MK's, a Scary Baltimore Underpass, and the White House

The Baltimore underpass was the fault of our GPS. Yes, we are one of those. At least we didn't turn into a lake or drive off a cliff. But because we were UNDER the freeway system, the GPS couldn't find us, and there was trash and abandoned vehicles everywhere, and then Rachel (MK from Bangladesh) pointed to a train track, "Oh look! There's a creepy man walking toward us!" Fun times.

Steve and I spent a week away. It was VERY nice to disconnect from life and stuff here, and just spend some time together. We drove to Washington, DC, and stayed with some friends of my parents, traveling into and around the city during the day. We saw all the essential DC sights, and even had time to spend a day visiting some Civil War battlefields. We also got to hang out with a few friends from Taylor who showed us some fun places in the city.


Then we drove to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, stopping by Baltimore (scene of the aforementioned underpass adventure) to pick up Rachel at the airport. Another of our Bangladesh MK friends was having a wedding reception at the ABWE headquarters. (actual wedding happened in Thailand) About 11 MK's and spouses gathered for the momentous occasion. It's so nice to be with people who understand you, inside and out. Got to wear a sari, eat curry, talk about politics and the world, and stay in one of the executive suites!

Postcard from Lithuania

I’m usually okay with getting rid of stuff. I go through stages, I guess. But every once in a while, there’s something that stops me from pitching something. For example, I’m moving offices this week. Our whole department – eight people and tons of files – is moving to another building. That’s a PILE of stuff, and I definitely got into a purging mood. My walls in my old office were pretty much covered with pictures and other fun stuff, and I wanted to pare down - you know, the whole fresh start thing. As I’ve been setting up in my new digs, I’ve been getting rid of even more.

But I came upon an old postcard I bought in Lithuania when I spent a semester there in 2001.




It’s really kind of dumb – it’s just a black card, with “Vilnius by night” on it, in English and Lithuanian. (Vilnius is the capital city.) I thought it was hilarious and I still do! It reminds me of the amazing and somewhat offbeat creativity and ingenuity I saw at Lithuania Christian College. The school had a really small budget for publicizing events and parties, but they did an absolutely amazing job with poster board, a few markers, and pictures cut out of magazines. I’ll never forget a huge poster for a party, advertising: “Drug-free party! (with moderate beer consumption).” Awesome.

The postcard is a little beat up, as you might expect from a postcard that not only travelled the world (it went with me to Bangladesh, where I went right after Lithuania), but also has been through, oh, about five moves. But I don’t want to throw it out! So I’m taking it home to live in my Lithuania scrapbook.

Maybe I’m pathetic for having an emotional attachment to a ratty old postcard. But if something has meaning, is it so wrong to want to hold on to it? I mean, that’s why I hang out with Steve.

I'm fine with change, it's just ....

Today was a day of relief tempered with sadness. Relief in finding out I still had a job. Sadness in realizing that some of my friends did not. On top of that, they're totally restructuring things and moving people around. And I'm totally fine with change, I really am. It's just that this time, people I know were hurt.

In the midst of pain and uncertainty, God is there. No big surprise, really, but still, it's good to remember. This morning as I was getting ready, I put on a necklace with a pendant of an elephant made from a tiger's eye stone. Elephants are a symbol of strength, and I thought I would need it! Steve was sick, so I got to drive his car, which has a working radio. (mine doesn't. But I have a shorter commute, so he gets the nicer car) As I was driving along, the song "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor came on. How cool is that?? And it's such a fun song about overcoming, being brave, taking risks, etc. It was like I could hear God saying, "See? I got you covered. And I'm cool, too."

Also, I almost drove off the road as I was holding the wheel with my knee and hammering out the drums. I love Rockband.

Uncertainties and Certainties

Like many nonprofits, WGM is having to adjust to the global economic situation. Interestingly, donations are up compared to this time last year, so our supporters are still firmly supporting. But income from investments are down, and that is a significant portion of the support staff budget. So, trusting God to help the organization through this, the leadership is doing some restructuring to try to get the place moving more efficiently. Which is great! But that means we're all a bit uncertain about job security. So I've compiled a list of my current certainties and uncertainties to make myself feel better.

