Three days to go

Today I had to say goodbye to Ema, who is going to Texas tommorrow and won't be back until three hours after I leave Friday. It was a sad time.

I am definitely seeing God's work in this transition though. He's been making the goodbyes a little easier, and comforting me in knowing that I will see all of these people again. I don't think it's hitting me, and I hope it doesn't. I knew this day was coming, and now that it's here, I'm adjusted to that.

It's going to be great to be home and to see everyone. There are many friends that I will not see for a few weeks, but I will get to see most of them next week, and as for my family, well, we have have big plans to hang out this weekend (and I FINALLY get to meet Clayton!). I am very much looking forward to this, along with some jambalaya and the sounds of the Big Easy.

Living in New York has been a grand experience, and there are a thousand little things I will miss, but I'm starting to see that this applies to anywhere you go. I'll always be thinking of things I miss about the last place I lived, so why not enjoy them while you can, and cherish the fact that you had them.

Things are getting a little sad around here

Saturday morning, after having spent a wonderful Friday with some amazing people, I got up to say goodbye to those who were leaving for youth camp. By the time they get back, I will be gone.

Friday, Charlotte, Kyle, and I went to Staten Island and rode the railroad all the way out to the end, just to see what was there. What we found looked like Baton Rouge, bridge and all. We then went back to Manhattan to meet up with all of the other summer missionaries and supervisors for a great dinner. Since the only missionary we were missing was Lydia, because she was working, we decided to go visit her at work. There's never an occasion where I turn down the chance for Magnolia Bakery, especially when Lydia is working and we get half-off. On the way to Magnolia, we stopped in Macy's to use the bathroom, and Charlotte found ten dollars on the floor, which she then so graciously used to buy our cupcakes. It was a great last-night-out with the crew.

I went back up to the Upper West Side exhausted, but then packed my bags to go back down to the church (on the Lower East Side- yes the exact opposite side of Manhattan) and spend the night so I wouldn't oversleep to say my goodbyes the next morning. One last sleepover with the friends before we all went our separate ways.

After they left Saturday, I was lazy all day, lounging around the house and trying not to be sad. Ema and I had tickets to the Mets game, so I went down to 34th street just to get out of the house beofore heading out to Flushing for the game. Sadly, the Mets lost, but I am definitely more of a fan than I was before my visit to the great Shea Stadium. I developed a big crush on David Wright, just like every other non-Yankee fan woman in New York.

Today was my last Sunday at Graffiti, so I had to say alot of goodbyes. I'll still be at church all week (as always), but not all of the people will be there. It was sad to be meeting with my smallgroup for the last time until December. They've been great encouragers this summer and definitely will be missed. After church, Ruth, who was one of the first people I met in NY but has been in Michigan for six weeks, invited me to lunch with her family. Her dad had his car, which was nice (the subways are getting super old, I can't WAIT to drive). We went to Brooklyn to see where she is moving this week, and then went to Juniors for lunch and cheesecake (and despite all rumors that it is better, Carnegie cheesecake still beats out Juniors). I then had to say goodbye to here too, because I don't know if I'll be seeing her for the rest of the week, and she just got back!

I'm going to be really sad to leave this place. I didn't think I was going to be, but the closer it approaches, the more I realize how great living in New York can be. I don't know if I necessarily want to move here full-time or anything, but it's going to be sad to leave.

(this is not to say that I am not SUPER excited about returning home to the people I love and miss- I'll see you all this weekend!)

As time winds down

I'm leaving the city a week from tommorrow.

Part of me is excited. I get to see my friends and family. I get some jambalaya. I get to hang out in New Orleans.

The other part realizes that leaving the city is not just for a week or two, but it is for good. I will be back in December, but just for a week, and after that, who knows when is the next time I can come visit this place.

I'm not so much sad about leaving the city as I am about leaving the poeple, many of which I won't see again after this Saturday when they leave for youth camp. I've shared some of my greatest lifetime experiences with these people, and the thought of not seeing them again for an indefinite period of time is pretty rough.

I guess I'll just have to get a driveable car so I can make road trips to visit them in their various home states.

It's strange to think about leaving here so soon. The goodbyes have started to roll in already, as some people have told me that they are not going to be here on Sunday and I've had to say goodbye ahead of time. I think leaving church this Sunday is going to be the toughest part. Graffiti has become such a part of my life that it's going to be very difficult to say goodbye and become just another summer missionary who came and went.

I am looking forward to driving again. The subways are okay, but it's so much nicer to be behind the wheel.

