Dzenme pan?

That's Chinese for "What to do?" What am I supposed to do with my new insights on what a missional church should look like, what Christ-like community truly is? What do I do with insights on true transformational leadership? Where do I go from here?

I take one step at a time. Make changes in the way I do life. Which is hard, since some of these ways are habits which are hard to break. Listen more. To God and those around me. Listen more. Speak less. Ask more questions. Take one step at a time. Read more. Interact. Ask questions of that which I'm reading. As God what he wants me to do as a result of that which I'm learning.

My reading pile hasn't gone down at all since I've been back in Cedar Rapids. As much as I wish I can set aside more time for reading and starting work on my next class project, I know that I'm doing what God's asking me to do right now. I'm going to where the people are, taking Christ to them through taking meals to their homes while they're cleaning, sorting through the devastation the river had left behind.

Choosing to read during this critical time would be to miss the point completely.

Instead, at this time, I shall listen. And at times when I don't hear well, I'll follow my friends who've sensed God laying ways on their hearts in which they can serve. We're all pretty overwhelmed at this stage. And cranky at times. Forgetful. On the edge.

And we've not even lost all we have in the flood.

I cannot even begin to imagine what it feels like to have lost everything... As we were driving around Danette's childhood neighborhood, handing out sandwiches and treats to very weary neighbors, one lady stood there, clutching this small, wooden plaque. A man (her husband?) who had retrieved a shotgun from the mud tried to console her. "We can get it cleaned..." She just kept staring at it, shaking her head in unbelief.

What does one say in such a case? The entire hour or two that we drove around, handing out refreshments, I just kept telling people, "I'm so sorry." "God bless you" seemed an odd thing to say as we drove off.

I am sorry. I truly am. When I walked out of my house in February to leave for class in Ethiopia, I honestly wasn't sure if I'd ever see my house again. Or any of my stuff. Homes were being burned in my neighborhood. Nothing, and no-one was safe. I left with just a bag with the most important stuff. And clothes for the class in Addis, of course.

But I came home to a place still perfectly in tact. So I cannot understand what thousands of families are feeling. Most left with just a few things, believing the river might flood by a foot or five. Some of those home were completely submerged.

"We're in this together," reads the billboard at Theater Cedar Rapids. They, too, were under water.

Amen. We are indeed in this together. Most people in town seem eager to help out, to donate time, skills, money, clothing.

It's so different from the devastation I saw in Kenya earlier this year, when neighbors turned on one another, burning one another's homes... Somehow, I think a flood might be easier to recover from.

What should I do? Continue to listen. Speak when God says. Be quiet otherwise. Learn all I can. Teach when God says I should. Or simply serve, and learn by getting dirty.

Early Celebrations

Last night, I was supposed to meet my friend Connie for dinner. As a bunch of us "chicks" were working the past few days, doing clean-up and the like, they started saying things like, "Why don't we grill on Sunday afternoon. It'll be a great break from this work!" So I figured Connie and I will get together another time, and agreed to go to her place. Everyone agreed to bring something, but I wasn't really paying attention to any of the arrangements since it was a very informal event.

On Sunday morning, Danette and I used dehumidifier water to wash our hair, seeing that the water supply in Cedar Rapids was still only at 25% of capacity, and we're supposed to limit usage to drinking and critical usage only. Later in the day, however, we were delighted to learn that things were looking up a bit, and that people in odd-numbered homes could take showers on odd-numbered days. We could also do dishes and laundry, if need be.

So, before heading to Connie's place, it was an absolute delight to take a long nap and a short shower. (I couldn't resist taking this photo of Danette and Paka in a rare moment. Danette hardly ever naps! However, hours of cleanup has left us all a bit wiped out!)

I haven't appreciated a shower that much in a very, very long time! Plus, I am very glad we were able to shower, 'cause when we arrived at Connie's, I discovered that the impromptu barbecue was far from that! It was, in fact, a surprise birthday celebration!


