You Capture: Sweet

Gobbstoppers

and Gumballs

So...I REALLY wanted to have a photo shoot with a little kiddo getting all sticky with a huge colorful lollipop for this week's topic of "sweet." But since I live on a college campus, even seeing a little one on campus is a treat. So I had to settle for the candy in my room.
But the pictures turned out really great. I love the bright colors!

And this next one won't scream sweet to any of you...but it does to me.

This is Ryan. He is the R.A. for one of the guys' floors here in Copeland.

Every week, we have a mandatory Copeland staff meeting. We always start off with "professional development" which basically means someone is assigned to bring snack and an activity for the group.

This past Wednesday was our last staff meeting, and Ryan had professional development.
First, he went to Goodwill and bought us all a mug. Each mug described us in a certain way...my mug was Christmassy because he said, "Christmas brings joy (especially to little ones) just like Nancy does!"

(The next part of the activity was based off of our community read for the semester, "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson. For those of you who have not read it, Greg Mortenson explains the Pakistani culture in regards to tea by saying, "We drink three cups of tea...the first you are a stranger, the second you become a friend, and the third, you join our family, and for our family we are prepared to do anything...")

So next, Ryan brings out these boxes of tea he brought. He said, "During training in August, it was like we were drinking our first cup of tea together. We were strangers. And then, through out the year, we were continually drinking our second cup of tea, slowly deepening our friendships. For our last staff meeting, I would like to drink our third cup of tea...making us family."

It was so sweet.
Lots of tears.

You capture-sweet

Better than a Hallelujah

I've been listening to "Christian Radio" a lot lately. I used to hate Christian radio...it just seemed so cheesy. And now I'm that cheese-ball crying in the car next to you.

But really, I don't think it's so cheesy anymore. I get to worship for over 3 hours every time I go to work. It's absolutely wonderful! I mean, we were MADE TO WORSHIP. So it makes sense that I would enjoy it so much.



This is a new song by Amy Grant that I have been enjoying lately. It's called "Better than a Hallelujah." (You can hear it here, but feel free to ignore the awesome video)

A lot of times worship can be made into something so fake. Let's all stand. Clap our hands. Sing the song. You know? (Now, I'm NOT saying that standing and clapping during worship make it "fake"...that's not what I'm saying at all)

But you know, sometimes I just don't feel like standing and clapping and shouting, "Hallelujah!"
Sometimes, my broken heart gets the best of me.
Sometimes I'm just so miserable because my heart is half-way across the world and I'm here.
Sometimes I'm angry that God's plan doesn't have me going to Uganda anytime soon.
Sometimes, all I can do is cry.


And guess what? That's real.
And I think that's what God wants from us.
Real.
Raw.
From the heart.

The honest cries of a breaking heart are better than a hallelujah.

You Capture: Fresh

My first official "You Capture"

I thought for a long time of how to capture "fresh."
I finally decided to take a trip out to the farmer's market,
where I would usually buy fresh fruits and veggies
[but it's only April, so unfortunately it's not "open" yet]

Even though there was no fresh produce to capture,
Ryan and I got to take a walk in the fresh air

And the stands were in need of a fresh coat of paint

R.A. "Banquet"...slash yet ANOTHER mandatory Housing Staff Meeting

Ugh. I could go on and on with complaints about working for campus housing.
But I won't.
Because this blog is supposed to help me ENJOY moments :)

Tonight was our R.A. "banquet" (except, actually Housing fooled us and called it a banquet and then the night before sent out a mass email and said they decided not to serve us a meal this year...GREAT! Thanks guys! Would have been nice to know BEFORE I used up all my meals for the week.) So basically it was actually just another mandatory Housing meeting. Which I could not DESPISE anymore. I hate housing staff meetings. Hate. Hate. Hate.
So about that not complaining...


The theme was something about decades. Each staff had to choose a decade to be. Our staff is essentially two staffs put together, and we couldn't agree on anything. One group wanted to be the 1960s and the other group wanted to be the future, so we went with the "60s" and we did all our stuff as the Beatles from 2060. Kinda dumb, but whatever.

