But what do I WANT?!

I think part of my hardship in deciding what I want sometimes is overshadowed by all of the things I don’t want out of that particular situation.  Take for example a big question.  What do I want to do after May?  Well great question, because you see I know that I don’t want to be designing home s for people that I feel could rather be giving that money to someone who either a)has no home or b)has a home which does not pass any codes.  Well we can knock out Residential design can’t we (or can we)?  Then we can take the fact that I don’t want to be designing office spaces for big business firms, because where is the fun in that?  We are then left without two of the main interior design focuses and left with hospitality and educational design.  Yes, I do love both of these, but is there a place that does one of those and NOT the other which I do not want to do.  Then we have to take into account my passion to help those less fortunate, but combine it with the fact that I will be one the “less fortunate” if come May I am jobless and have no place to live.  Here lays the problem to be solved.  Find something I love that, at least for a little while, can get me money to live. 

Another thing that I think will help me with these decisions is educating myself.  Here I sit with only one more semester at Meredith to go, and I can think of lots of classes I would have loved to take.  I think that by educating myself in different subject areas I can learn what I like, what I hate, and then what I may not like as much but be good at.  If I had known this freshman year I may have had a better outlook in classes and may have even done better.   There is now no time to wonder about the “what ifs,” but there is time to appreciate each and every moment I have to learn in the next 6 months.  I have the chance to talk to some people about housing issues in Raleigh and what people are doing to live in community with one another.  I think there are barriers which will take more than research and a project to fix in neighborhoods, and across our city.  I think that there is a solution to solving major problems of poor housing,  poor health, and poor education in our low income neighborhoods, and that is something I would like to be a part of.  What are the “other” neighborhoods doing that these low income neighborhoods aren’t, and if it isn’t being done because they don’t have the money how can they revise a similar plan to their area.  Not only are their problems in low income neighborhoods, there are problems in rich suburban neighborhoods too, or at least I believe so.  These neighborhoods are often under exposed to issues in the community and people decide to avoid problems rather than solve them. 

The next question would be how I can address my concerns to those issues with my knowledge and my degree.  That is the question I hope to find the answer to through internships this semester. 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding -Proverbs 3:5

Not EXPECTING in a season of WAITING and PREPARING

Tis the season to be… what are we called to be in this Advent season?  

I think that in the past two weeks alone I have been upset, sensitive, happy, humbled, joyful, anxious, thankful, and angry.  Those are just some of the emotions which I have felt through the past few weeks as I suffer loss, begin to wrap up a semester, work to see friends before the holidays, and expect (in perhaps a dangerous way) certain things to be coming for me this Advent season.  As we talked about the danger of expectations at community group last night I couldn’t help but think about what I am going through right now, or how dangerous it is for me to be expected Martin to come here in a few weeks when I really have no idea if he will or will not get a visa.  I think that I could say “tis the season of expectations” but I fear that is too dangerous, and so my hope is to alter that into a season of praise and peace in the unknown.  Praising Christ for all I have, whether it is near or far away.  I am thankful for the gift of love and I am humbled by the friends who have kept me up late this week because those nights were very precious and beautiful nights with friends.  I am realizing that whether I want to understand what is to come or not, I will not.  Being a senior, I am in a season of not knowing. 

Continuously in life we are faced with the unknown and with change.  The major changes in my life have created a space for me to learn about something I don’t think I could have otherwise.  That is what studying abroad was for me.  I didn’t think it was going to be easy to leave everything and everyone I loved when I went abroad but I knew that there was something more amazing than I could understand waiting for me at each new destination.  Each trip I didn’t just discover another gorgeous church or piece of art, but the chance to discover something about myself on each trip.  Life offers us the chance to learn about ourselves at each and every turn and at each and every place that we go.  

Prayer: May we see Advent as a time of WAITING for the coming of Christ and may we be PREPARING our hearts for that.  Let us see the beauty in preparing a way for Christ and let us seek the Lord as we wait for his coming this Holiday season. 

*Note: This blog was written quickly and in the midst of exams/projects, but I felt compelled to write and then share what I had written. 

Belize Sponsor Letter

Dear family and friends,                                               

            I hope this letter finds you doing well and enjoying fall, my favorite season.  Last spring I was able to study abroad in South Africa, and I saw and experienced things completely new to me.  I even worked with fellow service learning students to build a playground at Lynedoch Primary school outside of Stellenbosch where I was studying.  Through various service projects in the Raleigh community with Meredith Christian Association and within the work I was a part of in South Africa, I have learned that I enjoy seeing the world through the eyes of other people in their own communities.  This gives me the chance to educate myself first hand on the way other people are living.  Every time I enter a situation where I am serving I always come out having learned so much. 

