Weblog
Monday, February 25, 2008
-
Look over here!
I want to let everyone know that I have started a new blog here, and a website here. I'm not shutting this blog down, at least not for some time, but I'm not going to be posting here very much either. So y'all need to head on over and check out my new sites! (The website is still under major construction so don't judge it too harshly yet!)
Friday, February 01, 2008
-
The Diary of a Dog and a Cat
The Dog's Diary
8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 PM - Milk bones! My favorite thing!
1:00 PM - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 PM - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
5:00 PM - Dinner! My favorite thing!
7:00 PM - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 PM - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 PM - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!
The Cat's Diary
Day 983 of my captivity.
My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects.
They dine l avishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash
or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations
perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my
strength.
The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an Attempt to
disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse
and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike
fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates my capabilities.
However, they merely made condescending comments about what a "good little
hunter" I am. Bastards!
There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed
in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear
the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to
the power of "allergies." I must learn what this means, and how to use it to
my advanta ge.
Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my
tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this
again tomorrow, but at the top of the stairs.
I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and Snitches.
The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released, and seems to
be more than willing to return. He is obviously Retarded.
The bird must be an informant. I observe him communicate with the Guards
regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have
arranged protective custody for him in an Elevated Cell, so he is safe.
For now.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
-
Sometimes me being in the kitchen is just a bad idea, Like yesterday. Being a klutz and being around boiling water do not go well together. Thankfully, by the time I managed to pour it on myself it was no longer boiling, just really, really hot. Still, it stung. The lady over the kitchen, Diane, brought me some ice packs for my shoulder and neck and we put my arm and hands under cold water. What can I say? I keep the place from getting too boring.I had pulled a gallon of water out of the spaghetti (I was making 17 lbs. of it at once) and was taking it to the line when I slipped on some water. Normally I don't slip in restaurants, I'm pretty good at handling slick floors but this water was out of the spaghetti and had starch in it and was like wet ice. Thankfully I had set the container down for a few minutes first so my burns were all just first degree, no water blisters, and so not near as sore today. In fact, my hands don't hurt at all, I think the skin is tougher there. But my right wrist is pretty red even today and it's sore to bend, and most of my right arm and my shoulder arm feels like they've been sunburned. And when I slipped I didn't hit the ground because I caught myself on the counter and the kettle, so I have a narrow burn about an inch long on my shoulder from the kettle and a very impressive bruise forming on my left arm. Like I said, I keep it from being boring.We finished our first class, Old Testament Survey, and started a new one yesterday, Theology 1. I'm already enjoying it. I love being pushed to think about topics I might not otherwise, to really have to study what the Bible says about something till I understand it well enough to write something coherent about it. It's fun. And our teacher is the Director of the school, Ken Krause, who is a great guy. I'm looking forward to the next weeks. Of course, out last teacher was so amazing to listen to. No, he wasn't exciting and sometimes a large amount of caffeine was required to have a hope of focusing BUT I had never heard Genesis and Creation taught from the prospective of a physicist before. It was amazing to hear him talk about the way our Universe is made and how little scientists actually understand about the vital parts of it, like four fundamental forces. (And who said I wouldn't learn any science here?) Listening to him erased any lingering thought in the back of my mind that Christian's studying mathematics or physics or any kind of theoretical science is a waste of time. It's not. It's amazing stuff.Last Saturday was graduation here. The senior class was small even for Bethany, only 16 students, but it was diverse, Students from places as dissimilar as Georgia and California, Maine and Colorado, and as far away as Ecuador, South Korea, and Pakistan. As they gave out the diplomas they flashed pictures of each student up on the screen, mostly shots of them over a past couple of years but also some childhood pictures. My favorite one was of Cory, the guy from Pakistan. It was a picture of a group of about 8 men in very "authentic" clothes-robes, turbans, etc. They looked like men who had been living hard lives in the desert for a long time, like a National Geographic photo. And sitting right in the middle of them was this little blond haired boy in bright clothes with a big smile on his face. It was a great picture.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
-
