Journal Entry from my first trip to China...

This is from my first trip to China on Januray 21, 2005 :)

"It was hard to get out of bed this morning – it made me sad thinking about leaving to go back home. Today was our last day at the orphanage.

This morning, little Indiana Jane (a seven year old at the orphanage) came running up to me as soon as we got there. She had a larger than life grin on her face and as she ran, her arms were open wide in anticipation of a big hug! When she got close enough I scooped her up in my arms and spun her around and around. I promised myself that would be a moment I would never forget.

The time saying goodbye to the babies was hard. I held each one that I’ve connected with and prayed for them and kissed them goodbye. I just lost it while holding Yang Fu Zi. I just looked out the window and cuddled her and sang to her, told her how much I love her…and just cried.

It was especially hard saying goodbye to the older kids. Li Hong always used to say “Let’s go!” and today she pouted “no let’s go.” ZhuZhu (Indiana Jane) was upset that we were leaving, that she started kicking James. And another of the school children cried, and I held her and told her I loved her and I went away crying as well...I miss those kids so much already. Their faces are in my mind..."

randomness

i wanted to let you know a new phenomenon i have recently discovered!

in southern california, one would think that boardshorts would be in the plenty. well, friends, that is a sorry misconception! i've been to a handful of stores and can't find anything that'll work. i guess it's just one more thing to add to the list of things in life i don't understand. ;)

ps. i can't wait to go here next week...

to do things like this...


with people like him...


please pray for my trip to China....and that i'll find boardshorts before i leave. ;)

lately i've been feeling a little overwhelmed. somehow my month and a half trip to china has snuck up so quickly, and i don't feel ready! luckily my visa came in the mail today, but i think that's the only thing that qualifies me as being prepared. work has been busy. the numbers of emails being sent and received have been record-breaking...lists are all over my desk...and yet i seem to always feel there is so much more still to do! :) on top of that, normal life has given me lots of things to keep busy doing and thinking over...

i've felt discouraged that i can only be one place at a time (i know, that sounds silly, but it's true! :) i wish i could be home to celebrate milestones in my friends and family's lives like their weddings, graduations, birthdays, and father's day. but i know it'd be too much to take a trip back to the east coast with so much to do here. but God is so faithful, and He's showing me that He has me here for a reason. i could potentially spend my life wondering what i could be accomplishing somewhere else, but then i'd never get anything done right where i am.

i stayed late at work today. i had a conference call with our staff going to nanchang in two weeks (and on the call i somehow managed to drop my phone into my glass of dr.pepper. :) after the call was done, i was tidying up my desk to get ready to call it a day when i suddenly got swept up in going through everything on and around my desk. :)

i ended up reading through some cards from friends i had saved and one in particular struck me. it was a christmas card but it's message was perfect for right now...

it said, " in this crazy season of hustle and bustle, may you find time to reflect on our shining star- the one in whom all our hopes and fears are met. and may this next year be one of even more growth and a focus in who God wants you to be. love, michele"

how encouraging!! please be praying for me that in this busy time i would make time to reflect on my sweet savior!!

moments

For the last month or so I've been really working on enjoying life's little moments,
and I've found that I have so much more freedom and joy as I orient myself to fully
live in the present!

I heard Steven Curtis Champman's song called "Miracle of the Moment" on the radio
the other day, and it captured what I wanted to say perfectly...

"It's time for letting go
All of our "if-onlys"
Cause we don't have a time machine
And even if we did
Would we really wanna use it
Would we really wanna go change everything?
Cause we are who and where and what we are
For now
And this is the only moment
We can do anything about

So breathe it in and breathe it out
Listen to your heartbeat
There's a wonder in the here and now
It's right there in front of you and
I don't want you to miss
The miracle of the moment

There's only one who knows
What's really out there waiting
In all the moments yet to be
And all we need to know
Is he's out there waiting
To him the future's history
And he has given us a treasure called
Right now
And this is the only moment
We can do anything about"

what i love about camping

this is my top-ten favorite things list about our camping trip this past weekend...

10. going river rafting and falling into the boat.
9. daily walks to a very yummy malt shop.
8. getting to know some new friends better.
7. passing some friends who we were supposed to be following (& who had the directions to the camp site) because we were so into a game we were playing. (we realized we were driving behind the wrong car a while later, and panicked. luckily, our friends were just behind us and were very curious why we had passed them, lol)
6. finding our way down the mountain on a hike! :)
5. watching the stars and seeing the milky way clearer than i've ever seen it before.
4. playing pranks on david. (then feeling bad the next morning after i read psalm 140 about how evil men plan wicked schemes and plot traps for the innocent, ha)
3. going on a walk through town and flying kites with my friend beth.
2. playing football with friends at a park then watching the football nearly float down the river.
1. making up scary stories late at night and laughing at how dumb they were.

roadtrip photo :)

my friend ali and i on the way to na two weekends ago

Looking Back

It's funny how some days are so packed that you lose all conception of natural time. Two weeks ago seems like ancient history. :)

May 16th marked our 2nd Annual Night Walk, which was such a fabulous memory. A group of about 30 of us walked around Fallbrook, California while other groups were walking around the world at the same time. It was so fun to hear the other teams cheer on our group conference call; I felt such unity with everyone in knowing we were joined together for one cause... :)

The very next morning (God bless Kayce for driving me to the airport,) I headed off to Pennsylvania. On Sunday I went to my home church and afterwards spend some time with some friends. The rest of the week was spent hanging out at home, visiting more friends, and taking trips to a lake, a nearby garden, and downtown Philadelphia.

One day my Dad and I took the train down to Philly and walked around the Reading Terminal Market and Chinatown. In Chinatown, I introduced Dad to my favorite bakery called KC Pastries Inc. We bought an assortment of some yummy rolls then walked a few blocks to The Gallary and ate our snacks. After every bite we took of our pastries, we kept saying how good they were. Finally I said, "Dad, do you want me to go buy some more to take home?" He said no, but then added how good the roll was. I re-offered to walk a few blocks back to the bakery and buy some more sweet rolls then came the quote of the day...My Dad said, "No, it's fine. I mean, these are good, but I don't need any more...(5 second pause)...well, how far away was it again?" haha! Needless to say, we went back and got more. :)

On Saturday in the wee hours of the morning I drove with my friends Kyung, Ali, and Suzanne to Louisville, Kentucky for the New Attitude Conference. My time there was so faith building, and I left with my heart feeling very full and encouraged. Mark Dever's message about the Autority of Scripture was one of my favorites, as well as messages by John Piper on the Fight for Faith and CJ Mahaney about the Father's love.

Now I'm back in the office wrapping up some things for the Night Walk. June will be very full. I am blessed with a full schedule and what seems to be lots of responsibility so please keep me in your prayers.

Have a great day,
Kristen