New Beginnings

This Is Just the Beginning

2008-08-11T12:26:00.000-07:00

I am officially home!

While adjusting back to life in North Carolina wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, I greatly miss my friends in Cookson, Oklahoma and the other mission interns.

My time of "regrouping" in NY was tons of fun! I heard so many wonderful stories!

As I head back to college, I know that no one will ever truly understand how much this summer meant to me, how much it has affected my beliefs, how much I have been changed, how much I have grown. I will never be able to express with words those things, for it is "that feeling" that burns inside of you.

My Cookson Hills family will forever be in my heart, but I know that one day I will go back to visit them too. I mean...how could I not?!

So, while this chapter of my life has come to a close...I will begin to write a new chapter. And although this new chapter may not involve stories of mice or murder, I know it will involve serving people. We live in a world so full of hunger....hunger for food, for peace, for love, for justice. Whether we are Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, or whatever else we want to label ourselves as...We are ALL called to make this world a better place.

So, as the famous Gandhi said, "You must be the change you want to see in the world."

Peace to you.

Hasta Luego!

Meredith

Bitter Sweet Symphony

2008-08-01T11:27:00.000-07:00

Where has all my time here at Cookson gone?? I now have less than 24 hours here! One word=INSANE!

This past week has definitely been one of the best weeks here.

A group from Trinity UMC in Nebraska came to Cookson for the week.

They built a new ramp:

Colleen!

Yes, I have actually done some work while I've been here!

Anna playing the piano in the Senior Center:

Someone trying to be funny:

I went to the Cherokee Heritage Center for a second time. Our tour guide was very animated:

Beautiful sunset:

Group Picture:

I've always hated the feeling of having to leave people you get close to when you know you'll probably never see them again or at least won't see them for a long time. I guess I've been faced with that feeling a lot this week.

Tomorrow I'm leaving bright and early to head back to New York. This summer has been jam packed with some amazing experiences and people that I'll NEVER forget. I have been forever changed by the people of Cookson and the mission teams that have come through.

I'll never forget putting those mothballs in my trailer, the smiling faces of the children, eating lunch with the seniors, swimming in the lake with Anna, hearing the stories that touched my heart, getting to know the staff of Cookson, laying under the gazebo and looking at the stars, or riding down Highway 82 with the classic rock station blasting and the wind flowing through the car with Darrell.

While leaving is hard to do sometimes, I know that I will always have these memories with me.

Meredith

We Are Only Human

2008-07-28T07:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay...I know what you're thinking: why haven't you updated your blog?!?!

While my time at Cookson is coming to a close, they have definitely been keeping me quite busy here. So, I haven't had much time to write!

My parents came last week! We visited Oklahoma City:

Cowboy Museum:

As we were driving, we saw a few signs for the National Shrine of the Infant Jesus of Prague. So, we let our curiosity get the best of us and checked it out:

We visited the Memorial:

We tried Vietnamese food:

I have no clue what I ate there...I told my Dad it was a mind over matter kind of thing for me. My parents enjoyed it though.

I went to a Pow Wow!

The drummers:

My parents and I toured the Cherokee Heritage Center:

They used to pile the base of a tree with clay and set it on fire to get the tree down instead of chopping it down. Very ingenious.

Our tour guide demonstrating how to use a blow dart:

Cookson Hills Center began to give out school supplies to children this week! Monday was insanely busy! Because we didn't have enough supplies donated though, we had to buy quite a few items.

My parents and I ate at Sam and Ella's Chicken Palace. While it was decorated with a chicken theme, it was actually a pizza place.

Gas in Cookson keeps going down...I think it's about 3.59 now.

Spider web at the gas station:

Colleen and I worked on her VIM (Volunteers in Missions) Board:

I'm going to miss the Oklahoma sky. It's so open!

So that was last week! There is a more to come for this week!

Peace,

Meredith

Easy Does It

2008-07-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

Can you believe I have less than 2 weeks in Cookson, Oklahoma?? That is such an insane thought. Leaving will definitely be a bittersweet event. While I'm ready to see all the other interns and go back to school, I am really going to miss all the people at Cookson. I will definitely have to come back someday to see the new building they are hoping to build! They're raising money for it right now, and it's $600,000 if anyone's interested in donating...just an fyi : )

My parents will be here tomorrow! That's right: TOMORROW! I'm so excited!

I went to a Stomp Dance Saturday night! The stomp grounds I went to had a fire that's been burning since the Trail of Tears. I think the story is that the Chief of the Cherokee Tribe gave each of the seven clans a piece of coal to take with them as they went to Oklahoma before the Trail of Tears. The chief doubted that all seven clans would make it, but they did. So the fire that I saw burning still has some of the embers from those original coal pieces still in it it.

I think all of the songs that were sung at this Stomp Dance were about the Trail of Tears. The women who "stomped", essentially shuffling feet at various paces around the fire, wore turtle shells with rocks in them strapped around their calves. I would have loved to take pictures of everything, but I was told to leave my camera and everything at home. So, I didn't even chance bringing it.

The stomp dance lasts all through the night until the next morning! I can't imagine dancing like that the entire night long. Those turtle shells get really heavy...especially if you have 10 or so strapped to each leg!

Before the stomp dance, Anna and I hung out at Meri's house. Elsie showed us her trumpet playing skills:

She's plays so well. She majored in music in college. After college she got a spot in a really prestigious band and she traveled all over Europe. So yes...she's that good.

We had church at Tenkiller Lake on Sunday. Debbie's puppy made it to the children's message:

The puppy finally has a name: Job--like the Book of Job in the Bible. He may have a home too! I think Debbie's sister is going to try to take him!

He was exhausted after church:

Cookson Hills Center currently has goats eating our grass:

Cookson Hills Center has a Cottage Industries Programs:

We can embroider things...

...with almost any color:

We also silk screen print:

So, if you need to get any t-shirts made, then call Cookson!

Anna and I spent Friday exploring the Spiro Mounds:

While a person (kind of like myself haha) may just see the mounds as small hills and piles of dirt...

...I guess they're kind of interesting. Back in the day, Native Americans would burn down a leaders house once he died and then rebuild a new house on top of it...at least that's what I took from all things I read while I was there.

It was really, really hot outside though...definitely in the high 90s. Anna and I walked around the entire Archaeological Park!

Needless to say, we were drenched in sweat and extremely tired when we finished exploring!

We saw deer tracks:

And we saw pretty flowers:

So I get a "Daily Meditation" in my e-mail every morning from the Henri Nouwen Society.

While they are all excellent thoughts written by Henri Nouwen, I really liked today's:

"To become neighbors is to bridge the gap between people. As long as there is distance between us and we cannot look in each other's eyes, all sort of false ideas and images arise. We give them names, make jokes about them, cover them with our prejudices, and avoid direct contact. We think of them as enemies. We forget that they love as we love, care for their children as we care for ours, become sick and die as we do. We forget that they are our brothers and sisters and treat them as objects that can be destroyed at will.

Only when we have the courage to cross the street and look in one another's eyes can we see there that we are children of the same God and members of the same human family."

That's all for now!

Hasta Luego,

Meredith

Agape

2008-07-17T07:35:00.000-07:00

The mission team that's here this week is a part of Asbury UMC in Pennsylvania. They've been doing VBS with the kids.

Here are some pictures from it:

This is the dog I called the humane society about. Meri said it was just fine for her to stay at the mission. So, we've fed her and she's so happy now!

