My Favorite Week

     I am privileged to live in a fairly close-knit neighborhood. I know the names of a large handful of my neighbors. Of course, it helps that a fair amount of families in my neighborhood go to the same church as my family.

     I enjoy going around to garage sales in the spring and summer and have helped to host more than a few. One of the highlights of each summer is the neighborhood garage sale. If you want, you can have a garage sale on a different day, but having it on the neighborhood garage sale day allows for more traffic.

     The neighborhood garage sale is like a big festival. It always coincides with the city-wide garage sale of a nearby suburb, so when you've picked clean the sales inside the neighborhood you can go out looking for more. Going around and looking at what each house has to offer is like going to different booths at the fair. Also, a lot of houses sell lemonade or cookies. One of my neighbors was cooking hotdogs. So that takes care of the food!

     This year I got a new laptop bag, a new glasses case, a life-time supply of matches (don't ask), some placemats, a devotional, and a free coffee maker.

     Not only was the neighborhood garage sale this past week, but our church also had it's annual Missions Weekend. Like the neighborhood garage sale, Missions Weekend occurs annually in the summer. On Saturday morning the church hosted a panel on Race and the Church, as issues of race have been a hot topic recently. Unfortunately, I was unable to go to the panel because I was still helping out with the garage sale.

     On Sunday morning we had a guest speaker, Pastor Brandon Redic, preach. He spoke on what our motivation for missions should be and gave a little 'color' to the morning (Note: I do not mean this offensively. Pastor Redic is indeed black, but his preaching style is a bit higher energy than most sermons spoken at my church. So, he spiced things up in that aspect as well.).

     We came back to church that evening for the 5th annual Trip Around the World. It is an opportunity to hear from some of the church's mission partners and short term teams. The evening starts out with a meal provided by our Chinese congregation (yup, we've got a Chinese congregation, try wrapping your heads around that one). Needless to say, it was delicious.

     After supper we 'traveled' around different 'countries' and got our 'passport' stamped. (we really did have passports - fake ones!). What actually happened was that five classrooms had been set aside for five different missions partners, both local and international. We visited each room and listened to the missionaries give presentations about what God had been doing in their ministries. By rotating we were able to get to each room in a timely manner. Last year I helped give a presentation for the short term team that went to Moldova.

     I really enjoyed this week. It was cool that two of my favorite summer events lined up so that they happened at the same time.

     Mini Missions Update: Less than two weeks until we leave! We are literally counting down the days!

Remember: Bald is Beautiful

     On Fridays I often go to the library. The books I pick out are either old favorites or new possibilities.

     This Friday when I went to the library a series of retold fairy tales caught my eye. I enjoy the fantasy genre immensely and I like to read different versions of old stories. So I checked them out.
   
     One of the books was a retelling of Rapunzel. Except this one had a catch - Rapunzel was bald! You must be wondering, 'How does that work?' Well, the main character, Rapunzel, was taken from her parents at birth because her father stole from a sorceress's garden. However, there is another girl who has long golden hair and is trapped in a tower.

     Rapunzel is bald because she has a condition called alopecia areata. This is an autoimmune disease that results in hair loss on the scalp and other areas of the body. In spite of this condition Rapunzel is a fun character with lots of spunk and a quick wit. She is not afraid to speak her mind!

     I thoroughly enjoyed reading this retelling about different kinds of beauty and the power of love. At 200 pages I found it to be a quick read. I also enjoyed how the author wove together the tales of the original Rapunzel and the girl we know her to be. It is easy to believe that this is the true telling of Rapunzel, and that we have been getting it wrong all along.

B.A.K - What is this?!

     The BAK, or Bike Across Kansas is a 500-mile bicycle ride that spans the state of Kansas and has been happening for over 40 years. It can be a grueling challenge as well as a time to make new friends and enjoy yourself. However, the fun is juxtaposed by the hard work and effort needed to complete the task. This is not a vacation for the faint of heart.

     "Wind is the worst thing. Hills aren't that bad. It takes a certain mindset; say to yourself, 'Yes, I can do this." says experienced rider, Mary G. When asked why he does BAK her husband responded, "That's a good question. One to say that I've done it. It's a fun time to spend with family." Both Mary and her husband have completed the BAK multiple times. They enjoy doing it with their friends and family.

     The BAK is also an event that allows small Kansas towns a night to shine. Over 850 people participate in the BAK each year. Some provide support, but most are cyclists who have given up a week of their time to bike across Kansas.

     While the route for the Bike Across Kansas changes each year it always includes stopping for lunch and the night at several small towns as the cyclists make their way across the state. Museums and other attractions are opened to entertain the town's large number of guests. For the town's citizens the BAK provides a city-wide festival and a break from their daily lives.

