*the life

David and Katie's NEW BLOG

2009-02-02T11:06:00.000-08:00

David and I are starting our new blog together. I will no longer be writing on here but will leave it up for you to look back at. We will be jointly writing on our new blog, so save it to your favorites!

http://dandkblack.wordpress.com/

WE ARE BACK!

2009-01-15T10:23:00.000-08:00

We are back...in several different ways...

1. We are back from the busyness of Christmas, New Years', and the Wedding. David and I kinda disappeared during the busy, yet fun, time with friends and family over the holidays and then our wedding. We were married on January 3, 2009 and are happily enjoying married life now! We have settled back into our life together in Whittier and are loving it. We have recently had some great conversations about SIM and our journey back into support raising in order to reach Niger!

2. Which leads me to...we are back from our period of silence in support raising. If you remember, about a year ago we asked our current supporters (you) to put their financial support on hold while we explore the great relationship that the Lord had given us. David and I met at the SIM orientation in the fall of 2007 and starting dating soon after that with the intentions of being married and serving overseas as missionaries together. So, at that time we were dating and then engaged and not actively raising support. Well, we are back!

We are so excited to begin support raising again and so excited with the prospect of being in French language school in September of 2009! We will be getting in contact with you all again as we begin to support raise to serve overseas. We highly encourage you, if you are led, to begin supporting us monthly again, starting now. We'll be getting more information to you as well.

On a personal note: David has returned to his job, as a business analyst, after a break for Christmas and the wedding. I return to work this weekend, working in pediatrics at the hospital. We are praying for direction about the timing in which to cut back on our jobs and invest more time in preparation for the field (ie. studying French, visiting people to discuss supporting us, investing time in learning more about Islam). Yea!!

We are back!

the wedding is coming

2008-12-15T12:03:00.000-08:00

A few more engagement shots - thanks to our wonderful photographers, the Snelsons!

Less than 3 weeks til David and I get married! We are so excited and even more thrilled that so many of our family and friends that can make it to the wedding here in California.

Well, the season of Christmas/wedding planning makes it a bit more busy than normal but everything is going smoothly so far (except the hot water heater that exploded the other day). There is so much planning and things to do that I often get caught up in that...

...until yesterday. David and I are in a Sunday School class for newly engaged and married couples, which we're totally enjoying. One of the co-teachers for the class was teaching yesterday about commitment and vows. This is something that we take seriously as Christians or at least we should! The married couples in the class were asked if they remembered their vows from the wedding...not many did. It's challenging to remember and keep the marriage vow that we make. It was a great class, especially in light that we're finishing our vows for the wedding right now.

We can't wait for the wedding - we are so excited.

we're engaged...and we have photos to prove it!

2008-11-10T01:26:00.000-08:00

David and I recently took some engagement photos at the San Juan Capistrano Mission (So. Cal.). We had a blast with our wedding photographers who took some rad shots! Thanks to Matt and Molly Snelson for being our photographers...we can't wait for the wedding Jan. 3!

Here's a few photos. If you would like to see more of the Snelson's work or more of our engagement photos, visit their blog: http://photographymathieu.blogspot.com/

Joshua Tree

2008-11-10T01:22:00.000-08:00

David and I are working at creating a joint-blog between the two of us...but until then we'll just have to remind y'all that there are great posts on both of our blogs. (We're working on our blog domain name right now).

We recently went hiking and exploring in Joshua Tree National Park here in Southern California. David posted a nice short bit on the hike as well as some great pictures. Check out David's blog:
http://dwblack.wordpress.com/

how to not live here

2008-10-21T01:48:00.000-07:00

This last week, David moved into our new apartment. He moved into a nice 1-bedroom apartment in a 20-unit complex in uptown Whittier. We are grateful for such a great place for our first home together. I helped him move in and actually moved a few of my furniture pieces in too (leaving my current home a little bit bare).

In all the moving and setting up a new home, it's easy to establish roots and settle into this new home of ours. It's easy to focus on the here and now. It's easy to buy new things that I will not need in a year. So, I struggle with myself about gathering nice things here when we are leaving in the next year to live overseas where I will not need them. There is nothing wrong with settling into a home and feeling comfortable; my struggle is where is my home? We are not called to live here or to store up treasures on this earth. We are citizens of heaven. We count all things lost. We count Christ as gain.

