Breast Cancer Three Day Walk... again.

HI!

Yes, I'm doing it again - I signed up for the 2010 Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure™! I had such an incredible experience doing the Komen 3-Day for the Cure with Team Super Awesome in 2008 that I'm going back for more. I'm so excited about this event, even though this year I really know what I've gotten myself into.

This event isn't easy, but I promise you, I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't believe 100% that it was worth every muscle ache, weary night and training walk!

I need your help. I have been planning on doubling the $2300 that you - my friends and family - gave so generously last time around to help end breast cancer. However, due to my poor planning and busy summer schedule I am still working to raise the $2300 minimum. I am currently 23% of the way towards this new goal.

Net proceeds from the Komen 3-Day for the Cure are invested in community-based breast health programs and breast cancer research. The research funded focuses on decreasing breast cancer incidence and mortality in the next decade. Susan G. Komen for the Cure® works hard to build a future without breast cancer. I’m sure we can all take a few minutes to name friends and family that have been impacted by this devastating disease. Please help me reach my goal because, as they say, “Everyone deserves a lifetime.”

Donations may be made at http://www.the3day.org/goto/hannah. All donations are tax deductible and company gift matching is highly encouraged.

If you have any questions or want to hear more about what I'm doing, I love talking about the event. Thanks for all of your support (hugs, high fives, funds and every other way!). I'm incredibly lucky to have people like you in my life!

Love,
Hannah

P.S. Don't wait - donate today!

Thoughts from a recent email...

I'm still volunteering with Youth Dynamics. I have three more weeks before I have to head back to Seattle and "the real world". I've had such an amazing summer of growth. I don't even know where to begin! God has been doing awesome things through the people here. I thought I was coming here to serve the summer staff here as they minister to middle and high school aged kids. Oh man, it's been so much more than that! I've gotten to learn from the summer staff (and hopefully they've learned a thing or two from me too), from the full time staff here, from the books I've been able to read, and the conversations I've heard others having. I'm super jazzed right now and my evolving relationship with and trust in Jesus. I'm a bit nervous about going back to Seattle and forgetting all that I've learned. But I'm also excited to take my current energy back to All Saints' (I've been thinking we need a college ministry/life group) and my friends and hope to keep fueling my fire.

Looking out the window...

Looking out the window in my office I can see the sun on the grass and trees. I can see a slight breeze rustling through the leaves. Looking out the window in my office I can see piles of papers related to my current project in my peripheral vision. I can hear Pandora sing me soothing songs. I should be focusing on my computer screen, not the trees, the grass, the sun, or the breeze. Even though I'm at a pretty good stopping point for the day, I feel like I should be doing something.

Everyone is so busy today. There are three trips starting today so everyone is getting ready. Some are packing their packs, loading coolers and trucks while others are praying and program planning. They are all about to start another week long adventure. I on the other hand am not. I am trying to do as much of my job as I can without all the information I need.

I got a new book today. My women's group is studying it over the summer and even though I won't be there to join in the discussions with them, I'm excited to read along. The book is about trusting God. I'm pretty excited to get into it. Perhaps I'll go for a hike and find a spot to sit and read. That sounds lovely.

I need to write a post about my summer so far. But I don't think now is the time to do that. Maybe sometime soon though.

Saturday May 29, 2010

Saturday 5:00am

I woke up. It was early. I’m generally an early riser, but I’d stayed out a little later than I had originally planned and for some reason 5:00a is very different from 6:00a. Life’s been so busy lately that I hadn’t taken the time to pack for my long weekend until now. I’m not just saying life’s been busy because I’m a procrastinator, which I often am, but because it really has been busy! The school year is winding down, but that doesn’t mean the activity level does. Just last week alone I had the end of the season party for my running group, the last game, end of the season party, and a WNBA basketball game for the 5^th grade basketball team, and our big Talent Showcase. Those were just the afterschool activities. That’s a lot and it doesn’t even count the preparation and logistics that were involved. And to top it all off I spent most of my free time last week packing up boxes and taking trips 45min South of Seattle to move my stuff to my dad’s for the summer. Ok, back to my point. 5:00a came early.

