Christmas and a visit home!

Since my car spent her Christmas in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, my brother came down from Birmingham to pick me up to go home! Yay! We had a wondeful ride back up, (which almost never happens...usually after the sixth hour or so we end up fighting about immigration of socialized medicine or something...) and stayed on pretty good terms through the whole trip.

Going home was fantastic. I haven't been pining or desperately missing home or anything, but it was amazing to remember how many people I love and love me. Even though I felt like I was catching back up with people non-stop, there were still a ton of people who I'd love to see but missed. I'm sorry to anyone I didn't see! But I got to see some of my best friends from college, and lots of people from church I adore.

Also I got my mountain fix! Yay! (In eighteen inches of snow...)

It was a nice and relaxing trip, and I'm ready to get the new year started!

(Oh, the mechanic I want to go to is closed until after New Year's...so that particular problem is on hold for another week. Let's hear it for enabled procrastination!)

My Weekend

SATURDAY


ME: GOOOO APPLACHIAN!

SKY: (rains)

ME: Let's go to a restaurant and watch the game!

ROOMMATES: Um...there's a game?

ME: APPALACHIAN DON'T YOU KNOW?!?!?!

(Drives to Wit's Inn, a restaurant/bar up the road.)

ME: (noms pizza, watches game.)

SKY: (deluges)

ME: Um...there's a lot of water on the porch.

JENNIE: There's a lot of water on the road, too.

CAR: (floods)

ME: OMG MY CAR!!!!!!!!!!!

ROOMMATES: Gasp!

RESTAURANT EMPLOYEES: Well that sucks. At least you can watch the game!

RESTAURANT: (floods)

APPALACHIAN FOOTBALL TEAM: (loses)

ME: (leave my car there, go to Hagar's House, watch cars flood on street.)

SUNDAY

ME: (walk to Wit's Inn to get my car.)

CAR: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!?!?!?!?

ME: I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry please work.

CAR: (cranks)

ME: YAAAY!!!

(Drives to the church, water sloshing about inside the car.)

CAR: (pulls into driveway. Dies.)

ME: Oh noes!!!

(Texts all roommates for help.)

Five of Eight Roommates who responded to an 8:30 AM text on a Sunday Morning: "Here I come to save the day!!!!"

(Push car into parking space)

ME: (Fills a shop-vac full of water from my backseat.)

CAR: Why does she hates us, precious?

Detergent, really?

Laundry detergent is expensive. And we've had kind of an annoying problem of running through it very quickly in the house. So, in a move that everyone on staff hates but is still needed, we now keep the detergent in the office and give it out when a resident is doing laundry.

Last night one of our residents, "Joy," took out the detergent half-full. I mentioned in passing that it was the super-concentrated stuff, so she didn't only needed to fill it up to the first line. (This is very difficult to say without being patronizing, but I think I did OK on that front.)

She agreed, sure, fine, and took it out to do her thing. When she brought it back in, she handed me the bottle with a quick "thanks" and headed away. Then I realized--it was empty!

I talked with the other person on staff about what to do. I mean, I didn't want to talk down to this woman or anything, because a) she's awesome, b) it's hard to care that much about detergent, and c) I hate being like, "This is rule 1, this is rule 2, etc."

Jennie (the other staff person) and I talked about it for awhile. We decided it would be a good idea to dilute the detergent, but I still wasn't sure. Should I say something to her? We had quite a little conference on the stairwell.

Anyway, when I came back upstairs, Joy held up the full bottle. "Want the real one back now?"

And everyone upstairs died laughing.

Have I mentioned I love this house?

Captive Israel

Last night, I went with some of my roommates to a Taize service nearby. If you're unfamiliar with a Taize style service, it's a service of music and silent meditation.

We walked into the chapel to find it full of candles. The first song we were in there to sing was "O Come Emmanuel."

I know this song--I've sung it all my life, I have the words memorized. But last night, repeating the first verse in a chapel filled with flickering candlelight, I heard the words in a new way.

O come o come Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel


In hearing this song, I realized that to me, Israel is now New Orleans. And New Orleans is captive--captive by crooked politicians who sit on federal money and refuse to rebuild. Captive by federal contractors who condemn and demolish sturdy buildings and replace them with shacks. Captive by a devastating housing crisis and crime rates among the highest in the nation. Captive by a levee system only repaired to pre-Katrina strength.

But like Israel, there is joy and beauty in New Orleans. It's a city of joy and love, commradire and struggle. It's a place of music and history. It's a place where people at two seperate tables who have never met strike up a conversation and share their wine.

Rejoice! Rejoice
Emmanuel shall come to thee
O Israel


Emmanual--God with us--comes to this city each time a church opens a food pantry. Each time there is a meeting to struggle for a viable public health care option. Each time there is a festival of music. Each time a community of worshipers comes together regardless of race, class, gender identification or language, God is with us.

