I'll be vague

Without going into too much detail about this week... I've thought a lot this week. It has been one of those weeks that the subject of our class discussion was very strong and emotionally exhausting (engaging?).

I enjoyed working in the Lodge this week and on Friday night we had an interesting trip to D.C. to an event put on by the Washington Art's Group. It was an event highlighting the work of Artists who use their art as a means for healing in the US and also with child soldiers in Uganda. I love how art tells people's stories. I want to explore that idea a bit more.

Today, Saturday, was a good day to sit and process what happened to me this week. I spend the day writing down my thoughts, trying to articulate what I've thought about this week (and in the past couple weeks).

The highlight of today for me was getting a phone call from Eunice in Honduras and talking to my parents. That was great. I'm getting ready for another full week.

bright moon, theology, schedules, and D.C.

Tonight there is a beautiful bright moon outside. The reflection on the water is just lovely. It is good to help relax after a very busy day. This morning we woke up early and went to D.C. to get a tour of the White House. We didn't get to see all that much (well, we did get to go through the East wing). I tried to remember everything I could about every president when I saw their painting on the wall and I was embarrassed to realize that I couldn't remember much about some of them.

After the tour we went over to the Washington Memorial and went up! It is a great way to see the main Mall. It is a lovely lay out. After the Mall we split up and some of us went to a Museum and I went with Eric, Will, David, Cindy, and Ali to the Vietnam Memorial. We walked past the WWII Memorial and the Korean War Memorial. I need to go back to D.C. to see the Holocaust Museum, the Art Gallery and a few other things that I would like to spend time at.

We stopped at Chick-Fil-A on the way back (it is a eastern-southern thing). I've heard a lot about this fast-food chain so, today I was properly initiated with Ali's coupons. When we got home Lauren and I were responsible for finishing the scheduling for the next month's work at the Lodge. It is like a big puzzle to get everyone scheduled in an even and fair way. That was good to finish.

After that I didn't have much time before I went with Zac and Miriam to "Theological Discussions" with Bishop Joel and Father Robert at St. Andrew's. I hope to go back as many times as I can. We talked about "early Christian worship", "sacraments", and other interesting things. I will enjoy going back as often as I can. I enjoy the beauty of the historical tradition of the Church.

sailing

I spent six hours on Sunday and four hours on Monday out in a sail boat. I cannot begin to explain what an incredible experience this has been. I never dreamed that I'd ever get to go on a sail boat in my whole life! Then, without even expecting it, I get to spend the better part of two days out sailing in my back "yard", the Chesapeake Bay. Incredible. The beautiful sunshine, the water, the sunsets. The concept of the wind blowing the sails and all the drag and lift that allows for the sail boat to go in the opposite direction of the wind is just amazing. Getting stranded in the water when the wind went still was also an interesting experience. Having a great time sitting on the boat, having good conversation. This is just too good to be true. Except that it is true. Unbelievably true.

eventful and good

This week has been another full week. On Wednesday we had class again. We've been talking about Anslem and Aquinas and the reasonable proofs for the existence of God. We might have concluded that it is interesting to come up with logical reasons for the existence of God but, those arguments are never conclusive and there is much more involved in the ultimate conviction about the existence of God.

I've gotten to spend some time reading and thinking during this week which has been really good. On Thursday we had class again in the morning and then we had a guest speaker, David Aikman, who ate lunch with us and then spoke to us about his up-coming book "The Disillusion of Disbelief" about the "new-atheism" in the United States. It was interesting to hear him talk about his book, what he wrote, and all of that.

I read for a while in the evening had a conversation with various people about what role women should play in the Church. Later I ended up going to Baskin Robins with Josh, David, Eric, and Zac. It was a fun spontaneous thing to do.

On Friday we had our long scheduling meeting (which is good, we need it) and then I tried to take my car into the mechanic but, they couldn't take it on Friday. They'll take it another day. I felt like I wasted my morning. Oh well. We played ultimate frisbee in the afternoon (which was a lot of fun!) and then I spent a good amount of time reading before we had a delicious dinner prepared by Will and David.

