Well, I didn't do very well at telling more about my trip to Egypt - which is not to say that I haven't processed a lot! I just didn't get it all written down. As for Egyptians, we have two living in our home right now. Sameh and Liza arrived last Friday from Cairo with their entire life packed into four huge suitcases. (Sameh attended the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo where we stayed when we visited.) They have come to Pittsburgh to live, and Sameh hopes to attend PTS, but in the meantime we've been helping them find an apartment and look for jobs. It looks like they'll end up in an apartment right next door to us! They are very excited!
This last term has been pretty amazing. Between my New Testament and Systematic Theology classes, (let alone through the many relationships that have grown here), God has been making himself known in all sorts of ways.
Our women's weekly prayer group has been so good for my soul. We have new mothers, single women, marrieds, students & spouses - a big mixture who God has thrown together to share our lives and pray for each other through this crazy life at seminary. What a blessing they have been to me. I feel in some ways that I have a few more kids, but then they'll lift me up as a sister-in-Christ and I learn so much from them!
Our NT professor is really crazy. On one hand he knows the NT like none other, and preaches all over the country about how homosexuality is a sin and abomination in God's eyes (which I'm not going to get into here!), but then we'll have these classes when he preaches Jesus and I just feel like he opened my eyes to a whole new reality of who Jesus is.
Our Systematic Theology professor, Dr. Purves, is hands-down amazing. I read one of his books for class and really didn't want to put it down. (So if you have the chance, read Encountering God by Purves and Partee). Really amazing stuff, and again, reintroduced me to a Jesus who made me want to come back and truly sit at his feet for a long while.
I am so thankful for both of these men who rekindled in me a love for Jesus that I had been missing for quite a while (unknowingly). It is such a joy to have Him where he should be again.
I'm in the home stretch of school (so of course, instead of doing homework I'm finally updating the blog)! Can you say P-R-O-C-R-A-S-T-I-N-A-T-I-O-N? Actually I feel pretty good about where I'm at. I have all my stuff done for theology (minus a take-home final we'll get next Tuesday), I have some catch-up reading and then studying for finals next week for church history and NT, and my 15-page exegesis for Hebrew on Exodus 20:1-12 (1st five commandments) that I have all the material it's just a matter of sitting down and putting it all together.
So pray me through the next couple of weeks!
June will bring our good friends Jon and Kristen Draskovic moving in with us! Jon is a fellow student and Kristen is just starting an 18-month nursing program. We all wanted to "do community" a bit deeper, so this should be an adventure for us all. We're all really excited!
The second week of June I'm taking off with a girlfriend from seminary to SC - Hilton Head - for a week of vegging on the beach, maybe some reading, maybe not, maybe some margaritas... I'm looking forward to relaxing and not much else! (And I'm not feeling too darn guilty since Kim just returned from a two-week trip to CO helping Sean & Megan move into and paint their new home and visiting Sarah, Rob & Rilo!)
Then on 6/20 Kim and I fly to Grand Junction for ten days!!! We'll be there mainly to attend my niece, Sammy's wedding to Chris McSweeney at Maroon Bells in Aspen and reception at Ellen & Bob's orchard in Palisade. I'm also going to preach on the 27th at First Pres.. Very excited to see all the family and reconnect with friends.
This spring we learned that because of our house sales last year I don't qualify for any federal financial aid, and I'm pretty sure I'm losing my scholarship as the stinkin' "C" in my first term screwed my GPA up. Soooo....I've applied for 3 different scholarships and grants and between that and student loans I'm praying that all can be covered.
Kim has also decided to start school in the fall, going to the Community College of Allegheny County for his associates of science to be a pharmacy technician. He's very excited, as am I, and so we'll have FOUR STUDENTS in the household!
Jon and I will both have Field Ed. next year working in areas churches, so that will help with a little bit of income, plus it'll be fun to be back into ministry doing stuff again!
In July and August I'll be taking Greek four days a week, then we'll get a week off before the fall term starts (and I'm hoping that Sarah & Rilo will be coming for a visit then).
So the summer is full! But I'm thankful for the month that will be full of things that "fill my tank!"
I continue to thank God for so many people who have prayed us through this year - after praying us HERE!! You don't know how we feel those prayers and know that we are being carried by them, especially during those tough times - and there were a few this year! Kim and I have learned LOADS and are so thankful how God has drawn us even closer to Himself and each other in the process.
My prayers go out to our many friends that God will bless you with the same richness He has given us this year!
Stickin' close to Jesus...
~Sally
The Family - Summer, 2023
Love these people!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Lessons of Egypt...
It's my first full day back from my two week trip to Egypt. I'm reeling with still processing all that I learned and experienced, and I'm almost at a loss as to what I should write about -- there's just so much. So I think I'll do this a little bit at a time over the next few days so I can continue unpacking it and also so I don't give you all the "inch-deep" version of everything all at once. There's too much to just do a general overview. So here we go...
