Christmas

Here are a few pictures from our little pre-Christmas gathering. My family members are José (father), Elkin (brother), Omayra (mother), and Mayra (sister). The second picture is of us North Americans singing some of our Christmas songs for everyone.

Our God is an Awesome God!

In my opinion, one sign from God is pretty cool, two signs are
amazing, and anything more than that is nothing short of a miracle. I
am convinced that I have been blessed this week with more miracles
than I can count and I can't thank God enough!

Last Thursday I received an email from the orchestra director at
Morningside College. When I visited as a potential student last year I
was very excited about the string program and faculty there, and made
the decision to attend Morningside after my year with RAD. However,
the email said that the entire string faculty transferred this year to
another university and that since the string program was in bad shape
now, I may do well to consider another institution! What a blow. I
chose Morningside for the faculty there, and now they are all gone.

All day Thursday I worried about what to do next and how I was going
to find a college from so far away. However, that evening we went on a
camping trip/retreat, and God calmed my fears. The message that
evening was about how God calls us and how we have to listen to what
He is saying to discern our paths in life. Perfect, right? It was
during this message that I remembered that only the night before I had
confessed to God that I had not consulted Him enough before joining
RAD. I realized that God was giving me another chance to make a big
decision with His help this time! God continued to speak to my heart
when the pastor read a verse that he said was a promise that God would
help us through hard times. He read Isaiah 41:10, my favorite verse in
the Bible! I was completely in awe at how God had just promised that
if I listen and trust in Him, all would be well.

After our retreat I was journaling all of these events, and in a
prayer I asked God that he would use me to be His messenger just like
He had used the pastor to speak to me. In yet another miracle from
God, this prayer was answered too! Melina told me Saturday that she
had felt disconnected from God and asked for some proof that He was
still out there. This was communicated for her through God speaking in
my life! I truly believe that all the trouble with my college
situation is worth it if it brought her closer to God.

So now I am working on where to spend the next chapter of my life. I
have a few options still but it will be difficult to audition for
scholarships and communicate from so far away. Your prayers cannot be
appreciated more. I know I will be spending a lot of time in prayer,
and I am more aware now than ever of just how powerful prayer can be.

Memories

This first month and a half in Colombia has taught me something: the relationships we have with those who love us are worth more than just about anything.

I think I took it for granted that my family and friends were there and present all those years and now it's hitting me: mom's not here to take care of me anymore. While she's always going to be there for me when she can, the time has passed for me to rely on her. That sacred milestone that we call high school graduation has come and gone and I'm on my own now. The Monday nights spent with my friends may continue in the summers, but they'll never be the same. Likewise high school concerts, lunch conversations, classes, and inside jokes with my classmates are history.

But the thing that surprises me is how much I remember. Certain facial expressions, the color of a friend's favorite shirt, the taste of a favorite meal, the layout and random details of my house... So many seemingly insignificant things are embedded in my mind as if I saw them yesterday. I've found that they keep me sane in this country where everything is new and exotic. When I feel like a stranger in a foreign land all I have to do is remember that I'm not so quiet when surrounded by my own language, or that where I come from blonde hair and t-shirts are fairly common. It's not that I feel superior or that I have to justify and defend every difference, it's just that standing out everywhere one goes is grating on a person. We all want to be accepted and loved for who we are, which brings me back to my first sentence: the relationships we have with people who love us unconditionally are worth more than just about anything. (Anything, that is, besides our relationship with God, but that, you'll note, is a relationship as well!)

So while they last, I urge you to enjoy the moments you have with those who love you. Treasure the shared mealtimes and the long walks on crisp fall evenings. Guard these memories and store them in your heart, for they go a long way in preserving your soul when times get tough and you're a stranger in a foreign land.