We had a "movie night" and we watched "The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". I wouldn't recommend the movie to everyone but, it gave us an interesting conversation about "human love" & "God's love" what it means to love people and not concepts. I was very, very sleepy by the end of it so, I didn't contribute much to the conversation.

Saturday was a great day. I got up to eat breakfast with Amy. We had a good long conversation outside. I worked in the Lodge today. I enjoyed it. I like working in the Kitchen. I always learn something new and I get to clean. After working I was a bit tired so, I took a nap. I spent a couple hours reading outside by the water, it was great. After that I ate dinner, sat around and talked. We had a small goodbye party for Hahna who was a Fellow from last year who was helping in the Kitchen until this week. She's leaving tomorrow to start a new job.

what a good looking group

Back: Zac, Eric, Will, David, Josh
Front: Amy, Cindy, Hannah, Miriam, Lauren, Grace, Ali

breakfast, lunch, & dinner

Sunday morning I helped Sarah and Grady prepare breakfast for the whole group (everyone and their parents). Some of us went to Shore Harvest for church and then had lunch at a Mexican restaurant. We hurried home to get ready to go to our Kick Off Dinner in Annapolis. It was impressive. My time in Ottawa was certainly preparation for this kind of thing. It was not the first time I've been to such an elegant event.

I got to meet Heidi Metcalf who is going to be my mentor this year. After talking to her I was glad to have been there but quickly fell into exhaustion. I think Nathan enjoyed the event. We got home late again that night.

Monday morning I worked in the Lodge again and then we had class. After class I took another short nap and woke up to a phone call about a complicated issue. I found myself talking to David S. about some of the complications. Soon, I had almost run out of time to get ready to go to Washington D.C. to have dinner at the Evermay House.

The Evermay House is a historic location. "The nations living room" is what they like to call themselves; "hosting conversations of enduring consequence." It is the kind of place that has presidents and diplomats come and have dinner. The Trinity Forum was opening their headquarters in the downstairs of the Evermay house.

We had a guest speaker and a lovely dinner. I sat next to Barbara Bryant and had a very interesting conversation about many things; especially her involvement in helping Rwanda. After dinner I was ready to go. Four late nights in a row are too much for me and I was tired. We went home and I went directly to bed.

Tuesday was set apart as a day to try to practice silence and solitude. I left the property as soon as I could and spent the day alone. It was exactly what I needed.

Lodge Work & Korean Dinner

On Friday night I worked in the kitchen in the Lodge. I got to work with Will and enjoyed that. The stress of making goat cheese balls within a specific (and short) time limit and the cleaning until late wore me out. Lauren, Miriam, Cindy, & I got together after work and talked about our reflections about the past week. It lead to a very good conversation and a late night.

I got up early on Saturday morning to go do the breakfast shift at the Lodge. After work I got a phone call from Nathan to tell me that he was going to come up that afternoon. I had a very good conversation with a good speaker that lasted for two hours. After that I went into Easton with Miriam and had another interesting conversation about gender. When we got home I took a short nap before Nathan showed up. I gave him a tour of the property ad then helped arrange everything for dinner.

Grace's mom prepared an amazing Korean dinner and we crammed 26 people (including people's parents) into our dinning room. It was great! We were all a bit worried how it was going to work out but, it worked out wonderfully! After dinner (after cleaning up) we had a small campfire and stayed up singing random songs and talking. It was another late night.

This week we've had three guest speakers: Susie & Fred and David. I've been encouraged by their stories. We've been talking about the idea of the "big-story" of God's relationship with humanity and how each one of our small stories can fit somewhere within the big story when we're in Christ. I've thought about that quite a bit as I've heard them tell about their different life experiences. It is interesting how there seems to be a common theme that choosing to do things are difficult provides opportunities for us to grow and gain wisdom. We don't try to make life difficult but, we don't run away from "the difficult". That is what I'm doing here right now, trying to embrace that which is difficult because I believe it is good. "Love is good because love is difficult." Choosing to live with people is difficult for me but, I believe that it is good. I love how we are choosing to let these people enter into our stories and inevitably leaving a significant mark on us.