Originally, the plan was apparently to have the event at a restaurant in town, but due to the crisis in town, it was decided to make it a much more low-key event. I'm glad. Simply visiting with a handful of my good friends in Cedar Rapids at Connie's house was really, really nice. It gave us a good chance to visit about everything under the sun. The marrieds in the group left early, and the 5 singles who remained made a fire in Jodie's new fire pit, sat around the fire, visited some more, and made s'mores.



It was the first time I actually had s'mores, by the way. Yes, we roast marshmallows in South Africa. But we don't add chocolate and Graham crackers. I enjoyed only one of them. As much as I like sweet stuff, more than just one would be a bit much for me!

I still can't believe the girls threw a surprise birthday party, though. It caught me completely off guard, to the point that I was really choked up! They decided that since I'll be leaving soon, and since I'll be in the village for my 40th birthday in November, they wanted to have a chance to celebrate with me. Five months early, yes, but still, they get to celebrate. Which I love.

What a blessing to have such amazing friends. I thank God for these ladies who enrich my life so greatly. Unlike the s'mores I had earlier in the night, I'd take time with them any time! They're never too much, never too sweet. They're the real deal. What a blessing to have 'em in my life. Even though they've declared me 40, months too early!

Praise

So the terrible storm from this afternoon ended up NOT dumping much rain in this area. At least not in the area of Danette's house.

The water has gone down by several feet already. We took a drive after going to help some people with their basement, and it was good to see that some streets that were under water yesterday are starting to look better. But other areas are still completely flooded, with semis floating down the roads. The city announced that 1,300 city blocks were under water.

For those not from this area and wondering about the 500-year-flood thing, it simply relates to the likelihood of a flood like this occurring. In other words, chances are so slim for this to happen, it might happen once in five centuries And this article explains why the floods occurred. It has to do with the record snow this winter, following by record rains this spring.

The highway between here and Iowa City has been closed close to the airport. It's 27 miles from here to there, but the detour is 281-miles!

The water issue is critical around here. We girls have been laughing so hard about the fact that we've been doing hard, physical labor, but not able to take showers. We stand in line at places (like the Dairy Queen, an essential stop, you know, after a long day) and wondering about clean people...

OK, we understand some who live in the country have wells. In fact, tomorrow we'll be visiting a family with a well so we, too, can finally get cleaned up. It's about time. Especially after cleaning gutters today at a friend's house, and lugging around lots of mildewy boxes for a couple of days... We've been using water from the dehumidifier and the shop-vac to flush the toilet. We've been washing hands with hand sanitizer. We're all ready to take showers and wash out hair! Tonight, the city is shutting down water completely. Red Cross is distributing drinking water for free, which is a blessing. And it's going to be critical to have that as the city water gets shut off.

I'm tired, heading to bed. And I'm very thankful we didn't have much rain this evening. They're predicting a 60% chance of showers tomorrow. Praying that it won't happen...

New Storm

Though the water receded some today, a new storm is moving in right now. Hail is recorded in several towns in the area. We're praying for no new flooding in the basement here, and no more damage in the area! Follow the news at KCRG and Gazette. The water issue is becoming a major problem. We're not sure how long we'd have water. We're all trying our best to use as little water as possible. This morning, they reported that close to 500 city blocks are under water. Museums have been flooded. As have libraries. And business after business and home after home after home... It's really sad to see!

Tonight, friends and I are heading out to pull out the carpet at our mail lady's home. Tomorrow, we'll do the same. That's church for us tomorrow. We'll go serve wherever necessary. We can't do much, but it helps when a group of 6 "chicks" pull up and help haul stuff, or clean gutters, whatever. That's the way we felt yesterday when the girls showed up at Danette's house!

Anyway, we don't know what's going to happen the next few hours as the next storm is approaching. They're starting to talk about possible tornadoes. We don't need that. We don't need more flooding. Please pray that the rain will stop, that the water will recede, that we can start cleaning up.

