12 Days of Christmas

Sooooo I realize that I haven't blogged in quite some time.  I apologize.  But the holidays have been quite busy here in England, as I'm sure they have been back home!  However, I'm going to take a second and write down some musings and observations and thoughts over the past month or so.  So here goes, my Twelve Days of Christmas! (:

On the First Day of Christmas:  We realized that we could cook our own Thanksgiving dinner without 'grownups!'  We (the three of us) prepared the Thanksgiving dinner for some of our nearest and dearest here (with the exception of the Turkey, mashed 'taters, and a fruit pie).  To our delight, cooking together was a lot of fun, and went smashingly!  And the food was quite delicious if I do say so myself(;  The dinner itself was lovely, and it really did feel like Thanksgiving in its own way.

On the Second day of Christmas:  I realized that I've become my mother (and grandmother) after all.  As we were setting up our Christmas trees, I realized how 'spoiled' I had been with ours back home.  Our trees are very charming here, but they don't have the same aura as the one we had growing up.  I remember mom taking sooo much time fluffing up the branches until it looked just right, and then helping grandma setting up trees fluffing them up just right, and then I get here and get frustrated because no matter how hard you try, the trees here weren't made to be fluffed up just right.  It's crazy, but it really frustrated me that i couldn't get our three ft. tree to be nice and fluffy (although it looks pretty snazzy now that its all decorated - I'll try to get pictures up shortly after Christmas!).  I also miss the decorations from home, and even though our tree never had a 'theme,' mom always had cutsie ornaments to add that tied it all together.  And - of course - it's probably just the tradition I miss, the continuity of that ONE tree that has been there your entire life.  Ahh well, in short, my mom has finally begun to rub off on me.
     --On a side note, it was a shock when skyping home one night and being reminded that we had to get a                  new tree, with colored lights, so the whole lifetime tree thing is a wee bit irrelevent now.

On the Third day of Christmas: I realized that I have a pretty cool team here.  Since I'm the 'young one'  I often get treated like it.  Which means that I get to be the designated advent calender opener!  My team was nice enough to fill it with all sorts of goodies, showing how much they absolutely love me! (;  For example, ive gotten a marshmallow, garlic clove, a bit of candle wax, poulpurry nut, some empty candy wrappers, and an assortment of other goodies!

On the Fourth Day of Christmas:  I realized how I really miss snow.  Sure we have Christmases back home without snow, but this year I really do miss it!  On the morning we left for Northern Ireland (I'll get to that in a minute)  it was heavily snowing, getting the three of us quite excited!  Unfortunately it didn't stick.  However, it is quite normal to see rain, slush, or hail(more like sleet though).

On the Fifth Day of Christmas:  We went to Northern Ireland!  Last Thursday we travelled to Corrymeela.  If you've never heard of Corrymeela, you should definitely look it up!  It is a Christian camp/retreat off of a town called Ballycastle (about 45-60 min. from Belfast).  We spent the week with Britt's cousins Tiffany and Dustin and their two adorable little boys.

On the Sixth Day of Christmas: I realized how beautiful Ireland is!  I always thought it redundant how people exclaimed how beautiful it is, but never really sunk in until I got to experience it!  It's impossible to put into words, or capture with photos, just how breathtaking it is there (although we definitely tried to capture it!).

On the Seventh Day of Christmas:  I spent a lovely week with my team in Ireland.  I know I keep going on about it, but it truly was a refreshing week!  We spent a lot of our time going on walks together, climbing cliffs, seeing castles, crossing bridges, and just relaxing together.  Really worthwhile!

On the Eighth Day of Christmas: We sang in a Christmas concert!  At Corrymeela we had the opportunity to sing some Christmas songs for the community.  It was a lot of fun being able to join in the community with the volunteers for the weekend and see the event unfold.  Again... Really worthwhile!

On the Ninth Day of Christmas:  We decided we really enjoyed singing together.  So much so that we are going Christmas caroling with a few ladies from the choir we are in, AND singing at the midnight (yes - midnight) Christmas Eve service tomorrow!

