be perfect, and I don't expect everything to fall in to place when I arrive. I do know, however, that in LA I felt like I was really consistently moving in a direction I wanted to be moving, a direction I want to be moving in the future.
This Friday I fly to California to start this next chapter. Who knows how long I'll be out there, but for now, I'm supposed to be in the City of Angels.
Friday, February 5, 2010
beautiful morning
So there's this great lady that's a conductor on the downtown A train. She usually happily wishes everyone on the train a "beautiful morning" over the PA, and so we started exchanging smiles and pleasantries as Patrick and I get off in Brooklyn. It's such a nice way to start the morning that we've started to let other A trains pass through the station to wait for hers.
As we walked by on the platform today, she actually held the train so that she could say good morning to us and then asked us if we were rooting for the Saints on Sunday. We hesitated, and she repeated encouragingly, "Are you rooting for the Saints?" We laughingly answered "Oh yeah, of course!" and she wished us a good weekend. As she started to pull away I noticed the New Orleans beads and swag hanging from her neck and it brought a big smile to my face.
I don't know what's so different about New York this time compared to last year, but I am meeting some really nice people in random places, and am really enjoying conversing with would-be strangers.
So, yes, I will be rooting for the Saints on Sunday.
As we walked by on the platform today, she actually held the train so that she could say good morning to us and then asked us if we were rooting for the Saints on Sunday. We hesitated, and she repeated encouragingly, "Are you rooting for the Saints?" We laughingly answered "Oh yeah, of course!" and she wished us a good weekend. As she started to pull away I noticed the New Orleans beads and swag hanging from her neck and it brought a big smile to my face.
I don't know what's so different about New York this time compared to last year, but I am meeting some really nice people in random places, and am really enjoying conversing with would-be strangers.
So, yes, I will be rooting for the Saints on Sunday.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Crazy.
Here it is. Another day.
After five years of college and plenty of time co-oping out in "the real world," it's easy to become disenchanted and find myself giving in to the idea of just settling into something safe and familiar when I graduate in 8 months.
Settling into a life where every day is pretty similar to the last.
But that's not what we're built for. We're meant for bigger things. We're built to get dirty, to make some noise, to go against the grain. Those moments are when we experience true exhilaration, when we experience life to the fullest.
Some days I need a reminder.
Today, let's be crazy.
After five years of college and plenty of time co-oping out in "the real world," it's easy to become disenchanted and find myself giving in to the idea of just settling into something safe and familiar when I graduate in 8 months.
Settling into a life where every day is pretty similar to the last.
But that's not what we're built for. We're meant for bigger things. We're built to get dirty, to make some noise, to go against the grain. Those moments are when we experience true exhilaration, when we experience life to the fullest.
Some days I need a reminder.
Today, let's be crazy.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Ahhh, Fanta
So I've been back in the States for two weeks now. I've had plenty of time to readjust, and although the time home has flown by, I've had some time to recap as well.
This Sunday, Pastor Larry asked me to share for 10 or 15 minutes in Church. Writing a bit should help me figure out what I want to say.
Right now, sitting next to me is a piece of life in Africa, a two liter of Fanta. Unfortunately the grocery store didn't have my favorite flavor, Pineapple, but Orange is good for now.
(He writes for an hour or so, before realizing that the blog post is too long and he'd rather wait to post it until after this Sunday)
Okay well, instead of doing a major recap right now, I'll share some things from Namibia.
Months and months ago, I thought doing design work in Africa would be a big part of the trip. As we got closer, the scale got smaller and smaller until I didn't know if there would be any designing at all on the trip. Well, it turned out there was. The last few weeks in Namibia, Dan and I used our free time to design and build a website for our friend Martha's upcoming real estate business, Imani Properties.
While in Windhoek, Martha shared with me the vision she recieved for Imani, and her mission to serve the youth of the country and to show Jesus to them through her business ventures. She's been very smart about her business plans, waiting until God shows her when its the right time to take certain steps. Our hope is that the real estate business is something that can start bringing in some serious income which will then be applied to the other parts of Imani, an eventual Coffee Shop, Bookstore, and Radio Station.
Anyway, I did the design, and Dan absolutely rocked all the back-end coding, database stuff. He did an awesome job and we gave Martha a site where all she has to do is type in the info and upload the pictures and she's ready to go. Neither of us could've really made the site without the other person, so it was awesome that we were able to work together to make it happen.
What we made is far from perfect, but it is actually very nice and looks good. Here's a screenshot from the homepage.
If you follow this link you can take a look at the basic html version of the site. This is the work I did without all of the back end coding Dan put into building the site, so the page links will work, but the searches aren't active and the sparse properties included are not real. If Internet Explorer is unfortunately the browser you use, then not everything will look exactly right since IE is stupid, but you'll get the idea.
Martha was the best client of all time. She absolutely loved our work and said she couldn't thank us enough. It was very cool to help a cause we believed in with some of our know-how. We're hoping it will be live and completely working in two or three months.
Okay, that's enough for today. I think I have a debriefing form to fill out for Navs Headquarters. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by the task of recapping my experience at the moment.
Many have watched this video already, but I'll post it here, too. This is the recap video I made of my team's time in Namibia. I think it turned out pretty well. We're hoping to show it in church on Sunday. Hopefully it works out.
Right now, sitting next to me is a piece of life in Africa, a two liter of Fanta. Unfortunately the grocery store didn't have my favorite flavor, Pineapple, but Orange is good for now.
(He writes for an hour or so, before realizing that the blog post is too long and he'd rather wait to post it until after this Sunday)
Okay well, instead of doing a major recap right now, I'll share some things from Namibia.
Months and months ago, I thought doing design work in Africa would be a big part of the trip. As we got closer, the scale got smaller and smaller until I didn't know if there would be any designing at all on the trip. Well, it turned out there was. The last few weeks in Namibia, Dan and I used our free time to design and build a website for our friend Martha's upcoming real estate business, Imani Properties.
While in Windhoek, Martha shared with me the vision she recieved for Imani, and her mission to serve the youth of the country and to show Jesus to them through her business ventures. She's been very smart about her business plans, waiting until God shows her when its the right time to take certain steps. Our hope is that the real estate business is something that can start bringing in some serious income which will then be applied to the other parts of Imani, an eventual Coffee Shop, Bookstore, and Radio Station.
Anyway, I did the design, and Dan absolutely rocked all the back-end coding, database stuff. He did an awesome job and we gave Martha a site where all she has to do is type in the info and upload the pictures and she's ready to go. Neither of us could've really made the site without the other person, so it was awesome that we were able to work together to make it happen.
What we made is far from perfect, but it is actually very nice and looks good. Here's a screenshot from the homepage.
If you follow this link you can take a look at the basic html version of the site. This is the work I did without all of the back end coding Dan put into building the site, so the page links will work, but the searches aren't active and the sparse properties included are not real. If Internet Explorer is unfortunately the browser you use, then not everything will look exactly right since IE is stupid, but you'll get the idea.
Martha was the best client of all time. She absolutely loved our work and said she couldn't thank us enough. It was very cool to help a cause we believed in with some of our know-how. We're hoping it will be live and completely working in two or three months.
Okay, that's enough for today. I think I have a debriefing form to fill out for Navs Headquarters. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by the task of recapping my experience at the moment.
Many have watched this video already, but I'll post it here, too. This is the recap video I made of my team's time in Namibia. I think it turned out pretty well. We're hoping to show it in church on Sunday. Hopefully it works out.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Down the Home Stretch
Sorry it's been so long since my last post! Unfortunately I don't have a lot of internet to work with so this will probably be a short post, too.
On Tuesday I'll be flying back to the States. In the last few weeks we've had encouraging time at poly and UNam, done some manual labor, had a decent turnout at the first ever Namibia Navigators conference, and plenty some tearful goodbyes when half the team went home last Tuesday.
Dan and I have been tearing it up building the Imani website for Martha, and while there was a time in the last few months when I didn't think there would be any design work involved in this trip, it's been awesome to see that Dan and my skills are being put to use after all. Martha is thrilled with the results (which is amazing compared to the occasional difficult clients I'm dealt with on co-ops!) and it's actually been a lot of fun and will end up being a cool portfolio piece, too.
The last three days those of us that are left in town went out to Swakopmund on the coast. It's a very cool old German town that is now probably Namibia's most popular tourist destination. Right next to Swakop is the Namib Desert, which is a not-messing-around-hardcore desert. It's huge dunes of sand as far as you can see, just like in the movies. And the desert reaches right into the ocean. Amazing.