Comedor

Through a program that directly translated means "dining room" in Spanish, the Mennonite church here in La Mesa has endeavored to help feed disadvantaged kids every day after school. This program is known as the "Comedor," and is one of the places that my team and I have been working in. Every day around 12:30 the kids start to trickle into the church building from area schools. Originally the only task we had there was to help serve and bus tables, but almost as soon as they realized that we were North Americans they asked if we would teach them English. Our job has morphed into much more than just waiters, now we are maestras! Every day we pull out the white board and learn things like numbers, colors, animals, and family members.


While there is a definite desire to speak English in La Mesa, I don't feel like that is the main goal of our teaching. Kids need to be loved and nurtured, and they clamor for attention. The greatest gift we can give them is our love, our love that we have the ability to give because God loves us. They learn about God through daily devotions after lunch, but it is different when put into practice. In turn they can teach us so much about life and friendship and family bonds. The other day a girl brought in her two year old brother. She was quite obviously playing mom for the day, although she herself couldn't have been more than ten or eleven years old. I was amazed at the love and care she put into sharing her plate of food with her brother. It is this love that they can share with us, this bond that is strong enough to transcend the reality of siblings taking care of siblings.

There Are Even Violins in Colombia

I have been delighted these last two weeks to find that there are indeed violins in Colombia. What a relief! My host sister Mayra plays in a community orchestra, and on Monday I went with her to practice. The teacher´s name is Mauricio and he´s a really nice guy. It was a little difficult to understand what he was saying...music language in Spanish is a whole other ballgame. (For you musicians out there, a half note is a blanca, a quarter note is a negra, and an eighth note is a corchea.)The teacher kept asking me to play this song or that song, none of which I had played before. It was a little scary! Sometimes he asked me questions, which wouldn´t be a big deal normally, but in Spanish I had no idea what he was asking! Is far as I can understand they were all about rhythm, time signatures, and accents. Plus they play a lot of Colombian songs that have difficult salsa and bolero rhythms.

At one point Mauricio asked me to play something, so I played my little ditty that I wrote in history class last year (yes, I was bored!) Afterwards he asked me if it was written down and whether I could have it written for vioin I, II, viola, cello, and piano for two days later! AH! Luckily I have Spanish class that same time Wednesday so I don´t have to have it ready quite so soon. I´m not sure I have the capabilities to write for viola, cello, and piano. I´ll have to experiment with the music software my host family has and see if I can turn my little history ditty into a string orchestra piece!

Eight Months of Silence

Wow, it seems like it has been forever since I've been home, and yet it was only a little over a week ago that I left Kansas. What a week it has been! We spent last weekend in Miami with the DOOR group there and then on Monday morning we flew out to Bogota. Bogota seemed like such a foreign city! The buses were different, the street signs were different, and the mountains surrounding the city certainly were different than Kansas! We stayed in a hostel there and during the days did some sightseeing and learning from various speakers about culture, safety, and the Colombian Mennonite Church. Then last Friday was the big move: we drove to La Mesa to meet our host families! We were greeted with a reception and many blessings from the families, all of which had to be translated for us!

I was excited to finally meet my host family, the Garzon family. They have been very gracious to me, and although the goal is to be integrated into the family, I still feel somewhat like a guest. Omayra and Jose operate a quite successful drugstore that I visited briefly yesterday. Mayra (my host sister, 12 years old) has played violin for two years, and is rather shy and very beautiful. Elkin (my host brother, 16 years old) has played piano for one year (at least that's what I understand...he told me in Spanish) and is really good. On my first night here they asked me to play something on my violin, and Mayra and Elkin in turn played something for me. It is so cool to be in a house surrounded by musicians! The Garzon house is really nice and quite clean. I have my own room that has one beige wall, one aqua one, one pink one, and one that is primarily a window into the hallway. It's a little small but I have my own bathroom attached, so it's all good!

