The Beauty of Lattes and Colors

  

Sitting on the sunny porch of the Big A coffee shop, I feel a chill in the breeze. I look around me and see bright oranges and yellows and deep reds instead of the usual spring greens. The world around me is slowly approaching the death of winter, but in the process, is becoming more brilliant than ever.

There’s something deeply beautiful about that.

In this short transition season, we enjoy the vivid colors of the trees, cool weather, and warm pumpkin pie lattes and we don’t even think about the death in all of it.

I think that’s what makes this season my favorite. It’s not the apple cider and butternut squash—it’s the hopeful paradox of beauty and death.

The flowers and trees know that the death of winter is coming, but instead of solemnly creeping along in their existence until then, they burst into vivid glory and live their last days in brilliance.

In these last days of nature, I am surrounded by the call to live vibrantly through the times in my life that feel like they’re approaching a sort of death. My walks to class remind me that God makes my life colorful and breathtaking even when all I can see is lifelessness and all I can feel is coldness.

Through this season, I’m learning that these darker times in my life are the perfectly crafted moments where He chooses to make my life colorful and comforting—if only I decide to notice it.

This fall may you see all of God’s brilliant colors around you.

Okay again

What is it about Scripture that makes everything seem okay again?




It's like when you're a kid and some bully at school says something really terrible about you and you go home and there's warm chocolate chip cookies on the table.


Or when you're the bully at school all of a sudden and you say some really terrible things about somebody. You come home and you're mom says it's not the end of the world but that redemption needs to happen. It's encouragement with a kick in the butt.


Or it's like when you get to college and you don't know who you are and you think some really terrible things about yourself and you come home and are reminded that what you're good at doesn't matter nearly as much as you think it does.




Lately Scripture is all of this for me. I wish i could say that it always has this affect, but honestly, i don't run to it as much as i need to. I have this new desire to read the raw Word and it's like coming home. 

Rockclimbing wall!

I refuse to get sentimental...

This is my last week and i plan on just rollin into the RA thing at TFC without one single stupid little tear. That's why i'm procrastinating on writing the Koreans the letter im going to give them along witht the picture album and shell cross i made. Im also trying not to take too many pictures. Once i start i feel like if i dont get a picture of everything it's the end of the world. Silly. 

So this is going to be a 'in the moment' post and not a 'this has been a wonderful summer..sniff..tear..' post, k?

Tomorrow my groupies and i are going to build a rock climbing wall! How fantastic is that? We finished the monkey bars and ladder for the fort today and we almost have the rest of the fort finished. We also have one of the two swing sets almost completely built. Don't worry, I will get pictures. 

I will head straight to Toccoa on Sunday from MB... tell me about it.

Love!

boiled peanuts and choco-toffee coffee

Sitting at the Chesterfield again waiting on my last group of campers.. yeh I said that last time, but remember my last post? I get one more group and we are going to build a surprise playground for the Koreans!!! Im still trying to figure out how to split up the projects for my campers, but im sure when I meet them all ill know where they fit. We finished up worksites this past weekend and Matt helped me practice my “skilsaw skills”. (I liked that too.) We finished roofing a house, scraping tar and repainting a house, and doing some little painting and railing at the Waccamma boy’s home. It was hard work, but I love getting a little painty and dirty.

Something I don’t love as much: getting into accidents. Yes. This morning Emily, Noah, Gus, and I had the grand idea of doing our laundry at the mat before church. It was raining and S. Kings Ave. was flooding. There’s too much detail to be interesting, but basically I got into a fender bender and the side of my car isn’t too pretty. That’s the facts. Talking about it too much makes me a little queasy.

Some fun facts: Jack just gave me boiled peanuts and I made some chocolate toffee coffee. I also finished my book “So long insecurity” by Beth Moore. I always feel a little embarrassed telling people that I’m reading that and it makes me feel a tad better just to say that. So now that it’s out I going to tell you that you should read it. No, it wasn’t a self-help book. (as if you’re arguing with me) It was just wonderful and friendly written. I love how she writes like she talks. It’s like one side of a conversation. I highly recommend it whether you struggle with insecurity or not (I think everyone does a little), but it’s definitely a girl’s read.

So that leads me to another paragraph: Does anyone have any book suggestions? I know you guys read because you’re reading this (clever!) I would love novel suggestions (in the unique sense and in the type of book sense). 

Letteth me knoweth!

