Moments: June 2012

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Just for Fun

Here is sampling of some of my water bottles. All of these have been given to me by family members, friends, or students. Notice a common theme? :) I think they know me pretty well...

Thursday, June 21, 2012

When I lived in Mexico, my Spanish name was "Cayli." It's pronounced like the English name "Kylie," and I came up with this nickname as a hybrid between my first and middle name because "Christen" in Spanish sounded very similar to one of the other missionary's name. I love being Cayli and everything it entails, and I got to be Cayli again for one glorious week and a half in early June during my visit to Fresnillo.

It would impossible to list everything I did during my visit, but God's hand was evident everywhere. I was literally bursting with joy and practically giddy to be there again. So many details were clearly answered prayers--from how God arranged my schedule to maximize visits, to how people were home when I dropped by. It was a week full of deep conversation with close friends and also lots of laughter. As I walked around Fresnillo, it felt so pleasantly familiar and like home even though I was aware that it's not my current home. The whole trip felt like a gigantic hug from the Lord and a sweet, precious gift. What's even more amazing is that I really was ok when it was time to leave. With my emotional history and after such an awesome week, you would think it would be horrible to say goodbye again. I was a little sad and certainly would not have minded staying longer, but I also felt ok about going back to the U.S. and returning to my world in Birmingham. After a tough season of transition, this is practically a miracle! My overwhelming feeling is simply joy and contentment, and I am extremely grateful for that blessing.

Some of my favorite memories from the trip included: getting tacos in the colonia with Cecy, worshipping at Iglesia del Gran Pastor again, eating carne asada several times, spending the night with Arika and talking for hours, getting to connect with and see lots of old Club kids, hanging out with Becca, Meredith, & the Jones, going to the pool with some of the youth group kids & trying to teach a few of them how to swim, remembering how hospitable and friendly everyone really is in Mexico, having fun with Sergio & Faby and also grieving with them as we remembered their son Jonathan, sharing lots of meals with different families, and many more life-giving moments...

Here are a few pics from my trip as well:

Mexico City Airport--During my 5 hour layover, I had a reunion with my dear friend Joy (center) who I met last summer at MTI. She's currently a missionary in Pachuca and came to see me at the airport! We also met a new friend Emilie who was just beginning her own missionary adventure in Oaxaca.

My beloved Fresnillo...pray for rain; they really need it!

Hanging out with Joel, Briana, & Natali after a great lunch at David and Vero's

With Yesi, one of my sweet Club girls

Cell Group Worship (right after a delicious carne asada!)

With Claudia, Buga, Gloria, and Rocio -- their faithful family has been involved in the church and ministry for many years

Edgar, one of my former ÉXITO kids who has always had a special place in my heart and who has gone through some really tough things in life

Lizbet, Paola, & Valeria--more sweet Club girls

Brizeth & her adorable little sister Ximena

Former Club kids who are now faithfully attending youth group--so neat and encouraging to see them and other kids continuing to be involved and learning God's Word

After church with Pamela, one of the girls I used to disciple

No trip to Fresnillo would be complete without chiles rellenos! Becca & César took me to get one Sunday after church, and the store still had some thankfully!

Meredith, Becca, the puppies, and I at their house where I mostly stayed during my visit, which used to be my house so I definitely felt at home! :)

Sunday, June 17, 2012

An Adventure Gone Awry

I love adventure. I love traveling, meeting new people, conquering a challenge, and the like. However, I also know that sometimes and particularly in my experience it seems, adventures can be a bust. At the very least, they don't turn out the way you expect they will. When this happens, all you can do is enjoy the ride for what it's worth and then turn it in to a great story (like the time I threw up more than 20 times at the basin of the Amazon rain forest in Peru, but that's a story for another day). So, here is the tale of the Cahaba Lily Festival 2012....

In honor of Memorial Day weekend and the beginning of summer, my friend Jennifer and I wanted to do something fun on Saturday, May 26th. We both love the outdoors and thought it'd be fun to do something related to the water. Canoeing seemed like a great idea. When we heard about the Cahaba Lily Festival, we thought this would be the perfect half-day adventure where we could enjoy a canoe trip and experience life outside of Birmingham.

We drove to West Blocton, a poor, tiny town between Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. When we arrived on a mostly deserted Main Street, we were not even sure we were in the right place. We found the building that was the festival headquarters and entered a room that looked like it could serve as a town hall, fellowship hall, funeral parlor, or whatever else you might need. A few people were talking, one or two individuals were selling photographs of the famous lilies, and others were milling around after finishing a potluck lunch. There was also no river in sight. Not exactly what we were expecting or driven almost an hour for!

However, we were not to be easily deterred so we asked a few people and then found out that there was a shuttle that took people to the Cahaba River and from there, we could rent a canoe. We waited patiently with a young couple who also stuck out like us as not being locals, and then headed down to the river in a 15-passenger van. [A fun side note is that the shuttle driver turned out to be from Homewood and the husband of one of my co-workers.]

Once at the river, we walked less than a mile down the canoe rental sight, paid the fee, signed our waivers, and waited...and waited...and waited. Apparently, they must have done a great job advertising the festival this year and not quite thought through all the details. They thought they had plenty of canoes, but they failed to give the participants a time limit. Occasionally, a canoe would return, but there were still lots of people in front of us waiting their turn. Finally, after almost an hour and a half, we realized we were not going to get to canoe today. The last shuttle back to Main Street and our car was leaving in less than 30 minutes, and we still hadn't even received a canoe. The ladies in charge graciously refunded our money and also apologized profusely.

We took the shuttle back and then resignedly headed back to Birmingham, not too sad to leave West Blocton behind. Of course, the day wasn't a total disappointment--Jennifer and I got to spend great quality time together, we caught a few sun rays while we waited on the bank of the river, and we have now both seen the "famous" Cahaba Lily in its natural environment. We also decided the moral of the story is bring your own canoe or go to Oak Mountain State Park instead!