Common Chairs...

Well, it is the holidays. I love this time of year. There are very few things I love like I love Christmas time. I love the aura, the music, the way the air smells, the family time, the wonderful thing this time represents...it just makes me happy.

I don't know if you have ever looked at something and instantly felt the impulse to cry. Not something sad, but something beautiful, something so full of glorious beauty and wonder that you are overcome by an indomitable urge to fall flat, tears streaming down your face induced by the mere majesty of God's creation. If you haven't, you need to come to Washington and take a drive through the Snoqualmie Mountains. It is impossible not to glimpse God in this place, especially when it is covered in snow.

For those of you who do not know, I have been back in Arkansas since Wednesday. I came back for my good friend Ruth's wedding, which was on Saturday. I came a few days early and have stayed a few days after to spend some time with my family and some friends!

It has been a month since my last post, when I told you about my growing passion for the tribe I have been drawing close to (as far as names and such goes pertaining to this, I am going to do my best not to mention any or change them if I must. It could be a somewhat sensitive and do not want to cause any trouble if anyone should stumble across this blog). Since then, I have been a good amount of time with Cerissa's family and I feel i have truly been accepted in.

Sitting in the middle of a clearing in the middle of the night with the full moon shining down on the whole scene brighter than i knew was possible. Complete silence. Quieter than most people could probably comprehend. It's a clearing in the mountains of British Columbia. I had never seen anything like it. And, excuse me, but I have seen quite a lot in my few years. As far as I am concerned, it surpasses Slovakia by far, France by quite a bit, and South Africa and Italy by just a small piece. It is interesting how much more one is able to feel God in a place such this one, in complete silence, utter stillness, magnificent beauty.

I would like to begin by saying that my God is just so cool. If only people knew. Which brings me to the point that i feel like I have found part of my calling here. Let me explain...
When I moved up here I was absolutely positive God wanted me here. I knew he had a plan for me and I had a small idea of what that plan was. However, God has just now clarified some crucial points in that plan. All my life I have felt a great passion for other cultures. It makes sense...I've always been in foreign cultures all my life. So, it was a surprise to find that God was calling me to America, one of the most familiar cultures to me. Well, over the past couple of weeks I have gotten to be friends with a girl named Cerissa who is from the Tulalip tribe, whose reservation is only a couple minutes from Arlington. Talking to her and spending time with her, I have found how very fascinated I am with the culture and how passionate I am about reaching out to them!Cerissa told me that so many out reaches to the tribes have failed for many reasons. She said that it was somewhat difficult to get into the loop there, to get people to trust you, but once you were in, you were like family for life. So, after talking to Amy (Tim, the pastor's wife), I found out that Tim also had wanted to do some out reach to the Tulalip tribes. All that to say, I am very excited to announce that I am going to be focusing a lot of my energy in this area. It is just so cool to see God pull bits of my life together to this point.
So, I don't know if anyone is reading this, but I wanted to share with you how excited I am about my mighty God and the thrilling adventure of serving Him!

I have now officially been here two weeks. Since I last talked to you, my container arrived, I moved the majority of possessions into a garage at Cham's apartment complex. The rest (a chest of clothes and a few other random things) went to Kathy's little apartment. I borrowed a bed from the Corbins and set up my residence in a corner of Kathy's living room. It was nice to have a "place" in Arlington, a place to call home for now. I've spent most of the last week looking for a job, getting to know the people of the commons, going to a baby shower, eating sushi, sitting by the river, enjoying the rain, and trying to purchase my new scooter. On Sunday I was asked to house sit for a family in the church who were leaving for vacation. So, though I have my corner at Kathy's on East 5th street, I have really only been there very little. I am mainly here to take care of their little puppy, Lady. I have found in the last few days that I am not much of a dog lover...they are a bit too cuddly and up in your face for my taste...
I have been surprised at how easily I have acclimated to living here. I love it. I knew I would enjoy it, but I thought it would be much harder for me, moving away, not knowing anyone, trying to find my place. But I must say, God has been so very gracious in making it all quite adjustable for me. The Commons already feels like home. Everyone has been incredibly welcoming and hospitable. I'm just waiting for the school year to start up so youth group and pick back up. I haven't been able to meet very many of the youth yet. But I'm working on it. :)
So, for now, as far as prayer goes, I'm mainly just thankful. There are a few things I could use some prayer about...Firstly, we are still looking for a house. There is another girl that is thinking about rooming with us and we want a spare room for whatever ministry purposes come up. Therefore we are in search for a four-room house somewhere near the center of Arlington. However, before we can think about getting a house, I need to find a job for financial security. I have been blessed with a number of supporters, but I am not really sure how regular they will be, so I am looking for a part time, possibly full time job (another thing to pray about). Finally, pray that through the craziness of summer, vacation, and so forth, that the Commons has not lost people. We are growing slowly, so just pray that once regular life starts back up we will continue to grow and reach more families.
I love you all! I thank God for you every day...I really do!