This coming spring break, March 3-10, 2012, the Office of the Chaplain at Meredith College will be taking a group of students to Belize for a service trip.  Because of my involvement with Meredith Christian Association and my desire to see the world I have decided there is no other way I want to spend my spring break.  I will get the chance to work with children in t­­­he city of Cahal Pech by leading a literacy program and doing light construction at Faith Nazarene Primary School.  I anticipate that while on this trip I grow in my faith and gain more knowledge to take with me in post graduate work. 

Unfortunately my love and passion to serve and see the world is not enough to fund my trip.  Without financial support from my community of family and friends, I will not be able to afford a trip to Belize.  Receiving support is part of the preparation process for my trip to Belize.  I am also planning to sell handmade gifts during the holidays and will hold fundraisers with other participants before March.  I need to raise $1200 by February 1^st, 2012 so please think about helping me raise the funds by donating $150, $100, $50, $20 or even $10.  I would love any support you can give me, and hope that no matter your contribution you will pray for my trip.  You can visit my blog where there is a link to my PayPal account or you can mail checks (made out to Hannah Massey or Meredith College, noting it is a donation for my trip) to my address.  It is because of the love and support from family and friends that I am able to achieve success, and grow from experiences.  I know this trip to Belize will prove that love and support is evident. 

Link to Project Playground video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV6Qut5ls8M

            Thanks in advance for your support!

                        Grace and peace,

                                    Hannah Massey

God's Amazing Plan

I wrote this Saturday night.  I had not intended to share it but it seems many loved ones have needed to hear it, so here I share it:

Tonight at the Christian concert I joined some of my friends and I couldn’t help but stop and realize that the next couple of years, as much as I toy around with ideas of where I want to be, are not in my hands.  I have all of these ideas of where I may like to go next.  Yes I will be filling out the applications and preparing for the interviews, but it is God that will lead me to the right place, the right city, the right job, and the right people.  I have some comfort in knowing that.  I have been uttering the Lord’s Prayer to myself a bit differently recently. The one line that has stuck out more than any other is “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done.”  His will IS going to be done.  That is all I can pray and it will be done “on earth as it is in heaven” for that is why Christ died for us so that we may live to serve a meaningful life here on earth.  THAT is something to rejoice about every day.  THAT is enough of a gift to make anyone excited about.  THAT is Jesus’ amazing love!

Italy, 2009

Was that a dream?

June 14^th 2011

Now that I am back home and rearranging life while frantically searching for some work (so I can have money and keep my sanity in Laurinburg) I realize that I was REALLY just in beautiful South Africa for 5 months.  I can’t believe the semester I wanted from the moment I arrived as a freshman at Meredith has already come and gone before I could catch my breath.  As I begin to prepare for my last year of college and begin to realize that I must really get my mess together in the next year I panic.  I had some really good talk time with friends today and I almost wished I could have recorded our conversations because it was as if there was realization after realization about life after school and just things ahead in life like work, bills, and marriage.  I am not trying to say I need to figure all or any of those things out JUST yet, but at least the work part has got me under a bit of stress.  I know my search has only begun if I actually want to find some kind of work, but it also frustrating because I am neither here in Laurinburg long enough to work (that is a good but bad thing) or open to doing just anything.  I mean I would like to be happy doing what I am doing and while I understand I am most likely not going to find a paid job that will benefit my interior design studies, I can’t wear a cap and sit at a drive thru either.  I guess this gap between now and August is hard because I am not sure of what is ahead (at least between August and May) but I have no idea how I will find a good job and be happy here in Laurinburg right now.  This is a concern that arose within me before even leaving Stellenbosch, but now that I am physically in Laurinburg it is more present.  I would really like to find work, but whether that comes through or not I do know that there are a few more things I want for my summer and so I will try to rather focus on those goals instead so that I can feel productive and accomplished through them.  Some of these include continuing to work out, organizing all of my things, working through a cookbook, and just reflecting on the semester.

There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills. –Buddah

Speechless

It is hard to believe i've been back a week.  I mean, when I am home with people familiar to me and in familiar places it is hard to remember being somewhere else for 5 months.  However, the moment I think of being at Brazen with friends or hanging out in Stellenbosch I get home sick.  Today, on my grandmother's 86th birthday, I was reminded that words won't do a thought or memory justice.  This happened in a strange way.  