On the Tenth Day of Christmas:  I realized how much I miss the good 'ole Christmas movies from back home.  I miss watching movie after movie on ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas during Christmas vacation, as well as the Christmas movies we have back home.  --Let me add that while writing this we are watching It's a Wonderful Live --classic.  We have a small collection of holiday movies here, but its not quite the same.  We also don't blast Christmas music throughout the house, which I miss as well.

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas:  I forgot to tell you how nice the Irish are!  Seriously everyone was super nice, whether you were on the street, in a shop, at the pub, or hiking through their property during a hailstorm, everyone was soooo nice!  I wish people everywhere were that nice.  And had such awesome accents(:

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas:  I realized that I can do this.  I can get through the holidays without my family.  Not that I have to love being away from my family, but I'll survive!  I think we have been so busy lately that it's been kinda hard to really miss them (although I do have my moments).  I think that being here without my family is a whole lot easier than if I was at home without them. And we have so many people here who are becoming part of our family that it's hard to dwell on those we miss.
--I could never ever spend every Christmas without my family, but this one without them has been, in a way, beneficial.  It has helped me appreciate my family more, as well as the traditions we have.

So, to those of you who stuck it out through all Twelve Days, Congratulations, you finished!

On a final note though, I would like to thank everyone who has been supporting me and my team and all of Radical Journey through this.  I'm really learning a lot, even if I can't put into words what exactly that is.  And I hope that you all have a very Merry Christmas back home, and a Happy New Year.  Love and Miss you all!

Kaihle

We thoroughly enjoyed interacting with
the boys, and playing with their toys!

Some bridge across a huge
drop...no big deal

Giant's Causeway!

A castle. On the Edge of a Cliff. again..no biggie

Me Looking over the Edge!

Britt - about to fly away!

Seriously.  SO BEAUTIFUL.

Protestant Mural in Belfast . one of many

Yep. We climbed to the top of this cliff

They're cute.. Especially when they gaze(:

Jeremiah the Jellyfish

Once a week at school the kids gather for Assembly.  At todays Assembly, Mr. Edwards (the headmaster) read a story called, Jeremiah the Jellyfish.  This story was about a jellyfish who didn't want to just float around drifting, but he wanted to swim and explore.  As I was sitting listening to the story, it suddenly hit me in a surge of wisdom, I'm like Jeremiah!  I don't just drift, I SWIM!

Okay well I'm not that rebellious, or outlandish, but it did remind me of when I was deciding on what to do this year.  I remember it being quite overwhelming, and quite a bit sad, when thinking how most of my class was going to college, and I had the audacity to NOT go to school and go to England!  But it was also very thrilling looking towards the adventure of it, as well as the growth I was sure to find while here.  I think I like 'swimming.'  It makes me look at things from a different perspective.  I'm taking a different road >> as Robert Frost would say 'and I took the road less travelled.'  And I honestly think that in the 2 insanely short months I've been here, I have already begun to notice changes in myself, which I think is pretty cool!

Well....just some random ponderings while sitting among the 7 year olds(:

A few of my Favourite Things

1. Being a Princess!!!  :D



At M&M world - London



..haha okay not really, but I do have one favorite for you!  It was a sort of 'epiphany' I had last night.  We were at our weekly Compline (night prayers at St. Wilfrids once a week), and I realized that I absolutely LOVED going there each week.  It's really nice to have a chance to go, sit down, and have some time to (in a way) bring your focus back in.  After the frustrations of the week at school it helps you refocus, and have a nice prayer while at it!    Now, to be honest, I was a bit surprised that I even liked Compline, let alone love it!  When they first told us that we had ten minute prayers at church before supper once a week, I was a little wary, and thought 'oh yippee I get to go pray for a very long time (insert sarcasm).'  The thought of praying for TEN whole minutes was a little intimidating (sorry for my negativity before giving it a chance).  But whaddya know, it wasn't so bad, and the call/response prayers we have are fantastic!