So... I promised you more about the history of the school I'm at. And it's a cool history. :) It all started when these 5 families began meeting together for Bible study. After a while they decided God's command to go to the nations applied to all Christians and, unlike so many people who hear the call, they listened. They read in Acts that the early disciples sold all the had and lived in community, so that's what they did. They all sold their homes and possessions and pooled their money and bought one huge house and moved into it together. Now, I don't know the exact number of people off the top of my head but they all had kids so it was a healthy number of people living together. And no one "owned" anything in the house, so I'm sure it was rough to start with. However, they were determined to go the the mission field and thought this was the best way to save money and be trained. This was back in 1945.Now other people started hear about what they were doing and wanted in on it. A place to learn how to live in Christian community and learn skills for the mission field sounded great. So, different people started coming to live with them. They quickly outgrew their house and chapel. So, in 1946 (told you it was quick) they bought about 60 acres of land in Bloomington, where the campus still sits today. The first class had 10 students, but more soon followed.In the early days the school was free. Part of that was because the students were living there, not just attending school, and so did a fair share of the work (we still work 20 hours a week on campus to help keep costs down and provide practical training) and part of it was because they were very big into using business to support missions work. Bethany has at different times made toys, griddles, and even pop-up campers. The one business that stayed around was a printing press they started. Now it's been sold (for legal reasons I think) but the profits still go to support missionaries around the globe. In fact, Bethany Press is the largest Christian paperback book press in the country. Look in some of the books you have sitting around and I bet you'll find that some of them were printed right here, just outside my dorm window.Of course, a lot of things have changed over the years. But we still work on campus, are still required to live on campus, attend chapel together several times a week, and eat pretty much of of our meals together. The whole point is to learn to live in a community, something they felt was lacking in the 40's but is virtually unheard of now in the 21st century. But it's not just a community of 18-25 year old's with a few teachers around. That's not a community, that's a group.You see, those original founding members, and then some of the original missionaries, gave everything they had. They didn't keep back retirement, they didn't have a plan B. They decided to trust God and just let Him care for them. So when they got to an age where they just couldn't stay on the field anymore they didn't have anything to live off of, no home or big savings plan. So, the school took them in. They live here on campus with us and eat with us. These are folks in their 70's and 80's and 90's who have been serving God their entire life. At the other end of the spectrum are the kids. There are babies everywhere. :) Some of the students have kids. they live here on campus with their parents. And most of the staff have kids, with quite a few of the younger staff having a tiny one. Some live on campus, some don't, but either way they are always around with children in tow.The thing that really strikes me is the feeling of peace here. It's quiet physically, but also spiritually. Not dead, just peaceful. Esp. the chapel. It's been turned into the Bethany House of Prayer and their goal is to eventually have 24/7 prayer watches, 365 days a year. It's got a long way to go, but it's getting there. Regardless, there is a very strong presence of God in that place. I noticed it the first day. I can only assume that it comes from the thousands of tears and millions of prayers that have been offered up in it since it was built.As to what I've been up too... Well, it's been a busy couple of weeks. I'm adjusting to living with my roommate, Ashley, and sharing a dorm. I'm also adjusting to having homework to do, and on a deadline. LOL That's a novel thing for me. My PT (practical training) assignment is the kitchen and so we've been in training all week there. Starting Mon I have my "permanent" (but subject to change) assignment, There are 2 different dish crews (they also handle the cleaning), lunch and dinner, and then a prep crew (they help with the cooking). I was on the lunch dish crew during training, but now I'll be on the prep crew. Hopefully it won't take too long for me to catch on.Well, away I go. I need to go eat lunch so that I can help clean the Sally Ann. It's a free thrift shop here on campus. If you need something you just take it, if you have something you don't need you just leave it there. Sounds cool, I guess I'll see for myself in a few minutes.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
-
Sometimes God broadsides us without any warning whatsoever. Last night was one of those times. God came and met with me on the floor of the chapel here on campus. I mean, He's always there but if He's ever come and MET you then you know what I mean. And it was completely out of the blue.Most of the issues He and I dealt with last night were old, things I assumed were in my past and done with and handled. I was wrong... He showed me that even though it hurt this stuff had to be dealt with because it was blocking me, stopping my growth in some areas. Areas vital for a missionary, like loving people and allowing people to get close to me and allowing people to see weakness in me. And no, it's not done. It's going to take a long time to work through some of this stuff. But, here's the wonderful part, I realized last night that I DON'T have to deal with this alone. There are people here who care for me, even though I don't know them. And I know this because God sent one to me last night. She told me that God told her I needed her, needed to talk to her. And I did, more than even I knew.I can already tell this is going to be a long, and sometimes painful, year. I'm already emotionally and physically exhausted. But I have a lightness, a freedom, deep inside I can't remember feeling before. I had come to think that the pain certain memories carried was normal, and unavoidable. Last night I realized the reason they still hurt so bad was because they never healed, even though it's been years. I had just dealt with it, handled it. I never let them heal, mainly because I didn't know how. But it's ok now because God told me something last night that has changed everything. And if this is only the first week...And for those of you have no idea where I am - I arrived here at Bethany College of Missions (www.bcom.org) Monday morning. It's a little, very little, school in Bloomington, Minnesota that's whole purpose is to reach the entire world with the message of Christ. There is a history of sacrifice and dedication here, these people mean business and have since the beginning. And I want to share some of that, but not today. But I will say there is a feeling of peace on campus, a feeling that I suppose land gets after a certain length of time being entirely dedicated to God. It's especially noticeable in the chapel. That's a room that has had a million heartfelt prayers poured out in it, many on the behalf of others, and you can feel that in your spirit when you walk in.