You see my grandmother hasn't been able to share her thoughts through speaking for months now.  Her emotions are shown through eyebrow raises or tears running down her face.  If I was my grandmother and had to show my emotions without speaking to explain my time in South Africa I would raise my eyebrows for the shock that still hits me after remembering bungy jumping off the world's highest bungy bridge.  I would laugh when remembering countless nights with dear friends in Stellenbosch and I would cry because I miss them so much already.  I would smile when I think of the love I found in that place which has led to beautiful relationships and friendships.  Then the tears of joy would come when I think about the joy I found in that city with those people and through my kids at Lynedoch Primary when they were given a beautiful playground.  That is what I hope my emotions would tell people if I couldn't speak.

I wonder what my grandmother wanted to tell me today when her eyebrows rose as I told her about my adventures or tears ran down her face after I arrived and gave her a big hug which i'd been waiting 5 months to give.  One thing I do know is that I am happy I got to celebrate another birthday with her and I think she was too. -(June 18th, 2011)

Leaving and Getting Home

June 9th-Airport
Today was complete chaos, but i could not have asked for a more beautiful last day in Stellenbosch.  The sun was shining and the clear skies made Stellenbosch mountain impossible to miss.  Last night I finished off all of the beer on the Beer Quest list at Brazen, leaving only my Guinness to enjoy over lunch in the bar which holds countless memories.  These past few days have flown by and I think my body is moving physically fast through the motions of goodbyes and packing.  I'm afraid for the emotions to catch up and kick my butt soon.

June 10th-Home in Laurinburg
I was able to re open Frederick Buechner's Listening to Your Life devotional for the first time in months and this days daily devotional encourages one to step into the darkness.  I feel as though the summer ahead is very full of darkness, but I pray that it challenges me in a way that leads to growth and more space to reflect on the past semester so I can use new knowledge in older familiar environments.  I left when the sun was going down in Cape Town and tonight I got back home and after crossing into Scotland County I turned around to see a huge beautiful sunset.

Great Week with a Great Friend!

In my last full week of being in South Africa I took a Garden Route trip with my dear New Yorker friend Maria (better known as BooBoo) which started right near us at the Spier wine estate and ended in the sea side town of Port Elizabeth.  Here are the journal entries I wrote along our adventure!
DAY ONE
We have a nice roomy adventure bus (or truck as our driver better refers to it) and really diverse group.  There is a Swed (to remind me of Maria x2 and Kriztin) and two girls from Holland (to remind me of Thijs and Jiska), then there is a Canadian girl and an older couple, one who is Canadian and one who is from England.  We are riding along the N2 and will stay in Swellendam tonight.  I'd love to see Martin's mom if we stop in or near Mossel Bay at some point.  Last night we talked about my leaving and my being scared for it.  We talked about how I m not scared our love will fade or that I will doubt him and I but that so many other people may.  I don't want negative pressure on either of our ends.  I was glad that when I asked him (or told him) about how it's hard because we don't know when we will see each other again he says "when the time is right."  It's something he told me that I hope he remembers but also that shows his strength or at least his hope for us.

DAY ONE-Evening
Sleeping in a big gathering space that reminds me of sleeping with 85 teenagers on Teens Westward Bound in 2006.  We even stopped at the mall today and it reminded me of those short frantic stops along the TWB trip where I would just THINK I was hungry and once Athena (a girl from Laurinburg) and myself bought an entire chocolate pie and ate it.  I hate how cold and rainy it was today, but hopefully it will go away for tomorrow so we can enjoy the Cango Caves.  Can't fight mother nature though, it is a battle you'll never win.
DAY 3
Last night after an awesome adventure in the Cango Caves and an ostrich ride/feeding we parked the trust at our site for the  night.  Last night we stayed in Outshoorn, home to the largest population of ostriches in the world (I think).  Maria and I discovered a bath tub in the warm bathhouse and after a traditional South African/Zimbabwe dinner of meat and "pup" (maize like food similar to grits, but thicky) we had a warm bath in our bathing suits and drank wine.  We are both beginning to freak out a bit about the small amount of time we have left.  Hopefully I can settle playground payments today... Off to Knysna.

