Thanksgiving Thursday

My friend Ann used to have a segment on her blog called "Thanksgiving Thursday." If my memory serves me correctly, she began Thanksgiving Thursdays in order to have a deliberate time of thanksgiving and gratefulness each week, probably in an attempt to keep her focus positive when things may not have been so easy. For the last 8 months or so, as I have been training and preparing to leave for Natal, God has showed up in the strangest places, blessed me in the most unexpected ways, and used people whom I would not have sought out to encourage me and help give me confidence when it was non-existent. With my departure 38 days away, (well, maybe. Delta cancelled my flight, so I guess it's possible we're 37 or 39 days away, depending on what ticket I get next...but I digress) I thought I should remember and share some of those blessings.

1. My mom and dad. I'm often unintelligible and irrational when I cry, and so I try to subject as few people as possible to myself when I'm in that state. My mom and dad fielded so many phone calls of panic and discouragement, and without their wisdom (missionary and parental) I don't known that I would be going, and going happily, in 38 days. I still have an email sitting in my Inbox from my dad, who, when I emailed with a joyful update on my fundraising, said "That’s wonderful. I say…you praise God and take this as one more sign that He really wants you to serve the church in Natal this next year." That was exactly what I needed to hear.

2. My friends. If you have so much as asked me "Are you excited?", then you are one of my blessings. It has meant so much to me to have friends who care enough about what I'm doing to ask simple questions. It sounds silly, I know, but even simple questions let me know you've thought about me, and who doesn't like to be thought about? I appreciate my friends who have consistently asked how my fundraising is coming along, and obviously my friends who have made the sacrifice to give me financial support. I have learned a lot about generosity through this time, and have been humbled by the conviction that I am nowhere near as generous as my friends. Nowhere near it. I'm definitely learning...

3. My friend Whitney. Do you know Whitney Mann? No? Then you're missing out. Whitney and I met last year as we were both preparing to go on our respective LST projects, mine to Brazil and her's to Thailand. We connected instantly, and since then we have had a special friendship like none I have ever had before. We both share a passion for missions, and through her encouragement and support I've learned how special it is to have friends who share the same interests and goals as you. She has become my go-to friend, the first person I want to talk to anytime something exciting happens with Natal. I know that when I call her (or Facebook her, or text her, whatever) that she will rejoice with me, understand me, and share her insight. Whitney and I are not friends by accident, and I know the Lord had special intentions for us when He got us both to go on LST in 2006. If you don't know her, meet her. She looks like this >>.

4. My doctor. Strange? Perhaps. Let me explain. I had been really concerned about how I would afford my medications while I was in Natal. I seem to have the most obscure conditions that require the most expensive of medicines (of course) that are definitely not budgeted for and would run my bank account dry. I went to a new doctor last week and talked to her about what kind of options I had for one medicine in particular that costs me $50 per month. She told me that she would give me some samples (what I was hoping for...) but that she didn't have any. Right then she got up and said "I'm going to call my drug rep right now, and if he knows what's good for him he'll get us some of those." First of all, what doctor gets up and does that right then and there? I love her. Second of all, I was praying that Brian the Drug Rep would have some good news for us. My doctor called me on Monday and said that Brian had brought her every last bit of this particular medicine he had left in the warehouse, 15 boxes' worth. Doing some quick math, that's $750 of FREE MEDICINE that she gave me, enough to get through my first 15 months in Natal. Don't tell me God isn't in the details...because God worked in my details in a way I never could have imagined.

5. My supporters. I've mentioned before that I had money come from the most random of places, but I need to mention again that I received money from the most random of places. My aunt's best friend whom I spent two hours with at Thankgiving. Friends from high school whom I lost touch with after graduation. (THANK YOU, Facebook.) My parent's friends. My friend's parents. Friends at ACU whom I never hung out with. My aunt and uncle's congregation. A mission's committee member at my church whom I have never met but who read my fundraising letter. I had no idea that so many people were willing to support missions, let alone me, and once again I need to mention how much the fundraising process has humbled me and convicted me. Thank you, if you are in this category. You are making it possible for me to go.

6. My friends in Brazil. I've copied some of the emails I have received from Natal on here before, but those are just a couple of the many encouraging notes and messages I get from the people in Natal, telling me how excited they are for me to arrive. They tell me they miss me and that I will have a lot of work to do, and how they are already recruiting readers who are excited and ready for me to come. They say "We are waiting for you," in each message they send, and that phrase alone means the world.

I could go on and on...but I'm wondering if anyone besides my mom is even going to make it this far in the list.

I am so blessed to have the opportunity to go to Natal, and I am so blessed to have such a strong support system encouraging me from home. I guess now would be a good time to let you know about the blog I will be keeping when I am in Natal, that will just be focused on reporting on the work I am doing. It's crisinbrazil.blogspot.com (for the record, I wanted to do something creative and in Portuguese, but I wanted it to be as easy as possible to remember. I didn't even spell Brasil the correct way, just for you.) It's not much now, but I hope for it to be hoppin with all kinds of pictures and stories as soon as I arrive. I'm going to try and maintain this one as well, but I'm not making any promises.

This post is so long. Sorry. Please be praying for me and the people in Natal. Bye!

Cris's Book Club Round 2

I thought I would update you on my summer reading power rankings, since in my last post I had only been given a teaser of You Shall Know Our Velocity by one of my faves, Dave Eggers. I finished YSKOV and have since read 3 more books, preparing to read another. Also, a certain Miss Brenna Schartz requested identification as to whether or not these books are fiction or non, so I'll include that in my synopses from now on. Here we go!