My professor, Scott Sunquist, and his wife Nancy left a week before the rest of our group to start teaching the class we're all taking Middle Eastern Church History: 1800-Present to the Egyptians in the class at the Evangelical Theological Seminary of Cairo where we were all staying. The group of ten who I travelled with were all supposed to leave on Feb. 26th, but because of another snow storm we were delayed two days and left on the 28th - arriving in Cairo on March 1st.
Our first full day in Cairo we were in class with our four Egyptian students. One student is a woman, V, in her late twenties I think, then there is S & F two twenty-something guys, and A, in his thirties and married w/ a one-year-old daughter. (I'm using initials because I don't want to write anything that identifies them and/or gets them in trouble with the government in Cairo.)
That first day, in some of our discussion in class, "A" shared about a woman in his church. This woman had converted to Christianity from the Muslim faith, along with her 5 children (ages 11-28), she was unmarried. Apparently the children have different fathers, and the family of one of the fathers started harassing her and the kids. She moved to a different place, but they tracked her down. The church even tried to help her leave the country with her children, but they were at the airport almost leaving when the police came and stopped her and wouldn't allow her to leave. The church is trying to help her by finding another place for her to live and taking food so she doesn't have to go out in public much, but that can't last forever.
The other dilemma that can come out of a situation like this is that sometimes when Muslims convert to Christianity they have a hard time being accepted by the Christian church community. Many fear that the person might be a spy for the government/police, so they never quite accept them into the community, they're always left at arm's length. Imagine never really making deep relationships with other Christians around you because they would never fully trust you!
That's a really big problem within the Christian community in Egypt. It's against the law to evangelize, and it's against the law to baptize someone who is officially (in the eyes of the state) a Muslim. So if a pastor baptizes someone who converted from Islam and gets caught, they can go to prison for 5-7 years.
What would YOU do if you were the pastor? You don't know if the person is legitimately coming to Christ or if they're a spy. By baptizing them you could go to jail. But if they really are converting, how can you deny someone the joy of baptism?
One little nugget of what we experienced in Egypt. It has opened my eyes to the reality of the persecuted church and what that really looks like in the eyes of Christ-followers in that situation.
On one hand it was really depressing and you were at a loss as to what to tell these pastors. Then on the other hand, we'd experience joyous worship, laughter and fun, and just normal times together with these people. They have great hope and enormous faith that God is in Egypt and is doing huge things in the midst of the persecution there...and we saw so much evidence of it! And they have to just live life! If there was no "normalcy" they'd go crazy! So there's this tension of living like things are fine and normal some of the time, and then there's the reality of living in a 90% Muslim country where converting people is illegal - and you're a pastor!
The ministry that goes on there is amazing. I think I'll leave that for my next blog, but suffice it to say that the ministry that goes on in this persecuted country puts the churches in my country to shame.
Much to think about, much to pray about and to pray for. Please pray for the persecuted churches of our world and the leaders who are trying to follow Jesus and shepherd their people. It is an enormous task and burden for these pastors, and many of them so very young.
I pray for my friends in Cairo, that God will continue to bless their lives and their ministries and keep them safe to continue the work that He has called them to.
Amazed by His grace,
~Sally
My professor, Scott Sunquist, and his wife Nancy left a week before the rest of our group to start teaching the class we're all taking Middle Eastern Church History: 1800-Present to the Egyptians in the class at the Evangelical Theological Seminary of Cairo where we were all staying. The group of ten who I travelled with were all supposed to leave on Feb. 26th, but because of another snow storm we were delayed two days and left on the 28th - arriving in Cairo on March 1st.
Our first full day in Cairo we were in class with our four Egyptian students. One student is a woman, V, in her late twenties I think, then there is S & F two twenty-something guys, and A, in his thirties and married w/ a one-year-old daughter. (I'm using initials because I don't want to write anything that identifies them and/or gets them in trouble with the government in Cairo.)
That first day, in some of our discussion in class, "A" shared about a woman in his church. This woman had converted to Christianity from the Muslim faith, along with her 5 children (ages 11-28), she was unmarried. Apparently the children have different fathers, and the family of one of the fathers started harassing her and the kids. She moved to a different place, but they tracked her down. The church even tried to help her leave the country with her children, but they were at the airport almost leaving when the police came and stopped her and wouldn't allow her to leave. The church is trying to help her by finding another place for her to live and taking food so she doesn't have to go out in public much, but that can't last forever.
The other dilemma that can come out of a situation like this is that sometimes when Muslims convert to Christianity they have a hard time being accepted by the Christian church community. Many fear that the person might be a spy for the government/police, so they never quite accept them into the community, they're always left at arm's length. Imagine never really making deep relationships with other Christians around you because they would never fully trust you!
That's a really big problem within the Christian community in Egypt. It's against the law to evangelize, and it's against the law to baptize someone who is officially (in the eyes of the state) a Muslim. So if a pastor baptizes someone who converted from Islam and gets caught, they can go to prison for 5-7 years.
