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January 22nd, 2010

Some Videos While in Colorado

Written by Israel Filed under: Family, Life, Travel

These are a few short videos from our trip to Dani’s dad’s house in Colorado. We had a great time there, and drove up there with Amy and Luke, Dani’s sister and brother-in-law.

Tags: Colorado, Dani's Video, Family, Life, Travel, Video

December 9th, 2009

Grief

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Written by Dani Filed under: Life, Spiritual Journey

Hopefully you know by now (unless you’ve just stumbled across our blog) that we are planning to work with missionary kids at Black Forest Academy. As part of our preparation, I’ve been reading (rather slowly) Third Culture Kids by David Pollock and Ruth Van Reken. Missionary kids are third culture kids (TCKs), which means they’ve spent a significant period of their formative years outside their passport countries. I’ve also been going to counseling for the past few months. One of the things that keeps coming up, in the book and counseling, is grief.

I moved a lot growing up. I believe I moved 12 times in my first 14 years of life. I don’t know if I technically qualify as a TCK, but I do relate to some of the aspects of TCK life. One thing I’d never realized is that there is a grieving process to moving. Let me tell you, that was an eye-opening chapter. According to the book, the transition cycle for moving is Involvement, Leaving, Transition, Entering and Reinvolvment. Okay, in and of itself, that doesn’t really mean much. The wow moment for me was reading about the Leaving stage, which isn’t talking about getting on a plane and heading to your new home, although that’s part of it, but about emotionally removing yourself from your home. You begin to loosen emotional ties, back out of responsibilities and refrain from taking new ones, and stop making new friends.

So, for the first time, I’m aware of this process. We’re in this strange sort of limbo. We’re preparing to move to another country to start a whole new life. We’ve basically sold all of our possessions, we’ve moved in with friends, we’ve given our cat away, we’ve quit our jobs, but we’re still here. And, instead of pulling away from our relationships, we’re strengthening them and making new ones, because everyone here is vital to our success at BFA. And I don’t mean financially, although we do need money, but, emotionally and spiritually. The people here will, in many way, sustain us as we serve in Germany. Instead of distancing ourselves from friends, family and church, we’re trying to become even more connected to our lives here, so that we have an anchor of people from which we can launch ourselves into BFA.

And it’s weird.

People ask me how things are going and how we’re doing, and I don’t really know what to tell them. We’ve sold all of our stuff, all of our wedding gifts. We never took any photos of our apartment, the only home we’ve know since we’ve been married. We’re living with someone else. We gave our cat away, and I bawled and I want her back. We want to be in Germany, but we’re not. We want to get to know our friends better and to love them better, but then it will hurt that much more when we have to leave.

So I think I’m experiencing grief. I’m glad to know that is what’s happening, and that it’s normal, and that it will keep happening. But it’s strange.

I’ve been thinking about home, and what that means. TCKs often don’t know where home is. I can identify with that right now, because, apparently, home isn’t a place. It’s not your things. Or where you live. Or comfort food.

What I’m trying to get at is that this whole missionary thing can be hard at times, and we haven’t even left yet. We’re in process. We’re learning and changing and grieving. I’m grieving the apartment (that I never liked), and our possessions (that I wasn’t very attached to) and our cat (whom I loved). I guess the fact that I even care about leaving our apartment shows that this really is a transition. And maybe it really is a sacrifice. It didn’t seem like much of a sacrifice before it happened, and even now, it doesn’t seem like much of one. And I’m actually glad to do it, because I’m so excited about what God has for us at BFA. But I guess it is a sacrifice to leave all of your things and what you’ve known, for something that has no guarantees.

I guess I wanted to let you all know how we, or at least I, am doing. In one sentence, I think this whole transition period is strange. That’s really the best word I can think of to describe it.

Tags: apartment, BFA, Cat, church, Family, Felin, friends, Germany, grief, home, missionary, Missionary Kids, moving, possessions, strange, stuff, TCKs, third culture kids, transition

October 6th, 2009

Can You Feel the Love?

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Written by Dani Filed under: Family, Life, Travel

After returning from Telephone, Israel had a short three days work-week before we headed to the Jernigan home in Muskogee. We spent three days with the family in Muskogee. Hannah and Ash arrived from Australia on September 24th. Besides the few hours we saw them before heading to Telephone, we hadn’t seen them at all. And since we’d never met Ash, it was very important that we get to know him. Israel is the older brother, after all.

Friday morning, Hannah and Ash got up bright and early so I could do their engagement photos. It was very chilly and dewy around the Jernigan property, but they were brave and agreed to lay on wet hay bales and grass. I’m so glad they did, because their photos are awesome! So far, my favorite shoots have been in fields early in the morning. Actually, they’ve all been with family members too. I love the mood of Hannah and Ash’s photos. The Jernigans have five to seven horses (I don’t remember the exact number), and at one point, they all decided to get in on the photos. I was quite thrilled. Horses! In photos! Yes! But Hannah thought it would make her look really Oklahoma country. She was totally wrong. I don’t think it’s possible for Hannah to look like an Oklahoma country girl. And there’s no way anyone would think that of Ash.