While I have you here I figure I may as well share some more pictures.  For those of you who don't know, we went to London last week since it was half-term holiday!   We had a brilliant time, and took massive amounts of pictures!  I will try and sort out some good ones to share(:



Tower Bridge - with a cutsie red bus(:



The Globe Theater



Abbey Road - M&M style



They were WALKING
down this wall!! and i
ALMOST got to do
it too!







Westminster Abbey - We got to go to Evensong which
was Amazing!





Phantom of the Opera - at Her Majesty's Theater



London 2012 Olympic Countdown



The Mall



Off to Hogwarts!



In front of Tower Bridge



Tower of London - I'm only obsessed
with it because of a book I read
shortly after getting here





Parliament and Big Ben!



(insert crazy monkey laugh)

Mean Girls.  The other night in Youth Group we watched a short clip from this movie depicting cliques and social groups within schools. (the scene in the cafeteria showing the different groups' "tables") --For those of you who may not know, Mean Girls is a movie about high school and changing yourself to fit in, trying to be popular, someone your not, etc.--  Anyways we then reflected on times when we had maybe felt out of place or like we didn't fit in.  So of course I knew exactly what this felt like and piped up to put in my two-cents.  While reminiscing on my wonderful high school memories, I realized that I had wasted a lot of time trying to be in the group, or trying to be certain peoples' friend.  And to be honest, these people weren't worth my time. 

I probably knew this all along, but had never really acknowledged it or accepted it I guess.  And yes, my mom did tell me that after I got out of high school I'd realize how unimportant it really was to be in those groups (so here it is mom -- you were right!).  So it seems as though my knowledge in life's trials has already jumped leaps and bounds since my graduation from high school back in the day(;

I've also come to realize something else recently.  It hasn't been any great revelation, but something that has become more evident since my time here.  This realization is simply this:  You can't run.

For starters, you can't run from your parents.  No matter how far away you are, they will still try telling you what to do.  This occured to me when I found myself agreeing (reluctantly) to call my sister after skyping my mom.  Not that I didn't want to talk to her, but it was late, and I had work the next day!  But nonetheless, I ended up calling her after hanging up with my mom --and was glad i did.

You can't run from the massive pile of dishes sitting on the counter.  It will continue to grow until it consumes the kitchen, and you have no other choice but to wash them only because there is a lack of clean plates, cups, etc.

Your can't run to school in the rain.  -You actually could, but it's so far away that you will end up just as wet running or walking at a leisurly pace. but *Note to self: Look outside once or twice in the mornings to check the weather.  If it is rainging, don't wear TOMs shoes and long, wide leg trousers on rainy days.  Either change clothes or throw on some wellies to keep your feet and pants dry.

You can't run from the past.  No matter what dark corner you shove it in, it will always find a lovely time to pop out and say BOO.  Like the great Rafiki says in the Lion King, "you can't run from your problems, you have to face them" (insert crazy monkey laugh).

You can't run up the massive hill to Tescos/church.  You could, but it would be a huge bother.  It is better to save your energy for your shopping and just walk up, unless you're Britt, and insist on trucking your way up at a brisk pace 'just to get it over with.' (:

And speaking of Tescos, you can't run into Tescos with a list of 4 items and walk out with those 4 items.  You WILL walk out with a significantly larger ammount of items.  ALWAYS.  This seems to be a fact of life here, at least for the three of us.

So now that I have filled you all with a wealth of knowledge, I have finally found my cord and have some pictures to share!  Although picking which ones to post will prove to be a challenge I'm sure.

Oh and one more quick note.  If I ever don't make sense in what I write, my apologies.  My mom has pointed out to me on more than one occasion that my emails don't always make sense.  I think that sometimes my brain gets ahead of my typing, or I have multiple things on my mind.  So if ever you want/need some clarifying, just leave a comment, or shoot me an email, and I will be more than happy to clear things up(:

Now for some pictures!!!

First day at Farnham Primary School

On one of our many walks with Angie (pictured with Britt)
--Rachel in the background playing with Nellie (Angie's adorable dog)

Pictures can't even begin to capture the beauty of this
small town called Fylingthorpe.. the roads wer inter-woven
between the houses.  Hard to describe, but a must-see!