DAY 4
Knysna was both relaxing and fun, maybe a bit accomplishing too.  We went to the water front and since there wasn't too much to do we enjoyed coffee, cake, and ice cream at a little Italian restaurant.  We had an Italian/South African waiter and it was fun to make conversation with him.  We called Cindy and Justin and realized how much we already missed them so we began plotting how we could get home sooner.  We found internet at a cute restaurant and across the street wine bottles caught our eye.  We went back for a free tasting after successfully finding a hookah.  Her name is Cleo and she is red, in case you were wondering.  It was nice to walk around the Knysna town and not just the waterfront.  The owner of the shop/restaurant with wine had only been open 10 days and his aspirations reminded me a lot of Martin's.  Maria and I decided to pay R80 extra for a caravan and it has a TV, its own bathroom and even a deck.  It was quite nice until the bathroom flooded during our showers.  I have enjoyed "our family times" at meals and after when Shadwell talks to us about the next day and new conversations start.  Topics so far are: marriage and licenses.

DAY 5
We made it to our camp site in Tsitsikamma and set up camp.  After lunch Maria and I were doing dishes and everyone left for a cheetah walk.  We weren't thinking and after realized they had left with all of our things including purses, money, and shoes.  We had to do the canopy tour with strings tired around our flipflops and needed to still pay.  In other news I, Hannah Rose Massey just did the WORLDS HIGHEST BUNGY!! It was sick (thats a good thing in slang)!! Now on the way to hike.




DAY 6
The hike yesterday was awesome!  It was a bit more climbing than expected, but I like rock hopping and the waterfall at the end of the 3kms was spectacular.  I tried to make the hike better by singing Christmas songs (and a few others) and also pretending the rocks were ostrich eggs.  Maria didn't go the bungy in the morning but we got to go back after the hike and she DID IT!  They let me walk out to the bridge and watch and I was acting like a proud mother when she finished and they were even playing Rihanna.  After we got back we enjoyed hot showers and dinner.  We hung out at the bar and stayed up longer thatn we had another other night (so only until midnight!).  Freddy, the bartender have us the key to the extra room and we got to sleep in a bid with a down comforter.  I was so excited!  We're off to Addo now and I am amped about seeing lots of elephants :)

DAY 7
There was lots of elephants seen!  Probably about 20 or so and countless Kudo, 2 lions, some Zebra, and some warthogs.  It was nice to have a real game drive, well three, before leaving South Africa.  We had a sunset, sunrise, and then morning drive.  Janis, our truck, broke down yesterday afternoon causing us to enjoy our hot lunch (yes, hot lunch of fish fillets and "chips" or fries) on the N2 and then we got transport to Addo.  After our guided sunset drive through Addo we got to eat at the restaurant because Janis still was not fixed.  We ate delicious Kudo and after I was ready for some good sleep before the early morning and sleepless nights in Stellenbosch that followed.  Today after seeing the sunrise and eating breakfast we went back into the park to look for more animals, but all I could do was start into space and think about how I only have 4 days left here in South Africa.  I though to myself how is it that a semester can do by so fast, but be so great that I meet people and saw places I feel like I have known and seen for years?  It is quite a weird feeling and while the excitement of being back home to friends, family, and good southern food starts to come, the disappointment of leaving what is now home and comfortable is difficult and seems nearly impossible.  I have tried to compare it to my leaving Italy, but that is hard because it was a different time and place with different people.  I found peace and independence in Italy, but I have found hope and love here in South Africa.  I can say I have found pure joy in both my home in Sansepolcro and my home in Stellenbosch and that is nice.  I just pray that my summer can bring back all of those feeling a positive way through reflection and new involvement with the people in my life and in the community I am a part of in Raleigh.  I also hope these new few days, my last in Stellenbosch, are nothing short of perfect.  I hope the goodbyes are really "see you soons" and I hope I can remember I will see each one of the people I love here again when "the time is right."

A few days thoughts...

May 14th

I have no vision of the future as soon as I return home.  I see beyond the summer though.  I see myself working hard from August to May to graduate with lots to be proud of.  I see myself working after I graduate, or coming back here, or studying.  As for the summer there are so many places I COULD be, a few places I really WANT to be, and then the one big thing I SHOULD be doing and that is working.  For now I must remember to do what I can for now while I am here and from there just remember what Proverbs 27:1 says—“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.”  By trying to plan things I am “writing God out of the equation” and after all he has done for me that isn’t fair.  My prayer is this, that whatever happens benefit God’s glorious kingdom and that I can take the love I have gained and learned through loving others here home with me in June.