I'm Moving to Boston

The Oteil Burbridge concert Wednesday night was fabulous! I think we really accomplished what we'd set out to do as a church: reach out to the community and the "unchurched" and let them know that we're here, and we love them.

Thursday was Taylor's birthday celebration, at which there was a king cake. He'd talked of wanting to try this Mardi Gras delicacy when we were discussing our "what would we eat for dessert at our last meal?" and King Cake was mine. We decided to have one shipped up here for his birthday and it was a hit! It came from Paul's Pastry in Picayune (no Gambinos or Randazzos, but still quality cake nonetheless). I spent the rest of the day organizing the registration forms from the concert, and calling all of those interested in helping us with Paint the Town. We then went to Dallas BBQ and Venieros with some of the people from a mission team who very graciously treated us all to dinner. Charlotte and I rented Fever Pitch because a.)I never get tired of it, it's become one of my favorite movies, and b.) we were getting pumped about going to BOSTON!!! Kyle joined us at about 11:30 after having gone to see Spamalot (*jealous*) with his family. We forced ourselves to go to bed so we'd wake up bright and early to get to Port Authority well ahead of on time.

Upon arriving at the bus terminal, we figured out that the walking-on right before the bus left like we did for Philadelphia was a rare experience only possible on holidays. We got there an hour early, but I was still afraid that we might not get a spot on the bus! We did though, and it left a little early! It also only took four hours as opposed to four-and-a-half as expected. Immediately into Boston, I knew I was somewhere I belonged (driving by Fenway Park and seeing it for the first time felt like walking into Tiger Stadium for the first time at the first game each year).

I'd put Boston on my list of potential cities to move to last summer, and spent a significant portion of last summer obsessing over going to Boston. I almost even gave up my NY mission trip in December to go on the Rhode Island one so I could see Boston (but God directed me otherwise). In the middle of last summer, I felt almost like God had told me to be a RedSox fan. I know this sounds strange, but all of the sudden everywhere I turned was RedSox this and RedSox that. It was unexplainable, and I became an addicted fan. I started to think that maybe it was because God had a place for me in Boston, and after FINALLY having gone to visit, I think I may have nailed it.

I was made for that city. After having only spoken to about three people, I tured to Kyle and Charlotte and was like "OMG, I LOVE these people, they get excited about everything!" at which point they looked at each other and I was like "OMG, THESE ARE MY PEOPLE" and they were like "Ya know, we were just thinking that!"

I've always wanted to live on an old harbor, and in a place where there is an MLB team (and what better one than this?) I really think I have found my city. It's rich in history, and unlike New York (who I still love, don't get me wrong), they cherish their history and preserve it, not try to modernize it as much as possible without completely erasing any trace of authenticity. The historic parts of the city were preserved exactly how they have always been, whereas here (like most cities), they leave the token important buildings and build new, modern skycrapers and such in place of all of the other things they've torn down. Even the baseball park (ahhhhh) is a good example of this. Fenway opened on April 20, 1912, and very little has changed. All of the changes that are made to the park are additions, not subtractions, and many of them are made from recycled parts of the park from other renovations and such. Here in NY, they take their most historic team, with one of the most famous stadiums in history, build a completely un-needed 1.3 BILLION dollar facility across the street, and will tear down the old one with all the memories as soon as the other one is ready.

Sad Times

So after falling absolutely in love with a new city, and realizing I was pretty much made for it, I've basically decided that if God wills it, I will be living there when I graduate. I cannot wait!

I went to Rockaway, but not to play golf on the beach

(For those who are unaware, the above is a Seinfeld reference. Kramer goes out to Rockaway and treats the shore like a driving range.)

After several weeks of discussion and planning, Gloria, her daughters, and I finally went to Rockaway beach Sunday after church.

Having been to Coney Island twice, I decided it was time to try out a new stretch of sand. Rockaway is out by JFK Airport in Queens. It's a long peninsula and there is NOTHING near it but the airport.

Riding on the A-Train out there, we crossed over the water and little islands and such, which loosely resembled crossing the Bonnet Carre, but with a few more camps. People were jetskiing and fishing and such, and nothing resembling the city could be seen.

Then you get to the peninsula, and it looks like a slightly-more-crowded Bay St. Louis of sorts (with more condos on the beach). I could definitely see how people would want to live out there. It's secluded, it's clean, and there's like, four miles of beach! The only issues is that it is not close to ANYTHING by train, so a car would be pretty much a necessity.

Gloria and her two girls, Jessica and Jasmin, were soooo much fun! We also had another guy from church, Eric, who I'd never met before, and his son Ryan. We set up a little spot on the super-crowded beach, and for the first time in as long as I can remember, I actually played in the water! The temperature was great and the waves were unbelievable! I kept thinking how fun it would be to have Bethany's ocean kayak out there with me.