My struggle and challenge to myself is keeping everything in perspective. David and I are so excited to be heading overseas with only our checked airline luggage next year! We will be migrant missionaries and we are thrilled to be that. So, why am I storing up things here... An ongoing struggle within...

rainy season

2008-10-14T16:34:00.000-07:00

A recent funny conversation about the weather in California...

David and I were recently talking about the weather here in Southern California (and yes, it's still quite hot. It was in the 80s today), when he asked, "when is rainy season here?" This was hilarious to me; having lived here for 7 years now, I've learned that there really aren't seasons. It's just hot in the summer and cool during the winter. We get very little rain; I could probably count how many times it rained last year on 1 hand. It doesn't rain here much, let alone get very cold in the winter.

The great thing about the conversation was that David was thinking the weather here was like that of Niger (rainy and dry seasons). So funny! And it keeps our minds on things to come...Niger!

looking forward...

2008-09-16T23:51:00.000-07:00

Future Plans...

Well, first comes the January wedding. Then, comes the plans for overseas missions work with SIM. As of now, David and I are continuing to plan with SIM an appropriate timeline for departure. We plan to begin support raising again in spring 2009 (after our short break in support raising right now).

With hope, we say that we would like to be leaving for French Language School in Quebec, Canada in August 2009. There is definitely alot of work, connections, coffee nights with y'all, and support raising to be done but we are hoping and praying for this.

That would mean 1 year in Quebec studying French (the official language of Niger) and then off to the field of Niger, West Africa.

We'll keep you posted on plans!

catching up.

2008-09-16T23:27:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've caught up with everyone, so here it is.

August:
David and I returned for MTI Language Acquisition in early August. Immediately after returning, we had each of our families visit back to back, which got us out into Southern California to do the fun tourist stuff. It was a nice break from our daily routine.

September:
The next month brought Labor Day. Working random nights at the hospital, I'm really not accustomed to having these holidays off but I just happened to get the day off so David and I could do something. We traveled up to Big Bear (a local lake) to hike and relax by the lake for the day. It was a beautiful day to rejuvenate.

Engagement:
We've been engaged for 2 months now and the wedding plans are well underway. I had no idea it took so much work and time to plan a wedding. Wow!

David and I hiking at Big Bear.

Big Bear Lake (So. Cal.) from the top of the mtn.

MTI

2008-08-05T21:54:00.000-07:00

This is where David and I spent 2 weeks at Language Acquisition in Colorado. Great facilities!
Directly behind the MTI building.

leaving Colorado...last thoughts

2008-07-31T19:52:00.001-07:00

It's Thursday night and we're wrapping up our time in Colorado at PILAT (Program In Language Acquisition Techniques). In the first couple days of the course, I wrote to you about the course. Now, after completing the 2 week course I will attempt to reflect on our time here.

The course: The language acquisition course teaches you how to learn a language (what I originally shared with everyone and it hasn't changed). We learned about phonetics, about moving our mouth/tongue to produce different sounds that we do not have in English. Often, during our 'drills' we would run into an odd sound, which would be explained, "oh, you find that in northern Canada," or "that sound is used in Africa." Very useful and practical tools!

The notebook: We are taking away a valuable notebook filled with projects and tools to use with our language helper in the future. I started compiling all the information onto a single page at the beginning of the course but soon found that the hundreds of pages couldn't be consolidated.

The future: Just a refresher here...because I know that we all read tons of blogs and it's hard to keep up with people (especially because we're living in Southern California). David and I are getting married in January! The next step will be support raising and then off to Quebec to study French for 10 months. After French study we will (at last) be off to Niger!

In the meantime, David and I are living and enjoying Southern California at church and at work. We are praying for the appropriate time to dive into full time support raising (spring!). We'll be in contact of course.

a weekend in Colorado (in between classes)

2008-07-28T17:59:00.000-07:00

David and I had a chance to explore Colorado over the weekend, in between our 2 weeks of courses at MTI. We're back in classes today (Monday) and learning about tone and pitch, which is quite advantageous for learning a tonal language in Niger.

Here are a few pictures from our explorations over the weekend...

