Posterous theme by Cory Watilo
Kirstin

Winter Solstice

Last Night we went to a local church to participate in A Winter Solstice Celebration.  As we arrived, we were given a small evergreen branch and invited into the sanctuary.  There was an invitation to stand and "hail" or welcome the elements from the four directions and to also turn inward and bid welcome.  I appreciated the words that helped me to connect with creation and why the welcome would be a part of the ceremony for this, the darkest day of the year in which we wait for the light.  I do not know a lot about Winter Solstice, and was eager to learn.  I was excited because it seemed that we would learn by "doing" this together.  Being an experiential learner, I was glad for this.  I was a little unsure how my husband would react.  We would not really know.  Other than being invited into a time of darkness and rest, and various people bringing in lights slowly afterwards, I don't know what else was going on.  Maybe there isn't more to go on?  In reading some about the celebration, there were places that said the light that came was the sun placing a baby in the womb of Virgin Mary.  I am sure this wasn't represented, nor do I go for that explanation.  I am a Christian.  But I believe this holiday to be different from Christmas.  At the same time, I hoped for a celebration of the earth and a way that I could thank God for the cycles of nature through unknown ways of old.  I wonder if I missed it or if they did?  I was expecting some greater demonstration or celebration?  We left, feeling peaceful, and as if we might have fallen asleep somewhere in the cold woods, then wakened with the daylight and left the building. And perhaps, that is all that there is?  Have I, amidst a multi-sensory, fast-paced world, lost my sense of simplicity?  As a lover of camping and hiking, I don't think so?  but I'm willing to entertain the possibility :) 

Enjoy the seasons!

Celebrate the Light! In whatever form you celebrate and believe!

Arizona February 2007

In February, 2007,I married a wonderful man named Jason. (Notice how whenever people describe getting married, they preface their spouse with an adjective like "wonderful"?)  

We chose to visit Arizona for our honeymoon because Jason's favorite movie was Tombstone with Val Kimer (?) Yeah, "I'll be your Huckleberry..." 

Having lived all my life on the East Coast, I wasn't prepared to understand the landscape change that happens when there is not enough moisture and/ore soil conditions for grass.  WOW! We stared at the tall, spikey cacti and learned as much as we could about the animals and birds that lived there.  We visited the Sonoran Desert Museum and watched a Hawk soar inches above our heads to land on the staff-member's gloved forearm...

We named some of the cactus formations as we drove around the Tucson area.  We hiked into the Carolina Mountains for the day.  Peeing in the woods is quite a different experience out there.  You can't lean back on a cactus and you aren't really covered by any underbrush or tree trunks.  I'll leave the rest to your imagination.

We bought children's books for our future family including one called the Tres Havelinas.  Look them up! They are not pigs :)  

We enjoyed the history and playfulness of Tombstone and then ended our journey in Bisbee.  We toured the small town in a Lavender Jeep, learning about the Copper Mine that began the town and the movement of people, cultures, and professions into the community...including prostitution.  The foundations that are left of the small rooms women lived in gave barely enough space for shoes to sit at the foot of the bed.

There is a lonely spirit in these western towns...but it is a strong and independent spirit. People would not have survived without it.

Cambodia 2011

God Chooses Us First! (July 2011)

At church on Sunday, the song that was sung during the offering was, “I Surrender All.”  Hearing it, even in another language than English, brought me back to my 7th grade summer at Rawlinsville Campmeeting in Quarryville PA.  This was the song for an altar call one night.  It was the night when I responded to the need to pray by coming from the back “youth corner” of the open air tabernacle to kneel at the front.  An older pastor came over to talk and pray with me.  I think his name was Harold Young.  After the service, he stopped by our cabin and spoke to my parents.  I remember him saying, “your daughter is gifted and is going to do great things in ministry.”

Today, as some of us sang along, I couldn’t help but reflect on this memory and the fact that God has brought me back around to both working with young people in the ministry of my daily life and travelling to Cambodia to serve with our group to support youth HERE with the purpose of sharing God’s love, call and purpose.  God is going to do great things through them!

Before church, a group of us shared children’s songs with about 25 children.  Yes, some of you might have recognized such favorites as the Hippopotamus Song, Peace Like a River, and Funky Chicken.   We were invited both at this church and another to share briefly with the youth to encourage them in their faith as well and Heather and Manuel were invited to lead us in this time.  At the second church, I shared a game, John led us in a song and Jen shared a witness. (I brought my favorite Wooshball for the occasion.)  Let me just tell you how GREAT our God is!  Without planning, our message in both locations flowed together clearly and smoothly.  The message was consistent:

God loves you.

We learn about God’s love in Christian community.

We learn about God’s love in God’s creation.

We also grow close to God through prayer and service.

When we experience God’s love for us, we can’t help but respond with a desire to listen for God’s call/purpose and surrender our heart and will to God.

Walking back to the van after the second church visit, Becca and I were stopped by a young woman who thanked us for coming to share.  While she spoke good English, she acknowledged being afraid/nervous to speak and forgetting her words.  We didn’t need to speak the same language to know that she was incredibly grateful and moved by our visit.  We invited her to walk with us and she took my arm as we walked to join the rest of our group.  Her name is Srey Sin.  She told us that she wants to be a translator from English to Kamai so that more people in Cambodia can learn about God’s love for them.  In this brief time, I felt a strong connection with her and her sense of call.  She knows that God has chosen her.  Later I learned that she is the daughter of a chief and that slowly she is inviting each of her family to learn more about Christianity.  I will write to her to help her practice English so that she can become who she believes God wants her to be!

Through these interactions, I was reminded that we can ask ourselves daily, “God has chosen me, did I choose God today?” (John 15:16) OR “What did God ask me to surrender today? How did I respond?”  For me it is clear that choosing to come on this trip was choosing to respond to God’s love and call for my life.  Being a part of this experience will bear “good fruit” in the lives of many here and in my own.

PS I also admit that I surrendered to the dessert options at our lunch buffet.  The coconut ice milk with candied pineapple and peanuts was SOOOO good!  Tee hee!

Kirstin