Class this morning was thought provoking and maybe slightly frustrating in a good way. After class I had to go work at the Lodge. I was serving lunch. I got to set tables and serve lunch to a group from the US Chamber of Commerce and the US Department of Intelligence. Two lunches at once. It was pretty smooth. I enjoyed the quick work we had to do. After work I got cleaned up and went to the Library to do some reading. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do my QRE on. I'm thinking and thinking about it but, I still feel somewhat directionless after David told me to not lock myself into the ways I've thought about myself in the past.

Yesterday we were celebrating Grady and Sarah's anniversary so, we all dressed up and pretended that we were having a family gathering. It worked like this: Grady and Sarah were our grandparents, David was their hick son and was married to Lauren and they had two kids: Ali (who was supposed to be 8) and Cindy (who was a detached rebellious teen-ager); Eric was their rich son who had gone to Harvard and was married to Miriam (who was a snob) and they had two kids: "Albert" (who was a college student) and Hannah (I had ADD and was medicated, this came up because I couldn't contain my laughter all dinner and so it just made sense that I was medicated).

The dinner was the funniest thing that I've been a part of in a long time. Everyone stayed in character for about two hours over dinner. It couldn't have been better if it had been scripted. It was very ridiculous but, it was too fun at the same time. We wished that Josh, Will, Grace, and Zac didn't have to work through it. We're going to have to do it again sometime with them. We ended up staying up waiting for them to come home from work (I'm kind of an "early-to-bed" person) because they got very delayed and we felt bad that they missed out on the fun and had to work so late. There was also an amazing thunderstorm (the first one we've had since we got here) and after staying up a bit later than I wanted I rested very well.

the crab claw

Today, I went to Christ's Church and it was good. They invited us to a brunch after and everyone was very kind. Most of the Churches around her are a bit "older" but, very kind. I had a quiet afternoon and it was a wonderful time to read.

In the afternoon I got to talk to Liana for a while. It was so comforting and refreshing. It was delightful to spend time talking to her.
At about 4:30pm we got to go to one of the nicest restaurants around here called the Crab Claw Restaurant. We were invited by some incredibly generous people who gave us a crab feast. Basically it is the Eastern Shore experience to get to sit down at a table, they wrap it with paper, and dump crabs, lots and lots of crabs and you just get to eat them. Open them with your hands (and hammers) and just eat as much crab as you can. We were spoiled with shrimp and crab balls as well. We had a wonderful time and we all feel so honored to be blessed with such generous treatment.

i got to meet ishmael beah

About a week ago I bumped into Ali (Roger's wife) who owns a bookstore in Easton and she told me that Ishmael Beah would be coming to her bookstore to sign books. Ishmael Beah is the author of the book "A Long Way Gone" in the which he tells about his experience as a young boy in Sierra Leon who was captured and forced to become a child soldier. I was thrilled. I ran into the house and told everyone with giddy excitement that I was going to get to meet Ishmael in person.

Maybe it is hard to explain why I was so excited but, mostly it was the hope that I found in reading his story. He had lost everything, lost his humanity even and through the dedication of some incredible people he was able to escape and recover his humanity. He was able to go to university and now is able to travel all over the country telling people about the problem of child soldiers and continuing to invite people to bring hope to those who are caught up in these conflicts.

Yesterday, I got to meet Ishmael. I couldn't tell him what I was thinking or feeling but, I was thrilled that I got to meet him. Ali read the book this week and came with me. Lauren is going to read the book and she came with us to meet him. This was the highlight of my weekend.

In the evening we sat down to watch a movie called "The Apostle". I did not enjoy it. I had seen this movie before and the realness of it made me cringe. It wasn't funny, it made me cry. It ended quite late and I was tired so, I did not discuss it really and I went to bed feeling unsettled.