Hiking in the Rocky National Forest. Northwest Colorado.
Rocky National Forest. The mountain is 12,000 ft.
The Cogway that we took to the top of Pikes Peak. A 1 hr trip to the top.
The top of Pikes Peak (we did NOT hike it - don't be fooled).
The gorgeous view from Pikes Peak. Supposedly you could see all the neighboring states.
We hiked around the Garden of the gods (near Colorado Springs).
Again, the Rocky National Forest. Breathtaking!

the engagement story...from the man

2008-07-24T16:57:00.000-07:00

So, everyone is asking how the engagement happened. Well, since my lovely fiance already wrote the story on his blog (http://dwblack.wordpress.com), I'll just let you read it from the man's perspective...

The gist of how it went down: Well, every month we would have a special monthiversary date where we would do something extra fun or special. We had missed it in July while Katie was in Oregon so we planned to do it when we got back from Oregon. So I came and picked her up and we went and had some h’orderves in Fullerton and we strolled around town for a while. We still had a bunch of time before the dinner reservations so we drove around for a while and I tried to confuse her about where we were going (I don’t think it worked) then went to this really nice restaurant up on a hill in the Brea/Fullerton area and had a great dinner there.

After dinner, I thought you could see the Disneyland fireworks from up there so we waited for them…and waited…and they never started so I said we should walk over to this park across the road. We knew the park well, we have gone there to hang out and talk a bunch of times and it is great. It looks over Brea, very cool. So we walked almost all the way there when all of a sudden we heard the fireworks which were starting way late! So we hustled back up the hill and watched them. Then we went back to the park and that is where I proposed. (She said yes!) We hung out there for a while longer until the sprinklers turned on unexpectedly and we had to make a hasty exit.

fricatives & consonants...

2008-07-23T17:10:00.000-07:00

David and I have been in Colorado since the beginning of the week and have had 2 full days of language acquisition courses. Before coming to the course, the best way I knew how to explain it was that it was "learning to learn a language."

Now, after 2 days of lessons, drills, and practicing with our mouth in the most unusual ways, I've learned that there are many more sounds and ways to move my tongue that the usual English ways. It's been an eye-opening experience, learning about fricatives, voiced/unvoiced consonants, etc. We've learned nasal sounds and that there are numerous ways to place your tongue in your mouth to get a sound. We have yet to practice clicks and tone (watch out for me!). So, this course is preparing us well for the French and Hausa that we will be learning in the future. A course well worth it! (Hopefully I'll need a little less tylenol from language-learning headaches now).

We have another week and a half to go here in Colorado. Classes consume our day from morning til 4pm but we're enjoying it and keep on laughing at ourselves (the best way to go).

We'll keep you updated.

the engagement

2008-07-23T16:13:00.000-07:00

The happy couple the night of the engagement.

So happy to be engaged!

The fake proposal (after the fact). This is not actually how he did it.

David and I wanted to share the great news that we are now engaged! As most of you know, we met at the SIM orientation as two single individuals called to two different countries. We started dating and talked about this country thing! David moved out to California (from Virginia) so we could experience life in the same time zone. The Lord has aligned our visions and given us one to pursue after.

In retrospect, we are so thrilled that the Lord brought the two of us together at the SIM orientation and gave us life-partners to serve overseas with. We're enjoying every moment of this great adventure and are looking forward to serving overseas together in the near future.

pictures from Elisabeth's wedding (7-12-08)

2008-07-15T10:31:00.001-07:00

Katie and Elisabeth - all ready for the wedding.

The bridesmaids and Elisabeth (the bride).

The bridesmaids at the rehearsal.

Oregon and Beyond...

2008-07-15T10:16:00.001-07:00

OREGON TRIP:

It was great to see all of our friends in Oregon over the weekend. I made a trip to Albany for 5 days for my friend's wedding. David made a quick trip up for just 2 days to come to the wedding. And we had a chance to visit friends at Grace Bible Fellowship on Sunday - what a treat. Thank you to everyone that visited with us - we appreciate catching up with y'all.

It is a great challenge to explain our timeline to friends and family in regards to missions. David and I are still trek'n along in work and church. Life is going well for us and we covet your prayers as we travel down this path with SIM. We're encouraged by our friends/mentors at SIM as they pray for us and always want to know what's happening in our relationship.

WHAT'S NEXT:

Next Monday (7-21-08) we head out to Colorado for 2 weeks. We will be attending a Language Acquisition course. What's that? It's 2 full weeks of language learning techniques, phonetics, and orientation to language learning. Basically, when we arrive on the field and start learning a language we will be prepared for what's thrown at us.

