For those of you that don't have facebook here are the links to the photos I have posted on there:
Switzerland -Part 1:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1632&l=b5e98&id=508932531
Switzerland - Part 2:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2174&l=1cc0a&id=508932531
Switzerland - Weekend in Zurich:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2740&l=90ac8&id=508932531
Switzerland - Part 3:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2742&l=0ab31&id=508932531
Rwanda - Part 1:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3278&l=2d172&id=508932531
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Rwanda - Update 3
Thank you so much to all of you who e-mailed and called me on Sunday (the 22nd), to wish me a happy birthday. (I am now 24!!!) Your love and thoughtfulness is very much appreciated and blesses my life so much. Here in Rwanda life has been keeping me busy. Last week we visited with 4 different ministries and a Returnee/refugee camp. All of them were such wonderful, eye opening and heartbreaking times for my teammates and myself. There are more details and photos on the team blog (www.crs2007rwanda.blogspot.com) if you wanted to read more about them.
This week is also a very full week with visiting another 3-4 ministries. This is our last week of visiting ministries and we will all be praying about the options and choosing what ministries we will be working in for the remainder of our 4 months here. Please join me in thoughts and prayers as I make this choice over the next couple of days. For those of you in the Toronto area, I just wanted to tell you about a movie that will be shown at the Toronto Film Festival. It is filmed in Rwanda and most of the scenes where it is filmed are places I have been and the actors in the movie are people that I know here. A lot of the actors are actually youth who are and were street children here in Rwanda. The director of the movie lives in New York and comes to runs a school here every year that is teaching some of the local youth about video production, etc. Many of the youth helped in filming the majority of the movie. The movie is called “Munyurangabo” and it is by: Lee Isaac Chung. Their website is www.almondtreefilms.com. The movie has been recognized with awards and nominations and has been shown at other movie festivals, like Cannes. If you happen to have the time to go and see it at the film festival, I highly recommend that you do. It shows very realistically life here in Rwanda.
This week is also a very full week with visiting another 3-4 ministries. This is our last week of visiting ministries and we will all be praying about the options and choosing what ministries we will be working in for the remainder of our 4 months here. Please join me in thoughts and prayers as I make this choice over the next couple of days. For those of you in the Toronto area, I just wanted to tell you about a movie that will be shown at the Toronto Film Festival. It is filmed in Rwanda and most of the scenes where it is filmed are places I have been and the actors in the movie are people that I know here. A lot of the actors are actually youth who are and were street children here in Rwanda. The director of the movie lives in New York and comes to runs a school here every year that is teaching some of the local youth about video production, etc. Many of the youth helped in filming the majority of the movie. The movie is called “Munyurangabo” and it is by: Lee Isaac Chung. Their website is www.almondtreefilms.com. The movie has been recognized with awards and nominations and has been shown at other movie festivals, like Cannes. If you happen to have the time to go and see it at the film festival, I highly recommend that you do. It shows very realistically life here in Rwanda.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Returnee/Refugee camp...
Last week the team went to a returnee/refugee camp. We drove for about 3 hours to get to it. It was a very interesting experience actually seeing a returnee/refugee camp in real life and not just seeing it as a video on TV. Refugees have really become a reality for us. The returnee/refugee camp we went to is rather small with only about 362 families. Most of the people living in the camp are Rwandese people who were living in Tanzania or people who had just set up a home out in the bush and were not surviving on their own so they were moved into this new community. The camp has only been open about 7 months. Some people are still living in makeshift tents, cramming all their kids into one which is rather small, but all the families have been given a plot of land to build a house on and a couple kilometres away is land that each family will be given land to start farming crops on. A lack of rain this past year meant that there wasn’t a good harvest for most people. A lot of the children have swollen bellies and other types of sores on them as well, but their smiles are still so beautiful. The refugee camp was developed by CARE International and is funded by CARE Germany and CARE USA. We were told the local government is helping the refugee camp as well. The biggest need the people have is more food and other water supplies, like bore holes, to be brought in. Also the children are having to walk 5km everyday to get to the closest school, so there is a definite need for a local school to be built as well as teachers to be brought in or trained locally. Once the houses are built on this camp the next step they will be working towards is helping the people with their land and teaching about agriculture, as well as teaching people trades that they can use to start businesses and help develop this community.
Rwanda - Update 2...
(writen on July 13th)
I am soon going on three weeks here in Rwanda, though most days it seems like I have been here longer. The people that I am meeting all have incredible stories and I am learning a lot form them. The majority of my Rwandese friends here on the base lived through the genocide. Their stories are often heartbreaking but the way they have come out on the other side still being so loving, and forgiving astounds me. We went to the Genocide Memorial with two of our Rwandan friends this past weekend. It is a very powerful place. It takes you through the years leading up to the genocide and what has happened after it. It even tells some people and children’s stories that both survived and were killed during the genocide.
This past week we have visited three ministries. We went to Compassion International, World Vision, Cards From Africa (http://www.cardsfromafrica.com/. Cards from Africa was a really cool place. They employ youth who are orphaned and now are the heads of households caring for their younger siblings. They pay them at a fair trade price and you can even order from them worldwide, online. Click on the link above to check them and their products for sale out.
This upcoming week we will be visiting a children’s ministry, an HIV/AIDS ministry, a street children's ministry, orphanages and a returnee/refugee camp. We will also be attending a wedding. The team and myself are continuing with the language classes and it is coming along slowly. Thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers.
My mailing address here is:
Trisha Cullington
YWAM Kigali
Box 3159
Kigali, Rwanda
Our team has also started a blog. The link is www.crs2007rwanda.blogspot.com . I am the team’s communication person so I will be the one writing and posting all the blogs. Feel free to keep track of the team on there.
My phone number is 03027087. The country code is 250. Look online to see what other codes you have to dial.
I am soon going on three weeks here in Rwanda, though most days it seems like I have been here longer. The people that I am meeting all have incredible stories and I am learning a lot form them. The majority of my Rwandese friends here on the base lived through the genocide. Their stories are often heartbreaking but the way they have come out on the other side still being so loving, and forgiving astounds me. We went to the Genocide Memorial with two of our Rwandan friends this past weekend. It is a very powerful place. It takes you through the years leading up to the genocide and what has happened after it. It even tells some people and children’s stories that both survived and were killed during the genocide.
This past week we have visited three ministries. We went to Compassion International, World Vision, Cards From Africa (http://www.cardsfromafrica.com/. Cards from Africa was a really cool place. They employ youth who are orphaned and now are the heads of households caring for their younger siblings. They pay them at a fair trade price and you can even order from them worldwide, online. Click on the link above to check them and their products for sale out.