Can you believe that I live in this place?

ping pong and keeners

This week I have enjoyed class, kitchen work, and the other daily activities of the TFA but, around Thursday night I was starting to feel a little bit suffocated by everyone. Not that anyone was trying too hard to get to know me but, I was just tired of the fact that it just takes so much effort to get to knew new people and all my good friends live in different countries or different time zones so, it's hard even to get a conversation with someone who I've already walked through that process with.
As I was thinking about that my thoughts drifted to professor I had at college who called the students who always did all the work (and more): keeners. Because they were keen! That is a good thing. I liked the idea of being a keener and when I was at college most people knew me as that, a keener. I liked to read, to study, and to have good conversation. All of those things are true about me but, if you leave it at that there are many aspects of my personality that are left out and you cannot say that you really know me.
Here at the TFA there are quite a few keeners. We're all probably over-achievers in one way or another. But, that is not all that we are. We all have a lot of different aspects to our personality that we're all going to learn about as the year goes on. Last night, I had an experience that was unusual for me. We all went over to the recreation room and played fooseball, pingpong, and pool. In the past, people have gotten to know one side or the other but last night my new friends were introduced to the slightly competitive Hannah and if they hadn't noticed the keener in me they'll meet her soon as well.
Playing ping pong last night was relieving to some of my suffocating stress. It reminded me that I am being known, slowly but surly, in a natural and yet intentional way. That is really neat, even though I still will need time away, conversations with old friends, and space.

ideas and the kitchen

This week has been an interesting one so far. Partially because of what has happened here and partially because of what has happened elsewhere. I find it interesting how "outside" factors can have such a strong impact on my "here and now" experience. I've had to spend too much of my free time trying to figure out where to take my car so that I can get it fixed. That took time away from my reading but, even so I was able to read most everything. I guess it also reminded me of the "goodness" of being rooted in "real life".

As a matter of fact, we have a built in "real life" component built into our experience. Working at the Lodge is good for us in lots of ways. We are going to practice some important skills of cooking, cleaning, and serving. We're going to learn how to humbly take and ask for direction and soon enough to take initiative and do things on our own. I have no need to complain. Today I was told to hurry up so many times that I don't want to count them but, as I told Josh: I will take it as a compliment because she believes I can do it faster. I thought I did a good job but, good just isn't good enough in the kitchen.

We've had class this week. It is going to be a good year but, I was thinking that due to the nature of our philosophical discussion I'm glad that we have to go work in the kitchen. We may feel a little differently about some of the ideas that we're throwing out but, you still have to chop onions and wash dishes if you're going to enjoy good food. It just comes with being human. What does it mean to be human was the main question we talked about all week. We all know that it is going to take our whole lives to figure that out but, it's an important question to think about.

relevance

When I write to "everyone" or "no one in particular" what I have to say can quickly become irrelevant and un-interesting. I am clearly best at writing to "someone" I tend to always have "someone" in mind when I write the most interesting and compelling things that are on my heart. I think that is because we connect on some level and when I share that with others they may not identify with the very thing I share with that one person but, they may identify with the "experience" or the "feeling" or the "idea".

five wonderful things about today

1. Matins: starting the day with a time of prayer, reading Scripture, and song.
   
2. Sailing: I got to go out on the sail boat. I am in awe of this experience. I got to go out on a sailboat on the Chesapeake Bay on labour day!
3. Sunshine: It was another absolutely lovely and gorgeous day. It was a lovely day!
4. Library: The quiet in the library was exciting. I got to get my thoughts a little bit organized and I got to read for a while. I love having that space.
5. Hospitality: We had the most AMAZING food cooked my Miriam and Will for dinner. We also got to have guests with us for dinner. It was lovely to be able to see how as a group we energetically wanted to make them feel at home here.
   

ultimate

It was another absolutely beautiful afternoon. We went outside to play some ultimate Frisbee. We have to take advantage of the beautiful weather and the slight freedom in the schedule which will be gone starting tomorrow. What a beautiful day!

