The Kite Runner

Every so often, I see a film that changes me inside. Something happens to me as I watch it, and I consider things I have not considered before. Suddenly, my picture-perfect image of the world disappears and I am not the same. It happened to me when I watched Hotel Rwanda and Blood Diamond.

Tonight the film was The Kite Runner. It is based on the book of the same name by Khaled Hosseini, an Afghan-American author based in California. I hear the book is even more amazing, and plan to now read the follow-up novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, now being adapted to film as well.

If you'd like to read a non-spoiler synopsis of the story, click here http://www.khaledhosseini.com/hosseini-books-kiterunner.html

Otherwise, run, don't walk to your nearest Blockbuster and get this film. Seriously. Check it out.

Pastimes...

Once again, I am intrigued by the social graces of Jane Austen. Tonight, as I was watching Emma, with my cousin and another friend, I couldn't help but marvel at the supreme politeness with which everyone treated one another. See examples below:

Mr. Knightley: Emma, you didn't ask me to contribute a riddle.
Emma: Your entire personality is a riddle, Mr. Knightley. I thought you overqualified.

~~~

Emma: Was he handsome?
Jane: Many say he is.
Emma: Was he agreeable?
Jane: He was in no way disagreeable.
Emma: Was he a man of information?
Jane: All his statements seem correct.
~~~
Emma Woodhouse: One does not like to generalize about so many people all at once, Mr. Knightley, but you may be sure that men know nothing about their hearts, whether they be six-and-twenty, or six-and-eighty.
~~~
Mr. Knightley: Marry me. Marry me, my wonderful, darling friend.

Man, gotta love you some Jane Austen.

Diagnosis!

Would you believe that I am SOOO special that I am one in 130,000 people who have this particular adverse reaction to the Yellow Fever immunization? Oh yes! Lucky me!

After seeing my allergist again today, and later spending over an hour and a half with the infectious disease specialist, we have pretty much determined with 99% certainty that my rash/hives is an allergic reaction to the shot I got last Wednesday for yellow fever.

I am on four different antihistimines and anti-itch meds and have been advised to NEVER under any circumstance get this vaccination ever again. Or the flu shot.

Lovely!

Praise God that we figured it out. Now I have to sit and wait. And sadly, I will not be traveling with People to People to the UK & Ireland this year. I'm really disappointed about that, but I know it's best for my delegation and also best for my health. Learning to relax and rest are things I need to work on, so God will be giving me lessons in patience over the next few weeks. The great news is that I will be able to spend quality time with friends and family, and for the first time in 3 summers, I'll be able to celebrate both my Dad's birthday and Father's Day here in the states. This is a great thing!

The other positive is that it's highly likely that I'll be well by the time I'm to travel to Kenya in 6 weeks time. I will now have more time to get to know my team better and prepare for that 17-hour long journey to Nairobi. Had I gotten the vaccination after my People to People trip, it would surely have disabled me from participating in this trip, which is ultimately serving God's people and purpose in Africa, something I've longed to do for a long time.

Praise God for amazing doctors and modern medicine! I'm so thankful for my clever nurse friends and my caring friends who keep checking in on me. For now, I'm awaiting the arrival of my cousin who has offered to bring me dinner from Doc Chey's (sans the eggs!) and looking forward to some chill time with her!

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song." Psalm 28:7 (New International Version)

Whey to Go

My friend Heather pointed this article out to me and it's
borderline hysterical. Pay particular attention to the name of
the girl mentioned toward the latter half of the article!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080526/od_afp/entertainmentbritaincheeseoffbeat

Enjoy!

One Another

This week I listened to a podcast from Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California. Many of you will recognize that this is the home church of Francis Chan. The message was entitled, "A New Attitude Towards People." He talks about how in our society today we have such an autonomy, such pride in independence from each other. We like to do things on our own without the help of others. Interestingly, this is a phenomenon mostly seen in cultures with plenty of financial resources. I was just researching some cultural background for my trip to Kenya, and basically everything pointed to interdependence between the family and community.

Francis mentioned many scriptures that point towards exactly the opposite of autonomy. Take a look:

"Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves." Romans 12:10

"Live in harmony with one another." Romans 12:16

"Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God."
Romans 15:7

"Agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought." 1 Corinthians 1:10

"Serve one another in love." Galatians 5:13

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." Ephesians 4:2

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Ephesians 4:32

"Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." Ephesians 5:21

"Bear with each another and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another." Colossians 3:13

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."
1 Thessalonians 5:11

"But encourage one another daily..." Hebrews 3:13

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." Hebrews 10:24

"Love one another deeply, from the heart." 1 Peter 1:22

"Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling." 1 Peter 4:9

"This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another." 1 John 3:11

"Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 1 John 4:11

And that is only the beginning!! Clearly God desires for us to live in community and care for one another. He is not interested in our individual accomplishments, but rather the spurring on of relationships dependent upon Him. After all, if I can indeed do it all on my own, then what need have I for the Father? A relationship with Christ is one of interdependence. As the grass depends on the rain for nourishment, so I must depend upon God for my spiritual feeding. And much of that comes from my interactions with other people.

Do not protect yourself by a fence, but rather by your friends. Czech Proverb

Fearless Leaders!

Let me introduce you to Amanda, Ben and Heather! These wonderful people are my travel buddies for our People to People adventure 2008! In just 18 days, we will be departing for the U.K. and Ireland for a 3 week tour, including a home stay outside Dublin, with 41 seventh and eighth graders! Are we crazy?! Yes!!! Today was our delegation picnic social and we had the best time. It was a pot luck with lots of fried chicken and congealed salads. Yum! The kids played in the creek and had hay rides on Ben's farm and we all enjoyed talking about the upcoming trip. One dad even decided to bring along his bagpipes to get us in the right mood (see below!)
All in all, we had a great afternoon. God is good! On June 5th, our adventure begins!!!

Willy Wonka!

I am so proud of my very talented students! We got through Willy Wonka with flair and now I can breathe a sigh of relief! SIIIIIIGGGGGGHHHH!!!

This Friday is our cast party and I'm excited about that. I'm getting together little goody bags for the kids. I was interested to discover at Party City today that they are now called, "Loot Bags." What's with that? Are we all pirates? Hmm...

Oompa-loompa Doompa-ty doo
I've got a final puzzle for you
Oompa-loompa Doompa-ty dee
If you are wise you'll listen to me.

There is a problem with lots of our youth
Not everybody likes telling the truth
Telling the truth starts a beautiful buzz
Isn't it nice when someone does?
It could be contagious!