Bega kwa Bega

Jambo rafikis!  (Hello friends in Swahili)

When I was little I remember my cousin Emily and my Nana telling me they were going to Tanzania, Africa with their church for a mission trip. Immediately in my mind I thought, "Wow, Africa! How cool!" For my 11 year old self Africa to me was the Lion King. Africa to me was adventure. Africa to me was so much unknown, and something I fantasized about what it was actually like.  I had never been anywhere that would have given me a better picture of what Africa was like other than what I had seen in movies or the skewed things I had learned in school. My reality was that I didn't know too much about it, but I knew Emily and Nana were about to take an adventure there.

It was fun for me to hear about their planning and preparation, but even more exciting to see the pictures and hear their stories when they came back. Little did I know God would be calling me to accompany their church on the same trip some 10 years later. When approached by Pastor Jim asking me if I would consider going on the trip in the future I kind of just smiled and told him it sounded like a really cool trip. I'll admit I didn't seriously think or pray much about it at first. Then for one reason or another I am not too sure about, this mission trip to Tanzania never left me. Eventually I gave it some prayer and started talking to my parents about it. I still didn't think too much of it though considering the trip was so far off. I told Pastor Jim that I would consider going the summer after I graduated from college if I was to go at all. In my mind I thought how practical would it be for me to go with a team so far away from me and not where I currently lived? Even though I have known some of the people my whole life through growing up attending St. Stephen in the summers and winters, it didn't make perfect sense. 

News flash Maija, nothing makes perfect sense. Once again I am reminded that I have the worst timing and God's timing for my life is the sweetest and richest it could ever be. Why do I like to meddle in it, planning and organizing things so everything gets worked out? Well because I am human and that is my tendency. I try to control things so it goes over well, or everything gets worked out like it needs to. And what always happens? I get left disappointed and frustrated because it never does. Sooner or later I will learn this... 

So with Tanzania I began to give it some serious thought and prayer. Is this what God is calling me to? Is this something I need to starting preparing my heart for? The answer always came back yes. I talked to Pastor Jim, talked to my Nana, talked to my parents and forward I went, starting to plan on going to Tanzania. 

Fast forward some time and I will be leaving in July for the mission trip with my team. My teammates are Pastor Jim, Karen, Allie, Ryan, Betsy, and Melanie. We will be doing lots of relational ministry and cultivating a long standing partnership with the village and people there. (I will fill you in on more of the details in a later post).

Part of my preparation for my time in Tanzania I have been reading a book my Nana gave me about the partnership between St. Stephen and other churches in the Twin Cities and the Iringa Diocese (St. Stephen and the churches in Minnesota are all ELCA- Lutheran Churches). In the beginning of the book it lays out the building of the relationship/ partnership/companionship very nicely. I have found myself re-reading the beginning many times and carry something different away every time. 

My initial question to myself was why is the book called Bega kwa Bega, the Swahili phrase for "shoulder to shoulder"? I came across the answer I had been looking for in one of those introductory pages...

"In Tanzania, when people have a heavy burden to carry, such as a long building pole, each one will carry one side on  their shoulders. It may involve several people, so that the weight of the burden is distributed evenly. Bega kwa Bega describes the relationship between two synods: the Saint Paul Area Synod (ELCA) in Minnesota and the Irniga Diocese (ELCT) in Tanzania. The two churches stand shoulder to shoulder to proclaim the gospel and to support each other in their mission work. Christians were encouraged to consider being part of an exchange because the strength of the program was its very personal nature. As people learn about each other new ways to minister to each other would be found."                                                        Lubawa, R. (2007). Shoulder to shoulder. Minneapolis, MN: Lutheran University Press.

The very image of being shoulder to shoulder with others with the hope, desire, and intent to share the
gospel of Jesus Christ with others is beautiful. This beautiful partnership has evolved over the last 29
years creating an incredible story. A story that would not be without recognizing what God has done in
the hearts of people and cities across the globe. As stated in the book " this relationship of prayer,
friendship, and partnership continues to grow stronger as God's grace spans the distance and cultural
differences from Minnesota to Tanzania" (Lubawa, 5).

My prayer is that God opens my eyes, prepares my heart and readies my response to be yes for
whatever He has for me in Tanzania.