Saturday 6:00a

After packing everything I could think I’d need and then some, I hit the road. Two fairly uneventful hours later I arrived at my destination: Stonewater Ranch (SWR) in Leavenworth, WA. (you can check it out at www.yd.org/stonewater) I parked and though there were a lot of cars in the lots I didn’t see a single person walking around. This is the part of starting something new that I don’t like… “The I don’t know where I’m going and I’m sure it looks totally obvious to anyone who might be watching” part. We (humans) can be so self conscious/self centered at times. It sometimes surprises me.

Saturday 8:00a

It didn’t take very long for me to wander before I found just the people I needed to find. I got a brief welcome to the camp, directed to the sleeping quarters aka “The Lodge” by Shane, the volunteer coordinator. His wife, Kady, offered to show me to and around the Lodge. After a quick tour and finding a bed to lay my things I went over to “The Chalet”. This is the place where the community eats. After quick breakfast burrito and a whirlwind of names and handshakes I headed down to “The Gym”.

Saturday 8:30a

The primary purpose of my presence at Stonewater Ranch, at least for this weekend, was to a Wilderness First Aid (WFA) class. Throughout the class I got to know a lot of the twenty-three other people there, some I’ll be working with throughout the summer and some I’ll probably never see again.

Saturday 6:00p

After a very long day, we finished. Tomorrow will be another long day, but for the rest of the day we can do what we’d like. I took this time to have dinner, along with everyone else, and chat with whoever was around. A bunch of the guys headed of to go bouldering with headlamps in tow, so the camp got really quiet very quickly. I got myself settled in to my room, familiarized myself with The Lodge, enjoyed the view (pictures to come) and the piece and quiet for a little while. I even got a head start on my Narratives, which are the written paragraphs I have to write about each of my students as their end of the year assessment (we don’t use traditional grading systems).

Saturday 8:30p

The director of the SWR, Greg, came over to the lodge and chatted with me for a bit. We had spoken over the phone a couple times, but this was the first time that we got a chance to get to know each other a little bit. He told me about what SWR is about, how it came to be, and where he sees it going. We talked about my role here for the summer might look like, which was good since I’ve had an idea, but it’s been sort of vague.

Saturday 9:00p

After meeting with Greg, I went over to the office, the only area with wireless internet, and checked in for a little while. When I got back to The Lodge, I sat with a three of girls who’ll be on the summer staff with me. We studied what we’d covered during our WFA class and had a nice time just hanging out.

Saturday 11:00p

It was finally bedtime. After such a busy/productive day it felt so good to sleep! It’s going to be a really interesting summer here at Stonewater Ranch.

It's Almost May

I've been busy. Too busy? Probably. Let's see... I last updated this in January. I've done a bit since then...

January
- Moved to my new house. It's a 3 bedroom, 1 bath with two other people and one other dog. Harvard and I like it just fine. We've got a nice comfortable room and a view of Lake Washington.
- Snowboarded as a chaperon for my school's ski and snowboard bus. I got to go riding six or seven times this year and it was a blast. I even went off a box and landed it for the first time. I'm hoping next year I'll have the gear, time, and money to make a season pass feasible.
- Visited Bickleton for a long weekend. While there I got a 2000 Subaru Outback Impreza. It has some wear and tear but it holds more people and has heat/AC which were my main issues with my little Ford Ranger.
- Work went great! I helped chaperon a few trips to Camp Waskowitz with various classes so they could do some low ropes/team building type activities. I also had the opportunity to take a two day course on facilitating those types of activities. I'm hoping to get more training on that soon!

February
- Continued coaching basketball which had started back in November. The team really got into it's groove this month and were a lot of fun to work with.
- Played on a soccer team for the first time since I was five and did well! I'm not a regular substitute and get to play several times per month.
- Visited Bickleton again for a full week (mid-winter break). This time I did nothing while there. It was nice. I was ready to get home and get active again by the end though.