You Shall Know Our Velocity, Dave Eggers. (Fiction). As I said before, good ol' Dave is absolutely one of my favorite authors. He has a spectacular writing style that makes me laugh, makes me cry, makes me feel like I'm besties with the characters, makes me hate the characters, makes me see human flaws, and makes me want to follow him around like a stalker, just waiting for his next book to come out (perhaps the most beneficial to him of all). The story is about two friends who spontaneously travel around the world to impoverished countries in one week, trying to find creative ways to give away thousands and thousands of inherited dollars from their third musketeer who passed away. To me it was ultimately a story of mourning, and how the death of a loved one permeates your and taints even the simplest, obscure elements of everyday life. Confused? Intrigued? I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to everyone, because it's kind of one of those you must have the will to trudge through, but it definitely made me think. I'd say a 7 out of 10.

Creating Community, Andy Stanley & Bill Willits. (Non-fiction). This was a quick read that I read to fulfill one of my training assignments for my internship in Natal. It is written by the the Director of Small Group Life (Willits) at North Pointe Community Church in Atlanta (a church of oh, a mere 12,000), with the help of the senior pastor (Stanley) on the effectiveness of small group ministry. It's very practical and informative, particularly if you are seeking to develop small groups within your church community. Willits' passion for small group ministry is evident, and his sincere belief in its necessity and unquestionable importance is inspirational. I will definitely use what I learned as I work with the missionaries in Natal on the small group culture of the church there. 10 out of 10, if you're looking to read up on creating community through small group life. :)

Half of a Yellow Sun, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. (Fiction). I met this book randomly in Oxford while I was perusing the racks at Borders. I was concerned I would run out of reading material on the flight home (a travesty) and so I set out to buy a book I would hopefully enjoy. As I mentioned before, I never buy books without reading them first, but with the trusted advice of my well-read friend Kathryn, who had heard it was decent, I made the buy-one-get-one-half-off purchase and then didn't read it on the plane. Last week I picked it off my bookshelf, determined to get my money's worth, and was very, very pleased with my purchase. The book details the accounts of three different characters woven together throughout the Nigerian revolutionary crisis in the 1960s: a young houseboy, a wealthy Chief's daughter, and an English researcher. Adichie paints an incredible picture of the serene, even luxurious life pre-conflict, and then the turmoil and blow to quality of life that followed. Extremely interesting, and enlightening on the fact of how little we hear about conflicts like these in Africa's recent history. I'd give it a 8.5 out of 10 for it's amazing historical information, but if you decide to read it, be warned there is some strange gratuitous sex at the end of like every chapter. It's not even graphic...it's just obscure.

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee. (Fiction). In the last month I referenced this book twice as one of my favorites of all time, so I decided that since I hadn't read it in about 6 years I should give it another go. Man am I glad I did. This book is even better than I remember it, and this is my third or fourth time reading it since elementary school. I am still in awe of Lee's creation of Scout, a precocious 8 year old girl whom I wish was my best friend. She paints a vivid picture of life in small-town Alabama, playing imaginitive games in the yard during the summers, going to the black church on Sunday with their housekeeper, Calpurnia, and following the rape trial of Tom Robinson from the perspective of the defense attorney's daughter. Each time I read it, I am amazed by Lee's commentary on race relations, ethics, prejudice, and social justice. Published in 1960, this piece of literature was definitely a courageous effort, and it's no wonder that librarians voted Mockingbird the best novel of the 20th century. I agree. If you haven't read it, READ IT. If you have, READ IT AGAIN. It gets better every time. 15 out of 10.

More thoughts another day on Natal. 40 days...

Brenna, I'll fiction/nonfiction the last list for you real quick:
Fiction: How We Are Hungry, Secret Life of Bees, Kite Runner, What is the What (well, it's a fictionalized biography...it's actually mostly true)
Nonfiction: Color of Water, Audacity of Hope, Reading Lolita in Tehran, What is the What, To Own a Dragon

41 Days? 41 Days!

You may notice a new little addition to "It's your world, I'm just livin' in it..." over there up in the right hand corner. I should warn you that this is going to be an entirely-about-Natal post, so if those don't interest you, you may click on now. (But I do ask, if those don't interest you, what are you doing reading this blog?) So anyway, I have added a countdown application because my departure for Natal is getting CLOSE. 41 days may not seem close, but it's gotten to the point where, in response to the question "When do you leave?" I now say "In just a little over a month..."

HOLY COW.

There's a funny feeling in my tummy right now, and I have a hunch it has to do with the fact that LST called me this morning and said my flight itinerary had been emailed and they just needed my approval to make the purchase. So I came home, looked it over, and sent back the go-ahead.

HOLY COW.

A strange little phenomenon has developed over the last couple months in my life, and it involves me not actually believing that I'm about to move out of the country for years' worth of time. Yes, Natal is all I really think about (with a few exceptions, I do love Mexican food), yes, Natal is all I really talk about (with a few exceptions, I do love Eddie Izzard), yes, when my wonderful friends ask me questions I talk their ears off about how excited I am, but in this period of waiting and preparing I have somehow managed to remove myself from the actual process of leaving. Now that the ticket is bought, I have the details to think about. Which of my clothes and possessions will make the cut and end up in the two suitcases I take? (Believe me, that's a task I have gladly been avoiding.) Will my goodbyes be agonizing or just tearful? How miserable is that 4 hour layover going to be in Atlanta when I've left Oklahoma and am waiting to board the plane for Brazil? Who will be at the airport to pick me up? (Hey, just being honest with you. According to Marisa's email, a whole bus load.) Who of my readers from last summer will I be able to reconnect with? I'll quit now...there are hundreds more.

