dream outloud

This is a list I made about 1/2 way into the trip of amusing things I specifically "enjoyed" or wanted to remember about the trip:

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• "Enjoy" - Packaging on our dinner on the plane from London to Yerevan, that we got super loopy over, and lasted the duration of the trip.

• "Fresh as a Daisy" - Packaging on hand wipes from the plane to Yerevan - also strangely amusing to us.

• Water "oxygen inriched" - Packaging on a water bottle in Vanadzor.

• "Everywhere I go, I'm just looking for fluids" - Otto, as we were discussing what we "see" [Otto - the pump man, Jim - lighting, Steve - lawsuits, Laurie - efficiency, Christina - design].

• Nicknames at the Clinic:

1. Ruzanna: the staff played a joke on Ando when he started working, and told him to call Ruzanna, "Aunt Ruzanna". She didn't like that too much. ;)
   
2. Yevgine: the "Minister of Finance" (because she handles all the books).
   
3. Karina: "muk", Armenian for "mouse", 'cause she's so tiny, that Steve Kashian calls her muk.
   
4. Marietta: "Armageddon", because she's a hypochondriac and everywhere she goes, and every story she tells, it always ends bad. Example: Telling a story about beautiful flowers...but they were on a dead man's grave. Example 2: Traveling through the beautiful mountains, and seeing really cool bridges (that are admittedly rickety), and having Marietta call them "Satan's Bride".
   
5. Marietta AKA "Armageddon" AKA: "Pyro Granny" - before we found out the clinic staff called Mariette "Armageddon", we called her "Pyro Granny", because she was always making a burn pile whenever given the chance, and doing it with great glee.

• "Monica Seles" - While unloading potatoes from the truck, and more noticeably when bringing potatoes out to people's cars, Otto would let out a hefty "Monica Seles" style grunt, before being able to move on.

• "Jimmy Jan": "Jan", a term of endearment in Armenia, tacked onto the back of Jim Baney's name - also similar to the name of a "freaky fast" sandwich shop. :)

• "This is tasty", Laurie said to Lova. "She's tasty", Lova said of Hayastan.

• At Hagphat, Marietta was in a picture with Steve at the top of a set of stairs. While the photo was being taken, someone said something to Marietta, and she ran, fast as can be (very spry for a 61 year old) down the stairs, laughing and embarrassed. Apparently, someone said that Steve wanted to take her home to America. And, rumor has it, that someone also said they were taking a picture so we'd know where her band-aid was, for when she moved it. (Marietta always had a band-aid on some part of her face [but never the same part], which is part of her "Armageddon" complex).

• Harvard Orphanage = fiasco. We looked for "Harvard" orphanage for about an hour before actually finding it...and finding that Rozik told us the wrong name! So, we were asking everyone for the wrong place - no wonder they kept sending us in the wrong direction!

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Well, those were some funny moments (at least in my mind). I hope you "enjoy" them!
~c

I broke up my second journal entry, because it was so long. Here's the continuation. ~c

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Armenia, October 22, 2009

Wednesday, we went to the Vanadzor orphanage and did repairs on the playground. There were some rotten boards and planks there, just like at the clinic. I think we'll have to replace one of the main posts in a couple years (termites), but for now, I think it'll be okay.

We went back to the clinic for lunch, and the staff gave us each a box of chocolate and a scripture verse. It was so sweet. My verse was Philippians 4:13 - "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." I wish I had something to reciprocate with. It was so kind. I'll have to send gifts and photos through the mail for all the staff.

In the afternoon, we all piled into the van to go see Hagphat. And, I mean ALL of us! The staff too! We drove up through the mountains, and crazy tunnels under the mountains. It was a beautiful drive. Poor Steve and Otto were on the floor/luggage in the back of the van. They were good sports. The monetary is truly beautiful. So many buildings and so much history. I hope I got some good photos - despite the lighting. It was good to have a "play day"/"thank you" trip for us all to be on together.

On the way back to Vanadzor, I gave Otto a break and rode in the back - it was pretty bumpy. But, we made it! We stopped at a road-side restaurant for some famous Armenian barbecue (AKA Kebabs). We cracked some walnuts and then ate dinner. It was probably the best pork I've ever had. When it was about time to leave, I knew I'd have to visit a bathroom before sitting on the bumpy floor of the van again, but the outhouse was darker than dark, and right over a very rambunctious river. So, being unable to even see the hole in the floor, I opted out...and concentrated really hard on the bumpy ride to Vanadzor.