The MTI statement says that, "PILAT alumni indicate that after only 18 months of language learning, they are usually 6-12 months ahead of their colleagues in language proficiency compared to thosewho did not receive PILAT training." Yea!

Check them out: http://www.mti.org/

kodak moments of England

2008-06-04T12:49:00.000-07:00

Beautiful countryside, just outside of the Hellfire Caves.

Katie and David - enjoying Stonehenge.

Avebury.

The view of downtown London from the top of St. Paul's Cathedral. We climbed all the stairs!

Inside the walls of Windsor Castle.

the return from England

2008-06-02T12:36:00.001-07:00

David and I returned from our week-long trip to England late last week. We spent the time visiting his parents who live just outside of London. We were able to visit with the whole family, including his brother and sister-in-law who came down from Scotland for a few days.

My younger sister, Molly, flew over from France (where she lives) to visit for a few days as well. The Blacks had a bustling house for a few days and we enjoyed our time with the families!

We have returned to church and work now. David and I are approaching our last few weeks in the Junior High ministry at church, which I have been a part of for the past 2 years. We anticipate moving on to a mixed Sunday School class on Sunday mornings; a move that we are both excited for. We look forward to building new relationships with those in church (besides the kids from grades 6-8).

We're keeping in contact with the SIM staff in Charlotte, NC during the meantime. Our next step is going to a Language Acquisition course in Colorado at the end of July. This is course that teaches you how to learn a language...not that we will be fluent in French after 2 weeks (bummer).

Thanks always for your prayers and support!

always ready for an adventure

2008-05-21T16:46:00.000-07:00

April was full of work for both David and I. We managed to get one short weekend away to visit my family in Oregon. We hiked at Silver Creek Falls with my sister, Carrie, and SIM friend, Sarah. Had a great time reconnecting with friends and family in Oregon...that lasted all of 48 hours. David and I visited the church that I grew up in as well, GBF. We had a nice time visiting with old friends there.

We returned to more work and church involvement in the month of May. David and I continue to be involved in the Junior High ministry at church (which could either drain you of energy or pump you up - I still don't know what it does for me). We enjoy our time there!

Tomorrow we are off to England for a little holiday to visit David's family. Looking forward to a break from work and to relax.

We'll keep you posted as we moved forward with SIM plans.

Hiking at Silver Creek Falls, OR. David, Katie, Sarah.

From my parents' backyard in Albany, OR.

my life...as is

2008-03-03T11:30:00.000-08:00

Life has been truck'n along since returning from the Philippines in January. I suppose that I don't write because I feel there is nothing worthy or interesting to post on here. Life is just going.

Never-the-less, this is what's happening... I returned to a busy schedule at the hospital working. It's a busy winter season, meaning kids are sick and we need more nurses! It's way t0o easy to pick up extra shifts on peds and overwork myself. I have to be careful. Junior High ministry at the church is going well; being that this is my second year in the ministry, I actually know what we're doing and have taken charge of some events and am co-leading a small group of 8th graders in leadership development (my passion). David and I are in the midst of evaluating our future ministry options. You could pray for us in making a wise decision and find a ministry that would fit both of our giftings.

My desire to serve the Lord overseas only grows as the days press on. I'm learning patience during this season of life. The Lord has called David and I to GO but at the same time has said WAIT. It is this waiting that is difficult and I'm doing my best to enjoy this time that the Lord has given us now.

Below are a few pictures of the recent junior high event at church. We had a Hollywood themed event showing home-made videos of the kids and sharing the gospel. Enjoy!

The Junior High staff!

Goofing off for a photo-op!

2008-02-06T00:41:00.000-08:00

Check out the link to my SIM promo videos for Niger. Remember, this was made in November, prior to the decision to stay State-side a bit longer because of the change in timeline. Never-the-less...enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWBIMgeQZLQ

2008-02-06T00:19:00.000-08:00

More pictures from the Philippines trip 1/2/08 - 1/13/08.

On the rural drive up to the tea farm.

Sandra Thompson & Katie. Riding in the jeepney!

Surgery with Dr. Thompson & Katie.

return from the Philippines

2008-02-01T02:29:00.001-08:00

Quick update...I have returned from the Philippines and back to work as usual at the hospital.