Last week my friend Sergio emailed and asked me to write a little bio about myself for them to post in the church building. Sergio has been a tremendous encouragement to me over the last year, telling me that everyone is waiting for me and can't wait for me to arrive in Natal. He continues to let me know that there are readers who are waiting for me to come and read with them and that I am going to have a lot of work to do. I can't tell you what an encouragement Sergio has been to me, and I am so thankful for his friendship. Below is what I sent to them, along with the picture that they printed off Facebook to post as well. :)

Hi! My name is Cristina Carpenter. I am 22 years old and live in Oklahoma, a state that is located in the center of the United States. I was born in Brasilia and lived there until I was 6 years old while my parents worked as missionaries, and so my family is very excited to be able to come and visit me while I am living in Natal! In May I graduated from Abilene Christian University with a degree in Psychology. I love psychology because I like to help people understand themselves better and learn how to get along with other people. In my free time I love to read books and spend time with my friends. I am so excited to come to Natal and join God's work at Communidade de Cristo. I have already been so blessed by your love and encouragement, and I hope I will be able to bless you in the same way! The things I am most excited about in coming to Natal are becoming part of your family at Communidade, bringing people from the community to Jesus through LST, learning Portuguese, and becoming just a regular Brasileira! (Hopefully!) I am always praying for you at Communidade, and am so excited to be with you very soon! God bless you!


Well, there's lots more to say, but I'll say it another day. Maybe when we're at T minus 39 days or so...tchau!

Just an FYI

I'll write something more interesting and entertaining later, I just wanted to draw attention to a new dot that has appeared on my map over there >>. Do you see the little red dot on the far east corner of South America? The one closest to Africa? That's Natal. I don't know who is visiting me from there, (Oi! whoever you are) but I wanted to show you where my future home is located. That's all, talk to you later!

Things you may not know about me, because I haven't told you

1. There are certain words in literature that I hate. One of them is "stride" or any of its derivatives. The phrase "...and he strode over to the..." is entirely overused, and usually implies something much for forceful than the situation calls for.

2. I love papaya. Brazil better get their papaya supply ready, because I'm going to eat ALL OF IT over the next year. Every last one.

3. I have serious issues with the song "Before He Cheats," not because I hate country (which I do) and not because they play it too much on mainstream radio (which they do) and not because it gets stuck in my head far too easily (which it does), but because all the things Carrie describes doing to her cheating boyfriend is not really letting Jesus take the wheel. I find it hypocritical, Miss Underwood.

4. I love cheap reality dating shows. I have no excuses and no explanations, I just do.

5. I have the strangest dreams in the world, and I dream about all of my friends all the time. Typically this freaks them out, but trust me, it's normal. If I say to you "Hey, I dreamed about you last night..." it doesn't mean anything, so don't give me a funny look like I'm a creep. I'm not.

6. I have a cat named Scout. Her name is Scout because Scout Finch, the protagonist in To Kill a Mockingbird, is a household hero in my family. Well, half of my family.

7. I have a list of famous people I have crushes on, and most of them are on it because they are, or appear to be, intelligent. And, as was pointed out to me, about half are Brits--that wasn't planned. Here's the list: Mark Ruffalo, Brian Williams, John Krasinski, Stephen Colbert, Eddie Izzard, Dave Eggers, Nigel Barker, Gabriel Macht, Anderson Cooper, Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Hugh Jackman.

8. I love CNN, and have been disappointed recently at how much entertainment news they broadcast.

9. I like it when my parents and I think the same things are funny, i.e. The Office.

10. We moved back from Brazil when I was 6 and I began kindergarten halfway through the school year. By the end of that semester, I was voted "Girl Most Wanted to Sit By." That's still my proudest achievement...

11. I find frozen custard superior to ice cream.

12. I don't drink coffee unless it is Brazilian and served in a tiny coffee cup. I call this coffee snobbery.

13. I am selling my XTerra. Do you want to buy it?

14. I often wonder what it would be like to be famous, and if/how much I would change if I were. This in no way means I wish I was famous. I don't.

15. I am shy about speaking Portuguese, because I'm scared I will have an accent. I'm gonna have to get over that one...

Seriously...wanna buy my XTerra? Let me know.

NO WORDS

That's right, folks. There is no longer a blue region on my little pie chart. Yes, it means what you think it means: THAT I HAVE RAISED 100% OF THE FUNDS NEEDED FOR MY FIRST YEAR OF WORK IN NATAL!!! If the new pie chart and the giant capital letters don't convey my excitement, how about you just call me right now and let me squeal with delight for oh, about 10 minutes, into your ear. God has been so good, and I couldn't have done it without my faithful community of friends and family supporting me all along the way. $18,000 is no amount of money to toy with, and we (yes, WE) raised it in just 7 months. Thank you so much!

(And, if you're wondering, any money that I receive now will be applied to my second year of work, so if you were planning on contributing please still do! I still need it!)

Another week of church camp come and gone, and I slept 12 hours last night because of it. I am in love with a group of about twenty 7th grade girls and can't wait until I can see them again. Many hilarious conversations were had, many hugs were given, and lots of "Oh My Gosh Cris, your hair looks SOOOOOOO good!"s were exclaimed-- and if you know me well at all, you know that that's more 7th grade girlspeak and less my hair actually looking good in 95 degree heat and exorbitant humidity. Now a few pictures to show how precious they were. I hope this is legal...

My family for the week during the photo scavenger hunt. The pictures was supposed to be of the "scariest place at camp." Boys' bathroom was the overwhelming choice. Look at how tiny and precious they are. :)

Some of the girls from my cabin. Yes, they are all 7th graders, yes, one is on her cell phone, yes, several of them are taller than me. Also, the one in the middle didn't get the memo that we weren't taking a silly picture. Poor girl.

An unflattering picture of my leg against a leg that just spent a week in Cancun. My leg is looking forward to living in Brazil...