My friend Erin wrote a very good entry about some of the things happening. Worth reading, for sure.

I just pulled up one of my text books for reading. Not sure how much else (work, studies, visiting with supporters) is going to happen in this last stretch in Cedar Rapids. There'll be lots of cleaning up to do. I don't think we have any idea yet of the immensity of the task ahead...

Disaster

It's hard to believe this is Cedar Rapids. I managed to get on a red-eye last night to Minneapolis/St. Paul, and from there to Cedar Rapids. God did some of his "magic." No cost to change due to the nature of the crisis. (Earlier in the day I was told it would be $1,200 to change the ticket, which I wasn't going to fork out. So I decided to simply head to the airport and go standby. Didn't have to do standby after all. Yeah God.)

Anyway, Cedar Rapids is a complete disaster. And the water is rising still. One of the photos I uploaded to my Flickr account is of Mercy Hospital. Just saw an areal view of the same area while out to grab lunch, and the water has increased much more.

Three other friends from Danette's small group is here. Water is seeping in through the basement floor and wall connections. The river is still about 4 blocks from here. It's usually about 2 miles away, I'd guess. But the soil is completely drenched, so the water is seeping in everywhere.

Cedar Rapids is on water restrictions. No showers. No unnecessary use. Don't flush if you don't have to. No water served at restaurants.

We're in the process of emptying out a ton of the stuff that got damaged in Danette's basement. Next, we'll go help the neighbors with theirs. Some from the group went to buy emergency supplies to drop off at the shelters.

Read detailed news on the local newspaper site: The Cedar Rapids Gazette.

And pray that no more rain will fall
* that the river will start to go down (it's more than 30ft above its regular level now)
* that the church would step up and serve the community BIG TIME
* that those who lost everything will be comforted...

Back to the basement.

Blizzards and floods and tornadoes, oh my!

I'm still in Seattle, approaching the last day and a half of class. The past two weeks of class have truly been eye-opening. This class is basically an introduction to the entire program, so it covers urban theology and missiology, and several components on transformational leadership. We've had a wide range of speakers from all over the West Coast (mostly the Northwest, though) to expose us to the various tracks in the program. I'll be doing a leadership track. I will expand more later.

Yesterday, there was a blizzard on Mount Rainier yesterday (that's just north of Seattle). So, needless to say, it's been cold here the entire time we've been in Seattle. (Someone was commenting this week that it's a beautiful Junuary week!) In the meantime, Cedar Rapids and surrounding areas are having terrible floods. (That's the city in Iowa I fly to this weekend.) Many areas in the city and surrounding areas have been evacuated, and more rain is coming down on an already treacherous area.

Danette's home is removed from the areas in danger of flooding, but we'll probably go and help sand-bag etc when she picks me up from the airport Saturday morning. (Red-eye flight from here takes me through Portland and Minneapolis for an early-morning arrival. Yikes.)

And in the meantime, Danette is on a business trip in Omaha, where a tornado killed 4 scouts today and injured 40!

Please join in praying for all those affected by the floods & tornadoes, for the rain to stop, for the waters to recede, for safety for all. And let's pray that God will show us how to support those whose lives have been affected by this weather.

On a much lighter note: I have made some really neat friends this week! Our class is truly diverse, not only in nationalities, but also in denominations and backgrounds. Unfortunately, class has been so packed that we've not had as much time for discussion. It seems like everyone's truly using every moment, though, to work through some of the concepts. Meal times, break times, even the drive home (3 of us are staying at the the house of the dean, a former professor of mine from APU) is used to wrestle with ideas presented.

One simply cannot go back to your ministry environment unaffected by that which you have talked about this week. Well, at least I can't.

One of my new friends is a techie from around this area. So I've learned a few tricks from him. One of the most handy ones? To use Google Reader.

