Passport Renewed

Yay!  I received my renewed passport via Express Mail today.  I had seen the new design of the passport, but now I have my own.  I am however sad that all of my used pages have disappeared.  The signs and marks of trips I've taken, or have attempted to take, all of the visas and country stamps that I received - gone. Simple pleasures.  Bittersweet.

The Story of an Elephant

Sarah, our creative writing teacher, wrote a story about an elephant. It climbed into a tree to gain perspective. I hope you'll take the time to read it. Let me know if you'd like me to send a copy. I would be happy to! I think you will be inspired by it. I think you might understand a little more about me too. I'm really glad that Sarah is coming to teach about writing stories. I can't wait to see her script writing come together.

Created to Create

Our team:

4 from Los Angeles

2 from New York

1 from Kansas

1 from Arizona

3 from Indonesia



Our visit:

July 13-28



Our theme:

Created to Create

Day 1: I am created from God's imagination

Day 2: I can create from my imagination

Day 3: I choose to create



Our passions:

Creative Writing

Fine Art

Aerodynamics

Cards & Crafts

Ballet

Music



Our destinations:

WIS. International school

Rujak Berkah. An after-school program in the slum neighborhood

Seeds of Hope. Children's home

Next Trip!

Going back to Indonesia July 2009. With a small group from Los Angeles and a couple friends and sisters of those living in Indonesia, we are creating an entire curriculum! Some possibilities we hope to offer are:

Fine art/Crafts

Ballet/Hula dancing

Aerodynamics

Cooking

Creative writing

Photography

Music



We are beginning to coordinate fundraisers. If you can help in anyway, please let me know. We will need donations for travel expenses and supplies.



In just a couple months, I've been watching 18 month old Christopher grow up. (I babysit him every Thursday night.) He can now correctly match shaped blocks in to their coordinating holes. He no longer eats cheerios out of his protective-from-spills cup. And he is beginning to talk: Bye, Clock and Four are his favorite words so far.



I can just imagine how much kids at Rujak Berkah have grown since the Fall. I am super excited to return to them!

Finishing 30

Finishing 30 years today. I'm enjoying a fairly usual routine. Christopher's arriving. C: Planning for a trip back to Indo in July. More event planning with loved ones here. Simply celebrating.

When a Plan Starts to Come Together

Or rather, when your dreams start to become actual plans... that is where I am.  After 6  months of anticipating a return back to Indonesia, it looks like a plan is forming.  It's taken a lot of patience for me not to let go of the dream.  It's not funny - how quickly it all snowballs together.  I wish I could plan months in advance, to know all of the ins and outs.  But life simply happens.  There's no way I could control it all, and there's no way I would be able to enjoy it to the fullest if I tried. For now, we're collecting donations of dry, watercolor paints and anticipate going to Indonesia at the end of July.  We're fundraising, yet again, and brainstorming for our 2nd Annual Creative Arts Camp in Indonesia.  Rujak Berkah, the "Fruit Salad" after-school program @ Polehan has grown.  They now include 15, 3-5 year olds.

Wading and Waiting

On Sunday, we announced to the families of KidsMosaic that I am
stepping up to coordinate for KidsMosaic Pasadena. This involves
babies through grade 5 at our 9:30 gathering. They say it's about
180 kids on any given week, though nearly twice as many on the actual
roster.

It's not a paying gig. So I'm still working multiple part time
jobs. This includes: the stationery store, private art classes -
traveling to their homes and nannying/babysitting. I've put my own
business aside for now. I've begun to pour more of that creativity
into wedding planning.

So far, we've settled on a date and location. I'm excited that we
will be able to celebrate under the night sky, on a rooftop in Los
Angeles. It will be a small, family wedding. We'll have orange and
white tulips. We'll have desserts.

For now, I'm trying to enjoy and challenge myself with where I am -
as opposed to where I'm headed. For now, I must remember that
everything I'm going through is not in vain. There is a plan and a
purpose. In that, I find solace. I eagerly await where I will be
living, what my job will entail, how I will pay bills, and what a
schedule will look like. But for now, I'm still wading in this murky
water, still waiting for a little more clarity and stability - still
walking by faith.