What would YOU do if you were the pastor? You don't know if the person is legitimately coming to Christ or if they're a spy. By baptizing them you could go to jail. But if they really are converting, how can you deny someone the joy of baptism?
One little nugget of what we experienced in Egypt. It has opened my eyes to the reality of the persecuted church and what that really looks like in the eyes of Christ-followers in that situation.
On one hand it was really depressing and you were at a loss as to what to tell these pastors. Then on the other hand, we'd experience joyous worship, laughter and fun, and just normal times together with these people. They have great hope and enormous faith that God is in Egypt and is doing huge things in the midst of the persecution there...and we saw so much evidence of it! And they have to just live life! If there was no "normalcy" they'd go crazy! So there's this tension of living like things are fine and normal some of the time, and then there's the reality of living in a 90% Muslim country where converting people is illegal - and you're a pastor!
The ministry that goes on there is amazing. I think I'll leave that for my next blog, but suffice it to say that the ministry that goes on in this persecuted country puts the churches in my country to shame.
Much to think about, much to pray about and to pray for. Please pray for the persecuted churches of our world and the leaders who are trying to follow Jesus and shepherd their people. It is an enormous task and burden for these pastors, and many of them so very young.
I pray for my friends in Cairo, that God will continue to bless their lives and their ministries and keep them safe to continue the work that He has called them to.
Amazed by His grace,
~Sally
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Heading into finals...
Well once again I have gone almost a month without updating the blog. Much has been going on. The majority of the month of February Kim was in horrendous pain, back pain. A week ago Saturday I went to lunch at my professor's house - an Egyptian lunch - with the team of people going to Cairo with me. He asked about Kim and I told him his back was still hurting a lot and he mentioned that when he was living in Indonesia, when someone would get hurt playing soccer or something, they'd pull their shoes off and someone would work on the person's feet. Next thing you know they'd be up playing again. Well, Kim found a Reflexologist and went this last week. She worked on his left foot, and about a minute into working on his right foot his back released! He's been pain free ever since! Praise God! I went yesterday and didn't get the miraculous results that Kim did, but my hips have felt a lot better.
I had two papers to write this term and I finished the last one yesterday...big sigh of relief! Now I just need to work on the study guides, looking up terms and preparing for essay questions for finals this week.
I'm so amazed that Hebrew is the one class that I'm not really concerned about! I've really come to love the language, the richness of the words. That one word can have so many meanings...usually a very literal meaning and then a more abstract meaning, but you can see how they connect (usually). There's still a lot that's not quite solid with me, but it's exciting to be able to open the Hebrew Bible to a page and actually be able to pick out quite a few words!
We're church shopping again. Eastminster Pres. was just a little too over the edge for Kim and so we plan on starting the search again. We've missed about three weeks of church either because I was sick, Kim was in pain, or this morning I admit, we were just lazy. So we went online after doing our devotion together and first watched Dave Hawkins' service in Plainview from last week, and then Tom Hansen at First Pres. GJ last week. Both were excellent. I think we both needed a dose of home and familiarity.
I leave for Cairo, Egypt Friday afternoon! I'm feeling guilty for leaving Kim alone for two weeks - he's not one to reach out to others on his own... But my family, including Kim, encouraged me to do this, so I'm going. I decided not to do it for credit, so I can just relax and enjoy it without the pressure of added reading and writing a paper (let alone the expense of another class). I'm sure it will be awesome. We will be visiting churches large and small, ministries in Cairo, the library in Alexandria, and of course, the pyramids. Temperatures look to be in the high 80's - and that's really exciting too!
Egypt is 90% Muslim, 9.5% Coptic Christian, and .5% Protestant, so we will definitely be in the minority! We will be staying most of the time at the Evangelical Seminary there, and I'm looking forward to talking with students there and learning about what ministry is like when you're such a minority. I can't even imagine. Here's the website of the seminary if you want to check it out: http://www.etsc.org/index.htm
I have pretty much resigned myself to the fact that my scholarship won't be renewed for next year. I was thinking I needed to keep a "B" average, but it's 3.5 which means two A's and two B's each trimester. I don't think I can recover from my first term w/ two B's a C and one P (it was a pass/fail class). It's in God's hands. We're getting our taxes done right now so hopefully we'll still be poor enough to qualify for good federal financial aid as well as some need-based aid from the school that doesn't have such stringent requirements. Truthfully, since I've written off the scholarship I haven't been nearly as stressed out about school. So maybe it's one of those blessings in disguise!
Well, I'd better get to work on those study guides. Many thanks again for the prayers and encouragement that always seem to come at just the right time. And I also received almost $600 from friends to help with the expense of the Cairo mission trip. God DOES provide!
God's blessings to you, and may His word become richer and richer for you as it has for me!
~Sally
I had two papers to write this term and I finished the last one yesterday...big sigh of relief! Now I just need to work on the study guides, looking up terms and preparing for essay questions for finals this week.
