Welcome to 26

I am here. I am now 26 years old. Deep breath, ahhh. It feels. . . well it feels the same as before only now I'm a delicate flower that is closer to osteoporosis. The cool thing is I've still got lots of good friends who love me :o) I got a group of people together to go to Panara bread on Tuesday night, I've always been a supporter of planning your own parties. Then Wednesday night after midweek we went to Starbucks like normal and there were lots of people there too! I was so happy. I love parties, people and fellowship. They even put up a banner that said happy birthday. :0) I'm going to take it to Norway next year. I love feeling loved and that's one way to help me feel it! People, fun, relaxing and my new mac.

flash back

I was reading a book the other evening. I was in bed relaxing from my long day. In the book the main character is helping take care of people who were sick, the people had high fevers and were delusional. The didn't go into to much detail about what they did or said only that they weren't making to much sence or they thought they were somewhere else. As I was reading it I had a very intense flashback to Tchad. The memory hit me without any warning -bam.

It was the week that the little boy from our Church died. He had malaria that wasn't taken care of sooner and it had gone cerebrial. He laid in the bed closest to the door, it was a private area and had windows on two of the four sides with one wall being a curtain. He would cry out all night and day, he would cry out to Jesus over and over. He would talk loudly as though he were reliving memories from playing down at the river with his siblings. His family would stay by his side fanning him, trying to hold him, feed him, wish him better health.

The memory was so heavy I had to set my book aside and just accept the memory and review the whole thing. I remembered him lying in his sweat, with the Africa patterned material as his sheet. Things came back to me, from me passing his family constantly as I walked through the hospital to the night shifts I worked and could hear the cries all night to the fear and dedication his older brother had as he sat by his side for the time he was in the hospital. Then I remembered his death. The raw pain we felt when we (the sm's) realized that we would never see him or hear him sing in church. How it hurt when we heard the death/morning chants coming from his hut compound.

It was all so fast and so real and so, so Africa.

Norway

I am going to be the new recruiter for the European Bible School (EBS). I will be starting up a Student Mission Program, heading up the social committee, working with the students and living in snow. I won't know anyone at the school. My friend Erin who's job I'm taking will be living about 20 to 30 min away. I will be basically my own boss. I'll use my budget to decide where I will go to recruit (yes, I'll be traveling all over Europe). I'll live on campus in an apartment, eat most my meals in the cafeteria with the students. The care food is all vegan, including no cinnamon and curry spice (sorry Hans!). I think it'll be fun. I've already decided that I am going to take more than my two suit cases. I'm not afraid to bring a little bit more with me. Shoot I'll need lost of warm clothes and things to decorate my apartment with! I'm a regular adult now with an apartment.

If you want to go on line to see where I'll be working the website is: europeanbibleschool.com I plan on leaving at the beginning of AUg. I am going to work at Camp Wawona for the summer. It's in the middle of Yosemite National Park in California. I'll be a camp counselor/drama teacher/assistant programing dir. I can't wait! I haven't been a counselor in FOREVER. I am really excited. I'll have fun goofing off with the campers.

I'll let you know how things progress. Thanks for your prayers and support on my next journey in life.

The town the school is in. It's outside of Oslo (the capital)

a long time in blogging

It's been a while since I've really blogged. It's been a LONG while. Since the beginning of March I have been in constant turmoil. I have been blessed with two job offers. Both made of my two passions: international missions and ministry. One job was in Florida working as a Children's and Families Pastor, the other was working in Norway as a recruiter/coordinator for the new missions program. I received both calls almost at the same time. It all happened while I was down in Florida on spring break from GCA. One day I was meeting with my good friends while they told me about the job the day after that I was on the phone or my official interview for Noway.

What we to do when it seems God gives us two great choices for life? When He says, "Here, Sonya, you can choose which ever you want. I am with you always no matter your choice". How am I to handle that!!! How did He expect me to choose!! So these last few weeks my head has hurt. I've talked to lots of people and I've cried. All in hope that I would be closer to knowing what to choose.

Some days my choice would literally depend on who I was talking to. Some days I would be going to Norway other days I'd be ready to fully unpack in Florida. This last week, March 31 I headed down to Florida for the interview at the church. It was exciting because I've never had a big committee interview before. I wasn't scared at all just excited to have the interview and be all that much closer to knowing what I would do. I assumed the interview would help make it easier. . . but it didn't. It only made things harder for me. Grr. "FATHER GOD HOW AM I TO CHOOSE BETWEEN THE TWO", I cried out in my heart. Both had so many great things about them. If I coose one I would get to do A, but if I chose the other I would get to do B. It wasn't healthy for me to be so stressed out. After much prayer, talking, heart ach, tears, walking, talking, calling my parents, I made my decision. Then I slept on it, then I changed it, then I talked some more, walked some more and made my decision. Then I slept on it, then I changed it again. Finally once back at GCA I made my finally choice. It wasn't easy to say the least but I'm glad I finally know.