One thing that has been constantly in my head this week is “Love conquers all” or "Amor onia vincit" as it was when Chaucer wrote it.  I believe this is true and no matter in what context you are talking about if you have love for something you will have the passion and drive to make it happen.  

May15th

Today I went to church in town and when I walked in I was overcome with comfort to be in a church similar to Vintage 21 (where I go in Raleigh) but also with encouragement that there were so many young people in Stellenbosch worshiping together.  It was also confusing and convicting.  I guess those negative feelings came because while many things have given me hope since being here and seeing so many young people in this setting ready to serve Christ is exciting, there is still the largest income gap in the South Africa in Stellenbosch. Left with something for me to think on...

May 16th

The last day at Lynedoch there were many emotions as presentations of videos highlighting a beautiful semester were shared.  Tears filled my eyes several times watching the clips and seeing the photos and also hearing people talk about their time at Lynedoch.  While we were presenting I awaited a phone call that the delivery for playground supplies had arrived.  This was such an awesome reminder that we are really only beginning this kind of work, and that even our work at Lynedoch is only beginning.

May  17^th

I want to blog before my sister and John get here because I know that once a part of home comes to this place it will have an even more different feel.  I don’t know what to expect for their time here as far as what they will get out of it.  I hope that they can be more than tourists and put on lenses of someone who may have been here for longer, as I have.  This may help this understand my love for this country, for Lynedoch, and for the awesome people I have met or fallen in love with.  The people that I love most at home are coming to see where my heart is here—what a blessing.  I see parts of my life coming to this place and so for once I may not just see this as Stellenbosch life and then when I talk to people at home think about it as my “other life.”  Safe travels to all coming here, leaving this place after an awesome semester, or going on adventures!

 ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:37-39

Afrikaburn-April 29th to May 1st

AFRIKABURN
a beautiful weekend

With beautiful people

In this beautiful place

Celebrating beautiful life

In a beautiful way

Let the love continue… 

I don’t know where to begin to explain this weekend.  It was like living in a snowglobe for a weekend and it wasn’t until we drove back tonight that I realized how far from civilization we had been.  Part of that is probably because everyone lives so well in community out there that you just see yourself in a whole new world.

When we explored the campsites we met some amazing people and there was so much love everywhere.  There was a wall with quotes of love and thoughts and prayers and then we got to go to a tent with spiritual healing and they just spent time praying for us and the women prayed as if they knew Maria, Cindy, and I because the things they said in their prayers to us.  They asked that love continuously flow through me and I pray that same prayer.  I love to love and I love to give love and I was able to do both of those things not only this weekend but everyday here in South Africa.  Because I wrote so long ago about Afrikaburn and because my friend Maria is such a great writer I will share some of her words about the weekend:

“This is the concept of Afrikaburn- there is absolutely no buying or selling of anything in the desert, whether it be water or drugs. Everyone willingly comes to Afrikaburn to contribute and to share themselves and their supplies with anyone and everyone camping along. There are families with young children as well as adults who come together in the desert for the same purpose- to experience one community with continual and uninhibited happiness. Artists work to create their own sculptures or create a themed camp that is open to everyone else at the event. It was these art pieces that formed the main event of Afrikaburn on Saturday night: the burning of their spirits… You live for others as they live for you; no boundaries, no questions, no expectations, just acceptance. Acceptance in its purest and most simplistic form. Afrikaburn showed me everything in humankind that I can stand to be proud for.” –Maria

Overjoyed

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." -Marianne Williamson

This quote is so beautiful, and when watching the youtube video of Meredith’s new president-elect I was happy she shared this with me.  I am overwhelmed with emotions right now, most of them positive ones that are feeding really good energy throughout my pores as this amazing holiday wraps up.  I am indeed filled with love right now; for my new friends here, falling in love, and just feeling loved returned to me from so many directions of my life (my friends here, my new family here with these people, my amazing family at home, my amazing friends in Raleigh and Laurinburg, and my community group).  Perhaps this is why the greatest gift we can give IS… love. 

