Full

These last few days have been full. Full of meeting people from around the world )Tonga, Sweden, Malawi, UAE, Finland, Guatemala, Korea, Costa Rico, China, etc). Full of stories of students and staff who risk everything for the sake of rehearsal. Full of culture and beauty. Full of rehearsals. Full of good food...Full. It's beautiful here. Poland is rich in culture, wonderful folklore stories, cathedrals, Basillica's and castles. Every day I walk to the main square and discover new things along the way. I'm loving every moment of my time. My team is amazing and I love spending time with them. The people that I am meeting each have a story. God is moving my heart to a deeper place of prayer for the nations. It is good to be here.
I don't have a lot of free time , that's why you haven't really heard from me, and my writing isn't super thoughtful right now. However the day before the student portion began Kim and I took a taxi to the Salt Miines in Wieliczka...fascinating! Here are a few pictures. More to come...

In front of the castle in Krakow

The walls of the salt mines are all salt...we went down about 450 ft.

A salt carving of the Last Supper

Traditional Polish Folk Dresses

A street in Wieliczka

A beautiful church in Wieliczka...I took this picture through the window because the church was closed to visitors...not too bad :)

The end of a very long day...

25 hours later I made it. I had no movies on my flight from Chicago to Frankfurt (I shouldn't say none, they showed "Prom" a total high school flick...seriously!?). Kim and I ended up on different flights. I had the "privilege" of sitting in between two very opinionated little old men on my flight to Krakow who argued over me where I needed to visit the most. Needless to say I got no nap in on that flight.
Over all it was a good trip and I learned that I can fly internationally all by myself :)

I took a few pictures, but I'm on Kim's computer so I'll add them later. She and I did eventually meet up here and took a walk of the city. Very beautiful. I can't wait to show you...tomorrow perhaps

still waiting...

Sooo.....It's 5:45 and I am still sitting in the airport. If you remember from my last post, my flight was supposed to be at 5:15pm. Well, it wasn't. Why? Mechanical problems. Apparently a light came on indicating there is something wrong with the main cabin door...well then.
But God seems to be working things out...He's God, of course he is! My good friend Kim and I were supposed to be on the same connection flight from Chicago - Munich - Krakow. I thought for a moment that now we would both be flying separately, but she just called and said her flight is delayed as well. We are both re-booked on a flight to Chicago - Frankfurt - Krakow. So, in the end it's all working out.

Since I've been here waiting a few, uh, interesting things have happened.
1. My bag was 10 over weight. I checked online and I swear it said 60lbs and not 50lbs but oh well. I got a new rolling laptop bag out of it...which I can hopefully expense
2. The guy sitting across from me is a little drunk. I know this because of the way he was acting and by the fact that he LOUDLY announced that he was drunk off his a**. And then proceeded to say that not all black people look alike...Really sir? Really?

But now I am boarding...YEAH!!!

Poland...

Today at 5:15pm I'll board a plane in San Antonio, TX to head to Krakow, Poland. I'll be there from July 22-August 3 participating in the IFES World Assembly.
To say that I am excited is an understatement. Thrilled, stoked, elated, estactic, overjoyed, delighted, euphric...maybe these begin to grasp how I feel. Here's 5 reason's why...(in no particular order)
1. I'll be joining staff from around the world - 154 countries will be represented...just a little taste of heaven!
2. Being on the Theater team is a dream come true and an on-ramp for getting to do theater at Urbana
3. My grandmother is from Poland, we think my relatives might actually be from the city I am going to.  There's just something about visiting a place where your ancestors walked, ate, lived and did life.
4. It's been a long time since I've gotten out of the country, I've been longing for an international trip. And the fact that it's high of 70's there makes it even better!
5. It's a chance to hear from God in a new and fresh way and context.

Read more about the World Assembly and what we'll be doing! I'll be sure to blog and post pictures when ever I have internet...really, I'm gonna try to blog, really I am :)

There's Something About Love...

L - is for the way you look at me
O - is for the only one I see
V - is very very extraordinary
E - is even more than any one that I adore
For some time this Nate King Cole song has been a favorite of mine. I can't remember which movie made me first fall for it, but I know it was some cheesy romantic comedy.
There is something to be said about love. What is it really - a feeling, a choice, an action, all of the above. An experience, a journey, something we all long for. Something to give and receive. A word you speak, actions you take, emotions you feel, commitments and covenants you make. Love is a four letter word that has more definitions, side-affects and consequences than any other word. There's just something about love.

I was at a wedding over the 4th of July weekend. I love weddings. I also, well, not hate them because hate is a strong word, but maybe, well, hate them.  But mostly I love them. I love to see a groom standing in front anticipating his bride walking through the door. I love watching the bride walk down the aisle on her fathers arm. I love the beauty of seeing bride and groom make there vows and become one before God. I love the kiss, the celebrating, the food, the dancing and the cake. I love it.
What I hate is when it's a wedding that I'm not thrilled about or when it's over the top and people spend too much money on the decorations and forget to invite Jesus into it. And mostly I hate the way my heart twists in a tug of war of being overly ecstatic for the couple before me and aching for it to one day be me standing there. But like I said before, I mostly love them.

And I loved the wedding I was at last weekend. I loved it because they were friends of mine. I loved it because it a simple and beautiful ceremony. I loved it because of the way they honored God. I loved it because of the way they stood before each other is obvious delightful love. But mostly I loved it because I knew James' story and for me it was a reminder that one relationship not working out and waiting on the Lord, in the end, is totally worth it. God knows best. I saw that at this wedding. Had it been 3 years ago at a wedding that could have happened, I would have felt differently. I might still have gone because of friendship, but I wouldn't have been happy to see the wedding. This was it though. James and Katie are together because they waited on the Lord. It gives me hope. Theirs is a love that is real. It's not with out struggle, or conflict but it is real. It came on the heels of heartache and tears from past losses which now fade into the distance.

Sometimes my heart still aches and longs for what was lost with him. It's not so much the man but the dream. Sometimes I chastise myself for feeling that way.  But I'm a woman who loves deeply, passionately and falls hard. And loss is loss. It hurts. It sucks. But it's, in a weird way, worth it.

Life, true life, only comes after death.  The death of one relationship is the only way to give birth to another. Do I know when that day is coming? No. Will it come in the form, fashion and manner I desire? I have no idea. But I know that whatever it is, it will be worth it. That, I was reminded of on Saturday June 2 and I watch my friend James' eyes light up as his bride walked down the aisle.

Oh, and I look good that day. My friends and I we looked real good.