6 Reasons Why I Might Be the Real Elsa

Reasons why I might be the real Elsa:

1.) My favorite color is blue
2.) I love snow
3.) I have long blonde hair (well, if I dyed it I would)
4.) I have a little sister with brown hair
5.) I am royalty
6.) The cold never bothered be anyway

Moral of the story: if Eminem were to ask the real Queen Elsa to stand up, I would stand up.

Back to School Advice

The start of a new school year is upon us. The time to start fresh, try new things, and get organized (again) is here. Although this happens every year, sometimes we need to be reminded of a few things. Here is some food for thought as you embark on your new journey.

1.) Don't pack your schedule. Leave room for spontaneous events, whether it's a date to the donut shop with your pals or a nap. Over scheduling results in restlessness, and let's face it: most of us could use some more rest. We were created to work: "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it" (Genesis 2:16). Work is good. But so is resting.

2.) Do something fun. We were created to work, but we were also created to enjoy this life. Have one day a week or one day every two weeks that you get together with a few friends and go to a movie. Plan a trip to see a concert, whether it's someone you've been dying to see or a band that is just starting out. Go camping or ice skating (depending on the time of year, of course). Have a photo shoot. Take a trip to visit that friend you've been meaning to visit for a while. You'll enjoy your life a lot more.

3.) Enjoy what you are doing. Or at least try to. I know many people who don't really like their jobs. I can understand that. If you hate your job, try to find things you do enjoy while you are there. If even that is too hard, try to be thankful you work there. Same goes with school or volunteering or whatever your case may be. When you can only see negatives, either you are involved with something bad or you need to change your mindset. Be thankful you are in the position you are in. Sometimes that can take a while, but it is an important step. Then you can find the positives that will help you enjoy what you are doing. To paraphrase what Mark Hall said, "so many of us are just trying to through the week to the weekend." Trying to get through the week. The week is 5 days. The weekend is 2. Trudging along, being miserable for five days, and enjoying only two days will lead to a fairly miserable life. Folks, we were not made to "just survive, we were made to thrive".

4.) Pick something new to try each month. Maybe you'd like to take up sewing, or swing dancing, or carving, or playing guitar. Do it. Just for one month. Even if you don't really like it, do it for the whole month. We could all use a little more practice at perseverance. If you do like it, that's great! You just found yourself a new hobby. It's a great way to find different things you enjoy or are even good at, as well as to make new friends.

5.) Take a nap. When your life is going crazy, you are going a million different ways, you are spread thinner than 1-ply toilet paper - take a nap. It helps you to destress. Your body needs a break from the insanity. Your brain needs time to process what has happened, what is happening, and what is going to happen. Our brains are amazing organs. Like any living thing, it needs to be cared for and nurtured. Taking a nap is caring and nurturing your brain. If you think you aren't good at taking naps, it's probably because you "don't have time". Except for some people that have negative side effects of taking naps. Then you should set 20 minutes aside to sit in silence, or lay because then you might find out you needed a nap, close your eyes, and relax.

Being a kid was so much easier. And by easier I mean more carefree. And by more carefree I mean we lived off of fun and didn't have schedules. When we started to stress our growing little brains and bodies, our moms told us what to do (ie take a nap). We also enjoyed trying out different things - albeit some probably weren't positive and/or healthy.

As you go into this new school year, remember these five little nuggets. They will make your life more enjoyable. After all, friends, "it's time for us to more than just survive, we were made to thrive".

Scholarship: Powerful Teaching

Hey, friends!

As we are all aware, paying for college is incredibly expensive. I am paying for private college AND out of state tuition at the university! So I have turned to student loans, grants, and scholarships! I have been applying for lots and lots of scholarships. Some of these require outside help.

With that said, I wrote this 250-word essay that I need people to "love" on the website. Please click the link and "love" my essay! I am aware there are two typos in the essay - just ignore those. Hahaha. I appreciate your support!

Here's the link: http://takelessons.com/blog/2014/07/powerful-teaching/

God bless!

The Faction Life

  For those that love reading, you'll understand what I'm about to say. But for those who reading isn't really your thing, it might be something you are like "Whaaaaat? You are so weird." (Hahaha) and that's totally fine. When I read a good book/series it becomes my life, the characters become my friends, the problems become my problems, their world becomes my world. It's crazy, I know.