And through the captivity, through the struggle, through the fear, God is with us.

Emmanuel.

First Families!

Ladies and gentlemen, Hagar's House is now open to women with children! WOO-HOO!!! We now have a mom and baby, a mom and two kids, and another resident with a baby on the way, IN ADDITION to the five single women already living here! Whew! It's been chaotic, but mostly in a joyous way.

This weekend was wonderful. I went down to Bourbon Street with Nichol for the first time and feel absolutely no desire to ever, ever go there again. However, when there's an icky guy trying to talk to you, "I'm a missionary" is a FANTASTIC way to get him to clear off. :)

Children's Choir Sunday went VERY well! The power went off about a half hour before we started, (boo,) but we had candles and it was fine in the dark. After six kids last week, we had twelve show up Sunday! We were thrilled.

Two of my wonderful roommates!

Nichol, on the left, is heading up the children's choir. Jennie and I are helping--Jennie playing piano, me as an assistant. It's been a lot of fun so far.

The sanctuary at First Grace

As you can see, the sanctuary doesn't look too typical. There's tile floor, chairs instead of pews, a small alter. That's because when the church re-opened after Katrina, they decided to use the resources they had to start ministries up, rather than pretty up the sanctuary. Jennie showed me some pictures of what the church looked like two years after the storm--I'll have to see if I can load them sometime next week.

Our church!

This is FGUMC from the corner of Jeff Davis and Canal Street.

And finally...

MO'ISA!!!

We have a dog! I can't remember if I mentioned that before. His name is Mo'Isa, which is a combination of Mohammed and Jesus. (That's what they told me anyway...I'm not really sure how they create the name 'Moi'Isa' but I'm prepared to go with it.) He is tiny and adorable. And no, of course he is not sitting on my bed because that would be UNHYGENIC and WRONG, and I would NEVER ALLOW IT.

Ahem.

Hope you're doing well!

Don't judge me!

OK, so I know I haven't posted a blog in awhile. But there is so much happening I don't even know where to start!

My life is falling into normalcy as I adjust to a new home.

I've definetely adopted a "Feet-First" method here. I LOVE First Grace UMC. It's a wonderful picture of a church. In addition to Hagar's House, the church has a food pantry, Spanish classes twice a week, English classes twice a week, Bible study, a mobile health clinic that visits everyday, Faith/Health Alliance upstairs...it's the most mission-oriented church I've ever been to.

As far as space, the church has a lot, which it uses really well. Most of the upstairs is devoted to the intentional community, (of which I am part,) but there's also the Faith Health Alliance up here.

The history of First Grace is really remarkable. First UMC and Grace UMC were two seperate churches--predominantly white and black, respectively. After Katrina, the two chruches didn't have enough membership to be sustainable. So they joined churches.

For those of you unaware that things like racism still exist, this was kind of a big deal.

When the church first united two years ago, there were about 60 members. Now there are much closer to 150, and that number grows almost every week. It's really a remarkable thing to be part of!

As far as MY life here...I've been going to Spanish class (happily, Pastor Oscar is very patient with me,) Bible study, and choir. Nichol is starting up a Children's Choir next week, and I'll be assisting her with that. There are a TON of young adults that go to FGUMC, and we're going to start meeting and getting together soon.

On the secular side, I've joined the New Orleans Concert Band (YAY!) and found my first New Orleans geocache. I have a bike for the first time in ten years! (No klutz comments, please.) It's a great way to get around the city, and I'm actually enjoying the chance to ride.

(Note: riding a bicycle is NOT exactly like riding a bicycle--you can actually forget.)

There's a lot more I'd love to update on, but I'll save it for another day. Reading long blog posts test the limits of my endurance...so long for now, lovlies!

First post from NOLA!

I am now living in New Orleans! The skies are blue and clear, and I'm watching locals walk around in their thickest coats in the sixty degree weather. (Note of Irony: Amanda is now one of the most warm-natured people around. What.)

Getting down here was a pretty nice and easy drive. I saw my first roadkill armadillo (!) just before I crossed into Alabama, and it was easy driving from there. I'm fully unpacked and settled into my wonderful new home:

Oh yeah. I see your envy.

I'm sharing a room with two other women. Elaine I met for about thirty seconds before she was out the door visiting Massechutsess. I've spent a lot of time with Nichol--a fellow music major and fantastic sax player.

So far, I have...

*Had my first "po-boy" (fried shrimp, pickles, mayo, lettuce and tomato stuffed into a hoagie roll,)
*Eaten life-changing grits,
*Been to a free outdoor Blues and BBQ festival,
*Ridden the streetcar
*Had two shifts at Hagar's House,
*Been to First Grace UMC for worship service.

I still have a lot to explore and do!!! I've still only seen a tiny piece of the city, and I'm excited about seeing more of it.

