Bird's Eye View

So the internship isn’t what they said it would be. It feels so horrible being deceived. All sins are the same, but sometimes it feels like lying is the worst of them all. They have great PR…maybe animal assisted therapy used to happen sometime in the past, but it isn’t happening now. Green Chimneys is a wonderful institution. The kids do receive great treatment and there are many success stories. So I’ve gained way more than I could have imagined being here and interacting with the kids. It’s just that I didn’t gain anything I did come here for (AAT)…and it sucks when U’ve been deceived. That’s all. And I also know now that cleaning stalls is not an enjoyable experience. Hopefully it has burned some of my excess adipose tissue  So why do I wanna get outta here? Because the kids aren’t here…the idea was that a kid would work along with us, and it would be therapeutic. But the kids are on a semi-vacation this week and next (my last weeks)…so all we interns are doing is cleaning and cle...

I get to go in late, at 8 instead of 7:30. The day starts with the regular chores of feeding all the animals then on to the daily chores of cleaning. But on Sundays, I get to take an hour off from 10am-11am to go to the 'religious' service. They think it's important for people to 'practice' their religion, so they were more than accommodating for me to take the hour out of my regular schedule. I didn't bother to explain that my 'religion' is 'practiced' 24/7. The service is really just a non-denominational christian gathering. We sing a couple songs, contemporary stuff, then we pray around the room for those that want to then there's a Bible story. (And we get snacks at the end!)It's kinda kool watching those kids sing and praise the Lord. I wonder how much the Lord is involved in other parts of their lives. After church, I head back to work - more chores, but I pick up kids too for learn and earns. It's kool working with/around the a...

Straight through UWI and still now, I've never really drank alcohol. I like Smirnoff cause it tastes like Ting and I like Rum Cream...cause it taste like cream :) I've always thought drinking was pointless. I couldn't understand why. I got drugs, and I got sex. They felt good (so I heard). But all I remembered from drinking was people puking. How was that inviting? That was until recently. People laugh when they drink. They're happy. They still know the realities of life, but just for a little, life isn't so bad. So drinking really isn't that pointless. I'm not sure why it took me so long to realise that the real reason I don't drink is the same reason I don't smoke or don't have sex (or shouldn't eat so much junk food). It's because my body isn't my own. I've been bought with a price. I don't own my body. I can't determine what I do with it. And God says not to get drunk. He says my body is precious, and that I'm to t...

I was talking to my aunty yesterday about Green Chimneys, and it’s like my insides came alive! You see, I’ve always wanted to work with animals. And when I was choosing my profession in 3rd form, Vet Med was the only thing I knew that fit that criterion. But, now, I’ll be learning about animal assisted therapy (AAT) these next three months. I’ve worked with special needs kids before, and I loved it thoroughly. Then to know that I can combine these two things, it’s just...wow. So my mind ran on Wycliffe. If I’m now questioning if I’ve found my life’s calling, then what of Wycliffe? I learnt, in Chad, when talking to one of the young missionaries there, that the Lord doesn’t necessarily call you for 20years, as was traditionally thought. The Lord could lead you to do something for that period of time. Take Joseph’s life story. Imagine if he thought that being the head of Potiphar’s house was it. Then this whole sexual assault thing comes in. He could have been devastated that now his li...

It’s been 2 weeks since I wrote. I got to the wedding. It was amazing! I didn’t trip, and I ensured the bride didn’t trip either. Got through my speech too...I was ‘concerned’ about it, to be honest. But that wedding was exactly like my sister and her husband (yes, I can say it like that now!). Mr. Groom basically built the entire set-up with his own hands. The decorations down the aisle, the altar, the easel for the picture ‘guest book’, the King and Queen thrones, the cake stand...even the dance floor!!! So I’m just very impressed with my brother-in-law for surprising my sister like that. Not that she deserves anything less though. Since I’ve been home, people keep asking me how the trip was. I don’t know what to answer. How do I answer? It was great. But I don’t know how to explain something so awesome and something so very different to anything the hearer could imagine. It’s too much to say, and I don’t know where to start. Some are not really interested. They care that I had to...

When I was a teenager, on any given Friday night, there’d be some clash of events. My dad would form his hand into the letter ‘C’. He said we simply had to make a choice. But that was never good enough for me. I didn’t want to miss anything. So I always worked out a way to catch the beginning or ending of one thing or the other. I wanted to do it all, and then, it seemed I could. But life doesn’t always work that way and now I’ve got the Big C to think about again as I make my way home. My long term plans are a big consideration, but even just what to do with my summer is causing me undue stress. But it is a good thing to have Godly people around that can give you advice or even just to listen. And I’m also encouraged by 1 Sam 8 (was pointed to this passage by a Godly friend) where the Israelites wanted a King. It wasn’t a good thing for them, but God still gave them what they wanted. The thing is though, He explained to them clearly that the decision wouldn’t be in their best interes...

It seems that so much has happened (in Jamaica) in these past 2 weeks. One high school classmate got married, another had his first child. I got to skpye in on a meeting with some of the bridesmaids for my sister's wedding. Anoter of my family members is not so single anymore. :D My Dad and my aunt (in Canada) had birthdays. One of my friends (in Bimshire) from UWI is getting married today too. Jim and Pam on The Office had a baby girl! Ok, so that last one doesn't really count. We've been doing literacy training here; training teachers to teach others. It's been great meeting the Sudanese in this unusual situation of being refugees in a foreign land. But so much good has come out of it. Would they have had the time to come to a class if they were tending their fields in their own land? (Like the story of Joseph with others planning evil, but God planning good) I see them smile, and enjoy gaining knowledge. I really like them. I'm liking them so much I think I don...