30.

This weekend I'm working to get the word out about my 30th High School Reunion. Pictured are:
 - the boy I grew up talking about God with
 - the girl I wanted to be in High School
- the boy I considered a friend who died at too young an age and I dont know why... it seems like I should
- the girl who thanked me in her senior section for being her friend who I've totally lost touch with
- the boy who gave me my first kiss

 I'm all over the board on this reunion thing. I've never been before. Honestly had no desire to go before.But a friend is leading the reunion planning and I told her I'd help with social media.
 I also remember my dad telling me that at the 30th it's nice because people have mostly settled into their own skin and stop trying to be something and just be themselves.

I've posted all our year book photos on facebook and I loved an exchange I had yesterday with one girl. I commented that she was beautiful and her reply was...

Thank you, I was (beautiful) and I didn't even know it.

That kind of sums up what I'm hoping for with the reunion... that somehow spending a few hours together will help us realize more who we really are. Not who we, or others, thought we were in high school. I sure hope so.

Marshmallows

"It's a memory that's actually more like a photograph"

A gentlemen I met with at work yesterday used that line. And I like it. I had one of those last week. As Mike and I were leaving the house to go grab dinner one of our girls was standing at the door shouting out to us...something kookie. (I can't imagine what our neighbors think of us!) And in that moment my memory took one of those photos. I realized how unbelievably grateful I am to still have my girls at home. This is not a "failure to launch" situation. They both made deliberate choices that kept them here. One wisely delayed school until she was ready for college and the work it would take. The other worked a year saving to earn money and the opportunity to live, learn and serve internationally for six months and she is now home and in school. Being home with your parents isn't very normal here. Seriously, who wants to hang out with the 'rents at their age... but they have somehow found a way to survive and thrive :). In that snapshot moment I was also profoundly aware of what our relationships would be like if we had been suburban "normal" and they had done what most kids do, in fact, what their brother did, and moved away for school at 18. I remember moving away at that age. And sometimes I feel frozen at that age, when I go home to visit my Mom. It's hard to stay connected at a distance. It just is. And, I feel like we have been granted these extra moments to grow together, to prop one another up, to challenge and frustrate one another in close proximity to look for our clothes in one another's rooms and to occasionally find marshmallows in my driveway. And, I'm so grateful.

Blame Jilly

My friend Jilly is an inspiring human. But let me start at the beginning of this chapter. I haven't blogged for nearly two years. I imagine that as I put my fingers back on these blogger keys i'll share some of the why. Truth is... I'm hoping that blogging again will help me discover just where I've been for two years too. Anyway... every once in a while I get a random comment from a stranger in a foreign country that reminds me that this blog still exists. Yesterday... when I got the notification I found myself thinking... I miss writing. Maybe I should do that again. So I thought i'd talk to God about that idea later. Then last night when I did my evening perusal of facebook I found that Jilly had posted on her facebook that she wished I still wrote. It was an affirmation of my wondering. There's so much in my life to thank Jilly for... she is a passionate woman who loves life and her family and people and food and God, and well me. She INSPIRES me to be more of who I am. So thanks Jilly for giving me the courage to come back here and stay a while.

Molly's Mission Encounter - Week 9- Preparing to Come Home

This week, as Molly prepares to return to Portland, we share part two of what Molly wants you to know about her Discipleship Encounter. In her own words...

What did you learn about yourself?I would say the biggest transformation in me being here was the spiritual growth I gained. Rather than Christ just being a belief I had, I have gained the relationship that God wants with me and with all of us. Praise God for that :)
Also I have learned that I want to be a teacher for young children, pre-school or kindergarten. I don't know which, but I do know that I want to teach young children and I would like for ministry to be involved in that. I'm still seeing where God will take me with that. I am interested in doing missions after I complete my schooling but I am not sure where God will take me at this point, whether it will be in the States or a foreign country.
I have also learned how difficult it would be for me to do missions alone so I pray that if missions is my calling, God has a hubby for me wanting to be a part of that too. I really don't know if I could do it alone. I feel like I especially was made to have a family so I hope God will provide that for me.
This verse has really inspired about wanting to teach young children and the fun in that. Singing songs, making crafts, etc.