This upcoming week we will be visiting a children’s ministry, an HIV/AIDS ministry, a street children's ministry, orphanages and a returnee/refugee camp. We will also be attending a wedding. The team and myself are continuing with the language classes and it is coming along slowly. Thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers.
My mailing address here is:
Trisha Cullington
YWAM Kigali
Box 3159
Kigali, Rwanda
Our team has also started a blog. The link is www.crs2007rwanda.blogspot.com . I am the team’s communication person so I will be the one writing and posting all the blogs. Feel free to keep track of the team on there.
My phone number is 03027087. The country code is 250. Look online to see what other codes you have to dial.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Rwanda - Update 1 ...
It has been almost two weeks since I have been here and I have become quite accustomed to life here in Rwanda. The people are wonderful and so friendly. I have got the hang of the “taxi park” in the local town nearby and can navigate my way into downtown which is an adventure all on it’s own. I have tried almost all the forms of transportation, including van/bus taxis, a bicycle taxi, motorbike taxi and even a motorcyle taxi. We have started language classes as well. Hopefully the team and myself will be able to effectively learn what we are taught. We will be having language classes for about an hour a day for the next month. Prayer is most definitely needed in the area of language studies.
The trip here went very smoothly, except for some major turbulence near landing. All the members of our team have now arrived in Kigali, Rwanda and presently as I type this we are experiencing our first African rainfall. It is absolutely incredible and I only wish you could be here to share it with me. This past week has been quite hot and dry (we are in dry season right now). We have mainly spent the week meeting the people on the base and exploring the cities that neighbour the YWAM base that I will be living on for the next 5 ½ months. Now that all the team has arrived we will be visiting different ministries and networking as we start praying about what ministry we would like to be involved in for our time here. It is an incredible opportunity to be given the chance to pick what ministry I will spend the majority of my time with.
We went to the Genocide museum on Saturday. It is an amazing and heartbreaking place to visit. I'll write more about it at a later date.
Prayer Requests:
1- Team unity and dynamics
2- Learning the language
3- Health and safety for everyone on the team
The trip here went very smoothly, except for some major turbulence near landing. All the members of our team have now arrived in Kigali, Rwanda and presently as I type this we are experiencing our first African rainfall. It is absolutely incredible and I only wish you could be here to share it with me. This past week has been quite hot and dry (we are in dry season right now). We have mainly spent the week meeting the people on the base and exploring the cities that neighbour the YWAM base that I will be living on for the next 5 ½ months. Now that all the team has arrived we will be visiting different ministries and networking as we start praying about what ministry we would like to be involved in for our time here. It is an incredible opportunity to be given the chance to pick what ministry I will spend the majority of my time with.
We went to the Genocide museum on Saturday. It is an amazing and heartbreaking place to visit. I'll write more about it at a later date.
Prayer Requests:
1- Team unity and dynamics
2- Learning the language
3- Health and safety for everyone on the team
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Week 11 Summary...
This week was the last week of classes for our lecture phase of the Children at Risk school. We had the amazing blessing of having Camille Bishop come and spend the week with us speaking to us on cross culture communication. She offered us a lifetime of working and living in different cultures. She shared with us her success stories and her failures. We looked at Kingdom culture, as well as Western and two-thirds world cultures. We talked about different proverbs from the different cultures of everyone in our class and were reminded how important it is to be culturally sensitive and to be willing to take the “one down position” when working with other people. We also were taught about the different levels of experiencing a culture and about culture shock.
The most impacting information for me was just really looking into why certain cultures behave or think in certain ways and how important it is to learn the history of a place to really understand the culture. It was also really impacting thinking about how you can go deeper into a culture and not just accept the surface level of a culture that you can experience at with your five senses. A new revelation that I discovered about God this week was learning about His plan for languages, community development, and how nations were created.
This weeks teachings brought out questions for me about the Rwandan culture. Such as: What is it going to be like really? What areas will I experience culture shock in while I am there? Amongst many others. I will get these questions answered as I spend the next 6 months in Rwanda and am able to experience it for myself as well as ask questions about their culture.
This week in the community… they have all started to blur together… I think this week was a good week. God showed Himself as the faithful provider that I know that He is and most of the issues with my bank worked out so that was an encouragement and such a blessing. I have continued to invest in my friends here, and am realizing how hard it will be to leave a lot of them behind. I learned this week again about how important communication is and how it is important to clarify that what you are communicating, is what the other person is hearing. This week I have also just been reminded so much of how much I love this community in Burtigny and especially the staff of this school. Saying goodbye is going to be hard, but I am getting so excited for Rwanda and everything God has in store for the team and for myself there, in Rwanda.
The most impacting information for me was just really looking into why certain cultures behave or think in certain ways and how important it is to learn the history of a place to really understand the culture. It was also really impacting thinking about how you can go deeper into a culture and not just accept the surface level of a culture that you can experience at with your five senses. A new revelation that I discovered about God this week was learning about His plan for languages, community development, and how nations were created.
This weeks teachings brought out questions for me about the Rwandan culture. Such as: What is it going to be like really? What areas will I experience culture shock in while I am there? Amongst many others. I will get these questions answered as I spend the next 6 months in Rwanda and am able to experience it for myself as well as ask questions about their culture.
This week in the community… they have all started to blur together… I think this week was a good week. God showed Himself as the faithful provider that I know that He is and most of the issues with my bank worked out so that was an encouragement and such a blessing. I have continued to invest in my friends here, and am realizing how hard it will be to leave a lot of them behind. I learned this week again about how important communication is and how it is important to clarify that what you are communicating, is what the other person is hearing. This week I have also just been reminded so much of how much I love this community in Burtigny and especially the staff of this school. Saying goodbye is going to be hard, but I am getting so excited for Rwanda and everything God has in store for the team and for myself there, in Rwanda.
Week 10 Summary...
This week our speaker was Dave Swann. Dave used his lifetime of experience of development projects and proposal writing to help teach us about program planning. With Dave we looked at how important certain steps of creating a project and writing a proposal are. Some of the areas we looked at were, knowing the history of a place, knowing where you are at exactly, also known as point A and then setting a vision (point B) for the project and knowing exactly where you want to go. We continued on during the week to create a hypothetical plan for an African village based on what the greatest perceived needs were. We worked as teams of four and created a project proposal and then presented it to the rest of the class.
The most impacting information of the week for me was that I discovered that I actual love this kind of stuff. It made me so excited to try and think of ways to serve a community and improve their daily lives. Also just looking at what a huge project it would be, but it is actually doable. It is even possible to do these things in the areas of Canada that are in need. As the weeks go on, I am more and more getting a heart for the people of Canada and feel called to return to a province and work there. I love the different nations so much and it has been impacting to see the way I can love the nation I come from just as much. This all relates to the new understanding/revelation that I received this week. I can actually do this kind of work. I can be involved in community development and in fact I believe some of the ways I have been gifted are designed for that type of work.