March
- Basketball season ended just as Track season began. We had a big pole vault turn out again this year. I also started a one day a week running group at my middle school which has been a lot of fun. So for those of you keep count that's three to four days a week of high school track and one day a week of middle school run group. aka fun.
- Visited Portland for a weekend. I got to see my friends Courtney and Karen (both were six months pregnant at the time). It was nice to get out of the city for a quick bit and catch up with these awesome ladies.
- Took a class at my church in which "we explored the essence of Jesus' invitation to trust and follow him. We looked at living with grace as our foundation by focusing on trusting Jesus in the contexts in which we live and began simple spiritual practices that enabled us to grow." It was a really useful class.
- Went on weekend adventures to the Olympic peninsula and competed in an orienteering race.
- JP came to visit so we hung out quite a bit and celebrated his 25th birthday!

April
- Visited Arizona for the first time since I graduated/moved back to Seattle in Dec. 2007. I met an aunt and cousin in Phoenix who I didn't know. Hung out with the family that took me in while I lived in Flagstaff. Went hiking in Sabino Canyon in Tucson. Hung out with friends from community college just like old time. Played a lot of poker with Sophia and even one some hands.
- Started seeing a counselor and have found that time to be very valuable and well spent.
- Dog-sat Chowder 5000, the Boston Terrier.
- Volunteered as a course monitor at an adventure race that combined kayaking, running, orienteering, and mountain biking for an ALL DAY event.
- Celebrated my grandmother's 81st birthday.

Coming up...
- I'm running a 5k around Greenlake with my middle school running group on Sunday.
- I'll hopefully be signing a contract for my teaching job next year in the next week or two.

Life's been good, but super busy. I want to work on slowing down a bit, but there are just so many wonderful opportunities that I don't want to miss out on! I want to help coordinate the next mission trip for my church. I want to do races, go camping, and backpacking. I want to get more training and become a better teacher. I want to travel some more. There is too much to do in this life. There is too much goodness to be taken in. There are too many cool people to spend time with and learn from. There is too much life to be had to slow down now. So I won't. =)

Finally... El Salvador Part 1

Welcome to Castillo del Rey (aka King's Castle) in El Salvador.

We arrived in El Salvador on a cool, misty morning. Our flight left Seattle in the evening and we flew through the night. The missionaries we were to work with met us at the airport and took us to camp where we would be staying for the week.

After dropping off our bags in the "dorms" we had time to wander around the camp for a little while before our orientation. Since my camera pales in comparison to my teammates it stayed in my camera for most of the trip. These pictures were ALL taken by my friend, April.