Friday morning, after getting recomendations from another American, we went on a quad tour through the desert. On my personal list of the most amazing things I've ever done, the quad ride is a contender for the top spot. It's the kind of thing that I know when I tell my brother about it and show him pictures he'll say, "Wow man! That's sweet!" We were tearing through the desert riding over and up and down huge dunes with nothing but sand as far as you can see. It was ridiculous. I'll have some pictures to show later.
Right now, Dan and I are finishing up website work and we're hanging out with some people and saying our goodbyes.
I'm really excited to come home. I could've stayed longer, but the fact that I know I'm leaving soon, I really looking forward to it.
This has been an amazing adventure, and I know Namibia has been forever tatooed on my heart. Who knows what plans God has for me and for this country, but I know that we'll be connected forever. I've learned so much in the last six weeks, and I know I'll be learning more in the coming months.
It's such a blessing that I've had this experience right before my senior year when I'll have some seriously huge decisions to be making. I'm really thankful for this time of serving and growing and I'm stoked to see what God has in store!
Right now, I can't wait to come home and see you, my family and friends, and share some of my experiences with you!
Much love. See you soon!
On Tuesday I'll be flying back to the States. In the last few weeks we've had encouraging time at poly and UNam, done some manual labor, had a decent turnout at the first ever Namibia Navigators conference, and plenty some tearful goodbyes when half the team went home last Tuesday.
Dan and I have been tearing it up building the Imani website for Martha, and while there was a time in the last few months when I didn't think there would be any design work involved in this trip, it's been awesome to see that Dan and my skills are being put to use after all. Martha is thrilled with the results (which is amazing compared to the occasional difficult clients I'm dealt with on co-ops!) and it's actually been a lot of fun and will end up being a cool portfolio piece, too.
The last three days those of us that are left in town went out to Swakopmund on the coast. It's a very cool old German town that is now probably Namibia's most popular tourist destination. Right next to Swakop is the Namib Desert, which is a not-messing-around-hardcore desert. It's huge dunes of sand as far as you can see, just like in the movies. And the desert reaches right into the ocean. Amazing.
Friday morning, after getting recomendations from another American, we went on a quad tour through the desert. On my personal list of the most amazing things I've ever done, the quad ride is a contender for the top spot. It's the kind of thing that I know when I tell my brother about it and show him pictures he'll say, "Wow man! That's sweet!" We were tearing through the desert riding over and up and down huge dunes with nothing but sand as far as you can see. It was ridiculous. I'll have some pictures to show later.
Right now, Dan and I are finishing up website work and we're hanging out with some people and saying our goodbyes.
I'm really excited to come home. I could've stayed longer, but the fact that I know I'm leaving soon, I really looking forward to it.
This has been an amazing adventure, and I know Namibia has been forever tatooed on my heart. Who knows what plans God has for me and for this country, but I know that we'll be connected forever. I've learned so much in the last six weeks, and I know I'll be learning more in the coming months.
It's such a blessing that I've had this experience right before my senior year when I'll have some seriously huge decisions to be making. I'm really thankful for this time of serving and growing and I'm stoked to see what God has in store!
Right now, I can't wait to come home and see you, my family and friends, and share some of my experiences with you!
Much love. See you soon!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Africa for Beginners
So I’ve realized I haven’t really shown any of my team yet on my blog. This time, as I write about the highlights of the last week, I’ve included some recent pictures of a lot of the members of my Navigators team here in Namibia. As I’m sure you’ll see, I’ve been ridiculously blessed to be able to spend so much time in community and fellowship with them! They are all amazing people. Tonight in our meeting, Lauren said that it was obvious that God wanted each and every member of our team to be here. How true. I’ve learned so much from them. It will be really hard when most of the team leaves next week, but I know we’ll always be connected having shared this amazing experience together.
I should mention that this picture and the other like it are from the single birthday party we had for all four members of the team that have birthdays during our trip. We all just went downstairs to see our leader Ed (bottom right) wearing some clothes backwards. One thing led to another and soon everybody was decked out in whatever crazy clothes we could find. We had a blast. That’s just the kind of people the team is.
On to the recap:
We spent this last week on the campus of Polytechnic of Namibia, right next to downtown Windhoek. It’s a really cool place, complete with its own sort of “steps” area to remind of home at UC. It was a seriously tough and challenging week, but one where God showed up with some huge blessings.
I know a lot of us have been learning some tough lessons, myself included, but it’s been paying off big time. Throughout the week, we had ups and downs of resistance and breakthroughs. Some relationships didn’t pan out the way I wanted them to, but other really cool ones were formed.
13 Polytech students came forward and prayed to accept Jesus in our dining room. It was very cool, and it was amazing to see what God was able to do in just a week on campus.
After the meeting finished up, many people had to leave but some stuck around. At first we were just hanging out, but before we knew it the night erupted into an unplanned all-out Navigators Dance Party, Namibian style. People brought in speakers and Nathan was DJing the party with plenty of “House,” an Africa-infused dance music. Kelsey even whipped out some glow sticks. It was awesome to be able to show our guests that if there’s one thing the Navigators know how to do, it’s have an awesome dance party!
Saturday morning was a time of fasting and time with God over on the campus at the University of Namibia. I had never done anything like that so it was a cool experience. God definitely told me some things that I needed to hear following the week at Poly. I’d definitely like to take time at the end of this trip to do something similar.
Today (Monday) we were originally planning on going over to the UNam to start talking to students there, but we were all feeling led to follow up with our Polytech contacts and really building into them. For me, that meant that I spent the whole morning with Chris and Botshélo aka BP hanging out and talking to them about life, Jesus, and the Navigators. They are really cool guys that I’ve definitely connected with and they’re really interested in getting involved in bible study with the Navigators. I definitely want to help them get some roots in the Navs before we Americans leave. Today I also ran into Usiel, a guy I met last week who actually came to the Braai and was one of the people to commit their lives to Christ. He told me he really wants to learn more about the bible, so hopefully we’ll be able to plan some solid time later in the week.
Last Wednesday night, Dr. Samuel John, the head of the Engineering Department at Polytech and a member of the Naivgators Board of Directors in Namibia came over to thank us all for coming. It was powerful when he talked about how much Namibia is in need of a moral base. He talked about how messed up the family structure is in Namibia thanks to a lack of real, responsible men, and how much separation and dissention there is between churches and believers in the country. He said he believes that the Navigators, being a strong interdenominational discipleship-focused ministry, have the opportunity to really change the country for the better.
Recently I’ve heard a lot of people joke about how Namibia is “Africa for Beginners,” meaning that it’s a relatively westernized country that isn’t too terribly shocking or difficult to get used to. Like I said in my last post, this doesn’t fit with my romanticized view of mission work in Africa. Still, as we experience the amazing need of this country and connect to the people in it, it’s impossible to deny the fact that Namibia is ripe to become a major stronghold for the Kingdom. We’re all seeing the signs that God has big plans for this small country in southern Africa.
I should mention that this picture and the other like it are from the single birthday party we had for all four members of the team that have birthdays during our trip. We all just went downstairs to see our leader Ed (bottom right) wearing some clothes backwards. One thing led to another and soon everybody was decked out in whatever crazy clothes we could find. We had a blast. That’s just the kind of people the team is.
On to the recap:
We spent this last week on the campus of Polytechnic of Namibia, right next to downtown Windhoek. It’s a really cool place, complete with its own sort of “steps” area to remind of home at UC. It was a seriously tough and challenging week, but one where God showed up with some huge blessings.
I know a lot of us have been learning some tough lessons, myself included, but it’s been paying off big time. Throughout the week, we had ups and downs of resistance and breakthroughs. Some relationships didn’t pan out the way I wanted them to, but other really cool ones were formed.
Dan, Living, Me and Chris at the Birthday Party
I won’t go into all the details here (I have to save something for when I get back) but the week all led up to a Braai (an Afrikaans word that essentially means Barbeque) that we had at our house on Friday afternoon. We ended up having about 25 of the people we met during the week come over to eat a lot of meat (a necessity for any Namibian gathering) and hang out. At the end of the night, a few people from our team got up and shared testimonies, then Dr. Fynn got up and explained what the Navs are all about. Dr. Fynn is the leader in the Namibia Navigators and has a very cool story himself, but that’s another tangent to save. Towards the end of his spiel, Dr. Fynn started to talk about what it really means to be a Christian and ended up asking if anyone was there that hadn’t committed their lives to Christ and asked them to come to the front of the room if they wanted to.13 Polytech students came forward and prayed to accept Jesus in our dining room. It was very cool, and it was amazing to see what God was able to do in just a week on campus.
