Adjustments, Sirens, and God's Grace.

I’m officially done my first week at One Mission Society! 

It’s definitely been an adjustment tho. 

I know you’re dying to know what the adjustments are...so I’ll tell you.

1. Living alone. - Welp...I have to live alone. I LOVE cooking, so I don’t mind that, but it gets a little lonely at night. My family left last Tuesday morning, but I had a blast while they were here. We ate out every meal because there are so many restaurants around here. It was fun, but none of our body’s were used to eating out that much! Here are some of the fun things we did while they were here, and on the way to get to Indiana!
   
   

   

   We ate at McAllisters...of course.

   
   

   

   Who do you think is enjoying this more?

   
   

   

   I introduced my parents to Steak'n Shake. My dad seemed to love it. 

   
   

   

   My little brother added on to a picture that was in my apartment. 

   He wanted to have a house warming party for me (That's why the house is on fire and the little man running out of it is yelling "FIRE!").

   
   

   

   Sasha bought me that rooster...she wasn't serious in case you were wondering. But I did leave it on the door. 

   
   

   

   I forget what the name of this place was, but those are bacon corn fritters! 

   
   

   

   I don't know what's happening here...

   
   

   

   We went to Incredible Pizza, which was a blast!

   
   

   

   That's at Krogers...in public...

   

   Okay, I think Sasha had more fun.

   

   Maybe...

   
   

   

   Mom is whooping Justin's butt!

   

   Super Ninjas. 

   

   Miss that face!
   

   We got kind of bored and put a good book to great use. 
2. The internet. - I only have internet in the corner of my kitchen, and sometimes when I’m lucky, at the window in my living room. 
3. Sitting at a desk for 8 hours. - This is NOT fun. It makes me very restless! So I have to switch from project to project. BUT they have coffee break here at 10am and 3pm everyday, plus chapel on Tuesday and Thursday mornings...with coffee. So...that’s awesome! 
   
   
   
   
   
4. The siren. - Apparently there is a tornado siren here, but it also goes off when there is a severe thunderstorm too. WHICH MAKES NO SENSE TO ME!!!! Thursday night I thought a tornado was about to hit because the weather said there was a moderate chance for a tornado...and the siren was blaring (I thought it was like the movie twister or something)! SO I was ready to hit the basement! But, turns out it was just damaging winds or something. And they test it every Friday at 11 even if there is a storm (when people might think there could be a tornado). It doesn’t make sense hahahaha. I guess I’m only going to go to the basement if I actually see a tornado. 
5. Wearing socks- This stinks. I’ve already made the decision to where my slip on shoes so I can take my shoes off without wearing socks. And one of my boss’s is pretty supportive of it! 
6. Weekends - They’re kind of boring. 
7. More sirens. - I went to school in Philadelphia and I thought fire trucks and police cars made a lot of noise there. But here...It’s way worse. I heard 3 fire trucks yesterday at three different times. There must be something wrong with electrical wiring in the houses in Indiana. Thats my only conclusion! haha
8. I think that’s it....

BUT, I am pretty much settled into my new apartment.

That's my crib.

That's my first sighting of grass! It made me so happy! The weather has been really nice since. But I hear it'll be cold this upcoming week. 

It is really nice, and the perfect size!

I now have two closets instead of none!

That is where I sometimes get internet (over in the pink chair).

I just can't get used to the floral tho.  

It's small, but it works!  

I didn't pick that out haha! I'm still working on putting up some pictures too.

I know. I know. It's starting to grow on me tho. 

One of my favorite places. 

Apparently this is a can opener. It is so confusing!

I found a church that I really like. A couple from OMS has invited me out and I really like it. It’s called Stones Crossing. All the churches around here seem to be HUGE, but this one is a bit smaller (relatively). It’s about 500 people each service, which still seems like a lot of people to me. Stones Crossing started a sermon series on Galatians last Sunday (perfect timing because it was my first week). The pastor is a great speaker and teacher. 

This is not Stones Crossing. It is just the Student Ministry building of a HUGE, random church. 