The hardest thing right now is communication with my family. Elkin speaks a little bit of English and helps translate some, but many times when I don't understand we just look at each other and laugh. They want me to speak in English to them some so they can practice, but asked that I speak slowly. I said sure, as long as they speak slowly to me! Amy, Steph and I have a running joke going on now that this will be the ultimate silent retreat: eight months! The three of us don't speak as much Spanish as Melina and Karin, so we have similar difficulties understanding and speaking. Hopefully by Christmas we will be able to break our silence!

Prayer For Our Sister Caitlyn

Our leader Darrell predicted to us just last week that someone would
be sent to the hospital for one reason or another; it happens every
year he said, and surely this year would not be an exception. Well, it
wasn't. Yesterday everyone was out sightseeing, and Steph and I went
to the church next door to practice for a few hours, leaving Caitlyn
home by herself. When the two of us came home we found her sitting on
a chair saying that her back was really hurting her and she was having
trouble breathing. It had taken her a while to get to the point where
she could move to get to a phone to call for help. Krista (our other
leader) was on the way. We took her to the ER at about 3:30, where we
waited in the waiting room for a long time. Finally she got in to see
a doctor, and has been there ever since. They have been running lots
of tests to see what's wrong, but haven't pinpointed a reason yet. She
will stay there again tonight in order to do tests tomorrow that they
couldn't do today.

This is a serious blow for us, considering that Kevin has just
returned (praise God!) from his surgery on his leg and now another
member of the Ireland team isn't able to be with us. We also come home
next Saturday and leave for our sites the following week, which
doesn't leave much time to recover. We have no idea how this will turn
out, or whether she will be able to travel. Please please please
remember Caitlyn and the team in your prayers.

As I mentioned earlier, we come home next week! The transition from
Chicago to Newton, Newton to Miami (where we will spend three days
with the DOOR director there) and finally from Miami to Colombia will
be a whirlwind of emotions for all of us. I can't say how much your
prayers are appreciated in this time.

I look forward to seeing everyone in church next Sunday!

The Colombian Team

Our team: Back row: Stephanie, Amy, Karin. Front row: Melina, Rachel

A Week in the Life of Rachel

For all of those inquisitive people who wonder just what a group of young adults could possibly do with themselves for two months, listen up! This is how my life has been for the last month or so:

The weeks here go a little bit against mainstream culture and start on Sunday evenings. This is when we have a resource person come in to talk to us. So far we have had Mike Zehr talk about worship, James Krabill about peace and evangelism, Lois Bare (director for Europe for MMN) and Linda Shelly (director for South America) about our international locations, Megan Ramer about Anabaptism, and Lydia Brenneman about the Israel/Palestine conflict. These people stay overnight with us usually, some for one night and others for two. We have learned so much from them and have engaged in meaningful discussions about some controversial topics.

On Tuesdays we have what we call a "Hospitality Meal." This is a time when we can invite people over from work or our resource people or the pastors from the church next door. In the evenings (in theory) we meet with Brenda Matthews to debrief and just talk. This has gone down the drain a bit because her mother died just recently and she is taking some time off. Sometime on Mondays or Tuesdays we also have a session on the spiritual discipline of the week.

Wednesdays through Fridays consist of our usual service assignment. I work with Melina at two different locations, one being Gads Hill Headstart Preschool and the other being the Austin YMCA Computer Clubhouse. In the mornings we work in various classrooms at the preschool supervising playtime or doing odd jobs for the teachers. We are also just there to love the children and be their friend. Then we come home for lunch and head to the YMCA. There we are mentors for middle schoolers at the Computer Clubhouse, which is one of many international clubs that gives kids the opportunity to learn how to use technology they might not have been able to afford otherwise. They use advanced computer software, music recording equipment, and digital cameras/videocameras to make projects that can be posted on an online website and shared with other clubhouses around the world. Melina and I also help out with the homework hour, since schoolwork is one thing many inner city children struggle with.