Anna's family has been here the past few day. We toured Cherokee Nation yesterday.

Cherokee War Memorial:

Our tour guide was from the Blue Clan:

Anna showed her mom and sister the lake we go to:

The water is HIGHER!

Anna organizing school supplies:

All the wonderful mail we get comes to this box:

Tiny, as he prefers to be called, is our new chef. Although the chef I found didn't work out, Tiny has been a wonderful cook:

Debbie found this little puppy laying in the middle of the road. So, she picked him up and brought him back to the office. Meri showing him some love right after he was brought back:

Meri took him to the Vet today, and Debbie is going to keep him until we can find him a home.

I learned how to make mats yesterday! The "Recycle Rebound" program is a part of the cottage industries at Cookson Hills Center. They use old tires for the black part of the mat and then they used recycled water bottles for the colorful parts of it:

Jackie cutting the tire into really long strips:

Making even smaller strips:

Jackie's been trying to teach me Cherokee, but it's really hard for me to catch on! Sometime when I walk around the Senior Center, I hear a few of the older people speaking Cherokee. It's pretty cool.

Darrell making the mat:

The finished product:

So, Nelson Mandela's birthday (90 years old!) is tomorrow and I thought it would be fitting to post something by him:

"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if the can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for loves comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite."

I like that.

Peace,

Meredith

Grace

2008-07-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

I traveled to Fort Smith, Arkansas on Saturday for an eventful day.

Debbie, the Children and Youth Coordinator from the mission, used to be a tour guide in Fort Smith. So, she took us to a few attractions around the town.

We began our day at the bordello, Miss Laura's Social Club.

It was definitely a Victorian-style place:

There were beautiful stained-glass windows:

Standards of beauty are so much different today than in the early 1900's. The woman who worked at the bordello would smoke asthmatic cigarettes to make their skin really pale.

Random things in the bordello:

Debbie took us to the gallows when we finished touring the bordello.

I think 79 people were hung here:

Trap Door:

Whatever happened to the 6th Commandment : "Thou shalt not kill"

We ate a wonderful lunch at this place:

We went to the Fort Smith National Cemetery. It was so peaceful there and I took a lot of pictures:

A woman recently died. So, she was buried in front of her husband's grave:

Prisoners used to sleep here:

Anna sticking her head between...I guess gun holes??

I had my first REAL root beer float at one of the museums:

The soda syrup:

The fizz:

The ice cream and whipped cream!

If heaven tasted like anything, then it would taste like a root beer float.

An old fire engine:

Wedding shoes:

Belle Starr's pocket watch:

An old night depository box:

Pretty Boy Floyd robbed that bank back in the day!

Debbie was unexpectedly reunited with one of her former co-workers:

Anna on the trolley ride:

Debbie gave a Native American blessing over a someone's new house at the end of the day:

She burned sage around the house the take away all the bad spirits, and then she took a candle around the house to bring in the light of God. It was really awesome.

I love the sunsets here:

We found some berries beside our trailer:

Our neighbors:

We have an arsenal of mice killing supplies:

Anna fixing a mouse trap.

Turns out mothballs are really toxic and you shouldn't put half a box of them in your bedroom. My naivete got the best of me with that. So, Anna and I had to sleep with the mission team Saturday night to let our trailer air out. Although we haven't caught any mice in the traps, I think the poison is taking care of our mouse problem.

A really sweet dog was at the mission today. She was hungry and you could even see her ribs. A few of the adults told all the kids here not to feed her so she would just leave, but she was still here this evening. So, I let my heart get the best of me and I called the Humane Society of Cherokee County--a no-kill animal shelter. They are so full and had over 50 dogs on a waiting list to get in. The woman I spoke with said that she would give me food to feed the dog until they could find a home for her, but they just couldn't take her.

This broke my heart. We can't keep a dog at the mission because of the children who are here everyday. I walked around some tonight and haven't seen the dog anywhere, but I really do hope she finds someone who will love her and take care of her.

I think sometimes I'm faced with the problem of wanting to fix all of the worlds problems. I want to stop injustice, poverty, and violence, but I have definitely realized I can only do so much. I am reminded of something Mother Teresa said that speaks volumes:

"If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one."

So, I'll do what I can do--even if it's just a phone call.

Meredith

God Moments

2008-07-10T19:08:00.000-07:00

It has been far too long since my last entry. So, I apologize for that.

Here's a beautiful sunset to make up for it:

Jasyln is an amazing person. She's going into the 10th grade and she will wake up, as she has done in the past, at 4:30 am to catch her 5 am bus ride to school. She's been through a lot in the past, but she has an amazing future ahead of her. She wants to be an RN--and I have no doubt she'll be able to do that or anything else her heart desires. The youth group at Cookson has been making short movies. They won a competition and their movie was shown at a film festival. Jasyln loves editing the movies on the computer, but Wednesday she and I had to figure out how to use the tripod. We eventually got it!

I visited two seniors on Thursday. Both of them lived close together, but they lived really far back in the woods--where roads didn't seem to have names. But she had a tornado shelter! I've never actually seen a real one! So that was pretty cool! While I didn't go in it, I was content with a picture of the outside:

Stormy sky:

Ok. So here is a picture of one of my biggest "God moments":

I had been wanting to hear Billy's story for a long time, and it started in the form of a flat tire. Everyone here has told us that their stories are our stories. So, that's why I want to share some of this with you.

I'll start from the beginning of the story. Anna and I have a mice problem in the trailer. We went to Dollar General to purchase some mice-killing supplies and on our way back we hit a rock the wrong way in our driveway. FLAT TIRE. We got out of the van and the tire was fully deflated in about 10 seconds.

So, we went next door and asked about what we should do and Billy said right away that he'd come out and help us.

Trying to figure out how to get the spare tire down:

Anyway, Billy just started talking as he was helping us. He was telling us about his stay in a maximum security prison in Texas. He was in his cell and reading the Book of John and he said he felt God put his hand on him as he was reading. He described the feeling as using intravenous drugs except it was a real feeling. While he doesn't understand why he is still living since a lot of his friends "crashed and burned", I can really see all the wonderful ministry he has been doing for his family, for the mission, and even for Anna and I.

He spoke so eloquently about the world and the problems we were facing. He talked about the church and about how it's doing well, yet there are still some serious changes that need to be made in the system.

Although I can't describe every single detail of our conversation and how moving all of it was for me, I hope you can trust me in saying that it was. This was one of those conversations that I'll never forget.

I went exploring a bit:

The Marble City Center:

They say "Pop" instead of "Soda" or whatever else people say:

Closed gas station:

Field of hay:

Cows:

I found a house that was built into the ground:

A woman at AA said I had pretty toes:

Our Health Center is open and in full swing:

Some of the programs happening at the Health Center:

Don putting in an AC unit

Peace,

Meredith

One Day at a Time

2008-07-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

I went to my first Al-Anon meeting tonight. Al-Anon is modeled after AA meetings. So, it had the same kind of feel to it. I loved it! While the 12-steps for AA might be intended for alcoholics, I can really relate right now to Step 2:

"Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity."

I have really let God "restore me to sanity" this summer. It is amazing how influenced I have been by the people I've met and the stories I've heard.

I think it's about time I posted the Serenity Prayer. I'm sure many of you are familiar with it, but I love it. It's short, yet it speaks volumes.

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

Church is a lot like AA. You have to "Keep coming back. It works if you work it." You have to really immerse yourself and be willing to participate. It does work.

