1. Think, "Oh man, how nice would a tuna sandwich on some grilled bread be right now?"
2. Open the door to the stove, which heats your house and cooks your food at the same time, to discover that even the embers have burned out.
3. Blow into the fireplace, hoping to act as a human bellows and resuscitate the fire.
4. Dust off your clothes to remove the ashes that flew out of the fireplace in your zeal to revive the neglected fire.
5. Spray the room with Febreeze to remove the smell of campfire.
6. Blow into the fireplace some more. Ignore the ashes that come flying out at you.
7. Use saline to remove the ashes from your contacts. Dust your clothes off again. Repeat Febreeze.
8. Admit defeat, and find your landlord in her shop downstairs for help.
9. Let landlord follow you upstairs. Spend 15 minutes getting scolded in Albanian for letting the fire go out in the first place.
10. Watch in amazement as landlord performs magic and causes flames to spring forth from the fireplace.
11. Say "Falemenderit" eleventy six times as your landlord is leaving (it means "thank you" and is pronounced "fa-la-men-dare-eet").
12. Remember that the reason you tried to get the fire going again in the first place was to eat a tuna sandwich.
13. Realize you have no bread. Pop around the corner to the bakery to get some.
14. Slice bread. Toast.
15. Remove can of tuna from pantry.
16. Realize you don't have a can opener.
17. Eat cereal instead.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Departure
In just over eighteen hours, I will board a plane that will take me into the heart of Eastern Europe. I have never been there, and I am terrified. I don't speak the language, I don't know squat about international travel, and I loathe the cold climate of Kosovo with the most profound abhorrence.
But God is good, and He will see me through this, as He has seen to each of my needs from the moment he first called me to this crazy, ridiculous, wonderful, scary, God-Inspired journey.
When I started this journey I thought there was no way I could raise nearly $10,000 in just over a month and a half. I thought the guys in the Pioneers office were crazy for telling me that it was, in fact possible. I sent out eleventy six letters, expecting maybe $4,000 or $5,000 to come in, but certainly not enough to send me to Kosovo and keep me there for the time period I had asked to go for. God had already slapped me around with the book of Judges and a certain story about Gideon and 300 men who lapped water like dogs out of a river, but I had resigned myself to traveling for a shortened amount of time because, well, I sent those letters out right at Christmas. Christmas is hard for everyone, I told myself. People won't really be that willing to help me because they'll be providing for their families.
You guys. I have a very, very rich Papa, and my Papa has some very generous and rich children. My Papa's math doesn't always make sense; He has blessed me abundantly in this venture. I am so humbled and thankful, and I have received confirmation from the way He has blessed me that he really does want me to go to Kosovo (not that I ever really had any doubt, but still.)
I wanted to write this post specifically to let you, my Papa's very rich and generous children, know what you have helped me to do. I am so blessed and honored that each of you have taken time to pray for me and to help me out. I have never even met some of you, and at least one person has given anonymously. Some of you are friends of friends; some of you are my family members. Two churches have helped me, as well as countless friends. I am so truly thankful for each and every one of you, and for your faithfulness and your willingness to help out a friend/relative/total stranger. I could not have done any of this without you.
You have helped me support a sweet little girl and her adorable family in Honduras. (I wrote a post on that shortly after Christmas, but I am not technologically savvy enough to link to it in this post. It's called "Good Gifts).
You have helped me to raise (drumroll please)... $9,950.80.
HOLY FLYING FISHSTICKS, BATMAN! Not only have my Papa's children helped me raise what I needed to, you have helped me raise MORE than I needed! Praise the Lord! How infinitely blessed am I to serve the Lord, who not only provides what you need when you need it but provides over and above what you need!
You have also helped me gather the necessary supplies to start a knitting ministry!
My mysterious anonymous benefactor also sent $85 in the mail, which I received earlier this week. I had talked to Wrenn and David, the couple who live in Kosovo and who I will be going to join, about perhaps bringing some of my knitting with me. They were stoked to find out that I knew how to knit and had suggested that I bring some supplies with me to teach the younger girls how to knit or crochet. They explained that the older ladies knew how to knit (and spin, and weave, and crochet, and all of the other fiber artsy things) but that the younger generation didn't.
I had already decided that I wanted to bring some supplies with me, but knew that I couldn't bring more than what was already in my knitting basket because yarn is not the cheapest thing in the world and I felt that it would be frivolous to acquire the necessary supplies unless some money from God fell out of the sky. And then $85 showed up in my mailbox. Praise the Lord, who provides over and above what I needed and who has given me what I asked for! Thanks to a sale at Hobby Lobby, I was able to get enough yarn to teach seven or eight people to knit. My hope is to reach out to these girls through this, and to gather together in my apartment (or wherever) to knit and to open a dialog about Christ. I see this as a tool to reach out to the women in the community, and if it is something that I love doing anyways, well, God is the giver of good gifts.
