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Tuesday: Sidon, Lebanon (Southern Lebanon)

It was Day 2 in Lebanon. On this day, we boarded the van for a city in southern Lebanon: Sidon (also called Saida). Once at the Southern headquarters, we talked with the leader there about the holistic approach to refugee aid. Heart for Lebanon cannot care for all the refugees, not only because of lacking resources, but also because it would destroy the one-on-one approach and the effort put into getting to know each and every family impacted by this organization. This individualized approach was mirrored in they way they provide education to some of the students. We met with the principal for the Hope Center School and she discussed how she tries to inspire her students to look towards their own future and strive to reach their goals. The curriculum consisted of Arabic, English, Math, and Art--most in order to enable the students to enter public Lebanese schools once graduating. Here is a great video created by Heart for Lebanon that summarizes their purpose. After conversing wit...
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Monday: Beqaa Valley Pt. 1

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This is a panorama taken from my balcony at the convent. On our first morning there, we discovered that in the convent compound, besides chickens, there were also doves. As my roommate and I walked around the grounds before breakfast, she commented, "Doves and olive trees! How Middle East can you get?!" Indeed, connecting our convent to this beautiful region in which entire civilizations have risen and fallen really helped me realize that I was not in Indiana, much less the United States.  Photo Credit: Katie Ito After walking the grounds, we ate breakfast with the rest of the group. Breakfast in Lebanon is a delicious affair. Always consisting of flat pita bread (most of the pita bread that I had in Lebanon was thin and floppy...more like a crepe than pita sold in the US), 3-4 types of soft cheeses (usually feta, goat cheese, etc), laban (basically Greek yogurt), fresh vegetables, and honeyed figs or dates. And don't forget the Lebanese coffee (which is fai...
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Flight and Arrival

The Saturday of our departure arrived and about mid-morning, it was discovered that our flight had been delayed. So with a bit of scrambling from our group leader and the travel agent, we got a later flight. Instead of flying from Indy --> DC -->  Frankfurt -->  Beirut, we went through Chicago and London instead.  So we boarded the tiny regional jet to Chicago. Once there, we had a long layover before departure for Heathrow, so the small eight-member team enjoyed a short break before the eight-hour flight. I took two laps and took in the many languages at this International Airport.  Finally, the flight was called and we all boarded the plane for the long-haul flight. As I settled in to journal and flip through the 5 movies that were available, I considered the prayer for today in "Seeking God's Face," based on the Heidelberg Catechism: "Captain of my life, help me grasp the cosmic battle that rages in my heart and throughout the world. I'm in a ...
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Night Before Departure: Thoughts on Journaling, Bible Study, and Revelations

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Since my personal Bible is a bit too heavy to carry on the flight, I'm taking "Seeking God's Face," which is a year-long Biblical prayer devotional in the Reformed tradition. I got it when I was a student at Calvin College. To be quite honest, I have not been very diligent with a daily (or at least every other day) prayer and Bible reading time and since journaling is sort of required for this mission trip I decided to integrate it with a short and sweet devotional as well.... Gel Pens, journal, and small (carry-on friendly) Journal! You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light. with your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. (2 Samuel 22:29-30) The verse above was how the devotional invited me into God's Word. Sometimes you don't realize how thirsty you are for God until he leads you to the Water. This bit of encouragement as well as wisdom caught me off guard. In this world where there is so much suffer...
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I'm Back!!

Hey y'all!  I haven't posted in more than a year or two: partially because I was busy...but also I'm lazy and not good at blogging. So anyhow, this Saturday, I'm going to Beirut, Lebanon for a 10 day mission trip. I will be visiting refugee camps and helping to distribute food and other necessities as well as visiting refugees and learning about their experiences. During that time, I will only have my iPhone...so blogging will be scarce. But I will be keeping a pen and paper journal and once I get back, I will transcribe (with pictures!) those entries and share them with you here. This next week, I will be reflecting on a few questions before my trip, and will also be focusing on questions during and after the trip. If you wish to follow along during the trip through prayer and reflection, please sign up for email updates here .  Ignore the dates, the actual trip is June 18-28. Pre-During-Post Trip Questions 1. What are the 3 greatest needs of the refugee? 2. Wha...
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Hot Spring Resort Experience

   After my two days in Tokyo, I decided to get out of the city and go to a hot spring resort in Hakone (which is a town famous for it's thermal springs). As I think I've mentioned before, the Japanese love their baths. This particular bath resort where I went is called Kowakien Yunessan. Part of it is a hot spring "water park" where it is a co-ed, swim suited area. The other part is a more traditional, separated by gender, naked area. I decided to go to the more touristy water park area first and then relax in the traditional bath at the end of the afternoon.    In the water park part, you could bath in wine, sake, coffee, and green tea. There was also a charcoal bath, and other outdoor mountain baths. Another part included a kid-friendly Roman style bath. I did not stay to long in this area because it was more touristy and there were too many people for my liking. However, it was fun seeing the holiday and resort-like setting.    After th...
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Location: Tokyo, Japan
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Weekend in Tokyo

   I recently realized that I do not deal with really big cities very well. Crowds annoy me I don't like to fight through them and I don't like to even see them. I learned this in Tokyo this past weekend. I, of course, really enjoyed Tokyo overall. I just didn't like that except for in my dorm at the hostel, there was no escape from people. The first day, I arrived from Hiroshima in Tokyo in the afternoon and went to Harajuku and Shinkjuku (the major fashion districts). Because it was the weekend, there were just so many people and my feet were hurting, so after walking up and down the main street, I had to leave. I felt suffocated, annoyed, and slightly guilt-tripped by the panhandlers, salespeople, and general crowdedness. There were literally people packing the sidewalk as far as the eye could see. However, despite that, I saw some of the interesting fashions that are popular in Japan. After being wiped by the crowds, I hopped on a train and arrived at my hostel which wa...
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Location: Tokyo, Japan
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