I know, a bunch of you are probably already doing that. I just hadn't taken the time till now to explore Google Reader. As with all other Google products, this concept is brilliant! I no longer have to check in to see if a friend has finally posted a new blog entry. All blogs that I subsribe to are delivered right to my customized Reader page (and better yet, to iGoogle!)

Some of you are thinking I'm coming out of the Dark Ages here. Oh, well. What can I say. I live in the bush. But if you're clueless what I'm talking about and were like me, opening one news site and blog after another to catch up with friends and news, I'd highly recommend that you spend an hour to set up Reader. It will save you many hours!

I'm rambling. Still need to journal about today's class. Much to write about. Much more to learn, about far, far more than computer stuff.

Indulging

The word blessed can so easily be overused. But I honestly cannot think of a better word. I've been blessed, over and over, in the short week and a half that I've been back in the US. From simple pleasures like having treats I've missed, to spending time with friends, I have been blessed indeed.
Yummy... I've been trying to practice self-discipline and not enjoy all the things I've missed, though! :)

Time with friends included connecting with my friend Melissa in Heathrow. We worked together at ORTV in Taiwan for several years.

I'll upload some other photos from time with friends in Iowa later this week.

A photo from breakfast at Yaya Mary's home earlier this week. I've been meeting with friends and supporters during most lunches and dinners this past week. It really has been wonderful to catch up with people and hear what God's been up to in their world. (I went back to her and Weir's place today to hang out and do some birdwatching through their bay window. Photos to follow.)

Tomorrow's another full day of early coffee with a friend, Sunday school, church, lunch with other friends, and much more.

Blessed, I tell you. Now, if I can just catch up on my assignments, it'd be good, too! :)

Touch your nose to a triangle...

Earlier this evening, I was doing some funky moves: galloping to a square, sliding to a musical instrument, touching my elbow to a food sign while keeping my foot on a yellow sign. Weird? I was playing Hullabaloo with a family from church.

I've been trying to spend quality time with supporters to get to know them as families or individuals, and tonight, it meant that I got to be part of this particular home's family night. I got to show them pictures from Kenya during dinner time, and afterwards, we played games. Fun stuff. Especially when you see little ones get excited about missions.

Earlier last week, I had lunch with another family with young kids, too, which is really an honor to me. For many of the kids (not only these families, but also from the classes where I got to share at church yesterday), I'm the first missionary the kids really get to know, which is a lot of fun, really. Many of the families have been following the Sifunas' story this past year, and were able to rejoice with me in the fact that Silas decided a week ago to follow Christ.

And they got to know Hannah and her family, and were delighted to know that Nancy is in the process of applying for nursing school...

Through my blog, these are not just stories. It's like these people are part of their world. I love that! Especially when it comes to children.

Right now, I need to sleep, though. Tomorrow's another full day of work, studying, and lunch and dinner appointments. It's all good, though. It's all good.

Except the cold weather. That's not too great. I don't get how it's April and we're still in the very low 30s here with snow in the forecast for later in the week again. This, too, shall pass, right? Of course it will. At least I have a bed at my friend Danette's house with the warmest bedding imaginable. And since Danette's out of town for work, her animals are all down in my room. In fact, right now, all three her cats are surrounding my legs. I think they like this bedding as much as I do.

I'm going to join the cats and head to Dreamland.

Non-linear thinking

• I decided not to go and take my driver's test yesterday. Thought I might not be too alert due to jetlag.
• Went this morning, but I have to produce some more pieces of mail to prove that I really have an Iowan address. So I might go back next week.
  
• Else I'll just use my South African license. Which is completely legal.
  
• I may have been the only person around Cedar Rapids wearing a coat, scarf and gloves. Some young Iowans are out in shorts and T-shirts while I'm shivering.
• It was 34 degrees this morning. It may get up to a blistering 50 degrees later in the day. Warm enough to melt all of yesterday's snow.
• Yes, we had snow yesterday.
  
