Mind stretching, body numbing ...

First off - it says Nov 30th which is when I started writing it, but now it's the 1st, so pretend it says the 1st.

Okay, sorry for the break in updates - last week held the Thanksgiving holiday, and due to Cougar tradition the entire week has no school. Therefore I traveled home for the holidays (as will happen again shortly ...) for about a week. It was fantastic. Allison, one of our students, stayed at my house a couple days which was a blast. Again, visiting home often seems more draining than restorative for my sleeping schedule, but psychologically and emotionally it was invigorating.

On to the bigger and better - today is World AIDS Day. December 1st. Actually the 20th anniversary of the holiday since the issue of HIV/AIDS was first recognized globally. As some of you may know, last year the UW hosted an event amongst its students sponsored by World Vision's Acting on AIDS (a college advocacy challenge). The event was orchestrated to present the visual representation of the 6,000 children who lose a parent to AIDS every day - this was pulled off by 5% of the student body sporting bright orange 'ORPHAN' t-shirts. 2,000 students representing orphans - It was powerful. Needless to say, I'm a little antsy to put together that type of event again. That being said, a few months ago I was checking the Acting on AIDS website only to find the 6,000 challenge - a challenge to re-create that visual using pictures of children affected by AIDS, to raise $6,000 per campus, and to get 6,000 signatures on the 6,000 Challenge Petition (to get congress' attention, increase the amount of aid spent in the Global AIDS Bill, and to make sure that 10% of the budget goes directly to orphans and other vulnerable children).

So, yesterday.

It took quite a bit of planning to finally get to yesterday, but we did it. We used a spot on campus that apparently has never officially hosted an event before - it's called the 'hello walk', a high traffic area in which traditionally you're supposed to say 'hello!' to everyone you pass. It also has good lawn space, important for placing stakes. Thursday night we assembled the 600 children's pictures that World Vision provides you with (each picture to represent 10 children) on kebab stakes and made some signs to place on the trees and such. This morning we arrived around 8am to set it up, and I don't believe at that point it was snowing, but there was definitely snow left on the ground when we arrived. So we staked along the main pathways in the area, set up our table and our signs, and began to engage the passers by. I should mention that this was really able to happen because the INN partnered with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and also with the AFA (African Friendship Association). I don't think there is any way I could have pulled it off on my own.

We made cable 8 news, got 262 signatures, raised about $75 (substantial for coming from the pockets of college students ... dining cards really screw over fundraising), froze our feet to numbness, and felt really good about the whole thing. Yes, it was snowing the entire time. Yes, I could not feel my feet for most of it. Yes it was worth it - to engage in conversation with people about the issue, to give students the opportunity to encourage other students to think about the issue, to know that most of the students who signed were intentional about knowing what they were signing, and that we could be a presence on our campus that causes some people to think about what's going on in the world outside of Pullman. Priceless.

And now the snow has started and has yet to stop. It's been going strong for at least the past 3 hours. I like this sitting in doors thing. It isn't freezing which is a plus. I tried to video some of it for you to see, but I found out my cords don't actually connect to the computer in order to let me transfer video, so that stinks. I'm gonna go figure that out ...

Bloom Where You're Planted.

My refrigerator spoke to me on Wednesday morning. Not verbally, or through my stomach, but by using magnets. Really just one magnet. Bloom where you're planted. As I stood there eating the apple scone the oven was communicating to me with, I couldn't help but be struck by the enormity of that statement. It is simple yet profound, it is profound and in no way simple. Bloom where you're planted.

Let's really think about it for a minute: Bloom where you're planted. We can say this is relevant to me now in my current position (or anyone in their current position) to be present where I'm present. To make the most of my situation while I have the time to make the most of it. I'm only here for a year! I don't want to regret not doing something I had the chance to do. Funny - I was just watching the 1st episode of Heroes (yeah, now I've got the 1st season on hand, don't expect to see me for a while ...) and Milo's character was making a statement to the effect of 'did you ever feel like you were meant to do something extraordinary?' and I honestly feel like that sometimes. And I can't ignore it. I don't think it means I can fly or anything, but we are each capable of unimaginable things (well, really, imaginable things, but you have to have no boundaries or else you'd consider them unimaginable), and if we put our minds to it we really can change the world.

Another image that comes to mind with my plant analogy is that of a seed. That in order for something to grow and bloom, it has to be planted somewhere. It has to be nurtured and fed nutrients, it has to get energy and sustenance and can't just be blown by the wind. You have to be planted somewhere. You have to make some roots in order to really grow, or at least to grow healthy and strong. Where are your roots? Where are you getting your energy? Where are you turning to for life? And is it truly giving you life?