The Beautiful Robin-Hood's Bay (the movie, Wild Child had a scene filmed here)

A trip to Bolton Abbey (georgeous!)

Annndddd my teeny tiny room in our new house.  Im standing in the very back corner.
The clothesline hung across it because there wasn't room on our
drying rack. (we don't have a clothes dryer)
--Notice my bedspread. it is very Big Bang-esque (the television
series which we had begun watching quite regularly until we moved.)

Oh what a beautiful morning, Oh what a beautiful day

Today was the big day! WE MOVED!  We now live about 4 houses away from our old flat (28 St. Wilfrids Crescent) to our new flat! (1 Church Ct.)  It has been a very long, rewarding day.  The new house seems very promising (not that our old flat wasn't lovely).  Some of the biggest improvements are our kitchen (we have more storage, more counter-space, a better oven/stove, and it just overall looks better).  Another big improvement is the better locks we have as well as the alarm system! 

Now to update you on random happenings in my life (since it has been awhile since I've updated my blog).

I've been working at school for a few weeks now.  This has been a lot of fun, but also very tiring!  It's been a little frustrating just because on some days I don't quite know how I'll be able to do it for the whole year (which gives me a better respect for teachers who do it 5 days a week for their whole career!).  It has been nice getting to know the kids and their personalities, but it's also hard knowing where I stand in disciplining the kids because they often don't listen (especially the boys).

We had a few days of absolutely GEORGEOUS (and unusual) weather!  It was warm and sunny, while I hear it was a little chilly back home.  So, to celebrate, Angie took us to the coast!  We went to Robin Hood's Bay, which was very cute and picturesque, but also different from the 'coast' you'd expect to find.  (I'd post a picture, but in the midst of moving my camera cord has been misplaced unfortunately). The town the bay is in is called Fylingthorpe.  It was delightful how vintage it was.  Many of the roads felt like private sidewalks that curved around the houses and were very secluded.  It's hard to do the town justice in words trying to describe just what it was like. Not even pictures can quite convey the experience, but I fell in love with the essence and feeling of the town!

Yesterday we spent the day at Dioces (not sure if thats spelled right) Day.  It was a gathering of Anglicans from the area (kind-of like Mennonite Convention on a lot smaller scale).  We attended two seminars and had two worship services.  I learned lots and had a lot of fun!  I addition, we met lots of people!  One person we met was an American who knew one of the girls from last year and seemed lovely.  We also got to meet Bradford's bishop!

Overall, I have to say the weeks have been enjoyable.  I'm enjoying time spent with the team, as well as gettiing to know people here.  Unfortunately we haven't quite made too many friends our age yet, but we're keeping our hopes up!  We have also started youth group at the Methodist church, as of Friday night.  It was fun, although different, and a little frustrating since we only had one boy show up.  But we are hoping to draw more kids in as time goes on!

I also have to admit that I have been slightly frustrated in some of my experiences.  I think I came into this year expecting more 'mission' work in my experience, and I just didn't see how teachers aiding and playing games/knitting with elderly was going to do that.  I felt unfulfilled, and disappointed.  I was upset that I was basically doing a job that I could have done back in America.  I constantly asked God why he brought me here  if I wasn't going to do anything useful.  I did know that he had me here for a purpose though, especially when reminded by verses such as Jeremiah 29:11 and Proverbs 41:10.  It has been very comforting knowing that He has a purpose for me here, and it may not be the purpose I previously expected.  One of my team members also mentioned on one of our day visits to Touchstone (an outreach program) that mennonites do a lot of service by example instead of shoving our faith down others' throats. Which made perfect sense!  Because for those of you who really know me, I don't usually shove my beliefs down people's throats, so it would have been out of the ordinary for me to do so now.  (On a side note: we've done a lot of explaining of what mennonites are since there aren't too many around which has been interesting seeing what others thought). 

