Sarah's Wedding

[late, forgive me!]

September 29, 2012

My younger sister Sarah got married this past September, and I am beyond thrilled. The special young man is Mr. Justin Ferry, whom she met at CNU her sophomore year in college. I did not meet Justin until her junior year (when they had been dating for a few months), and I came home and told Jody, "He's perfect for her." And it's true. Sarah and Justin complement each other very well. They truly make a good team, drawing each other closer to the Lord. Plus, Justin comes from a fantastic family that knows how to love well. 

Their day (or weekend, rather) was perfect. 

There was Thursday fun for the bridesmaids. Dinner. Pedicures. Bridal shower desserts and gifts. A special time to get to know each other... which mattered, because I missed out on connecting with many of Sarah's college friends. I truly enjoyed getting to know the young ladies who Sarah treasures so much. These relationships matter over the years!

Then, Friday was a big day for preparations. Last-minute details. The rehearsal & rehearsal dinner. 

We even got a great shot with the Sampson side of the family (my mom's side).

And all 8 of the Clementson kids! (L-R) Luke, Daniel, Chris, Josh, Rebekah, Ruth, Sarah, Anna 

And then, the wedding day. 

Sarah made a beautiful bride, and the wedding was just perfect. It was held at Winterham Plantation in Amelia, Virginia just 30 minutes away from my parents' home. A beautiful home. A beautiful location. A perfect wedding day!

Congratulations, Sarah & Justin! 

We love you both and pray God's blessings on your marriage and lives! 

P.S. Here's a video, as well, of Sarah coming down the aisle. 

Catching up

It's snowing outside. Finally! 

To find ourselves here in Colorado without any major winter storms at the end of February is not a good thing. In fact, Jody and I tried to go snowshoeing last weekend. We drove all the way up to Echo Lake at the "base" of Mt. Evans... and there was no snow. Ok, maybe an inch or two, but not enough to make snowshoeing a reality. Seriously? We had to turn around and come back home. But thankfully we've had two storms in the past week, and it's helping a bit. We had 4 inches of snow on Wednesday, and today's storm 'Rocky' is expected to dump 6-12 inches by the storm's end. When I look at the steady snowing outside, I'm thinking we'll hit the higher end of that estimate. Praise God. I hope it only continues!

So, church has been cancelled, Jody is asleep in bed, and the pups and I are relaxing out in the living room. Finally I have time to process all that has gone on in our lives the past few months.

Forgive me for my silence on the blog. It's not because a million blog-worthy experiences or thoughts haven't crossed my mind. It's just that I have not had the time. Seriously.

But so much has happened that I must finally sit down and write about each of these special events.

1. Big News.

My youngest sister, Anna got engaged on December 28, 2012! Yes, to Mr. Nate Clarke - a special young man that she met in youth group several years ago. They have been dating for a few years now, and so this development is not a total surprise. :) Nonetheless, we are so excited for them both. Since they're both still in college, I think the wedding is set for May 2014. 

Then... while I was in Panama, I found out on Facebook some other big news.

2. Other Big News.

My brother Chris proposed to his girlfriend Rebekah Millian. Yay! After traveling all over the US in sales, Chris has finally landed back in Richmond, and he met Rebekah at our home, when she was hanging out with my family. They're a perfect fit, and we are all celebrating this new development. We love Rebekah, and we're thrilled she's officially becoming a Clementson. So, we now have two Rebekah Clementsons. Hahaha.

This wedding is happening a little sooner. They've got the date set for May 18, 2013. Yay! Just this week I purchased airfare for Jody and me to fly out to Virginia for the big day.... which leads me to news development #3.

3. Mark your calendars. We're coming to VA. 

We'll be in Virginia May 16-21 for Chris & Rebekah's wedding, so if you're nearby, we'd love to see you! Yes, you W&M friends... I would love to see you. :) I miss you. God has brought wonderful people into our lives here in Colorado, but nobody will ever replace my dear college friends. I miss each of you dearly.

4. Panama was great.

I had a great time in Panama. In fact, I couldn't have asked for a better experience. For almost four years now I have been preparing teams to head out of the country, and it was truly worthwhile for me to make the trip myself. We had no trouble getting the medicine crates through customs. We served 500+ people at the Mountain Indian Conference, where Indian Christians gather together once a year. Then we traveled out to the Chirique Bay and served 5 different villages. 

We traveled by plane, bus, car, boat and foot to serve these precious people who are made in God's image, and here's what I learned.