I will continue to blog here about my upcoming trip and try to blog while away if the internet is
accessible.
Asante sana,
Thanks for reading- happy thoughts.

Equality in High School Athletics

Welp, it's pretty obvious that blogging consistently since my class ended has been a challenge. That goes without saying considering there has not been a post since December.

Nonetheless here is a new post encouraged by a friend and fellow blogger.

I have blogged about Title IX before, but yesterday there was some action in the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee or (HELP) for short that I got excited about. With a 13-9 vote, an amendment to include the High School Data Transparency Act (refer to S. 217 or H.R. 455) to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act or (ESEA) for short was passed! This piece of legislation  (High School Data Transparency Bill ) will require schools to report standard information about male and female athletes and how much money is spent for each sports team. This is a great way for schools to be held accountable for their sports teams and the funding each program receives. Here's a link to the United States Legislative Information website with the bills language: http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-bill/217?q=S.+217. 

A great website that reports and advocates for women's sports, The Women's Sports Foundation as well as The SHE Network connected to The Women's Sports Foundation both share great information regarding the happenings of this legislation in Washington. The National Women's Law Center produced a great fact sheet addressing some facts and myths about the High School Data Transparency Bill and here is a sneak peek at one of the myths discussed...

MYTH 3: The information required to be collected by the High School Data Transparency
Bills serves no useful purpose. 
FACT 3: The High School Data Transparency Bills shine a spotlight on the athletic opportunities that schools provide to girls and boys, which will help ensure that all students are being treated fairly in school athletic programs. In states like Georgia and Kentucky, newspapers collected and published data identical to that required by the bills(by requesting it under open records laws). The information revealed a lack of opportunities for girls in sports, which fueled the creation of state laws and policies requiring schools to disclose information about their athletic programs and providing incentives for compliance. While a federal law requires colleges to publicly report such information each year, high schools are not covered by the law, 
making it difficult for communities to determine whether their school athletic programs are treating girls 
and boys fairly.
Take a look at the full article here: http://www.nwlc.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/2013_1_31_hs_transparency_bills_mythsfacts.pdf. 

Here is a link to the SHE Network article about the amendment: http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/home/she-network/education/amendment-adding-the-high-school-data-transparency-act-to-esea-reauthorization-passed.

You may be wondering why does it matter? Or doesn't Title IX already take care of this issue? The answer is no. Schools nationwide are still not providing females with the same opportunities as males. As an athlete and female who went to a high school where there was/ is a difference in male and female athletic programs particularly in the area of softball and baseball, it matters to me. I may not be in high school anymore or directly involved in high school athletics, but it still matters. Equal opportunity matters. Being treated fairly and funded equally is important. Males and females are should be valued equally and the students and athletes need to know that. A high school girls softball team/program should not feel less than the guys baseball team/program ever.

My hope is this legislation does make an impact and similar bills and amendments are passed in the future to not put down a genders sports program but to ensure equality for both. 

The National Women's Law Center gives website viewers the easy opportunity to contact your Members of Congress to let your voice heard. As stated on their website at the top of the form it reads:

Tell Congress: Make Sure Girls Get a Fair Chance in Sports

Did you know that high schools are not required to make information about their sports programs publicly available? We are talking about the basics, such as how many girls and boys are playing and how much is being spent. So if parents, teachers or coaches are concerned that their high schools are not giving girls equal opportunities to play sports, they have to just figure it out on their own. That’s why high schools, like colleges, should be required to make information about their sports programs publicly available. 

Girls across the country are still not getting equal opportunities to play sports or equal treatment when they do play. High schools provide girls with 1.3 million fewer opportunities to play sports as compared to boys. And girls often are assigned inferior facilities and game times, among other things. To make matters worse, when parents and students try to find out how their schools are allocating valuable athletic opportunities and resources, they are not able to get information. 
Source- https://secure2.convio.net/nwlc/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=739

Know that every action matters even when some think it doesn't. So visit the link above and add your voice!
I'll stop there for now. I am sure more will pop up later...

Thanks for reading- happy thoughts!