All of you are wonderful human beings.

Love.

Playground!

Here is news!!! :

1. I get to stay for the full week next week.

2. I get a group for next week at... The Korean Church!

3. I get to build a SURPRISE PLAYGROUND!!!



Can you tell im a little excited??



I have worked all summer at the Korean United Methodist church building and beautifying their first sanctuary of their own. It has been a beast of a project but it has been amazing to work there. The Korean people seem a little timid so it took about 4 weeks to really get to know them. They have opened up so much and Mrs. Hye even said she considers me Korean if I would just duck down a little to be as short as her.... they are hilarious! Rarely do staff stay at one site all summer, but new projects kept coming up. We completely transformed the pastor's office and built him some awesome bookcases. We also got to build more of those awesome bookcases for a mini library where they can hold Korean Intensive courses for the community which teach people how to read and write Korean. The rotten wood on the outside of the church is replaced and repainted and the jungle of ivy and weeks is tamed.
It looks like a real church home and they are so so so excited!

Joe, my director, knows how much i have fallen in love with these people and has been helping me figure out one last surprise project for them. At first it started out as a couple of swingsets but now it has become an all-out playground. I am building two swingsets, a fort/platform with a ladder, connecting monkey bars, and hopefully a slide. I have never done anything like this, not even a deck, so i have been thinking and drawing and shopping all day. I have a team of 12, but im not sure if they are in jr or sr high. If you think about me next week say a mini prayer for me because i will need it.


Love!

If I sent you a postcard and you havent sent me one back...shame on you.

Homes

7.25.10

Today was beautiful. Actually the last two days have been. Yesterday the girls on staff went to Mrs. Janice's house for the most delicious low country boil. Emily has worked on her house a lot this summer and has become like part of their family. Mrs. Janice’s daughter died when she was 22 and her spunky granddaughter Jayana now lives with her. Emily says she thinks she has opened up to her so much because she is a lot like her daughter.

After lunch we all snuggled up on the couch and watched a murder mystery on lifetime. It was nice to be in a real home for a while, and not to mention having a real home cooked meal.

Later yesterday three staff from Gatlinburg came in and I love them all. Jon is a worksite beast, Megan is the sweetest girl, and Griffin leads worship with Matt and Natalia and has a superb ghetto alterego.  I really wish they were staying for more than a week.

This morning we all went to the Korean church for their 27^th year anniversary celebration service. Yeah! Here’s what’s up: last week we all had a major change of plans at the church and had to paint the ceiling. It was a little frustrating because our walls were halfway painted and ceiling wasn't going to look good without popcorn texture. But later they explained that they had to have it painted so they could go ahead and put the lights and air conditioning in. They wanted to have their anniversary service in their new building whether it was finished or not. I told Mrs. Hye we were coming to the sunday morning service last night but she decided not to tell the pastor or anyone else because she wanted us to be their surprise. I wish you could see the look on their faces and tears in the eyes when all 13 of us walked in.

Other than the scaffolding in the back and the paint tape around the window frames and doors it looked like a real church. I couldn't understand most of the message but I knew what it was about. He spoke on a passage in Luke-- the one about how to pray and the power of persistent prayer. Throughout the message I kept hearing "TEAMeffort" and I knew he was talking about us being the fruit of the church's prayers. The members told us so over a delicious, authentic Korean lunch. One older lady who had been a part of the church since the beginning told us that we were a miracle to them. 

Their appreciation and warm hugs made me forget about the splotches on the walls and the many other imperfections that annoy me. The people there remind me of little kids on Christmas morning when they walk into the new church. It's not just thankfulness that I see but awe and excitement. I can now understand why they were so anxious to move in. They just couldn't wait to see their new home! I love that! That is the joy of the Lord! They are the body and bride of Christ and they are so beautiful!

I am so thankful that it was easy to see the kingdom come and the will of God done on my worksite because some homeowners aren't grateful. I've heard stories of homeowners asking for thousands of dollars so they could hire their own builders who would do a more quality job. I don't know if i'd be as gung-ho about working on the church if they were like that. I'm so happy that the Korean church is loving and giving, but I don't want to say that that's the reason i do the work. I want my motivation for working at TEAMeffort or anywhere else to be the same whether people care or even notice. I want my reason for working, giving, and living to be the glory of God. I want Him to be so important to me that I have no other reason for doing anything. 1 Cor. says that I can move mountains, but without love it is worthless. I want to love fiercely before I get recognized or appreciated for doing great things. I mean why would I take credit? Don’t all good things come from God anyway? 

