Things lately.

Day 9 of motherhood.
Pine Cove on Saturday.
I am having to subconsciously refer to myself as Winner Winner Pickin' Dinner to get used to my summer-time alias.
Excited to see the people I spent last summer with and serve high-schoolers in a very different way, THEIR LANGUAGE. (a.k.a. social media)

All the while ramping up for my first big step in this journey! Leaving for NY at the end of June to spend a week in training, fundraising seminars, advising sessions, networking, etc. In a nutshell, tell AIM what my vision is for Central Africa and start to hammer out more details as to when I leave, where I am going, who I am serving. I can't wait! I was telling a friend today that sometimes I stop and think, "I am flying to NY by myself..." Like I'm still 14? I am in my head. Don't worry though, you can still trust me with your children.

AIM has asked us to read three books in preparation for the discussions we will be having.
"Friend Raising" by Betty Barnett
"The Church is Bigger Than You Think" by Patrick Johnstone
"Cross-Cultural Connections" by Duane Elmer

They are FASCINATING. I've only made it half-way through Friend Raising but I have already learned so much about biblical friendship and practical ways to maintain friendship across oceans.

"Our ability to serve long-term on the field is directly linked to the health of our relationships back home."
"Careful not to manipulate others because of his (Paul) needs, he was free to serve others by seeking their increase, not his own."
"Jesus ministered to thousands, yet poured his life into the 12 disciples."

Amen to that! I have loved how AIM has already prepared me in so many practical ways for each step of this process.

I can't wait for that week in NY because I will have a better understanding of the region's needs and be able to pray more specifically about what the Lord is inviting me into. We will sit down and say ok, I like kids, youth ministry, women's ministry, counseling, and athletics. They will say well, Congo needs this, we want to start this, this trip is happening, Rwanda needs this, etc. And the magic will start to happen. Eeeek!

No summer camp staff can go without an ultra-hippie head wrap. So I had to buy one, because I am ultra-hippie. I mean, I even rent 80's yoga videos from the library so I don't lose my zen while I nanny.

I am thankful for you.

Love, Chloe

p.s. May I be praying for you? 

Once I was blind, but now I see.

We sing Amazing Grace a lot.

It was written by a man who traded human beings as cargo off the coast of Sierra Leone.

"I am a sinner and Christ is a great savior."

This is what you shall do.

This is what you shall do:

Love the earth and sun and the animals,

Despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks,

Stand up for the stupid and crazy,

Devote your income and labors to others,

Hate tyrants, argue not concerning God,

Have patience and indulgence toward the people,

Take off your hat to nothing known or unknown,

Or to any man or number of men,

Go freely with powerful uneducated persons,

And with the young and with the mothers of families,

Read these leaves in the open air,

Every season of every year of your life,

Reexamine all you have been told,

At school at church or in any book,

Dismiss whatever insults your own soul,

And your very flesh shall be a great poem,

And have the richest fluency not only in its words,

But in the silent lines of its lips and face,

And between the lashes of your eyes,

And in every motion and joint of your body.

-Walt Whitman

Zephaniah 3

I am frustrated with political climates plastered all over CNN. Wicked, oppressive men have managed to wreck havoc on kilometers and kilometers of this earth, thousands and thousands of innocents. We post concerned Facebook statuses, commentary; as if our tweets will replace a prayer or an embrace of these innocents caught in cross fire, staring at wall of raging water.

The earth groans.

It is crying out.

People are demanding evil made right.

The oceans heave and sigh.

The sky breaches.

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.  And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

Romans 8:22-23

I want to resign, to accept the evil as norm. Isn't that the best we can do? 

We cannot do anything about it till Jesus comes.

Evil of this magnitude has no foreseeable end. 

Plus, I'm here.

They are there.

We cannot resign!

God intervenes and has not forgotten, kicked back till He can unfold His master plan.

Watch this hidden progression of salvation in Zephaniah.

She listens to no voice;

she accepts no correction.

She does not trust in the Lord;

she does not draw near to her God.