It was so nice to go out and relax in the sun. Sunday ended up being the perfect day for the beach. Not to hot, sunny, a nice breeze, and mild temperatured water.

Monday, I went with Ema to go deliver some stuff to a church, and on the way home, our CAB DRIVER got pulled over! Imagine that! He had crossed lanes without using his signal (who in NY does?), and he was talking on his cell phone (who in NY doesn't?). The funny thing was he lied to the cop, saying that he was not on his cell phone. The cop not only had seen him on it, but he had two witnesses in the car! So the other cop in the car hailed us a new cab, and we had to move all of our stuff out of the trunk into the other car just to drive another ten blocks or so.

Tonight is the Oteil Burbridge concert at church. He is the bass player for the Allman brothers, and is doing a free show at Graffiti to help us reach out to the neighborhood and promote Saturday's big Paint the Town project. I've got so much work to do to get ready for the show. Phone calls to make, things to set up, etc... That's pretty much what my day will consist of, and tommorrow will be making follow-up calls to remind people about Saturday.

Friday, is pretty much the most exciting day so far. I'm going to BOSTON!!!!!! I've been wanting to go there forever, and after getting back from Philly and seeing how easy it was just to go, I suggested going to Boston, since its only 30 dollars by bus. So at 7am Friday morning, we're hopping a greyhound and will be in Bo-town by 11:30! I'm sooooooo incredibly excited. I didn't think I'd actually get to go to Boston while here this summer, but we bought the tickets yesterday, so it's official!

Goal of the day- to spot this guy:

A Lazy Couple of Days

Friday morning I got up early and met Charlotte at Battery Park for a trip to Ellis Island. I'd been to the island before, but it's been two years, and being a history major, I could always use a refresher course.

I enjoyed it, but I got the same impression as last time. The building has been restored, but it's also been modernized. The only room that's restored to look as it did when it was a functioning immigration center was the recieving room. I'm not a big fan of modernizing history. I think that's why I liked Edgar Allan Poe's house so much. It wasn't made to look like anything fake, it looked as much like it did when he lived there as possible.

We were going to go to the Guggenheim, but we stopped at church so Charlotte could make some qick phone calls. I took a nap. We decided to leave at about 4, and Charlotte called to see when they closed. Much to our dismay, they were closing at 5:45, so by the time we got there we'd only have about an hour to see everything. Not wanting to be rushed, we opted against going. Instead, we made the trip back to Queens, where we bought some watermelon and watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off with Kyle's family.

This time, I managed to get home at a decent hour. I went to bed around midnite, and set my alarm to wake up for eight. I hate even sleep that late, but I figured I'd give myself some rest since I didn't have anywhere to be. Imagine my horror when I woke up at 10:45!! I couldn't tell you the last time I slept that late. I lazed around for a while, brought some laundry to the basement, and then bummed a little more.

I decided to go to the Museum of Natural History, since it's in my neighborhood and I've been talking about going. I knew that it too closed at 5:45 so I wouldn't have excessive time to browse (seeing as how it was already three when I left my house), but nonetheless, I went, and enjoyed it. I bought a ticket to the planetarium show, which I thoroughly enjoyed. There were some exhibits I would have liked to take a closer look at, but at least I got to see them.

(by far, the Asian Peoples exhibit was my favorite, but maybe its because it was the only one I really took alot of time in)

For the walk home, I decided to take Columbus, which I never do, and I discovered a Jaques-imo's behind the museum on 78th!!! This one is owned by the same guy who owns the highly-reccomended one uptown in New Orleans. Despite it's high prices, I may have to make my way up there soon for a taste of home. They did have a side of jambalaya for six dollars...

All along I've been thinking Mara's Homeade in the East Village was my only option. It's amazing how I never realized how different our menus are down there than everywhere else. Things that are standard at just about any non-chain restaurant in Louisiana are rare gems found only at specialty places here! To those of you back home, TREASURE your easy access to things like crawfish etouffee and bread pudding. This is something I will never take for granted again!

I went to the cafe down the block, grabbed a sandwhich, came home and bummed around some more. Soon, I will go to bed. So good night!

Random Thought on New Orleans Rap Music....

While at Yankee Stadium, I heard the song "This is the way I Live" by Baby Boy being played over the loudspeaker.

I being the country fan that I am, have never really been one to enjoy rap music. Seeing as how I went to a high school full of people that thoroughly enjoy the genre, I was quite exposed to it from about sixth grade on up. I mostly associate it with football season, because for some reason, it seems like that was the time of year I heard it the most.