• We had heavy rains yesterday afternoon, followed by an inch of snow. More, actually, but much melted thanks to the rain.
• This morning was the first morning in a while that I was back at scraping ice and snow off the window of the car I'm using.
• It was also the first morning that I was wide awake at 4 am. Got to spend 2 hours in bed, reading. Then I got up.
• Today, I get to visit with lots and lots of people at a dessert event. Tomorrow and Sunday's packed with missions events. And a wedding reception in between everything.
• I should be working on my presentation for tonight. Not a formal presentation, no. Just some pictures from the past year. Then head home to help bake a million pies for tonight.
  
• OK, I'm exaggerating, I know.
• Some people were wondering if tonight's dessert is part of the New Covenant missions weekend. Yes, it is. That's why I'm in town.
• Back to work.
  

My Hobby?

Recently, when I was at Ilula, the kids asked me about my hobbies. They had learned about hobbies at school, obviously.

So I told them my hobby is photography. Which I don't know if you can consider it a hobby any more since it really is my job.

Birdwatching. Definitely a hobby.

Visiting. Reading. Writing. All hobbies of mine. Blogging, too, I guess. Never thought of it that way.

But if you think of collecting things, I can probably add "collecting driver's licenses" to the list of hobbies. I have one for South Africa, Taiwan, California, and an international license. (Can't have one from Kenya yet. Only once I finally have my Kenya residency permit can I apply for a license there.)

Today, when doing some banking, the teller asked, "Do you perhaps have a valid driver's license?" Huh? Turns out, my California license had expired in November. Yikes.

So, tomorrow I hopefully get to add a license from the state of IOWA to my collection. (As in I-o-wa. Not 10-W-A. A friend of mine was once asked "What's 10-W-A?" when she wore an IOWA sweatshirt elsewhere in the USA. Won't say which state, since my friends from that state might be embarrassed by the fact that someone in their area didn't know that there's actually a state in the Midwest called Iowa. And that most of their corn comes from here. I'm diverging. Again. Sorry.)

I'm actually sitting here reading through the blue book. I am learning things I never knew. Like that you don't need a license in Iowa to drive farming equipment on your farm.

Good to know.

OK, so I just found out I technically don't need an Iowa license since I have a valid South African license. But I think it's not a bad idea to get a local license. Then I don't have to carry around my passport as proof of identity when I go places or write checks.

I'd better study for the test. Wouldn't want to flunk it, you know!

Hanging out with friends

Lunch break
Originally uploaded by Boyznberry.

My dear friend Mary gave me a call the other day. "Do you want to take a break and go watch the eagles?" she asked me.

We drove to a spot in town where there were innumerable bald eagles. I braved the cold to go and snap a few pictures.

After that, we drove to Mary's fiance, Weir's home to watch the birds in his yard. Weir's a bird expert and used to own the local wildlife goods store. In his yard, there are perhaps 20 bird feeders! As we drove up, wild turkeys ran into the woods behind the house. There were juncos feeding on the ground, downy woodpeckers hanging out on the feeders, and the trees were dotted red with perhaps 50 or more cardinals! There were also a number of other little birds which I cannot remember the names for right now. Will have to ask Weir what they are!

Click on the cardinals to see pictures of the eagles and more.

"I hate playing Poker with Christians!"

Winner!
Originally uploaded by Boyznberry.

I won't say who said it, because that won't be nice. :) But it was one of the funniest lines at the "Texas hold 'em" poker night at my friend Beth's house. I've never played poker and wasn't too keen on learning, but I went for the pure sake of hanging out with friends. The comment came as a result of one player losing all her chips, and another saying, "Oh, no! You can have 'em back!"

We had lots of fun, despite the cold weather outside. Right now, it's -11F out. That's -24C! As the night goes on, the high is supposed to be -13 (-25C)!

Fortunately, I'm flying to California tomorrow where it's warmer. But I don't mind the cold weather. Especially not when I'm indoors with good friends.

Click on the picture for a few more photos from tonight's event.