The weekends are greatly looked forward to around here. After long days surrounded by kids of all ages, we're ready to take a break and spend some time relaxing. Saturdays are "Explore the City" days. We have been to different museums, festivals, and stores around the city, although there is no way that we could see every attraction we would like too! Sunday mornings are the "final" thing of the week, when we visit different churches around town. We have visited churches of varied denominations, ethnicities, and worship styles, including Brethren, Mennonite, Pentecostal, Methodist, United Church of Christ, and Unitarian churches. The goal of this is to expose us to lots of different interpretations of God to help us determine what our own beliefs are.

I hope this helps those aforementioned inquisitive people who like to know what's happening! The weeks seem to fly by so quickly. Before I know it I will be in Colombia!

PS: I just received word that I have raised $7510 towards RAD, which is $10 more than I needed to raise. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone who is supporting me! I can't express how wonderful it is to know that people care.

Dios te bendiga.

License and Registration Please?

Today could be characterized by sore arms and flashing lights. That's quite a combination, I know, but it's true! Krista (DOOR/RAD director) and her husband Jim moved today from their neighborhood about 20 minutes away from us to an apartment 15 seconds from here. We can see their back porch from our window! Since Krista does pretty much everything for us here, several of us decided to help them move this morning. Brian (assistant DOOR director) lives on the floor below us, and we were able to ride with him over to Krista's house. As we were turning on to the highway, a cop started to follow us, and a few seconds later he turned on his lights and sirens. I have to say, that cop was not very friendly! He gruffly told Brian to put his keys on the top of his car and asked for the liscense and registration. We were driving DOOR's rather beat up old blue van, and Brian was unable to find the insurance card. He explained to the cop who he was in relation to DOOR, which might have saved Brian from getting arrested, because that van was identified as "stolen" when the cop ran the license plate! Apparently that van was stolen from DOOR several months ago and then recovered again. However, when Krista was pulled over at one point after that, the "stolen" label hadn't been taken off from the car! She had to go to court, and they said they were going to get that fixed... I guess not! The cop let us go, but Brian was ticked that after all that trouble in court the van was still listed as stolen.

Eventually we made it to Krista and Jim's house and spent all morning loading up the Uhaul. It was rather unfortunate that they lived on the third floor with a very windy staircaise down to the bottom! My arms are terribly sore now.

Around 11 we were all filled up, so we headed out to their new place. We were literally ONE BLOCK from the house when yet another cop pulled us over! Twice in one morning! We couldn't believe it. Fortunately, Brian had found the insurance by that point, and this cop was much friendlier. He said the same thing: that vehicle was still reported as stolen.

A few things stick out as questionable to me. Why, out of all those cars on the highway, would two cops chose to run our license plate? Was it because it was a beat up old vehicle that looked like it could be stolen? Or was it because Brian is a black man who had several white teenagers in tow? I suppose we'll never know.

Holes in our Ears

Our team has reached a new level of craziness. A few of us got a wild hair the other day and decided that it would be great fun to get our ears pierced again. The crazy part is that we actually did it! We went down to the Magnificent Mile on Michigan Avenue and found a Claire's in a mall. Melina, Karin, and I decided to get second holes pierced, Steph wanted her cartilage done, and Amy and Caitlyn wanted their noses done. Only the three of us who got our second holes pierced were able to get it done there.

I had a bit of a hard time after I got mine done, but I'm not sure why. I got really dizzy and my vision went fuzzy for a few minutes. I thought I was going to pass out! I don't think it was from adreneline or pain completely; it might have been from dehydration or because there were so many people in the store, but I recovered and the rest of the day went smoothly.

Amy and Caitlyn had to go to a tatoo parlor a few days later to get their noses done. It was a really clean place, and the process went smoothly! Steph decided to wait on her cartilage because they didn't do quite what she wanted, so she is the only girl who hasn't been poked or prodded recently! We'll have to work on that...

ISFJ

I made the most interesting discovery the other day: I'm an introvert!