Bloom where you're planted. A cool thing about seeds too, is that if you just find a seed randomly and without it's package or labeling, you don't know what you're gonna get once you plant it. And granted, different flowers grow in different environments, but isn't it cool when you see that out-of-place flower growing among the regular crop? Kind of a diamond in the rough ...
Bloom where you're planted.

Daylight Savings, Can I Make a Withdrawl?

What a week. End. The week wasn't as exciting as the weekend. Let's just be honest. Let's take a look ...
Part of my job here at the INN at WSU is to get students involved in social justice issues, which I am more than stoked to do. But that also involves the matter of finding good opportunities to serve and be in community, as well as advertise it with a college appeal. We found an organization in Spokane called the House of Charity which puts on a cool experience called 'Urban Plunge'. Basically the House of Charity is a homeless shelter that provides meals, a place to sleep, and bottom line, an accepting community space for the homeless. Urban Plunge is a program started by Jerry Schwab, to help educate people on the issue of homelessness as well as immerse them in it. We decided to come and participate last weekend, and had about 9 students come out with us - it was absolutely fantastic. First of all I greatly appreciate the opportunity to join an organization which is already established and well put together to educate and engage people on the issue. Secondly, this was a trip that was for the most part much unlike any City Dive/Urban project I have ever been a part of. Friday night we had a intro chat with Jerry about human development and what can happen in different stages to effect people differently. We then took a walk around downtown Spokane, to see all the different housing areas for low-income people/homeless, as well as the ritz and flash that always accompanies a downtown area, usually within a few blocks of obviously impoverished neighborhoods. The thing that was really different from previous trips I've done in the city, was that on Saturday we spent most of our time in relationship with the homeless. Talking with them. Listening to them. Spending time with them. Often in life if we feel like we need to help out people that are less fortunate than ourselves, we have to do it with money, or with physical labor services. And we also want to feel a sense of accomplishment, so that we have a solid answer to the question of "What did you DO?" When really, the best thing we can do is to be guests in the home of these people. To listen to them and ask them about themselves, a pleasure we ourselves enjoy and a pleasure they may not be used to having. It was so neat to be in conversation with these people and realize hey, they are real people. They are intelligent, and most have faced times and hardships that I wouldn't even dream of. What a great weekend experience. Plus it was a little less than 24hrs, so it wasn't even asking a lot from our college students.

Which I must say something about right now ... the students that came with us on this trip don't really fall into this category, but why is there always the mentality of 'I'm not gonna sign up because I'm going to wait for something better' or 'Maybe ...' I mean HONESTLY, how do you get students to realize they're only shooting themselves in the foot? I have to, week after week, be a walking advertisement for an amazing and beautiful way that students can get away from school for a second, see some other issues that affect the world, put their materialism in perspective, perhaps change their lives, and all with time to spare for homework (which they probably won't even work on ANYWAY ...). Why? Why can't there be more who are thinking, 'Hey, I'm going to take a chance and try to see what God sees in this place' - get away from the 'What's In It For Me?' mentality that Gaffney talked about last spring, and think, what is it I can be a part of, learn from, and how can I get away from myself?!? Not to say those people don't exist, they are just the absurd minority. There are SO many issues facing our world today, so many opportunities to change the world, and we'd rather 'hold out for something better', rather than do something now, joining a movement, maybe creating a movement. And we can even take classes in school to better prepare us for what can be capable of doing. College degrees can be tickets to the world. So yes, study. Yes, take some time for homework, but realize that the time you spend at parties, playing video games, waiting for someone to call you - could be used another way. Remember that the money you spend on coffee, other beverages that will remain nameless, again video games, that new sweater or pair of shoes, could benefit the starving and illiterate.

Okay moving off my soapbox. But before I do, Irresistible Revolution, read it for sure. As for the rest of the weekend, I love that I'm comfortable enough now to call up people and see if they want to watch a movie. So I visited Jen, we watched Fever Pitch, and then I went and played games at Allison's with Kenta and Matt, and it was fabulous. And thank you daylight savings, thank you, for that extra hour. So that at 2am it was really only 1am and I could continue to play a game of wii baseball and still get enough sleep.

Well, it's been a while. So this could get juicy. Perhaps I should separate it into themes?

Theme Song:
Oh my goodness. I cannot express how music continually affects me, but it has made a huge impact on me in the last week. I don't even know how to go through the round-about details of how I found this song, but Shadowfeet, by Brooke Fraser? Phenomenal. It makes me wish that I could write/sing/play like that, but then it also makes me think - there are so many fantastic songs out there that I haven't even heard of! (The Glory of Your Name, and Knees to the Earth by Watermark for starters ... I visited iTunes a little this week, which is funny if you follow the instructions under the 'Thematic Vowels' section.)