Sidenote: I've always said I would rather die than watch The Hulk again, but I'm pretty sure I would rather die while watching The Hulk than watch Transformers again. Do with that what you will, just don't say I didn't warn you...

Tomorrow I leave for a week of middle school church camp. Now most of you, having read that previous sentence, have immediately developed hives all over your body in response to the idea of spending a week with middle schoolers. I, however, by some kind of miracle, could not be more excited. In 2005 I spent the summer working camps at ACU, alternating weeks of middle schoolers and high schoolers. It was during that summer of 2005 that I discovered that either:
1) Middle schoolers are God's gift to the Earth
2) God gave me a gift of ministering to middle schoolers and loving them at the same time.

My hunch is that most likely we're working with option #2, but thankfully I believe #1 wholeheartedly. Middle school can be such a traumatic age, and I experienced both the best year of my life (7th grade) and the absolute worst year of my life (8th grade) during that period. I love how independent middle schoolers try to be yet are still so impressionable. And I love that they are not quite yet jaded by the crappiness of the world.

I'll leave you with an email that one of my middle school campers sent me the summer I worked camps. This still cracks me up as much as the first time I read it...I've highlighted my favorite parts in red. Enjoy!

Cris I already miss you, and ACU. You are so nice, and have a giant heart. Thanks for always being there when I was bored, wanted someone to talk to, or just needed your beautiful smile. What's your phone #? I'm so sad to be gone. I miss everyone so much I'm having trouble not crying. I feel like I can talk to you when I'm down, and know you'll listen. My e-mail address is -------- . Oh I miss you so much. You are the greatest friend I've ever had, and that's sincere not play. My phone # is ------- please call me. I wish so bad that you could come and visit, you are just soooooooooooo nice. Please write back or call.

Love Sophie (Sophaloaf)

ACU

Abeline Christian University

P.S. I sent you another e-mail but I don't think it went through.

P.S.S. I miss you so much

P.S.S.S. call me

I'm sad to tell you that, despite being the greatest friend she'd ever had, I don't think I ever talked to her again. Bummer. Stay tuned for more delightful tidbits when I get back next weekend...

My Summer Reading Powerrankings

My summer reading total is up to 8.25 books, 1 magazine, and infinity blogs. Now we all learned and struggled with the idea in the 4th grade that "infinity" is not actually a number, therefore to say I have read "infinity" blogs is not exactly correct. We hated this idea because up until that point we thought that telling someone we were "infinity times infinity" cooler than them was a legitimate argument, or that when we grew up we were going to have "infinity dollars" and be a millionaire. (Figure that one out...) But I've told you before that I'm quite loose in my blog-reading, so infinity accurately describes how often I'm out perusing other spaces just like this.

Anyway, I thought I would share with you the books I have read so far and rank them on a little rating system (a rating system that is infinity times cooler than your rating system...) in case you're looking for some good recommendations to add to your summer reading list.


#1 Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Every person I know should read this book. On a scale of 1 to 10 I give Kite Runner a 15. It will give you a new appreciation for people from Afghanistan and other middle eastern countries and show you a side of their culture that Americans don't see very often. Read it when you have a nice chunk of time, though, because I didn't put it down for a straight day and a half until I was finished. I'm not the kind of person who buys books before I have read them, but I can go ahead and tell you that you will want this one in your library so it's safe to buy before reading.


#2 The Color of Water by James McBride. I'm in a big-time memoir phase, so I really enjoyed this one. McBride is 1 of 12 children who grew up in NYC. His story is really about his mother, a white woman of Polish descent, who married a black man in the 1930s and went on to raise 12 black children through the civil rights era and times of racial discord. The stories about being one of twelve are hilarious enough to read the book, but the stories of how his mom responded to criticism and hatred and the issue of race are powerful examples of what our country still needs to be striving toward. Out of 10, I give this one an 8.

#3 How We Are Hungry by Dave Eggers. You will see this author show up 3 times on this list because I love him that much. He has become one of my favorite authors practically overnight because his stories are so intricate and believable. This book is an anthology of short stories he has written and published over the years, and it gets a score of 9 out of 10 because of one story in particular. It's one of the most beautiful pieces of literature ever written. :)



#4 What is the What by Dave Eggers. Big surprise, here we have Mr. Eggers again, only this time the story is about one of the Lost Boys of Sudan and his story from the time he was a boy fleeing his village and walking across the country to Ethiopia to his life as a resettled refugee living in Atlanta. The story is based on the life of Valentino Achak Deng and is an incredible picture of the life of millions of refugees we see and hear about. I definitely recommend this, especially if you always wonder who those kids are that Angelina Jolie is always seen loving on in refugee camps. My sister replaced To Kill a Mockingbird as her favorite book with this one, and in my family, that's huge. Read it. 8 out of 10.

#5 To Own a Dragon by Donald Miller. I mentioned this book about a month ago on my blog and credit it for the initial inspiration to dream of one day becoming a writer. I've been a consistent fan of Miller's for a long time and recommend all his books. Blue Like Jazz is and probably always will be my favorite, but To Own a Dragon offers good insight into the life of a boy growing up without a father. Miller describes his experiences of not knowing his father in addition to developing a father-like relationship with another man in his life. Good, quick read. 6 out of 10, and only because I can't as closely relate to his experience as, say, a guy without a father would.

#6 The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama. You've been hearing this guy's name a lot lately, and this book helps you get to know him better. He wrote this supposedly before he was considering running for president, but it gives a good history of his political career and where he stands on key political issues. It shows very clearly his vision for the United States and every American. All in all it's a good read, especially if you're interested in hearing more than "I opposed this war from the beginning." 7 out of 10 for its informational value.