That is what I’m learning this summer. I pray that I can have this kind of heart next year as an RA. Surprisingly I feel really good about going right into another year as an RA. I thought I’d be burnt out from this summer but the more I work the more rejuvenated and refocused I feel. It’s funny how faith works isn’t it?

Doris and I are chillin in the chesty-chest waiting on my last group of campers to come in. Something dramatic is on TV so im going to peace out.

Love to all!

Le Pier Deux

Relaxing at the Pier again with Kylie. I'm glad no one's here because it has been hec-to-da-tic! 211 campers this week and Gus and I have 50 at the Korean church. We got a lot done but I probably heard my name 100 times today. I think the first day is the most stressful because i have to get everyone in their stations and into the groove. I tried to make it easier for myself by making a worksheet for each team that has a list of tools needed for the job and a step by step how-to list. Type-A? Yes. I think it worked but by the end of the day the sheets were destroyed by paint and sweat.

This is my 5th week at the Korean church and i love it now more than i ever have. I think it takes a while for the Korean people to really warm up to somebody. Im positive they love me now. Eun Park, the pastor's wife and also the assistant pastor, gives me hugs and holds my hands and the pastor, Jung Pai, gave me a glow in the dark necklace and a stinkin' awesome pen with their church name on it that has all different kinds of ink. He gave me a hug too!

We are doing some stuff around the church that they don't know about and i'm pretty happy about it. We are building a gate for their air conditioning unit, landscaping and making a pathway to the back of the church, and washing the outside walls. Mr. James said he thought the church looked 2 times whiter than when he saw it earlier today! Gus also had the amazing idea of making a prayer labrinth around the back of the church. It's basically a little prayer garden with a winding walkway. He wants to make the path out of seashells and I hope i can pick the flowers.

Im in the skit tonight at chapel... look on my facebook wall to look at the lastest video im tagged in. It's a tidbit of how it goes.

That's all for now I think.

Tell me about your lives!

Love!

Le Pier

Im on Pier duty with Gus but no campers are here... so that makes for a perfect time to blog.

This weekend we (the teameffort staff) got to hang out with Karen's ministry staff (Bri, Kelly, Emily, and Luke) and it was loads of fun. Have you ever played Neos? They look like something from the Jetsons and they are the most exciting thing. Let me see if i can explain this... it's like a cage or a wall, depending on which one you go to, of lights that you have to catch or hit, depending on which game you play. One person has to get the red lights and the other green. It gets so intense and you're running around and into one another and you get a little dizzy. Don't you wish i had a picture? 

This week's group is my favorite so far. We have already made another tribe.. "Panasty-nast" (For the nasty paint) Of course i am the chief and my face got attacked with war paint. I have a heart, many dots and lines, and a swirled mustache at the moment. I plan to keep it on through chapel. 

Oh here's something! We no longer have campers or complete strangers walking into our house! That's good right? You see we put a sign on our door that says "Staff Only" and "No, This is Not the Sea Palms Office". That solved that right up. 

All of you lovely people need to check your mailboxes because I just might have sent you some love in the form of a postcard. 

Cooper out!

free time? what is this?

This is bizarre that I have free time let me tell you. I am sitting here with Megan and Emily in our freshly cleaned kitchen eating pretzel sticks and orange blossom honey. Megan stole some of Matt's fantastic cds and we're jamming as I try to think of something interesting to tell you all. 

Oh! Here is something: Due to our house being the storage room for the Pier (our concessions/hang out area) a lot of flies get into our house because we open and close the door so much. With that in mind (we are not complete slobs) let me tell you that there were maggots in our sink. Is our house cursed with every kind of bug on the planet? I think so. 

Also exciting: My group for this week was beastly this week and we finished the altar for the Korean church and built two walls along with sanding and remudding the ceiling. Er.. excuse me "muddockarockin" the ceiling. That's what we call mud. We also call sheetrock "sharockarock". My groups are the tribe of "mudockarock" and I am chief, or Queen depending on the group's preference, "Sharockarock". Clever huh? We have war paint and everything! 

Another fantastic thing that happened today: one of my camper's butt fell completely through the ceiling. We have to get new sheetrock or whatever...but im pretty sure it was worth it. 