This weeks teaching brought out the questions in me of how I might be involved in the future in the areas of community development and project planning. I will continue to seek answers for this question by listening to God’s voice and really seeking in prayer any opportunities that come up that He might have me be involved in.
Life in the community this week… I still really love all the people here. I don’t really like my work duty at all anymore, but I am trying to stay positive. I am so thankful that I only have 6 more meals to clean up! It will be a blessing to be done with it. I personally have just felt heavy this week, as well as last. Satan has been trying to get the best of me, and he is unfortunately winning a lot of days. I am really learning to trust God for the bank situation, since it is still not working out yet and time is getting very close to when I am supposed to be leaving for outreach. I am really going to miss Burtigny. I have realized this past week just how much I have come to love this community and the people here. It has been such a wonderful blessing on my last three months.
Next week our speaker is Camille Bishop. We will be talking about cross-cultural things. We will also be giving our teachings next week. It will be so nice to be done all of my assignments by the end of next week.
The most impacting information of the week for me was that I discovered that I actual love this kind of stuff. It made me so excited to try and think of ways to serve a community and improve their daily lives. Also just looking at what a huge project it would be, but it is actually doable. It is even possible to do these things in the areas of Canada that are in need. As the weeks go on, I am more and more getting a heart for the people of Canada and feel called to return to a province and work there. I love the different nations so much and it has been impacting to see the way I can love the nation I come from just as much. This all relates to the new understanding/revelation that I received this week. I can actually do this kind of work. I can be involved in community development and in fact I believe some of the ways I have been gifted are designed for that type of work.
This weeks teaching brought out the questions in me of how I might be involved in the future in the areas of community development and project planning. I will continue to seek answers for this question by listening to God’s voice and really seeking in prayer any opportunities that come up that He might have me be involved in.
Life in the community this week… I still really love all the people here. I don’t really like my work duty at all anymore, but I am trying to stay positive. I am so thankful that I only have 6 more meals to clean up! It will be a blessing to be done with it. I personally have just felt heavy this week, as well as last. Satan has been trying to get the best of me, and he is unfortunately winning a lot of days. I am really learning to trust God for the bank situation, since it is still not working out yet and time is getting very close to when I am supposed to be leaving for outreach. I am really going to miss Burtigny. I have realized this past week just how much I have come to love this community and the people here. It has been such a wonderful blessing on my last three months.
Next week our speaker is Camille Bishop. We will be talking about cross-cultural things. We will also be giving our teachings next week. It will be so nice to be done all of my assignments by the end of next week.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Week 9 Summary...
This week our speakers were Ed Morales and Eva Spangler. Ed talked to us about Child Protection Policies and the ways that we should be careful when interacting with a child, especially as outreach is fast approaching. We also looked at with Ed, forms of abuse. We looked at physical abuse, sexually abuse, neglect, and emotional, physiological, or mental abuse. We also looked at stories of protection in the Bible and what protection involves in a Godly way. With Eva we got to do more wonderful art. We did two assignments with her this week. The first one being our hands filled with pictures and positive words that describe ourselves around it. The second assignment was drawing out 5 containers that represent different areas of our lives. We ended the week with a time of prayer and encouragement for one another.
The most impacting information for me this week was just the different prayers and words spoken to me and over me during our time of prayer on Thursday. A new understanding about God was through all the protection stories in the Bible and the specific and different ways that He protects His children. A revelation about myself that I received this week was the way that God looks at me. It is something that God and I have been talking about for a long time now, and with the time of prayer I was really encouraged. When Elin was talking about how she felt God really wanting me to hear that he was in love with me, and that I really needed to hear it and believe it, it really hit hard. Also with Jillian speaking of how God is just aching for me to let Him hold me, it really broke my heart because I know how much of a truth it is. I so often just want to be strong and deal with everything myself, and I know how much God just wants me to know that he knows that things hurt and that is ok, because He wants to be with me in the hurt.
This week’s teaching brought out the question of what type of child protection policies do the different ministries have in Rwanda and if they don’t have one in place how can we help them to instil one. I will get this question answered by doing research and asking questions especially once I am in Rwanda.
This week was a rough week in some ways. I have been so frustrated with the incompetence of my bank that my mind has been all over the place. I have found myself doubting often wither I should even go to Rwanda or not. Or if I should just return to somewhere in Canada and work in a ministry there for my field assignment. It has been hard even thinking about outreach being so soon when we have so much more work to do here first. I feel like I have not been turning to God this week as much as I need to in my everyday life. I have loved this community and it’s people and culture so much over the last 2 ½ months. It is hard to imagine leaving it in 18 days.
I am looking forward to the next two weeks of teachings and the final deadlines of all our assignments so that we can take a deep breathe finally and really be able to focus on going on outreach.
The most impacting information for me this week was just the different prayers and words spoken to me and over me during our time of prayer on Thursday. A new understanding about God was through all the protection stories in the Bible and the specific and different ways that He protects His children. A revelation about myself that I received this week was the way that God looks at me. It is something that God and I have been talking about for a long time now, and with the time of prayer I was really encouraged. When Elin was talking about how she felt God really wanting me to hear that he was in love with me, and that I really needed to hear it and believe it, it really hit hard. Also with Jillian speaking of how God is just aching for me to let Him hold me, it really broke my heart because I know how much of a truth it is. I so often just want to be strong and deal with everything myself, and I know how much God just wants me to know that he knows that things hurt and that is ok, because He wants to be with me in the hurt.
This week’s teaching brought out the question of what type of child protection policies do the different ministries have in Rwanda and if they don’t have one in place how can we help them to instil one. I will get this question answered by doing research and asking questions especially once I am in Rwanda.
This week was a rough week in some ways. I have been so frustrated with the incompetence of my bank that my mind has been all over the place. I have found myself doubting often wither I should even go to Rwanda or not. Or if I should just return to somewhere in Canada and work in a ministry there for my field assignment. It has been hard even thinking about outreach being so soon when we have so much more work to do here first. I feel like I have not been turning to God this week as much as I need to in my everyday life. I have loved this community and it’s people and culture so much over the last 2 ½ months. It is hard to imagine leaving it in 18 days.
I am looking forward to the next two weeks of teachings and the final deadlines of all our assignments so that we can take a deep breathe finally and really be able to focus on going on outreach.
Strength Finders "I am" Paper...
Last week everyone in my class took the Strength Finders test online. Our assignment then was to write a paper on our top 5 strengths. Here is my paper...