#7 The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Kidd. I'd been hearing about this book for a long, long time and it's always gotten great reviews, so I figured I would give it a try. I enjoyed it but wouldn't necessarily say everyone should read it. It's another book about black-white relations in sensitive times (are we noticing a pattern here?) and has very lovable characters. I don't cry when I read books, but other people who do cried during this one. :) Just giving you fair warning. 5 out of 10.


**FYI my new laptop just arrived so these last couple will be rushed due to the fact that I absolutely cannot contain my excitement to play with my new toy. It's like Christmas.**

#8 Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. Another memoir, slow to get started, but pretty great if you love literature. I would recommend having read at least one of the books she talks about in the recent past otherwise you will be very lost and very bored. Another good book for insight into the middle east and appreciation for their culture that was robbed from them. 5 out of 10.




#8.25 You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers. Just started this one last night, but 50 pages into it it already holds Eggers' classic storytelling and writing style. So far from what I can tell it's about two friends who intend to travel around the world in one week going only one direction. They started out intending to go from Greenland to Rwanda, but already they discovered Greenland does not fly directly to Rwanda (go figure) and that Greenland's bad weather will delay their trip by days. Their travel plans have changed and they are now waiting to board a plan for Senegal. Should be another good one...so far, the first 50 pages get an 8 out of 10, Dave's traditional score. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Time to play!

It's your basic, all-purpose garment.

I have nothing exciting to share and the slow-pace of my summer schedule is to blame. The most exciting thing that happened to me this week was getting the chance to babysit the most awesome 5 year old in Oklahoma, maybe the world. He's not awesome because I am a good babysitter and pretend to be best buds with the kids I babysit-- he is legitimately awesome. He is 5 and a half going on 35, and in the two times we have hung out we have had a bevy of adult conversations. He is hilarious and knows it, and on Tuesday we had this conversation:

Sitting in the McDonald's play area at lunch time, a family he knows walks in.
Noah: "Hey! They go to our church!"
Cris: "Oh yeah? What are their names?" (just making conversation with a 5 year old)
Noah: "Uh...uh...hmm...well, the girl's name is Isabella... and I have no idea what the other kid's name is."
Cris: "Noah, you aren't particularly interested in learning people's names, are you?"
Noah: "Nah." (Keep in mind we have already been together for about 2 hours at this point.)
Cris: "Do you know my name?"
Noah: "Nope."
Cris: "Do you care to find out?"
Noah: "Not really."

Ok.

On a completely unrelated note, my mom and I attended a tea this afternoon for the women who are on a new mission team my church in Edmond is sending to Vienna, Austria. Usually I would avoid an event like this, but seizing the opportunity to a) leave the house, b) be in contact with more people than just my mom, sister, and brother-in-law, and c) being a soon-to-be-kind-of-missionary myself, I went, and was pleasantly surprised at how nice of a send-off it really was.

My mom read a blessing from Colossians over the women and I was reminded of how much I love that particular passage. When I was a camp counselor two summers ago, many of the nightly devotionals I led with my middle school campers week after week were over that passage, and I know that when I am in Natal it will serve as a source of strength, encouragement, and motivation for me. Just wanted to share it with you in case you're in the market for a new Favorite Verse. I'm willing to let you borrow it. :)

Colossians 3:12-17 (I'm partial to Eugene Peterson's translation, taken from The Message, but you are more than welcome to look it up in any translation you like. It's fantastic in all of them, I've checked.)

"So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it."

"Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way."

Why I'm Excited

Dear readers, there are many, many reasons why I am excited. For starters, my summer has gotten off to an excellent start, with some weddings, some nice little trips, and some good old fashioned family fun. I'll give you some pictures to look at rather than words, because aren't pictures worth 1000 words? Here are like...5000.





Here is a snapshot from wedding #1, my dear friend Brooke.













Here we have some of my favorite people in the world at the Brooke James-Tyler Tallon nuptials. The curly-headed boy on the left was actually a groom himself this past weekend. Congratulations, sir. (Don't know why this is blue and underlined...it doesn't link to anything.)










My dearest friends in the world, Daniela and Lara Morgan. I was destined to be friends with them since before our moms met our dads, and life has carried us from Brazil to Santa Barbara to Abilene together...and then to the British Library, where this photo was taken.









And here we are on the Cherwell River through Oxford, England, smiling so big because we didn't have to paddle. (Not at that point, anyway. Janine bravely took the oars later on into the trip and safely delivered us back our docking point. Hooray!)













Ok. Now for another reason why I am so excited...and another visual aid.
Now, my friends, if you are new to this space, you may not know what this is. But if you have been reading for a while....you have seen this before. Except last time you saw this chart, it had a much, much larger blue region. Out of the $18,000ish that I am raising for the first year of my internship, I only lack 1.5%!!!! Which equals between $200-300. This is AMAZING. This is the chart we've all been waiting for, and this is the chart that makes me not just excited, but elated.

And now, reason #3 why I'm excited. The very reason that the chart makes me so excited, actually. I would like to share with you snippets of emails I get from the missionary in Natal, and let you see why exactly I'm so jazzed to get down there and begin working with them.


"hi my special girl,
it´s very good to hear from you. everybody is waiting for you in september, 3rd. each month we are talking about you are coming and the people is asking me: are you sure cris is coming? and i answer: yes, i´m. then they ask me: can i go with you to the airport to take cris? i believe i´ll need to buy a bus until september. ah ah! we are very busy right now because we have many personal bible classes during the week and programs with the people at the weekends. we have cooking class, english class, class to read and write to old people. ladies bible class and girls bible class. i need you here...
the church is growing day by day and we have many new people. you´ll love them. they are very special people. please, pray for this new people.
we have a english conversation class waiting for you. i promise them you are coming to help us and they are very excited. they are not christian yet but i gave them an english bible to study for while....
i´m very proud of you about your graduation. congratulation baby! i´ll send you some pictures from us.
we love you. even when we don´t write you we have you in our hearts and mind. we want you here. God is sending you for us.
we love you,

marisa"


Mmm...beautiful, isn't it?