So, I have been reading the Divergent series this last week. It's been great! Many of my thoughts consists of things that happen in the book. For example, when I see someone doing something I sometimes will automatically try to see what faction they would be in. (If you think that is bad, you should see me about Harry Potter. It's almost embarrassing.) In the series, the city is made up of different factions, or sections, in which each is assigned to a certain work force, if you will. There are five: Erudite, Candor, Amity, Abnegation, and Dauntless. Each faction consists of people with a certain mindset. Erudite loves knowledge and learning; Candor says whatever comes to their minds; Amity is all about peace, friendship, and love (aka the hippies); Abnegation is selfless, focusing on the need and good of others; and Dauntless are the protectors, the police force. Then there are the Divergent, those whose minds work differently and have tendencies of multiple factions.

While talking with my pal, Devra (author of The Pomeroy Life blog at: http://www.thepomeroylife.com/ ), I told her I have been putting my friends in factions. So, I have decided to think, analyze, and record what factions my friends would be in, in my opinion. (I know I can't be the only person who has at least thought of this!) Here are some of the results:

-Erudite: Will P., Adrian W.
-Candor: Juli, Taby, Chris, my mom, Meemo, Gram, Pop
-Amity: Jazmin L., Kirsten P., Haley F., Sarah S., Katie E., Kait C., Morgan B.
-Abnegation: Becky P., Carey L., Aleesha (with some Dauntless), Rachel H., Becky B., Kalyn W.
-Dauntless: Home school moms (because home schooling and being a mom would be hard and take courage),
-Divergent: Devra P. (Erudite, Abnegation, and Dauntless), Shawntel S. (Erudite, Abnegation, and Amity), Ethan H. (Amity and Abnegation), Me (Abnegation, Candor, and a little bit of Erudite)

There you have it! My non-exhaustive list of some people I can put in factions. Where do you think you belong? 

Bag/Beg = Crayon/Crown

Dear Kansas friends,

This is for you. Let's take a little stroll down Memory Lane of the past 4 years. Remember all of those times I would say "bag", "tag", "flag", "wagon", "dragon", etc. and you would never cease to, at the very least, crack a smile and usually say "I'm sorry, you want a what?"

I am so happy to inform you of my not so recent discovery of a word that you cannot say correctly. A word that when said correctly means one thing, and when said your way means some completely different. The word is "crayon". Crayon is pronounced cray - on. Crayon. But when Kansas folk say it, it comes out "crown". So when my darling kids at work or the helpful staff at work ask me for a crayon what they say is "crown". "Miss Kayla, can I have a crown?" "Hey Kayla, where did you say the crowns are?"

My turn to crack a smile. Every time. The first few times I literally had no idea what they were saying. We are making sharks and sea anemones and you want a crown? That makes no sense. We aren't doing anything with princes or princesses, kings or queens. So I say, "You want a what?" or "Where did I say the what are?" After they repeat themselves, sometimes hand movements involved, sometimes after thinking about what I just said, I know they are looking for a crayon. A coloring crayon.

So, my dear friends, I want you to know that you also pronounce things incorrectly (although I still don't think I say "bag" incorrectly; b-a-g (bee-ay-gee) says bag). As you continue to call crayons "crowns" I will smile to myself, say "bag" in my head, and tell you where the crayons are.

Peace and love, my friends. Peace. And. Love.

Kait, the teammate

Friends!!

I have some exciting news regarding my teammate, Kait! She is going back to Ethiopia (I think I've told many of you that while sharing about my time there)! Of course, that means she needs support. Support in prayer, financial support, and encouraging words.

I'll be happy to send along any words of encouragement to her that you may have -- including if you are praying for her!

Her last update was that she was at 67%. Guys. 67% in like two months. She has to raise about $50,000. So that is incredible. Once again, the Lord is showing off his grace, blessing, and riches. Don't you just love it?

So, what will Kait be doing?