After a brief orientation (breakfast is served at 6a, dinner is at 6p, the guard dogs are relieced at 10p so you better be in your dorm, and don't throw the TP in the toilet) we all gathered in a small room to prepare for the week's purpose. Provide medical care for the people of El Salvador who have none. Back in Seattle we had raised money to buy drugs to send down. The drugs arrived only two days before we did and now it was time to sort the huge bottles of pills in to one month doses.
Tim and Pam are American missionaries who live in El Salvador now. They were our go to people. They are in the brown shirts with their backs to the camera. Joshua is sitting at the head of the table. Mark has his elbows on the table (tsk, tsk) and Ed is sitting next to me. The rest of the team will be introduced later.
I can't remember how many hours we spent counting those pills, but it was a long time. Especially since we essentially rolled off the plane and got to work. Nurse Mary (the only real nurse on our medical team) is sitting next to me. Spending these hours at the table counting pills was a great opportunity for us all to get to know each other. We had had meeting before the trip, but this was the first time we had all just hung out together. And once the sleep deprived delirium started setting in things got really interesting!
Each team that comes Castillo del Rey is assigned a couple Master's Commission students. These were two of our four, Beta (32) and Vanessa (22). Master's Commission is esentially college/university for those who want to be missionaries. It's an incredible program. I learned a lot about faith from these two.
On Day 2 (aka Sunday) we went to church. This tent is the church. "We aren't going to keep people from getting saved just because we don't have a building." I don't remember who from King's Castle said this, but boy, it sure does say a lot doesn't it? Busloads of people came from all over the region to attend church.
Shortly after we got there, the kids came over to meet us, chat, ask questions, touch our hair, hold our hands, and sit on our laps. Here I am with Stacy and a couple of the girls. This was my first chance to test out my Spanish! Luckily I still remember enough to ask them their names, ages, favorite classes in school, favorite colors, and things like that. They were very sweet and had grins on their faces from ear to ear.
Worship was a pretty incredible experience. We didn't recognize many of the songs, but the emotions under the tent were pretty universal.
At one point during the service the ladies on the mission team were invited to hand out food sacks to some of the members of the congregation. These were people whose pastors had given an ID card to to indicate that they were in need of food. Stacy gave this man a bag and look how grateful he is. By American standards there was virtually nothing in the bag, look how small it is, but to these people who have so little, this food would help get them through the month!
We were all very moved by the whole church experience. Here Mary, Tony, and Ed are joined together for prayer. We were very fortunate to have a guest speaker at the church while we were there. He spoke in Spanish while his brother who founded Castillo del Rey Ministries translated the message to English for us.
Here Mary and (the other) Ed are praying for a young boy to be healed.
On our first day of the medical clinics (aka day three aka Monday) it was beautiful out. We hadn't been able to see the tops of the mountains because of the rain and the fog that had been there before, but that was gone now and it was beautiful!
Our white school bus drove us all over San Salvador. We spent hours on that bus every day and loved it. It gave us an opportunity to see the country as well as spend hours talking, sharing, and getting to know each other. The trip wouldn't have been the same without that bus.

Tony found a lovely pair of women's scrubs to wear. When April bet him $100 that he wouldn't wear them for two days of clinics he jumped at the chance to earn money for the ministry.

We arrived at our first clinic of the week to a room full of people. Tony handed out stickers to the kids while Mary and Joel set up. The folks waiting got quite a kick out of Tony's scrubs.

Tony also used his artistic skills to draw characatures of all the kids. He also learned to write God Bless You on each picture. The kids LOVED it!

This was our pharmacy. Each bin was filled with bags. Each bag was filled with little bags with a month's worth of meds. We had Blood Pressure meds, inhalers, anti-fungals, pain killers, vitamins, etc. I spent most of my time at the pharmacy with Ed. We had a great system down and a lot of fun!

Some of the kids came down with a rare condition of sticker pox.

After seeing the doctor each visitor to the clinic went to see a counselor. The counselors were the Master's Commission students. Here Vanessa is praying with a man. While with the counselor each person was asked if they knew Jesus. Then they would talk about things they could pray for. If the person chose to ask God into their lives they would pray about that and of course anything else that was on the person's heart.

Nurse Mary and Missionary Tim took blood pressure, pulses, and other basic intake info at the first station.

This young guy is coloring the pictures Tony drew for him while his mother spoke with the doctor.

This gal was waiting for her mom to go through all the lines so I went and chatted with her for a bit. She likes playing soccer and loves to score.

Dios le Bendiga!

Here is our crew in action!

Here's to a successful first day of working the medical clinic!

To be continued...

Happy 2010

Harvard doesn't quite understand the "dog bed" concept.

So I'm a little late with a New Year's post but that's ok. It's not like I'm in the habit of updating on a regular basis anyway. Life has been pretty good so far in 2010 if I recall correctly...

New Years was kinda crappy, but I've generally thought it was an overrated holiday anyway. That was Thursday night.

By Friday I was feeling good. I worked on unpacking and had sushi with my friend that night. It was a nice way to spend the day.