I'm so amazed that Hebrew is the one class that I'm not really concerned about! I've really come to love the language, the richness of the words. That one word can have so many meanings...usually a very literal meaning and then a more abstract meaning, but you can see how they connect (usually). There's still a lot that's not quite solid with me, but it's exciting to be able to open the Hebrew Bible to a page and actually be able to pick out quite a few words!
We're church shopping again. Eastminster Pres. was just a little too over the edge for Kim and so we plan on starting the search again. We've missed about three weeks of church either because I was sick, Kim was in pain, or this morning I admit, we were just lazy. So we went online after doing our devotion together and first watched Dave Hawkins' service in Plainview from last week, and then Tom Hansen at First Pres. GJ last week. Both were excellent. I think we both needed a dose of home and familiarity.
I leave for Cairo, Egypt Friday afternoon! I'm feeling guilty for leaving Kim alone for two weeks - he's not one to reach out to others on his own... But my family, including Kim, encouraged me to do this, so I'm going. I decided not to do it for credit, so I can just relax and enjoy it without the pressure of added reading and writing a paper (let alone the expense of another class). I'm sure it will be awesome. We will be visiting churches large and small, ministries in Cairo, the library in Alexandria, and of course, the pyramids. Temperatures look to be in the high 80's - and that's really exciting too!
Egypt is 90% Muslim, 9.5% Coptic Christian, and .5% Protestant, so we will definitely be in the minority! We will be staying most of the time at the Evangelical Seminary there, and I'm looking forward to talking with students there and learning about what ministry is like when you're such a minority. I can't even imagine. Here's the website of the seminary if you want to check it out: http://www.etsc.org/index.htm
I have pretty much resigned myself to the fact that my scholarship won't be renewed for next year. I was thinking I needed to keep a "B" average, but it's 3.5 which means two A's and two B's each trimester. I don't think I can recover from my first term w/ two B's a C and one P (it was a pass/fail class). It's in God's hands. We're getting our taxes done right now so hopefully we'll still be poor enough to qualify for good federal financial aid as well as some need-based aid from the school that doesn't have such stringent requirements. Truthfully, since I've written off the scholarship I haven't been nearly as stressed out about school. So maybe it's one of those blessings in disguise!
Well, I'd better get to work on those study guides. Many thanks again for the prayers and encouragement that always seem to come at just the right time. And I also received almost $600 from friends to help with the expense of the Cairo mission trip. God DOES provide!
God's blessings to you, and may His word become richer and richer for you as it has for me!
~Sally
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Just a Short Update...
Much time has passed since my last post, but I have to keep this short as loads of homework have piled up. I survived midterms two weeks ago, out of the three I know two of the grades are A's. I don't know about Prophets & Psalms yet. Hebrew continues to be good one day and bad the next, but I did well on the two quizzes we've had.
This last week I've been struck first, with a horrible tooth ache and then as that was getting under control, a horrible cold! It has hung on all week, and the tooth ache isn't totally gone either. I only missed one class this week, but it was all I could do to drag myself to school, go to work study, and then come home and go to bed. I'm feeling a bit better today, but still had to take a nap. I'm tired of being tired!
It's scary to think that I only have three more weeks of classes before finals! My last final will be on Friday Feb. 26th, and that evening I'll be taking off for Cairo, Egypt with nine of my friends/fellow students!
We will be staying at the Evangelical Theological Seminary ( http://etsc.org/campus.htm ) in Cairo where we'll be taking a church history class as well as visiting churches and ministries in Cairo. Egypt is 90% Muslim, and the 10% Christian is mostly eastern Orthodox, so this should be very eye-opening! We'll also be visiting Alexandria and the library there as well as (of course) the pyramids. Oh, and I'm very excited to be visiting a monastery too. After hearing about so much of this stuff in church history last term, I'm excited to finally have a visual of the area. (Probably a lot like Grand Junction!!) Ha!
Kim is doing well, but somewhat discouraged. He was let go from Border's - they had too many people - so he's on the job hunt again. Pray that he finds something that's a good fit for him and our financial needs. He's still struggling with lots of back pain and finally has a doctor's appt. next week. Hopefully he can find some permanent relief.
Well, I really have to get back to work. I'm reading about The Destiny of the Righteous in the Psalms, and Calvin's Institutes, among other things!
Please pray for all the students at PTS. Everyone seems to either be getting sick or having very real health issues doing on. It almost feels like we're under attack. So lift up the campus for God's protection, provision, and healing.
Blessings to you all!
~Sally
This last week I've been struck first, with a horrible tooth ache and then as that was getting under control, a horrible cold! It has hung on all week, and the tooth ache isn't totally gone either. I only missed one class this week, but it was all I could do to drag myself to school, go to work study, and then come home and go to bed. I'm feeling a bit better today, but still had to take a nap. I'm tired of being tired!
It's scary to think that I only have three more weeks of classes before finals! My last final will be on Friday Feb. 26th, and that evening I'll be taking off for Cairo, Egypt with nine of my friends/fellow students!
