It's a hard realization when you see a chapter in your life closing. I feel as though the significant lives approaching in the next few weeks solidify the end of this part of the story.
I have lived in Ely Hall for two years now - and it has seen the cultivation of friendships with very significant friends in my life. Molly, Lucy, Anna, Christine, Katherine, Liz, Katy, Kelley. I have learned a lot about myself in being a RA through the last two years. I am, in all honesty, ready to move - but it's a hard realization to know I am missing another year of rowdy good time.
I am going to Haiti in 20 days. 20 days. I don't even know how to begin to comprehend that. The shots in my arms and $700 out of my bank account should begin to solidify it in my mind...
And the realization that the day after tomorrow is the last few hours I will spend with my dad in Kansas City is a really difficult thing to swallow.
Oh life. Off to sleep.
Apr 27, 2009
Apr 20, 2009
My Fair Ladies
I just have to say...I get to live with these four incredible girls in a few months. The 5 Fair Ladies of 23 Fairview.
This is how I feel about that...
This is how I feel about that...
Apr 10, 2009
Discipline
Discipline means:
a) Researching WWII for my paper rather than good programs to learn Creole.
b) Reading about Nazi euthanasia centers rather than the history of Haiti.
c) Writing my research paper rather than blogs or e-mails.
d) All of the above.
I CAN'T WAIT TO GO TO HAITI. I had a meeting to talk about what I will be doing there - so if you are interested, ask me about it. I will surely talk your ear off.
a) Researching WWII for my paper rather than good programs to learn Creole.
b) Reading about Nazi euthanasia centers rather than the history of Haiti.
c) Writing my research paper rather than blogs or e-mails.
d) All of the above.
I CAN'T WAIT TO GO TO HAITI. I had a meeting to talk about what I will be doing there - so if you are interested, ask me about it. I will surely talk your ear off.
Apr 3, 2009
you will be set free
Sometimes my hardened heart is so evident in my face, and sometimes I don't see it at all. But tonight I was struck with how empty and cold my heart has been. I haven't been seeking the Lord in the ways I should - and it is manifesting in the way I treat the situations surrounding me.
So I am going to Haiti this summer. And it has been a frustrating and difficult process. I wrote e-mails inquiring about different places that I could serve. I waited for weeks. When I finally heard back, nearly a month later, I rushed through applications for grants and internships so that I might go. While filling out an application, a man approached me and asked what I was working on. I told him I was applying for an internship in Haiti. He immediately told me that I did not want to go Haiti. He said it was dirty. He said it was dark. He said I should forget about Haiti and head to...Korea.
Seriously.
A few weeks later I was in a Sunday School and was asked about my summer plans. I said I was waiting to hear back from an organization in Haiti. The man's response was something like this:
"You don't want to go to Haiti. It's so hopeless there. It's dark. I can't think about that place without crying. People don't care about their lives anymore because they have nothing."
I talk to people about going to Haiti, and the general response is that I should be very careful. Don't be stupid. It's dangerous. There's a lot of poverty and AIDS.
So, combine discouragement with an empty heart, and you wind up with a whole lot of apathy. I have stopped caring about seeking Truth. I have closed myself off from emotions. I have not persisted in understanding and listening to the Lord's words.
So when I talked with my mom a few days ago, I explained that I feel hopeless. Too many people have expressed words of discouragement, and I started to listen. I didn't know what I should do. In the back of my mind I am thinking "The trip is paid for, so I am supposed to go. Maybe I should start praying."
Pretty scary to see how backwards my heart is.
The ray of hope, the thin sliver of light in the midst of this is having a mother who stands beside me and says "don't give up." It's in having Karen write me a message today, allowing me the opportunity to tell her I am scared to go alone and that I am in doubt. Her words back were these:
Many people only know of the violence, poverty and bad sides of Haiti. There is great hope when you can see up close what God has done and is continuing to do through Hope Mission. The people there are so loving and kind, and they love the Lord wholeheartedly. When people here focus on the poverty there, I want to scream sometimes. Yes, the poverty is mind-boggling, but when you meet the people up-close and worship with them on Sunday mornings, they are soooo much richer than we are because they only have Christ and they realize that He is all that they need. You will be blessed beyond belief. I am so excited for you, and a little bit jealous as well.
She went to the same organization that I am headed to in just a few weeks.
The hope in the midst of recognizing a deadened heart within me is being reminded that the Lord doesn't need my heart to be alive and "right" in order to speak encouragement and love and hope and truth. The hope is that "he calls his sheep by name and leads them out."
So I am going to Haiti this summer. And it has been a frustrating and difficult process. I wrote e-mails inquiring about different places that I could serve. I waited for weeks. When I finally heard back, nearly a month later, I rushed through applications for grants and internships so that I might go. While filling out an application, a man approached me and asked what I was working on. I told him I was applying for an internship in Haiti. He immediately told me that I did not want to go Haiti. He said it was dirty. He said it was dark. He said I should forget about Haiti and head to...Korea.
Seriously.
A few weeks later I was in a Sunday School and was asked about my summer plans. I said I was waiting to hear back from an organization in Haiti. The man's response was something like this:
"You don't want to go to Haiti. It's so hopeless there. It's dark. I can't think about that place without crying. People don't care about their lives anymore because they have nothing."
I talk to people about going to Haiti, and the general response is that I should be very careful. Don't be stupid. It's dangerous. There's a lot of poverty and AIDS.
So, combine discouragement with an empty heart, and you wind up with a whole lot of apathy. I have stopped caring about seeking Truth. I have closed myself off from emotions. I have not persisted in understanding and listening to the Lord's words.
So when I talked with my mom a few days ago, I explained that I feel hopeless. Too many people have expressed words of discouragement, and I started to listen. I didn't know what I should do. In the back of my mind I am thinking "The trip is paid for, so I am supposed to go. Maybe I should start praying."
Pretty scary to see how backwards my heart is.
The ray of hope, the thin sliver of light in the midst of this is having a mother who stands beside me and says "don't give up." It's in having Karen write me a message today, allowing me the opportunity to tell her I am scared to go alone and that I am in doubt. Her words back were these:
Many people only know of the violence, poverty and bad sides of Haiti. There is great hope when you can see up close what God has done and is continuing to do through Hope Mission. The people there are so loving and kind, and they love the Lord wholeheartedly. When people here focus on the poverty there, I want to scream sometimes. Yes, the poverty is mind-boggling, but when you meet the people up-close and worship with them on Sunday mornings, they are soooo much richer than we are because they only have Christ and they realize that He is all that they need. You will be blessed beyond belief. I am so excited for you, and a little bit jealous as well.
She went to the same organization that I am headed to in just a few weeks.
The hope in the midst of recognizing a deadened heart within me is being reminded that the Lord doesn't need my heart to be alive and "right" in order to speak encouragement and love and hope and truth. The hope is that "he calls his sheep by name and leads them out."
Apr 2, 2009
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