"Let the blessing You've poured out on me.."

Well.. it's been a whirlwind last five days.. scratch that 10 days? since July 30th.. however long ago that was. 

The first 2 days of the road trip home were fairly tolerable. Saturday, July 30th, I made it to DC by 4pm, was able to go to church with my friend, and ran into another friend I've not seen in a while.. YAY for the Lord's providence to catch up with sweet friends :)
Sunday, I drove 8 hours to Ohio, and made it to my friends' place in pretty good time. Made a few pit stops, and wasn't too stir crazy nor in too much pain by the time the drive was over. Listened to some random radio shows, and time went on by rather smoothly.
Monday I caught up with my friend, got to see where she worked, and just chill - good time of rest and refreshing conversation. When I am interpreting, I tend to have this filter that I wear - that "masks" who I am most of the time. And it's not intended to be in a "hypocritical" way, it's just the nature of the job.. I am there to make the Deaf individual known.. and not for myself. Thus I often don't share my opinion, give my perspective or add my ideas - and if I do, it is always a "tone'd down suggestion" kind of way, not really me - if that makes sense? During my time interpreting, I get to a place that I forget I have the filter up. It just becomes who I exist as - and I am ok with that. However, when Project is over, and I get to just be me.. there is a refreshing release that comes with that transition. Being able to process things with life giving friends only doubles the blessings. My friend Kari, in D.C. and my friend Courtney in Ohio are two people that I am constantly grateful for their desire to point me to Christ in our conversations, and to remind me of the reason we do what we do - and the privilege it is to be a "Christ-bearer".. *grins* so very grateful for them!
Tuesday I drove from Ohio to Missouri.. and that drive just near committed me to the "old skool" insane asylum.. Time felt like it stood still, things took wayyy longer than expected, and I missed my "Chauffeurs" greatly! (Cory, Daron - 2 interpreters who often drove my car when we were together, Auzy, and Courtney - friend from High School who drove out with me back in May to be precise). My body ached, and I was pretty cranky on the inside.. I did have a fun g-mail chat with a friend tho, while I ate lunch at Panera, waiting for some videos to upload that my replacement interpreters needed.. so that was a bright spot in the middle of a dreary day.. OH - annd, I did have to laugh at God's "make me giggle" gift.. About 100 miles outside of St.Louis, I noticed one particular car and I kept leap frogging.. and both passengers had Cochlear Implants.. when they passed me for the 6th time, I asked if they were deaf (in sign language, ofc) and they both, looked startled, but said yes.. we continued our "one liner questions/leap frog game for 30 mins or so.. Sign Language FOR THE WIN~! 
Wednesday got to catch up with 3 friends from college - more "breath of fresh air" kind of conversations. I am grateful for my college mentor, Tessi, (who I stayed with those 2 days) and her godly insight/relevant wisdom about life. I always leave her house feeling rejuvenated, and joyfully exuberant (if those are not synonyms.. I think it can mean what I want it too.. *shrug* eh).. had great conversations with Sherry, Cassie and Rebecca too before jettisoning off to OklaHOMEa :)
The drive on Thursday I was somewhat dreading, however, I was pleasantly surprized by 2 new BY-PASS's and  this super cool new idea to have a "3 lane" high way that alternates passing lanes every 2 to 3 miles with an intermittent turn lane.. my typical 6 hour drive home turned into 5hrs15mins! that was MarVeLoUs! So, I came home to lotsa ppls, as the brothers wedding was set to go down on Saturday, and prep was in FULL-swing. I didn't unpack my car, as there was wedding stuff all over the place, and my younger sister decided to pull a "Coming of Age" prank on me, and empty my room of all my things.. thus I didn't have a book case to bring my books to, or shelves to put clothes back on, ect.. soo I just left everything in my car..
Friday, we went up to the church around 9am.. then I came home at 9:30pm, only to leave again at 11, to go to the sleepover for my sister-in-law-to-be.. then was home Saturday morning for an hour (if that?) to shower, get together the last minute things for the wedding.. Was a great-fun wedding, yay for bro-ha and new sis-in-law.. the only one I'll ever have, on my side anyways :D
Sunday, went to church, then played "where does it go" with alllllll the things from the wedding.. said farewell to family/friends who came in for the wedding, and tried to regain consciousness ;)
Monday - um, mtg, go see Pa-Pa, mtg, catch up with a friend, planned to unpack car - but the day was toooo HOT.. so waited til evening.. then it started raining.. so, I worked on an update video some, before hitting the hay..
TUES-DAY (To-DAY) finally brought in my "closet" from my car, and unpacked the rest of the things I carted around with me from the summer.. annnd now, I'm updating my virtual world on life post-project. :)  *whew*


It's hard to summarize Project in a nut-shell.. 
I guess the best thing to say would be to tell you of the plans of Kinna, the Deaf female student who participated in Project this summer. 
Coming into the summer, she was low on support and doubting if God really wanted her to be there, and not super "on board" with Cru as a whole. She was on the leadership team of her campus's "movement", but not very involved, entering her Senior year, and planning to live off-campus.
 Leaving project, she had her summer expenses paid off. She is anticipating extending her time at college a full year (instead of cramming 20+ hours a semester, she can take 12 hours, and complete it in 2 years), so that she can have 2 more years of ministering to her peers in a relational setting. She is now going to be an RA in a freshman dorm, in order to model a Christ-like attitude for them, and to build relationships with them. She is planning to lead a small group, and re-evaluating what truly being involved in Cru's campus movement means. 


If that is not the work of the Holy Spirit capturing a vision to glorify God and make Christ known among those you are in everyday contact with, then I don't know what is. 
I was blessed to be a part of her journey to this point, and am excited to see what our Adonai will start with her open hands, and her heart that says "Here I am Lord, send me".. 


As for my funds, it seems that we broke even! YAY! Thanks to some last minute donors, I was able to cover all the expenses that I needed, and still be able to put gas in my car to make it home :)
I am exponentially grateful for those of you who gave through out the summer. It would not have been possible without your generosity, and for that I can not thank you enough. I pray I am a conduit of your "worth-ship" to our Father, a means for you to be blessed as you bless others with the gifts Abba has given you. 


Soli Deo Gloria
:D

"..not be spent on me in vain. Let this life be used for change.. I will go. I will go, Send me.."

"I Lift My Hands to Believe Again.."

I've decided that instead of fighting it, I'm just going to embrace it.. so - in keeping with my tradition, I am blogging on Tuesday :) 


Yesterday, I painted a "commission" piece of artwork for my Brother and (to-be)sister-in-law.. took me about 4 hours total.. I forget how much I like painting, until I paint something. I have the picture on my phone, I'll see if I can upload it later..