For those of you who know me, this may not come as a surprise, but realizing that fact gave me lots of insight into myself. The RAD team took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator last week. Essentially it is a series of questions about our actions and preferences in different situations. The results give us an idea of our personality and why we do what we do. I am an ISFJ, which stands for Introvert-Sensor-Feeler-Judger. As an introvert I am drained by being in large groups and need to take a break to recharge. The sensor in me likes facts and the specifics about a question. As a feeler I prefer harmony to conflict and don't like to do things that upset others. Finally, the judger in me (no, I'm not judgmental) dictates that I wake up in the morning and know what my day will look like, which frequently comes from making lists and sticking to them. Here is the perfect quote about me from an article about ISFJs: "Above all else, ISFJs take responsibility very seriously and very personally; they have a powerful work ethic...Because they are so conscientious ISFJs can be difficult to distract from a task to which they have committed themselves."

Being able to identify these things as personality traits has been extremely helpful for me, especially while living in community with seven other people. I understand why I don't like to be in large groups all the time, or why I'm so obsessed with making lists. I've realized that I don't have to try to be loud or funny to "measure up" to my mostly extroverted housemates. I am who I am; God has made me for a purpose and has given me exactly the personality he wants me to have.

¿Te gusta?

Wow, yesterday was amazing. We had our first day at our more "permanent" volunteer assignments, and it was a blast! Melina and I are working at a Head Start Preschool fairly close to our house. The program is made up of approximately 75% Spanish speaking students, which is really exciting for me as I am working on my Spanish speaking skills. We helped out in one of seven classrooms at the school, which is brightly decorated and very well organized. The teacher does everything in Spanish and English, including directions and songs. I was asked to supervize the "housekeeping area" which is full of mini stoves, food, and dishes. Two students at a time were sent to play with me, and it was fun to get to know them individually.

One set of students was particularly fun to play with. Neither of them spoke very much English, and I was a little worried that I would have trouble speaking to them or understanding them. I was hugely relieved when they asked me "¿Te gusta?" in reference to a large plastic apple. "Te gusta" is one of the first things we learned in Spanish I, and means "Do you like this?" I answered "Si, me gusta" (Yes, I like it), which began a big long process of going through every piece of food in the cupboard and asking me if I liked it. We had such a good time! I was tickled pink that I could understand what they were saying, and they were equally tickled that I could talk back to them!

I am very excited to go back to the preschool next week (we will work Wednesday-Friday mornings) but I am also looking forward to our afternoon service work that will start next week at the YMCA close to our house. They have an after school program that helps kids with their homework and allows them to express themselves via computer art projects.

Another RAD team member, Caitlyn, has posted a blog on her sight about our adventures on and around my birthday that includes some pictures. If you would like to see them, check out http://caitlynscoffee.blogspot.com.

Blessings from Chicago!

Exploring

These pictures are from our time exploring Chicago. Amy, Melina, Steph, and I are standing in front of Millenium Park downtown. Kevin and I were traveling partners for an exercise where we were blindfolded, dropped off far from home, and told to find our way back on public transportation!

I Spent my Birthday Asking for Money on the Streets of Chicago

It is very true, I spent the better part of my 19th birthday asking for money on the streets of downtown Chicago. Let me be perfectly clear, this is not how I normally spend my birthdays, nor was the experience within my comfort zone, but it was certainly one to remember!

We have been doing various service projects for the last few days, and today we helped out a fledgling organization called Helping Children of Abuse. They just started this summer, and are trying to raise enough funds to begin programs for children that would promote self esteem and stop the cycle of abuse. In order to raise this money they have been using volunteers to stand on Chicago streets and ask passersby for money. So we got all dolled up in our orange vests, grabbed our giant yellow galoshes, and headed downtown. My "post," so to speak, was a street near the entrance to the metro station. We were there right during rush hour when everyone is flocking from their workplaces back home to the suburbs. The stream of people was constant. I was extremely nervous, but it actually turned out better than I anticipated. Many people stopped to drop money or change into my boot, and some asked about the organization I represented. (Which was slightly unfortunate considering I didn't know very much about it.) I passed the time humming hymns to myself and studying the people who passed me. Most were determined to avoid my eye, but those who did look me in the face I gave a big smile and a hello to, whether or not they donated money. I noticed that most of those who did donate were middle aged men in nice clothes, although I was very touched by the homeless man who dropped in a quarter and the woman who muttered a heartfelt "God bless you" as she passed.

