Oregon Trip: Part III: God's Beautiful Creation

After the long run with my mom and Harmony following me on their horses, we went home and prepared for our next adventure of the day: a trip to Crater Lake.  Thankfully the government wasn't shut down that week, so we were able to visit this amazing landmark.  Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the U.S. and it was made after a volcano erupted, caused a huge crater, then filled with melted snow, essentially.  Because of the depth of the lake and the purity of the water, I'm completely guessing, this lake is unbelievably blue and beautiful.

When I lived in Central Oregon, I took for granted these amazing natural wonders that were placed all around me. As I was planning my trip, I realized that I missed the beautiful Central Oregon scenery, so I decided I wanted to go visit some of these places.

It is crazy how much in life we can take for granted.  We take so many people in our lives for granted and we also take the beautiful earth that God created for us for granted sometimes.  When we look at the beautiful world we live in, we should really be thinking about how much God loves us, because he created this world for us.  It is not a coincidence that we have gorgeous mountains and trees to look at.  All of the beautiful colors and sights around the world did not come by chance.  It is all for a reason.  Because of this, I want to spend each day in a meaningful way as much as possible and not waste any time, if I can help it.   I need to know what my reason for being in this big, beautiful world is.  Just as God knew the volcano would erupt someday to create Crater Lake, he knows what is erupting in my soul and what will come of it.  It is my job to stay faithful to him and follow his path.  In the proper time, something incredibly beautiful will be the end result.

Oregon Trip, Part II: City Running Vs. Country Running

Since I'm training for a marathon, I had a scheduled long run to do during my vacation in Oregon.  I needed to do at least 10 miles.  My mom loves to ride horses, so it was a perfect opportunity to spend time with her.  She and Harmony rode their horses along side of me while I jogged.  It was a beautiful and sunny Fall day in Central Oregon.  We could see the gorgeous buttes all around us, as well as all of the usual desert plants and rocks.  I couldn't help but compare my city running to this experience of running the country.  First, I must explain that I did not become serious about running until about two years ago, so I didn't spend very much time running in the country when I was growing up. 

There is beautiful scenery to see while running in both the city and country, depending on what kind of person you are.  I am the kind of person who sees beauty in architecture and in artwork that is painted on the outside of buildings.  I love to see stained glass windows on churches and old brick businesses and houses.  I imagine who might of lived in those old houses when they were first built and think about all that may have happened in order to keep that same building standing all of those years. 

While running in the country, you might get to run by a field full of cows chewing on their cud.  If you speak to them, they will turn their heads and acknowledge you, most of the time.  I was a little worried during a shorter run right before this one that I might see a cougar, since cougars are very prevalent in Central Oregon.  Just as I was thinking about what I might do if I saw one, I had to stop and wait for a heard of deer to pass by.  It was incredible!

In the city, you run by "tumble weaves" and in the country, you run by tumble weeds.  They are both a sight to see and they are both a little annoying.  If you are wondering about what a "tumble weave" is, just know that women of all ethnicities wear fake hair (yes, even white women).  Sometimes the hair breaks off at unexpected times or it just flies out of the garbage on a windy day.  That, my friends, is how "tumble weaves" end up flying around on the street.

Both while running in the city and the country I am free to think about whatever it is I want to, and I usually think about how blessed I am to be traveling with my legs in such a way that many people aren't able to do.  I always try to thank God while I'm running so that I never, ever take it for granted.  Regardless of whether I see annoying or beautiful things along the way.

Oregon Trip: Part 1 (The Car Miracle)

My trip to Oregon was truly wonderful.  I loved getting to see most of my family, several close friends and several beautiful natural sites.  It was a short trip, but I had a few very memorable experiences that I will be sharing with you over the next few posts.... 

So here goes.... (this one's for you, mom)....

After spending a fun night at my brother and sister-in-law's house in Portland after flying in on Friday night, we had gotten up early on Saturday morning.  My mom, sister, daughter and I were headed out to the soccer game of the daughter of one of my best friends.  Almost immediately after we started out on the trip from one side of Portland to the next, something underneath the van started rattling.  It sounded like the wheel was about to fall right off and roll down the steep hill we were climbing.  Like many women do (sorry to sound sexist), we stopped the van, got out, looked at the tires, thumped them with our little fingers (as if that was the most accurate diagnostic test) and got right back in the van to call a man--- my dad.  He instructed us to head directly to Les Schwab.  For all of my east coast friends, this is a tire store chain in Oregon in which you can expect for about three guys in tight blue pants and white shirts to come running-literally- out to you to fix whatever is going on with your vehicle.  It is a reliable shop, but, of course, you will pay a pretty penny for the tight pants, I mean, the service.

