#12-Dinner from another land.....Ethiopia

Tonight the group that I will be traveling to Ethiopia with from Church went out for Ethiopian food. This is a whole new experience for me. Am I brave with food? wellllll??? some of my friends would say yes (the picky ones) and some (the adventurous ones) would say NO WAY. But I went with a very open mind and the determination that no matter what, I was going to try whatever was put in front of me! (I KNOW....some of my friends are laughing right now).

We journeyed with Dan and Kim (the Missionaries who we will visit in Ethiopia) to Abyssinia which is known to have the best Ethiopian food here in Rochester. They did all the ordering for us (in Ethiopian)......so we had no idea what was coming.

No utensils were used. Instead you use ripped off pieces of the bread, injera, to spoon some of the "stews" to eat off this large community platter that had the stews arranged like spokes on a wheel. Be sure to use your "clean" hand (the right hand) to eat with!

The injera is full of protein and very filling. There were many vegetarian options and I actually preferred those over the meats. However the lamb was very good (yes lamb....I cant believe I ate it, I KNOW!....ME?!) The veggies were things like lentils and yellow split peas. The tastes were actually very familiar to me thus I must cook with similar spices with some of my vegetarian dishes.

I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed the entire meal and it is making me even more excited for my trip......only 10 more weeks!!!

#11-- Swing, Swing, Swing

1/13/10
WEEK 1: Tonight I started my swing dance lessons! Lesson one.....rock step, triple step, triple step......remember that phrase, it needs to stick in your mind for ever, and ever and ever.

First impressions, its a big class...no partner needed. I start talking to a guy and we were partners to start the class and I think "he's OK to dance with, but not so great"....UNTIL we start changing partners and I move onto the next guy, then the next and the next and next....and the get progressively worse down the line. I'm thinking in my head.......I WANNA GO BACK TO THE ONE I STARTED WITH!!!

WEEKS 2,3,4
Inside turn, Outside turn, waist slide sequence, cuddle, tuck turn, he goes/she goes, Butterfly, Butt Roll............and a dirty old man. No that last one is not the name of a dance move, it refers to the 80 year old man in the class that really was a dirty old man! I would just keep hoping that when my time came to rotate with him that we would rotate quickly.

WEEK 5: Tonight was fun!! I actually had the best time that I have had the entire class. This is terrible to say, but the reason was that most of the bad "leaders" (aka: guys) were not there. Therefore I got to be led and actually dance rather than struggle to try to teach the guy I'm dancing with how he should be holding my hand, moving me etc.

WEEK 6: The journey has ended. Tonight was a wrap up of all that we have learned in the past 6 weeks. Surprisingly it was a very small class, but the weather was also very bad tonight. What was exhausting was the good dancers were all in a row, so I would have 3-4 really good dances then struggle for 3 dances with not good leaders.

So what did I learn in this class?
1. That I actually have a little rhythm and don't possess 2 left feet, especially if led by a good leader
2. I was proud of myself for going to the class by myself not knowing anyone and not having a partner
3. That I did not allow myself to be self conscious like I would have been in the past. I was neither self conscious about how my body was moving or self conscious about being touched or held closely by strangers, I again, lept in and went for it.

and most importantly

4. That I need to NOT lead. So often when the leader was not leading I would step in and lead. I finally got to a point where I started telling the guy that he had to lead me or I would not move (I said it politely of course). This actually helped whoever I was dancing with by forcing him to lead (or I could teach him to lead) rather than me taking over.

God was prompting me that I do this with Him in my own life as well. I try to take over when often I need to sit back and let him lead me. So that is what I need to keep reminding myself. "Susan needs to let go and does not always have to lead. Not thinking and letting the leader lead makes for a more enjoyable dance"........I have had that as a motto before "Let Go and Let God"....Now I need to complete the statement to say "Let God Lead" AND I need to let Him do it.

#10 Compline

Last night my parents and went to the Compline at Christ Church http://www.christchurchrochester.org/compline/. It was a blustery winter evening, but we braved the elements for this first Sunday of the month when they have a Candlelight concert preceding the Compline. The concert last night was "Cello Divas" whose music was indeed heavenly.

The church was dark and only lit by candlelight. Reminiscent of days gone by when people would have gone to church with no electricity (it was also VERY cold). The smell was heavy of pine and fir. The Cello music was Baroque and soothing. Then the Schola Cantorum file out to start the Compline. I was not sure what to expect, but I expected more chanting, but there was only a little of the chanting/reading and more singing of prayers. They actually go through a whole little service type thing as the Compline marks the close of the "Hours of the Divine Office", and its origins date back to the 4th Century monastic custom of private prayer and devotion before retiring.

I think what touched me most was the Hymn in the middle. It is a hymn that we have all heard many times in Latin. "Telucis and Terminum" but in the program were the words in english and I was touched by it.
"To you before the close of day,
Creator of all things we pray.
That in your constant clemency,
Our guard and keeper you would be.
Save us from troubled, restless sleep,
From all ill dreams your children keep;
So calm our minds that fears may cease
And rested bodies wake in peace.
A healthy Life we ask of you,
The fire of love in us renew.
And when the dawn new light will bring,
Your praise and glory we shall sing.
Almightly Father hear our cry,
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord Most High.
Whom With the Spirit we adore,
Forever and for evermore."

Needless to say...........I slept pretty well last night.

#9 Start the New Year blessed by the Mission

Tonight I went to serve at the Soup Kitchen at the Open door Mission. I had originally signed up to serve on Christmas Day, but as the man said to me today.....God had plans for me to be there tonight (and God had plans for me to go NC last minute with my family for Christmas).

It was a small crew. Myself, a staff member "Captain"--I think his name was Mike but the guys called him Captain so I never really caught his name, 2 guys (Brian & Kevin) --who are in the Program over at Plymouth Street and other other volunteer, Gary.

It was a short shift, only from 7:15-9:15....Which is so easy that it makes me think, Why haven't I done this before? It seemed so late to me, but once there it made sense.

They open their door at 4 and have coffee and a place for people to hang out. The staff starts the cooking so then the volunteers just come and finish prepping and setting things up. At 8pm they close the doors and have a church service. A local church (Fairport Evangelical) came and sang and gave the word focusing on it being a New Year. Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

Dinner is served at 8:30 and tonight we served 75 people. There were some people who are paid to assist us with clean up of the tables and trash. We got a little tour of the quarters after dinner. They can sleep 40 men in their bunking quarters which were very neat and clean. On an extra cold night like tonight (it is supposed to go down into the teens) they are going to put 20 extra cots in the dining room and expand to 60 beds....what a blessing!!! Normally they close at 10 and reopen at 4, but they decided that tomorrow because of the storm and bitter that they would stay open all day....God provides!

They serve 365 days a year
http://www.opendoormission.com/

It was an honor and a blessing to serve. We had a good time. Being the only lady serving with a bunch of gentlemen they of course teased me about different things but don't worry....I gave it right back. Beause you know a bunch of guys in a kitchen---ewwwwwwhhhh!!!! :).

It was a WONDERFUL way to start 2010 off!