The Journey Home

So why the trip home?
In early August, Marc & I were in Nashua, New Hampshire which is approximately 2,970 miles away from Moreno Valley. We were talking about family camp coming up (a yearly event where a bunch of families from our church get together & go camping) and were really sad that we were going to miss it. So I asked him if we could go and he humored me. Marc doesn't usually humor me with things like that because I tend to take them seriously, but this time he did. "Sure, let's go", he said, so I began to look up driving routes & calculate gas mileage and how much it would cost. Of course, Marc wasn't going to humor me forever. He shut me down pretty quickly after that, but instead of accepting defeat, I pulled a card that a Christian can't really deny. "Why don't we pray about it?" :) Of course, I didn't really expect that it would happen, but what's the harm in praying? We had to be sure that it was ok with the Lord, but how would we know without a doubt? So we threw down the fleece. We agreed that if God gave us $500 from one person in the next 7 days, we would know that it was ok to go. It was such a huge amount that, at that point nobody had ever given us, that we knew if it happened it would be God's allowance.
And it did! On the 7th day (Marc says the 6th), we received $500 from a very unlikely source! We couldn't believe it! We even called Pastor Sammy, told him the news, and asked his opinion. Well, exactly what we prayed for happened....why not? Sweet!!! So we bought our plane tickets (2 round trip tickets for a total of $520) from Boston to LAX and 3 weeks later, a flight back.
When we got back, we spent the first day surprising everybody! It was wonderful! Afterwards we went to IHOP with half of the people we know! Not really, but there were a lot!
After a couple days of being home, I felt so weird. My life for the previous 6 1/2 months was a life of servitude & dedication to God. Even if we weren't out talking to people, I wasn't at home chilling out with my friends. There wasn't a lot of "do nothing" time. I read a lot in my down time & it seemed like Marc & I were always talking about something. It was a different life. When I got home, we spent a lot of time hanging out, doing nothing. I felt like I was wasting time. Like if Jesus were to come at that moment, I wouldn't be able to justify not doing anything. It was just a really weird feeling, and I felt like I should go back, given the chance. It was weird because I had so longed to be home and to see my friends, but when I got back was when I realized that I had changed. I truly, over the months, had grown to see the need for true sanctification. We are called to be holy. Not that there is anything wrong with hanging out and playing games, but I felt like I traded fellowship and gained hanging out, a trade that I hadn't wanted to make.
Over time, the feelings subsided and I realized how much work could be done at home. I shouldn't separate myself, but use my new found realization to try to help others grow as well. I began to enjoy my time much more. Also, seeing my friends' love for me, further grew my love for them. I remembered how much I missed them & how much I loved being home, serving at the church, and ministering alongside these people and all of a sudden, I really didn't want to leave. Then our last young adult study came and ended and with that, many tears. I wanted to stay home, but even more than that, I wanted it to be the Lord's will. I hoped that these feelings were from the Lord that I could stay, so we prayed and prayed. Do we go back? And the Lord was silent except to remind us of the trip and of ministry on the road. We were going back.
There is a peace that comes with being in God's will that when you have to do something you don't want to do, you can still be joyful because you serve a higher purpose. I still don't know why we're out here, whether it's for us to grow or to encourage the people around us. It doesn't seem to be for the people we talk to, although I know that is good so maybe it is the purpose. Either way, whatever the reason, I know I'm spending my time serving a God who has done more for me than I can repay.
One more thing that I learned on the road-I think that it is easier to trust God when we're on the road because we don't really have a choice. We have no job, no fluffy bank account, nothing that we can point to and say, "Why don't we do this" or "I did that". Everything we have comes from God, whether it be money or food or money to buy food. If we need something we can't afford, we know the Lord will give it to us because there is just no way for us to do it. But being home is different....it's comfortable. There is a fridge, someone will always feed me, and I will always have a place to stay. There isn't a lot of trust. Nobody is going to tow my house in the middle of the night. In that, I learned intentionality. We have to be intentional in everything we do with God. Want more trust? Practice trusting Him. Want to grow? Make it a point to read and pray and seek. See where I'm going with this? We have to WANT the things of God and intend to do them, not just get around to it when we can.
So after many fun times and a few tears, we flew back to Boston, packed up, and left to go back to Canandaigua, New York for a pastor's/leadership conference.
Thank you all for your prayers, can't wait to see you again, in God's timing of course. ;)

Connecticut & NYC!!!

So in the past few blogs, I always complain that I haven't blogged in a really long time so in an effort to be consistent....I haven't blogged in a record 4 and a half weeks! :)

So this blog will probably be short, but I always say that, also. 