This is NPR...

In my family there was one basic characteristic that distinguished the adults from the children. Typically this characteristic manifested itself on car trips, but on the occasional Saturday morning it could also be found in the Carpenter household. Once the line was crossed, that's how you knew you were no longer a kid anymore...you had finally grown up.

My friends, I crossed that line recently. No, it had nothing to do with graduating from college. It has nothing to do with moving out of the country (though every person in my family seems to think moving out of the country after is college is just what you do...hey, no complaints here!). It has nothing to do with, on average, how many fights per week occur between parent and child.

It has everything to do with National Public Radio.

If you've had your own NPR experience, you realize that the SNL skits that spoof the programming are actually dead on. The reporters sound like they are sitting in in a dungeon of a basement somewhere, reporting on news from around the world. On car trips I used to groan as I heard the monotone voice, that always sounds the same, come over the speakers, knowing that listening to my Walkman was out of the question due to the high decibel level of the spoken voice. I usually chose to fall alseep in protest. I hated NPR.

Recently I find myself growing bored with music on the radio. Top 40 stations seem to play the Top 3 same songs over and over, and usually it's some bad hip hop song that never would have made it in the 90s (aka The Decade of The Greatest Music of all Time). I tune to alternative rock and it's the same thing, just some guy singing who sounds like he's constipated. (Hinder, anyone? I rest my case.) So I've been left with silence-- *gasp!* -- or NPR. And I chose NPR.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am officially an adult.

Yesterday on NPR I heard a story about a man who is suing a dry cleaners for $54 million because they lost his pants. It helps that he's a judge, so he knows the legal system in and out, and under consumer protection laws he's figured out that since they displayed a sign that read "Satisfaction Guaranteed" and they lost his dockers he, naturally, should get a mere $54 million in reparation. The business is owned by a Korean immigrant family, and the report said that just in legal fees alone he has already cleaned them out. The trial began yesterday, and I wonder how long it will take this jerk to figure out that he deserves to never have any friends ever again for the rest of his life? I understand the need for fair treatment, blah blah, but when does doing the right thing and NOT suing an immigrant family for an absurd amount of money over a pair of pants cross his mind?

Listen and repeat

In preparation for Brazil (in less than THREE MONTHS!) I have been trying to re-learn a little Portuguese so that I won't be completely lost when I get there. Although Portuguese was my first language, I lost most of it when my family came back to the States when I was 6. It just simply wasn't cool to be bilingual in Kindergarten, you know? Kids can be brutal, and I was self-conscious. I could go into how much I wish my 6 year-old self had had a little insight into the future and retained her Portuguese fluency...but I feel as though maybe my expectations can't be too high. Anyway, lately I have been listening to the Pimsleur language learning system in order to build my grammar and learn basic phrasing. I have it on my iPod and have decided that I will listen to one lesson per day, usually as I am laying in bed at night. So far...here is what Mr. Pimsleur has taught me.

Excuse me ma'am, do you speak Portuguese?
Excuse me sir, are you American?
Excuse me ma'am, do you have Reais (Brazilian currency) or dollars?
Excuse me sir, do you understand English?
Excuse me ma'am, do you know where the Flamingo Restaurant is located?
Excuse me sir, do you know where the Columbus Hotel is located?
The Columbus Hotel is located over there.
The Flamingo Restaurant located here.

These lessons have actually been good refreshers for me, as I generally have a basic knowledge of how to say all this stuff. I'm sure as I get farther I will be learning a lot that I didn't already know. My one question is this: what is the Columbus Hotel? Because I know where it's located. Over there.

I received good news earlier this week. I am only about $550 away from completing my fundraising for my first year in Natal! I can't tell you how HUGE of a blessing that is, and how humbled I am by everyone's generosity. With my departure less than three months away, it's comforting to know that I am so close. I also have been keeping up with the blogs and Facebook photo albums of the LST team in Natal right now, and it looks like they are having as great of a project as we had last year, if not better because they have twice as many people! I am so thankful that God continues to bless the church in Natal with great workers. I am so excited to join them and hope that I will be able to continue the great work that the missionaries and LST teams from the past have begun. Please keep them (and me!) in your prayers.

From across the pond...

In the last 5 days I...

-finished one book, read one book, and began one book. I love summer reading!

-thoroughly explored a quaint little ancient town and casually tread paths that have been visited by tourists and scholars for hundreds (one thousand, actually) of years from around the world

-developed an unconscious mental English accent

-almost passed out in church

-had 2 Guaranas, 1 brigadeiro, and 1 coxinha, all at a French bakery

-met an old English man wearing a legit Confederate soldier's hat (as in from the American Civil War....I know...random.)

-found a 30 gig video iPod

I'd say my summer is turning out pretty well...what are you up to?

P.S. I'd also like to add this tidbit of what I find to be interesting information...my second book up there was again about someone who aspired to one day become a writer...is this a sign?

The first chapter of my memoir

Over the last week or so I have a new hope, new dream, new aspiration for my life. For those of you who happen to know that I attended two and participated in one, coming to a grand total of three, weddings all in the span of one week, no, my new dream is not to be a bride. I am quite content with my consistency in being a bridesmaid and audience member and not yet being the bride, and am happy to keep it that way for quite sometime.

I have a new career goal, and it has nothing to do with my degree.

