a beautiful weekend

There is so much to say I don't really know where to begin. 

I woke up Friday morning in a big cozy bed somewhere in San Antonio. The rest of the weekend I got to meet great people, walk in beautiful places and experience a little bit of life in another place.  

We had some incredible food this weekend. Chicken with mushrooms and artichoke hearts, and beer battered mushrooms to go with it. Homemade pizza and pizza from a little local brewery–both delicious. We had Thai food, level four spicy out of five, with great conversation and laughter. There were peanut butter and honey sandwiches and milk with grapes and cookies on a blanket in the park. Incredible chicken with asparagus accompanied by some amazing peach tea (I'm not describing it right, but it was amazing). Quesadillas, my favorite and two of the most incredible breakfasts I've ever eaten. The best part about all of these was that I shared them with one of my closest friends. 

We went and enjoyed a beautiful afternoon in the Japanese Tea Gardens. We walked in and among flowers and ponds talking and laughing and catching up. The sunshine was out and warming our faces as we sat and watched families, talking together. 

San Antonio, like California, was home to many monastic/catholic Mission communities. Saturday afternoon we went and explored them, taking time to enjoy the warm air, wintry paths in the surrounding woods and the open courtyards one finds in such places. We sat on benches, climbed on walls, sat quietly in chapels and learned new things and places together. 

I got to share about myself this weekend. Friends had lots of questions I tried to answer as well and succinctly as I could. I so enjoyed getting to step into a new community of people that I hear about often and begin to put names to faces. 

We got outside the city on Monday. There is a little German community called Fredricksburg just north of San Antonio and to walk on the main street reminded me a bit of Sonora. We explored shops, beautiful antique stores, book stores (complete with a cat), restaurants, tea shops and side streets. We talked, laughed, walked in silence and I was just so blessed to enjoy such a wonderful day. For dinner we had German food, with spatzle of course, and it melted in my mouth. 

Returning home felt like leaving a piece of me there. It felt completely unnatural to be without–I'll be ok, it just feels strange. 

 

church history

I always wondered how all these different pieces fit together. This put into clear perspective for me. It's from a powerpoint in my Church History class- maybe it helps.

i need a cup of coffee

I've been having the worst time with books this semester. It started when the bank decided to charge me ridiculous amounts of money for a couple mistakes, and thus my strategy of purchasing books before the semester starts went out the window. I came home early from Christmas to work so I could pay for them. Then in ordering them my debit card got charged but I received no books. So all the money I had to buy books was gone, money I still have yet to get back come to think of it. Round and round with the ebay company and no one ever believes you when you tell them what went wrong. It all culminates at this day. I have assignments due at 1 this afternoon. The book is on reserve in the library, but someone got to it this morning before I did. So now I have to wait. What does one do in a situation like this?

Wait.

love gardens

I stumbled upon a community garden this weekend while I was on my way to the beach in Laguna. I love gardens like this. I saw a little sign and a gate and I figured, it's for the community right? So I let myself in. I wandered through the little isles looking at what each section had in it and was amazed by the tomatoes at this time of year. It was wonderful to smell the eath and the ocean air mixed together with the impending rain. Took a couple pictures on my phone.

random connection

I found out this morning that my pastor knows, and has for a long time, one of my favorite professors at Vanguard. I had Mike Beals for my Foundations class and my Christian Worldview class. I also would have taken philosophy with him if he had not left to pastor a church last semester. It was neat to get to talk to Kevin about Beals. He is the professor that offered to write me a letter of recommendation if I ever needed one at any time. I so enjoyed his classes, the way he lectured and his humor as well. One of the greatest complements I've ever received was the day he walked up to me after class and told me that he really followed my thought in class and asked about my plans for grad-school. His classes were a little bright spot in my spring semester 2009. 

adventures with eli

This semester I have been hanging out with the Youd boys every Friday. Eli and I drop Ryan off at school at 10:10 and then until 1:30 its just us. In the past we have done fun things like go to the park, play outside in the complex or go for walks to pass the time. But this last Friday the sky was full of rain. 

So we did inside things. Tully's coffee shop is in the Woodbridge area, about two blocks from their home and anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE coffee. We went there, played for a little bit and walked around in the courtyard. Then we wandered into Barnes and Noble (again another love of mine). 