I think it had something to do with the cheerleading bus.

This song in particular was a big hit on the local scene my senior year of high school. When I hear it, I am immediately drawn back to Friday nights, lights, after-parties, and Taco Bell.

So here I am, sitting in Yankee Stadium, enjoying a memorable experience, and along comes a song from another memorable part of my life. I turn to Ashely and I say, "This guy's from the Westbank, like me. He grew up about ten minutes from where I grew up." I just thought it was interesting.

Today again, Ema and I were driving to New Jersey and we were looking for a radio station, and somehow we got on the topic of New Orleans rap, and I brought up that song again. It was one of those few rap songs I ever actually liked. I don't know why, but something about it was catchy.

Then, tonight, I heard the song on a myspace profile, so I listend to the words. This was the national hit version, which is different from the local one (he also had a version about The Saints this past season- from what I can tell he doens't write new songs, he just keeps recycling the old one). In listening to the words, I realize that most of the song is about "reppin' the Westbank." He talks of working out at French Riviera Spa, and mentions Marrerro at least three times. I typically never listen to lyrics of rap songs, so I'd never noticed any of this before.

So it hits me, here I was, two weeks ago, in Yankee Stadium, and over the loudspeaker was playing a song about my little corner of the world.

Hows that for a small world?

To My Wonderful Family, Who Can't Read Purple On Black

I changed the colors once again at the request of MaMaw and Aunt GiGi. If you can't read the yellow on black, let me know, but if you can't read it chances are you don't know that I just said that.

Funny story, today, MaMaw almost lost her blue comb. Yes, the blue comb she's been using since she was my age, along with that orange brush. Apparently, combs are not allowed into the district attorneys office for fear that they may be used as weapons. As a child who's life was touched by the comb, I might be able to agree with this assumption. Many very poofy hairstyles resulted from the combination of these items being used on my, and my cousin's, and some of my friends' hair.

We all know that if either of these styling items were to be lost permenantly, MaMaw would never again have presentable hair, and the loss might be taken as a serious tragedy among those of us who have had experiences with the brush and comb. Many of my childhood hairstyles were enhanced by the magic teasing ability of the orange pointy brush, which apparently, you can't buy anywhere anymore. Someday, when I am in my sixties, I hope to be styling the hair of my own grandchildren with the orange brush and blue comb. I might throw in a curling iron covered in hairspray, just for kicks.

Good memories

(I wish I had a picture to enlighten those of you who do not know about these tools)

GASP, and Bobby

Yesterday I helped out with the Graffiti Afternoon Summer Program at church. Kyle was short one person to help with the 4-6 graders, so I was recruited to join the team. It was a pretty fun day, lots of Guitar Hero. During devotion, one of the kids asked "Why do they always say that God was Jesus's father?" to which we responded, "Because he was." (what else would be the explanation?) She then proceeded to say "No, Joseph was his father." We had to explain that Joseph was sort of an "adopted" father, which lead to some kids mumbling "No, he was his stepfather," etc... Interesting to see the kinds of things kids ask and are willing to argue about.

Today was very slow. I didn't have much work to do at all, I just made a few phone calls, sent some e-mails, etc... Peter said his office (which is the office I work out of), was too hot and he didn't want to make me come up there unless he had something he really needed me to do, so he told me to call it a day pretty early. I met with Ema for a little while. We've been reading this great book about all of the basic Christian beliefs we should know and understand, and then discussing it once a week.

I went to the Manhattan Mall for the first time today, only to discover that there is a Steve and Barry's there, and that it is as cheap and wonderful as I've heard. I bought an LSU shirt for eight dollars, and a nice one at that. After shopping for a little while, I came home, cooked a pop-tart for dinner, and watched Bobby. If you have not yet seen this movie, and are at all interested in history circa 1968, take the time to watch it, it's fabulous. 1968 just so happens to be one of my favorite years, but that is part of the nerdy side of me coming out. I absolutely loved it, and will probably buy it when I get home. There's something about that whole late-sixties cold-war-era that gets me every time.

Graffiti

My church is pretty much amazing. The people there come from every possible background, and it's so interesting to see how, as children of God, we are all one in the same, despite our differences. The general atomosphere of it all is undescribable. I cannot imagine how anyone could ever possibly feel uncomfortable there.

Today we had a meal after small group time. I made Potato Salad, South Louisiana Style... It went over pretty well, from what I could tell, unless everyone was lying to make me feel better. Either way, I enjoyed it, and since I don't cook very often, when something I make goes over well, I am very proud. (Like that macaroni casserole for thanksgiving.....)