At the age of 5 I was determined to one day own my own bakery, essentially deciding that a baker must sit around all day and eat bread, therefore holding the title of the greatest occupation of all time. (For the record, if a baker does, in fact, sit around and eat bread all day, I still deem it the greatest occupation of all time.) I found myself mimicking my older sister's career aspirations all through elementary school, (interior designer? Really Cris?) and in 7th grade settled on the plan to one day become a psychologist. That plan carried me all through middle school, high school, college, and eventually across the commencement stage in Moody Coliseum last month. The only problem was that a few months before graduation I decided all I really wanted to do after I returned from Brazil was sell real estate. As much as I loved psychology, real estate seemed like a perfect fit. Still kind of does, actually. While you people are Facebooking and perusing blogs, (ok fine, not just you people, me people too) I am perusing real estate websites, looking at all the cool houses I would like to sell to you.

Well, parents who have graciously paid for my college education, never fear, the real estate dream has faded and a new one has taken its place. I want to be a writer when I grow up, whenever that may be. This new passion actually comes at quite the convenient time. Seeing as how I don't actually have a job for this summer, I can really take the next couple months to experience what life is like with no set schedule, and allow myself the time to brainstorm, organize, and pull together the ideas that will one day win me a Pulitzer.

I blame Don Miller and the author of The Kite Runner (I'm sorry, sir, that I don't know your name. Your book was wonderful and, obviously, inspiring) for this new obsession, for making the life of a writer seem so wonderfully attractive. I don't see myself making any progress on those psychology and real estate dreams while abroad, and writing is something I will be able to pursue in Brazil, writing to relax, to report, or just to practice.

I recently told a friend that I should be a professional life planner, because I think I have really good ideas for what people should do with their lives. Good to know I have not failed myself. Need some life advice? Need someone to encourage you to follow your dreams? I can help you. Hmm...maybe instead of being a writer I can just do that instead...

Don Miller and Adam Levine?

I experienced the quintessential literary moment today. I only wish I was making this up, but in many ways I am nowhere near this mundanely creative to fabricate this kind of story.

As I was sitting in my backyard, enjoying the beginnings-of-summer, breezy weather, trying desperately to add some hue to my skin but dancing the line between brown and red, I was reading the latest Don Miller book and listening to the newest Maroon 5 album on my iPod. Sunbeams were poking in and out between the trees, every few minutes muted by a passing cloud. In the particular chapter I was reading, Don was talking about the life of a writer, not remembering what it was like to set an alarm and only knowing mornings that began with sunlight awaking him. He talked about how he writes only every few days, and how working for a publishing company before his writing career took off was a shaping experience. I paused for a minute and gazed off into the small ivy-weed-fern jungle growing in our yard below three towering trees. Adam Levine crooned in the background, some song sung in much too high of a falsetto to a beat perhaps slightly too poppy for my taste. I wondered what life would be like as a writer, being able to write your thoughts down and get paid for them, being able to say almost anything you wanted (until your editor got a hold, of course) and knowing people would want to read it simply because YOUR name was on the cover. I thought about if I could do it, if I would enjoy that life, and that perhaps by some stroke of luck someone will happen upon my blog while I am in Brazil and hire me as a travel writer, sending me around the world to write about exotic places some people only want to visit in a book. Then-- and this is the absolutely unbelievable part, and not in the least exaggerated-- a butterfly landed on the page my hand had been holding open during my daydream.

I kid you not. A butterfly.

This particular butterfly was brown with a badly damaged wing. Rather than take in the moment, I thought about how I once heard that butterflies only live for one day, and although I don't think that's even true, I thought about how he better get on with his life instead of waste his time perching on my book because life would be over for this little guy sooner rather than later. Then I thought about the last time I took the time to pay attention to a butterfly. I was about 9, and I remember walking past the playground in our apartment complex toward the direction of my elementary school. There were 2 butterflies, and in my mom's sex education words, they were "cuddling." I had never seen insects "cuddle" before, and I was fascinated when they flew away stuck together.

My wounded butterfly flew away before I had finished chuckling to myself over the cuddling butterflies, but I think he either came back for a visit later or sent his buddy to check me out. Either way, I became jealous of the life of a writer, the person who gets to create their office in Starbucks or their backyard. I'm sure some writer some place would have turned that very moment into a literary illustration about spiritual intervention or the fact that nature reminds us of something significant (this is the part where we see why Cris doesn't have a publishing contract), but all I had was butterflies doing it.

Next time I'll tell you about the unbelievable dream I once had about being married to Will Smith. It is a story of valiant loyalty and friendship. Until then, please keep the church in Natal in your prayers. Their LST team arrived today and will begin working tomorrow-- pray that God sends them lots of readers with open hearts and that that team has as wonderful of an experience as we did last summer!

Also, haven't reminded you of that link over there >>> in a while, so if you have it in your heart to contribute toward my internship, your generosity is welcomed!

From the barren wastelands of Oklahoma...

Despite what all you Texans may think, my corner of the globe is actually much more good-looking than the majority of your state. This may come across as a fairly hostile way to begin a new entry, but recently I have received not one, but two comments on what a shame it must be to be from a "barren wasteland" or whatever clever words you people choose to make yourselves feel better about where you are from. These comments are nothing new, nothing original, and I willingly chose to be subjected to the Texan Snobbery when I made the decision to go to ACU. But I'm gone now, and I choose to put up with it no more. Texans, bring it on. (Before you get entirely, speechlessly offended, keep in mind that 1. I am not actually challenging you to a fight and that 2. I am half made of Texan blood. My father would be just as fired up at my fightin' words as you are.)