We stopped at Ruzanna's so she could get her things for Yerevan, and dropped off all the staff but Armageddon (story on her later). It was a bittersweet goodbye. We dropped off Mariette (AKA Armageddon), and drove to Yerevan. I was pretty sick on the ride back (headache/nausea), so I tried to sleep as much as I could with Arman's crazy driving (seriously, this guy tries to emulate NASCAR in a 15 passenger van with bald tires on mountain switchbacks!), and then crashed when we got back to the ARM grounds.

This morning, I woke up Laurie at 8, and we had breakfast with Steve in Lova and Hayastan's domik. At 9, Steve and Laurie headed off to the Airport with Hayruit to get Steve on the plane back to London, and then on with his family travels.

Now, I'm sitting here writing, and then we're going to see the "big building". :)

Just in case you're new to this blog, I just got back from Armenia and London, so I'm posting some of the Journal entries I made during my trip. ~c

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Armenia, October 23, 2009

So much has happened in the last few days! Monday, we had breakfast at the hotel (as we would for the next few mornings), and headed for the clinic at 10 am. We had a few quick minutes in between to pray and read letters from friends back home.

At the clinic, we started the day with sourge, and then worked on repairing the clinic playground. it had a few boards that had rotted out or broken, so we replaced them with stock from the new playground for Spitak, and also replaced a missing bar on the monkey bars. My main job was "floor board remover". Yevgine found us a little crowbar, about a foot long, and I used a large wrench as a hammer to pry the boards far enough from the brace for Jim to cut through the nail with the sawzaw. (In Armenia, necessity truly is the mother of invention!)

We had an amazingly huge lunch at the clinic and decided Tuesday would be the food distribution day, so the staff ordered all the food (for 200 people), and we ordered 7 metric tons of potatoes! (Yup, in Armenia, you can just call up the local potato farmer and say, "Yes, we'd like to order 7 metric tons of potatoes. When do we want them? Um...tomorrow. Alright, see you then!")

That evening we went to the Vanadzor orphanage and gifted soccer jerseys, decorated flip flops, pencil cases, and stuffed animals the kids. I was also able to give about 50 recorders a friend had donated, to the music teacher, who was pretty excited about them. It was a zoo! Barely controlled chaos! Our plan was to get photos of all the kids with their goodies - but there just weren't enough of us to distribute, and photograph - it was wild. But, we got it done, and it was good to see the kids. There were a lot of familiar faces (though older) from past trips.

Monday night, we went tot Yevgine's house for dinner. It was huge!!! (you'll notice this is a continuing/slightly painful theme)! It started with all the "usuals"...bread, lavash ( a large, flat, pita-like bread), cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, a carrot/pepper salad, olives, etc....and beef stroganoff...didn't see that coming! Then, she brought our Entree #2 - chicken and potatoes. Then, she brought out Entree #3 - a mushroom and chicken "pizza" on a lavash crust. THEN, she brought out dessert - fresh fruit and pastries and chocolate with tea. The just about had to roll us home...but we managed to walk it.....barely. :)

Tuesday was "the Big day": Food Distribution.

We were waiting for the potatoes, so there wasn't much we could do. We ended up doing some "organizing" in the cellar (even though what we really need to do is build shelves down there). When the potatoes got in, we unloaded the truck (all 7 tons!), or more specifically, Laurie and I watched and photographed the guys unloading the truck. :) And then we started to bag the potatoes.

We got to play with the kids for a while, and they were awesome! I had SO much fun with them. I played a version of dodge ball with some of them for a while, and then we sat and went through the Armenian numbers (1-100), and then the whole Armenian alphabet, and then the English alphabet (sung. twice). Next, we started in on colors and body parts in Armenian and English, and worked our way onto clothing and things around the playground. It was definitely a highlight for me. I literally had to pry myself away from their strong little hands and run! through the gates to help with the potatoes!

