My Heart, My Desire

Since my trips to Taiwan in 2005 & 2006, there has been a deep yearning in my heart to be involved in building relationships with those from other cultures-specifically Asians. I have been lost with where to go or what to do. Several had mentioned that I should head to Lindenwood University & work with the International Students. While that sounded great, I had no idea what I could do or who I would even need to talk to that could help me. A few months ago, a friend of mine approached me at church & handed me a flyer. He did not ask me if I wanted to take part in this ministry or if I would even be interested. His only request was that I get the word out to others about the ministry that our church would be partnering with. Doug did not have to beg & plead with me to jump at the opportunity because he knew my heart. He knew that I would not have to think about it or hear more details. That which was being presented, was what I had prayed for long ago! 2 weeks ago was the beginning of fulfillment for me as I walked into the room at the Spellman Center at Lindenwood & met a number of International Students. Strange how I am generally an introvert & when in a group, say nothing but when put in a room amongst many internationals, I have no problem being outgoing. I find myself walking right up, extending my hand & introducing myself. I long to talk to them, find out where they are from, learn about their country, hear about their interests & so forth. All of these things have been pouring out of me as I have gotten acquainted with my new friends. As I continue to spend time with these students & our relationships deepen, I pray that God stirs their hearts & that He uses me to share His love freely. I think back to 2006 when I came home from Taiwan & began to write of my experiences & mail those out to you, my friends. Included with my letter, I sent out picture prayer cards that had both myself as well as one of my students. On the card, I had the following scripture: "Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. " - Romans 10:1 Three years later, my prayer remains the same for the Hakka in Taiwan & 3 years later, my prayer is also the same for my new found friends. When I think of them, immediately the song above (in the video) comes to mind. Truly, that is my heart, my desire.

Entering the World of Gaming

Who'd have thunk that I would ever be entering the world of gaming? By gaming, I mean video games. Yes, I have succumbed. Early in the summer, I ran into an old friend (well, more of an acquaintance really) at a store. Over the last few months, we have begun to spend more time one another. Of his many interests & hobbies, is his intense devotion to playing video games. Having never really played much, he's been kind enough (if that's what we should call it) to allow me to join him in playing. For someone who is an avid player such as he, having to play with someone who has not a clue about remotely anything has to be frustrating. Yet, at the same time, I think he is pleased to show me up as well as laugh at how pitiful I am. On our first night of game playing, we played Mario Kart.I am keenly aware that Mario Kart was designed with children in mind & that many kids play the game. I, however, might not learn as fast as most. While it is true that I drive a car nearly every day & seem to operate it just fine, managing a tiny steering wheel for a video game is a bit more complicated-at least it seems to be for me anyway. After not fairing well in Mario Kart, my friend allowed me to drive his Lamborghini in the game Need for Speed. He was quite amused that in a game requiring speed, I was finding it hard to move beyond 65 mph. Even at that, I felt a need to slow things down. In my attempt to play things safe, I managed to crash into the wall numerous times & go the wrong direction several times (I might add that I was not even aware that I was going the wrong way until my friend pointed it out to me). My first evening of "gaming" was less than stellar. Apparently my friend felt that I needed some more practice because he offered to let me return for more games. Last week was round two. For some reason, we did not play any racing/driving games...I wonder why? This time, he picked out games that he thought I might be more suited to. I do not think he would tell you that I was great but I do think he would say that I was better at some of the other games than that which we played the first night. In my second attempt at playing video games, we did Lego Batman...he was Batman, I was Robin. Good thing it was not real life because I did not make a very good sidekick to Batman.We played Peggle (which, in my friends words, was easy enough for me) & I absolutely loved it. As the night went on, we tried out some other games as well. While I am not going to be beating anyone in these games anytime in the near future (or ever more than likely), I am enjoying trying them out. Who knows, now that I've started on this ride, maybe I'll set out to watch Star Wars, Star Trek & jump into the world of comics next. Then, when the next round of Beauty & the Geek airs, maybe I'll be "geeky" enough to enter as one of the geeks...I'll walk in as a Superhero or something. OK, so perhaps that might be a bit overboard. I think Sci-Fi is out of the question for me-no one need fear that I'm going to be moving into the nerd-herd.