Back to the point.

Fellowship meals at my church are so great. There are no cliques. No particular person is expected to sit by any other particular people. This is how it should always be at a church. Sure, after the meal is done we sortof migrated over toward our friends, but eating a meal together is one of the best ways to get to know other people, so there is no reason not to sit by at least one person you don't know very well.

We do the same thing on Wednesday nights, only the Wednesday meal is more of a community outreach, and it's not potluck.

People from the neighborhood and the church come in and get a free hot meal, which is served to them at the table by volunteers from within the church. This is such a special time to me, as it is to the other summer missionaries. We really get to know the people we are reaching out to and thier stories. Many of the people who come don't have much of anything or anyone, and it's such a great time for them to get to come and tell us their stories. I love to hear what they have to say. We've got former artists, pilots, you name it. There is so much to learn from these people and I'm so glad I get the opportunity to do it. After the meal, there is a Bible study, which has become one of my favorite times of the week. Some people don't stay, but there are many that do.

Saturdays is F.L.I.P. (Free Lunch in the Park). The church is but a half a block away from Tompkins Square Park, which is a charming little place. Many people live in the park, or in squats and tenaments around it. On Saturdays, volunteers from Graffiti, and mission teams, prepare a bag lunch, for these people. They line up in massive numbers. Then Vaughn, one of the most faithful and amazing servant-hearted people I've ever met, leads a Bible study for those that want to stay. If ever you are in New York on a Saturday, you should contact the church about helping with FLIP because it is a true blessing.

This weekend was Graffiti's first Paint the Town project. Throughout the week a mission team helped paint the school at the corner of our block: St. Brigids. Then on Saturday, we invited people from the church and the community to help us finish painting and to do some general cleaning, gum scraping, tape removing, etc.... We didn't have as many show up as expected, but it all got done.

One of the guys who came to help was someone I'd called a few weeks ago when looking for volunteers. He told me he had work the night before, but he'd be there. I told him it was okay if he couldn't make it, or if he wanted to sleep in and come by later on, but he insisted it would be no problem. Sure enough, he got off work at 7, and was at church at 9, having only one hour of sleep, and ready and willing to do whatever was needed of him.

This is the type of person we should all look up to.

I'm so thankful that God has blessed me with a church in the city with such amazing people who have a heart to serve the community. There are a million more things I could talk about, but you'd get sick of reading them. Check out the website if you get a chance though!

The Truth is Out There

I've come in contact with several people in my life who live in a very sheltered world. Something about this way of living has always bothered me, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Thanks to Rob Bell, I think I've got it.

"Christian is a great noun, and a horrible adjective," he says. I've heard this quoted before, but until I read it, it didn't start to sink in.

A person I know, like many others, only believes in reading "Christian" books and watching "Christian" movies. This person doesn't like having a child in public school because of the "things she is exposed to." I've never agreed with this. Sure we are supposed to be in the world but not of the world, but whether we want to face it or not we are, in fact, in the world.

How are we supposed to reach out to those who don't know Christ if we don't know anything about their lifestyles? Besides, what makes something "Christian"? Does it have to have a cross on the cover? Does it have to be written by a pastor?

God made everything right? Everything around us is true. He is the truth, and though we as humans have distorted some things, inherently, all things are true, and Jesus the truth. Right?

I'm not gonna lie, some "Christian" music is really bad, as in, it is a disgrace to the artform of music. Some non-"Christian" music is really good and beautiful. If God gave us good a beautiful music to listen to, then it is in fact glorifying him. Just because the lyrics are not referring to him does not mean it is not there for us to see and appreciate and thank him for. This is not to say that music that sounds beautiful but has horrible, vulgar, disgusting lyrics is directly from God and we should listen to it all the time, but a good John Mayer love song is not going to hurt us.

And believe me, I do thank God for John Mayer.

The point is, as Christians, we have the ability to find God in everything, so we shouldn't limit ourselves to things that have the word "Christian" in front of them.

Also, just as a side note, something that has always bothered me: The point of "Christian" bands and "Christian" writers and such should be to reach out to those who don't know God in the way that they do. How can this be done if in every music store and every book store there is a seperate section for these things? Within the "Christian" section at music stores you find every type of music from rap to southern gospel. You'd never find things organized this way elsewhere. Why should they all be lumped together because the lyrics have a common theme. If that is the case, every music store should have a "love" section, an "angry" section, and a "poetic" section, in which you might find 50 Cent and Harry Connick Jr. in the same spot because they both sang songs about New Orleans. So why do we do this with "Christian" music. It's never going to be listened to by those who might very much need to hear it if it is kept in a section that no non-believer is ever going to be browsing.