Just thought I would let you all know that my new address is now:

P.O. Box 661
Arlington, WA 98223

Send me letters! :)

Well, friends of mine, I am now an official Washingtonian. I arrived with Suzka on Friday. Kathy met us at the airport with a lovely sign and some leis. We drove home in time for game night at the Corbin's. It was good to see everybody and already feel like I belong.
Saturday we spent the day in Seattle, mostly at Pike Place Market . We walked from shop to shop, at seafood by the marina, got some coffee, sat in an alleyway, and ate fresh fruit bought from a local vendor. Later we went to a beautiful park that overlooks the city of Seattle, a spectacular view. We also visited the Freemont Troll, an enormous troll carved out of cement under a bridge and got a cupcake at Cupcake Royale.
Sunday we got up early to set up church at the middle school where we meet on Sundays. Amy Corbin put me right to work in the nursery. After church we got some lunch and spent the afternoon at the river with some friends. It has been abnormally hot, hotter than it has been in Washington in years. So it was nice to cool off in the river. It was relaxing. We sat and talked. I saved Kathy's flip flops from the river and the deadly current. That evening we headed out to the beach. I built a driftwood fire and we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. We talk for a long time. WE ate a bunch of fruit and convinced Suzka to get in the water. After watching the amazing sunset, we headed home.
Today was Suzka's last day here and we mostly just spent it hanging out together. My container was supposed to arrive this morning but wasn't here yet. So, we walked around downtown Arlington. Tomorrow I will drive Suzka to the airport. It will be hard, but I believe it is necessary for me to be on my own now, to get into the flow of life, to start getting settled in.
Thank you all for being there for me. It means so much to me to know I have people who care and want to know what is going on in my life, especially now that I am here and feeling a bit alone. I love you all!

Twelve days. I have twelves days left before I leave on my great adventure. I'm not sure how long the adventure will be, but I guess that is part of it all. I am sad. Sad, because I am leaving so much behind. Sad, because there are so many people here that I love. Sad, because I cannot seem to keep from being just a little scared. But above all that, I am absolutely ecstatic! I truly cannot wait to be a resident of Arlington, a member of the Commons church, and a part of something amazing going on in the state of Washington.
I was commissioned today, sent out officially by my home church. It was a hard day, I won't lie. Not only did my dad's voice crack a few times while commissioning me, not only did i seem to disintegrate while an enormous group of people gathered around me to pray, many of whom were crying, but I also had to say goodbye to my parents (who leave tomorrow for a missions trip to Slovakia). It was hard. Very hard. But I would be lying if I said I didn't feel a twinge of anticipation, a subtle shriek of excitement building up in my chest.
I am in the final stages of packing up my things (how I have so much stuff I cannot fathom) and trying to make sure everything is in place for my move. I am constantly remembering more and more things I need to do and always feeling like there's something I am forgetting. My container arrives a week from tomorrow (well actually today since it is after midnight). My plane leaves a week from Friday. I have begun saying my goodbyes and have found it has not been quite as hard as I might have thought it would be (though I am leaving the hardest and saddest ones for last so that I am a mess for as short a period as possible).
I am still praying fervently and doing my very best to trust that support will come in. Only a smalal number of people have told me that they will support me on a regular basis. Please be praying for that! And if you are planning on supporting me, please notify me through blog, email, letter, or by attaching a note to your support sent to the Summit church or to me. You guys have the priveledge of being a part of something incredible and exciting going on in the Pacific Northwest. I consider myself incomprehensibly blessed to be called right to the middle of it all.
I will keep in touch, though my next post probably will not be until after I arrive in Washington seeing as my schedule is getting busier and busier!
I love you guys and am so glad I have you behind me. You do not know what it means to me to have the support of so many people who! God has blessed me in so many ways! till next time...

Well, my dear readers,
The date has been set, the moving container ordered, and my nerves completely in shambles...Anyway, I just wanted to give you a bit of an update on what is going on. It has been over a month since I first wrote to you, telling you about everything that is about to happen. Since then I have sent out letters and begun getting some responses from some people. Somehow I forgot to send a response card along with the actual letter, so other than some donations I have gotten, I do not really know who, if anyone will be sending me monthly support. Therefore, in the next few days I will send out yet another little update along with one such response card.
The date for my departure from Little Rock is July 26th. I will be flying up with my sister Susannah and my best friend Alex (hopefully) as my parents will both be in Slovakia on a missions trip at the time. The three of us are planning on spending a week with Kathy in Arlington pretty much just hanging out kind of as a final trip with them before I plunge into full-time missions work (wow that sounds weird coming from me...). Then, on August 1st if Kathy and I have found a house, we will unload my container and move in. That is something you all can be praying about. We have been looking for a place to live and have found some great potential place, but have not settled on anything. So pray that we will have all that worked out by the time my container arrives!
Other than housing, please pray that I reach my support goals and if I don't, that I would be able to find a suitable job in time for rent and all. This is something I have really been stressing out about. It was a big deal for me in the beginning to decide to go on support, but I felt like it was what God wanted me to do mainly to learn to trust him. I am the kind of person that, while somewhat spontaneous, I like to be in control and know what resources I have at my disposal (not sure if that made any sense, but bear with me...). So I have been working hard on complete surrender!
I will try to write again before I leave but things are getting more and more hectic as I get closer to leaving. I will mainly be working a lot, preparing, and packing. Also, I am going on vacation starting on Sunday with my family, which I am very excited about. To be honest with you though, it also makes me a bit sad.
So now you know a bit of what is going on! Thanks for reading, keeping up, and caring. It is great to know that there are people out there...even people oceans away...that care about what is going on in my life! I love you all...