I've been home in Oklahoma for 2 days now, and for the first time since high school our family of 4 + 1 are all living under one roof. So far we are in the honeymoon phase, enjoying our time together sharing bathrooms, driveways, and lovingly poking fun at our mom. Hopefully it will be a long honeymoon, and we even have a few out-of-country trips planned to keep it interesting (not with each other, though, which might be the secret to familial bliss.)

It still hasn't hit me that I am a college graduate, and as I look for babysitting jobs to keep my cell phone bill paid for the summer, I don't make much progress in attaining that realization. Some of my friends are sending in resumes for big girl jobs, but not me. I'll be a nanny 3 days a week, thanks.

To my two special friends who leave on Friday for The Most Exciting Trip of Your Lives, GOOD LUCK! I'm already praying for you and can't wait to hear all about it. Take good care of South America for me, I'll be there soon.

Cheers, friends, and please watch this for the greatest laugh of your life.

Blog me this

I have mentioned before on this thing that I am a bit promiscuous when it comes to reading other people's blogs. I'm not even ashamed that I am a blog stalker and I am not ashamed that on many, many occasions I begin a conversation with "So I read your blog, and..."

Although I find it curious that, as Facebook declares, perusing blogs really is a primary interest of mine, I find the reason for why this is even more curious. What is it about an online journal that I find so fascinating? A better question would be why do I, and the other members of my generation (I'm not only gonna incriminate myself, here), find this voyeuristic hobby so enthralling?

I think the reason I love perusing the blogosphere so much is that it invites me in to snippets of my friends' lives without an actual invitation. (Important disclaimer here: friends in the above sentence is a key phrase. I read very, very few blogs of people I don't know, and when I do it's usually because I have some connection to them. I'm not so much of a blog freak that I just click "next blog" for hours on end...my perusing doesn't quite go that far.) I get to find out about how their kids are doing, what great vacations they just went on, how they will spend their summer, how life since I saw them last has been turning out, what they thought of the most recent episode of Grey's Anatomy, and general life-tidbits that are much more interesting in writing. For example, the reason I love reading my friend Justin's blog is because he usually has something interesting to say about national/world events. He is very smart, very well-read, and always has a sarcastic comment or two to keep me coming back. I read Ann's blog because in order to be able to keep up in a conversation with my mom I kind of have to. (Haha, just kidding. Two and half of you will appreciate that. The other half of one of you will appreciate it but try to hide it with disdain.)

I don't enjoy blogging myself as much as I wish I did, but am already looking forward to updating once I am in Natal. After all, you who have been around from the beginning remember that was the sole reason I decided to begin blogging in the first place. I don't support subjecting innocent recipients to unwarranted mass-emails, so in order to keep up with my comings and goings in Brazil, my friends and family will be able to choose when they want updates.

One more thing. The list to the right is by no means a comprehensive list of the blogs I peruse. I would say that list represents about one-fourth. I just don't have the guts yet to admit publicly how many and whose blogs I am actually keeping up with on a regular basis. However, I would love to know who drops by this site, even if only occasionally, so please say hello when you do.

Fundraising update: As of this past weekend, I only lack $975 for my first year of work in Natal.In case you were wondering...that is INCREDIBLE. Muito obrigada!! (Thank you very much, for you non-Portuguese speakers.)

Three cheers for the purple and white...

I graduated college today.
Weird.

Nothing compares 2 u

I don't know why I have refrained from listening to the 90s channel on cable until now, but it has significantly improved the quality of two already very good days. Last night, after another rousing game of Life, I sat in my living room alone staring at the TV, soaking in the goodness that was coming from its very tiny speakers. I've known many a person who is obsessed with the 80s, but have yet to find someone who loves the 90s as much as I do. I would live that decade over and over and over again if I could, oversized shirts, grunge rock, TGIF and all.

I don't want to hog all the music to myself, so join me for a trip down memory lane as we look over some of my favorite tunes from the best decade of all time:

One Headlight- The Wallflowers
Basket Case- Green Day
1,2,3,4 Get Your Woman on the Floor- Coolio
Nothing Compares 2 U- Sinead O'Connor
All I Wanna Do- Sheryl Crow
Tubthumping- Chumbawumba
Pretty Fly for a White Guy- The Offspring
The Way- Fastball
Gangsta's Paradise- Coolio
Head Over Feet- Alanis Morissette
Kiss From a Rose- Seal
I Love You Always Forever- Donna Lewis
1979- Smashing Pumpkins
Killing Me Softly- The Fugees
Selling the Drama- Live
Lightning Crashes- Live
Roll to Me- Del Amitri
Fantasy- Mariah Carey
Love Rollercoaster- Red Hot Chili Peppers
Don't Speak- No Doubt
Semi-Charmed Life- 3rd Eye Blind
Truly Madly Deeply- Savage Garden
All Mixed Up- 311
Walking on the Sun- Smashmouth
Crazy- Aerosmith
Wonderwall- Oasis
Buddy Holly- Weezer
Runaway Train- Soul Asylum
Misery- Soul Asylum
Only Happy When it Rains- Garbage
Only Wanna Be with You- Hootie and the Blowfish
Freshmen- Verve Pipe
Bittersweet Symphony- The Verve
Kiss Me- Sixpence None the Richer
Big Bang Baby- STP
I Want You- Savage Garden
How Bizarre- OMC

I actually could go on and on...and on and on...but these are the first few that come to mind. You may notice that there is large representation from the years spanning about 1994-1997. That was what I qualify as the pinnacle of alternative rock, when Green Day, No Doubt, Stone Temple Pilots, Smashing Pumpkins, and most of the one-hit-wonders were in their hey day. Thanks to VH1's "I Love the 90s," I have also determined that 1997 was the best year of my life, period, and so that also explains why so much of this music comes from that time period.

Any additions, friends? Kelly I know you will have some input to share...