Allie, Erika and Kelsey
After the meeting finished up, many people had to leave but some stuck around. At first we were just hanging out, but before we knew it the night erupted into an unplanned all-out Navigators Dance Party, Namibian style. People brought in speakers and Nathan was DJing the party with plenty of “House,” an Africa-infused dance music. Kelsey even whipped out some glow sticks. It was awesome to be able to show our guests that if there’s one thing the Navigators know how to do, it’s have an awesome dance party!
Saturday morning was a time of fasting and time with God over on the campus at the University of Namibia. I had never done anything like that so it was a cool experience. God definitely told me some things that I needed to hear following the week at Poly. I’d definitely like to take time at the end of this trip to do something similar.
Alex, Simba (our coaster driver), and James
Today (Monday) we were originally planning on going over to the UNam to start talking to students there, but we were all feeling led to follow up with our Polytech contacts and really building into them. For me, that meant that I spent the whole morning with Chris and Botshélo aka BP hanging out and talking to them about life, Jesus, and the Navigators. They are really cool guys that I’ve definitely connected with and they’re really interested in getting involved in bible study with the Navigators. I definitely want to help them get some roots in the Navs before we Americans leave. Today I also ran into Usiel, a guy I met last week who actually came to the Braai and was one of the people to commit their lives to Christ. He told me he really wants to learn more about the bible, so hopefully we’ll be able to plan some solid time later in the week.
Last Wednesday night, Dr. Samuel John, the head of the Engineering Department at Polytech and a member of the Naivgators Board of Directors in Namibia came over to thank us all for coming. It was powerful when he talked about how much Namibia is in need of a moral base. He talked about how messed up the family structure is in Namibia thanks to a lack of real, responsible men, and how much separation and dissention there is between churches and believers in the country. He said he believes that the Navigators, being a strong interdenominational discipleship-focused ministry, have the opportunity to really change the country for the better.
Recently I’ve heard a lot of people joke about how Namibia is “Africa for Beginners,” meaning that it’s a relatively westernized country that isn’t too terribly shocking or difficult to get used to. Like I said in my last post, this doesn’t fit with my romanticized view of mission work in Africa. Still, as we experience the amazing need of this country and connect to the people in it, it’s impossible to deny the fact that Namibia is ripe to become a major stronghold for the Kingdom. We’re all seeing the signs that God has big plans for this small country in southern Africa.
Lori with Simba's Son
It’s such an amazing privilege that God is letting us take part in his work here. As I get over my stereotypes, it’s awesome to see that God has put me here for a reason. He’s always wanted me to come here.
Right now, this is exactly where I’m meant to be.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
"There's far too much to take in here..."
So, it’s been a week since my last update, and somehow, today already marks three whole weeks in Africa! Amazing. Anyway, I’ll cut to the chase! I have a lot to talk about and some pictures to share!
As we were driving to the park exit during the sunset, we passed this massive open plain. Not far from the road was a wildebeast among some springbok and a bit further back was a giraffe. Way off in the distance were the silhouettes of probably ten giraffes. It was absolutely beautiful; a major Jurassic Park, in awe of creation-type moment.
I know none of the pictures I took can do justice to how amazing the day in Etosha was. It was the Africa I’ve dreamed about. The "Circle of Life" Africa.
After Etosha, we drove back down here to Windhoek, Namibia’s capital city. Africa here is definitely different from the Africa of Etosha. Windhoek is quite a modern, beautiful city. All twenty team members are now living in a great six bedroom house in one of the nicest neighborhoods in Windhoek. In fact, the neighborhood feels very much like the hills of Los Angeles, save for the electric fences around every house. We’re here to evangelize to the students at Namibia Polytechnic Institute and the University of Namibia in the hopes of sharing the gospel and helping to really grow the Navigators Ministry here.
The last few days have been a bit of a struggle, as I’ve been trying to justify living in a beautiful, comfortable house and walking onto modern college campuses telling students about Jesus. It just doesn’t fit with my romanticized view of what it’s like to do mission work in Africa. However, I’m learning that mission work doesn’t necessarily need to be all about living in huts and getting dirty trekking out to villages where no one speaks English. God has blessed our team with a nice house where we’re able to relax when we need to and fellowship and study in a comfortable environment. It definitely helps us to charge up to go out into the city.
As for the college ministry, I’m realizing that the faces of the students I’m meeting are the faces of young men and women who have grown up facing the same struggles as the kids in classes back in Otjiwarongo. They’ve been taught many of the same lies and get caught up in the same snags. My heart broke for those young kids, and so it’s now pretty awesome to have the opportunity to minister to the next evolution of them.
Yesterday and today we were at Polytech, ministering to students, just starting up conversations with people, talking about God, sharing the bridge when possible. It’s incredibly difficult to just walk up to a stranger and start talking, but it’s gone pretty well. Some people aren’t interested in talking or say they have to get to class, and others are very happy to talk and learn. It’s challenging in that it’s extremely upfront in ways I’ve never been. It’s requiring a lot of faith in Jesus’ authority and the power of the gospel, but it’s resulting in some instant faith-growth for me. Some don’t know much about Jesus and God, but many claim to be Christians. That means different things to different people, and we’re really trying to find out what that actually does mean, trying to encourage and press students to get plugged in somewhere that is pouring into them and challenging them to grow. We’re telling them about the first Navigators Namibia One Day Conference on August 1st and many seem to be interested in coming.
We’re trying to build some real relationships here, and I’m really hoping and praying to have opportunities to follow up with some of the people I’ve met over the last two days. We’ll see. It’s been tough but very cool so far. Hopefully there is much more to come!
Okay, that’s it for tonight. I hope everybody is doing well, wherever this finds you! Here’s one last picture from my day at Etosha.
I know, it’s ridiculous, but how could a Pittsburgher like me go to Africa without a terrible towel? I was hoping I’d have the opportunity to wave the golden towel above the African landscape, and there I am, proudly repping the City of Champions.
"D’yinz guyz see dem zebras n’at?"
Love and miss you all!
Last Wednesday the entire team was reunited up in Tsumeb. When we pulled in to park at the place we were spending the night, everyone’s faces lit up when we caught sight of the Coaster Deluxe and all the folks who had gone up to Rundu. There were big hugs, smiles, and laughing all around. We had been apart for a longer period of time than we had all spent together, but it was like meeting up with lifelong friends!
The next day we all drove up into Etosha National Park, and let me say, driving through there was definitely one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Everywhere you looked, all you could see was pure Africa. We drove through wide open plains, through forests and past dry lakebeds. It was all I imagined and more!
I’ll say right off the bat: no, we didn’t catch sight of any lions this time, but we did see elephants, springbok, kudu, wildebeast, and plenty of giraffes and zebras. I guess I’ll have to save the lions for next time!
For the most part we stayed in our vehicles, as you’re required to do, but at one of the outpost areas you could get out and walk over to a water hole where we saw a huge group of zebras come over to drink.
While driving by a water hole later in the day, we came upon what must’ve been a hundred or more zebra, at multiple points the coaster was no more than five or ten yards from the animals.
Another highlight was later in the day when we drove past a huge giraffe walking through the road. He walked around and started to chew on the trees right next to the road, giving us a perfect view straight at his long neck and head rising above the leaves. We all just sat there in awe, marveling at the size of the animal and watching him grab and chew his food. He didn’t seem to mind, and I probably could’ve sat there and watched him all day.
As we were driving to the park exit during the sunset, we passed this massive open plain. Not far from the road was a wildebeast among some springbok and a bit further back was a giraffe. Way off in the distance were the silhouettes of probably ten giraffes. It was absolutely beautiful; a major Jurassic Park, in awe of creation-type moment.
I know none of the pictures I took can do justice to how amazing the day in Etosha was. It was the Africa I’ve dreamed about. The "Circle of Life" Africa.
After Etosha, we drove back down here to Windhoek, Namibia’s capital city. Africa here is definitely different from the Africa of Etosha. Windhoek is quite a modern, beautiful city. All twenty team members are now living in a great six bedroom house in one of the nicest neighborhoods in Windhoek. In fact, the neighborhood feels very much like the hills of Los Angeles, save for the electric fences around every house. We’re here to evangelize to the students at Namibia Polytechnic Institute and the University of Namibia in the hopes of sharing the gospel and helping to really grow the Navigators Ministry here.