All joking aside, after calling the shop, we prayed.  We prayed that God would hold the car together until we arrived at the shop, which was a prayer that we said many times during my childhood years. Here is kind of what the prayer sounds like: God, please send your guardian angels to protect this piece of junk (no offense, mom) car and get us to safety!

By the time we arrived, the thumping and clunking was much louder.... BUT we made it. The guy in the tight blue pants and the white shirt said that the wheel was basically unattached from the wheel-holder-together-thingy- oh, the axle.  He could not believe we were able to drive for ANY distance under that condition.   

He didn't know about our guardian car angels, though.  They haven't let us down to this day.

An apology

I have an apology to make.  In my last post "120 years" I wrote that it took Noah 120 years to build the ark.  I have to admit that I came up with this number after reading a world famous preacher's (who shall remain nameless) statement in a book, in which he wrote that this was true.  I believed it because I read it.  Well... after a wonderful friend asked me how I came up with this number, I decided to read the chapters again that describe Noah's building of the ark and here is what I found (Genesis chapters 6 & 7): Noah was 500 years old when his sons were born and 600 years old when the flood came.  Thus, by the time of the flood and the completion of the ark, it had not actually been 120 years.  While I know the whole point of the last post was about faith, I do really want to point out that I was actually wrong about the 120 years part. 

I've been wrong about a lot of things in my life...  One thing that I've especially been wrong about is my lack of actual study of the Bible.  I have spent many years reading excerpts from the Bible, and reading or listening to others' interpretations of the Bible.  I am now 33 years old.  The time for the non-sense of a lack of spiritual maturity to study on my own needs to be over, dang it!! 

If you are my friend and you are reading this (and you are a Christian-- I realize many of my friends are non-Christians and may be reading this too--- please hold me accountable to this).  It's sad that I have to ask, but, seriously, hold me accountable to this wish of mine.  While it is crucial to have spiritual leaders in my life, it is equally crucial to be spiritually mature on my own.  No more pacifiers or learning permits for me.  It's about time to be a spiritual grown up, and be real in my faith and my walk with God.

120 years

I've been thinking a lot lately about faith.  Faith is such a powerful feeling and it's instilled in all of us, whether or not we believe in God.  However, the fact that I have faith is what lets me know that there is a God.  It is another beautiful aspect of humanity that proves we have a loving creator.

I have had to utilize my faith throughout my life on many occasions.

When I held my little one-week-old baby girl while she was crying and I was taking a final that my professor allowed me to take late because I was giving birth to her shortly before the day of the actual final; I had faith that if I continued to work hard, I would finish my degree someday and get to do what I really wanted to do in life. Even though I knew I would have to complete school as a single, working mother. 

When I learned that my baby boy inherited the eye disease, Retinitis Pigmentosa, that runs in my family; I had faith (and continue to have faith) that he will still get to grow up and have as much of a fulfilling life as anyone else, regardless of whether he loses his vision completely. 

When I knew that my husband could not work in his job any longer due to aspects out of our control, and when I realized our family needed a change, I had faith that if I made a sacrifice for him and our family, and moved our family across the U.S., that we could have a good  life and God would still help me reach my goals. 

The (true) story that really inspired me to write this post was reading about Noah this week.  Did you know that it took him 120 years to build the ark?! 120 YEARS! Before he built it, there had been NO rain. EVER.  Yet, God told him to do it, so he had faith that God would fulfill his promise, and he built a huge boat to prepare for flooding.  If Noah can have such faith, I can too.  Even if it takes a lifetime, I know that God will fulfill his promises to me.

I will continue to have faith.

The Call: Part 3 (Africa)

So I've been putting off writing this post because I feel overwhelmed with emotion when I think about my trip to Africa.  I was 17 at the time, and I had a head full of beliefs about life and my religion, and I thought I knew pretty much everything there was to know.  This trip changed that mindset.

First, I must tell you that, since I was a young child, I had envisioned traveling to Africa.  For some strange reason, I knew that I would be going there someday.  I used to even draw pictures of what it might look like.  I must have been reeled in by those Save the Children commercials at some point.  I was definitely a sensitive kid.

The opportunity came about when I heard that an organization my parents were involved with called Good Samaritan Ministries (a world-wide non-profit counseling agency) was taking a trip to Uganda.  The second I heard about it, I told my parents I was going on that trip.  They initially smiled and said "ok honey" and kept it moving.  After I said this repeatedly for about a month, my step-dad called the group and inquired for me. The crazy thing is that they were specifically looking for a teenager to take with them! When I heard that, I knew that God had specifically planned for me to go on that trip.  Just like my other mission trips, the money was raised miraculously for me to be able to go. 