Sew("a needle pulling thread"), what's new? you ask.. 
Last Friday I picked up Andrew from the airport. He is the interpreter from Missouri and will be here until the end of project. *YAY* Thus far things have gone well, and he seems to be able to "roll with Project's punches" (a.k.a the ever changing schedule that the last few weeks of project bring). He's also been super great at being flexible. All of my interpreters who come and stay for a week or more are hosted by a wonderful couple from The Lighthouse Church, Paul and Dottie Brandt. They did the same thing last year, and have been a God Send! However, since I leave on Saturday, that means I am taking my car with me.. and the Brandt's live a good 15 minute drive from the Project house. Being that Andrew flew here, the only wheels I could get for him would be a bike or roller skates, and that would make the trip around 30 mins, on a good day. Add in the heat wave we've had here, and things were not looking good. 
*Enter Johnny Mac and Mina* (with thematic "here I am to save the day" music, complete with Super hero capes and costumes!.. ok, maybe not the costumes)
Johnny Mac (as he's called by Project Peeps) was on Summer Project last summer with Auzy. This summer he's come back to work at his job from last summer and to live in Wildwood with his friend Mina, who we (as a Project) met last summer when he came over from Egypt looking for work. Mina and some of the Project students from last year formed solid friendships, and this year, he'll be moving to Indiana to hopefully be a student at Ball State University. Mina is a Christian - and as such, has been blacklisted in his home country. He can't graduate or find a job there. So he came to America, in hopes of finding refuge from the persecution. It's really encouraging to talk with him, as he recognizes that everything he's been given is directly a gift from God. :D
So- Johnny Mac and Mina live about a 15 min walk from the Project house (which is waaaaaay better than a 50 min walk) and have a couch open for Andrew to stay with them for a week. Mina is willing to give up his room for Andrew to stay (Egyptian hospitality is great!) But Andrew says he is fine on the couch. I told them they'd have to wrestle for the "Humble" award, but really, it's such an answer to my "Um, God.. what do I do with Andrew the last week, and not leave him stranded with no car" prayer. We will be moving Andrew over to the guys apt on Friday. YAY!


As for other updates: ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...
OH! This past Saturday, we had out "Bowling Day" outreach for the Deaf community. Five of our Deaf friends showed up. It was great (as I was mostly in the participant/observer role, NOT the terp role) to sit back and watch the students interact with our Deaf friends. Of the 10 of them, 3 guys and 7 girls, there are 5 of them (4 girls, and 1 guy) that are confident enough to strike up a conversation with any of the Deaf individuals there, and are able to maintain the convo at the basic level. For being introduced to their first Deaf person 2 months ago, I think some "Praise Jesus, Hallelujahs'!" are in order. I am continuously humbled by the students motivation to talk directly with Kinna, and other Deaf people. I was talking to Andrew last night, and he was commenting that he noticed that almost all of the students are willing to engage with Kinna directly. They don't seem intimidated or shy to ask her things, even if it means fingerspelling the whole sentence. Sadly, this is not the norm for hearing people, thus it makes the blessing even more evident. I was reminded at how great it is that these 44 Hearing College Students are being exposed to the Deaf community. These students are going to be the next generation of leaders in the Church/"Christian cirlces", and in the work place. To allow them the experience of this summer, and give them the opportunity to see that "Deaf people can do anything, except hear", makes the next time they meet a Deaf person that much less awkward. It makes the process of the next time they need to use an interpreter, or hire a Deaf individual, or have a Deaf person that starts coming to their church, that much easier - since they've already gotten their feet wet in the Deaf community! SUPER PRAISE JESUS (are you with me??!!)


As I get ready to head back home on Saturday, I am trying to make sure that I get all the things completed that I need to. I am still battling (yes, picture StarWars, episode 2 - light sabers, changelings, bounty hunters, and those skyriders.. ) the website which keeps my budget captive. I do have a budget on paper - but everyone knows to be leery of putting me in charge of numbers! I have checked my math, and even used a calculator - but last I looked at the updated (online account that I can't access directly, since their system doesn't think I exist in the capacity that I need to in order to access it) account it was $600 less than what I had. *If* my calculations are correct, I should zero out this summer, with everyone paid accordingly. *If* the computer (at this time) is right, then I'll be $700ish in the hole.. *sad-day face*
I think (read: am 97% positive) that I am right! buuuut, things on the other end of the system (at the DEATH STAR, as I've decided to call them) seem to be taking rather long to process. Thus my attempts to chase down the numbers (using those skyriders {is that what the thing Luke and Obi Wan ride in called?}) in cyberspace.. seem rather futile. However, as I started out last year, and have continued to trust this year, "The Lord knows how much is needed, and He will Provide." 
I am learning this summer a lot about blind trust, sometimes known as the "leap of faith" kind.. I tend to be the person that can trust pretty easily, as long as there is "some kind of possible answer" in the foreseeable future. However; I feel this summer, I have found myself in many situations in which God says "Trust me" and I say "Ok, which way?" and He just says, "Trust me".. to which I stand there, feel awkward just hanging out, and say.. "oh-kay?".. only to be whisked away a little while later to the PERFECT answer to my situation.. I've heard it explained that Trust is putting ones full weight on something - like sitting on a chair. So I guess I'm learning to REST in my TRUSTING.. to pull my feet up under me -indian style, and relax in Him.. instead of sitting precariously on the edge of my seat, ready to jump up and "help God out" at any given moment. It's a learning process, but I'm enjoying it thus far.


In closing, I guess I can give you a run down of my week of driving home (incase you want to stalk me.. or PRAY for my travels *wink*)
Saturday: I'm leaving Wildwood, and going over to D.C. where I will spend the evening with my good friend Kari!
Sunday: I'm off to Ohio, to stay with a friend from my college days. We were in Cru together, so lived a lot of life side by side. This will be my first time to visit her home town tho, so I'm super stoked. It's about an 8 hour drive (*sad day*)
Monday: Chill day. Time to recover from the day before and rest up for the next day.. :)
Tuesday: Heading down to Missouri. Will be back in Fulton - YAY College! Excited to see a few good friends! another 8 hour drive or so.. (*blah*)
Wednesday: Rest, Relax, Repeat. Another down day to be ready for the whirlwind I'll be joining at home! :)
Thursday: I make the last 6 hour drive home to T-TOWN! yay :) 
Friday: Rehearsal Dinner / bachelorette party for the Bride to be
Saturday: My Bro-ha gets HITCHED to his cute and wonderful lady, Shenangians! I'm'cited! 
Sunday: Praise Jesus.. then SLEEEEP!!??
Monday: Start back to work :)  TSHA, ya ready for me to be back? cuz ready or not, here I cooooome! :)


Thanks ya'll for taking this journey with me! Hope your summer has been full of blessings and rest!
Soli Deo Gloria
:D


"As I pour out my heart, these things I remember - YOU are Faithful God, Forever!"

"Lead Me to the Cross, Where Your Blood Poured Out.."

This weekend I was out of town, and thus did not get my entry finished in time for a Monday blast.. lo siento about that. Hope you weren't pinning away at your desktop awaiting my post.. Never fear tho - now it is here: Enjoy :)


I want to start off with a Challenge/Game/Prize opportunity. If you've been reading my entries through out the summer - (or if you have just started to read them, good thing it's "open book" [as my dad always says] and you can go back and re-look at them)- you might notice that there is a common theme, something that is standard in the format of all my post. I'll tell you upfront: it doesn't have to do with the layout or the font. Nor is it my signature line. If you can find the common thread in each of my posts - and e-mail me with the answer - I'll make you some custom made shell jewelry or artwork (or if you are a boy, and would like to give it to your lady/girl/wife/daughter, that can be arraigned too) and bring it back for you when I come home/send it to you if you live far away :) here are some pictures of things I have made thus far - happy searching

{{ Top to Bottom: Earring samples, Full shot and Close up of a 6-Shell design, Shell-in-Shell link'd design, and Larger-Shell with floating beads design    }}

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

So, recap of this past week

Lindsey got here on Monday, we tag-team terp'ed through out the week. 