Out of the Way

Blogging hasn't left my mind since June. June. Yes, June! (And for the record it's December) Ever since I wasn't able to blog as frequently this summer, I built up this anticipation and expectation that my first blog post after my summer hiatus had to be nothing other than epic. I had to have all these cool thoughts, stories, perspectives, ideas, opinions... yadda, yadda, yadda. Well, all I did was put this unreasonable and silly expectation on myself for no reason whatsoever. No one was doing it to me, just me doing it to myself.

Since June, I find myself thinking- "Oh that would be something cool to blog about. Or, I have something to say about this or that...." Why I never did blog about it, is beyond me. It goes back to that unnecessary pressure. Humph.

After having 2 conversations recently of me being asked about why I haven't blogged recently, I told myself I need to get over myself and do it. Here I am, at 2:19 am in the library, getting over myself, when I should be studying for my final exam tomorrow morning!!! (Anything to out off reality a little longer eh?)

So here's to me blogging about nothing really, just getting the first one out of the way so I can move on to other things. Hooray!
Whew, glad that's over with.

Random poem I've been liking recently:

The Five Freedoms

"To See and Hear

what is here,

instead of what should be,

was, or will be

To Say 

what one feels and thinks

instead of what one should

To Feel 

what one feels,

instead of what one ought

To Ask

for what one wants,

instead of always waiting

for permission

To Take Risks

in one's own behalf,

instead of choosing to be

only 'secure'

and not rocking the boat"

-Virginia Satir

Thanks for reading! Happy thoughts :)

It's good to be back :)

God wants me to be sleek? Say what?!??!!

As I was reading my regular news articles online and exploring I came across this very interesting article on the TIME website. It immediately caught my eye and I explored further what this was all about. I haven't decided what I think about it as a whole yet, but initially I had some thoughts that's for sure. I think many aspects and parts of the program philosophy are true.

The American population is very overweight- fact. 

Something needs to be done or our obesity numbers are going to continue to spike- fact. 

Unhealthy, inactive, bad diet lifestyles are hindering the opportunities we have to live a fuller life dedicated to ministry- fact.

This program called The Daniel Plan was created by Rick Warren. Name sound familiar? He is the author of the book that you see everywhere called The Purpose Driven Life. He created this program along with the counsel of 3 other people you may be familiar with; Dr. Mehmet Oz, Daniel Amen (psychiatrist) and Mark Hyman all of whom are of different faiths. The slogan of The Daniel Plan is "Glorifying God in the way we eat,  move and think!"

For me, this is personally the first time I have ever heard of a Christian based diet or lifestyle program that encompasses so much. Pastor Rick Warren's church called Saddleback Church, in California is doing this program and as a congregation has lost a lot of weight. 

The article does not list exactly where in the Book of Daniel this passage they use for the program is, so I looked it up and found it was conveniently in the first chapter. If you find any of this interesting I would encourage you to at least go read the first chapter of Daniel to understand where they are pulling this from. Specifically the verses mentioned are  Daniel 1: 8-17 ish. 

Here is the article-- titled: Blessed Are the Sleek? Why God Wants You to Be Thin.

You should take a look for sure. The link is below along with 2 videos that are related as well.

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2012/05/31/blessed-are-the-sleek-why-god-wants-you-to-be-thin/?xid=newsletter-daily#ixzz1wlCuY8mO

Our society is one of the best at encouraging women to be comfortable in their own skin, to be happy with who they are and not feel like they have to strive for perfection. Our culture is also great with portraying women who are normal and have blemished skin, imperfect hair or other body parts. Another thing our culture and society is marvelous at is showing women with a figure and frame that is larger than a size 0, maybe 4.  [INSERT SARCASM HERE!!!] That was a huge joke. I think our society stinks at all the previously mentioned things. As someone who has dealt and currently deals with body image issues and body image as a whole, I find this program interesting. Struggling through our "lovely" societies obsession with looks, outward appearance as opposed to the heart, and its erroneous message that the outside is really what is important is something that has definitely affected me personally as well as many women close to me.  Throughout times of struggle in this matter I lean into what I know to be true through Christ and that I am beautifully made. Better yet, I am who I am and He knows every part of me and accepts me for exactly who I am. When the sometimes overwhelming screaming society begins to beat down on me physically, emotionally, and spiritually I have to turn to my Creator for truth. While it can be a struggle I am glad that deep down I do know the truth and that I do not have to be what society often tells me I have to be. One thing that hurts me to know though is that many people do not know this. Many women and girls are deeply and terribly affected by the message of perfection preached by advertising, the fashion industry and popular culture. That breaks my heart and I only wish those ladies knew their true worth and where their true identity lies. This program may be more on the extreme side, maybe it's not. I need to explore it further myself. One thing I have gathered though is that I like the part of the message it sends  ---> Live your life in a way that honors the One who made you. Be healthy, take care of the body you have here on earth, and glorify God with it. Exercise, eat healthy, and incorporate a community with you as you "diet" to help you do it in spiritually good way.