I will never forget the moment I stepped onto the pavement at the airport in Uganda.  It felt like a miracle occurred that I had waited my whole life for. 

Throughout the trip, we traveled around Uganda and Kenya.  We visited widows and orphans and brought them food and medical supplies.  I played soccer (they call it football, which makes more sense) with lots of children, I sang songs and danced, and I helped teach social skill lessons, such as relationships/sex education. 

I also washed my clothes in buckets, accidently ate one of my contacts, and I lost my luggage for two weeks, so I had to wear my friend's long dresses that didn't really fit me.  I bought beautiful African art work that I still have.  I picked coffee beans off trees and saw monkeys swinging from trees down a main highway.  I went to the zoo and saw a huge hole in a lion's cage.  I'm still not sure what was going on with that but it was crazy to see! 

Adding to the plethora of experiences I had while there, I also got infected with malaria. Despite taking all of the precautionary measures, I still became infected.  I think it was because I stayed the night with the little girls during the last night of camp and my mosquito netting was not properly placed.  They had begged me to stay and every other night I had been going back to the apartment we were staying at for safety and so that I could have proper netting.  Having malaria is like having the worst flu of your life.  I knew I wasn't going to die, but I certainly felt like I was going to. 

With all of the craziness, this trip was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. This is where I learned first hand that true religion is serving the widows and orphans. 

Although it feels good to do, Christianity is not dressing up in your Sunday best and heading to a brick building every week. 

It's about getting dirty by building a house made of red mud bricks for a woman who lost her husband to disease and who has to raise five children by herself.  It's about playing a game of soccer with 20 kids that were all orphaned by AIDS. 

It's also about lending some money to a friend during a hard time in her life.  It's about driving a friend to work while her car is broken down.  It's about spending real, quality time with your children that doesn't involve a screen of some sort.  It's about spending time with someone else's child that doesn't have enough adults to look up to.

This is what Jesus is all about.  I hope all of my family and friends get to meet the real Jesus someday and before that time comes, I want to show him to everybody.  I'm going to fail at it sometimes, because I'm imperfect, but I'm going to try my very best.  Not by what I say, but by what I do.

The Call: Part 2

As stated in my last entry, I had the amazing opportunity to go on mission trips as a child.  When I was 12, I traveled with a group called King's Kids, which was a dance/worship team through a wonderful organization called Youth With A Mission. 

Now that I am an adult with children and have regular expenses, I can really see what a miracle it was that my mom made it possible for me to go on that trip.  We were 'American poor' at that time; meaning, we were not third world country poor, but we were still broke.  It seems that we didn't even have a regular pay check to live month to month by.  My mom was dating a man (who is now my step-dad), but she had spent the last two years prior to that financially struggling through single motherhood. 

When I heard about the trip, I knew it would take a miracle to be able to go, but I knew that God would provide.  After a car wash (or two), a soda can drive, and some donations from family and friends, the money was raised!

On this trip, my team traveled to Spain, Latvia, and Denmark.  Here are some memories from this trip in no particular numerical significance or order (now, remember, I was 12 at the time, so these are the things that were important in my 12 year-old brain):

1.  Some women in foreign countries do not shave their armpits.
2.  It's impossible for many people to drive slowly overseas.  If you want to cross the street as a pedestrian, you better run.
3. A Happy Meal in Denmark is outrageously priced, and chewing tobacco and ice cream made that country significantly wealthy.
4. Eel is tasty (a meal we had in Latvia).
5. The Baltic ocean coastline is beautiful!! It looks very much like the Oregon coast.
6. Cobblestone streets are amazing but your feet will be severely sore after walking on them for a day.
7. Toilet paper can be blue and it is the consistency of sandpaper everywhere else but America.  God bless the U.S.A.
8.  Some people still do not have bathrooms with running water that are attached to their houses (i.e. many people still use outhouses). 

Of course, these are observations that are not necessarily the gospel truth for everyone, but for some reason, my brain held onto these memories that were true for me at the time.

All jokes aside, the experience that really touched my life on that trip was visiting an orphanage.  I will never forget seeing the rooms full of babies and toddlers that were lying in cribs and waiting for someone to pick them up.  Many of them had decided to give up on crying, because that form of communication was of no use. There were too many babies for the workers to care for, so it was impossible to hold each baby when he cried. 

This was the first time in my life that I really focused on someone other than myself.  It was the first time that I took on a world view.  I knew that I had been through my own abuse as a young child, but in comparison, this seemed much worse. 

At 12 years old, I knew I had to grow up to make a big impact, but I also knew that someday I would.  I couldn't let those babies down.