My top 5 strengths are Includer, Belief, Empathy, Developer, and Responsibility. For me these all make perfect sense to me and I can definitely identify with them all. Upon reflecting on them, I am thinking about how many of them have been developed so strongly out of past hurts and they really are strong ways that God is using those painful experiences and turning them into strengths and developing me even more in the ways that he had hardwired in me already anyways.
I can see the way being an includer affects my life in many ways. When I was younger I used to make sure all my stuffed animals were on my bed to sleep because I didn’t want them feeling left out. Even now in stores I would be more likely to buy something that is damaged in the packaging because I know most people won’t buy it, and I don’t want that object “to feel left out” by not being bought. I can remember in situations walking through a forest and picking up leaves. I always ended up picking up a lot of them because I didn’t want any of the to “feel” like they weren’t beautiful enough to be picked up. I can see it in the way I relate to people as well. I love making people feel welcome and accepted and even loved. I don’t like hurting people and so I go out of my way to like everyone and get to know everyone, and I especially pursue the people who are off to the side. I definitely identify with the fact includers feel being left out more painfully. I think that feeling left out and not wanted around when I was younger has made the desire in me to include everyone even stronger as I have gotten older.
Belief affects my life in many ways especially in the decisions I make. I choose to hold myself to high standards of my values and it affects the things I do, ways I treat people and my thought process. I identify especially with needing to do a work that matters. If my job title doesn’t really matter then I make sure my time there and my relationships with the people at work matter. My beliefs makes me do things I normally wouldn’t do, putting myself at risk for the sake of others, and taking major steps of faith. Since my core foundations of where I stand in my beliefs are pretty solid it makes me easy to trust and people tend to open up to me and share with me their struggles even when they know my beliefs will go against what they are saying.
Empathy is definitely something that affects my everyday life. My mom likes to say that I should work at a funeral home because I would be good with the grieving families and I am ok being around dead people. I am able to very quickly pick up on people’s feelings and can usually identify with their emotions very easily. Other people are drawn to me during times of hardship, because I am usually able to listen, care, feel their pain and offer appropriate words of wisdom. Knowing what to say, when (discernment) is something I continually seek God’s direction for. The funny thing about empathy is I am very selective of who I let into my life in this way. This is something I have been on a journey about for the last two years especially.
I am a developer in many ways. I absolutely love recognizing the potential in a person, and “fighting” for them to work towards becoming that person. I can identify strongly where it reads “Over time many will seek you out for help and encouragement because on some level they know that your helpfulness is both genuine and fulfilling to you.” My sister always comments on this part of my personality, that I love being friends with people who are “needy” and that I can “help”. It is cool to see that this might just be a way that I was meant to be and that God has specific purposes for me being a developer.
My fifth strength according to Strengths Finders is responsibility. There are specific areas that I can identify where responsibility affects my life. I don’t like disappointing people by not doing something, and have often not said no when I needed to. I often feel like I should take things on and do them myself. I feel honoured that people look at me as dependable and able to accomplish things. I notice that I am less responsible when it comes to following thru on things that my mom asks me to do, and I really want to work on that at home. When Celia said, “If someone doesn’t follow thru on the commitment to a responsibility person then they will have trouble trusting them or asking them to do it again.” I definitely identified with it. I find that once a person breaks my trust in a significant way or doesn’t do something they said they would do that I thought of as important then I struggle with giving my trust out to them again.
I believe that my strengths of Includer, Belief, Empathy, Developer, and Responsibility are ways that God has created me and He will use them for His glory and honour and for the purposes He has on my life. I am excited to see how I am able to walk these strengths out in my life, both now and in the future.
My top 5 strengths are Includer, Belief, Empathy, Developer, and Responsibility. For me these all make perfect sense to me and I can definitely identify with them all. Upon reflecting on them, I am thinking about how many of them have been developed so strongly out of past hurts and they really are strong ways that God is using those painful experiences and turning them into strengths and developing me even more in the ways that he had hardwired in me already anyways.
I can see the way being an includer affects my life in many ways. When I was younger I used to make sure all my stuffed animals were on my bed to sleep because I didn’t want them feeling left out. Even now in stores I would be more likely to buy something that is damaged in the packaging because I know most people won’t buy it, and I don’t want that object “to feel left out” by not being bought. I can remember in situations walking through a forest and picking up leaves. I always ended up picking up a lot of them because I didn’t want any of the to “feel” like they weren’t beautiful enough to be picked up. I can see it in the way I relate to people as well. I love making people feel welcome and accepted and even loved. I don’t like hurting people and so I go out of my way to like everyone and get to know everyone, and I especially pursue the people who are off to the side. I definitely identify with the fact includers feel being left out more painfully. I think that feeling left out and not wanted around when I was younger has made the desire in me to include everyone even stronger as I have gotten older.
Belief affects my life in many ways especially in the decisions I make. I choose to hold myself to high standards of my values and it affects the things I do, ways I treat people and my thought process. I identify especially with needing to do a work that matters. If my job title doesn’t really matter then I make sure my time there and my relationships with the people at work matter. My beliefs makes me do things I normally wouldn’t do, putting myself at risk for the sake of others, and taking major steps of faith. Since my core foundations of where I stand in my beliefs are pretty solid it makes me easy to trust and people tend to open up to me and share with me their struggles even when they know my beliefs will go against what they are saying.
Empathy is definitely something that affects my everyday life. My mom likes to say that I should work at a funeral home because I would be good with the grieving families and I am ok being around dead people. I am able to very quickly pick up on people’s feelings and can usually identify with their emotions very easily. Other people are drawn to me during times of hardship, because I am usually able to listen, care, feel their pain and offer appropriate words of wisdom. Knowing what to say, when (discernment) is something I continually seek God’s direction for. The funny thing about empathy is I am very selective of who I let into my life in this way. This is something I have been on a journey about for the last two years especially.
I am a developer in many ways. I absolutely love recognizing the potential in a person, and “fighting” for them to work towards becoming that person. I can identify strongly where it reads “Over time many will seek you out for help and encouragement because on some level they know that your helpfulness is both genuine and fulfilling to you.” My sister always comments on this part of my personality, that I love being friends with people who are “needy” and that I can “help”. It is cool to see that this might just be a way that I was meant to be and that God has specific purposes for me being a developer.
My fifth strength according to Strengths Finders is responsibility. There are specific areas that I can identify where responsibility affects my life. I don’t like disappointing people by not doing something, and have often not said no when I needed to. I often feel like I should take things on and do them myself. I feel honoured that people look at me as dependable and able to accomplish things. I notice that I am less responsible when it comes to following thru on things that my mom asks me to do, and I really want to work on that at home. When Celia said, “If someone doesn’t follow thru on the commitment to a responsibility person then they will have trouble trusting them or asking them to do it again.” I definitely identified with it. I find that once a person breaks my trust in a significant way or doesn’t do something they said they would do that I thought of as important then I struggle with giving my trust out to them again.
