Success is...Food and Fun!

Wow! My family, church family and friends are amazing. The meal and silent auction went really well. I raised about a third of my funds. I had an idea of what to expect, but this meal went above and beyond any expectations I had. You are all so awesome!! Thank you so much. I definitely couldn't have done any of this by myself though. It was a great work of collaboration from people I knew of as well as those that didn't. I had so much help with the meal. My dad and Rod got up early to start roasting the hog with help from Joe and Arrin. We all went over there later in the afternoon to pull off the meat. My mom, Brenda, Ashley and I mixed up the meat with some yummy sauce stuff. My mom and Brenda took over stirring the meat throughout the night. My mom and dad also mixed up those amazing beans we all got to enjoy. They got up really early to stir those as well (so many people willing to lose sleep to help me...I am blessed). I went over to my Grandma's house earlier this week to help peel eggs. She made some of her wonderful potato salad. I hope someday I can make food as delicious as all of these amazing women. The veggies were great as well...be happy I was not in charge of those. If it had been up to me you would have had carrots and broccoli. Tara Ramirez put together those veggie trays with 7 or so different kinds of veggies and dip. She went above and beyond- I should have expected no less..She is great! My Sunday school class also helped with the sheet cake. Randon, Shannon, Peg and Amy all made those cakes that went so well with the ice cream! All of my helpers are some of the coolest people I know! I had so much help....without all of these people that meal wouldn't have been nearly as good. :) If you didn't go home stuffed you must have missed the food table... we even had enough to send home leftovers with people to enjoy at home. Ahhh... leftovers... happiness.

The silent auction was great as well. Judging from the numbers, people seemed to enjoy it. I had said at one point that the number of items as well as the content in the auction would be a surprise to everyone, even me - boy, was it ever. Things just kept mysteriously showing up at the church (see, I told you my church family was awesome). I had like 30 bid sheets printed off thinking that was a bit optimistic, but I was completely off. We had to print off a bunch more for all those great donations. We had pies, cakes, cookies, treats, art, wood, glass, woven and sewn products, games, toys.....basically, there was something for everyone. I guess I wasn't exactly clear on what a project the silent auction would be when I got Darlene to help Sunday morning (very last minute and she still agreed- She is so cool!). Congratulations to all of you lucky bidders who got to go home with one of the great items...to you that didn't get anything I'm sorry about that, but it was still fun!

I loved being able to talk to you all and answer questions! This meal was probably as much fun for me as it was for all of you :).....Thank you all again for coming! It really means a lot to me that you are all so willing to help me out. Thank you to my Sunday school class, my family, those of you that got roped into helping last minute, those of you who donated items (the ones I know about and the ones I don't) and everyone who made food. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! My dream of the mission field just keeps becoming more of a reality. You are all wonderful!

Almost Ready....

Waiting in Line

Yummy.....

Amy and Brenda Serving Drinks

Enjoying the Meal

Darlene in Charge of the Silent Auction

Clean Up

Why do they say across the pond?...it is really not that close (honestly...i googled it)

Hello again everyone! It has been a busy week! I'm trying to fill out the massive pile of paperwork I have, work on homework, and coordinate with everyone in my support group. Also, my first fundraiser event is coming right up...very quickly. I am having a meal and silent auction at church on Sunday so I have been trying to get ready for that. Brenda and I went to get some supplies in Toledo on Monday. Since then I've been dipping pretzels in chocolate and making inside out Oreos. I've almost done an entire jar of pretzels..crazy! I can't complain too much, It is actually a lot of fun to decorate them. I'm making some pretty awesome looking ones to put into the silent auction (because I mean come on who doesn't like chocolate covered pretzels) and freezing some Ten Thousand Villages themed ones for my next fundraiser. I have also discovered something about myself. My mother is absolutely fantastic at dipping inside out Oreos, but I have very little skill in that area. I have to stick with my super cool designs to cover up my clumsy dipping skills. I've also been trying to get the silent auction around...I'm telling you by the time it comes to set up the items I'm pretty sure it will be a surprise to everyone (me included). Besides the goodies I've been working on for the auction, Bri, Carley and I have also been working on a joint project that will be put into the auction titled Prayer Is Central... be looking for that! I know we will also have some really amazing original pieces from some other people as well...but that I'm keeping under wraps. You will just have to show up to see all the cool items.