The last thing: My sweet fiance sent me this verse via text this afternoon, and I love it so much that I want to share it with you. "For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith. And I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the Love of Christ, and to know that this love surpasses knowledge that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." -Ephesians 3:14-21. Please pray that the words of Christ come from my mouth, and that through Him I am able to show these people how wide and long and high and deep is the Love of Christ!
That's about all I have to say for now. I love each and every one of you and I am so honored to have you supporting me. The next time you hear from me, I will be in Kosovo!
But God is good, and He will see me through this, as He has seen to each of my needs from the moment he first called me to this crazy, ridiculous, wonderful, scary, God-Inspired journey.
When I started this journey I thought there was no way I could raise nearly $10,000 in just over a month and a half. I thought the guys in the Pioneers office were crazy for telling me that it was, in fact possible. I sent out eleventy six letters, expecting maybe $4,000 or $5,000 to come in, but certainly not enough to send me to Kosovo and keep me there for the time period I had asked to go for. God had already slapped me around with the book of Judges and a certain story about Gideon and 300 men who lapped water like dogs out of a river, but I had resigned myself to traveling for a shortened amount of time because, well, I sent those letters out right at Christmas. Christmas is hard for everyone, I told myself. People won't really be that willing to help me because they'll be providing for their families.
You guys. I have a very, very rich Papa, and my Papa has some very generous and rich children. My Papa's math doesn't always make sense; He has blessed me abundantly in this venture. I am so humbled and thankful, and I have received confirmation from the way He has blessed me that he really does want me to go to Kosovo (not that I ever really had any doubt, but still.)
I wanted to write this post specifically to let you, my Papa's very rich and generous children, know what you have helped me to do. I am so blessed and honored that each of you have taken time to pray for me and to help me out. I have never even met some of you, and at least one person has given anonymously. Some of you are friends of friends; some of you are my family members. Two churches have helped me, as well as countless friends. I am so truly thankful for each and every one of you, and for your faithfulness and your willingness to help out a friend/relative/total stranger. I could not have done any of this without you.
You have helped me support a sweet little girl and her adorable family in Honduras. (I wrote a post on that shortly after Christmas, but I am not technologically savvy enough to link to it in this post. It's called "Good Gifts).
You have helped me to raise (drumroll please)... $9,950.80.
HOLY FLYING FISHSTICKS, BATMAN! Not only have my Papa's children helped me raise what I needed to, you have helped me raise MORE than I needed! Praise the Lord! How infinitely blessed am I to serve the Lord, who not only provides what you need when you need it but provides over and above what you need!
You have also helped me gather the necessary supplies to start a knitting ministry!
My mysterious anonymous benefactor also sent $85 in the mail, which I received earlier this week. I had talked to Wrenn and David, the couple who live in Kosovo and who I will be going to join, about perhaps bringing some of my knitting with me. They were stoked to find out that I knew how to knit and had suggested that I bring some supplies with me to teach the younger girls how to knit or crochet. They explained that the older ladies knew how to knit (and spin, and weave, and crochet, and all of the other fiber artsy things) but that the younger generation didn't.
I had already decided that I wanted to bring some supplies with me, but knew that I couldn't bring more than what was already in my knitting basket because yarn is not the cheapest thing in the world and I felt that it would be frivolous to acquire the necessary supplies unless some money from God fell out of the sky. And then $85 showed up in my mailbox. Praise the Lord, who provides over and above what I needed and who has given me what I asked for! Thanks to a sale at Hobby Lobby, I was able to get enough yarn to teach seven or eight people to knit. My hope is to reach out to these girls through this, and to gather together in my apartment (or wherever) to knit and to open a dialog about Christ. I see this as a tool to reach out to the women in the community, and if it is something that I love doing anyways, well, God is the giver of good gifts.
The last thing: My sweet fiance sent me this verse via text this afternoon, and I love it so much that I want to share it with you. "For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith. And I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the Love of Christ, and to know that this love surpasses knowledge that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." -Ephesians 3:14-21. Please pray that the words of Christ come from my mouth, and that through Him I am able to show these people how wide and long and high and deep is the Love of Christ!
That's about all I have to say for now. I love each and every one of you and I am so honored to have you supporting me. The next time you hear from me, I will be in Kosovo!
Monday, January 14, 2013
It's Official!
