Wrapping up

What has been happening in my life? How about what hasn't been happening? I feel like you could cut my stress with a very nice knife. Life is crazy and I can't form cohesive thoughts anymore, so here are a few key highlights of the past week or so:

Homeward Bound walk for homelessness: the main project at work has wrapped up, and so now things have settled down. We ended up raising around $57,000!

InterVarsity: I'm still involved in InterVarsity's Graduate/Faculty Ministry on campus. I volunteered to be the so-called "service and outreach coordinator" for next year, and still love being a part of that ministry that helped grow my faith in college.

School, school, school: I'm constantly working on projects and papers. Tonight I had my one-hour law presentation. Yes, one hour. And I still have to start a 30 page policy paper for that class. That's only one class, so multiply the workload by four.

Summer plans: I'm honestly a bit anxious about this summer--where I'll live, how I'll manage to move all my stuff out of my apartment the day after finals, and when I'll ever see my family or friends again. I know everything will work out like it always does, but it's difficult to see the forest through the trees right now.

Spring: The campus is gorgeous, even though it storms a lot. I ought to take some pictures of all the beautiful flowers and trees around here that almost take my breath away.

Being a grownup: It's hard work being an adult and doing grownupy things. I'm not complaining, but sometimes I wish I didn't always have to be so responsible. :)

All that being said, life has been busy, but blessed. I just hope I can look up from my notes and papers once and a while to be a blessing to others! Happy mid-April!

Some of the 900 walkers at Homeward Bound.

It was a gorgeous day for the walk.

Walking with a purpose

It's easy to feel purposeless, especially when you have tons of schoolwork, work, and social activities that consume every waking moment. It leaves Laura the introvert with little or no time for reflection. I feel like I must be doing something purposeful and productive at all times, and am constantly analyzing this. Are my classes purposeful? Am I purposeful with relationships? Am I purposeful in my work with the city?

One of the huge tasks I've worked on this past year is the annual Homeward Bound 5K walk, which raises money for 11 benefiting nonprofit agencies. The funds raised are used to help alleviate poverty and homelessness in Bloomington. Up until now, I didn't feel that excited about it. I couldn't really picture the event itself, and when I wrote articles or talked to the media, I felt like I could only speak vaguely about it.

But... I got to experience the walk today. All the planning and meetings and sweat paid off. From the wee hours of this morning to late afternoon, I was helping with the walk and I loved it! We gathered at Third Street park in the beautiful, cozy downtown. The park is surrounded by the police station, a women's domestic violence shelter, and my church, which meets in the Boys' and Girls' Club. The grass was green, there were gorgeous tulips blooming everywhere, and the weather was perfect. At least 800 walkers showed up, in addition to about 150 volunteers. All the entertainers, the mayor and other VIPs, and our Homeward Bound Committee did a great job. Several of my friends also came and walked.

I had to work at registration and run around coordinating things, but I still had time to talk to old people and young people and hippy people and conservative people. There was such a diverse array of folks who showed up. A lot of the media came, and we ended up raising at least $50,000. So, in the end, the Homeward Bound walk seemed purposeful. For an afternoon the community came together to raise awareness and money for food kitchens and shelters helping the homeless population in Bloomington.

Lastly, I have less than a month of school somehow! Soon my first year of graduate school will (hopefully) be successfully completed, I will embark on an internship in D.C., and will turn 25! I'm just praying to the Father that He will continue to put purpose in the steps I take. Maybe I'll end up back in China, which is my dream, but for now I have to keep walking purposefully here.

Sadly, I didn't bring my camera to the walk today. But I have a picture from Friday when I invited my two sweet Chinese classmates for dinner at my abode.

Spring musings

I've been back in America for over 9 months--almost 10 now. I realize that I can adapt quickly to different cultures and situations, which can be a blessing, but also not very cool. I feel like I'm becoming almost the same person as before I left for China.

I really am still struck by how busy, busy, busy and hurried, hurried, hurried all Americans seem to be. And I'm becoming one of them. I have to have nearly every second of my 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. day planned--people, school, work... How do I remain focused on God and relationships, when there are so many other things I also have to do? I'm seriously working on school stuff or at work on average 12 hours a day.

