Go YoCo

Amazingly good retreat with my Youth Council kids this weekend. Was a rough week after the VT shootings for everyone, but the Keynoter, Todd, the youth director from Salisbury Pres, did a great weekend on popularity and Christian sensitivity with the middle schoolers. Trip was there with Ginger to lead a Barn Dance and the kids all had fun. i love those kids and i'm sorry to see the seniors all leaving, but happy that they're all going to good schools. i'm probably going to apply for the co-ordinator position next year to help the Exec Council and do all the major leg work. Will be a big commitment, but i am super committed to these kids.
Also, Sunday night, did my lesson i planned weeks ago for the Sr High youth at Three Chopt Pres (TCPC). i was exhausted, but it went well. It was far more relevant than i realized it would be after this past week. We discussed stereotypes and jokes and how we respond to ignorance and hate as Christians in a way that prevents people from feeling as isolated as many did this past week. i look forward to going back there.
i also got my forms turned in for my directed study this summer with Project Burning Bush (PBB) and got my office for the summer. i'm trying not to get a big head, but i'm next door to Paul Galbreth (legend in homiletics of any denom) and Katie Canon (legendary in African American studies, Women and Liberation Theology, and ethics).
Huge sidenote: may be getting to go to Triennium (PYT) on the the PBB dime in July! Wow!

Discerned

After much prayer and discernment and deeply meaningful conversations with my closest friends, confidants, family, spiritual advisers and loved ones, i have decided not to accept the offered position to N Ireland. i will be staying in school and finishing my degree and doing mission work at a later date. If you wanna ask me more about it, feel free. i mailed in the letter officially this afternoon at 3:15pm EST. Thank you all for your prayers and support.

Traveling Update

It's been awhile, so read the parts that interest you...

Easter Weekend
i got some sleep and we had not only a great worship service at church, but 20 of us still here at school shared a wonderful ham and chicken dinner hosted by my campus mommy, Deb. We all pitched in with sides and dyed eggs.
2 days later
i came down with what i must assume was food poisoning from Wendy's and was ill for a few days and missed some class. i had a fever and all sorts of symptoms i will not share.

YAV Discernment weekend
Without being fully well, Tom took me to the airport Thursday morning for what was supposed to be an 11am flight out of Richmond, bound for a layover in Cincinnati and on to Louisville. Well, with the weather all through the Midwest and NE, all was delayed. i left finally at noon and we didn't make it half way when we had "engine trouble" (nothing to worry about said the captain as our engines sputtered and we dropped a few feet) so we headed back to Richmond to take the next flight. That flight finally left at 2:10pm. i did, however, meet fun people. i met a 1951 UNC alumni who is a published author and Historian, Rodney Taylor, on Jamestown. He had amazing stories to tell. i also met a English Prof from Bill and Mary and a nice woman headed to Maine. The woman headed to Maine was married to a man who usually flies her there himself since they own this tiny prop plane, and she knew a lot about our aircraft and flying. i arrived later than i expected in Louisville, but had a nice welcome from the YAV girls, one of whom i already recognized from her blog pictures of N Ireland, which was fortunate because they had no idea what i looked like.
The retreat was amazing. Everyone was great and i had incredible conversations about mission and family and friends and church and relationships and seminary. i got almost no sleep, but the worship services and small group devotional time was well worth it. i interviewed with Kenya and N Ireland. Both went well and i decided i definitely wasn't interested in Kenya because i wanted to definitely work with youth.
i got to see a few people i didn't expect to, and several i already knew or had spoken to before. Craig Hay, a former PCMer was there, and so was Sam Sale, a current PCMer and good friend from UNC.






























Also was a girl who had been to our WTI a few weekends ago who will be going to N Ireland for sure. My roomie was a funky Canadian kid who had grown up in Philly and we had some good convos too.




i was offered a placement for N Ireland and i have a few days to think about it and i'll let you all know when i decide, but school is going well and as is my current relationship. With a great summer job coming up and the possibility to work with Youth Council again and overseas youth work still my strong passion for post graduation... even if i don't go now, i likely will in the near future.

i was delayed getting back from the trip, but not terribly so. i had a 4.5 hour layover in Cincinatti as it turned out from 4pm to 8:30pm. Having apparently overdrafted my account this past week, and only a dollar in the wallet and a quarter in my pocket (i took all my change out to avoid metal detector hassles), i made my way to McDonald's. i saw that a medium fry was 1.80 and inquired about the small fry... $1.22... SUCCESS! So i ate and waited on the plane. Met more cool people there and on the plane, and had a turbulent ride back to Richmond. Tom picked me up and Jen stuck my pizza in the oven before i returned. They both get mad extra credit for that.


