Shipwrecked: June 2016

I haven't been active on social media in the last three weeks or so because a lot has happened, and my husband and I have been working non-stop! This post may be a bit long...

First we were trying to get our place ready for Max's visit! We were so excited to have a friend come and we wanted him to be comfortable. So we spent time measuring our house and planning out how we wanted to use the space and what we wanted to buy. Then there was the time we spent measuring furniture at Ikea, buying beds, and searching in many local stores for various home goods (like I said before, shopping here takes exponentially longer and requires much more effort! I could write pages about the process...).

By the time Max arrived last Saturday night, we really only had the upstairs in decent shape for comfort: his bed built and bedding washed and set up, and the bathroom cleaned with all the needed toiletries (and our bed fully set up). Did I mention our apartment has two levels? I love it. We finally bought a can of Raid and attacked the ant community that was taking siege of our upstairs floor. It worked wonders. I haven't seen a single ant in an entire two weeks! It was only yesterday that I saw a small brigade under my nightstand and a bit of raid did the trick!

Our living room is still empty, and we only just today removed some of the dismantled furniture that came with the place (shelving that takes up too much space, a bed frame that is impractical for our purposes, and an unsightly cabinet).

Because our space is small, we can't just go and get any couch. The size and shape is important. So we've played around with some different options that we have found at various stores. That's next on our list of needed big purchases (among other things). I felt like a spoiled American when I talked to my friend about the square meter-age of our place. He has a wife and two kids and lives in a 55 square meter apartment, while my husband and I live in a place that is at least 65 square meters. First world problems, right?

Potential new couch for our living room.

And that's just what's been happening at home! We work at King of Kings Community, and some major changes have happened in the prayer tower. Three Thursdays ago, we were brought into a meeting and left that same meeting with a new interim director and a whole lot more responsibility. We spent a week meeting and preparing for renovations that occurred the next week, and then another week reassigning watch leaders to a new formatted watch schedule (this is still in the process. Also, we call our two-hour prayer slots "prayer watches") and reassessing how the entire prayer tower ministry needs to adjust to fit the goals our leadership has for it. I've spent a lot of time thinking about what I believe about prayer.

The last director was promoted to different areas of ministry without a transition period. His partner had to step down because of extenuating circumstances that required him to be at home. Ideally, one would give a period of at least a 2 months to hand things off and train new people. In this case, things had to happen fast because of the fact that the new interim director only has three more months on her visa left to train a whole new team in that span of time. By the end of that period, a new permanent director will be chosen. Until then, five of us are reformatting everything from maintenance, to budget, to fundraising, to vision, to structure of prayer "watches." This all has been a bit shocking and overwhelming to the people involved, especially to the ones who were close to the leaders who moved on.

Because I am new, and not as emotionally attached to the place and people yet, it has mostly been a stimulating challenge. With my past experience training leaders, I've kept myself sensitive to the new team dynamics, being careful to establish relationships well, and bringing up the small issues that I see now so they don't grow into major future problems. I've learned the hard way that when I don't listen to my instincts and bring them up when they're small, I always regret it later. I have to say though, that I have been so pleasantly surprised by the quality of the people I work with. How they handle situations with grace and respect, how they have such maturity, how they have such a deep understanding of the word, and how they display humility where most people display hard pride... This has been a major blessing to me.

And to the larger group, I have to admit I underestimated everyone. With these kinds of jarring leadership shifts, I expected dramatic fall-out, gossip, and disappointed deserters... but I've only seen excitement, grace, and a capacity for kindness in situations I really expected to be awkward.

I am also doing my best to be aware of people's energy levels. The last time I worked on such a strong ministry team, we all expected too much of each other and created a burn-out culture in which people worked too hard and spent no time resting when they needed it. And because we were all drained and in need, we judged those who weren't working as hard as "less dedicated," which made people feel guilt when they did get a chance to rest. This is not a godly way of doing things. You can't take care of others when you yourself are already spent. We are to "love others as we love ourselves." I'll be the first person to push someone into rest because I know how devastating it can be to burn out.

It turns out, I work with some very dedicated people, whom I've really tried to push into rest... But I can tell you, it's a challenge to keep that empathetic attitude--even after all I've been through--when I myself am working too hard. For a good week this month, I was putting in 13-hour days. I had to fight the urge to feel angry at others who were protecting their rest and not helping me. I was able to resist it! Haha. And the crazy hours are behind me. We knew that if we put in the long hours in the beginning, we'd be able to begin a stable, sustainable schedule much sooner. This is just the nature of new beginnings. Next week, things will start settling down.

During those 13-hour days, we had to get our paint clothes on and do some good 'ole manual labor to spruce up the place. It seemed appropriate to make external changes in the process. We are still proceeding with ongoing renovations, but we will now pace ourselves in order to keep the place (and ourselves) operational.

I am happy to say that during this high-stress time, I've made it a priority to schedule times to work on my novel. One of my friends, Rachel, is also working on a novel, and we've begun meeting once a week to work on our writing. This is a huge joy to me. We go to a new cafe every week, and spend a little time talking and a lot of time writing. This has really helped me through the stress and different emotional build-ups from the all-consuming work. My writing is one part creative release, and one part emotional catharsis. And because my story deals with circumstances I've gone through, it has also helped me process through some different unresolved emotions, and thus I am able to deal with them personally and move past them into growth. I am glad we started this! It is definitely one of the highlights of my week! And I'm making major progress on the story itself.

So, Max came for a week and left (he was our first house guest! It was great to be able to explore the sights with someone from home!), our entire roles changed, and we moved offices. All of that while still learning how to get along in a new country has been a challenge (I'm really summing this up, here). I'm re-learning how to operate in such conditions with people I really feel I can trust, and while making intentional strides to take care of my needs. I haven't yet done it all perfectly, but I'm seeing progress, and that is encouraging.

Enjoy this slew of pictures from out travels with Max!

The two men in the dead sea.

View of the Galilee from the Mount of Beatitudes

Church of the Beatitudes. Apparently this hill is where Jesus gave his famous beatitudes speech.

Token "Sea Level" photo

Max thought this was so hilarious: the scripture about drinking the living water and never thirsting again, next to a spring with a sign that says "water not for drink"

Dustin and Max on the bank of the Galilee.

Dustin and Max at the synagogue in Capernaum.

Max next to the statue of Saint Paul in Capernaum (which is located on the sea of Galilee).

Very detailed mosaic floors in the church near Capernaum.

Old and new Mosaic together.

Max enjoyed seeing the various churches.

The "Indian" restaurant called Taj Mahal we ate at after a long day at the Dead Sea (they served Mediterranean food and nothing close to Indian cuisine. I was a bit disappointed, but I enjoyed the unique atmosphere. We ate sitting on cushions on the floor).

More of the restaurant. Check out the odd mannequin...

Imagine seeing this view from your window! Look at how small that road is! (view from Masada)

View from Masada.

Some of the interior was preserved here. Very interesting.

The cable cars we rode up on (because it was too hot to hike!)

I am the worst at selfies...

Masada is a site of the ruins of Herod's fortress city. It sits at the top of these cliffs bordering the Dead Sea. The sheer scale of it is incredible.