Friday night we went to the high school football game to see Israel’s twin brothers, Asa and Ezra, play in the band. I paid absolutely no attention to the game. I thought we were winning for quite a while, but we weren’t. We lost. By a lot. But, during the massacre, we played with our brand new video camera and ate funnel cake. I love food. Can you tell?

Saturday we did some family photos. There are now 14 people in the Jernigan family. 14. That’s a lot of people to have look good at the same time. Surprisingly, there were actually some really good photos of the whole fam. Once we split up into smaller groups however….

That afternoon we headed to Tulsa. The girls went to Hannah’s lingerie party. The boys went to the state fair where they watched pig racing and ate chocolate covered bacon. We all met up at P.F. Changs for dinner that night with some family friends. Jernigan, party of 18? Our poor waiter.

Sunday was filled with church and family. We always go to Grandma Jernigan’s house for lunch on Sundays. We stayed for the evening service to see Hannah and Ash lead worship. The whole service was awesome. I’m so glad we stayed.

It was really hard to leave. We won’t see Hannah and Ash again until their wedding in April. We love Ash. He’s absolutely perfect for Hannah. He’s very funny, very intentional and very loving. Plus, he’s Australian, which ups his cool level by like 47%. Israel even started to pick up his accent, Oh Israel. Seeing Hannah was really great for me. She’s so encouraging and has such a sense of purpose. I was reminded of how I want to live my life—with purpose—and that I want to speak words that are uplifting and bring hope to those who hear them.

You’ve got to check out these photos. Seriously.

: Horses{|}

: Love This One{|}

: Hannah{|}

: Sigh{|}

: Judah and Raina at the Game{|}

: The Muskogee Roughers Band{|}

: The Jernigan Family{|}

: The Jernigans{|}

: A Happy Family{|}

: The Family{|}

: The Girls with Momma J{|}

: The Girls with Poppa J{|}

: My Favorite Photo{|}This was not planned.

: The Boys with Poppa J{|}

: Shaun and Glory{|}

: Momma and Poppa J - Israel's Parents{|}

: The 'Rents{|}

Tags: Ash, church, engagement, Family, food, Football, Hannah, Jernigan, Life, Muskogee, Photos, Travel, Weekend

October 5th, 2009

A Visit to Texas

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Written by Dani Filed under: Family, Life, Travel

Just so you know, the photo header is not Texas. It’s Arkansas. I took it on the way back from Texas. I felt obliged to tell you. You know, just in case you decided to move to Texas just from looking at that photo and then were really surprised when it wasn’t hilly and green.

Last week, Israel took a couple days off so we could head to Texas to see my family. It was a crazy-busy weekend, with not as much family time as I wanted, but we got to see a lot of people, which was the point.

Israel’s sister Hannah has been in Australia for two years studying at the Hillsong International Leadership College. While there, she met her soon-to-be-husband Ashley, who we call Ash. They came in on Thursday evening, so we headed to Muskogee to see them. It was so good to see them. They were exhausted, of course, but when we arrived everyone was playing Apples to Apples. It was the first time the whole family, all 14 of us, had been together in almost two years. Friday morning, we went to IHOP for Ash’s first American breakfast. I’m sure he was very impressed.

After IHOP, we drove to Telephone, Texas, where I spent my high school years.

Yes, there really is a town called Telephone. It’s tiny, which is why you’ve never heard of it.

My parent’s divorced when I was 13. Shortly after their divorce we moved in with Grandpa and Grandma. We were supposed to be there for one year, but ended up staying for six. As my grandpa is a Southern Baptist pastor, we were required to go to church, something I wasn’t always happy about. But that little Baptist church is where I got my spiritual foundation.

After the three hour drive from Muskogee to Telephone, we spent the afternoon with my grandma, aunt and cousins. Then we headed into “town” where we met my mom and Uncle Louie, Aunt Charlotte and cousin, Joel, for dinner. I haven’t seen them in about six years, so it was wonderful to reconnect. When I called Charlotte to finalize our plans, Joel answered and I thought I had called the wrong number because his voice was so DEEP! I mean deeeeeep.

On Saturday, we met up with Charlotte and my cousin Bekah for breakfast at Starbucks, since Bekah was working the night before. She REALLY wants to live in Europe and work with kids. So, of course, we tried to figure out what she could do at BFA. Then we headed to Dallas where we met some college friends, Rachel and Chris, for lunch at Cafe Brazil. I think four different people told us to go to Cafe Brazil. They had about 30 different kinds of coffee. Israel had breakfast tacos. I had loaded fries. Because I wasn’t very hungry. Hmm…..

Then, we met up with Israel’s old roommate, Chris, at the NorthPark Mall, which is where we always meet Chris. We got another coffee and walked through Anthropologie. Can I just tell you how much I love that store? I love it a lot. If only it were about 70% cheaper. Sigh.