I have found the most incredible, amazing, and beautiful spot. We have a little front porch on our trailer. I've come out here to sit, pray, talk, think, eat, look at the stars. I discovered today that I get wireless internet too : ) I look out into the world as I sit on this porch and think of how small I am in this large world. But I can see how He moves through the trees and He shines in the stars and this is how I know that God has big plans for me, as he does for all of us.

I have really been blessed with an amazing family--both "blood" (I couldn't think of a better word) family, church family, and my family of friends. I guess that's why I've missed everyone so much. I have had so much support from everyone though. So, to everyone: THANK YOU!

Peace to you,

Meredith

Crazy Times

2008-07-03T08:33:00.000-07:00

This past week I've worked in the little kid's day care. Here are some of the beautiful faces I got to see everyday:

Memorial Drive UMC of Houston, Texas was the mission team here this week. Honestly, I would never be able to choose the perfect words to describe how amazing this group has been. Everyone was so welcoming and open to Anna and myself. Here are some pictures of their group and the work they've done:

Barbara painting one of many coats on a door frame:

Chris putting in a ceiling fan:

The freshly painted house they worked on:

Joe hammering a nail into a beam:

Leslie putting in the tin roof with the help of Darrell. Darrell works at Cookson Hills Center!

Joe, who is actually one of three people who came from Giddings, Texas, working with a beam:

Memorial Drive gave Melody, Darrell's wife, a prayer shawl:

Memorial Drive also gave Anna and I prayer shawls last night! That meant so much to me and I am so grateful for all the love they showed us.

For the 4th of July, I tagged along with Memorial Drive. We ate at Fin and Feather.

It was a buffet style dinner:

We had entertainment. They danced to Mambo Italiano by Rosemary Clooney:

After dinner, one of the owners of Fin and Feather invited us to his house to watch the fireworks over the lake:

The whole group...I messed up the focus:

They're engaged! Aren't they cute?

Anyway, I guess you could say that's been my week in pictures.

So, Wednesday night I talked to my prayer partner, Charles. He and I are definitely on the same page with a lot of things. As we talked about the things we want to do in the future, like possibly the Mission Intern Program, I realized that there is so much I want to do! While I am thoroughly enjoying where I am this summer, I am very excited about the many opportunities I will have.

God is good.

Peace,

Meredith

The Advance

2008-07-01T09:09:00.001-07:00

If anyone is interested in donating money to the Cookson Hills Center, then this blog is for you!!

The Advance is an "accountable, designated giving arm of The United Methodist Church that ensures 100% of each gift is used for its intended mission or ministry."

Basically, if you donate money to a specific mission through The Advance, 100% of the money goes to that mission or missionary.

Ways You Can Give Money

Cookson Hills' Advance Number is 582161 and you can Make A Gift Online

Missionaries also have an Advance Numbers. Meri Whitaker's Advance Number is 982994 and you can Make A Gift Online for her as well.

This is probably the easiest way of donating money:

"Make your check payable to your local church. Write the name of the ministry and the Advance code number on the check. Drop your gift in any United Methodist church offering plate or give your gift to your church treasurer, so that your church and annual conference will get Advance credit."

I urge you to take the time to browse through some of the mission projects listed on The Advance website. There is a lot of awesome ministry happening in this world.

Meredith

De Colores

2008-07-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

Sunday June 29 and Monday June 30

I’m officially on Week #4 out here in Cookson.

Canterbury UMC has a program called Spirit Hands. I think my pictures explain it better than I could in words:

This is supposed to be a candle:

Practicing hearts:

Playing with light:

I was an extra set of hands in the Day Care today. I've never really taken care of babies though. So, that was definitely a new experience for me.

The woman I worked with, Pat, is a retired Day Care person. She has been a foster parent to 98 children over the past 15 or so years.

I’ve heard some incredible stories of the things that children have endured before they were put in the foster program. Pat said the worst child she ever took care of had a cast from his waist down when she got him. His parents were very cruel to him. Also, the little girl, Shelby, who sat on my lap my first Sunday at Canterbury, is a foster child. They found her and her brother in a play pin and she was playing with a surge protector that was plugged in. Some of these foster kids have seen and endured so much at their young age.

I went to AA again tonight. We talked about Attitude and Gratitude. I hope to stay involved with the recovering alcoholic and recovering drug users’ community.

My Student Media Advisor from NC State sent me this slideshow about the election in Zimbabwe.

Anna and I saw an awesome fireworks show from our trailer:

This picture is for my Dad:

It's rained quite a bit here on Cookson, Ok. The lake keeps getting higher and higher:

Meredith

Viva la Vida

2008-06-28T14:07:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have really wanted to improve my Spanish skills. So, I've been going through my Spanish textbook, I've changed my cell phone to Spanish, and I even checked out at Wal-Mart in Spanish.

Well, on Thursday I had the pleasure of meeting two crafters. One gentleman makes wooden flutes and he played it for me--amazing! While I’m not sure why we started talking about this, he said that he believes a picture steals part of your soul. Isn’t that a really cool thought?

These are some of the most beautiful crosses I've ever seen. They are expensive ($70.50) since they are made out of a different type of bead.

For a more reasonable price ($3.50) we sell United Methodist pins:

Meri, my supervisor, has a ton of cats at her house.

Looking up from under a chair:

While I've been in Oklahoma, I've grown accustomed to seeing casinos. The United Methodist Social Principles describes gambling as "a menace to society, deadly to the best interests of moral, social, economic, and spiritual life, and destructive of good government." As I was talking to my Dad about this today, he mentioned Gandhi's Seven Sins:

wealth without work,
pleasure without conscience,
knowledge without character,
commerce without morality,
science without humanity,
worship without sacrifice,
and politics without principle.

However, it is a Catch-22. While people are gambling away their paycheck, casinos are providing jobs that people would not otherwise have.

The more time I'm here at Cookson, the more I've been thinking about what God is calling me to do. When I went to Chrysalis a couple years ago, I received this in a letter from my Dad. It's now one of my favorite prayers and it's by Thomas Merton:

MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

While at times I do not know where we I am headed in life, I find this prayer helpful and comforting.

<3

Meredith

Listening to Life

2008-06-26T06:56:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, June 24, 2008 and Wednesday, June 25, 2008

I have been busy, busy, busy these past few days.

On Tuesday I worked basically all day in the Senior Center. Cookson hosted a volunteer lunch for all the people who have helped Cookson. So, I decorated the room where the volunteers had lunch:

Here is one of the goodie-bags I put together:

For the past few Fridays I have had the opportunity to go out into the community and work with the mission teams on houses. Colleen is the head of all the mission teams and I’ve gotten to know her quite well these past couple of weeks. She is a woman of many talents:

Carrying Many Plates:

Balancing:

Cooking:

Taking Important Phone Calls:

…

Haha. She is awesome to say the least and she, like the rest of the staff, has an amazing story! I can’t wait to get to know her more these next couple of weeks.

After lunch I helped clean up the dining area, clean the kitchen, and wash the dishes. Honestly, I didn’t realize how large of a production it is to put on just lunch! The staff that works in the senior center does this Monday through Thursday every week.

There was a Board meeting today at Cookson. I would compare it to a Charge Conference kind of meeting that we have a Bethany UMC. Although I didn’t stay the whole time, this meeting was like every other meeting in the world ---somewhat boring, somewhat interesting.