We will be staying at the Evangelical Theological Seminary ( http://etsc.org/campus.htm ) in Cairo where we'll be taking a church history class as well as visiting churches and ministries in Cairo. Egypt is 90% Muslim, and the 10% Christian is mostly eastern Orthodox, so this should be very eye-opening! We'll also be visiting Alexandria and the library there as well as (of course) the pyramids. Oh, and I'm very excited to be visiting a monastery too. After hearing about so much of this stuff in church history last term, I'm excited to finally have a visual of the area. (Probably a lot like Grand Junction!!) Ha!
Kim is doing well, but somewhat discouraged. He was let go from Border's - they had too many people - so he's on the job hunt again. Pray that he finds something that's a good fit for him and our financial needs. He's still struggling with lots of back pain and finally has a doctor's appt. next week. Hopefully he can find some permanent relief.
Well, I really have to get back to work. I'm reading about The Destiny of the Righteous in the Psalms, and Calvin's Institutes, among other things!
Please pray for all the students at PTS. Everyone seems to either be getting sick or having very real health issues doing on. It almost feels like we're under attack. So lift up the campus for God's protection, provision, and healing.
Blessings to you all!
~Sally
Monday, January 4, 2010
Back at it..
Our Christmas break in Colorado was just what the doctor ordered! Wonderful time spent with Sarah, Rob and Rilo in Denver, and then Sean and Megan joined us Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It was all this mother could ask for.
After a drive (not a train ride) over the mountains, we went to church on the 27th where we saw many of our friends, the preschoolers gathered just so they could see "Mr. Kim," and we had many an evening with family playing games and lunches and dinners with other close friends. A trip to remember for sure.
We returned to Denver too late to see our sweet Rilo awake so I laid down with him on Sarah and Rob's bed and shed a few tears as he held my hand in his sleep and I felt every little shoulder, elbow, heel and toe. It was really hard to leave that evening and fly home the next day.
We returned home to weather twenty degrees warmer than Colorado's, but I flaunted it a bit too soon and the next day we were right there down in the teen's with the rest of the world...freezing! It really hasn't warmed up or stopped the light yet constant snowing since New Year's Day!
The first day (today) back at school was rough. The last few days we've both been kind of depressed. I think the reality that we probably won't see our family for quite a while has been sinking in - and the constant grey skies don't help.
Tonight at my women's prayer group we talked about what we did over the break, and then talked about what 2009 had been for us and what we see or hope 2010 will hold. I shared how '09 had been a year of God's provision - selling our rental home, getting all my financial aide, selling the orchard, getting our house here... God went above and beyond our expectations once again.
I also shared about how Rilo's arrival surprised us all by how he totally rocked our world. I said how I have felt since Rilo came that I've been able to be the mother to Sarah that she needs me to be - something that many times I wasn't able to be for her growing up. Our relationship was very close before Rilo came, but has been even closer since and it's a sweet, sweet thing.
As I shared this I also acknowledged that some of my thoughts the last few days have been about the time that I'm missing with our kids and with Rilo since we are here, so far away from them...and I have asked myself, "Is it worth that high price?" I know that God has called me here, but I'm missing SO much in their lives, in Rilo's life. I kills me. It brings me to tears every time I think about it.
My wonderful friends listened as I cried through my torment and pain. What can one do? It's an amazing thing to love people so much that you want to be close to them all the time...and Sarah and I didn't have that for a long time, so it makes this time of deep love between us even sweeter.
I'm thinking that Jesus had more in mind than just persecution when he talked about suffering for the faith, for following Him.
My sweet women-folk went on to encourage me and tell me what an encouragement I am to them, which made me at least see and remember that there is so much more going on here than just school - thank God. I LOVE MY WOMEN! The one's here, the one's in GJ, and the one's who are now spread out all over the country. They bless me so much and remind me that it's ok to FEEL. It's ok to let those emotions burst forth and get messy all over me. They remind me that it's ok to feel sad sometimes. And somehow, in all their loving, they remind me to go home and love Kim even more...so that's what I did. I came home and made him dinner and spent time with him instead of running right up to start reading...and amazingly I still got my reading done!
So I think there's hope. I'm still a little sad, but on the phone tonight with Sarah I told her about my conversation with my friends and she agreed with me that our love is so strong and that I have been a huge help to her this year and she has loved it. Then I got to talk with Rilo on the phone, and all was right with the world.
The verse that God pursued me with today was from Romans 13:8, "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another." My prayer the last three days (from a devotional that Kim got for us) has been "Lord, this week show me how to love." I think He is.
Feeling particularly blessed,
~Sally
After a drive (not a train ride) over the mountains, we went to church on the 27th where we saw many of our friends, the preschoolers gathered just so they could see "Mr. Kim," and we had many an evening with family playing games and lunches and dinners with other close friends. A trip to remember for sure.