I believe that my strengths of Includer, Belief, Empathy, Developer, and Responsibility are ways that God has created me and He will use them for His glory and honour and for the purposes He has on my life. I am excited to see how I am able to walk these strengths out in my life, both now and in the future.
The Student...
At the beginning of my course here we were given a handout stating what our school leaders hopes for us to become at the end of the school were. We were given the assignment last week of personalizing it by looking at what we have learned and where we are at. Here is mine...
Trisha…
~ Is becoming a trained, life-long advocate for Children at Risk; learning to articulate the cause, especially including for children who are forgotten, abused, and trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation.
~ Understands importance and desires to have more practice in showing hospitality and celebrating and honouring people.
~ Desires to be aware of international current events in all spheres that affect the lives of children, and continues to pursue a greater understanding of the different areas of Children at Risk.
~ Has an understanding of the different areas of Children at Risk, and is growing in wisdom, prophetic gifts, apostolic calling, and knowledge in practical solutions to these areas.
~ Has understanding of God’s value of the child and His plan for normal child and family development.
~ Desires to understand the Biblical principles for developing a ministry to Children at Risk.
~ Is cultivating an awareness of a wide range of programs, ministries, networks, and resources.
~ Wants to become more familiar with international children’s rights and child protection laws.
~ Is praying about being a volunteer in YWAM and thinking of a strategy to put in place to financially sustain that mission.
~ Is working towards being prepared to face physical, emotional and spiritual challenges while working with children at risk.
~ Is passionate about Jesus, understanding the importance of committing herself to an intimate relationship with God, knowing that real love for children comes out of a relationship with Jesus and a desire to see the Kingdom of God walked out in my life.
~ Is able to articulate a personal Biblical worldview and has a determination not to live in a “dichotomy”.
~ Desires to know how to use assessment and evaluation tools to assess a child’s needs to a greater understanding.
~ Is full of hope and able to believe God for impossible things for all children.
~ Understands the importance of multiplication and has the skills and commitment to disciple and be discipled cross-culturally, by following where God leads.
~ Understands there is a battle and wants to be involved daily in spiritual warfare and intercession.
~ Has discovered various opportunities, schools to take and teams to join to continue working with Children at Risk.
~ Is equipped for the field:
* Is able to adjust to and appreciate cultural differences.
* Is developing an understanding of who God is in relationship to man’s disappointment, injustice, hopelessness and poverty and is able to bring hope because of this understanding.
* Is able to be an agent of change.
* Is a creative thinker.
* Can bring about resolution to conflict and understands the importance and the implications of working on a team.
* Has a basic understanding of development issues including global economic issues.
* Has basic tools for working with children in the realms of education, healthcare and counselling (including hygiene, art, preschool activities, child development, etc.).
* Is prepared for language acquisition.
Trisha…
~ Is becoming a trained, life-long advocate for Children at Risk; learning to articulate the cause, especially including for children who are forgotten, abused, and trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation.
~ Understands importance and desires to have more practice in showing hospitality and celebrating and honouring people.
~ Desires to be aware of international current events in all spheres that affect the lives of children, and continues to pursue a greater understanding of the different areas of Children at Risk.
~ Has an understanding of the different areas of Children at Risk, and is growing in wisdom, prophetic gifts, apostolic calling, and knowledge in practical solutions to these areas.
~ Has understanding of God’s value of the child and His plan for normal child and family development.
~ Desires to understand the Biblical principles for developing a ministry to Children at Risk.
~ Is cultivating an awareness of a wide range of programs, ministries, networks, and resources.
~ Wants to become more familiar with international children’s rights and child protection laws.
~ Is praying about being a volunteer in YWAM and thinking of a strategy to put in place to financially sustain that mission.
~ Is working towards being prepared to face physical, emotional and spiritual challenges while working with children at risk.
~ Is passionate about Jesus, understanding the importance of committing herself to an intimate relationship with God, knowing that real love for children comes out of a relationship with Jesus and a desire to see the Kingdom of God walked out in my life.
~ Is able to articulate a personal Biblical worldview and has a determination not to live in a “dichotomy”.
~ Desires to know how to use assessment and evaluation tools to assess a child’s needs to a greater understanding.
~ Is full of hope and able to believe God for impossible things for all children.
~ Understands the importance of multiplication and has the skills and commitment to disciple and be discipled cross-culturally, by following where God leads.
~ Understands there is a battle and wants to be involved daily in spiritual warfare and intercession.
~ Has discovered various opportunities, schools to take and teams to join to continue working with Children at Risk.
~ Is equipped for the field:
* Is able to adjust to and appreciate cultural differences.
* Is developing an understanding of who God is in relationship to man’s disappointment, injustice, hopelessness and poverty and is able to bring hope because of this understanding.
* Is able to be an agent of change.
* Is a creative thinker.
* Can bring about resolution to conflict and understands the importance and the implications of working on a team.
* Has a basic understanding of development issues including global economic issues.
* Has basic tools for working with children in the realms of education, healthcare and counselling (including hygiene, art, preschool activities, child development, etc.).
* Is prepared for language acquisition.
"I believe..."
One of our assignments here was to write a paper stating what we believe about God, His character and nature, as it relates to children, children at risk, etc. Here is a copy of mine...
I believe in a triune God who exists eternally as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I believe the Bible is the inspired and authoritative Word of God. I believe that God forgives and loved us so much that He was willing to become flesh in the form of His son, Jesus Christ and come to earth, born from a virgin called Mary, to be crucified and experience death on the cross. I believe that He bore the sins of the world with Him on the cross.
I believe that God is the creator of the entire universe, from all the galaxies, to the animals, to the plants, to every human being. I believe in a God who loves His children equally and unconditionally, with no regard to sex, gender, or nationality and has planned their days before they even came to being. I believe in a God who knows every hair on His children’s heads and has a plan and a purpose for each of the lives He has created.
I believe that God sees every tear His children cry and cares and feels their pain more then we can even fathom. I believe that there is no “bad” situation that God will not use and redeem in some way so that good may come out of pain. I believe that God intensely loves being in relationships with us and loves when we use our freewill, that He gave us, to choose Him.
I believe that God loves justice and hates injustice. I believe that He sees the unjust acts of the world and will hold the people committing those unjust acts accountable. I believe that God is as faithful to the blessings as He is to the curses. I believe that God longs for us, His children to “choose life because the inequity is pursuing us.” I believe that at times God does allow suffering in the world, and that we as humans will never be able to understand the reason behind it, and that has to be ok, because we need to trust that “we know the one who knows, and since He knows then that is enough.”