Around 3 pm, the masses began to arrive, and poor Yevgine had to see them all, and exercise great discernment with the hungry families who weren't on the list, as well as those who were.
[Side Note: How the Food Distribution works, is that before we go to Armenia, we do fund raising specifically for this aspect of the ministry. Then, depending on how much money we raise (it takes $45 to feed a family) we order and distribute food. We're given a list of the most needy people in the are from the government, we call them, and then they come to the clinic with their passports which get checked against the list we've been given. If a family has 5 or more members, they're given extra food. The hard thing is, that word spreads, and so people who weren't called/aren't on the list come too - and that makes it really tricky. Who wants to turn away hungry people?!]

It was a crazy afternoon that extended well into the night (I think we ate dinner around 9). Here's a very direct evidence of God - we had just enough food for ALL the families who came! We were afraid we'd have to turn people away at the end of the day, but when it came down to it, we had exactly enough for each person who turned up, and I like to think that everyone went home happy, and blessed. It was a pretty awesome and incredible thing to be a part of. But, it was a long day.

I'm glad we could be there to support the staff during the craziness. In a lot of ways, the dread the food distribution, because people can be really spiteful and ungracious, and it's really hard on them. So, they were really glad we were there to be the "face" of the "generous Americans" who were providing food - that they depend upon - for them. Laurie was awesome (in a lot of ways), but especially because, as the day wore on, people were creeping farther and farther into the building (and we couldn't work around them, they had to stay outside the doors until they were called in), so Laurie had to work as "door guard", and literally put her arm across the door - bouncer style - to keep them back. But, she totally turned this into her favor, and was able to interact with a lot of people that we wouldn't ordinarily have been able to have individual time with, and she was able to interject a lot of humor into what could have been a super stressful situation. She was the hero of the hour! As was Yevgine - she was AMAZING! Seriously, seeing and negotiating with over 200 people in 6 hours - that woman has a lot of Grace!

When we got back to the hotel, we all congregated in Laurie and my's room to just sit and chat about the day. Cool people. I'm going to bed.

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Tune in tomorrow for installment 3!

I love traveling!

But somehow, this trip, I was actually ready to come home. I couldn't get to the airport fast enough, and the plane wasn't nearly as speedy as it should have been.

Perhaps it's because I haven't had a day to myself in a month (to the day, tomorrow). Or maybe because it's because it's funny being in a foreign town on a foreign content, and yet people still speak English, so basically, you might as well be home. Whatever the reason, I'm quite happy to be back, and with the prospect of a few hours to myself looming some time in the near future. And clean clothes. :)

Well, I kept a journal throughout my travels, and it's not extremely detailed - just an overview of my impressions. So, I think every day for the next week or so, I'm going to type up one of my journal entries on here, so you can get a feel for the what the past 2 weeks have held for me. I hope you like it.

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Armenia, October 18, 2009

Okay, so it's bee a few crazy days of traveling, and lots of time spent in various forms of transportation.

On the flight to London, we managed to have 1 too many checked luggage bags/boxes, but it all worked out fabulously, because Steve's bag was small enough to be a carry on - Praise Jesus! (and many thanks to guys for being light packers!)

I sat next to a cute British boy on the way to London, and he fell asleep on my shoulder while I watched the Terminator. And when we landed, the group of us were able to spend about 4 hours in London!

We took the Piccadilly Tube to Leicester Square and went to lunch at Pret A Manger ( a local chain, kinda like a Corner Bakery), and then roamed about Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, through St. James' Park and to Buckingham Palace. We even saw the Queen! Well, Steve did - the rest of us were blocked out by the crowds - but they played a little fanfare on their trumpets and everything! It was just so...British!

On the flight to Yerevan, Laurie and I got a little loopy after being up for so long. The dinner packaging had the word "Enjoy" written all over it, and I happened to say "Enjoy!", and stick the seal up across the headrest in front of me, and we thought it was quite funny...in fact, we're still joking about it, probably will be for the rest of the trip.

We safely arrived in Yerevan, and fairly easily got through customs with some silver-tongued Armenian from Laurie. Then, Arman, and Lova were there to greet us (at 1:30 am) with a 15 passenger van, and a Mercedes, which took us to the ARM Grounds.

And then we slept. Yeah. :)

[Side Note: The door to our bathroom doesn't quite fit in the frame, so you have to lock it to keep it closed, but the lock doesn't really work all the great either, so Laurie locked herself in the bathroom...I was about to pull the anchors out of the hinges, when she finally got out...it was really funny.]