It wasn't as bad as I make it out to be. I did laugh at times.

Heather and I with our "futuristic" touches :)

"ALIENS!!!"



Copeland Staff 2009-2010
Love, love, LOVE them :)
[Our staff got along SO GREAT! I feel like I've been friends with all of them since 7th grade!]

Walking

I could walk for hours.
I love walking.
I feel as though I'm seeing the world at the pace it was made to be seen.

But nothing can beat walking with you.
At your pace.
Your little hand wrapped around my finger.

Once a passion, now a burden

What was once a passion, is now a burden.

I read this last night. And knew that I had found the perfect way to describe my life.

When I was 16, my "interest" in African orphans was beginning. I remember sitting across my table with my mentor/friend and saying, "I think I have a heart for Africa. For orphans."
I think.

She pushed me to pursue what was in my heart and see what God could make of it. What God would make of it.

I went to Ethiopia when I was 17. I worked along side the pastor's family and elders' wives to put on a VBS for children at our church's "sister church" in Arba Minch. At the end of the trip, our pastor asked us to share why we felt God brought us on this trip. I was surprised to hear, "This was a trip of preparation. I feel I'm being prepared for my future," spilled out of my mouth.

[That's me, with the beard]

[Me and Joseph, a Somalia refugee orphan]

I came home. Went to school. Continued my life.
My passion for Africa remaining.
I sent money to World Vision. I made totes to sell and raise money for orphans. I saw the Watoto's Children Choir from Uganda and heard about their ministry.
I had a passion, and it was obvious.


And then I went to Uganda to work at Baby Watoto.
I saw the face of African Orphans.
I held them.
I wiped their tears.
I feed them.
I prepared their bottles.
I changed their dirty diapers.
I rocked them to sleep.
I cleaned up their vomit.
I loved them.

[Me holding Charity when she was sick]

[Beautiful, beautiful Claire]

And now...well, now that passion for African orphans is a burden.
It is carried with me constantly. I can't go a day without "Uganda" passing through my lips. It's something I pray about every single night. It's what makes me cry, day after day, night after night. It's physically impossible for me to ignore it, not even for just a day, an hour.

This burden consumes me.
It has wrecked what I knew as "me."

But I wouldn't have it any other way.

Spring is here!!

Daffodils.

Car washes.

Frisbee in the park.
[Which I am surprisingly better at with a camera in my hand]

Long-boarding.

Ducks.

Sunlight past 7:30pm.

Budding/blooming trees.


mmmm, I love it all!!

Comfort. And then some other stuff.

I'm going to start participating in a weekly assignment called "You Capture".
A blogger started this to encourage others (but mainly herself) to get their camera out more often. So every week she posts a new subject that you have to capture. You are supposed to link to it once you have made your post, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for that commitment just yet. I mean, I just re-entered this world of blogging. Give me a break, right?!
So this week is kind of a "You capture practice round" for me. And then maybe next week I won't be a content-stealing thief and actually link to her blog.
[No one turn me in, alright?]

So this weeks topic was comfort.
What do I find comfort in?


















A madcap mocha.
Sitting in the minimalistic cafe,
looking through the windows, at the city I love.

Warm-from-the-oven cookies and a cold glass of milk.

But mostly,
Knowing that in four months,
I will slip this on your finger and then
spend the rest of my life with you.

These pictures also track my day...