I believe that God is extremely aware of, cares about the needs of, and loves the widows, orphans, and the poor, the sick, needy and the alien. I believe that God is powerful, big and strong enough to affect all of those hurting lives and that He wants to use us in that specific mission to care for these often forgotten about groups of people.
I believe that God is a good God, who can be trusted with my heart and every situation and thing in my life. I believe that God’s favourite title for himself is Father and His children being in relationship with Him and drawing others into relationship with Him bring Him some of His greatest joy. I believe that every person on earth matters to God and that to Him, not one of them is missing from His sight. I believe that God is someone who I can love fully and passionately and He takes great delight in me and loves when I love Him.
I believe in a triune God who exists eternally as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I believe the Bible is the inspired and authoritative Word of God. I believe that God forgives and loved us so much that He was willing to become flesh in the form of His son, Jesus Christ and come to earth, born from a virgin called Mary, to be crucified and experience death on the cross. I believe that He bore the sins of the world with Him on the cross.
I believe that God is the creator of the entire universe, from all the galaxies, to the animals, to the plants, to every human being. I believe in a God who loves His children equally and unconditionally, with no regard to sex, gender, or nationality and has planned their days before they even came to being. I believe in a God who knows every hair on His children’s heads and has a plan and a purpose for each of the lives He has created.
I believe that God sees every tear His children cry and cares and feels their pain more then we can even fathom. I believe that there is no “bad” situation that God will not use and redeem in some way so that good may come out of pain. I believe that God intensely loves being in relationships with us and loves when we use our freewill, that He gave us, to choose Him.
I believe that God loves justice and hates injustice. I believe that He sees the unjust acts of the world and will hold the people committing those unjust acts accountable. I believe that God is as faithful to the blessings as He is to the curses. I believe that God longs for us, His children to “choose life because the inequity is pursuing us.” I believe that at times God does allow suffering in the world, and that we as humans will never be able to understand the reason behind it, and that has to be ok, because we need to trust that “we know the one who knows, and since He knows then that is enough.”
I believe that God is extremely aware of, cares about the needs of, and loves the widows, orphans, and the poor, the sick, needy and the alien. I believe that God is powerful, big and strong enough to affect all of those hurting lives and that He wants to use us in that specific mission to care for these often forgotten about groups of people.
I believe that God is a good God, who can be trusted with my heart and every situation and thing in my life. I believe that God’s favourite title for himself is Father and His children being in relationship with Him and drawing others into relationship with Him bring Him some of His greatest joy. I believe that every person on earth matters to God and that to Him, not one of them is missing from His sight. I believe that God is someone who I can love fully and passionately and He takes great delight in me and loves when I love Him.
Week 8 Summary...
This past week our speaker was Matt Rawlins. Matt took us back to the foundations of our faith and we looked at the nature and character of God. Matt took us through views of the stars and the galaxies and we looked at how amazing our creative God is and how much he loves us. From Matt’s teachings we concentrated on how God is big and God is good. This week we also were taught by Matt’s wife, Ceclia, on StrengthsFinders. Ceclia and Matt both taught us about how our biggest strengths can also be our greatest weakness. My top five strengths from the StrengthsFinders test were Inculder, Belief, Empathy, Development and Responsibility.
The most impacting information me this week is hard to pick. The different discussions about StrengthsFinders were amazing and very helpful. Every single second of Matt’s teachings were very good. I especially loved the day we looked at the stars because I already love them and love meeting with God under them but the teaching that Matt gave us made it even more real and awe inspiring. Also impacting for me was how our greatest strengths can be our greatest weakness and what that means for me. I was also impacted during our talk on how do we decide something’s value and what do we filter everything through.
One of the new understandings and revelations I received this week again how to do with the lies I haven believed and worked through in my life. As well as how I really to value other people and their needs before mine own and I need to really work that out better and seek God in that area. These are also the areas that this week teaching brought out in me. What would it look like if I learned to love and value myself more? What areas do I need to continue to seek God for an understanding of why I think what I think and what filter am I putting my value system through? I will continue to seek God for answers to these questions.
This week in the community was weird in a lot of ways. Work duty time continues to be good and I love the friends I have made on the base. Rwanda is really setting in and the fact that it is only 3 ½ weeks away is overwhelming. The amount of work due this upcoming Monday has also been overwhelming. I have not gotten nearly enough sleep this past week since I was staying up late to make sure as much work as I could possibly finish did end up completed. I am glad worked so hard this week though because not having a ton of work this weekend has been worth it. I have absolutely loved being with some of my DTS friends this weekend and I have gotten to see the Zurich area of Switzerland, which has been a huge blessing.
This week, Matt’s teachings have really begun to sink in and I am really learning and taking in that “God is big. And God is good.” I am looking forward to this upcoming week and everything God has in store for us.
The most impacting information me this week is hard to pick. The different discussions about StrengthsFinders were amazing and very helpful. Every single second of Matt’s teachings were very good. I especially loved the day we looked at the stars because I already love them and love meeting with God under them but the teaching that Matt gave us made it even more real and awe inspiring. Also impacting for me was how our greatest strengths can be our greatest weakness and what that means for me. I was also impacted during our talk on how do we decide something’s value and what do we filter everything through.
One of the new understandings and revelations I received this week again how to do with the lies I haven believed and worked through in my life. As well as how I really to value other people and their needs before mine own and I need to really work that out better and seek God in that area. These are also the areas that this week teaching brought out in me. What would it look like if I learned to love and value myself more? What areas do I need to continue to seek God for an understanding of why I think what I think and what filter am I putting my value system through? I will continue to seek God for answers to these questions.
This week in the community was weird in a lot of ways. Work duty time continues to be good and I love the friends I have made on the base. Rwanda is really setting in and the fact that it is only 3 ½ weeks away is overwhelming. The amount of work due this upcoming Monday has also been overwhelming. I have not gotten nearly enough sleep this past week since I was staying up late to make sure as much work as I could possibly finish did end up completed. I am glad worked so hard this week though because not having a ton of work this weekend has been worth it. I have absolutely loved being with some of my DTS friends this weekend and I have gotten to see the Zurich area of Switzerland, which has been a huge blessing.
This week, Matt’s teachings have really begun to sink in and I am really learning and taking in that “God is big. And God is good.” I am looking forward to this upcoming week and everything God has in store for us.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Week 7 Summary...