beautiful sunday weather

Today I went to St. Andrew's Anglican Church in Easton. Easton is a very adorable and charming small town kind of a city. It was a done in High Church fashion but, for some reason I find the liturgy comforting. I enjoy walking through the liturgy. Bishop Joel gave the sermon on the parable of the Samaritan who helped someone alongside the road. I don't know if I'll go to church there this year but, it was a good morning. Everyone was very friendly, it is an older church, and they asked us to introduce themselves (they're very supportive of the Trinity Forum Academy). Bishop Joel had taught a class on the Patristics one year, he might do it again if we're interested in it. Today the weather is absolutely wonderful again. It's lovely.

people, living space, host families

Starting tomorrow we are all going to have a pretty busy schedule. We will have class, work, study, and other outings and activities that will take up our time. All of it is going to be challenging and very good. I will tell you about everyone as time goes on. There are twelve of us. Seven girls and five guys. All in all really amazing people. I have three roommates. I have only known them a week so, I will start to tell you about each one of them as I get to know them a little better. I will show you a couple pictures. I have a picture of my room first, the living room and the dinning room with some of my new friends around it.

Yesterday, on Saturday, I got to go with one of my roommates (Lauren) to our host family. We are connected in pairs to families in the community who are there to give us a touch of family when we're out here. Lauren and I had called them and they had invited us out for lunch. We thought that we were going to be going to their house and having an hour lunch or something like that. It turns out that when we got there they had a boat at their house and they took us out to eat. We took the boat and docked at the restaurant! It was amazing. This is crab country and I've already gotten to eat some crab. It's pretty special. The weather was lovely. We feel kind of spoiled but, we're very grateful and excited for the year.

Os Guinness

On Thursday this week we had the priviledge of spending the day with Os Guinness who generously shared his thoughts and insights on life with us. He is the author of many, many books including a book called "The Call". It was very good to hear his story and glean from his wisdom. Apparently we will be seeing more of him throughout the year. He is very supportive of the Trinity Forum Academy.

We talked about the importance of being able to integrate our faith into every aspect of our lives and how there is no real answer to the question "why" apart from God. We talked about how we all have the primary call of Jesus who says "follow me" and we are called "By the Lord, To the Lord, For the Lord" and how it is not something or somewhere but primarily to someone. The secondary "call" is actually an "answering" it is everything we do in response to the calling of Jesus. He said that it means "Do what you are"; "Everyone, Everywhere, in Everything"; and that it is to be lived out before God as the audience.

Clearly there were many other things that we talked about but, overall we were very honored to get to spend time with him.

Welcome to the Trinity Forum Academy

I intend to keep everyone as much up to date as I can seeing as I’m headed into an absolutely busy yet wonderful experience. First, I decided that I’d send you a little picture of my life by sending you a couple pictures of the location I’m going to be living at. I live at a property called Osprey Point. There are a few different buildings on the property. The largest is the Osprey Point lodge which is a five star conference & retreat center. http://www.ospreypoint.org/index2.shtml Very nice. I will be working there this year learning how to cook gourmet food, clean rooms, and serve up scale guests like the US Chamber of Commerce.

There is a house which is on the point which is where the manager of Osprey Point Conference Center lives. There is an old barn which has been remodeled to house a fitness center downstairs, a “library” with our classroom and desks to study at, offices for the staff of the Trinity Forum Academy, and a guest house for our “Scholar in Residence” when we have those. There is a house next to the barn where the director of the Trinity Forum Academy, David Norman, and his family lives. There are two smaller buildings the “small library” and the “chapel” which are very cute and we have morning “matins” in the chapel and the small library is just a nice quiet space to read and such.

The location is absolutely beautiful with an amazing view of the Chesapeake bay, a dock, and it's lovely . This past Wednesday we were able to eat crab that we harvested. As you can imagine, that was pretty cool. The last house is the “Windrush House” which will be my household for the year. It is a pretty nice place. There are four bedrooms, an apartment inside, the living room, the reading room, the study room, the dinning room, and the kitchen. There will be 14 people living in this house this year. As of now, everyone has been exciting to get to know and even though we know we’re going to get on each other’s nerves throughout the year, we’ll grow from that too. That is it for now. Enjoy the pictures.