So this past weekend was spent focused on people. I really didn't accomplish a whole lot of school stuff and told my work that, no, I couldn't table at the farmer's market for 6 hours on Saturday morning. But I really enjoyed eating/cooking lots of meals with people, hiking for hours on end, and having great conversations.

I even discovered a grave about five steps from my apartment door--with the date of death being 1833. Wow--Kansas wasn't even around then. That wasn't really a highlight of my weekend, but a strange discovery I wanted to share. :) I found it when I was walking to the laundry room and was wearing my new glasses that help me see quite well. It's covered by a lot of overgrown bushes and grass...

So it's a whirlwind life and I'll leave you with some pictures, of course:

Hiking in beautiful Brown County State Park.

With Malsi, Jess, and Jenn.

They're pretty entertaining.

Graduating

There have been a lot of life happenings lately, and I haven't really had a moment to reflect about all that's been going on. Usually I'm gone from sunrise to way, way past sunset working, schooling, and projecting. Yesterday I didn't get home from a project meeting until 1 a.m., and then had to work just a few hours later. I'm not sure when life become so crazy. But there are some really awesome events/moments that have occurred over the past week:

-Mom's "graduation"

After 30 years of public service, my fabulous mother retired from the county. She is still quite young, however, so she is certainly not going to sit around the house for the next 40 years. She is embarking on a journey to China this summer to serve with the same organization I was with for 2 years. After that, she's waiting to see if the Father will direct her to more long-term work overseas or anything else.

-Andrea's graduation

In just a month my dear sweet baby sister will be graduating from college! Please be thinking of her as she support raises for her campus ministry position for next year, and that she can continue to build strong relationships with other friends and students. Pray that she can finish well!

-My graduation

I don't graduate for another year, but we already have to start preparing by making sure we have internships lined up for the summer and the right classes. Since I'm already working with the city this year, there wasn't too much pressure on me to find a summer internship. However, the Lord provided way more than I could have ever imagined. Last week I found out I'll be working all summer long for an amazing company in the D.C. area. My jaw dropped when I found out, and now I just still can't wrap my head around it... But I'm excited, to say the least!

-Other kinds of graduations

A lot of my friends are also moving on to different stages of my life. One of those is my friend Malsi, here in Bloomington, who is graduating this semester and moving back to Texas to get married! We threw her a bridal shower on a shoestring, grad student budget. It was pretty classy.

Malsi, 2nd from the left.

Decorating the mailbox with Jenn and Jess.

Spring thinking

Hi folks! It's been a few days since I last touched base here on my blog. I don't even know where to start or how to start. I just spent the past week visiting Andrea at her school, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, in Daytona Beach. I can't believe my little baby is a senior!

Since I can't possibly write about everything. I'll list some "highlights" and "lowlights" of the trip:

Being with Andrea: We are definitely close sisters and friends. Sometimes I feel like we're the same person. We've spent so much time apart from each other over the past several years, but we somehow still have the same voices and even say most of the same things. Her friends kind of freaked out when they met me, because they thought we were so similar. But we're also different in just about as many ways. I'm always encouraged and amazed by her patience, humor, love for others, spunk, energy, brains, and athletic skills.

Andrea's track meet: Baby sister Andrea has honestly been having a rough track season, especially since her hip surgery last year. She has set school records at her university for triple jump and high jump, but has struggled this season to do what she really loves to do. I was blessed to see her compete in triple jump on Saturday, where she did her season's best. I just think of how God created such an energetic person, and how He must delight in watching her run and jump with such a joyful heart and huge smile.

Friends: I got to meet so many of her friends this past week; many of whom are international students and have recently become believers. Several of the new believers are from China, and I just about want to weep for joy when I hear their stories of coming to believe in the truth. They are always pretty enjoyable to hang out with!

Conversations: I enjoyed talking to a variety of people, and also loved talking to Andrea. It was good to step away from my grad school environment and refocus and recharge, spiritually, mentally, and physically. Now I feel a little bit more prepared to finish this semester, although I won't be able to without the Father's strength.