I don't really miss "home," even though I do miss my family and church! I miss my fellow US-2s and Mission Interns much more than I thought I would! I've been keeping in contact with the US-2s, though, which has been wonderful. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to fit into the community here yet. I get the impression I've come here at a strange time. The bottom floor of Hagar's House literally JUST opened, and this is the first time there's been seven women living in the house. It's a very exciting time to be here!

I have a few more reflections about NOLA in general, but I feel like this is a pretty solid update. Hopefully I'll be writing a bit more consistently soon!

More Important than Information

There's a lot I could talk about from our sessions. We've discussed a great deal about poverty, "Theological Diversity," conflict, etc, etc. I mean, as missionary-type people, this would make sense.

But I really don't think in a few months I'm going to remember the flow charts about communities. I'm going to remember doing the Cha Cha Slide with thirty missionaries in a crazy dance party and singing Aretha Franklin at the top of our lungs. (BTW, Missionary Dance Party: Awesome times. There are videos somewhere. I might share them, pending censorship.)

I'm not going to remember my session this morning. (Um...maybe I already forgot it.) I'm going to remember hiking around Bear Mountain with Jen, Erin, Heather, Amihan, Johnathan, Shannon, and David.

I'm going to remember Holli's earnest love of everyone.

I'm going to remember Jennifer's giggle/laugh.

I'm going to remember Helen's shrieking at every new game.

I'm going to remember to roll my "r's" when I say "Rrrrrrrosanna!"

I'm going to remember driving to the get real food (ie: greasy fast-food goodness) in the middle of the night with Bethany and Rachel.

I'll remember Joseph's ridiculous comments to everything.

I'll remember how much I missed Hannah and Rachel when they were gone for just one night.

I think what I've learned here isn't "training." It's the beautiful experience of being around such easy love, such effortless joy, such constant respect and growth.

It's an intense experience, being here and bonding so quickly and knowing we all have to break apart so soon. Really, like it isn't enough that I have to leave everyone I love at home? Now I have to tear myself away from ten or more people who feel like family.

It will be hard, but I'm grateful for this time to spend with everyone. I'm so glad that God has created so many people who are fun and beautiful and loving. And I'm grateful to be a part of it.

What makes you?

In our morning session today, we talked a lot about having a personal credo. To get there, we went through a lot of analysis about what we think about things and where those thoughts came from. I figured I would list some of the questions here. It was an interesting exercise to do--I recommend it.


What do you believe is most important in life?

Using all your capabilities to do all the good you can in the world, and maintaining a connection to the Divine.

What helps you experience a sense of purpose and meaning?

Studying religious texts. Helping a student who's struggling. Standing up for something that matters. Sitting outside. Writing. Being in a beautiful concert.

What gives you sense of wonderment and awe about life and the universe?

The color of the air just before dawn. Moss, mushrooms, things that grow. The crunch of autumn leaves. A harvest moon. A Child's Garden of Dreams. Climbing to the top of a mountain. The feel of muscles pulling body over rock. October.

Some basic and core beliefs or simple truths that represent your beliefs about life that you live by.


1) Everything is connected to God, and through God all things are connected.

2) Knowledge is beautiful and worth seeking.

3) The natural world is a breath away from heaven.

4) People are good.

5) Music is a core need.

6) It is our responsibility to use all our powers for goodness, justice and love.

7) To be dispassionate is death.

We also talked about the qualities we learned from our caregivers, which leads me to another very important point--my Parental Units rock. We're supposed to put together a credo to share on Friday.

What about you? Does any of this speak to you? Or do you have a personal credo you live by?

It has to start somewhere...

Hello everyone! I know anyone who would be reading this already knows the basics about what I'll be doing, but I figure it's a good a place to start as any.

I'm currently at training in Stony Point, New York, to become a US-2 through the United Methodist Church. Basically that means I was admitted to a program through the General Board of Global Ministries to work as a missionary somewhere in the United States for two years.

Once I agreed to that, I took a placement site at Hagar's House in New Orleans, where I'll be going in a little over a week now.

But for now, life in training is great. We get a lot of sessions. Some are wonderful, like a very spirited conversation on diversity in theological ideas this morning. Others not so much, like getting binders full of papers that don't even apply.

Even the parts that are less-than-awesome become better-than-awesome because it's shared with such a fantastic group of people. I reconnected almost instantly with the people I had met before. I'm still getting to know some of the other people, but what I know so far has been amazing.

On the other hand, after I say goodbye I'm not going to see any of them for two years, if ever! (Except Bethany and Jen, who both say they'll come visit in NOLA. Yay!) So that might be a source of reluctance as far as "closeness," but it hasn't been yet. We all have a lot in common right now--similar fears and excitements, passion and beliefs. It makes sense that we'd get along so well.

We're only in day 3 of training, so we'll see how it goes. Hopefully we won't all be sick of each other in a few days...: p