Let me know what you think if you feel so inclined. I am always happy to hear.


Thanks for reading my friends! Happy thoughts :)

Some Thoughts on Marriage

Processing new things can have an interesting impact on my thinking and exploration of these "new things" bring new insight that I appreciate. As I have been in London with my family and now studying, I have been experiencing so much. Unlike the previous times I have been over here, I feel I am more conscious and aware of things and checking my reaction to things.

Now going back to my previous blog about my cousin's wedding, and never have been to a civil ceremony I want to dig through what I noticed. Before going to the wedding I had talked to my Nana about how civil ceremonies can have absolutely no religious reference or affiliation at all. Or else it must be stopped and can not continue. Initially I was absolutely shocked by this and will admit that at first I was somewhat upset. My thoughts were how in the world could a wedding be stopped if something like this happened? That is a pretty drastic reaction. What about people who are consider themselves kind of religious? Where do same sex couple fit into to marriage in the UK? Many questions began to swim in my brain, let me tell you! After taking some time to think about it, I realized I needed to think more, and not have such an emotional response. Being a Christian and someone who receives my identity in my faith as opposed to worldly things, and a person who incorporates my faith into all areas of my life, I have honestly never thought about marriage outside of a religious context. As someone whose faith and my belief in God and Jesus Christ is the most important thing to me, I began to think about marriage outside of a religious context. Bare with me here... What I am saying is that I have never really stopped to think about marriage from a civil ceremony standpoint before. I am glad that my cousins beautiful and lovely wedding was the spark that ignited my mental flame.

So with my interest in their civil ceremony I hit the web and did some searching of my own. Here is the official info I got straight from the UK marriage website. Since I assume anyone who actually maybe possibly kinda reads or skims this is American like me, I will share my findings:

Check the website out for yourself @ ---> http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Registeringlifeevents/Marriagesandcivilpartnerships/DG_175715

OR here are some of the highlights I found:

Civil marriages and civil partnerships

A civil marriage ceremony or civil partnership can take place in any register office in England or Wales, or at any venue approved by the local authority.  These include stately homes and other prestigious buildings, hotels and restaurants.

You will first need to formally give notice of marriage or notice of civil partnership.

On the day of your marriage or civil partnership, you will need to bring at least two other people who can sign as witnesses.

A civil marriage ceremony cannot have any religious content, but you may be able to arrange for individual touches such as non-religious music and readings to be added to the legal wording, and for the ceremony to be videoed. The register office where you intend to marry will be able to tell you more about the options available.

A Civil Partnership is legally formed by the signing of the civil partnership schedule. Like a civil marriage, this is also non-religious, but couples who wish to arrange for a ceremony should discuss this with the registration officials.

Welsh speaking marriages and civil partnerships
You can marry or form a civil partnership in Welsh in any place in which the Welsh language is commonly used. Both yourselves, your witnesses and the person conducting the marriage should be able to understand what is being said. You don’t have to have given notice in Welsh.

Religious marriages

If you wish to be married in the Church of England or Church in Wales, speak to the vicar of the church in which you wish to marry. There is usually no need to involve your local register office.

If you wish to have a religious ceremony other than in the Church of England or Church in Wales, you should usually:

• first arrange to see the person in charge of marriages at the building
• normally live in the same district as the church or religious building
• give formal notice to the superintendent registrar at your local register office unless one of you is subject to immigration control

You will need to bring at least two other people who can sign as witnesses at your wedding.

Civil partnership

Same-sex couples can have their relationships legally recognised as 'civil partnerships'.