This week our speaker was Carol Boyd. She shared with us her wisdom on the topics of attachment and the foundations of life. Carol came with a lot of knowledge from research as well as her personal experience with adopting her daughter Fuxia, who has brittle bone disease, from China 9 years ago. Carol shared with us the importance of attachment for infants, adults, and adopted children. She also taught us about the “holding” technique and what it can do for the attachment process. We looked at symptoms of children with attachment disorders and reactive attachment issues and ways that a caregiver can work with the child who have them.
The most impacting information for me this week was how important a secure attachment is and the different ways to develop one. A new understanding I received this week on children is how important it is for a child to have an attachment to a primary caregiver and how more often then is diagnosed children often will have attachment issues as their root causes of behavioural problems.
This week in my community life I enjoyed spending more time with Elin and Jillian. I feel like I am working really well with Samuel on our Innocents Lost project. I am learning a lot from working with him and am really enjoying it. I have learned more about all the beautiful places to walk around here this week. I am continuing to love my walks with Jessica.
I am looking forward to having Matt Rawlins come and speak to us next week on Justice and the nature and character of God. I have that he is an amazing speaker so I am looking forward to hearing all he will share with us.
The most impacting information for me this week was how important a secure attachment is and the different ways to develop one. A new understanding I received this week on children is how important it is for a child to have an attachment to a primary caregiver and how more often then is diagnosed children often will have attachment issues as their root causes of behavioural problems.
This week in my community life I enjoyed spending more time with Elin and Jillian. I feel like I am working really well with Samuel on our Innocents Lost project. I am learning a lot from working with him and am really enjoying it. I have learned more about all the beautiful places to walk around here this week. I am continuing to love my walks with Jessica.
I am looking forward to having Matt Rawlins come and speak to us next week on Justice and the nature and character of God. I have that he is an amazing speaker so I am looking forward to hearing all he will share with us.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Week 6 Summary...
This week our speaker was Kimm Sickler. Our topic was Child Growth and Development. Kimm taught us on different developmental stages of a child, looking particularly at age 0 – 3 years old. We were given various resources to become familiar what a ‘typical’ development of a child at certain ages should be. We also looked at different theorists and their thoughts on a child’s development. We watched a national geographic video on the developmental stages of a baby in the womb. Every day, apart from one, Kimm gave us a reading to go over, scripture to look at and questions to ask and then respond to them in journal like entries.
The most impacting thing for me this week was Kimm’s presence. She radiated God’s love in everything she did. The excitement she got when talking about certain things in particular was absolutely inspirational. The journal responses were amazing times of thinking and reflecting on God’s character and His heart for the things He created and takes pleasure in. Coming back again and again to Joshua 3 was also very impacting because I do feel as though many of us are coming to a point where God is taking us on a path that we have never been that way before.
A new understanding that I came to this week is that I really can’t say that I believe something about another person, especially a child, which I don’t believe about myself. I realized things week that there are still things that I need to work on believing about myself that I know God believes about me, so that continues to be quite a process for me.
The questions that this week’s teachings brought up in me were on a couple of different things. This week made me wonder why I don’t journal more when I love doing it, and it helps me process a lot. I wonder what is stopping me. I will try and answer that question by trying to start doing it more and see where that takes me. The other questions were on thinking about how God sees me and what lies do I believe about myself. I am seeking out answers for those questions in prayer and really listening to His truths and thinking about how I can make them my truths as well.
This week I have had really good moments in community life and a lot of moments that I just really needed to be by myself and be quiet. I struggle with if that is ok or not and if I am finding a good balance. I think I am, but I still wonder about it sometimes. Jessica and I have been very dedicated to our walks and I love them. It feels so amazing to be more active and spending less time staring at my computer screen. The reality of how long I will be away from home for really started sinking in this week, so I have had some family, pets, and friends missing moments this week. For this upcoming week I want to try and spend a little bit more time with Elin and Jillian. They are wonderful girls, that during my times of “hibernation mode” I don’t spend enough time with them since they are not my roommates. I am looking forward to this upcoming week (like usual) with Carol Boyd and learning about attachment and the foundation of life.
The most impacting thing for me this week was Kimm’s presence. She radiated God’s love in everything she did. The excitement she got when talking about certain things in particular was absolutely inspirational. The journal responses were amazing times of thinking and reflecting on God’s character and His heart for the things He created and takes pleasure in. Coming back again and again to Joshua 3 was also very impacting because I do feel as though many of us are coming to a point where God is taking us on a path that we have never been that way before.
A new understanding that I came to this week is that I really can’t say that I believe something about another person, especially a child, which I don’t believe about myself. I realized things week that there are still things that I need to work on believing about myself that I know God believes about me, so that continues to be quite a process for me.
The questions that this week’s teachings brought up in me were on a couple of different things. This week made me wonder why I don’t journal more when I love doing it, and it helps me process a lot. I wonder what is stopping me. I will try and answer that question by trying to start doing it more and see where that takes me. The other questions were on thinking about how God sees me and what lies do I believe about myself. I am seeking out answers for those questions in prayer and really listening to His truths and thinking about how I can make them my truths as well.
This week I have had really good moments in community life and a lot of moments that I just really needed to be by myself and be quiet. I struggle with if that is ok or not and if I am finding a good balance. I think I am, but I still wonder about it sometimes. Jessica and I have been very dedicated to our walks and I love them. It feels so amazing to be more active and spending less time staring at my computer screen. The reality of how long I will be away from home for really started sinking in this week, so I have had some family, pets, and friends missing moments this week. For this upcoming week I want to try and spend a little bit more time with Elin and Jillian. They are wonderful girls, that during my times of “hibernation mode” I don’t spend enough time with them since they are not my roommates. I am looking forward to this upcoming week (like usual) with Carol Boyd and learning about attachment and the foundation of life.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Week 5 Summary...
This week was filled with 3 different speakers and a wonderful day off to do school work. On Tuesday Sydney … came to talk to us about refugees. He shared with us about the program he pioneered working with refugee children here in Switzerland. He also shared about his work in the United Nations. It was interesting to listen to his thoughts on his line of work. On Wednesday Ed Morales talked to us about our personal profile assignment. It was extremely helpful and thought provoking. For Thursday and Friday we had the wonderful pleasure of Eva Spangler sharing with us about art therapy. She had a lot of interesting facts and quotes to share, but it was her soft-spoken voice that so clearly expressed her heart that struck me the most. With Eva we also got to participate in hands on art activities, which was especially inspiring.
