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I just have to say that this is a great movie. It's funny how many people dream of adventure but never get around to it. I love Ellie in this movie. I can identify with her, sometimes I have a little too much enthusiasm. I guess I hope that I would be able to always embrace the simple things in my life and love them... but, I also hope that I'll get to have the adventures too! I wonder how many Ellie and Carl's there are out there...

time to evaluate

Something is wrong when I don't have time for reading, writing, praying, studying, listening, being informed, playing and appreciating silence and beauty.

At the same time, I'm grateful for community, friends, family, food, generosity, travel, being known, and journeying with others.

"I am a Panamanian"

I wrote my first journal when I was 7 years old. I kept it during the year that my family traveled through the United States. My parents just brought it to me this past weekend. It made me laugh because the first entry actually shows how little I've changed since then. The first thing I wrote in my journal was:

"I am a Panamanian. We left today."

Being from Panama and always "leaving" are two major themes in my life. So little has changed.

that was random

So, last night I went to dinner with some friends. I was sitting next to someone I had never met before so, we just chatted randomly for a while about where we're from, places we've traveled, languages we're interested in, etc.

During dinner we ended up talking about homelessness and I started telling him how I often find myself talking to homeless people that I pass by every day. I told him that I talk to them because I feel like they are my neighbors and I think it is good to talk to your neighbors!

It was an interesting conversation for being a first conversation with someone. He told me that he feels very uncomfortable talking to homeless people. They make him feel insecure and he always feels like they are trying to get something from him.

I looked at him and thought how odd it was that it makes me feel very different when I talk to homeless people. I feel like it is a simple act that affirms us as human beings and even though sometimes there are people who try to take advantage of us, often there are people who just want someone to talk to.

Obviously, there are people that I'm afraid to talk to and there are people that I cannot talk to because they might take advantage of me but, those are decisions that are made on a daily/individual basis. I don't just ignore people automatically because they are homeless.

Anyway, the thing is that as we were talking I told my new friend about these homeless people that I walk by everyday and that I asked them their names so that I could at least say good morning and say their name. I told him that yesterday a homeless man that I always walk by asked me as I was walking by why I never stopped to chat with him. I slowed down, I apologized and told him that I'd come early today so that I would have some time to chat with him.

So, anyway... this morning I stopped by and asked his name and learned a couple things about him. He told me that he ended up on the streets because he has Korsakoff's syndrome where he forgets everything every couple of days. He was nice and didn't ask me for anything, he just told me his story. So, after chatting with him I walked down through the park that I always walk through and said "Good morning" to Joe, who I always say good morning to and then, when I took three steps past Joe...

...someone was walking next to me and he said, "that was weird" and it was my friend from last night! I looked at him in disbelief. It was weird because he caught me in the very act of doing the very thing that we'd talked about the night before when we'd met. We sort of talked awkwardly and walked to our office buildings. It was so random! I wonder if my new friend and I will run into each other all the time now.

deeply intentional life together

I have had so many things going on in my heart and life right now. Everything from realizing how much I love being part of a community of hospitality, enjoying my parents, sunny days and hammocks, evenings with good music and friends, reflecting on changes in the past 10 years of my life, enjoying worshiping with other Christians, celebrating birthdays with good friends and other simply good things.

I am figuring out and stumbling through 'life together', figuring out how to 'be' here and love people deeply elsewhere. I'm also struggling to embrace my limits, my emotional and physical limits. I have been deeply challenged by the Christian community I'm a part of here. I have been thinking about Mission, Community, Discipleship, and the Gospel. Two of my friends have participated in the meetings where the messages about those ideas were shared recently. I have been listening to the messages and have been talking to them about those ideas.