We returned to Denver too late to see our sweet Rilo awake so I laid down with him on Sarah and Rob's bed and shed a few tears as he held my hand in his sleep and I felt every little shoulder, elbow, heel and toe. It was really hard to leave that evening and fly home the next day.
We returned home to weather twenty degrees warmer than Colorado's, but I flaunted it a bit too soon and the next day we were right there down in the teen's with the rest of the world...freezing! It really hasn't warmed up or stopped the light yet constant snowing since New Year's Day!
The first day (today) back at school was rough. The last few days we've both been kind of depressed. I think the reality that we probably won't see our family for quite a while has been sinking in - and the constant grey skies don't help.
Tonight at my women's prayer group we talked about what we did over the break, and then talked about what 2009 had been for us and what we see or hope 2010 will hold. I shared how '09 had been a year of God's provision - selling our rental home, getting all my financial aide, selling the orchard, getting our house here... God went above and beyond our expectations once again.
I also shared about how Rilo's arrival surprised us all by how he totally rocked our world. I said how I have felt since Rilo came that I've been able to be the mother to Sarah that she needs me to be - something that many times I wasn't able to be for her growing up. Our relationship was very close before Rilo came, but has been even closer since and it's a sweet, sweet thing.
As I shared this I also acknowledged that some of my thoughts the last few days have been about the time that I'm missing with our kids and with Rilo since we are here, so far away from them...and I have asked myself, "Is it worth that high price?" I know that God has called me here, but I'm missing SO much in their lives, in Rilo's life. I kills me. It brings me to tears every time I think about it.
My wonderful friends listened as I cried through my torment and pain. What can one do? It's an amazing thing to love people so much that you want to be close to them all the time...and Sarah and I didn't have that for a long time, so it makes this time of deep love between us even sweeter.
I'm thinking that Jesus had more in mind than just persecution when he talked about suffering for the faith, for following Him.
My sweet women-folk went on to encourage me and tell me what an encouragement I am to them, which made me at least see and remember that there is so much more going on here than just school - thank God. I LOVE MY WOMEN! The one's here, the one's in GJ, and the one's who are now spread out all over the country. They bless me so much and remind me that it's ok to FEEL. It's ok to let those emotions burst forth and get messy all over me. They remind me that it's ok to feel sad sometimes. And somehow, in all their loving, they remind me to go home and love Kim even more...so that's what I did. I came home and made him dinner and spent time with him instead of running right up to start reading...and amazingly I still got my reading done!
So I think there's hope. I'm still a little sad, but on the phone tonight with Sarah I told her about my conversation with my friends and she agreed with me that our love is so strong and that I have been a huge help to her this year and she has loved it. Then I got to talk with Rilo on the phone, and all was right with the world.
The verse that God pursued me with today was from Romans 13:8, "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another." My prayer the last three days (from a devotional that Kim got for us) has been "Lord, this week show me how to love." I think He is.
Feeling particularly blessed,
~Sally
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Almost to Christmas...
We're just finishing up the third week of Term II already! I did well last term, considering the laments of my previous blogs, with a B in Hebrew and Church History, and a C in Old Testament (and a Pass in Spiritual Formation). Not the 3.5 GPA I wanted, but I'll take it!
This term I have continued Hebrew, Church History (the Reformation), Prophets & Psalms, and added New Testament. They're all pretty good classes, and thankfully, it doesn't seem as overwhelming as last term. I don't know if I'm just getting acclimated or if there really is less reading than last term!
The readings on Luther have actually been very interesting, and I've read 1 Kings, Amos, & Mark with 2 Kings, Hosea, Matthew, & Luke on the reading list for the break. Thankfully they haven't loaded us up too much over the break.
We're counting the days til we leave for Colorado! We leave the morning of the 20th and fly to Denver to stay near Sarah, Rob, and Rilo through Christmas. Sean and Megan will be coming over the mountains to see her mom and Tom in Colorado Springs, and then they'll stay in Denver Christmas Eve so we can all be together on Christmas! Yeah!!! Then they're driving back to GJ in the afternoon to be with Megan's dad for Christmas dinner.
Kim and I hop the train on Saturday morning the 26th and ride it to GJ where we'll stay with my sister Ellen til the 30th when we ride it back to Denver and fly back on New Year's Eve. Seems long, but I know it's going to go way too quick - and I can already see that we're going to want more time with Rilo after the GJ portion!! But we'll take what we can get.
Three of my girlfriends and I sang in a Christmas program a couple of weeks ago. It was so neat because it was hosted by the NIA group at the seminary (I believe the word means "diversity") and the program had us 4 white girls (actually, one Asian!), an older student who played a really mean recorder (yep, recorder, and I'm serious!), three different African-American groups - one a rockin' gospel church choir, another more of a praise band (but not like I'VE ever seen in church!), and a youth group that did interpretive dance/rap. It was awesome. About as diverse as you can get, and everyone just really enjoyed it and appreciated each other so much! THAT'S why we came to the city!