I've also come to realize that God may have brought me here for my own benefit as well as for the benefit of others.  I've already learned many things!  On one of our days at Touchstone, we visited a mosque, and we learned how/why muslims pray the way they do.  The way it was explained really made me think.  They reallly open their hearts and humble themselves before even going into the prayer room, whereas we often rush through our prayers.  We have also been attending a weekly prayer at the Anglican church called Compline.  This is simply a call-response type of prayer, but it has been really calming at the end of the day to spend some peaceful time with others praying.  (And then of course attending a delightful supper at the Bilton's house!)  So there's been a little peek into my thoughts.  I'm feeling a lot less frustrated, not that I won't become frustrated in the future, but I feel a lot more at peace about what I'm doing here.

I thank you again for your prayers, and send all my love, as I leave to watch the ending of Oklahoma(:

Plum Jam

Soooo...I'm here.  In England.  Can you say UNBELIEVABLE?  I've only been here 5 days, haven't started work, and yet I feel at home... yay!  I remember walking away from our flat in Chicago (which feels like forever ago) and walking down our little alley past JPUSA and feeling so calm and excited and invigorated and happy, thinking that this was really going to happen, I was actually going to England!  I remember the train-ride to O'hare reminiscing on the last 10 days feeling they passed by in a blur, yet it felt like I was there forever, and had always known everybody.  Surprisingly, I was never too nervous or worried the whole way there until I arrived in Leeds airport and forgot to fill out my Landing slip and couldn't remember my address for the life of me!  But finally I got it all sorted out, was the last person out of customs, and walked towards my new life(:

Now I'll introduce you to everybody quick!
First: theres Britt Wyse and Rachel Mast my two teammates!  Britt (24) is also from Archbold, for those of you who don't already know(;  Rachel (20) is from Oregon and is taking a break from Goshen College after two years there studying music.

Paul and Ruth Bilton - Not only our lovely neighbors, but also Paul is the priest at the Anglican church behind our house.  They have three daughters and one son Tom.

Barry and Val - Our soon to be neighbors (once we move in about 3 weeks hopefully!)  They are both very charming people and I can't wait to get to know them more!  Even though Barry seems to be quite the trouble-maker(;

Louise - One of the ministers at our other church we will be attending (Great Horton Methodist).  She is also very involved with us in this program.

Angie, Malc, and Nelly - A lovely couple who took us for a walk today with their adorable dog, Nelly!  I also can't wait to spend more time with them!

Alex - another priest who is quite charming and good friends of Paul and Ruth

--if I've forgotten anybody I apologize!!! 

Rachel and I will be working 3 days at a school called Farnahm (not sure on the spelling?)  While Britt will be at Lidget Green Primary.  We will also be doing some other activities like Footloose, and Circut Youth Group (i will probably give more details on what these are at a later date..maybe).  We visited the schools earlier this week, and they both look like they will be lots of fun!  Work starts Monday, so we have about 2 more days off before beginning (we're hoping to make a trip to Leeds tomorrow possibly to scope out some shopping :D)

I mentioned a walk today, which we took with Angie, Malc, and Nelly.  It was sooooo BEAUTIFUL!  I can tell that I'm going to love it here!  You can call it cheesey, but I'm gonna take a moment to just say how Pride and Prejudice -esque it is here!  On our walk at least.  I could totally imagine Elizabeth Bennett walking to town in her billowing skirts and Mr. Darcy walking over the hills in the early morning.  Okay - moment over(:

This week has been wonderful getting to know everyone and my surroundings.  We spent some time as a team baking cookies, plum jam, and a few other tasties.  I've come to love tea, which is only natural considering how much they drink it here (even though I already loved it at home).  I can say that I am very excited to begin working and begin the final stage of settling in.  I can't wait to see how God begins working in our lives and working through us to reach to others. 

Well I've rambled on long enough, but most of my blogs likely won't include so much information.  I send my love and blessings to you all!

Waiting

Oh how time flies! This week seems like such a blur, but the goodbyes have begun and the time is drawing near for me too to say goodbye to Chicago. Yesterday the rest of my team left, along with south africa. I was unable to leave with them because unfortunately my visa was not approved until yesterday, and I won't get I until tomorrow. But this is just a small speedbump, and I will be flying out Saturday afternoon! I was a little bummed to not leave with my team, but it has been nice spending a little more time with the rest of the teams and see them each off.

