Monday, February 25, 2013
Kindle blogging
I am taking my Kindle with me to the DR so I wanted to see wha it would be like to blog through this device. I know that Kindle is capable of picking up the 3G in other countries, and I even read on another blog that a girl volunteering with PC in the DR was sometimes able to pick up service. I have to admit that this short post has taken me a bit of time to get used to. Punctuation is a bit hard to get used to amd it takes longer to go back and correct a spelling error, but for a tiny one liner or a post to reassure those who ae reading my blog, it' not bad.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
This is really happening.
I am also aware of saying goodbye to my family. My sister is planning her off days for when I leave. My mom is getting to town in a couple of hours. My bio-dad gets here tomorrow. My cousins are saying super sweet good bye things. And my coworkers gave me a bear. The PCDR Facebook group keeps posting things like, "TWO WEEKS!", in the group postings, and my far away Kentucky friends are planning Skype dates.
I still have to pack my apartment. Get out of my apartment. Pass off my car. And pack my suitcases.
I'm not sleeping a lot over the next two weeks am I?
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
What Bible Study are you doing?
I have had a number of people ask me what Bible Study I am planning to do while I am in PC. My answer to this question has been that I am going "Back to Basics". The only official study I wanted to take was my bible. I have one main reason for doing this and one accompanying reason.
Main reason:
Some of you are in the know about when I became a Christian. I had a conversation with God, a kind of demanding conversation on my side, wherein the answer I received was that, "The bible is the truth." Now, along the way I have changed this to hear, "The church is the truth.", "The River of Life is the Truth.", "Insert name of someone I admire is the truth." All of which were greeted with a reminder that this was not the lesson I had learned on that fateful day in June of 2008. When I think I know what matters in life I go back to basics. I read just the bible and ask for truth in that. I set aside what the world says it means to be a Christian, or a follower of Jesus, and I go back to what I know. It's really not a big deal (though it is a BIG deal), in that I just mean that I don't think God meant being a Christian to be a challenge or that every Christian is meant to be a cookie cutter version of each other. I find that i lose myself and I lose God when I try to follow the mold of traditional Christianity. Let me and God decide what that means for me, please. Also know that at the basis of my faith I have that I want to give more to the people of the world than I take and I want all humans to be treated like people.
Accompanying reason:
At some point in my life, I can't remember exactly when, Mac at the River of Life church in Springfield, KY put forth a challenge to the people in his life and his church to read the bible in 90 days. I participated. I read it cover to cover once. I remember siting in that sun lit room at St. Catharine College (For those of you familiar with the school I was doing desk duty at the end of Siena). I read for hours each day. Well, probably hour. I remember a Facebook page devoted to the challenge acceptors. Each day Ray Hamilton was the first to post that he had read and that was a bit of a motivator to follow behind him and not that I too had read for the day. I think 8 people finished, but for me, it was a personal success. I learned so much about myself, my faith, and my God. I brought myself back to basics and I took away the "You are a Christian so you must be like all the other Christians" mentality I easily fall into.
Fast Forward to the now. I want to read the bile over a year. Though 90 days was wonderful and I was able to get the entire story, I want a bit more time to process the process. I have to shake expectations and just be me. One of my good friends from high school, Nikki has a mother (as many do), and her mother gave me a read the bible in a year devotional. It is entitled "Our Daily Bread". Though I am not going to follow the plan as they lay it out (Because I don't like mixing old and new testaments as a way of forcing some kind of emotional connection), and I am not actually going to start on January 1, I am going to use the journal as a way of writing some thoughts, getting in some time, and keeping track of my progress. Also, I am just going to go ahead and start in the morning, and not wait until PC to start. I try to be a do it now kind of person, so hopefully that is happening tomorrow.