Wednesday I met with Joe and Barbara again, then with the Deaf group from our Church.

Friday we (plus 3 others) drove to Philly, went to a Deaf-lead bible study..

Saturday morning Lindsey flew back home to Seattle *sad day!*

Sunday me (plus a few others- I'll explain who further on down) went to 2 different Deaf Churches, and then drove home.. 

Monday - I caught up on sleep, and started my week again! :)

Now, to expand :)

Having Lindsey here this past week was seriously a God Send! I needed to laugh, and be reminded of the wonders of interpreting and to be refreshed by life giving conversation - and Lindsey was God's answer to that need.. so So SO grateful for her! 

On Wednesday, she joined me as I went to meet with Joe and Barbara. I'm telling you, guys.. I get so pumped when I get to witness the Holy Spirit "come alive" in someone's life! I've never been "high" or tried any type of drugs, but I have to assume that the *HIGH* that comes from being involved in Adonai's work is better than any kind of drug that man can concoct. Joe is in that "ah-ha" season in his walk with our Lord. Each time we meet He is consistently seeing new and relevant truths as we are studying the book of John. He is a handy man by trade and uses construction tools like no one else can, but to be a part of equipping him to use these Spiritual Tools - there's not a thing that can compare - peeps, not a thing! After we went through the passage he had been studying, and had a FANtabUlous discussion about the Holy Spirit and His role in our lives; we started to talk about music..

I feel I need to preface this topic for all my hearies (yes, you - my dear hearing friends who are not involved in the Deaf community).. Music and Deaf people go together like Deep Fried Oreo's.. it's something that from the outsiders perspective seems like a crock, even lunacy - "who, in their right mind, deep fries an oreo?" .. "who, in their right mind, thinks deaf people can dance, or even enjoy music - they can't even hear it.." - right? BUT some crazy person thought deep frying an oreo would be good.. then someone tried it, and it caught on..  and it's DELICIOUS, lemme tell you.. but it's also not for everyone (as my friend said the other day "That's the worst thing I've ever had, tastes awful" - in my defense, it was cold.. deep fried COLD anything is gonna be awful, but I digress)..  Thus, when Music and Deaf people go together, it can be BEAUTIFUL! but it has to be learned.. Music unexplained to a Deaf person is like the cold fried oreo.. "blah", "undesirable", even "detestable".. So I attempt to right the wrong, at least make sure they try a "Hot Deep Fried Oreo" and give them the ability to decide if they like it or not.. 

Thus, on Wednesday, I brought up the topic of music, and we started to look at the song lyrics to "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus" with Joe and Barbara. Now, you and I (native users of English) know that English is often a tricky language. It conjugates weirdly and often uses words in awkward structure. (point made?) Most [I hesitate to say many - then for you to think oh, "it's 1/2 and 1/2".. but I am not a 100% sure it's the majority of "most".. but I'll err on the side of "most"..]  all that internal thought process to say most Deaf people consider English to be their second language. So couple a "second language learner" with "Christian-ese" and most Praise and Worship songs sound like this (the English translation).. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIE6oCpyXmo

So, as Barbara, Joe and I disected the chorus of "Nothing but the Blood" - their eyes got wider and wider, as for the first time they understood the imagery of the song. Joe and Barbara are in their 50's.. they have been attending church for the better part of their lives.. and yet they've not ever understood this common hymn.. This burden's my heart greatly - as understanding is something I value highly (and take for granted often). And it's not that Joe and Barbara are "low functioning" or "not able to understand" - they both are capable of complex thought, and contribute to society. They have just not had it explained to them in their language before.. When I think about this, I get this image of Philip, meeting up with the eunuch in Acts chapter 8:
³⁰ .. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. ³¹ “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
I feel like Philip - lead by the Lord - to make music available to those "who don't understand it".. Many worship songs are full of doctrine that we tend to take at face value - but in the explanation of the song, I could see Joe making the connection of "Jesus paid for MY sins".. not just the sins of the world..*SO GREAT!* Joe said to me later, in the most innocent of comparisons.. "I wish you had been my mom. I wish my mom was like you, and had explained things to me, I wish I was your son." Breaks my heart to think that many parents of Deaf children don't ever communicate with them. I am grateful for an "Abba" that restores the years the locust have eaten.. It's a slow process, but it will be restored! Praise our Adonai! :)


To wrap up, I still need to mention my weekend trip to Philly and the "others" that I said I would explaine :D
Lindsey - of course, I've introduced. I met her this past April at a Christian conference in Iowa.. (Terp)
Kinna - student on Project, attends Gallaudet University in Washington D.C., but is from Washington State..  (Deaf)
Sarah - a hearing student on Project who was introduced to her first "Deaf person" (a.k.a Kinna) in June. She knew it would be an "ASL trip - no English" but she was up for the challenge, and seemed to have a good time :)
Mercy - a friend I met last summer briefly, RIT student who knows Auzy. She is involved in the Deaf Christian Club. She lives in Southern Jersey, so joined us for the weekend.. (Deaf)
Pepsi - a student at RIT, who I met 3 years ago at a Christian Deaf Family camp. We've been in contact off and on since. She's great fun, and offered to let us stay at her place!  (Deaf)
Mary - Pepsi's roommate. Student at RIT. (Deaf)
Ashley - a girl who graduated from the ASL Interpreting program at Woods with me. She now works in Washington D.C. and joined us Saturday and Sunday :)  (Terp)
Rich and Jess - a wonderful couple that I mentioned in my last post that God introduced me to last year. So great to continue to build a friendship with them! (Terps)


I think this post is getting long, so I won't go into details of the weekend - just know it refreshing and life giving! 


Soli Deo Gloria
:D

"Rid me of myself, I belong to you.. Oh, Lead me to the Cross.."

this is a test..

to figure out how the automatic "hey, I blogged - check it out" e-mail thing works..

yup- boring, sorry!

Soli Deo Gloria
:D

"This is my Prayer in the Harvest, when favor and providence flow"

Last week, I posted on Wednesday.. This week, I made it by Tuesday.. does that mean next week I might actually make my originally stated "I'll post on Monday?" - we shall see! hahaha :)

The funny thing is that I planned to blog yesterday, however my day didn't exactly go as planned. *chuckle* That's life for you, right? I have a TEAM Interpreter here this week: Her name is Lindsey and I met her in April up at a Christian Interpreting Conference in Iowa (Praise God from whom all BLESSINGS flow). The plan was that her flight would get in early Monday morning (think 1am-ish). Then my friends (Rich and Jess - who you'll meet later in this post) would pick her up from the airport, she'd stay the night with them, then I'd come get her Monday morning from Philly. Weeeelll, the weather in Denver did not get my memo, as her flight got delayed by an hour or so, she missed her connection and ended up having to try to get on a 7am flight the next morning "stand by" on 4 hours of sleep. 