Well, my friends, you have the privilege (I guess) of reading about the beginning of my greatest adventure ever. I know I have been blessed with many throughout my life time, but I am about to embark on a journey the likes of which, to be honest with you, I never really dreamed of. God has turned my life around in the last few months in a way I did not expect.
Back in October I felt God calling me to do something more with my life than simply getting up in the morning, going to a school I hated, going to work I was tired of, and living my life somewhat monotonously. At the time I was not quite sure what he had in mind. However, I did decide to take the next semester off from school to try to figure out what exactly God wanted me to do. A the time I was living in an apartment here in Little Rock with a girl I work with. to say the least, it was not a good situation. Around Christmas, God began to put two cities into the back of my mind. Chicago and Seattle. Chicago made sense to me. I love the city of Chicago, I know people that live there...I would have enjoyed it. Seattle, on the other hand made no sense. I have no idea where the idea came from...well I guess God just put it there. I have never been to Seattle, I really didn't know much about the city or the area or anything really...other than the fact that it's not far from Forks (for those of you who know what I am referring to). So, I knew I would be leaving Arkansas. That was okay with me...I never really fit in here that well anyway. Christmas rolled around and I was looking for a new place to live. My dad was working with the college and singles ministry a lot at the time and met a girl named Heather, who owns a house and was looking for a room mate. He introduced me to her, we hit it off, and two weeks later I moved in. I had been working in the church coffee shop for the past few months and right around this time I met Kathy Letchuga, a single girl in our church who was planning on moving up to the Seattle area to work with a church plant in a town called Arlington. That was the first time I heard something about Seattle since God had placed it in my mind. From that point on it was like a flood - Seattle suddenly seemed to be everywhere. Kathy moved to Arlington right after Christmas and I began to wonder what exactly God was telling me. About a month after I moved in with Heather and Kathy moved to Arlington, Heather and I decided to take a trip up there to visit her. We took a weekend off work and flew up there. I was instantly in love. Aside from the fact that I think God created the Washington area specifically for me, I absolutely loved the people. We did a lot of touristy stuff, but on Saturday we just hung out in downtown Arlington. At one point I got separated from the group and I spent about an hour and a half walking around the tiny little downtown. Something snapped in me and there was absolutely no doubt in my mind that I would be moving there quite soon. I'd never felt that way before...I'd never quite heard God speak so clearly to me. It was like I knew what was going to happen, I knew it was right, I knew it was what God wanted, and it was what I wanted, and even if I didn't want it, I had no choice but to go with it. I was excited, but terrified. Let's just say I spent most of the rest of the day crying.
So we returned and I decided to take a month to pray about it, to talk to my parents and other people, and just make sure it was right (though I could not see it any other way anymore). There were times when I'd break down and think "I can't do this. I can't move across the country. I've never been away from my family. I have friends here I don't know if I'm willing to give up..." But then I'd stop and look at the situation again and try to think what I would do if I stayed and there was nothing there. It was like my life was a book and doing what God had for me it was full, page after page of narrative, the many things he had in store. But staying, going against what he had planned for me, the book was blank, depressing, and just wrong. It was like I had the choice - I could live my life full, like a book is supposed to be, or I could go against my nature and do the very opposite, have an empty, meaningless life.
So I fought through the hard times and last week I went back to Arlington as a final visit before I move. I spent my time talking to Tim, the pastor, Amy, his wife, people in the church, and Kathy. We talked about what I would do up there and so forth. I will be working with the church mainly just as on of the mature Christians in the small support group. (The Pacific North-West is a shockingly un-churched area.) I will also be helping with the youth group. My main focus, however, will be opening a cafe. Kathy and I are planning on opening a cafe in downtown Arlington mainly just as a ministry to create a healthy, safe environment for the people in the church to come, bring their unsaved friends and a place for community, which is the vision of the church. The cafe will be called Chairs...which kind of explains the title of my blog I guess...the Commons/Chairs...
I have three months until I move. I will be spending this time raising support and preparing to leave. The Summit Church will be my sending church as far as finances goes. All my support will go through them.
So that brings you all up to date. Let me know if you have any questions or anything! I will be sending out letters soon...so you may be getting something very similar to this in the near future...