Small Wire by Anne Sexton

My faith

is a great weight

hung on a small wire... I don't want to violate any copy write laws so I am encouraging you to go find this amazing poem and read it. It is a delicious drink of poetry.

Visa-limbo is a dance you can do too.

Well another week has passed, and while I did have a good week I am reminded of the book "Oh, the places you'll go" which has this section in it about the waiting place. I am there! I am waiting to see about getting materials for my classes, waiting about my visa, waiting for my new computer to come, waiting to hear what kind of language help I should get, waiting to pack everything, waiting to say goodbye to my Bevin and mom. It is not bad, this waiting place. But I find that certain routine chores suddenly have epic value. (They keep my mind busy.) Yesterday I cleaned the house- for seven hours. I wiped the walls and ceiling of the bathroom. I moved all the furniture so I could clean under it. I dusted the ceiling fans and under the refrigerator. My thought was, this is better than sitting around. Today my tired body seems to say, by all means sit around, or read a book or something. But I trust God has a timeline, and the Indonesian government will come through soon. The nice folks at church-wide seem to think early September is most likely. So this weekend, I'm going camping with my siblings and niece(and interestingly no spouses-the husbands said they couldn't handle this amount of fun=0). We are going up to Golden Gate Park, which is one of my favorite places to see hummingbirds. So at least I have that to occupy my mind. Now, then, about the baseboards...

Going away party!!

With a still undetermined departure date we went ahead with the party Saturday. Thank you first to Bevin and Jesse for putting together a beautiful and relaxed open house! I am astonished at the attention to detail, creativity and love you ladies put into the party. I cannot possible begin to put into words my gratitude to you both for the opportunity to say goodbye. What a blessing it was to hug many of the people I love. To see my photo album see my photos copy and paste the address into a new tab or window. http://picasaweb.google.com/laurastephenson4/NewAlbum9108609PM?pli=1&gsessionid=Yvq444CdvguZJv0a1n1JBw

To be honest I cannot take credit for getting to this crossroad in my life. I am saying goodbye to my home of 28.5 years, Colorado, and hello to what feels right now as the unknown. I know each person I at the party (and many who couldn't make it!) have helped me discern a path that serves the environment, humanity, my own highest good, and God. Thank you for your loving support. You all have proven a million times over the power of the human heart to love.

It is with a mixture of sadness and joy I prepare to say hello to Indonesia. Last month I have learned about the ELCA's mission understanding- God's work, our hands. This new understanding of mission is based on compassion and joy. It feels to me like the right way to go because I have witnessed it in my own life with the people I love.

Oriented and Ready to Go!

In what can only be described as a whirl wind experience, the last three weeks in Chicago have been wonderful. I was invited to go for an interview just a two weeks before orientation began. In fact, the whole thing has been fast. When I sent an e-mail to the ELCA Global Mission staff on the suggestion of the best advise available (thanks Julie, Sarah, and Brooke!), I did not expect that they would ask me to write a ten page application in just an afternoon. It was a blessing, though. I sat down and wrote from the heart, with all the mistakes and spelling errors one would expect from a quickly written series of essays. I guess they saw the qualities they needed. To save money it was decided rather than flying out and back from Denver we moved the interview to the day before orientation began and I would stay if I received God's call. On Monday July 7th I left the house not knowing if I would be gone for the afternoon or for the month. It turns out being flexible as a missionary is a good thing. I am honored to have the opportunity to serve in Northern Sumatra. The HKBP church of Indonesia and the ELCA have combined to offer me the opportunity to teach English.