Theme Park:
I don't really live that far away from the Church. Well, really, it's probably just a little bit shorter of a walk than it would be for me to walk from my home in Seattle to UPC, I just never do it. But last week the days were too gorgeous. The colors on the trees left me speechless. Just take a look!
Sports Theme:
Well, if you know me, then you know I'm not really a sports fan. But I'll totally pretend and even have a good time if I get a free ticket. So that being said, I did indeed attend a Cougar Football game. I had to leave at half-time so that I could walk home in the daylight, but hey, it was fun while it lasted. I also got to see a Rugby match today as well! And frankly after watching rugby, football is stupid. And wussy. All that padding and time-outs. Whatever.
Theme Night:
OOOH we had a game night! Fantastic! We played "All In the Family" (maybe just called the name game? or the family game?) and "The Game" plus some Trivial Pursuit. It was fabulous. I'm also headed to a theme night tonight in preparation for Halloween, we'll see if there are pic's worth posting ...

Thematic Vowels:
I don't really know what those are ... I just wikipediad (new verb? like googled?) 'theme' for other suggestions, and there it was at the bottom. But the point is, I gave the talk at the INN last week, so perhaps you should listen and see if I used any .... first theinnatwsu.com , and then go to 'talks'. I'd love feedback. I was surprised at how much fun it was to write the talk, and how good it is to practice with Bill and Claire beforehand (as well as telling it to empty rooms a few times) to get rid of my nerves. It was fun! In any case, I think it was encouraging for steps toward seminary. I just need to get moving on those applications ....

Oh Seattle ...

Home is strange. It's familiar, and yet so distant. And visiting home is such a quick and delicious moment. I mean honestly, it's like getting to lick a popsicle and then having to give it away. A nice lime popsicle too. It's weird because it feels like it was a lot longer of a trip than it actually was, but I think that's because I pack in as much as I can in one weekend. So on to the events ... Picture please!

Yup, that's me and Roderick going to see Spamalot. FAN-tastic. It was pretty hilarious, I mean sure they used a lot of the same jokes as Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but they are pretty funny jokes. And the songs are hilarious as well. Good time had by all. As for the rest of the weekend, it included movie watching, guitar hero playing, pancake serving and soup making. Plus some coffee grabbing near the end, which is a great example of my ambitious 'I need to see you before I leave' nature - Monday I got up at 6:30 so I could fit in about 4 different catch-ups before leaving for Pullman at 11:30. Pretty ambitious. The only bummer thing was that although I spent my whole Sunday at church, it was all spent in Larson Hall, none of it at a service or visiting The ROCK. Thus, bummer.

And now back to Pullman ... We came back Monday afternoon, which was just kind of weird because it felt like the weekend but wasn't the weekend, and of course ... Hello Tuesday! You have lots of work for me to do? Dang ... Needless to say, there was a lot to do Tuesday, but it all gets done. I'm much more efficient now that I've gotten into the swing of things, and this ministry thing is really pretty much awesome. To be in relationship with students, as friend/mentor, also doing admin type work, and constantly engaging my mind to think of new ways to encourage students or reach out to them and invite them in. Sometimes I feel like I'm not really experiencing ministry because I'm supposed to help with the 'sending out into the world' rather than the 'being in the world' thing. Not like I'm not experiencing ministry, but it's not hanging out with non-christian friends and things. It makes me think of Rob Bell as he operates in ministry, while still being acquainted with the world outside of church. Same idea with intentional communities. I think it is so beautiful to realize that within the work place you can be the presence of Jesus. But I feel more called to be in these relationships, to be in these places, to be engaged in our youth or young adult communities, because they need that encouragement, and to be asked some hard questions!

Speaking of which, I started up a Bible study last week. It's a drop-in deal, but its also an apologetics themed study. So, it kind of builds on itself week after week. Which can be difficult for a drop-in. Well, this is all experimental but here it is - it's important to me that students know how to respond to people that aren't Christian. That we can sound like intelligent people and still be spiritual. You know? And how exactly do you advertise that to students and make it sound worthwhile and attractive? Maybe I should just say it like that. Although now we're two weeks in ... oh, and I suppose you're wondering how it went? Well, one guy came, not really for the study but really because he stayed around after something else. We did however have a pretty good two hours of discussion and study, but still, come on guys, I know this is interesting stuff, most students I've talked to have already agreed. So show up already. And isn't that funny, what is made available to us when we just show up. Such a simple principle that can change your life.