On our first night in Connecticut, we were driving through and saw a sign that said "YALE University"! Tiiiight! So we stopped & walked around. It was night time so the pictures we snapped weren't that great, but the architecture of that school is awesome! As we walked through, all I could think of was this awesome, prestigious university and I was such the opposite. My whole life, I was told that I should go to college & I believed it! I wanted it, so I went but after freshman year, I dropped out. Since then, I'd been a waitress. Lame. So this whole time, my lack of accomplishments haunted me.

The next day, we chilled together & had our studies. I read about God calling Moses and it dawned on me. God didn't call Moses when he was a prince & had all kinds of sway. Moses had so much more power when he was a prince in Pharoah's house-he held one of the highest positions in man's eyes, but God spent years humbling him and eventually he became a shepherd, the lowest of jobs. So low, it is even described as "an abomination to the Israelites". Man! From almost the highest point, to absolutely the lowest point, but when did God use him? Surely not when he was accomplished, respected, and exalted. God used him in his lowly times because to God, self worth is worthless. PhD? God doesn't care. Harvard, Yale, UCLA (as was my dream)? God doesn't care. Six figure salary? God especially doesn't care! High school drop out? Working at McDonald's? Once again, God doesn't care. It is our hearts that He wants. Is your heart wrapped up in Him & His glory? Are we living for Him? Because this is great success in the eyes of the only one who truly matters. What an encouragement, the day after I was feeling so down! Man oh man, God is so good!

So we were in south western Connecticut in a city called New Haven because supposedly it was one of the biggest cities. We had like no luck finding anyone as we walked around, so eventually we traveled north and made it to CC Southbury. It was a much smaller city, but it had a Calvary so we went to check it out. We were talking to the pastor for a few minutes when this guy came in and heard our story & said we could stay at his house if we wanted to! How awesome! Definitely a record of how fast we were invited to stay with people! So later that night after prayer, we headed over to stay with Trey & Molly & their 9 day old baby, Noah!! And of course, big brother Caleb :)

The next day we enjoyed the day at Pastor John's house with Molly, John's wife, and their 5 (I think, maybe 6) kids. So awesome! Years ago he built the house and they had goats that they milked, turkeys that they ate, chickens they collected eggs from, and a garden with so much kale it was ridiculous! Amongst other things of course. It was really cool, though, to see their lifestyle and how independent they are from society. Not in like a freakishly weird, prepper kind of way, but in a cool way. Very similar, was Trey & Molly, the people we stayed with. Who, by the way, are like, the nicest people ever! (That sentence sounds like I'm a total valley girl!) Seriously, they are so nice! I told them when I was there that they are the perfect balance of hippy & normal. They, too, have chickens that they get eggs from everyday. Tiiiiiight. They drink raw milk, which kinda freaks me out but is still cool, and they don't have a microwave because of the radiation it gives off. Sweet right?! My favorite part is that Molly uses natural shampoo & conditioner, so she uses baking soda & water for shampoo and then apple cider vinegar mixed with water as conditioner. It's all pretty scientific stuff that I totally plan on trying right after I finish my gigantic bottle of shampoo & conditioner. I'm super looking forward to it, too because it's supposed to work better than the regular stuff and of course, is way cheaper. I love picking up little things here and there of how I want my life to be when I get home. I am really intrigued by living a natural, healthy lifestyle, not just with what we eat, but how we live. We'll see. :)

Most of the time in Connecticut, we spent in this little city called Torrington. There was a park where a bunch of people hung out. Just like in Bangor, most of these people knew each other. I'm pretty sure there was probably a lot of drugs going back & forth, a lot of debauchery indeed, but they needed the gospel and they were open to talking, so that's where we went.

Another day we were there, we went to a park in a city called Waterbury (I think....it's been a while). We talked to so many people in this park while they waited for the bus. Everything from people who believe in God but don't go to church, to people who believe in God but not certain aspects of the Bible, to a retired pastor who doesn't know if he's going to heaven, to people who just didn't care. However, we did run into this woman who goes to Calvary & is born again! So awesome! That almost never happens to us when we're out on the streets that we run into true Christians. It was really encouraging. 

On Saturday before we left, Robin & his wife, Erica, (couple we met at church) came over and we all hung out for a little bit before we left, which we did! Off to my most awaited place, New York City!

Yale 

Awesome beach we went to!

my cute, handsome, adorable, awesome gift from God :)

the turkeys at the pastor's house

Trey, Molly & Erica, Robin (and babies)

Aaaahhh, NYC! We drove into the Bronx, parked, and took the 6 train into Manhattan. We got off at Bleaker St. & got some delicious, award winning pizza! Then walked through Soho and made it up to Times Square! Holy awesomeness! I love New York City!!!