There were a couple things that impacted me the most and gave me new understandings this week. The first came at the end of Ed’s talk when he was talking about the path that God’s wants us to walk on is not a narrow path that we need to have a fear of falling off of. When he talked about how it is a wider path and God saying that he is going to bless you if you choose this decision, or that decision, really made me feel freer. Often times I have been so worried about what if I don’t figure it out exactly what God wants for me, but to know I have more freedom then trying to walk on a tight rope basically was an amazing feeling. Also the way Ed talked about God saying, “as long as you love Me and love your neighbour” helped things to really click for me this week in a lot of areas. The other things that impacted me were the art projects that we got to partake in with Eva. It was amazing to watch the different things that come up in our hearts while doing the art and then after with sharing it with each other as well.
One of the questions that this week’s teaching brought up came with part 3 of Eva’s drawing assignment to seek out what God is saying about our previous drawings and to draw that. My answer to that question came the same day. The first thing I pictured was a hand up to everything in the brokenness picture, as if to tell all of those things to stop. I was then reminded of a print I gave my friend a couple months back that portrayed a child safe resting in between two hands. As well I was reminded of something that had been spoken over me during my DTS. It was of a collection of bottles filled with tears and the words I cried too written on them.
This week was a good week. I was feeling much more like my self again, especially after Ed’s teaching. It is fun having a new roommate and I am glad Lindsay is here. It is interesting to see how dynamics in our room have slightly changed and everything her presence brings. I was supposed to go to Paris this weekend but because of a couple different things, it just didn’t work out (Side note: There was a guy on the train from Geneva to Gland that picked his nose the entire way). At first I was quite upset about it but it has turned out to be an ok thing. Jessica and I went on a 2 ½ hour walk today, which turned into a hike straight up a hill in the forest. We have committed to each other to walk daily if our schedules allow. I am looking forward to that time spent with her, being more active, and really just enjoying this gorgeous country that God has created.
I am looking forward to next week’s class on Child Growth and Development.
There were a couple things that impacted me the most and gave me new understandings this week. The first came at the end of Ed’s talk when he was talking about the path that God’s wants us to walk on is not a narrow path that we need to have a fear of falling off of. When he talked about how it is a wider path and God saying that he is going to bless you if you choose this decision, or that decision, really made me feel freer. Often times I have been so worried about what if I don’t figure it out exactly what God wants for me, but to know I have more freedom then trying to walk on a tight rope basically was an amazing feeling. Also the way Ed talked about God saying, “as long as you love Me and love your neighbour” helped things to really click for me this week in a lot of areas. The other things that impacted me were the art projects that we got to partake in with Eva. It was amazing to watch the different things that come up in our hearts while doing the art and then after with sharing it with each other as well.
One of the questions that this week’s teaching brought up came with part 3 of Eva’s drawing assignment to seek out what God is saying about our previous drawings and to draw that. My answer to that question came the same day. The first thing I pictured was a hand up to everything in the brokenness picture, as if to tell all of those things to stop. I was then reminded of a print I gave my friend a couple months back that portrayed a child safe resting in between two hands. As well I was reminded of something that had been spoken over me during my DTS. It was of a collection of bottles filled with tears and the words I cried too written on them.
This week was a good week. I was feeling much more like my self again, especially after Ed’s teaching. It is fun having a new roommate and I am glad Lindsay is here. It is interesting to see how dynamics in our room have slightly changed and everything her presence brings. I was supposed to go to Paris this weekend but because of a couple different things, it just didn’t work out (Side note: There was a guy on the train from Geneva to Gland that picked his nose the entire way). At first I was quite upset about it but it has turned out to be an ok thing. Jessica and I went on a 2 ½ hour walk today, which turned into a hike straight up a hill in the forest. We have committed to each other to walk daily if our schedules allow. I am looking forward to that time spent with her, being more active, and really just enjoying this gorgeous country that God has created.
I am looking forward to next week’s class on Child Growth and Development.
Janna...
This remarkable woman is Janna Moates. She is the Children at Risk School leader. The passion that she has for children, woman and families is absolutely inspirational. She has been a widow for close to 10 years now. She has two children, a boy and a girl who are both married. She has two grandchildren. She is one of the kindest people I have ever met. Janna is so easy to talk to and very open. She has also worked on the Kona, Hawaii YWAM base for a number of years but now calls Switzerland home. Her favourite role in life that she has got to "play" is ____.
The Morales...
This wonderful couple are two of my school leaders. Their names are Ed and Kay Morales. They have been married for 33 years. Together they have 3 daughters. Ed also has a son. They have 5 grandchildren. Normally they live in Hawaii on the YWAM Kona base. Kay is very creative and is working hard on redecorating the base here. It is turning out wonderfully! She has a disease called spinal muscular atrophy and she is no longer able to walk. She is a sweet, caring and very loving person. Ed is very wise and asks questions you would never even think to ask. He challenges all of us to think more. If Kay could be a paint colour, she would be red. If Ed could be a piece of furniture, he would be a valuable antique wooden chair.
Lindsay...
This smiley girl is Lindsay. She is 19 years old and from Washington, although her family currently resides in San Diego. She has an older sister and brother. Her brother is married and has a little girl. Lindsay is extremely intelligent, and talkative. She is a member of the Children at Risk School. She was here for the first two weeks and then had to go home for 3 weeks, but she came back on Monday and is now my roommate! Lindsay has an inspiring passion for learning languages and is very dedicated to becoming fluent in French during her time here. She is interested in the law side and political side of everything and will no doubt make a difference in this world. If Lindsay could be a type of fabric she would be cotton because she would like to be breathable and practical.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
The Kamanzi family...
This is Mary and Method and their daughter Darlene. They live in Rwanda full time. Darlene is 9 years old. They have a 19-year-old daughter who is in University and a 17-year-old son who is finishing off high school at home. They are a wonderful addition to the Children at Risk School. They have been with us for close to two weeks now! They bring with them years of wisdom of working on the field in Rwanda. Mary and Method are an amazing example of what a Godly couple is like, for all of us here on the base. Darlene is fun and energetic. If Darlene could be a season she would like to be both winter and summer, because when it snows in the winter people would have fun and play with her and because people would enjoy her if she was the summer. If Mary could be a flower she would be a lavender. If Method could be a mode of transportation he would be a train. I can't wait to go to their country!
Monday, May 07, 2007
Samuel...
This is Samuel. Samuel is 24 years old and from Japan. He is in the Children at Risk School. His father is Japanese and his mother is French. Samuel has 1 sister and 2 brothers. Samuel brings such a unique aspect to our school as the only one from an Asian continent. He is incredibly gifted in working with kids. The little ones here on the base just love climbing on him and playing with him. Samuel speaks Japanese and French (which he only learned over the past 2 years). His English is also coming along very well. Samuel has a wonderful sense of humour and is incredibly funny. He loves playing pool and going swimming. If Samuel could only wear one colour of clothing for the rest of his life he would choose to wear yellow clothes.
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