We played peek-aboo around the bookshelves, read lots and lots of Valentines Day and Elmo books. He also found large copies of his favorites, Good Night Moon and Goodnight Gorilla and we read them on the floor. It was a wonderful rainy afternoon and after we were done looking we went home for lunch. 

*sorry about the picture, I really have absolutely no idea how to get it to rotate and save that way on a mac..

One of the great things about Eli is that he is learning to say lots and lots of words right now, but some consonants don't come out quite right. A few weeks ago I was trying to teach him my name. It came out sort of like "a-tee" at first, but now it sounds a lot like "o-tee" and mostly like he's calling me "hotie". Love it. 

meet san francisco

Tonight, after a crazy busy day, we as a leadership team got to meet and hang out with the students we will be going to the city with over spring break! I realized while we were in the meeting who these individuals would actually become over the next six weeks of my life. They will become friends, team members, people I stay up late at night with and serve side by side. I am going to have deep conversations with these students, get to know them and their stories and learn from them. I feel really blessed to be able to talk with them and begin to know who they are.

I left the meeting more excited for the trip. I can't wait to be there. I also realized the difference between this year and last year as far as my health goes. It is incredible to me how awful I felt at this time last year. I had headaches, chills, my body ached unceasingly– it is amazing what the proper medicine will do for ones body. I felt great tonight, incredible even. I am so thankful for that.

Speaking of thankful.

I follow a few blogs that participate in "Thankful Thursdays". I think I will, because of my bad attitude and negativity about life sometimes, follow suit.

a) I am thankful for my health this year.
b) I am thankful to be involved in this outreach trip.
c) For my warm cozy bed waiting for me at home.
d) Friends who love me, care about me, and pour into me.
e) Caleb and Rebekah- so much joy comes from them.
f) My church, and all the amazing ways I get to be involved there.

Just a few for now, however I could probably just list and list and list. But right now I need to go home and get some sleep.


*picture taken by Megan Mcdanel, via her phone. I'm the one moving my bangs out of my face with the orange shirt on.

if i were rain

"In our daily lives we share all our joys and sorrows with others. We live and die with them. And there are times we need our solitude and silence. But when our solitude becomes too much, we tire of it and seek change.

That is when we realise we can live without solitude,
but we cannot live without everybody else. "

-Yashoda 18 years




"Our elders are an indispensible part of our lives. They are like a roof over our heads. THey take resposibility for our sorrows. They are our refuge."
-Shahana 17 years

"Love is a fragrant breeze that touches and passes by, its fragrance unrecognized. And sometmes, having felt it we still choose to remain strangers."
-Yashoda

"Love puts an end to all discrimination."
-Shahana



"No, love can never be weighed or measured.
Love is like a well of cool water that
quenches everyones thirst and
never dries up."
-Yashoda


"If I were rain, I would go where water cannot be found."
-Rani 12 years

[i borrowed a photography book from a friend called If I Were Rain. i want to make a book like this.]

sfo

San Francisco Outreach update: 

This last week we had a prayer meeting in a little studio appt in Costa Mesa for the trip. I was an awesome time to get together and talk and hang out in Megan's little place. Beth played the guitar and we listened to some poetry too-which kind of gives you a picture of the kinds of people going on this trip. 

We were also given a list of people to call this week, contact and set up days to work with organizations. I was given Mark Scandrette, our main contact, whom I adore after reading his book about community living and creativity. He called me back today, and we had an awesome conversation about places to stay and things our team can do (walks through the city, beautification projects, poetry slams, prayer flags) while we are there. I'm totally excited. 

Our first team meeting (with the students) is this week and I am pumped for it. As of right now there are about 30 students signed up to go and each of the leaders, I among them, will be given 5 or 6 students to actually lead through the week. Something I am also excited about- not walking through the city in a group of 30. Seriously, if you saw a group of 30 white kids with backpacks on walking by your front door what would you think??

Pastor Evan (in red) runs the homeless church we work with in the city– we love him and his excitement, zeal even, for life. 

im in love with the BBC

Incredible article about the past weeks weather in sunny Southern California.

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8487473.stm