Ryan donated plasma this week, so that we could go on date [haha, you know you're in college when...] He took me to madcap, then to the Electric Cheetah for a late lunch/early dinner. We stopped at a store called "Coat of Many Colors" which was so cool. I'll admit, it's geared towards hipster/artsy-fartsy/hippies but still...I loved it.
And we bought something for our wedding there.
Not sure if I'm ready to share that detail yet. There are some things that I just don't want "revealed" until the big day. This may be one of those things (or not, haven't decided yet)

And then we went and saw "The Last Song". Which was pretty good. I didn't really love Miley Cyrus in it, but it was still pretty good [Mr. and Mrs. Smith, if you see this, bring kleenex. You will both need it]

I also got Ryan's ring today! I let him try it on and he didn't want to take it off. He said something really cute, but I won't embarrass him by publishing it here.
We still have to get it sized and brushed, but good to know he likes it already!

somedays

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

It's been one of those days.
One of those days where practically everything I see, everything I touch, everything I hear brings tears to my eyes.
Everything reminds me of Uganda.
Reminds me of what I'm missing out on.
Reminds me of them.It's days like this that I need to trust in the Lord with all my heart. I know he has a plan for me. And I know his plan for me is waaay better than the plans I have for myself.

If I were to follow my plans, I would be in Uganda tomorrow.
I would be cuddling babies tomorrow.
I would visit Phoebe and David and Patience tomorrow.
I would be changing disgustingly poopy diapers tomorrow.
I would have spit up, boogers and porridge all over me tomorrow.
I would be swaddling little babes for their naps tomorrow.
I would fall in love all over again tomorrow.
So I must trust that whatever God's a-brewing up there has to be much much better.
Ohhh, if only it was that easy [trusting is so much easier said than done]


So much for this blog to NOT be about Uganda anymore, huh?

Your Feet

Where will these feet take you?
Where will these feet take us?
What will these feet look like after you've walked the path that God has set before you?
After you've run that race?
What story do your feet tell? What story will your feet tell?

Pie Your RA

To raise money for Relay for Life, community council planned "Pie Your RA"

It was messy. It was coooold (using practically-still-frozen coolwhip to make pies about to be smashed in someone's face is not a good idea.) It was hard to breathe with that stuff in your nose.
It was fun.

I'm baaaack

It's been a while, but I'm back to the blogging world. I've been reading others' blogs recently and it inspired me to start this back up.

I want to learn cherish everything, in the here and now, just as much as I did while in Uganda. I want to remember all the little moments that pass by so quickly. I want to realize that my life is a story, which can be told beautifully. I'm hoping this blog will help me to do so.

So, what has happened since I last updated?

1. I have cried. And cried. And cried. And then I cried some more.I wish I could say that I came home from Uganda and just went back to my every-day normal life. But that trip, those children, those volunteers, those nannies, forever changed my life. I know that I will never be the same. I have ever-so-sloooowly come to the realization that I will never be "over it". I will never stop crying. My heart will never not be breaking or longing to go back to Uganda. Never. (Oh goodness, that's over-whelming)

Me, on my last day with my babies, holding David and Patience

2. I got engaged :)
To the most incredible guy. I don't believe in soul-mates and I understand that marriage will be work...but he's perfect for me. He's goofy. He's shy. He has dreams to do everything under the sun, the sky is the limit in his eyes. He's got the biggest heart for people. He loves me so much. Basically, he's wonderful.

Our wedding is coming quickly and we couldn't be more excited. But we are loving this stage of planning and preparing our hearts and minds.

Us, on the day we got engaged

3. I started (and have almost completed) my last year at Grand Valley.
I'm still an R.A. in a building of freshmen. The guys drive me absolutely crazy, but my floor of girls are spectacular. They even threw me a surprise bachelorette party (how cute is that?!)
I can't believe how quickly college has flown by. I know that I have learned a lot, but I still have times where I am sitting in class and just feel so stupid. But oh well.

4. I got my appendix taken out.
Haha, I don't even know why I bothered to include this. I have some ugly scars. One of which forever ruined my cute belly-button.

5. I fell in love with multiples.
Twinners. Triplets. The more the merrier.
I volunteer in the nursery at my church, and there are twin boys who are regular attenders in my room. Oh my, are they adorable!! They scream and cry...but if you can calm them down, they are just darling. They giggle at everything. And crawl like champs. My heart melts when I see them being carried up to my room.
I can't wait to be holding my little twinners from somewhere in Africa :) They probably aren't even alive yet...but I will love them. And I can't wait.