Yesterday's Lunch

So yesterday's lunch deserves a blog all of it's own. It was our last Special Meal Day. I'm not sure which country it was from, but it was in the Pacific Rim region. Chicken Curry on Rice. The rice was ok, and I like chicken but I wasn't very fond of the curry, very spicey. But what I thought was really strange was all of the "condiments" that went on the chicken and rice. Tomatoes (which I left off since I had to have them last week), peanuts, bananas, cocunut, raisins, pineapple, and I can't remember what all. Let me tell you what's not fun: expecting cocunut on your fork and getting rice! I just thought it was interesting to put all of these together in one bowl. Then afterwards there was this cucumber dish that was supposed to cool your mouth off. I don't know what kind of mix these cucumbers were in, something like ranch with onions. I haven't heard many people that could handle it, though, not even cucumber lovers! But dinner made up for it. A group of us went to Chili's and watched the LSU game. I'm not a huge football fan, but I hadn't seen any television in close to a month!

Week 2 Overview

Even though I've been here three weeks, last week is still considered week 2 because it was the 2nd full week here. A lot went on and I'll try to give some brief details. So our special meals probably weren't a big deal for most people. The first meal was Middle Eastern which consisted of diced tomatoes, onions, and peppers, meatballs, and bread. Oh, and no silverware. If I liked tomatoes, onions, or peppers it probably wouldn't have been so bad! Ha. I just "tried" it. Had I needed to eat the whole meal I probably could have. The second meal was Hungarian. It was goulash (red sauce, pasta, and meat) with red cabbage and bread. I didn't eat the whole bowl of this, but it would not have been a problem to eat. We did get to use forks, though! Our last special meal is Thursday.

Shots went well on Friday. I only had three: rabies, polio, and Hep A. Our nurses are really great. Next to the military, the IMB gives the most shots per year along the East coast! They've got it down. There was a nurse on each side sticking me at the exact same time!

Sunday night was Korean worship. We have several Korean families here, so it was really authentic. The room was divided into men and women, and then we sat on the floor in rows. We sang Jesus Loves Me in Korean and in English along with some other songs. During the service we prayed in their manner. We all called out, "Lord! Lord! Lord!" then all prayed out loud. While we were praying it occured to me how chaotic it sounded to us but how it must have been like music to God. It was one of the most amazing prayer times I've ever experienced. And I don't know if this is all over the news now, we don't have television here, but we were all praying for the same thing...for South Koreans who had been taken captive in Afghanistan in July. And I just found out yesterday that these captives are being released! God never ceases to amaze me and to remind me of is faithfulness!

This week has already flown by. I'm not counting, but it was brought me my attention that we only have 35 days left here! The first week went by slowly, but time is speeding up!

Week 1 Overview

Just wanted to write a little bit about last week. Our main topic was spiritual warfare, which was a lot more in depth than I've ever considered. We also had some misc sessions on grief, malaria, and transition. Friday night we had a social off campus for all the J-men. It was a lot of fun to get away from the farm back into the "real world." We played some get to know you games and then some of us went for a little Bruster's ice cream afterwards. Last night was cultural worship, which was very interesting. Fun for now, but it would be old. Every Sunday night we'll focus on a different culture. This one was South Asia, so we sat in a circle with our shoes off, did a responsive reading of several Psalms (luckily, we did speak in English), had some silent reflection time, and sang a couple of Hindi songs.

This week will be challenging in a few different ways. We have "Special Meal #1" on Wednesday and "Special Meal #2" on Thursday. We have been specifically instructed that "fasting" is not an excuse to get out of these meals! They did also assure us that everything will be edible and will not include rat. On a side note, I discovered that there is peanut butter and bread readily available in the cafeteria 24/7. However, it will be off limits during these "special meals." Then Friday will be my first day of shots. Things are going well, though. It's getting harder to study and discipline myself to read as I make more friends! Just about 1/4 of my time here at FPO is already over!

Mali Girls

Jessica, Alyson, and Me Representin' West Africa! Ijust wanted to post a picture so that you could see our team!

Sunday, August 12

I just want to update about the weekend quickly. It's only 10:30 and I'm pretty tired (even with my great nap this afternoon!) Last night a group of about 25 of us went out to play Putt-Putt. It was only about 15 minutes away, which was great! We had a lot of fun. What was really encouraging was that if you were watching us from the outside it would probably look as if we'd all known each other for quite a while.

So this morning started with house church. There were six adults and two children at ours. We studied together, sang with Mr. Chris Tomlin, and spent time in prayer. Obviously it was much different than anything I'm used to (except I did have a flashback from the old Sonrise building when I could walk outside my bedroom and be standing in the sanctuary). It was a pretty neat experience but will take some getting adjusted to when our congregation decreases to three!