Lindsey = ROCK STAR! Praise the Lord a couple on that flight was late yesterday morning, so she got one of their seats! That changed her arrival time to 1:25pm. One would think, oh - instead of leaving for Philly at 9am, I could now blog first, then leave at 11 and have plenty of time to make it up there. Well, I ended up running errands, then thinking I'll leave a little early - get there, and then blog from the cell phone waiting area. OR *what really happened* I'll drive up there, think "I don't want to pay the Toll for the toll bridge", look on the map, "oh, there's a bridge 20 miles north of this one, sure why not".. only to get there an IT's a TOLL bridge too.. then I have to go 20 minutes BACK towards the airport *sheesh* get there in time for her to land *YAY* then driving home, think "we should be back by 3, she'll probably want to nap, so I'll blog then".. ONLY to get "semi lost" twice.. I say semi cuz I knew "ish" where I was, but we were having such a GREAT conversation (God send - truly, she is!) that I wasn't paying the utmost of attention.. The first time we "took a short cut" or so I thought.. The second time, I may or may not have checked to make sure we got on the highway wanting to go South *sheepish grin* 40 Miles NORTH later, I realized my inattention to detail, we had to pull a U-turn, and yeah.. So, what should have taken 2 hours -at the most - turned into 3.5.. We made it back in time for the evening meetings that I already had lined up.. hahaha, all that to say Today = delayed flight + flawed driver = FUN conversation!

I should also explain where I'm staying now, and how WONDERFUL it's been :) Last summer, through a friend of a friend, I met Rich and Jessica (they are a married couple who both had ties to the Deaf community before they met, and are now both interpreters in Philly). Rich interpreted once for me last summer, and has come down to interpret 3 or 4 times this summer. Jessica was in school last year, so wasn't able to come down - but this year, she is saving my tail - by covering for me during the last week of Project when I make my way back to Oklahoma for my Brother/Sister-in-law's wedding. Rich has also been a wonderful resource, getting me connected with other Deaf Christians in the area - and offering to let me stay at his parent's beach house for the first 2 weeks in July. The Project house is a mere 4 streets over, less than a 10 minute walk - so it's great location! This weekend, I'll be moving 20 minutes inland  - back to my host family (from last year's) house - which I'm stoked about getting to live with them again, it just means a 20 minute drive for me each way.. that part I could do without. *grin* All this to say, I've been blessed by Rich and Jess and their service to me/Project that, for the most part, has been behind the scenes. Rich is a man of networking - and it helps me out tremendously! Praise the Lord for "a recommendation of a friend of friend" becoming MY Friends! :) 

This weekend Kinna and I (with about 4 other Deaf female friends of ours) are going up to Philly and we'll be hanging out with Rich and Jess, attending a Deaf lead Bible study, and 2 Deaf churches. I am looking forward to our "Signing Weekend" as last year I did the same thing with Auzy and another friend and it was so very refreshing!

Speaking of refreshing - I love loVE LOVE it when God sets up Divine appointments. This past Saturday, some students on Project set up a "hang out/mini-golf/ice cream" afternoon for the goal of meeting more Deaf people in the community. A girl we met last summer, who is now going to be a sophomore in an interpreting program in PA, invited to of her Deaf friends. Jessica and Zoe both attend mainstream High School programs (this means they go to a public school, with an interpreter, all day). They seemed comfortable interacting with the hearing Project Students (all College students) - since most of them can't sign fluidly yet. The Project Students seemed to have a great time interacting with them too. We met up and played Mini-golf in 3 different teams. Jessica, who will be a senior in the fall, was on my team. She asked what our group did, and why we were here for the summer. I was able to explain about Campus Crusade for Christ, and what Summer Project was as we played. At the end of Mini-golf, instead of "swallowing" your ball on the last hole - the putt-putt place had this box that you "recycled" your ball into - like a "Plinco" game. If your ball landed in the "treasure box" you got a free game next time you came. The game also spit out tickets for "buy one get one free" Italian Ice. Many of us opted for that - and so the ice cream thing got delayed. The girl I mentioned in my last post - that I got to hang out with on the 4th of July - I had invited to play with us, but she had to work. She worked 15 min's South of where we were playing Mini-golf, so I suggested to the group (13 of us total) that we go to her place, and get some appetizers. They were all game, so we headed that way. Devin (my friend) was able to be our "hostess" and it was fun to see where she works. It's a sea food place - and this Oklahoma girl doesn't do a lot of sea food - however, I did learn that I LIKE Shrimp Poppers.. hmmmm! After Mike's Sea Food, we went to get ice cream. I finally got to chat some with Zoe and Jessica without having to interpret, as there were lots of small conversations going on around us. Some how we got on the topic of "could God eat a gummy bear" and from there God lead me to explain about the concept of salvation, and why Jesus came to Earth. Jessica has gone to church, and knew some things about the bible, but Zoe had never heard about God, about Sin which causes separation from God, and about Jesus taking the punishment of sin on himself, and offering us forgiveness. With wide-eyed attentiveness, she asked question after question about what all of that "Christian" stuff meant. She didn't want to pray in front of everyone, but said she would "talk to God when she went home". It was sooo very cool to be able to share the Gospel with her. We are planning to see her again on July 23rd when we host a bowling get-together for the local Deaf community! I'm excited to catch up with her and see what she has decided!

It's funny to me that God sets up these divine appointments. During sharing with Zoe, my wrist's didn't hurt at all :) Sadly, that night when I went to interpret the debrief, they did.. they hurt doubly, it seemed, thinking they needed to make up for not hurting earlier. I bought a "copper/magnetic" bracelet the other day (it says it helps with arthritis aches..) I'm not sure if it's working.. as my fingers are still tingling some.. I plan to go to the Chiropractor today or tomorrow.. hopefully an adjustment will help the nerves to calm down as well. If you think of me, please pray for my wrists to not be so "contrary" *wink*.. I am trying to make sure I'm stretching, and being a good steward of my health - but I also know that "this too shall pass, only what is done for Christ will last".. so I teeter-totter around the question of "how much is too much" when it comes to serving Kinna well and allowing her access to the project atmosphere? And I am trying to rest in what I do, knowing that a job well done is all He asks of me.  :D

It's weird for me to think that I only have 3 weeks left here. But I am also excited to come back - see my favorite Bro-hair get HITCHED - and live life alongside all of ya'll! Thanks for your time, to read about the happenings in New Jersey!

Soli Deo Gloria!

:D

"I know I'm filled to be emptied again, the seeds I've received I will sow.."

"You'll find life in this colliding.. "

As I've been catching up with the 100 e-mails that had been piling up in my inbox, I've been telling people that Time and I have been going through a reconciliation process. We actually had a really bad spell, and thought about separating, but then I came to the conclusion that I will have to interact with'em often, as Time is pretty much everywhere.. So, we are currently trying to reconcile after being sworn enemies for the past 2/3 weeks.. *chuckles* 

Sooooo - where to start on this update?? What happened over the past 2 weeks that should be documented? hmmm.. when I say the last 2 weeks of June were sheer Cr@zIne$s, I am not exaggerating. God, in His loving providence, steered me through them - but there were days that I thought I would become a push-puppet,
(remember those old school toys that collapsed)
[Push puppet - A push puppet consists of a segmented character on a base which is kept under tension until the button on the bottom is pressed. The puppet wiggles, slumps and then collapses, and is usually used as a novelty toy.]
yeah - I thought I'd be one of those and just fall apart..!