Now, I answer this question because it has been asked of me more than thrice now. It is a helpful question from many (though not all) who care about me. I don't know that I will necessarily update often on this aspect of PC life. "Is Amanda doing her daily reading?" Well, we won't know, but I do know that if I get a reading in that day or not isn't going to change God. God, in my opinion, created us to live in the world so that's what I plan on doing, while at the same time, morals and life goals I had way before I gave God a chance lead me to want to give the people of the world the time they deserve, so I plan on doing that also.
Main reason:
Some of you are in the know about when I became a Christian. I had a conversation with God, a kind of demanding conversation on my side, wherein the answer I received was that, "The bible is the truth." Now, along the way I have changed this to hear, "The church is the truth.", "The River of Life is the Truth.", "Insert name of someone I admire is the truth." All of which were greeted with a reminder that this was not the lesson I had learned on that fateful day in June of 2008. When I think I know what matters in life I go back to basics. I read just the bible and ask for truth in that. I set aside what the world says it means to be a Christian, or a follower of Jesus, and I go back to what I know. It's really not a big deal (though it is a BIG deal), in that I just mean that I don't think God meant being a Christian to be a challenge or that every Christian is meant to be a cookie cutter version of each other. I find that i lose myself and I lose God when I try to follow the mold of traditional Christianity. Let me and God decide what that means for me, please. Also know that at the basis of my faith I have that I want to give more to the people of the world than I take and I want all humans to be treated like people.
Accompanying reason:
At some point in my life, I can't remember exactly when, Mac at the River of Life church in Springfield, KY put forth a challenge to the people in his life and his church to read the bible in 90 days. I participated. I read it cover to cover once. I remember siting in that sun lit room at St. Catharine College (For those of you familiar with the school I was doing desk duty at the end of Siena). I read for hours each day. Well, probably hour. I remember a Facebook page devoted to the challenge acceptors. Each day Ray Hamilton was the first to post that he had read and that was a bit of a motivator to follow behind him and not that I too had read for the day. I think 8 people finished, but for me, it was a personal success. I learned so much about myself, my faith, and my God. I brought myself back to basics and I took away the "You are a Christian so you must be like all the other Christians" mentality I easily fall into.
Fast Forward to the now. I want to read the bile over a year. Though 90 days was wonderful and I was able to get the entire story, I want a bit more time to process the process. I have to shake expectations and just be me. One of my good friends from high school, Nikki has a mother (as many do), and her mother gave me a read the bible in a year devotional. It is entitled "Our Daily Bread". Though I am not going to follow the plan as they lay it out (Because I don't like mixing old and new testaments as a way of forcing some kind of emotional connection), and I am not actually going to start on January 1, I am going to use the journal as a way of writing some thoughts, getting in some time, and keeping track of my progress. Also, I am just going to go ahead and start in the morning, and not wait until PC to start. I try to be a do it now kind of person, so hopefully that is happening tomorrow.
Now, I answer this question because it has been asked of me more than thrice now. It is a helpful question from many (though not all) who care about me. I don't know that I will necessarily update often on this aspect of PC life. "Is Amanda doing her daily reading?" Well, we won't know, but I do know that if I get a reading in that day or not isn't going to change God. God, in my opinion, created us to live in the world so that's what I plan on doing, while at the same time, morals and life goals I had way before I gave God a chance lead me to want to give the people of the world the time they deserve, so I plan on doing that also.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
My sister
In honor of me leaving,
or simply because of love,
my sister got a tattoo of me on her body.
my sister got a tattoo of me on her body.
I'm so PC.
Probably the most PC thing about me right now is that I am very delayed in my posts. As I read past volunteers blogs I was always sad when the posts would be months apart, but here I am doing the same thing. I also have no intention of going back and making it up, so you are going to have a space in this blog. I will update you today for as of today.
Well, medical clearance went swimmingly, and by swimmingly I mean it was touch and go for a long time there. I had to redo my WBC lab test because my levels were high. I also had to explain that I had recently had a root canal, was about to have another root canal, and the following week I was going to have all of my wisdom teeth removed. Well, there goes my chances of LOWERING my WBC. During that time it was hard and awful and confusing and frightening, but as of right now I am in the clear and okay with it.