Then tonight we had our mapping ceremony. In the man buildilng there's this huge map of the world. Each person introduced himself, told where he was going, shared a prayer request, and then placed his picture on the map. It took about two hours but was well worth it.

Thanks so much for your prayers! I am so excited that God is using you to reach the nations, as well!

Friday, August 10

So today was our personal retreat day. Three hours alone with God. I’m pretty sure I’ve never spent three solid hours with only Him. I sat down with my peanut butter sandwich and thought, “I don’t even know where to start with three hours,” which was convicting enough without even opening the Word. I spent time in Philippians and the Psalms. Afterwards we had a share service, and it was so overwhelming to think that there were 250 people passionately seeking God at the same time. Even if no one else in the world was praying during those moments, God was meeting with 250 people at the exact same time. It’s just mind-boggling that He is so big that He can do that! One lady began by saying that many of us will be in places where the water will be an issue for us. She read Isaiah 35:7, “The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land.” Knowing that God speaks metaphorically sometimes, she said, “Sometimes I think He speaks very literally, though.” Then she said that during her retreat time the Mali girls were really put on her heart. It was such a humbling moment because while I was in my room completely focused on MY relationship with God, there was someone else whose name I don’t even know who was praying for me.

Also, I have a new life verse! Philippians 2:13 ---Read it and claim it with me!

Just Getting Started

Wow! We sat through so many lectures today! I'm already overwhelmed. It seems like every talk we hear is followed by either a book, an assignment, or just something really deep to take in. We found out today that the West Africa team (6 adults and two kids) has to go a weekend without electricity and we have to cook from scratch that weekend, too. When we start thinking about meals, it seems like we need a refrigerator or an oven for almost anything. We're able to use the stove, though. It will definately be a challenge. If you have any ideas, thoughts, or great recipes, feel free to share them! Tomorrow we have personal spiritual retreats, which should be pretty cool.

Next week will be tough, so you can start praying now. Dr. Rankin will be leading our sessions on spiritual warfare. I'm sure it will be intense and the attacks will follow. Things are going well, though, and our WA team is having fun getting to know each other!

My First First

The day started off when I slept through my alarm! Great! The first day and I'm already behind schedule! It was fine. It just meant getting ready a little quicker and finding the least wrinkled clothing in the closet! I'm sure there are going to be a lot of "firsts" for me on this little adventure. My first first today was getting blood drawn. I guess it's a good thing that I've never had to know what my blood type is, but it could probably be really important to be sure of overseas! While the nurse was looking for a good arm to stick, another nurse walked in. My nurse (a really big, macho guy) said, "Miss Lansford didn't bring her veins today." I didn't think that was a good comment. At least he didn't try to poke around, he just went straight to the hand. We also went exploring today to find out what all is around here - Wal-Mart, Chick-Fil-A, you know, the important places! Pretty much everyone is here now. It's great to see friends that I met here in April. Two of my fellow UM grads are here, so it's also fun to have people around that I've really known for more than 5 days! My third teammate, Jessica, got here late today, so I'm excited to get to know her some. Tomorrow afternoon our first big session starts (so maybe I don't have to worry about sleeping in!)

Oh, and I'm probably only looking at getting 7 shots. The only thing is that some of those have two and three rounds! But at least they spread them out over 3 days!

Field Personnel Orientation

Alyson and I arrived in Rockville around 4:30 today and got checked in. We're all moved into our quad now. A few people have asked what it looks like, so here it is. Everyone has a bedroom to herself and we share a bathroom, kitchen, and washer/dryer with one other person. We have a common area that we share with 3 other quads. There are four jouneygirls, one family with two children, and a career lady all in our quad. FPO is definately going to be a challenge, even in the small things. Tomorrow I'll go have my blood checked and find out how many shots I have to get! In reading some of our materials, we're supposed to take off our shoes when you enter the quad because it is culturally appropriate in so many places. There are also "squatty potties" around here somewhere so that we can actually learn how....well you get the picture. While we're here we each "have" to sign up for different service teams. I thought it was appropriate for me to serve on the "administrative team." I'll work with some of the admin assists here in doing whatever I can to help out with orientation. I'm sure there will be lots to tell this week. I'll update whenever I can!

Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?

I just wanted to post some pictures from my "C-Ya Later" Party with Athens friends. Well, Grant and I ARE smarter than 5th graders! We played in partners, so the game wasn't too hard. Actually everyone did a really good job. All together we only missed a couple of questions. Some of our questions were "What is the 2nd largest object in our solar system?" (That would be Jupiter) "How many inches are in a yard?" (36) We had so much fun, and it was really great to see everyone!