So, brief recap - June 10th to June 17th Daron (Interpreter from RIT) was here. side note: I had scheduled a different guy terp for June 19th since Daron would already be gone, and 3 days before, he called and cancelled on me. This was bad - since I had been trying to find a team interpreter for this guy (meaning that I knew no one else was available). After trying/exhausting ALLL options, I finally asked Daron if he would be willing to extend his stay til Monday. This would mean 1) He would have to make some calls to cover commitments he had back at home 2) He would have to be a nomad as far as housing is concerned, as I had booked another interpreter to come in on the 17th/stay at the place he was currently staying and 3) He would have to cancel his flight/re-book it for Monday. And I'd have to find him a ride to Philly - being that I had to work Monday morning when he would fly out.. THANKfully it all worked out, and he was able to stay. THANKS for being a ROCKSTAR, Daron!


June 17th-June 25th Melody (Interpreter from PA) was here. She recently graduated from an ITP program, but has been learning sign language for the past 12 years (while she home schooled her kids, she explains). As the Lord provides interpreters each year, most of the time it is through referrals. Friends of deafies, or recommendations of other interpreters I know. It can be hard for me to know what to expect as far as skill sets go and what the team structure will look like. Both Cory and Daron are "Working Interpreters" in Rochester/at RIT. That means we were "Peer Interpreters" during the weeks they were here. I would interpret for Kinna and they would interpret for Auzy separately during some of the trainings. Melody is a "pre-certified interpreter". Meaning she does not have as much experience as Daron, Cory and I. This is not necessarily a problem, as I do not mind mentoring someone, giving constructive feedback and encouraging growth - however, I was not expecting to be in "mentor mode" that week. I misunderstood the situation coming into the week, and while it worked out, it was more work on me than I had anticipated. Again.. it wasn't bad - just different than I had planned for. So, "Yay God" for grace, for flexibility and for Kinna being patient!

June 26th - July 2nd.. I just about thought the world had ended! soooo sooOOO SOOO MUCH crammmmmmed into 5 days. I knew I would be solo this week, and I knew that it was the staff's last week here (aka I would have both Deaf individuals to interpret for by my lonesome), but I also did not comprehend the situation fully. I think there was one or two days that I interpreted from 9/10am to 11pm.. maybe with 20-to-40 minute breaks between 2 to 3 hour long terp sets.. Jehovah-Jireh provided me with the strength (and lucidness) to make it through somehow. Only by His ability did I survive. 

Ohhhkay.. I think that's most of the main points of the past 2 weeks. This week seems to starting out well.. Hey - my goal for posting Monday is only 2 days off this time, instead'a 3.. by the end of the summer, I'll get it! I'll post by Monday one of these days! 
speaking of Monday..
Monday - July 4th, I was able to catch up with a girl Auzy and I met last summer who had just graduated from Gally (Gallaudet - cuz it's soooo long to type it out, ik, ik..). She is from 20 minutes north of Wildwood, but was in town for the holiday. We hung out for the afternoon, and had a totally Spirit lead convo while getting lunch together. We will hopefully meet up this weekend. I'm excited to continue to re-connect with her. 

As of July 1st, I moved to a new location too - which is working out nicely so far. Next week I have an interpreter coming in, so I'll have a roomie for a week. That will be great too.. AND I finally have CONSISTENT internet. That was prolly the biggest culprit in my "non-posting-ness". Where I was staying for the first month only received a WiFi signal from the top deck, and we were on the middle floor. The signal was not very strong either, thus sometimes it worked, other times it didn't.. 
YAY for "free" wifi, BOO for not good quality ;)
but now I have consistent internet at the new place that I am staying - thus I hope to be consistent in my last few weeks to update ya'll :D


(My next update will try to be less "schedule updates", and more "how I'm doing".. but I think this entry is long enough without going into more deets..stay tuned!)
THANKS for hanging with me. Hope You are also experiencing our Adoni this summer in rejuvenating, challenging, and encouraging ways! 


Soli Deo Gloria
:D


"Oh the Beauty of Surrendering.."

"In HIS Great Mercy, He has given us LIFE!"

Here at Project we have many "Buzz words or sayings" and the one that I feel hits home right now is that we are "free to FAIL".. since my goal again was to post this Blog by Monday.. annnnd it's Thursday.. *fail*.. oh well - here's to next week trying to get it out by Wednesday!

Well, I keep joking with Daron (interpreter that is here until Friday) that this week has come in like a Lamb and will go out like a Lion. Kinna (female Deaf student) left last Thursday for a wedding, and came back late Tuesday night. So the first few days Daron was here, there was only one deafie..
**yes, that is a politically correct term to use for someone involved in the Deaf community. I am called a "hearie", Deaf ppls are referred to as "deafies".. just a lil' fyi for all you hearing ppls** 
so - back to one deafie..which means we (Daron and I) had been interpreting everything together. Staff meeting- check, Monday night meeting - check, Outreach time and debrief - check.. Tuesday was our first un-teamed terp events.. poor Daron.. I feel sorry for him, esp. since he doesn't quite know what he is walking into. I have tried to prepare him.. it's just one of those things that you don't really understand until you are there, in the moment, and you've been hit with the ton of bricks, and you have to continue on anyway .. poor Daron..  
By Thursday I am hoping we're still friends ;)  as Thursday is going to be a looooong evening in terms of terping.. for both of us.. This is when I really could use 4 terps - 2 girls and 2 guys.. sadly there isn't an "Interpreter Bank" with ready made terps waiting to be ordered.. it'd be sweet if there was.. here's to hoping that when they figure out all the kinks with Clones, that we'll be able to clone great terps, and start that "Interpreter Bank" (every interpreter schedulers dream = ever-present/skilled/qualified/available terps!)

So - lets see, what else of interest has happened this past week.. 

Last Friday, I dropped Cory off at the airport, then Auzy and I had to go find some shoes.. for my Bro/Soon-to-be-sis-in-law's wedding in August.. They are high heels.. yeah.. and not like "inch" high heels either.. I don't think I've ever owned a pair of legit high heels in my life.. 
yes, I am 26 years old, and yes, I cannot walk in high heels.. 
actually scratch that.. I can't walk and chew gum in high heels.. If I concentrate, I can walk in them - but Auzy asked me a question when we were at the store, when I was trying them on, and I started tripping all over the place.. Practice makes perfect tho - right? so here's to a SUMMER of practice! haha - by August 6th I will CONQUER you, high heels :)   

While in Philly, after said excursion to find "tower shoes", Auzy and I picked up "Week 2's Interpreter" (and a friend of Auzy's from RIT) named Daron. My flip video camera is still giving me some problems, but I'll introduce him when I can get it figured out! :) 
After picking up Daron, we met up with some friends we met last year - Rich and Jess (a married couple, both interpreters) and Ed (A Deaf guy who leads the Deaf bible study Auzy and I visited last year). We had some great time chatting and catching up over dinner at Texas Roadhouse - then made it back to Wildwood by night fall. Friday's are designated a "Day off" for the staff - and while it wasn't specifically that for us, I think all involved had a great time!