Not a day goes by that I don't receive mail from SIM. I'm still walking down the road toward missions with them although it might be a little bit longer before I actually leave. I'm waiting patiently for the right timing.

Pictures from the Philippines...

Dr. Ken and Nurse Katie in the O.R.

With the nursing staff from the public hospital in Mindanao.

With some of the kids in the rural community.

on the verge of the Philippines

2007-12-30T17:39:00.001-08:00

In just three days, I will be headed to the island of Mindanao, Philippines! This will be my first trip across the Pacific (on an 18 hr flight) headed to SE Asia. This is a trip with my Whittier Hills Baptist Church.

The story: About three months ago I received a random phone call from a church member asking if I would be a part of the Philippines medical missions team; they needed a nurse. After thinking about it for a week I returned the call and said yes! The only comment was, "Just know that I am a pediatric nurse and not an O.R. nurse." -being that we were headed to the Philippines to work in an OR with a surgeon and anesthesiologist. No problems. So, the journey began!

In the past couple of months were a team meetings, logistics, OR visits to shadow the surgeon (and SIMCO squeezed in there). Now it is December 30 and I am leaving in 3 days! There will most likely not be a chance to write while in the Philippines but I will write when I return. Thanks for your prayers!

links

2007-11-21T15:41:00.000-08:00

New links on the right side: videos, Niger, SIM.

balance

2007-11-19T10:37:00.000-08:00

Dust storm in NIGER, West Africa. One of my favorite pictures.

The past 3 weeks (as well as the next season of life) can be summed up in one word: BALANCE. Over dinner conversation, emails, and chatting with people the discussions all revolved around the idea of balancing life.

We're striving to find the balance between relief and development; between homeschool and boarding school; between raising support and working; between sharing the gospel and doing good works etc. The word "balance" was used so much that at one dinner conversation at SIMCO I could tell this was where the conversation was heading...I clearly remember thinking, "don't say the word...balance." Sure enough someone said, "yah, where's the balance?" I just smiled to myself.

Balancing life is key though; it's a good thing. It's this idea of merging 2 diverse things and finding the beautiful balance; for example, medicine is beautiful and sharing the gospel is beautiful. Where is the balance? Where do these 2 things collide and merge? They must work together and not alone. There-in lies the challenge of balancing.

Well, I have returned to life in Brea, CA after 3 weeks in Charlotte, NC. I have completed an excellent orientation as well as my rabies vaccinations (so I can play with the dogs now, right). I return to full-time work at the hospital this week as well as full-time support raising...the balancing act continues.

The official announcement that you have all been curious about...the Lord is leading me to serve through community health in NIGER, West Africa. More news to come!

reality hits

2007-11-14T17:36:00.000-08:00

The Board Room where we have all our meetings for SIMCO.

Today was the day that reality hit. Literally. This is week 3 of SIMCO orientation where we're learning doctrine, interpersonal skills, country info., etc. Well, today was about 8 hours of financial information from taxes (being an out-of-country resident), budgeting, and the SIM financial system! It's like trying to take notes from a lecture in a foreign language. I honestly tried to understand it all and asked the best questions I could. All I can say is that I gave it my best.

Well, the day ended well and I'm still breathing. And I haven't taken any Tylenol yet today (for that headache that I was anticipating).

Reality hit today. The Lord has really called me into long-term missions. Really. The next 3 years (as it is planned right now) are dedicated to serving Him. That means taxes will be done differently; income will be paid differently; budgeting will be done differently; but I will be at the mercy of the Lord's support, which is exactly where I need to be. I'm coming to the realization that the Lord has signed me up for life (at this point). I'm following and will do whatever it takes.

it is official

2007-11-12T17:18:00.001-08:00

Today was the day that each SIM candidate met with the Board Members for our final interview. This was the last step before being appointed as a long-term missionary with SIM.

The half hour interview went as expected. There were about 20 people staring me down as I shared my testimony and answered questions that came up. They were all very kind and gave me the confirmation nods and smiles, which are always helpful. I explained where the Lord is calling me and that the hope is to be serving in community health in Niger.

I was sent out of the room after the interview while the Board made the decision about appointing me as a long-termer. I was ushered back into the room and welcomed into the SIM family as an appointee! Hugs and hand-shakes all around.

