Of Spanish and firefighters and old ladies with 40 cats...

Life is full of transitions. I have discovered this inescapable fact, and have found it to be quite disconcerting. Generally I like for things to stay the same. I get comfortable, and I like for things to be the way they are. But change is unavoidable, and then I find that once I've become accustomed to it, I enjoy the change...much like the constant changing of facebook :-P

Recently, Jennifer and I applied for a 6-week internship to the Dominican Republic, working with an organization called Kids Alive International. They are an organization that has schools and orphanages all over the world. This trip will be from June 14-July 27. The thing about such a trip, at least for me, is that it means I have to consider more things then just visiting another country. Will I go back to Pacific Camps (which is a job that I do love)? Where will I live (my lease is up in July)? What am I gonna do with the rest of my life? Go into missions? Become a teacher? Sooo many things to consider. So...I'm praying a lot. Even if I have no idea what I'm going to do, I take great comfort in the fact that I have a personal relationship with someone who knows EVERYTHING! In the last year or so, I have really been meditating on Ephesians 2:10 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." So, there is change in the wind...but I know that my God has it all worked out and it will be good.

On a lighter note, I was very excited when I found out that the fire department would be visiting Pacific Camps today. I mean seriously, how could I not look forward to seeing firefighters? When they came I was upstairs overseeing a craft, but we quickly cleaned up and went down to see how cute they were...I mean...we wanted to see the cool hook and ladder truck :-) Unfortunately, the firefighters turned out to be older, and not the most attractive. Nevertheless, I'm sure they are quite heroic gentlemen and I am grateful for their service.

Also, today I met one of my neighbors. It was a nice day and I got off work early, so I decided to walk over to the office to pay my rent and to check my mail. As I walked, I saw an older woman with a spray bottle spraying at a couple of cats trying to get them away from someone else's apartment. When I came back through after paying my rent, she was sitting outside her apartment watching her three cats enjoy the sunshine. She struck up a conversation with me and told me (in great detail) how she acquired and named each of her cats...then she told me that over the years she had fostered more than FORTY cats! FORTY!!!! Now, I am not a cat person, so to me, this sounds insane. Then she said something that I found interesting, "You know, if everyone would foster forty of anything, this world would be a cleaner, better place." Well, I don't know how true that is, but  do believe that if we cared as much about people as we do about our pets, then we might find the time to alleviate  a lot of suffering...just a thought.

So...if I'm going to the Dominican Republic, then I most definitely need to learn how to speak Spanish. I really don't think that being able to tell someone "The plate is very hot" or being able to ask for the location of the bathroom is going to get me far...