"Our Lord is like the dentists"

     "If you give Him an inch, He will take an ell.  Dozens of people go to him to be cured of some one particular sin which they are ashamed of...or which is obviously spoiling daily life...Well, He will cure it all right:  but He will not stop there.  That may be all you asked; but once you call Him in, He will give you the full treatment.  That is why He warned people to 'count the cost' before becoming Christians"--C.S. Lewis.
     I think that one of the most valuable things that I have learned over here is to hang on to the peace, even when I am unhappy.  There have been a lot of moments when I am confused, overwhelmed, and very insufficient in my own means (frankly, the last one applies to all moments in my life).  However, I have never had a question whether or not I should have come here, and I am thankful for that.  I feel like my experience over here has been like a birth, and not the birth you see in "Days of Our Lives", which involves a few tense moments with with background organ music followed  but a serene, hair still permed, mother....in five minutes.  I'm talking the kind of birth where there is.....well, I won't go into detail, but its not comfy, and it lasts a good 24 hours, and the mother is screaming at the implicated second party "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!"  There's good at the end, Jesus will see to that, but right now I am breathing like a train and packing some extra weight.
     One a different side of things, it is raining, has been raining all night.  So plans to convert the Kurds to the dark side, aka Ultimate Frisbee, are put on hold and we are going to head out to the bowling alley tonight around six.  That's after working out at some point today, I'm determined to run a half marathon in January as part of the World Vision Team.  Yay for no fundraising minimums that actually allow me to compete.  Started Arabic on www.livemocha.com, its a good site for free language courses, [check it out, but if you want to sign up, tell me first, if you use me as a reference I can save up for a free advanced course].
    I like baked oatmeal.  Had it for the first time this morning, D to the E to the licious.  I also like shifta (fried meat with spices and tomato) and had that for the first time last night at a birthday party (yes, I played hooky from the second half of church) but will hopefully never eat it again as my stomach is still retaliating. I have determined that my digestive system cannot handle grease in any form, so....goodbye Zads and half of the traditional food around here.  Sad.  My body wants to be a vegan but there is no way I am complying to that request.
 

May???

    Not really sure how it got to be this month already.  I have about half an hour before church starts so I am going to try to pound out a blog entry, while also trying to finish up an episode of Prison Break.  I have 76 days left in Suly (yes I am keeping a count down, but not in the "I can't wait to leave sense"  but in the "make every moment count" one).
   Fundraising is over!  I want to thank all of your for your faithful support again, it has been wondering and exciting to see the money come in from all different sources.  Some other answers to prayer:

1. I have a job!  Well, that is to say, haha, a back up job.  I have applied for an internship with TOMS shoes as a graphic designer, it would be paid and for three months and would be a great experience (you can keep praying for that).  I am also going to apply at my old Starbucks, which would be conveniently located a mile or so from my house.  However, my old manager who has since moved on to a new Starbucks said that he would take me back if the old location didn't work out.  Yay!
2. I have a house!  My wonderful and lovely mentor, Laura, from my church in Long Beach has offered me a place to rent in her house upon return, and I am very excited about being roommates with her.  Please pray that I can be an encouragement to her as she has been going through some rough transitions in her life.

   Overall, life is going smoothly here in Kurdistan.  Elise and I move on the 15th to our new home, and classes are now about half over. I continue to tutor my small little friend, Hajer, please continue to pray for my time with her.  She and her family (her mother, Manal, is one of our morning students) are moving to Jordan and we are trying to help her prepare to enter  into a school that teaches primarily in English.
   Yesterday we had a picnic with a bunch of friends, and are planning on an outing tomorrow to Parki Azadi, an adventure into the land of rollerblading, and perhaps, even trying to teach the Kurdish Nation ULTIATE FRISBEE!