The last few days have been a bit of a struggle, as I’ve been trying to justify living in a beautiful, comfortable house and walking onto modern college campuses telling students about Jesus. It just doesn’t fit with my romanticized view of what it’s like to do mission work in Africa. However, I’m learning that mission work doesn’t necessarily need to be all about living in huts and getting dirty trekking out to villages where no one speaks English. God has blessed our team with a nice house where we’re able to relax when we need to and fellowship and study in a comfortable environment. It definitely helps us to charge up to go out into the city.
As for the college ministry, I’m realizing that the faces of the students I’m meeting are the faces of young men and women who have grown up facing the same struggles as the kids in classes back in Otjiwarongo. They’ve been taught many of the same lies and get caught up in the same snags. My heart broke for those young kids, and so it’s now pretty awesome to have the opportunity to minister to the next evolution of them.
Yesterday and today we were at Polytech, ministering to students, just starting up conversations with people, talking about God, sharing the bridge when possible. It’s incredibly difficult to just walk up to a stranger and start talking, but it’s gone pretty well. Some people aren’t interested in talking or say they have to get to class, and others are very happy to talk and learn. It’s challenging in that it’s extremely upfront in ways I’ve never been. It’s requiring a lot of faith in Jesus’ authority and the power of the gospel, but it’s resulting in some instant faith-growth for me. Some don’t know much about Jesus and God, but many claim to be Christians. That means different things to different people, and we’re really trying to find out what that actually does mean, trying to encourage and press students to get plugged in somewhere that is pouring into them and challenging them to grow. We’re telling them about the first Navigators Namibia One Day Conference on August 1st and many seem to be interested in coming.
We’re trying to build some real relationships here, and I’m really hoping and praying to have opportunities to follow up with some of the people I’ve met over the last two days. We’ll see. It’s been tough but very cool so far. Hopefully there is much more to come!
Okay, that’s it for tonight. I hope everybody is doing well, wherever this finds you! Here’s one last picture from my day at Etosha.
I know, it’s ridiculous, but how could a Pittsburgher like me go to Africa without a terrible towel? I was hoping I’d have the opportunity to wave the golden towel above the African landscape, and there I am, proudly repping the City of Champions.
"D’yinz guyz see dem zebras n’at?"
Love and miss you all!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The Herd is on the move
Today ends our stay here in Otjiwarongo. Tonight we're headed up to Tsumeb where we're reuiniting with the rest of the team and spending tomorrow touring Etosha National Park (where the Lions, Elephants, Giraffes and Zebras are). It's crazy how fast our time here has flown by.
It went so fast, and yet I've definitely become connected to this place and especially all of the kids we've met here. They are all full of so much potential, and unfortunately there are major hurdles they have to overcome. Talking to the kids in classes this week, we've seen how painfully deep misconceptions about sex and manhood run. Unfaithfulness among respected adult men seems to be frighteningly common. These kids have the power to stop the progress of so many horrible things by standing up and refusing to accept them as "just the way it is."
I pray that our message didn't fall on deaf ears. It was amazing to see kids open up their eyes and connect to what we were telling them. If even just one of them will "Choose to wait" and avoid the pain, brokenness and health risks of sex before marriage here, this would all be worth it. That's a prayer we're praying hard.
Yesterday we said goodbye to Joy Center. Auntie Fisch is convinced it wasn't goodbye forever, and that whenever anyone walks through the front door, Joy Center becomes their home. And that's exactly how it feels. Hopefully that wasn't goodbye forever. There are amazing things God is doing, and the kids are extremely blessed to be able to stay there! We all want to stay as connected to it as we can.
Every day here was full of challenges, both external and internal, and it's been quite an adventure. I can't wait to reconnect with the team that was up in Rundu and find out what they've been doing!
Now I'll leave you with a shot from the Crocodile Ranch here in Otjiwarongo. And yes, it's a ranch for Crocs just like ranches in the U.S. raise cattle. They raise the Crocs and sell them. If the buyer wants, they'll even kill the crocs. Not quite what I'm used to hearing in our animal conservancy-minded country! And crikey, those were some huge crocs!
Maybe next time I post I'll have some sweet animal photos for you. I'm praying for everybody headed on their trip to Ghana now. I know it'll be awesome!
In three days or so I'll be in Windhoek for the next leg of our adventure. Hope everybody is great. Catch you on the flip side!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Rejecting Hakuna Matata
Wow, it's about day 10 in Africa. I have more than a month left and I cannot believe how much it seems like we've done already!
My team got here to Otjiwambo early on Saturday, and although it took us a day or so to get our bearings and figure out what we were actually going to do here, it's exciting to feel like now we're taking the city by storm! I can't really go into all the details now and I have to save some stories to share over meals and coffee upon my return, but I'll give you an idea of all the stuff we're doing here.
One of our main projects is going into schools and teaching kids this "Choose to Wait" abstinence program that we learned back at camp. As I think I said in my earlier post, although I was initially skeptical, it's turned out to be an amazingly powerful Christ-centered teaching. The message that they are all equally loved and valued by God, and that he has a perfect plan for sex in marriage is something that they don't seem to be hearing at all. We've given some big assemblies, but it's mostly when we're able to get into the classroom and give more personal lessons that the kids really seem to respond.
Today we spent the whole morning teaching classes to some 8th and 10th graders. Their teacher is a christian guy who would normally be teaching Life Skills classes about accounting, but when we talked to him he was thrilled to let us come in and he even talked to another teacher and we taught her classes. At the end of our last class, the kids were asking some awesome questions about sex and Jesus and salvation. Although we've definitely seen how the stereotypes about sex in their culture run deep (and probably deeper than they do in the U.S.), many of them really seem to be getting it! They are so open to discussing Jesus here, it's crazy!
Another awesome way we're serving the city has been visiting an orphanage, Joy Orphanage. This amazing woman started this place five years ago and is doing great things providing kids a safe place to live and be loved. She teaches these mostly 9-22 year olds about the bible, and has even encouraged the older ones start up and run a bike shop all on their own! We've spent many afternoons there already, with the guys mostly kicking around soccer balls while the girls learn dances and braid eachothers hair. We've also showed them the Navs "Bridge" illustration and might even teach them some choose to wait stuff. Whatever the case, there are huge smiles on the faces of both us and the kids everytime we visit.
I think you'd be hard pressed to find cuter kids anywhere in the world. Joy is definitely a place I would love to stay connected to in the future.
The other big thing is that we've teamed up with guys from Campus Crusade (Who would have thought, right? Navs and Cru!) who travel all around Namibia setting up a giant screen and showing a film about Jesus. Actually, the Namibians all pronounce it "fill-um" so that's usually how we Yanks refer to it!
Again with my American stereotypes, I was skeptical what the results of showing the film in public would be, but the first night we showed it there was a huge crowd and I ended up praying with a young guy named Jerome how said he was caught up in a lot of bad stuff and that he wanted to give his life to Christ.
Since then we've been showing the film about every night this week, and although it's been very cold at night, big crowds have come. Last night there were about 200 or so people standing and sitting in the dirt watching it, and at the end, probably 50 people or so crowded around the screen to commit their lives to Christ.
It's difficult doing these things to know what kind of an impact we'll have in the long run, especially being a group of Navigators who are all about mentoring and discipleship, but we're learning and trying to see how we can really connect people and make sure they are being filled up. A lot of it is definitely planting seeds and praying hard.
It's amazing that I haven't even been in this city for a week yet, but already I'm really connecting to it and starting to feel like I belong. We can walk almost everywhere, and when we do we're constantly running into kids we've taught or met in schools and seeing familiar faces at night when we're showing the Jesus fillum. I can't help but wonder what kind of an impact a person could have if they invested in this place in the long term.
This has been ridiculously amazing already, and we're justing getting started.
I think God's just getting started, too.
My team got here to Otjiwambo early on Saturday, and although it took us a day or so to get our bearings and figure out what we were actually going to do here, it's exciting to feel like now we're taking the city by storm! I can't really go into all the details now and I have to save some stories to share over meals and coffee upon my return, but I'll give you an idea of all the stuff we're doing here.
One of our main projects is going into schools and teaching kids this "Choose to Wait" abstinence program that we learned back at camp. As I think I said in my earlier post, although I was initially skeptical, it's turned out to be an amazingly powerful Christ-centered teaching. The message that they are all equally loved and valued by God, and that he has a perfect plan for sex in marriage is something that they don't seem to be hearing at all. We've given some big assemblies, but it's mostly when we're able to get into the classroom and give more personal lessons that the kids really seem to respond.
