Steward of Mysteries: March 2010

Childlike Faith and a Broken Wing

Katelynn is on Spring break this week. We spent most of the morning sitting on the couch watching Spongebob. We were minding our own business when all of a sudden, we heard a loud thud. Something hit the glass door and fell to the ground. It startled us, so we both ran over to the door to see what it was. Lying on the porch was a little, yellow finch. My automatic response was, "Just leave him be, there's nothing we can do for him. He's not going to make it." Katelynn was bound and determined to help the little guy though. She was banging around trying to find her old Hermit Crab cage. Very annoyed, I yelled at her and kept insisting that there was nothing she could do. She was adamant though. She said, "You don't believe that God can heal him and I do, so I am going to help him!"

She put a towel in the cage, some bird seed, then went to get some gloves. I thought, "I might as well help her before she hurts herself, or further injures the poor bird." So, we got the bird in the cage and headed to Petco. We had planned to go to Old Navy so Katelynn could buy clothes with the money she had saved up. However, she decided to buy stuff to help the bird instead. She named him Oscarr De La Hoya. Well, she came up with Oscarr and I came up with De La Hoya. She bought him a heater, some baby bird food, and a syringe. We took him into the garage and got his new living space all situated. Then we held him and fed him out of the little syringe. He would swallow some food, then fling his head around to clean off his beak. He got bird food all over our clothes. It was actually kind of cute. I must say, he is a sweet little bird. He can't fly, but he seems to be okay otherwise.

Oh the lessons I learn from a 12 year old. She has childlike faith, such compassion, and was willing to sacrifice her savings for that helpless little bird. I am glad that while I was flailing around, paralyzed by my sin, the Lord didn't look at me and say, "Just let her be, there's nothing that can be done. She's not going to make it." Instead, he had compassion for me. He sacrificed himself for me. He saved me.

He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. -Matthew 18:2-4

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The Lord will perfect that which concerns me... Psalm 138:8

Assuming the world is still spinning come October, I will be heading to Macedonia. It is still very surreal. Yesterday, I got an official "welcome" e-mail from the team that is already in Macedonia. Brian and Mandy are the couple that run the coffeehouse. I have been e-mailing back and forth with them for a few weeks now and have asked them all sorts of questions. One being about what the living situation would be like. Brian said that more than likely, I will have an apartment with internet and the amenities will be similar to what I have at home. The only adjustment I might have to make is using electric heaters in the winter because there is no heating system.

Readers, if you knew anything about my living situation last year, this would make you smile. My roommate and I thought it would be a good idea to move into this little old house near campus. It was cute as could be, but it had so many issues. Perhaps one day I will write a post about all of the funny stories that house produced. One issue being, it had no central heating or air. Window units in the summer and electric heaters in the winter. That house was right cold in the winter! So much so, that you could see your breath inside. We avoided showers if at all possible or went to a friends house... getting wet was out of the question. We often asked ourselves "What the heck were we thinking when we decided to move here?" The Lord knew what he had in store! I'm not saying that I am completely prepared for a Macedonian winter, however I don't believe it was a coincidence.

The Lord has been so sweet to me. When I first began filling out the journeyman application and looking at times to go to conference, my sister was in the process of planning her wedding. My biggest concern was that I would leave to go overseas and she would have a baby while I was gone. Well... due to the economic situation I got pushed back, and pushed back. And now, my sister is going to be having a baby in just a few weeks and I get to be there! Another secret concern I had, was that I would go overseas and have kid withdrawels. I love kids so much! Afterall, I have a degree in Elementary Education. As it turns out though, the family I am going to work with has a 2 year old and a 5 month old. How precious is that? I suppose that's all for now.

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and the verdict is....

*MACEDONIA*

I am beyond ecstatic! IMB called this morning, and I'm going to Macedonia to work at a coffeehouse and build relationships! Lord willing of course. What are my plans you ask? I go back to Virginia at the end of July for an 8 week training. I imagine my departure date would be within the first couple weeks of October. There will be two other girls going to Macedonia. One will be on my team and the other will be in a city nearby. The girl who will be on my team seems like a really sweet girl. I'm excited about getting to know her. Anyway, I guess that's that for now.

This is a picture of the city.

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Piercings and Cultural Experiences

Guess what I did today!

Alex and I have been talking about getting our noses pierced for about two years now. We finally did it today! We went to a place called Kolo Piercing.

It is located in Little 5 Points right outside of Atlanta. Little 5 Points in itself was a cultural experience. All kinds of people hang out there. Very interesting.