Later Saturday morning, we got up and Laurie and I took turns having sourge (Armenian coffee - so good!) with Hayastan (Lova's wife) and cleaning up. After that, and breakfast (with yummy home-made apricot jam), we sat in the sun for a bit, and I went back to bed. :)

Two hours later, we headed for Vernisage (the local flea market), and then to the Genocide Memorial, and Khor Verap (a church nestled in the shadows of Mount Ararat, where St. Gregory the Illuminator was held prisoner in a dungeon for 13 years). We found a random statue on a hillside to explore, and then went out for dinner in Yerevan.

Sunday, we got up at 7...or so I thought... Apparently, my clock was off by an hour, so I felt really bad that Laurie didn't get a shower (which she was really looking forward to). We loaded up the van with our luggage, and all took a sourge break. Then we picked up Dr. Ruzanna and Mary (Arman's daughter), and left for Vanadzor. We stopped at a bakery in Spitak on the way (which was AMAZING!), dropped Ruzanna off at the clinic, and got to church 1/2 hr late.

It was weird.

The building is huge and new and incredibly opulent. A stark contrast to its surroundings, and to what it used to be like. (When I'd visited on former trips, before the church building was completed, we met in a simple cinder block building with no windows, and old assembly room seating, and bare bulbs in the ceiling).

We had lunch at the clinic, checked out the new building (a building was given to ARM by the Armenian government - free of charge for 50 years - and it's right by the clinic...we're still trying to figure out how it's going to be used. A LOT of work needs to go into it...it's basically still just a frame), played with the kids at the playground, and had sourge Round 2.

We went to Arman's for dinner, and stuffed ourselves. Arman's Aunt is visiting them from Rome, and she made lasagna for dinner....but it was just the appetizer! We rolled ourselves to the "Govna's" Hotel (a little joke I have with Jim), and now we're going to bed. Yum...bed. :)

Well Folks, this is it. It's my last couple hours at work before the madness truly begins...

I'm not ready.

Which is odd, because usually, when I'm given the chance to get out
of the country, I'm ready to go at the drop of a hat - no problemo. So, it's pretty confusing to me that this time 'round I'm so anxious about the trip. I have so many things running through my head, it feels impossible to organize them all into coherent thought. Just writing out a packing list seems like the largest task in the world. Man, do I need some perspective. Geez!

So much has been happening lately, I feel pretty off center. I haven't really had any time to myself in weeks. Three out of the past four weekends I've been working at camp - which is just about my favorite thing to do in the world - but I'm tired. And I'm kinda stressed out by all that I need to accomplish in the next 24 hours. Oh, everything that needs to happen will, and everything I need to do will get done - it's just that I'm going to be running around like a chicken with my head cut off while doing it.

In my defense, it is pretty hard to pack for a missions trip - with work clothes, and 50 recorders (wind instruments) for the kids, plus gifts - AND for "vacation time" in London with friends - hip street clothes (right, like I have anything "hip" in my closet) for nights on the town, and strolling across the Millennium Bridge. Yup, it's not going to be easy. I'm going to have to get inventive in my clothing combos.

Lord - please make the room stop spinning and help me to focus. To focus on the important things, and to trust you. Please grant me peace and comfort as I find myself facing some unusual circumstances. Please bless all the many legs of our journeys - to London, and Armenia, and back again. Guide my interactions with others, and help me to set my heart and mind on you. Jesus, be the center. Be the place and the person in whom I find hope, and rest. Let the overflow of my heart impact those around me, and let your Name be glorified. Amen.

Wow. I can't believe how quickly time is flying by. I leave for Armenia in less than a week. And between now and then, I'll only be home for 3 days...phew - I've got a lot to accomplish in three days...

Our upcoming trip to Armenia has been fraught with changes from it's initial planning stages up until now.

It has morphed in Size and Players: from being a team of about 12 people, to being a team of 5.

It's morphed in Script: from going over to build a new playground and take part in a food and firewood distribution, to doing a random mishmash of things we're still not even sure of (but which may include painting at the ARM orphanage, programs for kids at different orphanages, repairs on past playgrounds we've built, etc).