Saturday, while out sharing on the Boardwalk (during an outreach time) we ran into 2 Deaf couples and their little (2 yo) Deaf boy.. Very fun to talk with them - Esp since Wildwood is not a hub of Deaf people - I am always so thankful to my Adoni for having us "bump into" Deaf people here - knowing it is HIS Divine plan that has brought them here for us to meet. We got their contact info - as they said they come back periodically - so we'll see what the Lord has planned for our involvement in their lives :)

Sunday, Auzy and I cooked breakfast for the Deaf participants at TLC *The Lighthouse Church* and got together at 9am before the service started at 10:45am. It was great to spend some time with all of them as they tend to work during the week, and last year we only saw them while at church. I hope to take some video of them too - but again.. when Flip video camera = figured out, I'll get some footage.. We are planning to continue to meet for breakfast and engage in community/fellowship with them this coming Sunday also. It's so hard - because ideally we want to have a "discussion time" after the church service to make sure that the point of the sermon was cohesive and understandable.. But our schedule isn't conducive to a lunch meeting sadly, so we are trying for breakfast.. After the service was over, Auzy and I stuck around for a time tho, and did end up clarifying some misunderstanding that had occurred during the translation process..
There is always a fine line in Deaf ministry - that line of how do we provide general accessibility to the service vs how do we present objective truth and the Pastor's message accurately.. Deaf culture tends to naturally be more "slow paced, interrupt-me-with-questions, understanding is more important than finishing a 5 point sermon". Hearing culture is more often "sermon-lecture-oriented" style. So in an Interpreted ministry, it can be hard to decide (as an interpreter) what to sacrifice - the message for the sake of time.. or content for the sake of comprehension.. It doesn't matter how prepared or ill-prepared the interpreter is, there is always part of the message that gets "lost in translation".. an interpreters goal is to have that be minimal - but that is not always the case (esp in lecture-style orations that don't lend themselves to "excuse me, Pastor, I missed what you said - can you repeat that" kind of interruptions..

(Also, shout out to my Bro-ha who turned 22 on Sunday.. *beaming* he's super great, and everyone should know!)

Monday five of Auzy's friends from RIT came down, and attended the weekly meeting. It was sweet-awesome-cool-cool-cool to meet and hang out with them. Really, it's been a pretty funky week - in terms of normalcy (being that Kinna was gone for 5 days and we made breakfast for the Deaf participants at TLC and Auzy's friends came - since they are all Deaf, there wasn't any interpreting needed - just hanging out and chatting. So fun.. so lovely.. so wonderful!).. It isn't the norm, but was a sweet break for Daron and I to be able to be involved as participants of the conversations, not just facilitators of the convos ;)
His friends are Mario (and his brother, Vinny - Vinny will be a senior in HS this year) Erica, Sam, Janna,and Mercy. Janna is from Maine, and was visiting Sam, her boyfriend, but all the other students live in New Jersey - in different areas, about 1 or 2 hours away. They may come back to visit again - and 2 students (Mario and Erica) expressed interest in being a part of Summer Project next summer.. I'm excited to see what God does in their lives between now and then! :)

Lastly, before I close out for the day, I'd like to share a prayer request.. And I've been going back and forth on how to share this - how much detail to go into - esp since this is a public blog.. but I also 1) don't have internet access as often as I thought I would (so sending out a separate e-mail is hard) and 2) realistically it doesn't seem like too many world.wide.web stalkers have found my site.. so I will just trust the Lord that if you are reading this - you are suppose to be joining with me in prayer. *grin*
Many of you know that I have been a part of Campus Crusade for Christ (C3) for a long time. As a college student, many of you supported me to attend my own Summer Projects starting back in 2005. In 2007, going back for my 3rd Summer to San Diego Summer Project , I acted in a Student Intern/Interpreter role. Some of you may remember the events that occurred - but the short story is that the Deaf female student that year was a very angry person, and I was a very naive interpreter and the whole thing blew up in my face. I carried a lot of guilt from that situation for the past 3 years - things that I didn't even realize until last year, when I came out here to Summer Project and interpreted for Auzy. Last summer was very redemptive for me, and such a blessing to be a part of. After last summer, I thought I had processed through most of my "inadequacies" and "regrets" from 2007, but it is becoming evident this summer that I have some "unfinished business". I have found myself resenting interpreting for the Female only times - like Women's time, small group Bible studies and Discipleship times.. My attitude has been pretty "sour" in those situations to say the least, but haven't been able to pinpoint the reasoning behind it. Abba, so graciously, has been revealing things that are in my heart tho - as we all know that the Heart is decietful, and we can't often figure it out. But thanks be to our Lord, who does search the heart and examine the mind, He has been showing me the deep parts of my heart that have been reticent to engage in the "female activities" because of my fear of repeating the past failings of 2007. Would you be praying with me that the Lord would continue to help me process through those feelings, as well as help Kinna (the Deaf female student) to feel cherished and an important part of this project - since I'll be the first to admit that my poor attitude has not modeled those things. 
Soli Deo Gloria
:D



"Great is the LOVE the Father has given us.."

"from Sunrise to Sunset, let me not forget all that You've done for me"

So.. about updating on Mondays.. yeah, that's my goal for next week *wink*

Last week (actually only 4 days - Wednesday thru Saturday) was oh-so-busy, but thankfully the "orientation" part for the students is now over. I am interested to see how we settle into our weekly schedule - as I am still somewhat nervous about my scheduling abilities. It seems like a no-brainer - right?
2 interpreters,
2 Deaf individuals..
just line'em up  - right?
but for some reason, I keep feeling as tho I am either forgetting a meeting, or will just "space" one day - not schedule myself or the other interpreter, and the Deaf student will show up to an event, and not be able to participate.. Yeah - I realize it's like an "interpreter nerd" version of one of those "nightmare dreams" when you wake up at school with no clothes on - but still..

During that first week tho, we (Auzy, Colin - another Student-Staff'er from last summer, and I) took Auzy's team (that he is co-leading with Colin) and Kinna's team (that she is a participant of, since she's a student) to an event in a neighboring town called ASL Idol. There is an ASL component in the foreign language program at one of the high schools, and they put on a "sign language show/dance/interpreting of songs" thing annually for the community. It is great exposure for those hearing students who are in Auzy and Kinna's teams that have not ever been around signing or the Deaf community. After the "ASL Idol" show was over, we went to Applebee's as a group. Mainly to chat with some of the students who had been in the show, and to invite them to hang out with us, but God seemed to have other plans - and that was to bond our groups through laughter and language. I can not tell you how blessed I felt to see community developing just 4 days into project, that (in comparison) I felt took much longer last year. As I think back over that night, all I can do is say "Praise Adoni".. I was awestruck by His "Heaven meets Earth like an unforeseen kiss, and my heart turns violently inside of my chest" way of answering my request for "inclusion of the Deaf students, and comfortableness of the Hearing students". I know God loves to answer our petitions with things that exceed our expectations - but I can often be accused of not fully trusting He will answer my request.. It was a "sweet kiss from the Lord" as my friend Marta (use'ta be Fraser now) Green would always say :)

Sans this past week of the roller coaster whirlwind of "orientation activities", Monday started our "normal weekly schedule". So our first weekly meeting was Monday. This meeting is comparable to the a weekly meeting that the students who are involved with CRU would have back on their campus. The meeting is open to the community, includes normally some kind of icebreaker/game, Praise and Worship time, a message from a leader, and fellowship time afterwards. Auzy shared part of his testimony as well. It is so fun to be a part of what God is doing in other people's lives, and see the growth that they experience. This year he (Auzy) even got to have a "male voice" interpret for him, as my dear friend Cory is here teaming with me this week! 

