There's a Peace I've Come to Know

This summer I've learned the peace that God can give.

Part of the song, I Will Rise by Chris Tomlin:

"There's a peace I've come to know, though my heart and flesh may fail. There's an anchor for my soul. I can say it is well. Jesus has overcome and the grave is overwhelmed. The victory is won. He is risen from the dead. And I will rise when he calls my name. No more sorrow. No more pain." 

along with Psalm 73, specifically verses 23-28, have given me comfort and peace.

"23 Yet I am always with you;
    you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
    and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength of my heart
    and my portion forever.
27 Those who are far from you will perish;
    you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
28 But as for me, it is good to be near God.
    I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;
    I will tell of all your deeds."

No matter what is wrong I truly can say it is well.

I had/have something wrong. I only had one symptom. I felt fine but there was something that was not normal. I google searched to find out what could possibly be wrong and I made a doctor's appointment. After the first appointment, some of those possibilities were confirmed. After the second appointment the possibilities were confirmed again. Best case, worst case was irritation, cancer. While waiting for the third appointment, the one that would give the most information, I had two weeks to think about these possibilities but I was never really worried. I honestly thought, "cancer, that's cool." (Clarification: cool as in I'm okay with that, I can deal with it.  Not cool as in awesome, fun, yeah!). The whole time I just felt peaceful about whatever the results would be.

Third appointment ruled out the worst case scenario. It gave a diagnosis. Fourth appointment, to draw blood which will I think confirm diagnosis. Fifth appointment will be later this week to give me the low down and officially confirm diagnosis.

Whatever it is I'm okay. I have the peace of God.

Summer Olympics

Being an olympian is a phenomenal accomplishment. It means you are one of the best in the world at your sport. Even if you don't win a medal simply being able to compete in the olympics qualifies you, at least in my eyes, as one of the best in the world. Even if you don't want to go as far as saying they're the best in the world without a medal you've got to admit they're one of the best in their country.

I can't imagine what it must be like to be able to walk into the opening ceremonies. What an adrenaline rush and an honor! Getting to represent your country in front of the thousands of people there and the millions when you include all the television viewers.Getting to be among all the hundreds of other countries as they all come together (though they are competing against each other) for truly world wide games. Is there anything else that brings pretty much all the countries of the world all together?

The thought of it makes me wish I were an olympic athlete. Forget being an actor/actress or singer, if I could be one of those or an olympic athlete there is no doubt I would choose to be an olympic athlete. I'm not really even that in to sports. It's simply the fact of being among all those other countries and representing your country.

As much as I've mentioned getting to represent your country, I like even more that it is the joining of so many countries. I loved watching the parade of nations at the opening ceremonies. I was getting a bit frustrated with the camera men and commentators though. I want to get to see all the countries. There were so many commercial breaks that when they would come back they'd just say while we were gone these countries walked in and then just give a brief look at them. We completely missed Uruguay because they were focusing on the USA. I mean I do understand that I'm in the USA so I should be excited about seeing them march in, but I've already seen these athletes on television, the internet, magazines, etc. The other thing I did not like was the occasional unnecessary mentions of politics. Can we just leave politics out where it is not needed. I believe it was Pakistan but a comment was made, which maybe I misunderstood it, about keeping an eye on that country, as in the actual country- not the olympians as they perform.

Now with all that being said we'll see how much I actually watch of the actual games.

SE Asia 2011: A Walk to the Orphanage

*pictures still to be added* 


Duck through the child sized door out of the bedroom where the girl's are staying. Carefully make your way down the steps. The guys have come to meet up with us at our place. We go down the steps and follow the driveway. Take a left onto the street. To our right is the field. Frequently there are cock fights on the field. There are also soccer games. This is where Emily plays soccer with some kids while Jessica teaches ballet to some girls in the abandoned piece of building adjacent to the field, and I try to occupy the children who don't want to dance or play soccer with bubbles. To our left is a school.

Now you are at the intersection. Going right will take you past the field and then downhill and to Ibu Murney's(?). Going straight takes you uphill to a small complex of houses. We go left. First on the left is the warung (food stall) where we got lunch many times- mei goreng, fried noodles. Then is the warung where we got supper most nights- nasi goreng, fried rice. We pass some house and our friend who hangs around and repeatedly tells us "halo."

The road curves right. On the left is a temple. Keep following the road as it goes uphill. On the left is someone's house who does laundry. There is a girl there we tried talking with but she didn't speak the language we learned. A little farther ahead are some houses on the right. There always seems to be something going on there with lots of music and some cooking. It's like a party!

Pass the fields on both sides. This part of the journey provides a great view of the sun setting.

Then there is a building to the left with doors, and wood, and glass. Not really sure what it is. But now you've reached a shadier part (as in trees, not sketch) and the road levels out, no more uphills.

You then enter into the neighborhood, possibly a different village, I'm not sure where boundaries are. Pass through with houses on both sides until you get to the street. It's a relatively busy street. The road we were just on might have the occasional motorcycle pass you by. Now there are cars, trucks, and motorcycles driving by. We cross the street and go right, walking with the traffic (something that still makes no sense to me). We pass homes and little stores. When you get to the covered platform at the corner that kind of goes over the ditch you take a left. Now we're going down hill. On the right is the path to take you to Old Pak's. Along the side of the path is a sleeping plant. I don't know what it really is called but when you pass your hand or foot over it it goes to sleep.

At the end of the path, where it turns into a wider concrete path with water on both sides, it curves to the right. This is where the girls go first and the guys look down. In the water are women usually doing laundry or bathing. One of the guys said he could tell you the number of cracks in the concrete. Haha!

When you get to the end of the concrete path it is dirt again and an uphill climb. Really it is a climb, with big ruts, and tree roots, but the good news is when  you get to the top you are at the orphanage. If you're lucky, or maybe unlucky, when you get to the top there will be a giant reticulated python, aka big snake!