And it's morphed in so many other ways. One of those ways is through tragedy: One of the ARM staff's sisters has become (perhaps) fatally ill, and we've certainly encouraged her to spend time with her family, and just taking care of herself in this time. But, she was also the person with whom 2 of us were going to be staying with, a translator, and the only one who could drive the ARM van. Please pray for her as she deals with all these additional pressures and sorrows in her life - that God would comfort her, and that we'd be an encouragement to her in her time of need. Pray too that we'd find reasonably priced taxi drivers, and that we'd have really great replacement translators.

Also, the reason we're not able to build a new playground this trip, is because our playground is still wrapped up in customs. So, please pray that the playground would be passed through customs very quickly, without any problems, and that everything would go smoothly, so the next team who goes to Armenia is able to build it.

Personally, as I prepare for this trip, I definitely need prayer that I would have the right heart and the right spirit going into this. And that I'd just get everything pulled together in the short time before I leave.

And while I've got you praying - this weekend, I'll be back at Timber-lee to help with our annual Mother/Daughter Retreat. I'm really looking forward to it (it always ministers to me as much as our guests to be up there and participate in the weekends), and I would love your prayers for safety for our guests as they travel, and are at camp; that they'd have a wonderful time with each other, and that they'd really be able to meet God this weekend. Pray for our speaker - Molly Sanborn, and our worship leader - Bethany Arndt, and for all the various activities and personal interactions that will take place this weekend.

Thank you, Lord, for allowing me to be a part of so many wonderful things. Be glorified!

I really haven't moved very much in my life. I moved to college in Indiana when I was 18, I spent a semester studying abroad in Lithuania my senior year, moved back to Indiana, and when I graduated, I moved back home to Chicago with the intention of returning to Indiana for a job that would begin in December, which later fell through. Now, I live in the same house that I've lived in since I was 2 years old and in the same room I've lived in since I was 12, with the same people I've lived with since I was born.

Not a whole lot has changed. In fact, at 27, I pretty much feel like I'm back in high school. I'm living in my old room. I don't have a car, so I have to ask to borrow my Dad's. My Mom's always giving me 20 Questions: "Where are you going?", "Who are you going with?", What are you doing?", "What time do you think you'll get home?". Or calling me at work to tell me she might not be home in time to cook dinner. Dang. You mean, I might have a few minutes of peace? (dripping with sarcasm)

As much as I know that they only ask questions because they love me and they want to know what's going on in my life, I need (and have always needed) a certain amount of space. And that amount is "a lot". Which I have never received when living at home. Yeah, I guess that's pretty typical in most families...but I definitely feel like I'm past that point. I'm a couple years from 30, and still in the living situation of a 16 year old. Which really grates on my independent spirit.

Actually, it's incredibly ironic (and tragic) that out of us 3 siblings, I'm the child still living at home. (Okay, Ricky lives at home, but he's 19, and is pretty okay with it). I was always the one who was itching to get out of the house, live on my own, see the world, be a successful career woman... And here I am, eating family dinner, and retiring to my room where I try to avoid remembering that I live at home, and then go to sleep in the same twin bed that I've been sleeping in for the past 15 years. Weird. Strange. Sad. Don't get me wrong - I love my family. I just love them much, much better from a distance.

Yup, I'm Stuck.

You're probably wondering, "why doesn't she just move out?". And I'll tell you - Chicago is a very expensive city to live in. And I have a lot of very pricey school loans (which were not really worth it), and a not very well paying job (yet more evidence that it was not really worth it). So, living rent-free is a very nice option. If I could put what I pay in loans bills every month into an apartment, I'd have some pretty sweet digs. But as it is, I feel incredibly burdened to get rid of my loan-burdens as quickly as possible. Even if it means not living the way I thought I'd be living right now. And living with my family. And answering 20 Questions. And borrowing a car.

But, the main reason I keep staying "stuck" where I'm at, is because what I keep hearing from God is: "wait".

I gotta tell you - I really don't like this word -

"wait".

It definitely cramps my style. But, like I've been talking about in blogs past - "God's time is the right time".

So, I'll wait. Oh, I'll have my moments of frustration, and doubt. And I'll have moments when I want to tear my hair out and run as fast as possible from my parent's Bungalow. But, I'll wait. Because the rewards of obeying God and waiting far outweighs a future of my own making.