I could go on about this. It's one of those things that bothers me.

Rob Bell also pointed out that as missionaries, it is not our job to bring God to people in places that have never been reached. God is everywhere. He is in all places. It is our job is to help people see God. He suggests changing the word missionary to tour guide. Tour guides simply help people see things that have always been there, they just never knew it before. That is the same thing missionaries do. God has always been the provider of food even to those who don't know him. He was always the one who made the trees, and the clouds, and the water. He is everywhere, and for us to try to carry him to places where he has never been can be pretty heavy, and when we get there, we will only find out that he is already there, and that we have wasted that extra energy.

The Rocket, Potato Chips, The Liberty Bell, and Greyhound Busses

My life in New York is full of blessings.

Monday night, I finally did what every sports fan must do at some point in life or another (and unfortunately they've only got the rest of this season, and next season to do so). I went to a game in Yankee Stadium. They're building a completely pointless 1.3 BILLION dollar new stadium across the street rather than using that money for something necessary, like, oh I dunno, world hunger. They're demolishing the current one. You could feed an African country for a year on 1.3 billion dollars! George Constanza never would have stood for this!

Part of me, you know, the part that is dedicated to the Red Sox, advised against attending the game, seeing as how if it were revealed that I was a Boston fan, I might have gotten thrown off the Tier. Fortunately, no murders occured at the game, except for that of the poor Minnesota Twins. I witnessed history, the Rocket (that guy who sold his soul to the Yankees), pitched win #350, and though being there for that meant that the Yankees had to win, it was definitely something that not many people can say that they saw (about 63,000 to be exact-but think of that number in terms of the 6 billion people on earth). I am beyond grateful to the mission team up at Graffiti 2 for allowing Ashley to invite friends.

While at the game, Laura called me and told me that she had seen that I had received her package. This was a fact I was unaware of, but it didn't take me long to figure out that this unseen package contained the Louisiana delicacy I'd been craving since I stepped off the plane- Tabasco chips. First thing in the morning on Tuesday, I ran downstairs to ask if anyone had seen this package. No one knew what I was talking about. Sad times.

A few hours later, David, the new guy, came up to Emas office holding a large brown box with my name on it. I immediately grabbed the scissors and ripped it open, finding in it FIVE beautiful red and green bags! I called Laura to tell her I'd finally gotten them, and then opened a bag and shared it with Ema- to prove to her that my insane craving was not, in fact, insane. Laura told me she had sent me four bags so they'd last a while, but I informed her that she had sent me five, which took her by surprise. I then noticed that there was a Baton Rouge address on the box. Slightly strange, but in my excitement, I disregarded it.

Not much later I decided that there must be a reason the return address was not in Ruston, so I opend the letter inside, which I was waiting to read until after work, only to find out that these chips were not from Laura, they were from Josh. This was completely unexpected, so even though the surpise factor of receiving chips from Laura had been taken away when she called me, it was restored when I realized that these were not Laura's chips.

Doing the math?

Yes, that means that when I finally found Laura's chips (which had gotten there Friday but were tucked away into the wrong place), I had a total of NINE bags of Zapps Creole Tomato Tobasco chips. To the both of you, I am beyond grateful! (Laura also sent me the sports page from the Shreveport newspaper to keep me up on what is going on in Louisiana sports, in case I was out of the loop...)

In the midst of all this, Kyle finally convinced me that missing the Macy's fireworks show I'd been looking forward to all summer would not be all that bad, and that spending Independence Day in the place where that whole independence thing occured would be way better. So after a fabulous cooking class/small group devotional thing at church lead by the one-and-only Theresa Osbourne, Kyle and Charlotte spent the night here at the Association, where we watched National Treasure and got ourselves pumped up for the long day ahead. We left my apartment at 6:35ish en route for the Port Authority Bus Terminal. By 6:45 we were on the bus. Because tickets do not guarantee you a seat on a particular bus, we got there over an hour before the bust was to leave, so imagine our surprise when it pulled out at 7 oclock. Apparently we'd gotten on the 7 bus rather than the 8 bus, which means we got to Philly over an hour earlier than expected.

