Week 3- Surviving without napkins, and first tears in a year

Did you know that we don't use napkins here? I only realized it maybe two weeks ago. ONWARD WITH THE BLOG!

ah nuts. Totally forgot to talk about community outreach and my birthday last week. So, for community outreach I travel to a local area (usually a park, or a basketball court) with a bunch of others, and we play with the kids and spread the gospel to them. The goal of this is to bring the communities together, and try to bring Christianity into the homes through the children. Alright then, my birthday. I got an awesome brownie cake (I think it had some mint also), a card, fro-yo (frozen yogurt for those uneducated in the ways of frozen desserts), annnd I saw my first whale. Pretty awesome birthday.

Watching for whales with the Family!

Fro-Yo with the Family!

Before I get into the lecture content, I'll talk about something else- the weekend. Things that I've done on the weekend: basketball, soccer (futbol for the foreigners), a whale watch, hang out on the beach, mudding/offroading, hiking, among other things. You know, Hawaii things. I was going to make an awesome collage, but I couldn't figure it out on Photoshop.

Taylor cliff-jumping

Mudding for the first time (though certainly not the last)

Me shooting my first gun!

Whale watch!

Family China on top of a volcano!

Alright, lecture week 2. This week a lady by the name of Donna Jordan came to speak to us on how to listen to God. It was a great week to have in the beginning and learn the different ways that God speaks to us. It also helped that Donna had taught a lot of Koreans, so the way she taught seemed to hit on specific points that really drove home for me. And then, on top of that, she was like an adorable, little, English-fluent grandmother that I never had. On Thursday, we were told that we would be laying our sins on the cross. We put our chairs into a circle, and slowly people started to share the darkest things inside. As the time progressed, I felt a tugging on my heart, and that I needed to share. I shakily raised my hand, but she didn't call on me. Eventually, I started to share, and talk about how I held anger, and bitterness towards my dad for the way he raised me and whatnot. Dennis (the SFMI school leader), walked over and gave me a hug. There's something about fathers, and something magical about their hugs. I'm not entirely sure what. But there I felt like a child (maybe it has to do with him being taller than me), and Donna Jordan told me to talk as if I was talking to my dad. I said I forgave him, and that I was sorry I didn't appreciate him as much. And then I cried. The last time I cried (for emotional reasons), was when my dad passed away the year before, and that was only three tears. I think there's a certain power in crying with other people, in terms of bonding. Everybody is baring everything, and putting themselves into the most vulnerable place.

The week before, I had discovered that the devil/demons/minions had been whispering to me subtle lies for my whole life that became a part of my outlook and who I was, but I didn't know how to deal with them at the time. These lies included (but are not limited to): I don't belong, people don't like me, and you're not good enough. This last lie has actually manifested itself in hatred for myself, because I can seemingly never get things right. This week was my opportunity to be free. We took the sheet with all of the lies and sins and burned it. Each time that I think about these things, I have to tell myself, "No, I burned those lies, therefore I can no longer believe it."

Pretty emotionally exhausting week. Anyways, here at the end, here are some notes from the present. First of all, the deadline for finances for outreach is THIS FRIDAY (2/28/14). As there are still a bunch of people who don't know where the money is going to come from, please keep them in prayer. As I am getting over (hopefully) a cold, please pray for health among the base as living in community is the easiest way to spread diseases. Also, as we have been here for nearly two months, pray that complacency would not set in, and that we would never cease to be amazed with God and his greatness. Here's the last thing I've got for you- this awesome song. I'm going to try to learn it on the guitar (yeah that's also a thing, though difficult when you've got a fear of asking for things, and you don't have a guitar. Introvert problems.) Have a nice day!