1. There are still people today who spend their days subsisting. [Clean water and a balanced diet is not available. Education is a unavailable and - in some villages - unwelcome. Outside influence is viewed with suspicion. Trust must be earned. Slowly. ]
2. But you and I can do something about it.
3. Juan's ministry is doing something about it. I should invest in ministries and organizations that are doing something about it.
4. There are lots of cool people who step out in faith and offer themselves and their skills to serve. I met 10 new friends (my teammates). I like each of them. We ALL (yes, all) enjoyed spending time together in close, hot quarters. That's saying something. :)
5. I'm still very American. Personal space matters to me. 
6. Panama is hot and humid.
7. I'm still an introvert. I love my alone time.
8. Panamanian coffee is really good. :)
9. Even though I had a headache, it mattered to me that I got to see the Panama Canal. Yay for seeing one of the Wonders of the World!
10. My husband loves me very much. When I came home from Panama, I came home to this:

I am so blessed!

Blessed Streams

I love to read. I have noticed, however, how hard it is to fit reading into my life in this season. And yet, I keep coming back to this devotional Streams in the Desert. Have you read it? If you haven't, I highly recommend it. 

Especially if you are in a desert season. If the Lord seems silent. If you wonder why He doesn't seem to be answering your prayers. If the road just seems to get harder, and there are no easy answers to the problems you are facing.

I highly recommend this book if you're looking for encouragement. The Lord has met me where I am more times than I can count as I've sat down and read the daily reading.

You can find the daily reading online here and here.

-----------------

A poem from Streams in the Desert, November 18

Blessed is he whose faith is not offended,
When all around his way
The power of God is working out deliverance
For others day by day;

Though in some prison drear his own soul languish,

Till life itself be spent,
Yet still can trust his Father’s love and purpose,
And rest therein content.

Blessed is he, who through long years of suffering,
Cut off from active toil,
Still shares by prayer and praise the work of others,
And thus “divides the spoil.”

Blessed are thou, O child of God, who sufferest,
And canst not understand
The reason for thy pain, yet gladly leavest
Thy life in His blest Hand.

Yea, blessed art thou whose faith is “not offended”
By trials unexplained,
By mysteries unsolved, past understanding,
Until the goal is gained.

 –Freda Hanbury Allen

Panama: Another Adventure!

I have the wonderful privilege of working in the Missions department of a church that values true transformation. In the past almost four years (!) that I have been at Southeast Christian Church, I have grown in my knowledge and understanding of the work that it takes to "pull off" a short-term mission trip, as well as to build healthy relationships with missions partners all over the world. 

Another aspect of my job has been to learn what a healthy, solid missions partner looks like. I have seen how many non-profit organizations there are "out there" and most of them are not solid enough that I would support them financially, nor is their program strong enough that I'd want to send teams to come alongside them to help fulfill their long-term goals. In one word, I've developed more discernment. I have learned that well-meaning and well-intended organizations can often cause more harm than good by creating dependency. And I've learned that truly healthy missions partners work to give the native peoples all the tools they need to succeed, in short, to work the 'foreign missionary' out of a job. With that lens, I have become more critical (in a good way, I think) of potential mission partners, and I've become even more appreciative of those partners that have a healthy program.

One of those missions partners that we do love and fully support at Southeast is David's Well (La Fuente de David), at work in the country of Panama. The past few years I've helped get so many teams ready to head south to help this organization - healthcare teams with doctors, RNs, dentists and non-medical assistants, construction teams full of people who come alongside Panamanian construction workers to assist them in building homes, schools, churches, etc, and even our first youth team last year that was such a smashing success. It's been so good and so rewarding. Of all the missions partners we've had as long as I've been on staff, David's Well has been one of the most stable and consistent in being a good investment - always. They are about the business of equipping, empowering, and releasing the people they are reaching, the Ngöbe Indians, to their full God-given potential. They are unabashed about their ultimate goal: to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Along the way, they provide healthcare, build schools & churches, and ultimately show the people of Panama the love of Jesus in tangible ways.

But now... I get to go! I'm so excited. My boss, Steve, has asked that I go with the healthcare team that will be heading out next month, and I'm truly looking forward to it. I will be a lowly gopher (yay!), helping in the 'pharmacy' as we hand out the medicines that the docs prescribe. I can't wait to be part of this trip. I hear the insects and rodents are huge (lovely.), it's incredibly hot and humid, that it's remarkably similar to the backpacking/camping Jo and I already do, and that it changes you from the inside out. I'm so ready!

The trip is January 17-25, 2013, and I'm just getting ready to go. Please be praying for me, for the team, and for the Ngöbe Indians in Panama whom we are going to serve. Pray for our health, for all the traveling that we will be doing, for God to move mightily in their midst. If you want to help me get a few things I need for the trip, feel free to support me here.

For an overview of the ministry of David's Well, check out this video!

1Month & 5Years: The Adventure Continues...

As I said in my previous post, Jody and I often refer to the life we live as a couple as an adventure. There are many reasons for this moniker.