Wow its all starting to come together. This trip just keeps getting more real the more summer progresses (and my summer class just keeps getting more irritating as well...not a surprise). I'm starting to become a bit apprehensive about the length of time I'm going to be away. It's definitely not enough to stop me from going, not even close, but after a conversation I had with Brenda and little things people having been saying here and there I really began to think about it. I have always been a homebody. I was just as likely....no actually I was probably twice as likely to come home on a weekend to be with my family during school as I was to stay at school with friends. It's not that I didn't like being with my friends...I just really love being home and knowing my family is nearby...or if not nearby at least usually in the same county somewhere lol. The longest I ever went without being home was a summer at Little Eden camp on staff. Even that I can't claim as an entire summer away and without seeing them. I saw Carley during kid's camp, my family during family week and I even went home for a few days to support a friend during a hard time... I saw my family then as well. So thinking back, I really couldn't remember a time I ever went longer than a few weeks without seeing them. I had been prepared for the idea that I wouldn't see them in person for a while, but there is Skype and email and phone calls. I wouldn't be out of touch. I was going to miss things, but it was still ok. Then I started to find out what I was going to miss. One of my best friends got engaged and set her wedding date for early next summer. It is a wedding I never thought I would have to miss (and not the only one I will be missing while we are on the subject- there are at least 2 more I will miss out on). Carley will be graduating. An event I should have known I would be missing, but hadn't even realized until my mom said, "oh no who is going to help me get ready for graduation?" She also still has a homecoming and prom coming up next year. At the Wyse house that means Bri and I get ready to do a gaggle of hair for Carley and her friends...and then there is her senior year of soccer. This may not seem so significant to you, but this is a season I always told myself I was going to document and put into a book for her. Now I won't be around to do that. I'll miss Corey going back to school and another spring break watching him play baseball. I'll miss all of the random phone conversations with Bri and the weekends she just decided to pop home. I'll even miss my parents being parents - grumbling about me organizing their things and my idea of cleaning, going outside or exercising, doing my laundry and helping out around the house - you know parent things. Shopping, teasing, fighting, talking, eating, playing.... I will miss all of these big and little moments with my family.

What really started my worry in earnest though was a comment my mom made when I was talking about Christmas and stockings and trees (yes, I was having a Christmas conversation in the middle of June)...she said something along the lines of 'uhoh, you are going to miss that' to which I, not really thinking it through, said, 'what do you mean? Why would I miss it?' She said 'you are going to be in England silly.' And there started the worry. It's not the trees, lights, stockings or decorations I'm going to miss. It's the part of Christmas that makes you think of your family and smile. It's no one wanting to put together the tree, but everyone wanting to hang up at least one ornament. It's my parents hiding our stockings and everyone teasing me because I have that hardest time finding mine. It's see how many times we can take a goofy picture with those stockings before mom makes us take a normal one. It's dad reading about Christ's birth and mom reading a little children's Christmas story. It's exchanging each other's names and trying to figure out how to all go shopping together without letting your person figure out what you are getting them. It's dinner together (an occurrence far to rare the older we get) and a Christmas movie.  It's the long drive to Grandma and Grandpa Stutzman's house to see cousins. It's Christmas eve games and treats as well as Christmas morning gifts and a lunch so big you have to watch old Christmas movies afterwards and fall asleep. It's Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Wyse and the struggle to corral the Wyse herd. It's eating Grandma's wonderful food, Grandpa praying, and getting to see a family that is so large and spread out we don't see each other as often as I'd like. It's my personal favorite of the whole season...Christmas Eve - Getting to watch the happiness and excitement of everyone around you...strangers and the people you love alike. It's that perfect time of the whole season when the balance between anticipation and excitement is the highest. The gifts are still wrapped, the families have gathered together, everyone is talking and laughing, giddy with joy. It's that time when everyone still has that Christmas hope and celebration lighting their eyes and no one is thinking about putting away decorations or taking out the tree. It is all of this beautiful tradition and happiness I'm going to miss. All of this flashed through my head in a minute and I knew that Christmas this year was going to be a struggle for me. It won't stop me from going...not even that can stop me...but it will be hard.

It is a long time to be away from my family, but it is a decision I would never unmake. Who knows...maybe I'll learn some interesting things about myself that they can't help me find. Besides, I won't be completely alone...that always helps with homesickness. I've learned recently that Kaihle Sauder will also be going to England the same time as me. What are the odds?.....I also have a cousin whose family will be moving to the UK for a couple years. Ironically, we will be closer in distance there than we are here in the United States. I'm hoping that I get to see them during Christmas...that would definitely help any homesickness I have for my family. It is going to be a wonderful and interesting experience that I can't wait for...exciting parts, tough parts and all.

I'm off to see....England!

After a couple of interviews with Radical Journey faculty I've finally been placed. I'm going to Bradford, England. I'm so excited!