Beach time: What else is there to say? I enjoyed being warm and reading, walking, and splashing around at the beach.

Leaving: It was pretty difficult leaving Andrea, although I'll see her again soon for her graduation. I always feel like a part of me is missing when I leave her. She's always great at speaking truth into my life and helping me come face to face with my sin and then God's grace that covers my sin. It was also challenging waking up this morning at 4:30 a.m., driving 80 miles to Orlando, flying to Indianapolis, taking the long shuttle to Bloomington, and going to class until 7 p.m. I may collapse soon.

Prayer requests:

-I still feel a bit discouraged and disheartened by graduate school right now and feeling like it is all for naught.

-Andrea is going on staff with the campus ministry, Campus Outreach, at her campus next year. I witnessed amazing ministry opportunities there, especially with females at a predominately male school and with international students. Please lift up her support raising, and that other people will continue to grasp the vision God's placed on her heart and the heart of other Campus Outreach staff.

Thank you, Daytona folks, I felt very welcome.

Eating lunch with my sister and her friends on campus. Notice all the guys in the background. The school is 85% male.

Andrea's jumping skills in action.

A polaroid picture with Andrea and Foong Yi.

We had a picnic with some of Andrea's friends. This is a new Chinese brother and he was probably one of the funniest, most innocent Chinese boys I've met (and I've met a lot!) He couldn't walk--he only skipped or leaped everywhere, and would randomly do yoga poses during a normal conversation.

Watching the moon rise over the Halifax River.

I snapped this picture of Andrea on the beach. I think she'd make a pretty good model!

Hippie in training

Someday I will turn into a hippie. I hope I do. And the longer I live in Bloomington, the higher possibility there is for that to happen.

Here's why Bloomington stands out from other Midwestern cities:

-More people drive Honda Elements than pickup trucks.
-More people ride their bikes and walk than drive SUVs.
-Hummus is more popular than salsa.
-I frequently meet people who I'm not sure if they're a guy or girl.
-A guy working at city hall walks around in his socks.
-Females wear Merrill sandals or Birkenstocks more often than heels.
-You can walk down the street downtown and hear 10 different languages at once.
-You can see a woman with dreadlocks, and then turn and see a women in Muslim hijab.
-People bring mixed nuts as gifts to a party.
-My hair's shorter than a lot of guys'.
-Billowy, burlap sack-looking skirts are cooler than mini-skirts.
-You can see world-class opera (that's not really a hippie thing to do, but it's not typical of a small Midwestern city).

... And the list goes on. I actually just bought some hummus, so I think I'm overdue for a snack. Happy March!

Rejected, but not dejected

Perfectionist Laura who always wants to be the best, is learning how to deal with rejection; mainly from the federal government. Like a diligent master's student, I have applied to many internships this summer. And one by one, I'm receiving kind emails of rejection. I'm starting to get used to it. Each time they say how competitive it is, blah blah blah. One department, which had maybe 100 openings, had 11,000 applicants. Yes, you read correctly. 11,000. So I certainly don't feel badly about that particular one...

I should continue to hear from other departments in March and April. I'm trying not to feel dejected. I'm sure if they met me in person, they'd really want to hire me. :)

In other related news, I have the opportunity to return to China this summer with the organization I spent the last 2 years with. I would be a team leader of 8 to 10 American college students, who will be teaching middle or high school students in China. I could have gone to Hong Kong or something, but I volunteered to lead a team to mainland China, and hopefully a remote, Muslim area like Ningxia.

There are a lot of reasons why I want to return to China this summer, and I think it would be very challenging. I'd have to be a leader, mentor, mother, and travel guide 24 hours a day. I'd also be the liaison with the host school, observe my team members teaching, and all that sort of stuff. If I go, I will have to raise some support again.

So the bottom line is that I have to commit one way or another to team leading in China by March 10th, which is probably before I'll hear from several other internship opportunities. Will you please keep me in your thoughts about this? I don't think it is an extremely big deal, but I want to honor the Father in my decision on how to spend my summer.