Today we spent the whole morning teaching classes to some 8th and 10th graders. Their teacher is a christian guy who would normally be teaching Life Skills classes about accounting, but when we talked to him he was thrilled to let us come in and he even talked to another teacher and we taught her classes. At the end of our last class, the kids were asking some awesome questions about sex and Jesus and salvation. Although we've definitely seen how the stereotypes about sex in their culture run deep (and probably deeper than they do in the U.S.), many of them really seem to be getting it! They are so open to discussing Jesus here, it's crazy!
Another awesome way we're serving the city has been visiting an orphanage, Joy Orphanage. This amazing woman started this place five years ago and is doing great things providing kids a safe place to live and be loved. She teaches these mostly 9-22 year olds about the bible, and has even encouraged the older ones start up and run a bike shop all on their own! We've spent many afternoons there already, with the guys mostly kicking around soccer balls while the girls learn dances and braid eachothers hair. We've also showed them the Navs "Bridge" illustration and might even teach them some choose to wait stuff. Whatever the case, there are huge smiles on the faces of both us and the kids everytime we visit.
I think you'd be hard pressed to find cuter kids anywhere in the world. Joy is definitely a place I would love to stay connected to in the future.
The other big thing is that we've teamed up with guys from Campus Crusade (Who would have thought, right? Navs and Cru!) who travel all around Namibia setting up a giant screen and showing a film about Jesus. Actually, the Namibians all pronounce it "fill-um" so that's usually how we Yanks refer to it!
Again with my American stereotypes, I was skeptical what the results of showing the film in public would be, but the first night we showed it there was a huge crowd and I ended up praying with a young guy named Jerome how said he was caught up in a lot of bad stuff and that he wanted to give his life to Christ.
Since then we've been showing the film about every night this week, and although it's been very cold at night, big crowds have come. Last night there were about 200 or so people standing and sitting in the dirt watching it, and at the end, probably 50 people or so crowded around the screen to commit their lives to Christ.
It's difficult doing these things to know what kind of an impact we'll have in the long run, especially being a group of Navigators who are all about mentoring and discipleship, but we're learning and trying to see how we can really connect people and make sure they are being filled up. A lot of it is definitely planting seeds and praying hard.
It's amazing that I haven't even been in this city for a week yet, but already I'm really connecting to it and starting to feel like I belong. We can walk almost everywhere, and when we do we're constantly running into kids we've taught or met in schools and seeing familiar faces at night when we're showing the Jesus fillum. I can't help but wonder what kind of an impact a person could have if they invested in this place in the long term.
This has been ridiculously amazing already, and we're justing getting started.
I think God's just getting started, too.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Greetings from Namibia!
So I made it to Namibia, and it was quite a journey!
I didn’t get much sleep flying and ended up missing my flight in Joburg! It was kind of terrifying when the woman told me that I was too late to make the plane and that the next flight was full. It’s fairly scary being temporarily stuck alone in a foreign country. I had to walk outside through customs and go to the front gate where I waited in line for a while at the South African Airlines counter. I was very frustrated and my mind was racing, having no idea what I would do if I couldn’t get on another flight soon: who I’d call, how I’d contact anyone without a cell phone or how I could pay for a changed flight. Thankfully, I told the woman at the counter what happened, she typed into her computer for a minute or so and said, “Okay, you’re now on the 1:20 flight.” That was the same flight the other half of the group that spent the night in Joburg was taking, so I was very relieved. It was a huge relief then when I saw the faces of my teammates walking toward me in the airport. Then, on the plane, I got upgraded to Business Class and had one of the best meals of my life, some wine, and good conversation with the man next to me who works in the Namibian Government.
God definitely watched over me and got me to Namibia safely, just not at all the way I had planned! Already I’m learning major lessons.
We were greeted at the airport by many smiling faces of some of our Namibian teammates, Vanessa, Vicky, Living, and Emmanuel. They were very excited to see us, and we immediately shared hugs and warm hellos. Driving back through the countryside in our 30 person bus, “The Coaster Deluxe,” we took in the beautiful Namibian countryside, which in this area happens to look fairly similar to the southwest. Mostly flat, with large mountains jutting up almost out of nowhere.
Since then, we’ve been here at a camp in Okahandja spending time getting to know each other, meeting more of our team, learning about what we’ll be doing, praying, worshipping, and playing soccer and Frisbee. Tomorrow morning we’re splitting into two teams for 10 days. Like I said earlier, my team is headed to Otjiwarongo, where we’ll be spending time at an orphanage, visiting some high schools to talk about abstinence, helping out at a chapel, visiting a hospital, and doing a bit of painting.
That’s the plan, anyway. Who knows what will actually happen! That’s Africa!
We’re all really excited to get out into the country and start meeting a lot of the people. We’ve done a lot of waiting, now we get to start doing!
It’s amazing that I get to spend the next five weeks here. Every day is so beautiful! There’s never a cloud in the sky and the sun is always shining. It is chilly at night and in the morning, but it’s nothing a kid who spent the winter in the Big Apple can’t take.
God is already working in me in big ways. He’s starting to work his way into places I haven’t wanted to let him. It’s pretty freaking exciting. Scary, but awesome and exciting.
Okay, I can’t promise how often updates will come. Internet is not easy to come by here! Hopefully up in Otjiwarongo we’ll be able to go to an internet café often. We’ll see.
Either way, I hope everybody is great! I love and miss you all!
I didn’t get much sleep flying and ended up missing my flight in Joburg! It was kind of terrifying when the woman told me that I was too late to make the plane and that the next flight was full. It’s fairly scary being temporarily stuck alone in a foreign country. I had to walk outside through customs and go to the front gate where I waited in line for a while at the South African Airlines counter. I was very frustrated and my mind was racing, having no idea what I would do if I couldn’t get on another flight soon: who I’d call, how I’d contact anyone without a cell phone or how I could pay for a changed flight. Thankfully, I told the woman at the counter what happened, she typed into her computer for a minute or so and said, “Okay, you’re now on the 1:20 flight.” That was the same flight the other half of the group that spent the night in Joburg was taking, so I was very relieved. It was a huge relief then when I saw the faces of my teammates walking toward me in the airport. Then, on the plane, I got upgraded to Business Class and had one of the best meals of my life, some wine, and good conversation with the man next to me who works in the Namibian Government.
God definitely watched over me and got me to Namibia safely, just not at all the way I had planned! Already I’m learning major lessons.
We were greeted at the airport by many smiling faces of some of our Namibian teammates, Vanessa, Vicky, Living, and Emmanuel. They were very excited to see us, and we immediately shared hugs and warm hellos. Driving back through the countryside in our 30 person bus, “The Coaster Deluxe,” we took in the beautiful Namibian countryside, which in this area happens to look fairly similar to the southwest. Mostly flat, with large mountains jutting up almost out of nowhere.
Since then, we’ve been here at a camp in Okahandja spending time getting to know each other, meeting more of our team, learning about what we’ll be doing, praying, worshipping, and playing soccer and Frisbee. Tomorrow morning we’re splitting into two teams for 10 days. Like I said earlier, my team is headed to Otjiwarongo, where we’ll be spending time at an orphanage, visiting some high schools to talk about abstinence, helping out at a chapel, visiting a hospital, and doing a bit of painting.
That’s the plan, anyway. Who knows what will actually happen! That’s Africa!
We’re all really excited to get out into the country and start meeting a lot of the people. We’ve done a lot of waiting, now we get to start doing!
It’s amazing that I get to spend the next five weeks here. Every day is so beautiful! There’s never a cloud in the sky and the sun is always shining. It is chilly at night and in the morning, but it’s nothing a kid who spent the winter in the Big Apple can’t take.
God is already working in me in big ways. He’s starting to work his way into places I haven’t wanted to let him. It’s pretty freaking exciting. Scary, but awesome and exciting.
Okay, I can’t promise how often updates will come. Internet is not easy to come by here! Hopefully up in Otjiwarongo we’ll be able to go to an internet café often. We’ll see.
Either way, I hope everybody is great! I love and miss you all!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
I believe I can fly...
It's Sunday afternoon and orientation weekend has been great!
My ten American teammates are awesome people and I'm feeling extremely blessed to be able to serve alongside such a great and loving group. I'll probably talk more in detail about them later, but on my team is Kelsey, Lori, Alex M., Lauren, Allie, Jeremy, Erika, Dan, Sonja, and our leader, Ed. We've had a lot of fun hanging out together, preparing, praying and worshipping. I cannot wait to get to know these people better. They are all so passionate, encouraging, and easy to connect with. There has been a lot of talk and prayer about group unity, and it is forming very quickly! Now I'm really excited to meet the 8 Namibian folks that will be joining us!
Sorry I don't have any pictures of the group yet! I will make sure I take plenty.