Cyclists and citizens alike enjoy an open-air concert.

     Food is sold as a fundraiser for the town's various social organizations, but the cyclists can also choose to eat at a local restaurant. Often the BAK will double a town's population for the day; this is a great boon for the town's economy.

     The BAK is a time of celebration. It celebrates a love of biking, as well as the culture of the small towns it passes through.        
   

Update on Preparations (#1)

     The theme for the English camp this year is "Cars." This includes not just cars, but racing and road signs and highways. My mother has taken on the job of making two car-themed frames for photo opportunities. She is very proud of them.

Angel was an unwilling participant.

     Besides making these frames we have been working on the English and Bible lessons that we will be using for the camp. My mother and I will be teaching the beginners English class together.  Each day we plan to have a theme. Some of these themes include Transportation or Colors and Number. We also plan to have a day for action verbs, since most of our other lessons are noun-heavy.

Can You Carry Your Carry-On?

     Luggage is essential if you are traveling anywhere. If you are taking a road-trip it doesn't matter what kind of suitcase you decide to bring, as long as it is big enough to hold all of your belongings, but small enough to fit in your car. When going on a plane, and especially when going on a trip overseas picking the right piece of luggage takes a bit more effort. Here are a few tips I have learned along the way:

1. 'Tis the Season
     Apparently March is the best time to buy luggage. This is because stores often offer discounts on their suitcases before the heavy travel season of summer hits.

2. All Good Things to Those Who Wait
     If it is not March and you do not have time to wait for the big discounts you can still get a good piece of luggage at a good price. Keep on the look out for sales.

3. Make Sure You Are Getting What You Want
     If there is a 3-piece luggage set on a huge discount, but you know that you only need the largest suitcase, don't buy it. Even if the set is being sold for a fraction of what is was originally worth, if you don't need all of what you are getting, then don't buy it.

4. Weight Matters
     Go for a suitcase that is as light as possible without compromising durability. Every pound counts.

5. Spend Money When You Have To
     My mother and I leave for our trip in July and we needed to buy a new suitcase or two before the trip. We saw that a local retail store was having a sale and decided to check it out. When I went on my mission trip last year I took my Dad's old suitcase. It is by no means heavy, but we were able to find a new suitcase that was the size we wanted and at least 4 pounds lighter. It may not sound like much, but when you have a weight limit on your luggage and you are the one lugging it around you do not want your suitcase to be any heavier than it needs to be.

Update on Support (#2)

     My apologies for not posting at all these last two weeks. Life has been extremely busy with finals and graduation, but I am done with all of that now.

     Had I set aside the time to type up an update I would actually have a graph to post. As it is, our funding has sky-rocketed. Currently we are 113% funded and unfortunately, I know of no way to express that on a graph.
 
     It has been very humbling to see how God was providing for us on this trip. Your donations have been beyond generous and we really appreciate it. Thanks to your support we have been able to reach full funding. All the money that we are not able to use will go back to the church to be used for other missions trips, so no matter what your donations are being used for a good cause.

     Now that funding is no longer a concern (again, we have you to thank for that!) please pray that my mother and I will be able to complete our other preparations. We still need to work on our lessons as well as purchase supplies. Your prayers mean the world to us and we can not thank you enough.

An Artful Weekend

     This Friday I had the privilege of going to an art show exhibiting the work of graduating graphic design majors from a local college. It was a last-minute change of plans, but I am very glad I went. I am planning on majoring in Graphic Design at that college myself, so it was really cool to see what I would be expected to do my senior year and to gain inspiration from some talented designers.

     The next day was 'prom' (my school has a Banquet). It is put on by the Junior class and every year they choose a theme. This year's theme was an art gala, combined with the whodunnit mystery of a stolen painting. Besides the stolen painting (which we never did see) many other paintings and pieces of artwork were on display. My favorite piece was the Chihuly hanging from the middle of the ceiling. Instead of glass it had been made with plastic bottles, but it could have passed for the real thing!

     There was also a large-scale sculpture, a Calder mobile, and dozens of paintings. All of the paintings had been done by the teachers or members of the Junior class, but most were recreations of classic pieces. We had a Piet Mondrian, Claude Monet's "Water Lilies," and, of course, Van Gogh's "Starry Night". Even though the paintings were recreations I was impressed to see how close they came to the original artwork.

     Art is something that we so often take for granted, but it can have a profound enrichment in our lives. Art is humanity's attempt to recreate God's glory. I want to encourage you to seek Christ and make an effort to become more like him this week. As my fellow upperclassmen did in their paintings try to recreate God's love for others in your life.