(in the world of interpreting, often times there are more female interpreters than there are female Deaf clients, and far fewer male interpreters than there are male Deaf clients - hence, many Deaf guys end up having voices an octave or so higher than normal when they talk in front of audiences, give presentations, or even just when talking to their doctors.. It is definitely a perk to have a "male voice" when addressing a large group)

I will say, it has been FANtabUlous to have Cory here this past 10 days. He came out last year for a week during July - was the only interpreter that came for more than 2 days - and was such a "breath of fresh air" to me, after interpreting on my own most of last year. This year, coming out during the first week of project has been a little more busy for him.. (*he laughs*) -ok, I've already mentioned how crazy it's been - I think we interpreted upwards of 7 hours each day last week, some of those days, interpreting at least 2 hours solo (as the students broke up into their teams).. a normal interpreting day may be that long, but is rarely consecutive hours. Back at home, I may interpret an hour, then have an hour break, then interpret an hour and a half, then have a 2 hour break.. Here it's more like 4 consecutive hours, with a 20 min break, then another 2 hours solo.. followed by an hour break, then another 2 hours of interpreting.. Which I will be the first to say is not ideal..  but, is tolerable at some level, and since finding interpreters available is scarce - I have been super grateful that Cory's been here, and able to team with me for these l-o-n-g hours! :) Cory is a fellow linguist, and it's been great to also discuss the "craft" of interpreting with him and to receive feedback from each other about improving our interpreting skillz :) I am very thankful for this treasured friend, and his willingness to come "kick off" the craziness of Project with me! :)

So, what else should be in this update.. OH - the reason for the title! :)

On Sunday, June 5th, some of the students decided they wanted to have a sunrise service on the beach.. sounds like a fun idea - right *wink*

well - here on the coast, the sun rises at 5:30.. so if you want to actually see the whole thing, you need to be out on the beach around 5.. AM.. :) Which - also - isn't horrible, unless you went to bed only a mere 4 hours before (because you were chatting with alllll your new friends at the Project house until midnight.. or a little later.. the night before.. )

so - yup.. you guessed it - both Kinna and Auzy wanted to partake in the Sunrise service.. AND both Kinna and Auzy were hanging out talking with new friends at the Project house the night before.. So on about 4 hours of sleep, I got to interpret a very early (abet peaceful and beautiful) sunrise "service" on the beach Sunday morning. The "funny weird" thing about the day tho, was that I also was privileged to see the sun set on Sunday evening - since our activity that night was to go to a place called "Sunset Beach" for dinner, a time to hang out, and then close out that time with a personal quite time with the Lord. *whew* it was a looong day, but it was also a physical reminder of relying on the Lord's strength thru me to accomplish what needed to be done for His good purpose. (I did take a 3 hour nap after I finished the sunrise service at 7AM - so I wasn't totally exhausted 4 + 3 = 7 hrs a'sleep total, right?) *grin*

Oh.. I also wanted to introduce everyone to Cory (as I'm hoping to take some time to introduce all the interpreters who come out and spend a week with me, so you are able to know whom you are supporting) however, I loaned my flip camera to a fellow staff member for some project needs, and have yet to get it back.. soon as I get that camera back, I'll try to get an "intro" video up of him stat! :)

Thank you so much for hanging with me, I am very blessed to have you on board - supporting me. This past 10 days has been a treat having Cory here with me (since he had an idea of what project is like from his experience last year.) I would ask for you to be praying about the interpreter swap coming up tho - as all the rest of the interpreters coming in have not experienced a Summer Project before. It can be a bit overwhelming, so please pray for easy transitions - as it's our job as terps to make the communication as fluid and seamless as possible. Also, I am still waiting to see on my financial situation. I know I am roughly at 3,000 (from my calculations - which we know numbers and I aren't the best combination), but from the numbers I know, that is where I sit. I am waiting on my information to be downloaded from the Crusade donation website, and they are in the process of trying to re-enter me in the system, as I am currently not on the "automatic download" list.. somewhat frustrating - but also a good opportunity for me to practice patience - no? ha! Don't you love it when you ask God for patience, He - in his INFINITE wisdom - doesn't just pour out a "patient syrup" that infuses into my blood, but instead gives me an opportunity to practice patience..  so I'm waiting.. :)

all that to say, I'm still far below the 9,000 that I am shooting for in order to cover all the interpreting needs this summer. If you are reading this, and you would like to contribute towards that number that I am needing, please follow this link (and make an online donation) or e-mail me, and I can send you my address, so you can send a check made payable to Campus Crusade for Christ. I much appreciate you! :)

Soli Deo Gloria

:D

"From Sunset to Sunrise, help me keep My Eyes upon your Glory"

I want to live like there's no tomorrow..

   WOW.. A week of Project has come and gone - well, not really, as Project hasn't technically started yet because the Students don't arrive until Wednesday (June 1st) - but Pre-Project Prep (nice alliteration, eh?) has been intense :)

   So far it's mostly been training for the Staff, meaning preparation for them as they look toward what they'll be leading the students in as the summer progresses. Out of the last 7 days, there have only been 2 killer days of terping for longer than an hour and 1/2 at a time..  So that is a Praise. Also, I've been pleasantly surprised at the amount of breaks given during our time, on my behalf.. feeling much appreciative of them - for sure!

    The training times have been good too, as I know I'm here to facilitate the information (since that's the terp's role) and in general - when I'm in that role, I personally don't take away much info for myself that is beneficial.. It's that whole processing at 90 mph thing that doesn't really lend itself to anything "sticking" as the information is working it's way through a language translating plant in my mind, and (in a perfect world) it all comes in, and it all goes out. If something does get left behind in this mental factory of mine, it's because it fell off the processing assembly belt, and is being trampled on the floor - not because it was some great piece of information that I wanted to make a copy of while it was en-route of the translating process, and hang on the factory warehouse wall.. :)

*ALLLLLL this to say* - it's been really sweet of Abba (our Father) to take me aside at times, and slow down all these mental processes that are going on, and speak to me directly. I've been reading a few books that I'll leave you with some quotes that I've been mulling over as of late..

  Chris Tomlin's The Way I was Made:Words and Music for an Unusual Life - 

(regarding the irony..) "Well, I guess we always have our own plan in case God's plan doesn't work out."

"I want to give like I have plenty, I want to love like I'm not afraid, I want to be the man I was meant to be, I want to be the way I was made."

  Max Lucado's Safe in the Shepherd's Arms: Hope and Encouragement from Psalm 23 -

(regarding I shall not want) "David has found the Pasture where discontent goes to die. It's as if he is saying, "What I have in God is greater than what I don't have in life."..When God thinks of you, he may see your compassion, your devotion, your tenderness or quick mind, but he doesn't think of your things.."

  God in the Bible -

Habbakkuk 3:2 "Lord, I have heard of your fame: I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day."

Isaiah 26:8 - "Yes, Lord, waling in the ways of your laws, we wait for you: Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts."