So, half the team just took the shuttle to the airport, but the rest of us don't leave for a few more hours. Tonight at 11 I get on a plane. Tomorrow morning I'll be in London. Hopefully we can leave the airport and see experience a little British culture! I'd really like to have an opportunity to sing a few lines of "Chim-chim-cheree" or "Step in Time" in the city. Then tomorrow night I'm flying alone to Johannesburg, and Tuesday morning I'll meet back up with some of the team again for our last leg of the trip from South Africa up to Windhoek, Namibia.
Since I'm on a different middle flight than the other 4 folks going to London first, I've got a shorter layover in South Africa than they do and I might be cutting some things close. A quick prayer for that would be much appreciated!
Anyway, depending on when I'm near an internet cafe updates might not come too often. Once we get to Namibia, we'll be staying a few days getting oriented at a camp in Okahandja, and then we'll be splitting up into two teams for two weeks. My team will be in Otjiwarongo. I'm not totally sure what exactly we'll be doing, but it will be a whole lot of different things. Once we get to Namibia we'll have a much better idea of what kind of work we'll be doing.
Anyway, that's it for now. Hope everyone's doing well!
In two days I'll be in Africa! Ridiculous!
My ten American teammates are awesome people and I'm feeling extremely blessed to be able to serve alongside such a great and loving group. I'll probably talk more in detail about them later, but on my team is Kelsey, Lori, Alex M., Lauren, Allie, Jeremy, Erika, Dan, Sonja, and our leader, Ed. We've had a lot of fun hanging out together, preparing, praying and worshipping. I cannot wait to get to know these people better. They are all so passionate, encouraging, and easy to connect with. There has been a lot of talk and prayer about group unity, and it is forming very quickly! Now I'm really excited to meet the 8 Namibian folks that will be joining us!
Sorry I don't have any pictures of the group yet! I will make sure I take plenty.
So, half the team just took the shuttle to the airport, but the rest of us don't leave for a few more hours. Tonight at 11 I get on a plane. Tomorrow morning I'll be in London. Hopefully we can leave the airport and see experience a little British culture! I'd really like to have an opportunity to sing a few lines of "Chim-chim-cheree" or "Step in Time" in the city. Then tomorrow night I'm flying alone to Johannesburg, and Tuesday morning I'll meet back up with some of the team again for our last leg of the trip from South Africa up to Windhoek, Namibia.
Since I'm on a different middle flight than the other 4 folks going to London first, I've got a shorter layover in South Africa than they do and I might be cutting some things close. A quick prayer for that would be much appreciated!
Anyway, depending on when I'm near an internet cafe updates might not come too often. Once we get to Namibia, we'll be staying a few days getting oriented at a camp in Okahandja, and then we'll be splitting up into two teams for two weeks. My team will be in Otjiwarongo. I'm not totally sure what exactly we'll be doing, but it will be a whole lot of different things. Once we get to Namibia we'll have a much better idea of what kind of work we'll be doing.
Anyway, that's it for now. Hope everyone's doing well!
In two days I'll be in Africa! Ridiculous!
Friday, June 26, 2009
It's Time
I really love this song.
I think it might be my personal theme for the trip.
It's time.
I'm off to D.C.!
I think it might be my personal theme for the trip.
It's time.
I'm off to D.C.!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
T-minus 10...9...8...
Well, I don't know if I ever really thought this day would come, but tomorrow my African adventure really begins.
Mom and I are driving to D.C. in the morning, where I'll be having a weekend of orientation before flying across the pond on Sunday night. It's pretty cool that the departure point in America is the Capital; I haven't been in probably seven or eight years.
I'm feeling pretty calm but very excited at the moment. I really have no idea what emotions I might feel over the next few days, but it will probably be a roller coaster of excitment, fear, joy and nervousness. At the moment, I'm especially excited to meet my team tomorrow, the ten other people from all over the states who I'll be doing almost everything with for the next month and a half.
It's very cool to look back at the last six months and see how while originally I became connected to this trip through design opportunities, that is now just going to be a small part of my time in Namibia. Doing design work is something that I know. It's safe, comfortable. That's why I was pulled in. But once I committed, the opportunities grew and evolved and now I'll be doing a whole lot that is uncomfortable. Talking to students at schools, visiting AIDS patients, ministering to students at the University are just some of those things. And the craziest part is that somehow I'm okay with that, and although I'm nervous, I see how God showed up to get me here and because of that I'm stoked!
I don't know how often I'll be able to blog while in Africa. Hopefully I'll be able to, and we'll see about posting pictures. Whatever the case, I got a sweet new notebook at Target this morning and will be writing in that often and taking pictures constantly.
You're all great. I can't wait to share this adventure with all of you!
Mom and I are driving to D.C. in the morning, where I'll be having a weekend of orientation before flying across the pond on Sunday night. It's pretty cool that the departure point in America is the Capital; I haven't been in probably seven or eight years.
I'm feeling pretty calm but very excited at the moment. I really have no idea what emotions I might feel over the next few days, but it will probably be a roller coaster of excitment, fear, joy and nervousness. At the moment, I'm especially excited to meet my team tomorrow, the ten other people from all over the states who I'll be doing almost everything with for the next month and a half.
It's very cool to look back at the last six months and see how while originally I became connected to this trip through design opportunities, that is now just going to be a small part of my time in Namibia. Doing design work is something that I know. It's safe, comfortable. That's why I was pulled in. But once I committed, the opportunities grew and evolved and now I'll be doing a whole lot that is uncomfortable. Talking to students at schools, visiting AIDS patients, ministering to students at the University are just some of those things. And the craziest part is that somehow I'm okay with that, and although I'm nervous, I see how God showed up to get me here and because of that I'm stoked!
I don't know how often I'll be able to blog while in Africa. Hopefully I'll be able to, and we'll see about posting pictures. Whatever the case, I got a sweet new notebook at Target this morning and will be writing in that often and taking pictures constantly.
You're all great. I can't wait to share this adventure with all of you!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Holy Crap
...I'm going to Africa in three weeks.
Now that the quarter's ending, it's starting to hit me like a wall. I'm feeling very unprepared and unqualified.
But I am willing.
Now that the quarter's ending, it's starting to hit me like a wall. I'm feeling very unprepared and unqualified.
But I am willing.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Thirst
I feel pretty good right now.
Better than good, I feel pretty amazing.
My Africa fundraising has been extremely encouraging. Last week I realized I was counting on myself way too much to make this happen. Since then I've been trying to just trust God to provide, not me. Not that I can sit back and watch. I still have to work, too, but the weight has been lifted off of my shoulders and I've been awesomely blessed.
I have a lot of big stuff coming in the next year. I'll have a lot of huge, life-changing decisions to make.
That should and normally would be scary and intimidating for me, but it isn't. I'm thankful for the peace and solid foundation I'm feeling right now. I can't say how long this feeling will last, but while I'm working on building a rock-solid base, the decisions I'll be making and the paths my life could take are all exciting possibilities. The decisions aren't really mine to make anyway.
I want so much to be filled, but before I can be filled, I need to experience my thirst.
I want to be thirsty.
I want to be filled.
. . .
Friday morning I bought my plane ticket to Namibia.
All of a sudden, this is very real.
Here we go.
Better than good, I feel pretty amazing.
My Africa fundraising has been extremely encouraging. Last week I realized I was counting on myself way too much to make this happen. Since then I've been trying to just trust God to provide, not me. Not that I can sit back and watch. I still have to work, too, but the weight has been lifted off of my shoulders and I've been awesomely blessed.
I have a lot of big stuff coming in the next year. I'll have a lot of huge, life-changing decisions to make.
That should and normally would be scary and intimidating for me, but it isn't. I'm thankful for the peace and solid foundation I'm feeling right now. I can't say how long this feeling will last, but while I'm working on building a rock-solid base, the decisions I'll be making and the paths my life could take are all exciting possibilities. The decisions aren't really mine to make anyway.
I want so much to be filled, but before I can be filled, I need to experience my thirst.
I want to be thirsty.
I want to be filled.
. . .
Friday morning I bought my plane ticket to Namibia.
All of a sudden, this is very real.
Here we go.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Over the Rooftops!
This past weekend was my last in The City (for now), so I definitely wanted to make the most of it. Luckily, it was one of the best weekends yet.
Friday night I decided I really needed to see Slumdog Millionaire while it was still in theaters, so from work I went up to the AMC in Times Square (one of the few theaters still showing it). I grabbed some quick and delicious hot dogs on the sidewalk then went in to see if it deserves its spot on the pillars of the Kodak Theater.