Radical Journey:

Bradford, a university town, is home to many immigrants and refugees from West Asian countries. Bradford's range of racial, socio-economic, cultural and religious diversity offers many opportunities for participants to take initiative and get involved. Participants in Bradford have served in the local primary school assisting teachers and focusing on building relationships. In addition, participants have assisted in leading a local after-school program. Participants have also assisted leaders at church-sponsored youth circuit activities.

Wikipedia:

Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, 8.6 miles west of Leeds, and 16 miles northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and recieved its charter as a city in 1897. Following local government reform in 1974, city status was bestowed upon the wider metropolitan borough. Bradford has a population of 293, 717 making it the fourteenth-most populous settlement in the UK. Bradford forms part of the West Yorkshire Urban Area conurbation which in 2001 had a population of 1.5 million and is part of the Leeds-Bradford Larger Urban Zone (LUZ), the third largest in the UK after London and Manchester, with an estimated population in the 2004 Urban Audit of 2.4 million.

Google maps:

Many of you may wonder why I would want to go to England when there are so many countries out there where people need help, many of which make more sense to people as mission destinations. To that I have a few answers that may help you understand me and my excitement a little more.

1) I have been wanting to do long term mission work for quite a while now. I guess you could say I got a bug way back in MYF when we went to the Dominican Republic. I loved being there. The people and food and beauty of that country has always stuck with me. Something else that has always stuck with me is the feeling that I didn't have enough time. In the years following those early short term missions I always felt this pull to go do something in the world and help people. Starting college meant putting this dream aside for a while, but it was never far from my mind. In fact the closer graduation came the more antsy I began to feel. I knew that that feeling wasn't about graduating and finding a job (though both great ideas). I knew exactly what that feeling was. It was a desire to go out into the world and use the talents God gave me to help people and learn from them in return. So mission work of any kind was desirable.

2) Third world country or Developed country doesn't really matter. God is everywhere and his people are everywhere. We have been tasked to reach out to all of God's people reguardless of race, gender, age, nationality... So, although England may seem like an odd choice to some, to me it is perfectly normal. Same language yet the culture is still a little different. I have a chance to make an impact.

3) England speaks English!! Ok, ok, so they have accents, strange vocabulary and an odd sense of humor....its still English. I have studied Spanish for many years and still struggle understanding and speaking it. People always say its different when you are surrounded by Spanish speakers - that you pick up the language faster. They may be correct, but I know myself and I'm fairly certain I would still struggle. So, I'm ok with an English speaking country. Besides, I have a different language I can speak and connect with. Art! I am hoping to find the opportunity to use art in some way to reach out to the kids while I am in England. Maybe I'm an idealist, but I really do believe art transcends all boundaries. Language, culture, wealth, race, or gender have no bearing on one's ability and insight. Art just is. It is a language of its own that fosters a different kind of communication. This is a language I can speak in. This is a language God gave me. This is a language I hope to share with people while I do God's work.

4) Mission work is about helping people. That is a given. I believe it is also how you live while you are immersed in a different country and culture. Do you spent every single moment actively planning how you will help and change people? Do you come into their world and start showing them your way of life? or do you spend your time getting to know the people and culture, allowing yourself to better understand them and in doing so become better able to reach out to them. I think you have to enjoy your work and have fun and LIVE with the people you are helping, otherwise you will always be an outsider to them. People don't seriously listen to people they view as outsiders. One of the reasons the UK had been one of my preferences was this idea of living in a culture that interested me. Don't get me wrong I would have been excited about anywhere I ended up (I mean come on, who doesn't want to see China or Bolivia...) but I am happy I get to go to England. It is a place I have always wanted to see. This trip will be a great adventure. I fully intend to explore with new friends and learn. I want to see castles, watch a real football game, try tea, play pick up soccer in a near by neighborhood, visit the Edinburgh vaults, see the House of Lords and celebrate Guy Fawkes day. I want to attend church, make friends and meet my neighbors. I want to be a part of the experience instead of trying to control it. In doing so I believe I will be better suited to the tasks I will be given. I want to embrace a culture unlike my own so that I can grow in my understanding of the world and be better able to impact the people that live there. I have always wanted to see England...what better way to do this than by reaching out to her people - letting them teach me while I teach them. It's hard to do God's work if you are an outsider. It's even harder to share God's love.

I have had some people ask me if this is a vacation or a mission trip. To that I can only answer honestly: it is a mission trip that probably has some vacation elements. I can't wait to start doing whatever Radical Journey will have me do, but I also can't wait to explore a different culture than my own. I think most people would only be telling a half truth if they said otherwise. I want to be able to share God's love and the talents he has given me with other people. I want them to be able to share their culture, lives and ideas with me as well. There is no other way to grow. And if we aren't growing how do we show God to an ever changing world?

Just a little sneak peak at how my mind works....So...I'm Excited and I'm going to England!