Last Saturday night our church had its annual "Light Up Night" where they had a parade with marching band, bagpipers, horse and carriage w/Mary, Joseph & baby Jesus, and camels! Then the family came and were in the stable with other farm animals, there were stands with free kettle corn and frito pies. Inside was the Urban Impact choir (probably 75 youth) doing some really rockin' Christmas songs, cookies and goodies, a prayer station, and Christmas trees decorated by country (probably 8-10 of them). It was only from 6-8pm, but it was amazing and they had a huge crowd. It's one of their larger outreaches to the community. I was an angel by the stable and at first handed out candy canes and later free new testaments. It was really impressive, and thankfully it didn't snow or rain.
The next morning was the rain, and then it froze, and churches all over were closed! Luckily most of our folks are local so we were all there. I tried walking (since Kim had to work - and got there before it even rained), but it was WAY too slick. My girlfriend picked me up and we drove the 4 blocks to church very slowly! Ha! I now understand about ice storms! With all the hills and bridges around here, when they happen everything just stops.
Last Friday we had a gift exchange at the house with all the Friday night folks...I've posted our group shot here in the upper right corner. What a bunch of great kids - and some not kids! It was such an awesome evening. Not just a big group, but real connecting with each other throughout the evening. I've printed out the group shot on an 8x10 to frame it. They truly are our Pittsburgh family.
Kim is making more connections as well and has started meeting weekly with one of the guys and just talked with another about meeting with him weekly as well. I think maybe he's finding out one of the reasons HE's here. These guys want mentors in a bad way, and they've come and asked Kim to share his life with them. Pretty cool. Kim is honored, and so are they...a good combination.
Our friend Brian, a single dad with four kids (ages 2, 3, 10 & 12) will be staying here while we're gone, to watch Charlie. He and the kids are really excited...I hope Charlie survives! I feel bad that it's going to be such a drastic lifestyle change for her. I'm sure she'll make it though.
Well, two more days of school then it's break time!! (Kind of!) Can't wait to see our kids, grandson, and many GJ friends and family. We are blessed.
I pray this is a time when the love of Christ is very really for you. For us it certainly has been. Blessings to you this Christmas.
~Sally
This term I have continued Hebrew, Church History (the Reformation), Prophets & Psalms, and added New Testament. They're all pretty good classes, and thankfully, it doesn't seem as overwhelming as last term. I don't know if I'm just getting acclimated or if there really is less reading than last term!
The readings on Luther have actually been very interesting, and I've read 1 Kings, Amos, & Mark with 2 Kings, Hosea, Matthew, & Luke on the reading list for the break. Thankfully they haven't loaded us up too much over the break.
We're counting the days til we leave for Colorado! We leave the morning of the 20th and fly to Denver to stay near Sarah, Rob, and Rilo through Christmas. Sean and Megan will be coming over the mountains to see her mom and Tom in Colorado Springs, and then they'll stay in Denver Christmas Eve so we can all be together on Christmas! Yeah!!! Then they're driving back to GJ in the afternoon to be with Megan's dad for Christmas dinner.
Kim and I hop the train on Saturday morning the 26th and ride it to GJ where we'll stay with my sister Ellen til the 30th when we ride it back to Denver and fly back on New Year's Eve. Seems long, but I know it's going to go way too quick - and I can already see that we're going to want more time with Rilo after the GJ portion!! But we'll take what we can get.
Three of my girlfriends and I sang in a Christmas program a couple of weeks ago. It was so neat because it was hosted by the NIA group at the seminary (I believe the word means "diversity") and the program had us 4 white girls (actually, one Asian!), an older student who played a really mean recorder (yep, recorder, and I'm serious!), three different African-American groups - one a rockin' gospel church choir, another more of a praise band (but not like I'VE ever seen in church!), and a youth group that did interpretive dance/rap. It was awesome. About as diverse as you can get, and everyone just really enjoyed it and appreciated each other so much! THAT'S why we came to the city!
Last Saturday night our church had its annual "Light Up Night" where they had a parade with marching band, bagpipers, horse and carriage w/Mary, Joseph & baby Jesus, and camels! Then the family came and were in the stable with other farm animals, there were stands with free kettle corn and frito pies. Inside was the Urban Impact choir (probably 75 youth) doing some really rockin' Christmas songs, cookies and goodies, a prayer station, and Christmas trees decorated by country (probably 8-10 of them). It was only from 6-8pm, but it was amazing and they had a huge crowd. It's one of their larger outreaches to the community. I was an angel by the stable and at first handed out candy canes and later free new testaments. It was really impressive, and thankfully it didn't snow or rain.
The next morning was the rain, and then it froze, and churches all over were closed! Luckily most of our folks are local so we were all there. I tried walking (since Kim had to work - and got there before it even rained), but it was WAY too slick. My girlfriend picked me up and we drove the 4 blocks to church very slowly! Ha! I now understand about ice storms! With all the hills and bridges around here, when they happen everything just stops.