Uncertainty: that I will have a job at the end of the day on Monday
Certainty: God's got my back
Uncertainty: that we'll be able to celebrate our vacation in DC next week with as much gusto as we'd hoped.
Certainty: that we're sure as heck still going!
Uncertainty: that I'll find a new job quickly, if I lose my current one
Certainty: that God will take care of us no matter what!

And because I'm an optimist at heart, I thought of a bunch more certainties!

Certainty: I have the most awesome husband ever
Certainty: I have great friends and family who love me
Certainty: I have a nice house and a warm bed to take cover in if the world gets too much
Certainty: God has blessed us in wonderful ways, and I know He's got plans for us!

So I know it will be okay. It's just still hard. Pray for me?

World Go Manual: Witness

By the grace of God, I was saved from a life and eternity separated from Him, I get to live with Himforever. If it were not for Him, I would be a horrible person, and my life – I’m sure – would be awful to match. But instead, I’m blessed with an amazing husband, a lovely house, parents who love Jesus, and knowledge that I’m following Him every step of the way. Why is it that I am not so overcome with gratitude that I tell every single person I meet about Him?

Chapter 2 of the World Go Manual deals with this issue of witnessing: “It is a wrenching, soul-bearing experience to tell other people who Jesus Christ is and what He means for us and for the world…Talk about how Christ has changed your heart. You are the world’s leading expert on that subject.”

The action step I chose was "Become a witness for Christ online." In my daily life, I don’t know very many non-Christians. I work for a Christian organization, my family are all believers, and most of my free time is spent at church or with my friends, most of whom are Christians. One of the reasons I started doing theatre at Marion Civic was because I wanted to feel like a missionary again, and I’ve met several people through that who needed Christ. I turned to Facebook, which is where I have most contact with my non-Christian friends. Most of my spiritual talks happened on the phone, but Facebook helps keep constant contact going.

One of the questions in the action step was, “Were your efforts successful at reaching anyone?” My response to that was: I’ve been able to communicate the truth about Jesus and what he has done for me. The rest is up to God.

There’s an awesome story about a guy in Sydney, Australia who witnessed on George Street. In the 1990’s, a British pastor started meeting people who all had the same testimony – they were given a tract by a old man and asked where they would go if they died tonight. He met people in India, the US, England, the Caribbean, Australia - all had the same testimony. Eventually, this pastor travelled to Sydney, and was able to meet Frank Jenner, the George Street witness. As he told Mr Jenner these stories of missionaries, pastors, and others who had come to Christ because of his witness, Mr Jenner started to weep. For 40 years, he had faithfully witnessed to people out of gratitude for the change Christ made in his life, but he had never known anyone to come to Him during that time. He just knew that’s what he was supposed to do, so he did. He obeyed God, and left the results up to Him.

Video Switching at College Wesleyan Church

About every other Sunday, Steve and I work on the tech crew at our church, College Wesleyan Church. The church has three simultaneous venues, and the two venues outside the sanctuary tune in to the live sermon video feed. We use three cameras, and a director/producer switches between the shots. Steve usually does camera, and I'm the director/producer, also called switcher. So I thought I would take my camera along today and take a few shots of the process. Only a few of these were staged. :)

Gathering the necessary supplies. Headset, cell phone, order of service, bulletin, and of course, COFFEE!

Steve helping Victoria, the PowerPoint operator. Steve wasn't on camera this week, so he hung out with me and Victoria in the tech room.

Ben, CWC's technical director, giving Jared and Kristina a few last-minute tips. They were really good!

Ready to work my magic!

Following Pastor Steve DeNeff takes a lot of concentration! The man moves around like none other! He was doing an illustration this morning, talking about how your perspective of the cross changes depending on what you need (Maybe...to tell you the truth I was paying more attention to whether or not he was in focus!) and he was almost running from one side of the stage to the other. One of my camera operators said over the com, "I think we need to put in speed bumps!"