As I was told I would, I definitely thought the movie was great. I loved the framing of the story around the interrogation. The acting was top-notch, too, especially from the young kids at the beginning. Of course any movie that ends with a dance sequence and awesomely designed closing credits is sweet in my book.
Wouldn't it be fun if the movie inspired abc to bring back Regis and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in primetime? I'd watch sometimes.
Saturday morning Joan and I went to Times Square to try and score lottery tickets to the new West Side Story revival. It wasn't to be, however, so we took the subway down to the financial district and checked out Trinity Church before making our way over to the South Street Seaport, an area I can see from work in Brooklyn and have wanted to go, mostly because of the sight of old ships.
As we walked through the area, I was amazed at how cool it was. Cobblestone streets, old brick buildings. This is the kind of historic city area that I love. Walking through here was like stepping back into the early 1800s, as long as you keep your distance from the Gap, Abercrombie and Sharper Image, that is.
Looks like it could actually be an old photograph, doesn't it? Nah, I took it myself on Saturday. Isn't it wonderful what a minute of photoshop can do?
Joan and I had lunch outside in the sun on the pier. It wasn't super warm, but it was warm enough for a lot of people to eat outside. It felt great, and gave me a little taste of how amazing it must be here in the Spring.
The rest of Saturday consisted of some hanging out in Prospect Park back in Brooklyn, a delicious dinner at Joan's apartment with Gabe and Dan, all of us playing a few hands of Bananagrams, and watching "Big." I was surprised I actually stayed up for the whole thing, but it is a great movie. Unfortunately though, this time while I was watching, I couldn't stop thinking of how messed up both of the main characters were going to be after living through the events of the movie. It would definitely take a lot of psychiatric help to resolve all their issues.
Sunday, Mom flew in for the day! She got in around 10:30, and we headed off to Chelsea Market, someplace I knew she'd love. We found out it used to be an old Nabisco factory, and the market has only existed for about 10 years, which was a surprise. It is so cool. Mom ate what she said was some of the best Lobster Bisque she's ever had, and I had a delicious cup of Chicken Pot Pie Soup. Mmmm.
From there, we took the subway up to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, another place I was sure Mom would love. The museum is pretty ridiculous. It is all so well-kept with some incredible pieces. We took about half of a free museum highlights tour, then ducked out to join an Old Masters tour, which is some of my Mom's favorite work. Our tour guides in both cases were older New Yorker men with great accents. I actually learned a lot and was shown some great paintings on the Old Masters tour.
We also checked out a few other things, like some of the American Landscape paintings. Those are some of my favorites. There's just not much more artistically impressive to me than a beautiful mountain perfectly painted.
From the museum, Mom and I had a fun Italian dinner at Carmines on 44th and ended up with a huge amount of leftovers. From there, it was time for the Theater!
We walked over to the New Amsterdam Theatre, the theater Disney owns. Apparently the theater sat vacant, decaying and falling apart for something like 15 or 20 years before Disney bought the historic property in 1993 and began their renovation.
The renovation work is pretty amazing. You can see some before and after pictures here.
So how was Mary Poppins? Well, there's really only one word to describe it...
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. There you go, enjoy my cheesy-ness.
I love the self-awareness of Mary's comment at the beginning of that song, "Of course it's a word, and unless I'm very much mistaken I think it's going to prove a rather useful one."
Truly though, Mary Poppins is an amazing show. The music, the performances, the sets, are all awesome. Don't even get me started about the theatrics and effects of it all. I knew most of what was going to happen before I saw the show, and I was still very, very impressed. Even knowing as much as I did, I was still surprised by a lot and even got chills during a few scenes, including one involving Mr. Banks and the children near the end of the show. And the entire "Step in Time" scene above the rooftops of London has got to be the greatest dance sequence I've ever seen.
I won't go into any details about what magic stuff actually does happen in the show, because I don't want to ruin anything for anyone, but it really is all great. Our Mary and Bert were absolutely fantastic. During the bows, Mom and I rose to our feet from our seats in the front row of the mezzanine when Bert ran out, while most of the rest of the audience stayed sitting. The lady behind us said "Down in Front!" but one second later, the whole audience was standing as Mary came out for her bow.
Normally, I try to avoid doing things that take away from other peoples experiences at shows and theme parks and whatnot, but look lady, your kid was kicking the back of my seat during the entire show. I'll give my standing ovation to whoever the hell I want to.
The actor playing Bert just seemed to be having the time of his life in the role, and rightfully so, considering all that Bert gets to do in the show. In fact, seeing Mary Poppins made me want to be Bert. Not really play Bert in a musical or anything, but to actually be him.
You know, I think good Digital Designers are actually a lot like Bert...but that's a conversation for another time. I do think I'll make a great Bert on some future Halloween, though.
After the show, Mom and I went down to the basement of the theater to see this beautiful room called "The New Amsterdam Room." I'd expect it's used for special events and parties, and anytime Bob Iger is in town. Here's a shot of the amazing ceiling in the room. As you can see, since the renovation it's pretty awesome. It's nice to know Disney is capable of doing some really classy, good things in the world.
Good work, Disney.
As you can see, my last weekend in New York was a great one, topped off with what was probably the best show I've seen during my time here, Mary Poppins. The first few days of this week have had significant events themselves, but I'll save that for later.
For now, have a great week, everyone! I look forward to seeing many of you soon back in the Nati!
Friday night I decided I really needed to see Slumdog Millionaire while it was still in theaters, so from work I went up to the AMC in Times Square (one of the few theaters still showing it). I grabbed some quick and delicious hot dogs on the sidewalk then went in to see if it deserves its spot on the pillars of the Kodak Theater.
As I was told I would, I definitely thought the movie was great. I loved the framing of the story around the interrogation. The acting was top-notch, too, especially from the young kids at the beginning. Of course any movie that ends with a dance sequence and awesomely designed closing credits is sweet in my book.
Wouldn't it be fun if the movie inspired abc to bring back Regis and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in primetime? I'd watch sometimes.
Saturday morning Joan and I went to Times Square to try and score lottery tickets to the new West Side Story revival. It wasn't to be, however, so we took the subway down to the financial district and checked out Trinity Church before making our way over to the South Street Seaport, an area I can see from work in Brooklyn and have wanted to go, mostly because of the sight of old ships.
As we walked through the area, I was amazed at how cool it was. Cobblestone streets, old brick buildings. This is the kind of historic city area that I love. Walking through here was like stepping back into the early 1800s, as long as you keep your distance from the Gap, Abercrombie and Sharper Image, that is.
Looks like it could actually be an old photograph, doesn't it? Nah, I took it myself on Saturday. Isn't it wonderful what a minute of photoshop can do?
Joan and I had lunch outside in the sun on the pier. It wasn't super warm, but it was warm enough for a lot of people to eat outside. It felt great, and gave me a little taste of how amazing it must be here in the Spring.
The rest of Saturday consisted of some hanging out in Prospect Park back in Brooklyn, a delicious dinner at Joan's apartment with Gabe and Dan, all of us playing a few hands of Bananagrams, and watching "Big." I was surprised I actually stayed up for the whole thing, but it is a great movie. Unfortunately though, this time while I was watching, I couldn't stop thinking of how messed up both of the main characters were going to be after living through the events of the movie. It would definitely take a lot of psychiatric help to resolve all their issues.
Sunday, Mom flew in for the day! She got in around 10:30, and we headed off to Chelsea Market, someplace I knew she'd love. We found out it used to be an old Nabisco factory, and the market has only existed for about 10 years, which was a surprise. It is so cool. Mom ate what she said was some of the best Lobster Bisque she's ever had, and I had a delicious cup of Chicken Pot Pie Soup. Mmmm.
From there, we took the subway up to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, another place I was sure Mom would love. The museum is pretty ridiculous. It is all so well-kept with some incredible pieces. We took about half of a free museum highlights tour, then ducked out to join an Old Masters tour, which is some of my Mom's favorite work. Our tour guides in both cases were older New Yorker men with great accents. I actually learned a lot and was shown some great paintings on the Old Masters tour.
We also checked out a few other things, like some of the American Landscape paintings. Those are some of my favorites. There's just not much more artistically impressive to me than a beautiful mountain perfectly painted.
From the museum, Mom and I had a fun Italian dinner at Carmines on 44th and ended up with a huge amount of leftovers. From there, it was time for the Theater!
We walked over to the New Amsterdam Theatre, the theater Disney owns. Apparently the theater sat vacant, decaying and falling apart for something like 15 or 20 years before Disney bought the historic property in 1993 and began their renovation.
