To China or not to China, that is the question...

Greetings from Morris! I'm back at it, full throttle for the next 2.5 weeks. Yesterday was the job fair. It went well, I got better at selling myself in 30 seconds, and I even had a couple of impromptu interviews. Come Lord! We drove back to Mo-town yesterday afternoon and stayed up until 3:30 am last night catching up with friends. The perfect way to spend an evening before our 8:00 am class this morning. :) Gotta' love it! Job hunt is still going strong, but there is something very pressing I would like some opinions on.

It's another discernment issue. My really good friend Sara (from UMM) just finished her student teaching at Burnsville High. Short version: one of the teachers she collaborated with has been working with schools in China to put on an English summer camp. It takes place in the month of July and they're in the process of selecting their summer staff. She's going. Bottom line? They've pretty much asked me if I would like to go to China for a month and teach English to students over there. In fact, it's a highly desired position (there are only 10 spots), and they've reserved a spot for me to go. The cost of the trip would be somewhere between $500 - $1000, including room, board, airfare, and some other expenses. We have to cover our visa, spending money, and very little else. A month... in China... for just that?!?!? It's a pretty sweet offer.

But, I'm already going abroad in May. Could I really go to China as well? Money is an issue: I would probably end up writing letters looking for people to sponsor me to teach. Time is also an issue: can I afford to be out of the country for another month of my job hunting time? Pretty much all of it is online, really. It's more a matter of interviewing in July. There's probably other factors as well, but my brain only got that far.

I need some advice. What do you think I should do? The Lord brought this to me... it is quite literally the opportunity of a lifetime. But, just because it's an option doesn't mean that I am supposed to do it. My heart is in it. I really think that I can raise the money and stay on top of the job hunt from abroad. I think that it would be extremely beneficial to travel to a non-Western European country and bring what I learn into my classroom. Plus, it's teaching... in my specialty area! So, please help me out and leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail. God bless and I'm very anxious to see what y'all think. I would like to make a decision by the end of the week. Come, Lord, make Your Will clearly known to me.

My Week

In my discernment process for what the Lord is calling me to next year, I have been considering many options. I feel that the Lord wants me to be teaching in a branch while living in household. One of the forerunners among those living situations is Dinkytown. So I have been checking out life there this past week. (Well, I'm still here.) :) It has been a great week! The head of the women's house that I am staying at has made me a schedule for each day... it's awesome.

Each member of the household spends an hour of their time each week doing missionary work (affectionately called "mishing") This involves walking up to people (strangers or not) and talking to them about the Lord, getting together with previous contacts, and other activities of this nature. So, I went with Jen and Cara to experience this first-hand for the first time on Thursday. Jen led the first charge and Cara the second. Unfortunately, neither one produced much of a connection. Then Jen turns to me and says, "Do you want to lead the next one?" (pause) "Umm... sure!" Our opening line which I really like was "Hi, (introductions). We are looking for women who are interested in building Christian community..." We ended up talking to two friends, Kristen and Veronica, who are both strong Christians. A few minutes into our conversation they said "Well, we're both graduating this spring." "Really? So am I! And you know the best thing about living our life in Christian community? We form friendships that last a lifetime. We've come from all over the country and committed to live our lives this way, together." Their comment could have been a conversation ender, but the Lord opened a door there. Jen was really direct and asked if they wanted to come over for dinner that night. They were busy, but then we invited them to Lord's Day... this is the best part. (Kristen:) "I think I could probably do that." (Veronica:) "Well, I think we should at least try it out." Praise God!!! We kept praying for them the rest of the week, and they both came to Lord's Day. Glory!!! We had some great conversations and I know they enjoyed themselves. The Lord really blessed all of us in that and it was a great first "mishing" experience. Hopefully they can come to a dinner here next week or something.

Our King's blessings are never ending. He gives us desires in our heart that we may not even be aware of! He showed me that twice this week... but those are stories for another time. You'll just have to ask me about it. :) After our Lord's Day meal tonight, we had a cd release party for J-T Kelly. It was great! The house was full of Division members, guests, and Action team members. I bet that there were at least 70 people there. What a joyous occasion! I've been thinking about Allendale a LOT this week and really miss it. The Lord has united my heart with that place and those people. Rejoicing in J-T's efforts was a great way to end the week... especially since he was my boss in Allendale. Ah, good times!

Other random highlights of the week: playing soccer on the mall, free Ben & Jerry's ice cream, running into a number of friends from UMM and Trinity, roof of the Physics building, having lots of time in prayer and reflection, doing chores, hearing talks from the PTI, reconnecting with friends from grade school, Morning Prayer at 6:30 am, beautiful weather, many long walks, job hunting, getting asked to schedule my first interview, the "happy meter log"... But by far the best part of this week was being able to spend real, quality time with these sisters and brothers. There were so many great talks about life. I was inclined to distinguish between "life in general" and "life in the People of Praise" but then I realized that for me, they are one and the same. That has become clear. Come, Father, move in power!

Feliz Pascua!!!

Happy Easter, everyone! I have always loved Holy Week and the Triduum, especially after experiencing it abroad two years ago. While studying abroad, I spent part of Holy Week (or Semana Santa) in Spain, and then went to Italy. That was probably one of the most ambitious adventures of my life thus far: I went to Italy for 10 days on my own and it was great! During my time there I was able to visit Lisa Rumpza and Katie Loesch. I always think about that time there at this point of the Liturgical Year. So, here's what I was reminiscing about this past week:

I spent 3 days in Roma, venturing around one of my favorite cities in the world. I met a couple of great friends from Austria from my hostal: Michael (Michi) Zwantschko and Christian Granig. It was awesome because the Lord provided two "body guards" for me as we rode the Metro, bus system, and explored this amazing community... one on either side of me! :) We explored Classical Rome the first day, and finished with a walk so that I could see the Vatican for the first time. We got there at about 10:20 pm, with the gates closing at 11:00. Because of this, there was only one other person there. No tourist traps, people hawking rosaries, or horse-drawn carriages. It was just the Vatican as is: lit up, beautiful, in it's simple glory, with the lighted window of Pope John Paul II above in his final days as pope. It was perfect, and as I walked on my own, circling in prayer, I couldn't help but shed a few tears of joy and amazement at the Lord's goodness. (See Feb 18 post for picture. This one is of me and my Austrian buds with our respective flags.)

The next day (Holy Thursday) was dedicated to the more religious sites: The Vatican, Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's, and Holy Thursday mass with Lisa and other UST students. That mass was one of the most beautiful I have ever experienced: two hours, in Latin, with a freaking amazing choir! As is common for many Catholic parishes, there is often Eucharistic Adoration (when the Holy Eucharist is displayed for people to spend time praying in front of the presence of Jesus). Romans have a somewhat unique tradition where they go from church to church to church, visiting the Sacrament in all of these different places. So, we participated in this tradition and it was a great way to see a bunch of different churches! (This is the famous spiral staircase outside of the Sistine Chapel.)

I took the train up to Florence (Firenze) on Good Friday and was able to spend the Triduum with Katie and her Pepperdine friends. I also did a day trip up to Cinque Terre on Saturday for some hiking in the mountains along the Mediterranean (with a stop in Pisa en route). It doesn't get much better than that! To top it all off, we were able to go to Easter Sunday mass at the Duomo: the huge, gorgeous, very famous cathedral in Florence. The Florentines celebrate Easter like no other. .. ask me about that one! (Easter Morning in Duomo Piazza.)

I then continued this adventure / pilgrimage and headed to Siena, the hometown of one of my patron saints: St. Catherine of Siena. It was such a beautiful city with its central piazza of the "Il Campo". It is one of the best spots I have ever known for people watching, one of my favorite past-times. I spent a couple of hours there in the afternoon and then went back at night to enjoy a glass of wine while seated in a balcony overlooking the piazza. I met a middle-aged British photographer who was quite fun to talk to. Lovely!

Then onto Assisi, the city of peace. This is also the hometown of two of my other favorite saints: St. Francis of Assisi and St. Clare. I was able to visit a bunch of churches and just walk around. While abroad I developed a great love for olive trees... I know, it's weird, but they're stunningly beautiful! I was blessed by having my hostal located in the middle of an olive grove below the main city. I think one of my favorite moments was walking through the tradition-ridden streets and suddenly hearing music. I followed the sound into an unmarked church and proceeded to kneel and listen for a while. I then discovered that it was the local priest practicing his organ skills. Gotta' love it! I love Assisi... it served as the perfect retreat. I ate dinner at the hostal with a family from Turino and a seminarian from L.A. We ended up meeting a local priest that night who gave us a more in-depth tour of parts of the Cathedral of St. Francis.

Finally back to Roma for one more day of sight-seeing with Lisa and staying up most of the night before catching a 4:00am cab to the airport. Thus began my 17 hour day of travel back to Toledo that will live in infamy: a taxi to Ciampino airport in Rome's outskirts, fly to London (Stansted airport), go through customs, fly to Zaragoza (Spain), customs again, shuttle from airport to bus station, bus to Madrid, Metro to different bus station, bus to Toledo, walk to apartment with luggage, climb steps to 4th floor apartment, and collapse. Whew! For the record, JP2 died two days after my last day in Rome. I wasn't able to see him because of his frailty, but I was still there. What an amazing transition period to be in Europe! I'll never forget these ten days and the amazing ways the Lord showed his love and protection for me. Praise God!

One of my favorite parts about traveling, especially on my own, is being able to meet other travelers. This was a perfect example of that. Maybe I'll even see some of these international friends again... who knows. I think that this can be a real advantage to being in many situations where you put yourself out there to talk to new people with maybe only one other person that you know. Maybe I should try to keep this mindset in the forefront when talking to people about the Lord in our mission work. :)

(This semester is the only thing I have ever scrapbooked and that book is a sight to behold if I do say so myself. I always love sharing stories and pictures from my adventures.)

A Revolution of Love

Not surprisingly, I have been thinking a lot about missionary work over the past few months. I decided a couple of weeks ago to go to the library and check out a bunch of books on my "to read or buy list". Sadly, they did not have Chasing the Dragon which probably tops that list. Oh well. I realized that I am guilty of severely underusing our public library system usually when I am at my parents'. Anyways, I ended up checking out a bunch of book on Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa.

I took the time yesterday to read A Revolution of Love: The Meaning of Mother Teresa in its entirety. And, as it was Good Friday, it was a great way to use my time. It was an easy, quick read and it gave me some new perspective on things. I think that one thing I easily overlook in my daily life is how each of us are called to minister to the poor. Obviously this includes those with a lower socio-economic status, but being poor can mean a lot of different things: the depressed, the lonely, the hungry, the social outcast, the alcoholic, the drug addict, the victimized, the abused, the person lacking support, and many other people. It doesn't have to be something big or elaborate. It doesn't have to be something organized through a committee. We are called to be missionaries to the poor every day. It can be as simple as giving someone a smile. "Smile five times a day at someone you don’t really want to smile at... We can never know how much good a simple smile can do."

We are called to "do something beautiful for God" in every moment... every moment lived in and through love. Without love, life proves to be useless. We are lucky enough to experience this love constantly throughout our lives. It is our duty to share this love with every soul that we meet. I have always known this, but sometimes it doesn't always sit in the forefront of my mind. Especially in relation to the poor. We need to remember this... it's our mission! Live life through the little things, in humility, with respect for all. I love what Mother Teresa says about this: "No one thinks of the pen while reading a letter, they only want to know the mind of the person who wrote the letter. That’s exactly what I am in God’s hand – a little pencil." Addonai, use me as your tool, your instrument in this world. Put me where you want me, doing what you have called me to, working with those I am destined to share my life with.