This was the beginning of a long and super fun day in the City of Brotherly Love. We started out in the historic district, hitting up the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, etc... Because we were in Philly, we had to have a Philly cheese steak for lunch. We walked to the Deleware, which is crossed by the absolutely beautiful Benjamin Franklin bridge, then wandered aimlessly looking for things to do. We wound up in a someone questionable area, and decided to turn around, but looked up and saw the Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site. This was the house where he lived when he was in Philadelphia. It is the best preserved house I've ever visited. The National Parks service stripped the paint from the walls because apparently, Poe lived in the house when it was first built and houses could not be painted back then when they were first built because it took a few years for plaster to settle. The floors were all original, and there was no furniture because no record exists of the furniture in the house (and you wouldn't want just some random furniture around misleading you about what it actually looked like when they lived there). The guy running the place was one of the nicest people ever, and was very passionate about his job. The tour was self-guided but he was there ready to answer questions (and boy did he know the answers). He warned us not to go any farther north so we headed back downtown.

The rest of the day was alot of aimless wandering. I determined that Philadelphia is the cleanest city I've ever been to. I don't recall seeing any trash in the downtown area at all, and there was no "signature stench" like there is in most cities (New Orleans's being a mixture of vomit and beer). Unfortunately, the 4th of July festivities were taking place in front of the art museum, so there was no running up the stairs, and no taking pictures with the Rocky statue. We found the Eastern State Penetentiary, which was way awesome but was closing for the rest of the day when we arrived, so no tour for us.

Then came the rain! It rained and rained and rained and rained. We found a spot in front of a branch of the art museum across from the main one, where we settled in. We huddled up in a corner of the covered entranceway, set our umbrelleas out in front of us, and played the kind of games you play on a road trip for an hour-and-a-half or so, only to find out that the rain was not dying down, so the fireworks were cancelled. By eleven thirty, after walking through the rain back to the bus station, we were over half way there (which was clear across town), and the cops told us that fireworks were back on. So we turned around, walked a few blocks to place where we had a clear view, and stood in the center of Benjamin Franklin Parkway, along with thousands of other people who'd done the same thing as us, and watched a spectacular show. It was one of those moments that's burned in my brain, not the fireworks show so much and the blessing of it all. Such a perfect end to a glorious day. I just kept thinking of how amazing it was that after all the crazy weather, and even though we were exhausted, God allowed the rain to stop for long enough to let us see a wondeful show in the middle of the streets of Philadelphia. I can't fully describe the feeling, but it was something I will never forget.

The ride home was not nearly as comfy as the ride over there, we were in the bus depot for over two hours, an hour of which was spent sitting on the floor near the front of the line waiting to get on. The bus was late arriving, and then was PACKED, which means its a good thing we were at the front of the line because alot of people were turned away to wait for the next bus. I sat next to a guy who was way to relaxed and therefore I was only able to use a little more than half of my seat, and since he did not speak English, and I do not speak any more Spanish than is necessary to tell Mexican children to quite down, calm down, stop touching me, etc..., I learned to deal with it. There were also several groups of people speaking in very loud Spanish all over the bus. I slept for the entirity of the trip, minus the part where the guy got up to go to the bathroom, and when I stood up to let him back in, he kept telling me somehting in Spanish and wouldn't sit down (I think he wanted to give me the window seat, but I was half asleep and all I wanted was for him to sit down before I passed out standing up). The next thing I knew, we were in the Lincoln tunnel, and within fifteen minutes, I was at my apartment. What a blessing to be able to sleep despite the horrid bus conditions.

Fourth of July has always been my favorite holiday, and once again, it was wonderful. This was one of those adventures I will remember forever!

This is an interesting article about my block. Apparently, I live in the old New York Edison showroom- HOW COOL IS THAT? Thanks to Josh for sending it to me.

(sorry this was so long, I had alot to say, and you probably didn't read it all anyway)

This is the Life

Where do I even begin?

This week I have been pretty busy with Paint the Town stuff. It's down to the wire so there have been lots of last minute phone calls and accomodations to be made. Even still, I've had much time to reflect, especially since my phone has been broken...

My phone stopped working Monday afternoon for good, and each day I have thought that I'd only be without it for one more day, but little things have kept that from happening. The new phone is officially in the mail and I should get it tommorrow! In the meantime, I've learned to use landlines again (BTW- if ever you call me at the landline number I've been giving out you have to leave a message at my extension, otherwise I never know you've called!).

The big thing I'd been looking forward to this week was the Graffiti Staff Fun Day at Coney Island on Thursday. Come Wedenseday, I was all pumped. It had been two summers since my last trip to America's Playground, and I was super psyched to get to go back and brave the Cyclone once again! Unfortunately, the weather report was grim. Wednesday night we even sent a few people home from church for fear of blackouts and the inability to get home as a result. Plans were changed and it was decided that we would meet at Outback for lunch. Not quite as exciting as Coney Island, but it ended up being a blast. Taylors rule was that we all must come with stress-free minds and not think about anything work-related. We showed up, got to hang out with so many of the awesome people I've been blessed with this summer, and the church payed for the meal. Free meals in New York are ALWAYS a blessing. I cannot describe how much fun I had.