Saturday, I went to my usual kickboxing class and had a good chat with one of the other regulars. She said she was going to a tango practica later that night and said I should go too. I said I'd think about it. I did some more unpacking than called up my friend Gina to see if she wanted to go to the practica with me. And she did! So we went! It was pretty intimidating. I've never tangoed so it was all new, but it was fun. We learned some basics and met some new people. I'm glad that I tried it, but I don't know if I'll go back. I think I want to learn a dance, I'm just not sure tango is it.

On Sunday I went to church then to lunch with a friend. It was so nice out that we walked Greenlake after. Beautiful winter days are so few and far between that we would have been foolish not to!

Then Monday came and with it came school and basketball again. Both are fun and challenging in their own ways. I heart teaching. It's totally worth getting out of bed every day for.

On Tuesday I got to have dinner with my friend April. We went to El Salvador together with our church. We had good food and great conversation. The relationships that came from that trip have meant SO much to me I can't even begin to articulate it.

Wednesday and Thursday were pretty much business as usual, except for snowboarding. I'm a chaperon for the school's ski and snowboard bus. Which means I get to go snowboarding every Thursday for the next six weeks. It makes for LONG (13hr) days, but it's super fun and when else do I get to learn to snowboard and ride for free?!

On Friday I had an awesome day. I don't usually work on Fridays unless I'm subbing so I had the day off. I used some gift cards to buy a bunch of books online and groceries at PCC (I've decided to "go organic" and this was my first real step in that direction). Then Harvard and I went for a nice two mile long walk through my new neighborhood. I found a park (and P-Patch) that I didn't know was there then made my way down to the Lake Washington shores. It was so nice. We really lucked out with the weather too. It sprinkled occasionally but didn't start raining until we were almost back at the house. Once we got back I did some organizing/cleaning while Harvard napped. Later that night I went to see my pastor's son play varsity basketball. I haven't been to a high school basketball game in ages. It was fun and I was surprised by how many friends from church came to watch too.

Saturday my friend took me to my first orienteering race at Marymoor park. If you aren't familiar with orienteering it's pretty basic. They give you a map with check points on it and you go to the check points (in order) then return to the start. My course had 11 check points. The toughest course had 28 check points. I ran around, got muddy, tired, and cut up but had so much fun! I think I'm definitely going to have to do it again sometime. Sometime soon. AND it's something that Harvard can do with me. Unfortunately, kickboxing isn't the most pet friendly activity. From there I raced home to clean up so that I could meet my friend Stacey for lunch. She's another friend from my El Salvador mission. Like I said, those relationships have been a blessing! Then Saturday evening I babysat. It was a long/busy day. But it was such a good day.

Yesterday (Sunday) Harvard and I went to church. Yes, I took my dog to church with me! We got there early so we could go for a walk then we stood out front of church to greet my friends as they came by. I think Harvard enjoyed all the attention. He took a nap in the truck while I was at the service. After we went to puppy class! I've been looking forward to this class since the last class ended. This is Intermediate Obedience/Beginning Agility. Harvard is going to get to weave through cones, go up and down ramps, and jump through hoops. Not to mention hone his other basic commands like staying and heeling. He's such a good little student. After class he got his nails trimmed then went home for a much deserved nap. I got to organize my closet which is something I hadn't done. I had been just putting everything in there that belonged in there. But now everything is where it ought to be and it is so nice. I'm feeling much more settled now. For dinner I went over to a friend's house. We had Mexi-Sunday because Mexi-Mondays are no more. It had been several weeks since Christine and I had hung out so it was really good to talk with her. We also watched Away We Go, which is super cute.

So that's been my life lately. Mostly good things are going on. Each day I'm feeling more settled, relaxed, and optimistic. I suppose I should fill in some blanks... Flynn and I are no longer together as of a little over a month ago. That change meant I had to move, hence all the unpacking and organizing. I'm working on trusting God's plan for my life and so far so good. So yeah. 2010. I think it's going to be a pretty good year.

Harvard on his way home from puppy class. He's falling asleep sitting up!

He tried to fight it... but it was useless. The sleep was inevitable.