Building a Relationship: Step One

As I write my team is playing Risk! on a board that they created on excel, with pieces borrowed from Yahtzee!, Scrabble, Settlers of Catan and a deck of cards.  It is quite impressive. This happened after David asked Paul what he would like to play. After a short conversation that I won't try to duplicate, it was decided that they should make the table into a world map. Wouldn't it be fun to have your cereal on Australia?  As this wasn't a practical option, they settled for creating a map. It is awesome. Though I would like it better if they had used the map I drew. (Long story, but it is not of this world, lets just say.) After my request was denied I went and finished watching Titan E.A.- a movie I will always enjoy. Even if I spotted a few plot holes. I never realized how similar that movie is to Treasure Planet. Another movie I love to watch. I think that Treasure Planet is the better of the two, though.

Anyway, I want to talk about this past week. It has been phenomenal. Our speaker was awesome;  he challenged us constantly. With everything- from the way we speak, to the way we use our time as Trainees, and how we live out our lives AS Christians. One of his most important challenges was HOW do we read the Bible? I don't mean that he gave a bible study- he simply pointed out things that people usually don't notice. Like the story of  Abraham and the 3 visitors, who were God.  God tells them that they will have a child, and Sara laughs. When confronted about it, she lies. To his FACE.  Later, in the same passage, it appears that God is talking with himself. (I find that so interesting!) The list goes on. I challenge you to pick up your Bible, if you have one (or go HERE), and read a passage. What jumps out at you? Read it again and see if anything new starts to sparkle. I love doing that (it is something I do for fun.) I try to look at the same thing from different angles to get a better perspective.

At some point in the week we went outside and had a bonfire. I remember it was cold, and the bonfire didn't want to stay lit. Robyn prayed it to life, I do believe. I don't remember clearly what we talked about that night. We had jiffy marshmallows (The most ginormous marshmallows that you can find. I had two  and felt sick afterwards...) It was fun. And then, suddenly, everyone went inside. I followed but felt the need to go back out. So I did. Sue and Steve were out there talking. I crouched over the firepit, warming my hands over the glowing coals. The fire was gone. And then Sue and Steve went inside and I stayed out. I brought out my phone- which I cracked on the pavement that night- and played a Hillsong song.

Then I began to dance. My own version of the waltz- it is mixed with what I learned in California, and whatever I think is right.  So, basically, I am not sure how close my dancing is to an actual waltz, and it is likely amusing to look at, but I love doing it anyway. It involves lots of spinning at times. It is a way to worship God that can be entirely unique- in my opinion, no two people dance alike when given free range. Yes, we can learn the same dances, but when we express ourselves through movement it is not any different from other forms of expression and art. That is why, for years, dancing has been something intimate between me and my Lord. It is a way to worship him that is, and forever will be, all of my uncoordinated self.

As I was dancing I happened to look at the fire pit. There were fresh flames. And they were not tiny flames. I was so distracted by them that I could not continue to dance as I had. So I stopped and watched the fire dance. Within a minute of me standing still the flames died out completely- at about the same moment as the song ended.

I will leave you with just a simple thought: When you spend time with God, do you enjoy it? I enjoyed dancing with Him, am known to suddenly start dancing. (a.k.k spinning most of the time) I also love asking God what he wants- something I learned from the Bristol Gathering a couple of weeks ago. Today that lead me on a great adventure of getting lost and un-lost in town.  I came out of that adventure knowing more about Who God IS, and who He made me to be.

Three Questions That I Stole (from this last week of lectures...)

1. How do you know What to live for?

2. If the Old Testament was happening today, would you be in it?

3. What is a Christian's Spiritual food?

Do you have an answer? Add a comment if you do, I would like to hear what people think!

Random thoughts:

The fire pit after dying the third time..... (at least) That blurry part in the corner is a face..I think...?

 This is the doors from an earlier post. Edited by the amazing LilG. (my sister...)

A doodle I did at Bristol. Its not very correct on the sizes. Sometimes when I can't dance, I draw. Just thought I'd add that....