Today in Richmond and in life
The wind has been blowing since yesterday at upwards of 40 to 50 mph. It has done it's damage beyond tree limbs. Seminary Ave that is right out my dorm window is lined with 100 foot oak trees. The wind took one down, tearing up the sidewalk with the root ball, and blocking the entire road and into the next yard across the street. Until they clear it, there will be no through traffic.














Also, this is the day of the VA Tech shootings. As of the last time i saw the news, 32 are dead and dozens wounded. They keep playing the tape of the student who videoed it. You can't see much, but you can hear the gunfire. It's surreal. i know i have a few friends in grad school there maybe and at least one former youth kid there. i'm afraid to check on them and deeply saddened for the families and friends.

Wastin Time

In wasting time this week between activities, or in realizing how much of my time is wasted by others or activities i don't wanna do, i started another song list. As with all of my others, this will become a CD or playlist for the MP3 player, so i'd love YOUR help. Send me suggestions to add...

Time (songs about time)

Ben Folds- It's Been Too Late
Long long long long time
Hootie- Time
Stones- Time is on my side
Righteous Bros- Unchained Melody



Hard out Here for a Musician

Jackson Brown- The Load Out
Billy Joel- The Entertainer
Ben Folds- One Down
Bob Seger- Turn the Page
Willie Nelson- I Always Go the Other Way
Foreigner- Faithfully

Social Commentary

This morning, i had a very irate woman call the library to protest her extremely large fine (largest i've ever heard of). Now, it's not new for me to field horribly angry or confused people. i'm used to it. However, these are typically neighborhood folks, and not those seeking divinity degrees. She was upset because this huge fine was going to keep her from graduating. Now, i did want to tell her that she wouldn't have a fine over one hundred dollars (the largest fine i'd ever previously seen was 34) if she knew how to return books. But even more so, i wanted to stop being polite and helpful and tell her that assholes shouldn't get divinity degrees even if they are paid up at the library. In my book, a pastor who can't be kind to minimum wage employees or anyone bending over backwards to help such a pain is in the wrong field of work.
Then a little while later, a woman comes in talking loudly on her cell phone. First off, this is a library. EVERYone knows you don't get to be loud in a library, period. Second, she passed our big no cell phone signs. Okay, no common sense, no reading skills. Why is she in our library? Poor Rachel, our meek little library assistant went over to ask her to just step out in the atrium and she blew up and actually gave her the "talk to the hand." Good grief, the woman was late 30's. Rachel, our poor missionary child, was shocked.
Turns out, this was the same woman from the phone. She proceeded to yell at Rachel about her fees and how it wasn't gonna stop her from graduating and that some "dude with an African name" had checked all her books in and just because they were late doesn't mean she didn't pay all her fines, blah blah blah. It was horrible. I hope her mother is sorely embarassed by this horrendous human being this woman has become. i was embarassed to be a divinity student. i was embarassed to be a Christian. i was embarassed for her and everyone else. I deeply hope that no one ever has her as a pastor. Most of all, i hope that i personally never give such a bad name to my own school and my profession, let alone my faith and calling. That's my prayer and thought for the day. Lord willing, i'll make it.

Overdue Ooopdate

Tues night- got massive uncontrollable cold chills and a constant excruciating stabbing pain in my right ear and side of my head that radiated down the whole right side of my body every few minutes.
We morning- still going on, called around, and Loren Tate got me to the doc. He diagnosed me with some sort of ear infection and gave me two perscrips. He didn't explain either. i called our family friend Doctor Jimmy in Charlotte and he walked me through it.
The pain and chills went away, but both meds gave me horrible side effects. One was simply a decongestant, so when Doc Jim (no relation to Dr Jimmy) from my Theo class stopped by, he told me to stop taking it and stick with the anti-biotic. My sister Kelley gave me all her nursing/vomiting dietary advice, and a few of my hall friends took care of me for a few days. Jen ran to the store for Gatorade and bananas and such. Tom made me some rice, etc. With my raging high metabolism, i was laid low by lack of any food for a few days and losing much of it, so i did not make it to class or work for 2 or 3 days and laid in bed sleeping for 3-4 stretches, dearly wishing that i could.
Ashley got in Friday night after a terrible ordeal transporting a mama doggie and her 6 puppies from CH to Richmond with no leashes. FUN! She took care of me and got me to the grocery store and a few restaurants to start me back to real food like mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs and biscuits. A later blog on her failed April Fool's prank... gotta love the attempt.
Current status: able to hold down a spoon full of queso on saltines after a pot pie. Might be lookin up...