The RESCUE

This weekend, a few of us headed to downtown St. Paul to take a walk to the capitol. This was for Invisible Children's RESCUE event. The point was to be advocates to people of influence (senators, governors, celebrities, etc.) about Uganda's 23-year war. There's so much to say about it but simply put, Joseph Kony (leader of the rebel army in Uganda and now in the Congo) abducts children to turn them to violent soldiers. The goal for him is to have killing machines. There are currently around 3,000 abducted children. We want it to stop. And we want people who have voices of impact to want it to stop.

Here's how it went down.

We abducted ourselves for the night to simulate what happens to the child soldiers. People did this all over the world. In St. Paul, we started in Rice Park and took a walk (aka - the abduction walk) to the capitol to spend the night. There we had to stay until we were "rescued," meaning media coverage and a "mogul," a cultural or political leader to come speak. We obtained Channel 5 News and a representative to speak on Senator Amy Klobuchar's behalf. Amazing.

That night I saw people really get together in common cause. It wasn't easy to sleep in the rain (and to see other cities go unrescued - Chicago, San Francisco, etc!), but we did it anyway. That night we wrote letters to Amy Klobuchar and President Obama himself. These will be hand delivered to whoever goes to IC's How It Ends, a lobbying event in Washington DC. I can see how much people want this to stop and what lengths we're going to see that end.

Our home for the night - only a few of the many people there.

Sarah writing her letters!!

Visit Invisible Children's website to get more info and for updates.

School searching is difficult. Really difficult. I'm starting to see the sacrifices and I feel like a fool for not seeing them coming. Who thought this would be easy? I thought I would maybe go to a less expensive school and it would be a relief. But what I'm finding is that Hamline isn't so expensive after all - especially with the financial aid I was getting. After aid I don't have to pay back (scholarships + grants), I ended up with about $7,000 to pay not living on campus. Welp, that's pretty darn good for a private school where you get loads of one-on-one attention. Good deal - but is God calling me to give that up for something better?

I know nothing comes before my God. But does He always ask me to give up good deals? I don't think so... but sometimes He says, Ok you can go for this good deal, or you can give that up for My best. What'll it be?

Eek!

This is the part where I discern what is better. Where I am to go. Do I really have to transfer schools? I feel like I want to, but staying at Hamline may suffice (no idea) and would be more comfortable.

See, that sentence right there makes me cringe. OoooOOOooooh comfort!!

But is all this education worth spending more money on? On DTS, my eyes were opened to how DANG expensive school in the States is. And more expensive than HU. I almost passed out when I saw UC-Santa Barbara. You ready?

$48,000

GUH!!!

I won't find a better deal out there - but is that the sacrifice that God's best requires?

I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own.
We are not able to plan our own course.
(Jeremiah 10:23)

[lots going on in my head right now. give me a shoutout in your prayers. :P]

Old friends

At our tennis banquet
Janine, Christa, Angie, Sarah, Andrea, Me

I went out for dinner a couple nights ago with people I grew up with. I was the first to move on the block when I was one and a half. Andrea (Andi - check the photo above) moved in kiddie corner a few years later. Next came Angie, who was down the street. The three of us (plus a few other kids) did everything together. It was bliss. I became friends with Sarah, my best friend now, when we were in 7th grade. The four of us sat and talked at Perkins for three hours on Wednesday. Catching up and laughing our heads off about memories and what idiotic things we would do when we were little.

We haven't seen each other (besides Sarah and me, who see each other just about every day) in about three years.

Again, it was bliss.

What was amazing to see on DTS was how a bunch of people who are different than each other coming together. No two of us were like each other. But we fit. We worked. It didn't matter how different we were - we all had one thing in common, and that brought us together more than any differences could separate us.

I felt it with my girls on Wednesday. We're all so different. We grew up. We went to university. We moved out. A few of us are working full time like "adults." Ha. We grew apart (that happened even in high school), which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But whenever we come together, it fits. We're different, but it works. I love seeing that. We came from the same place, our roots are intertwined. So we still fit. And I'm pretty sure we always will.

Contact an old friend --- you'll be glad you did.

It's been a while...

So a month has past since coming home from DTS. Despite it only being a month, a LOT has happened. A lot has changed. Oof, I'm overwhelmed!!

I've been taking it slowly adjustment-wise. Reverse culture shock was definitely a lot worse than I thought it would be. As soon as I hit my Chicago layover on my way back to Minneapolis, I started to hate things... like when McDonald's gives you enough ketchup and napkins for 10 people. Argh!! I'm slowly becoming more comfortable with the way America works. I'm trying to be proud of my culture again without becoming so comfortable that I accept the bad things about our country. It's a difficult balance. Shopping's not the same... being around friends isn't the same... church isn't the same. There's just a whole ballpark of stuff that's part of my "home" that just isn't the same. It's weird. Carolyn and I were talking back and forth on facebook and she said it well --- I do the same things I did before I left for DTS, but doing them feels funny.

I thought I had my ducks in a row before leaving DTS. The plan was to finish up at Hamline, not do full-time summer camp staff, and find a job. Oh, how everything has been shaken!! I feel my education at Hamline is limited - especially now that I've been encouraged in my passions and am ready to study exotic animals. I'm hoping to transfer and study Zoology. I know... hhhwhat?? That's what I said, too. It makes sense, except the fact that I was dead set on going back to Hamline. I now have a giant list of schools that offer zoology. And now I have to attempt to narrow it down to a few!! I feel terrified --- going to a big school, which I'll probably have to do, will be a good experience but has never been my cup of tea. I thrive in small environments. But I'm willing to risk that to study what I feel is right.

I'm also doing camp this summer. Ha - everything seems to be going in the opposite direction of what I thought I'd be doing. Basically, all my excuses for not applying started to disintegrate and I was left saying no simply for the sake of saying no. And when there's need for camp?? I just couldn't stand it.

Sarah and I went to Colorado for a week to visit our friends, Paul and Kathi, and their kids, Joshua and Jillian. What a great week. They're all people that are so understanding, patient, and... hilarious. : ) There was no pressure to tell DTS stories or to talk about DTS at all. It just flowed naturally. Plus, Paul went to Tanzania last May so we were able to story swap!! It was a relaxing week that I needed. Praise God for that.

Josh (eating the sign...), Sarah, Jillian, and me at the Garden of the Gods - gorgeous!

Climbing!!

One of the women at their church has a GOAT FARM!!
So naturally, we went to play with baby goats!!
Yup, Jill's hair being eaten...

Mmm... jicama...

SO funny.

Josh, Sarah, me, Jill

The week was full of fun games!!
Yessss DICEcapades

Saying goodbye at the airport. We were on standby on a flight (we caught an earlier flight to miss the nasty weather) and got split up. I flew out in the morning and Sarah flew out at night. Weird...

Life after DTS seems to be exhausting. Between telling story upon story (don't get me wrong - I love it!), missing DTS, hating the States, finding a job until summer?, searching out a new school, and just wanting to get out of here again, I get pretty tired. Not fun. Some days are good, some aren't so much. But I'm adjusting, and thinking, and continuing to learn. And letting my heart just be what it is.

I know there's more... but I'll let it flow out as I think of things I'm pondering.