For a long time I was telling people I was leaving, but not feeling it myself. My sister, Gabby, kept saying I was leaving and that she was sad, but it was just not real to me. Then, on February 1, 2013, as I sat in the break room at lunch checking my email I saw a message entitled "Staging!!". I knew this was it. I had to call SATO to set up my flight. I called 10 minutes too late though (Because directly after work I made a Craigslist purchase of luggage for the trip) and had to call on Monday. Now I know I am leaving on March 4, 2013 at 10 something in the morning.
Since then I have been going between freaking out about everything I have to pack and sitting in my house telling myself I have plenty of time. Friday my sister, my cousin, and one of my best girlfriends are coming over to stake claim on my belongings. The rest are either going with me or going into storage. I have already quit my job. My last day of work will be March 19.
Other thoughts lead me to this:
"Everything happens for a reason."
The statement I have dished out over and over again in my life, but have recently had it thrown at me more than I've sent it flying. When I decided to jump onto my Peace Corps dream again it was partially because I had chosen the best time in my life. I was finished with my bachelor's degree, I was single, and I didn't have any children. Also, the people that made up the bulk of my life and time were suddenly gone and there was no getting them back. Surely there wasn't anything that could happen in a few months that would lead me to question PC. Well, don't take life for granted. It has a way of throwing wonderful things in front of you that can lead you to trip up the perfect scenario you envisioned for your days. Don't get me wrong. I am not giving up on PC. I feel like my life has all come together to get me to this point. Also though, I know that I am leaving behind a life filled with wonderful adventures and people that may or may not be the same when I get back. There is no way I can be the same. No way. I just hope that in the end, things work out for the best when I return home. For both of us.
Well, medical clearance went swimmingly, and by swimmingly I mean it was touch and go for a long time there. I had to redo my WBC lab test because my levels were high. I also had to explain that I had recently had a root canal, was about to have another root canal, and the following week I was going to have all of my wisdom teeth removed. Well, there goes my chances of LOWERING my WBC. During that time it was hard and awful and confusing and frightening, but as of right now I am in the clear and okay with it.
For a long time I was telling people I was leaving, but not feeling it myself. My sister, Gabby, kept saying I was leaving and that she was sad, but it was just not real to me. Then, on February 1, 2013, as I sat in the break room at lunch checking my email I saw a message entitled "Staging!!". I knew this was it. I had to call SATO to set up my flight. I called 10 minutes too late though (Because directly after work I made a Craigslist purchase of luggage for the trip) and had to call on Monday. Now I know I am leaving on March 4, 2013 at 10 something in the morning.
Since then I have been going between freaking out about everything I have to pack and sitting in my house telling myself I have plenty of time. Friday my sister, my cousin, and one of my best girlfriends are coming over to stake claim on my belongings. The rest are either going with me or going into storage. I have already quit my job. My last day of work will be March 19.
Other thoughts lead me to this:
"Everything happens for a reason."
The statement I have dished out over and over again in my life, but have recently had it thrown at me more than I've sent it flying. When I decided to jump onto my Peace Corps dream again it was partially because I had chosen the best time in my life. I was finished with my bachelor's degree, I was single, and I didn't have any children. Also, the people that made up the bulk of my life and time were suddenly gone and there was no getting them back. Surely there wasn't anything that could happen in a few months that would lead me to question PC. Well, don't take life for granted. It has a way of throwing wonderful things in front of you that can lead you to trip up the perfect scenario you envisioned for your days. Don't get me wrong. I am not giving up on PC. I feel like my life has all come together to get me to this point. Also though, I know that I am leaving behind a life filled with wonderful adventures and people that may or may not be the same when I get back. There is no way I can be the same. No way. I just hope that in the end, things work out for the best when I return home. For both of us.
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