The other summer missionaries and I had been talking to Kevin from church about going to Coney Island later to make up for it. So Friday, we headed out as a group, along with his interns who were SO MUCH FUN, to brave a day of all that is sketchy and awesome about one of America's truly great neighborhoods. It was cloudy at first, so no one was there, then the sun came out. We had a great spot right near one of the jetties and relaxed on the beach. Of course, I had to ride the Cyclone again (I was excited just to get to do it ONCE in my life, but now I've done it twice!!!!!). Ashely and I walked up to the boardwalk, rode the Cyclone, and, in the grand tradition of boardwalks and carnivals, ate a funnel cake. We then met up with the rest of the group and made our way back to Manhattan.

I'd heard nothing but amazing things about the famous Magnolia Bakery, and since Lydia, one of the other Graffiti missionaries, works there, Charlotte, Ashley, and I went there when we got back. I'd never made my way out to the West Village/ Greenwhich Village area before, and I must say, it is my new favorite Manhattan neighborhood (next to my own dear Upper West Side that is). For those that don't know, that is the neighborhood where the characters from Friends lived, so if you can imagine the area.... It was really really really nice. We stood in line for a while, the smell of fresh cupcakes keeping us from ever getting frustrated with the wait. Though not quite Maw Maw's cakes, they were definitely awesome, in a different kind of way. I give it my seal of approval. We then went to the Thai restaraunt in Hell's Kitchen where I first hung out with Bethany, and I got my first taste of Bangkok cuisine on my first trip to the city two and a half years ago. I'd been wanting to go back ever since, and it was EXACTLY how I remembered it (which I can't say for many of the places I've made repeat visits to).

Saturday morning, I thought I was going to have just another boring Saturday off, but I woke up and went down to Graffiti to help with FLIP (Free Lunch In the Park). There was a mission team of four ladies from South Carolina there. They wanted to go down to the financial district and see Ground Zero, ride the Staten Island Ferry, etc... Seeing as how that is my favorite of the "tourist" areas, and I'd never gotten around to the Staten Island Ferry, I was eager to be their "tour guide" when they were looking for one. We ended up having a blast. These three ladies were such a blessing to me! I cannot even describe how much fun I had with them! Such a wonderful group, we really bonded. We've exchanged numbers, emails, etc..., and I'm already planning a trip up to Charleston to see them (which works out since I've been dying to go to Charleston). Today after church we went out to Max Brenner, along with Lorie (our amazing youth director) and they ended up buying my lunch. Such sweet ladies! They're also planning on coming back around Christmas time, so we're gonna try to work it out so they come at the same time as the BCM and we can do mission work together! I cannot wait to get to hang out with them again!

This is the "condensed" version of my life for the past week or so. So much has happend and I've had so many blessings, ups-and-downs, and all in between that I could not possibly write about it all in one post. I guess I need to start doing this on a more nightly basis...

So much has happened, but I'll tell you about most of it later.

I have been so incredibly busy these past few days that I haven't gotten a chance to update you on what's been going on! The upside to this is that one of the reasons I haven't been able to sit down and type about all of these occurences is the fact that I no longer live in an office, and as a result, do not yet have internet in the new place.

Yes, no more room with no view, no bathroom, no fridge. I now live in a cozy one bedroom on the fourth floor, which has FIVE windows as opposed to ZERO, a very large private bathroom, and a precious little kitchen. I should soon be getting a desk set up in my living room and they're going to run an internet cable down there. Since it is normally rented out as private residence (it is where Ema was living until two weeks ago), there is currently not a connection to the office phone/internet, etc... They're kindly enough making exceptions for me: letting me live there rent free and letting me mooch off the office so I don't have to set up one month of interent service (though getting cable wouldn't be so bad).

I almost feel like I am taking advantage of them, but they offered, insisted actually, so I am considering it a blessing.

My camera is currently charging, but I have many pictures from the past few days' events, and will post them and give more detail when I get a chance (which will probably be this afternoon). I haven't yet taken any pictures of the new place because I want to wait until I get my desk set up in the living room (right now it looks a little empty- an entertainment center with nothing on it and a bookshelf with about four books and a CD case).

Until then, I'm going to church. Have a fabulous Sunday afternoon!