I was asked to transfer a list of 1,952 addresses from one program to another. I freaked when they said I was going to have to re-type all of them. However, I solved the problem. Two words: Copy. Paste. It took me all of 10 seconds to transfer everything.

While the office staff was in the meeting, I was answering phones, working on their newsletter, and updating the Cookson Hills Center Website. While I’ve never edited websites before, I’m pretty pleased with what I’ve done so far. I still have a really long way to go though since all I’ve changed is the template. It will be a work in progress this entire summer.

I’m hoping to work with one of the Board members about getting new computers for the Cookson computer lab, which is used by local youth and is also used by the community members so they can do taxes on Turbo Tax. The computer lab is in need of new and up-to-date computers. Cookson is in DESPERATE need of children’s educational software. Most of the software was written for Windows 95 and it so outdated that it won’t even load on the computer! I know I’m only going to be able to do so much while I’m here, but I’m hoping to get something going with that.

I just finished reading a wonderful book my Dad gave me to read this summer: Let Your Life Speak by Parker Palmer. While I’ve been struggling with my “call” in life, reading this book has helped me figure out some stuff.

Well, I have seen a snake. Although I’ve seen two smaller snakes around Cookson before, this one was a lot bigger. I was walking over a cattle guard and there it was. I am 100% sure I have a serious phobia of snakes. I know that God does not make crap and that he loves snakes, but snakes are just not cool in my eyes. On the bright side, most of the staff here does not like them either. So, our secretary’s husband came out a few times with his gun, but he didn’t find any. They are going to put some random/deadly things under the cattle guard to get rid of the creatures that stay under it. After I described the snake to Meri, she decided it was a cotton mouth (POISONOUS!!) and that there were probably more around. She also told me if I got bit, then I would need to drive immediately to the hospital. So, in the mean time, I am driving and will be driving the van back and forth from my trailer to the office. Intense stuff!!!

Anna and I went to the lake today. It has rained so much that the water level at the lake is extremely high!!

This is the same guard rail I took a picture of previously…a bird was perched on in it in the other picture:

The water is flowing out of the lake, onto the road, and into the grass on the other side.

Fun Fact: Cookson, Oklahoma his home to Pretty Boy Floyd, an American outlaw/gangster.

Meredith

Let Go and Let God

2008-06-24T07:16:00.000-07:00

Saturday, June 21, 2008 through Monday, June 23, 2008:

Saturday afternoon Anna and I went into Tahlequah. We had lunch at Sonic and then watched the movie Get Smart. Just to let the world know: Steve Carell is hilarious.

Sunday morning Anna and I went back to Canterbury Chapel to worship. I really enjoyed it this time and I can’t wait to go back next Sunday. While it’s still a different style of worshiping, Canterbury is so full of love. During the children’s time I counted 24 kids! Isn’t that wonderful?!

The prayer time of rejoices/concerns was awesome. We prayed for a father/husband who is in Afghanistan, for a child’s parents who are in prison, for a foal that was just born, for a friend with pneumonia, etc. Honestly, it was a blessing getting to hear the things that weighed on people’s hearts. While there are prayer requests that I’m used to hearing, there are a good handful of prayers that I’m not accustomed to.

After church Anna and I were invited over to Meri’s house for an afternoon of food and swimming. Meri lives in a cozy log cabin that she and her father built. Although her parents divorced a long time ago, her father now lives next door to her left and her mother lives next door to her right.

Anna enjoying the sun from the sky lights:

Chloe:

I think Meri gardens with steroids. Her zucchini was huge:

She has a REAL donkey!!

Eeyore:

His nose gets very large when he makes that donkey sound:

Her horses and donkey like to hang out by the pool:

Horse:

This is Elsie with Eeyore:

Elsie is so cool. This is her coin from AA for her 22^nd year of sobriety:

She will be celebrating her 23^rd year on October 15! Elsie is now a licensed counselor. I think she counsels recovering addicts or mentally ill persons. She has opened my eyes to so many things.

Meri Whitaker is an amazing woman also. Hearing about her past and the crazy things she’s done has been really interesting to listen to.

Well, today has been wonderful as well. I drove a 15 passenger van for the first time in my life. I didn’t just drive on an average, paved road. I drove on mountainous, dirt roads. It was intense and I will admit that I had my doubts. Everyone got where they needed to go safely though. The driver who picks up the seniors for lunch Mondays and Wednesday fractured his hip. So, while he is recovering, I will be driving the seniors back and forth. It’s amazing to think about how these people survive living here. Marble City seems almost like a ghost town when I drive through it and there aren’t any local businesses for people to work in except the post office. Can you imagine what happens during an ice storm? The nearest store for some is at least 20 miles away.

I went to my first Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting tonight. While I’m not an addict, I had an amazing time there. I was able to go because this particular meeting is an “open” meeting. The one at Bethany UMC is a “closed” meeting; therefore, I’m not allowed to go since I’m not an addict. Anyway, AA is awesome to say the least. We celebrated this woman’s 22^nd “birthday”. It was really her 22^nd year of being a part of AA, but we had cake and ice-cream nonetheless. Our theme, I guess you could call it, was “Let Go and Let God”. It’s one of those cheesy sayings you’ve seen on church signs, but it was an awesome maxim to discuss. One person mentioned how it’s such a simple thought, yet it’s so hard to actually do—I can totally relate. While I’d love to write more about the meeting, I took an oath and said a “here, here” not to discuss what people said. So, I want to respect that. If you ever get the chance to attend an open meeting or Al-Non, I’d definitely recommend it. It’s very moving.

Meredith

P.S. We officially have a cook! He starts Wednesday : )

I Dare You To Move

2008-06-21T16:05:00.000-07:00

It is official. I have a Chaco’s tan line on my feet. While I’ve been using my Chacos as my water shoes, Anna has been going without shoes. However, we journeyed to Wal-Mart and found some little girls shoes that she can now use as her water shoes for the lake. She got the purple ones:

Well, Anna and I went with the group from Travis Park UMC in San Antonio, Texas to work on a family’s house. I will let the pictures tell most of the story, but I will give you a brief overview of what we did. Well, earlier in the week the group tore down siding. So, on Friday, they put up fresh siding.

Their fearless leader:

There were a ton of wasps. So, he had to kill the nests:

Victory!

There was a lot of trash around the house:

Kitten

The group made Colleen, the person in charge of all the mission teams, a cross out of wood:

Miss Anna:

The beautiful family who let us work on their house:

Anna and I went to a rodeo. That’s right. A RODEO. It was in Vian, Oklahoma:

I’m not really into roping cattle, watching people ride bulls, etc. So, I walked around outside while that happened. I thought the barrel racing was really cool:

I wasn't really into the rodeo clown:

However, I saw someone ride a real ostrich!

Just to let you know: Belton Joyner informed me that "General agencies of the United Methodist Church have a policy not to meet in cities with Native American mascots." It's definitely awesome that the United Methodist Church has taken a stand like this.

Meredith

Change

2008-06-19T13:43:00.000-07:00

So much good has happened over the past few days! It is awesome.

I've found us a cook! The cook here quit a few weeks ago and Cookson has been in need of someone. I went to post a "Job Opening" paper at the little store across the street and the gentleman who was checking out at the register asked about it! He came in a couple minutes and filled out an application; however he has an interview Monday, but hopefully that will go well!

The mission group that has been here this week sang out the senior center yesterday:

Yesterday I helped put together the Pack n' Snack Bags for the Children's Program. It was saw awesome seeing their faces today as I gave them their bags of goodies.