Last Friday we had a gift exchange at the house with all the Friday night folks...I've posted our group shot here in the upper right corner. What a bunch of great kids - and some not kids! It was such an awesome evening. Not just a big group, but real connecting with each other throughout the evening. I've printed out the group shot on an 8x10 to frame it. They truly are our Pittsburgh family.
Kim is making more connections as well and has started meeting weekly with one of the guys and just talked with another about meeting with him weekly as well. I think maybe he's finding out one of the reasons HE's here. These guys want mentors in a bad way, and they've come and asked Kim to share his life with them. Pretty cool. Kim is honored, and so are they...a good combination.
Our friend Brian, a single dad with four kids (ages 2, 3, 10 & 12) will be staying here while we're gone, to watch Charlie. He and the kids are really excited...I hope Charlie survives! I feel bad that it's going to be such a drastic lifestyle change for her. I'm sure she'll make it though.
Well, two more days of school then it's break time!! (Kind of!) Can't wait to see our kids, grandson, and many GJ friends and family. We are blessed.
I pray this is a time when the love of Christ is very really for you. For us it certainly has been. Blessings to you this Christmas.
~Sally
Monday, November 23, 2009
We survived finals!
As I re-read my last post I'm amazed at how far I've come and how much I studied since then! Finals are done, my paper written, and I'm officially on Thanksgiving break! Yeah!!!
Finals went really well I think. Church history was a bear, but I wrote for two hours and did it. OT was much better than all the previous tests, praise God! I got an "A" on the Hebrew vocabulary test and aced the final, minus the last page that was a lot of new stuff (that I hear she's weighting less than the rest of the test...again, praise God!) The ten-page paper I had to write for spiritual formation came easy as I wrote about when I was diagnosed with lupus way back in 1995, and how God transformed me during that time. It was a great reminder of how God uses everything to grow us and draw us nearer to Him.
It's really hard to believe this term is over. It's kind of scary thinking about next term because I'll have NT instead of spiritual formation, which was a class that was easy to blow-off a bit. So this term will be where the rubber meets the road.
For Thanksgiving Kim and I will be home alone, which is fine. For a few days there it wasn't ok, but the more I've thought about it the more I'm looking forward to cooking together and just spending the day together. I had asked a bunch of people looking for anyone who might be without family for the holiday, but most were headed home or hooked up with other local folks. We're really missing the kids and Rilo a lot and we're counting the days til we go home for Christmas!
I'm working on balancing having friends over and spending good time with Kim. It was definitely skewed for awhile there, but I think it's getting better as time goes on. It's a hard one for me though.
We're excited for our friend Sarah Tunall to come visit on Dec. 5th! She's going to stay with us and visit the seminary. I'm excited that Sarah might decide to come here next year! Pray for her discernment process!
Well, I'm making Christmas presents this week and hope to do a little baking before school starts up - so it should be a really fun week!
I pray the Lord continues to open my eyes to His will as we continue on this journey together. My biggest prayer is that I can find the time and discipline to have regular time in God's word and in conversation with Him. I pray that He blesses us as we spend time together this Thanksgiving, and that He blesses you as well.
Happy Thanksgiving!
~Sally
Finals went really well I think. Church history was a bear, but I wrote for two hours and did it. OT was much better than all the previous tests, praise God! I got an "A" on the Hebrew vocabulary test and aced the final, minus the last page that was a lot of new stuff (that I hear she's weighting less than the rest of the test...again, praise God!) The ten-page paper I had to write for spiritual formation came easy as I wrote about when I was diagnosed with lupus way back in 1995, and how God transformed me during that time. It was a great reminder of how God uses everything to grow us and draw us nearer to Him.
It's really hard to believe this term is over. It's kind of scary thinking about next term because I'll have NT instead of spiritual formation, which was a class that was easy to blow-off a bit. So this term will be where the rubber meets the road.
For Thanksgiving Kim and I will be home alone, which is fine. For a few days there it wasn't ok, but the more I've thought about it the more I'm looking forward to cooking together and just spending the day together. I had asked a bunch of people looking for anyone who might be without family for the holiday, but most were headed home or hooked up with other local folks. We're really missing the kids and Rilo a lot and we're counting the days til we go home for Christmas!
I'm working on balancing having friends over and spending good time with Kim. It was definitely skewed for awhile there, but I think it's getting better as time goes on. It's a hard one for me though.
We're excited for our friend Sarah Tunall to come visit on Dec. 5th! She's going to stay with us and visit the seminary. I'm excited that Sarah might decide to come here next year! Pray for her discernment process!
Well, I'm making Christmas presents this week and hope to do a little baking before school starts up - so it should be a really fun week!
I pray the Lord continues to open my eyes to His will as we continue on this journey together. My biggest prayer is that I can find the time and discipline to have regular time in God's word and in conversation with Him. I pray that He blesses us as we spend time together this Thanksgiving, and that He blesses you as well.
Happy Thanksgiving!
~Sally
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