It is official - I will be serving as a long-term missionary with SIM!

To cap off the beautiful day, we had a celebration dinner tonight in honor of all the SIM appointees. Basically, this means a Thanksgiving-like feast.

This is my third and final week of orientation here in Charlotte, NC. The short term candidates left this past weekend so the size of the group has diminished. We're learning all the logistical-goodness this week: finances, budgeting, insurance, family raising on the field etc. All good sessions!

more SIMCO photos. week 2.

2007-11-12T14:28:00.000-08:00

Having fun during the "photo shoot" with the SIMers. Looking for a good prayer card photo. This is not it.

The ladies at the top of Crowders Mtn. near Charlotte, NC.

Dinner at the Thai restaurant in Charlotte, NC.

Hiking at Crowders Mtn.

SIMCO photos

2007-11-04T19:22:00.001-08:00

Game night in the upper residence building.
Goofing around outside the residence building. Where are you going?

the mile wide church

2007-11-04T19:02:00.000-08:00

This has been my second full weekend in Charlotte; and a great one at that. I visited my second church while here in NC, which has been an absolute delight to experience other worship styles and cultures than my own. Last Sunday our entire SIMCO group (of about 40 incl kids) went to a service in Spanish. Today a few of us visited a service in Arabic.

Spanish 201. The Spanish service was great and I felt right at home, as I have been to several Central American countries and am familiar with the language. I was able to sing along and follow the general message; but let's be honest...the English translation was much appreciated as well. As expected in a warm and accepted Latino service, we were welcomed and introduced to the the church body. We stood and were prayed over as future missionaries with SIM. Afterwards, the pastor (still speaking in Spanish) invited anyone from the congregation that would like to faithfully pray for us to stand. About 1/2 of the church stood...as tears welled up in my eyes. They do not even know us but are willing to whole-heartily pray for us. Praise God for the family of believers that we belong to.

Arabic 101: Today was the day I had been looking forward to...my first church service in Arabic. Wow! About 10 of us walked into the small chapel-like tent building to the side of the Saddleback-sized church. There were probably a couple dozen people attending the service in all; many from Lebanon and a girl from Sudan who gave her testimony. We were warmly greeted and offered Arabic coffee (it will change your life). We worshiped and listened to the message all in Arabic with our little earphone for English translation. It was a beautiful service.

As we drove to church we passed many churches. I wish I would have counted them because there were probably a dozen or so. The mile wide and inch deep church of America. I might reconsider the depth of the church though but there are definitely a plethora of churches around here! Next week will yield another great opportunity to experience the great body of Christ again...

Today was capped off with a beautiful hike up a mountain ridge to a lookout. We could see Tennessee and the Blue Ridge (that is what I'm told).

And now my day of rest with the Lord has ended and tomorrow brings week 2 of SIM orientation. Looking forward to more classes and more fellowship with like-minded missionaries.

learning with my heart on the altar

2007-10-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

Two full days of orientation have flown by with SIM. We have received so much information from SIM core values to living/working with others overseas. There are about 30 adults and a dozen or so kids (many under the age of 3). We mostly meet in the conference room for hour installments of 'wisdom'; take breaks; drink coffee; return for more installments of 'wisdom'; eat; fellowship. That is how the days run.

This morning we had the opportunity to take the long drive to the SIM International office in South Carolina, which is only 15 minutes away. The exterior of the building was not all that I was expecting. The interior was all that I was hoping for: people diligently at work in sending people to the field with all the additional cultural decorations adorning the place! What a privilege to be able to visit the international office; not every missionary candidate has this opportunity.

I continue to wrestle with the "where" question. Coming into the orientation I was open to 2 country possibilities and do not feel too much closer to a resolution at this moment in time (ask me later, maybe it will be different). This became overwhelming during one of the morning sessions today and just had to write my thoughts out. The great thing about being here at the SIM USA office though is that I have all these resources at my fingertips. The Long Term Coordinator, whom I have been in contact over the past several months has made herself completely available to me in resolving this "where question." She has been a wonderful help and friend through this. We continue to talk.

I pray for news from the field about a possible placement. I pray for a peace within my heart about the people group that the Lord has already called me to but has not yet revealed to me. Please join me in prayer.