Great question! Thanks for asking! She'll be teaching at Bingham Academy, an international school in Addis Ababa. Her first term will be two years! She did her student teaching there the semester we were in Ethiopia together. Bingham is also the school I volunteered at for a few weeks. It's a school filled with incredible teachers, awesome men and women of the Lord. These people have moved to Addis from literally all over the world to aid in spreading the Gospel by teaching missionary kids. And now Kait gets to be one of them! I cannot tell you how excited (and jealous!) I am of this opportunity for her!

I hope you take this opportunity to partner with Kait and help her to get back to Ethiopia! Here's the link to help her financially. Any bit will help. I can attest to that!

https://give.cmfi.org/p-247-kaitlyn-cody.aspx 

Thanks, my friends!
Bless and be blessed!
Ciao, ciao!

Three Months Later...

It still seems like I was just in Ethiopia a few weeks ago. When in reality I’ve been back for three months. Some days are good, some days are rough. Ethiopia will forever have a piece of me. I think I’ll always want to go back, even if it’s just for a visit.

The thing I have been struggling with a lot lately, in regard to my heart being in two countries, seemed quite trivial (insignificant) to me. I almost had myself convinced I was being a little overboard with it. Until today, when I talked to a friend and fellow missionary who just returned from the field, Jordan Shelton. It was the first time I had heard said out loud what I was thinking and feeling, and it’s because Jordan is experiencing the same thing. I feel like I’m forgetting all of the language I have learned in Ethiopia.

Language connects you to a culture. We speak English in America. If you were to go to Mexico, you would have a harder time connecting with Spanish speaking people at first, especially if you are limited in your Spanish and they in their English. Finding people in Mexico who speak English gives you a sense of home, and you can’t help but be excited about speaking fluently, with no mistakes, mistranslations, or misunderstandings. You are free to speak your language.

Try to imagine speaking a language that is not Spanish, or French, or German. A language that is found in a place on the opposite side of the world; in Africa. That language probably will not be easily found in America. It is much harder to feel connected to the culture through language, because it just isn’t being used.

To not be so vague, I’ll make it personal. I learned afan Oromoo. It is spoken in Ethiopia - on the opposite side of the world. There aren’t too many people in America who can speak this language. I haven’t found anyone in Manhattan who can. Because of that, I feel like I’m becoming more and more disconnected from Ethiopia, and in my mind it’s a tragedy. Sure, I have all of my notes from our language tutor, Kalbessa. Sometimes I chat with him in afan Oromoo over Facebook chat. Don’t get me wrong, I cherish those brief conversations where I can communicate in a language that is now so dear to my heart. But it still doesn’t stop the sadness I feel when I realize the language that connects me to my friends in Ethiopia is fading faster with every passing week.

So there you have it. An update on my thoughts concerning my life in Ethiopia. 

Being a Pebble

One thing I learned in Ethiopia, probably the most difficult to learn, was how to be in the background of the battlefield instead of on the front lines. It took a while, but the Lord revealed it to me in this way:

When you drop a pebble in the water you get a ripple, then another ripple, then another ripple, and so on. You have to have something to make the initial ripple, otherwise the ripples will never be created in the first place.

While in Ethiopia I taught mainly one of the missionary’s boys. I was really discontent and unsatisfied in my ‘ministry’ because my primary ‘ministry’ was with an American boy. Over a few weeks God showed me how I was placing limits and boundaries on what it ‘ministry’ means, and how ‘missions’ is supposed to look. Day after day I would cry out to the Lord, “Why! Why am I here in Africa teaching an American boy? It makes no sense!” I was frustrated – really frustrated. Every time I would cry out to God He would soften my heart. Day after day the bitterness and the boundaries were dissipating.

One day the Lord told me, “You are the pebble. Every ripple is created from something, and you, My beloved, are the pebble to keep this ripple going.”

What?

Then He explained. If I hadn’t been teaching Ethan, Jennifer wouldn’t have been able to focus on the Home School moms all across Ethiopia. If she isn’t supporting the home school moms across Ethiopia, they would be getting burnt out and restless, not being effective in their ministries. If the moms are having a really hard time being there, the husbands wouldn’t be as effective in their ministries – which means people aren’t hearing the Gospel, and are not accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Ministry is such a large, ambiguous term. It encompasses so much. I didn't know that before. I was teaching an American boy, and it was ministry. We talked about the Lord. We grew in our faith and knowledge of Him everyday. The Lord blessed us because we were seeking Him. That is ministry. Missions doesn't have to be living with another culture. My mission was to live in Africa, among Ethiopians, to teach an American boy. 