Whelp, this is happening for real. My parents and I sat down a few nights ago and purchased a plane ticket--I really get to do this! WOOOHOOOO! (That has become my mantra).
For those concerned parties, I am leaving on January 24 (which is Trent's birthday, sadly) from Huntsville. I should show up again in Pristina, Kosovo roughly 24 hours later (ish). I will be back in the States on June 2. Each trip takes roughly 24 hours, and I am reveling in the thought of going through Customs in my sleep-deprived state.
As for the communication situation: I can receive as many text messages as you want to send me, but I can only send out 50 per month. You can email me all you want, too, but I may or may not have frequent access to the internet and so I may or may not be able to email you back. I can Skype too, I just need a heads up.
There are lots of fun things on my to-do list that must be crossed off before I get there, and the most important one is learning how to build a fire. How have I made it to the ripe old age of 22 and not learned how to build a fire, you ask? That's a good question, and the answer is that in this modern world of central heating I haven't had the need to learn. Kosovo does not have central heating because they do not have power all the time, and if I want to stay warm at night (or during the day) I need to learn how to not only build a fire, I need to learn how to take care of a wood burning stove (something else I've never needed to learn how to do because Dad has always done it for me!).
I would greatly appreciate any prayers you feel like sending; I am terrified of international travel, even more so considering that the last time I flew alone was a disaster (I missed my flight by three minutes! Then the Delta guy laughed at me! Also, I booked a ticket for the wrong month!). I already know that my tickets are for the right month, but I have to pass through two countries where I don't speak the language and don't know how to say, "Excuse me, but I have missed my flight / need to use the restroom / am lost / would like something to eat / am offended by your body odor." So far my only hope at communication seems to be pantomime.
And as always I seek your prayers for the ministry I am going to be a part of. There are so many unknowns and variables that I don't even know what to ask for specifically, but Romans 8:26 says that "When we do not know what we ought to pray, the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans and sighs that words cannot express." Mostly I just ask for HELP--help getting through four airports, two in another country; help getting everything done that needs to be done; help reaching out to people who have never met Jesus; help to be His hands and feet! I pray for help in understanding the culture I am about to be a part of; I pray for help in learning now not to stick out like a total foreigner; I pray for the answers when someone asks me a hard question; I pray that it is not me but Christ in me who speaks when I open my mouth!
I am so blessed to have y'all behind me in prayer; what a wonderful support team I have!
For those concerned parties, I am leaving on January 24 (which is Trent's birthday, sadly) from Huntsville. I should show up again in Pristina, Kosovo roughly 24 hours later (ish). I will be back in the States on June 2. Each trip takes roughly 24 hours, and I am reveling in the thought of going through Customs in my sleep-deprived state.
As for the communication situation: I can receive as many text messages as you want to send me, but I can only send out 50 per month. You can email me all you want, too, but I may or may not have frequent access to the internet and so I may or may not be able to email you back. I can Skype too, I just need a heads up.
There are lots of fun things on my to-do list that must be crossed off before I get there, and the most important one is learning how to build a fire. How have I made it to the ripe old age of 22 and not learned how to build a fire, you ask? That's a good question, and the answer is that in this modern world of central heating I haven't had the need to learn. Kosovo does not have central heating because they do not have power all the time, and if I want to stay warm at night (or during the day) I need to learn how to not only build a fire, I need to learn how to take care of a wood burning stove (something else I've never needed to learn how to do because Dad has always done it for me!).
I would greatly appreciate any prayers you feel like sending; I am terrified of international travel, even more so considering that the last time I flew alone was a disaster (I missed my flight by three minutes! Then the Delta guy laughed at me! Also, I booked a ticket for the wrong month!). I already know that my tickets are for the right month, but I have to pass through two countries where I don't speak the language and don't know how to say, "Excuse me, but I have missed my flight / need to use the restroom / am lost / would like something to eat / am offended by your body odor." So far my only hope at communication seems to be pantomime.
And as always I seek your prayers for the ministry I am going to be a part of. There are so many unknowns and variables that I don't even know what to ask for specifically, but Romans 8:26 says that "When we do not know what we ought to pray, the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans and sighs that words cannot express." Mostly I just ask for HELP--help getting through four airports, two in another country; help getting everything done that needs to be done; help reaching out to people who have never met Jesus; help to be His hands and feet! I pray for help in understanding the culture I am about to be a part of; I pray for help in learning now not to stick out like a total foreigner; I pray for the answers when someone asks me a hard question; I pray that it is not me but Christ in me who speaks when I open my mouth!
I am so blessed to have y'all behind me in prayer; what a wonderful support team I have!
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