There are so many beautiful birds here in Cookson. It's hard to get close enough to take a picture though:

Anna and I LOVE the lake:

Well, I worked with little people aka children grades 1-10 today. I mostly worked with elementary school kids though. I woke up early this morning so I could ride with Debbie, a wonderful woman who works at the Cookson Hills Center, as she picked up the kids. We drove to Marble City, Oklahoma:

We saw a factory that mines for lime. These are the mountains that remain from it, as well as all the dust:

The children Cookson Hills serves are amazing. Most of them have nothing, yet they want to give everything they have to help others. Being able to see where these children live is so eye opening. The living conditions for some of them seem awful, but that is their home.

Debbie is awesome. She gave up a good salary and comfortable life to serve at Cookson Hills. She is now a deaconess through the GBGM and she said today that she has never been happier.

On our way back from dropping off the kids, Debbie and I had a wonderful conversation. Don't get me wrong, I love America's past time, baseball. Debbie brought up a wonderful point today about how the Atlanta "Braves" is a very disrespectful to the Native American community. Also, the Washington Redskins, etc. In the Native American community, a person will go through a ceremony to become a chief and then receive a feather headdress. However, when we make this a mascot for the Redskins, this becomes degrading, not honoring.

The Social Principles of the United Methodist Church states:

"We commend and encourage the self-awareness of all racial and ethnic groups and oppressed people that leads them to demand their just and equal rights as members of society. We assert the obligation of society and groups within the society to implement compensatory programs that redress long-standing, systemic social deprivation of racial and ethnic people."

Furthermore, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, part of the Preamble states:

"Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world..."

Essentially, it is not okay for us to condone the use of "Braves" and "Redskins" because we are ultimately suppressing the Native American people. While some may feel that they honor the Native Americans through the names, we are not. We are demeaning their status and culture.

Meredith

Lesser Things

2008-06-18T06:43:00.001-07:00

For the past couple of days I’ve been working in the office at Cookson Hills Center. When persons come to Cookson to receive help of any kind, they have to fill out a basic information form. I’ve been entering some recent information from the forms into a database that dates back a couple years. There are over 850 individuals in that database! As I was working on it, I noticed that there were people whose annual income was $2000 or less. It’s so hard to believe that people live on that amount of money.

Well, I decided not to tell people that Monday was my birthday since I was just going to celebrate it when I got back home. I didn’t even tell Anna! When I talked to my mom though, she suggested that I tell Anna and that we treat ourselves to a nice meal. So, we went to town and ate a wonderful dinner and the waiter made a sundae for us:

Although it was somewhat stormy on our way to Tahlequah, the sky was beautiful on the way back:

Anna and I have become really good friends with the Polar Bear Dog:

The new mission team that’s here is a youth group from San Antonio, Texas. It’s definitely a different dynamic than the group from last week, but I’m hoping to get to know this group just as well.

Hasta luego,

Meredith

Weekend Pictures

2008-06-16T09:22:00.000-07:00

I got really bored Saturday afternoon. So, I walked out to the road and took pictures of bikers.

There were some beautiful flowers at Cookson UMC

I found horses that live beside Anna and I.

Anna and I discovered a college as we explored Tahlequah

Starbucks!

A winding dirt road

Anna's secret spot

Our set of wheels for the summer

Running water

Testing out the water

Feet in the creek

Learning to Breathe

2008-06-16T09:13:00.000-07:00

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Anna and I have been women of leisure this weekend. Although initially I was doing everything to stay busy—example: I cleaned my room, washed dishes, washed my clothes, took out the trash, walked around outside and took pictures…you get the idea—I decided that I needed to take a break and just breathe. I think I got used to staying busy that is was hard for me to slow down.

We cooked a wonderful dinner Saturday night and then explored the big metropolitan of Tahlequah. Actually, Tahlequah is a quaint, little town, but it has a cute “Main Street” area, a college, Northeastern State University, and Wal-Mart.

Because I’m limited on digital entertainment options and only have a few DVDs, I will probably be able to quote Wayne’s World by the end of the summer. I’d highly recommend it if you’re in the mood for a stupid-funny kind of movie.

After going to church today, I realized that I am very judgmental. I attended the church, Canterbury UMC, that my supervisor pastors and it’s a 12-step church for recovering addicts. I know that I should not judge anyone based on their socioeconomic status, sexuality, life choices, etc., for it is God’s place to judge and not mine. I get so caught up in my own world that I have trouble being around things I’m not used to. So, when I walked in the church I felt like I was just critiquing everything. During the service, this little girl, Shelby, walked over to me, sat on my lap, and started coloring in her coloring book. I was like whoa—this is weird. She didn’t know me, she didn’t ask, and she could have sat on anyone’s lap. However, I saw God in Shelby today. She trusted me and she didn’t judge me. We are all God’s beautiful children and God loves us all equally. Although I’ve written about this before, I know that I need to learn to “see” things like a child and appreciate things I’m not used to. We ended the service like people end AA meetings. It was different, but cool. "Keep coming back...it works if you work it"

This song really speaks mountains

JARS OF CLAY – LIKE A CHILD

After church, Anna and I treated ourselves to the Chili’s in Tahlequah. Then, we went to Lake Tenkiller, Oklahoma’s second largest lake which is conveniently located in Cookson. It was so awesome floating in the water and staring at these beautiful mountains beside the lake. I’ve discovered I’m in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains.

Earlier this week, Anna had to pick up one of the seniors for lunch, and on her way, she stumbled upon this amazing creek. She took me there today and it was so peaceful. I can’t wait to go back!

God is good.

Meredith

Blogs

2008-06-14T09:17:00.000-07:00

Other interns are keeping blogs for the summer. So, check them out:

Charles' Blog

Nicole's Blog

Ted's Blog

Mayjean's Blog

Danabeth's Blog

Hannah's Blog

Meredith

Life and Love and Why

2008-06-14T08:57:00.000-07:00

Friday, June 13, 2008

As each day passes by here at Cookson, I realize more and more why I’m supposed to be here this summer.

I left at 7:00 a.m. with the work team from Chapelwood UMC in Houston, Texas. The work team ripped off the old shingles on the house earlier this week and finished putting on the new shingles today. They also worked on a room inside the house. While I didn’t put shingles on the roof, I helped cut some of the shingles and clean a room inside the house. All of the manual labor I did today really made me so grateful for all the people who work like that every day.

It was really awesome how the weather forecast had been calling for rain every single day this week—which would have dampened the teams work schedule—but it didn’t start raining until this afternoon when the team was literally nailing in the last shingle. I think there’s a saying that coincidence is God’s way of staying anonymous. I really enjoyed getting to know this team from Texas.

All of their stories, all of their smiles, and all of their lives truly affected my life. I made a trip to the lumber store with Ginny, the Director of Single Adult Ministry at Chapelwood UMC. It was so awesome hearing about all the programs that Chapelwood offers and all the activities going on.

While I probably won't see any of these beautiful people again, they will always stay in my heart.

Meredith

This Is Your Life, Are You Who You Want To Be

2008-06-13T17:37:00.000-07:00

Thursday, June 12, 2008

I met one of the crafters today. Her name is Lena and she makes the most amazing baskets. She explained that you have to gather this vine during certain parts of the year and then you soak the vine so it can be woven together. She even makes her own dyes! The darker brown dye is made from walnut and the orange dye is made from wood root. She can make the actual basket in an hour and then she made this particular handle in about three hours—it was the first time she made a handle for a basket.