About an hour and a half of standing on the sidewalk, a homeless man took up his post directly on the other side of the traffic from me. He was shouting strange things and jiggling his money cup loudly. I believe he was drunk, which made me slightly nervous, considering I was a white girl standing alone on a sidewalk holding a bootfull of money. So I tried as hard as I could to walk casually toward the other corner where other RAD members were collecting money. Thankfully he did not follow, but I was reminded of just how many people are homeless and what a hard situation it is to be in. Over all it was a very humbling experience to stand on the streets and experience the feeling of asking others for help, although I am one of the lucky ones because I knew that no matter how much I earned I would still have food to eat and a bed to sleep in when it was all said and done.

Beginning to Understand

This week has been one of the most amazing weeks of my life. Not only has it been eye opening experience, but it has been great getting to know Christians my age who have a passion for God. For all of you youth group people, it really is like a mission trip or a retreat. We sleep in rather close quarters in bunk beds, share showers, and have days full of God! Already I am thinking of ways to encourage youth to do a year of service because of how amazing this first week has been.

We have spent our days learning the ins and outs of Chicago. Since we live here, we were able to get Chicago Public Library cards. We also have spent lots of time learning to navigate the public transportation system. We visited the National Museum of Mexican Art (very cool!), the Garfield Park Conservatory (lots of plants and sculptures), and the Chicago Jazz Festival (featuring the Mingus Big Band).

Today was an incredibly taxing day. Although we have been living together for a week now, we just shared our life stories with each other. Everyone was vulnerable with the group and shared deep personal insights into their lives. I'm not sure if there are many people who know everything I told the group! It was that way all around, though, and God's presence was so evident. I'm feeling more and more like I've known these people for years, let alone a week, and I'm beginning to understand where everyone came from.

One thing I'm looking forward to is our Tuesday meeting with Brenda Matthews. She was a speaker at San Jose this year, and I am super excited to meet her. These meetings will continue throughout our time here to serve as an outside person to talk to (other than our RAD leaders). We will also be given our service assignments this week, and will spend three days each week working there. I pray that I will be able to do good service there and help many people.

First Day in Chicago

For those of you who read my first email update, this is the same thing. I thought it would be handy to have if you didn't get that email!

This is my first update as an official RAD member, and I have to say, today was quite a whirlwind! The travel went about as well as can be expected, with no delays or long layovers. I flew with fellow RAD member Amy Bradshaw, who is also from Newton. We arrived in Chicago around noon, and were quickly whisked away to lunch and then to the Faith House, where we will be living. The house is owned by the First Church of the Brethren, which is to be our host church. There I met the other members of my team: Caitlyn, Jonathan, Kevin, Melina, Karin,and Stephanie. With Amy and I we total eight people. We spent the afternoon talking about the program and what is in store for us with Darrell Gascho and Krista Dutt, the city DOOR director. Tomorrow we will work on establishing a covenant for our group regarding rules and expectations, and later this week we will get to know the city and all of the public transportation. I think the biggest prayer item for the group this week is that we will grow to know each other better and to understand how to work together. Right now we are just a bunch of young adults who don't know each other but happen to be living together. Hopefully we will soon be able to bond as a group. Also, Melina is already fighting an oncoming cold, and we pray that she will be up to speed soon. Personally I would request prayer for me to be able to become more comfortable with the group and be able to open up to others. There are so many questions running through my mind that will hopefully be answered in time. I also feel drained and tired, but hopefully that will pass with a few more hours of sleep tonight!