• We met overseas in South Korea. See previous post for a bit more detail. 
• We were friends for two months. Dated for three. Engaged for five. Married within 10 months of knowing each other. (How will I explain to our children one day that they should wait at least a year before even considering dating someone - LOL - much less before making the leap into marriage?! OR that men are not eligible for coming out of a rock until they're 30.... Alas...)
• Every day in Korea provided an element of surprise. You just never knew what the day would bring. 

With Korea as our "launching pad," there was a sense that Jody and I could go anywhere and do anything. That in itself is an adventure! So, when Jody and I were engaged and debating what to do for our wedding and our honeymoon, we decided it was either GO BIG, OR GO HOME.

We decided to celebrate our wedding in the States with family...

But to start our marriage with adventure! by backpacking in Eastern Europe. 

I mean, why not? Why sit on a beach and drink a margarita, when you can sleep in a train and saw off bread, cheese and salami for your meals?

We should have known what we were getting into when our bags were missing from our flight into Vienna. Six hours later, they finally trickled in, having been put on the wrong flight. The end of the first night on our honeymoon looked like this:

The train station in Bratislava, Slovakia. 

Our trip started off in Slovakia, where I knew many people from the previous two times I'd been there. We stayed with my friend Roman, and he and my other friend Dano took us on a grand adventure: a train and bus ride up to the base of a trail in the High Tatras. We hiked up to a "base" cabin and stayed overnight. It was an experience unlike anything I'd ever had before... and I loved it!

The High Tatras from the train

I got to hike with these three dudes (L-R): Roman, Jody, Dano

Happy!

Happy Husband. :)

Cold. Very, very cold.

And... it snowed overnight. The first week in September!

Slovakia was a blast. I loved it. Loved seeing our friends. Loved hiking & backpacking. Loved being with Jody and discovering a bit of Slovakia this way.

Then it was on to Budapest, Hungary.

The train station in Hungary. Where I realized that I was in the EAST.

And then on to Brasov, Romania, the major town close to where our friends Daniel and Emily Chang lived. We accidentally went a few stops further on the train than we should have and ended up at the train station below. It was definitely the low point of the trip. Exhausted. Dirty. Ready to shower and sleep. 

The wrong train station we stopped off in Romania.

In Ghimbav, Romania with our friends Daniel & Emily!

Brasov, Romania

After six or so days with Daniel and Emily in Romania, we were off to Krakow, Poland. Our new method of transportation: trains. Trains with gypies, who get thrown off the train only to get back on again later... Trains where you eat bread, cheese and salami and play "I spy" games for hours on end.

Adventure!!

The 22 hour train-ride from Brasov, Romania to Krakow, Poland

Once we were in Poland, we decided to do two things: visit Auschwitz-Birkenau, the major Nazi concentration death camp in Poland, as well as the Salt Mines. Two glimpses into Polish history.

Auschwitz-Birkenau

Salt Mines - this is a salt carving of Copernicus

And then, our final stop: Vienna, Austria. Finally, a German-speaking country! I was so happy! We rode the trains, took taxis, walked everywhere, met awesomely fun people at our hostel, ate delicious Western food, and I got to practice my German. So. Much. Fun! 

We also made the trek to the Korean Embassy in Vienna so that we could get our visas to return to Korea for another year. Thankfully, my boss Mrs. Kim had given me all the information that I needed, and three days later our visas were approved.

And our trip was done. (Snif. Snif.)

We had an overnight stay in Madrid (terrible airport, by the way. Never use their airport if you can avoid it.) And then we began the flight home. 

Chilling in the Madrid airport, waiting for our flight home

Yep. That's about how we felt!

And so... five years later, Jody and I wanted to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary with another adventure, doing what we love to do most: 

BACKPACKING! 

I had to work on our anniversary (Aug 25th), so we had to wait until September to get out in the mountains. We decided to go to our favorite spot thus far in Colorado - the Mount Massive trail up near Leadville, Colorado. It's so beautiful, and you really do feel like you're on top of the world, touching heaven. You drive through Leadville, then up into the National Forest and park your car at the base of the trail. It's not too long, actually - maybe 4.5 miles - but it's so fun. And there's a sweet camping spot that we always hope for when we get to Native Lake. :)

The best packs ever!

Our campsite

Native Lake

Happy Anniversary, my love!

Hammocking - our other favorite pastime!

Me, with Eu-mi and Penny, ever adventuresome!

  

Happy pups!

Phase 10 - Perfect tent game!

Sleepy pup

Eu-mi - SO CURIOUS!

Heading back...

Me and the wiener dogs... 

Old man's beard

Jody and I often talk about the downside to adventure. The part that usually includes uncertainty. Fear. The unknown. Sometimes you just want to know what's ahead. You want to know and live in the familiar and the known. But I am so thankful that God has kept us on the life of faith, trusting only in Him, relying on His Spirit and trying to look the future squarely in the face. Because God is on our side!

I am truly thankful for five years of adventure with Jody Been, and I pray God grants us many more!