I finally finished organizing a storage room and putting away the canned food today!

This is the after picture of the room:

A few of the many cans:

Anna and I drove one of the seniors, Lucille, to her doctor in Muskogee today. I saw this huge factory on the way there:

Lucille’s husband died last August and I think it’s still kind of a sore wound for her. I can tell she’s very lonely. Anna and I didn’t even have to create conversation because she talked the entire 45 minutes there and the 45 minutes back. All she talked about though were her ailments—she’s had cancer twice, a broken hip, and heart problems—and she talked about how “if my husband were still here…” I feel like that’s all she knew to talk about though since she probably doesn’t get much company.

It was interesting listening to Lucille. She lives a lot in the past. I live a lot in the future. This summer opportunity with GBGM has given me so many thoughts about what I want to do next summer and then what I want to do when I’m done with college. Although I catch myself thinking about that stuff sometimes, I am getting so much better about just enjoying the moment I am in.

I’m tagging along with the work team that’s here from Texas tomorrow. They’ve been such an awesome group to get to know and I will definitely miss them!

All the GBGM interns were assigned prayer partners for the summer. We were supposed to meet with our partners some during our training and on our last night together all the partners brought one thing to the little devotion time we had. I have had the most amazing prayer partner, Charles! We met during training and for the devotion we led the Amazing Grace/Hallelujah song (one of my favorites). We got the chance to talk last night and it was so awesome getting to hear about some of his experiences in Alexandria, Virginia. I can’t wait to hear about how all the other interns are doing!

Until later,

Meredith

Once Upon a Time

2008-06-12T06:28:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Cookson Hills is trying to set up an on-site medical clinic out of the old parsonage for people to use. There is a lot of work that has to be done on it though. So, early this morning I “set nails” into molding around the bottom of a wall. I then used “spakling” on the molding to cover the holes.

After setting nails and spakling, I used a POWER TOOL! Although I was just screwing in a paper towel holder, I still thought it was cool to use one.

During the afternoon I filled up a golf cart with boxes of soup cans and drove it to the senior center to unload—I made four trips. Soup cans get VERY heavy.

I got a care package from my parents today : ) The Once soundtrack was included in it=amazing music!

Well, Anna and I drove to Talequah today to shop for groceries. It was nice to leave Cookson for a little bit.

Our neighbors introduced us to their pets. Anna and Caesar got along quite well:

This is Sally

I love being outside at night. The weather is perfect, the sky is blue, and the air is fresh.

Our neighbor's daughter, Judy, showed me a flower she found.

I feel like I need to end with some sort of deep, intellectual though, but I think this what I've written will suffice for now. After all, it's late and I'm tired.

Meredith

Pictures!

2008-06-11T07:07:00.000-07:00

The Log Game aka Best Game Ever

Melanie working on a crossword puzzle

Some of the group posing for a picture

Riverside Church has a lot of construction going on

Anna and I

Hannah and Charles

A Personal Trainer working with his clients in Central Park

Charles, Ted, and Glenn showing off their guns

Nicole showing everyone her incredible strength

Hannah with her camera

Alycia had some trouble with Dum Dum Diddie

Amazing quote we stumbled upon at a school in NYC

Gentleman playing Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major=beautiful song

Oklahoma Indian Mission Conference Children's Choir

Cutest little boy

Meri Whitaker, my supervisor, and Dayton Edmunds, the best storyteller EVER

So it's not in focus, but this is the alter table at the Oklahoma Indian Missions Annual Conference

View from my front steps

Bird House

Awesome view at the Cookson Hills Center

Anna has trouble spelling sometimes.

There are more pictures to come.

<3

Meredith

Sunny Day

2008-06-11T06:54:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Today has been wonderful. While I don’t think I am being called to work at a place like Cookson when I get older, I know that this is where I’m supposed to right now.

I’ve learned so much already and I’m so excited to learn more!Meri Whitaker asked each of the staff to take Anna and me somewhere in Oklahoma. I think I’m going to a Pow Wow sometime and Meri said she was going to try and get us to a Stomp Dance, but we have to be invited to that.

Over these couple of days I’ve been putting away the crafts in the store that were taken to annual conference and it’s so awesome just getting to touch everything. The jewelry is beautiful. I can’t imagine how much time is put into each piece because the beadwork is so intricate. After talking to the secretary, I kind of sensed that the crafts and jewelry making are becoming a lost art.

Because I’m extremely tired, I’m going to make this a short one.

Contently,
Meredith

Late Posts

2008-06-10T14:30:00.000-07:00

I've been having trouble accessing the internet. So, that's why I've posted my last three days worth of blogs all of a sudden. I think I've got a system going now because they just gave me a key to the office.

<3
Meredith

Eye Opening

2008-06-10T14:27:00.000-07:00

Monday, June 09, 2008

After my 8:30 a.m. staff meeting, Meri Whitaker, gave the mission work team that’s here for a week a tour around the Cookson Hills Center and Anna and I tagged along.

I heard some heart breaking stories:

A little girl came into Cookson Hills to get school supplies her parents couldn’t afford to buy her. The mother saw a bunch of canned food on one of the tables in the room and asked what they were for. As Meri explained that they were for families who couldn’t pay for food, the little girl broke out into tears and said she ate only salad dressing for dinner the night before.

Every year Cookson Hills sets up a store for parents to get Christmas presents that the United Methodist Women donate. Someone donated a statue of an angel one year and the Cookson staff joked around about how a child probably wouldn’t want that, but they laid it out nonetheless. Around that time, a home caught fire and the parents and two babies died in it; however, the two older children survived. The children were sent to stay with their grandmother, who was only bringing in $5000 a year. The Department of Human Services referred the grandmother to Cookson Hills so she could give her grandchildren Christmas presents. After she picked out her grandchildren presents, Meri said that she should take something for herself because it wasn’t fair for her not to have a gift. So, the grandmother took the statue of an angel—she said she was going to use it as a temporary headstone for her other two grandchildren because she couldn’t afford a real one.

While getting a tour around Cookson, I got to hear some of the staff’s stories. I met a recovering alcoholic who took his last sip April 3rd of last year. He’s going through drug court right now and has to serve 2 years at a non-profit organization. Because he didn’t have his license, he hitch-hiked 30-some miles to Cookson Hills every morning. I heard someone say today that Cookson Hills “employees the unemployable”.

As I have talked to a few recovering alcoholics, I’ve noticed that they can all tell me the date they took their last sip. A gentleman from the mission work team said he took his 17 years ago.

Speaking of the mission team—they are a singles group from Chapelwood UMC in Houston, Texas. Anna and I have had an awesome time with them. We went to the store with them and they bought so many things for the day care Anna is working with this summer. They even invited us to eat dinner with them and I had the best peach cobbler.

Because we stayed up late tonight and finished setting up the daycare area, some of the people from Chapelwood walked us back to the trailer Anna and I are staying in. On the way back, we saw the most beautiful sky. Stars that traveled on forever and a moon that shined so bright just filled the sky. It’s strange to think about how such a beautiful area can hurt so much.

Meredith

Trying to have Faith Like a Child

2008-06-10T14:24:00.000-07:00

Sunday, June 08, 2008

I finally made it to the Cookson Hills Center. After months of wondering where I was going to be this summer and what is was going to be like—I am actually here!

Some facts I learned today:

American Indians are the second poorest people in the Western Hemisphere. Hatians are the first.

Oklahoma is one of the three poorest states in the US. Louisiana and Alabama are the other poorest.

The area I’m living in is the 7th highest methamphetamine producing place in the country.

Driving back from the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Annual Conference was really interesting. I rode over Oklahoma’s largest lake, rode by Carrie Underwood’s hometown, Checotah, and saw many, many miles of open country.

I’m living in an older trailer at the Cookson Hills Center with Anna. After we settled in, I walked around the center a bit. It’s beautiful out here. However, I discovered that I shouldn’t walk around in flip flops outside after I stepped on a yellow jacket—very painful. I called Anna right after it happened and she helped me out.

Anna and I cooked Hamburger Helper for dinner. It actually turned out really well. We get 2 and a half TV stations and do not have wireless internet.

I feel like I’ve been so blind to the suffering that goes on in the world. Meri Whitaker, our supervisor, was telling us that there are people in this area who live on $2,000 a year. Can you believe that? She said 36% of the children that Cookson Hills serves go to bed hungry each night. There is a program here called Pack n’ Snack. Children get backpacks full of food like tuna and crackers, beef jerkey, etc. and take it home with them so they can have food to eat. Meri said that some of the children eat their food under their beds so their parents won’t take it.

There is a Cherokee children’s choir at Cookson and a local church invited the children to come sing during its service. After the children sang, the church offered to feed the children lunch and bought buckets of chicken for the children to eat. A woman from the church tried to get some of the kids to take off their coats, but they insisted they wanted to keep them on. The woman pointed out to Meri that one of the little girl’s was really hungry because she had gone back up quite a bit to get pieces of chicken. Meri told us that some of the children were sticking the chicken in their coats so they would have food to eat later.

Isn’t that disgusting? Not that the children were putting chicken in their coats, but that we can allow this to happen. I can’t fathom how much injustice is in this world.

Meredith

Culture Shock

2008-06-10T14:21:00.000-07:00

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Waking up this morning at 2:30 a.m. definitely took a toll on me. I slept on the plane some, but I still haven’t fully recovered.

Well, I am officially in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Indian Missions Annual Conference is taking place right now. Someone picked us up from the airport and took us straight to their Annual Conference in Antlers, Oklahoma. I will finally be journeying to Cookson tomorrow afternoon. I definitely had a serious freak out and a bit of a culture shock today. I was second guessing my decision of being a summer intern and really doubting that I could do this. I think part of it was that I was really tired after getting 2ish hours of sleep, but I called my parents and they helped me get through my troubles.

The Oklahoma Indian Missions Annual Conference is not like the North Carolina Annual Conference or any other conference for that matter. This conference takes place at a local campground and the meetings are all held outside in an open shelter. It’s very informal—shorts and t-shirt.

During dinner, I met a former summer intern and US-2 who is now a pastor in Oklahoma. It was really awesome getting some advice from her and hearing some of her stories. Afterwards, everyone came together for a time of fellowship and fun. I got the opportunity to hear stories from an amazing story teller, Dayton Edmonds. Also, an elder from each tribe led a tribal hymn in his native language. I sang “Amazing Grace” in English, Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, and Kiowa.

While at this Annual Conference, I have definitely felt like a minority--which is awesome because it’s very humbling and I get the chance to take off my “invisible backpack”. I found out today that a lot of the staff at Cookson Hills Center are recovering drug/alcohol addicts or have been incarcerated. This summer will definitely be a learning experience for me. I am up for the challenges it’s going to bring me and I am willing to listen, serve, and minister to the people of the Cookson Hills Center.

Meredith

Today is the Day

2008-06-07T00:15:00.001-07:00

I woke up at 2:30 am this morning (about 50 minutes ago) to get ready to head off to the airport. We're leaving Alma's in about 10 minutes for a 6:25 am flight. My time here has flown by so fast!! I'm so sad to leave all of these beautiful people, but I know that I will see them in 8 weeks and that God has so much in store for all of us over these next weeks.

Anxiously,
Meredith

Good

2008-06-05T20:45:00.000-07:00

"The place where God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." -- Frederick Buechner

Today was so full of good.

I went to the General Board of Global Ministries this morning and I learned so much more about it and all the wonderful ministries the United Methodist Church has going on throughout the world. Also, I met a Bishop from the Sudan in Africa which was really awesome.

This evening I had the pleasure of being a tourist. I went with my group to central park, times square, and other little random places. While walking down 5th avenue, my heart broke. I don't want to put down Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Prada, Gucci, etc., but when I walk down 5th Ave. and see homeless persons sleeping on the stairs of the churches beside these stores---I guess I just figure something has to be wrong.

I listed the quote by Frederick Buechner, A Presbyterian pastor, because it has helped me somewhat see what God is calling me to do.

Today has been long as well--so I'm just going to post a few pictures of things I saw today:

Gary, a random guy I had the chance to meet at Central Park.

A gentleman painting on a HUGE rock at Central Park.

Finally, my beautiful 2008 GBGM Summer Mission Interns Class:

Contently,
Meredith

Blah

2008-06-05T03:53:00.000-07:00

If I could describe today in one word, then that word would be “blah”. It wasn’t necessarily a bad blah, but it was dreary and rainy outside and I guess just one of those days.

We read a little bit about Ananius and his call in Acts 9:10-19. I guess I can kind of relate to Ananius in that I’m being called to do something (although I don’t know what yet) and I’m just kind of doubting a little bit right now and asking God if He’s sure He knows what He’s doing—but regardless, I will definitely try my best to do what I think He wants me to do.

Steve Schnapp, Education Coordinator for United for a Fair Economy came today to speak about Economic Justice within the United States. I know John Wesley said something along the lines of “Save as much as you can, make as much as you can, and give as much as you can,” but to see the wealth and income-gaps in our nation is mind boggling.

Peggy McIntosh wrote a book called “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”, and I just want to share a couple of sections from her book:

“I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege. So I have begun in an untutored way to ask what it is like to have white privilege. I have come to see white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was “meant” to remain oblivious. White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools, and blank checks.”

“For some others like me if we raise our daily consciousness on the perquisites of being [advantaged]…What will we do with such knowledge? …It is an open question whether we will choose to use unearned advantage, and whether we will use any of our arbitrarily awarded power to try to reconstruct power systems on a broader base.”

McIntosh’s words are so powerful because they speak the truth. People who have privilege are often times so used to it that they don’t even realize that it is truly a privilege. I feel like those who are privileged should use their privilege to the good of mankind and not to afflict the oppressed anymore.

Thoughtfully,

Meredith

Struggle

2008-06-04T04:30:00.000-07:00

Just a preface: this was written LATE Tuesday night and posted this morning because I had trouble accessing the internet:

Anna and I got breakfast this morning at a cafe beside St. Vincent's Hospital. On our way back to the house we stumbled upon a little corner called "Tiles of the World" which were put up to remember 9/11:

I have felt so lost today with what God is calling me to do. I talked to my dad and told him how I'm not sure if I'm being called to be a missionary, but then I went to the Bronx. While riding the subway, I was taken from an upscale, artsy area to a low class, rundown neighborhood. As I saw the projects today for the first time in my life, I felt almost disgusted as to how people can just turn a blind eye to this area. I learned a jaw dropping statistic: 70% of students in the local schools do not graduate from high school. There are so many beautiful children of God in the Bronx and for them to get overlooked is just continuing this awful cycle.

