these days are going by way too fast. i have so much to do before i leave for mexico. my friends and i are going to catch fireflies tonight down by the railroad tracks and put them in a glass jar (but only for a little while) and walk around by the light of a thousand fireflies. we are only twelve dollars and eighty-five cents short of money that we need for mexico. i had this weird vision type thing a couple weeks ago. i am so excited for my brother. visas are screwy. i love phil’s new song. i haven’t danced in a while. i am going to miss eating salads. people are so beautiful. i don’t like it when people try to show off. i hate it when i find my self showing off. please tell me when i am. my friends and i had a spontaneous hoe down yesterday at a grad party. pj is hilarious. i went to a cabin a couple days ago and got stinging nettle all over my legs, twice. why am i such a ditz. i talk with my eyes open but think with them closed. i just picked a bouquet of daisies. i don’t like bugs. why is it so hard for me to admit that i am wrong. i am wrong. a lot. i am going canoeing today. i think i will probably get burnt. okay, this has gotten way to rambly. hasta luego. liz
A couple days ago my sister and I did a concert fundraiser for our mission’s trip to Mexico.
And can I just say I was humbled and blown away by my friends and family.
So many people came just to see some ordinary, not the best girls play and sing.
they came and supported us and I cound not be more thankful.
Seriously, when I think of all the support I’ve gotten from my friends and family, it makes me want to cry.
I am blown, utterly, blown away by their love.
I’ve gotten support by friends who have no jobs, who are in college, who just don’t have the money…yet they gave to us. Friends who supported us by their talents and abilities, who have gone out of their way to help us out….Why? I don’t really know….but I am beyond thankful and so humbled. so, so humbled.
People we hardly know have come up to us and just handed us money for our trip, or have told us that they are going to be praying for us….and more than anything that knocks me to my knees in thankfulness.
Why God choose to have them bless my sister and I is seriously beyond me. I am just so thankful.
Coaching soccer for children at our church and at an inner city program/missions in downtown Minneapolis.
From early in the morning to about noon, I help coach soccer for our church’s program.
The children there are sweet, innocent, and happy.
Then from the afternoon until about 8pm, I head down to the city and help coach soccer there.
The children are sweet, tough, and just wanna play.
There is such a contrast between the small city/country children at my church and the inner city children in Minneapolis.
Of course there would be….different demographics, lives…everything.
I love teaching both groups…but there is just something extra awesome and humbling to help out with the inner city children…..
Yesterday, as I was sitting on the wet grass, surrounded by Somali, African-American, Asian, and Mexican children (yay), I almost started bawling…man, guys, I was trying really hard not to let the tears come gushing out…..I just felt this overwhelming love for the children….it was like my heart was almost bursting (along with my tears about to come out of my eyes) for the little girls and guys. and I can’t even tell you why exactly, but man, oh man….it was like the Lord just put this HUGE load of love on my heart and the rest is beyond explanation.
I would just look into the big brown eyes of the Somali boy sitting by me…his eyes fixed on one of the head coaches as she told the children about Jesus…..and couldn’t get over the fact of how God gave us the opportunity to come down there and be able to tell them about Jesus, but in a way that wasn’t forceful……but gave them the chance to come on their own and see for themselves….kinda like some other guy I know…
I love the fact that we would get there and Nathan would throw on the hot dogs and shortly there after we’d have a line of children coming in to get some:
I love the fact that we got to play dutch with the girls and they would laugh at us when we would try to “jump” in and get whacked in the head:
I love the fact that we got to sit with them and tell them bible stories:
I love the fact that i got to be their soccer “coach liz”:
I love that fact that I got to work with the cutest little children:
I love the fact that we were all there together as a community, just playing, eating, singing, and learning…together:
Like Nathan said, as we were all standing in a circle about to pray: “I had a vision, one that you’ve all had too, that we would all be together, different cultures, holding hands praising God…and we’re doing it…we’re doing it”
I love summer adventures. Summer country adventures. Summer city adventures…any adventures.
Today my friends and I had a very spontaneous canoe adventure. It was only meant to be a short one…but of course…our adventures never really end up being short.
our adventure consisted of:
-a man with beautiful eyes helping us get our canoe off my truck
-taking a “cool looking channel of water” that branched off from the main river (3 hour detour)
-taking jumping pictures
-getting out and walking our canoe for most of the way because it was soo shallow
-trying to portage through land becuase we couldn’t seem to get out of our little channel of water
-carrying our canoe over a hill expecting to see the river on the other side but instead only see more woods.
-stepping on some sort of stinging nettle and burning our legs and feet, hoping into the canoe and wishing we could fly or that we had a cell phone
-after waiting for 5 minutes, all of us just standing in the canoe which was on land somewhere in a forest of stinging nettle type stuff, deciding to go back the way we came and keep walking the canoe
-joelle falling into the river
-finally finding our way out
-finally making it back to where we started
-writing a little note for the man with beautiful eyes
Lately I’ve been having these Mexico freak-out attacks where my brain starts spinning from fear and I wonder why the heck I am going to Mexico.
I start thinking of all the reasons why I shouldn’t be going:
-Don’t know Spanish
-The missions teams coming down won’t like me or accept me
-I’ll screw up the food preparation and end up accidentally poisoning everybody
-I will be trapped in one area (I hate the feeling of being trapped)
-The Merge staff will think I’m some immature 14 year old
-I’ll be attacked by a HUGE nightmarish looking spider
-I won’t be any help but more of a hindrance……thoughts such as that.
Than I remember I have an enemy that drops those little thoughts in my head because he knows we are going to do great things there.
The fear still sometimes lingers, but it isn’t as paralyzing as it was before.
In addition to finding out that I am going to help with translating (AHHH), I also found out that I am going to be working at an orphanage the whole time down there….and let me tell you, that has been a dream of mine since forever.
I am pretty much surely very much so beyond excited. It is breathlessly humbling and exciting to be able to show and give love to little children that have only known abandonment, the non-verbal phrase of “not enough” unconsciously pounded into their being, fear….
The orphanage is called “Pilar de Esperanza” which means ”Pillar of Hope”. I love it.
Hope. it is what these children need, and it is what this orphanage is accomplishing.
I found some pictures today that someone from a mission’s team took of the Orphanage and the children (mad photography skills). And let me tell you…looking at these pictures makes me want to hop on the plane and go there right now.
I cannot wait. And anytime I feel a Mexico freak-out attack coming on, I’ll just look at these pictures:
