Over the last couple of weeks I have noticed how all the little things have been off. I don't know what it is- maybe I am growing and I am going through a clumsy stage- but whatever it is I have almost come to expect it. Here are just a few of the weird, funny, and plain stupid things that have happened in the last few weeks.
1. Forgot about a meeting that I needed to go to for work. I have known about this meeting for weeks and even had it on my planner at work, but somehow I sat around doing nothing while this important meeting was taking place. About 45 minutes into it my friend (who made it to the meeting with no problem) texted me to see if I was coming...by that point I was on my way to another meeting and it was pointless to stop by for 5 minutes. Luckily, the lady who is in charge of the committee is super merciful and told me she was just thankful I hadn't gotten "sucked into a black hole" which at that point I felt I already had with all the stuff I am doing at work. Anyway, missing a meeting is not me...so it was werid!
2. This morning I was trying to put away a box of cereal after I had finished pouring myself a bowl. I was holding onto it with two hands and everything and the next thing I know the box was upside down and all the cereal was on the floor. Now comes the question of what did I do with an entire box of cereal that is now on the floor...well (I really can't believe I am admitting this!!!) but I scooped it up with my bare hands and dumped it back into the box. Ahhhh I really hope our floor was somewhat clean! But seriously...cereal is soooo expensive, I can't even imagine throwing away an entire box of cereal just because it spent a few seconds on the floor. So if I don't offer you cereal the next few times you come over it is not because I am being rude it is just because I don't want to offer you the dirt off my floor for breakfast!
3. My roommates and I carved pumpkins...not odd or strange...but the fact that all of our pumpkins shriveled up into little orange balls of grossness and mold is beyond me. They didn't even make it to Halloween! Seriously, I don't get it! If the pumpkin is drying up, why would it grow mold. Usually mold only grows where there is moisture...not where there is dryness. Anyway, we had to throw them away because there were all kinds of bugs on them and they were pretty unrecognizable as pumpkins.
4. The internet at my house is working....but my computer won't pick it up! This is just frustrating! However, I think it makes me very very aware of how addicted to checking my facebook and email...maybe this is a good time for me to break that habit. I just feel like I am missing out on the world! I'll get over it!
5. The other day I was wearing my super cute pink shoes and I was walking on a tile floor in one of the cafe's at APU and I slipped and slid about 2 feet (luckly I didn't fall...God only knows how that happened) but about 20 students were standing there and saw the whole thing. I even chuckled a little bit when it happened...but talk about embarassing moment.
Those are only a couple of the things I can think of right now...but everyday something happens and I am like...really?? could I be any more clutsy or uncordinated?? But that is why all of you love me right...because I always have a good story about something that happened.
Alright, I have to head home from the coffee shop to my apartment that won't let me have internet so I can actually finish my papers for school!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Bangladesh Video
Hey all!!
So I haven't written in forever...life has been messy and crazy and all the fun stuff that life throws our way...but I wanted to post this link to the video that one of my staff made about Bangladesh. It isn't quite finished (just some wording that goes in the beginning and end) but this is the jist.
Now you will get an insight into what I do when I am in far away places! Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d15st87og3I
So I haven't written in forever...life has been messy and crazy and all the fun stuff that life throws our way...but I wanted to post this link to the video that one of my staff made about Bangladesh. It isn't quite finished (just some wording that goes in the beginning and end) but this is the jist.
Now you will get an insight into what I do when I am in far away places! Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d15st87og3I
Saturday, October 4, 2008
It's Raining
I am sitting in one of my favorite places...a coffee shop on a quaint little downtown street near my home. It's raining outside and I am warm and cozy inside listening to music and suppossedly working on a project for school. Something about rain, and quiet, and music (and maybe even homework) drives me to reflect on life and the state of my heart.
Life is so interesting right now. Not amazing (a phrase I use way too often) but definitely not awful, or bad, or unliveable. My overbearing, always having to plan, and super stressed out personality has slipped into a laidback, super flexible, and not worried about much of anything way of life. I find this change intriguing and wonderful, but am not too sure when or where it happened.
School is good. This quarter has been very kickback, but somehow I still manage to wait to the last minute to do projects and papers...oh well...I am still getting good grades (I think...I haven't gotten a single assignment back yet!). I am leaving for New York and Vermont in just a couple of days for a conference for my Law and Ethics class. I am super excited! I bought these plane tickets almost four months ago. I almost can't believe the time has come for this amazing (see there I go using that word again) adventure!
My internship has been good and hard all at the same time! I am thriving in Student Affairs and I am ready to get out in this huge world and figure out where in the heck I am going to be serving in the next few years; however, that desire to get out makes being a "student" tough because I tend to fight "the man". I am also learning how to plan for my departure, yes even 7 months in advance. The program I am running is actually starting to become sustainable, but I need to leave it in a place of sustainability and growth for the next graduate assistant that comes along. I tend to find myself in this place...creating and growing ideas and programs and then having to move onto something else new. I think with this internship I am learning to embrace this trend, but it doesn't make the moving-on any easier.
Personally I have been very contemplative lately. I tend to find myself with an urge to sit and think and write. I think I am at this place right now because I am still trying to process all the changes in my life: relationships, vocation, me, jobs, residence, etc. As much as I verbally process things (sorry to all of those who have heard the many ranting of Erin in the last few months...and years!!) sometimes sitting down with a blank page, a pen, and my rambling thoughts is the best therapy I could ask for.
Church...AMAZING!! As some of you may or may not know I have been church shopping since June and well I really didn't shop too much and I was blessed to find a great church family. I was telling someone about it the other day and they commented about how perfect is was for me...it meets at a coffee shop (can't beat the atmosphere), is new and fairly small (about five months old and about 40 people on a Sunday), is different every week, and is super focused on missions. My goal for the year is to "not get involved" (thanks to several of you who really emphasized the importance of this goal in my life) in church ministry. It sounds like a weird goal...I know...but I really need some time to just "be" and go to church for time with God and community. Not getting "involved" has already been difficult as I was already asked to lead a small group, but I really feel that I need to rest and that I need to focus on my ministry at my internship.
It has stopped raining for the moment and the project I should be working on is begging to get finished, so it is time to be responsible and not let too much of this rainy day pass me by.
Life is so interesting right now. Not amazing (a phrase I use way too often) but definitely not awful, or bad, or unliveable. My overbearing, always having to plan, and super stressed out personality has slipped into a laidback, super flexible, and not worried about much of anything way of life. I find this change intriguing and wonderful, but am not too sure when or where it happened.
School is good. This quarter has been very kickback, but somehow I still manage to wait to the last minute to do projects and papers...oh well...I am still getting good grades (I think...I haven't gotten a single assignment back yet!). I am leaving for New York and Vermont in just a couple of days for a conference for my Law and Ethics class. I am super excited! I bought these plane tickets almost four months ago. I almost can't believe the time has come for this amazing (see there I go using that word again) adventure!
My internship has been good and hard all at the same time! I am thriving in Student Affairs and I am ready to get out in this huge world and figure out where in the heck I am going to be serving in the next few years; however, that desire to get out makes being a "student" tough because I tend to fight "the man". I am also learning how to plan for my departure, yes even 7 months in advance. The program I am running is actually starting to become sustainable, but I need to leave it in a place of sustainability and growth for the next graduate assistant that comes along. I tend to find myself in this place...creating and growing ideas and programs and then having to move onto something else new. I think with this internship I am learning to embrace this trend, but it doesn't make the moving-on any easier.
Personally I have been very contemplative lately. I tend to find myself with an urge to sit and think and write. I think I am at this place right now because I am still trying to process all the changes in my life: relationships, vocation, me, jobs, residence, etc. As much as I verbally process things (sorry to all of those who have heard the many ranting of Erin in the last few months...and years!!) sometimes sitting down with a blank page, a pen, and my rambling thoughts is the best therapy I could ask for.
Church...AMAZING!! As some of you may or may not know I have been church shopping since June and well I really didn't shop too much and I was blessed to find a great church family. I was telling someone about it the other day and they commented about how perfect is was for me...it meets at a coffee shop (can't beat the atmosphere), is new and fairly small (about five months old and about 40 people on a Sunday), is different every week, and is super focused on missions. My goal for the year is to "not get involved" (thanks to several of you who really emphasized the importance of this goal in my life) in church ministry. It sounds like a weird goal...I know...but I really need some time to just "be" and go to church for time with God and community. Not getting "involved" has already been difficult as I was already asked to lead a small group, but I really feel that I need to rest and that I need to focus on my ministry at my internship.
It has stopped raining for the moment and the project I should be working on is begging to get finished, so it is time to be responsible and not let too much of this rainy day pass me by.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Back to School
Well I have officially started my 2nd (and final year...at least for this degree) of grad school. I really do not know how to feel about that! Last year went so fast and I can only imagine how fast these next 8 months are going to fly by!
This quarter (the next 8 weeks of my life) I am taking two classes...Legal and Ethical Issues in Student Affairs and Counseling: The Helper Relationship. Going into these classes I wasn't exactly sure what to expect...but after attending classes this week...well I love both of them! For my law and ethics class I am actually getting (an optional assignment) to go to Vermont for a conference (with a little pre-trip to New York City!!!...the plane tickets were actually cheaper to go from here to NY to Vermont and home than it was to go from here to Vermont and back...so I am just being frugal...well sort of!). The counseling class is amazing! I get to learn how to better listen and work with students...it doesn't get any better than that.
My internship has been a little hectic. I am trying to figure out foundational elements for the Global Relief program (like mission statements, goals, brochures, the vision for this year and the future...which we all know is like pulling teeth for me!), wrapping up the loose ends from last year's Bangladesh Relief Effort, putting together a new weekly program (not a tough one but it is launching next week and well I haven't printed the posters yet...oooppps!), assisting with the planning of a relief team to go to New Orleans over Thanksgiving (which is only what 10 weeks away...yeah no worries!), sitting on a committee for Global Vision Week (a campus wide theme week that has about 31 events in 5 days), meeting with my student worker for an hour a week, meeting with my supervisor for an hour a week, and trying to pull together all the details so we can launch our new Global Relief: Global Water Concerns campaign for the entire school year...yeah the first two weeks have been a little hectic! Was that a run-on sentence??? Despite the slight feeling of being overwhelmed (which I know I am feeling because I lay awake at night remembering emails I should have sent and coming up with amazing ideas for our fundraising campaign that I tend not to remember by the morning) I am really enjoying my second year in the Office of World Missions.
Which sort of leads into the reason that I am so nervous about this year "flying by." Because after May 9th 2009...I am headed out for who knows what! I am so open to what God may have in store...but I don't even know where to start looking! A big part of me is excited about the possiblity of moving to Thailand and doing some sort of missions and/or humanitarian work there but the other big part of me is dying to work with students or with a non-profit here in the states or at a Christian university working in a missions office or the list goes on forever!! I found something I love...but there are so many options! My "plan" is to not plan for what is next. Instead I have just been praying that God would put the pieces together so that I have a more focused direction once the decisions have to be made.
Life at the apartment is great! We are almost done decorating...I have a difficult time hanging pictures on the wall straight and our table is still not completed put together...but we definitely have made it home. (I will post pictures once we are finished). I am loving our apartment and our location...super close to some amazing running trails and at the base of the mountains...seriously it's beautiful!! My roommates are great! Heather and Meghan and I have classes together and are home together quite a bit...we all get along great and we have a good bond due to the fact that we all have the same load of homework on our plate every week. My third roommate Megan (same name different spelling) just moved to California from New York and is just starting the same master's program as the three of us. We don't see her as often because we have class on opposite nights.
Other than that life consists of grocery shopping, jogging, and sleeping (when I get the chance)...its great! (But it is only the first week of school!!)
This quarter (the next 8 weeks of my life) I am taking two classes...Legal and Ethical Issues in Student Affairs and Counseling: The Helper Relationship. Going into these classes I wasn't exactly sure what to expect...but after attending classes this week...well I love both of them! For my law and ethics class I am actually getting (an optional assignment) to go to Vermont for a conference (with a little pre-trip to New York City!!!...the plane tickets were actually cheaper to go from here to NY to Vermont and home than it was to go from here to Vermont and back...so I am just being frugal...well sort of!). The counseling class is amazing! I get to learn how to better listen and work with students...it doesn't get any better than that.
My internship has been a little hectic. I am trying to figure out foundational elements for the Global Relief program (like mission statements, goals, brochures, the vision for this year and the future...which we all know is like pulling teeth for me!), wrapping up the loose ends from last year's Bangladesh Relief Effort, putting together a new weekly program (not a tough one but it is launching next week and well I haven't printed the posters yet...oooppps!), assisting with the planning of a relief team to go to New Orleans over Thanksgiving (which is only what 10 weeks away...yeah no worries!), sitting on a committee for Global Vision Week (a campus wide theme week that has about 31 events in 5 days), meeting with my student worker for an hour a week, meeting with my supervisor for an hour a week, and trying to pull together all the details so we can launch our new Global Relief: Global Water Concerns campaign for the entire school year...yeah the first two weeks have been a little hectic! Was that a run-on sentence??? Despite the slight feeling of being overwhelmed (which I know I am feeling because I lay awake at night remembering emails I should have sent and coming up with amazing ideas for our fundraising campaign that I tend not to remember by the morning) I am really enjoying my second year in the Office of World Missions.
Which sort of leads into the reason that I am so nervous about this year "flying by." Because after May 9th 2009...I am headed out for who knows what! I am so open to what God may have in store...but I don't even know where to start looking! A big part of me is excited about the possiblity of moving to Thailand and doing some sort of missions and/or humanitarian work there but the other big part of me is dying to work with students or with a non-profit here in the states or at a Christian university working in a missions office or the list goes on forever!! I found something I love...but there are so many options! My "plan" is to not plan for what is next. Instead I have just been praying that God would put the pieces together so that I have a more focused direction once the decisions have to be made.
Life at the apartment is great! We are almost done decorating...I have a difficult time hanging pictures on the wall straight and our table is still not completed put together...but we definitely have made it home. (I will post pictures once we are finished). I am loving our apartment and our location...super close to some amazing running trails and at the base of the mountains...seriously it's beautiful!! My roommates are great! Heather and Meghan and I have classes together and are home together quite a bit...we all get along great and we have a good bond due to the fact that we all have the same load of homework on our plate every week. My third roommate Megan (same name different spelling) just moved to California from New York and is just starting the same master's program as the three of us. We don't see her as often because we have class on opposite nights.
Other than that life consists of grocery shopping, jogging, and sleeping (when I get the chance)...its great! (But it is only the first week of school!!)
Friday, August 22, 2008
Summer is Over
Summer is over! Wow I really can't believe it. I honestly am so blessed to even get a summer! Most of my friends are working office jobs where summer vacation is not even part of their vocabulary anymore. Instead of that, I got one more summer vacation. Every year I think about how this could be my last "real" summer, but every year somehow I am blessed to not be stuck in an office "working".
Instead, my "working" consisted of traveling around the world: an unexpected visit to Hong Kong, two weeks in Bangladesh building homes for Cyclone Sidr victims, two weeks at the California Delta enjoying beautiful sunsets and amazing water, and a week of sightseeing in Southern California when some of my friends came from Oregon and Chicago to visit.
I also had a lot of time to just sit and "be" this summer. I am learning to enjoy all the down time because as classes quickly approach I am realizing more and more how little time I have to "be" when there are papers to write and books to read. The only downside to all this downtime has been the amount of time I have had to think! For a summer that was suppossed to be transition free...well there has been way too much change and transition, but that is life! One big thing I have learned this summer (or relearned maybe) is that I think about things too much sometimes. I just need to live life and stop think sooo much!
These last couple weeks of summer I have spent moving into my new place for this year. God was so good to give me an amazing place to live this school year. Just a side-note...I had to move because APU bought the apartment complex I was living in. I am living with three amazing girls...all of whom are in the same Master's program as me. We have a 2 bedroom plus a den (which we are using as a bedroom), 2 bathroom condo. We have a garage, appliances (thank goodness we didn't have to buy a fridge!!), tennis courts, a big kitchen and THE MOST HIGH TECH WASHER AND DRYER that I will ever have in a home for the rest of my life!! (If you read the blog from a few months ago about my washer and dryer you will be privy to the reason I am soooo excited about having an awesome washer and dryer!).
Our place is "in process" right now! For the first week is was just one of my roommates and I...hello huge rent check!! We got the utilities turned on...hmmm they make so much money when people move in...they didn't even have to come out to turn them on, but they did charge us $75! I bought a tv stand at a thrift store that barely fit into my civic...but honestly I have hauled so much stuff in it the last two weeks you would think it was a truck! I got my sofa and chair (which I got from a friend...thank you sooo much!!) however one of the cushions flew off on the way back to the condo so if you look closely (you don't have to look that closely!) you can see where it got run over by a car! At least my sofa has a story...does yours??? We also got a supercheap kitchen table from Walmart that w
e had to put together...yeah that only took us 3 hours! We should have known it would not have been easy...there were two returned tables at Walmart from customers who "didn't think the finished product looked like the picture on the box" and the guy at the store kept asking us if we really wanted to buy this table. The table still isn't completely put together...suppossedly you are suppossed to be able to attach the seat cushions to the chair frames and the table top to the table frame with just the screws and a manuel screwdriver...I don't think so!! I spent 45 minutes trying to put one stupid seat cushion on a frame and it is only slightly attached. And trying to put the table top on...yeah right I am not strong enough to make a hole in 1/2 inch of solid "fake" wood! Hmmm...going need to find someone with some powertools! (Sooo...just remember not to sit down too hard on our chairs or try and lift the kitchen table by the table top...because it all just might fall apart!). Other than that we are slowly decorating. My third roommate moved in on Tuesday and the fourth roommate should be moving in next weekend. So hopefully, we will be settled in a week or so!
I started back at the Office of World Missions at APU this week for Graduate Assistant training and next week our entire office is going on a retreat from Monday through Wednesday. I start school the week after that! Ahhhh summer is over!
The cool, scary, and exciting part is that I will be done with school in 9 months and by next summer I have no idea where I will be! So here's to an amazing school year where I get to learn, work hard, do missions, work with students, live with friends, and see where God is going to take me for the next part of my future!
Instead, my "working" consisted of traveling around the world: an unexpected visit to Hong Kong, two weeks in Bangladesh building homes for Cyclone Sidr victims, two weeks at the California Delta enjoying beautiful sunsets and amazing water, and a week of sightseeing in Southern California when some of my friends came from Oregon and Chicago to visit.
I also had a lot of time to just sit and "be" this summer. I am learning to enjoy all the down time because as classes quickly approach I am realizing more and more how little time I have to "be" when there are papers to write and books to read. The only downside to all this downtime has been the amount of time I have had to think! For a summer that was suppossed to be transition free...well there has been way too much change and transition, but that is life! One big thing I have learned this summer (or relearned maybe) is that I think about things too much sometimes. I just need to live life and stop think sooo much!
These last couple weeks of summer I have spent moving into my new place for this year. God was so good to give me an amazing place to live this school year. Just a side-note...I had to move because APU bought the apartment complex I was living in. I am living with three amazing girls...all of whom are in the same Master's program as me. We have a 2 bedroom plus a den (which we are using as a bedroom), 2 bathroom condo. We have a garage, appliances (thank goodness we didn't have to buy a fridge!!), tennis courts, a big kitchen and THE MOST HIGH TECH WASHER AND DRYER that I will ever have in a home for the rest of my life!! (If you read the blog from a few months ago about my washer and dryer you will be privy to the reason I am soooo excited about having an awesome washer and dryer!).
Our place is "in process" right now! For the first week is was just one of my roommates and I...hello huge rent check!! We got the utilities turned on...hmmm they make so much money when people move in...they didn't even have to come out to turn them on, but they did charge us $75! I bought a tv stand at a thrift store that barely fit into my civic...but honestly I have hauled so much stuff in it the last two weeks you would think it was a truck! I got my sofa and chair (which I got from a friend...thank you sooo much!!) however one of the cushions flew off on the way back to the condo so if you look closely (you don't have to look that closely!) you can see where it got run over by a car! At least my sofa has a story...does yours??? We also got a supercheap kitchen table from Walmart that w
e had to put together...yeah that only took us 3 hours! We should have known it would not have been easy...there were two returned tables at Walmart from customers who "didn't think the finished product looked like the picture on the box" and the guy at the store kept asking us if we really wanted to buy this table. The table still isn't completely put together...suppossedly you are suppossed to be able to attach the seat cushions to the chair frames and the table top to the table frame with just the screws and a manuel screwdriver...I don't think so!! I spent 45 minutes trying to put one stupid seat cushion on a frame and it is only slightly attached. And trying to put the table top on...yeah right I am not strong enough to make a hole in 1/2 inch of solid "fake" wood! Hmmm...going need to find someone with some powertools! (Sooo...just remember not to sit down too hard on our chairs or try and lift the kitchen table by the table top...because it all just might fall apart!). Other than that we are slowly decorating. My third roommate moved in on Tuesday and the fourth roommate should be moving in next weekend. So hopefully, we will be settled in a week or so!I started back at the Office of World Missions at APU this week for Graduate Assistant training and next week our entire office is going on a retreat from Monday through Wednesday. I start school the week after that! Ahhhh summer is over!
The cool, scary, and exciting part is that I will be done with school in 9 months and by next summer I have no idea where I will be! So here's to an amazing school year where I get to learn, work hard, do missions, work with students, live with friends, and see where God is going to take me for the next part of my future!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
I could sit here forever!!
Just wanted to post some pictures from one of my favorite places in the whole world...the Delta at Sunset! I say one of my favorites because I have a hard time deciding between rain storms in the jungles of Thailand or Sunsets at the Delta...honestly both are just so amazing!
Anyway, I got to spend two weeks at the Delta this summer with college and high school students...it is always a pleasure! Plus I get to wakeboard, tube, and sit on a dock and watch God's beautiful creation for as long as I want...enjoy!
Monday, June 23, 2008
I'm Back!
I am home in California...though I have not quite settled in yet...sleeping and eating still seem to be a problem, but that will go away soon enough!
I want to start this part off with a quote from a book I was reading while I was in Bangladesh...
"'The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family, and for our family, we are prepared to do anything, even die,' he said, laying his hand warmly on Mortneson's own. 'Doctor Greg, you must make time to share three cups of tea. We may be undeducated. But we are not stupid. We have lived and survided here for a long time.
...Haji Ali taught me to share three cups of tea, to slow down and make building relationships as important as building projects. He taught me that I had more to learn from the people I work with than I could ever hope to teach them." -Three Cups of Tea, Mortenson, p. 150)
...Haji Ali taught me to share three cups of tea, to slow down and make building relationships as important as building projects. He taught me that I had more to learn from the people I work with than I could ever hope to teach them." -Three Cups of Tea, Mortenson, p. 150)
This quote speaks volumes of the lessons God has taught me over the last several years of travels and continued to teach me (quite literally in regards to sitting down and having tea) on this trip to Bangladesh.
As I mentioned in the last entry we were suppossed to start officially working on building, but of course things changed. We left the hotel early and drove for an hour an a half to the World Vision Office in the area we would be working in. Upon our arrival we were served coffee, biscuits and 
mango (let me tell you the mango is amazing here!). We also were briefed, in a little more detail, about the families we would be helping and what our time in Bhanaderia looked like. At the end of the meeting we were informed that we would not begin construction that day because the supplies had not arrived from Dhaka. So we went to the village to meet the reaminder of the families...or so we thought. Upond our arrival we walked out to a clay foundation (raised) and we were introduced to a widow and her mother whose home was completely destroyed by the Cyclone...i nfact all that was left was a pile of debris that had most likely been sitting around for the last 7 months. Then we were told to work and clear away the debris. The
team went to work-sweating incessently. In the process many frogs, centipeds (which a woman crushed with the heal of her bare foot, cockroaches, and large spiders came out of hiding. The villagers just laughed at us. I was able to bond with some of the children by taking their picture and showing them the picture on my digital camera. The children interacted with us by giving us beautiful flowers-which we proudly wear in our hair. After about an hour and a half we had cleared the site and we headed back for lunch at the Office and then drove back to the hotel to get ready for church.
mango (let me tell you the mango is amazing here!). We also were briefed, in a little more detail, about the families we would be helping and what our time in Bhanaderia looked like. At the end of the meeting we were informed that we would not begin construction that day because the supplies had not arrived from Dhaka. So we went to the village to meet the reaminder of the families...or so we thought. Upond our arrival we walked out to a clay foundation (raised) and we were introduced to a widow and her mother whose home was completely destroyed by the Cyclone...i nfact all that was left was a pile of debris that had most likely been sitting around for the last 7 months. Then we were told to work and clear away the debris. The
team went to work-sweating incessently. In the process many frogs, centipeds (which a woman crushed with the heal of her bare foot, cockroaches, and large spiders came out of hiding. The villagers just laughed at us. I was able to bond with some of the children by taking their picture and showing them the picture on my digital camera. The children interacted with us by giving us beautiful flowers-which we proudly wear in our hair. After about an hour and a half we had cleared the site and we headed back for lunch at the Office and then drove back to the hotel to get ready for church. On Monday morning we headed out to the villages and really got to do some work. The supplies began arrivin
g to the village. The measurements for the home were taken and three foot deep holes were dug by hand (and coconut shell) for the concrete pillars that would serve as the supports for the first home. During the afternoon some of the team continue work on the first home, while the rest of the team started demolition on the second site. Some of the orginal home was still standing and the woman was still living in it so we had to clean it out and then tear it down. Once again...the big critters came out, by this point I was so over them it didn't even bother me anymore! By the end of the day the first home had a frame and the second home was measured and ready to get going the next morning. After a long day of work we were ready to go home, but it was time for tea. So we were invited into one of the villager's homes and we had tea (which by the way is amazing here!) and biscuits in our very sweaty clothing...I am sure we all smelled wonderful.
g to the village. The measurements for the home were taken and three foot deep holes were dug by hand (and coconut shell) for the concrete pillars that would serve as the supports for the first home. During the afternoon some of the team continue work on the first home, while the rest of the team started demolition on the second site. Some of the orginal home was still standing and the woman was still living in it so we had to clean it out and then tear it down. Once again...the big critters came out, by this point I was so over them it didn't even bother me anymore! By the end of the day the first home had a frame and the second home was measured and ready to get going the next morning. After a long day of work we were ready to go home, but it was time for tea. So we were invited into one of the villager's homes and we had tea (which by the way is amazing here!) and biscuits in our very sweaty clothing...I am sure we all smelled wonderful.Tuesday was ve
ry similar to Monday. The team was working in groups on several sites. One group continued working on the first home by helping put the tin roof on. The second group dug holes for the supports at the second home. And the third group...well we got to deconstruct a clay home! Cockroaches, termites and rats!! It was actually pretty fun! At 11:30 am it was time for tea and then we headed to lunch. After lunch we continue work on our sites. The Third group used the clay from the demolished home to level out the foundation for the new home. Around 5pm it was time for another round of tea and then we went back to the hotel.
ry similar to Monday. The team was working in groups on several sites. One group continued working on the first home by helping put the tin roof on. The second group dug holes for the supports at the second home. And the third group...well we got to deconstruct a clay home! Cockroaches, termites and rats!! It was actually pretty fun! At 11:30 am it was time for tea and then we headed to lunch. After lunch we continue work on our sites. The Third group used the clay from the demolished home to level out the foundation for the new home. Around 5pm it was time for another round of tea and then we went back to the hotel.Wednesday was very simliar to the two days previous...continued worked on the different sites. Late in the afternoon it began to 
pour! The ground turned into a super slippery mess! Working became almost impossible and walking...well, I didn't fall but I came pretty close...it was funny! We finished the first home on Wednesday which was great timing since it was my last day down in the village. It was really unreal to be handing over a brand new home to this family...there are really no words to describe it!
pour! The ground turned into a super slippery mess! Working became almost impossible and walking...well, I didn't fall but I came pretty close...it was funny! We finished the first home on Wednesday which was great timing since it was my last day down in the village. It was really unreal to be handing over a brand new home to this family...there are really no words to describe it!On Thursday morning my boss and I left for Dhaka. The trip was normal until we stopped at a dock. I thought we were going to put our van on a ferry like before, but we quickly found out that our driver was staying on this side of the river and our host was waiting on the other side of the river for us. So, to get to the other side of the river we had to hire a speed boat to give us a ride. I was so excited (though our hosts and several other people have told us how "dangerous" this is)! The boats were not anything super amazing, but they were seaworthy...so we hopped in! All I could think was...I should be wakeboarding right now...but the ride was incredible! We got to the other side and they pulled the boat up to the muddy side of the river and we had to hop out with all our luggage...we really stuck out! After about another 2 1/2 hours we were back at our hostel in Dhaka (about 1 1/2 hours of that was stuck in traffic in Dhaka...LA traffic has nothing on traffic in Dhaka!). That evening we had one last dinner with our host family and then I was headed to the airport for my 1:30 am flight to Hong Kong. Thankfully all my flights were failry on time and I got home on Friday afternoon as scheduled!
Adjusting to time differences, food, and life have been a little easier this time around...though I am still tending to wake up at 3 am and not being able to go to sleep!
So Bangladesh...I am still processing! It is beautiful, hot, crowded, and definitely a place that I have been blessed to get to serve! I am thankful to all of you for your prayers and support as I continue to explore what God has in store for me all over the world as I continue to chase after Him and His heart for the world!
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