   As the Theme for this summer is "Treasuring Jesus. Making Him Known" I will continue to elaborate with things like these as I blog throughout the summer.. But that above is a little snippet of what I've been learning personally about treasuring my Jesus. :)

   It's funny to me - for as much as I don't like sand and the beach - I felt like I was "home" as I was driving to church on Sunday (The Lighthouse Church [TLC], where Auzy and I went last year since they have interpreters already provided).. not home as in ready to move here after the summer, and plant roots - but I was blessed by the Lord's gift of "presence".. of feeling comfort and familiarity in a land far removed from my own stomping grounds :) I went to TLC early, so as to be able to catch up with my host family from last year, and some of the other contacts I had made over last summer. It was fun to see how many familiar faces were still there :)

   Sunday was our Day "off" for the week, so after going to  church, I did some grocery shopping, and had my car filled up with gas - as it's illegal to pump your own gas in Jersey.. (sumthin' in the lines here is more potent then our regular grade gasoline at home, so they have special trainings they go through here - no, not really.. I just always feel funny chillaxin' in my car while they do the "oh, so very hard job" of filling up my tank) ;)

   Later in the day (as it twas quite warm out mid-day), myself and 5 other guys decided to go play soccer on the beach.. I haven't played a pick up game - like a competitive, playing with people who have played and don't just stab at the ball but juke you out as they nutmeg [kicking the ball between your legs as you approach them defensively] you when they score pick up game - in like 4 years! (yes, realizing this was a sad day) BUT it was great fun! An Egyptian guy and another girl joined us, so we played 4 on 4.. I'd like to say that my team won (as I was keeping score, but no one else seemed to pay particular attention to the score, and I think I got off somewhere) but it twas a GLORIOUS DAY. Good times, good company, and I'm DEF still sore today (2 days later).. so good work out! :) As the students arrive on Wednesday, and I'm terping more and more, I don't know if I'll get to "let my hair down" as often, so to speak, but I was glad for the opportunity to play!

   My relief comes Wednesday (my team interpreter).. if I can figure out how to get him from the airport in Philly to Wildwood.. I kind'a double booked myself - thinking we had the Wednesday morning off before the students arrived that afternoon, but we actually have a meeting from 10-12. I tried to cover my terp needs, but the other interpreter in the area isn't available. I've tried to get him a ride, but so far, it's not working out..  If you could join me in praying that these details will be worked out, I would appreciate it. I wrote that last night.. since then, after the Lord graciously whispered the name of a friend in the area that I had forgotten about, He worked out the pick up arraignments peeeerfectly! YAY Adoni!

   I am eagerly anticipating what our Lord, my Adoni has in store for us this Summer. As of now, I am 80 % COVERED for team interpreters! *HUGE GRIN* (80% would mean I have all but 2 weeks of the summer covered, and the project is 10 weeks.. right? - cuz that's what I mean by saying that.. I hope it's mathematically legit) ;)

   However, that means that in order to cover all of these terp needs, I need pretty close to that $9,000 amount for support raised. Right now, I don't know where I am sitting (as all the checks have not been processes/online donations updated to my account, but my last count had me sitting at around $3,000. So, I still have a ways to go. I have been super blessed by those of you who have contributed. If you know anyone who you think would like to join me in this endeavor by becoming a financial supporter, please direct them here (to my blog) or shoot me an e-mail with their name and contact info and I'd love to bring them up to date with what is happening here in these Wild Woods (a.k.a there are no woods, just sand)! :)

   I am planning to update the blog on Mondays.. as it looks like that will be one of my "more free" days (Yes, I realize today is Tuesday.. yesterday was an anomaly) so if you are not on the "follow this blog" list where you get an automatic notification, then stop by on Mondays, and hopefully you'll find an update :)

THANKS so much for your TIME.. till we meet again-

Soli Deo Gloria

:D

"I wanna dance like no one's around.. I wanna love like I'm not afraid.. I wanna be the way I was made.."

"Somekind'a wonderful.."

SOOOO, I've made it!

26hrs total over 3 days of driving = DONE! :)

Spent Sunday in D.C and Northern Virgina (NOVA) catching up with friends, and getting lost - like truly lost - for the first time in my life :(  I've been to DC about 6 times now, and I've been able to find my way *with the help of a map - for sure!* but this was my first time navigating in NOVA and it ate my lunch! After driving in a circle TWICE, (all while using my phone with google maps pulled up to navigate).. I will try to post a screenshot of my route.. it was pretty reeeediculous! ..however, I finally called my friends that I was staying with, and they got me across the bridge from VA into DC and then I was good to go (tho not wanting to get back in the car for quite some time! crazi-traffic/roads/unplanned-city-conflagrations-of-streets-that-make-no-sense!) ;)

Monday morning I headed out around 9am.. and got into Wildwood about 2pm..

It's been great to be back. So many familiar things. So many "hey, remember when's". 

..around 11:30 - two (2) hours into the last leg of the trip (the 4hrs from D.C. to Wildwood), I messaged Auzy (Deaf student from last year that is an intern this summer) to see if he had already gotten to project, or if he was still at his friends house about an hour away. He texted me back saying that he and Boaz (another student intern this summer) had just woken up. So I told him I'd meet up with him where he was staying as it was on my way, and I was about 20 mins from them. Then I could follow them into Wildwood. Unbeknownst to me, Auzy thought this meant I'd pick them up and bring them to Wildwood with me, instead of his friend having to drive into WW and then go back home. *laughs* In all honesty, it made more sense for me to do that, and it wasn't a big deal, but it's not exactly what I had offered.. since Courtney and I had been the only ones driving out there, I just made it where 2 ppl could travel, and had the back seats laying down.. *shrug* no worries tho..however I had packed my car in such a way as to not have things shift as I was driving - so it was all "one level".. hence not many things stacked on top of each other as I use my rear view mirror ALOT, and didn't want it blocked.. annnnd I had an exercise ball that was blown up, as well as a canvas that I am planning on painting on this summer. Soooo, took me about 10 mins to deflate the ball, move the canvas (so it didn't get damaged) and repack everything into the now 3ppl accessible seats, and add both guys things..

good times! :)

..but it really was nice, as I made Auzy drive that last hour (since he had inadvertently miscommunicated to his friend, I felt it only fair that he drive now (without the use of the rear view mirror that was now blocked) good thing he likes to drive) :D

We arrived to Wildwood around 2, and were some of the first ones there. I was the first one to get to the place I'll be living, so I got to choose the single room - which was nice. I know that I will have an "odd" schedule while on project - and while I will be doing things with the Staff, I'll also be doing things with the Students - so I felt it was best to not room with someone for scheduling purposes. I am living with 4 other ladies, all on staff in the Northeast and Great Lakes area. It is a little comical to me that the house that Auzy is living in and the condo that I am in are the furthest away from each other in regard to alllll of the staff housing. I will be getting my exercise this summer for sure! The Project house and the Church where most of our meetings take place are in between these places tho, so it shouldn't be too bad :)

I started working last night at 6 and worked until 9pm.. it was great to be that communication bridge for Auzy to be able to meet all the staff for this summer. I had forgotten how much interpreting it was tho.. it's good to be back, but I'm sure I'll be sleeping well, especially when all the students come and the interpreting needs double.

I think that's all for the update right now. Oh, lastly, I have just received news that one of my interpreters who was planning to come at the end of July first part of August is from Joplin - where the Tornado hit. My understanding is that he is fine, but he lost most all material possessions. If you would join with me in prayer for him, 1) to be able to recover what was lost and 2) to be able to work out the summer plans - be flexible with what the options are, I would appreciate it. Thanks so much for taking your time to read my post! :)

Soli Deo Gloria

(it's the only line I know in the song, but walkin' with Jesus sure is..) "Some kind'a wonderful"

:D