Living in Community: The Way It Goes

Days are passing
and I am just guessing
you would be amused
to read about day to day
life- I am just getting used
to the swing, sparkle and sway
of this time we have to learn,
listen, and play.

I know things. About the people I live with. Very. Interesting. Things. That is to be expected. We are occupying the same house. It would be harder to know nothing about them at this point in time. The guys own more shoes than me. I'm not sure if its all of them, or just certain ones. To that I say- Hooray! Seriously, let us get rid of all stereotypes and cliches. I know who likes their rooms Clean Clean, and who of us can look at a space and say 'It's fine, I see some floor!' (I am generally included in this category, as my family back home knows. Actually, I have a name for it. Creative Chaos. I am at my most creative when I am surrounded by  an explosion of life. My love of chaos has its limits though, and there comes a point when I have to fix it.) Alas, I am getting off topic.

What else have I learned about the way it goes?

This past week we had an extra 7 people staying with us. I loved it. Most of them were girls. Its a near foreign notion in this place. For a week I shared my room with a lovely girl. We had good conversations. (Many of them about the novel I am writing). Actually, when asked what my favorite part about the week, I said it was talking about the book. With NaNoWriMo starting this month, I have been thinking about my book more and more, so it was good to get those thoughts to taste air. And I am so thankful that she didn't mind listening!

What else have we done? On the fifth, (which is firework and bonfire night) all of us went out to find people that wanted lollies, or a hot drink. I was with David (Dah-veed) and one of the girls from the other team. We had a couple of good conversations with random people, found a shared sense of humor, and heard a horror story about nose-piercings and bathroom-passing-outs. For those who have never passed out in a bathroom, I am here to say it is the worst place possible to pass out. There are so many things to fall into as you go down. (Its the one time saying you fell into a door makes sense.) And if the iron just happens to be on...not that it was....but....you get the picture.

 On another note, did you know that this year has been unseasonably warm here? The biggest difference between home and here (weather wise) is that home has less moisture in the winter. And more snow.  Basically, think of the wettest, coldest, slightly windy day you have ever had and then go a little colder for good measure, and multiply it. That is what winter is like. It is wet, but no snow. I have it from a good source that they are lucky if they get snow. Do you think that if I asked God for a white Christmas he'd give us one? Wouldn't that be such a fun story to tell!

One of the things that we have been doing is learning to hear God. One night after worship- I think it was Tuesday- I knew I needed to go outside. It had been rainy and cloudy for days, and I had been aching to see the sky. I heard God tell me that I should go look at his Creation- the stars in particular. So I did. It was freezing, but wonderful. The stars were so pretty, but there was something else that caught my eye. This rose.  Isn't it a beauty? Thank you so much for being willing to get cold to help me capture it on camera C!

Sparkles are so much fun! Here are some pictures from the 5th.  I tried to capture a full on circle......

 ....But only managed a triangle

 Then here are some decent pictures. This one is
'Lighting a sparkler from many directions with other sparklers!!' Very fun!

 One of these two are my favorite. The way the sparkler dances makes the one of the right really pretty in my opinion, but I think the hands by the top one is also pretty sweet...

This was one of the notes left by the other team. So sweet! They also left us chocolates (which are gone) and a card. <3. It was lovely having you guys, be blessed!













The Weekly List:

1. This just in; "The Pumpkin peed all over me!"
2. Happy Birthday to the following:
                         Drew (Trainee, not my brother)
                         Sarah (Because something should be in parentheses)
                         David (Dah-veed)
                         Uncle Jake (who really is my uncle)
3. When putting on Peppermint Essential Oil be careful not to put on too much- if you do everyone will be opening the cabinets to look for the source of the peppermint.
4. Pumpkin Pie can be birthday cake. Who Knew?

The Smallest Ant

 There was once an ant that was smaller than the other ants. They made fun of him, saying that he was always the last one home. They even made a song about it. 'The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah/ the ants go marching one by one/ the littlest one stops to suck his thumb.' This didn't make the little ant happy, but he went along with it. He didn't know what else to do. One day the colony was buzzing with news. There was going to be a Gathering soon! The smallest Ant wanted to crawl far into the earth and never come out. He hated Gatherings. This year would be no different.