I’ve been trying to meet everyone I can here on campus at One Mission Society. And I have met SO many people. Names are really hard for me to remember, but most people have name tags which is great! I didn’t realize how many different components there are that go into a missions organization. They have someone who runs the mail room, someone who takes care of prayer letters when they are sent back (because of change of address or a death), someone who has to edit automatic withdraws of people who were giving to a missionary, but have passed away (if OMS is still taking money out of the deceased persons account they can be sued!), the communications department who takes care of basically all promotional materials, the kitchen staff, payroll staff, people in charge of all financial decisions, people on prayer teams, others who are assistants, staff who trains and mobilizes missionaries, counselors, and so, so, sooooooooooooooooooooooo much more. There are about 90 people who work on campus, and ALL the jobs are equally important and keep OMS running smoothly!

This past week at work was kind of an orientation, get-to-know everyone type of week. I was given an overview of some of the Hope61 projects that need to be done, in order to start looking through them. I also had to print out some flyers and cut them. This might not seem like a big deal to you, but it was to me...only because I was scared for my life. Well maybe not my life, but my hands. Take a look at this monster. 

I don't know if you can see the name, but it's called Challenge Champion. That's intimidating.

There’s a crank, foot pedal and everything. It cut thru about 75 pieces of thick card stock. It was intense! My mom is afraid of me doing missions in another country because she doesn't want me to get hurt, but honestly, I think using this is more dangerous. Hahahaha!  

I’ve been doing a lot of research this past week about which country I feel led to do a cultural analysis on. I’ve also been familiarizing myself with Hope61’s work. I start Hope61 training tomorrow and will then be able to start on some projects when I’m finished training. 

On Friday night, I went to craft night. No, I didn’t do anything except eat a baked potato with all sorts of toppings, which was amazing! I just hung out and tried to get to know some people. It was fun! There was a lady there who is SOOOOOOO funny. She was making everyone laugh so hard that night! It was a fun time, and I’m glad I went. 

One last thing about my week.

I was able to join a gym for four months for only a one time fee of $25, thanks to Andrea! Andrea has been great since I’ve gotten here. I am so thankful for her and her husband who have made me feel at home here! Anyway, this gym is at a church. The actual gymnasium has two basketball courts for kids rec teams, and an indoor soccer field, plus a track around the outside of these things. That’s crazy! They also have a locker rooms, cardio equipment (with legit stair climbers), free weights and weight machines, a racquetball court, and a ton of fitness classes. It’s a really cool outreach for people who are just using the gym as a gym and not because they’re a part of that church. A lot of sports teams come to play matches and stuff there too. It’s seems like an awesome way to reach the community.
But of course the first time I went I was on a stationary bike, which is next to a row of treadmills, and a really old guy gets right on the treadmill next to my bike and starts singing really awkwardly (not to mention all 7 of the other treadmills were empty)! So I cut my time on the bike short because it was really hard not to laugh. I felt so awkward! Hahahaha it still makes me laugh!

I had no idea there was such a thing! 

Before I quit writing for the day, I want to leave you with something...

In church this morning we went thru Galatians 1:10-24, which is the apostle Paul’s story. The pastor was explaining that as Paul is telling his story, he mentions that God’s grace was at play in his life even while he was persecuting Christians...and even before that.

“But when God, who set me apart at birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal His son to me that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man...” - Galatians 1:15-16

I think God shows His grace to everyone. Some of us just may not accept it or don't see it. 

Maybe you lose your job and you bring in the only income for your family of 5. What do you do? Do you trust and let God’s grace play into your life, or do you try and cope by trying to make yourself feel better with drinking, or buying things. Do you ruin your relationship with your wife and kids by trying to overcome your feelings of worthlessness or guilt (which are lies)? Which story do you choose? Do you accept God’s grace, because He WILL give it to you, or do you choose to handle things your own way...the wrong way?

(I know that was a dramatic example, but it’s the one the pastor used...so I kind of stole it!) 

I found this quote on the Hope61 blog the other day...

“May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships so that you may live deep within your heart. May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace. May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy. And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in the world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done, to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.” – a Franciscan Benediction

LOVE IT!

Have you ever thought of bad experiences that you’ve had as God trying to bless you? 

Because He might be.

Let Him show you His grace.

Let Him redeem you.

Which story will you choose?

If you have the time, check out this song, or the lyrics here. Life makes a little more sense knowing what she's singing about.