Then, we drove to Waxahachie to see Israel’s Great Aunt Helon. I’d never been to her house before, so it was nice to see where she lives. We should really make her tell us her life story sometime, because it sounds like she’s done a lot of interesting things. Once we got back to my mom’s house, we watched half of Stardust but couldn’t finish it because we were so tired. I really like this movie, by the way.

On Sunday we visited Telephone Baptist Church, where I grew up. I hadn’t been in a couple years because my grandpa helped start a cowboy church that we usually go to when we’re in town. It was so nice to see everyone again. People didn’t recognize me because my hair is so short now (actually, it’s rather long at this moment and desperately needs to be cut; short hair doesn’t look good grown out). It was the first day of a revival, so we were invited to attend lunch after the service. Brisket and potato salad and lots of dessert. Mmmm.

We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with my family. We addressed envelopes to mail, fried okra (of course), ate Philly cheese steaks, and watched The Amazing Race while petting Samson the Pitbull. Israel and I both really liked Samson, which is surprising because we’re not dog people. We have Felin for a reason.

: About to Head to IHOP{|}

: Judah{|}

: Stuffed Pancakes = Disgusting{|}

: Dani, Hannah and Judah{|}

: Galen{|}

: Joel, with the Deep Voice{|}

: Louie{|}

: Charlotte and Louie{|}

: Our Prayer Card and a BFA Brochure{|}

: Mmm, Coffee{|}

: Bekah{|}

: Grandpa's Car{|}

: Abstract Car{|}

: The Homestead{|}This is where I grew up in Telephone, Texas. And my grandpa.

: Bois D'Arc Creek Cowboy Church{|}

: Car, Again{|}

: Addressing Envelopes{|}

: Grandma{|}

: Don't Mess with Me{|}

: On the Way Home{|}

Tags: church, Dani, Family, food, friends, Photos, Telephone, Texas, Travel

September 13th, 2009

Weekend Happenings

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Written by Dani Filed under: Life

The past two months have been busy, and this week was no exception. Israel’s brother, Judah, stayed with us for three days, which was wonderful. We’ve been sharing with a lot of Community Groups from our church about our adventure to Germany. And we spent the weekend hanging out with friends. But, before I tell you all the details, I want to give you an update on our support raising.

We’ve been working on support raising for about two weeks. Our goal is to have at least 80% of our support raised by the beginning of October. October is two weeks away. So far, seven people have told us the amount they’ll be giving each month, which totals to $335 a month, 6% of our budget. But as far as I know, no one has actually mailed in their paperwork. If you have committed to supporting us each month, will you get your support paperwork in the mail by Tuesday? This will be a huge help for us, as it will give us a better idea of where we are financially. We’re also hoping that Israel will be able to start working part-time to focus more on support raising, but in order for this to happen, we need to have some support to draw on.

We know that raising $5,000 in two weeks is pretty impossible. Which is why we’re praying for God do the impossible, by raising $5,000 in two weeks. Please pray that with us. If God has a different time-line in mind, that’s fine, but we know he has unlimited resources at his disposal and can easily make impossible things happen. He is God, after all.

Okay, onto our weekend.

On Friday, we took Judah to Hugo’s. This is probably our favorite restaurant in Fayetteville. This great hamburger place is located in a basement off of the Fayetteville Square. It feels like a dark little pub and there’s usually a loooong wait. I had the Blue Moon Burger. With. Blue. Cheese. Yum. I was looking forward to to Hugo’s all week long. No joke. Then we went to Common Grounds and had mochas. This summer, we’ve taken three friends to Hugo’s and then Common Grounds. If you come to visit, you can be the fourth.

On Saturday, we met our friends Brandon and Becca for breakfast at The Little Bread Company, right across the street from Hugo’s. We recently discovered this bakery and, let me tell you, it’s pretty good. Try anything. You’ll like it. After chatting about video for a while—Brandon is a digital media dude—we wandered up to the Farmer’s Market with Lily, the dog. On the way, young Lily decided she needed a bathroom break, but, apparently, she hasn’t quite figured out that she needs to finish pooing before walking again. Things were a little gross for a while. While we were wandering the Farmer’s Market, I saw the biggest dog ever. I think it was four feet tall, just standing there. Four feet! I believe it was an Irish Wolfhound or Scottish Deerhound. No, I didn’t get a photo.

It has been a wonderful Sunday. We went to the early service at our amazing church, The Grove Church. Before we left, I ate breakfast on our porch. I love being outside in the mornings, especially rainy mornings. I haven’t seen many mornings in the past year, since my schedule has been pretty flexible (meaning I get up at 10 and don’t shower until 2). But early mornings are the best time for me to sit with God and be still. I’m going to try to get up earlier and enjoy the AM from now on. We’ll see how that goes.

After church we had breakfast, for lunch, with Evan and Emily from our Community Group. Then we played Canasta, with real cards instead of the Canasta Caliente deck we have at home. It is confusing going from pretty cards that say Wild and Stop, to A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7…. Anyway, Israel and Evan won. Emily and I lost. Stupid discard pile.

Here are a few photos from our weekend adventures.