A Spot of (Japanese) Tea

Last night was the lantern lighting festival at the Como Park Conservatory. The afternoon was filled with Japanese music, dancing, martial arts, and (my favorite) drumming. I don't know what it is about percussion that gets me so excited. Perhaps because it's like a heartbeat. And Mu Daiko is more than pounding rhythms; it's a dance.

I was surprised to see so many people in the park, but it was encouraging to see how many people wanted to celebrate St. Paul's relationship with their sister city, Nagasaki. And the many anime characters that were visiting the park made for some interesting people watching as well!

At dusk, volunteers lit three hundred lanterns and sent them floating on the ponds (both inside and outside the Japanese Tea Garden). We wished we could've seen the lights in the garden, but the line was really long. What we saw was beautiful enough :) I only wish that people wouldn't have been so loud and obnoxious during the lighting. The lanterns are sent out in honor of the dead, and I felt very little respect in the air. Oh well, that's Americans for you.

Here are some fabulous pictures taken by Josh to give you a glimpse of last evening. I think we will make this outing a yearly one.

Ready to be lowered

Getting darker

Gathering at the end of the pond

Superior Breeze

We are back! Back from a wonderful vacation on the North Shore where the sun tans our skin without killing us with its heat. The moment we stepped out of our car when we got home and the humid ninety-three degree air sucked our breaths away, we realized how much we had enjoyed that Lake Superior breeze. Those three nights spent in the cabin were the first nights this summer that I actually slept well. I loved having the loft windows open and listening to the lapping waves as I drifted off.

I'm not sure if I'd call our trip relaxing, though. Over the course of four days, we probably hiked close to ten miles--mostly uphill--all for the sake of geocaching. We found fourteen! A personal record. I have to say that I'm very proud of myself for pushing through the burning leg, calf, and shin pain; it was totally worth it (not to mention good practice for our Tennessee trip next month).

Now for some highlights:

1. Since it's Split Rock Lighthouse's 100th birthday, every first Friday of the month the park rangers turn on its light. I have never seen a state park so busy! We wandered down to the beach and waited for the moment (I'm pretty sure Josh got some good pictures of it that I'll try to post later). As it got darker outside, the beam became more pronouced and shot across the lake. It looked beautiful. I'm so glad we were there for that momentous occasion.

2. We stayed at the Blacklock Cabin, a secluded refuge for artists and travellers that sits on a cliff overlooking the lake. I absolutely love that place and will never get enough of it. It gives you the sense that you are the only people in the world.
One of the nights, Josh and I went down to the rock beach and had a campfire on the shoreline. In the distance, lightning was shooting from the clouds and dancing on the lake. An absolutely wonderful memory.

3. Thanks to geocaching, we discovered a few new and exciting places. One such place, near Silver Bay, was called Black Beach. The beach is made of pieces of taconite from the nearby mines, and it stretches for quite a ways. We gave up looking for the geocache, though, because we would've had to scale a treacherous rock outcropping (and by scale, I mean, scale). I hope Josh and Darwin don't think I'm a party-pooper, but I didn't want anyone to die! But, in my opinion, finding that beach made the trip totally worth it. Maybe we'll have to return and have a beach fire there too!

4. Also thanks to geocaching, we found Beaver Creek, one of those places you cross on the highway and don't give a second glance. Most of the creek weaves between huge rocks, making it very easy to rock hop and explore. It's nicely shaded and surprisingly peaceful, despite its being so close to the road. This place will have to be further explored, someday when we're not exhausted.

5. Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. I can't believe my family hasn't explored this place more! Josh and I found a really nice picnic area and a beautiful campground. It's a tent-only, cart-in campground, which is probably why I've never been there before. But not for long! Josh and I scoped out a few sites and discovered one overlooking the lakeshore. Someday--and I hope soon!--we will stay there :)

6. Yep, Split Rock Lighthouse State Park is the winner for the best places on this trip. Though the hike was longer than we expected (and Josh wasn't wearing good shoes), we finally found our last geocache. On the top of the Day Hill Trail stood a stone fireplace chimney, and no one really knows the story of it. It's rumored that a man by the name of Day was building a dream home for him and his future wife, but the construction stopped when she called off the wedding. Naturally, a tragic love story would catch my attention ;) I wish they had built a house up there on that huge flat rock, lived quietly together on top of the world, and watched the sunrise over the stirring lake. The view there is one of the best I've ever seen. Next time, I'm bringing a picnic. And maybe a few logs for the home.

6. Blueberry wild rice brats from Superior Meats. Need I say more?

7. Eating at Grandma's in Duluth with the whole family. Love that soup, love that area, and love it when the bridge goes up!