The Lord within her is righteous;

he does no injustice;

every morning he shows forth his justice;

each dawn he does not fail;

but the unjust knows no shame.

Fear not, O Zion;

let not your hands grow weak.

a mighty one who will save;

he will rejoice over you with gladness;

he will quiet you by his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing.

Zephaniah 3

The Lord God is with us.

He is mighty to save.

We can hope in a redemption, a making whole, a baptism. 

A new earth that won't know of tsunamis, rioting, or rape.

Just Him.
And this is what we bring to the lost.
Nothing will stop the tsunami.
Oppression may never cease.
But we have hope.

Love, Chloe

Part of the movement.

A New Chapter: Child Soldier Rehabilitation from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.

Dreams.

(photo by Esther Havens)

The Call.

How many times I have used the phrase “I’ve been called,” and truly had no understanding of it. To love people. To forgive. Honor my parents.

Answering God’s call is not magical. It can seem that way when our view of God is intangible and small. Sparkles don’t fall from the ceiling. “At Last” won’t play in your sub-conscious, and you won’t always have butterflies.

I love hiking. I’d hike till kingdom come if I could. You know when you’re crossing a river, a stream, bubbling-brook, whatever, and the person in front of you (usually the Eagle Scout) hops from rock to rock across the flowing water then reaches back to help you walk across the same footholds he has already tread?

Or when you wake up at 330 am to go to the bathroom and don’t turn the lights on. As you walk back to your bed, you put your hands out in front of you and walk gingerly. Inevitably, you jam your toe into the bedframe but ultimately you fall back into your bed.

You won't always see it, the final end. You will fumble with your hands in front of you, hold His hand as you jump from rock to rock.

2+2 does not always equal 4.

It doesn’t always add up. It won’t always add up.

But when God calls it makes sense. Things that you were otherwise incapable of become your life.

How else would a 20 year old girl overcoming anxiety go to the nations?

I am incapable.

Emotionally.

Physically.

Demographically.

We can look at David, Gideon, Paul, Peter, and think, God used the weak to shame the strong.

David did not suddenly grow 3 feet taller.

Gideon was no warrior.

Paul still stuttered.

But what made them history-makers was their stepping up to a tangible calling.

God enabled them.

This is a lie: callings are only for those people, not everyone.

Those granola, Systematic Theology-reading, Chaco-wearing people.

Are you listening closely?

His calling is as tangible, real, and forward as the nose on your face. They supercede the laws of nature.

Walk two steps forward, one step back.

So we walk.

Why does He make us do this dance?

I feel like that sometimes. Why does it take pain, sleeplessness, and loss to make me better? To purify me?

He’s powerful enough to do so, with the blink of an eye. Can’t He just make me whole?

My view of the greatness and majesty of God is so small.

I pray that He broadens our peripheral view, expands our mental capacity to understand this whole mess of a fallen world.

Listen closely.

All those what-if statements that keep you from this adventure? Move them aside. Walk in boldness, not always knowing what your decisions will bring about, but trusting a God who knows what you will say before you say it.

He will do mighty things, in His power alone.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;

great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23

Life lately,

In 30 days, the Lord gave me $4,000 for my journey to Ethiopia and Uganda this summer!

I have found myself back on summer staff at the Shores. Whoop! I have decided to title my role, “Secret Agent, Social Media Extraordinaire”, a.k.a. tweet, Facebook, and blog all things Shores. I can’t wait to see how the Lord uses this new media of communication with parents and campers.

I can do a headstand now.

My missional community adopted a Burmese refugee family!

It’s sunny with a high of 75.

BYX Formal.

Tammie is done with her thesis. I get my bff back.

Did you know you can drink decaf cappuccinos?

Lamentations 3:22-26

I get to spend time with a friend this weekend.

In a little over a month, I will know when I am leaving next year and a better of idea of where I will be!

Here’s a map!

Austin to NYC to California to Uganda, Ethiopia, and a final T.B.D. destination.

Let's go!

Love, Chloe