Yankee Doodle went to town...
oops. I didn't realize how long it's been since I've written on this. These past few weeks have been crazy busy. Seriously, my roommate and I keep talking about how at the end of each week we feel like we've gone through this time warp and still can't figure out where we are. This past week flew by especially quickly. It's really like this - we finish one thing, then have to begin preparing for something the next day. Our Christmas program is on Monday. Tuesday is our government presentation - where my class will sing "Yankee Doodle Dandy". We were chosen because of the animated students. Our class clown will be Yankee Doodle. He'll ride in on a broom wearing a larger than life yellow hat. Really...I'm convinced I have the best class.
Last night I tried to journal, and it's hard. So much is going on here - but I'm not sure what to say about it. I think I've given up on trying to express this experience verbally. Some pretty important people came to visit this past Thursday and at lunch asked us each to use one word that sums up our experience so far. That was tough. My word was "real". I'll try to explain that here as much as I can, but I'm a little hesitant because I know that I can talk all I want (even when I get back home) but until you've been here to see all of this, you'll have no clue what I'm talking about.
So... "real". Before I say anything, I'll say that yes, back at home there is realness. But man...back there, people are fighting to stay out of that "bubble" (hopefully you know what that means). Here, there is no bubble to protect yourself and hide in. Saying "yes" to Him means you have to trust Him - not just when it's convenient or easy, but everyday. I don't know if this makes sense.
Back home there are too many people who are comfortable where they are. Too many people say "whew...I'm safe..." and sit back and relax in a big comfy chair, getting fat with the food they have such free access to. The reason why we don't keel over after accepting Him is because the person next to us is not safe. If it was so we could have a nice quiet life (even getting to know Him more personally), why wouldn't He just usher us up to be right there with Him?
We saw something amazing last weekend. Almost two hundred people stood in line to go into the water. Then I found out something that just almost knocked me over - all of them, in order to go into the water, had to be a family member for a year. They were required to show their faithfulness and sincerity by showing that a year of trials would not pull them from His feet. You know what one of my first thoughts was? At home, we barely see five people a month go to the water. How much less if they were required to show their faithfulness for a year?
So for now, I'll step off of the soapbox.
Yesterday we visited a Children's home. One place we went to was named "House of Love". I wanted to stay there forever. All the children there have some disability. One little girl I held (about two years old) had a cleft lip. She was the cutest thing - I would tickle her and she just went nuts. She enjoyed playing peek-a-boo with my sunglasses. One little boy (about a year and a half old) was missing half of his arm. He was showing me his little picture book. Where most of the book had been torn off, he only had two pages left, but he just kept flipping from the picture of the bicycle to the crayons over and over again. He would gently bang on the pictures and when I banged on them he'd just stop and look up and me, smiling from ear to ear. Two of my teammates have a son and daughter in law who are in the process of adopting a little boy from the shelter. When we left, the man walked up beside me and we just smiled at each other. I'm not sure they were smiles of joy. He said, "it really leaves a lasting impression, doesn't it?" I just said "yeah".
"How great is the love the Father has lavished upon us...that we should be called sons and daughters of God! And that is what we are!"
Last night I tried to journal, and it's hard. So much is going on here - but I'm not sure what to say about it. I think I've given up on trying to express this experience verbally. Some pretty important people came to visit this past Thursday and at lunch asked us each to use one word that sums up our experience so far. That was tough. My word was "real". I'll try to explain that here as much as I can, but I'm a little hesitant because I know that I can talk all I want (even when I get back home) but until you've been here to see all of this, you'll have no clue what I'm talking about.
So... "real". Before I say anything, I'll say that yes, back at home there is realness. But man...back there, people are fighting to stay out of that "bubble" (hopefully you know what that means). Here, there is no bubble to protect yourself and hide in. Saying "yes" to Him means you have to trust Him - not just when it's convenient or easy, but everyday. I don't know if this makes sense.
Back home there are too many people who are comfortable where they are. Too many people say "whew...I'm safe..." and sit back and relax in a big comfy chair, getting fat with the food they have such free access to. The reason why we don't keel over after accepting Him is because the person next to us is not safe. If it was so we could have a nice quiet life (even getting to know Him more personally), why wouldn't He just usher us up to be right there with Him?
We saw something amazing last weekend. Almost two hundred people stood in line to go into the water. Then I found out something that just almost knocked me over - all of them, in order to go into the water, had to be a family member for a year. They were required to show their faithfulness and sincerity by showing that a year of trials would not pull them from His feet. You know what one of my first thoughts was? At home, we barely see five people a month go to the water. How much less if they were required to show their faithfulness for a year?
So for now, I'll step off of the soapbox.
Yesterday we visited a Children's home. One place we went to was named "House of Love". I wanted to stay there forever. All the children there have some disability. One little girl I held (about two years old) had a cleft lip. She was the cutest thing - I would tickle her and she just went nuts. She enjoyed playing peek-a-boo with my sunglasses. One little boy (about a year and a half old) was missing half of his arm. He was showing me his little picture book. Where most of the book had been torn off, he only had two pages left, but he just kept flipping from the picture of the bicycle to the crayons over and over again. He would gently bang on the pictures and when I banged on them he'd just stop and look up and me, smiling from ear to ear. Two of my teammates have a son and daughter in law who are in the process of adopting a little boy from the shelter. When we left, the man walked up beside me and we just smiled at each other. I'm not sure they were smiles of joy. He said, "it really leaves a lasting impression, doesn't it?" I just said "yeah".
"How great is the love the Father has lavished upon us...that we should be called sons and daughters of God! And that is what we are!"
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