As each colony made their way to the Place of Gathering, the littlest ant was joined by the other stragglers. Some were old enough that they shouldn't be making the journey, but didn't care. However, one day he realized that there was another like him- an ant too small to be any good. He called out to this other ant, and was ignored (for the second ant was too shy to face anyone properly) This did not deter him. Everyday he would come alongside this other ant, until eventually he could not be ignored. "What do you want!" the second ant said, his six knees were shaking as he spoke.

"My name is Andy," he smiled. "Whats your name?"

"Moby." He gave Andy a suspicious glance.

They traveled to the Gathering in silence after that. Each absurdly happy to have some form of companionship. Once they arrived they looked at the millions of ants gathered to hear all the stories from the past year. There was a wall memorial specially for those who were drowned by the screaming two-leg monsters. The smaller giants. The carpenter ants worked security, and the red ants did the drinks. No one could mix a water-drop with as much precision as a red ant. Just the perfect mix of minerals and honey. The 'general population' (which was what both of their colonies were thought of) held various positions- from ones of power all the way down to being cleaners. The ants had once tried to higher flies to clean, but that had gone as well as the time slugs had been allowed to attend the Gathering. Needless to say, Gatherings were now strictly monitored. The List got you in, and the Badges kept you in.

Andy and Moby took their badges and found a deserted corridor to wait out the gathering. They didn't dare go for drinks, for fear that the guards would kick them out (this had happened on one occasion to Andy. He had been forced to wait out the rest of the Gathering on the surface where the small giants tried to trample him.) Andy and Moby could still hear and see what was going on, and were entertained by the antics of the others. But they stayed out of the main hubub. They were content to just exist. At the end of the Gathering they promised to meet again the next year, and the year after. "I've never been around another person who doesn't want to socialize!" Andy said. "It was a lot of fun!"

"Me too." Moby squeaked. He still wasn't used to speaking.

The two small ants went home, a little bit happier than before. Though they would still dread parties and socializing, it was nice to know that they didn't have to do it alone.   

THE END

This is a bit of an exaggerated view of the life of an introvert. This past week I was 1 of a 100+ people at a YWAM Gathering, and it was very much an interesting experience. Once I would have been like the ants, Andy and Moby- unable to speak, unwilling to get invested with people that I might never see again. What about you? How well do you love people? I ask because that was one of the main topics this past week. How can we, as representatives of Christ, show His love to the world?

The Challenges of an Introvert (and semi-(un)-helpful ways to overcome them)

1. Meeting new people. 

If you are a person who doesn't like change, and new people are one of the hardest changes- don't fear! If I can meet NEW PEOPLE, you can too!

2. Crowds.

Don't let the crowds swallow you whole. Find someone who looks as lost as you. Chances are they are introverts too.

3. Extroverts. 

Sometimes the Introvert will grow jealous of of an Extrovert. Especially when they are doing something an Introvert wants to do, but could never, ever, ever pull off- for any reason, imagined or otherwise. My advice: stop comparing yourself with the Extrovert. At the same time, don't be an ant. Don't just watch other people- what is the fun of that? Join the party, because each person has something to bring.

Things I have learned and or noticed:

1. Its easier to pray for a city than to talk to the inhabitants...

2. Bumbilayla (okay, no idea how to spell that....but its a song. With a dance.) And it is AWESOME. So much fun!

3. When packing for a week: pack wisely. Ask God for advice if you need to. And bring more than one pair of jeans.

Prayer Requests:

1. Another Team came back with us from the gathering for a week of outreach here. Please Pray that they would have a fantastic time, that they would experience God in new ways. And anything else that comes to mind. 
If you have specific prayers, leave them in the comments and I will show them!


2. Pray for our second outreach week to be memorable. That we would put to use the things we learned this past week at the gathering.




PHOTO CORNER *unedited...*

A duck. On a Bridge. I think he needs a name....

A pirate ship. Isn't it awesome?

This was actually not at the gathering, but in Liverpool. I love doors. And Arches. And old churches. Maybe I will share more about that sometime.