Civil partners must be treated the same as married couples on a wide range of legal matters, including:

• tax, including Inheritance Tax
• employment benefits
• most state and occupational pension benefits
• income-related benefits, tax credits and child support
• their duty to provide reasonable maintenance for their civil partner and any children of the family
• ability to apply for parental responsibility for their civil partner's child
• inheritance of tenancy agreements
• protection from domestic violence
• immigration and nationality purposes

If you want to learn more about a wedding in the Church of England here's the link for that---> http://www.yourchurchwedding.org/

Do I think marriage is supposed to be between a man and a woman? Yes I do. I think marriage is a covenant made by a man and woman before God.

Do I think the government should be able to control who gets married? Heterosexual, homosexual, transgendered, etc? No, I do not. The government should not be able to control such a thing.
Do I think benefit and health care policies should only be for a heterosexual couple? No, I don't. Again, the government should not be able to control such things.
I may not agree with gay marriage personally, but that does not mean I do not support, care and love people with different sexual preferences than me. Trust me, I crazy love many people with different sexual preferences than me. I believe we are called to love everyone. If society and people place so much concern and in my opinion "hot air" arguing about these issues, I feel like we just end up not loving people, same sex couples or people that are different than we are. Discrimination is a wicked thing. Loving people who you don't agree with can be hard at times, we all know this. But think about how lovely it would be if we did just that  ---> L. O. V. E.

As I listened to what was being said at my cousin's wedding they talked about love, commitment, respect, honor, care, celebration, and many other special things. All things I have heard included in every Christian wedding I have been to, yet this time no mention of God. No prayers, no hymns, no blessing from a pastor. While I did feel it was weird at first to have this government lady (registrar) announcing everything that was going on in such a legal way, I began to really try to focus on what was being said. But after thinking about it, a pastor does something similar talking about the covenant of marriage. I can't even express how lovely, wonderful, happy, enchanting and amazing their wedding was!!! Seriously, it was great, I can't say enough good things. I had the best time!

As a result of this wonderful experience and thinking about these things for a day shy of a full week, I gained so much personal confirmation. I was confirmed in what marriage means to me personally in a big way and what I want to be included in my marriage. This was MY personal realization, through MY observations, and MY heart searching, not because of anyone else. I know every person and every couple entering into marriage is different, but I am so appreciative to experience this different marriage. Even though it is in the future, I very much look forward to my marriage one day down the road. I am genuinely excited, not in some obsessive marriage crazy kind of way, but in its own sweet timing, kind of excited way. Marriage is beautiful and such a gift. I look forward to being a wife one day.

Here is a BEAUTIFUL video I came across awhile back. It is wonderful no matter what you think about marriage. Watch it. It's worth it!!     (The article is great too, but if you want to cut to the chase, the video is at the end)

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/the-story-of-ian-larissa

Always feel free to comment on a post! Thanks for reading! Happy thoughts :)   You are great!

Here and There

As I sit here in London at my homestay family's house and see the clock reads 12:47 am (my time) I am reminded how tired I am. But I have been feeling for a few days how I am in a blog withdrawal. I have been seeing and experiencing some great stuff and want to share. Writing in a journal just is not exactly the same. Since I have journeyed across the pond and my feet it the ground at Heathrow airport I feel like I haven't stopped moving. While I may be tired, I can not complain one bit. I love being active, I love to keep a move on, and more than anything I love spending time with family.

I have not been blogging as frequent as I would of liked, but now that I am settled that should change. I have been busy doing lots of things. Some of them included...
 --Spending some much needed time with Amber. And going into central London a the day. My favorite part of that excursion was travelling in with no agenda and seeing where the day took us. As we walked out the doors of  Waterloo Station, looked at each other and asked "Where to now?" My response few out of my mouth with a "Well, it looks like a lot of people are going this way (as I point down the road). Why don't we follow them?" Amber responds with a smile and off we go! We went all over, but my favorite part was our time in St. Margaret's Chapel which is a small chapel outside of Westminster Abbey followed by eating a a tavern called St. Stephen's Tavern directly across from the Abbey.