In Session

I just started taking an ESL tutor training course at the Minnesota Literacy Council, and I have to say that I loved being in a classroom environment again. I know, I'm such a nerd. But I'm sure a big part of my excitement was because I was meeting new people, something I rarely get to do these days as an "unemployed" person. Plus, I'm learning some fun and interesting ways to teach things to people from other backgrounds (using visual, textural, and audio techniques) and ways to relate to their experiences (being respectful, passionate, and curious--but not nosy). Even though ESL tutoring is outside of my comfort zone, I know that I can use these skills I'm learning in many ways. Let's see, though, how eager I am to try them when I actually start working with immigrants and refugees. Intimidating!

Psalm 39:4-6

Show me, O Lord, my life's end

and the number of my days;

let me know how fleeting is my life.

You have made my days a mere handbreadth;

the span of my years is as nothing before you.

Each man's life is but a breath.

Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro:

He bustles about, but only in vain;

he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it.

This psalm is the story of my life right now. God has been reminding me how insignificant and small I am. At first, I found this revelation quite depressing, but as I meditate on it, I'm realizing that it's a blessing. My days truly are a mere handbreadth and my life but a breath. It inspires me to action. If I have so little time on this earth, why not make the most of it? And why not do it for God?

I'm very glad I read this psalm today; it further solidified (at least for me) our calling to give up our "comfortable" existence here and move to Africa. I've been noticing, in the past few months especially, that my desire to buy stuff has been fading. I don't need that new shirt or that movie. It's amazing to me that God has been whittling away at my materialistic self without me even realizing it! I'm beginning to believe that this whittling is preparing me for missions, teaching me how to control my impulsiveness and greed and to be willing to give up luxuries. I don't want to be like the man the psalmist describes, the man who heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it. I want to build treasures in heaven, the kind that will last for all eternity.

Just Bitten

I just couldn't quite believe this when I saw it. Revlon's newest lipstick color--Just Bitten. Hmm...who do you think is their target audience?

You know, the more I think about it, the more disturbed I become. How did vampires even become a national obsession? Really, vampires (if they actually existed) are very evil. They're undead murderers, not glittering vegetarians (Twilight) or powerful and erotic lovers (True Blood). But instead of being disgusted by vampires, we've completely glamorized them. Girls are screaming to become them. To become damned creatures. Just a bit unsettling.

What is this obsession saying about the American people? And, more importantly, when will it stop?!

Memoir Practice

"Now I feel a new power to write, the sentences just pouring out. I feel the books in a stack inside me. I have only to open them up, open myself up, and read off those words." - From Sam Savage's The Cry of the Sloth

How much I long to be experiencing these words, to be so filled with inspiration that I can't keep my fingers still! But I'm dry, and have been for quite some time now. I keep telling myself it's because I'm so busy, but really? My busy consists of a lot of sitting, dreaming, reading, watching the Bachelorette, playing with my hamster, and trying to elude boredom. So clearly, "busy" is not an excuse I can honestly use. You'd think with all this free-time I'd be wrapping up a novel! But no, instead I live off others' words and wish that I had written them.

I suppose I need more discipline in my writing life. Josh gave me a great book filled with writing prompts, but I've hardly broken the surface. It's called Old Friend from Far Away by Natalie Goldberg, and it's a great book; I highly recommend it. Let's see--why don't we do one together!

Give me a memory of your mother, aunt, or grandmother.

In Maine, Mom ordered lobster. It was fresh from the sea and stared at her from the plate. When the waitress set it down, Mom turned the plate with the tips of her fingers so that the eyes faced Dad. I was so fascinated by this boiling red animal that I could barely eat my shrimp. I'm surprised, even to this day, that Mom even attempted to eat a creature that, but for its being boiled, could've walked off the plate and snapped a fork in its claw.
Mom picked at the lobster valiantly with all sorts of utensils, laughing and ewing the whole time. The tail was good, she said. But then, she busted open the midsection, where the lobster housed its now-cooked dinner. The substances inside were grey and mushy, and a shiver ran down my spine. Mom quickly pushed the plate away, sticking out her tongue. Our waitress laughed.
Before the dissected meal was removed from the table, though, Darwin ripped off the antennas and made them dance across the table, sometimes swirling them in his water glass while he made sucking sounds.


Alright. Now it's your turn!

Continental

Big News! Josh and I just sent in applications to do media mission work in Kenya! If we are accepted and all goes smoothly, we could potentially be leaving the country next October! Needless to say, we are very excited :) I will share more details as the process continues. In fact, I may even create a new blog dedicated solely to our next and biggest adventure.

Please keep us in your prayers as we surrender ourselves to God and seek to do his will.