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. Colossions 3:16

What do you think you will you miss about your life on the island? I've truly been blessed by the relationships I've made here over.I didn't expect to "groove" as well as I have with Team Helene. They were so welcoming to me upon my arrival and invited me into their away-from-home family so quickly. June 2011 Molly arriving in Roatan for the beginning of her Mission Encounter
I'm going to miss each missionary here in different ways. The relationships I have built with them will be something I remember and miss the most.
Also the relationships I've built with the islanders here on Helene. I mean they're the reason I keep coming back! I get so cheesy and giddy thinking about them haha.
As the islanders huddled around the dock saying goodybe to the Outer Banks short term team, I was so grateful to be standing with the islanders and not being the one leaving and saying goodbye. I know my time to leave is coming and I'm preparing my heart for it. I have met so many amazing men and women here and they have helped me to grow just by hearing about their lives and being around them.
And no surprise, the children of Helene have such a great place in my heart. I have been so blessed to have been given the opportunity to build relationships with these children over the past three years of coming and going to this beautiful island. Saying goodbye to them this time will be the hardest one of all. I will forever remember these kids and how they impacted my life. Helene really has made a mark on my heart over the past three years, and especially these 10 weeks. I will always remember this place and how it has shaped me into who I am. I want to thank everyone who supported me on this trip. God truly is at work on this tiny island off of the coast of Honduras.

Prayer request: Molly saying goodbye. Leaving the island is always an emotion filled moment, many of you who are reading this already know what I mean. Please pray that in the tenderness of that moment God will do mighty work in confirming the growth that Molly has achieved these past ten weeks. And that she will feel comfort that night alone in the hotel and on the trip home.

She leaves Helene Aug 12th and will spend the night in Roatan then fly Saturday from Roatan to Houston (a short layover) to Portland. Her Continental flight arrives at 11pm

Thanks all for your love and support of her personally. Molly and Janet

Molly's Mission Encounter Week 8

This week Molly and I emailed about what we would want her friends and family who've supported her to know. I asked her some questions and this week and next week we'll share her answers, in her own words.

Was the trip what you expected?
It really kind of was what I expected. I didn't expect to be reading as much as they had assigned but I gained a lot from every book that I read while here. I will have read 10 books over the 10 weeks. Half assigned, half pleasure reading. Never could say that back in middle school-high school. When I'd return to school in September and my teacher would ask how much we all read over the summer, my answer I'm sure was always zero hahah.
My day to day activities were pretty much what I expected. Morning devotions, and then getting ready for the day, such as reading, bible studies and then getting ready for school. Lunch at 12ish and then meeting with the teachers at 1 and school from 130-5. After school relaxing before dinner or cooking dinner (I cooked monday nights). Dinner is at 6. Dinner and dishes usually ends at around seven and then we either part our separate ways or play a game or watch a movie.
The only time my expectations weren't the same as what I had planned was my ability to be out in the community. Sometimes it really felt like I was princess Jasmine locked away. I didn't have as much interaction outside of the clinic with the people of Helene as I would have liked to.

What are some things you’ve learned about being a missionary?
I've learned the positive and challenging aspects of short term missions. How they affect a full time staff and the locals. Short term teams come ready to give all they can because they are only here for a week and are prepared to do that. Which is great, but that’s not realistic when you live somewhere on an ongoing basis. It’s challenging. Sometimes the locals misunderstand the real commitment long term missionaries have made to them. I've gained a lot of respect for the people that do full time missions and what a commitment that is. Their obedience to God's call is something really amazing to witness. Giving up family, friends, lifestyle, your cultural beliefs and thinking and jumping into a whole new way of living is not an easy thing to do and it's amazing how many people do it to share the gospel.

This week MEI shared a link of Molly where we got to hear her voice and see her face. You can see the clip here. The clip was recorded early in her Discipleship Encounter.

Prayer requests:

The team at MEI, our friends serving long term in Helene. That God would direct and provide for their ongoing ministry to the people of the island. And to the native islanders that they would grow in their knowledge of God and His grace and share that with their friends and family.

Molly's eye- healing; it's still pink and hurts. She has a Dr appointment scheduled right away when she gets back. And for her last two weeks on the island. She leaves Helene on August 12th, is in Roatan overnight and then arrives home late Saturday night Aug 13th.