The next day was Sunday so we went to church at CC Agape in the Bronx. Marc & Robert spent a couple weeks there when they were in NYC back in '09 before they went on their walking trip up the coast, so there were a few people there that Marc was excited to see. It was cool, also, to meet these people that had made such an impact on Marc. So after service, we went to lunch with Joe Alamo & his daughter, Nicole and then it was off to explore the city again! 

We went all the way to the south tip of the island to get on the Staten Island Ferry to go around the Statue of Liberty, which we didn't end up doing because we were going to get on the other ferry that actually goes to the Statue, but by the time we walked there it was closed :( so we got a picture from far away. Better than nothing, I suppose. We saw Wall St & the bull & the Occupy remnant, the New York Stock Exchange, and the Trump Tower.

 

Then we walked up to see the 9/11 Memorial, which was intense. It was really somber being there, being at the site where so much destruction and death was. Around each pool was a large railing that had every name of the people who died, from first responders to people in the building. It became so much more real to see these names, to touch the engraving and realize that for many of them, it was all that was left of them, this was how they would be remembered-a name in a railing. You could go off to the side computers and look up each person's name. It would give you a picture, their birthday, their job, and the date of their death, September 11, 2011. Somber. Especially sad was the light mood of a few there-smiling with each other and taking happy pictures, posing in front of the pools. Totally not ok in my book.

From there, we continued our walk & saw the Irish Hunger Memorial, which looked like a little chunk of the Shire in the middle of NYC! We walked through Soho again, took a cab for a couple miles for the experience (I thought I was going to die like 4 different times), and got out in Times Square. We walked north once again and stopped at Carnegie's Deli to get a BOMB pastrami sandwich. It was so ridiculously big that I could have made 3 sandwiches out of it, but don't worry, I finished it. :) Carnegie's was pretty much a block south of Central Park, which we never ended up going to because every time we were near it, it was night time and I've seen Home Alone-I know not to go in there at night.

the Irish Hunger Memorial! aka The Shire

(Yes, I realize that it is ironic & in poor taste to post these pictures in this sequence.)

biggest pastrami sandwich ever!

As we were in the area, we walked past this guy in a wheelchair who was struggling to get up the curb, so Marc helped him up & then we kept walking. As I looked back, he was going SUPER slow & he looked like he was struggling, so I told Marc & he turned around to push him. As we walked, he told us his story-he was visiting his wife in the hospital a couple weeks earlier & slipped & fell on the floor that had been recently mopped, but no wet floor sign put up. He was going to be suing them soon. Either way, he had been in contact with the English Embassy (he's originally from England) and they had a flight back to England for him, but he had to get to Philadelphia first. With no wallet (I forget what happened to it), he tried to contact the synagogues, but because it was so late, they were all closed. So we sat with him & talked with him for a while. The conversation wasn't really leaning towards God, so I asked him about his Judaism and why be Jewish vs being Christian. We talked for a bit but his heart was so hardened towards the deity of Jesus, that I was left saddened for the rest of the night.

After we left him, we were, once again, next to Central Park. We walked all the way up the side of it. If you don't know, Central Park is like two blocks wide and THREE MILES LONG!

So we walked all the way up it and then another 1/2 mile or so so we could get to Tom's Restaurant, or to those who watch Seinfeld, "Restaurant" aka The Diner!!!!!!!! So AWESOME!

 So we had a milkshake just so we could be patrons, but the inside didn't look like in the show. That's ok, though. Afterwards we walked to the train, but the station we went to was closed so we had to walk another mile to the next one. So we got back to the van at like 2:30 am! I was pooped!

On Monday we got to see the Brooklyn Bridge!

Then we were walking towards Chinatown but got distracted by talking to some Jehovah's Witnesses, which was really discouraging, as usual. From there, we walked through Chinatown, then to Little Italy where we got world famous canolis! And then delicious calzones!

From there, we caught the subway back up to the Bronx where we went to Yankee Stadium for a game! They were playing the Blue Jays. So it was the 8th inning and NY was up 6-4. Marc wanted to leave but I NEVER leave games early because you never know what's going to happen! So after constant hints and pestering, I wanted to be a good wife and appease my husband, so we left in the middle of the 8th inning. Well, in the top of the 9th, Toronto scored 3 runs, putting them up 7-6 but NY tied it in the bottom of the 9th. Of course, extra innings and in the 11th, the Blue Jays took it. And I am officially NEVER leaving early again. EVER.
Afterwards, we went back to Times Square for one more hoorah!
And that was it for New York!

Marc and I are in this picture up on the electronic billboard! The picture above & below. Find us!