The renovation work is pretty amazing. You can see some before and after pictures here.
So how was Mary Poppins? Well, there's really only one word to describe it...
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. There you go, enjoy my cheesy-ness.
I love the self-awareness of Mary's comment at the beginning of that song, "Of course it's a word, and unless I'm very much mistaken I think it's going to prove a rather useful one."
Truly though, Mary Poppins is an amazing show. The music, the performances, the sets, are all awesome. Don't even get me started about the theatrics and effects of it all. I knew most of what was going to happen before I saw the show, and I was still very, very impressed. Even knowing as much as I did, I was still surprised by a lot and even got chills during a few scenes, including one involving Mr. Banks and the children near the end of the show. And the entire "Step in Time" scene above the rooftops of London has got to be the greatest dance sequence I've ever seen.
I won't go into any details about what magic stuff actually does happen in the show, because I don't want to ruin anything for anyone, but it really is all great. Our Mary and Bert were absolutely fantastic. During the bows, Mom and I rose to our feet from our seats in the front row of the mezzanine when Bert ran out, while most of the rest of the audience stayed sitting. The lady behind us said "Down in Front!" but one second later, the whole audience was standing as Mary came out for her bow.
Normally, I try to avoid doing things that take away from other peoples experiences at shows and theme parks and whatnot, but look lady, your kid was kicking the back of my seat during the entire show. I'll give my standing ovation to whoever the hell I want to.
The actor playing Bert just seemed to be having the time of his life in the role, and rightfully so, considering all that Bert gets to do in the show. In fact, seeing Mary Poppins made me want to be Bert. Not really play Bert in a musical or anything, but to actually be him.
You know, I think good Digital Designers are actually a lot like Bert...but that's a conversation for another time. I do think I'll make a great Bert on some future Halloween, though.
After the show, Mom and I went down to the basement of the theater to see this beautiful room called "The New Amsterdam Room." I'd expect it's used for special events and parties, and anytime Bob Iger is in town. Here's a shot of the amazing ceiling in the room. As you can see, since the renovation it's pretty awesome. It's nice to know Disney is capable of doing some really classy, good things in the world.
Good work, Disney.
As you can see, my last weekend in New York was a great one, topped off with what was probably the best show I've seen during my time here, Mary Poppins. The first few days of this week have had significant events themselves, but I'll save that for later.
For now, have a great week, everyone! I look forward to seeing many of you soon back in the Nati!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
A Stack of Playbills
I have a week left in New York, and as I look back on the quarter I've spent here, I can't help but ask myself one question.
Has this quarter amounted to more than a stack of Playbills?
There are a lot of things I wanted to do this quarter that didn't happen, namely volunteering and connecting to both a community and the city itself. Those things happened fairly easily and naturally in Los Angeles, so I just expected the same here. Well, that just wasn't the case.
On the other hand, there were plenty of things I hadn't planned on. For one, I've been able to spend time building friendships with some great people I didn't know well before this quarter, like my fellow Cincy co-ops Joan and Drew, and Amber, my LA roommate Garrett's older sister (She made me dinner last night, it was very delicious and fun!). With the case of Joan and Drew, I'm looking forward to spending some time with them both next quarter when school starts, and I will definitely be staying in touch with Amber to keep her updated on my time in Africa.
Somehow, I've actually kept The Good Morning Experiment going every single day I've walked to work for the last three weeks. I've gotten the whole range of responses, from big smiles and a "Hey, how's it going?" to people completely ignoring me. So far I don't think I've actually seen anyone twice, but it has been great to walk to work with a goal in mind, so much more perceptive of the people around me. Even when I'm feeling worn out or empty myself, saying good morning to someone and getting a happy response gives me a jolt of energy. I hope for at least some people, my good mornings do the same for them.
Losing my wallet, I was forced to rely on other people and I got a taste of what it is truly like to have no money for a while. If I had forgotten to ask Dan to borrow some money for the subway, I don't know how I would've gotten to or from work. What do people do when they don't have anyone to help them out? Maybe I shouldn't be so resistant to give people money in this city. Sure, sometimes they'll just use it to get high, but sometimes they might actually need it.
In any case, something amazing happened. Prayers were answered. The person who found my lost wallet actually returned it. There really are unbelievably good people in New York City. Who would have thought?
Tonight after work it was something like 55 degrees outside and I didn't have anywhere I needed to rush to, so I decided to walk down to the Brooklyn Bridge Park at the end of the street. As I looked across the river at the lights of downtown, I actually thought to myself, hey, I really do like it here. I've survived winter in New York. The toughest time of the year to live here. I could do this.
The other night on the phone, Nate asked me if I thought I'd miss New York. It was a weird question to hear because it really wasn't something I'd thought about. I don't know when it'll hit me, or why, but I do think I will miss "The City," and it will be interesting for me to see when and why those feelings arise.
Who knows what the future holds. I definitely don't. But I can probably concede that this really is "The Greatest City in the World." Does that mean I'll live here again? I have no idea.
For now, all I know is that the quarter has been significant in many unexpected ways. Should I have put more effort into finding a community and volunteering? Definitely. And I know my love for the theater was a fairly selfish reason for me to try so hard to get a job here. Regardless, I can't regret anything now, as I have become connected to this place, and although I've loved seeing some great shows (and am extremely excited to see Mary Poppins with Mom on Sunday), they haven't been the most important part of the quarter. I've learned a lot and have hopefully even learned many things I haven't even realized yet. Although I haven't been sure what my answer would end up being, now I can confidently say it.
This quarter has been much, much more than a stack of Playbills.
Has this quarter amounted to more than a stack of Playbills?
There are a lot of things I wanted to do this quarter that didn't happen, namely volunteering and connecting to both a community and the city itself. Those things happened fairly easily and naturally in Los Angeles, so I just expected the same here. Well, that just wasn't the case.
On the other hand, there were plenty of things I hadn't planned on. For one, I've been able to spend time building friendships with some great people I didn't know well before this quarter, like my fellow Cincy co-ops Joan and Drew, and Amber, my LA roommate Garrett's older sister (She made me dinner last night, it was very delicious and fun!). With the case of Joan and Drew, I'm looking forward to spending some time with them both next quarter when school starts, and I will definitely be staying in touch with Amber to keep her updated on my time in Africa.
Somehow, I've actually kept The Good Morning Experiment going every single day I've walked to work for the last three weeks. I've gotten the whole range of responses, from big smiles and a "Hey, how's it going?" to people completely ignoring me. So far I don't think I've actually seen anyone twice, but it has been great to walk to work with a goal in mind, so much more perceptive of the people around me. Even when I'm feeling worn out or empty myself, saying good morning to someone and getting a happy response gives me a jolt of energy. I hope for at least some people, my good mornings do the same for them.
Losing my wallet, I was forced to rely on other people and I got a taste of what it is truly like to have no money for a while. If I had forgotten to ask Dan to borrow some money for the subway, I don't know how I would've gotten to or from work. What do people do when they don't have anyone to help them out? Maybe I shouldn't be so resistant to give people money in this city. Sure, sometimes they'll just use it to get high, but sometimes they might actually need it.
In any case, something amazing happened. Prayers were answered. The person who found my lost wallet actually returned it. There really are unbelievably good people in New York City. Who would have thought?
Tonight after work it was something like 55 degrees outside and I didn't have anywhere I needed to rush to, so I decided to walk down to the Brooklyn Bridge Park at the end of the street. As I looked across the river at the lights of downtown, I actually thought to myself, hey, I really do like it here. I've survived winter in New York. The toughest time of the year to live here. I could do this.
The other night on the phone, Nate asked me if I thought I'd miss New York. It was a weird question to hear because it really wasn't something I'd thought about. I don't know when it'll hit me, or why, but I do think I will miss "The City," and it will be interesting for me to see when and why those feelings arise.
Who knows what the future holds. I definitely don't. But I can probably concede that this really is "The Greatest City in the World." Does that mean I'll live here again? I have no idea.
For now, all I know is that the quarter has been significant in many unexpected ways. Should I have put more effort into finding a community and volunteering? Definitely. And I know my love for the theater was a fairly selfish reason for me to try so hard to get a job here. Regardless, I can't regret anything now, as I have become connected to this place, and although I've loved seeing some great shows (and am extremely excited to see Mary Poppins with Mom on Sunday), they haven't been the most important part of the quarter. I've learned a lot and have hopefully even learned many things I haven't even realized yet. Although I haven't been sure what my answer would end up being, now I can confidently say it.
This quarter has been much, much more than a stack of Playbills.
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