Now I'm off for a beautiful afternoon walk in the fall weather. Woke up to frost on the ground this morning (the first I've seen in a while). The days are clear and cold. The trees are orange and still full of leaves.

arrival in Charlotte, NC

2007-10-27T10:55:00.000-07:00

Traveled all day yesterday from LAX to Charlotte, NC, arriving about 10pm to the on-campus housing of SIM. The facilities are great (pictures to come later). There are the normal greetings and repetitive questions: Where are you from? Short term or long term? Where are you going? What will you be doing?

It's alot like being a freshman in college where you get asked the same questions: Where are you from? What dorm are you living in? What's your major? I think I've just graduated to the "missions" version of this. But it's a blast!

I rode from the Charlotte airport to the housing with 2 other people; one whom I had met in May at SIMStart. We got to talking and asking the questions. I said that I am headed to either Niger or Sudan. Talked longer and joked more amongst the group and later one guy jokingly (but seriously) says, "you're going to Sudan." So, with that... S*I*M* begins!

More people are arriving throughout the day and it's fun to be on the welcoming committee (as I call it). Also made my way to the SIM medical office to receive me first of three rabies vaccines (guess I won't have to fight off the rabid animals now...yea).

More to come of the adventures in Charlotte. And the instant coffee that I brought from home is holding up nicely...just need a little creamer.

dichotomy

2007-10-21T20:26:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those days when I live a life of dichotomy. Church - nursing work party - missions meeting. It was in essence, a sandwich effect. After an excellent church service I arrived at the work party to mingle and hang out with some co-workers that I haven't seen in a while. It was a fun party, really, but much like jumping in the shallow end at the pool. It's fun but you only get so wet; so deep. Church and the missions meeting, on the other hand, were like diving in the deep end of the pool. It's a blast as you get completely immersed and so deep in the water. The depth of conversation and intimacy is so different amongst the groups.

We are called to live in the world but not be of the world. This is difficult. Today reminded me of the day in high school Christian camp when I realized that I had compartmentalized my life. Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights belonged to the Lord but it didn't spill over to every part of my life. Today, the Lord showed me this again. Dichotomy. The Lord is evidenced in all that I do and say but the depth is obviously different. Sometimes I'm swimming in the shallow end and other times I'm in the deep end of the pool. The Lord works in both parts; praise the Lord!

the speed of life

2007-10-15T01:07:00.000-07:00

So, it seems reasonable to bring you up to speed on life. The 3 main things I say that I'm doing now are:

1. working - nightshift at Whittier Presbyterian Hospital
2. churching - I work on the JH staff at church and co-teach an 8th grade leadership small group
3. preparing - I'm preparing (reading, studying, doing everything necessary) to move overseas about this time next year

I'm enjoying work at the hospital. Nightshift, meaning 7p-7a, is wonderful and the kids I work with are even better. I have been blessed with great co-workers who are patient with me and continue to allow me to grow. I'm involved with several committees at work, including a program aimed at computer charting (I truly enjoy it).

The junior highers are a riot and full of energy. As strict as I want to be with them, I often sit back and remember what fun it was to be that age and just leave 'em alone from time to time. But the paper airplanes that the boys were folding during the message this morning were a definite 'not allowed.' I told them no and gave them one of my fierce looks (can you imagine?) but then just smiled to myself. Boys.

I told the junior highers this morning that I would be away from the church for a month, due to SIM orientation in NC, and they seemed saddened. I was touched that I will be missed but I also know that life goes on and they probably won't miss me that much (until I make my re-appearance in November - then they'll wonder where I was).

Preparing. All my spare energy, time, and brain-power goes into preparing with SIM, at least lately. I've finished reading a shelf-full of books for SIM and still have a couple prep classes to go. I will be taking the Perspectives course at my church in the spring and still have "language acquisition" to squeeze in sometime. This side of life keeps my spirit alive, when I am often drug down by work or obligations. I know that I am here in southern California for a season and I am actually really enjoying it.

The picture is of junior high ministry - over the summer we meet at houses.

sunrise

2007-10-09T00:46:00.000-07:00

West Africa at sunrise.

experiment

2007-09-04T20:37:00.000-07:00

So, this is my great attempt to keeping people up to date with my oh-so-exciting life. This is a grand experiment but this blogging thing seems to be the "in" thing right now. Let's see...