"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"