 -- Another enjoyable part of the first 10 days was going up to Potters Bar with Amber to her Auntie Pam and Uncle Al's house. I can honestly say they are two of the sweetest, loveliest people ever! I loved being with them and spending time with Amber and her family. We chatted a lot and talked about life, which was great. I said goodbye to Amber for the longest time we have ever been away from each other since we have become friends!!! Yikes! This was a big step for us. Haha. I look forward to meeting up with her again in Paris in July!

 -- I got to spend a good amount of time with my family and catching up. We had long dinners, talks on the deck, magic shows (or Uncle Ian making me feel absolutely clueless!), grocery store and errand outings, and relaxing. All of which was so good to do with the people I love dearly and do not get to see as often as I would like.

--Then there was a beautiful and enchanting wedding! Anthony and Michelle got married and became Mr. and Mrs. Osborne!!! It was such a beautiful day weather-wise accompanied with a day filled with joy, celebration, love, dancing, fireworks, and so much more. It was a fantastic day on many levels. One thing I want to note now and will talk about in a later blog is marriage ceremonies. First off, I have never been to a wedding in another country before. Secondly I have never been to a non-religious wedding. In England they call the civil ceremonies. I know their are civil marriages in America, but I have never heard of such a ceremony like the one Anthony and Michelle had. It was interesting and beautiful all in a way I had never experienced before. (I plan on exploring this further later)

--I moved out of living with my family and moved into my homestay family's house with my roommate Elizabeth. After looking forward to this Study Abroad Maymester (which basically takes place in all of June) for so long it was great to finally meet my homestay parents and start this new journey and new exploration of London like I have never experienced previously. My homestay parents are extremely kind, considerate and caring. They have treated us like their own family and have been welcoming, warm, inviting and sweet. It will be fun getting to know them as I get to live with them.

--I have begun to meet more of my classmates on a personal level and look forward to our excursions together and to get to know them deeper. Today we had fun during the day then this evening many of us went to the coolest pub I have ever seen, heard of, or been in!! It is about a 15 minute walk up a massive hill ,(the largest/ tallest natural place in London) past the Alexandra Palace, and through a park. Quite a lovely walk. The pub is called O'Neils and it is an old church that has been converted into a pub! Interesting... was my first thought. Elizabeth and I had heard about the place from our homestay parents, but I had no idea what to expect. Let me tell you it look exactly like some beautiful old church you would see in central London. It had a massive steeple, arch and very high ceilings, and upstairs, and great stained glass windows. I thought the place was great. I am going to definitely go back several times, take pictures and a video for sure.

It is an exciting and busy time to be in London! As Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee approaches this coming weekend (June 2-4th) and the country has a 2 day back holiday, it is England and Queen Elizabeth pride galore! Lots of parties and celebrations are starting and it will be crazy this coming weekend with endless festivities. I am looking forward to experiencing them. And the London Olympics and Para-Olympics will be here in the end of July so there is lots of preparation for that. Lots of buzz, hustle and bustle and tourists!

Here is an interesting article I found on TIME about 86 things you may not know about the Queen.  

86 Surprising Facts About Queen Elizabeth II. Check it out! I thought it was pretty cool. 

My favorites were #20 The Queen is the only person in Britain who can drive without a license or number plate on her state car. #42 Queen Elizabeth has 30 godchildren. (how does she keep them all straight?!) #81 She once demoted a footman for giving her corgis whiskey. (haha)

Well I am fading fast and will be up and running again soon. I will post again tomorrow (Wednesday) evening.

Thanks for reading! Happy thoughts :)

Dr. Pepper

Recently while watching TV with my brother and his girlfriend, a Dr. Pepper 10 commercial came on. To be honest, when I first saw it I thought it was funny. At the same time it did not sit well with me. After watching the commercial the three of us had a similar reaction of "Wow, really?!" I didn't know that Dr. Pepper has had this advertising style or similar group of commercials for a little while (I rarely watch TV, so this was all new to me).

Don't get me wrong, I realize stereotyping and what society deems as "typical gender role" commercials are everywhere. I was surprised at how many stereotypes this commercial was filled with. You should try to count them, how many do you find? I get what Dr. Pepper is trying to do here, make women frustrated and want to drink the drink even more. Also it gets people talking that's for sure.

I posted this video on my Facebook and some of my friends had interesting things to say. Hmmm.

Here's the commercial I am referring to...

Thanks for reading. Happy thoughts :)