And also an old guy on the team took out his teeth at me. I was shocked. 

I still cant get my computer to load my camera, but I'm going to use Emily's because hers magically works. Stupid computer. 

I love you guys and I want to hear all about your lives! I bought postcards today so check your mail this week. 

love!

Un-Polkadotted!

That's right! I don't look like a plucked chicken anymore and i'm not itchy! We got to move back into our apartment and we haven't had any problems so far. Praise the Lord! Now if we can only semi-organize the chaos.

I am at the laundromat again and not quite ready for another round of campers yet. Last week was my second group and I got to lead them at the Korean church by myself. Next week I'll do the same, but I think we will start on building the altar.. so cool!

Gosh there is so much that has happened that I would love to tell you all about but I'll keep it brief. 
The nightly chapels have been going so well. We have some amazing worship leaders and the skits we get to do are hilarious. I get to speak to the students on Tuesday nights after the weekly video and on Thursday nights we do a art/drama presentation that is incredible. (Look up the "New Creation" video on youtube. We use a big canvas instead ;) Julia you would love it!)

Here are some other tidbits i would like to mention:
1. I ate Indian food
2. I ate Korean food
3. My mom and cousins came this weekend and we had a blasty-blast  ;)
4. I've gone through three watches so far
5. I invented something called a banana boat...ask me about that

I love you all!

Attaaack!

Sorry to all of my lovely fans (ha!) for not blogging sooner... as you see i am currently under attack. Yes, attack. The war started Saturday night when my skin started itching and Sunday morning was when the full out seige began. The foe?...BEDBUGS. I woke up covered in red bumps that looked like chicken pox and itched like cuuraazzy! The friends i have made here are amazing to say the least. They helped me find a way to the hospital and are still helping me disinfect the room. I am actually writing this from the laundromat while I wait for our (hopefully) clean sheets to dry. We think we've almost defeated the enemy but i still look like a plucked chicken unfortunately. More on that saga later when i figure out how to get pictures on here.

Other news: I felt like a superhero yesterday at our worksite. Before we even began the sheetrocking... ahem, i mean "sharockarockin" one of the adult leaders fell on a brick and gashed a hole so deep in her kneecap that i could see the muscle i think (sorry.. too much?) I felt like the cheesy people on those first aid videos because i did everything right. Cleared the scene, got directions to the nearest hospital, cleaned the wound, and wrapped it, and tranported the victim to the emergency room. She had to get stiches, but it was awesome.

The night chapels have been going somewhat smoothly. We lost power last night but got it back right in time to start. It was a VERY cool service, however  I will have to blog later about that one... the sheets are almost done.

Sorry for any typos. My itchy hands are my excuse.

Love!

my summed up summer (so far)

This summer i am working for an organization called Teameffort. It's a missions camp for jr high and sr high students and i, along with 9 other staff will be leading the missions projects. I don't know if anybody really reads this but this can at least be a good way for me to remember this summer. So off we go...
At the moment i am sitting with two of the 4 girls im living with in our kitchen. We have our own cottage/apartment-type place on none other than Myrtle Beach, SC! One block away from the beach but two feet away from creepers no matter where we go. Seriously, last night while we went to laser tag a random shirtless guy walked into our apartment and terrified megan who was the only one home. We have suspicions that he stole Natalia's grapefruit juice. Either that or our guys staff did. There are 3 of them plus Joe and Caitlyn- our directors. 
So far we've just been setting up camp- the Pier (our hangout/snack place), building bunkbeds and massive quantities of benches (one blister so far and many other scrapes), and stocking our worksites. 
This sunday is when our first batch of campers come and a guy on my staff named Gus and I will be leading a team of about 15 youth in sheetrocking the ceiling of a Korean church and putting in insulation. I've become very Lowes literate over the past few weeks and I feel so boss about it! Ever heard of tapcons and button caps? Yeah, didn't think so. Ill try to figure out how to load pics from my camera on here to show you the humongoid checkout process a few days ago. The receipt would make your knees weak. 
That's all that's on my brain right now. Probably because it's past my bedtime. Im going to tell my fam to try to stay updated with me through this.. so if you guys have any questions, ask away! 
Tomorrow's agenda holds skit practices and some painting... interested? Ill let you know about it tomorrow! It's intense!

leading free

bid me to fall,

but keep my foot steady.

(Your best idea)

lead our dance in the green open field.