Selamat Datang! Welcome!

SE Asia 2011: The Team

Who were the people making up this team that went to SE Asia?

The team included Jessica, Emily M, Chris, Norman, Ben, and me. 

(What we're doing now, school and work wise has changed but this is what we were doing/who we were at the time of the trip).

Jessica
Jessica just finished her 4th year of Biological Engineering at LSU, graduating in May 2012. I met Jessica at the BCM my freshman year, her sophomore year. We met for the first time when planning to go to Mexico during spring break. Going to Mexico didn't work out. Then we met again when Mandy, the BCM assistant director, told her to talk to me about going somewhere for the summer. We've been friends since that night. That summer, 2009, we both ended up going to SE Asia. Something I love about our friendship is that a large part of our friendship and how we got to know each other was through praying with each other.  

Emily M. 

Emily completed her 3rd year at Southeastern Louisiana State University. She is studying to be an elementary school teacher and will graduate in December 2012. Though Emily goes to SELU she works at and attends the LSU BCM. Before the trip we were in a Bible Study together and she started coming to the same church I go to shortly before the trip. Other than planning for the trip we weren't too close. After the trip I would undoubtedly  include her as one of my closest friends. She is such an encouragement. There were times during the trip where there is no way I could have made it without her. 

          

Chris

Chris is a country boy. Hunting, fishing, that's his element.  He's from the Monroe area and worked for a tree service company, cutting down and trimming trees.A few years older than us, he is a friend of Norman's. Before the trip none of us, other than Norman, knew him. We all met him at the one meeting we had all together before the trip. Chris likes to have fun and his smile is contagious. You just can't help but smile around him. He has an amazing testimony about how he turned his life around and is now living for the Lord. His love for the Lord is so evident  in how he lives his life. 

Norman

Norman once described himself as "country as cornbread." Same age as Emily and I, he is studying English at LSU and will graduate May 2012. I met Norman at the BCM. He transferred to LSU his sophomore year of college and got involved in the BCM right away. His passion for the Lord and helping others grow in their relationship with the Lord is evident.Though he can be very blunt with his words there are sometimes when it is needed and helpful. In the spring of 2010 he helped me with a particularly rough patch spiritually which  is something I am incredibly grateful for. 

Ben

Ben is our youngest but just by a year. He is studying business management at LSU and should graduate in spring 2013. Before leaving for SEA Ben was working at one of the summer Fuge camps (Emily was working at one too). What a trooper! I didn't know Ben too well before the trip. I think our first conversation, at the BCM in the missions room, was me trying to convince him to go to SEA, telling him about it and showing him where it is on the map. I think Ben still kind of perplexes me because I have this idea of him a quiet guy that kind of holds back but that's not who he is. He's crazy but not in a bad way, more of a not afraid to be silly, quite the opposite of holding back, but yet it's not an in your face obnoxious sort of way. I don't think I'm doing Ben any kind of justice in describing him (sorry man!), but I am always encouraged after talking to him 

Emily H.

Then there's me, studying communication disorders at LSU, graduating December 2011. In summer 2009 I spent 2 months in SEA. How do I go about talking about myself? Hmm...How about I tell you what other people have said about me. Most often I get that I am sweet and quiet. Ask people who know me and they won't agree with the quiet part. I feel sweet is the fallback that people say when they've met you but haven't really gotten to know you. I've been told I'm consistent and disciplined. I could argue these as well. Finally I've been called sarcastic and funny. One guy once said girls shouldn't be funny but then later that week he said I was funny. I'm still not sure how to feel about that one. 

SE Asia 2011: The Journey

A year ago today I was on a plane headed to SE Asia (SEA). I was by myself; the rest of the team was already there a couple of days before I was able to join. Flying by myself was truly one of the things I worried about most. 


It wasn't so much that I was afraid of missing flights or getting lost but I was afraid of myself, my own mind. I knew last time I went that pretty much the whole plane ride over to SEA, which is about a good 24ish hours,  my mind was plagued with questioning and doubting, wondering what I was getting myself into. I recognized this on that trip and the second verse of It is Well With my Soul came to me:

"Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ has regarded my helpless estate, And hath shed His own blood for my soul."

Before even stepping foot in the country Satan was already attacking. As the second half of that verse puts it, Christ knows what's going on. I have Christ on my side.

So I had all that on my mind when thinking about the plane ride. Before the trip Chris asked if there was anything he could be praying about for me. I told him my worries about the plane rides. The longest leg of the  flight was about 14 hours. It was the best I have fared on any long flight. There was a moment on the flight when I remembered prayer I asked for for the flight. I realized how calm I was and how well it was all going and had no doubt there were people praying for me.

It wasn't until probably a couple weeks later that I remembered I took some Valerian before getting on the flight. It's an otc relaxer, sleep-aid. It doesn't necessarily help me sleep but it does calm my mind. So that probably also had something to do with my calmness. I, however, choose to believe the prayer did more for me than the medicine.

SE Asia 2011

It's taken almost a year for me to finally start writing about South East Asia (SEA). Why so long? I'm not sure. Maybe it's because even though I've talked about it with people, even though we had a debriefing, even though it's been a year since I left to go there I still haven't fully processed it all. It was by far the most challenging trip I've been on. It's left me confused and uncertain about some things, about my future. 


Instead of deal with all the thoughts and emotions and everything else I continually sweep them under the rug. When they start showing again I give them a brief moment and sweep them back under. 


Even with all the uncertainties there are three things I know.

1. SEA is where the Lord wanted me to be last summer. No doubt about it.
2. The Lord was, and still is, working there. 
3. I don't think a day goes by that I don't think about SEA.