Our purpose for visiting the Bronx was to learn about the Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice (YMPJ). After journeying through the Bronx by subway and bus, we arrived at an older house with metal bars that seemed to be like a cage around it. As we walked inside we were greeted with smiles from the people sitting around a table and were led down stairs to a basement area. Upon entering the room I was in my own world just thinking about random things and when I sat down I was so incredibly moved by this image that faced me from across the room:

A local artist spray painted the life of Jesus around the room as if He lived during the current time in the Bronx. Jesus was born outside a famous house in the Bronx, He was baptized in the Bronx river, He spoke to His people from a fire escape, He led his disciples under the 6 train subway bridge, He had a barbecue as the last supper, He was arrested by NYPD, He was put to death by lethal injection, and He was resurrected when someone spray painted his face on a building—which is considered a sign of respect.

Getting to see Christ's life in this context was so moving and powerful. I was very inspired to work somewhere like YMPJ--which made me somewhat question why God is sending me to Cookson, Ok. when I feel more moved to work in the city, but I know that God has a plan though. So, that's reassuring I guess.

Contemplatively,
Meredith

Why Am I Here?

2008-06-03T04:47:00.001-07:00

I woke up to an amazing view out my window this morning:

After getting up and going, I went to breakfast with Anna and a few other people. We went to this awesome place called Soy—a quaint, little restaurant where I got the best granola ever!

Following breakfast, the group came together for a time of Bible study, which was led by Rev. Glenn Rowley, Director of Mission Personnel Training for GBGM. We read and discussed Psalm 25. While it was interesting, I wish we had the time to go a bit deeper into it.

I saw this gentleman on my way to lunch:

On our itinerary for today there was a part called “Why Am I Here?” It was really interesting trying to figure out why I am here. Honestly, I don’t know 100% why I am here. Why would I want to voluntarily displace myself—as Glenn described—for the summer? Although I feel that we are all called to do mission work of some fashion, I don’t know if I am being called to have a career in missions. Hopefully this summer will help me decipher what God is trying to tell me. God may be telling me that mission work is not for me through this summer internship or he may be showing me through this summer internship may other routes I need to take in my life.

We also talked about what being a missionary meant. Many people probably have the idea of a missionary being an eccentric person carrying a cross and Bible while trying to convert people to Christianity; however, being a missionary should be about one’s presence in other people’s lives. A missionary should gather stories and be a witness to people’s lives. I’m going to Oklahoma for 8 weeks to learn and hear stories, and then I will carry those stories with for the rest of my life. With those stories, I can advocate and educate.

We had a 30 minute break in the afternoon. So, we took a stroll to a little market where a gentleman was fixing fresh flowers:

Later at night we had the BEST frozen yogurt:

I tried green tea and strawberry tart.

Gas it a bit higher in the city:

Tomorrow we will be going to the Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice in the Bronx. I’m very excited about that!

Thoughtfully,

Meredith

Arriving

2008-06-01T19:11:00.000-07:00

I made it to the Alma Matthews in one piece...with a little less luggage weight than what I had originally planned on carrying. Turns out that if your luggage weighs more than 50 lbs., then you have to pay 50 extra dollars. So, because of how much I'm flying this summer, I had to ditch 20 pounds. I left most of the books I packed in my luggage in my car and I got rid of a few other random things.

Besides having to get rid of stuff, my flight and getting to the house went really well. Once I got to the airport, I decided to try out this service called the SuperShuttle. While I got to see more of the city, I think when I come back on August 3 I'll take a taxi.

My first afternoon and evening was spent in this room:

The interns in this program are going everywhere for their placement sites!! One girl, Elisa, is going to Durham, NC! She will be working with a group who deals with farmer's rights. There are people going to big cities like San Fransisco, DC, and NYC, and then there are people going to small little towns like Cookson, OK. :)

All of the people here are so wonderful! We had some ice-breakers, an overview of the program, pizza for dinner, and then a devotion. The devotion was very meaningful. All of the interns were called here to participate in this program somehow--whether he/she wanted to vacation, to learn more, to get away,etc. We were all nudged by a feeling of some sort to do this.

Honestly, it didn't hit me until the airplane started down the runway that I won't be home for 10 weeks. I just picked up and left. Although I feel like there are so many things and feelings that I've been trying to hold onto lately, the devotion truly helped me realize to let go and silence them for a while.

Anyway, My night photography needs a lot of work, but this is the doorstep to the Alma Matthews House:

Gwyneth Paltrow lives one block from the Alma Matthews House in this direction:

Happily,
Meredith

Packing

2008-05-31T20:28:00.001-07:00

I did it! I packed everything I will need for the next 10 weeks in one suitcase and one backpack:

It's hard to believe that I'm leaving tomorrow morning! My flight to NYC leaves RDU at 10:20 a.m., and I'll arrive at JFK around 11:50 a.m.

Once I get to the airport, I have to find my way to the Alma Matthews House, where I will be staying for the week with the rest of the interns. The Alma Matthews House is a facility of the General Board of Global Ministries Women’s Division. While almost of all of the interns were put in groups of 3 or 4 to meet at the airport and go over to the house together, I get the opportunity to trek all the way there by myself. The only other people flying into JFK are those who are taking a red eye from the West Coast, and they will get to there around 7:30 in the morning. I am excited though! I have never done any of this stuff by myself!

Well, I better get some sleep for tomorrow--it will be a crazy/long day!

Peace,
Meredith

First Thoughts

2008-05-27T21:31:00.000-07:00

During the first couple weeks of January, I began trying to figure out what I was going to do between the summer of my freshman and sophomore year. I had been talking to my dad quite a bit about the many things I could do, and one day he received an e-mail that mentioned a summer internship offered by the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM). GBGM is an organization of the United Methodist Church that does a lot with mission work and helps promote justice and peace in the world. I actually had the opportunity to visit GBGM last year and that's part of the reason why I thought this internship--which is framed for 12 young adults to gain experience in the mission setting--would be pretty cool.

So, I applied, got my recommendations in, interviewed, and I got it!! The internship consists of a week of training in NYC (June 1-7), 8 weeks at a placement site (June 7-August 3), and a few days of reflection back in NYC (August 3-7). It's not your ordinary internship, but it's what I wanted. While I knew I received one of the internship positions, I anxiously awaited my placement site. I could have gone ANYWHERE in the United States.

I was studying for my Spanish exam on the second floor of Witherspoon when I got the call--I'd be going to Cookson, Oklahoma--a town with no traffic lights and one stop sign. It is also 18 miles from the nearest city, 54 miles from the nearest mall, and 85 miles from Tulsa. Can you believe that? Ok. I'll admit...I was a little shocked and not expecting Cookson, but I'm actually surprisingly excited about it now. It'll definitely be a culture shock; however, I'm feeling more and more at ease, which I think is a sign that it's what I'm meant to do this summer.

While in Oklahoma, I will be working at the Cookson Hills Center, a United Methodist organization that does a lot of work with the poor in Northern Oklahoma. Although I'm not quite sure what I will be doing, I am going with another intern, Anna, who is a music major from Texas. Even though excitement and butterflies have been flowing through my body, I know that this summer will open my eyes to many new things.

Well, maybe I should I have written this early on, but I am writing this blog for you to read about my summer experience and also so that I can reflect and look back on later. I hope you enjoy reading about my journey and I will update and post pictures as often as I can!

Hasta luego,
Meredith