Although being at the frontlines, preaching the Gospel to the Ethiopians, watching people being saved by the dozens was something I was, dare I say, expecting, it is definitely not what God had planned for me in my time in Africa. I did get to teach and witness to young Ethiopian ladies, and it was awesome – my favorite thing I did while I was there. I have to remind myself not to be bitter about the time I didn't get to do that, and instead remember that I did, and the Lord was with us, and it was good. The most important thing was that God used me exactly the way that was needed, and His Kingdom will be furthered because of it.

“For the Lord is good, and His love endures forever.” –Psalm 100:5a

Another Amoeba?

The day to fly out of Ethiopia has finally arrived. We load our suitcases, say goodbye to the Giles family, and head into town. Before we head to the airport we have a full day ahead of us.

Our first stop: Bingham Academy. The entire drive to Bingham I was crying. So I told myself: stop crying (because we all know that works). Then I made a deal with myself: “You can cry when you see Joy Heddleston. But not before.” So we pulled into the parking lot, and I get ahold of myself. I hop out of the van and start walking. The first person I see: Joy Heddleston. I made a deal with myself, and you better believe I kept it.

We spend our time with the Bingham staff. We pray together a few times. Kait was sick, so we prayed for her. Then we went to Mallory’s piano recital. After Kait and I ran over to Joy’s apartment to say ‘Ciao!’ we loaded up and drove away from Bingham.

We decided to eat at Tivoli’s. Kait puked on the way there. My stomach started acting a little funky, but not enough to concern me. We ate dinner, except the puking Kaitlyn, and hopped back in the van. We had to stop at Sishu’s, a local restaurant with super awesome burgers, to deliver some pottery. Then came our last drive – the drive to the airport.

The drive was mostly hilarious. I was quoting Hot Rod when Rod Kimble and Kevin Powell were talking about the ‘safety word’. Rod says, “Why am I saying what what whay?” Darby, Mallory, and I could not stop laughing. We get to the airport, get all thousand bags onto carts, and say our goodbyes to the Fehllas (my hilarious and loving nickname for the Fehl family). Kait and I get our luggage checked, through security, and to our gate in no time. As we are waiting for our plane my stomach starts acting up. It’s mostly fine. Until we are about two hours from D.C. Then I start puking, and other things. My symptoms are eerily similar to last month when I had Bert, my amoeba.

After we landed in D.C. I texted Bethany to tell her I’m about to die and need to go to the doctor when we get into Indianapolis. Bethany picked us up from the airport in Indy, we grabbed some dinner, and went to the hotel. Kait and I drove to a clinic to get a prescription for Bert 2.0. Of course, it wasn’t that easy.

I am in the room, chillin’ on the bed, freezing my tail off. A nurse walks in; a young, African American woman. She takes my vitals and asks me what is going on. I told her that I was in Ethiopia for about 6 months, just got into the States earlier that day, had an amoeba last month, took metronidazole and it made me sick, and now I think I have another amoeba. Not a big deal. I just need some medicine to kill it, and I’ll be on my way. She asked me my symptoms from the metronidazole, so I told her. I became really dehydrated, weakness, slight fever, and black urine. The woman almost had a heart attack. She slapped the cabinet door, looked at me and said, “NUH! UH! NO YOU DID NOT!” Naturally, I laughed.

The doctor came in and I told him the same thing. His reaction was something else. He told me this: “You need to see a GI (gastro intestinal) specialist immediately. You’ve had this going on for over a month. You might have to have surgery and get part of your intestine taken out. You could DIE!” Naturally, I laughed. I reminded him that I had an amoeba last month and it was taken care of. He did not give me any medicine, or a prescription. He did give me information for a GI Specialist. And a stool sample kit.

Whatever was wrong is gone now, no thanks to the doctor. And CMF now has a full stool sample kit to use at their disposal.