Team Paraguay (previously Bolivia) left today, and I said my final goodbye to Darrell (our director) as well as Isaac (who is no longer traveling with Paraguay) the goodbyes have been sad, but I look forward to reuniting in 10 months and hearing stories, what everyone has done and learned, and to see how god has worked in everyones lives!

Team china leaves tomorrow, and then I'll have a day to clean, pack, and pick up a couple things before my own departure. It will be nice to have some alone time before leaving, but I also worry that I may become bored a little.

On a side note, one of the things we did this week waste take enneagram eats (which is basically a personality test) I turned out o be a 7 which is labeled as the energetic optimistic one, which surprised me a lot. I've never been that interesting of a person as I see 7s to be; but after reading into it and thinking about it I fan see it more; and can accept that I'm just an exciting person(; I expected to be a 2 the caring ones, or a 9 the peacemakers. Bu I think that I've changed anlot more n recent years and even over the summer, more than I realized. I look forward to seeing how this affects my year and how I develop into a healthy 7.

Well I'm assuming hatthis will be my last post until I arrive I England, so I would like to thank everyone for their prayers and support. I loge you all and will see you in 10 months!! GOD BLESS!

Oh Chicago

Just a quick update as I am typing this on my iPod, but I have made it to Chicago! We arrived on Sunday after an emotional weekend of saying goodbye to my twin, Elise, my dearest mother, and the rest of my loving family. I felt so heartbroken when leaving, but I hate o admit it, I think I'm going to survive!

When writing Sunday, we encountered some adventures while trying o locate or Canadian, Paul, but that's a story for another day (or once I get to an actual computer). So about 7 hours after arriving in the Chicago, I made it o JPUSA. (jesus people USA). Here I met he remaining members of our 13 person crew, along with our 14th member, a participant from last years Bolivia team who is returning as a sort of leader. Everyone is super nice, and I feel a great connection to everyone! I'll have to make formal introductions later, but for now just know that I am not lacking for friendship!

Our days have been full, but again I'll have to say more once I have a better keyboard. Ice started journaling every morning since I have extra time from getting up early in order to shower since there's so many people who need to before we begin our days. But I send my greetings aNd love to everyone, and I do miss you all!

Countdown to Blastoff... in 3..2..1

Just a quick shout-out to the big fella upstairs for this AMAZING beautiful storm.  It blows me away how he creates such beautiful, yet dangerous, exciting, and terrifying things called thunderstorms.  As I draw nearer to leaving home, it reminds me of Gods' love, how it to is so immense, intricate, terrifying, and stunningly beautiful all at the same time.  I hope to carry some of this love with me and share it with the people I may come in contact with in Bradford.

So this being my random thought of the moment I leave you to watch more flashing lights(:

Blessings!

Better late than Never

Well here it is... my first blog.  It's about time seeing how I created weeks ago! But as I was searching for pictures for todays fundraiser (ice cream social), I happened upon one of last years participants blogs.  Call it fate, irony, destiny, whatever, it finally got me to begin my own.  While perusing the blog I happened upon, I began to realize just how much this upcoming year will impact me.  Her last blog mentioned all the things they were leaving behind, and almost brought me to tears myself, even though I hadn't experienced any of it yet.  I'm beginning to feel as though this is really going to happen though. I look at her documents and make more prepreations.  I feel as though the children she interacted with are already my friends, having met none of them yet.  I've been excited for months, but after her blog, I feel more excited than ever.  I am so ready! Yet as I think about it I'm nervous.  Not for leaving, or flights, or any of that, but for the relationships I know I will form and eventually break.  I know I will be coming home to my American family, but I may never get to see my British family once I leave them.  This scares me, even though still a year away, more than any of the other upcoming hurdles.  I leave this first blog curious, excited, nervous, and ready to see what God has in store for me! Bring it on!