A simple errand...

Today I had to buy a pillow.  A simple task, but only because I knew where to go and how to get one.  I knew, for example, what type(s) of store(s) would have pillows, and what the general price range would be at each store.  I am familiar with the brand names and know their general cost and quality.  So all I had to do today was go out and get it- I knew which exact store would have the best pillow at the best price.  I knew where the store was and the best route to get there.  In a foreign country, buying a pillow could take all afternoon, or multiple attempts on several days.  For starters, you have to figure out what kind of store is going to carry pillows (or whatever the item is) and then find out where one of those stores are and how to get there.  Once you get there, that store may or may not actually have what you're looking for, or it may have it at too high a price or too low a quality.  This scenario played out many times in Argentina, where "an afternoon's worth" of errands could take a week, or two.  I once spent over 4 hours going out to get a wedding gift for a friend only to end up getting something other than what I wanted to because it was the only thing I could find, and later finding out I'd gone about the process entirely incorrectly for Argentina.  I'd tried to use a gift registry in the same way I'd used one my whole life.  Advent candles were another item I remember scouring the city for and paying too much because I was so relieved just to find something that would work. 

Looking forward to how all this plays out when trying to stock my apartment in Bangkok, in two short weeks! 

Mushrooms

I have decided that it is time that I start learning to eat mushrooms.  I don't expect that I'm going to necessarily like them much, but as part of my preparation for Thailand I figure it's good to be able to eat them.  My thinking is that lots of Thai and Asian dishes have mushrooms in them, and they're usually small, which should make them easier to eat (and harder to eat around).  Plus, I'm going to be avoiding so many other foods there- strange creatures and bugs and things, at least for awhile, that it would be helpful to not have to eat around mushrooms.  So this evening, when ordering pizza with friends, we got Supreme.  I like everything on it except the mushrooms and in that big mound of flavorful toppings, I didn't notice them anyhow.  So far, the mushroom experiment is a success.  Just don't expect any such attempts with mayo or ranch...

My Visa Has Arrived!

Getting Closer!

Ways I can tell my departure is drawing near:

• My stockpile of items to take with me is growing
• Events are cropping up that I won't be here for
• Time with family and friends starts to end with "Now, am I going to see you again before you go?"
• I countdown in days instead of months or weeks (23)
• I am starting to stress about everything I want to take fitting in my suitcases (So far in my experience, I always stress about this and I always fit more than I expect in the end).
• The "to-do" and "to-buy" lists are not so long

I am enjoying this weekend in Grand Rapids, off to a Tigers game tomorrow, then back to teaching summer school on Monday (which, by the way, is going very well and has been a huge blessing- gives me something else to do and think about and some extra income). 

One Month

I leave one month from today.  This fact has little to do with this blog post, but it is nonetheless, monumental in my mind and deserves mention. 

I spent the last week Up North at Long Lake and, amongst other things, read two books.  One of them was a nice light beach read.  The other was the kind of book that can change your life, challenge how you live it, and stick with you forever.  The Hole in our Gospel by Richard Stearns is not a heavy theological read.  I wish I could quote the whole thing to you right here, but I know I would lose my handful of readers.   Rich Stearns is the President of World Vision US and his book paints a picture of poverty around the world and what we are called to do about it.  I love the way he weaves quotes throughout the book- both verses from the Bible and quote from religious leaders and many others.  He starts by telling the story of how he came to World Vision from his CEO position and how seeing poverty close up has changed him and his family.  It's not preachy or judgmental, even as he shows how little effort it would actually take from the world's wealthy to make a significant impact on the world's poor.  For me, it changes how I pack for Thailand, how I plan to use my salary there, and my free time.  It changes what I do with many of the items I won't take with me, and I hope, how I will live when I am there.  I am quite willing, even eager, to loan out my copy of The Hole in our Gospel; let me know if you'd like to borrow it. 


So I won't bore you with long quotes from the book, but I will give you just this one.  When you see poverty in the world and are overwhelmed and feel useless in the fight, remember this African saying: If you think you are too small to make a difference, try spending the night in a closed room with a mosquito.  

It is a small, small world

Last night I  picked up a friend from DTW who was flying in from Suriname.  We had lived and worked together in Argentina for two years and then she has been teaching in Paramaribo for the past two years.  In July, when I head to Thailand, she will head to Nairobi, Kenya to teach at another NICS school there.  Her parents and sisters drove up from northern Indiana this morning to pick her up from my mom's house- they're 'home' for just a few more days before they continue on to Florida and then to South Africa where they serve as missionaries.  While chatting last night, we discovered that a family which had been living and teaching with her in Suriname is going to be at ICS Bangkok with me this coming year!  It was just a global sort of moment. 

In other news, preparations for my departure continue.  The vast majority of things remaining on my do to list are just purchases that still need to be made (most of these items are a year's worth of consumables that aren't available in Bangkok).  It seems like every time I can cross something off the shopping list there is something else that I need to add to it!  Yet, slowly but surely, it's getting done!

The way, the truth, and the LIFE

This blog is titled La Vida Eterna, which means eternal life, and today I am reminded strongly of the eternal life that we have in Christ.  As I have mentioned, I have been blessed to spend the vast majority of my subbing days this year (and about 95% of second semester) at one specific middle school where I have come to feel at home, where I will be teaching summer school.  One of their teachers has been battling cancer, and he lost that fight yesterday afternoon.  I had spoken with this man only a few times, yet through his life and witness and medical blog, he has made a lasting impression on my life.  He and his wife and family are strong believers and this came through abundantly as they wrote about their faith in the midst of this struggle.  Even as they shared on the blog the news of his passing, their faith and trust in the Lord shone through.  He leaves behind a wife and three small children, and I encourage you to keep them in your prayers.

The news today reminds me of how fleeting life is, that it really is but a breath, like the grass that so quickly withers and dies.  It reminds me that the things that I spend so much time, money, and energy on are not the things that last.  The worries and cares of my mind- these are not the things that matter.  This news reminds me that I must run in such a way as to get the prize, to earn the crown that lasts, the crown of righteousness.  And, as a dear friend reminded me last night, today impresses on me even more the fact that in everything in life we are called to endure because the Risen Christ walks with us and is by our side. 

"When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."  Where, I death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?  ... Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm.  Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."  1 Corinthians 15:54-58