I want adventure in the great wide somewhere...

One of the most troublesome things about living abroad (that I will assure you they didn't tell me in the brochure) is that once you start traveling, stopping is nearly impossible. My daydreams mostly consist of itineraries, flights, hotels, and most of all, adventure.

An adventure I've been dying to have for quite some time is a volunteering-vacation. I did a bunch of research on this a couple of years ago, and found that Habitat for Humanity does Global Village trips. Habitat, if you're unfamiliar, exists to provide decent housing throughout the US and the world. They build in countries on almost every continent, often using local materials and techniques.

I've thought about several different countries ranging from China to Malaysia to Kenya, Uganda, and Egypt, but nothing has ever felt right (and fit with my schedule). I was perusing the website today, however, and found that Habitat is doing a blitz-build in Nepal next October. I looked at a Nepal trip this year, but it didn't work with my schedule. Next October, though, is totally a potential option.

Nepal is interesting to me for several reasons. First and foremost, I'm totally into traveling off the beaten path, and Nepal doesn't seem like somewhere I'd ever go on my own. Additionally, this trip is only 8 days, as opposed to the typical 10-14 that Habitat does on most of its other trips. This will help my lack of vacation days at work, too! Additionally about Nepal - I have read a lot blogs written by people who have traveled in the country and they are nothing but glowing. I think Nepal may be one of the few places where the true local culture hasn't gotten too polluted by tourism. I'm into that. A Global Village trip is a perfect way to get to meet local people and absorb some more of the culture - without being suffocated by tourist traps.

One other thing: I think I want to do this trip solo. It terrifies and excites me at the same time, but one of the things I loved the most about living in Copenhagen is that I was totally on my own. I think I grew and stretched more as a person because I had very few comforts to fall back on. I really absorbed the culture. I know this idea probably gives my parents the cold sweats, so we'll move on (for now)!

We'll see how this all turns out, but I'm hoping that it will all work out!

#Kidmin

I never understood twitter. I have been (and I will confess, still am) a loyal facebooker. But, recently, I've made some job changes that have submerged me right in the heart of twitter. All of my colleagues tweet, the people I look up to in my field tweet, and so now, I tweet, too. Okay, really, I tweet-stalk more than doing actual tweeting, but I digress.

I say all of this to tell you that I've been reading a lot of tweets that end in #Kidmin lately. For all of you non-tweeting folks (a hearty voice of non-judgment here), or for you folks who are wondering what the heck Kidmin is, allow me to explain.

I have started a new position at my church. Kidmin. It's shorthand for Kids Ministry, which in my case translates to Elementary Ministry. First, let me tell you that I never, not in a million years, thought I'd be working with Elementary schoolers. In fact, when I moved to Houston just over a year ago, I thought I might go "up" an age group from Middle and High School to college or young adult ministry. How mistaken I was.

Through a series of very interesting and totally God-inspired changes, I have inherited the Elementary Ministry at our church from one of my friends and heroes in the faith. And it is terrifying. And Amazing. And beautifully messy. And I love it. There, I said it.

I think that "us youth people" have always had some sort of stigma attached to Children's Ministry. Many people would say that it's the fluffy, feel-good ministry of the church with lots of kissing babies and runny noses, but very little content. I will admit, that I have been guilty of this line of thinking in the past. My current church, while fraught with kissings of babies and runnings of noses, is definitely not without content. In fact, my church is so jam-packed with content, it's practically exploding.

See, what I've learned in just a few short weeks, is that our kids know that they can trust God no matter what. Our kids know that they need to make the wise choice. Our kids know that they need to treat others the way they want to be treated. And these lessons aren't intuitive. As much as I'd love to tell you that our "church kids" come out knowing these truths, it isn't the case. They have been taught, and modeled, and shown how to live these truths out in their lives by a team of devoted and amazing leaders and parents. This ministry isn't shallow. Just because we play games with cotton balls and paper bags doesn't mean that kids aren't connecting with the message. It just means that we are helping kids connect with the message in a creative way.

And that is something I never understood until I saw it firsthand. I see kids on Sunday morning yelling at the top of their lungs, but they're yelling praises to God. I see kids every Sunday morning running around like maniacs, but they're running to their Sunday School classrooms. I see kids hugging the best friend they made in their small group. And I know that #kidmin makes a difference. And that I can make a difference, too. Though it is scary, and most of the time I feel like I have so much to learn, these kids are changing my life.