I am also feeling overjoyed and when I think about why that may be it is because life seems beautiful right now.  All $3,000 we wanted to raise for the playground has been donated and I could not be more excited about the things that I am hoping will happen out there in the coming weeks.  I have heard it said by some that these kids may just use the playground for a bit, and then ruin it and our work would have been wasted.  That is they don’t have the HOPE in these children that I do, and that I know the rest of the LSCE crew does.  I see the FAITH these kids have and how no matter what material things they haven’t been given, they are so spiritually wealthy and it has been inspiring.  You can only give these children more HOPE by showing them that there is someone who does believe they can do anything.  It is important to remember that knowledge puffs up, but love builds up (1 Cor. 8:1).  Therefore, if we love on these children and see the problems that are evident as problems and not the people as problems we can have progression.  I don’t think it is fair to see a certain people as a problem.  You can’t progress from that and that is why when someone enters a community like Lynedoch, they must do it with compassion and hope.  I couldn’t stop thinking about Corinthians 13 when I was writing all of this: And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love (v13).

Another thing that stuck out in Dr. Jo Allen’s speech to Meredith College was when she spoke about change.  She talked about COMFORT as a mixed blessing, and automatically I thought about my life here in South Africa and my time in Italy.  I thought about how comforting it is to be at home, but how in both Italy and South Africa, and even at my cabin in the mountains I have a place to call home.  She reminded students that it was critical to travel new pathways.  I wouldn’t trade the things I have learned while abroad for anything in this world.  They have shaped the person I am and the way I think.  I am so thankful for the many pathways I have been able to walk down and how unfamiliar places became home to me.  I am able to learn the most about myself in these places.  Comfort can be found in many things and change is a beautiful thing if you are progressing towards peace for your life or the lives of others.

I end with this thought: Can I be this happy when there is still so much peace no left in the world?  Someone has to be there to pull you up when you are down, or rather to go and sit by you and walk with you through your hard times.  Maybe I have been given the strength of happiness for this moment so I can allow peace to grow from the happiness I may create in someone else.  I also must remember that sometime all I can do it pray.  I must believe in the power of prayer and allow the hurt I have been feeling for the people affected by the tornados to lift burdens, even from 5,000 miles away.

Running Fast or Keeping Still

Right now all I want to do is jump on the next plane home and help my friends in Raleigh after the devastation of yesterday’s tornado, but at the same time today was another amazing day in South Africa.  These opposing mixes of emotions have taken different tolls on me a couple times since being in South Africa.  The desire to just LIVE more and more in every moment here in Stellenbosch combined with the strong desire to keep still and think about the people in Raleigh had me feeling a bit crazy.  The past week was beautiful.  I was able to be productive, but things were calm.  I got to go to a coffee shop and work and do lots of “work” that doesn’t really qualify as work, but rather little things on my to do list like catching up with people, emailing people, and reflecting.  

http://www.wral.com/weather/story/9455587/

The story, for people that don’t know about the tornado in Raleigh, NC where I go to school.

Today Chelsea (who is in my LSCE group at Lynedoch) and I went to lunch at Mrs. April’s house.  She is the teacher for grade 5, which is the grade we have been working with every Monday.  When I got the phone call from Mrs. April this morning I was not expecting to be invited to lunch, and once we got there I wasn’t expecting to eat my body weight in food.  That is one thing Italy and South Africa have in common, when people have guests over they do NOT let them go hungry.  Of course there was great conversation over the meal with her family and a few other friends, which made the afternoon so great.  We got to talk with Mrs. April more about the Lynedoch community, the relationship between the school and the Sustainability Institute, the children, and her life and family.  It was so great to have some quality conversation and I hope she stays true to her word and invites us to visit her family in Touwsriver.  I believe that is where she said that they live.  When she was speaking about all the surrounding towns today I felt that I needed to educate myself more on the surrounding areas and towns.  I want to see as much of at least the Western Cape as I can before I go.

The perfect song always seems to come on when I am in one of these moods.  I guess its God’s way of reminding me I am doing all I can and I AM in the right place.  Maybe all I can do is pray.  My hands and feet are doing God’s work in this place too, so I must remember that while I am frustrated that I can’t be back in Raleigh right now I am being used here in South Africa.  

Today’s perfect song=David Lamotte, We Are Each Other’s Angels.

Well I hope I see you later
'Cause it's time for me to go
Someone just pulled over
Sure was good to know you
Go answer your calling
Go and fill somebody's cup
And if you see an angel falling
Won't you stop and help them up

'Cause we are each other's angels
And we meet when it is time
We keep each other going
And we show each other signs

Sometimes you will stumble
Sometimes you might fall down
Sometimes you will get lonely
With all these people around
You might shiver when the wind blows
And you might get blown away
You might even lose your colors
But don't you ever lose your faith

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8H0wbdxbAM

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people… -Galatians 6:10a